Before heading home, Chika leads Akihiko to a metal works shop she saw her former students walk in and out of in the past. In retrospect, it should have struck her as odd. Her past exchange with the police force back home must have desensitized her. Once they enter they are greeted by a balding redhead with gashes across his face. He's standing behind a counter covered with weapons he had been working on. To the left, beautifully crafted armor rests on a stand.
"Have you come to look at my art? …Please, look around. Take your time," says the gruff voice of the owner.
…Art? Okaaay…
Akihiko, unfazed, goes to him and has a conversation about fighting. Figures, the only thing he notices is the battle scars. Chikara rolls her eyes and scans the room. Sure, these things look nice, but…they're not the weapons she has grown accustomed to. She tilts the upper half of her body to the right to get a quick glance of the back. Maybe he…yes!
"Excuse me!" she says while straightening herself. "Are those fireworks for sale?"
Chikara used the last of her cash to get a giant box of fireworks that even Akihiko has some difficulty carrying. Why not? As soon as she gets her persona back she's going straight home. No reason to stay with the bad memories...
"You know you can't use those at your apartment, right?" Akihiko speaks up. "You'd give your neighbors a heart attack."
"Course I know that," Chikara narrows her eyes and stares at the floor.
The sun begins setting by the time they make it home. With a grunt, Akihiko puts the box on the floor next to the coffee table, worried that its weight would snap the furniture in two. Once he turns to face his wife, she had her fists at the ready and a glint in her eye.
"What're you doing, Chika?" Aki wonders.
"I know you. You've been itching for a fight since you got here. I'll give you that fight," Chikara is in a stance, feet placed firmly on the ground. "Come on, my style against yours."
Aki raises an eyebrow, both confused and intrigued. Is this what she meant by preparation? …So be it. Aki removes his black suit jacket and throws it at the couch behind him. He puts up his fists and smirks. He knows going easy on her would be a mistake.
"Alright," is all Akihiko says before he lunges at her. Chikara grins and grabs the extended arm with one hand, pressing on Aki's back with the other. She whirls Aki around her and slams him against a nearby wall. His cheek pressed against the concrete, Chika twists his trapped arm into a painful position behind him.
"Try not to get blood on my carpet, okay, honey?" Chika whispers coyly. Her teasing is cut short by an elbow jutting into her ribcage. While stumbling back, she accidentally lets go. Aki lands an uppercut to the chin. It matters little whether Chika has a strategy; her husband has always been stronger than her. He's clearly holding back but her ears are ringing.
"Don't worry, I won't," says the boxer, giving Chika a taunting 'come here' gesture.
"Ooh, I might actually have to take you seriously…" Chika says.
Kanji feels that he at least owes the woman a visit, like she did for him. He wasn't given a chance to get what he needed off of his chest because the others were around and they probably would've stopped him. And that guy, Akihiko…What's with that look he gave him? If he had a problem with him, Kanji had no problem settling it…
He reaches the apartment complex and lifts his hand to knock. He hears something slam against the wall on the other side.
"Nngh! Come on, Aki, you can do better than that!" says a muffled Chikara.
"I don't…think you can…take much more, honey…" says a strained-sounding Akihiko. Another crash.
"Hah…Hah…Such a hypocrite…"
Kanji's hand immediately goes back down. Without a word, without even imagining what the hell's going on in there, he does an about-face and walks away.
After a while, the exhausted coupled ends up on the floor. Chikara is half-conscious, lying on top of her husband. By some miracle, Akihiko slipped up, so she came out victorious.
"Hi," Chika says with as strong a smile as she could manage. She could see a mixture of her sweat and blood dripping onto Aki's drenched face. She wipes the source with the bandage-covered arm, hoping it would soak it up.
"Hey," Aki smirks. "…So that was fun."
"Yeah."
"I love you."
"…Random…" the former teacher raises an eyebrow. She then figures that it's either now or never. "Alright, spill. Why do you choose such weird times to be all lovey-dovey?"
"Wait, is that what this was about? So you can pin me down and get me to talk?"
"Not at first…"
"…" Aki sighs. He's too tired to pry the girl off of him and she's not the type to drop things. "Well, it's like you said. It took me forever to accept you as a woman and, later, a lover. It's just…I dunno, when I'm in danger, when I'm feeling challenged, that's when I feel the most like myself, if that makes sense. If I'm having a regular conversation then yes, I am embarrassed about talking about you as my wife, but not because of you. It never was. I just…freeze up. …Whenever I'm in a fight, I think about you, all the time."
Well, that explains the 'my girl' comment in the TV world, among other things. Chika, dumbfounded that she didn't notice sooner, starts chuckling and shaking her head.
"You're such a dork, you know that?" she says. "…But I love you too."
Bunny clenches onto Teddie's back when she hears laughter in the distance. The distinct voice definitely comes from Chikara's shadow. It is cold…monstrous…It lasts for a solid minute before it dies down, possibly from running out of breath. Even then, it echoes…mocking them. Bunny shivers, letting Teddie know she hasn't recovered yet.
"She'll be gone tomorrow. I swear it," Teddie assures.
"I don't get it…What's so funny?"
"Maybe she heard one of my puns. They'd slay anybody, heh heh," Teddie tries to get Bunny back to her old self by provoking her, but it doesn't work. She simply sighs and says "Teddie Bear…". The clown's nose wrinkles. What on Earth is wrong with the girl's voice? It sounds…what was it, higher?
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"What're you talking about?" her voice is normal now. Maybe he imagined it? …Now that he thinks about it, He also noticed a sudden difficulty in keeping her on his back. Her limbs seem so far away all of a sudden. Sure, Teddie has stubby arms, but she's definitely shorter than he remembers. The bear smiles for a split second. The fog might be losing its effect on her…
