Chapter twenty: Promises (a/n- or in Ton-Ton's case "Pwomises")
(a/n- Okay, quick story: I write all of my pieces on Google docs right? Well, JALR agency has actually gotten so long that I've had to resort to making a 2nd google doc so it doesn't impact my performance speed… yeah, it's over 150 pages now. Anyway, enough of 1st world problems and onto the story! Better get this posted before net neutrality goes away (or not, since everyone, even three of Maine's electorate (one of which is a Republican Trump Supporter), hates the idea) point being, here's chapter twenty!)
"This will not stand."
I said, looking out among my children… what was left of them anyway. Two young women, both blonde blue eyed, looked back at me, their eyes still red with tears over Jasmine's funeral and Maria's betrayal. The youngest, only a six year old, was sitting down in my lap, sleeping against my chest. I stood, handing off my youngest to one of the nearby servants. He'd tuck her into bed like he always did, it was past her bedtime anyway. Aureo, the girl standing to my right, spoke first, as was customary of the eldest remaining child. "Jasmine must be avenged mother. I ask you allow me to do this personally." she said. I just nodded, Jasmine was her twin sister after all, it would be most fitting for the killer's end to be met by someone that looks just like their victim. "Do we know who murdered her?" Aryl, the one to my left, asked. She was younger than Aureo, by five years in fact. Whereas Aureo was nineteen, Aryl was only fourteen.
"No. Though, our sources say that a blond, blue eyed male checked into the Sedwick hotel the day Jasmine was killed. He was wearing a faded trench coat and fedora, and was forcibly told to stop smoking within the hotel. He knew the hotel's layout already, according to the desk clerk." I said, reaching down and gripping the handle of my katana. I pulled it out slightly, looking down at my reflection in the blade. That same blonde haired, blue eyed face that occupied my children was on me as well. The only difference was age, even the cold of my eyes was replicated on them. "Was it… him?" Aureo asked, looking up at me with a spark of curiosity in her eyes. She was afraid of him, both of them wear. They knew that he was trained the same way they were, and that he'd had far more experience as the family hitman than they had as simple collectors. Or, in Aryl's case, as an intimidating presence.
"Jaune Arc. The only male heir to the Arc family name. Cast aside and outcasted due to his hesitance to kill himself for the clan." I explained, drawing my blade completely and tapping the edge on the table in front of me. Both the girls looked down at the ground, shifting around so that their legs were beneath them, and they were sitting on their heels. I held the bottom portion of the blade beneath Aureo's throat, forcing her to look up at me, straining her neck. "You will have your corpse, and your revenge my child."
"However, first, we must deal with a more pressing concern." I said, pulling my blade back and sheathing it. I looked over towards the door, seeing it slowly creaking open. I heard the thudding of boots as I looked up, seeing a man in a long, black trench coat walking into the room. His hair was a brilliant red, proudly displaying the dark horns in it's center. It was almost like a middle finger to the world, telling them what he was, and that he was proud of it. The most defining trait, by far, had to be his eyes though.
Mostly since, they were hidden by that mask.
"The matriarch of the Arc clan." he said, smiling slightly as he walked towards us, stopping at the edge of the table. I nodded towards him, walking over until I stood only a foot away from him. I found that we were the same height, his mask level with my own eyes. The horns made him a bit taller than me though. "Adam Taurus, leader of the black hand of the white fang. Second in command only to Sienna Khan. I must admit, I hadn't expected you to accept my invitation to meet." I said, holding out my left hand. He held out his as well, shaking mine as he gave me a smile.
There was no emotion behind it, it seemed to be a forced gesture more than anything else. He would just as soon run his blade through my stomach than look at me. "Well, I happened to be nearby. I felt as if I owed you a visit. After all, we seem to have a common enemy." "And who might that be?" I asked, raising an eyebrow towards him. I normally wouldn't let confusion show on my face, but this time I felt it was warranted. Who would he be talking about? The enemy of the white fang seemed to be more along the lines of police officers or the military. Then… there was always Beacon. Yes… yes that must be it.
