23! - Just Like Her
Several Years Ago...
"I have to thank you again. This was very generous of you, Ms. Kujaku." The woman smiled towards the blonde. Mai gave a small smile back and looked down below at her nails. Much to her surprise, the short woman had a thing for acrylic manicured nails just like she did. It was a surprise to see such a powerful woman like herself getting her nails done. This was the same woman who could lift a garbage truck and toss it at a skyscraper. The same woman who could slash the throats of fifty men at once, if she so desired. But then again, this was the same woman who could move her body in a hypnotic dance to captivate anyone in an instant. The same woman who could sing, and contort her body graciously with inhuman flexibility. Still, she was what a lot of men would call a 'shrew'. She was no girly-girl, and she hated most stereotypical feminine things like the color pink. With all that in mind, she was definitely interesting.
Mai took a liking to this woman. She was powerful, she was beautiful and she had more sex appeal than anyone she's ever known. Even more than herself. She was the most powerful soldier in the entire facility, and she was ranked as number one. She was even recently put down in government history as one of the best D75 agents of all time, and physically the most powerful agent of all time. She was everyone's favorite, and she was ruthless to nearly anything. Though Mai was slightly older than her, she found herself looking up to her. Or rather, down on her. She was quite short. Unfortunately, this strong woman was now on standby, as she found out some devastating news some time ago.
She was pregnant.
Apparently, the news angered her so much, she hollered how she didn't want it and how she wished she could rip it out of her stomach right at this moment. She didn't want to be held back because of some baby, and she hated the man who she slept with. Hell, she couldn't even meet him anymore due to obvious circumstances. That'd be one huge scandal. She despised the fact that she was pregnant, and even more despised the fact that she was a female. Being a female made you automatically vulnerable to situations like this, and she felt so foolish that she allowed this to happen. That was, until she saw an ultrasound. She had a change of heart. Even though ultrasounds were relatively, odd and weird looking, she found the entire experience heart warming. Though she didn't want to admit it, she didn't need to. She didn't say a word, as her decision was made when she didn't request for an abortion.
So now, she was given less missions that required heavy work. She couldn't work out as much anymore, she couldn't train or help out her teammates. She was a useless third wheel and she hated it so much. But, she was starting to deal with it day by day. Finally coming to terms with the fact that, she was going to have this baby eventually, and she wouldn't turn back. Today, she told Mai, as she didn't have many female friends in the facility besides **** and Ishtar. However, **** would be gone soon. She wouldn't see her as much anymore since she ended up pregnant too. N3KR05, or ****** was the only male friend she had besides Dartz. These were the only four people who knew that she was pregnant. Dartz, Mai, **** and *****. If the higher ups or any other veteran knew that she was 'with child', they'd take it away the second she popped it out. She didn't want that, but she didn't come up with a plan yet to escape this. **** was off doing something risky to counteract that, but it was way too dangerous and she knew she wouldn't get far with her friend if they so suddenly disappeared together. Sadly, she had to just trust them all that they wouldn't tell and come up with a plan later.
After she told Mai, she tiredly requested if she could help her out with her nails. They got chipped the other day while fighting, something she definitely shouldn't have been doing since she was pregnant, and she wanted them redone. Mai was an expert in doing nails, so she gladly obliged. "It's no problem. A girl deserves to relax once in a while." Mai replied.
"'Guess I'm gonna be relaxing a lot more after this," She sighed. "Ugh..."
"I know it's hard, but at least you want it."
"Yeah, now I do. I just wish I didn't do this to myself now of all times. I'm at the prime time of my life right now. I'm not even twenty five and I've already got a fuckin' kid on the way. Like, really? Why now? Why me? Oh dios..." Wow. Her Japanese was so good that Mai almost forgot she was a foreigner, and that she had a thicker accent with certain words.
"You've just gotta find a way to get out of here. I know that's easier said than done but-"
"No, it needs to be done. Easy or not, I can't stay here. Not with him inside of me." She placed her right hand, the one Mai just finished painting and drying not too long ago, onto her stomach. She wasn't gaining that much weight yet, and she wasn't showing all that much. It was only a matter of time though. "He needs, better than this." She sucked her teeth and scowled. "Maybe I should've followed **** when I had the chance, but now she's gone. She would have helped me, but I would have put a target on her and her new husband." Her eyes lowered sadly. "We could have had them together. She's having a boy too, you know."
