A woman sat alone in a large room located at the top of a highrise building. She spun around in her large chair and stared out the window into the city before reaching for a glass of wine she had poured for herself earlier.
She took a large sip of the wine and let out a gasp to show her satisfaction with the taste, "Rabbit and Panther..." she whispered their names to herself.
The door to her office opened and the dark room was lit up by the light from the hall, "Kotori, thanks for letting me use your bath."
She spun around in her chair to face the voice, "Are you all better now, Honoka?"
The ginger haired girl nodded and tossed her towel to the side, "That new medicine you developed healed me up nicely," she spun around to show that her cuts from Maki have already closed and began healing.
"It's a good thing that my money put into R&D was well spent then," Kotori reached over for another wine glass, "Would you like a drink?"
"Oh, yeah sure I'll take one," Honoka pranced over and waited until Kotori poured the red wine into the spare glass she had. When it was filled to the brim, Honoka offered a toast and took a swig of the wine, "Oooh that is goood!"
Kotori nodded and smiled back at her, "Just a little perk to being rich."
"I'm glad I'm fighting for your side," Honoka plopped down onto a cushioned seat and leisurely drank her wine, "I would have died from Panther's psychotic breakdown if it hadn't have been for you."
"Was she really that bad?" Kotori asked.
Honoka set down her wine and started animating her words, "She was off the walls insane! I mean, I know you told us that she was crazy, but holy cow was she CRAZY!"
Kotori nodded along as Honoka explained, "It was like she was an entirely different person. She moved quicker, attacked harder and everything she did was wild and unpredictable. Before I knew it, I was on the ground thinking that I came face to face with a demon from the underworld!"
Kotori closed her eyes and laid back, "It's a good thing I got you out just in time then... Have you heard from Eli and Nozomi?"
"Other than Nozomi letting me know that the trap was successful, nothing at all," Honoka answered.
Kotori tapped on her desk with her fingernails in a rhythmic pace, "I hope they're alright..."
Nozomi stomped on the breaks of the car and quickly turned the engine off. She pulled on the handle of her door and nearly fell out of her seat. Luckily she kept her balance and rushed over to the other side where Eli laid.
When she opened the door, she could see Eli barely holding onto consciousness. She held a bloodied rag where her bullet wound was and Nozomi carefully reached over to help Eli out of the car.
"You're going to be fine, Eli," she threw Eli's arm over her shoulder and staggered the two of them towards an old cabin. This place was where the two had been hiding out for the past few years and they haven't been caught yet.
Nozomi made it to the front door and reached for her pockets in search of a key. As she pulled it out, her fingers slipped and the key fell onto the floor, "God damn it, not now!"
She carefully lowered herself down to pick it up and slid it into the lock. Nozomi kicked the door open and rushed Eli to their bed.
Eli was bleeding out and she had already lost a lot of blood during the drive here, Nozomi had to work fast if she wanted to save Eli's life. She rushed into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit before running her way back to Eli, almost tripping in the process.
"Okay Eli, just stay awake with me!" Nozomi cupped the blonde's sweaty cheeks and brushed her hair away. She turned Eli to the side to see if the bullet had went through her body. Unfortunately it didn't and Nozomi sighed, "I'm going to have to extract the bullet..."
She took a deep breath and reached for the forceps and tweezers in the first aid kit. She set them down next to Eli and got a few towels and a basin of water. She held up a tightened roll of cloth to Eli's mouth, "Here, bite on this... please just bear with it until I get the bullet out."
Eli nodded weakly and bit down on the cloth in preparation for the pain she was about to endure. Nozomi picked up the forceps and tweezers in each hand. She approached Eli's wound with the forceps and inserted it, using the handles to push the wound open enough for Nozomi to find the bullet.
Eli let out muffled screams in pain as she bit down on the cloth, "Just hang in there, Eli, give me a minute to find the bullet!"
Nozomi brought out a flashlight to help her see into Eli's body. She poked around with the tweezers and found nothing, "Hold on tight, Eli..." she pushed the forceps holding the wound open deeper inside and took another look.
Eli tried desperately to keep herself from flailing due to the pain, her legs buckled and she gripped onto the bedsheets. She did anything she could to keep her body still for Nozomi.
"I think I see it!" Nozomi reached in deeper with the tweezers towards a shine that reflected from the flashlight. The tweezers clamped on each side of the bullet and Nozomi pulled on it carefully.
Eli let more muffled screams escape from the cloth and breathed heavily in attempts to regulate the pain. Nozomi pulled hard enough to take the bullet out in one go and Eli spat the cloth out of her mouth. She released a loud shriek of pain before Nozomi placed a towel over the wound.
