A/N: 200 reads!!! (Also the first 3 chapters are being heavily revised)
I burst into the agency "I'm sorry I'm late! I overslept!" Yesterday I spent the whole night trying to fall asleep to no avail. It seemed like going to a new world caused my sleep cycle to go off he rails.
The second I walked into the agency I was dragged out by Yosano "Ali, you're strong right? Help me and Atsushi go shopping." She didn't even wait for my response and took me with her.
...
Some lil' one shots while shopping...
Yosano: *points from one end of the shelf to the other* I'll take all of this.
Atsushi: *Having a mental crisis because he's never seen this much money spent*
Ali: *Not really caring about Yosanos spending bc she's also doing some shopping*
Atsushi: *Getting crushed*
Ali: *Has to take some of the stuff and help him organize how to carry they stuff*
Yosano: *low-key shipping them*
Yosano: *shows Ali and Atsushi two identical looking lipsticks* Which one is better?
Atsushi: *confused tiger noises*
Ali: That one.
...
3rd person POV:
Ali took a box from Atsushi's hands "Don't carry too much, it'll be bad if you drop it." She told him before getting another box from him.
Atsushi blushed, he wasn't used to people caring about him like that. "Th-thank you Ali." He shyly whispered. "You don't have to do this..."
Ali put her hand to her mask and Atsushi assumed she was smiling "I'm older and stronger then you, so it's only natural that I should take care of you." She told him.
Atsushi's face turned red as he looked away from her, he really wasn't used to people being this nice to him. Back at the orphanage the older kids would usually ignore him at best, and beat him at worst. While the adults would just pretend he didn't exist and go along with whatever the headmaster said.
While Atsushi was lost in his thoughts he bumped into a kimono clad girl. She had black hair tied in low pigtails and a cold gaze in her blue eyes. He and the girl stared at each other for a moment before someone bumped into him, causing the boxes he was holding to fall.
Some lemons fell out of the bag he was holding and rolled onto the ground. He looked for Ali to help him pick up the stuff but she was nowhere to be found.
He looked around "Ali?" He hadn't seen her leave to look for the girl.
...
Ali tapped on Kyouka's shoulder "Excuse me, you dropped this." She held up the bunny that was attached to Kyouka's necklace with her phone.
Kyouka palmed at her necklace and when she realized that her bunny was indeed gone, she quickly snatched the bunny from Ali's hands.
She stared at Ali, recognizing her as one of her targets, the one with a half a billion bounty on her head. She debated killing her right there before going against it, if the tiger and the doctor found out there would be less chances to go for the tiger, who was the main target.
Ali stared into Kyoukas empty eyes "It's not too late for you. You can still live in the light." She told Kyouka. Kyoukas eyes widened for a moment before speaking "What do you know? What makes you think I can live in the light?"
Kyouka glared at Ali. Ali stood there in silence not answering her question. Leaving before Kyouka could say anything else. Leaving Kyouka alone and angry, how could a stranger act like she knew her? How could a stranger act like she understood what she went through?
...
Ali walked to Yosano and Atsushi "Hey guys sorry I was gone, I had to return something!" She waved at the two of the casually. The two of them sighed of relief, they thought she had gotten kidnapped or something.
Atsushi cupped her face and peered through her bangs "Please tell me when you leave like that okay?" He asked. He knew that he might've been overreacting, or was being clingy, but he didn't want his only friend in his entire life to leave him.
Ali chuckled "Of course, I'll be more careful next time." She patted him on his head, then she went to go pick up the bags that she had left.
Atsushi tilted his head "Where were you Ali? I didn't even see you leave." He looked at Ali who had momentarily paused her task before she spoke. "I thought I saw someone I knew."
She scratched the back of her neck "But it was a false call, the two looked similar but they were different."
...
While the group headed to the train Ali peered into the paper bag she was holding, the whole bag was filled with lemons. She held the bag away from her "These lemons don't really smell very fresh..." She commented.
Yosano glanced at the bag before muttering "I don't remember buying those..."
