Chapter Text
Act I — Akira
The rain beat the back of my neck like missiles. Heavy, fast, and loud.
Orion stood in the middle of the streetlight’s flicker, grin sharp enough to cut glass. His daggers spun lazily between his fingers, catching the neon glow.
Behind me, a neon sign flickered weakly—not unlike my spirit then.
Me? I wiped the blood running down my cheek away and sucked my teeth—
This was going to get messy.
“You know,” I sigh, rubbing the edge of my blade like a wine glass, “You could’ve been a sick sidekick, if you didn’t look like a walking warcrime.”
Lie, with his dark hair shining under the light, and expressive eyes—
Irrelevant.
Orion tilted his head, pouting. “Aw, Kira. You flirt like you fight. Poetic.”
The tone shifted. And so did he.
A blur of blades, chaos and rage. Two daggers.
One whizzed past my right ear—almost giving me a second piercing.
I barely saw the second one until it nearly sliced where my neck was. I dropped low and put my hand up—
And Valkyrie answered.
I plant my foot, brace, and shoot forward like a coiled spring snapping free.
My sword an extension of my arm, I use my momentum to deliver a blow.
He twisted through it. Literally turning in the air like smoke given a smirk.
Orion’s laugh rings through the alleyway, amused.
He lifted a hand, daggers perched upon his fingers like paid models.
One.
Two.
Three shards of precision flying at me.
The first one dug into my wrist, making Valkyrie fall.
I hear it clatter somewhere to my left, but I couldn’t see where it went if I wanted to keep my eyes on Orion.
Rainwater hazed my vision, and as always—despite my efforts—rage surges.
“Fuck you!” I scream, blindly searching for Valkyrie.
Orion shrugs, “If that’s your wish.”
When my fingers graze the hilt of my blade, I pull it towards me.
My wrist is screaming in pain—sharp, deep, and echoing like it’s scraping out my bone.
Orion pulls a round and spherical object from the pack he held on his thigh.
As it smashed to the ground, the alley shattered in fire. Smoke clawed at my eyes as shards of neon and brick flew past. I dropped low, rolling forward, Valkyrie scraping against the pavement.
Orion’s laugh cut through the roar, still unnervingly calm.
A shadow of a person backed away.
My mind crashed along with it. Broken thoughts appear.
Fire. Debris. Pain.
Orion. Gone.
My lungs fill with the tarry air, sticky and heavy.
My eyes sting with smoke, hazing my vision and making my hands tremble.
“Orion!” I scream, wiping my eyes, “Don’t be a coward!”
Heavy footsteps ring from in front.
I could still catch him.
I clench the bottom of my shirt, frozen in place.
Dust settles where Orion had been a second ago, ash drifting like it’s undecided too. My leg is braced again, ready, muscle memory already halfway through the motion.
I suck in an ashy breath.
I know the angle. Know the timing. Know exactly how far Orion can make it before the limp slows him down.
I could still catch him.
The thought doesn’t feel victorious, though. It feels empty, quiet, almost.
If I run now, I win. If I run now, they clap.
I get noticed.
I exhale.
I rewatch how Orion jumped away mid-blast. Wrong intention. Wrong direction. Towards the people—the crowd. Away from escape.
I run a hand over my face and mutter, “Idiot.”
Who I’m talking to, I don’t know.
Sirens scream behind me—red and blue slicing through the night. The noise tears apart the smoke.
I feel the opportunity slipping farther by the second. Hot asphalt under my boots, grazing my fingers as I crouch.
I could still catch him.
I drop my knee to the floor instead.
The spot where Orion kicked off is still warm. The mark his boots left when he kicked off is messy. Imperfect.
I stare at it for seconds. Boring my eyes into the lines as if it could summon Orion again.
When I get up to leave, it’s been minutes. All wasted.
When I turn on my heel, it’s not towards my escapee.
When I look up at the moon, I whisper an apology no one could hear.
“I couldn’t catch him.”
When they ask why the villain disappeared, I’ll say the final blow disoriented me.
The visibility was suboptimal.
I didn’t account for a variable.
Anything but the truth.
I’d say anything else.