Hi everyone, and welcome to another chapter of Hero's Call!
I apologies for my inconvenient language, i.e. 'pinkette', greenette', probably using '*color* haired' to me feels so... cliché? I don't know. Regardless, let's not dwell on it since I learned my lesson and replaced those awful words with the expected formality.
That's about it. Not much to say anyway. Let's start Chapter Eight!
Disclaimer: Do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, cause if I did, I would have made Konami a canon character that time travels to all the anime series' storylines. That would surely be weird if Konami made Konami in Konami...
...Konami?
Oh, and sorry that this chapter's short. It was... difficult, to put down...
Arc 01
Chapter 08
Through the Eyes of the Unharmed
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Tasha's eyes were shut closed, she whimpered softly in her arms, it laid on her flexed legs, in the corner of the rattling vehicle. The back was as dark as it could be, but just bright enough for the naked eye to make out the outlines of three muscled men from her captor's group, and the imitating children around her, their whimpers' sadness matching her own.
How did she get herself into a situation such as this one? Was it because she wanted to find Konami? Was it because she carelessly followed complete strangers? Was it because she wasn't fast enough to escape into the woods? Was it all of the above? She didn't know, and honesty, she didn't care at all. All she really wanted right now was to be by Konami's side. His arms wrapped around her in protection and care. His presence could do that job alone as a matter of fact, but feeling his presence instead of seeing it, was something she needed the most right now.
Not to be downgraded to a point of human degradation! She had surely experienced it before, and it made her shiver in discomfort. No, fear was the appropriate word, along with abhorrent disgust, unrivaled level of disfavor, and just down right malignity. But she couldn't do anything about it. She probably would be used, abused, and discarded like yesterday's news. She felt worthless, to be blunt. Like she couldn't do anything about the fact that she was nothing more than used litter people bypass on a daily bases.
It was frustrating, but she accepted her role during one point in her life. She could still remember that day, since it was practically burnt and scarred in her brain, something that others stated a 'worthless whore' like her did not have and needed for her life on Earth. But that point of view of her seemed to change whenever she thought and was around Red Hat.
He was the only one who truly treated her like she was worth more than just someone's abominable doormat. Like she could be a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer, a psychiatrist, ANYTHING!
He treated her like she was one thing she truly wanted to feel like.
A human being.
But now she was back on Square One just as quickly as she took her first step into Square Two. Was it destiny? Tasha felt worthless nonetheless.
Where was Konami though? Where was her one true friend? Where was he now? Where... where...
A voice of reminiscence rung through her brain, if she truly had one, causing a halt to her whimpering.
"No matter what happens, I promise I will protect you, Tasha. ALWAYS."
Just the thought of his voice sent a relief of safety through her pale and nervous skin. Granted, she should have known the only reason he wasn't here right now was because she was looking for him in the first place. She had to be logical, but at the same time, logic should be the last thought of bindings that should hold his promise back. He promised, right? Adding an emphasis on 'always'. He should be her Superman. Her hero. The person she could rely on even in the darkest of times. Space shouldn't be a problem, so why would a van be?
Whilst arguing with herself in an attempt to find the reason she was searching for, a sudden flashback took her mind for a back ride.
-Flashback-
"Konami, can I ask you a question?" Tasha asked thoughtfully, walking side by side with Red Hat toward the Card Shop.
He smiled warmly. "Of course. What's on your mind?"
"Well, I know what you promised me was out of sincerity and from the heart, but... well, what if you aren't around to help me. What then?"
Konami's smile seemed to dim slightly, but he didn't sound worried one bit. "If that happens, then I would do my best to arrive as soon as possible."
"I'm serious, Konami." Tasha stared, her eyes glimmered with worry and sternfulness.
He completely frowned at this point. "Tasha..." He sighed inwardly, knowing a time like that could happen, and he wouldn't be around to prevent it either. He could stick by her side at all times, but she would also need her space. Konami knew that at least, since he knew how it felt around his Duel Academy times as well; how Jaden and his group kept nudging on him for even the slightest of things.
