with. – @mitzi-zhang where. – the thames. when. – april 20th, late at night.
The air, as always, holds still-- the saturation of expected turmoil hanging above them all. The water is still, too, barely bobbing at the shore. Nana’s boots are slick with midnight dew as she approaches her destination. With Ikki 60 meters ahead of her, Nana is reluctant to let him out of her sight. The gun at her hip is holstered high, easily placed for a quick draw. There are two knives tucked away inside either boot, as well as one strapped to the inside of her sleeve. If she needs to, she’ll rip apart her own safety net she’s created to get Ikki out of harm’s way.
But life is funny that way-- The crackle of gun fire starts and before Nana can scramble towards Ikki, he’s lost to the darkness. “Fuck,” Nana hisses, obedient to the way her feet propel her forward.
There’s a small dip, a fence blocking her way to the icy water. She can feel its wrath as she squeezes in between the layers of iron, peeled back years, if not centuries ago with no real fix set in place. Nana hears another round of gunshots and she slips down the gravel to the bank. Water splashes up at her knees and she grabs desperately onto the ground to hold her upright.
Using the stone as a balancing beam, Nana inwardly gags as the smell of the river curls around her nose. Pressing her nose into her sleeve as she finally gains purchase on level ground, the sound of a key turning over makes her shrink into the shadows. There’s light from the boat, and though she can barely make out their features, there’s recognition that flashes across her own face.
A light blooms before Nana and she instinctively goes for her gun, but not before she says out in confusion, “Mitzi?”