"Okay, I have to disinfect and stitch it, just a little more, Eli!" Nozomi reached over for the antiseptic and splashed it onto a cotton pad. She cleaned the area around Eli's wound and prepared it for stitching.
She took a deep breath and began the stitching process, every time she would poke the needle through Eli's flesh, she could feel Eli's body reacting in pain. Nozomi focused all of her attention on making a good stitching and by the time she had finished she noticed that Eli had passed out.
"Eli? Eli?!" she tapped Eli's face lightly in attempts to wake her up. There was no response and Nozomi took a deep breath, "Okay... just stay calm, Nozomi. Eli will be perfectly fine when she wakes up."
Nozomi stood up and cleaned up everything. The first aid kit was put away, the bloodied towels were thrown into the trash, and the bloodied water in the basin was poured down the sink. She washed her hands thoroughly and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Please wake up, Eli..." she shuffled her way over to the bed and laid down on the empty side. Nozomi brought her hand up to cup Eli's cheek and gave her a quick kiss, "... For good luck..." she rested her head on the pillow and kept a close eye on Eli for the rest of the night. She eventually passed out after all of today's events caught up with her.
Hanayo sat at her desk and scratched her head. It had been weeks since the incident at the gym happened and there have been no signs of movement from Kotori. "What are you planning, Kotori...?" she spun a pencil around her fingers as she thought.
The door to her office swung up and two girls walked in, "We finished that kidnapping case you sent us on."
"Good, return to the cage and I'll let you know when your next assignment comes up," Hanayo waved them off and returned to her computer. Everything on the screen was just leftover attempts at trying to figure out where Kotori had been hiding.
"Wait a minute..." Hanayo sat up and leaned closer to inspect the almost meaningless clues.
The doors to the office opened and a ginger haired girl lead an orange haired girl inside. Kotori spun around in her chair to face the two women, "I'm surprised you came, Tiger."
Rin stretched her arms in response, "What do you want from me?"
"I need your services on my team," she replied.
Rin scoffed, "What makes you think I would join you? I'm my own boss."
Kotori reached down for a case underneath her desk and tossed it over, "I would imagine this to be enough for you to join."
Rin approached the case carefully and opened it to see more money than she had ever seen before. It was like she had won a tournament but it was multiplied, the money shined in her eyes but she remained strong willed, "Nice try, but this won't get me to join you."
"I also have another offer to add," Kotori replied.
Rin raised her brow, "More than this?"
Kotori smiled, "Revenge," she uncrossed her legs and stood up to get closer to Rin, "I can help you get revenge on Rabbit & Panther."
Rin gulped, "Are you serious?"
"I have the perfect plan set up, and if you join my side right now, you'll just be in time for the show," Kotori whispered into her ear and made her way back to her desk.
Rin clenched her fist and thought to herself, "If I just deal with this, I can have all this money and kill Rabbit & Panther for good..." she closed her eyes and debated the topic in her head for several seconds before opening her eyes slowly and staring back at Kotori. A grin crossed her face, "You have a deal..."
Hanayo pressed the button for the intercom and spoke into it, "Rabbit, Panther, I have a location for you two to check out," Hanayo clicked through her computer and looked at her clues, "I believe they're hiding out at this old construction site."
"We'll be up in a minute," a voice replied.
Maki let go of the button and turned to face Umi who was laying down on her bed, "We have to get ready, Umi."
"What is it this time? A babysitting job?" Umi sat up from her bed.
"Widow thinks she found out where that Kotori girl is hiding," Maki answered.
Umi stood up and reached under Maki's bed to pull out their case full of gear, "It sure took her a long time, being a "master" hacker and all."
Maki shrugged, "Eh, if it's true we'll get our revenge. If not we just come home, right?"
The two slipped into their gear and made their way up to Hanayo's office, when they entered, Hanayo was already waiting to debrief them on where they were going.
"Rabbit, Panther... After analyzing and tracking the clues that Swallow left behind, I have reason to believe that her and her team are hiding out at this abandoned construction site," she explained.
"Why would they hide there?" Umi asked.
"I'm not sure myself, there are numerous spots where they are open to being attacked, perhaps they're hiding out in the finished part of the building before it was called off," Hanayo suggested.
"Are you sure this time that it's them? Everywhere you sent us before came out empty handed," Maki asked.
"I know how Swallow thinks, everywhere we went to now was just a diversion until we found that place," Hanayo answered, "Wolf will drop you off at the location and be back in 30 minutes as usual."