Mai shook her head. "No, they're looking for her and *** right at this moment. And while I hope they remain hidden, it won't be long before they're found. Just like you said, if you joined them you all would've been in danger." She shrugged while dipping her paintbrush into the small bottle of clear polish. "You already heard about ******'s little boy, didn't you? That poor kid's trapped. The second he gets out of elementary school, that's it."
She angrily bit her bottom red painted lip. "I know, but it shouldn't be this way! I mean, why do they have to be cursed too? They don't deserve this, they didn't ask to be born."
The blonde placed the brush down after she finished putting on the second coat, and crossed her arms on the desk. She made a small sigh and closed her eyes. She hated that this was happening to her. She wouldn't wish this on anyone. "Well that's men for ya. They don't have it as bad as we do. Sure ****** lost his boy too, but he won't have that same connection as his wife will. It'll devastate her more."
The woman in front of her blinked and narrowed her eyes. "Really? Why?"
Mai blinked back. The hell did she mean 'why'? "Well, because they grow inside of us. We're the ones who push them out, men are just the suppliers."
Well that was a close minded way of looking at things, she thought to herself. "I mean yeah but, you've seen him with his little boy too, right? He loves that kid more than anything. Probably loves him more than his wife."
"So what? Men will never have that same connection as a woman will."
The small woman looked at her scarlet red polished nails, and blew on them lightly to dry them. "Maybe, but I'll tell you what," She put her hands down onto the desk as well. "I didn't have that special connection when I found out I was pregnant. I was beyond angry, and I'm still kind of unsure of it now." She shrugged. "Maybe that'll change when I have the damn thing, but some women don't have that feeling either. There are some men who love their kids more than the woman does, who love being a father more than they like being a mother. And while that's kind of rare, I've seen that happen before."
"Oh yeah?" Mai raised a plucked eyebrow. "Where?"
"In my homeland, Alexandria. My father loved me a thousand times more than my mother ever could." She said with slight bitterness. "So while I kind of agree that there is a certain connect we girls have with our kids after we have them, it doesn't mean men can't feel it when they hold them in their arms."
What the hell was this? Why was she defending such a terrible race of degenerates? "I thought you were a feminist."
"A feminist..!?" The short one exclaimed in disgust. "Laa, laa, absolutely not!" She wrung her hands out a bit more to make her nails dry a little faster. She chuckled a little. "Listen, while I adore the idea of being treated equally as a man when it comes to being respected and paid, I am by no means a feminist. They've got too much of a bad rep. And while I'm sure they're not all bad, there are a lot of bitches who'd rather be superior than equal. And I don't wanna be associated with that. I love men, thank you very much. I mean, that's why I got knocked up in the first place." She could see Mai's shocked and repulsed expression. "What, you really thought I was?"
"Well, yes! You're the most outspoken and headstrong female in the entire facility."
The short woman laughed even harder. Thanks to the fact that she a had a deeper voice than most women, which helped her sound either more powerful or more sensual in certain situations, it made her laughter sound even hardier. "Just because I'm an asshole, doesn't mean I'm a feminist! Hahahaha!" She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "I was raised by my baba and he was a great man. He taught me how the world works in the eyes of a man, and how it would more than likely treat a woman. He prepared me to be belittled, he prepared me to be more than just some emotional whiny damsel in distress with a snatch for a crotch. He's the one who taught me how to be tough. I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for him." She could still see that Mai did not like a word she was saying out of her mouth. "Look, the world needs men, just like the world needs us. Isn't that what that 'equality' bullshit's all about? These girls preach about it like a damn bible, and yet they're the first ones to cry abuse the second a man gets a little irritated with their dumb ass arguments."
Mai immediately stood up, her heels clicking violently as she did so. As she placed her fists down on the desk, her knuckles laying against the hard metal surface. "All men are good for is talking out of their asses and being man-whores!" She clenched her teeth. "All they do is abuse and use women until they're worth nothing! I've never seen any man play nice with a woman unless it was for their own personal game!"
