Looping a golden lock around her finger, Mt. Lady glanced up at the tall edifices surrounding her. She watched as a bird's reflection carried across the glass, the rays of light bouncing off of them and hitting her eyes. She looked down, dropping her arm to her side as she was previously shielding her face. Then she gnawed on her lip when an embarrassingly loud rumble echoed in her stomach. Her eyes flicked to Kamui, who had his eyes fixed on her. She groaned, "I'm starving."
The sound of a sharp whistle took place behind his mask. He had huffed. "And what do you want me to do about it?" Even if he wanted the question to be unanswered, Mt. Lady practically beamed at his offering.
"Let's go get something to eat!"
He immediately shook his head. "No. We're here to patrol, nothing more."
"But without food, I won't be able to concentrate on our mission." She's whining.
"Don't care. Never asked. Now be quiet, I can't think."
"Think? What is there to think about, nothing is going on right now, so let's go!" She reached for his arm and ended up touching nothing.
"No, you can go yourself. I'll go on without you."
She stared at him, but briefly that it was as if she quickly made up her mind, which she did. She shrugged, "Fine by me." And she turned in the opposite direction of where they were facing.
•••
"Wait, Mt. Lady!" Kamui sputtered, jogging after her.
She clasped her hands over her ears, closing her eyes. "Can't hear you over the rumbling of my tummy!"
Kamui blew out an exasperated sigh, "You've got to be kidding me." He trudged on, staying next to her side.
The heroic duo walked down the pavement, down the crosswalks, and past the civilians who waved at them for their attention. Kamui waved in return, his features kept cool as stone, looking as unbothered as ever. Yet for Mt. Lady, she was the other side of the monotonous coin. She waved at them with a mix of enthusiasm and flirtatiousness-to the men-puffing her cheeks out causing them to flush. What a strange talent.
A sudden quick twist to her head startled him. Her grin widened, whites shining as she pointed to something far off in the distance. "Look! They're selling udon!" she exclaimed and ran off without checking to see if he was coming along.
"Wait, slow down!"
She sprinted towards a food cart that was set near a coffee shop and a flower shop. The hood, a large cloth in the color red, with white fridges that flapped in the wind, shadowed over the steel cart. Below, a man who seemed to be in his late thirties was brewing something in a crockpot. The steam flowed out, dancing in the air, allowing the oddly cold wind to carry the smell right from under their nose. The scent brushed over Kamui's mask, seeping underneath. He made no reaction towards it. The cart's not supposed to be here.
They came to a stop, standing behind a man who held a bouquet of all sorts of colorful flowers. He didn't notice the pair behind him as his eyes were glued onto the cup of noodles the owner of the stall gave him. He turned to his right, his head ducked low as he tried to balance the bouquet and the udon in his grasp as he ate. Kamui thought he saw a sheen of saliva drip down his chin before the man left.
"And you- Mt. Lady! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?" a low-toned voice traveled into Kamui's ears.
"Oh, just out here patrolling." Mt. Lady said, and Kamui rolled his eyes.
He moved to face them, getting a good look at the man behind the cart on wheels. It was evident that the man didn't maintain good hygiene. His smile was wide, so wide that it revealed the hideousness behind those lips. Two gaps were present on the upper row of slightly yellowed teeth, a chipped canine on the bottom to his left, and a rotting molar. His brows were thick, almost becoming one on his forehead, and his hairline was receding. Kamui blinked, averting his eyes to avoid getting caught staring. His eyes flick back up nonetheless and that's when he caught sight of the man's cheeks completely pink if not red.
Mt. Lady must feel utterly disturbed at the lustful gaze he was giving her, but when he turned to her, he was surprised to find her smiling back. If she were disgusted, she did not show it, not on her face, not in her mannerisms. Her face was identical to his-minus the flushing. Stands of blonde hair were trapped onto her horns, curling around them. Are those even real?
"I see! Like a true hero!" the man said with a swift bob of his head. His attention moved onto Kamui, "And this man?" he asked with a quirk of his bushy brow, the smile still plastered on his face.
Mt. Lady's smile faltered, everything of what she wore before gone. "He's my sidekick," she replied, giving the man a half-shrug.
Kamui's eyes widened, "Sidekick?"
The man ignored him though, "Ah, I see. Well, bowls for two?"
Kamui shook his head in refusal, "I don't want any."
Mt. Lady hummed, "Your loss. I'll have one please." she said as she held up a finger.
"On its way!" the man said, disappearing behind the counter the next second only to pop out holding another empty pot. He pulled out an empty wooden bowl as well.
