One Small Favor [Private]

Thread PL - 2,330

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Onihime enjoyed the streets at night far more than she did during the day. It wasn’t because of the countless neon lights that decorated them or the array of characters that the suns disappearance brought out. Nor was it the less than savory activities one could find if they searched down the right alley or behind certain locked doors. No, what she enjoyed about the night is that far less people cast their eye on her. To most she was just another figure slumped against a wall, invisible to those who thought themselves better than her. That was how she liked it.

Too often in her life she suffered the judgment of others for her choices and while ultimately no amount of scrutiny or chastisement would change her ways, it could get down right annoying. So for her the cover of night provided a shroud not to do evil or necessarily engage in unlawful acts, but gain the privacy she so enjoyed. Of course though, not even an alley tucked away between two towering buildings helped her avoid a collection of circumstances that lead to what unfolded in front of her.

Tucked against the brick, normally hidden away by a stack of restaurant trash, she sat with her head hung towards the pavement. Only when the audible thump against the nearby dumpster reached her did her head lift towards the commotion.

Heavily sedated at the moment, a high volume of her downers coursed through her. Thanks to the chemicals in her system, it took her a few seconds to realize the reality of the situation. A woman sat against the dumpster…two men in front of her. Neither of them looked to be particular gentlemanly from her perspective, one making a blatant grab for the woman’s heel. Eyes on the trio, Onihime first thought she might be in for some sort of alleyway show between the three. It wouldn’t be the first time she happened across one in such a place.

Content to let the three continue, she was prepared to slump back in her spot and let their fun go unabated. However, as her head began to dip back towards her chest the woman’s shout and the curse that followed drew her attention to them once again. Perhaps this wasn’t a willing participant in whatever the men had planned?

Despite the haze that dominated her senses and her general lack of care for those other than herself, there was one thing that irked the small blonde drug addict. A number of her younger years were spent in forced trials of various natures. Her free will stolen from her and the choice to participate made for her. To see those enforce their will on another, especially a woman, lit a fire under the small part of the girl that was yet to die.

A shove brought her away from the wall before a short stumble caused her boots to thud audibly on the asphalt. Blonde hair a mess from days…maybe a week with a brush not coming near it, she looked every bit the homeless woman. (She was in fact homeless.) With the first prospect in months already fizzled out, her home for now and the foreseeable future was the streets.

”Gentlemen,” Onihime began, the word barely comprehendable as her tongue attempted remember its role in speech. ”I do not think the lady…is as interested as you are. Perhaps her shift is over and you should just leave her alone for the night?” She finished. Her words most definitely implied she took Victoria for a woman of the night. She was pretty, dressed in accordance with the profession and lets not forget those heels.

On her feet, hands at her sides Onihime stood. Eyes only half open thanks to the powerful downers still active within her system, she likely didn’t appear competent. Those with the ability to sense Ki would know that was not the case. Even under the influence she was quite capable and with most of her emotions suppressed, remorse and restraint were not really part of her vocabulary.

The hooker’s words didn’t faze the blonde in the least; in fact she didn’t even hear them. Raised voice or not, Onihime all but blocked out the woman at the moment. Her limited ability to focus fully dedicated to the lumbering man that came at her. Size often meant nothing in this world, yet momentum and density sure did. Possessed of a larger build than her, the thug’s brass knuckled hand would not have felt pleasant should it connect with her soft skin. Oni didn’t plan to let it come near her.

As he lurched towards what he thought an easy target, she sidestepped with surprising ease when one considered the struggle she had finding her balance a moment ago. It was true she struggled to stand from her spot against the brick, but her defensive instincts were ingrained in the fibers of her muscles. Year spent training, her skills literally beaten into her, the motion needed to avoid his grabbing hands required little to no real brain activity. However, offense was a different beast all together, the coordination she needed to launch a successful counter attack far from accessible in her current state.

With a soft growl of what one could assume to be minor frustration as his prey escaped, the larger male turned to deliver a vicious backhand to the troublesome girl’s cheek. Again though, the fluidity her downers provided her body allowed the girl to arch back in such a way that the fortified fingers of her assailant did little more than cool her cheeks with a soft breeze. For a second time she launched no counter attack, even as the muscled mugger was thrown a step off balance.

Eyes still only half open, as if sleep tugged at her even now; she smiled almost playfully at the man when his eyes came back to her. His furrowed brow indicated the amusement was not mutual. Once more she offered a warning to him and his companion, the drug induced girl not exactly in a violent mood.

”Must we continue?” She asked as a hint of disinterest crept into her tone. A quick glance saw that the man’s partner still struggled to contain their intended prize. ”Let us call it a night, eh?” Onihime offered in an attempt to let this end before it escalated further. Just because she was trained in the art of combat, didn’t mean she craved it at every corner. Based on what she saw so far, these two deserved it, but that meant an end to her inhibited state.

The victimization of women struck a chord with her, it was true. Yet, to force herself from the enthrallment of her downers and take real action was father than she would prefer to go. Most men, hell most people deserved little restraint, yet she extended it to these two in the hopes they would cut their losses and walk away. However, if they continued to threaten either of the women or attempt to cause further harm she felt obligated to act. She was no hero, but sometimes people just needed to be put in their place.

The stench hit her first, a rotten smell akin to when one buried eggs underground until they ripened into the perfect tool of revenge. Thankfully for her, she only inhaled the part of the smell that wafted in her direction. The poor man who caught it directly in the face likely experienced something far more pungent, then again he wasn’t exactly a poor man, more like a scumbag who asked deserved it. With the tide fully turned on him now by the lovely streetwalker he hoped to take advantage of, his howls were music in the cool night air.