The two girls nodded and left to meet up with Nico in the parking lot. This time it was a black SUV and Nico opened the backseat doors for the two of them. When they got inside, Nico started the engine and quickly sped out of the parking lot towards the construction site.
When they arrived, Maki and Umi jumped out of the car, "Good luck you two, don't die on us," the girls nodded at Nico and she sped off.
Umi and Maki looked at each other and nodded before grabbing a hold of their pistols. They rushed towards the entrance of the construction site and took note of what they could.
It was most likely a half finished building, they could see that a good portion of it had been finished, but the scaffoldings and steel beams at the top suggested that it wasn't finished.
"Alright, just like we planned, Maki..." Umi took point and entered the building with Maki following closely behind her. They remained in formation and moved together, quickly surveying the first few floors with no signs of trouble.
"Do you think this is just another empty one?" Maki asked.
"Not until we reach the top floor..." Umi answered.
"So, I was thinking that after this, we should schedule a vacation for the two of us," Maki continued.
"Now is not the time…" Umi replied harshly.
Maki frowned and lowered her gun, "Aww come on, we can go to the Bahamas, or maybe Jamaica. Some place warm would be great…"
"Quiet down…" Umi kicked back and made contact with Maki's shin, causing the redhead to react violently.
"What the hell? Can't you just cover my mouth instead of hitting me?" Maki yelled in a hushed tone.
"Do you hear the music?" Umi asked.
Maki bent down and rubbed her shin as she listened for the music, it was the same music box tone that the two of them heard when they encountered Fox and Tanuki, "Do you think it's those knock off kids tv show evil duo again?"
Umi accidentally giggled and regained her composure quickly, "M-Maybe, watch out for Tanuki's traps."
Maki nodded and they carefully traversed the building towards the source of the music. The two followed the source until it could be heard from the other side of a doorway. The duo nodded at each other and prepared to breach the room, "Alright, kick it!" Umi ordered.
Maki cranked her leg up and thrusted her foot forward, forcing the door open and allowing for the both of them to storm in.
The duo lowered their firearms when they spotted a single person waiting for them in the center of the room. A small table with a music box on top was right next to her and the girl smiled sinisterly, "Lights out," she said with a snap.
The lights in the room shut off and the windows were immediately sealed by steel sheets, "Maki stick close to me!" Umi yelled.
"I'm trying, I can't see shit!" Maki yelled back.
Umi grabbed a hold of Maki's hand and carefully navigated the room, "Get your flashlight out, I'll cover you."
Maki felt Umi let go of her hand and quickly reached into her pockets for a tactical light to put on her pistol, "Umi, I got it."
"Alright, switch it on quickly," Umi ordered.
Maki felt her hand being grabbed again and flipped on the tactical light. The area the light illuminated was rather dim and barely offered much to begin with, "Hey Umi? I think this thing is defective…" she waved the light towards Umi and gasped.
The person in the light wasn't Umi and a cloth quickly covered over her mouth and nose, "S-Shi…"
Maki felt her consciousness slowly slipping away before the cloth was pulled away from her mouth. Her legs gave out and she felt a pair of arms underneath her own, dragging her away from where she stood. Her body was thrown against a chair and bindings wrapped around her wrist and ankles before a sharp prick to the side of her neck brought her back to her senses, "W-What just happened?!"
Maki tried desperately to escape from the bindings but was unable to break through with her strength. She jerked her head back and forth in search of the person that attacked her, "Where are you, you coward?!"
A large thud shook the floor and the lights switched back on. Maki looked straight ahead to see Umi at the end of the room holding onto another woman's hand.
The two of them made eye contact and Umi's eyes widened immediately. Maki watched as the woman behind Umi smiled and landed a roundhouse kick against Umi's back, propelling her towards Maki, "Umi!" the redhead screamed.
Umi's body flew closer and closer until it suddenly came to a stop. Her body fell down and she stumbled onto her feet. The blue haired girl turned around and pushed against an invisible force a couple of feet away from Maki.
Maki remembered the loud thud from earlier just before the lights switched on, it must have been a thick glass wall. Maki bounced around in her seat in attempts to escape and watched as Umi helplessly banged on the glass.
"Hey Rabbit, are you ready for round two?" the woman asked.
Umi turned around and recognized her face now that the room was lit, "Tiger…" she gripped onto her pistol tighter and glanced back at Maki before shooting a few rounds into the glass. As she suspected, it was bulletproof. It would take more ammo than she had on her to break through.
