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Velvet hastily raced through the night as she made her way down the road that divided Bavogian Plaza and Prawn Court, leaving Kanto behind her. She had to get back to her place fast after the injury she had suffered at the hands of the Ronin enforcer, Jyunichi. The two swords she had taken from the man clattered on the back of her bike from the movements of her machine as it weaved through the light traffic. She was still holding the blood soaked tablecloth up to her face to try to hide and protect the gash.
The wound had calmed down somewhat since she had suffered it. Upon being sliced, it had bled a lot and caused her tremendous amounts of agony that ran throughout her entire body. The effects of the enchanted blade making themselves apparent upon the demoness' flesh.
In her fury she had mutilated the samurai's body, taking her time in killing him. During those thirty minutes of torturing her foe, shockwaves of pain had emanated from the cut across her face, but the anguish had only served to fuel her rage at the time, however, now that her anger had begun to dwindle, and the adrenaline was fading, she felt it more strongly again.
The Boss passed a couple of hookers and other civilians as she continued the road south-west bound, receiving several odd looks at the state she was in. It wasn't just the tablecloth that had been soaked with blood, pretty much her entire outfit was full of dark red splatters following the gruesome acts she had committed in the Japanese restaurant. She paid them no attention, however, only focusing on not passing out or crashing the Shard in her weakened, delirious state. The Saint just hoped she wouldn't run into a Ronin patrol on her way home, the last thing she needed right now was more sword wielding freaks on her ass.
About a minute later the building that her apartment was located in came into view, it wouldn't be long until she'd get there.
When she finally arrived, she hopped off her black and red bike, pushing it down the descent and parking it next to her apartment door. She hastily unlocked the front door, almost thumbling and dropping the keys from rushing the process. Closing and locking the door behind her, she flicked on the lights and sighed a breath of relief, lucky to not have run into more members of the yellow clad gang. She tossed the bloody swords aside, discarding the dangerous objects on the floor next to the boots she had taken off prior, she'd take care of them later, but first she'd have to evaluate the damage to her face.
Entering the small bathroom, she began taking off her leather jacket, the usually black and red item now mostly just red from the blood of her enemies, next she took off her stained jeans, dropping them on top of the jacket inside the bathtub where she would later attempt to wash them in.
The blood had soaked through the clothes and even left smears on her skin, she would need a shower after she was done inspecting her injury. The redhead approached the mirror on the wall and hesitantly glanced at her reflection in the stained glass. She brushed her parted bangs aside to get a good look at her face.
Her jaw dropped a little when she saw the full extent of the Ronin's attack. The bloody cut made its way from her forehead through the eyebrow, stopping at her brow bone, and continuing over her cheekbone, and through her mark of treason. She assumed that there was a connection between the immense pain that radiated from below her eye and the demonic symbol that had been branded onto her face, that the enchanted blade had touched. She hadn't realized before how close she was to being blinded by the swordsman's strike, he had missed her eye by a hair.
Vivi cautiously raised her hand to feel the wound, wincing at the burning sensation upon touching the damaged flesh. This was no ordinary injury, a regular cut or even a gunshot wound would have healed itself by now, but this wouldn't regenerate itself that quickly, if at all. She turned on the faucet, and lowered her head towards the sink. It stung as she poured the warm water onto the gash, but continued doing so, watching as the water turned from clear to red upon flowing over her face and disappearing down the drain.
After a couple of minutes, the Boss raised her head back up to look at the wound again. Washing the blood off her face, as well as the dried blood that had formed around the cut, she was relieved to find the injury to not be as bad as it had initially appeared to be, however, it was still a noticeable feature on her face that she would have to live with, a scar would definitely be visible.
Resting both hands on the edge of the bloody sink, her head hung low as she realized that.
Tears started to form in the demoness' eyes, a rare sight that could be mistaken for leftover water from washing her face, but the way her body shook and trembled gave it away. The woman was fond of her body, proud of the fact that men and women alike were drawn to her alluring form. She enjoyed feeling beautiful and revelled in the looks she got, they empowered her in a way, but now with this hideous scar across her face, it made her feel ugly and undesirable, more so than her demonic mouth, at least that one she could hide, but this mark was permanent, changing her appearance forever.
