Kapitel 156: Then Die

Half an hour later, Viktoria & Olivia stepped in to Woods Hospital and up to the counter.

"We're looking for a man by the name of Jeffrey Steen." said Viktoria, relevantly, showing her badge. "He should be visiting his mother. Where is she?"

"…let me check." she mumbled, typing away. "Room 235."

Viktoria nodded, and as the two set off -

" - no, wait, sorry! His mother was moved recently from the second floor. He should be in… room 367."

"Thank you." nodded Viktoria, and the two went off.

'First time I've heard her say that.' thought Olivia.

Living with Viktoria since her first day, she was thinking that dinty one-star house might've been better. Both in personality and looks to Olivia, Viktoria was the archetype of a Russian mother who reached for the switch before they ever would any praise. The expression on her face when she found Olivia drinking with Jess had been enough for her to buy another case the next morning. After that, she had been trying to find whatever else pissed Viktoria off so she might do it more: make-up, alcohol, casual sex, just about anything Olivia found fun.

"Isn't it nice when they do not make a fuss?" said Viktoria as they came up to the third floor. "The way some hospitals act, you would think they value their patients' privacy over their lives."

"I guess." said Olivia -

- and she shot up as an alarm filled the building, Viktoria putting her ear out beside -

" - Revenant." she muttered, checking her tablet - " - second floor, room … 238."

Olivia nodded, and with no time to waste, an Otstoy-punch shattered the floor -

- and in to the second floor fell the two in the middle of one hall. Viktoria ran off and Olivia followed after her as she passed by one corner & rushed down another, and the two knew as soon as they stepped in to the right hall -

" - oh, what the fuck." groaned Olivia, relevantly, Baal already crawling in her skin & forming a wound that would heal -

" - stay sharp." said Viktoria, slime tentacles forming on her back -

- for the hall they knew their foe was near ahead, mutated flesh covering the walls & floor, vines & flowers with babies' faces growing out of them. No time to waste, the two stepped carefully to the start of the carpet.

"Otstoy." muttered Viktoria, right arm turning in to a slime-tentacle; she smacked the floor ahead -

- and a jet of red burst out of one of the baby's faces & sliced a chunk right off her tendril; grunting with a wince, another tentacle formed as she smacked the floor again -

- and another thin jet of red sliced the end clear off, Viktoria nodding as her arms returned but now handsless.

"See those vines?" she muttered, stump pointing to one of them. "There's blood flowing through them - like a clogged artery."

"Uh, sure." winced Olivia. "What, what do we do?"

"Don't stop for anything." said Viktoria; with no time to waste, the two rushed on to the carpet -

- and Olivia winced as a jet of red missed narrowly where she'd just been a second later; another three jets shot towards her right -

" - Baal!" she shouted as she sliced a pentagram in her arm, demonic maw erupting from her wound -

- and swallowing the blood without a single drop left as the two kept their run going up the hall, doors at regular intervals -

" - there!" shouted Viktoria, stump pointing to one door up ahead & left, and in the next instant -

- a wall of jets burst up out of the ground 30ft ahead of Olivia; Viktoria slowed down at her side, tentacle smacking the wall - " - keep moving! I have you!"

" -I - okay -" winced Olivia, readying Baal's maw as she got 20ft within death ahead -

- 10ft away, she started to slow down -

- and a tentacle yanked her back with the strength of a thousand away & back in to Viktoria, slimewoman's body liquifeying to cushion her fall -

- and the next scene was instant. Three veins popping up beside them, Viktoria grabbed Olivia & a tentacle yanked them up to the ceiling -

- and Olivia held her breath as she passed right through Viktoria's slime body and slammed right in to the ceiling, her on top & Viktoria keeping her pinned from below; she started thrashing -

" - F-F-FUCKING STAY STILL!" shouted a pair of lips forming out of the goo's back, and another tendril yanked them back across the ceiling; Olivia glanced back and saw an electrical wire falling out of her body as the two landed back at the start of the carpet, Viktoria's body reforming beside as Olivia stood -

- and noticed with a wince a few burns that hadn't been there before. Ahead, more veins grew out of the floor, but stopped like a kid's hand over a hot stove before they hit the still-live wire.

