The Borderlands truly were an amazing place to be. Everyone here – including Niragi – was wrecked up and rotten to the core. Most of those people probably had tried to keep at least a neutral appearance back in their world, but now that all rules had been taken away, their true nature was showing. And it was ugly.
Finally, outer appearances resembled the true characters hidden underneath layers of dirt and blood, not overlaid by superiority anymore, but a grimace of fear and hatred. This place didn't change a person, no. It simply revealed what people used to be oblivious to for way too long.
Humans were despicable creatures. And when one came to accept that fact, life in the Borderlands was nothing but joy.
Niragi felt no sympathy for those who tried to escape this place, even less after the Beach had been established. This utopia, created by their leader, Hatter, who let his subjects treat him like a god although he was as dirty as the rest of them.
But Niragi wouldn't complain. The Beach was a wonderful place, really! It had everything – food, drinks, women. Weapons.
It had been a good thing to join Aguni and become part of the Militants keeping the people in line. The best part of this job was the privilege to carry weapons whenever he wanted. Niragi was free to choose, free to threaten… sometimes even free to kill.
Weapons were able to change someone. It was a fact Niragi had learned the hard way, but now he was not on the poor side facing the end of a swinging bat any longer. Now he was the one wielding the gun and causing tears and shaking limbs. People feared him.
This fear was better than any kind of alcohol. It was the most powerful drug existing even in such a wrecked place, because despite Hatter being the number One, Niragi could easily feel like a god. If he told someone to lick the dirt from his shoe, to do whatever he told them to as long as there was a weapon in his hand, people would do it.
They would whimper, beg, cry for mercy. But Niragi knew that there was no use with that. Begging wouldn't help, because it hadn't helped him either. His bullies hadn't stopped only because he pleaded them to, and he wouldn't stop as well. He would never be stopped. And he would never have to beg for anything again.
"Heard there were some newbies comin'", a voice next to him cackled, causing Niragi to turn around his head. He had been watching the patio from his seat on the bar, not yet sure if he wanted to have some fun tonight or not. Many women were throwing side-glances towards him all the time. Some of them were definitely willing to spend the night with him, but a majority was simply afraid either because of what they had experienced or what they had been told.
Niragi quickly became bored by the whores that threw their arms around his shoulders, openly begging him to take them. That wasn't the fun he was looking for, not the challenge that was able to wake his passion.
He only knew a handful of exceptions to this: girls that wanted to have him, but managed to perfectly hide their lust behind a fake wall of fear and averseness. Both sides knew the truth, but the acting was brilliant enough to make up for it. But since those were really rare, he usually went for true fear.
"Let's hope there's someone useful", he answered with a grin. Next to him stood another one of the Militants; a member who had joined the Beach not even a week ago. Rev had dirty brown hair with paling blue highlights in it and was visibly strong, although he couldn't compete with Aguni in any way. Niragi had never cared to ask what exactly that shortcut stood for either. Rev.
"Pretty sure I've spotted at least one before they went to Hatter's welcome. Blonde. Fake tits. Might have been a model." Taking a beer as well, Rev leant back against the counter and moved his eyes along the players crowding inside and around the pool. Niragi hummed, and stuck out his tongue to one of the girls who passed him with huge eyes and shaking hands. He remembered the way she had screamed in his room a couple of nights ago. A wonderful memory.
While he wasn't really the one for plastic bodies, it definitely sounded worth checking the fresh meat. That was the good thing about Rev: he never asked questions, and he was in for almost everything Niragi planned to do. Bludgeon someone to unconsciousness? Rev would hold the body up to the last minute. Enjoy himself with a rebellious woman? The one making sure there were no unwanted bites or beats would be Rev.
The beer in his hands had turned stale and warm, so Niragi threw the half-emptied bottle against the head of one of the maintenance boys. The poor little thing didn't even dare to protest or shout at him; and even from his position, Niragi could see the tears being swallowed down as shaky hands collected the shards on the ground.
"Well then", he chuckled while he played around with his tongue piercing, "can't be bad to welcome them! Hah."
Hatter's welcome instructions never lasted too long, and it couldn't be bad to be the first when it was over to avoid someone else picking out the best ones. Niragi wasn't interested at all in the women who had already shared a bed with Aguni or the leader himself.
Rev followed behind him, not making any further comments as they ascended the stairs towards the saloon. All Niragi heard were heavy footsteps and the sipping of beer, followed by a loud burp once in a while. His rifle rested heavily on the shoulder, but it was a pleasant weight, since Niragi knew what impact it had on people and how much power it gave him. It would do a great job intimidating those newcomers as well.
In fact, it didn't take long for the double-winged door to open. Niragi lingered at the opposite wall and expected the blonde model to walk into the hallway, but the first one to peak their head through the opening was someone completely different.
And yet it was a face Niragi knew better than anything else.
The evil grin appearing on his face twitched as he felt the familiar hate swell up inside his body, only that he wasn't scared of it any longer. Instead, he embraced the heat, fed it with the rage that had been swallowed down all those years until it was not only a small flame, but a firestorm. Never had he thought that he'd see this face again. For such a long time, he had indeed prayed to whatever deity would listen that their paths would never cross again.
Things had changed since then, though.
"What do you say, a familiar face!"
