Golden Era (Book 2)

64. Revenge

Ayuna took time moving through the corridor. Though walking helped clear her head somewhat, her head was still spinning. Fingertips running past the side of her neck, she felt the tenderness there. Her heart batted against her ribcage as she pictured where they might have gone: it was only one step away from indecency.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Ayuna didn't realize she'd made a wrong turn. Instead of heading towards the reception hall, she had wandered to the passageway leading to the terrace.

Just as she was about to turn back, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of red. Swiveling around, she spotted the familiar black dress and ruby red hair. Back facing her, Noa gazed down at the manicured hedges and wilted flowers in the back garden.

Pushing open the doors to the terrace deck, Ayuna wondered what her friend—the life of the party—was doing standing outside alone.

Approaching her, Ayuna asked cautiously, "Noa, did something happen—"

The shadow of a sharp object cut her off. Ayuna ducked swiftly as a silver blade shot into the air and landed at the spot where she stood seconds ago.

Deftly sliding a hand into the corset of her dress, Ayuna reached for the dagger holstered against her hips—an accessory she'd started carrying since her awakening. In one quick motion, she aimed the pointed tip at the attacker—

There was the sound of safety uncocking before she could make an incision. Looking up, Ayuna was now staring down a gun barrel. Both frozen in movement, the two women were at a standoff: one with a blade against her throat and the other with a gun to her forehead.

Fear swelled up in Ayuna's chest then crashed into the pit of her stomach. Following it was an uncanny calm when she realized she'd been preparing for this moment, albeit with dread. 

Chin raised, looking into her eyes was none other than Mizuno Ren.

"Mizuno Ren," Ayuna spoke measuredly, steadily. "It's about time."

Wind had picked up into a howl, blowing away Mizuno Ren's red wig into the death of the garden. "You saw me coming?"

She did and she didn't. Undoubtedly, Ren was going to retaliate as long as she lived—everybody in the imperial family knew this. Of all circumstances under which they might meet, however, Ayuna didn't think it would be at Atobe's mansion, and especially not on a festive night like this. She also never imagined Ren to disguise herself as Noa. Like her previous assaults, Ren made sure her setup was flawless for killing. 

"I didn't think you'd be the type to give up," said Ayuna at last.

"You've made my job too easy, parading around with your little event and releasing one press conference after another..." Ren tsked in disapproval. Inching the muzzle closer to Ayuna's forehead, she said condescendingly, "Here I thought you'd lock yourself up in a bulletproof cage."

Ayuna tightened her hold on the dagger. "We both know hiding is more your specialty than mine."

Catching Ren's finger moving towards the trigger, Ayuna edged the blade until the tip touched her neck. "I suggest you drop the gun."

"You really think your hand's faster than a bullet?"

"Depends on if you want to test out that theory."

"I have a lot less at stake than you," sneered Ren. "You have a glittering future ahead, people who love you, and possibly this country. But I don't have anything waiting for me outside these gates." She pressed the muzzle against Ayuna's forehead, "I never planned on walking out alive—not before, not now."

Ren's words hit a nerve. Ayuna's thoughts quickly flitted to Fuji, then to Noa, her sister, Sachi, and the group of friends celebrating a floor beneath them. Death would be straightforward if she didn't have them—but she did. She couldn't stand the thought of parting with them.

Seizing this lapse, Ren's arm snapped up and slapped the dagger out of her hand. In that very instant, Ayuna swung her leg up and kicked the gun out of Ren's hand. Stripped of their weapons, they now faced each other with bare hands.

Ren was the first to charge. Ripping off the unwieldy hem of her dress in one stroke, she bolted forward and plowed straight into Ayuna. Slamming her against the marble balustrade, Ren watched with gratification as her face crumpled with pain.

"Looks like that spinal injury hasn't quite healed." Ren cackled, clamping both hands around her neck, "You shouldn't have been so confident."

Ayuna didn't waste her breath with a comeback. With her free hand, she unfastened the ballistic knife from her thigh and jabbed it into Ren's arm. She yowled, immediately releasing Ayuna from her clutch. Raising her hand, Ayuna whirled around and tried for another strike. No sooner did she raise her arm did Ren spring back forward with a bloodied arm and tackled Ayuna to the ground.

"Even with a backup, you'd still lose," spat Ren breathlessly, locking two hands around her neck. Arms flailing, Ayuna tried to maneuver the knife around her enemy. But it was whacked out of her hands. Left with no threat, Ren's thumb pressed down on her windpipes and started to close it off. 

There was a long whistle, followed by the crisp crack of an explosion. The night sky was lit golden as fireworks started to jet off in succession, bursting open into prismatic blooms before they scattered over Osaka Bay. One after another they soared, erupting into bursts of neon ink across dark canvas.

Echoes of the explosion hummed beside Ayuna's ears. She realized they were coming from the front garden, where Atobe held his closing act for his guests. Nobody, then, was coming to help her.

Air was thinning in her lungs and her vision started to grow splotchy. Ayuna gagged; keeping her eyes trained on the brilliant streaks of light, she refused to succumb to darkness. She had worked so hard to build herself from ashes, she had just started to disentangle her past thread by thread—she wasn't going to leave inconclusively like this.

Mustering her last ounce of strength, Ayuna reached out and dug her nails into Ren's open gash. There was a blood-curdling shriek, but the grip around her neck didn't loosen. Teeth clenched, her fingertips sank deeper into the uncongealed wound until the pressure around her neck lessened and Ren backed off.

Ayuna took in gulps of air and tried to regain her strength. Arms outstretched, she grabbed Ren's arm in an attempt to end this brawl. Except, her move was read: instead of engaging in another round of freehand wrestling, Ren clambered towards her gun.

It was too late to stop her, but Ayuna knew she had to attack before Ren fired her shot.

Whipping around, she moved laterally until locating the ballistic knife. Snatching it up from the ground, her fingers located the latch and she swiveled around to eject the blade—

The crack of the trigger came before she released the latch.

With the sound of firing, she was suddenly slammed against the ground. Reaching her was the sound of the bullet's impact against flesh. Ayuna blacked out for a brief second, but no pain arrived.

When her vision returned, she noticed someone was on top of her: arms locked around her and face buried in her neck was Fuji Shuusuke.