Chapter Text
Peko Pekoyama’s entire world came crashing down around her on a sunny July afternoon during her weekly ballet lessons. Her sensei firmly believed that no person should wield a sword if they could not dance, so he insisted that the albino girl take dance lessons twice a week. The Kuzuryuus obligated with minimal enthusiasm, but no real resistance. Dance made her seem like a real girl, and 3 out of 4 Kuzuryuus did not like the concept of her seeming life-like whatsoever. More than that, they didn’t like that the lessons meant that she would be doing something other than protecting Fuyuhiko or slicing things with her sword.
She was in the midst of doing an across the floor combination when the master and mistress entered. Peko obediently stopped and faced the master and his wife, patiently awaiting their instructions. She seemed to not breathe at all as she waited, and one looking at her would get the same eerie feeling that occurs when looking at a very life-like doll.
“Girl,” the master said, grabbing her arm in a manner he probably thought was harsh and imposing, but it stirred no real emotional response from her. Very few things did. “You are needed.”
Peko nodded, trying to read his face for an explanation of what was going on. Her teacher, a woman in her mid-thirties who always called Peko by her first name, was very obviously displeased by the intrusion. “What’s happening?” The instructor demanded in her high, somewhat shrill voice, placing one hand on her hip. “I’m not finished with Peko yet.”
With a dramatic sob that sounded somewhat fake (but not entirely so) to Peko’s ears, Mrs. Kuzuryuu said the only words that could strike fear into her heart. “Our son,” she cried. “He’s missing.”
“Missing?” Peko echoed, unable to believe what she had just heard. Not the young master. Not Fuyuhiko. The only person who cared about her, the only person she had ever loved, the person she was born and raised to protect... that person was missing? It couldn’t be possible. She must’ve heard her wrong. He couldn’t be missing.
“Yes. Missing.” Her master confirmed through gritted teeth. “Kidnapped.” It was only then that Peko realized that she could get in trouble for this, for failing to do her job (and only God knows what her punishment would be for this), but she shoved her fear aside. This was not the time to feel. She had to focus on finding the young master, and her head needed to be as clear as possible to do that.
Once she grabbed her bag, Peko was half-dragged to the limo, even though she was more than capable of walking herself. Pulling her around seemed to make the master feel better, so she didn’t complain. Tools never complained, and that’s what she was. A tool. A tool that had failed. She wiped her eyes with the hem of her sleeve and took a deep breath. The air of Chicago filled her lungs and did little to clear her mind, but it helped her enough to try and appear in control.
She was all but shoved into the limo and was quick to check to make sure her sword was still in there, along with sneakers. Whatever she would have to do, it probably wouldn’t involve pointe shoes. Before she could even undo the ribbons, Mrs. Kuzuryuu swatted her hand and began to speak.
“Listen to me, girl. My son was just taken by the Togamis. Do you know how much money we owe that family? A lot. More money than you’d make in a thousand lifetimes. They’re going to take him, possibly forever, unless we pay today. You have until 9 pm to free him from their estate. The address is here, along with how much money we owe them. You need to get at least half of that. The other half has already been covered. Understand?” Even though she was clearly upset, the woman’s voice was authoritative and strong. She had always reminded Peko of a marble statue, even now.
“I understand.” Peko replied shortly before opening up the piece of paper. The address was for a location about an hour outside of the city, and the amount needed was at least $20 million. Her eyes widened when she saw the number, but it was such a miniscule reaction that one wouldn’t have noticed it unless they were watching for it.
“And when we return to our home,” her master began, “pack your bags. You’re fired.”
“Fired?! Who could replace her? We’ve been training her since birth!” His wife spat back, folding her arms.
“A warrior is just as replaceable as the sword they carry.” He replied. Peko said nothing, even though her throat was filling up with pleas and apologies and explanations. Now was not the time to beg. Her actions would be her words, and her only action was to fix her gaze on a spot outside, tune out the arguing of her master and mistress, and start planning.
The Togami estate was huge, and she knew its security system was the stuff of legends. She’d need a good disguise and to take out a few cameras. And there was the problem of how to get $20 million. And she had to do this in six hours. If she had time to panic, Peko would, but it was crunch time.
“Does it need to actually be $20 million, or would the appearance of $20 million be good enough?” She questioned during a pause in the fight.
“Yes, because we’ll be able to give them the real money tomorrow, but I don’t know how you’ll obtain the appearance of such money. It’s not like you have $20 million in stocks to sell. Bank robbery is your best option.” Her master rolled his eyes and scoffed. “You’re a very stupid tool, you know that?”
