The Price of Pain
Chapter 4: Death is an Old Lover
Her current residence was in a shipping container by the port. People kept a whole load of unused things in storage, and someone even had a container full of furniture and appliances. Possibly they were moving it overseas soon. For now it would do. Not that she had electricity, or that the container had any form of thermal regulation.
It left her cold and angry.
But a gym membership gave her enough to start working on her body, and a place to take showers wherever she went. There were a few soup kitchens too, but she'd have to bribe a homeless man to get her some so CPS wouldn't be onto her. All in all, being young and homeless was inconvenient. Life was a string of expenses she could barely afford.
Her biggest job had been Stain's so far. She'd made about ¥180 thousand of the one job alone. It was very much keeping her expenses afloat for now. Half the money went to Giran for information on where to get more equipment. That's how Aki found herself on a weapons run while she was recovering.
She met the dealer by the docs, which was close by to her relief. The man saw her and looked quite surprised.
"And what's a cute little button like you doing in a place like this?" he asked.
Aki rose a brow at the mocking tone. "I'm your buyer. You really want to get into my gender and age right now, or do you want my money?"
"Fair enough kid. I have bills to pay, or I'd be jumping a cutie like you right now," he said, smiling darkly.
Aki sent him a disgusted look. She knew enough about this new world to understand someone her age was still looked upon as a child here. This man was definitely a creep.
"Do you sexually harass all your underage customers?"
"Only the cute ones," he shrugged.
She sneered. "Let's just get it done with. Show me the knives."
"I would have gone with a gun," he said, as he opened his trunk.
"I already have one," she replied with a frown.
"Oh that's smart little girlie. Now here it is," he said opening a case.
Aki reluctantly moved next to the man and peered down at the knives. They weren't standard kunai, but she could see they were made for throwing. It wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was better than nothing. She glanced at the tanto as well. The design here was much sleeker than the ones she was used to. The metal was clearly folded in a traditional manner, but the hilt was not made of wood and string, but rather of a stronger plastic based alloy. She took it and twirled it in her hands, enjoying the presence of a weapon in her palms once more.
"How much?" she asked.
"Altogether ¥180 thousand for it all," he said.
Aki frowned. That was a lot of money. It would take a substantial amount from what little she'd saved. But it was an investment and she had borrowed some money from Giran to compensate for this. These tools could save her life so she couldn't afford to be stingy.
"¥150 thousand and I'll take everything. ¥160k if you add some smoke bombs to the mix," she bargained.
He hummed for a moment. " ¥170 thousand for everything including the smoke bombs."
"Agreed. I'll take it from here," Aki said, handing him the money.
"Pleasure doing business with a cutie like you. If you want to make money in a more fun, sexy way call me," he said.
"I won't," she promised.
He laughed and Aki's hands twitched on her newly acquired bladed. His wandering eyes rose an unpleasant memory inside of her, one she didn't like to dwell on. It would be so easy to kill him. She did not. They had a deal, and he met it. There was nothing more she should do here. So she took her equipment and left to her hide out.
Not a few days later Starcry and Drummer were killed by Stain. He'd managed to get into their agency building to do it too. It put out a statement. You're not even safe from me in your own turf. Of course Aki knew Stain didn't have the resources or ability to keep attacking heroes on their home terfs every single time. But once was enough of a statement. Twice would cement it. Too bad for the noseless bastard, she was not willing to work with him anymore. Not many people were for a reason it seemed. He neither catered to villains or heroes, and even the vigilantes who were more prone to violence hated him. In some way she could respect his code. He really did stick to it. It was his incessant need to make everyone else do it which annoyed her.
Aki didn't dwell on it. She ordered another orange juice from Taisho Beer and Grill. More and more people at the bar were beginning to recognise her. Who wouldn't after her fight with Stain. As it turned out there had been a few curious spectators, and their word of mouth had gotten around. Apparently building respect wasn't hard to do when one nearly killed Stain.
"You're hanging out here a lot more often than you should kid. You should be in school," the bartender said.
Aki had learnt his name was Hagasawa. His quirk was rope. He could make all kinds of ropes from his hand, from string, to silk, to metal. A useful quirk. Hagasawa was also a mild tempered man, and the definition of true neutral. He kept his bar a space where vigilantes and villains could meet to discuss things. Although most hardcore villains stayed out of there considering it would be awkward to run into a rival gang or someone they wanted to kill while they were having a business meeting.
