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CHAPTER TWO:
You're wretched.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

               Aki dreamt of home. And not the picket-white fence and red-bricked home. No. She dreamt of the room that had served as her prison for twelve years. A room with no shred of personality: the walls white, the sink white, the furniture white. She dreamt of the solitude she had lived in and how over time, the white floors had become stained with blood—a mixture of her own and those she killed. When she would return after a job, she would strip of her clothes and head straight for the shower, but even with the blood washing down the drain, it still managed to find its way to the floor. It was a reminder—that she was a killer, and always would be.

                  Stirring from her sleep, she tried to move but found that she couldn't. She wanted to stretch her limbs, crack her bones back into their correct places but she couldn't. Opening her eyes, light flooded in—but not sunlight, artificial light. It was coming from the lightbulb hanging directly above her head, swinging back and forth from the air coming from the draft-y brick walls. She swallowed hard, attempting to clear her throat as she took in her surroundings through hazy eyes.

                   She was in a small room with a wooden chair sitting opposite her, but it was unoccupied. The lightbulb above her was flickering on and off, moths smacking themselves into it over-and-over again.

                 Same, Aki thought.

                 The walls were red brick—or were they? Aki was sure she could see some white under them. Was it paint or blood that had stained the walls that colour? Her hands and feet were bound by rope, keeping her strapped down to the legs and arm rests of the chair. She moved her feet a little, feeling the cold from the concrete floor beneath her bare feet. She was freezing. Absolutely, fucking, freezing.

                   Rolling her head on her shoulders, her neck cracked in three different places, jet-black hair falling to frame her face. She inhaled sharply and impatiently, "Yo, anyone out there? I'm bored and freezing my ass off!" She called out towards the big-steel door in front of her. There was a small rectangular window made for looking in. When she got no reply, she sighed hard. "Come on, if you're gonna torture me, get it over with already!" She held the impatience of a child, whining as if she wanted her favourite sweet. It was clear she didn't take the possibility of being tortured very seriously.

                    "You're not going to be tortured." A voice said from behind her.

                    It came as a surprise, since she hadn't sensed the person in the room, but it didn't startle her. The moment she heard the voice, she recognised it as the Gravity Manipulators and mentally cursed herself for not noticing his presence sooner. Before, in the alley, it had been overpowering, but she hadn't even felt it that time. She blamed the drugs she could still feel in her system, making her mind fuzzy. Her ability always allowed her to feel the presence of those around her.

                     Aki found a grin making its way to her lips, "No?" She quipped. "Shame. I was really looking forward to it." She said with a pleasant smile on her lips, as if she was talking about something as mundane as a cup of coffee—not the idea of torture. Part of her wondered what the Port Mafia had up their sleeves when it came to torture. Though, she couldn't imagine it being worse than the Double A's forms of torture. They were an elite breed when it came to finding ways to break someone's mind, body and soul.

                    "Don't be funny." The man chastised from behind her. She heard his slow, purposeful steps as he walked around her. His body came into frame, the first thing she noticed was the last thing she had seen before she slipped into darkness. Black, shiny boots. As he walked around her silently, her gaze trailed upward. Black suit-trousers. Grey waist coat. White collared shirt with a black ribbon on the chest. A cropped black blazer. An ankle-length black coat with red lining on the inside. A black choker around his neck. And then her orange gaze landed on his face and for a split second, the wind was knocked out of her. Damn.

                   The Gravity Manipulator stood directly in front of her. His head was tipped downwards, showing off a pointed chin. He had his hand on top of his head, bowing the hat that sat there at a haughty angle. As he rose his head, he tipped the hat back a little, revealing more of his face. He wasn't quite smirking, nor scowling, it was a mixture of both. The corner of his mouth was turned slightly upwards but his eyes remained indifferent—eyes that were a shade of blue Aki couldn't quite describe. His hair was as orange as a flame, shorter on one side and longer on the other. The longer side was pulled over his shoulder whilst the front of his hair framed his face that was almost crafted by God himself. He wasn't particularly tall—on the shorter side, but his presence was larger than life. Aki found it almost laughable, just how gorgeous the man possessed by a God seemed to be. It was fucking ridiculous.

                  Aki found a wicked grin crossing her lips as she tipped her head back, her hair slipping over the back of her shoulder, sliding down the length of her arms, "Who said I was being funny?" She retorted to his previous words. "I'm freezing. And there's nothing like a bit of torture to get the blood pumping." She whined the first half, but the grin never left her lips as she drank the Gravity Manipulator in. She wanted to kill him even more now, because it was ridiculous someone that good looking was just sauntering around, knowing that everyone thought he looked that good.

                     "I wouldn't mind torturing you, sweetheart. Knowing who you work for," Aki raised an amused brow, the corner of her lip twitching upwards. The man lowered himself forward, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets, his nose almost touching hers. "But the Bosses orders are the Bosses orders. And we wants you alive and unhurt." He told her, a slight pout to his lips, his voice quiet, as if he were telling her a secret. And Aki supposed that he was. He was telling her that he wanted to kill her, not for the sake of it, but because she was a vile, repulsive human who worked for an even more vile and repulsive man. Apparently, even Mafia members had better morals than her.

                   Despite feeling amused, Aki felt her cheeks warming up at the mention of who she worked for—because she didn't work for anyone. She was a slave. Nothing more. And she hated those that thought she did what she did willingly, that she was more than happy to murder and torture for the sake of it. Aki was a murderer, and yes, there were times where she enjoyed it, times were it would make her feel joyous. But that was only when she was killing those that deserved it.

