It's going to bruise, Ayano realizes as she takes a look in the mirror, her cheek already swelled to twice its usual size. There's no way she can hide it, even were she to put on enough make-up to raise questions of its own. Her parents will want to know what happened, once they see it. Taylor will worry too.

Her gut drops at the thought.

What is she to do? Avoiding her Love until her cheek heals is out of the question. It will take a week, at least, more likely around two, for the bruise to disappear. Taylor, meanwhile, is supposed to be let out of jail sometime tonight, according to her father, so of course she's visiting Her tomorrow, and the day after that, as well. She has to make up somehow for the terrible time that Senpai's had. There isn't a way around it, and as much as she despises the thought of making Taylor worried, their date will surely more than make up for it - as well as the indignity of spending a night in jail. She will make certain of that!

But that is tomorrow.

She shoos Mi away with her leg; the cat has a bad habit of trying to get attention by using her claws. The pet spares her a discontent mewl, before lying down on the rug by her owner's side. Having made sure she's not about to be attacked, Ayano grabs the switchblade from the sink to submerge it under a stream of warm water. She absently watches the pink-tinted liquid wash away the dried remnants of blood from where the girl can't reach, where it shouldn't be, not tonight.

Why was she in that alley? She should've been stalking one of the other Winslow students, making sure there had been another murder with Senpai still locked away, giving her fool-proof alibi. Instead, she got into a fight with some crook over her phone. In hindsight, she could have handled the situation much better. Stabbing him and immediately bailing would have worked just as well. Perhaps she needed it, though, as a reminder that she needs to be more careful. The moment when he knocked her down, when she saw him approaching; unable to raise herself before he'd get to her? She realized, in that very moment, that she could very well never see Taylor again.

Luck had him drunk, or on drugs. If he didn't trip over... Well, she doesn't question luck. It had her meet her Love, after all.

Besides, there is a more important question regarding the incident. Why was she there in the first place? It shouldn't be sickness, nothing feels out of order, and even if - she's been seriously ill a few times in her life, none of those ever included suddenly realizing she had no idea as to why she was doing something. It's not like she forgot her walk there, either.

A mystery. One she can think on later, when doing so won't risk her parents getting back home to witness her cleaning blood off her clothes.

The girl grabs the hairdryer to get rid of the remaining moisture on her knife. She's already lost one once. Having forgotten to thoroughly clean it, the rust ate the blade away in less than a week.

Once done, she puts the knife away, and turns to the tub, her dirty clothes calmly floating in the cold water. She should be able to recover the jacket. The shirt, however, might pose an issue. She had to turn her jacket over. Walking home with the red splotches out for all the world to see was not really an option – but she should have taken her shirt off for that; the very same that Senpai complimented her in. There's little chance of getting the stains out of the white material. Dejected, the girl fishes the shirt out from the tub, giving it a critical look. Maybe if she mixes, say, thrice the amount of detergent Mother usually uses it'll-

"-leave and you won't even knooow!"

Mi bolts from the bathroom before Ayano's mind has time to register that somebody is right here, energetically shaking her by her shoulders. Somebody who, she suddenly remembers, is not supposed to be alive, and who she's lead all the way into her house without ever paying attention to everything the other teen has subjected her too. It would explain, at least, why she – well, they - wound up on the ground, twice. She will give the girl one thing: she's persistent in her pestering.

Now, how does she handle this? The night can still be salvaged.

"Aisha?"

"Oh my fu- finally!" cries out the dark-skinned teen, her voice carrying too many emotions for Ayano to recognize any – her puffy eyes give her a clue, though. "I've been trying to get you to hear me s-since the alley!" Yes. They missed the bus back home because of it. "And what the fuck was that anyway!?"

"You got powers." Didn't she notice? It seems – obvious, now that she thinks about it – that she can think about it.

"No shit I got powers! I'm talking about you - this!" The girl points to the knife, and Ayano does her very best to look offended at the remark. "You killed a man!" Oh. That.

"I defended us." How does one fight a parahuman? They keep stressing in classes and TV that a normal should never even attempt to do so. She remembers now. The girl threw herself at their mugger and neither he, nor herself, even noticed. So, physical confrontation is right out.

"No. You really didn't." Aisha looks away, a grimace – a sign of anger if the Asian teen reads it right. It's hard to differentiate it from annoyance, worry, or disturbance. All of them being negative make responding so much easier. Over years, she's found that people will usually calm down on their own, eventually. Seeming vulnerable and apologetic usually speeds the process up, as well.

Ayano looks at her feet, timing her silence so that enough time passes for Aisha to believe her hesitance genuine.

"I'm sorry. I-" couldn't let him get her phone? She would want to know why. "-panicked." She thought killing him would be easy. A rude awakening, that. The girls weren't nearly as difficult to handle. She'll have to start working out.

"What, you stab people when you panic?" No. She doesn't panic, after all.

"When I think they will do stuff, yeah!" Pity card usually works, right? Besides, it would make sense for her to be scared of men in dark alleys. "You might not have noticed, but there's a murderer hunting schoolgirls out there!" Aisha's eyes widen, her expression once again changing to something the other teen can't decipher.

"You think that was him?" Well, no. Obviously.

"Maybe?" She crosses her arms. "I don't know- I freaked out, okay?

"Remind me to never freak you out..." Ayano hopes her hurt expression looks genuine enough. "Don't give me that look, okay? It was freaky. I just- it never even occurred to me that he could be – but what if he wasn't?"