'Man, I'm really in the mood for a duel. Hey Konami, wanna throw down?' Every five god damn minutes!
Red Hat sighed once more, bringing himself back on the topic at hand. "If that happens, and this is a BIG if, then I want you to promise me that you would get out of trouble as soon as possible, okay?" He knew she meant danger, so he tried to level with her relevance as best as he could.
"I guess, but-"
"Now I'M serious, Tasha." Konami interrupted sternly, his eyebrows furrowing.
Tasha frowned as well. "Konami... I-"
"Promise." He stood, putting a hand on her shoulder, Tasha glanced at it like she wanted to decipher it's meaning, before looking back at Konami.
"I... I promise..."
-Flashback-
Tasha observed her surroundings, her mind in a capable state to at least try and keep that promise. The promise she made to Konami.
There were no windows at all, the claustrophobic place completely abandoning all source of light and entry except for the dim lightbulb on top and the enclosed back entrance respectively. It seemed futile, especially since there were big bulky men ready to keep a situation under control. But Tasha refused to give up, not knowing where this sudden feeling of encouragement and dedication came from in the first place.
"Konami..."
"You have to promise me to always have a beautiful smile on whenever things get tough."
Tasha smiled involuntarily, the ridiculousness of the promise hitting her funny bone.
Suddenly, the van stopped rattling, and felt like it stopped as well. Why were they stopping? Had they arrived at their destination already? Was it simply a pitstop?
One of the bulky men groaned. "Really? Why are we stoppin? Are we there already?"
"I'mma go check." Another one replied, lifting the entrance up with light shining through the darkness inside. Tasha had to squint her eyes in adjustment. The leader, Tasha could easily presume due to his orders earlier on, showed his face with a smile on that did not go well his cruel actions. He made her sick on an overall bases. They all did.
"Pitstop. If ya wanna take a leak, den I suggest you do it now, cause we 'bout to enter the city n' we still have a long way t' go."
They gazed at each other for a response before one of them nodded. "Yeah, if it's gonna take a while, then I guess I'll go."
"Good." His eyes then landed on Tasha, the man in question leaving his perimeter. "Hey dare cutie, how ya doin' back dare?"
Tasha squirmed and groaned through her duck tape.
"Hmm? Wud ya jus' say?" He gestured to one of his men, who waxed the tape off.
"Ow!" She cried, breathing a bit before glancing at the man outside.
"...Always have a beautiful smile..."
She did just that. All eyes were on her now. "H-Hey there, handsome. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind me sitting next to you in front? I promise to not go on." She fluttered her eyelids at him.
He chuckled. "Nice one. But you ain't gettin' drew me."
"I promise I would make it worth your while." She forced her smile in attempt to warm her way to his typical desire. Desire that people soon give into, except for Konami of course, which she still couldn't really solve why either.
It took him a while to answer, like he was pondering on the offer. "Well, except for your thin ass figure and disgusting slutty face, I don't see anything that would really tempt me at all. Not even your words."
Tasha kept her smile, his insults crawled her way to her 'file of reminders'. It could be true, or it could not, regardless it hurt like shit, even coming from a shit like himself. Though, she tried to ignore it as best as she could.
"But I have something others don't have though."
"Uh huh, and wud's dat?"
"Technique."
"Technique, huh?"
"Uh huh." She nodded, shuffling her way to him just to get stopped by his goons.
"No no, let her be."
She continued to smile, resuming her shuffle. If only her hands were not tied behind her back, then she could attempt a sexy crawl, even if she only observed and not done it personally. She was almost there, she could feel it.
"Tell me more of dis, technique of yours?"
"I can make you feel real good real quick." She bit her lower lip, feeling her inner personality being clouded by this attempted seduction she tried pulling off. She did not enjoy doing it, it reminded her of the time she saw others do it- which was around the time she was degraded- let alone do it for a guy she did not like, but it was the only way.
She wanted to keep her promise as much as she could.
For Konami.
"N' how ya gonna do dat?"
She leaned toward his ear, whispering, "Why don't you let me sit with you in private so you can find out."
"Boss." One of the men warned, but he raised his hand in annoyance, turning back to Tasha.
