Chapter Text
A young woman sat zoned out on a rusty, old folding chair. She was already dressed in some of the nicest clothes she had, and just finished putting on her boots. But, that was just enough time to make her second-guess herself. Was this actually a good idea? What if she picked the wrong outfit? What if something went wrong? She shouldn’t have bothered dressing up at all today. Maybe she should just stay in.
Her eyes darted around the claustrophobic and disorganized room she called an apartment, desperate to find an excuse for disappearing for another two weeks— like some overdue spring cleaning— but she found nothing. If anything, this was probably the cleanest her place had looked in a while. She must’ve done something about it out of boredom.
“I could always do my laundry,” She thought, turning to look at the apartment's balcony; only to see the railing packed with drying clothes.
Her face scrunched up in confusion, then quickly turned to frustration.
"When did I even do that?" She whined, clutching her head and stretching back in her seat. From the corner of her eye, she could see a shimmering, humanoid torso hovering by the couch, a pair of wings crossed over its chest instead of arms. Clearly, it was getting annoyed.
“Don’t look at me like that, Eve.” The girl said as the figure rose from the couch and floated towards her. Phasing through the chair, it forced her to her feet and started shoving her towards the door, ignoring the woman’s excuses and protests.
Once she was in front of the door, the young woman glanced back at the figure looking eerily over her shoulder, wordlessly demanding that she get on with it.
“Alright, I get it! I’m going— but if something goes wrong, I’m blaming you” She huffed as she reached for the knob.
[…]
"Looks like you’ve been doing well for yourself." a pink-haired woman said, leaning against the door frame as she watched a young man inspect one of several boxes, all packed with bolts of pearly white muslin.
“Yeah, I’ve been making a fortune ever since that factory in Taiwan got in touch!” The young man stood up and stretched, before turning to look at his guest. “The only drawback is a lot of extra work.
The woman chuckled. "Well, I’ve got some free time. Maybe I could lend a hand?"
The young man rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, but I’m kind of worried you’ll somehow burn this place to the ground. Why don’t you take the trash out for me?”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” They huffed, while stuffing trash and scraps of ripped fabric into an empty cardboard box. “I didn’t start that fire, the twins did!”
“The Dongfangs?” The young man laughed and shook his head. “Good one, Orza”
“Fine, don’t believe me! But good luck finding someone who’s willing to take your trash out for free!” Alter Orza turned on her heel and stormed out, back into the factory’s cramped hallways.
It was a long walk back to the eastern entrance, and while rummaging around the box for anything valuable, Alter heard a familiar voice coming from a nearby store. Even from this far away, she’d recognize that hair color anywhere. They dropped the box on the floor and broke into a run.
“JOJO!”
The other woman barely had time to react, turning just in time to get pulled into a very aggressive hug.
"Oh my God, I haven’t seen you in forever! How’ve you been?”
"Well, that’s definitely one way to say hello,” The plum-haired woman said, returning the tight hug. “Sorry for making you worry, Alter. I just had a bit of— honestly, I don’t know. Just needed some space, that’s all."
“You know you can trust me, what happened?”
“I get shit’s been hard, but you can’t keep doing this.
Alter bit their tongue as they pulled away; Josie used that excuse plenty of times in the past and it never fooled anyone. Sure, Josie’s actions were mostly justified— she needed some space after everything that happened. But, this was the first time she’d been closed off for so long. The pink-haired woman quickly looked Josie over; she was even thinner than the last time they saw her.
Josie tried her best to suppress a grimace as Alter thought about what to say. The plum-haired woman was glad to see her friend; but thanks to her self-imposed isolation, she was already starting to feel overwhelmed.
The plane flying overhead. People walking and talking around her. The water dripping from a leaky faucet. The noise grew louder and louder until it felt like her head was going to burst.
Alter sighed as she watched Josie fidget with the buttons on her blouse. Clearly, she wasn’t in any condition to answer any of her questions.
“Well, I was ‘working’ but I don’t think anyone will notice if I take a little break.” Alter said. “Wanna go to the Twins’ place and grab a bite?”
“Sure!” Josie quickly said, hoping she didn’t sound too eager about her friend changing the subject.
The city streets were just like the halls of its buildings; small, packed with people, and a pain to walk through, Josie thought as the two of them weaved through the crowds. And between the vendors hawking whatever wares they had, the gridlock of traffic, and the roar of a plane overhead; she’d finally gotten re-accustomed to the background noise of Kowloon.
The two of them rounded a corner and ducked into an alleyway that cut through to the next block. Bare bulbs hanging from tangled cables lit the way, illuminating walls covered with years of graffiti, missing posters and faded ads. This alley led to the food court; a small open area lined with small food stands and several tables. It wasn’t a formally recognized district, but it was one of the few places in the Walled City where its citizens (especially the young people) could escape the claustrophobic streets and socialize.
That being said, the peace also attracted ‘other’ kinds of vendors and junkies were a common sight; usually sitting in one of the corners, laying on the ground, or picking fights with each other.
Josie couldn’t help but smile as she soaked in the place’s atmosphere, taking a deep breath as she and Alter found an empty table. Soon, a black-haired waitress approached them, the bells of her headdress tinkling as she walked. Her face showed nothing but disinterest, eyes firmly glued to the notepad in her hand.
“Afternoon, what do you want?” The woman’s voice was flat and disinterested, almost as if she didn’t want to be there. She looked up at Alter and sighed. “Oh, it’s you. ”
“You’re awfully cheerful today, aren’t you? Pomodoro.” Alter said, not even trying to hide her smile.
