Round 3 lets go. Thanks a mucho guys for taking a chance and to read this! Really glad you all did!
Chapter 3-Motives to Frame...
"Damn...just how did you do that?" Senji muttered in amazement as he sat across from Ayane inside his large room. They were both sitting on the black couches, facing each other. He now knew the name of the Hawk, thanks to Tamaki. It was Ayane. It had a nice ring to it.
The said Hawk was now stretching her newly attached arm, raising it above her head as she shut her eyes to the feel. When Senji watched the woman stick that thing in her arm, he literally gaped. How she was even able to put that contraption inside her, astonished him. She apparently was insane. And she kept saying that "this was how it is" and all that crap. What was that supposed to mean? That she was trapped here and could only follow the rules?
"I just did. Now, no more questions, Senji." Ayane retorted as she cracked the kinks in her neck.
"You...you called me by my name." Senji pointed out, blinking confusedly towards the woman. The short brown haired woman grinned back, placing her hands behind her head.
"Yeah! I did, didn't I? You should do it too." she suggested as she raised an eyebrow.
"W-why would I do such a thing?" He stuttered out, knowing perfectly well what she meant. As if sensing it, Ayane grinned even wider as she suddenly leaned forward and placed her hands on the small coffee table in front of her.
"Because! Due to you constantly being around me, I've gotten the feeling that we're friends. Or that you want to be friends." Ayane revealed as she crossed her arms. Senji tried not to show the slight embarrassment on his cheeks, but the pink tinge appeared anyway. Dammit, she knew.
Remaining silent, the Crow watched the Hawk for a moment as she stared at him with a skeptical expression.
"I mean unless you don't want me around. I could just-" She made a move to get off the couch when Senji put an arm out, stopping her.
"No! You're right." He bluntly stated as she settled back into her side of the couch, a surprised look in her eyes. "Ever since I met you, I've always thought that you would be cool to hang around with. Even back when we fought, you seemed pretty chill. Despite having blood red knives in your hands." Senji explained as he watched the surprised expression on her face turn into a pleased one.
"...that was actually...really sweet." she quietly said, a soft smile on her lips as she met Crow's gaze. "Thanks, Senji." It was his turn for a smile to appear on his lips, that pink tinge appearing once more.
"No...problem, Ayane." Hey, he thought he would give it a shot. And he went for it. When her name slipped from his lips, he realized that her name really did have a nice ring to it.
"...Hey, I have an idea." Ayane proposed as she grabbed a ball that was on the coffee table and threw it up, catching it in her hand. Senji raised his tattooed brow and put up a hand for the ball.
"Shoot," he replied as the Hawk threw the ball to him.
"Let's make a pact. Since we're friends right?"
Senji met her gaze in curiosity as he caught the ball, a pondering look on his face. "Well what are you asking?"
"Let's try not to get killed. Otherwise being here in Wonderland won't be as enjoyable. I mean, that is the whole point of being kept here. It's just, this time, you've got a person to look forward to seeing." She revealed as she caught Senji's cheeks turn pink.
"Do you have a habit of blushing whenever a girl compliments or says something about you? Because if you do, this is gonna be a rough time for you, buddy." As she said this, she leaned forward to get a closer look of his face, a sly smirk on her lips. She stood up from the couch and wandered over to him only to see the Crow's face turn a darker shade of red as she neared, ultimately making him jump off the couch.
"I-impossible." He grunted as he cleared his throat.
Ayane let out a hearty laugh at his behavior, falling into the couch he was sitting on as she held her stomach. This made Senji gazed down at her for a moment, allowing him to see a normal, bright young woman. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he realized this, but when she opened her eyes, the smile sliding off instantly. It wouldn't do him good if he was caught smiling like that.
"Yeah, let's do it." Senji said, extending a fist. Ayane let out a small whoop before bumping fists, sitting up.
"Just try not to die, my new friend."
That was it. She officially liked being in the company of the guy. It was as if he was a giant bear: vicious and terrifying on the outside but sometimes warm and cute on the inside. That was her opinion of him. Walking through the halls next to the guy wasn't so half bad either. Since any Branch of Sin users weren't really allowed outside of their separate compound G, the two of them sort of roamed around trying to see what they could do to pass the time.
Half the time, both of them were called for individual challenges, hardly giving them much time to hang out before heading to another one.
When Senji was away at one of the challenges, Ayane hung around the G block humming to herself with her hands behind her head. Dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and pants, today was considered a lazy day for her, considering she didn't have any challenges or games assigned to her just yet.