Takagi Mosu had changed throughout the years. He wasn't the athletic and popular high school boy any longer – suffering from a loss of hair over his temple, his skin reddened and bloated, sweat and dirt covering the protruding belly. But those eyes were still the same, only that there were glasses covering them now. It seemed that after all those years, Takagi still thought himself superior over everything. A lie that'd soon become unmasked.
Blinking a few times in surprise, Takagi tried to connect the loose wires in his head to remember who exactly was talking to him. Sure, Niragi had changed too, but at least it had been to the better. Glasses made way for contact lenses, nerdy books had been replaced by piercings and neat weapons.
The realization hit the stout man at the same time as he took notice of the rifle. Watching him swallow was such a satisfaction, but it would not nearly be enough.
"Whoa, is that you, Niragi?" Takagi took a step forward, a huge grin on his face that didn't reach the attentiveness in his eyes. "Cool to see you, buddy. We are cool, right?"
Niragi wanted to shoot him right here and now. That grin was so obviously fake that it couldn't convince anyone, and to believe that he'd have forgotten a single thing that had happened in the past… But he played along – for now.
As he opened his mouth to give an answer, two women left the saloon as well. One of them was the model Rev had been talking about: tall, more silicone in her breasts and lips than real skin on her bones, and no matter how much facial surgeries she'd had, it had only gotten worse with each time. Definitely not what he was looking for, although Rev straightened his body behind him.
The other one was the complete opposite, with chocolate-colored skin and wild curls sticking to all directions. She was dressed more casual and less like a whore, but that wouldn't matter anyway since the Beach required bathing clothes at all times for those who were not privileged enough.
While the tall bitch had already started to exchange filthy looks with Rev, the smaller woman wrapped her arms around Takagi's chest, eyeing everything around her with insecurity filling the hazel orbs.
She wasn't exactly beautiful with some kilos too many sitting on her hip and a nose too flat and wide for his taste, but the fact alone that she seemed to matter to Takagi made her interesting. And there was something else… something with her hair. Whenever she turned her head, sparks of gold and blonde would shine through, giving the otherwise brown hair an unnatural touch. Dyed with no doubt.
It reminded Niragi of a certain thing; an image or memory from his past…
And then he realized.
That dark skin, the golden accents of her hair. She reminded him of a sunflower.
In that moment, Niragi realized exactly how he would get his revenge, both for what Takagi had done to him in the past and for the sunflowers mocking him although they had promised to shelter him from any danger.
"Yeah", he replied with a click of his tongue, "we're cool."
From the corner of his eye, he noticed how the blonde started to walk and Rev turned to follow her, but Niragi grabbed his arm. Rev didn't seem to mind too much, but the whore made a pout before she disappeared down the stairs. Most likely she had hoped to get fucked either before, while or after changing into her swimwear, but it'd have to wait. He still needed Rev for something else.
Throwing a side glance at the other Militant, he took a step towards Takagi. "Actually…" the chocolate girl tried to hide behind her boyfriend, and Niragi made sure she could perfectly see his tongue piercing while he continued, "we're here to escort you."
Rev immediately played along but didn't give away anything other than a half-knowing smirk. Instead he started to walk ahead, leading them to a part of the first floor that definitely didn't contain any private rooms.
Takagi seemed to be relieved at the thought of finally getting to rest, but the girl next to him was still suspicious about the whole thing. Maybe it was the Beach as a whole intimidating her, maybe it was just Niragi and Rev. Either way, she definitely had a better sense for coming danger than her boyfriend.
The newbies followed Rev with Niragi coming in last, and he recognized a plain silver ring on Takagi's hand. "'s she your wife?" he grinned, but the answer was a shaking head.
"We met here, during our first game."
"Ohh!" Neither of the two love birdies seemed to feel comfortable with his tone. "You're cheating, then. Huh. Now, now – what will wifey say to this!" It was just like Niragi had thought a thousand times already. Everyone coming to the Borderlands was wrecked. No one here had morals, no one was a good person. Even this innocent looking woman here sure had a secret. It was always the cutest ones with the darkest mysteries.
Before anyone could say something more, Rev came to a halt and opened a plain looking door to the right. There was no room number, no spyhole, not even a carpet on the ground. He held up his hand to invite them inside, and Takagi and his girl did as they were told.
They only took a couple of steps before turning round to Niragi, who feasted on the puzzled faces that grew more anxious as they examined the windowless storeroom. A sole light bulb was flickering on the ceiling, and the floor was dirty and scratched. Shelves and broken tables covered the walls, and there was a dusty sofa that had once been green but had turned to a dirty grey within the years.
"You… you said you'd escort us to our room", lady chocolate whispered in a high-pitched voice. Her Japanese was fluid, but she spoke in an accent that Niragi hadn't heard before. It sure sounded interesting, and he'd have lots of fun making her talk – or cry – more.
Not only did she seem to have a good intuition, but she seemed to be quite smart as well. At least smart enough to realize that Niragi wasn't their friend – and neither was Rev.
He chuckled, a cold and dry sound that spared no pity for the man who had once hurt him day after day, week after week. What an irony that this exact man was now cowering in front of him, sweat running down his forehead and breath going quickly while fear took a hold of him.
"Oh no." Niragi adjusted the gun on his shoulder, bringing his dangerous weapon back into the focus of the couple in front of him. The fat bastard who thought his past could be erased just like that and the woman mocking him with her sheer appearance.
He could smell their fear. It was like a drug, empowering. Thrilling. Promising. "I never said that it'd be your room."
And with a loud thud, the door slammed shut behind him.