ACE OF FATE

Chapter 19: Miku V/S Mirei

Chapter 19: Miku V/S Mirei

"So you're telling me you ran away and were captured by those bad men?"

"Yes..." Mei nodded.

[Growl]

"I guess you're hungry. Do you want some food?" Miku asked, pointing towards the sushi restaurant.

"Miss, why is that man sad? Is it because of me?" Mei asked, looking at Felix.

"No, he's just an idiot. Don't worry about him," Miku replied.

"Come, let's go get some sushi, and you can tell me all about those bad guys." Miku wanted more information on the slave traders.

She grabbed Mei's hand and led her to the restaurant. Felix didn't join them; he was lost in thought.

"I can't believe I still need to learn self-control. I only ended up scaring Mei. The slave trader got what he deserved, but I should have waited for those two to leave. Then I could have torn that bastard limb from limb."

"I need to remember I'm a samurai now. If I do something like this at the clan meeting, I might cause problems for Miku."

"But I was shocked that she killed the man without a second thought. It seems she might know someone who also suffered from slave traders."

He looked at his hand. "Being a slave isn't easy."

"Anyways, I should join them. I need to apologize to Mei."

Then Felix entered the sushi restaurant.

"Zzzzzz." Mei was sleeping on the bench.

"Did you have a feast or something?" Felix asked as he saw dozens of empty plates.

"She was very hungry," Miku replied.

"But I got the information I needed," she continued. "I'm going to locate them and make sure they face lifetime imprisonment."

"Then why did you kill that man?" Felix asked.

"Circumstances got the best of me," she responded.

"Take care of her. I will meet you again here," Miku ordered.

"But what about the clan meeting?" Felix asked.

"It can wait. We still have five hours before the meeting. We came early because there was more business I wanted to attend to in Midono, but given the circumstances, I think we need to postpone that," she explained.

With that, Miku started heading toward the exit of the restaurant.

"Hey!" shouted a tiny bald man. His mouth resembled that of an octopus, and he wore a white cloth headband adorned with multiple knots.

"Who is going to pay for the sushi?" he asked.

"I don't have any money, but my samurai will work for you for the rest of the day until the bill is paid," Miku said with her usual deadpan expression.

"Okay, that will work," the man responded.

Felix was oblivious to this exchange. As Miku left, the owner approached him.

"Hey, boy," the owner said with a beckoning gesture, signaling Felix to crouch down.

"Yes?" Felix asked as he crouched.

"Here." The man handed him a strip of white cloth.

"What is this for?" Felix inquired.

"Hee-hee," the owner simply smiled with an evil grin.

Meanwhile, Miku arrived at what appeared to be the slums on the outskirts of town.

"It should be near here," she said, wrinkling her nose at the horrible smell and taking in the dilapidated buildings around her.

"Glad I found you, Miss Miku," said a voice from behind her.

Miku turned around to see a woman her age with green hair that covered one of her eyes. The other visible eye was brown and filled with determination.

She wore a jacket-like top paired with a matching skirt. In her hands was a katana connected by a chain to a sickle-like weapon.

"What do you want?" Miku asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing much—just your dead body," she replied firmly.

"Oh, how rude of me! My name is Mirei," she said as she rested her unsheathed katana on her shoulder.

"Man... your bosoms are the biggest I've ever seen; I'm so jealous!"

[Shing]

"Stop talking and let's start the show," Miku said, drawing her katanas.

"You catch on fast! After killing you, I need to find that red-eyed man," Mirei said as she began spinning her sickle.

"You think you can beat me?" Miku challenged, closing her eyes.

[Woosh]

Mirei appeared above Miku and threw her sickle at her.

[Bang]

The sickle hit the ground as Miku disappeared.

[Thump]

Mirei landed near her sickle. "So it's true—you are as fast as they say! And I thought you couldn't move with those bosoms you've got!"

[Clang]

Their katanas clashed as Miku appeared out of nowhere.

"Why do you resist so much? One day or another, your clan will be wiped out," Mirei said.

Miku lost a bit of focus.

[Slish]

Mirei's sickle struck her left hand.

[Drip]

Blood dripped from Miku's wound as she stepped back.

[Rumble]

[THUD-WHOOSH-SNAP!]

Miku kicked her fallen katana skyward and caught the hilt between her teeth with a sickening crunch. Both arms hung limp at her sides, swaying grotesquely with each labored breath.

"You're stubborn as hell," Mirei spat defiantly while wiping blood from her chin.

[SLICE]

With renewed determination, Miku ducked low and drove her katana into Mirei's thigh even as pain shot through her own body from Mirei's blade piercing into her abdomen and sickle embedding into her left arm.