The other just made a confused expression. "But, not all men are like that. Plus, you do realize we girls are a whole lot better at tricking and manipulating, right? We get away with more shit. Ah, for instance," She stood up as well and walked around her chair. "Say a man is in a consensual intimate relationship with a female minor. He's automatically a creep. But if a woman does it with a male minor, then it's 'overlooked' and everybody else just thinks the kid scored with a hot teacher. Or let's say a woman is allegedly constantly harassed at work from her boss, but anyone will believe her even if she's lying just to get him fired. But if a man accuses a woman of harassing or even harming him, no one believes him because...Haha, well, a man being abused? That's just unheard of!" She tilted her head at Mai. "You see what I'm getting at here? No lie, a lot of men in this world are huge fucking scumbags who deserve a fate worse than death, but women aren't any better babe. In fact, dare I say it, we're worse. Because we're smarter, we're sneakier, and we can get away with more than they can."
The blonde narrowed her purple eyes slowly. Yes, she was starting to get the picture here, and she was starting to see this woman in a much dimmer light. "...Tell me, why don't you like Section 3 of D75?"
The small one snorted another short laugh. "You wanna talk about degrading? Well that whole 'seduction' shit is super sexist. I mean, all the girls are automatically put there whether they like it or not just because they don't have something dangling between their legs." She put her hand up on her hip. "You know how many androgynous boys I've seen here that could have done a way better job at seduction than I could? At least a dozen. You know, before they were killed in the play pen. I mean, look at Dartz! All that guy needs to do is to never stop shaving and get a little plastic surgery done. Bam, a woman. He doesn't even need make up, he's already pretty. Personally, I think everyone should learn that, not just us. What if the target is a woman? Hell, what if the target is gay?"
Mai's eyes widened.
Homosexual?
********* chuckled a little. "Okay I know there aren't a lot of gay people, but we don't know that. They could be hiding in the closet. You know how many gay and bisexual notorious serial killers there are? A whole damn lot." She paced towards the other side of the desk. "I don't know, I just don't think that section should be so one-sided. I can't tell ya how many times I failed at seducing a guy during a mission, simply because he didn't give a shit about my tits and ass. And let's be honest," She swatted her hand on her own behind as a gesture. "You, me, that Ishtar chick and **** are some of the nicest looking women in here. Unlike the rest of these stick-figured girls, we've actually got some meat. I'm the best in almost every section, including Section 3, and I still failed plenty of times trying to seduce a man. Simply cause that shit don't always work. Even though most men will fuck anything, being ugly still might not work out for ya. Hahaha, looks like we got lucky, if you can even call it that."
The taller woman refused to listen to this nonsense any longer. None of this was true, women were ultimately superior no matter what! "That's, not true...None of that is."
With a pause, the shorter woman frowned. "...What the fuck happened to you? What made you warp your whole perspective on the concept of gender?" She asked with a genuine tone.
Mai looked down to the desk. "My father abused my mother to death, and then he abused me." She confessed. She slowly sat back down in her chair and tightened her fists. "But anytime he wanted to touch me in that way, he became a lot nicer. I used that to my advantage for years until I was strong enough to run away." She gripped her nails in the metal. "I returned to him soon after, persuading him not to be angry at me for leaving if I let him touch me one more time. Just as the fucker was about to climax, I cut it off." She scoffed. "I didn't even finish the job, I let him bleed out just like that. He destroyed my mother and he destroyed me. He deserved it. But it didn't stop with him," She rose her head a little. "The more I traveled on my own, the more I saw just how disgusting men were. Beating and forcing girls into prostitution, beating them down like rag dolls if they didn't act obedient. Soaplands and strip clubs...Then I see mothers raising their little girls the same way, while they raise their boys to be just as violent and stupid as their fathers were." She looked ********* in the eyes again, this time with fury and pent up sorrow. "The political powers of this world, the higher ups who are mostly men, they're all horrible! They're the ones who enforced the rule to take away your babies! They're evil! They're all evil! You aren't a real woman if you take their side!" She screamed while slamming her fists on the desk. The glass bottle of nail polish fell onto the floor and shattered.
