Walking Towards Light: Ami Redux
Surprise Interlude
Chapter 7: Surprise Attack - wherein Rei is surprised when Ami's anger gets the best of her
A strong wind blew through the halls of the Hikawa Shrine. A blue haired woman lay awake on a futon covered by a thin blanket.
Ami had always been a light sleeper. She was always restless and it never took much to wake her. Even on a normal night, Ami didn't need much sleep.
The night before she and Minako flew to London to hunt down the man that got her mother killed... Ami wasn't sleeping at all.
She stayed in bed feigning sleep however. There was someone else here.
A silhouette crept into the room. Moonlight glinted off the tip of his short knife. Ami tensed, twisting the blanket in her hands as she waited for the intruder to come into range. He had to be Dark Kingdom. Who else attack her now? Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She couldn't wait to get started.
There.
Ami's hands shot out and wrapped the blanket around the surprised intruder's throat. Her victim flailed in panic at the crushing force she was applying to his trachea. His knife flashed out. Once, twice, thrice. Feeble cuts getting weaker and weaker. Ami pulled harder. Only one assassin? Nobody treats her like a soft target.
Ami got out of bed, forcing the man to his knees.
"Ami!"
Ami looked up. Rei was at the door, looking horrified. Startled, Ami looked at the man choking to death in her hands.
Kuso
She threw him away from her. He hit the wall and slid soundlessly to the floor.
"An intruder. There might be others. Quick, we should check on Grandpa"
Rei nodded in agreement. Grace under pressure - The safety of her family took priority.
The two women ran through the Shrine. Someone was standing outside Grandpa's bedroom. Rei took one look and threw herself at the intruder. They went flying through the shine's thin panel wall and into the courtyard outside. Ami followed through the hole. Good thing. There were 3 more attackers were waiting there.
4-on-2.
Ami laughed. This was good. She'd needed a good late night fight. Since reading her mother's will, she's had no peace. She'd been so restless she felt she was about to burst. Someone needed to get hurt tonight. This was perfect
Ami picked one intruder at random - A large brutish looking man. She ran at him, looking for an opening get slip inside his guard. He swung a heavy punch at her head. Got it. Ami's lips pulled back in a vicious smile as she ducked. Not surprisingly, he tumbled slightly off balance. Ami snapped a quick left hook at his liver, a harder right at his solar plexus and a third solid uppercut in his face when he doubled over in pain. He dropped like a pile of bricks didn't get up again.
If he wasn't down after the shot to the Vagus nerve, he was out by the time he got the broken nose. Ami laughed again. The joys of the central nervous system.
3-on-2.
Grandpa came running out in the commotion.
"Call the police!"
Rei screamed out the order as she smashed her opponent under his chin. His head bounced back onto the cobblestone floor. Grandpa hurried off to the phone.
2-on-2.
Oof. Ami had the breath knocked out of her. Suddenly, she was struggling with the weight of someone hanging off her neck.
Dammit. She got caught staring after Grandpa so long she'd missed the attacker approaching on her left. He jumped her from the side, catching her by the throat. He was strangling her. She was beginning to see stars and the already pounding pulse in her head grew louder until it became a constant buzz. Things were getting dark. She had to do something fast.
Ami pulled herself down and away, using the man's size and momentum against him. She was in control now. He made the mistake of leaving her arms free. Ami would make sure he paid dearly for that. She grabbed his thumb and twisted with one hand as she simultaneously slammed her other elbow under his chin. Before he could even process what had happened, she'd chopped the base of her hand into his throat and kicked him in the knee. Her left arm then swung up across his body and grabbed him behind his neck. Ami forced his head down as her knee came up. Once, twice, thrice. Groin, stomach, head. The skirmish was over in the blink of an eye. She dropped the man in disgust. He fell to the ground. A swift kick to the ribs ensured that he was going to stay there.
One more left. Ami and Rei advanced together on the last standing member of the gang. Suddenly, he looked confused.
"Where am I? How'd I get here?"
Just as suddenly, he dropped to the ground unconscious, like a puppet with his strings cut.
The battle was over, the Shrine was peaceful again.
Rei stood at the top of the steps waiting for the police to arrive.
"Ami, we need to talk."
Ami looked at her questioningly. She was still flush with excitement from the fight.
Slap
"What the hell? I deserved that?"
"My family is being attacked, and my fellow senshi is laughing like a maniac. What the hell Ami?"
Ami's eyes darkened.
"What? It was a good fight. What are you so pissy about...wait...you're expecting the meek little bookworm aren't you? She would have been dead useful just now."
Rei was glaring fire at her now, but Ami was too angry to stop.
"You should be thanking me. I took out a pair of those guys for you. 3 if you count the one in my room"
"Oh shit. That guy..."
"Don't worry. He's probably alive. I saw him breathing."
"When? As you were strangling him?"
"He was going to kill me."
Ami shrugged matter-of-factly. Rei was furious. She bounded in on Ami to make sure she heard every word.
"Did you even look at them?"
Rei gestured at the unconscious people all over the yard
"They are all human. They didn't even look like they were in control of their actions. Their eyes were all blank, and the last guy just dropped on his own. You missed that didn't you, because you were too worked up about having an excuse to hit people. If you had stopped and paid attention, you would have seen that these people were being controlled by a dark power. We are Senshi. We are responsible for these people."
Rei pointed at the bloody man lying at Ami's feet. Ami paused. They were just regular people. She hadn't noticed that.