Sighing, she wandered near one of the huge windows and leaned against the glass, pressing her forehead against it. "Ahh, what to do...I'm so bored." she quietly said as she gazed at the view of the huge park. The big ferris wheel seemed to be in operation and the roller coasters seemed like such a blast. Ayane placed her hands against the glass and let out a groan of boredom, sliding down to sit against the window.
Suddenly doing this however, a wave of nostalgia came over her, making her freeze in her spot. Her eyes focused on to the floor as they grew wide, memories from the past spreading out in front of her. Why now?!
"Welcome to you're new home." Tamaki cheerfully said behind her. Ayane was glaring out the window with scowl on her face. The new silver collar was around her neck and she was clothed in the usual grey uniform.
"Get me out of here." She snapped back as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her emerald eyes burning.
"No can do, my little bird~ This is a prison for murderers such as yourself. You've gotta stay."
Ayane whirled around with a wide look in her eyes. "I'm not staying here! This place is equivalent to Hell. No way am I going to live here." A deadly look appeared in her eyes as she clenched her fist, taking a step closer to the man. He didn't look intimidated in the least. With a snap of his fingers, she was suddenly slammed against the glass with a jagged looking sword.
"The hell?!" She growled as she glared down at the wielder. "What? A...girl?" The snarl on her lips slid off at the sight of the small, cute girl with ribbons in her hair.
"The lady is being a bad girl, isn't she?" The girl said, tilting her head to the side. Ayane didn't know what hit her till she was on the ground, a slash on her cheek.
"Ms. Ayane, your code name is now Hawk. And if you want to continue living at all..." Tamaki started with a small smile. He bent down to her height, placing a hand against her head to keep her to the floor. "...you'll do everything you can not to get chopped to pieces."
"Damn, it's been that long already?" Ayane muttered under her breath as she ran a hand over her eyes. She wanted to leave this place so much, but she knew that if she took one step outside this facility, the people out there would be afraid of her. More afraid of her than people were in here. She didn't want that.
"Attention, all Branch of Sin users! If you would all report to the dining hall for an announcement that would be great, thanks!"
At the sound of that owl announcer's voice, Ayane blinked at the announcement and stood up, stretching her arms. "Wonder what this could be about..." she trailed off as she pulled out a piece of candy from her pocket, heading towards the dining hall. Upon wandering inside, she saw all of the other faces she had fought against at one point and inwardly grimaced, not wanting to talk with them. Instead she headed for the back of the crowd, hoping to stand on a table to see what was happening. She tried to move discreetly and not make any scenes but the people around her were already moving for her, creating a path.
Great. She just wanted to shuffle past them.
Ignoring the pissed off murmurs and comments, Ayane continued on her journey to the back, only to feel someone yank her sweatshirt and pull her in their direction. "The hell?!" She exclaimed as she was suddenly thrown into the front of the crowd. She stumbled and fell into one of the tables, creating a low rumble of laughter.
Cheeks growing warm, Ayane whirled around with a snarl on her lips, ready to deface anyone that laughed when a hand shoved itself in front of her face. Glancing to the side, she saw a red haired Undertaker and visibly stiffened, not wanting to have anything to do with them. The man with a guitar smirked as he observed the crowd in front of him, cracking his fingers together.
"What do you want, Undertaker?" Ayane said in a low voice, pulling up her hood and shoving her hands into her pockets.
"Mmm, we've got an issue on our hands, Hawk." he replied in a somewhat gleeful voice. The way he said it irked her and made her suspicious of what he meant.
"What kind of...issue?"
Before he could respond, Ayane turned her head to see Senji making his way to the front of the crowd, an uproar rising around him. What Ayane saw made her raise an eyebrow. The guy looked completely beat up and mangled, his arms and chest covered with bandages. Was one of the challenges really that bad?
"Why don't we say that it's a cheating issue?" the red haired man continued as the Crow reached the front, an exhausted look in his eye. As the Undertaker finished speaking, he continued to observe the others that were filing in.
Ayane met Senji's gaze and raised an eyebrow, gesturing with her head all the injuries he had. The Crow pulled on a small frown as he gave her a small shrug. The Hawk then proceeded with a narrowed eyed gaze, skeptical of his response. What did he mean by what he just did?
"Now! That you're all here, I'd like to begin!" The clamor that was present in the dining hall soon settled down into silence as the Undertaker began speaking. "According to a source that I will not name, there has been a certain breach of contract here with the challenges at Deadman Wonderland."