********* made a small smirk at her little tantrum. "...I see what your problem is now," She summed it up in only a few words. "You're what they call a femi-nazi, not an actual feminist." Once she passed the insult, Mai's mouth nearly dropped. "Sorry to burst your bubble and all, but the main founder of D75, who was a woman by the way, was the one who declared that any one who procreated, were to give up their children to the organization to be trained as soldiers for the new generation. Not a man." Before Mai could retort, she held up a newly manicured finger to shut her up. "It's in those old books in the top secret file room. How D75 was created, the founders, it's all in there. Word for word. If you don't believe me, take a gander for yourself." She pushed her chair forward to let it rest next to the desk and began to walk away. "Listen, I'm sorry about your past. That's, really fucked up. I was never raped or molested so, I don't get it. And I've seen men do some really fucked up stuff to people. But just because there's a few bad apples, doesn't mean the whole basket's been tainted." She was gradually getting closer to the door, her exit. "Let's not forget, I'm the one who put myself in this situation. My mother, even though she didn't want me, was stupid enough to get herself pregnant with a man who didn't love her. Men may be assholes, and they may be pretty stupid too, but like I said before," She grasped the door knob and turned it to open it.
She took one step out, her long hair flowing from the small gust of wind that blew in. Mai's eyes shook violently with rage as she watched her leave.
"Women aren't that much better, Ms. Mai."
She left.
"And you're sure of this?"
Mai nodded her head once, and slid over the four positive pregnancy tests that were placed in a plastic bag. It had her DNA, and they were all positive. "Yes, sir."
Gozaburo pursed his lips. "I see, this isn't good. While I despise that midget, she's the best we've ever had. She's better than the veterans, even the Superiors themselves don't stand a chance against her. This'll definitely be a problem. After all, she's not one to give in that easily. But," He sighed. "She put herself in this situation, and she's not a fool. We've already got Mr. and Mrs. Sennen on the radar, she knows she can't follow their lead and run off too." The elder man stroked his mustache and crossed his arm over his chest. "But we can't just rip her baby out of her arms either, she'd retaliate." He stared at the positive tests that were taken from the woman's trash bin in her dorm. "I'll report this to Dartz. See to it that Mrs. ****** understands her situation. After all, she can't stop all of us."
"Yes sir."
"See, that's why I like you Kujaku. You follow orders, and you're obedient." He smirked as he towered over her. "Just like a woman should be."
Mai gripped her skirt so hard-
...
-She made a hole in it, and chipped her nails.
"Seriously. You're teaching your girls this shit? Why not teach them on how to suck dick too? Again, excuse me for my mouth, but I just find it so fucking irritating that you're wasting money and time to teach them this. I get it, there are dozens of assassinations methods that can be extremely useful. And I get the human body, female or not could be a very useful tactic, I really do. What I don't get, is why this is the only thing you're limiting them to. All the girls are forced to be in section 3 despite what other hidden skills they may have. Such as hacking or sniping. Why just limit them to portray their bodies for sexual weapons? Isn't that just the slightest bit creepy to you? And you guys, what the hell? You guys let her force you to use your bodies this way? You're not just sex objects, you're a hell lot more useful than that! Just because you're a fucking female doesn't mean all you can do is use your vagina and your tits to get you everything you want."
"An assassin is supposed to have more than just one narrow-minded way of killing. They're supposed to be able to use multiple methods to cause death to their enemies. Please tell me, what reason do you have to teach them such a shallow way of killing? Hell, a way of life? You think this is all a woman can do? God, is that what you were raised to be believe all your life?"
"What would happen if one of your girls went up against someone like me on a real mission and tried to use that tactic? They'd fail miserably, and I would easily kill them without a second thought. And while taking that thought into mind, think of all the other evil criminals out there with large systems who are secretly gay as well. Gang members, mobsters, you name it. Then your little seduction bullshit will fail you. Every. Time. And you will have nothing. No more soldiers, no more assassins to carry out your orders. Then who's the boss? Obviously not you, if you have no one to command, Ms. Kujaku."
"So Atem, how do you like my boys?"
"Y-You bitch..." He whimpered as he continued to be pounded.
"Aww? But I'm doing you a favor! Since you don't like my precious girls, I'm giving you what you truly desire. Besides, you like it rough, don't you hun?"
