Minefield
It was every bit as horrible as she imagined. The scalding water, the way her hair stuck to her skin, Power hated bathing for a reason. And she still couldn’t get all the dirt from her months in the woods off. After nearly a solid hour of scrubbing, Power decided the bath was conspiring to destroy her, and left without properly washing her hair. Aki wasn’t going to allow it, and wrestled her back in there in order to wash her hair himself. After several threats of pain and dismemberment and cries of “unhand me, puny fool!” she mellowed out.
“So, a girlfriend? When were you gonna tell us?” Said Aki, knowing this topic was going to be sensitive, he tried not to sound accusatory. If Power physically tensing up when he asked was anything to go by, it didn’t work. “You don’t need to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I’m just curious, is all. When did you find the time?” He said, massaging the shampoo into Power’s scalp. She remained silent, no matter how callously Aki rubbed her scalp, she wouldn’t break. “Can I at least know her name?”.
“Reze. My name is Reze. Is Power your real name, or some kind of codename?” She said, packing a bag full of stolen clothes.
“It is my name, I chose it myself! Because I am the greatest, and only I could possibly have the skill to name myself.” Asserted Power with an authority only a true narcissist could muster. Her name was the best, of course it was, she picked it.
“Well then, if you need me to fulfil our contract, you know how to find me.” She said, covering her hair with the terrible detective shawl again.
“Of course, with my incredible sense of smell!” She boasted. Reze rolled her eyes before going to climb out of the window and ride the gutter pipe down to the ground.
“W…wait!” Power yelled, grabbing the sleeve of Reze’s sweatshirt. Reze let out a surprised hum. “Your, uh. Your name is good too. I like it.”.
“Hehehe. You’re pretty when you try to be humble. Do that more.” Reze said, hoping to fix her new contract girlfriend’s shitty attitude a little. Power blushed, she cursed her own blood for rushing to her cheeks, she’s meant to be in control of it. Traitorous liquid!
“Pretty…” Power mumbled.
“Hmm?” Aki questioned, unable to hear the fiend over the sound of him washing the shampoo out of her hair.
“Her name is pretty. She’s pretty. She smells pretty. Topknot I’m scared…” She sounded on the verge of tears.
“Power? Are you crying? Did shampoo get in your eye or something? What scared you?” Aki said, a protective, paternal tone in his voice.
“She’s pretty. And she called me pretty. And nobody’s ever called me pretty before! What if she’s better than me?? She won’t wanna be my girlfriend!” She yelled.
“Power, don’t be ridiculous. Where has this fear come from?” Questioned Aki, beginning to slowly and calmly condition Power’s hair. He hoped the physical contact would be comforting. He always liked when Himeno played with his hair, even if he’d never admit it.
“I was watching romance movies with Denji to try and figure out what pathetic human girls like. And they all looked better than me! And they only managed to attract ugly looking male humans! How am I supposed to make her like me if I’m not pretty?” She ranted. A sigh escaped Aki’s lips, he really shouldn’t have let Power watch those, he knew how terrible and vapid they were. Even so, he never could have envisioned they’d damage Power’s ego, he didn’t even think it was possible.
“Power, those are just movies. The girls are wearing makeup and they’re edited to look better. And besides, those movies are terribly written, they don’t say anything real about love.” He said reassuringly.
“Then what do I do? I don’t understand humans. I just know this is the only human I really want to like me.” She was frustrated, human emotions were confusing, and she didn’t like having them.
“Well, this is a good step. You’re making efforts to improve yourself. It shows that you care, she’ll appreciate that. I’m sure.” He chuckled, washing out the conditioner, noticing how Power had started relaxing. Progress.
“Gaining a human’s love is as simple as bathing?!” She yelled. To any other person, the sigh that Aki let out was potentially the most anguished one they’d ever heard, but to Power it was just how Aki sounded.
“No, Power, it’s not that simple. You need to keep showing that you care. Not just by bathing, that’s a normal thing you should be doing more of anyway.” Answered the exasperated Aki.
“Hmmph, this is too complicated! Why aren’t humans more simple?” She said as Aki finished rinsing her hair. This was just going to go in circles, Aki realised he had to speak in a language Power would understand.
“Really, the great and mighty Power stumped by human dating? And here I thought you were in the running for a Nobel prize.” He said sarcastically.
Her eyes widening in shock at the challenge to her intellect, Power splashed at least half of the water out of the bath and yelled “Never! I am Power! I will not be bested by puny human customs! Topknot you’ve helped me crack the case!”. Power put on a terrible attempt at a Victorian accent and pretended to be a detective again. “I must go! The mystery has been solved!”. Wiping the filthy water from his face with a towel, Aki was shocked when it was ripped from his hands as Power wrapped it around herself and left the bathroom. Then his stomach sank as he heard the front door open. “Power for the love of god put some clothes on!”.
She did not. She ran through the streets in a towel she’d pinned closed with a broach she fashioned out of her own blood weapons. After all, this was it, her chance to prove she couldn’t be defeated! She couldn’t waste it by doing something as trivial and human as putting clothes on.
Small sparks illuminated the dingy alley as Reze tried to sharpen her newly stolen knife with the wreckage of an angle grinder outside of the university’s trash bins. She’d stolen the knife from an open window leading into a kitchen, the knife handle towards her thieving hand. The idea of killing rats and mice wasn’t something she revelled in, but that devil woman Makima appeared out of a pile of them, she wasn’t gonna take her chances getting caught out by her again. Then she heard it, a sound that made her chest seize and her heart drop.
Squeak.
She was near. She had to be. She moved her knife to a reverse grip. Scanning the alleyway she couldn’t see it. But that’s why she chose mice, isn’t it? To be undetected.
Squeak squeak.
Shaking, why was she shaking? She’s a trained operative, a perfect killing machine, and she’s shaking in fear at a mouse.
Squeak.
Hand darting up, she grabbed the pin. This was it. The only way. It’d cause major collateral damage. Why was she thinking about collateral? She wasn’t trained for that. She reasoned it had to be because if she caused too much damage, soviet spies would find her. She failed her mission, they’d want her dead. But she could take on the KGB blindfolded, and they knew it.
Squeak.
She inched her hand away, bit by bit. But what she didn’t know is why. She feared Makima, sure, but summoning the bomb might save her. She didn’t fear the soviets capturing her. What was stopping her pulling the pin? Why couldn’t she do it?
Reze took off before the mouse could squeak again. Leaping on top of the dumpster and springboarding off of it to climb a sturdy looking vent on the building’s exterior. Jumping from wall mounted air conditioners and fire escapes as she looked for an unlit apartment window on the horizon.