"I guess ya got my attention. But if ya try anything stupid..." He pulled out a silent pistol, frightening the children from behind. "...den ya dead. Hear me, bitch?"
Tasha smiled through her fear of the hole she stared at. The hole that could fire an object that would end it all for her. Something she tried to do a while ago, but was too chicken to even finish the job. All she had to do was screw it up and her pain would end. That was all she needed to do.
"...Loud and clear..." She gulped, her smile never leaving her though.
-5Ds-
The passenger seat's former owner did not enjoy the idea of being drafted all the way to the back, especially if it was to entertain the boss because he was needed of god damn release. I mean really, what about them? For all he knew, the proper way of dealing the situation was to gangbang the living shit out of her, but NO, their leader just had to be a selfish douchebag. He could only hope that the boss knew what he was doing.
"So, let's begin, shall we?" The driver rode, pushing on the pedal. Tasha tensed on her spot.
"B-Begin what?" She found herself asking, just to say hello to the hole once again.
"Sure, let's play that game, and then we immediately plug the cartridge of the sequel where I fuckin blow your brains off." He said calmly, like he was down either way. Tasha shivered, tensing even more.
"O-Oh, now I remember. You mean that thing."
"Yeah, whatever, just get down to business." He gestured his gun toward his pants, more specifically, where a certain something awaiting for her expected job.
Tasha gulped. She might have observed, but she couldn't speak out of experience, even if she sounded confident with herself back then. Tasha found herself more nervous and scared than when she suggested the idea in the first place. She did not want to continue, but what was she suppose to do?
Although, she could always just have him shoot her. It would be the easier way out, but she had a feeling the average human being would have broken long time ago though, if they were in her shoes. She was shocked to find herself still sane throughout her life up to this point. Sanity may have been her downfall when she tried tying the rope around her neck. It was the world, wasn't it? The world who wanted to see her suffer, even now. She hated every single moment of her life, well, besides the moments around Konami of course.
He was probably the one that was keeping her from doing something 'stupid' right now perhaps. If only she had not met him, then that piece of metal would have done a quick visit to her brain and out the other side, or wherever the bastard wanted to release it at. He kept her sane. He was the only one that she was looking forward to the most right now.
She didn't care about her life, because it literally meant nothing without him. But did really she wish to had not met him in the first place? Was it really worth the trouble? Was he really worth the trouble?
Of course he was! He may not be able to show empathy on her past, but he had sure as hell done a lot for her in her eyes, if not, more than anyone had before. If he could put up with her and try to improve her future, then the least she could do was show her gratitude by not practically committing suicide.
She needed to do it.
For him.
She exhaled, scooting over slightly toward the man with the gun, her body twisting a bit to get in position. She leaned downward with a frown, her head inching closer to the zipper. Her hand trembled as it took it's time.
"Today, bitch, today!"
"S-Sorry," she said, "b-but technique shouldn't be rushed, it takes time.". Suddenly, they hit a road bump, and she fell down on the uncomfortable bulge.
"Hah! Serves you right. Now get on with it otherwise I'll paint that seat of yours red." Tasha heard him say, glancing back up to the hole before averting back down. Her heart was racing at an accelerated rate, her throat stuck in her stomach. She had gotten this far, she couldn't screw it up just because she was frightened or nervous as fuck. She couldn't! But she didn't want to do it either. Wasn't there another way out?
"Oh my god, are ya seriously taking me for a shit right now, bitch?!" She heard the safety trigger going off, and she instinctively sped up temporarily. Her hand was now on the material. Her eyes went closed for a minute, not believing what she was about to do right now. "You playin me for a fool huh? Cause this is the most shittiest technique I've ever-" he suddenly agnized the crossroad's light turning red, forcing his foot on the brake.
She shot forward, banging her head against the front, her vision momentarily going blurry as she laid there, her body catching up to reality. A small trickle of blood tickled the last of her senses that could correspond.
"Oh, just die then." He simply stated, and just before he could pull the trigger, Tasha recovered and attempted to halt him.