"Instead, you go ahead and put 3 people in the hospital. We'll be lucky if there's no serious damage. I don't even know how we'll be able to explain this to the cops. The Ami I knew doesn't mess up like that. Since when did you get off on hurting people? What's going on?"
The Ami that she used to know was kind and controlled, even in a fight. She wasn't consumed with anger. She certainly wouldn't be laughing as she smashed someone's face in.
Ami's retort was bitter and angry.
"This is who I am now. I'm a damned killer and I'm the last person in the world who should be responsible for Senshi duties. I'm not worth your time Rei. Back off."
"Liar. The Ami I know is more than that. Where the hell is this coming from? Dark Mercury?"
Rei didn't sense any particular influence of dark energy around Ami at the moment.
"Yes. No...sort of. You don't understand. I AM Dark Mercury. Everything that she is, everything that she did, everything she was capable of. That was me. We are the same person."
"And what, that means you get a license to hurt people? Ami, the only other time I saw you hurt someone unnecessarily, you literally had an incarnation of evil in your head. You're being too hard on yourself, and that's NOT HELPING right now."
"I was like that long before we ever encountered Metaria. You are all Senshi for a reason. You fight for something you believe in, Mako fights to protect people. Me? I don't do it because I'm kind. I do it because I'm bored. Face it Rei. That's is who I am."
"I already knew that. Yeah, you can be a sadistic prick sometimes, that's not news. Did you really think I'd consider you as a close friend and never be able to see through your perfect Ami mask? You give me no credit. You're more than that. DEAL WITH IT."
Ami was glaring daggers at her now, but Rei had to get her point across somehow.
"I've known you longer than anyone else, except Usagi. The day we met, you saved my ass through pure force of will. Could Dark Mercury have done that? I've seen you look death in the face without blinking to protect us. Don't think that you're the only one that knows how to play chess. Berthier set up a execution that day, not a challenge. You went along with that fucked up chess game knowing it was unwinnable. Did you do that because you were bored? I've seen you quietly hold yourself back over and over past the point of sanity because you didn't want to hurt someone. All that good is as much a part of you as this bullshit you are pulling now. Focus on that and deal with it. You're about to snap. We can help. Talk to us when you need to. You're not the only one who's killed you know."
"You mean Minako."
"Yes, and you know what? She deals with it. She doesn't try to lose herself and run away from it. She faces it head on every day. It bothers her still, but she doesn't give up. I'd say that I'm sorry for what you had to do, but really. I'm not. It's awful, it's fucked up, and I'm sorry your mother was involved, but you know what. I'm not sorry you did it. You made a hard decision and followed through. I respect the hell out of you for that. I think your mother would have understood as well. She's the woman who raised the kindest, most considerate person I know after all. Minako told me what was in that letter she gave you. Your mother knew you were Mercury and she was proud of you. Don't throw that away like it was nothing."
"My mother might have forgiven me, but she's not exactly around to do so. Am I just supposed to forgive myself then?"
"Yes. That would be a step in the right direction. This charge-in-first-without-looking Ami? Bullshit. You're just running away again. You go in like that with Minako in London...I swear, if anything happens to her, I will kill you myself and then hunt you down in hell just to kill you again."
The fire and fury dimmed as the two fighters came to an understanding. Honesty between friends had that effect. Ami had no idea what to say, but she had to say something.
"Sorry Rei. I get it. I'll try harder. I promise, Minako will be safe with me."
That was true enough. She had to keep control of herself.
"Hang in there. Anger has its uses, but not if it's all-consuming. Use it to make yourself better. Push yourself harder, but don't let it control you. I do care about you, baka. I'm keeping my eye on you. I promised you I would."
The promise from several weeks ago hung between them. The moment before they walked into into Metaria's trap. Ami had Rei promise her to kill her if it became necessary. Ami was relieved to know that Rei took the responsibility seriously and Rei was relieved to see that reaction.
Ami moved on to check on the civilians in the courtyard, the doctor in her coming back to the fore.
"Your guy is ok, just knocked out for now. This guy has a broken nose, and probably a concussion. Strange. They all seem to be in some kind of fugue state right now. You are right. This isn't natural."
Rei rolled her eyes at that. Of course she was right. They would have to investigate this tomorrow. Rei looked around to assess the damage. Ami's arm caught her attention.
"You ok? You're bleeding all over the place."
Ami looked at her arm. She had forgotten about the knife wounds from the first attacker. She knew she would feel it more once the adrenaline wore off.
"I'll be fine. They are fairly shallow cuts actually. I have a medkit in my room. I'll be all stitched up in time for the flight tomorrow."
Rei pulled her arm into better lighting without asking. Fresh bleeding cuts on top of healing wounds on top of old scars.
"Ami, you keep this up, and there won't be anything of you to stitch back together. Stay focused. Make it worthwhile. Do you understand?"
Ami was about to snap back a heated retort when she realized Rei wasn't treating her with pity. It was kindness. She had no words to respond, so she simply nodded in response.
"Good. Grab your stuff then get out of here quick. Go to Minako's, she'll be your alibi. I'll need to make something up for the police, it'd be easier if you weren't around. Good luck in London. Remember what I said ok?"
Ami stared dumbly after Rei as walked down the stairs to delay the responding officers.
Rei was right again, as usual. Ami gave her head quick shake before sneaking back to her room for her bag. She had a long journey ahead of her.
A.N.
An unexpected night attack? O.o The plot thickens!
On to Act 2: A Journey of 6000 Miles
