The Other Takino

Not-as-Thrilling-as-Advertised
13. Settling Accounts

Rated: M - English - Humor/Drama - Reviews: 77 - Updated: 11-02-10 - Published: 05-09-08 - id:4246838

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When Torako's senses returned she was lying on her side. She heard voices, but they sounded muffled and far away. She blinked something warm and wet out of her eyes as they tried to work; why did everything look red? She was looking at a pair of feet and wondered whose they were. Come to think of it, she wasn't even really sure what was going on. All she knew was that her head hurt and that she was having trouble thinking straight.

Gradually she began to make out the voices. "Come on Ikue, she might be really hurt." Who was that? A girl's voice; she recognized it, but she couldn't organize her thoughts to assign it to a name or a face.

"She's fine, I didn't throw it that hard." Another girl's voice, and one that was familiar enough to identify. Ikue Ohzawa.

"Leave her alone!" That one was Asagi, and she sounded frightened. She tried to turn her eyes to that voice, but she was having trouble focusing. "Torako! Torako, get up!"

"She's already bleeding, let's get out of here." A boy's voice. She recognized this one too.

"Shut up, I'm not finished yet." A foot prodded her. "Wake up, Takino."

Torako forced her head to turn, and she was looking up into Ohzawa's smirking face. She wasn't an unattractive girl, but she looked very ugly right now.

"Not so tough now, are ya?"

As her vision returned to normal she looked around. Asagi was lying on her stomach with her arms held behind her; Mifune was sitting on top of her, holding her down. Hagiwara was standing off to the side, looking nervous. Neither of them looked like they wanted to be there. She caught Asagi's gaze and she knew she was terrified.

Then Torako felt herself being lifted onto her knees by the collar of her shirt. "You know, when you first got me suspended," Ohzawa was saying, "I said if I ever caught up with you I'd put you in the hospital. To be honest though I didn't really mean it."

She knew what was coming, but she couldn't quite make the connection that she should do something about it.

"But then, somebody stuffed a dead guinea pig in our rain spout and dumped animal guts in our garden." She grabbed Torako's hair with one hand and drew back the other in a fist. "Who do you suppose that was?"

New pain as the fist connected, knocking her back to the ground. Asagi screamed for Ohzawa to stop as she was picked back up by her hair. "You may have fooled the cops, but not me," Ohzawa said, and punched her again.

"It wasn't her!" Asagi shouted. "She didn't do anything, leave her alone!"

"Shut the fuck up, Ayase," Ohzawa said over her shoulder.

Asagi hesitated. "It was me," she finally said.

Ohzawa let Torako flop over onto her side and turned to face her. "What was that?"

"I put the dead animals in your yard," Asagi said. "She had nothing to do with it." She watched in fear as Ohzawa turned and advanced toward her with clenched fists.

"Is that so?" she asked.

Torako picked herself up on her hands and knees as her mind began to function again. She turned her head to see Ohzawa heading for where Mifune was pinning Asagi to the ground, and knew she had to protect her. "Hey Ohzawa," she heard herself say as she took a stab in the dark. "I got your letters."

She stopped and turned back to look at her. "Huh?"

Torako smirked when she saw her expression. Bull's-eye. "I wish you'd had the guts to sign them, so I'd have known to kick your ass right then."

Yep, that did it, she thought as Ohzawa ran at her with a sound of inarticulate pain at old wounds reopened and anger at being rejected and slammed her foot into Torako's stomach with enough force to drive the air from her lungs. That . . . really hurt a lot, she thought as she fell onto her side and wheezed for air.

"I'm gonna kill you, you bitch!" Ohzawa's foot lifted back, then slammed into Torako's midsection again. She brought her foot back again and kicked her a third time, then a fourth.

Ohzawa's foot raised back again, and Torako made her move, reaching out and grabbing her other ankle. Before Ohzawa could react she pulled with all her strength, yanking her foot out from under her and bringing her crashing down onto the pavement. As she lay there cursing Torako forced herself to get to her feet and finally managed to fill her lungs.