"No one would want to breach anything here!" Someone randomly called out.
"Oh is that so? Then why did she-" Ayane jolted when a finger was pointed in her direction, all eyes on her. "-do it?"
There was a moment of silence as the sentence sunk in. Then the explosion came.
"WHAT!?"
"No way!"
"Why would she do that?!"
"Is she looking for a way to die!?"
Ayane was frozen stiff in shock as Senji tried to get her attention, a curious look in his eye. What the hell was this man talking about?! She didn't breach anything! It must be some sort of misunderstanding! She wasn't even in any of the games in the past hour! Turning to the Undertaker himself, she set her jaw and met his steel gaze against the growing clamor.
"What kind of bullcrap are you spouting? I never breached anything." Ayane declared, setting her gaze on the Undertaker's.
"Really? Well, according to my source," The Undertaker suddenly pointed to Senji, who also jumped in surprise. "This man's challenge was rigged and set up for him to lose. By you. Which I found a bit hard to believe at first...but my source tells me otherwise."
Senji now stood next to Ayane with a peeved look on his face. "Yeah? And who the hell is this source you're talking about?"
Ayane suddenly felt her stomach drop as a pair of feet dropped down on to the table. She already had a bad feeling...
"Me, of course!" The Mockingbird cheerfully said, pointing towards himself with a grin. He jumped off the table and smiled at the crowd, looking at all their surprised gazes. Ayane clenched her fists together as Senji was about to start for him when the red haired Undertaker appeared next to him and shoved him away from Ayane.
"And why did you invite all of us here today, Toto?" Ayane mockingly said nicely, a sweet smile on her face. The green haired Branch of Sin raised an eyebrow, his eyes glinting with mischief.
"To show what happens to people who breach the rules."
"Aya-!"
Senji's yell was cut off when Ayane was thrown forward at the sound of the Undertaker's guitar. She fell straight into the Mockingbird who already had a weapon drawn. Blood splattered on to the floor as all clamors came to a halt.
"Bastards!" Senji yelled as he tried to move past the Undertaker. He had heard something pierce through flesh but couldn't see what. He had also seen the blood, but didn't know whose it belonged to.
Who the hell would frame someone who didn't do what they were accusing them of? Oh yeah, this bastard. His blood was boiling but he didn't have as much energy to fight back since he just came from a challenge, but he would be willing to rip off that Mockingbird's face if he had the chance. He blinked when the Undertaker in front of him suddenly shifted to the side to give him the view. And when he saw, Senji's eye widened in shock.
The guy's hand was literally through Ayane's side. And he was grinning.
"O-Oi...isn't that a little too much?" One of the Branch of Sin users muttered, an agreement rumbling around the crowd. From what Senji saw, Ayane was still conscious, for he could see her shoulders moving up and down as she breathed.
"No, this is perfectly fine! This should show you all not to make the higher ups angry, right?" The Mockingbird leaned in close to the Hawk's face, his green eyes suddenly meeting Senji's.
"You're...so screwed." Ayane gritted out as she grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on to the table, his hand pulling out of the wound. A wave of blood spilled on to the floor but she didn't care, her fingers digging deep into the man's throat, her eyes wide with anger. "Is this what you meant! Huh?! I guess I'll have to try and kill you too, shouldn't I?!" She screamed as she used her blood to create a blade. She raised it above her head, ready to stab down when a hand caught her wrist.
"That's enough," Senji muttered behind her head as he pulled her back, aware of what he seemed like to the others. Ayane didn't fight back however, her chest heaving as she yanked her hand out of his grip, her blood hitting the floor.
"You did this, Mockingbird. Didn't you?!" Ayane snarled as the man in question straightened himself and brushed off the wrinkles on his shirt.
"Me? Why would I?" he feigned in innocence, tilting his head to the side.
The red haired Undertaker suddenly cleared his throat, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Well, since rules are rules, the punishment for breaching the contract is going against an Undertaker and deciding if you want to die or not."
"W-what?" Was practically everyone's response in the room.
Senji set his jaw, completely pissed about this entire ordeal. Ayane would have to go against an Undertaker? His gaze locked on to the Mockingbird's green head and noticed that there was a sly smirk on his lips. Oh this bastard.
He was looking for a way to die, wasn't he?
"The match between Ayane and one of the Undertakers will be in a few days. That is all."
Hmm...a little bit of action I guess. I was working on some character development though XD Hope you all enjoyed! See you in the next update!
