Away

Twenty-Four

"Hey Ty!" Twice greets me Friday after school "Giran wants to talk to ya!"

"What for?" Normally it would be Twice or Dabi that Giran chatters away with, not me who is barely in the villain circuit.

"Beats me." Twice shrugs "Come on, we got a way to drive."

"Let me change real quick."

We use the VAS' one and only vehicle, a red minivan, that was legally acquired and licensed, except for when I am driving, but who's gonna bother right? I know how to drive safely.

"Where are we going exactly?" I ask Twice.

"Oh yeah, hold on, I'll pull up the directions. Why the fuck do you need directions?" Twice pulls up the address on Google Maps and places his phone on the dash.

-Time Skip-

And back to fucking Hosu City. "Turn right and your destination will be on your left"

"Sweet! What took you so long?"

Let's get this meeting over with.

"Giran; long time no see." I remark, seeing our broker who gives a cheeky smile as he puts out his cigarette.

"The Quickless Queen, it's an honor." he bows slightly "How are you, my dear? I heard you just started High School, yes?"

"I'm doing well enough, hope you understand why I'm cutting chase then." I have a stiff tone "I got homework on top of my normal papers to take care of this weekend."

Giran pulls out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Twice "Of course, a very busy young lady." he states "Well, I got a bit of a complaint from one of my guys a couple days ago, right around when Stain got caught. I just need you to tell me what happened. Wouldn't want to lose my best customers, would I?"

I scoff "I'm guessing you are talking about the bloke that disrespected my authority with a distasteful comment and refused to hand over what we had already paid for." Giran is one of the few that keeps his words and actually cares, for lack of a better term, about his clients. He sees that we are treated fair.

"Thought as much." Giran smiles less cheekily "I knew you wouldn't pull a knife on one of my guys without a good reason. Guessing those distasteful comments had a bit more of a lewd undertone. To be honest I wouldn't have let him off as easily as you did, Your Majesty, from that encounter alone." he lights another cigarette, Twice over at the couch finishing his as the broker continues "So I talked with my other female clients that talked with him to see if this was a recurrence and they didn't mention it, or if you were just his type, and from what they told me is that you were actually lucky one."

"That fucking degenerate." I half growl, to do that in general would piss me off, but after the incident the day after, ooo that makes my blood boil. "He is fucking lucky that I was not aware at our meeting, otherwise-"

Giran's smirk catches my attention, "I thought as much, if you would follow me, Quirkless Queen, and you as well Twice."

The two of us follow Giran down some stairs and through a hallway to a steel door locked from the outside. "Now it only took a couple hours to get the rest of the information, so I had him come here for us to chat and he admitted to what he did to the other ladies and the comments towards you after a day or two." Giran tells us, unlocking the door, revealing the sicko tied to a chair all beaten and bloody. Normally it would be a sad sight to see if it was for what he had done. "Now, I am all for giving the final blow myself," Giran continues "but I think it would be better if the last person he saw was the lady that he looked down on. Kind of more personal if you get what I'm meaning."

I exhale "Do you have an extra sharp sword?" I am handed a sheathed katana, Giran saying that it's the sharpest they come. Good, I walk into the room. The man looks up, even with him sitting up, the top of his head about the same height as my chest at best.

"So the little bitch has to have the bossman mess me up so that she doesn't mess up her pretty little nails." the guy smirks, please, I can beat you with one hand. "Yer just a little girl playing a game." he continues "You can't do shit."

"You really think you'd even stand a chance against me?" I sneer "Laughable."

The man spits at me, being his final move before in one swift action I cut his head off. A very sharp blade indeed.

Slightly Graphic Depiction

Blood squirts from his neck, splattering on the floor, ceiling, three of the four walls, and, the majority, on myself. Slow clapping coming from behind me grabs my attention "Excellent job, Your Majesty. Little messy, but got the job done nonetheless. Congrats on your first kill."

My first kill-  I nearly dropped the sword and its sheath. "Tthank you, Giran." I try to keep a monotone "If you don't mind, I'm going to go. Twice, do you want a ride with me or are you going to stay awhile?"

"I'll be fine here." Twice responds, I nod as I sheath the blade before leaving the building and going to the minivan and driving more towards Shizuoka Prefecture, grateful that it's dark out. I don't need anyone seeing me covered in blood.

I just drove past Arakurayama Sengen Park when my phone starts buzzing on the seat next to me. It's Toya, I'm sorry, now isn't a good time to call. I ignore it, a new notification of a voicemail from him.

I get off the expressway and head towards Arakurayama, I should be able to sit for a while, or I can find an empty parking lot.

I find an alley over to the Park that I back into and park, before hitting my head on my head rest.

I killed someone- I fucking killed someone. I tossed my wig aside along with my black mask that was over my eyes before pulling down the visor and looking in the mirror.

Specks of red all over my face like unholy glitter, aside from around my eyes, the majority of it splotched on my right side along my jawline. Hell, there's even some on my right ear too; my neck is just as crimson as my hair, maybe even darker.

My shirt just looks wet, guess it was smart to wear black, but my white tie is more red. I rip it off, shirt and tie, leaving my sports bra that looks untouched from the blood; guess that's good.

yOu'Re StIlL a MuRdErEr. nOtHiNg WiLl ChAnGe ThAt. I grip my hair by the roots, my exhales shorter and quicker. Maybe I should-

Vrrring! Vrrring! All I notice is that my screen is white, not a call from the VAS, as I grabbed my phone to answer "Toya, now isn't a good time to call." I tell him, ready to hang up; I can barely keep my voice stable.

Only, it wasn't Toya.

"Hey 'Zula." Shoto- "Wonder if you want to just chat. I mean, I haven't really talked since the Festival. But if you're busy I can call back-"

"No, it's fine." I interrupt "I just-" put up your wall Azula, just as you always have.

"Are you okay?" Shoto asks.

"Yeah, just some stuff on my plate." Please don't ask further.

"Azula, I know it's been years, but I can tell from your voice that something is up."

"It's nothing really." Let me sound convincing "Just over reacting." I'm a villain, I've seen mangled bodies. Why is this fucking with me.

"Bullshit." Shoto states a little harshly before more calmly "Sorry, just I'm your twin. It hurts to know that you're not okay and more so that I don't know what's up so that I could maybe help you feel better.

"I know things have happened since we were separated, we've grown apart. But,"

"Shoto," I partly whisper "I'm sorry. Don't blame yourself, I want to tell you. I want to stop feeling alone, just that- it's safer for you not to know. You got so much ahead, my fuck up will only cause trouble."

"I don't care, you're my sister. You could kill thousands and I will still stand by your side." Shoto pauses "Is that- Sis are you near Arakurayama right now?"

"What makes you ask that?" Then there is a tap on my window.

I'm not going to lie, I was crying writing this. So, uh, sorry about that 😅