Aftermath (Yamata)

“That’s a nice place. Isn’t it?” Orochi questioned. She knew of this place’s existence but never went there herself.

Orochi was always too busy to go there, the time never aligned. What a bunch of pathetic excuses.

“Yes. Reika sacrificed her pocket change, and Rui “stole” the money saved for her college to buy this place.” Sasha spoke. She was the only one “there” in broad daylight.

It was a derelict bar in Osaka, where the 108 gang ran their “legal” business: operating a bar. Quite a daring choice if Orochi had to say, but something rubbed her the wrong way.

It was old, but not falling to pieces yet. It had an intense atmosphere, but the fact everything there felt old and forgotten, from the wood tables and chairs to the lining of the walls, made the place heavy and old. It felt like a place for the undesirable and ostracized.

“Rui, she used her college money to buy this bar?” Orochi could call this bar less than pleasant, but it would be spitting on Rui’s choice, even if Orochi disagreed with it.

Sasha sighed as she cleaned a glass cup. “Aye, chief. She said since she ran from home, she had no interest in following her parents’ wishes anymore. She used the rest to help the gang. It was quite a sum of money.”

Orochi held her head, she felt a phantom headache. Rui sacrificed her future for the gang. Orochi had no right to all that decision stupid, when she ran away from the gang, from her only friends at the time.

How could she ever criticize them, when she almost sacrificed it all just for the chance of killing Sandatsu?

A dangerous thought whispered behind her. ‘Would it change anything, if she died now?’ Sure, the gang would lose something, maybe more than something, as they could use Orochi’s sheer presence as a threat against other gangs.

But would her friends back at Shiketsu?

Everyone was branching to their paths in life. Chris, Yui, Inigo. There were the ones who always would be there the moment she called, such as Kaylee and Hiro, but Orochi felt her loneliness grow by the day.

They had all reasons to fight, reasons beyond their friends. What do Orochi have besides them? The gang, but both lives were mutually exclusive. A vigilante life and a hero life could never cross paths.

Orochi could fight for her family, but even amongst them, she was the runt of the litter. She lacked the superhuman power of her father, the thunder of her mother, or the flames of her older sister. Sure, her power was wonderful, but not enough to outmatch theirs.

They could take care of themselves.

It came back to the ones she fought for: her friends. They were growing distant, and the distance would only increase as time passed.

Orochi would end up fighting for the memories and shadows of who they used to be.

While they lived their lives. Orochi already saw it happening before her eyes. “Sasha. Bring me a drink.”

Her friend stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. “...Sure. Anything in mind? Something soft, bitter, sweet?” Sasha knew Orochi never drunk a single beer in her life. There was no way she could know about drinks and alcohol. It was not Orochi’s style.

“Anything, I just want to knock myself out.” Orochi was not in the mood for being sober. Her hydras also looked stiff, they were annoyed at how Sandatsu escaped, and worse they recognized Orochi’s plights.

She was alone in this world as far as ideals went, she had none for herself besides protecting the weak and protecting her friends, but both were so vague.

(“How can she even know who is weak and who is not? One day, she is bound to question this.”)
(“One cannot survive on dreams and ideals forever… we want to help you, but it is so selfish.”)
(“Those friends, they ought to grow past high school phase, and forget the nest they hatched from.”)

Their voices talked in her head. No mere whispers, they echoed as Orochi’s own voice.

(“It is up to you to embrace the reality, or cherish the hopes and shadows of your reality”)
(“Or keep on fighting for who you are, find your reason to find, beyond surface wishes”)
(“You know the answers. It is right before you, but YOU refuse to see it.”)

Orochi flinched as she was directly addressed by the right hydra. They knew the answers to Orochi's question, and because of their link, Orochi knew it too, but she refused to accept it. She wanted to cling to hope, at least for a little longer.

“Here, chief. Jack Daniels. Whisky, very bitter.” Sasha placed the bottle of whisky on the table, alongside a few cups, and filled a few shots, both for herself and Orochi.

Sasha went to the jukebox and turned it on.

“Post Malone, Up There” started to play. Sasha scoffed. ‘What a mood.’

Orochi didn’t wait for the song to play or for Sasha to come back. She downed a shot immediately. She felt her throat burn, as the strong taste of alcohol latched into her tastebuds. Tears fell from her eyes cuz of the strong bitter taste of the whisky.

She didn’t want to drink anymore, but she didn’t want to feel that sorrow either. After the factory collapsed, she didn’t go back home or back to Shiketsu.

She went there. Orochi knew nothing would remain the same after today. Orochi knew her friendships would only grow farther. After all, she fought Sandatsu not unlike how Feral would fight her foes.

Orochi downed another shot, another wave of burn washed across her throat, and her tears thickened. Rui sacrificed her future for the gang, for a place where people like her and Orochi could be, a home for those who felt outcasted.

And here was Orochi, refusing to compromise and see things through. Orochi knew what she had to do, but she refused. She wanted to cling on to her dreams. Her conflicting dreams.

Orochi took another shot. Her vision blurred, and her head became dizzy. She no longer felt her throat burning.

Soon the Hero Agencies and her family would fall on her like birds of prey, to control that awakening power, to know it, her sparse freedom would become thinner than it already is. She would have no time for herself, or a chance to be herself anymore.

With the fourth shot, Orochi felt her mind be released from the grasp of consciousness. What was the answer she was searching for, anyway?

Sasha sat on the chair opposing Orochi. “Aaah. The weight is finally catching on to you, ain’t it? Chief.” Sasha sighed heavily as she took a shot.

Orochi was finally on the verge of adulthood, where she had to make up concessions between following her dream, and doing what she had to, for her own happiness, and her own future.

Sasha never had that part of growing up, although. She was a good-for-nothing bodyguard that drowned her shame, doubts, and anxiety in drinks and blunts.

What did she know about that? Sadly, more than she wanted. If Orochi lacked a clear conscience she was more selfish, she would never care about it, much like Reika, but Orochi was not that way.

Sasha looked at Orochi’s sleeping form, as her hydras rested their heads on the ground. Se looked at the bottle of Jack Daniels. “Everyone in 108 is crazy, you will get crazy too, but don’t become too crazy, chief. You will lose your charm if you go overboard.”

Sasha ignored the shots, took the bottle, and started to down its contents. She was too sober for this shit.