So most of the frequenters turned out to be people like Aki. Small time criminals hoping to make connections and find jobs. Giran frequented the establishment, considering he spent most of his time working as the criminal version of a recruitment agency.
Aki loitered around because the orange juice was nice... and she admittedly had very little else to do. It was a nice place to come to, steal some Wi-Fi, while she did some online learning. As far as Hagasawa knew, it was basic schoolwork. Aki didn't have time to bother with calculus when she could instead learn how to hack and code. There were more important things in this society than physical strength. Not that she intended to neglect her Taijutsu. She just didn't have enough money right now to afford the kind of nutrition that would allow her to build muscle. And she didn't have the first clue on where to find a martial arts tutor that didn't teach her the bullshit watered down version she'd been seeing everywhere. They didn't teach how to kill, just to parry, and that wasn't what she was looking for.
So in the meantime she would take her orange juice and peaceful morally ambiguous bar attendant.
"I like the ambience here," she simply answered after a moment.
"You can't just keep mooching off my Wi-Fi," he said.
"Are you going to stop me?" Aki asked.
"...No. You look too much like a kicked puppy to do that," he snorted.
Aki glared at him, and he chuckled.
"That or a cute angry kitten."
Was this man insulting her to test her patience? Her a kicked puppy? A cute kitten? He did not see what most people saw then. Aki was not cute or pitiful. She loomed at her reflection on her phone and frowned. She did have... big eyes, and her fluffy hair wasn't helping. But her eyes were black and didn't reflect light so that should have been at least a little off putting, right?
"Are you upset that you look adorable?" Hagasawa asked.
Aki scoffed. "I am none of those things. My presence is intimidating."
"Sure kid," he said in amusement.
"Just get me some more orange juice," she grumbled.
Hagasawa was done teasing her when he gave her another cup. Aki had the vague suspicion that she was being mocked, but the bartender seemed to think he had built a playful repour with her. Aki did not have the energy to keep telling him their relationship was purely transactional.
Her thoughts were taken away to a woman sitting down next to her. The woman's stark white hair draping her slender exposed shoulders, and her blood red glasses marked her as notable even without the unearthly beauty and grace she had walked with before. She would have sat on the opposite end if she didn't want to interact with her, so Aki took this as a sign to start a conversation.
"Can I help you?" Aki asked.
"You can. You're the one who held her own against Stain?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"You've got some potential. If Giran's got you as a client, then it means there's something useful there at least. This isn't a regular job offer I give to little girls, but I'll make an exception. Want to join a fight ring, little cub?"
Aki actually looked up in interest. She gave the woman her full attention. A fight ring would be incredibly useful to both putting her name out there, and also getting more jobs. It would also mean people would be able to watch how she fought and have an edge on her outside the ring. It was a mixed bag of an offer.
"How much does it pay?" she asked.
The woman took off her red glasses and grinned with sharp canines. Aki thought she looked very much like a predator in this moment, but whoever she was didn't know Aki was the same.
"You'll get about a ¥30 thousand for basic low-level brawls. That means no quirks, and no mutation quirks allowed. If you win you might get a bonus depending on the bets placed. It jumps in price the more dangerous rings you join. You can join the kill and no kill ones. It's your choice," she explained.
Aki hummed and the woman caught her hesitance.
"I've got all the details in these files. It breaks down the ranks and pay. As well as what percentage of the betting money you can take. Give it a read kid."
Aki took the file and read every single sentence, unafraid to make the lady wait. To her surprise the woman was patient, barely even twitching.
"And you are? I'd like to know who I'm working with," Aki said.
"You can call me Alley Cat," she said.
Aki really, really hated these stupid pseudo names that everyone in this world used. It wouldn't get any less ridiculous the more they used it. But it wasn't her business what they did.
"You got a name I can call you kid? It's rude to ask and then not share," Alley Cat said.
"My apologies. My name is Kuroishi Akiho," she replied.
Alley Cat laughed. "Haven't thought of a villain name yet, huh? It'll be bad if you don't. People tend to give names to the nameless and sometimes it sticks whether you like it or not," she said.
Aki shrugged. "They can call me whatever they want, but at the end of the day they'll know my name."
"You've got balls. Most villains wear masks for a reason," she said.
