Richard looked over at Ayako Mitsurugi with a blank expression.
Ayako had just arrived at his shop with a car. She wanted him to change up the license plates and forge a new registration for it. Something he usually did without question, as was his code. But this time, he could not stick by it. Not after what she had just done.
"You're turning us away?" she said, shocked and offended by his, admittedly, unexpected response.
"Yes, I am. There are very few limits to the kind of jobs I'm willing to take, and unfortunately, you have just crossed them." he replied firmly.
"Oh fuck you." Ayako said, closing the distance. "We own you, you lowlife. Know your place and do your fucking job!"
"One question." Richard retorted. "Where did you get that car?"
"What does it matter to you?" Ayako said, a murderous undertone to her voice.
"Well, if you stole this car from who I think you stole this from, it should be easy for you to figure out why I'm refusing to work on it." Richard said, unfazed.
"Well, I stole it from the weak little cunt who had a dog. We easily pinned her down when I shot that thing dead. She's not gonna be a problem." Ayako said with a confident smile.
At this point, Richard's apprehension turned into outright rage.
Kei, you are SO fucked, you know that?
"Let me get this straight. You stole this '67 Impala from a 'little cunt', and you murdered her dog right in front of her?" Richard continued, his tone cold and biting.
"Yeah. Just another skank I put in her place." Ayako said, smugly.
"Well, in that case, let me be clear about this, Ayako." Richard said, "I'm refusing to service this car, because you are going to die. Very, very soon."
In response, Ayako's expression turned to one of rage, and she drew out her gun. "I've had enough! You're the one who's going to die, old man!"
"Really, Ayako? You're going to shoot me dead, in broad daylight, with witnesses present? I admit your sister has a lot of clout, but even she won't be able to save you from the consequences of this. Not that it matters. You're dead meat, anyway." Richard said, looking her square in the eye.
Ayako hesitated at his words, clearly not having thought this through. She quickly put the gun away. "Nee-san...Kei is going to hear about this." she said, and rushed out of the shop, the rest of her posse following suit.
Richard was fairly confident this would be the last he'd ever see of them.
A few hours later, his phone rang. "Hello?"
"Richard. Kei here. I heard you threatened my sister?" the woman on the other end was polite but curt. Kei Mitsurugi, a consummate professional and genius criminal, if Richard ever knew one. Unlike the dumbass she was related to.
"I'd prefer the term 'warned'." Richard replied.
"Well, what did you warn her about?" Kei asked.
"She came to my shop with a stolen '67 Impala. Said it belonged to a little cunt, and that she murdered her dog."
A pause.
"Oh. Oh shit." Kei said, her polite tone cracking to reveal an utterly terrified and furious woman. "In any case, disregard whatever she may have said to you. Our business will continue as normal." she sputtered out and hung up.
"Appreciate it." Richard said to the dial tone.
Kei's composure had been completely destroyed after that phone call. She was terrified. She was furious. And she was grieving.
Goddamit, Ayako! Out of all people, why did it have to be her?!
That idiot. That irredeemable idiot may have just destroyed her entire empire. Not to mention her lifelong dream.
If it wasn't for Ayako being her sister, Kei would have personally executed her and hand-delivered the head to Joan's doorstep.
But she was family. Her own sister had just about destroyed everything that was dear to her.
She brushed off a few updates from her lawyer, waiting for her sister to arrive. It was a mistake. She should never have listened to Ayako. She shouldn't have given her any control of her empire.
She was too young. Too naive. Despite being an aggressive fighter and efficient killer, she was only 17, a good ten years younger than Kei. She hadn't grown up. She was too arrogant and impulsive to amount to much. And yet, Kei had made the cardinal mistake of giving her a chance.
Ayako and her friends arrived into the foyer of her mansion before she knew it. Kei promptly had her friends escorted away. She needed to speak with Ayako, alone.
"Nee-san!" Ayako said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the position she was in.
"Ayako." Kei replied, her tone cold and firm. "I see you were successful with the Los Angeles job."
"I was." Ayako replied with a smile, clearly expecting Kei to show some affection in return for her success.
"I just had a conversation with Richard." Ayako continued in her cold voice. "It seems you and him had an altercation."
"Didn't Jiro tell you? He threatened me, nee-san! He said he was going to kill me! I was just defending myself!" Ayako said, her expression quickly turning furious.
"Is that what you think?" Ayako said.
"What do you mean? Of course that's what happened? Have you punished him, because he-"
A sharp sound cut of her rant, as Ayako realized that she'd just been slapped across the face. By her sister.
"Nee-san?"
Kei responded by slapping her again.
It hurt. It stung her skin of course, but more than that, Ayako couldn't understand. Why was her sister attacking her like this?
"Did I...do someth-AAAH!"
Ayako screamed again as Kei slapped her hard. Tears were beginning to roll down her eyes.
"Nee-san, I'm sorry...I'm..."
Another slap. Ayako was sobbing now.
