Catching a Ride

[CaptainL]

Sure, Yuki was afraid. Her survival instincts were on high alert, forcing her to think on her feet. Every second that passed seemed like one where danger was closing in on her from every angle, and if those dangers weren't coming from the threat that Angelina directly posed to her, they came from the risk of giving into her darker desires; from opening up on the Marauder with all the aggression and rage she had pent up inside of her, and in the process proving her rival's point. Luckily for Yuki, for as dangerous as Angelina was, she wasn't invincible - Yuki, after all, had demonstrated as much. She was still rattled from the impact her head had made with the window, and every move she made had to come through a haze. As long as that was happening, she couldn't act as quickly as she wanted to. And that meant Yuki had the time to make her escape.

She couldn't hesitate any more. She had to book it. She couldn't be around Angelina any longer - not for her own well-being, and not for the need to save face either. She sprung to her feet with a burst of adrenaline, and there she took off as fast as her legs could take her. This wasn't about being honorable or finishing the fight. There was never any honor here, and it wasn't a fight; it was an ambush. There was only one place Yuki needed to go, and that was as far away from Angelina as she could. Even as Angelina roared behind her, even as she propelled herself through an almost inhuman force of will, and even as Yuki heard another window shatter into a cascade of glass behind her, she couldn't let that temper her morale for more than an instant. She wouldn't let it. She just had to go.

There was just one thing that gave Yuki pause. And with it came an overpowering sense of dread and terror that slammed into her with all the speed and force of the train they were on. In her haste to escape, she had left the yearbook behind. She'd completely overlooked that. But Angelina hadn't. And now that Angelina had the yearbook - it meant that the very reason Yuki had ended up here to begin with was staring her back in the face. She couldn't just turn her back on that. But that meant...

Her eyes went wide as she skidded to a stop. As though on a dime, she found herself rooted in place, standing in the doorway to the next train car. Without so much as a blink, her gaze flitted back and forth - first behind her at the ever-steadily encroaching Angelina, then ahead to stare down the aisle into the next car. Or rather, the last car. The train ended there. Yuki sucked in a gulp as it hit her. She had nowhere left to go. She was trapped. She was cornered...and Angelina wasn't getting any further.

A tremble ran through the raven-haired girl from head to toe. But still, she took a deep breath, looking back over her shoulder at Angelina. If this was how it had to be...she could at least be ready. And it was then that she saw the redhead swing that bat overhead, hurling it straight in Yuki's direction.

Her mouth dropped open in a gasp. In a split-second, everything froze; her veins felt like they were running with ice. If this hit, this could be the end. If not of the fight, then perhaps of Yuki's entire career - if not worse. But in that moment, she knew, she had to be ready. She still had time. The trembling in her legs, the aches and pains, the blood that was still dripping down her arm...none of that mattered. All that mattered was survival. And that was why Yuki needed to fight.

She swore she would be ready. And she wanted to make good on that promise. Like the crack of a whip, her body spun around to face Angelina, just as the bat was coming closer. Then, her arms shot out in front of her. She could only hope that she had timed things just right - and that she could grab the bat before it hit!

[Monsy]

Razor wire, pink wood and white tape. The window to move was small, but to stand there was a gamble ten times as big. For Angelina — Her dice was yet to be cast. The throw ejected her rage out her lungs, threw her balance and left her breathless, on her knees, then all fours. She panted. In, out. Rattling on the latter. Through her nose, heavy and long, then out her mouth. Calm. Coast. Cruise. One, two, three--apple, orange, tree.

Technique didn't mean shit when it came down to the itch. It’s in her nape, down her back, in her shoes and swirling in her gut. She needed something. Stuff. Stuff in her hands. Maybe a piece of that black hair, or something else that's precious. A niche antique sitting in plain view of CCTV. Maybe, just, punching a face until her knuckles were sore, broken and bloody would do it. Sex. Could just need a popsy. Cherry, cold, but melts away the troubles.

The sweat from success.

“FUCKIN…FFF--....FUCK!” She cursed her fall. Her knuckles struck the ground. “Yukkkii...”

She stood again, wobbly, but with extra gunpowder to carry on. Angelina huffed loudly, advancing, sliding her feet across the train floor, still rickety from the throes of riding rail. The yearbook hung and dangled by her side still. A low growl reverberated inside her mouth, coupled with unblinking eyes and the tightness of her lips, twitching and pulling at the corner, trying to yank up her cheek.

Sadly for them, they had no more plank left to walk.

