The ropes that kept Ayame bound fell to the floor with an unceremonious thump, and the relief that her limbs felt upon release was indescribable. She stood, slowly; repressing the sensation of her joints screaming in pain from even the smallest movement.
Hazuki grinned, and rubbed her hands together as Ayame now stood upright. Ayame scoffed at their height difference, if only because Hazuki had to be a good seven inches shorter than her. Galvanized by the amusement, it felt like none of the blows to her body were now even making a dent on her.
“Ah, shit...that's better.”
“Alright, let's fucking g-”
Ayame punched Hazuki hard in the face; flooring her with ease. If she'd hit any harder, it would've easily been a one-hit knockout.
The unpleasant crack that so often came with a punch to the nose was music to Ayame's ears; along with the hard thud of Hazuki's back hitting the floor.
“Fuck!”
“C'mon, now...you expect me to believe this is a Mishima calibre of fighting?”
Hazuki spluttered. Blood trickled down her nose as she snarled.
“You underhanded piece of-!”
“Now, I just know the woman who tied me up to a chair isn't calling me underhanded, right?”
Hazuki quickly bit her lip, caught in a checkmate from the off. Ayame smirked with a smug smile.
“Get up,” she demanded. Hazuki staggered to her feet, and put up her fists.
“You fucker...!” she growled. “I knew there was a reason I didn't fuckin' like Tokugawas!”
As though that was the real ring of the fighting bell, one of Ayame's favourite brawls kicked off - though she hesitated to admit such a thing.
Even with a gushing bloody nose, Hazuki Mishima was a force to be reckoned with. Every punch was a flurry of madness; every sound screamed that she wanted to win. Ayame had no problem dodging blows, at first; before Hazuki quickly punched her in the gut, and slapped her face to startle her back upright.
“Agh...!”
“Hahaha! That's all you've got?!”
Ayame smirked through the blood.
“Not even close!”
Swinging for Hazuki's face, she ducked out of the way with impressively fast reflexes; grabbing Ayame's wrist with enough force where it would definitely break bone if she didn't act quickly. Luckily, Ayame was nimble enough to break the contact, and struck Hazuki hard in the chest with a high kick - sending her flying back into the wall.
“Oof!”
The string that held the flickering lightbulb rocked back and forth. Hazuki swept her leg to kick Ayame's ankles; a move that did not succeed; and Ayame promptly stepped on.
It was time for revenge after all the grief her ankles had endured earlier.
“Aaagh...!” Hazuki screamed in pain. “You bitch!”
“I've had enough,” Ayame grunted; and, bringing her other leg with a full-force kick as she stepped with a full weight on Hazuki's ankle, kicked her hard in the face - bringing the fight to a swift and delightful close.
Hazuki's head bounced against the floor as she fell back, and Ayame let out a triumphant chuckle as the younger Mishima sister lay unconscious; now a shell of her former insanity on parade.
Ayame's gamble had gone perfectly. Challenging an egotistical maniac like Hazuki Mishima had been the perfect plan to get out of her binds.
“Holy shit...” Ayame exhaled; sitting back down on the chair she had been bound to, and pulling out a packet of damaged cigarettes from her breast pocket.
This was always the part she hated - the after sensations of a fight.
Now that the threat was extinguished, it meant that the body could relax. The bruises began to sting, and the cuts on her face began to ache with the wince of painful reprieve. Ayame grit her teeth as she lit a cigarette, and wafted the smoke away from the wounds on her skin.
What a mess...maybe I shouldn't visit a shrine ever again, if this is how it'll turn out...
She knew, deep down, that she didn't mean that.
With the smoke hanging out of her mouth, Ayame quickly ambled herself up and rustled through Hazuki's messy pockets. Inside of them there were some tissues, a bubblegum wrapper, old bits of cash, and of course...
“Ah.”
Bingo - the room key.
Whether or not more members remained outside was a mystery, but Ayame was willing to take that chance - especially if the Mishimas, bar Mirai, were all as gulliable as her sister.
Limping towards the front of the room, Ayame placed the key in the lock, turned it with a satisfying click; and found that much to her relief, the reason this place was as barren as it was...
Was because she'd been being kept in an old, dilapidated house, somewhere on the chilly waterfront of Lake Biwa.
“Thank fuck,” Ayame breathed. The coast looked to be clear of any and all forms of life.
No cars, no sign of cigarette smoke; nothing. Large, rusted gates separated her from walking over to the water, and Ayame sighed with relief. The last thing she needed was to be confronted by any more of these crazy idiots on her way to a payphone. In a way, Hazuki's ego was a very specific godsend.
Akira's words of not getting into trouble tonight began to run through Ayame's pounding headache. She winced both in fear and irritation.
