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‘It was them or me…’
Ever since Riyo had been adopted into HQ, she wasn't taking it well. Being without blood for months was slowly driving her insane. She didn't understand why… Why did they decided to save her from the Hell Guards before they executed her? It just didn't make sense. There had to be some underlying motive, something they weren't telling her, and the longer she went without finding it, the more it ate away at her.
Whenever everyone had gone to sleep, she would sneak through Corvus's paperwork, searching for anything that could explain why she was still alive. Night after night she found nothing. Still, she stayed on high alert, refusing to let herself become a sitting duck. She knew how this ended. It was them or her. And if it came down to it, she wouldn't care if a few more bodies were added to the list that already stained her hands.
One night, she was spiraling worse than usual.
After tearing through another stack of papers only to come up empty again, she'd finally had enough of their damn mind games. It hurt. It hurt so damn bad. Her head would not stop fucking racing, every thought feeding into the next until she could barely breathe.. She needed something to get rid of the pressure somehow. She didn't care if she ended up on her own again. That was better than waiting for them to kill her... or worse.
So, on that dreaded night, she made up her mind.
She was going to kill them. One by one, preferably... So she needed to be as quiet as possible.
If she rushed in carelessly, everyone would realize what was happening sooner or later. She wasn't sure if she could take all the givers at once.. could she? No. She had to start small. Pick them off silently before anyone had a chance to notice. She chose the weakest target she could think of, someone close enough to her room that she wouldn't have to wander the halls for long.
Zanka.
At the dead of night, she quietly creaked her door open. Slowly making her way toward the older boy's room, she kept her footsteps light, careful not to make a sound. It was almost laughably easy to get inside. Nobody had even thought to lock their doors. She could've scoffed at how careless they were.
Stepping into the room, her eyes settled on the sleeping man. His vital instrument rested beside his bed... but that shouldn't be a problem. Not if she made it quick.
Slowly, she crept closer.
The mattress dipped beneath her weight as she straddled him, her knees sinking into the blankets. She knew he'd wake the second he felt the movement. She just had to be faster.
Raising the scissors high above her head, she aimed for the jugular vein artery in Zanka's neck. One clean stab. It should be extremely quick and rather painless.
But...
"Ca….can't... catch m' breath...!”
Zanka jolted awake, his eyes snapping open as the sudden weight on his chest crushed against his ribs. His lungs strained for air as he looked up through the darkness, only to freeze.
"Riy’...?"
Riyo staggered for only a split second, caught off guard by how quickly he'd woken. It was all the hesitation Zanka got.
She drove the scissors down.
At the last second, Zanka threw his hand up, catching her wrist before the blades could sink into his neck. His arm trembled violently as he pushed back with everything he had, the scissors hovering only inches from his throat. The two were locked in a desperate tug-of-war, each straining against the other's strength. Pure confusion and heartbreak laced his facial features.
"Augh..! Wha... th' hell're ya doin'?!"
The words came out broken and strained. Riyo's weight bore down on his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs until every breath burned. Even so, he shouted as loudly as he could, hoping someone would hear. He sputtered between gasps, trying to wrench her hand away from his neck.
Riyo didn't answer.
She only stared down at him with lifeless eyes, her expression completely empty as she kept forcing the scissors lower.
Zanka's own eyes were wide with panic, his upper muscles in his body straining as he fought to keep the blades away.
He didn't want to hurt Riyo.
But she wasn't leaving him with many other options. And eventually, instinct took over.
He could feel one of his ribs starting to give beneath the pressure on his chest. It hurt to even breathe. With a desperate shove, Zanka threw her back as hard as he could.
Riyo stumbled, falling backward across the mattress as the scissors nearly slipped from her grip.
The opening was enough.
Zanka shot upright, dragging in a sharp breath now that the crushing weight was finally off his chest. His lungs burned, but at least he could breathe again.
Riyo didn't waste a second.
Zanka was trying to hold off... But it wasn't a choice anymore.. So with his years of Hell Guard training it really started to kicked in when she lunged at him again. Zanka reacted just in time, twisting his body away. He managed to keep the scissors away from his neck.
But not his arm.
The blade buried itself deep into his forearm instead.
"Ah, fer shit's sake...!”
The scissors dug in deeper as Riyo twisted them, trying to rip them back out. White-hot pain shot through his arm, forcing a scream from his throat before he bit it back into a strained grunt. Blood immediately began pouring down his sleeve, dripping onto the sheets beneath him.
With his free hand, the one that wasn't bleeding profusely, he reached for his Assiststaff beside the bed.
He really didn't want to do this...
But she had already wounded him badly...
For a split second, everything around him blurred. The room disappeared….? He wasn't in HQ anymore.
He was back at the training academy.
Those same lifeless eyes stared down at him. That same white-haired girl...
Hyo.
The same helpless feeling. The same sudden attack. A blade aimed for his neck before he'd even realized what was happening.
He didn't want to relive this.
He didn't...
He...
He needed to win this time.
Without thinking, he swung the Assiststaff as hard as he could.
Crash!
The staff struck the side of Riyo's head, knocking her clean off the bed. She hit the floor with a heavy thud, the scissors still lodged painfully deep in Zanka's arm.
She was already scrambling to get back up.
But this time, Zanka was quicker.
Sliding off the opposite side of the bed, he stumbled toward the door, intent on getting help. Something wasn't right. Riyo wasn't in her right state of mind.
Maybe... maybe a Jinki had been placed on her??? He couldn't understand why she would suddenly do something like this. Nothing about it made sense! He could only theorize.
He tightened his grip on his Assiststaff as he backed away. Using it at such close range again would only risk seriously hurting her...