"Your son of course. Jaune Arc." he said. Okay, maybe not Beacon, nevermind. I let the realization play out on my face, taking a few steps back as Aureo walked forwards, gripping at her katana, gritting her teeth. "I see… what has he done that has made him such a high priority for you?" "He stole my wife, Blake Belladonna. I won't stand by and do nothing as he defiles her with his filthy human ways!... Ehem, no offense." he said, gesturing towards us. I shook my head, holding up my hand as if to say, 'none taken'. I looked out among my girls, letting a small smile show through on my face. "Pack your bags girls,"
"We're paying your big brother a visit."
…
"Kid?"
I groggily opened my eyes, hearing the whispered voice in my ear as I turned. I jumped back as I saw the pair of red eyes right next to me own, pulling the blanket up towards my chest as I felt Blake's side against my own. The red eyes pulled back to reveal none other than Bad Luck Charm, Qrow, smirking down towards me. "You can fuck around with Blake later, right now we have work to do. Get her up, be downstairs in twenty minutes." he said. Then, just like that, he jumped out of the nearby window in my office, into the night below. I saw a full moon shining as I looked down, smiling slightly at the sight beneath me.
Blake was laying in bed with me, this time not the one in the clinic, her bare shoulder and smiling face exposed to me. I reached over, lightly petting her ears before I leaned in, whispering. "Blakie~ Time to wake up~" I said in a sing-song tone, sitting up myself and grabbing my boxers from the floor. Just as I pulled them on I heard Blake groaning, and when I turned I saw the covers fall from her body. She sat up, rubbing her eyes before she looked at me, smirking slightly. "Didn't know you were such an animal~" "Coming from the cat faunus." I said with a smirk, turning around and picking up my pants, pulling them on before I slipped my katana through the loops, right over my belt. I heard a loud thud as I turned, my eyes widening as I saw Blake laying on the ground, her bare back showing to me. Then she looked up at me, still smiling,
"You're stronger than you look. I can't feel my legs." she said, causing me to blush slightly before I reached down, hoisting her up and towards the door leading outside. I'd say to get her clothes but… well, there wasn't that much left to get, unless you counted the few scraps of black cloth here and there. "Grab another set of clothes and your weapons, Qrow came calling." I said. She nodded, staggering down the hallway, naked, no doubt fighting through the pins and needles in her legs. I kept looking for a few seconds before I shut the door, grabbing my shirt, jacket and fedora before I grabbed my revolver. Velvet had given it back to me, unused like always. It was just a peace of mind thing, always was, probably always would be.
I pushed out the door, fully dressed and, other than Blake's scent that no doubt covered me, I looked like I always did. I took one look back at my room, frowning slightly as I shut the door. "Note to self, order stronger bed-frame." I thought before I walked towards Blake's bedroom, only for someone to surprise me. I saw one of the doors suddenly open in front of me, a figure shuffling out of it, gray with tiredness. They were dressed in a long, brown gown with a few orange highlights, and the ears made it clear who it was. "Velvet?" I asked. I wasn't surprised she was here, she'd asked if she could stay and I'd said yes, no questions asked. I was only confused why she was walking around in the dark at almost two in the morning. Velvet normally went to bed at nine or so.
She didn't answer me as she walked forwards, laying her head against my chest and sniffing. "Hehehe~ Kitty~" she said, reaching up with a dreamlike gaze as I quickly took my hat off, blushing furiously as I let her move her hands around on my hair. She must've been too tired to tell it was me and not Blake. That or she was sleepwalking, hard to tell with her. If she was sleep walking though, her ears wouldn't be curled up so much, they'd be straight up, like when she was awake. I looked up, seeing Blake, dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark shirt, looking over at me, her eyes glowing in the darkness. "Blake. Little help here?" I whispered, not wanting to wake up Ton-Ton and Neo. Blake just nodded, walking over and lightly pressing against the base of Velvet's right ear.