“...Mom's gonna kill me,” Ayame mumbled; and beneath the cold navy of the night sky, she dragged her aching body towards the nearest roadside payphone.
-
“Jesus, Ayame! What the fuck happened to you?!”
“...!”
“Nothing I couldn't handle,” Ayame replied bluntly; though her eyes betrayed her with how relieved she was to see her sister and Chinami standing before her, aghast.
Teru rushed over to place her hands on Ayame's shoulders gently.
“Ugh...! I'll kill those Mishimas!”
“It doesn't matter, Teru...” Ayame said, pushing Teru's hands away; but it wasn't without affectionate understanding that her sister meant well. “Let's just go home.”
“...Are you okay?”
Ayame and Teru turned their attention to their typically stoic driver's alarmed expression. Ayame felt her own eyes widen, before catching herself displaying a concerned emotion of her own.
“...I'm fine, I swear. Can we just go? I've seen enough of Lake Biwa for my liking.”
“Fuck...!” Teru angrily snarled, and slammed her fist down hard on the roof of the sleek, black car. “This...! Look how far out they took you! This was more than just some bullshit about territories!”
“Teru!” Ayame shouted back; slipping herself in the backseat of the car. “Get in already!”
Grunting with frustration, Teru frowned. Chinami got into the driver's seat quietly, but not without a concerned look back at Ayame.
Slamming the car door pointedly as she got in, Teru sat next to her aching sister with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Ayame rolled her head lazily to look at her sister as Chinami started the engine.
“Your face will set that way if you scowl for too long.”
“Shut up,” Teru snapped back, and Ayame chuckled.
“...To home, then?” Chinami asked.
“Yeah. And, Chinami...”
“Mm?”
“...Make it a slow drive, okay? The longer I can avoid mom's wrath, the better.”
As Ayame looked in the mirror at Chinami's typically unreadable expression, she could visibly see the stiffness in the her shoulders now go away upon Ayame's request.
“Of course.”
And with a smooth reverse out and onto the main road, Ayame let out an relaxed exhale.
The streetlights that passed by as the car drove silently were relaxing in a nostalgic, hypnotic way. Ayame didn't know what time it was; nor did she care to. Her head pounded, but she was glad for it in a twisted way; because in the aftermath of intense pain lay the absence of thought. It was a comfortable silence, both in body and soul.
Ayame closed her eyes, and allowed her body to go slack in the back seat.
“...Seriously...”
Teru's hushed voice was a welcome reprieve to the silence.
Ayame smiled weakly.
“Thanks for comin' to get me.”
“I'd do anything to make sure you were safe, Ayame. You know that.”
Such gentle words after everything made the edges of Ayame's eyes sting.
“...You're goin' soft.”
“You could do with going soft,” Teru replied, with an emotional, amused lump in her throat. “Geez...”
Placing her hand warmly on top of her sister's own, Teru narrowly avoided touching the bloodied knuckles on Ayame's hands.
The car drove along at the requested speed, and Ayame kept her eyes closed for the entire trip. It didn't matter how long it took...she wasn't exactly dying to return there, anyway.
“How's your sister, Chinami?” Teru asked. Idle conversation was always perfect in a situation that called for quiet relief.
“She is okay. She has exams coming up at school...I think she'd much rather be doing anything else.”
“Oh, man. I'm so glad we didn't have to do anything like that.”
“You were educated at home?” Chinami asked. Teru nodded.
“Yeah, we were. Probably kinda badly, but hey, we worked through it.”
Chinami laughed with a light, quiet quality to her voice, and Ayame felt her heart soothed for the uncommon sound.
“Did you have to deal with high school. Chinami?” Ayame croaked. Chinami nodded.
“Yes. It was unpleasant.”
“Get into any fights?” Teru asked with a goading smile.
“I always won.”
Teru and Ayame both raised their eyebrows to Chinami's final statement, and that said more than enough for both twin to be satisfied with the answer.
Eventually, as with all good things, the journey began to come to an end; and the car began to pull into the driveway after a long, much needed night-time drive. Teru's hand hadn't moved from her sister's for the duration of the journey, and Ayame felt glad for the comfortable, familial human contact of someone she genuinely cared for.
“Ugh, I bet Owner's gonna be a pain in the ass...” Teru grumbled. Ayame sighed heavily.
“Seriously...just ignore her.”
“This coming from you? Wow, you must be tired.”
Ayame chuckled weakly, and Chinami, too, shared another quiet laugh.
“...I'll go open the front door,” Teru said, patting Ayame's hand. “Just take your time.”
“Geez, I ain't dead or anything, you know. You don't need to be so attentive.”
“Well, excuse me for being so wonderful.”