Perhaps Onihime wasn’t even needed in this little scuffle. Eyes having already shifted towards the downed man, they glanced to see the vinyl clad female pull something from the dumpster only to whip it at the larger foe that the blonde currently squared off with.Content with keeping herself removed from combat completely and letting the woman exact her revenge on both of the thugs, she made the mistake of underestimating the large man.

The burly fellows attention draw to his downed partner, he was fully aware of the item tumbling towards his head. With his recent target more focused on verbal engagement, he looked to use the projectile to his advantage. With impressive agility for a man of his size, he snatched the chunk of wood from the air. Likely part of a pallet at one time, the 2x4 Victoria launched towards her second attacker, made for the perfect improvised weapon in the streetwise thugs hand.

Unfortunately for Oni, he turned the weapon on her first. With almost two more feet in reach the second his thick fingers clasped around the piece of wood, she wasn’t able to step aside this time as the man spun on his heel to catch her right across the chin with it. A flash dominated her vision upon contact, the familiar taste of copper within her mouth as she spun when the momentum transferred to her head. Even in her deliciously sweet state, she felt that one. Sent stumbling, it allowed for the male to turn his attention back to his original target.

The brass knuckles wrapped around his fingers didn’t limit his ability to grip with his second hand as he came back around to aim a baseball bat like swing for the stomach of the oncoming Victoria. Should she be caught off guard by the offensive maneuver the air would assuredly be blasted from her lungs. Committed to his actions, hesitation was long out the window as he yanked the chuck of wood away from his victim only to lift it high in an attempt to slam it down across the slender woman’s back should she be bent over from the shot to the gut. His intent was to level at least one of the two women so his full attention could be turned to whichever one remained a threat.

Several yards away, the unprepared Onihime still reeled a little from the shot to her head. Left shoulder against the wall her eyes blinked rapidly to clear the water from them. It wasn’t tears from the pain or fear, the waterworks a result of the dizzying impact alone. She was capable of handling hits though and through her daze, a result of the chemicals that still ran through her compounded by the heavy blow, her right hand fumbled for something inside of her jacket. Despite her desire to remain under the influence, that muscular fucker just pushed things to the next level.

Watching Victoria’s figure drop to the asphalt as a result of the two heavy strikes, the thug thought himself in a good position. The way in which she curled in upon herself hinted at the pain in her abdomen, her gasps one of the few sounds in the alley beyond the groans of his friend. With the initial target of the night down for the foreseeable future his attention shifted back to the strange blonde woman he clocked across the jaw moments before. To her credit she was still on her feet even if only thanks to the support of the building she leaned on. It wouldn’t be enough to keep her up when he was done with her. No stranger to hurting those that got in his way, this night had escalated beyond what was intended, but there was no reason to pull punches now.

Wielding his improvised club, the large male lumbered towards the girl as she slapped at her thigh. Arms tensing as he brought the two by four back for a hard swing aimed directly at the back of her head.

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Unaware of the two shots the hooker took, Onihime’s mind was not focused on the world around her, not yet. Instead it zeroed in on one of the syringes tucked into her leather jacket. Through the pounding she felt thanks to the shot across the chin and the haze from previously infused chemicals, she still knew which one she wanted. Like her combat instincts its place on her was ingrained in her mind from countless uses of the substance.

Her finger tips brushed steel, the metal cool to the touch even against the cold night air all around them. Together they worked to take hold, draw the syringe from its custom designed holster. Normally if time allowed, she would roll up a sleeve or lower her pants enough to expose her thigh, but this was a combat scenario. With little regard for who saw or the integrity of her dirty, yet unripped pants, she drove the tip of the needle through the fabric and into her thigh as her thumb pressed down.

In an instant the familiar burn tied to the injection site hit her. From that initial pin prick, the inflammation of her skin, came the rush as the cocktail flowed into her bloodstream. All though her slender form the chemicals spread. The eyes that minutes ago seemed lazy and unfocused shot open, pupils dilated to take in every ounce of light possible. Her senses shifted into overdrive, that pungent smell that the wind carried now far stronger, like it hovered around her head.

The displeasure it might normally bring a sensitive nose was negated though, her amplified brain able to disregard any sensory distractions that didn’t immediately register as relevant. Behind her, on the pavement she heard the gasps of the woman she originally attempted to come to the aide of. She sounded hurt, in pain. So did the male the woman put down, his groans deeper, sicker in comparison. Down the alley, out on the street, she noted a car as it passed with no regard for what transpired a short distance away. Then, higher pitched than all of that was the whistle of wind around a hard edge. Something forced air molecules out of the way at a high speed...and it drew close to her.

Super powered instincts now took over as she ducked, that telltale whoosh of the two by four slicing through the air passed over her head followed by a confused. “What?”

Right hand pressed to the ground as she dropped into her crouch, Onihime spun while her right leg extended to take the thugs out from under him. A grunt came from the man as he fell backwards, wooden weapon still in his hand as he went down.It would do him little good now that her uppers coursed through her veins.

As he struggled to sit up she was already on him. With a light jump Oni kicked off the wall that supported her moments ago. Propelled up into the air above her attacker she dropped down to drive her right fist into the center of his face.

The momentum from her kick off the wall only propelled her fist in faster and she felt the man’s nose cave under her knuckles. Blood sprayed as well, the thugs head slapping back to the pavement. Clearly stunned, the mans lack of response to her assault didn’t prevent her from a second blow to further shatter his face, blood flowing freely now.

For a moment she looked to the side, the smaller of the duo still on the ground with his hands clutching his face. Assessed as a non threat for now, she turned back to the stunned man below her. Fully engaged now, she didn’t hesitated to grab the man by his short hair. A simple jerk had him halfway seated as her left hand went to grab his chin and the right pressed to the back of his head.

Driven by her years of conditioning and a system full of powerful drugs, she strove to eliminate her threats as efficiently as possible.