"What if he was?" Should she do with her guest what she did with the others? It would give her Love a better alibi. Sure, Aisha will be an odd mark on the list, once she puts the plan into motion, but there was nobody else to be found on such short notice. It also has the advantage of not having to deal with that brother of hers ever again, a definite plus. "You're, not going to call the police, right?"

Aisha scoffs. "Duh? I'm not getting dragged around by the cops, and so not joining the Wards either. It's just- I'm still getting to grips with how you- butchered someone."

They both lapse into silence - a deliberate one at the Asian girl's end. People grow more receptive towards ideas the longer they're left to stew in silence, she's learned. That, and she can't quite remember if Father's sleeping pills still work after dissolving or not.

"Come on, let's go to my- to the kitchen. I'll make tea, unless you want something else?" She asks, already leading her guest through the few steps between the bathroom and kitchen.

"You got any soda?" Coke.

"No." Anyone used to the taste would notice something wrong right away.

"Tea's fine then, thanks," the parahuman girl replies. She sits down at the table while Ayano busies herself with the kettle and mugs, reaching for her own stash of tea – not caring to bother with the mess she'd have to make with Father's. She never could figure out why he enjoys his herbal stuff so much. It's all the same to her.

She casts a glance Aisha's way - it wouldn't do to to get caught drugging her drink – and notices the girl's staring.

"Yes?"

"No, uh- nothing. It's nothing." The black girl looks away, finding something very interesting to inspect on her hands. Blood, maybe – she's not yet cleaned them yet. Ayano turns back to the mugs, quickly scooping up Father's medicine bottle, and drops three pills into one of them. It shouldn't be so much as to stop her mark's heartbeat outright - Father takes two sometimes, when Mother's not looking. She probably won't finish the whole cup though...

She glances at Aisha again, before dropping in another pill.

"Sugar?" It would mask the taste further.

"Huh? Oh. Sure, uh, two spoons."

Ayano gives the mixture a lively stir to have the pills dissolve, committing to her memory that the red mug is off limits for her. Here goes; now to stall long enough for the drink to take effect.

"Tastes weird." The other teen complains once she takes a sip.

She shrugs. "It's my dad's, it's supposed to be calming? I thought it'd be good."

"I am calm- just- okay, maybe I'm not calm. I can't stop thinking how we're sitting here, like that thing back there didn't happen." They wouldn't be sitting here at all if it didn't. "That, and the power- shit. I'm not even sure what it does." Maybe it's because she's been on the receiving end, but Ayano does have an inkling.

"I wouldn't know either."

"I mean, nobody reacted when I did stuff, and I wasn't trying to use that power." So she's gathered, yes. The memories she has of their walk are rather loud. "And then I tried calling Brian, when I took my phone back, but it was like- like he couldn't hear me, thought it was some prank. I-I need to call him again-"

"You need to calm down." She firmly states, grabbing the other girl's hand as she makes to stand up. "What would you tell him anyway?"

"...yeah, I need to think about that first. But he could get me home, at least."

"You could stay the night, if you want?" She wonders if she should withdraw her hand. Touch is supposed to be comforting, but it can also make people feel uncomfortable. It doesn't make much sense, in Ayano's honest opinion. Then again, people rarely do.

There it is, that strange look again. "I- don't think I could sleep tonight."

"That's alright." She's drank half her mug already. What she thinks doesn't matter at this point.

Aisha narrows her eyes. "How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you- how were you so calm, back then?"

"I..." Why wouldn't she be? Once she killed that man, there was no longer anything to be worried about. "I don't know. It felt-" Normal. "Weird. I think I was in shock? Or maybe it's your power?"

"...maybe? It'd suck if I could use it on others and not myself. " She can imagine.

Ayano thinks back to the alley, to how terrifying the thought of not seeing Taylor again was. Being around Senpai is incredible, always, but even the possibility of losing Her fills the young girl's heart with dread – something she's never had to deal with before. She would never give her Love up, but not everything that's come along with Her is quite so wonderful. Their marriage is still at least two years off, if she manages to get consent from Taylor's father. The thought of never having a chance for that to happen?

She rubs at her chest, a painful weight settling beneath it.

"Hey, Aisha."

"Hmm?"

'Thank you." The other girl blinks owlishly. "For saving me, back there," she adds, eyeing the mug between her guest's hands. Is it finally kicking in?

"Glad you appreciate that... I'm your accomplice." The girl rubs at her eyes. "In murder." It seems to be working.

"You look tired."

"I feel tired." Finally. "Think I'm gonna sleep after... after all. Just, gotta call Brian, first."

"You figured out what to say?"

"I did, it's- shit. Can't remember. Look... I'll just tell him to come." And leave her to explain why is his sister not here?

She stands up, gaze on the other teen, who seems barely aware of her surroundings by now, certainly unaware of Ayano reaching the knife lying on the counter. Should she do the deed here and then carry the body out, later? Or would it be better if she gets Aisha outside before killing her? The police could probably tell if the death occurs at the site or not, and that could be problematic. No, it's far less risky if she...

...if she...

Why is she having a tea break? She needs to clean the blood off her clothes before her parents come back from their date. It's the second time today when this happened - maybe she is coming down with something after all? She might not know of any illness that would affect her mind like that, but far be it for her to claim to be an expert on the matter.

Something to think about later. For now, she still needs to finish cleaning her clothes, and think of a good enough story behind her bruise, so that her parents, and more importantly, Taylor, will not have to worry about it.