Aki sipped her juice. "I'm a contracted mercenary, and it's very unlikely that if I wore a mask someone in the future wouldn't be able to connect my identity back to me. Therefore it is a waste of time to hide it. I don't intend to go back to civilian life in the future either."
Alley Cat sighed, tilting her head, and letting long strands of silver hair drape her face. She still had that Cheshire grin on her face that Aki was starting to find a little unsettling.
"You're not a fun one, are you? Regardless, I see potential. So many people will be voting against you, small, cute thing that you are. We can make a lot of money in a very short time if we play things right. Of course I'd sponsor you," she said.
Aki tilted her head right in response and glared. "This sponsor doesn't entail me joining any of your affiliations, does it? I work alone."
"Then I guess we have that in common. I go where the money is Kuroishi. I assume you do too," she said.
Aki looked at her and nodded. Money was necessary for survival. She had no cause now. No nation to fight and die for. She had done that already and wasn't about to repeat it. All she had was this job to ground her, and a list of tasks to get her through the day.
And that's all she needed.
There had been a time when her swords had been an extension of her, when fighting had been her lifestyle. Where she tasted blood and knew pain as intimately as one knew their lover. She hadn't had a fun time in this new world, but she had been coddled somewhat. In comparison to her war-torn origins, this world was a luxurious and beautiful paradise. She supposed there was violence even here. She just didn't have the opportunity to be involved.
Aki took violence seriously. She didn't meddle with her life. She had been meticulous with following orders and following protocols. It had been the reason why the Tsuchikage had assigned her to a long-term infiltrator mission after her Genin team had died. Whatever paranoia she had before then had been amplified, and it was a spy's job to never let their guard down. Aki had learnt that through blood, sweat, and tears, so she was cursed with the role.
For two years she mourned alone, pretending to smile and be a local coal seller. It was torture in some ways, having to wake up and pretend she hadn't just watched her team... her family die in front of her, another to know she hadn't been around when her Sensei had died himself, but then to be isolated in enemy fields for years had been what forged her. They said that Iwa Shinobi were forged in jagged mountains, on hard stone, in the furnace of war. Aki was forged in foreign lands, in fake smiles, and empty platitudes. Maybe once in her life there had been a child there, laughing occasionally, finding wonder in the world, allowing herself to relax and enjoy the vibrant colour of flowers which she longed to grow in her very on garden. That girl had died.
Even now in this peaceful world, Aki was unsure if she could grow flowers and enjoy them. She remembered Hitoshi's lilac hair and it reminded her of wisteria, beautiful but poisonous. His hair had been her favourite part about his appearance. It was an enviable colour.
Her thoughts drifted as she bandaged her knuckles behind the gates. People were shouting and screaming outside, excited to watch bloodshed, and limbs torn. There were always those who took pleasure in violence. Aki didn't understand, although she did understand the satisfaction and pride of victory, and the thrill of sparring. But the infliction of pain and death was never anything she enjoyed. There was something primal to it though, that she understood why it would rile the crowd up like it did.
"Are you ready kid? You thought up of a name?" Alley Cat asked her.
Aki gave her a blank stare. "My name will suffice."
"Your death bed kid. I couldn't care less. Just remember to let them punch you up a little. This isn't just fighting, it's also a show biz. Use your quirk at the end to knock them out and come out looking like an underdog. It'll be great!"
Aki cringed. The idea of using her quirk just because no one could trace it was cheating. This was the no quirk rotation, and she wouldn't do such a thing. No, she knew she could hold her own in Taijutsu. It would be hard but not that hard. After all she had joined the kill ring. She wouldn't need to hold back. Her opponent would be dead before long.
"I'll win without my quirk," Aki said, punching her knuckles together.
"Just don't die. I have bets on you!"
Aki huffed. The lack of confidence was expected but grating. She had to start from scratch again, have people question her ability from the beginning. It was frustrating but anticipated. She adjusted her tank top and shorts before making her way out into the crowd. The lights blinded her eyes, and her ears were nearly screamed off by the crowd. It was an incredibly unpleasant entrance, which had her cringing away.
"And for the very first time we have Kuroishi Akiho, the little girl with a heart of steel! Don't underestimate her, there's been rumours she defeated the legendary Hero Killer himself! Let's see if the rumours hold true!" the presenter said, getting a wave of shouts of excitement from the crowd.