"There's no tagging out this time, Rabbit," Rin licked her lips and smiled, "Only one of us is making it out tonight."
Umi gulped and faced Rin once again, "You really want to go at it again, huh?"
"I've been training ever since our last encounter, I can't wait to snap that pretty little neck of yours once I'm done toying with you…" Rin spat.
Umi readied herself for the fight and glanced over at Maki who continued to struggle to escape. When she looked back at Rin, the woman was already a few feet in front of her, giving Umi a split second to react.
She brought her arms up to cover her face but felt something drive into her stomach instead. She stumbled back against the glass wall and held her stomach. The pain resonated and pulsated around her abdomen.
She kept her eyes fixated on Rin and watched for her next attack. It was a straight punch which Umi was able to dodge easily. After several dodges, Umi managed to make it to the other side of Rin, away from the glass wall.
"Dodging just like the little Rabbit you are," Rin teased.
Umi gripped her gun and began her assault, Rin was able to parry her attacks where she used her pistol, but Umi landed most of her hits because of how focused Rin was on not getting shot.
"Hey, get that gun away, you cheater!" Rin yelled.
Umi ignored her words and continued to attack until she was able to land a shot on Rin's leg.
"Ahhh!" The girl collapsed to the ground after taking a step back and looked up at Umi with furious eyes, "That's not fair!"
Umi pointed her gun at Rin and approached her carefully, "Let Maki go."
Rin laughed and held her hands up, "I'm afraid that the others have a different plan for your precious Panther."
Umi's brow furrowed, "Let her go now. Or I will shoot you."
Rin forced herself onto her feet despite her wound and smiled, "You're going to have to ask someone else for that."
Umi glanced over Rin's shoulder and noticed Nozomi standing behind Maki, "What the-"
Umi was cut off by a knee driving against her chin, knocking her onto her back and writhing in pain, "Never take your eyes off your prey, Rabbit!"
Umi held up her gun weakly and it was immediately kicked out of her hand by Rin. The girl stood over Umi and smiled sadistically, "Game over, Rabbit."
Rin reached down and lifted Umi by her collar before placing her arm around her neck and putting the girl in a chokehold, "Now let's watch as Tanuki has some fun with little ol Panther."
Umi struggled to escape from Rin's chokehold, but it only became tighter the more she did, "Woah there, Rabbit. Take it easy, I wouldn't want to accidentally snap your neck before the fun begins."
Rin firmly kept Umi tame and the two watched as Nozomi placed her hands on Maki's shoulders, "Good evening, Panther."
"Tanuki…" Maki replied coldly, "How's Fox? Dead I bet…"
Maki felt the hands around her shoulders grip tighter before one of them chopped down and made her go weak, "W-What did you just do to me?"
Nozomi remained silent and pushed Maki's head to the side until her neck was open, "H-Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Without a single word, Nozomi pulled out a syringe and stabbed it into Maki's neck, injecting her with an unknown liquid.
"Maki!" Umi screamed, she struggled again to escape but it was no good.
Maki felt her body starting to heat up and she began sweating in a matter of minutes, "What the hell did you put into me?!" she yelled.
Nozomi smiled, "A hallucinogenic concoction I made with some aphrodisiac mixed in. I suppose you can call this a psychotic love potion."
"Wh-What?!" Maki struggled to keep herself calm.
Nozomi tossed Maki's knife onto her lap and made her way to a door, "By the way, Fox is alive… but you two won't be."
"Hey! Hey get back here!" Maki yelled, "What is going to happen to me?! Tell me!"
Maki watched Nozomi exit the room and listened for what sounded like an electronic lock. She glanced down at her knife and kicked her leg up just enough to suspend the knife in air and catch it with her teeth, "I got to get out of here and help Umi quickly."
She cut away the bindings around her wrists and then her ankles before propelling herself off the chair and towards the glass wall. She banged on it over and over again, "Umi! Umi!" Maki shook her head and held it with one hand, "Ugh, my head…" pain pulsated and beat her head, the more time passed, the more it amplified.
Rin smiled devilishly and twisted Umi's face toward her own, "How about we put on a little show for your precious panther?" Rin pushed her lips against Umi's and forcibly began kissing her. Umi's eyes widened as she tried to escape from Rin's clutches.
Maki's jaw dropped in disbelief, "No… What are you doing, Umi?! Get away from her!" Maki gripped her knife harder and started driving it into the glass wall repeatedly.
Umi felt herself get pushed onto the floor before Rin was on top of her again. The orange haired girl brought her face closer to Umi's and began kissing her once again, "You have nice lips for a killer, Rabbit."