“I know, sir.” Peko replied obediently, bowing her head slightly. She had never considered herself to be stupid, but if her master had said it, it must be true. In her experience, reality was what he said it was. If he said Peko was stupid, she was stupid. That was how life worked for her. She, in fact, did have a plan that wouldn't involve her physically going into a bank, but she wisely kept her mouth shut until the limo stopped on an inconspicuous street.
“One of the main banks to Togami’s use is two blocks down. Don’t be seen.” Mr. Kuzuryuu told her harshly. “And remember what you are, girl. You are a tool.”
With that statement, Peko grabbed her bag and exited the limo. Once it drove off, she snuck into an alleyway to finish formulating her plan.
First, she would grab a subway to the other side of town and go the headquarters of the Crazy Diamonds, the most notorious gang in Chicago. They owed her a favor or ninety eight, so she was always able to keep a few disguises in their main apartment. She’d disguise herself as a normal girl and grab her sword that was innocently disguised as an oboe and all would be well. After that, it would be a simple stroll to the nearest library with a computer. From there, she could start making sham PayPal accounts and fill them with fake money until had $20 million and transfer it to various Togami bank accounts. By the time they realized the money was fake and they only had a quarter of what they needed, she would already be leaving with Fuyuhiko. It wouldn’t be too difficult, but it was nerve-racking anyhow.
Once all of this was finalized in her mind, Peko made her way to the subway. Nobody paid her too much mind and soon she was where she needed to be, outside of a somewhat shady apartment building in a part of town no Kuzuryuu would ever be seen in. Good thing she wasn’t a Kuzuryuu.
She made her way into the building without looking at anyone that was in the main lobby. They all knew her and that she had a purpose for being there, and so no one approached her. Peko preferred it that way. She went up three flights of stairs, found apartment 396, and knocked twice.
The door was opened by a familiar face, but one that she had never bothered to learn the name that was attached to it.
“Oowada’s not here.” He said gruffly as Peko entered the apartment, either not noticing or not caring that he didn’t want her here.
“I heard he got released last month.” Peko commented, pausing to turn around and face this stranger. Mondo Oowada had been the leader of the Crazy Diamonds for as long as she had been using their hideouts for undercover work. He was her age, maybe a year old, and she had developed something akin to a friendship with him. And then he got arrested for aggravated assault and spent six months in juvie hall and their friendship came to an abrupt end. Maybe that was for the best. Tools are not meant to form attachments.
“He did, but he got put in some damn halfway house. Hasn’t been seen around here since. Now scram.” He told her hastily, gesturing towards the door.
“I need five minutes, and then you’ll never see me again.” Peko shot back, giving him a look of desperation. She normally never showed such emotions, but it seemed to be the best way to break through to him.
“Just five minutes. One second more and I’ll kick your ass to the curb.” He agreed to her terms and with that, she head towards the bedroom where she kept her disguises and various other items.
The room was familiar to her. She was greeted by a twin sized bed, windows perpetually covered by a curtain that was slowly being attacked by moths, a large closet that she could fit in without any issues, and a desk that seemed unnaturally clean compared to the rest of the room. All of it was familiar to her and Peko allowed herself ten seconds to close her eyes breathe. She leaned against the door and let out one quiet sob because not only had she failed to protect Fuyuhiko, but her failure could get her killed, or worse: it could get her thrown out.
Letting out that small burst of emotion gave Peko some relief and she focused at the task on hand. Throwing open the closet door, she grabbed the first disguise she could find. She wrangled her hair into a brunette wig, quickly put in a pair of contacts (they did nothing to improve her vision, but they changed the distinctive red color to a more subdued purple-blue), put her glasses back on, changed into a pair of jeans and a hoodie, took the backpack she kept in the closet, and then sat down on the bed. Peko opened the backpack and put her old clothes in it and then checked to make sure everything was there. A few thousand dollars in cash were settled at the bottom, burner cell phone, a few books, a disguised sword, a granola bar, and a list of people who owed her favors were all just as she left them. Once that was certain, she switched out her pointe shoes for sneakers, put her undisguised sword in the gap between the floorboards, and then finally left.
“That was six minutes.” The new owner of the apartment complained.
“My sincerest apologies.” Peko replied quickly, opening the door and leaving without looking back at him.