"I'm sorry...nee-san...please stop!"
"You're pathetic. You still haven't figured out what you really did?!" Kei spoke, her voice dripping with condemnation.
"No...nee-san, please. Just tell me. Tell me what I did wrong!" Ayako said, between her sobs.
"You just ruined someone's life. You broke into her home, stole her car, and murdered her dog." Kei said.
"So what?! She was just a fucking cunt! A nobo-AAAH!" Ayako screamed again as her words were cut short with another, harsh slap.
"A cunt? A nobody? Ayako, it wasn't what you did that disgusts me. It's who you did it to. That little cunt who's life you ruined? Her name is Joan Wick, the best, most reliable killer I have ever worked with!" Kei spat out.
"Huh?" Ayako replied, finally out of things to say.
"Joan Wick and I've had a very strong relationship ever since we grew up together." Kei began. By now, Ayako had realized that she was in way over her head, and so she quietly listened to her sister.
"We were like sisters, you see. More so that you and I, anyway." Kei continued. "We both always had our eyes on each other, as we ascended the ranks of the criminal underworld, bit by bit. It soon became apparent to me that my strengths lay in leadership, in understanding the big picture. So I built up my own empire, and Joan did the dirty work necessary to destroy the competition. See, she was just as deadly as most hitmen out there, likely even more so, but there was something that separated her from them. Something that proved instrumental to our alliance. To our friendship."
Kei paused, pouring herself a drink. "She was not someone only loyal to her next paycheck. She was far too soft for that. The way I kept her loyal to me was compassion. I was kind to her. I cared for her, listened to her problems, hung out with her whenever she needed me. All those gestures of friendship ensured that all the money in the world couldn't get her to turn against me. Despite her reputation, Joan was one of the biggest softies I'd ever known." she paused and chuckled. "Heck, I even fell in love with her at one point. I proposed to her, telling her that if we married each other and spent the rest of our lives together, we would be unstoppable. But she was not interested, and I respected that."
Kei then took a sip and continued, "A few years later, however, she made a decision I had a much harder time accepting. She fell in love, with someone who wasn't me. A man who wanted to pull her out of her job. He wanted a normal life. And so did she, so she tried to resign."
Ayako silently listened to everything her sister was saying, not making a sound.
"Letting go of Joan was like saying goodbye to my trump card. Really, this was never my own empire, this was our empire. And yet, she didn't reciprocate my feelings for her. Instead of being married to her and building a future together with her, I was being told I had to carry on alone. But I was a grateful woman. I did not want to ruin everything we had by acting out of jealousy or spite. So we made a deal. I gave her one final job. It was a job I considered nigh impossible, but if Joan could pull it off, I would have nothing left standing in my way. And she came through. She came through and left me with what I have today." Kei was close to tears now.
"You know, Ayako, when her husband passed away, I was thinking of talking to Joan again. I planned to offer my condolences, to be her friend. I dreamed of a day when I could once again propose to her, and she'd accept me. Then my one dream of ruling this city together with her would finally come true."
She slowly approached her sister. "I never thought that the one who would forever destroy that dream of mine would be you, my own sister."
She did not raise her hand again. She didn't need to. Her words were more than enough to inflict on Ayako the pain she so dearly deserved.
Sure enough, Ayako immediately fell down on her knees, and then lay prostrate before her sister.
"Forgive me, nee-san! Forgive me! I...I'll make this right! I'll finish what I started, so you-"
"Enough!" Kei shouted, shutting her up. "First of all, I know you're not sorry for what you did. You're just sorry because you've upset me. Lie to yourself all you want, Ayako, but you're nothing more that a child desperate to impress her older sister. Second of all, the only thing you can do to make things right is to kill yourself. Would you be able to do that? To pay for the dishonor you've inflicted on Joan and me with your life?"
"Nee-san..." Ayako said, her voice trembling.
"I thought so. Then the only choices you have, are to either die by Joan's hand, or have Joan die by ours." Kei said.
"Nee-san...?" Ayako said, slowly getting back up.
"I am going to have to figure out a plan for this. Joan is not going to be an easy enemy to-" Kei abruptly felt a body pushing against her. No, it wasn't pushing, it was embracing her.
"Thank you, nee-san! Thank you!" Ayako said while crying into her sister's chest. "I love you, nee-san! Thank you for protecting me!"
Kei's expression softened. "Of course I'll protect you, Ayako. You're family, after all. Even if I have to forsake my dreams, it still wouldn't hurt as much as forsaking you."
She gently returned Ayako's embrace, and caressed her hair.
"Nee-san, I love you." Ayako repeated, still sobbing.
After a few minutes, Kei spoke up. "You must be tired, right Ayako? Come on, go get some rest. I'll take care of everything."
"Thank you so much, nee-san." Ayako said, as her sobbing ceased and she pulled away from her sister. Kei gave her a warm, loving smile, which Ayako returned with her own, and soon afterwards, Ayako left for her room, leaving Kei by herself.