“Where to now, huh?” Angelina got closer, her cobwebs slowly clearing. And again, she barked with spit, “Want ya shit back? Then stand ya ground.” She took a closed fist and struck herself twice right on top of the head, wincing and flinching after each one. “And hit me right there, Yuki, right-fuckin’ there! Don’t be a fuckin’ cowahd. Don't even fuckin' think. Just SWING!”

[CaptainL]

It had all happened so quickly, even Yuki herself could hardly believe it. Flung from Angelina's hands, the bat had spiraled through the air, on a collision course with Yuki's head. She only had a split-second to do anything about it - to get out of the way, to intercept her assailant, or what she'd actually done. And what it was she actually did seemed most incredible of all. In a flash, her hands shot out in front of her, looking to grab the bat. She knew it was a million-to-one shot, and one that could just as easily injure her hands if she grabbed the wire-studded bat in the wrong place. But miraculously, her fingers had clamped down around its shaft, and pressed in tight to hold on. Now, as she felt the heft of the wood in her hand, Yuki knew she was in control. She was armed. She had the edge. And when she looked back up at Angelina, panting and groaning from the pains she'd endured as she stalked her way forward, Yuki knew she had nothing to fear.

Angelina was right there. She was defenseless, and she looked like she would crumble from a stiff breeze anyway. So too did Yuki see her yearbook dangling at her side - the very reason all of this was happening in the first place. It was almost too perfect, and too easy. All the pieces were right there in front of her. She just had to reach out and take them. One solid swing, one crack of the bat against Angelina's head, and it would all be over. She'd have the yearbook back. She'd have shut Angelina up, once and for all.

She just had to do it. But then...that was the hard part.

As Angelina came closer and closer, Yuki's breaths grew faster and faster, quickening to a harried pant. She could feel herself flare up with heat, and she could feel the ground beneath her teetering as dizziness set in. It was right there. It should've been easy. Angelina was literally begging for her to do it. But that was when Yuki could feel the tears budding in the corners of her eyes, and the pounding sensation in her temples. The bat seemed heavier than ever, and it wavered in her hands. When the opportunity she was waiting for for so long was staring her right in the face, somehow, it was then that it seemed more intimidating than ever, and that fear felt like a ten-ton weight pressing down on her shoulders. She had to do it. She needed to do it. So...why couldn't she?

At last, spurred on by Angelina's words, Yuki knew she couldn't waste any more time. She wasn't a coward. She couldn't let her, or anyone, think that! Sucking in a breath, she reeled back and prepared to swing. But her eyes were squeezed shut, afraid to even face what she was doing. Her teeth were clenched in fear more than they were from rage. And when she cried out with "S-Shut up-!!", her words were choked with hesitation.

At last, she swung. But when her nerves were running out of control, she just couldn't focus. Her aim went wide, and she nearly lost her balance as she reeled around in an arc. In the end, Yuki's greatest obstacle was her own fear. And that fear was directed, most of all, at herself.

[Monsy]

Indeed. Right there.
She laid it all out for them. And though she would never concede, she would walk into the final blow, just to fight it and take a pitiful, inconsequential swing. She fully imagined herself being laid out across the train floor. To twitch like a dead bug. And not even feel a thing. Not then, but later. She would get herself home before anyone came, lay out on her bed, with Thistlebro, too beaten to rage but too angry to calm down. Her head would hurt for weeks and it would be baby steps before she was combat ready again. But, she’d train anyway, push it with the bandages still wrapped around her head, then come back ten pounds heavier, with a skull twice as thick and a knife twice as sharp.

But, again. At the critical point. Yuki botched it.
Angelina had gone pale, flinched and scrunched her eyes. It left her exhaling hastily through her nose. Her shoulders bobbed, and she was a wooden board. Then, she relaxed. The train crept towards a stop. Angelina braced one foot forward, leaned on the knee and absorbed the train’s loud clacks and throes as it cruised by a new throng and the safety of the platform. They appeared in the windows, oblivious.

Angelina looked out, with the blood from her window kiss now finally going over the hairline and to her forehead.

This train was about to fill up. She knew that much, and with Yuki’s last failed attempt, she saw little to gain. So she walked towards Yuki, bumped their shoulder, and at the same time, reached for her bat to slip it from their grip. Classic pickpocket trick, but with one passing whisper into Yuki’s ear, leaning in. “Shine.” ( 死ね )

The doors opened with a hiss and Angelina stepped out to the platform. Those just beyond the doors parted to create a tight lane, seeing a battered up demon chick carrying a weaponized bat and a book, glassy-eyed, but wild and hugely dilated. Other passengers were keen to get off as well. They wouldn’t forget these two women. A pair of psychopaths.