The walk to the library was agonizing. Every person she passed on the street was so normal, so happy, so unaware that the very foundation of the earth was shifting beneath her feet. Suddenly, as if the memory assaulted her, Peko remembered watching apocalypse movies with Fuyuhiko when he wanted someone to see them with and talking about what they thought the end of the world would look like. He was certain it would be zombies and that it would be the two of them versus the rest of the world and that they’d end up being the lucky few survivors. When she was asked for her opinion (and he did ask for her own thoughts, something which flustered her greatly), Peko had said something vague about the rising oceans, but she knew what it really would look like. It would look like this, and here it was, the thing she had feared for her whole life. She was being discarded. All she could do was hope that the mistress changed her husband’s mind over the course of the few hours, and the helplessness was equal parts frustrating and terrifying.
The library was practically empty when Peko arrived. She sat down at a computer far away from the librarian’s desk and began her work. It was utterly mind-numbing, making accounts and moving money from one place to another and then repeating it until she reached the magical number. It took nearly 3 hours for her to get the $20 million to where it ought to be. Around hour 2, she had called for a taxi from her burner and it pulled up a minute before she finished.
Peko left the library after checking out a book, just so that she wouldn’t look suspicious. She had only briefly glanced at the title before grabbing it and only examined it when she got into the taxi. Wuthering Heights. Hopefully it would provide some sort of distraction for her.
“Where to?” The taxi driver asked her, looking back at his young customer.
“189 Monroe Road, please.” She requested, naming the large home two miles away from the Togami estate.
He shook his head. “That’s an hour outside of the city, honey. I can’t do that.”
“I’ll pay double as long as you get me there within the hour.” Peko offered, and with that, he was off, doing 90 in a 65 and cheerfully breaking traffic laws in a way only old taxi drivers ever did. The ride was almost entirely silent, with the driver focusing on going as fast as humanly possible and Peko focusing on exactly how she would approach things. She tried to read, but somehow she couldn’t make herself focus. The words were all ones she was familiar with, but she couldn’t string them together to get an actual meaning. The whole endeavor was irritating, and she gave up on it quickly.
“Stop here.” Peko said after thirty minutes. It was still a bit to the address she had given him, but it was close enough that she’d be at the Togami estate in an hour if she walked, which she needed to do if she was to avoid suspicion.
“Are you sure? It’s a bit of a walk to the house from here.” He stopped the taxi and turned back to give his passenger a perplexed look.
“I like to walk.” Peko told him, which she supposed was true enough. She wasn’t allowed to like or dislike things, but she couldn't help preferring some things over others. She couldn't help being human, even if she repressed her humanity as much as she could.
“Alrighty.” The driver shrugged and watched as she dug out $200 in cash and handed it to him. “Have a good day, kid. Don’t take any wooden nickels.”
This odd display of friendliness from the taxi driver left Peko feeling confused, so she left the taxi and pretended that he didn’t say anything. Once the taxi was out of sight, she made her way through the woods, avoiding the road as much as she could so that she would have a good escape path if and when things went sour. Going through all the trees made things much more complicated and it ended up taking her nearly an hour to get to the estate, but it would be worth it in the end.
Peko took the burner phone out of the bag and called the phone number on the piece of paper. After ringing for a few seconds, someone picked up.
“Hello?” The voice through the phone greeted.
“Is this Togami?” Peko questioned, deciding to forego greetings for the sake of timeliness.
“Ah, I take it you’re from the Kuzuryuu clan. Do you have my money?”
“Check your accounts. $20 million exactly.”
There was a pause and Peko could distantly hear the sound of a keyboard clicking and then a small chuckle.
“Well, I’ll be damned. $20 million. Come inside, then. I’ll give you your heir.” Togami hung up the phone and Peko through it back in her bag. She grabbed her disguised sword and put it in a sheath that she tied to the belt loop of her jeans before cautiously approaching the estate in a way that would make it seem that she came from the road.
Ringing the doorbell was unnecessary. Before she even got on the porch, a butler was holding the door open for her.
Peko let out an instinctive “Thank you, sir,” before entering the house. The butler silently lead her into a rather large drawing room. She stood behind one of the couches, deciding that it would be best not to sit. She was not a guest here, or at least would not be for long.
Peko stood there for quite some time, keeping her gaze firmly on the door and her hand near her sword. After what seemed to be an eternity, the door opened. In came the youngest Togami, the one she had spoken with on the phone. To Peko’s shock, he seemed to be about her age. After him came three bodyguards, and after them came Fuyuhiko. There was a split second in which he seemed not to recognize her (Where were her braids? Her red eyes? Her sailor suit uniform?) but that lasted only a second. Beneath the disguise, he could tell it was Peko and he repressed the instinct to run over to her and instead took slow, deliberate steps to her side.
