Angels: Act Two

[twiststheblade]

from here


Yokohama.

Japan's biggest port city.

Hub of trade, export, and import.

Modern, classical, new and ancient. If a thing is new 'it was done first in Yokohama'.

It is late by the time the two bikes purr through the suburbs, heading for the heart of the financial district. Late, and the rain has stopped. The surfaces are slick with water, lights reflecting off anything and everything, a shifting kaleidoscope.

The buildings are an odd mix. Darkened office buildings, except for the odd window where a worker is up late into the night. Bars, restaurants, the odd shop, spill light and sound and smell out into the streets.

Eventually, Miho waves an arm, slows, and pulls over to the side of the road. She hops off, braces the bike, and smoothly uses her entire body-weight to lift it onto the stand. She pushes her visor up, and smiles.

"Well, this is it."

There are two buildings that stand out. One is rounded, almost like a tower, stabbing up into the night. Next to it, seperated by only a narrow alleyway, is a mirrored tower-block, curved frontage, glass elevators running up the outside of the building. It has an enourmous lobby, brightly lit, edged by small shops, and a few restaurants.

"That's the one we want," she says, pointing to the rounded building. "And this is the one I thought we could go across from."

She grins.

"Anyone for sushi?"

Comments

[twiststheblade]

Miho blinks. She's not taking any orders from Goldy, not when it comes to fighting. But the blonde obviously neither needs nor wants her help, so she heads, once more, back up the corridor, realising she has essentially abandoned Alanna.

She's irrationally livid with Goldy right now, because she scared her dammit. Miho doesn't like that. People aren't allowed to do that to her.

[the_lioness]

The effort of maintaining her shield is starting to wear on Alanna, but she breathes a bit easier when Goldy reappears. She hits the ground, throwing a henchmen over her head.

"THANKS FOR NOT DYING ON US!"

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

Goldy rolls and springs to her feet again, firing down the hall with restored sight.

"ANYTIME!"

Two empty clips hit the carpet. Two full ones rapidly replace them. She dodges and ducks frenziedly, making herself a hard target as she weaves to and fro. In the heat of battle, these twenty seconds might seem to last a long time. But, really, it was all over when Goldy realized she was soaked again.

Before long, the last man falls at the far end of the corridor. Goldy turns and picks off the remaining three guards tangling with Alanna and Miho. Sure there will be more, and sure they could have handled it, but she's on a roll.

The final shell plonks to the ground, and she slowly comes out of her crouch. Guns smoking languidly, she walks steadily down the hall to join her comrades.

"Everyone okay?" she says with an incredible calmness. It's as if she just shot all the anger out of her system. She looks a little smug, but mostly just happy and almost transcendentally peaceful.

[twiststheblade]

Miho just stares at her.

One of the guards at her feet makes a weak movement, and a with quick kick, barely even bothering to look, she breaks his neck.

Her voice is not shaking. Quite.

"If you ever, ever scare me like that again I swear I will fucking kill you myself."

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

"Um... sorry?"

"Did you forget that I'm immortal? And wearing body armor?"

Regardless of her excuses, Goldy looks suitably chastized. She pulls up Miho's mask and her own, and presses a kiss to her lips. It's brimming over with apology. Or, at least, it starts out that way.

She pulls back and looks Miho over. The blood on her hand might just as easily belong to someone else. But guilt soon turns to concern when she spies the torn fabric on her upper arm.

"Are you hit?"

[twiststheblade]

"Barely."

She brushes off any concern about the wound, which whilst it is still bleeding sluggishly is hardly life threatening.

"And of course I fucking forgot! In case you forgot, we don't have immortals in my world. And when someone I love gets shot in front of me I have this strange tendency to lose the capacity for rational thought!"

She might be shouting at this point. Because it's either shout or cry, and anger isn't going to get them killed.

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

She said it. She said what Goldy has known for quite some time. But she actually said it. It's a rather monumental first.

Goldy just looks at her, emotion welling behind the eye slit in her balaclava. Part of her wants to fall back on mockery, because that is safe. But a larger part of her determines that this is neither the place nor the time.

Miho needs something in return right now. And she gets it. Goldy pulls her mask off properly and leans close to Miho's ear.

"I love you too."

It's barely audible. But it's said. And meant.

[twiststheblade]

She can't really be angry in the face of that, can she? She deflates, anger thoroughly punctured.

Softly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted."

Deep breath.

"We can't do this now. Let's get to the vault and get out."

[the_lioness]

"No, no. Take your time. I'm sure any remaining guards will be bowled over by sentiment."

Leaning against a wall, Alanna kicks at the floor, her chest heaving still.

She makes a face in their general direction.

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

"Awww. 'Lana's feeling left out, sweetness. Can we hold on thirty seconds and share the love properly?"

She makes a face back at Alanna—albeit a cuter one.

[twiststheblade]

Miho looks at Goldy.

Then at Alanna.

Then at Goldy again, grins and sidles sideways until she is standing next to Alanna, innocent smile on her face. Goldy echoes her, so there is sidling in stereo, and Alanna is soon flanked by two artless expressions.

Flutters her eyelashes. Steals Alanna's balaclava with one hand, taking off her own with the other.

Then they both lean towards her and ...

[3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com]

...smooch those red cheeks, one from each side.

"There!" Goldy says smugly as they both pull back. She's grinning gently, and quite innocently. "Now quit your grousing and let's get these swords."

[the_lioness]

Stiff as a board, Alanna stares straight ahead.

"Right. Swords. Don't do that again, or I'll sic the Antichrist on you."

The words would carry a lot more weight if she wasn't grinning.

[twiststheblade]

Miho laughs, tweaks the end of her nose gently, and skips out of the way before retribution can occur.

"C'mon," lightly, leading the way down the corridor.

"This way."

As they disappear around the corner, Miho can be heard wondering if Adam would be more likely to object that they had kissed her, or that he hadn't been around to appreciate it for himself. . .

(Scene Four)