She instantly crumbled to the ground, me scrambling to catch her as she leaned back, snoring suddenly coming from her. "How did you-" "Pressure point, all faunus have one. I took a guess where hers was." Blake said casually, holding the door open for me as I carried Velvet into the room, laying her on her bed as she quickly grabbed at the nearby body pillow, hugging it to her as a small smile graced her face. I looked over, unable to help the same thing happening to mine. Ton-Ton and Neo had decided to, rather than use one of the other bedrooms, sleep in here with Ton-Ton's mother. Ton-Ton was dressed in those cute little footie pajamas of hers, the one's with white bunnies like polka-dots and a large orange carrot on the front. She was curled up on a pillow, the large Neo curled around her, her head between Ton-Ton's little ears. Both were smiling, snuggling into each other.
I walked over, pulling a nearby blanket over them, Ton-Ton immediately grabbing it and pulling it up to her nose, it twitching just like her mother's as she pulled most of the blanket off of Neo's larger frame. I stood, walking away as I heard a voice speak from behind me. Soft and high pitched, "Daddy? Where are you going?" I turned around, smiling down as I saw Ton-Ton's sleepy gray eyes gazing up at me, her brow scrunched in confusion. I got on one knee, reaching over and rubbing between her ears, in that spot I knew she liked. She pressed against my hand, smiling as she shut her eyes. "Daddy has to go to work now sweetie. He'll be back soon okay~" I whispered, deciding against breaking the illusion. She held out her little hand, her fingers just going past the sleeves, her pinky stuck out towards me.
"Pwomise?"
I took her pinky in mine, shaking it twice as I tried not to fawn over the little lisp she put to her word. "Pwomise." I said in the same tone, leaning down and kissing her forehead. She laid her head back down, turning around and cuddling into Neo's chest, said girl wrapping her arms tighter around Ton-Ton, as if protecting her. I leaned over, pecking Neo's forehead too. "Goodnight girls." I said, standing up and walking away, Blake looking over and smiling at the ordeal, two nearly unnoticeable tears falling to the ground. I shut the door behind me, looking over at Blake. She leaned in and, no words needed, she pecked my lips, smiling at me. "You'll be a great father Jaune." then she turned, walking down the stairs as I was left a blushing mess.
Eventually though, I got over it, walking down the steps and into the familiar entrance to the office, only to stop in my tracks. Blake was standing right beside me, just looking over at the person across from us. He walked towards me, holding out his hands. I knew what he wanted. "You drive." I said as I tossed Ren his keys, him catching them effortlessly, spinning them on his hand as he nodded, walking outside. Blake turned towards me, "Just like that?" "Just like that." I said, lightly holding her wrist as we walked towards the entrance. I pushed it open, seeing Ren starting up his car like he normally did, the streetlights still on as they should be. Little traffic at two am. Then again, it was also a Tuesday night, er… Wednesday morning. Even then I saw a few cars driving out on the road. "The city that never sleeps…" I thought as I opened the back passenger door of Ren's car.
Blake slipped in the back as I shut the door, pulling open the door and sitting in the front seat as well, pulling out a cigar. "What's the job?" Ren asked, his eyes flicking over to me as he adjusted his seat, mirrors, and just about everything else from where I drove. I rolled down my window, pulling back the top of the car as I lit my cigar. "Facilitating delivery for our bad luck charm." I said, speaking (sort of) in code as Ren just nodded, backing out of the parking lot and into the road. "Where too?" "Follow me." I heard a voice say. We all looked over, mine and Ren's eyes widening as we saw a man wearing a black cloak, black pants, black shoes, and tinted motorcycle helmet road up next to us. They had a pistol at their side, discretely hidden against the rest of their black attire.