“Please sit.” Togami commanded, taking his own advice and sitting down on the couch opposite to the one they were standing behind.
In the same instant that Peko said “I’m quite alright where I am, thank you,” Fuyuhiko said “Fuck you! You think after holding me in a basement for god-knows-how-long that I’m gonna listen to you? No way, you anglerfish-lookin’ motherfucker!”
Peko glanced over at him, a small smirk playing on her lips. If they had been alone, she would’ve chuckled, but she still needed to keep her composure. He looked back at her and was overwhelmed by the joyous feeling that one gets after passing a level in a videogame that had been giving them an unprecedented amount of trouble.
“Well, either way, I looked into the money that had been quite generously and quickly given. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the money was fake, Pekoyama--and yes, I do know that it’s you, that foolish disguise isn’t tricking anyone. So…” With a smirk, Togami moved his hand and in a split second, two of the bodyguards had their guns pressed to Peko and Fuyuhiko’s temples. The third stood behind Togami, his hand on a machine gun.
Togami smirked as he took in the sight, his hands folded in his lap. “Now, I can get my guards to put their guns down and all of this can end nicely, but not until I get my money. So if Miss Pekoyama would be kind enough to retrieve her phone and call the Kuzuryuus to let them know.”
Peko nodded and appeared to reach for her phone, but before doing that, she nodded at Fuyuhiko. He understood her instantly and began to struggle, sinking his teeth into his captor’s forearm. With the attention now focused on him, it was easy for Peko to get her sword and chop off the guard’s arm with one swift motion. He screamed and Peko heard the sound of machine gun fire. She hit the floor, grabbing Fuyuhiko with her free arm and pulling him down as well.
The pair scrambled to get behind the couch with the guard that had been bitten following them, his gun pointed at Fuyuhiko. Peko moved in front of him and slashed at the guard with her sword. He fired recklessly, grazing her shoulder with a bullet but not properly hitting her. Soon enough, she had his gun and he was sans a leg.
Peko tossed the gun to Fuyuhiko, who also had the pistol from the first guard. With a somewhat comical shut of “Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!” he engaged the third guard in a shoot out.
Recognizing the uselessness of a sword in a gunfight, she stayed behind the couch and looked at the guard whose arm she had cut off. He was still screaming in a very melodramatic manner, tears and snot running down his face. After staring at him for a second, Peko sighed. “I truly regret letting him watch the movie Die Hard.”
“I heard that!” Fuyuhiko shouted over the gunfire. After one more shot, it suddenly stopped. Fuyuhiko had been able to hit the guard in the chest and he was now slumped against the wall. He jumped over the couch and pressed one of the pistols to Togami’s temple. Peko got up and pressed her sword to his neck, drawing a few little drops of blood.
“Now, here’s what’s gonna happen.” Fuyuhiko began. “You’re gonna call in your little butler and he’s gonna give me my shit back. He’s also gonna give us the keys to your Ferrari, and Peko and I are gonna leave. And you aren’t gonna call the cops, are you? Because you have cameras everywhere, and they’ll see that we were just acting in self-defense. So this’ll all end happily. Consider the fact that I’m not blowing your damn brains out as my family’s repayment. Got it?”
Togami, who looked paler than he had just a few minutes before, nodded. “Butler! Get Kuzuryuu’s things, along with they keys to the Ferrari.”
There was the sound of movement and soon enough, the butler re-entered holding a bag and a pair of keys. Fuyuhiko ripped these items from his hands, spat in Togami’s face, and then left the room. Peko followed behind him, keeping her face blank until they left the house.
“Holy shit, Peko! We have a Ferrari now!” He exclaimed, setting off the alarm so that he could find it and then jumping into the driver’s seat. Peko got into the passenger side and put both of their bags in the back of the car. She had just buckled in and was removing the wig when Fuyuhiko started driving.
“We do.” She confirmed as they sped off. Peko knew that with the time and the rules of his permit that he ought to have not been driving, but he looked so damn happy with his foot on the gas and the windows down and a grin on his face that she couldn’t insist he do anything else. Besides, this wasn't exactly a habitual thing for him. Fuyuhiko normally followed the rules with an insistence that would've shocked anyone who didn't him as she did. She knew that she should tell him that she had been fired, that once he got home that they would never be able to be like this again, but she couldn’t ruin it. It was selfish of her, but she wanted her last sight of him to be a happy one.
