Linda made sure to pull in easy.
The delivery had gone smooth, not that it was anything difficult anyhow. Distributing new flavors between the gang's three safehouses was something she'd been more than used to. 'Orbital Orange' would be the newest storm to overtake the slurpy world... the less than reputable slurpy world anyway.
The dude wasn't exactly a registered provider, nor producer, which ultimately meant he'd probably be arrested if he came out in public; not to mention the likely theft and copying of his formula that he'd worked so hard on.
The sight of home was pleasant, and Linda made sure to kick the dirt off on the steps before heading inside.
"Yo, rat, I'm back." She called out, hearing a scuffled reply from upstairs.
"I ain't a rat!"
"What are you doing up there?" She called out again, wandering into the kitchen to swipe a snack.
"Cleaning." Was the reply she got, all the while she pulled out a small cardboard container from the fridge. Popping open the sucker revealed the last few chicken bites she had left of her take-out breakfast earlier that morning. It was still fresh... probably.
"Still?" Linda made for the living room now, food in hand and intent on lazing around. "Didn't you get that done earlier?"
"Not upstairs I didn't." Warechu's voice sounded closer, and with a quick glance she watched as he moseyed on in, covered head to toe in dust and grime. "Sheesh, why don't you ever tidy up for once, chu?"
"I'm cool with living in trash." It wasn't a lie either, most of her past work had her scurrying around in filth just to get everything done; soon after the goddesses would always show up and wreck it all, granting the memories of those times a sour tang to them.
"And you call me the rat." Warechu plopped his little behind on the couch, and Linda set her sights back to the TV. "By the way, you going to go pick up Kurome later? My paws are killing me, chu."
"Yeah, sure." She'd driven plenty already today, so what was a few extra hours? "When does she get off?"
"I'd guess at the usual time."
"Really?" Linda sent a questioning look. "Wouldn't there still be a bunch to do? She's there all by herself, and you know how Chuko is when it comes to cleaning the store."
"New game was released today, chu." Warechu leaned back, taking visible comfort in the soft cushions of their worn furniture. "I doubt she's seen much action; lucky girl."
"Huh." That was... a strange bout of luck on their new roomies part, speaking of oddities. "Hey, Warechu, can I talk to you about something?"
"Shoot." His response came casually, but Linda was sharp enough to notice the minor quirk in his voice. Despite his laid back appearance, his curiosity was peaked. Linda never really asked to speak in this manner, unless it was something serious, and she was certain he understood this.
"When we were doing the eggplant delivery, something... happened."
"Okay?" His tone was middling, telling of his focused attention. Linda paused for a second, trying to formulate the proper way of getting her feelings across.
"And, well... we got into this fight." Linda couldn't help but narrow her eyelids as she recalled the battle. "Kurome was strong, yeah, and we beat back most of the guys, but there was this one chick, their leader. She, she just... the woman looked like a hooker, okay."
"Hold up." Warechu but in. "Don't go telling me this awakened something in you-"
"NO!" Linda calmed herself quickly. "I-I mean, no, it didn't. T-this isn't about that, okay? This is about Kurome."
"Did she awaken anything?" He cocked a brow, oblivious to just how right he was, even if it was in the wrong sense.
"No, wait yes, wait no." Linda shook her head. "It's hard to explain. She didn't have any feelings for the bitch... I think. It was... it was different."
"I'm not following." Warechu kept his voice even, flat almost, but with his growing frustrations clear to the keen listener. Linda was more than able to pick out his teetering mood, and did her best to explain as simply as she could.
"She changed... like, really changed." The shadowy haze came to mind. "It was like she was a completely different person. Her eyes got all hollow, like someone who wasn't even there, and she... uh, damn this is hard to explain." The pale lass paused and took in a breath, collecting her bearings once again to hopefully make the next bit understandable. "She looked like she was trying, without actually trying, like her moves were second nature. You feeling me on any of this?"
"Somewhat." Warechu admitted, taking a second to focus. "If I'm getting this right, Kurome somehow altered her whole personality on a dime, and it made her creepy."
"So, you ever going to tell me how you're so good at explaining things."
"Simple, I wasn't there to see it." He leaned forward. "Whatever it was she did sure creeped the hell out of you though, especially with you stuttering this much. You doing alright, chu?"
"Fine... just a little conflicted." Kind of a lie, but also not; emotions were stupidly complex, and Linda hated it. "You know what? I think I'll head out early; ask her how it's going and all that."
"Okay, try to relax a bit though. Kurome's cool now, right?" Linda nodded, and he continued. "So there's nothing to worry about. It was probably just a heat of the moment thing, where she was pissed off. At least we know what she's like when she gets serious."
"Yeah, cool... see you soon."