"Get off of me…" Umi replied coldly.
Maki watched the two of them lock lips and slowly drove into insanity, "Umi! Stop kissing her! You already have me!" Maki screamed and reach for the chair she sat on earlier, using it to bash against the glass wall until it cracked. She attacked the wall over and over again as the cracks spread further and further.
"Now for a little teaser to really get her off," Rin laughed. She tugged on Umi's shirt until the buttons were undone and undid her pants, "Just wait until she sees this," Rin tossed Umi's clothes to the side, leaving her in her underwear before kissing her once again.
With a fearsome roar, Maki chucked the chair at the wall hard enough to create a weakness in the wall to punch a hole for her to see through. When she spotted Rin and Umi, her eyes widened and an anger boiled up inside of her, "Umi! You're cheating on me!"
Maki continuously punched around the hole in the glass wall until it was big enough for her to squeeze through. She stumbled to her feet and sprinted towards the two of them before she tripped over her own feet.
"Time for me to leave you two alone," Rin announced. The orange haired girl got off of Umi and quickly escaped behind a door.
The blue haired girl sat up and brushed herself off before she was tackled by Maki, "M-Maki?!"
"Umi… how dare you cheat on me with that bitch!" Maki yelled.
"Maki, stop!" Umi yelled back.
"I saw it, I saw the look on your face when you kissed her! Did you think I wouldn't notice?!" Maki screamed.
Umi felt pain around her arms where Maki gripped, "M-Maki, you need to relax, the drug that Nozomi gave you is making you irrational."
"Irrational?! You're the one lying here almost naked with that woman!" Maki yelled.
"She was doing it to make you angry, I promise you Maki, I wasn't cheating on you or anything. She forced me into that," Umi replied calmly.
"Shut up! You're mine, and I'm going to make you remember that!" Maki pushed Umi onto the ground and forced their lips together.
"M-Ma...ki…" Umi muttered in between kisses.
Maki grabbed her knife and poked Umi lightly with it, "If I can't have you, then I'm willing to kill you so that no one else can."
Umi gulped nervously as Maki brought the knife up to her neck, "... Maki, listen to me, the drugs are making you crazy…"
"Stop talking!" Maki tossed her knife to the side and wrapped her hands around Umi's neck.
Umi felt Maki's hands tightening and strangling her, making it difficult to breathe, "Ma... ki…"
"I love you Umi! I love you so much! This is why I have to do this!" Maki yelled. She grabbed Umi's neck harder and began bashing the back of her head against the ground. Umi held on for as long as she could before blacking out.
Umi sprung awake in what seemed like a few moments underneath a single light, "W-What?!"
Rin stepped into her sight and smiled, "Welcome back from the dead, Rabbit. I did say that I would be the one to kill you for good."
Umi breathed heavily and looked around, "Wh-Where's Maki?!"
Rin snapped her fingers and another light shined on Maki who was passed out and tied to a chair. It looked like she was hooked up to a machine, "Maki?! Maki wake up!" Umi yelled.
The redhead fluttered her eyelids open and made eye contact with Umi, "...Umi…?"
Rin giggled, "You put on quite a show earlier," she mocked.
Maki glanced down shamefully, "I'm sorry… Umi…"
Rin pranced over and grabbed Maki's hair, pulling up so that her face was visible, "I don't think she heard you, say it again!"
"Fuck you."
Rin's face twisted from playful to angry. She struck Maki's gut in response, causing the redhead to wretch from the attack, "You'll get what's coming to you, Panther. But first, we're going to play a little game!" Rin reached down next to Maki and jammed a spherical helmet onto her. On the backside of the helmet was a tube which connected it to the machine.
Rin skipped forward and twirled around, "As you can see, both of you are strapped to this nifty machine," she knelt down next to Umi and smiled, "What machine, do you ask?"
She jumped onto her feet and spun her way over to the machine, "With a flip of this switch, this machine will start monitoring both of your heart rates!" The duo glanced at each other in fear before Rin spoke up again, "So here's how the game works! I'm going to keep killing you two over and over again until I get bored."
"W-What are you talking about?" Maki asked nervously.
Rin walked across the room to grab a dirty rag and one of many gallons of water off of a table, "I'm going to drown your little Rabbit here until she dies. Once her heart rate stops, that is going to trigger the failsafe system and begin sucking the air out of your tiny little lungs."
Maki gulped nervously and looked at Umi who wore the same expression as she did, "Once you die, the counter failsafe system will activate, causing this little bunny to rise from the dead only to be killed again."