"Wait!" She pleaded, gaining ground and getting back to her seat and quickly made to unzip his pants that seemed to have transparent twins.
She closed twice to adjust her vision.
"Now that's more like it."
'I really am a fucking chicken, huh?' She thought, realizing she was indeed scared to die. 'I don't deserve to live. Just pull the god damn trigger already!'
As if on cue, she heard a familiar voice. A voice she thought she wouldn't be able to hear anymore. Was she hearing things? Probably. But she needed to be sure of it. She sat up, looked through the window and saw him.
Her only friend.
Her body was flooded with relief and joy, knowing that all she needed to do was to get out and escape. If only the door wasn't locked, the unlock button on his side of the truck. But then the children that accompanied her came into mind. She couldn't just leave them like this, right? She had to save them as well. But how? The windows were tinted, and probably sound proof. Even so, she barely could get away herself, so how could Tasha be able to save herself AND the others?
She had to think of something, and what she thought seemed crazy at it's least judicial feet. So crazy that it might actually work. She stared to her right, pass the man and through the window, noticing that Sector Security's HQ was right next to them.
"Oh no, security!" She pointed out, the driver turning his head in panic, seeing the arrival of Sector Security through the building.
"Oh shit!" At that instance, he unknowingly placed the pistol on top of the deskboard and was about to put himself in a position of aggressive driving, both hands on the wheel. In the heat of the moment, he had obviously forgotten that the windows were tinted enough to compensate their presence. Tasha's eyes flew on the gun, and swiped it as fast as she could.
"Let go of the pedal!" Her voice cracked up with nerves more so than her shivering hands, pointing the dangerous object at his face of surprise. The touch of metal making her uncomfortable, knowing that she literally had the power in her hands to decide whether he lives or die.
He stared at her for a moment, took in the gun's aim before chuckling. "You don't know how to use that thing."
"Wanna bet?" She tried sounding confident, but her current position had gotten the best of her. Despite her failure, the leader frowned, backing up a few inches.
"Alright, alright, you crazy bitch."
"Konami!" She shouted, eyes not leaving his. "Konami!" She shouted again. She took a quick glance before gazing back at her target. So it was sound proof as well. Damn! She had to break the window then. But Tasha had to be quick about it; she couldn't give him an opening. There was no telling if she would be able to break glass like that with her bare hands though, so her best option was to use as much force as possible.
She swung the handle of the gun toward the backside of her, the driver easily depicting it as he tried grabbing it off of her, but caught her wrist, the firearm and Tasha's grip departing. The window shattered, it's debris making way for the object's exiting velocity.
"Ah, let go!" She flexed her leg and kicked him in his shin, forcing him to cry out in sudden pain, losing grip. She stared back at Red Hat, barely picking up the subtle movement of his lips.
"T-Tasha?"
-5Ds-
"Tasha!" Konami noticed the accelerating performance of the vehicle his unexpected friend was in. He tried sprinting for it, but it made a break for it at a speed he could not conquer. "Damn it! Yusei!" He rushed toward the teen and his friend, a look of confusion and concern and the another of apathy, respectively.
"We gotta go! Get on, you can explain later." Yusei revved, zooming down the lane after Konami jumped on and just before an officer could catch them, along with his comrades.
"Follow that truck!" Konami stated.
"I'm on it!" The crab-haired turbo duelist obliged, shifting gears as he homed in on the speeding vehicle.
Konami held on tight to the girl's waist as he continued the discomfort coming from the position he was in. He grimaced, Tasha's look of fear and horror burnt in his mind. She had to be in some sort of trouble, he just knew it. But when did it happen was the question? Who was her captor? Red Hat shook his head. It didn't matter. What did matter was rescuing Tasha. 'They better have hospital insurance after I'm done with them, whoever they are!' A voice rung through his head as he growled momentarily, a subtle light red glow burning in his eyes.
For a second there, Konami lost track of where he was, for some odd reason, but after observing his barely depictable blurry surroundings, the glow dispersed, and Red Hat was, for a lack of a better term, in his right mind once again.