They drove off without another word, their voice one I actually recognized. "Follow her." I said, pointing towards Coco, the woman on the bike. Ren nodded, driving after her as I let out a puff of smoke, leaning my head up to the sky. I saw more streetlights and buildings than I did stars, unlike back in Mistral. There I would see a full night sky every night through that one, little window in the cell that was my home for twelve years… until, of course, I was old enough to leave it without causing my mother fear I would run away. "Huh, guess she didn't keep me in long enough." I thought, smiling slightly as I let out another puff, looking straight ahead as I saw Coco pull off to the right, down an alley. Ren did as well, shutting off his headlights as we pulled to a stop, Coco walking out towards us.
Coco motioned us inside the nearby building, an unassuming green door in the middle of the alley. "Ninja, pull the car around front, roof up. You two follow me." she said. Ren nodded, staying in the car as me and Blake got out, Ren putting up the hood and rolling up the windows a moment later. We walked in past Coco before she shut the door behind us, walking ahead of us. In the room there was only a table, as well as four people seated on a nearby couch against the wall. One of them was Qrow, wearing his typical outfit, holding his rifle. Two of the others were men, the third a woman. I didn't recognize any of them, but they had two things in common. They all had animal traits, making them faunus, and they all had faint outlines on their faces, making them white fang.
Coco pulled off her helmet, letting her hair fall down as she set it on the table, walking back towards us. "You two, arms out. Detective, take off the coat." she said. Blake complied easily, and I, trusting her judgement, complied after a moment, setting the coat over the side and holding out my arms. Coco walked over to me first, and I immediately recognized what she was doing as a pat-down, searching my pockets and everything as well. I looked over and found Qrow searching my coat, setting my gun down near Coco's helmet as he rooted through it. "EH!" "Coco!" Blake said, angrily glaring at Coco as I felt my face burning, Coco's hands over my rear. She looked back at Blake, her gaze entirely serious. "You have no clue where some of the families try and hide things Blake. You're lucky I didn't have both of you strip down to be searched." she said.
I heard a whistling noise as Coco looked over, taking her hands off me to my relief, only for her eyes to widen. In Qrow's hand there was a small, bright red metal piece, one he'd taken off the back of my coat. Qrow mouthed the word 'Bug' to Coco as she nodded, grabbing it from him and slowly walking outside. She looked around out the door for a second before dropping it, violently stomping on it as I heard the sound of crunching metal. "Dammit they're onto us! Get your coat and weapons detective! Get these three to the airport, ASAP!" she said, grabbing her helmet and pulling it on, drawing her gun, which looked to be a Skorpion model, the Vacuo equivalent to Ren's Mistral produced MAC-10. The three ex-white fang all stood, Qrow jumping up and ushering them towards a door across from us. Me and Blake walked towards it too, out into the streets.
I saw Ren pulling his car around as I jumped in the passenger side, trying to look like nothing was wrong. Meanwhile the three others piled into the back, Blake leaning over towards the open window. She leaned in, pecking me on the lips. "Be safe." "You too." I said as I rolled up the window, drawing my revolver as Blake ran towards a nearby car, a black convertible, the same model as Ren's. Blake hopped in the driver's seat as Qrow got in the back, pulling back what seemed to be a sunroof and laying on the top, cocking his bolt action rifle before he sat back, seemingly waiting behind the tinted windows.
Ren started driving, he knew the way to the airport well enough. Coco waited a few seconds before she drove as well, zooming past us before cutting in front of Ren, thankfully at least having the sense to use her turn signal. I looked back and, just as we were about to take the first turn, I saw Blake start moving towards us. I looked around, my eyes widening slightly as I saw a car driving towards us in the left lane. I looked over at Ren, seeing that he was nodding. It could just be some random person trying to get home after a late night' work… but me and Ren both knew it wasn't likely. The car pulled up next to us, the the second I saw the windows, I knew what was happening. "HIT THE BRAKES!" I yelled, Ren complying as I held on, bullets making a dust cloud from the concrete divider next to us. Coco turned around, spinning her bike on an axis before pulling out her gun, firing on the car, the people within bursting out the doors and rushing out, taking cover and exchanging fire with her.