Kamui leaned into her, "Then after this, we won't be making any more pit stops." he whispered.
Her hand rose, wrist flicking back, almost smacking Kamui in the face. He pulled away in time. "Yeah, yeah." she dismissed him.
•••
Minutes later of silence that was filled with honking and shouting, the man finally poured the udon into the bowl, handing it to her with both hands like he was making a peace offering. "Here it is! My very special udon for a very special lady!"
She snatched it from his hands, "Oh, you flatter me!" Looking at the hot bowl resting on her palms, she licked her lips. She puckered them up to blow at the soup. Finally, she brought the chopsticks wrapped in noodles to her mouth.
"That would be 500 yen."
She halted and batted her lashes at the man. She snapped her mouth shut, and gulped, "What?" she manages.
The man didn't repeat himself. He continued to stare at her, blinking at her, expecting exactly what he asked of her. She tried not to wince. She set the bowl down, and with gritted teeth, she grabbed her hair. She ran her hands over the thick rope of her smooth hair, purposefully pressing her elbows against her chest to make her seem fuller. She wanted to heave. "Um...I'm sorry, but I don't seem to have any money on me right now."
"Again?" She heard Kamui's voice from behind.
The man's expression drops, contorting into one people make once they find out about the loss of a loved one. "Oh, god! I'm sorry! Here, have it for free!"
She forced herself to smile, forced herself to blush. "Oh, you!" she giggled. She swooped the bowl back onto her hands and whirled on her heel, treading onwards. She wanted to get this done and over with. As she slurped the noodles, licking the excess stew trickling off her lips, her nose scrunched. She heard Kamui-who was next to her again-breathe out heavily from...his nose?
"Now are you happy?" he asked, and she noticed the way his hands searched for something on his legs. They then dangle loosely to his sides.
"Not as good as I thought it'd be, but it's okay," she replies. She swallowed another batch of noodles.
"Then move, we're wasting time," he ordered as he nudged her-more like shoved her, ahead. She almost choked on the udon.
"What? Is your time running out or something?" she scoffed, keeping herself from gagging.
"Just keep walking," he said, then took longer strides, moving past her. She growled as she chewed down her food. She had no other choice but to follow, so she does.
From there, they didn't talk, due to Mt. Lady eating, and, well, they just don't take kindly to each other. Mt. Lady though had a pretty solid idea as to why he disliked even being with her. She's guessing he's bitter because she stole his light of fame back when it was their debut. It was only a coincidence that they were having their start off on the same day. But who cares, she doesn't have time to bother worrying about others' feelings or well-being. She only has time for herself, and that's it. She finished eating the last small batch of noodles, made her way toward a trash bin, and tosses everything away.
Looking to see if Kamui was nearby, only to find him farther than he was before, she turned and goes to a clothing store. She's been wanting to buy some undergarments she's seen in an ad on television. An expensive designer brand, she remembered. They were silk with ruffles overlapping one another, like a cute skirt. They reminded her of Cupid, as there was a bow attached to the back of the underwear in the form of a heart. She brought her hands to her cheeks, squishing her face. So cute.
•••
Kamui, with his arms crossed and his back hunched, continued to move onwards without a moment to spare. He disliked the idea of even slacking off, the idea of becoming distracted by the tiniest of things only for his mind to yell at him to get back to work. No, his time wasn't running out. It wasn't as of a bomb was implanted in him, waiting for him to waste his time only for him to be caught off guard at the sudden ticking and then for it to detonate. He just felt that if he even were to cast aside his mission in patrolling, then he would miss a second when someone could be crying out for help. Every second counted, and he's not planning to waste any of it. Time could either be your friend or foe. And right now, time was his foe.
A blaring horn to his right startled him. He snapped his head up, eyes zipping through his skull as they follow a speeding tram. His brows knitted, because of how unnecessary that honk was and the fact that it caused the headache that was developing in his head, to worsen. He hadn't slept well last night.
He shook his head, then brought it back up, his eyes going as wide as moons. Kamui saw it. No, not it. Him. He spotted a figure riding on top of the roof. He could've missed it if he didn't glance a second time. The first thing he noticed was the hair, so white it reminded him of freshly fallen snow. And the clothes. Ripped apart to almost nothing. The person might as well get rid of his shirt as Kamui could see his whole back. Because of how broad they were, he could easily tell they were a man. A man breaking the law.
