Called a Queen 'till Kingdom Fall

Chapter 5

Nanami looked up at her father, horrified. He was in a drunken haze. A beer bottle was in his hand, and he was yelling at her.

"You failure," he slurred, leaning against the wall for support. She tried to run up the stairs, tried to take safety in her room. But he grabbed her by her shirt and yanked her backward down the steps, causing her to hit her head. Blood landed on the floor.

"Look at the mess you made! Clean it up!" Nanami quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed paper towels, wiping up the blood as fast as she could. Her tears mixed in with the blood, a puddle forming beneath her. "How could your mother leave you with me," he spat at her. "Why did we have to split you? I wish you would have just stayed with her. And stop crying, weak girl! Go to your room when you are done. And if I see you again tonight, you're cleaning the floor with your tears." He stomped away, leaving Nanami in a teary heap on the floor. He took another swig of his beer and left the room. She tried to push herself up, but her legs refused to move. Slowly, she reached for the handrail, her shoulders crying out in pain from where they had hit the cold wall. She found her fingers grazing it, and used all her strength to pull herself up by it. Once she was up, she stumbled to her room, her vision blurred with blood, sweat, and tears. She flopped on her bed when she entered her room. Her face found the pillow and she tried to cry. She tried to force tears out, but nothing would come. It all hurt too much to cry anymore. When she lifted her head, she was in the ring Blood splattered against the floor, causing a roaring cheer from the audience. Nanami stood there, her fists soaked in blood, coming from the jaw of her opponent. He stumbled backward, trying to regain his footing. Nanami didn't give him that chance. She charged forward, kicking him square in the chest. He crashed into the ropes that held them in the area, blood spewing out of his mouth. The crowd erupted into cheers and screams. Blood dripped into Nanami's eye, the cut above her eyebrow giving her some struggle. But she didn't care. She walked over to the man, picked him up by his hair, and spat in his face.

"If you dare to challenge my level in this gang ever again, I will make you pay with your life." She then dropped him, leaving him in a collapsed heap on the floor. The room changed again, and she saw the man, sitting on the floor, bandages covering his face. Nanami scoffed.

"Did you learn your lesson yet," she asked him, snarling. He didn't say anything. She stepped in front of him, grabbing him by the chin and forcing him to make eye contact with her.

"I am your boss. You will answer me, or you will die by my stand." He looked away from her. She growled, backhanding him. It was only then he seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Nanami-"

"I'm your boss, not your precious Nanami," she scolded.

"Please give me mercy. I've tried to change. I want to help you now." Nanami looked at him, her face radiating anger. And then she laughed. Laughed loud and hard. Laughed from every part of her body. It was a soul-crushing laugh. The man sat there, eyes wide. He was horrified by what he was watching.

"Oh, now you want mercy? You want mercy?" She grabbed him by his collar and held him up.
"This is a gang, not a church. Mercy isn't something we do." Nanami dropped him, and he landed with a 'thunk.' She turned her back towards him and walked a couple of paces, lighting a cigarette.

"You know, there is a mission I think you would be perfectly suited for," she said, slightly turning toward him. "You can do the honors of going after our rival gang. Put them out of their misery." She then walked out of the room, the cigarette smoking following her. When she walked into the new room, she saw the faces of fear. Hundreds of people crying out to her. Electrical burns, blood, and tears stained their faces, their clothes, and their hair. Some of them barely looked human. Rubble surrounded them. Scalding metal lay near the corpses, still making them twitch and shudder.