"And you can guess that it rinses and repeats until I'm tired of killing you two," Rin said while laughing, "And now, to get on with the torture porn!"
Umi began struggling to get out of her restraints and looked at Maki who was doing the same. Their eyes met and Maki wore an expression of fear, "Look away Maki! Look awa-" Umi's mouth was forcefully covered with the rag that Rin held and she immediately felt copious amounts of water flooding both her mouth and her nostrils.
She tried to swallow as much of the water as she could and try to breathe but the thickness of the rag after it had been soaked by the water prevented her from getting a good breath of air. Her body writhed as she tried her hardest to hang on for dear life.
"Umi!" Maki called out.
"Just let it take over you, Rabbit…" Rin whispered.
Umi clenched her hands as hard as she could before it became unbearable. There was too much water and not enough time to breathe. She felt her consciousness fade away and her heart slowly came to a stop.
Maki's jaw dropped, "Umi? H-Hey wake up! You're just pretending, right?" A high pitched beep invaded Maki's ears and she felt the hose behind her starting to vacuum the air out of her helmet, "S-Shi-"
It didn't take long for her to start gasping for air. She tried to move every part of her body to take the helmet off, but she was binded to the chair. She was unable to do anything but accept her death. Her chest began feeling heavy, she breathed for air, but nothing would enter her lungs. Maki closed her eyes and dropped her head to the side.
Another high pitched beep filled the room and Umi's body jolted from the shock pads already secured to her. She gasped for air and opened her eyes as quickly as she could, "Welcome back again, Rabbit."
Umi breathed heavily and glanced up at Rin, "I'm going to kill you…" she said with a sinister tone.
Rin smiled and moved in closer, "Aww, is someone a little sad that her Panther is dead?" she used her hand to tilt Umi's face towards Maki.
Umi's jaw dropped when she saw the lifeless redhead slumped over on the chair, "You… Let her go now!"
Rin pondered on the thought sarcastically, "Hmm, you know what? Maybe I should since you asked so forcibly. What do I look like? An idiot?"
Umi scoffed, "You're going to end up looking a lot worse once we escape…"
Rin pranced over to Maki and played with her like a puppet, mocking her voice, "Umi, please save me! I'm useless and need your help~"
Umi gritted her teeth, "Stop that!"
"I don't know, I think this act is funny, how about you Rin?" Rin turned Maki's head to face her, "Gee, I put so much time and effort into this joke."
Rin let go of the helmet and Maki's lifeless body returned to how it was before Rin tampered with it. She looked at the clock and glanced over at Umi, "Hey, I'll give you a chance to save her." Umi stared menacingly at the girl without a word, "You see, if she is dead for too long, there's no way to bring her back."
Rin clapped and smiled at Umi, "So! To save her before it's too late, I'll just have to kill you again. It's totally your choice though."
Umi balled her fists until she could feel her fingernails digging into her palms, "...Do it…" she muttered.
"What was that? Are you asking me to kill you again?" Rin teased.
"Just fucking do it!" Umi yelled.
Rin backed away, "Woah, no need to yell. This is a very civil conversation."
Umi closed her eyes and took a deep breath before the wet rag was placed over her face and water began filling her mouth once again. She naturally struggled to stay awake, but that only delayed the inevitable.
Umi died once again and Maki's machine began pumping oxygen back into Maki's helmet before her heart was jump started. The redhead jerked awake violently and looked around while gasping for air. Her head was fuzzy but when her eyes landed back on Rin her energy returned, "Fucking Tiger! I'm going to rip your head off if you don't let us go!"
Rin approached the aggravated redhead and kicked her stomach, "You should save your breath, you're going to need it."
"I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do," Maki threatened.
"Oh? Even if it costs the life of your precious Rabbit?" Rin asked.
Maki gripped the armrests on her chair tighter, "What are you getting at…?"
"You see, Rabby over there voluntarily asked to be drowned so that you could live. Now it's only fair since it's in the rulebook that I have to inform you that you have the option to die again so she can live," Rin replied.
Maki gritted her teeth until it started to hurt her jaw, "... Kill me."
Rin's eyes widened and she began clapping, "Holy smokes, no hesitation at all! I like that!" Rin raised her hand for a high five and then laughed, "I'm just kidding, you can die now."