Panting heavily, they faced each other—two warriors broken yet unbowed.

"Looks like... we're both... going down," Mirei choked out with a bloody grin spreading across her face.

Suddenly, Miku noticed a burned mark near Mirei's left eye beneath her side-swept bangs. Looking closely at Mirei's face, she recognized it from somewhere before.

"D-Do... you... happen... to... know... a... girl... named... Mei?" Miku asked, her voice trembling.

Mirei's eyes widened in disbelief. "H-How... do... you... know... about... my... dead... sister?"

"I... don't... think... I... can... see... ghosts... of... people... I... have... never... met..." Miku replied softly.

"D-Do... you... mean..." Mirei's disbelief was palpable as they both stepped back and withdrew their weapons from each other's wounds.

"Ladies," interrupted a man wearing a sugegasa hat who stood flanked by armed men behind him,

"You should stop or we have to—"

[Bam]

He was abruptly silenced as Mirei kicked him squarely in the face, sending him crashing into a nearby building.

"BOSS!" shouted a buck-toothed man in shock as he witnessed his leader fall.

"Ahh... I am sorry ma'am; I was just following my boss's orders—"

Mirei picked him up by his throat; Her arms were not magma anymore but still hot enough to burn his skin.

"Aghh," he gasped for breath as panic filled his eyes.

[CRUNCH]

Mirei's fingers tightened around his throat until his windpipe was crushed under pressure. His eyes bulged in terror.

"Kill her—!" the buck-toothed man managed to bark.

[Stampede]

The armed men surged forward toward Mirei like an angry tide.

[SMACK] [THUD]

Suddenly, Miku kicked one of them aside with surprising strength, sending him crashing into another man.

[BAM]

Mirei slammed the buck-toothed man into the ground.

"Guess I'm not killing you just now or letting you die," Mirei said as she stood beside Miku.

"How kind of you," Miku replied dryly.

"Yahhhh!" The remaining men scrambled back to their feet and began charging toward them again.

"Order for table 7!" the waiter shouted to the kitchen, his voice cutting through the low hum of chatter and the clinking of dishes in the small sushi restaurant. The air was filled with the tantalizing aroma of fresh fish and rice.

Mei was diligently cleaning plates, her small hands moving swiftly as she hummed a tune. Felix stood at the grill, flipping pieces of fish with precision.

"Hey, Sanjo, can you pass me that soy sauce? We need to get this order out fast!" Felix called, his voice rising above the noise.

"Give me a moment," Sanjo replied.

"Why are we even working here? I thought we were just helping out!" Mei asked, scrubbing the last remnants of rice from a plate.

Felix sighed, flipping a piece of fish with a practiced hand. "It's a long story, Mei."

"I thought you were a samurai?" Mei's eyes widened with curiosity as she dried her hands on her apron.

Felix chuckled softly. "Being a samurai isn't just about fighting—"

"What?" Felix was interrupted by the octopus-faced owner, who was speaking with two men nearby.

"The slums have been experiencing explosions?" he said in disbelief.

Felix heard him and thought, "What does he mean by explosions? I need to check it out."

"Hey, Mei, let's go," he said to her.

"Okay!" she replied innocently.

Felix crouched down, and Mei climbed onto his back. They quickly ran toward the door. "Hey, old man, we'll be back!" Felix called to the owner as they dashed out.

"Hey! Your debt hasn't been cleared!" the owner shouted after them.

Sigh... There goes my free labor. By the way, do you want any sushi? he asked the two men.

"Uh... Do you know where the slums are?" Felix asked as he appeared again near the owner.

"Yes. Take a right at that small building and go straight. You'll see a flower shop; the owner is an old lady who might give you a free flower."

"Although she's very scary," he added. "From that flower shop, take another right turn and keep going straight to reach the slums," the owner explained.

"Okay, thanks a lot, old man!" Felix said as he headed in that direction.

"Wait... Hey, you brat! You'll have to work more now; information isn't free around here!" The owner shouted again as he realized he had given away directions for free.

They arrived at the slums in just a few moments.

"Y-You... are... really... fast... mister," Mei said with a wobbly expression.

"Sorry about that," Felix replied.

"Now where is my stubborn clan leader?" Felix asked as he looked around, hand raised above his head.

A man wearing a sugegasa hat was coming from ahead; he was injured and holding his back.

"Hey, mister, have you seen a lady with black hair and a white kimono around here?" Felix asked urgently.

"Huh... That way..." The man pointed in the direction from which he had come.

"Thank you." With that, Felix started heading that way.

When he arrived, he saw Miku and Mirei unconscious on the ground, severely injured.

"Miku!" Felix shouted.