"I - sorry." winced Olivia. "I just -"

" - Otstoy." grunted Viktoria, one tentacle yanking only herself up to the ceiling -

- and Olivia stepped back as she saw her swing across the ceiling, picking the wire back up with one tendril & jets of blood missing her with her speed. Viktoria swung in to one room at the end of the infected floor and a scream of male agony came from it a few seconds later, and the carpet disappeared.

Olivia felt afraid as she saw Viktoria stomp out and towards her.

"Listen to me, you little fucking woman. When I FUCKING TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING IN A FIGHT -"

" - I'm - I'm sorry, okay, I just -"

" - no! No, you are not sorry! I have to keep telling you and telling you - every few FUCKING fights, I have to wonder if today is a day you will listen to me, or if it's another day where you will go with whatever STUPID ideas roll around in that pretty little head of yours! We have civilians to keep safe, and -"

" - excuse me, pretty little head? What the hell do you mean by that?"

"If you're not going to listen to me as your mentor, then die."

Olivia laughed. "Then - then die?"

"It's from a Bruce Lee story. He was running with a friend who told him Bruce, I cannot go on any longer, I must take a break, or I'll die. Bruce told him 'then die.' I have little patience for some bylat that won't follow what I am telling her to do. Particularly when I'm risking my own life to save her. Perhaps next time you can deal with these fucking electrical burns." Viktoria grunted and showed her arms.

Olivia started laughing nervously. "I - I can't believe you're just - what the hell are you talking about?"

"Go. Everything is some big joke to you. Everything is some party where you can run around wearing a tight dress and -

" - you're the one who fucking threw a can of fish through my window!" (Olivia hadn't been as receptive to punishment as Natasha.) "And I don't see how what I wear has any - that you have any business telling me what the hell I should wear, either! Just because you dress like some fucking stiff on a log doesn't mean I don't want to look nice. I mean, what's the point of me even attending Urasaria if-"

"-I wonder that myself."

"Real funny. You know, maybe you should learn to lighten up. I don't like the way you fucking treat me, and I'm starting to get real fucking sick of it. I'm sorry I fucked up, but to be honest, it -"

"- I'm not here to be your friend - I'm here to teach you how to fight. If you want companionship, you can hire a prostitute."

"Really? Maybe I would've kept running if I trusted you better, too. Did you ever think of that? Or do you just go around thinking everyone's an idiot?"

Viktoria's hands reformed. "I'll be continuing the questioning." She tried to shove her tablet over to Olivia. "Go off to Naomi and Natasha -"

" - uh, no, no, we're not done fucking talking. What the hell is your problem with me, anyway?" Olivia's phone vibrated, glueing her limbs to her sides.

"One of your friends?"

"None of your fucking business."

"We have nothing more to discuss. Go find Naomi and Natasha - I'll finish the questioning myself."

"...fine." Olivia grabbed Viktoria's tablet and stomped off.

Viktoria had learned to not care about whatever shit flung from others - she could tell Naomi had been angry at her for taking charge, too, but if she was so mad about it, she ought've said something herself. Why was it that those never spoke up always complained the most after?

As Olivia walked out of the hospital, she checked her texts for a woman, Jess, asking if Olivia could come over. Olivia didn't find her all that attractive, but from how Jess acted in bed, Olivia likely wasn't all that attractive to her either. They were both skilled in most of the lesbian arts, but Olivia saw Jess eventually dating someone in the future and the two wouldn't ever speak again - or worse yet, that someone might be her.

Yet she felt a little guilty. There were some women at Urasaria who took in as many women in their first year as they did criminals, and she didn't ever believe Viktoria's claptrap about living like a prude. To Olivia, sex was simply another need like thirst - denying herself pleasure for satisfaction seemed like a paradox, but seeing Viktoria speak so confidently gave her pause.

Then again, what would that Russian bitch know about romance, anyway? She walked up to Naomi & Natasha patrolling on the corner.

"Hey." said Naomi. "Everything alright?"

"Nope." Olivia frowned. "Viktoria's being a bitch again. Just told me to go off and find you two."

"Well, I get the being a bitch part. She doesn't know any different." Naomi shrugged. "What happened?"

Olivia felt Natasha's eyes on her. "…she… We… got in to a fight, and we both got a bit hurt, and we got in to an argument. She just yelled at me and told me to go off to you two."