After just remaining in that pose for a moment, she slowly looked back up and used a towel to wipe her face clean, she still had to take a shower to get the Ronins' blood off her body and out of her hair. She took off her bra, panties and socks before stepping inside the shower, dropping them on the bathroom floor. Turning on the water, she tried to relax under the warm stream as it soaked her hair and ran down her naked form, but Velvet couldn't shake the pain and sadness she was feeling. She watched the water that trickled down her body become clearer over time, until no more blood was stuck to her, as she pondered about everything that had transpired recently. She reached for a shampoo bottle and began applying it to her wet hair before rinsing it and repeating the process two more times.
Roughly ten minutes later, she turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her hair, and one around her body. She picked up her previously dropped underwear and tossed it into the washing machine, then walked over to her wardrobe to retrieve a fresh change of clothes. After removing the towel around her torso and putting on a new bra and panties, she walked back towards the sink to blow dry her hair.
When she unwrapped her hair, she looked at it for a moment, deep in thought about something Aisha had told her a while ago. Remembering how the woman wanted to take Vivi to a hairstylist to do something about the "random mess" as the former singer had called it. It was during their shopping spree around Nob Hill when Eesh had tried to get Velvet an appointment at Shear Intensity. She had enjoyed trying out new clothes with her friend at Impressions, but when it was time to hit up the hair salon, something important had come up that required the Saints' leaders attention, much to Aisha's disappointment. Velvet cringed at the memory, it was the last time she had been out with her friend like that before her murder at the hands of the man she had slain today.
She was lost in thought while she was drying her hair. Remembering that moment and how Vivi put the gang above spending time with her friend brought a wave of pain and sadness over her. She had taken Aisha’s friendship for granted, and now that she was gone, she felt awful for ditching her that day. She made a silent promise to value her friends and the limited time they had together more in the future.
That's when she decided to head to the hairdresser that Eesh had recommended to her, it was time for a change. Not only was it an attempt to somehow make it up to her dead friend, but she might also be able to get a new hairstyle that would help her hide the scar better, now that her hair was dry, she realized the parted bangs she was rocking currently did a poor job at that.
She threw the second towel into the washing machine and turned it on. Then walked over to her bed where she dropped down and fell asleep almost immediately after such an eventful evening.
Upon waking up the next day, the typical sounds of the busy streets outside her apartment could be heard, alongside some construction noise that seemed to be a constant nuisance in this neighborhood.
She approached her wardrobe to look for her jeans and jacket.
"Oh, right," she remembered as she turned around to find the bloody items still laying in the bathtub.
Was it even worth cleaning them? The blood had soaked the fabric several hours ago, it would probably be difficult to wash it out at this point. She decided not to bother at the moment and turned towards the mirror to check on her injury. It didn't look as bad as yesterday, it wasn't an open wound anymore and had begun to scab. She exhaled a deep, shaky breath upon seeing her reflection, she would have to get used to her new appearance.
The redhead walked back over to the drawer, retrieving a pink tube top and a pair of extremely short, denim hot pants. Putting on her golden earrings and necklace chain, as well as a bangle on her left, and a couple of hoops on her right wrist of the same material. She topped it off with a loose white belt, and a golden wallet chain on her left hip. Then strapped on a pair of pink lace-up high heels to match the color of her top.
The skimpy outfit didn't have much room for a weapon, so she decided to not carry one this time. Nob Hill was fairly safe since the Saints had claimed the neighborhood, she likely wouldn't need one. But then she remembered her experience from the day before, and how it made her apparent immortality seem fleeting. Her overconfidence had cost her, she shouldn't be risking it again.
Thus she picked up her remaining Vice 9 pistol from the nightstand, made sure it was loaded, and tucked it into the back of her shorts., where its grip stuck out. She would have to get herself another one after her last one was cut in half by the bald swordsman the day prior.
Vivi put on a pair of aviators to protect her sensitive eyes from the harsh sunlight, as well as in an attempt to hide her new scar somewhat. She checked her phone for any new messages or missed calls, particularly one from the nurse at the hospital, but only found a text message from Pierce asking if she was alright after she had ditched him at the bar. She lied and replied not to worry before putting the device back into the small pocket of her blue jean shorts. Ignoring the two swords she had left on the ground there, she exited her apartment.
She made sure to lock the door as she left the building and walked over to her bike. The woman pushed it up the incline before hopping on and kicking it into action. She took two left turns, heading north-west in order to reach the bridge connecting the two islands as she made her way towards not only Nob Hill, but a new appearance that would make her late friend proud.
