Ammo Tits yanked Ponderu up by one leg, dangling him like some bizarre garage-sale find. His feather boa on his neck slipped free and flopped to the floor.
She was a striking mess of gear and chaos: long black stockings clipped into assless tactical chaps. Her wild white hair flicked over the edges of orange goggles, framing her face like a warning light.
"Pfft. What a weird fuckin' getup. You lose a bet or somethin'?" she sneered, giving him a little shake for emphasis. Pondaru hung limp, unconscious, as the insult bounced off him.
"Like you're one to talk," the man from before muttered as he stepped into the hall. His eyes flicked to one of the rubber performers, then quickly away, scanning for anything else valuable.
"Looks like that was the last room…" he said, holding out a big backpack. "Here."
Then his gaze landed on Ammo Tits.
"What the hell do you think you're doing holding her like that?! Give me the gir—"
Before he could finish, she jerked back, letting go of Pondaru.
"EWW—ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Ammo Tits shrieked, spinning away with a furious snarl as Pondaru's head slammed into the ground with a sickening thud, his tiny body collapsing beside it.
"Oh hell no—SHE PISSED HERSELF—AND IT GOT ON MY ARM?! Disgusting little freak—what the fuck is WRONG with you?!" she yelled at Pondaru's slumped figure.
She spun toward the man, fury spilling from every word. "You draggin' me into some piss-soaked freak show now, Usumi?" she lashed, jerking her arm violently, trying to rid herself of the unpleasant fluids. "Got some busted-ass obsession I should know about!?"
Usumi moved in less than a second. His foot hooked behind her ankle and swept it out from under her before she could react.
"I'll—" He stopped himself mid-snarl, one hand clutching his own head as if forcing something down. "…shit."
His jaw tightened as his gaze dropped to Pondaru, then returned to her.
"You'd better hope she's okay."
"Why the hell are you lookin' at me like that?!" she shouted. "She's the one who pissed all over me! What, I'm supposed to just stand there and take it?! Fuck that—"
Usumi didn't respond. He crouched beside Pondaru and shrugged out of his red jacket, the heavy fabric still warm from his body. It was scuffed, reinforced at the seams, built to keep the cold out—and he wrapped it around him anyway, pulling it snug over Pondaru's shaking shoulders. Both he and Ammo Tits had already assumed he was definitely a girl.
She smirked, eyes flicking to the limp body in his arms. "What's the plan—gonna toss her in the loop?"
That last word landed like a punch for Usumi.
For a heartbeat, the air thinned—like something rotten had been dragged too close to the surface. His hand clenched, speaking volumes without a single word.
"You're the reason this world's going to shit."
Ammo Tits scoffed, looking offended. "You serious?" She crossed her arms under her chest, her grin gone. "She's prime stock. That skin, that face—hell, the boys in Sector Nine would pay triple for something that fresh."
"Be quiet!" Usumi snapped, his fists tightening—not around Pondaru, but in restrained fury—as he lifted him. Every movement was deliberate, careful, as if Ponderu were fragile glass.
"How could you even suggest something like that? She's just a kid—" Usumi's said voice tight.
"Oh, fuckin' great—you've got a hard-on for playing hero now, huh? The Usumi I remember wouldn't give a shit! Ever since you found Sakura, look at you—preachin' like some righteous fuckin' saint!" Ammo Tits tilted her head, smirk wide, voice sharp and mocking. "Jesus, when the hell did you start jerkin' off to little girls, huh?!"
"Say that again," he said, voice flat and dangerous. "And I'll put your face through the damn pavement."
Ammo Tits threw her hands up in mock surrender, smirking like she owned the world. "Calm your tits, big guy! I was just teasin'"
Her eyes caught Pondaru, tucked under Usumi's arm, his tiny body hanging loosely against him. "I'm just sayin', you dumbass—scraps ain't just handed out! Another piss-soaked mystery kid? Hell yeah, that's a gamble!"
"So is keeping you around," Usumi muttered, walking on.
She scoffed. "Then do something about it. Hit me—if you really mean it."
He walked past her anyway, scooping the backpack off the ground and slamming it into her arms. "Just take this," he said flatly. "And shut up."
"Aww, I love it when you get cold on me like that," she purred, tilting her head, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Honestly? If you didn't show up, I'd've had my way with her myself. Left that little piss-pot curled up next to that busted sexdroid like some goddamn party favor."
Usumi's head began to throb as he clutched it again. He took a deep breath. "Not now, Korai."
"Not now?" she snapped, throwing her hands out. "It's always not now. Maybe I wouldn't be such a raging bitch if you had the balls to bend me over and fuck the shit outta me already, instead of sulking like a neutered dog." She sneered, smirk wide, voice sharp and dripping with mockery.
Usumi didn't reply.
"C'mon," she spat, stepping closer, boots scraping the floor. "I've seen you crush a guy's fuckin' skull like rotten fruit and stroll through the mess like it meant nothing. So don't stand there pretending this is where you draw the line."
She thrusted her chest out, combat fabric stretched to the limit, brazen and shameless—deliberately daring him to look.
He didn't.
Korai—loud, shameless, ridiculously sexy—could make any guy fall head over heels the moment she walked into a room. But to him, she was a living warning sign.
"I don't do soft," he said, voice flat. "If I wanted comfort, I'd be dead already."
korai laughed—short, sharp, and harsh. There was a bite to it, venom wrapped in amusement. "Soft? You rotten motherfucker, there's nothing soft about me! You think I wag my tits around for fun?" She closed the distance, voice booming, "I fucking want you, you idiot! Gonna sneer at that too, huh? Coward?"
His gaze stayed fixed ahead, unwavering. "Wasting your time. Go find someone who actually gives a damn."
Her grin twisted, teeth bared like a predator, eyes blazing. "All brooding and ignoring me like you're some big, strong man! Fucking hell, you think that makes you better than me?"
Pondaru wriggled briefly under his arm before he lifted him onto his shoulders with a single arm, the black shirt straining across Usumi's broad frame like armor.
"Tch." His tongue clicked, a sharp counter to her question—like a reminder that the problem was hers, not his.
She shook her head, muttering under her breath, though she made sure he heard every word. Venom soaked each syllable. " You're a joke, Usumi… a boring, bitter little fuckin' joke."
He kept walking.
And somehow, that hurt her more than if he'd turned around.