[CaptainL]

For the most part, Yuki had let herself get lost in the intensity of their duel - the adrenaline rush was enough to drown out her surroundings, immersing herself in a world that was hers and Angelina's alone, and the only thing she needed to concern herself with was standing up to the Marauder once and for all. But there were still some moments where reality would break through - when the world would throw her a reminder that, yes, she was in public, and people could see her. This was one of those moments.

With the bat swinging, limp and off-balance and hitting nothing but air, Yuki was thrust back into the reality that she had made a mistake - and it was a mistake that seemed all the more visible when she was surrounded by people. Her face grew pale, her hands clammy, and a flash of heat ran through her from head to toe. If her mission here was to prove that she was better than what Angelina would have everyone believe - that she wasn't weak and she wasn't a coward - she had failed. Everyone had seen her faced with the perfect opportunity, with Angelina right in front of her and wide open and the bat in her hands, only for her blow to go wide and whiff, right when she needed it to hit the most. The knowledge of her failures felt like nails running down a chalkboard, sending a shiver through her spine. And the fact that the world had seen it - that a train full of people had seen her at her weakest, not only succumbing to bloodlust like a maniac but not even being able to back herself up when she was up against a wall - made it all the worse.

Paralyzed with fear - not even the fear that Angelina was going to do something to her, but the fear that everyone had seen how much of a letdown she truly was - Yuki didn't even budge as Angelina pulled the bat out of her hands. All she did was stand there, staring off into space; she barely even felt it. There was a lapse in her consciousness; one moment she had just stopped her swing, the next, Angelina was walking away from her as if it was the most normal thing in the world. But as Yuki's senses returned to her, she could see the faces - and the staring eyes - from all the people on the train who had seen her miss, and all the people out on the platform who looked in and saw her, disheveled and bleeding and with a vacuous look on her face, in the midst of it all. She felt all their stares. Watching her. Judging her. Seeing how she had let Angelina walk away.

Yuki was shocked, at first. But the more it went on, the more that dumbfounded look changed. Her eyes narrowed, her teeth clenched, her muscles pulled tight - she knew that everyone was watching for what she'd do next. And whatever she did next, that would decide her fate! She couldn't let Angelina walk away like this. To do so would be suicide for her chances. Everyone would know how much of a coward she really was - how she wasn't able to finish the job. But...she still had a chance. And she couldn't let that chance slip through her fingers!

It was at that moment that Yuki came surging forward, lunging closer to Angelina in a few swift strides. A battle cry ripped through the air, like the bellowing of a wild animal. As she bounded into range, she kicked off the ground and hurled herself straight at the Marauder, looking to tackle her to the ground. She couldn't get away!

[Monsy]

Angelina witnessed a defeated shell who petered out and extinguished before her eyes. She doubted there was another rise in there, to get to that point where she could hammer home a weapon, fling some glass, or put her head through glass. If all she was willing to do was cower, stutter, freeze and then choke. Then, that wasn’t much of a Kazikura at all. It was half of one.

And what about herself? She was a concussed, cracked, bleeding but still standing ship. That’s what. She was taking on water, dizzy and feeling light. But there was pride in being able to walk away, though like the last, it was always with a limp. Now, she could think of tonight. What to eat, what to do, who and what to enjoy to carry into tomorrow. How to fuckin’ celebrate with Thistlebro.

But Yuki wasn’t finished. She heard that wrathful cry, which ripped high above the rumblings of disturbed commuters. They looked on. Watching Yuki run. A bullet with one target, and used the lane Angelina had created when she strutted out like an alien. Yuki made for it, and Angelina was ready.

She twisted a full one-eighty, clockwise, with the bat held at nine, then swung straight across, timed with Yuki’s lunge that would see her diaphragm eat absolutely nothing but air, dense wood, razor wire coils and all the strength the Marauder can muster in one practiced swing.