Aki got onto the stairs and entered the ring as the guards opened the gates for her. The entire thing was a caged dome with hard concrete for flooring. There were blood stains all over the place. Aki shivered at the smell of death. It lingered here, reminding her of the battlefield in a lot of ways. Except she had only one opponent now, and she'd have to face them in a body with no chakra and very little physical enhancement. She rolled her shoulders and steeled her face.
"Oh it looks like our little contestant is mentally prepping herself, and she'll need to because tonight she's versing theeee GOAT himself, Mrrrrrr Hoooofer!"
Aki was met with a goat man. His body was large and muscular, and his head had two small horns on it. Maybe he had a goat mutation quirk, judging from his admittedly adorable pink nose. It would be fair to say this was the first time Aki was going to face someone with a potentially different biology to a normal human considering he had hooves, but she decided she would make do. She'd be making lamb shanks out of him soon.
"Our contestants will be given a count. Let's start shall we!"
The crowd started chanting from ten down like they'd done this a million times. Aki got into a low fighting stance, holding her fists up and glaring at her enemy. The man snorted from his goat like nose and began scratching the ground with his hooved feet. He looked like a brawler. She'd give him a brawl.
"ONE!"
And then the fight began. Aki very easily dodged the charge, her foot work being one of the few things she'd been able to work on in this life. She glided around him, using his own momentum to kick him in the butt and into the cage. The crowd oohhed, pleased by the humiliation of her opponent. Aki knew it was her job to please, and if the crowd wanted some drama before she killed this man off, she'd give it to them. The spectacle was part of the job in this case. If she ended the fight too quickly it would be boring and people would be reluctant to watch her further, but if she didn't take it seriously enough, she could die. This was proving to be a challenging job she'd picked up.
"I'll break your bones and skewer you for that brat," he shouted angrily.
Aki gestured silently for him to come at her, and he did, unable to disregard her goading. This time he kept his body low, accounting for her stepping away. So Aki grabbed him by the horns and flipped onto his back. He let out an angry shout as he rushed forward.
"Oh what's this Kuroishi is riding Hoofer like it's a rodeo! This girl knows how to put on a show!"
The crowd was going wild, wild enough to deafen her. Aki was not enjoying the flashes of light and screaming. For a moment she wasn't enjoying herself riding on a goat man, but she was back on that field, her arm broken, and the flash of yellow before she watched as her own head rolled away from her body.
The moment passed, but it was too late. Aki found herself throw on the ground with a hoof coming down on her face. If her reflexes hadn't been as sharp as they were, she would have had her head squished in.
"Hoofer is making a comeback! The goat's not ready to go to the chopping block just yet!"
Aki thought comparing this man to an actual farm animal while he was fighting to the death was just a little to mean for her liking. Even she wouldn't disrespect her enemy like that. Unfortunately she didn't have much sympathy to give him when he managed to grab her by the throat and hoist her up.
She really hated this body.
But it wasn't enough to kill her. She twisted her thighs around his arm, and using her momentum spun his arm around, breaking it at the joint before rolling him to the ground. His neck was a little too thick to break with her legs and some momentum. He really was built like a beast. So Aki decided to get herself dirty. She had to jump back to her feet as he recovered with a pained yell and stood up, holding his one good arm.
"You fought well, but I'm putting you to rest now," Aki said.
Before the man could even retort she jumped into his range, her fingers stabbing straight into his neck, before her other palm uppercut his nose, breaking it into his skull. Aki didn't leave anything to chance, taking the opportunity where he staggered back to send several killing strikes to his chest, targeting his ribs and heart and using the point of her finger to break it precisely.
"Kuroishi lands several devastating blows consecutively! Was she just playing around before? Is Hoofer going to be able to recover from this?!"
Aki looked at the commentator in irritation. Didn't he know a dead man when he saw one? To make it very obvious who won, when Hoofer fell to the ground on his knees Aki cracked his neck backwards. The crowd went silent for a moment in shock before coming to life in a roar. She saw many men crying as they lamented about their lost money. The judge walked in and held her hands up in victory as the crowd went wild.
"Do we have an upcoming fighter on hand! The little girl with a heart of steel! She's stone cold and doesn't hesitate to kill it'ssssss Kuroshi Akihoooooo!"
