A/N: So, this chapter is a long, but necessary flashback chapter. Thank you for enduring my first chapter.
Chapter 2
The memory of that day still rang clear in my memory, despite my efforts to forget.
I was fifteen, at an age where my greatest worry was a test in math. I was always an outsider, even in my own family. Mother and Father absolutely fawned over Kumiko, who had just made her debut at eighteen as an actress. The three of them would always chatter on about Kumiko's latest photo shoot or filming of her drama, One Thousand Blossoms.
My only solace was martial arts. Despite my normal awkwardness, I excelled in the practice. I was proficient in jujutsu, which was the Japanese martial art involving indirect force to defeat an opponent, such as locks and throws. It suited my personality of "I won't attack you unless you piss me off", so it was easy to say that while I wasn't a very violent child, it was still dangerous to be on my bad side.
Although I enjoyed jujutsu, my true love was bōjutsu, the art of wielding a staff called the bō. Whereas my friends would always marvel at swordplay, I preferred the simplicity of a wooden staff. Which is not to say it was easy it was simple learning how to wield the bō.
On that day, I was walking home from the dojo, very bruised and exhausted from getting whaled on during practice. My sister was standing at our usual meeting place, a coffee shop a block away from the dojo. She was dressed in a highly fashionable designer top and miniskirt with expensive-looking sunglasses. As soon as she saw me, she clopped forward angrily toward me in high heels/torture devices.
"I don't know why Mom and Dad always want me to walk you home. I guess it's because it would be bad to my reputation as celebrity to have my little sister wandering around the city," she complained.
I rolled my eyes. "You can just meet me at the dojo, you know."
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I can't be seen in a dingy little dojo. And I also can't be parading around with a smelly younger sister in a hakama. So go change. Quickly!" she said and tossed a bag at me. "They're my clothes from my last photo shoot. I don't want them anymore. You can keep them."
Biting down a protest, I went into the coffee shop and changed in the bathroom. "How do you wear this, Kumiko?" I thought to myself as I stared at the sickeningly cute, floral mini dress that I was forced to wear. "And it even has lace!" I whined. I exploded when I saw the shoes which were high heeled and strappy. I stomped out of the bathroom angrily. "And she knows I hate girly clothes!" I yelled, causing the customers at the coffee shop to stare at me.
"You look adorable!" Kumiko squealed.
I shot her one of my famous dagger glares. "Never call me adorable," I warned.
As usual, she was the only person I knew completely unfazed by my intimidating stare.
"You should wear more pretty clothes, Hitomi. You look so boyish in your normal clothes. In fact, I would have thought you were a boy this morning if it weren't for your hair."
"And why is that a bad thing? My clothes are comfortable, affordable, and most importantly, not pink. And besides, this dress is too short!" I ranted, tugging the dress, which refused to go below my knees.
"I can't help it if you're weirdly tall. Whatever. I have to go to a filming for a commercial in an hour, so shut up and hurry up," my sister snapped impatiently. Such sisterly affection.
"Well let's take a shortcut!" I retorted. Grinning, I grabbed Kumiko's hand and dragged her down an alleyway. She stumbled behind me, hissing and shouting curses as she struggled to break free of my iron grip.
I didn't actually know where we were headed and after a series of sharp turns, I realized we were lost.
"Let go of my hand!" Kumiko screeched and dug her nails into my arm.
"Okay, okay, I'm letting go," I said and released her arm. Angry red, crescent-shaped marks throbbed on the underside of my forearm. Those decorated fake nails hurt! Nursing my arm, I glanced around. It was your typical dimly lit corridor covered with grime and graffiti. Being an ignorant teenager, I had no idea that I was deep in the territory of the Blood Dragons, one of the most violent gangs in the area.
"If I'm late for my filming, you're going to be in so much trouble," my sister threatened.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said absentmindedly. I had an incredible lack of directional senses and a propensity for getting lost—not your best combination of traits.
"Do you even know where we are, Hitomi?"
"Uh, no," I said and decided to keep walking straight ahead.
"What do you mean 'uh, no'? I thought that this was supposed to be a shortcut! HITOMI!" she said, the panic in her voice evident. She quickly scuttled behind me and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Calm down, Kumiko. I'll figure out how to get out of this labyrinth. Eventually," I said, with the last word under my breath.
"Well, you better!" Kumiko said, the fear in her voice overwhelming the feeble threat.