[CaptainL]

No. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. After all she'd done, after all she'd been through - all the pain she'd endured, all the lengths she'd had to go to, and all the unpleasant truths about herself that she'd had to force herself to confront, was Yuki really going to let Angelina go free? Like none of it ever mattered? Was she going to go through all of this - fighting for her life, smashing peoples' heads into windows, grabbing bats with only seconds to spare - only to throw up her hands at the last moment, and go home bloodied and battered and feeling sorry for herself? She was better than that - she knew she was. If Yuki wanted to stand up to such a challenge, if she wanted to prove she wasn't going to let Angelina get the better of her like this, then she couldn't let her get away unscathed. Sure, the Marauder was worse for wear herself, but if Yuki conceded here, that might as well have been an admission of her own inferiority. Yuki wasn't a coward. She wasn't a weakling. She wasn't a quitter. And, as she took off in a charge straight toward Angelina, she would refute every single one of those accusations - to the world, and to herself!

Her desperation to prove herself brought on strength she didn't know she had. Her legs pumped at the air beneath her, driving her onward. She could see Angelina growing closer and closer, until she was just within her sights. When Yuki came to the door of the train, she didn't stop for a moment, not even to consider the confused stares of the passers-by at the sights of two disheveled, bloody women chasing each other onto the platform. All she could think about was letting Angelina know she would be unconquered; that was her only goal. And as soon as her foot came down on the platform floor, she hurled herself forward, her body stretched out like a missile to come crashing into Angelina.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. But to Yuki, those few seconds might as well have gone by in slow motion. She felt her feet leave the ground. She felt herself hurtling through the air. She could see Angelina coming closer and closer, and how she came just into reach of Yuki's grasping fingers as she reached out toward her. But she also saw it as Angelina turned around in place. How she swung that bat out in front of her. She felt that shock that ran down her spine as she realized what was about to happen a milisecond before it did. And she felt it before she saw it - when the side of that bat came crashing into Yuki's midsection, flattening her lungs.

Her jaw dropped in a gasp, and she went sputtering and coughing as her eyes went wide in shock. Her trajectory thrown off, Yuki bounced back in the other direction. She only had a few fleeting seconds to ponder what was happening to her before her back met a pillar behind her with the sound of a crack, sending off a rattle through her spine that caused her head to snap back as she let loose a scream. But there, she began to sink lower down the post, to where she lay in a heap at the bottom, panting and groaning, her eyes glassy and staring out at a world that wouldn't stop spinning.

[Monsy]

Yuki ate a full belly of weapon. And man, did she fly. It’s the one time in a million years when Angelina felt an ounce of imposing and impactful physical prowess. Or maybe Yuki did all the leg work. Her hitting that wall, with that force, was fuckin’ impressive. But she didn’t let her know that. She had her bat pointed outward, diagonally from her shoulder, huffing out her nose, long until her shoulders raised and chest inflated, then out, strong and deliberate, emphasizing a sense of self control as she was coming off a rush.

The bat’s lower shaft rested over her collar bone, pointed up. Angelina walked with a small stride, not too much further than a foot’s length. An awkward slump with each mini-lunge, where the second step looked more like catch up than a proper stride. She compensated by doing this faster. And her expression like one that was frozen in intensity. Her eyes had kept open since she stepped off. They watered.

“Ya gotta be yankin' my hair.” Angelina spoke under her breath. The bat’s point pressed against Yuki’s chest, and hoped to pin her in place. It became the crutch that Angelina straightened her posture. The wedge that got her knees stable and allowed her head to relax.

Still. Her upper-lip had a twitch. “Ya must be smokin' gunpowdah to pull that dumb shit. It's far from the Kazikura I know. I know you're fuckin' beat, I can just feel it.”

Angelina looked left, towards the opposite side of the platform and its yellow studs for the blind, then the dip that went towards the tracks. The other subway train had yet to pull in. She calmed, slowly, taking yet another deep breath as her thoughts corralled.

“Lets put somethin’ to bed. Right now. Crawl to the other side, on all fours. Stop at the yellow.”

Angelina backed up one step and removed the pressure off Yuki’s chest. “Try anythin’ and I won’t hesitate to do what ya shoulda’ done. Now crawl.”

[CaptainL]

One moment, she thought she was gaining ground on the Marauder, throwing herself toward her with all the momentum of a desperate sprint concentrated into her body as she prepared a tackle. This whole outing hadn't gone remotely like she'd planned - she'd been beaten; she was bleeding; she had received a cold reminder of the disturbance she'd made in front of so many prying eyes, which only served to prove Angelina's point - but at least now, she had her shot to turn it all around. If she could score one good hit on Angelina, one hit that would shut her up once and for all, it would be a vindication of everything Yuki had been through. It would be her own way of taking back control, and setting right everything that had gone wrong. It would be a reversal of her fortunes - but Angelina, too, was determined to see Yuki's fortunes so reversed. And in the next moment, as Angelina turned and slammed the flat of her bat against Yuki's stomach, everything changed. The forward momentum Yuki had enjoyed was now carrying her straight backward. The adrenaline rush of standing up to her tormentor had been replaced by the throbbing ache of disappointment. Angelina had hit a home run, and Yuki was the ball.