Ali shivered at the comment but decided to leave it at that. She had a bad feeling about the lemons, but she decided that it was just a passing feeling.
The group entered the train and sat down, Atsushi apologized for dropping the lemons earlier as Yosano brushed it off and inquired about his injuries.
Ali stared at the empty space in the train as Atsushi and Yosano talked. She was thinking about the girl in the red kimono she saw earlier. She recognized those eyes, those blank eyes, with no light or hope in them. She was all too familiar with those eyes.
Just as Ali was about to focus her attention on the conversation that Yosano and Atsushi were having, and announcement on the trains intercom started.
"I apologize for the intrusion! I am about to conduct a little experiment! The aim is to evaluate how people react in a unusual circumstance revolving around explosions! Thank you for your cooperation!"
The passengers looked around confused as the intercom continued "And without further ado...!" The loud sound of explosions were heard as the train shook. Ali covered her ears to protect them from the noise, but when she released her hands she could tell that her hearing was damaged.
Yosano's mouth was moving but Ali couldn't hear anything. Ali motioned to her ears and then pointed to the back of the train, trying to tell Yosano that she was going to go check on the victims of the explosion.
Yosano nodded at Ali and then gave Atsushi some orders to go with her. The two of them ran to the back of the train, Ali went directly to the passengers while Atsushi stayed a little bit behind to diffuse the bombs.
Ali quickly directed the passengers to the back of the train to keep them as far away from the bombs as possible, she separated the wounded passengers and quickly pulled a first-aid kit out of her bag.
As Ali patched up the passengers and tried her best to calm them down, then out of the corner of her eye she saw the same girl from earlier, the girl ran pass all the passengers and to Atsushi.
Ali reached forward to grab her but she was too late the girl was standing in front of Atsushi and faced him. The girl stood still for a moment, before a giant figure resembling a person appeared behind her.
Then she started attacking Atsushi.
...
Ali could only watch as Atsushi was slammed into the wall and had his stomach ruthlessly stabbed by the figure behind the girl.
She could only watch as he fell to the ground and as the girl stared down at him.
And she could only watch as he shakily stood up, only to be hit to the ground again.
She wanted to run up to him so badly, to pick him up and fight the girl herself, but then who would protect the passengers? Who would protect the innocent civilians who were just normal people caught up in this mess?
As Atsushi stood up Ali's heart starting racing, she took off her mask "You've got this Atsushi!"
Atsushi didn't look back, but she knew that he heard her when he ran up to the girl and deflected a blow from her sword with his now transformed arm.
A beat passed before the figure swung their sword at inhuman speeds. Atsushi took half a step backward and sidestepped the sword, before slightly lowering himself and rushing to the side of the figure, knocking the sword out of its hand.
With the figure gone he put his claws to the girls throat. Ali tried to make out what he was saying but her hearing was still damaged. Her eyes widened in shock as the girl pushed aside the front of her kimono and revealed a bomb strapped to her clothing.
Before she could even process what was happening, the faint sound of the intercom interrupted her thought. Her hearing seemed to only have been temporarily damaged. She could make out some words, but not enough to understand what the command was.
Then she turned and saw the girl, the girl who couldn't have been older then 14, push the button to detonate the bomb.
The girl pushed Atsushi away and threw herself off the train.
Without even thinking about it Ali ran out of the train and dove to catch the girl, in sync with Atsushi.
Atsushi grabbed the bomb off the girls clothes and threw it into the air, and then prepared for impact with the water.
About 10 seconds before hitting the water Ali suddenly remembered a critical detail, that she had forgotten about in the heat of the moment.
"ATSUSHI!!! I CAN'T SWIM!!!"
...
Apparently Ali was the only person in the group who could not swim, so Atsushi did not need to worry about also carrying Kyouka with him.
Ali coughed and then quickly put on another mask from her bag "Th-thank you Atsushi... If you weren't there I probably would've drowned..." She said.
Then she turned her gaze to Kyouka. She gently put her hand onto Kyouka's head "You don't need to hurt anyone anymore... We'll protect you."