The theatrics were unwelcome but the adrenaline of killing someone was a little more overwhelming than the crowd cheering her. The flashes from the flood lights above was really messing up her composure. She cringed away from it when it caught her vision. Still she managed to give the crowd a rather expressive face, with a hint of a smirk to come off as cocky. People like a little personality, didn't they? She was told she had none. Though it was easy to put on a persona, a mask of some stranger when she was pretending like this.
"That was impressive kid. We'll be making the big bucks tonight," Alley Cat said, rounding up behind her as she was escorted backstage again.
"That was barely a fight. Was he even trained?" Aki asked.
"Heard he did some jujutsu, but he was more known for his physical strength. Why? You sound almost sad that he wasn't more difficult to kill," Alley Cat said.
Aki sighed. "I guess he was a good warm up. I don't want to die, but having someone actually challenge me would mean I can improve."
"Wow-weee you are one hardcore little girl. 4 feet and packing so much edge," Alley Cat said, sounding impressed.
"Edge?" Aki asked, feeling a little insulted. "There's no 'edge' here. I am simply a practical person. If I can't improve my skills fighting one person here, then there's no way I can be a mercenary out on the field doing actually dangerous missions."
Ally Cat put a hand around her neck, and Aki had to stop herself from snapping those waif thin arms, ripping it out of its sockets, and feeding it back to the lady. Instead she glared cold and hard, even if it didn't seem to affect this ridiculous woman.
"Lighten up little cub. There's no need to rush to your death. Hoofer got a little cocky from winning some no-kill fights and thought he could make it up there with the big boys. You might get yourself killed too if you rush into these things."
"How else am I meant to train? You can't go through life without some risks," Aki challenged.
"Oh my little cub, you can certainly mitigate them," she said baring her teeth, with a hint of danger to her voice now. "Now I didn't bring you here to die. I brought you here to make us money. Rushing into harder categories will get you killed. We'll stick to this one. Do two more fights. If you don't die, then I'll hook you up with someone."
"No thanks. I am not looking for a relationship," Aki said.
Alley Cat spluttered out laughing, and Aki growled as she untangled herself from the woman's unwanted hugging.
"Who would have thought you could be so funny! I'm not talking about sex, although I do know some teenagers who're single and ready to mingle. No, I'm talking about a teacher."
"A sensei?" Aki breathed.
"Not quite. It's hard to get anyone to take on a proper student, let alone one who refuses to properly align themselves with any group. Trust me, I had a hard time too. What you'll need instead is to find some old bummer who's survived long enough to have enough time to loiter around here, drinking booze, and betting his life savings away, but not old enough to beat your ass up a little when you spar. Someone with a lot of experience in the field, enough to impart one worthwhile skill to you."
Paying a teacher was a foreign concept to Aki. She had usually just done some kind of task to prove herself to a Jounin who would then impart some kind of skill to her. Shinobi didn't take payment to teach. It was almost considered malpractice to do so. It was their duty to teach the next generation, but also their duty to only impart it to those they deemed worthy. She supposed money would do for now.
"I make money from fights, gain experience, and use that money to buy training from someone," Aki summarised.
"You catch on quick little cub. Exactly this! I of course couldn't do something as barbaric and unseemly as fighting in a death ring, but I had ways of making money to pay for some experience," she said.
Aki had to admit, Alley Cat had some words of wisdom. For as jovial, and unhinged as she seemed, she was probably in this business for at least a decade or so. Aki wondered if it would be worthwhile to ask the woman herself, no matter how grating she was. She considered it for a moment.
"Then would you teach me some things?" Aki asked.
"Oh?" Alley Cat said, eyeing her with those red canine eyes, as her grin grew wide and sharp.
"You fit that exact description of a mentor you described," Aki said.
Alley Cat's eye twitched despite her smile never fading. "Did you just call me an old drunken bum?"
Aki hadn't exactly considered the old part about the old mentor. She just shrugged and the woman laughed evilly.
"For that I'm going to make your training a living hell brat. But we'll ignore that for now. We need you prepped for your next fight. Are you injured anywhere?"
"No."
"Good, make sure it stays that way. We have two more fights my cub. We have to show them your fangs," Alley Cat said, her grin going impossibly wider than Aki thought possible.
This woman was a menace, Aki decided.
A/N
Thanks for all the likes and comments. It's truly interesting to see your thoughts on this story. I hinted at some heavy topics regarding Aki's backstory. Honestly, it's definitely one of the more depressing ones I've written.