Linda made her way out to the truck again, plopping in her seat and starting it up. Was the mouse right, could Kurome have just been on edge? If that was the case, then what was all that mumbo-jumbo about 'worthless masses' and 'meat doll'; it was some seriously disturbing stuff. Not to mention the little tidbit of 'isolation'. Kurome while in her trance claimed that particular thing happening decades ago, which begged the question...
Just who was Kurome, and how much of this stuff was legit?
A lot of it sounded like complete waste, especially the 'decades' part. Girl looked just a few years older than herself, and so Linda couldn't quite wrap her mind around the logic of the statement. Either Kurome was talking out of her ass, or something else was going on here; Linda really hoped it was the former.
The drive was uneventful; well, most of it had been anyway - some kid ended up slapping the side of the truck with a mudball. Eventually she pulled in front of the shop, getting out and walking through the front door. The usual jingle greeted her, and before she could even head towards the counter - where she assumed Kurome had been positioned - she was stopped by Chuko.
"Hello Linda, how has your day off been?" The little devil of a mouse offered kindly; a stark illusion to her cut-throat business practices - all completely legal, Chuko would assure you of that.
"Nice, although a little tiring."
"Oh?" Chuko, while not at all a bad person, was usually one to focus on the profits and gains of any situation, but when off duty there was always this underlying since of comradery. "Something bad happen?"
"Nah." Linda waved her worries away. "Nothing crazy or anything. Just a lot of thinking on my part."
"Hmm..." Chuko paused for a bit before speaking up again. "Is thinking really that hard for you?"
Linda momentarily froze, having to pick up the pieces of her dignity from the floor. Okay, she walked right into that one, even she herself would admit to the blunder. Despite the small joke, Linda could see it wasn't all about making fun of her; Chuko's smile, while a little cheeky, did hold some form of worry. Felt nice to have someone actually care about her for once - aside from Warechu at least. Kurome might give a tick about her well being, but Linda hadn't known the girl long enough to accurately say.
"N-no, thinking is perfectly fine for me." She released a breath. "I'm just... a little worried about some personal problems, that's all."
"Ah... I understand." Chuko didn't sound taunting anymore, in fact the worry from her tone had faded as well. "You know Linda, if you ever want to, I can lend an ear if you need it. I may be your boss, but on our off hours I'm just an ordinary acquaintance, and perhaps one day a friend. I have plenty of nephews and nieces who I've looked after from time to time, so if you ever feel too worn out, come see me." The little dictator sent a small wink her way. "One might even say those times babysitting have awakened my motherly instincts."
You, motherly? Linda bit back her shiver, having to restrain every ounce of revulsion to avoid any visible showings of how much that thought disturbed her. Even so, the girl supposed it wasn't quite fair to make that fast of a judgement based solely on the woman's working ways. Who knows, Chuko might actually be a decent person to speak with, when she wasn't convincing you to accept an upcharge that was.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass; I've got this one." Linda saw the woman nod.
"Alright. So, if you're not here to chat, then are you looking for anything in particular? I'm sure you remember the shop's employees get a five percent discount on any recent returns."
"Nope." Linda knew the return rate; that discount was worthless. "I'm actually here to pick up Kurome when she gets off shift."
"Really?" Chuko appeared to visibly perk up. "That's rather convenient actually, as I was just about to let her off."
"Ooh..." Linda cringed as the words hit. "Okay, how did she mess up?"
"What?" Chuko was confused for a second, until she caught the meaning and scrambled out an answer. "No no no no no, she didn't mess up!" The snowy-furred owner toned down her breathing and stature. "As a matter of fact, she's been doing splendidly."
"Really?"
"Yes. Since she's relaxed into her shift, your friend Kurome has caught on quick. We've even managed to attract a few of the teenage demographic to the store. Granted most of them are young men and boys who think goth gamer girls are cool, but hey, a sale is a sale."
"Wait, then why are you letting her off early?" Linda was - understandably - not seeing the logic here.
"Well..." Chuko looked around a bit, and Linda did the same, slowly coming to realize what said reason might be before the mouse even said it; mentally she wanted to slap herself, as this was what Warechu just told her about back home. "With today's newest game releases, things have been rather slow, and we're only a little away from closing anyhow. I can reasonably handle things on my own from here, and I think Kurome could do with a break anyway; it's clear she isn't used to this sort of job."
"You feeling alright today?" This was not the Chuko Linda knew. The aforementioned just huffed at the underlying accusation.
"I'm not that bad. We're just really slow today, a-and I'm losing more money by having her here now. If it were busy I'd have no trouble keeping her, chu!"
"Right, right, I've got you." Linda brushed those excuses aside, and walked over to her friend at the counter, leaving Chuko to stir in her frustrations. Kurome didn't look all that tired, meaning the training and interactions thus far must have gone alright. Kurome looked to notice her as well, sending a somewhat cross expression.
"I thought you had things to do?" The goth spoke, and Linda offered up a smirk.