“Yup, now, what’re you—" The waitress’ eyes widened when she saw the other customer. Pomodoro squealed and pulled the plum-haired woman into a hug before sitting at their table, setting her notepad aside. “Christ, it’s been forever! How’ve you been? You need anything?”
“I’m fine, Pomo. Really. We just wanted to come by and see you guys.” Josie looked around at the surrounding stalls. “Looks like everything’s going well.”
"Yeah, Misu and I expanded the menu. But apparently, the guy we pay for the space says he's 'considering’ giving it to one of the ‘vendors’.” Pomodoro said, emphasizing certain words with air quotes.
“Sounds fishy,” Josie said. “No one in their right mind would give this spot up.”
Alter nodded. “Josie’s right. He’s probably being threatened and wants to make it someone else's problem.
“Who knows." Pomodoro shrugged. "By the way, you remember what happened to Palermo’s cousin, right? [The hundred-bullet guy]?”
Alter scrunched up their face. "Don’t tell me he is that [hundred-bullet guy]."
Pomodoro looked confused. “You didn’t know?”
The pink-haired woman shook their head, still shocked.
"I'll talk with Misu about it later then— he’s the one who told me the news. It's incredible, he knows the danger but-" She sighed. "You know how he is"
"Stubborn." She emphasized after a short pause.
“Yeah, real ambitious, too—” Alter turned to Josie, “Hey, speaking of which, how’s Uncle Jo-hzi? Any word from him? I mean, he’s been gone for a while, hasn’t he?”
Pomodoro tilted her head. “Something happened?”
“No, he’s just staying a few more weeks to finish up some extra work.” Josie sighed, and fiddled with one of her jumpsuit’s buttons. “He did say something about finding some cheap clothes at the market, and he says hi to you both. He’ll probably be back in a day or two.”
“That’s a relief— even my mom’s been worried sick about him.” Alter said. “She told me to ask you about him the next time I saw you, and well… That was about a month ago.”
“Tell her that I’m sorry for keeping her waiting, and that my dad’s safe and sound. But more importantly, what happened to Max? And what’s this about a [hundred-bullet guy]?”
--------
Alter opened the door to a shed made of corrugated steel and chicken wire and spread a mix of mung beans and bread crusts along the floor, careful to avoid stepping on the pigeons as they pecked at their food. Alter usually took care of the odd jobs people didn’t want— cleaning, taking out the trash, even cleaning the pigeon coop.
They cleaned the nests one by one, until they reached a nest with a pigeon still in it; Alter tried to shoo it away, but it tilted its head and flapped its wings at them, causing them to give up and scoop it up.
“Okay, now get outta here, I need to clean.” They said, setting the bird on the floor and spotting an egg amidst the nest’s straw. “Sorry bud, I didn’t—”
A loud, metallic thud sent the pigeons flying towards the back of the coop, silently, Alter approached the door and peeked through a hole in its tarp.
Outside, several men were standing over a bloody man sprawled out on the concrete, shouting and stomping on his chest. Probably as a way to make him confess. Then again, he could’ve just had the bad luck of being an assassin’s mark. Or maybe he was just a piece of shit who deserved a beating. Alter couldn’t really see the details, but they didn’t really matter.
Whatever it was— Alter thought, it was brutal . I should probably do something.
They looked back at the pigeons and pondered their options. Alter was about to reach for the door, but froze when two gunshots rang out.
Screams and pleading were cut off by a hail of gunfire. Pigeons flew wildly within the coop, hitting the walls and each other out of fear. Alter fell to the ground after a bird hit them in the face, their blue Walkman clattering to the ground.
The sounds stopped, and they spotted a few silhouettes walking past the cage, probably heading back to the city.
"Fucking hell." Alter hissed, picking up their Walkman as they finished their work. Whatever happened, it wasn’t their business, better get home quick. Then again—
After they slid the coop’s lock into place, they walked towards the open space of the roof and was greeted by a scene of blood and bullet holes, which was more than enough for them to overlook a crucial detail.
The body was nowhere to be found.
Alter stood there for a while, debating what to do— before finally turning around and walking away; eager to forget about everything they saw after a good night’s sleep.
Several days later, Alter had forgotten all about the incident on the roof. But, rumors about a [Hundred-bullet Guy] had become harder to ignore. It seemed like the dead man had become the topic of local gossip, but the urge to ask about him drifted out of their mind as they entered the muslin factory.
-----
Josie shook in her seat, trying to keep herself from exploding in rage. Her stand manifested behind her and wrapped its wings around her.
Alter hid her face in their hands, muttering to themselves as they tried to process everything. They were right there, yet didn't do anything.
Pomodoro, on the other hand, looked tense. ‘Shitty situation’ was an understatement.
Max was the cousin of Palermo, a mutual childhood friend, and the Harmony Triad killed him with the kind of brutality that made city-wide news. These kinds of executions were pretty rare, the Mountain Master was bloodthirsty, but Max hadn’t done anything to earn that kind of punishment. He didn’t owe them money, never got in fights, and never stepped out of line.
Mysteries aside, Palermo and her aunt were probably devastated.
Josie felt tears form and her pulse quicken.
“Calm down Josie, this might be totally unrelated,” Alter said, taking hold of Josie’s hand. “Maybe they got the wrong guy."
Josie sighed as Evening Wind disappeared, leaving behind a fleeting shimmer of its aura. “I wish they did.”