And that was the last thing he wanted.
“Riyo! Th' hell's wrong with ya?! Ya... ya fuckin' stabbed me!” Zanka was still in shock. “Ya fuckin' stabbed me!” he repeated, his voice cracking as he reached for his communicator to call for help. His hand pressed against where it should've been strapped around his injured wrist…. Which came to…
Nothing…?
In their struggle, Riyo had popped it right off without him even noticing. The little shit was clever. She had also somehow managed to do that undetected.. He would've been impressed if it didn't… ya know…? It didn't happen to him!?! He was lost in thought; he hadn't even noticed her get back up again.. he was already starting to run out of stamina. The blood loss and pain were finally catching up to him. He had only just been woken up, and his body felt sluggish, refusing to move the way he wanted it to.
His head swam. Every breath came a little heavier than the last, but he forced himself to stay clear-minded. He had to. Especially when he saw Riyo slowly pushing herself back onto her feet. Blood soaked nearly her entire face, dripping down from what he could only guess was a nasty gash on her forehead from when he'd slammed her earlier.
He couldn't keep this up much longer.
He wasn't even sure if anyone had heard his screams. He didn't dare yell for help now, afraid it'd only provoke her into another frenzy. His last shot was the wall. He shared one with Enjin's temporary room since his own was still under reconstruction. Gathering what little strength he had left, he slammed his fist against it as hard as he could.
Riyo scoffed, watching him with a look that almost seemed confused, wondering what the hell he thought he was doing. She didn't pay it much mind. If she'd had her gun, she would've just shot him already. She had enough bullets set aside for a clean shot to the head for every single HQ member. But... she didn't have it. Taken away by Enjin before she even came to the HQ.
So this had become her last resort.
She'd waited until he was vulnerable. Waited... and waited... until she noticed the way he staggered. The second his footing slipped, she lunged, throwing herself into the combination she'd been saving.
Zanka saw it coming.
The moment she rushed him with her arms out, he made one final desperate move. Using his vital instrument, he forced her back down onto the floor. She thrashed violently beneath it, fighting with everything she had. Gritting his teeth, Zanka threw his free hand over her, trying to keep her pinned despite the pain screaming through his arm.
"Riyo! Please! Jus' tell me what's wrong! Talk t'me!” His voice cracked. He hated begging. It wasn't something he ever wanted to do, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He was desperate. More than anything, he didn't want to hurt her.
He could feel himself faltering.. The blood loss was winning. He wasn't going to be able to hold her down much longer.
He could feel his consciousness slowly fading in and out before the door suddenly slammed open.
A half-dressed Enjin and Gris rushed inside. They were wearing each other's clothes.
Zanka didn't even have the energy to question it... nor did he really want to. Right now, all he felt was relief.
“Enjin?” Zanka mumbled weakly.
The tension finally left his body as his legs gave out beneath him, stumbling back into Gris's arms. Across the room, Enjin grabbed Riyo before she could make another move. The moment he had hold of her, she seemed to calm down... at least a little.
He could hear Gris talking to him, saying something, but the words barely reached him. He was too busy trying to stay awake. His gaze drifted up to the taller man, blank and half-lidded. He vaguely felt a hand ruffle through his hair before pressure wrapped around his arm. Gris was bandaging it... trying to stop the bleeding.
“Get off me!” Riyo snarled, twisting around to scratch at Enjin's arms.
He only grimaced as he caught both of her wrists. “The hell's wrong with you, kid?”
Before she could lash out again, he quickly tied her hands together. This was giving him a damn headache. Maybe he should stop picking kids up off the streets for a while... this was getting ridiculous. All he could think about was the mountain of paperwork waiting for him after this.
“Dammit! Just kill me already!” Riyo shouted, still fighting against the restraints. “Stop... fucking... toying with me!”
Enjin blinked.
“The hell are you talking about?”
“We both know what you are!” she snapped, still thrashing. “I don't buy this stupid act! Nobody risks their lives to save a serial killer unless they want something! So cut the nice guy bullshit already!”
Enjin stared at her for a second.
Then he let out a short laugh.
“...That's what this is about?”
Riyo glared at him.
“We're not planning anything,” Enjin said with a shrug, rubbing the inside of his ear with a finger. “Semiu just wanted more girls on the team.”
Riyo froze.
Just... completely froze.
The anger disappeared from her face, replaced by a blank, utterly dumbfounded stare.
“...What?”
That was one hell of a misunderstanding, to say the least.
Enjin couldn't even blame the kid. He couldn't begin to imagine the kind of crazy shit she'd gone through in such a short life. She was the same age he had been when he escaped slavery... thirteen.
He could still remember the amount of hell he'd put Corvus through when he first arrived at HQ. Fighting, running away, refusing to trust anyone that got too close. Looking back on it now, seeing someone else standing where he'd once stood... it almost felt bittersweet.
For the next couple of days, Riyo stayed under the supervision of Semiu and Enjin while Zanka made a surprisingly quick recovery thanks to Eisha and her healing wonders.
At first, Riyo barely spoke. Whenever she did, it was only to throw out short, snappy responses before shutting down again. She kept everyone at arm's length, watching every movement around her, barely sleeping.
Semiu had expected as much. Trust wasn't something a stray learned overnight.
"...Poor girl."
This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
2 years later..
“--Remember that time ya almost killed Zanka?” Enjin laughed, already more than a little tipsy. The team had supposedly gone out just to eat… Somehow, that plan had gone straight out the window.
Rudo's ears shot up.
“WHAT?!” He whipped around between Riyo, Zanka, and Enjin, jaw hanging open. “Ya can't just drop that and move on! I gotta hear this!”