She didn't wait for her to get back up; Ohzawa was still on one knee when Torako's fist drove into the side of her face. She grabbed her shirt to keep her from falling, then pounded her face again. Ohzawa was grabbing at her arm now, getting to her feet and trying to back away. She lashed an arm out, catching Torako across the face, but it was too poorly aimed to do much more than annoy her.

Torako was drawing her fist back to hit her again when she felt someone jump onto her back and two skinny arms wrapped around her throat. Shit, she'd almost forgotten about Hagiwara. Letting go of Ohzawa, Torako stumbled back and grabbed at Hagiwara's arms as they began to cut off her airway. As she fought the wiry runt she saw Ohzawa coming in to attack her undefended front, so she leaned forward and spun her body around.

Persistant as she was Hagiwara still weighed even less than Torako, and she was carried along for the ride. As she spun centripetal force swung her legs out, catching Ohzawa right across the face as she tried and failed to stop her charge in time. As she staggered to a stop Torako positioned her back to the grass and held tight to Hagiwara's arms so she couldn't let go. Then she leaned forward, pushing her hips back and using them as a fulcrum to lift her unwanted passenger off the ground. As Hagiwara kicked her legs Torako bent hers and then pushed off, throwing herself backwards through the air.

Torako landed hard with Hagiwara under her. As they came down she heard a wheezing gasp as the air was crushed out of Hagiwara's lungs and she felt something crunch against the back of her head as it snapped back. Torako rolled off of her to see tears running down Hagiwara's face as she tried to breathe and to stop the flow of blood from her broken nose. Then she saw Mifune, still sitting on top of Asagi. They were both wearing the same look of surprise.

She was getting up to attack Mifune when she was tackled back to the ground by an enraged Ohzawa. As she tried to roll over Ohzawa began pounding her fist into Torako over and over again, not bothering to aim so much as do as much damage as possible. Desperately Torako thrust a bony elbow up into her stomach, and when she doubled over she twisted around and punched her in the eye. Ohzawa yowled and fell over, and Torako got on top of her and drew back her fist. As she started to punch her Ohzawa grabbed her face, trying to gouge her eyes, and her thumb went into her mouth. As she changed tactics to trying to tear her cheek Torako felt a knuckle slip between her molars and bit down hard. Ohzawa yowled and she tasted blood before the hand was yanked away. Torako's arm hesitated, then paused. Pinned beneath her Ohzawa was sobbing, holding her bleeding thumb as the blood from her nose and split lip mixed with her tears and the water begining to spatter on her face. Torako was dimly aware that it had begun to rain.

Torako got to her feet and took a stumbling step back away from Ohzawa. She looked down at her, then back at Hagiwara, laying on her side in the grass and looking up at her with an expression of pure terror. I've gotta get out of here, she thought as she turned to leave, and locked eyes with Mifune. He was staring at her like a deer in the headlights, frozen by the shock of what he'd just seen. As they made eye contact he must have realized just what it was he was doing, because he suddenly looked down at Asagi pinned beneath him with a horrified expression and hurriedly got to his feet.

Torako forgot about getting out of there as she started towards him. "You GET AWAY FROM HER!" she roared. He was just stepping away from Asagi when Torako charged, catching him in a running tackle that sent them both flying through the air and into the grass. As Mifune tried to scuttle back away from her Torako got on top of him and began swinging punches into his face. She wasn't defending herself now; Mifune had posed no threat to her when this had started, and especially not now. Now she was acting on pure rage; he'd been the one who'd attacked her friend, and he was going to pay.

As her arm came back for another swing into his bloody face someone grabbed her wrist and she felt herself yanked to her feet. Then Asagi was running, dragging her away and leaving their assailants bleeding in the rain. As she ran Torako's head cleared and the full impact of what she'd just done sank in. I just beat the shit out of three people. She heard laughter then, and realized it was her. Soon Asagi was laughing along with her, two girls, one pulling and the other bleeding, laughing like maniacs as they ran full tilt through the downpour.

They didn't know how far they'd gone by the time they came to a bench beneath an overhang and stopped. They didn't even know where they were; Asagi had just started running, intent only on getting them both out of there. As they laughed and caught their breath Asagi acted on impulse, throwing her arms around Torako. Then the laughter suddenly ceased and Torako's eyes went wide as Asagi leaned in and pressed her lips to hers.