Agony

Another wintry morning struck the Virgo District in commemoration of the winter solstice.

Snowflakes and dewdrops were scattered in one of the Virgo District's residential and commercial districts. Three early morning risers came by to the glacial paradise to create snow angels and snowmen for playful gaiety. One of the children was a petite young girl with bright blue hair that resembled the cyan colors of the crystalline salt oceans of lively beaches. She wore a small light blue and cream pastel-colored sailor outfit with a long skirt. She also wore a golden shell necklace with a shimmering conch shell plunging below her neck.

At first glance, she was a beautiful young girl wanting to enjoy winter's dazzling aspects. But while she was crafting snowmen with her two friends, a group of rambunctious young hooligans approached her and her friends amid their playful session. Even though these bullies sought to start trouble, they all stood their ground and were ready for whatever was to come.

"So, whatcha girls up to?" One of the bullies with a boorish complexion teased the cyan-haired girl after his towering height seemed to play a role in creating fear. "Cute girl like you oughta play with us. Join the pack, you know I mean?" He and his allies exchanged glances and chuckled in response to their playfully rude behavior.

The little girl pouted and nervously cowered behind her snowman. Her fidgeting and frightened hands shivered in the cold as the bullies backed her and her friends away from the snow. The girl's cheeks blemished in rose red. "Please leave us alone." She whispered, wanting to avoid conflict.

"Ooh, some guts you have telling us what to do," The same bully replied, stroking the little girl's hair. The three bullies approached her friends and towered over them to make them feel inferior. "Funny how an alien freakshow like you from Planet Nobody's trying to tell us what to do. We don't like to mess around. Come with us. You won't regret it."

"Hey, forget about her," Another one of the bullies called. "Her friends look cute too. Come on, let's take them with us."

"No..." The cyan-haired girl's impatient face shriveled up in aggression. She puffed out her chest to make herself look like the bigger one, but her action was barely intimidating. The idea of being called an alien freakshow riled her pent-up aggression. The bullies surrounded her two friends with their hands raised for grabbing purposes. But the girl had enough. She summoned her strength to dive in and push one of the bullies down to the snow to catch them off guard.

"Hey, you little bitch!" One of the bullies yelled, snatching the girl's hand and shoving her back.

"Run!" The girl ordered her two friends.

As the pushed-down bully watched as the other two children sprinted off, he rolled up his sleeves and regrouped with his allies. He pinned down the cyan-haired girl and gave a menacing smirk before delivering a quick punch to the girl's cheek. "You're gonna get it now. I'm gonna make sure you never come back to Aries again, alien freak-"

A sudden whooshing sound of an unknown object soaring through the air at high speeds struck the bully's forehead, sending him falling to the snow. A tiny coarse pebble fell into the snow beneath the bully's feet. The other two bullies attempted to restrain the girl but snowballs struck their faces from far away. The three bullies collapsed together as more pebbles and snowballs pelted and rained from an unknown direction. They sobbed in hurriedness as they swiftly attempted to make a quick escape from the snowy hills.

Several seconds passed as the girl dragged herself up from the hill. She applied some of the snow on her bruised cheek as a means to numb the pain for recovery. Muffled footsteps treaded through the airy snow and approached the girl's back. She turned around panicked to see an angelic blonde woman wearing a winter pom sweater with a long skirt.

"Did you save me?" The girl asked, pressing the snow against her cheek.

"Hmm, I sure hope so," The blonde woman replied, sitting next to the little girl. With a tissue in hand, she wiped a small trickling nosebleed after using her abilities. "My name's April. What's yours?"

The girl nervously poked her fingers together after dropping the snow from her cheek down. "S-Starosa," she stammered. "My friends call me Star."

April cheerfully patted Starosa's cyan hair, fluffing it up with each consecutive pat. Star's eyes were uniquely colored in violet and peach-colored, and they lit up like twinkling galaxies in far distant space. "It's nice to meet you, Star," April greeted. She placed both of her palms behind her hips as she relaxed in the snow's beauty. "I was taking a morning walk when I saw those bullies from afar trying to harass you and your friends. I even heard what they were saying about you before I scared them away."

Star clutched her knees in a crouching position as her anxiety returned once more at the thought of the bullies.