Maki heard Rin push a button out of sight and the machine began sucking air out of her helmet once again. Rin watched with pleasure as the life slowly drained from Maki's face a second time before a knock on the door interrupted her, "For the love of…"
Rin stomped her way towards the door and swung it open, "Who is it?! Can't you see I'm bus-" her words cut off when she felt something puncture her neck, making her drowsy in a matter of seconds. She fought as hard as she could, but the mix was too strong for her to resist.
Rin collapsed to the ground and a shadowed figure stepped over her body and into the room. Maki held whatever breath she had left and turned her head to face the shadowed figure. Her eyes instantly gleamed with hope as the figure came closer and pried the helmet off of her.
Maki gasped for air like she never had before and hunched back to get as much into her lungs as possible. She felt the bindings around her wrists and ankles give away and glanced over at the figure, "What took you so long, Wolf?"
"Kept you waiting, huh?" Nico replied.
Maki scoffed, "That's the understatement of the year…" she ripped away everything plugged up to her and ran for Umi, "Hey Umi, wake up!"
She slapped the girl's cheeks and immediately began CPR, "Wake up!"
Nico grabbed Maki's shoulder, "What?!"
"They've got ground forces storming the building, we need to move now," Nico answered.
"Can't you see I'm trying to save Umi's life?! Give me a few minutes!" Maki yelled.
Nico pulled Maki's shoulder enough to face her, "We don't have a few minutes! Unhook her and we'll revive her later!"
Maki pushed Nico away, "Screw you! I'm going to bring her back before it's too late!"
"By the time you bring her back, we'll be dead!" Nico yelled.
"Just shut up and let me work!" Maki screamed back.
"I'm sorry…" Nico held up her gun and pulled the trigger.
Maki felt a prick in her neck and instantly became drowsy, "Wh-wha…" her legs became weak and she passed out before she hit the ground.
Nico sighed and checked how many tranquilizer rounds she had left before throwing both of the girls over her shoulders, "It never gets easier…"
Nico sprinted out of the room and down the corridor, "Crap!" she quickly pressed herself against a corner as a team of enemy forces rushed up the stairs and went the other direction. She made it halfway down the stairs before she caught a glimpse of a few lights coming up the stairs, "Another team, are you kidding me?"
Nico turned around and sprinted back up the steps and up another floor, "We won't be able to get out at this rate with all of them swarming the exits…"
She continued up the stairs until she reached the highest completed floor of the building, "Okay, options… options…" Nico looked around as quickly as she could, "There's a ladder there… but how am I going to get both of them down?"
Nico jogged over to the ladder and glanced down to see how far the trip was, "Even if I took one of them at a time, we'll be caught like deers in front of headlights…" Nico looked around until she spotted a nearby industrial sized dumpster which looked like it was filled loads of trash and cardboard boxes, "Not the best plan, but it's our only one…"
Nico strapped the girls as tightly as she could to her body and prepared to make the jump. She took a deep breath and broke into a sprint towards the edge of the building before leaping as far as she could. The three of them fell alarmingly fast and landed hard in the piles of trash. Nico let out a gasp as she tried her best to cope with the amount of pain she just went through. Luckily the other two were already passed out, but that didn't mean they could have broken something during the fall.
Nico stood up quickly and climbed out before proceeding on foot with the girls still over her shoulders. She snuck over to the side to spot that her getaway vehicle had already been seized by Kotori's forces. She clicked her tongue and looked around for any other transport options, "They cleared this place out, I'm going to have to run for it…"
Nico readjusted the girls over her shoulders and jogged off as quickly as she could, "Alright, think Nico. HQ is too far away, by the time I get there, Umi won't have a chance to wake up again…"
"I'll just have to take them to that place…" Nico made a quick turn and headed for their temporary sanctuary.
Maki's eyes flung open to see a nurse sitting by her bedside. The room was annoyingly white and it took time for her eyes to adjust, "Are you awake, Panther?" Maki glared at the nurse with a nasty expression, but the nurse returned it with a smile, "You are safe here, Panther. We are not your enemies."
Maki eased herself just a little before speaking up, "Where am I? Where's Umi?"
The nurse got up off her seat and presented Maki with a glass of water, "Please, drink first. You must be thirsty."
Maki grabbed the glass and gulped it all in one go, "There, now tell me."
"You're at Otonokizaka Day Care, Wolf brought you and your partner here," she replied.
"Umi, where is she?!" Maki sat up and was pushed back down gently by the nurse.
"She has recovered from death, but unfortunately, she hasn't awoken yet. It seems like it took too much time for her to arrive to fully recover," the nurse answered.
"W-What do you mean… she didn't have a full recovery?" Maki asked.
"If she were to have made it here on time, she would be awake by now. But she has yet to awaken. We believe she is in a comatose state," she answered.