"M-Make them stop...This hurts..." He sobbed. "T-This hurts so much..."
"You're a soldier of D75. Take it like a man."
"S-Stop this...Please."
She...She had to do it...
Because...He sounded...
Just...
...Like...
...Her.
"So this is how it ends..." The short woman smiled sadly at her comrade.
The cyan haired man couldn't smile back, he was too angry, too distraught to give her one. "I'm afraid it is." They already dropped the kid off at the orphanage, the deed was already done. The woman uncharacteristically cried her eyes out earlier today, but understandably so. She had to say goodbye to her baby, someone who she'd probably never see for the majority of his lifetime, such as the fate of all other innocent children of D75 agents. She had no choice. Either she would give him up, or they'd kill both her and the child. There was no other option.
She playfully whacked his arm, but her strength caused him to wince a bit. "Oh don't cry, ya wet noodle. My son needs a real man to raise him." She made a small sigh. "Then again, real men cry for people they care about." She grasped both of his hands tightly, with all the love she could muster. Their friendship went a long way, and she was glad she met someone like him. "Just, try not to hurt him too much while he's in here, okay? And never let him get too close to anyone, especially not the Superiors." She forced away an upcoming tear, sniffing harshly as her hands tightened their hold. "Please, don't let my baby die. Please, Dartz. I'm begging you, don't let anything happen to him. Let him survive the play pen, let him live outside of these fucking walls of hell. And one day, let him be free of this place. All of them, please." She pleaded as tears ran down her face, straining and running her make up.
He seized her hands with a weaker grip and knelt down to her. With a few tears falling from his own different colored eyes, he promised her. "I promise you, I will free them all. No one will be a slave to this hell ever again. No one. And," He rested her hands against his forehead, closing his eyes as he felt her warmth. "I will never let him die. Never. He will live, I swear on my life, *********."
She managed to smile through her tears, her heart pounding as she didn't want to leave. She really didn't, by God she didn't. But she didn't have a choice. She looked upwards at ****** and held out her hand to him. "Don't just stand there you bastard, gimme a hug! It doesn't matter that we're all separated, we're still The Trinity, no matter what. For life!"
For once in his life, ****** pulled down his mask and took off his darkened shades. He dropped them to the ground and walked towards the two. He knelt down along with Dartz, and so did she. She wrapped her arms around the two men, and they did the same. He hid her face against her large breasts, not wanting her to see his face. Dartz, being the taller of the two, held them close to him just as well. These two were his best, and they would both miss her greatly. He's known them since he was a preteen, and them being toddlers. They were gifts, blessed with amazing abilities. He made great friends out of them, and he wished they didn't separate. If only **** was here, their group hug would have been complete.
With a confident voice, she said something that would stick into their memories forever. Even after death. "Time is a flat circle here." She looked at them affectionately. "No matter what, we'll never actually die."
"I may put you children through so much just to make you into something you never chose to be in the first place, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you!"
His eye brows raised to that, his eyes widening.
"You are all my children. But you, you're my elite! You're my son, Atem. My special one." Dartz looked down, scoffing as he did so while continuing to run. "I know you may hate me for putting you in this hell hole, and I know you hate me even more for making you have to deal with whoever hurt you, but know that I will find whoever's responsible for this!"
The cyan haired man stared with his heterochromic eyes at the weapon that was now stabbing through his heart. Mai's eyes slightly widened, not realizing Dartz was that fast to get in the way. Atem slowly looked in front of him, and Mana peeked from the depths of his shirt. Both Yugi and Seto's mouth started to gape open in shock.
The red eyed Egyptian just stared in shock as well, as the only true father he ever had, fell limp and down onto the floor.
That's why he had to do it.
He had to sacrifice himself for him.
For all of them.
That's why he told Atem to take the girl with him.
That's why he wanted Yami to be exposed to D75.
Why he never allowed Ishizu out on a mission along with them.
He wanted her to live.
He wanted them all to live.
He promised *********.
She said it.
Time is a flat circle.
****, ******, *********...They never really died.
They'll never die.
END - 23!
I remember a loyal reader of mine asking about why Mai hated Atem so much, and wondered what turned her into a heartless sow.
Well, this chapter was your answer.
I cannot stress to all of you, how important this chapter is.