I opened my door, Ren doing the same, me and him both getting out as I aimed towards one of the white fang grunts. I fired off two shots, one hitting him in the arm, causing him to drop his gun, the other hitting his foot, causing him to jump up. Of course, the second he jumped up, I saw Coco fire a round right through his head, his brains a morbid painting on the asphalt. Ren was firing at one of the others, keeping him stuck behind the car door he was using as cover, now from us, using the body as cover from Coco. I aimed lower, seeing his feet beneath the car as I fired off a round. Rather than jump like the other, he fell to the ground, clutching his foot as Ren quickly finished him off. About twelves rounds to the body and four to the head? Yeah, that should do it.
I saw the butt of a gun smash out the back window of the car, one of them smashing out the side window as Coco ducked behind a nearby concrete divider, her motorcycle being shredded by the bullets. The other one started firing at us as me and Ren jumped over the nearby divider, ducking down as the bullets started flying. The three runners all seemed to panic, the woman ducking in the floorboard of the car as the other two bolted. The one heading out the driver side was gunned down in seconds, falling to the ground as the gunman turned his gaze towards the other. I reacted faster, shooting the man's knee as he fell, the bullets just missing him. "COVER ME!" I yelled over the gunfire as Ren obliged, blindly firing over the divider in the general direction of the car, keeping the man from poking his head out as he fired blindly back, some of the bullets thudding against Ren's windshield. "Thank god for bullet-proof glass." I thought.
I reached the man, wrapping my arms under his before I hauled him back, jerking him over the divider as I too ducked down, looking over at him. "You shot me! Aren't you supposed to-" "It was either I wound you, or that guy kill you! You want, I can stand you up and he can kill you right now!" I said, glaring towards him as he nodded, covering his head as bullets started flying at us again. Ren must've had to reload. I aimed towards the man in the back as Ren distracted him, firing at him blindly over the divider. I took a breath, firing only one bullet. The man dropped his gun, his mask blown to pieces as he fell back into the car. "Only one more to deal with." I muttered as I aimed towards the man.
He seemed to predict it though, firing towards me as I ducked. When I looked up again, my eyes widened as I saw what the man was wearing. "Oh shit." me and Ren said at once. The man in front of us no longer was using cover, instead covered in what looked to be ceramic trauma plates. I fired one shot at the chest, only for it to ineffectually bounce off. The man was wearing a metal helmet with a slit line made for vision, the only parts even remotely vulnerable were the joints. Of course, the two tommy guns he was holding made that a bit difficult to fire at. I ducked down as the hail of bullets started coming at me, Ren, and Coco all at once. The two couldn't even blindfire at the juggernaut without getting their hands or guns shot. Not to mention it likely wouldn't do any good. Even Qrow's rifle probably couldn't pierce that things armor.
Though, Blake seemed to know just what to do.
She came barreling down the road, Qrow jumping off the car and rolling on the sidewalk, as Blake slammed into the behemoth, full force against the other car. The man was pinned at his legs, looking down at the car. Time seemed to slow as I saw him aiming both guns towards the driver seat. "BLAKE!" I yelled, rushing out of cover towards the man. After a second though, I felt everything go back to normal. I heard the pounding of bullets as the car's windshield nearly exploded, bullets tearing apart the interior as I fell to the ground, a few feet away from the bloody puddle made from the first man killed. "Blake…" I muttered, only watching as the man aimed his gun towards me. I aimed my revolver towards him, firing off all six shots I had left, aimed right at his elbows, the only things I could hit. The man dropped one gun, gripping at his arm with the gun he still had. I stood, rushing towards him as I tossed my revolver aside, drawing my katana.
By the time he aimed his gun towards me, I was already on him. I sliced right through his arm, cutting it clean off as all I could see was red. I forgot my training, the mission, everything, all I could see was red. I held up my blade like a knife and tossed the man's helmet away, stabbing into that horrible mask over and over and over again. "Jaune! Stop! He's already dead!" I heard a voice saying. I spun around, holding my blade up in both hands, about to kill whoever interrupted me… only to see the one person I was killing for. "Blake… how…" I muttered, dropping my katana to the ground as she leaned in, wrapping her arms around me. "I told you I'd be careful, didn't I?" she said, smiling up at me.