                     "You seem to think you know a lot about me, huh, short cake—"

                    The man pulled himself away from her, a look of anger crossing his face, "Shut your mouth," He growled, turning his back on her as a pleased smile crossed her lips. So, his height was a sore subject. That was good to know. "And we've done our research. We know everything we need to know about you, Seismic Ability User." He turned back to her, looking pretty pleased with himself. Aki scoffed. Her ability wasn't exactly top secret. Her ability, Destruction allowed her to control and feel seismic energy from the earth. She could use it for offensive and defensive measures, using it as an attack or to shield herself. But she could do so much more with it. She felt the waves of the earth everywhere, on her fingertips, beneath her feet and in the air she breathed. And she could do anything she wanted with it.

                     "Then you know I could bring this whole building down on top of us if I wanted to, right?" She drawled out in a teasing tone, fluttering her long, seductive lashes at him. The redhead briefly wondered how a woman as beautiful as herself was so venomous.

                    He scoffed at her, "Try it and I'll slit your throat in an instant," A low giggle escape Aki's throat. He rose an irritated eyebrow at her, his face slightly contorting. "You think I'm lying?" He challenged, taking a large step towards her.

Aki shook her head a little, trying to get her hair out of her face. It seriously sucked having her hands tied up—and not in a kinky way, "Like you said, your Boss wants me alive. You're not going to kill me." She smugly told him.

Before Aki could even blink, he had bent over her, grabbing a fistful of her shirt and pulling her face up to his. His strength had lifted her, along with the back legs of the chair off of the ground. His nose was almost touching hers, cerulean blue eyes glaring into her amber ones, "If you even attempted to bring this building down—I would slit your throat. And I wouldn't even blink whilst doing it. You got it?" His voice was low, menacing even. Aki stared into his eyes mischievously. She should have been afraid of the man, anyone in their right mind would be. But Aki had never been particularly sane.

"Heard you loud and clear, short cake." She repeated the previous nickname in a sing-song voice, mostly to earn a rise out of him.

His gaze darkened—if even possible. Within a second, there was a blade between his gloved fingertips. Aki's breath faltered, but only for a moment as he brought the knife downwards. It slammed into the armrest, where Aki's left arm was tied up. She didn't bother looking to see if her hand was still in one piece, and instead, held his gaze as he breathed heavily, quite clearly bothered by her. When she felt the rope around her hand become loose, she began grinning. He hadn't stabbed her like he had made out—instead, he had cut the knife straight through her bonds, missing her skin by a fraction of an inch. His aim was impeccable.

He pulled the blade out, chips of wood coming along with it. With a quick motion, it was concealed again. Though, Aki assumed he had it hidden up his sleeve or in the back of his trousers.

She began untying the rest of her bonds as the man turned his back on her, a ragged sigh escaping his lips. It was clear he had no patience for her and was trying to keep himself collected—because he had his Bosses orders to fulfil. Aki could never comprehend how deep rooted the loyalty of the Port Mafia members lied. How was it that they put their trust in one man? They would kill for him. Die for him. Aki found the whole thing incredibly stupid. No one was worth dying for.

    "Why, thank you," She chirped as she undone the bonds by her feet, finally setting herself free. She stood to her feet, stretching out her limbs by holding her arms above her head and leaning side to side. "So, what's the plan, Fedora? If you're not gonna torture me, then what does your Boss want with me?" She inquired, smoothing out the black pleated skirt she wore with sewn in shorts. It made it easier for combat when the skirt had shorts sewn into them, whilst still being able to look feminine. She would rather drop dead than wear dress-trousers or a knee length skirt.

"Don't know. You'll have to ask him." The man said with not a single care to his tone. It was obvious he couldn't give a flying shit about the woman standing behind him. He had brought many people in under his Bosses orders and never questioned it. And he wasn't about to start just because she was pretty.

Aki whistled through her teeth, "Damn, you really are nothing but loyal dogs, huh?" She teased, sending a sweet smile towards his back which noticeably tensed.

The man spun around, once again grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. He swung her around and slammed her back into the wall. Instead of grunting in pain, she was laughing as he held her by the scruff of her neck, her tiptoes barely touching the ground. He was breathing hard, eyes glaring into hers which widened ever so slightly when he realised she wasn't afraid in the slightest. What a fucking nut-job, he thought to himself. Any other person would have been shitting themselves by now. But not her.

"You keep running your mouth and I'll make sure you have that torture session you begged for once the Boss is done with you." He threatened, his knee jutted forward, his other leg stretched out behind him as he pinned her to the door using nothing but one hand. Aki couldn't help but feel thrilled. How strong this man was.

  A giggle escaped her lips as she moved her face forward, booping her nose with his, "You promise?" She said in a sing-song voice.

The man's eyes widened in a mixture of horror at her lack of giving a shit and from how close she was. He grabbed her tighter, spinning her around and slamming her front against the wall. A slight 'oof' left her lips as her cheek hit the cold cement, "Jokes on you, Gravity Manipulator. I'm really into this kinda thing." She hummed as she felt a pair of handcuffs wrap around her hands followed by a satisfying click.

The ginger-headed man scoffed in disgust, crinkling his nose, "You're wretched."

AUTHORS NOTE.

               guys, u don't understand, she is going to have chuuya STRESSING. someone free my boy before he has a mental breakdown🥹

                 — taylor x