"Not as much as I thought; got the whole deal over with just a bit ago."
"Alright, so why did you come here?"
"Wanted to see how your first day was going." Linda saw Kurome roll her eyes, and while the woman kept up her indifferent mask, the pale toned street-rat could see a minor flick of emotion brush across it for just a second.
"Fine enough, but not nearly as chaotic as you and the rat made it out to be."
"Hey, don't count your cash yet; you were just lucky. New game release has-"
"Drawn away all the customers, I know. Boss already explained it."
"Great, you're up to speed." Linda then clapped. "Whelp, chop chop, let's get on out of here."
"What?" Kurome offered a soft-faced bout of bewilderment; yeah, Linda partially expected that.
"Slow day, and Chuko told me I can take you." The sickly tinted woman leaned in. "She'll save money not having to pay for hours she can work on her own."
Kurome, in her ever-growing displays of prominent wisdom, shrugged with just enough effort to be visible.
"Fine."
"I'll be waiting in the truck." Linda said before taking off, and true to the plan around ten minutes later she could see the spooky one stroll up. With a click her friend was in the passenger seat, and Linda set their path for home.
"So..." Kurome began in her usual monotone pitch. "Did you know Chuko would send me off early, or was this just a happy little coincidence?"
Damn she's quick. Not even a minute on the road and she was tearing apart the scene.
"The latter." No use in lying. "I wasn't pulling a fast one before though; I really did want to check up on you."
"How thoughtful." Kurome was as drab as ever, but Linda wasn't leaving it at that.
"Well, Shop's closed tomorrow, so I figured why not go take a look at you while I could."
"I must be interesting to you."
"Not so much that..." Linda admitted, feeling the pressures and tension borne of worry earlier that evening begin to wash away as the conversation eased. "I was just hoping to see what chaos you might have gotten into. Actually, it was a little disappointing to learn the day went smooth."
"Guess this serves as a lesson to you." Kurome bore the tiniest of smirks; one only seen from the corner of Linda's vision. "Placing doubt in me only leads to disappointment."
"Meh." The gangster gal threw out a cheeky smile of her own. "You'll slip eventually, and I'll be sure to point and laugh."
"I look forward to your continued disappointment."
Now this... this is the girl I remember. No underlying sadism; no rage or threats; only the half-buried peaks of cockiness and carefree trading of empty insults. Perhaps now, in this moment of calm, would have been a good time to pop the question about what happened before. She fought against that urge however, as the air of peace between them settled with the perfect amount of warmth.
Just the way Linda liked it.
Pulling into their space on the street, Linda hopped out of the truck as she headed for the door.
"We're back." The woman called, not hearing any sort of response. Feeling a little put off - and partially upset - at the lack of return acknowledgement, Linda tried again. "I said we're back!"
Still nothing.
Great, he's probably asleep. She warned him many times before that cleaning as hard as he does would only drain him, and it looked like that outcome was upon her once again. I swear, if I have to carry you from the floor to the bed, you'll regret this, you idiotic animal.
"What's going on?" Kurome slipped in from behind, and rather than explain immediately, Linda walked ahead. This naturally strung a nerve from the dark woman, and she tried once more. "Linda, what's happening?"
"Warechu's worked himself asleep again." She wandered into the living room. "I swear, that stupid rat's gonna get it when he wakes u- THE HELL?!"
Kurome's footsteps quickened, but Linda wasn't paying attention; her eyes were locked and pulled wide at the sight before her. The entire living room was trashed, and their one and only TV lay smashed to bits on the floor. Worst of all, Warechu was nowhere to be seen.
Thus her own shouting became frantic.
"WARECHU! WARECHU! ANSWER ME RAT!" A hand slapped over her mouth, and she was about to start brawling until Kurome's sight linked with her own.
"Calm down." The hand pulled away, and Linda responded appropriately.
"Calm down?!" Her arms flung wide. "How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! Warechu is-"
"Gone." Kurome's gaze hardened, and for a split second Linda could have sworn those pristine orbs of hers dulled. This minor change stilted Linda's thought process, and as she blinked the dampening disappeared.
Great, now I'm seeing things. Linda noticed Kurome perk up a little, and she watched as the midnight colored woman walked over to the couch.
"Look at this." She said, and Linda followed behind, only to catch sight of it herself.
"Those rotten bastards..."
Right there, spray painted on the middle seat, were a familiar set of baby-blue triangles.
Author's note
...
Duh dud duh! Oh no, Warechu has been abducted probably, with the captors leaving behind a warning; really a stupid move on their part, but oh well.
As was probably foreseen, nothing ever goes smoothly for our heroes... except when working part-time apparently. Whatever, Kurome's luck was bound to boomerang anyhow, so this was probably the better outcome.
Next time things get interesting... maybe, if you squint.
Catch you next chapter.