Kagami could never comprehend why so many people in Vacuo were so rude. Sure, there was a nice person here and there and a few people who just didn't care, but so many of them were so impudent. Life had to be hard in the wastelands but that didn't give these people the right to be so horrible to others.
She really hoped the Kingdom wasn't like this.
If she ever got to the Kingdom that is.
The sand under her feet crunched with each step she took. She knew there was a gun pointed at her head and a finger itching to pull the trigger, but she looked more annoyed than afraid. With her arms loosely up in the air, she sighed. "How much farther do you want to walk?" She glanced back.
"Shut up." Asher snarled.
Taking a deep breath, she stopped dead in her tracks. "Okay. I'm tired of this." She turned around while sliding her hands into her pockets. "What do you want? Why are we out here?"
With a low growl, the fiery redhead placed the barrel of her revolver against her forehead and shoved her head back. "I said shut up! Now keep walking!"
Kagami exhaled. "No." She blankly stated.
Her eyebrow twitched. She flashed her teeth and the light glinted off them. Her semblance. "Listen to me or I will kill you! I swear I will!"
"Then do it." Her nostrils flared as she breathed. Quickly moving her hand up, she grabbed onto Asher's weapon. She then slid her thumb over her trigger finger. "I can help you if you want."
The fire in Asher's eyes ignited with fury. After a few uneasy breaths she let out a shout. "Why the hell won't ya just listen to me?!" She jerked her gun away while stepping up closer. Once again, light flickered off her teeth. "It's only you!" She brought her hands up and shoved her.
The jadette softly grunted while stumbling back. "If you aren't going to tell me why we're out here can we just go back?" She eyed the camp that was at least a twenty minute walk away. "I'm tired."
She took several deep breaths. Her chest rising and falling heavily. With another shout, she dropped her revolver and lunged forward. "Gods, I hate you!" She tackled her down to the ground and straddled her. "Why the hell are you so different?! Why can't I make you like me?!" She raised her fists.
Kagami's eyes widened slightly before she quickly brought her arms to block a near endless array of punches.
"You won't stutter when you speak to me! You won't get nervous when I walk over! You don't care that I'm here at all!" Her breathing hitched as her voice cracked. "But you do..." She trailed off.
"Um, Asher?" Kagami peered around her arms and up at the fiery redhead as she stopped attacking her.
Gritting her teeth, she glared down at her. "I can make anyone like me. I can convince them to do anything I say. I can make anyone care for me more than anyone else in their lives. I can do this to everyone. Except you." She took a few deep breaths while lowering her head. "But you still care enough to come back here and save my life..."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. The wind whistled as it blew across the sands. Taking a deep breath, Asher pushed herself off her and stepped away. "I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She crouched down while reaching up to run her fingers through her there. She then let out a frustrated scream.
Blinking, Kagami stared up at the night sky. "What... what just... what the fu-" She cut herself off and sharply breathed in while closing her eyes. After a few seconds, she exhaled and sat up. With her arms resting over her knees, she looked over. "Asher?" She quietly spoke.
"Shut up!" She snapped back.
She stared at her for a moment before sighing. After pushing herself to her feet, she picked up the custom revolver and walked over. "Why did you bring me out here?" She asked while holding out the weapon.
Asher quickly snatched it and holstered it. "I don't know." She grumbled while looking away.
Kagami stared again before eventually nodding. Staying quiet, she sat down beside her. She took a deep breath before bringing her legs up and resting her arms over them. In silence, she looked across the horizon and the endless wave of sand dunes that caressed the clear night sky.
Looking over, Asher narrowed her blazing eyes at her. The broken moon's light bounced off her jade hair and perfectly reflected against her eyes. Baring her teeth, she let out a snarl before bringing her fist back with a shout.
"Huh!?" The jadette's eyes widened. Feeling her knuckles collide with her face, she let out a grunt and fell to the side. With a groan, she laid there for a second before spitting out sand. "Ugh..." She huffed before quickly sitting back up. "What was that even for!?"
She let out a growl while squaring her shoulders. "I don't know!" She snapped before harshly standing up and pushing herself away.
With a sigh, Kagami rubbed her face. "Why is this place like this..." She sighed before getting herself onto her feet. "Okay then." She raised her voice. "What do you know? Huh?"
Turning back to her to glare, she held out her hands. She then let out a frustrated scream while reaching up to rub her head. "Why are you like this?!"