As soon as it had started, it was over. Yuki had barely been airborne for what felt like more than a second before she came crashing into a post with all of that force, and a rattle went up the pillar as she sank lower, crumpling at its foot. Her hair had fallen over her face, her limbs splayed limply around her, and her head dangled at her shoulder as her chest heaved with desperate breaths just to get the air back in her lungs. The whole world was spinning around her, and everything was a blur. But Yuki could feel it when Angelina drove the tip of her bat against her chest - it was enough to make her shudder and clench her teeth, realizing then and there that this was a threat, and that she was in danger. And what Angelina told her echoed loud and clear. Once again, it was Yuki's emotions that had gotten the better of her. She'd let herself get carried away in rage and desperation, growing blind to the outside world, and what it was telling her what she needed to do. And now, she had paid the price. Angelina was right - it was a letdown of what had made Yuki so good in the first place. And it was a letdown that was all her fault. She should've been better - but she only had herself to blame.

When Angelina gave her the orders, it was enough to make Yuki pause, and she swallowed a gulp as she turned her head upward to look at Angelina. "Huh!?" What was this about - why was she bossing her around like this? For a moment, she could feel her cheeks flush hot. The thought of her crawling around on her knees, and taking orders from Angelina of all people, was just adding further insult on top of it all. It was the ultimate gesture of complete and total submission. She'd be admitting that Angelina, truly, had beaten her; that she had nothing to say in her defense. "W-What do you want..!? Why are you..?"

As Angelina stepped back, Yuki pushed against the floor, trying to rise to her feet. But it was then that the aches and pains caught up to her, and she dropped back down with a groan, rubbing at the point where Angelina's blow had landed. Yuki had no other choice. She didn't have the strength to right herself. And more importantly...she knew, deep inside of her, that Angelina was right. She had lost - she couldn't lie to herself.

She had to suck in a deep breath, mustering the courage to even think of doing what she'd been told. She had no idea what lay ahead for her. Even if she did, it wouldn't matter - it'd still mean she was bowing her head to her rival, and that was a fate she could hardly comprehend. But she had no other options. Groaning and gritting her teeth, Yuki turned over onto her hands and knees, where she began to worm her way toward the line Angelina had indicated.

[Monsy]

When Yuki submitted to a crawl, Angelina reminisced about her first victory over her. It was blissful. An alcohol rush. A jubilant drug. She was whole. Her work, through pushing, challenging, giving blood and longevity, she created a piece of gold to call her own. So she danced. There wasn’t any bad blood, then. Just as easy as tomorrow, if she saw the Dynamite Schoolgirl, she’d invite her for a popsy and maybe, no, definitely -- they would talk about a rematch. Flaws, strengths in each other’s game. Talk a bit of fun shit, then praise a moment later.

At least, that’s what she pictured while stalking. The absurdity almost made her laugh in a way that wasn’t even funny. It didn’t move her face at all. The thought seemed as possible as finding a unicorn with a skull and crossbones pattern.

The throng around them parted into sidelines. A mixture of passive and worried faces, apathetic and otherwise hidden behind a face mask. Angelina kept her weapon active, and her stare bounced everywhere. She seemed short of focus. Her spine told her that someone was about to jump out and grab her, topple her and that this whole thing was about to collapse. She just wanted them to flinch, so bad, to justify taking the swing she wanted to take. One quick crack to break the knee would be all the lesson they needed. She had to. But the crowd wouldn’t give her the nod.

So, once they got to the yellow studs for the blind, Angelina stepped between Yuki’s shoulder blades and pushed her flat against the white-squared floor. Train lights broke from down the tunnel to their east, not in direct view, but spread across the concrete walls. The clack, thunk and trudge of its mechanisms echoed down the line. Still about thirty seconds out. They were more than safe.

“What do I. Why are you.. How shall I. When can I. Where will I.” She talked plainly while her fingernail slipped to a particular page and pinched it, then dangled the yearbook in front of them. It was a page with Yuki’s portrait, where all the other faces were scribbled on by a sharpie marker. “Ya really wanna know?”