Sooner than later, the truck had begun swerving slightly at random intervals, like it's driver was drunk or unlicensed. Konami could only assume that Tasha was fighting for her life.
Poor girl. She didn't deserve none of this. If only he had been more concerning and less distracted by other shit, then he may have been able to think and check up on her. Seriously, what was he thinking?!
The back entrance suddenly shot up in a swift manner, revealing guys with iron devices of some sort in their hands, along with the frightful expressions of scared little children.
Now, Konami was not really someone who judged or assume something with a low amount of evidence or anything to go by. But seeing those kids had given him the assumption of the untrackable Psychic Trafficking group.
Were they the people? The group that Konami was told to look for? He grimaced once more, disliking the sad expressions and poor condition the younglings were in.
"Hang on!" Yusei shouted through the engine, the two behind him doing just that as he took lean after lean to dodge as much objects as possible. Thank goodness they did not have any firearms. Not to take anything away from Yusei's driving skills, but the controversy in the front seats gave him the advantage in a way, with Tasha being battered each time she tried to intervene.
Bloody marks were now visible on her face, her clothes were torn on different ends and her lip thick due to a good wallop. But despite it all, she continued to interject, doing her best to stop the vehicle.
"Stop doing that! You're going to kill us all!"
But she didn't listen, and bit down on his arm, teeth dug deep in his skin, the taste of warm liquid rushing through her taste buds.
"Ah! Fuck! Damn you, you little piece of shit!" He cried out, banging his rock hard knuckles against her head in a constant rhythm, each strike stronger and more unbearable than the last. Her mind began to slowly lose consciousness, but she kept her teeth in there, practically digging even deeper. Red ran like a waterfall, fist jerking up and down like an unstoppable machine, the girl as stubborn as ever.
She didn't aim for it, but somehow, and she didn't know how though, Tasha had dug so deep that she literally had stolen a piece of him, his skin, veins, muscle and inner organs inside her bloody mouth, before she spat it out for another round.
"AAHH!" He cried out, the pain sending his left arm in a state of numbness, the man now only capable of turning with one hand. But he lost all sense of sanity, letting go of his control over the truck and leaped onto Tasha, his hand wrapped around her neck in a tight squeeze. "You fuckin bitch! Die already!"
Head bruised to a state of sub-consciousness, Tasha fought for her life in a half manner of care and apathy. She clawed, kicked, punched, struggled with as much energy she had left. But her vision was growing dark, her movement now subtle and weak. She was in a panic for air, but couldn't receive any. She placed her hands on his arm, the leader pushing his big hand against her neck with force, his nails practically digging in her skin just as she did him.
Her eyes rolled behind her head, her face turning blue and her lips turning purple. She tried inhaling like a fish on land. She failed. She tried exhaling like a relieved human she wished she was. She failed. She tried calling for help...
...She failed that too...
Was this really it? Was this the moment she had been waiting for all these years? To die? To finally lose her life?
Tasha had been bruised, beaten, brain-damaged, tortured, used, spat on, been called by many names, been defeated, been thrown away, been toyed with, been... been... everything! Now, the moment had finally arrived. She would laugh right about now, knowing that life never treated her fairly. When she wanted to die, she was denied. When she didn't wanted to die, she was denied. Unfortunately, she couldn't laugh either.
She failed at everything she did after all, even living. Thank goodness she couldn't fail 'dying' right now, right?
A sudden tear ran down her blue cheek, the salty liquid holding the thought of the one person she thought she could trust, and yet, failed her as well in the end.
Could she at least say goodbye to him? Hah! Fat chance.
Failure should've been her name, not Tasha...
Before her eyes could come to a close, before her body could even shut off, before her soul could leave, before her troubles could hit a dead-end, God had granted her, her wish to speak. To mutter. To mumble softly. To give way her finally word...
"...Ko-na-mi..."
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End of Chapter
*Sigh* Well, this chapter was certainly depressing to write. But, oh well, it is what it is.
Is Tasha really finish? Was that it? Is that how she exits Hero's Call once and for all?
Find out in the next chapter of Hero's Call!
No AlterWorld moment this time around, but probably would next time though.
Cheers!