"You know, you should never feel ashamed of who you are," April continued, tilting her head to look into Star's eyes to read her thoughts. "I know you feel upset for what they said to you. I also think you were super brave for saving your friends and taking the blow for them. That takes so much courage that even I couldn't replicate it. No ordinary girl would have done that. You have to commend yourself for that.

Star whispered with her mouth between her knees. "I didn't want them to hurt my friends."

"Where are your friends, anyway?" April asked.

From the foggy distance, Star's friends hurriedly returned to her in anticipation to confirm her safety. Both of her friends were girls that appeared like twins by having the same braided long hair and tan-colored school uniform. April was ecstatic to see them reunited after being rescued.

"Oh, did this young lady save you, Star?" One of the twins glanced at April's presence. "My name is Solo. This is my sister Duo," She introduced her twin. "I am glad to see that you both are safe."

Star released her grip on April's hand and happily huddled with her friends in joy. April stood beside them and began to notice a particular aspect about Star's friends that seemed unusual. However, she couldn't quite pinpoint the error between their friendly bond and relationship. April could only sense a type of emptiness within Solo and Duo's parallel eyes after they embraced Star to ensure her safety.

"Hey, Star..." April began, gently touching her shoulder. "Where are your parents?"

Star turned around and smiled. "They're on my home planet." She replied.

"Home planet? That doesn't seem right," April said. "Shouldn't they be here with you? How come they aren't-"

A roaring explosion suddenly caught the four of them off guard as a rampaging vehicle soared through the streets, colliding with other parked vehicles. The vehicle's detonation sent shards of vehicle debris towards the snowy hills where April and the others resided. Utilizing quick thinking, April grabbed Star and the twins and slammed them against the snow. She used herself as a body shield to defend them from the incoming debris. Several glass shards sliced through April's back as she sheltered them from the chaos.

"A-April…?" Star's feeble voice whimpered in response to April's massive injury.

"I'm okay," April said. She held her guard as three black vans stormed through the streets. Their tires skidded across the asphalt as their side doors swung open with tattooed Yakuza members grouping for something dire. April spun around and laid back in the snow as Star, Solo, and Duo panicked in hopes of applying aid to her. "Get out of here before they catch you. Please." She whispered.

From the corner of her eye, April spotted a slim individual clenching onto their arms to fleeing from the Yakuza in the distance. The weapon-equipped Yakuza swayed their arms to their comrades to chase the innocent and injured person. April clenched her teeth and pulled herself back up from the snow, leaving behind a small pool of blood in the white snow.

"No, stop!" Star shouted while tugging onto April's arms. "What are you doing? You're hurt!"

April resisted Star's tugging and sneered at the Yakuza in the distance. "I can't let that person die. I have to save them before they get caught by those people," She explained. April pushed her hands off of the snow and wobbled before standing straight up. "Get away from here as far as you can. I'll be okay." She said, wondering if she had to utilize her psychic powers to deal with them.

"There's too many of them, April!" Star called April as she sprinted for the streets. "You'll die! Stop!"

Disregarding Star's warning, April jammed herself between two of the black vans and stayed out of sight. Stray bullets and shards of glass scattered across the streets, which April had to avoid to take a closer look from afar. Approximately ten Yakuza members surrounded an abandoned factory in the middle of the Virgo District. Built from a foundation of bricks, the place seemed undeniably shady and unsafe.

April entered through one of the open vans to sneak in closer to the Yakuza pounding on the factory's door. She peered through a small opening and noticed they were dressed in nanosuits of the same style that Ryo had previously adorned in. With their assault rifles in hand, they were calling for a name that didn't seem clear or familiar to April's memory.

"Come on out, princess!" One of the Yakuza thugs shouted as he continued hammering his fist against the rusty door. "We're gonna give you one last chance before we blow this shit open!"

With her keen eyes, April observed her surroundings to find a weapon capable of taking them out. But before she could think, the Yakuza's growing impatience came alight as they used bomb satchels to blow up the factory's front door. April didn't resist finding a specific weapon. She concentrated her psychic abilities towards one of the black vans, lifting it and facing it towards the factory's front door. When some of the Yakuza stormed the factory, April couldn't resist the urge to save the innocent individual inside the factory. She launched the black van against the factory, slamming it against several of the thugs outside.