"Umi… This is all my fault…" Maki hung her head and stared into her palms. Images of her strangling Umi flashed before her eyes. She could remember how soft and weak Umi's neck was in her grip. She could remember how hard she bashed Umi's head against the floor.
Her hands shook until the nurse grabbed both of them, "Whatever happened last night, is already done. The only thing you can do now is make up for it… Would you like to see Rabbit?"
Maki nodded and the nurse helped her onto her feet, "Watch your step, sometimes the kids leave toys on the ground."
"I hope there aren't any legos…" Maki replied.
The nurse laughed, "Well let's just say your hope might get shattered."
Maki followed the nurse through a set of doors and could see numerous kids playing around with a few caretakers from the other side of the hallway window. The sight made her smile.
"Are you fond of children, Panther?" the nurse asked.
Maki cleared her throat, "Just a little… I couldn't be a mother myself anyways."
"You say that like you have no hope left," the nurse replied.
"I get satisfaction from taking lives, who would want a mother like me?" Maki asked.
"Would you like to have a child with Rabbit?" the nurse asked.
Maki blushed and continued walking, "It's too late for us… we're monsters… not mothers…"
The nurse frowned and caught up with Maki, "Just a little further and we'll get to Rabbit's room."
The two came to a stop in front of an unlabeled door and the nurse unlocked it with a key. She pushed the door opened and let Maki in first. Her eyes widened when she saw Umi hooked up to a machine, "Umi…"
Maki stepped forward and the nurse slipped in, closing the door behind her, "Her condition is stable, like I said. But she is stuck in a comatose state."
Maki walked up to the blue haired girl whose face looked peaceful. She tapped her cheeks lightly, "Hey Umi… wake up…" she whimpered.
There was no response, only the beeps from the heart rate monitor, "Can you leave us alone for a bit?" Maki asked.
The nurse nodded, "I'll be right outside if you need me."
Maki waited until she heard the door close behind her to grab a chair and rest her head against Umi's lap. She grasped Umi's hand and whimpered silently. The door suddenly flew open and Maki quickly wiped away her tears, "I said that I wanted to be left alone!"
She jerked her head back to see Hanayo and Nico standing by the doorway. When she saw Hanayo's face, an unknown anger built up inside of her until she jumped off her chair and lunged at her, "You! You're the reason why Umi is like this!"
Maki swung her fist towards Hanayo but it was caught and stopped by Nico, "Let go of me, Wolf-" she suddenly found herself upside down and on the ground, "Ahh!"
Nico used her knee to keep Maki pinned to the ground, "Calm down, Panther," she instructed.
"Calm down?! She's the reason why were were lead into that trap! She's the reason why we died!" Maki yelled.
"But you two are still alive…" Hanayo spoke up.
Maki glared up at the woman and spat at her feet, "Kiss my ass…"
"It is true that Rabbit is out of commission, but we still need you, Panther," Hanayo continued.
"Need me?" Maki laughed dryly, "You need me to leave her all by herself?!"
Nico applied more pressure, "You still have a job to complete."
"Why? You know I don't work without Umi," Maki replied with a strained voice.
"Wolf is going to be your new partner until Rabbit recovers," Hanayo replied.
"No way, either I work alone or not at all," Maki spat back.
Nico looked up at Hanayo and shared a nod, "I work better alone anyways, Widow."
Hanayo sighed, "Fine… I'll let you run around on your own."
Nico let go of Maki and helped her to her feet, "What do you need me to do?"
Hanayo fixed her glasses and handed her a file, "Until we find where Kotori is hiding out, I'm sending you on some missions from our clients."
"When did we become available for hire?" Maki asked sarcastically.
"Read those files and do them accordingly. In whichever order you wish to do them in is up to you. Good luck, Panther," Hanayo stepped out of the room leaving Maki and Nico alone.
Nico cleared her throat, "Hey… About Rabbit… I moved as quickly as I could."
"Yeah…" Maki replied coldly.
Nico frowned and left the room quickly, leaving the redhead alone.
Maki picked up the chair that had fallen over and took a seat to view the contents, there were a giant stack of photos of presumably targets that she had to take care of. She shuffled through them emotionlessly until one caught her eye, "Kotori…?"
Maki shuffled around with the other papers and found a note addressed to her from Hanayo, "These are your targets, use them to find Swallow." Maki grinned and began pinning up the pictures in the room, "Alright, Swallow…" Maki grabbed her knife and stabbed it into Kotori's photo, "I'm coming for you."