We walked down the convoluted maze of back alleyways, searching for an exit. Kumiko jumped nearly ten feet in the air every time she saw a rat zoom across our path. Which was to say, every couple minutes.
We took what seemed to be our hundredth left turn, when we chanced upon a group of figures dressed in black jackets, emblazoned with the snarling face of a dragon, blood dripping out of its maw.
What I saw was traumatizing for a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, who never even watched a horror movie before. There was a man in a worn-looking suit, lying face down in a pool of blood, surrounded by three other men, one of which held a blood-covered knife. They were young, probably no older than Kumiko.
"That's what happens when you don't pay your gambling debts, old man. You'll be an example of what happens to people who try to defy the Blood Dragons," said the one holding the bloody knife. He had spiky hair and glinting black eyes.
"C'mon, Ryuu, the man said that he'd have the money next week," protested the one with shaggy bleached-blonde hair.
The third man with bright red hair punched him in the shoulder. He had a tattoo of a dragon on his neck. "Don't be such a freaking girl, newbie. We're the Blood Dragons, not some pansy motorcycle gang."
"So what are we going to do about the body, Nakayama-san?" asked the spiky-haired Ryuu to the red-haired man.
Kumiko was tugging at my arm, but I was frozen to the spot. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move, transfixed by the sight of the man casually holding the knife that had just slain a man.
"Let's get out of here, Hitomi," my sister hissed, pulling fiercely. But she lost her balance and fell, which startled me from my trance.
This also startled the three men. For a moment, our eyes met and I felt the murder intent in the eyes of the one called Nakayama-san. And in the next, I hauled Kumiko to her feet and ran as fast as I could.
"Don't just stare at them! Get them!" shouted Nakayama, like a true villain. Sure enough, they set off in hot pursuit of us.
At this, I ran even faster, years of martial arts training augmenting my pace. Kumiko, on the other hand, struggled to keep up.
"Move, Kumiko! Run, because your life depends on it!" I yelled. Quickly, I reached down and pulled of my stupid shoes and flung my bag at them. They dodged the projectile and ran faster toward us. Spouting some colorful choice words, I chucked my shoes at them. One clattered harmlessly against a wall. The other shoe smashed into spike-head, who howled in pain as he dropped and clutched his left eye. The other two continued to chase after us. Cursing, I took the lead again, darting an making sharp turns, with Kumiko behind me. Finally, it had seemed that we lost them. Breathing heavily, I turned to my sister who collapsed on the ground.
"Can't...run...anymore...stupid," she panted. I crouched beside her.
"But you know, you run pretty well for a chick in high heels," I joked, nudging her shoulder.
At first she glared at me, but after a few seconds, we burst into laughter.
"That was hilarious when I fell down trying to pull you away!" Kumiko said, giggling madly.
"But it wasn't as funny as when I chucked that shoe at Spike-Head's eye!"
"Spike-Head?" she asked.
"You know, the thug that looks like he sticks his fingers in electrical sockets," I explained.
Kumiko snorted, which caused us to erupt in more hysterical laughter. Tears were beginning to form in the corner of my eye, but our laughter stopped abruptly when three figures approached my field of vision.
"Damn it!" I yelled, jumping to my feet. Kumiko, who had been so lively the moment before, was now silent and pale.
"Let's go!" I hissed, hauling Kumiko up to her feet once more. She wobbled unsteadily for a few seconds, but I yanked her further along the alleyway.
"Those jerks are persistent!" I thought as we stumbled along the path. Finally, the brightness of the bustling city appeared like a vision from heaven. With newfound hope, we sped forward.
Only to be stopped by a red-haired figure that appeared like an angel of death. I turned around, only to be halted by the other two approaching us from the other side. We were cornered.
"You girls are pretty fast, I'll give you that. But this is Blood Dragon territory-you never stood any chance of escaping," drawled the one with blood-red hair.
Instinctively, I stood in front of Kumiko, trying to shield her from the threats closing in on us. I quietly assumed a stance that would prepare me for the multiple opponents that outweighed me.
"We didn't mean to crash your little party back there, but you guys witnessed our 'conversation' with the old man," sneered Spike-Head.
"Yeah, we saw you murder an innocent civilian," I spat, my eyes darting between the three men. Which was the most dangerous?