"I literally have no idea what's going on!" She waved her hands around.
The redhead let out another furious scream. "Your dumb ass friend was right! You're useless!"
"My... what?" She blinked confused. "What are you..." She trailed off before her brow knitted in thought. "Wait do you...?" Her head tilted.
Asher deadpanned. The wastelands fell still for a moment before she let out a shout. She charged forward, tackling Kagami back to the ground. After pinning her, she slammed her forehead against her face.
This time, it stung. Kagami hissed and jerked as her aura fizzled from the blow. She shook her head and roughly blinked several times. "Why do you keep doing that!?"
"Because I don't know what else to do!" Her voice cracked. "I... I don't know." She tightened her grip on her. "My parents, they didn't really want me. They were siblings. They had each other. But they wanted someone they could use. Someone they could force to work for free and starve. They were cheap and careless and greedy. So I ran away. My arms and legs were so thin they could snap like a twig. I walked through this hell till there were blisters on my feet and my skin was burning from the sun."
She paused and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I found a small campsite. Thought it was just some bandits. I went to steal some of their food and water but pa was there. He threatened to smash my hands with a hammer for trying to steal from him and wanted to bring me back to my parents. But dad noticed something was wrong. There was a whole lot of arguing, but dad eventually convinced pa to have me work for them instead.
"And unlike my parents, they were bastards about it. It was simple work not bone breaking labor. I got to eat three meals a day and not one meal every three days. I got stronger. Better. I wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. I was at the top of the food chain and I was going to stay there. And then my semblance manifested." She flashed a smile as her teeth flickered. "I was the one calling the shots. I was the one telling people what to do. I was the person everyone liked! No one was ever going to hate and use me again!"
Asher stared down at the jadette after realizing how long she had been speaking. She swallowed. "Then you show up. And I can't do a damn thing with you. I can't make you like me, you hate me just like all the rest of them, but you still care enough to risk your life for me. Nobody has ever cared like that before..."
Everything fell quiet again. Kagami stared up at her with a furrowed brow. She slowly breathed in before closing her eyes. A second later, she bashed her head against hers.
The redhead let out a shout as she stumbled back. "What the hell?!" She aggressively rubbed her forehead.
"Yeah, it's not so fun, is it?" She huffed.
With a low groan, Asher took off running towards her. This time Kagami was ready though. When she lunged, she grabbed her arms and flipped her over her before tossing her aside.
Landing on her feet and balancing herself with one hand, Asher snapped her head up and growled. Reaching up with her other hand, she unbuckled the holsters on her body and let all three revolvers fall against the shifting sands. She then quickly pushed herself off the ground and went sprinting straight towards the jadette.
The two traded blows far into the night. Kagami was pushing the limits of her endurance to keep up with Asher but eventually the redhead fell to her knees in exhaustion. Out of breath and panting heavily, she purposely fell onto her back with a grunt and went to stare up at the sky and the countless stars.
With harsh breaths, Kagami rested her hands on her knees for a moment before making her way towards her. She collapsed onto the sand and rolled over onto her back. "Feel better...?" She asked between breaths.
"I... still hate you..." Was her reply.
"Right..." She nodded before swallowing. She tasted sand. Gods, she hated sand. "Well, I still don't like you either..."
"Shut up..." Asher waved her hand with a groan. After catching her breath, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "It's Fenix." She suddenly said.
"What?" The jadette eyed her.
"My name is Fenix. My real name. The name my parents gave me. It's Fenix."
Kagami blinked a few times before shifting. "Your name is Asher." She smiled while placing a hand on her shoulder. "You left that life behind and climbed out of the ashes that were left from its relentless flames."
The fiery redhead softly smiled back at her. It quickly faded though and she looked away. "You need to stop being so nice to everyone. It won't help you here. You're just going to get hurt."
"Then I guess I'll just get hurt." She moved her hands behind her head and stared up at the broken moon. "Because I'm not changing. I don't care if it's easier to be mean. I'm not going to walk over people to get what I want."
"You're delusional." Asher let out a small laugh while shaking her head.
"Maybe." She let out an amused scoff. "But at least I'm honest."
"Don't forget stupid."
"Are you done?"
"Heh." The redhead moved her hands across her chest and relaxed with a sigh. "I guess. I still want to kick your face into the sand."
"That's fine. Because so do I." Kagami stood up and held out her hand. "I do have a question though." She gained a devious grin. "How does your semblance work?"