𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙚 | 𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘩. ᯓ ᡣ𐭩

004. | ɢʟɪᴍᴘꜱᴇꜱ

The events of the previous day seemed like a distant memory, and the weight of the battle had taken its toll from her.

It wasn't until the next day that Touko finally showed signs of regaining consciousness, her lids fluttering open as she slowly came to.

Touko groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her, her eyes fluttering open. Her body felt heavy and disoriented, and it took a moment for her to orient herself to her surroundings. As her mind cleared, memories of the previous day flooded through her thoughts — the battle, using her abilities, and the aftermath. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her head and arms, a reminder of the physical toll using her abilities had taken on her.

The sharp pain in her arms was a stark reminder of the cost she had paid for the previous day. Using her disguise abilities to transform her arms into blades had left them feeling raw and tender, as though the bones themselves had been scraped raw. The muscles in her arms ached, as if she had been lifting weights far beyond her limits.

As she gingerly rotated her arms, she could feel the deep bruising that developed under her skin. The once smooth expanse of her skin was now mottled with patches of purple and blue, like an abstract painting. Touching her arms with her fingers sent waves of pain shooting up her nerves, eliciting a sharp wince from her.

Her joints ached with each movement, as if they were creaking in protest. She let out a soft sigh as she tried to massage her limbs, trying to ease the pain and stiffness that had settled in. Despite the discomfort, she found pride and accomplishment in her abilities that she was able to get through her first mission and save the little boy, while also acknowledging the cost of her own physical prowess when she pushed herself to these extents.

As Touko regained herself, her ears picked up on the sound from outside her room — the voices of Denji, Aki, and Power arguing again. Their words were indistinct from everyone yelling over each other and the sounds of objects flying over the room outside, but the heated tone was unmistakable.

It didn't take long for her to piece together what was happening, which was another heated argument between the three, no doubt over something trivial. A wave of fond irritated flooded through her, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at their ongoing argument.

With a small grunt of effort, she pushed herself out of bed, wincing as her muscles further protested. She knew she couldn't just lay there while they argued, no matter how exhausted she felt.

As she neared the door, the volume of their voices grew louder. She could hear the snippets of their grievances, Denji and Power were yelling louder than their previous argument, this was something definitely worse than just a petty disagreement or complaint.

Touko groaned as she opened her bedroom door. "Guys what are you guys arguing—" her words were cut off with a grunt as a flying shoe hit her squarely in the head.

Power and Denji stood in the living room, engaged in an epic battle, launching anything in their way with all of their might. A pillow flew in the air, followed by a plush toy, and even a small garbage bin that Aki set out in the living room. It was chaos.

Touko stumbled back and landed on her butt as the shoe hit her with a resounding thwack.

Aki having heard the thud from her direction, rushed over to where Touko had fallen. He quickly knelt down beside her, gently lifting her up from the floor. "Are you okay, Touko? God.. these idiots have been at it for minutes now.." he muttered under his breath, irritation laced in his voice.

Touko's hand reached up to the spot where the shoe had made contact, a red mark showing up on her forehead. "Despite just waking up and getting hit with a shoe.. I'm fine.." she told him as he helped her stand back up.