Assassins, Detectives, and the Mafia

Skies and Clouds

Maki has never hated what she does.

There's some sort of thrill, she supposes, playing judge, jury, and executioner.

It's easy for her, to detach herself from the world, then. It's necessary. If she allows such petty things as emotions to fool her, then what purpose would her job have?

But now, with this situation, she's being brutally reminded why she can't have attachments.

It should have been a normal day. It should have started like it always did, waking up with Kaede's arms curled around her and tucked under the pianist's chin. Slender hands - those of an instrument player - should have gently stroked her face, lulling her back to sleep for just a few more precious moments, just a few more blissful seconds of shutting out the outside world.

Kaede should have yawned slightly, that small yawn, like a cat, before pulling Maki tighter. Her blonde hair should have been spread around her heart-shaped face like a halo, shining gold against pure-white sheets.

And yet... that was definitely not what was happening.

Instead of a clean bedroom, there was a grungy celler. Instead of Kaede holding her, there were ropes.

Instead of her hand brushing against Kaede's ear, a gun.

Maki squirms slightly, trying to find a way out before the gangster pulls the trigger. Kaede's party dress from the night prior is ripped and torn, one glove missing, and she's barefoot. A small man - Kuzuryuu - points a small handgun at her temple, lips curled with malice.

Maki's restrained by ropes around her wrists, ankles, and torso, tying her to the wooden chair. A katana blade presses against her neck - bare, now that her jacket is a shredded pile of fabric in the corner of the room. Left solely in a t-shirt and jeans, she feels significantly more vulnerable than she'd like.

"What would you like me to do with her, master?"

White hair eclipses her field of view for a moment as Pekoyama leans over her shoulder, katana blade biting ever-so-slightly into the flesh of her throat. Maki feels a swell of anger - Pekoyama is doing this on purpose - but quickly stomps it out.

"Just hold her there," Kuzuryuu snaps, childish voice sounding more plaintive than a command. "She'll be helpful in getting Akamatsu to talk."

"I'll never tell you anything," Kaede growls.

"I'll ask you this once," Kuzuryuu growls. "Where is the shipment?"

Kaede blinks owlishly before schooling her expression into one of apathy. "I don't know."

Kuzuryuu seems content with this answer for a moment, before he turns to Pekoyama.

"Her pinky finger."

Maki only has an instant to brace herself before Pekoyama grasps hold of her left pinky and crudely yanks it sideways.

Red-hot pain fills her hand and she has to bite her lip to keep from crying. Tears flow freely down her face, because it hurts, it hurts so badly, and yet a part of her knows that there's still more to come.

"I won't tell you anything," Kaede hisses. "Why would I care about a lowly assassin?"

Maki knows it's a lie, and Kuzuryuu must know too.

"The ring finger."

This time, Maki's ready for the cracking of bones. She screams as white dots dance before her eyes, before clamping down her jaw so hard it draws blood, and forces herself not to look at the shapeless stick that was once her ring finger.

Kaede... promised a ring...

She wants so badly to wear a ring with Kaede, wants it so badly she can feel it.

Kaede seems shaken as she is, some of the resolve in her eyes gone.

"I told you... I don't know anything. Just let her go!"

Kuzuryuu seems to contemplate this for a moment, before walking over and stamping his cigar into the back of her left hand, starting a fresh wave of pain.

"Stop it!" Kaede screams. "She doesn't know anything! Just let her go!"

Tears flow freely from her violet eyes, now raw and red from crying.

"Will you tell us what you know?" Kuzuryuu snaps.

Apparently taking some sort of inaudible clue, Pekoyama graps her middle finger and forces it completely backwards.

The screams Maki make no longer seem human, as she thrashes vainly against the ropes that bind her. Hot-pink blood trickles down the armrest of the chair, new wounds from the ropes opening on her wrists and ankles.

"Stop it!" Kaede shouts over Maki's sobs. "Just stop!"

"The information, Akamatsu!" Kuzuryuu shouts as Pekoyama grasps Maki's index finger. "Tell us what you know!"

"Ouma!" Kaede screams. "That's all I know! Kokichi Ouma has them!"

Kuzuryuu pauses for an instant, lowering the gun from her temple. In one fluid movement, he snaps a handcuff to her wrist, and one to a pipe on the wall.

"Pekoyama," he snaps, gesturing for her to follow.

"Wha- you're not going to release us?" Kaede protests. "I told you all I know!"

"And you'll stay here while Master verifies your information," Pekoyama cooly states, before closing the door and locking it with a click.

"Maki!" Kaede exclaims, reaching out in vain with her gloved right hand. "Maki, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Maki states, voice barely quavering.

"You're... not hurt?" Kaede asks, bewildered.

"If they went through my whole hand and got nothing, they would have shot you," Maki frowns. "I barely feel a thing."

Kaede eyes her warily, fairly certain it's a lie, but doesn't correct her.

"Looks like all we can do is wait," Maki continues, fiddling with the ropes that bind her. With a flick of her wrist, they cascade down the chair and fall into a heap on the floor. "I still have this, though."

She gestures to a sort of metallic collar around her neck, fitted with a cheerful black and white bear.

"So we're stuck here for a while, huh?" Kaede sighs, jangling her chains against the floor. "Man..."

Crossing the room in a few short strides, Maki wraps her arms around Kaede's torso, wincing slightly as her broken fingers brush against Kaede's skin. "I'll protect you, Kaede. I promise."

Kaede buries her head in Maki's chest and sobs, large, heaving noises that wrack her entire body and leave tears streaming down her face. "Maki... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," Maki soothes as the faintest wisp of a smile crosses her face. "I'm just glad you're okay."

They fall asleep like that, cocooned in each other's arms, content to spend just one more moment avoiding the cruel world.