"What the fuck?" One of the thugs yelled, seeing April's figure from far away. "There's someone over there! Hurry the fuck up and get inside!"

The thugs disappeared as April watched her black van crush the guts out of several Yakuza members positioned outside of the factory. She placed her hand over her throbbing head as a sudden headache burdened and fatigued her. Her psychic abilities were much too risky to use, and it caused a significant amount of pain herself.

"There you are, you bitch." A sneering voice of one of the Yakuza members rang closely to April's ears. A bald thug seized control of April's arm and tugged her at full force towards the factory.

"No, no!" April cried as she desperately attempted to free herself. Her blonde hair flailed around while tears and sweat immediately escaped her panicked body. "Let me go!"

"Shut the fuck up!" The thug yelled back, dragging her against her will. He slapped April's cheek and continued advancing towards the factory. The darkness shrouding the inside of the factory rattled April's bones in paranoia and fear, as if she was heading towards an encroaching and inevitable death. She closed her eyes while the thug brought her inside a gathering area where its floors were filled with shattered silver tiles. There were several glass windows above them on the second floor. The innocent individual that April caught escaping from the Yakuza had been badly bruised and bound to a wooden chair after being captured.

"Fuck!" One of the Yakuza shouted after seeing their allies crushed up into tiny giblets at April's assault. He grabbed April and tossed her carelessly towards the bound individual. One of the other Yakuza members grabbed a rope and bound April's hands behind her back, leaving her on the shattered floors. "You're the bitch that killed them, aren't you? Huh? Aren't you?"

"She's a witness. Don't let her leave," Another one of the thugs said while playfully practicing the swing of a wooden bat. He approached the chair-bound individual and squeezed their cheeks tightly with a single hand. "You're gonna find out what happens when you run out of the Yakuza, Chiaki. You and your pathetic runaway friend are gonna die unless you tell us what the fuck you know."

April screamed and wriggled her arms uncontrollably as the Yakuza approached Chiaki's bound body. Two of them pressed against their chest to deactivate the nanosuit's armor, revealing their inner street clothes from Japan. They cracked their knuckles with an enthusiastic pleasure to be able to strike against Chiaki's traitorous deeds. Both of them delivered two punches against Chiaki's already bruised face to torture him with a painful delight.

"Tell us what you know, you little shit," One member threatened. "Where the fuck is Ryo Nakai?"

April immediately recognized Ryo's name. She couldn't quite place the connection between the wickedly terrifying Yakuza members. But she did remember Ryo had arrived with another variation of the nanosuit, which she could piece together immediately. "No…" She whispered. "Not him."

"I… I don't know," Chiaki said after he spat congealed blood across the floors. With a witty smirk, Chiaki gazed up at his assailants. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell any of you. None of you deserve to lay a hand on him."

The Yakuza with the bat placed the end of its wooden end against Chiaki's chin and lifted it. "We don't wanna play any more games, Sasaku," He threatened. "Gonna give you one last chance to let you live. Boss wants you alive, but since we're off our territory, we don't play by his rules," He pulled the bat back and prepared for a swing against Chiaki's skull. "Where the fuck's the crystal, Chiaki?"

Chiaki laughed in response to their question. "You think I'm supposed to know what you're talking about? I'm the one who stayed behind, remember? I told you, I wouldn't tell any of you anything. And you won't get anything out of me."

With Chiaki and the Yakuza still conversing, time was slim. April examined her surroundings to find something to use as a psychic weapon, but nothing was present. Time was running out, and the bat was about to be swung to end the life of an innocent individual.

No, April thought as she continued wriggling her arms. I will not let him die. I came here to save him. He's done nothing wrong. He's innocent!

"I warned you," The Yakuza with the bat stepped back and continued holding his batting stance. "How does it feel to know we're gonna kill your boyfriend after? Does that piss you off?"

Chiaki could do nothing but smile brightly. "Then I'll gladly meet him in the afterlife," He said.

Without another word, Chiaki accepted his fate and closed his eyes tightly. April began screaming once more as she attempted to free herself from the binds on her arms. The Yakuza with the baseball bat sneered at the pleasure of ending one's life and swung down ferociously at Chiaki's skull. April closed her eyes and heard the screams of agony entering her ears like an ear-shrilling megaphone.

I am free.