“That was just so badass! You kicked ass, I kicked ass, you got rid of that wig--N-not that it was ugly, just that I like your hair better than some stupid wig!--and we got a fucking Ferrari out of the deal!” He rambled on as she took out her contacts and listened to him. Fuyuhiko avoided the cops as if he had done it a thousand times before and talked about how pissed he was at his parents for not paying on time, about his adventures in the Togami mansion, about how next week he might finally get his hands on a Degas painting if all went well with the art dealer from New York (he was in charge of the art dealing part of the Kuzuryuu business, and he loved it as much as he loved dual-weilding pistols in video games and fried dough cookies), and Peko had never loved him more than in that moment. Tools were not supposed to love, but she simple couldn’t help it. Days and weeks and years at his side made falling in love an inevitability instead of an impossibility. While she listened to him talk about the specifics of art dealing, she wondered how everyone on Earth wasn’t in love with him, how anybody could watch his eyes light up with passion and not be overwhelmed by the purity of his heart and the beauty of his soul.
“Hey, Peko, you listenin’?” He asked, briefly looking away from the road to look at her.
She glanced down at her shoes in embarresment, not able to admit that she had been thinking more about the tone of his voice than the actual words he was saying. “I’m sorry, but I missed the last part of your question.”
“It’s cool, no worries. I asked if you wanted to stop and grab something to eat. Your stomach was growling.”
While she loved the idea of stopping and not getting home until later, Peko knew that avoidance was useless and might just make the Kuzuryuus more upset with her. “I’m alright, I can eat when we return home.”
Fuyuhiko shrugged, looking back at the road. “If you say so. Oh, while I’m thinking about it, how’d you do the thing with the fake money?”
So Peko recounted the tale, leaving out the parts about her getting fired, and he occasionally interjected with little comments here and there, encouraging her to talk more. It was difficult for her to talk when she had to sit on her hands to keep from holding the one he never kept on the wheel, but she managed to do so. Far too soon for her liking, they arrived at the Kuzuryuu house that was on the edge of city limits. Sitting on the porch was her master, holding a suitcase and looking angry.
“What’s his deal?” Fuyuhiko asked as they got out of the car. Peko avoided his gaze and instead grabbed her backpack and shrugged.
The master approached the car and shoved the suitcase in Peko’s arms. “What the fuck is going on?” Fuyuhiko asked, looking to his father for explanation.
“She’s fired.” He explained. “She failed to notice that the Togami’s were tailing us, figuring out when you would be separated. She failed to protect you. We have no room for failure in this house. Now come inside, Fuyuhiko. Girl, leave this place and do not return. Any attempts to contact my children will backfire on them. Am I clear?”
“No, you’re not fucking clear! That’s so stupid! One mistake and you’re firing her?! You can’t just do that! Where’s she gonna go? What are you gonna do without the best bodyguard in the country? God, are you fucking stupid?” Fuyuhiko stood in front of Peko and crossed his arms, looking up at his father. He was slapped cleanly across the face, the sound echoing in Peko’s ears.
“Don’t defy me. Now go inside.” He said coldly. “And you, leave this place.”
“No!” Fuyuhiko shot back, grabbing Peko’s arm. “I can’t just let you kick her out!” Although Peko couldn’t see his eyes, she could tell by the tone in his voice that he was crying, which nearly made her break down in tears. But she couldn’t do that, not now.
“Yes, you can, and yes, you will.” And with that said, Peko’s master, the man who had took her in when she was left on his door, pulled the ribbons from her hair, shoved her to the ground, and pulled Fuyuhiko inside.
“Peko!” He called back, turning around go get one last look at her. Just as she suspected, his eyes were filled with tears. She could only stare helplessly at him, clutching her bags and trying not to cry. “Peko, I--”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was shoved inside and the door was shut. Peko stared at the door for quite some time, trying to wrap her head around her current situation. By the time she gave up on doing that, the moon was hidden behind a cloud and it had begun to rain. She couldn’t stay here forever.
So by some miracle, Peko Pekoyama picked herself off of the ground and started walking. There was no job for her now, no one left to use her, no place on Earth for her to stay. She was a tool, a tool that was broken and useless and had been thrown in the trash. As she walked with no direction, Peko wished with all of her heart that Togami’s guard had pulled the trigger or that she had died when she was 10 and was stabbed in the chest or that she had never been born at all.