Natasha wondered what Olivia might've done to piss her off - from what she saw of Viktoria, she wasn't likely angry without a half-good reason for it.

Naomi frowned. "…Natasha, can you go check on Viktoria? Sorry. I know that she's…"

"Um, o-okay."

"Here's her tablet, I guess." sighed Olivia, handing it over to Natasha. "She's probably still at the hospital."

"Okay. Um, t-thanks." she said and walked off.

Once she got to Woods Hospital, she ran in to Viktoria walking out with her head still shaking. Natasha wondered if she had a swivel in her neck and she only stopped when Natasha came up.

"Um. Naomi wanted me to come." winced Natasha. "S-Sorry, um."

"It's fine. I told Olivia to go to you and Naomi - I already finished my questioning."

Natasha noted her 'Naomi' tone matched her 'Olivia'. Recklessly she decided to check her. "…um. Do you not like Naomi?"

"I don't. She focuses more on her appearance than her work. You told me she only brought you out for one fight your first two weeks - but I noticed she always had her makeup and hair done, in class. Plenty of time to talk to whatever girls she wants, but none for her protege."

"But I'm the one who asked for more training."

"You can't give your protege everything they want. Of course you didn't want to fight - there's very few students who do until they get a taste for it. No matter how excited they are when they register. And you've been in a few more fights with her since then, yes?"

"…I have. Um. I guess we're getting better together, but… I just - I just don't know how I'm supposed to grow, r-right? I'm - I'm not that nervous in fights anymore, but it just feels like - I don't know where I'm supposed to be in six months. I-I got some new abilities recently, too, but - but it just feels like it's even more stuff to keep track of. I - I know I'm not really smart, either. Even with lifting weights I just do whatever makes me sweat the most. I feel like I'm some big ogre that's been given this really good Revenant, and I'm supposed to be able to use everything right, and I'm supposed to get three-star by December when I can't even-"

"-who told you three-star by December?"

"Y-You did." said Natasha. "…um. Did you -"

" - I... meant the end of the year. April or the beginning of next August." said Viktoria, trying not to laugh. Once again, there was just that Natasha. "But it was an unrealistic expectation, regardless. There's been very few students who achieved it in their first year - the most recent one died two years ago - but I refuse to put any restrictions on other people through 'realistic goals'. Even I'm not three-star yet, and if this little…" Natasha saw anger flash on her face for a second. "…well. I can only do so much to teach someone."

"Um, you mean Olivia?"

"Precisely." Her head shook. "Regardless. Back to our jewelry thieves."

"Okay."

"I talked with the manager of the docks - I took notes on everything relevant, but I doubt he'll be a worthwhile lead. His boss is out of town and was the one who hired our suspect, apparently."

"Wait, what?"

Viktoria frowned. "It's strange, yes. He was told not to watch him too closely - and I somehow doubt the man who hired him will be walking in to town any time soon. I presume whoever recommended him is our culprit, if it's not another dead lead."

"Do we have anything to um, go on?"

"Not that I can see, until we have that other man's name." She started walking. "We'll meet back up with Naomi and your little fan."

"Olivia?" said Natasha and paused. "…um, wait. How did you know she has a crush on me?"

Viktoria shrugged. "She was drunk and talked about some muscular woman in her class. I presume it was you, but I wouldn't suggest ever getting involved with her. As I said before - she's a glass stained by many lips."

"…um, that's kinda…" Natasha frowned. "…I don't know, she seems pretty nice. M-Most of the lesbians I know are like her."

It wasn't that Natasha didn't also hold a similar attitude towards sex; her last relationship made her suspicious of women who moved too quickly. Though a few women besides Olivia had spoken to her for what she assumed was the same purpose, an uneasy feeling always held her back.

"And most of them are negative influences." said Viktoria. "Plenty of women are nice, but you do not know her like I do. I've lived with her for the past three weeks, and I can tell you that she is the type of woman that does not acknowledge her problems or believes she has any. You see whatever she wants to project to you because she wants to fill your bed with herself. Men and lesbians are both like this. You may find it fun at first, but over time, she'll grow tired - she'll need new pleasure. Whatever bond you form will be rotted away by new women or alcohol - like how sugar rots away teeth and causes cavities."