He whipped his head around, "Mt. Lady!" he shouted. The woman was nowhere to be found. His eyes darted around, searching for a blonde. He found no one, so he directed his attention back to the disappearing tram and launched himself to the sky.
His arm extended, limb growing out to wrap itself around the bridge, then around a light pole that was placed near the bridge. He slung both arms, encasing them around the poles that lit up the tracks.
Keeping his gaze locked onto the villain, he noticed the man's muscles shift. The next thing he knew, the man bolted the moment Kamui took his next breath. Kamui forced out his arm again, his arm disfiguring, then exploding into many other branches. "Lacquered Chain Prison!" he said, but before he could even finish his move, the villain had vanished out of plain sight. He felt a tug on one of his limbs. He whirled around and threw whatever had a hold of him away. The culprit still had a hold of him though, and he yanked Kamui down, taking him with him. Kamui crashed into the ground, scaring the locals in the process. A sharp inhale, and he shouted in a grunt at the searing pain in his chest.
The last thing he saw was a blurry version of the man crouching in front of him, with that hair flowing around his face, revealing wide bright blue eyes. A cat's, he thought. He let himself be dragged into darkness.
•••
Jumping onto the roof, and stepping off to land on a mat, he collapsed onto the door. He clawed at the wood, gripping the knob to keep himself from falling. His legs were shaking, his entire body was trembling. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, its pulse pumping in his ears. Kyuu swallowed hard and bit his bottom lip. He breezed past the door without knocking.
When the door swung open, he dropped to his knees, staring at two pairs of brown and blue eyes. The one with blue eyes sprung to his feet, arms out as he ran to him. "Onii-san!" Akito cried, slinging his arms around Kyuu's shoulders.
Emi, shoving her headphones down, also made her way to him. "Keti!" she cried, falling on her knees too. She grabbed him, wanting to get a better look at his battered-up appearance. "What happened?"
Kyuu opened his mouth to speak. It felt dry. "I..." He doesn't say anything more, couldn't as Emi had thrown herself onto him, almost knocking them over.
•••
She pulled away. "Oh god, look at you," she said, her hand on his chin as she tilted his face from side to side. She hauled him up, "Come, let's get you washed up." Her brows furrowed as Akito refused to let go of Keti's legs. "Akito, please, he's hurt," she pleaded, but when Keti lifted Akito into his arms, burrowing his face in Akito's hair, she blinked, her mouth now slightly parted. "Okay," she said and led them both to the bathroom.
Grabbing the medkit from the bottom cabinet, she set it on the vanity top, snapping it open to grab the alcohol, bandages, and cream. She crossed her arms, seeing how the muck and blood from Keti were smeared onto Akito's clothes. She leaned her hip against the vanity, "Akito. Let go."
"No," Akito mumbled into Keti's neck. His face is getting dirty too. Great, now both boys need a shower.
"Akito."
At her tone, the small child freed himself from his brother's grasp, reluctantly stepping away from him. "Is he okay?" Akito asked, fiddling with his fingers as he stared up at her.
She crouched, her thumb wiping off a smudge of blood from his cheek. She wanted to douse him completely in water. "Go outside for me."
"But..."
"We'll be right with you in a bit, okay?" she said in a tone used to soothe crying babies. She gave his shoulder a squeeze of reassurance.
"M'kay," he said, his hands scrunching up the bottom rim of his shirt.
She guided him to the door with her hand on his back. "Don't get on the couch or rug until I get back."
"M'kay."
She closed the door, locking it to then face Keti. She couldn't see his eyes. His hair was in the way. "What happened, Keti? Why are you here?" Emi whispered, knowing Akito is behind the door.
Keti remained silent.
She slowly made her way back to him, fearing she would startle him if she were to be stomping on the floor. She wanted to though, she needed answers. Reaching out, she pushed Keti's hair away from his sticky brow. "Keti?" She released a squeak when she was unexpectedly pulled into a hug.
Being this close, she could feel the way his nerves gave out in harsh quivers. His breathing was heavy, unsteady, and so was the palpitating of his heart under her palm as she rubbed his back. She stopped once she felt the sudden wetness on her shoulder. He's crying. She brought both arms to drape around his shaking form, and she ran her hands up and down his back and shoulders to soothe his tense muscles. It was when she remembered that he was hurt that she tried to detangle from him. He doesn't let go, so instead, she peeked at her hands from above his head.
There's blood.
And dirt.
But no wounds.
Her dark brown eyes peeled away from her hands, non-blinking as her attention was on the back of his head. There's dried blood latching onto his hair. Barely noticeable, but it's there.
This isn't his blood.