Something Like A Mother

Mika jolted awake, immediately feeling the burning sensation of bullet metal in her left thigh. She let out a strangled series of gasps, lowering her head down to see Ninagawa Charlotte, carefully removing pieces of shrapnel from her open wound.
"Stop! Agh, please! It hurts!"
Mika began to squirm, causing Charlotte to tighten the many leather belts around Mika's body on the bed.

"Sit still, puppy. I'm not trying to hurt you, but I need to remove this bullet. Can you be a good girl and sit still for me?"
Charlotte's eyes were sober and gentle. Mika had never seen such a calm, motherly expression on her face before. She nodded her head, lying back down as Charlotte continued her impromptu surgery.

"What happened to Daisuke? Did he..."
Mika whimpered quietly at the thought of being raped. She let out a few winces as Charlotte dug around in her thigh.

"No, Daisuke didn't do anything to you. Your virginity is safe, puppy. There we go, I got the last piece."
Charlotte dropped her tweezers in the trash can resting by the bed. She began to sterilize Mika's gaping wound with alcohol, stitching her skin back together with a sewing needle.

"I'm not a virgin... I've been raped before... What happened to Daisuke?"
Mika hardened her expression. She didn't understand why she was exposing so much of her past to Charlotte. Perhaps, it was the vulnerable moment they were sharing.

"I see... I suppose we are alike in that way. I was raped quite a bit growing up, too."
Charlotte wrapped a bandage around Mika's leg, tying it tight enough to compress her thigh deeply. She unfastened the belts that pinned Mika to the bed.

"I didn't need you to patch me up... or to save me. I don't owe you anything!"
Mika began to stand up but immediately fell back down from the overwhelming amount of pain coursing through her body.

"Really, now? So I should have let Daisuke breed you and rip your head off? Very well. Next time you're in trouble, I'll just watch from the sidelines."
Charlotte's lips quivered as she suppressed a grin. She lit the end of a cigarette and gently puffed the smoke out the yacht's window.

"You're trying to guilt-trip me..."
Mika pulled the blankets over her body, watching as Charlotte turned to face her. She could see the besotted look in Charlotte's eyes, like a mother watching over her sickly daughter.

"I was simply respecting your decisions. Next time you're in danger, I'll let you handle it yourself. You're quite mysterious, puppy. I've never seen anyone deal so much damage to a yakuza boss before."
Charlotte offered Mika a cigarette, knowing that she would turn it down.

Mika shifted, looking around for her dress, but it was nowhere to be found.
"Where's my dress? I had all of my bubblegum in there."

"You don't remember? Daisuke slashed it to pieces. Just take a cigarette."
Charlotte forced a single tobacco stick into Mika's hand, lighting the end of it with a match.

Mika hesitantly brought it to her lips, letting the nicotine calm her racing mind. The flavor was familiar.
"This is the brand that Kazuya smokes, isn't it? I remember when he gave me one after my first mission."

Charlotte giggled, leaning her head against the window as the salty ocean air invaded her nostrils.
"Who do you think introduced him to these? Don't make it a habit though, puppy. You're too cute to be smoking."

Mika nodded her head, taking another long drag as she examined her bandaged thigh.
"Once I'm healed, I'm going to take your life. I'll never forgive you for what you did to Nozomi-chan."

Charlotte let out a long sigh, sitting on the edge of the mattress, staring directly into Mika's eyes.
"I'm not the one who killed her, puppy. Though, I am the one who sent a rookie in place of Kazuya. In a way, my arrogance led to the death of your friend. You have every right to try to take my life. I'll never stop you from trying, but I certainly will fight back when you decide to."

Mika studied Charlotte's gaze; she truly knew nothing about her. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't understand what Charlotte was thinking.

Charlotte stretched her long limbs, flopping down onto the mattress by Mika's feet.
"I'm exhausted. I've never snorted that much in my life. Mind if I take a nap, puppy?"
Her eyes curled at the corners, showing signs of age and exhaustion, as well as years of substance abuse.

Mika looked away, finishing her cigarette and turning onto her right side.
"Why are you asking me? Don't blame me if you wake up dead in hell."

Charlotte simply smiled, closing her eyes and turning her back toward her ultimate rival. Despite the truth in her words, Mika decided against killing Charlotte. She desperately tried to convince herself that it was due to the pain in her body, rendering her immovable. The soft sounds of snoring filled the room, and the two enemies slept soundly, side by side.

During the tense night aboard the yacht, word spread quickly of Yamamoto Daisuke's demise. Rumors of Charlotte's exploits spread throughout Japan, turning allies of the Bara-gumi against her group in a matter of minutes. She hadn't realized it at the time, but Charlotte had just commenced an all-out war between the yakuza factions.