"We got ourselves a little miss police officer, don't we Yuki?" he jeered, prodding the blonde, who laughed nervously.
"Ryuu, was it? How's your eye? My throwing arm has been out of practice lately," I sneered.
"Why you little-" Ryuu started at me, but red-haired Nakayama held him back. "Don't be so impatient Ryuu. We have to play with them first," he said, with a look in his eyes that sent every alarm signal off in my brain. Grinning sleazily, he fondled Kumiko's hair. "You're such a pretty girl, you know, with such soft hair." She whimpered in absolute terror.
"Don't touch her!" I snarled and batted away his hand with a tightly controlled strike. They only laughed grotesquely.
"Feisty one, eh? You know, you're not so bad yourself," he said, raising his arm to pet my face.
Something inside me snapped at that moment. I grabbed his outstretched hand and using a basic maneuver, flipped him into the pavement. He shouted in pain, but quickly stood back up with an unsettling grin on his face. Both he and Ryuu rushed at me.
I don't quite remember what happened next. Though, I remember seeing red as fists flew and I fought with all my martial arts training. Somehow, while I was whaling on those two, blonde-haired, timid Yuki grabbed Kumiko, who struggled until he pressed a blade against her neck.
"Stop! Don't move or I'll...I'll kill her!" he screamed, but he was trembling.
"No, Kumiko!" I cried. I turned, momentarily distracted, from the other two, which was my fatal error.
That scumbag Ryuu reached into his pocket and jabbed something into my stomach. Pain blossomed in my abdomen as I tried to comprehend what had just occurred.
Everything seemed to pass in slow motion as my eyes trailed down to look at my stomach. There was the handle of a blade jutting out, coated with blood. It was my blood, I realized and collapsed.
Kumiko gave an inhuman shriek as she saw me fall.
My thoughts, becoming increasingly fuzzier, tried to process the situation.
I heard muffled footsteps as they stepped over my crumpled body and toward Kumiko. I wanted to yell, to fight, but I found I could barely even move my index finger. I heard my sister scream once more, but then she fell silent. Silent tears rolled down my face as I struggled to do something, anything.
Somewhere, deep within myself, I felt a small sliver of power, a dwindling flame of energy. Drawing upon my last reserves of strength, I staggered to my feet. My hand, surprisingly steady, moved to wrap my fingers around the hilt of the knife. Biting my tongue to keep myself from crying out, I yanked the blade out of my body, gagging at the stench of blood.
In my blurred vision I saw a cowering Kumiko. The sight of the jeering men and my helpless sister filled me with rage. My vision suddenly became sharp as I shuffled toward them. They were too preoccupied with torturing Kumiko that they didn't notice me approaching.
"Come on girl, we can be 'nice' to you," Ryuu drawled and bet down to stroke her cheek. Kumiko began sobbing uncontrollably and he kicked her in her side. "You're not that that pretty if you cry, so shut up!" he roared, but Kumiko only sobbed louder. At this, his face contorted in rage as he poised himself to strike her again. "I said shut up you-"
He was cut short by my hoarse yell as I plunged the knife into a vulnerable part of his back. "I told you not to touch her," I growled. Just as I was about to rush to Kumiko, I heard the heart-stopping sound of a gunshot and my sister's reaching hand thudded to the floor, her body unmoving. This time I did not scream her name, as I knew it would be of no use. My sister was dead.
The shock caused me to barely register a second gunshot that struck me in the chest. And this time, I felt no spark of energy or life as Nakayama loomed over me, with his hair as red as blood. Oh how ironic.
"You're tough one, you know. I think you might have killed Ryuu," he chuckled. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. I only use my gun when I feel my life is threatened by my prey. So before you die, and I know you'll die this time, thanks for the fight. It was entertaining."
In my fading vision, I saw him turn around and walk away. I laughed at my fate and the bitter irony of my life. But the movement caused me to to cough, spewing blood. And then the pain began to set in, along with the reality of impending death. My largely unexciting life where I was but a shadow of my sister-who would've thought I would have such an eventful death. I almost began laughing again, my head feeling light from the copious amounts of blood flowing from my wounds, but I found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Though, as the world grew black, my last thoughts were of how easy it was to die, almost as simple as falling asleep.
And somehow, I was not afraid.
Phew! That was a long flashback chapter. Rest assured, the next chapter will be back to normal. Please review! Helpful comments are always appreciated.
-CodenameOokami