“Fuck off,” Ayame smirked, and Teru laughed as she stepped out of the car and onto the cold pavement of the driveway; closing the door behind her, and leaving Ayame and Chinami to each other's company.
For a few moments, there was little more than silence.
“Um...”
Ayame's eyes opened with a heavy pair of lids to the sound of Chinami's voice once again, who turned around now in her driver's seat to face her.
“Ah?”
“I...I'm glad. That you...well...”
Chinami fumbled her words. Ayame felt her tired heart race from the sight.
“Y-You don't...uh...you don't have to say anything.”
“No, I...” Chinami continued, turning around in her driver's seat; and gripping the wheel with a tight squeeze of the leather. “I am glad. That you're okay.”
“...You are?”
“I am. I would miss your presence.”
“Chinami...!” Ayame whispered; before allowing herself the luxury of a true smile, unencumbered with anything like bravado or smugness. “Thank you...”
“A-Ah...!”
“Alright,” Teru announced, opening the car door once again. “Let's go.”
...And just like that, Ayame and Teru found themselves walking together into the Tokugawa mansion once again.
-
“Ayame-chan! Oh my goodness!”
Sure enough, once they were inside the Tokugawa mansion...
Owner hurried over with a look of concern all over her fox-like features, and wrapped her arms around Ayame's neck in an alarmingly doting manner.
“Oh no!” she pawed; running her hands gently through Ayame's hair. “What happened to you?! Let me take care of you, okay?”
“Geez, Owner! Give her some space, would you?! She's not exactly in prime condition to be fondled!”
“Can you fuck off...?” Ayame grunted out lazily, and weakly pushed at Owner to get off of her. “I'm beat.”
For once, Owner listened, and stepped back from Ayame's personal space. A flash of hot anger came across her typically dark, unreadable eyes.
“Who did this to you? I'll flay them alive.”
Ayame raised her eyebrows.
“...It's really not that big of a -”
“Ayame.”
A familiar, stern voice came from atop the staircase; and everyone's blood ran cold.
The steely, unimpressed gaze of Akira Tokugawa was now eyeballing them from a great height.
Oh, shit. I wasn't expecting her to find out this soon...!
Teru remained paralyzed in place, and found herself unable to look up at their mother's face.
Owner leapt away from Ayame almost immediately; standing upright not unlike the way a soldier stands to attention before their superior.
And...Ayame, tired and aching with pain, bowed her head low towards her mother; placing her hands on the carpet as she knelt down.
“... I'm sorry, Boss. I got jumped. I should have been more careful. Teru made sure I got home in one p-”
“If I hear about one more slip up from either of you,” Akira seethed slowly; with not a shred of sympathy in her body for her daughters. “I'll kill you both.”
Ayame didn't raise her head. Nobody said a word.
“Hmph...”
And with little more than a disgruntled noise, Akira turned to walk back towards her office.
The words from Akira Tokugawa hung in the air like icicles; just waiting to impale everyone with a violent shock the longer they remained unaddressed. Ayame closed her own eyes as she remained knelt down on the floor; squeezing away the hot sensation of fatigue prickling behind them; unsure of whether or not to move.
Teru was the first to speak.
“Ayame...she's gone. You can stand.”
“...Holy shit,” Ayame whispered with a tremble, standing up slowly. That single moment was far more terrifying than anything Hazuki could have ever done.
“You know...”
Owner - of all people - began, for the first time, to speak with what sounded like a genuinely sincere tone to her melodious voice.
“What is it?” Ayame grumbled, and Teru scowled at the woman before them. “Please...I can't deal with any m-”
“Ayame,” Owner continued, and a piercing gaze came across her face. “If Akira ever does anything to hurt you, I'll kill her first.”
Ayame and Teru blinked slowly - and without a further word, Owner turned and walked away into the living room.
So much had happened tonight, on this night where they weren't supposed to get into any trouble at all. So much pain, so much violence; and yet, through it all...somehow, Owner and Chinami had turned out to be the biggest comforts.
“Tonight's been fuckin' weird.”
Teru turned to look at her sister after such a remark; and let out a laugh that was tinged with both amazement and relief.
“Come on,” she finally replied; pulling a cigarette of her own out of her pocket, and sparking it up as she stood before Ayame with a sense of pride over her sister making it back in one piece. “Let's get you a stiff drink...after tonight, I think you could do with it. Not to mention that funeral tomorrow...”
“Ugh...” Ayame groaned; before smiling weakly. “Alright...that sounds great.”
And, as the twins began to walk towards the bar area to drown their sorrows in the bottom of a whiskey glass, Ayame Tokugawa knew that this upcoming funeral was going to be very interesting - and felt even more thankful than ever that after today, it wasn't her own funeral in the making.