Kyouka froze before she crumpled into Ali's shoulder and quietly sobbed. "I... Don't want to kill anymore..." Ali softly patted her back and then slid Kyouka onto her back. "C'mon let's get you somewhere safe." She whispered.
Atsushi let out a sigh of relief before he collapsed to the ground. Ali groaned but then picked up the two of them and walked to the agency.
...
Kunikida sighed as he saw the trio return to the agency. "So it looks like you two have brought back another troublesome one..."
Ali shrugged, then put Atsushi onto the couch and then carried Kyouka into a bed. "I'll watch over her, you can inform Atsushi about the situation." She told Kunikida.
Kunikida nodded and then gave her a copy of a newspaper he had and the left the room.
Ali opened the newspaper "Family brutally murderer... Culprit is a young girl..." She muttered. She stared at the picture of Kyouka that was next to the crime scene. She felt her heart break, a young girl, separated from her family, and forced to become a murder.
Yosano entered the room and Ali moved aside to allow her to check on Kyouka. "Will she be okay?" She asked. Yosano brushed aside some of Kyoukas hair before nodding "She'll probably wake up in a couple of minutes. Keep her company."
Ali nodded and sat next to Kyouka. The room was silent except for Kyoukas occasional breathing, Yosanos shuffling, and the faint noise outside the room. Ali opened her mouth to speak before closing it.
After a while Kyouka starting shifting a little bit in the bed, Ali lightly stroked her hair and Kyouka nuzzled into her hands. "Mom..." Kyouka muttered. Ali felt her heart break as she switched to a more gentle voice "You're safe here..."
A tear fell down Kyouka's face and Ali gently wiped it away.
...
Once Kyouka had her eyes open in the bed, Yosano exited the room and Kunikida and Atsushi entered the room.
Atsushi slightly leaned to check on Kyouka "Are you okay?" He asked. Kyouka stayed silent and stared at the blank ceiling. Atsushi continued to talk to her "This is the infirmary of the agency... How are you feeling?" Kyouka didn't respond to Atsushi and laid in the bed.
Finally Kunikida spoke coldly "Name the culprit. The mafia is like a snake. It can move arounf as long as the head is alive. So who is your head?" He asked. Kyouka slightly moved as she finally spoke "The tofu stew at Tachibana Restaurant... It tastes good."
Atsushi stared at Kyouka confused about the sudden comment. Kunikida seemed to understand what it meant a little bit more then Atsushi "So you want to eat there?"
Kyouka nodded "If I can, I'll tell you everything." Atsushi smiled "Is that it? No problem!"
Ali and Kunikida stared at him, knowing fully well that Atsushi probably wouldn't be able to afford the meal.
...
Kyouka slurped down another bowl of tofu, and then raised her bowl for another serving. Atsushi watched as she ate away at his savings helplessly. Ali patted his back "I'll help pay..." She offered, holding up her wallet.
Atsushi gratefully nodded "I-I'll be sure to pay back..." Ali shook her head "How about this? You can buy me some pudding and then we'll be even." Atsushi nodded and then ordered the custard pudding on the menu.
Ali happily faced the other direction and took off her mask, then she slurped up the pudding in less than a second. "Thank you!"
As Kyouka finished her 50th bowl of tofu she started speaking "When my parents died, I was taken in by the mafia. They were interested in my ability." She said while staring at the ground.
She slid her phone across the table "My ability only obeys the voice coming from the cell phone." Kunikida put his hand to his chin "That's why the mafia took you in and trained you to be an assassin."
Atsushi held up his hand "Couldn't you throw away the phone?" Kyouka shook her head "If I did that I would've been killed..." She said. "And plus, even if I could leave the mafia I'd have nowhere else to go."
Ali nodded her head before asking a question "So who's the one who's controlling Demon Snow?" Kyouka slightly faltered before speaking "A man named Akutagawa."
The trio from the agency all stiffened at the mention of the named. Kunikida faced the table muttering a "I see..." Before pulling out Ali and Atsushi from the room.
"You two. Turn the girl over to the police." He instructed.