Nerima was a residential neighborhood, and there, people were free from the noise and smoky air of the near Capital City of Tokyo. The people were friendly and there were stores and good schools as well as Hospitals. It was also a safe place, where robbery and violent crimes were an odd occurrence.
But like in every residential area near a Capital City there were places and corners where it was better not to wander in. There were places like the fair or the commercial district which boiled with life during the day but that lay deserted in the hours of night if but for a few customers that searched for merchandize not available when honest people were looking.
Thugs roamed those dark isolated streets in search of victims that would provide an easy income of cash. Drunks wandered from bar to bar and collapsed in silence in secluded corners. Some criminals found refuge in the dark alleys of those streets, protected by the viciousness of their residents for not even the police dared venture into the deep parts of those dark forgotten places.
A hunched figure walked unsteadily through those dark streets as if they were home. Belligerent drunk and thugs and rapists would glance its way and quickly retreat. It wasn't a person one would fear at first glance. For starters, it was a she. And she was small and young. But they all scattered like rats before an old alley cat at the sight of her lithe petite form.
Shampoo regretted her reputation. The alcohol raging through her veins helped ease the sorrow that had nested on her heart like a parasite feeding of her energy. But it did little against the rage that came with that sorrow. The anger born of the humiliation and betrayal could not be tamed. It needed to be released.
She had taken into walking through this forgotten hell-hole. She had come here to drink for her sorrow and to fight and spill blood for her anger. But now everyone knew better than to try and attack her. Now everyone was afraid of her. They had all abandoned her to gnaw on her raging fury all alone.
She stopped and snarled to the sky. Homeless people cowered in their corners. Dogs and cats scattered. But no one came out of the shadows to shut her up or to demand an explanation. Her screams echoed between the tall unfeeling stone of the buildings crowding her. It slowly faded into silence.
Everything remained still and quiet. Shampoo took the bottle of vodka in her hand to her lips and drank as if the burning liquid were just water. It went down her throat and into her stomach. She could barely feel it anymore.
She threw the empty bottle against a wall, enjoying the sweet sound of glass shattering in a thousand pieces. Her glossy eyes regarded the isolated and dark streets before her. She wondered why another step should be taken. She wondered why she was still alive. She wondered why her Great-Grandmother had not showed mercy and slayed her.
"Shampoo."
She frowned, unsure if she had really heard the mention of her name by a familiar voice. The Amazon turned, her movements slowed by the poisonous effect of the alcohol running through her veins.
Someone was walking towards her. It was a woman. A young woman that was slightly taller than her. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail that waved in the cold wind. And something was strapped to her back. It was something that gleamed under the light of the moon.
Shampoo's glossy eyes narrowed as she strained to remember the identity of the familiar figure.
Ukyo stepped into the light and regarded the Amazon carefully. She was wearing one of her usual outfits: a silk light-colored blouse and matching pants. There was a dark leather breastplate covering her chest with an intricate drawing upon its surface. The cloths were ragged and stained with dirt and drops of dry blood.
Her long lavender hair, once so smooth and gorgeous was a matted mess. Gone was the innocence from her eyes and the radiant smiles. Her face had lost that chubby-babyish hue. It was frozen in an expression of apathy and bitterness. It had frozen on the belligerent visage of an angry drunk.
"Long time no see." She said sadly. "I thought you would have left for China."
Shampoo swayed unsteadily on her feet. Ukyo wondered if she could even recognize her. Kodachi had dismissed her request of assistance so casually. She had told her that she would be able to secure the Amazon on her own. Ukyo understood now why she had been so sure. What she didn't understand was why Kodachi wanted her. What use could a broken person like this one have?
"No can go back…" The Amazon blurred. "No can kill. No can marry. No honor. No can go back."
"You should have left somewhere else…"
Shampoo growled and shifted her stance. She swayed no more.
"No tell me what do!"
The Amazon dashed towards the other girl, moving surprisingly fast and straight for someone so wasted. Her dull eyes were burning as she threw a wild punch at Ukyo's head. The taller girl casually stepped aside to avoid the charge.
Shampoo staggered to a halt but was sent sprawling face-first into the pavement by a swift kick to the back. Ukyo sighed, watching her struggle on her hands and knees for a moment, before kicking her sharply on the back of the head. Shampoo grunted and fell back down. She did not move anymore.
"You should have left somewhere else, Shampoo."
She said again and hauled the unconscious girl over her shoulder and walked away.
Ukyo turned her head aside as Shampoo retched violently into the bucket again. It was disgusting. She was grateful that Sasuke was there. Cleaning duties had been imposed on him. He bent and cleaned whatever spilled into the ground. But there was nothing he could do against the acrid smell floating in the air.
Kodachi, apparently unperturbed by it, carefully cleaned the shivering girl's face with a wet cloth once the retching stopped. Shampoo's wild eyes fixed on hers.
"What wrong with you?! I kill you!"
"What's wrong with me?" Kodachi chuckled as she pulled stray locks of lavender hair away from Shampoo's sweating face. "There's nothing wrong with me, darling. But there's something very wrong with you. That disgusting poison you have fed your body with must be purged."
Shampoo heaved a pitiful moan as Kodachi tilted her head back again. Ukyo hesitated but all it took was a glance from the dark cold eyes of her mistress for her to tighten her hold on the Amazon's arms to keep her still.
"No!"
"Hush…"
Ukyo stared at the greenish phial between Kodachi's fingers. She wasn't sure what the liquid it contained was, but the Black Rose kept forcing it down the Amazon's throat every time the retching stopped only so it could start all over again.
"Aiya! Liánmǐn!"
"Sorry, dear. I do not speak barbarian."
Ukyo held into the convulsing body between her arms as Shampoo was allowed to bent forward again and vomit again. Her body was covered in a cold sweat that made her skin slippery. Ukyo wanted to let her go. Her anguished wails were piercing through her heart.
Kodachi waited patiently until the Amazon was finished before forcing her head back again.
"...l-liánmǐn!"
"Hush…"
"Kodachi-samma….She's begging for mercy…"
The words blurted out from her lips before she could stop them. Kodachi's eyes narrowed as they fixed on hers. Ukyo held her gaze for what seemed an eternity, before quickly looking down.
"It has been an hour already, has it not? Perhaps you are correct, Ukyo. Maybe we should stop. Maybe we should see what could be done to fix your attitude a little bit."
Now it was Ukyo who trembled violently. She knew what those words meant. Her entire body started failing her at the prospect of being punished again. Of being tormented by that…monster in human disguise. She mumbled her answers.
"What was that, dear? I did not hear you…"
"Don't…don't stop…"
"Should we go on?"
"Yes, Kodachi-samma…"
"Let's then…"
Shampoo wailed pitifully as Kodachi tilted her back and shoved the phial between her teeth yet again.