The Joker (tangerine)

chapter seven: 長老

The group sat for the remainder of the ride to the next station in their seats, remaining silent even as the train came to a stop. Keiko and Karin looked at each other before hanging their heads in defeat. 

"Get off the train," Tangerine whispered in a sigh, resting his hand on Keiko's thigh. 

"What?" She turned, not sure if she heard him correctly. 

"Get off the train," He ordered them in a harsh tone.

"I already said--"

"I don't fucking care," Tangerine refused. "Get off the train, and meet us at Kyoto station or something, just go."

"Keiko, we have 30 seconds left--"

"I don't want to--"

Before Keiko could finish her words, Tangerine had scooped her up from the seat she was in and walked towards the nearest train door, setting her outside while waving to her as the door shut. Her eyes widened as she watched Tangerine zip past them on the train. 

"Why didn't you stop him?" Keiko shouted at Karin. 

"Because we needed to get off that train," Karin shook her head. "You barely know him and you're willing to die for him?"

"I never said that--"

"But going to Kyoto would've killed everyone," She shook her head. "Let's go hijack a car and we can visit Nara. We'll stay overnight at a temple."

"Fine," Keiko sighed, the bullet train finally out of sight. "I'm driving."

The two girls made their way to the parking lot of the train station, spotting only a red Honda N-box. They both rolled their eyes and sighed before walking over to the car, looking around for anyone before Keiko punched the drivers window fully into the seat. 

"Really?" Karin raised her eyebrows. "You couldn't have been more cautious?"

Keiko didn't bother responding as she cleared the glass off of the seat with her jacket in her hand as Karin begin working to hotwire the car. Keiko sat down inside once everything was clear before shutting the door, pulling out onto the road after starting the car. 

"So... what, are you and Tangerine like... dating now?" Karin raised her eyebrows tauntingly at Keiko. 

"No, Karin," Keiko rolled her eyes. "We just met--"

"But you were about to fuck him on a train?" She interjected. 

"Will you stop bringing that up?" Keiko snapped. "Why the fuck is this bothering you so much, hm? It's never bothered you this much before!"

"Kimiko and I were always tired of watching you have sex or--or get with someone on every single fucking mission!" Karin shrugged. "Kimiko isn't here anymore so I can't bitch about this to anyone."

"You guys would talk about me behind my back?" Keiko asked for clarification. 

"Yeah, we would," Karin nodded shamelessly. "Your first priority is never the safety of yourself or others, it's just racking up another fucking sexual encounter--"

"Are you calling me a whore?" Keiko yelled. 

"Well if the shoe fits!"

"In that case, you're a fucking pushover and your only asset to this team is your incredibly terrible luck that gets everyone killed!" Keiko yelled back, startling Karin. 

"Seriously? So I'm useless, huh?" Karin raised her eyebrows. 

"You know what, you really haven't proven otherwise this trip, have you? The one thing you did was stop Ladybug from being killed and stopping me from getting dicked down--"

"This is what I mean! For once, can you be concerned about the well-being of your teammates? Maybe if you had been--" Karin abruptly stopped talking, Keiko raising her eyebrows. 

"What? Finish that fucking sentence," Keiko challenged the girl. 

"Then maybe Kimiko wouldn't have died," Karin looked her straight in the eyes. 

"You have no right to say that to me when that dagger in her forehead is there because of your stupidity," Keiko shook her head. "You're a pathetic excuse for an assassin and I wish I'd never met you."

"Do you really mean that?" Karin raised her eyebrows. "Do you really wish you'd never met me?"

"Sometimes, yeah!" Keiko nodded. "You're incredibly obnoxious and you can't take responsibility for anything."

"And you're bossy, childish, and controlling," Karin shrugged. "But you're also the only family I have, and I'm yours."

"I know," Keiko nodded. 

"Why do you think Kimiko and I cared so much?" Karin questioned. "We don't want to see you get screwed over by some guy whose just fucking around."

"I'm telling you now, I don't get hurt by anyone. People don't fuck around with me, I fuck around with them," Keiko looked over. "Besides, Tangerine is too much of a gentleman to hurt a womans feelings."

"So is that your way of saying you actually like him?" Karin smirked. 

"Not sure," Keiko shrugged. "If I do you'll be the first to know. Actually, probably second because he'll--"

"Yeah, alright, just keep driving," Karin rolled her eyes with a smile. 

Realistically, the girls had never actually fought as they just had. However, they did bicker a lot. Keiko liked to think that it was just a part of the sisterly bond that they've always had, and that their fights usually brought them closer, and she also thought that this fight did the same thing. 

Now they were on the same page. Keiko needed to show Karin that she does care about their lives and isn't reckless, and Karin needed to put more effort into actually helping kill people instead of just, well, doing nothing. 

However, the one thing they weren't still on the same page about was Tangerine. Karin still didn't want to see Keiko get upset by him; she could tell that Keiko really did like him, no matter what she was willing to admit. Karin also knew that Tangerine was, well, a whore. Before their mission, Karin and Kimiko had done a little... research, and found that on almost every single mission he had been on, he'd slept with another person. 

Keiko, on the other hand, just wanted another person to extend her circle to. Sure, Kimiko and Karin were lovely, but they couldn't be the only people she knew, especially in the assassin world. Knowing, and being friends with, Lemon and Tangerine would not only be good for her success in the world of murder but also for her own mental well-being. 

Despite their differences in opinions on the man, Karin had decided long ago that she would do whatever it took to keep Keiko happy, even if it meant letting her have her fun now while potentially remaining heartbroken later. Because in the end, Karin knew just how to comfort her, so if anything ever went wrong, she knew she would be right there. 

As for Keiko, she had never been one to confuse feelings with attraction. In other words, she knew that she wasn't going to fall in love with someone just because she slept with them once. But she also knew that Tangerine didn't feel like a one-time fling. He felt like more, not just because she wanted him to be, but because she could tell he wanted it to be more too. 

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a/n: it's short but oh well