I just sighed, wrapping my arms around her as I saw Coco, Ren, and Qrow walking towards us, even the man I'd wounded and the woman we were supposed to be saving walking over as well. Ren looked over at Coco, walking over to her and whispering something in her ear, apparently she'd taken off the helmet at some point. She just nodded, smiling towards Qrow. "I think it would be better if detective and little kitty go back… I'd rather not deal with a psychotic swordsman again if we find any other white fang." Coco said with a small smirk as she walked towards her bike, frowning when she noticed how completely destroyed it was. Then she shrugged, picking it up like it was weightless and tossing it onto the nearby white fang car. "Ninja I'm riding with you, bike's trashed." she said, tossing something on the car and her bike. Qrow drove his car away from it as me and Blake started walking, me grabbing my revolver.
BOOOM!
I looked back, seeing a plume of smoke rising from the wreckage as Qrow and Ren both drove off, leaving the nearby corpse and bloody trail, along with the corpse of the juggernaut I'd killed. I walked back to the sidewalk, watching Blake staring at the flames, tears falling down her face, seemingly without her noticing. "It's easy to fight a war when you don't see the destruction… harder to fight when you know the pain you cause." she said, her eyes glued to the fire. I placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance as I reached over, cupping her face and wiping away at her tears. "Blake… tell me something. How did you survive?" I asked. I mean, the man had literally torn through the car with his bullets, yet she got out unscathed. It didn't make much sense to me.
Blake only smiled at me, "You tell me detective, how did I get out?" she asked, leaning against my arm as the two of us started walking down the sidewalk, back in the direction of my office. I rubbed my chin slightly, trying to think of how she could've gotten out. "Let's see… you couldn't have jumped out of the door because the man would've seen you do it and fired there instead. You couldn't have gone into the backseat because he would've still killed you… you jumped into the back and got out the driver side didn't you?" I asked, smiling slightly. If I was right, I had to give her credit for thinking of that in the heat of the moment. Blake leaned up, pecking me on the lips before laying her head on my shoulder. "Bingo." she said.
We walked in silence for awhile, Blake looking down and, seemingly contemplating something. "Jaune…" she spoke up eventually, looking at me with an entirely serious gaze. "I… I never want to have a baby… not again." she said. My eyes widened as she said this, only for a few seconds though. Then, I smiled, nodding towards her. "Okay Blake." "... that's it? 'Okay Blake'? You're not going to try and change my mind? Say how wonderful having children with you would be?" she asked. I shook my head, taking a turn towards my office as we walked across the road, Blake still looking up at me.
"There's a few reasons why Blake. For starters, we're not married. Before you ask I know you had one out of wedlock before but, I don't work that way. And second," I held up two fingers to Blake's lightly blushing face. "It doesn't matter to me if you have one kid or twenty. I love you, and if you don't want to have a kid, then we won't. As simple as that." I said, smiling down at her before I turned back around, seeing my office in the distance. Blake looked up at me, confused to say the least, before she spoke, "You… do know that means I'm saying we'll never have sex again, right?" "Yep." I said, smiling down at her.
She just smiled, "Jaune… you are something else." she said, leaning up and pecking my cheek. "If it weren't obvious-" "You were lying? Not hard to figure out when you said I'd be a great father earlier." I said, smirking at her as she blushed, nodding towards me. I leaned down, kissing her this time for a few seconds, both of us shutting our eyes as I cupped her face in my hands, her wrapping her arms around my neck. When we parted, I smiled down at her. "If you're lying though… well, I can't say I'd be opposed to having a kid with you." I said, causing Blake's blush to graduate from light to explosive in a matter of seconds. Likely since she remembered my previous statements. She looked up at me, fumbling for words for a few seconds before I just reached up, untying her bow and rubbing behind her left ear. She immediately relaxed, leaning against me as I heard her yawn. "How did… you know…" she muttered as I pressed harder, causing her to fall down in my arms. I just picked her up, bridal style, carrying her towards the office.
When I got there, I pushed open the doors, having left them unlocked. "Maybe not the smartest idea when I have people trying to kill me all the time." I thought as I shut them behind me, draping Blake over my shoulder as I locked the doors. Ren had his own key, and anyone else could wait until tomorrow. I moved Blake so that she was riding on my back as I walked up the stairs to my own room, only to stop when I heard something coming from a room near the stairwell. It seemed to be a conversation, between two voices I recognized. Why they were here I didn't know. I listened in.
"I'm telling you this could be huge May!"
"Nora, you know I love you, but you are insane."
"I know, but seriously, we need your skills to pull this off."
"Nora… as a sister, as my best friend. Please understand why I can't agree to this… this madness."
"If it works May-"
"What if it doesn't work huh? Did you ever think of that?! It's not like we're both still young punks in the Khan's! Think about everyone else! Think about Jaune! Neo! Velvet! Ton-Ton! Ren!"
"NO. Don't you dare bring my Renny into this!"
"YOU'RE the one planning a suicide mission! What happens if and when you die?! Ren'll go crazy, he'll start killing at random again and even Jaune won't be able to stop him! He'll get himself killed by the Rose family, then what? You think they'll stop? They'll kill Jaune, Velvet, everyone we know, everyone we care about! Think of them Nora!"
"We can't just let them get away with what they did to you!"
"So we're going to stoop to their level?! We're going to kill everyone of them we can get our hands on?"
They were shouting at this point, Blake stirring on my back from the noise.
"YES DAMNIT! What other option is there!? You know how many moles they have in the police force! You know how easy it is for them to pay people off! The Rose family own Vale May! The only way we're getting them out is to end them!"
"Nora… Nora please I… I... "
"May?"
They'd gone back to whispering now.
"I'm scared… I don't wanna lose you again… I can't… I can't, do this anymore."
"What?"
"I can't… I can't keep killing people like you can Nora, I can't risk my life everyday for nothing more than glory and money! I'm… I'm scared Nora… I don't wanna die again…"
May was sobbing now, I could hear it through the walls.
"May…"
"When I was shot I lost everything. The people that cared about me either turned their backs or thought I was dead. The new Khan leader, he ordered me killed Nora. He stripped me naked, tossed me in the river with a cinder block tied to my damn neck! I got lucky Nora! Luck someone saw, cut the rope, and pulled me out! That's the only reason I'm alive!"
"I… I had no idea…"
May didn't seem to hear Nora's whisper, going on with her sobbing rant.
"I can't even say I'm grateful! The person that rescued me, you know the first thing he did? He tied me up and took the last thing I had! The only thing I had left Nora! I only got away because I killed the old bastard!"
I couldn't take anymore of this, and gently pushed open the door, seeing Nora suddenly embrace the sobbing May, who was clad in a pair of purple pajamas with a mushroom on the center. I even saw a few tears drip down Nora's face as May started wailing into her shoulder, gripping tight to Nora's back. Nora stood firm, her head on May's shoulder as she pat her back, comforting her sister. It was almost five minutes later when May leaned back, eyes puffy and red as she sat back on her bed, looking up at Nora. "I can't lose you Nora… you're all I have…" she said, her voice cracking towards the end of it. Nora pushed May down to the bed, leaning in and planting a kiss on her forehead. Nora was about to walk out when May gripped her hand, causing Nora to look back at her. "Promise me, Nora. Swear on your life you won't do it." she said.
Nora did something I never thought she'd do, "I swear." she said, smiling at her sister. May smiled back, right before she leaned down, her eyes shutting as she laid against the pillow. Nora took one last look back at her before she frowned, then she took out her revolver, turning around and walking towards the window. "I love you." May said, looking up towards Nora. Nora stopped, looking back over at her as I saw tears gathering in her guilty eyes. I'd never, ever, heard Nora sound as sad as she was when she answered May.
"I'm sorry for being selfish May… I love you too."
