Childhood Performance | Viper + Matsu | Lost Letters Car

Viper

Viper had to admit, after she and Taran had spent time looking through the contents of the USB he had pulled from the gacha, she was more intrigued by Matsu than ever. They had yet to formally interact- and yeah, she’d seem ’em, but that wasn’t enough for her. She had to make such a wonderful first impression on them!

Luckily, the train cars were small enough that it was easy to track them down. Or, perhaps her detective skills were just that good. Regardless, she approaches them in the most normal way she’s approached anyone so far on this entire train journey.

“Matsu, right?” She tilts her head, “We haven’t talked yet! I’m Viper!” They probably already knew her name, but hey, never hurt to throw out a little intro. If youtubers can do it every video, she can do it.

“You really don’t seem like the type to like stuff that’s cute!”

Matsu

Matsukaze has been rather pointedly keeping to themself since the ‘talk’ with Fenna and Mahavir… however that may resolve. It feels like that letter is burning a hole through their pocket They don’t know what to do about it – lines from it keep echoing in their head no matter how much they want it to stop. The images and feelings and smells of so many things in the past just won’t go away.

He’d known they didn’t really mean it, right?

(Un)Fortunately, they are pulled out of their thoughts by their name. Their first name, in the mouth of some girl they’d never even spoken to? The grimace is only partially voluntary.

“It’s Ito to you.” Who the hell did she think she was? They were about to say something else, equally sharply, when they are absolutely blindsided by her next question that feels like it comes out of nowhere.

“Wh…” The surprise is quickly enveloped by a bright red flush to their cheeks. Matsu can feel the heat of embarrassed indignation. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”

Viper

Matsu “It’s Ito to you.”

“Nope! It’s Matsu, we’re, like, besties already, right?” Entirely unperturbed by their rudeness, for she is a rude little gremlin herself, Viper seems entirely determined to make their day just that much worse. Or better? Who knows. “Besides, I did kinda think your first name was Ito considering Taran found some USB with your name on it! So I’m like, totes trying to be respectful and shit. But now we’ve met!”

She had been quite proud of her little opener, but Matsu’s reaction was just so glorious that Viper’s grin spread from ear to ear. Raucous laughter erupts from her before she can even stop it, and by the time she gets herself under control her eyes are teary and she’s wiping them.

“I meeeeeeean…” Still a little out of breath, she gestures to them ambiguously. “You don’t look like it is all! And you’re, like, so mysterious….”

The smug grin only widens.

“But I dunno. Now seeing you’re like, totes cute when you’re embarrassed, makes more sense!” For a gamer, she has some attempt of rizz. On occasion, maybe just a little.

Matsu

“No, absolutely not!” Besties? Really? “I don’t have friends and I don’t want them,” they lie.

And now she’s laughing at them. Of course she is. What USB was she talking about…? They didn’t bring anything like that. Unless… When everyone was putting money into that machine, they hadn’t been paying attention. Their chest feels tight and they take a small step back.

What does she mean by that?

“I’m not embarrassed, either! Fuck you.” On impulse, Matsu grabs a fistful of letters and flings them at her. Most miss or catch the air wrong and fall very anti-climatically, as paper tends to do when you throw it.

Viper

Matsu “No, absolutely not!” Besties? Really? “I don’t have friends and I don’t want them,”

“Omg, like, same. That’s why we should be besties!” Right now, Viper is going out of her way to exaggerate an informal stereotypical ‘gal’ accent. “I don’t have friends either, so, like, perfect besties!”

Waugh- letters! Viper winces and closes her eyes as at least a few of the letters make contact with her face. Ouch! ….Just kidding.

“…Pffff- HAHAHA!” Viper has no idea if they meant that, 100% seriously, but she is thoroughly entertained, especially as most of the letters missed entirely. Matsu, I’m so sorry for her. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way! Nothing wrong with liking cute things! I do too!”

…Okay, Viper, could have started out with that.

She calms herself again, and coughs into her hand. “You pretty into music still, too?” Viper. You can’t just… ask like that.

Matsu

They don’t like her.

Matsukaze has definitely decided that much, as she mockingly claims to also have no friends before starting to laugh again. Louder this time, they’re pretty sure. “Yeah? Well I can see why no one likes you,” they snap. Their arms cross tightly over their chest. (They think about the letter in their pocket again.)

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with liking – UGH. Will you just shut up, you’re not like me.” Their tone has shifted into being more defensive than just indignant.

Until her next question catches them off guard. They blink, loosening the way their arms are folded, and it takes a moment for them to process it. But once they do, they narrow their eyes and clench the fists now at their side.

“… What? Who told- Why are you asking something like that?”

Viper

Matsu “Yeah? Well I can see why no one likes you,”

Well, Viper only giggles at that, “I know right? People call me all kinds of things. Obnoxious, Freeloader, Asshole, you name it! I don’t really care, so, like, you know?” No, Viper. Nobody ‘knows’. They know you’re annoying, though, I suppose.

Matsu “… What? Who told- Why are you asking something like that?”

“Um? Pretty presumptuous? Nobody ‘told’ me anything!” Viper leans her head into her hand, her look one of utter feigned innocence. “Taran came to me with a USB drive that said ‘ITO’ on it, and a bunch of, like, super cute keychains? Yeah?”

“And so he asked to borrow my laptop to look at it, and so we both looked at it together, ’cause like, nobody’s gonna use my laptop without me there, and there was videos on it. Of you. I mean- I assume it was you, you were like, younger, and looked so happy, y’know? And then we watched one- only one! And…. yeah.”

Viper folds her arms across her chest. “So, like, wasn’t my idea to start with, and, like, it wasn’t anything bad. I just kinda wondered what happened. Like, I had a friend who used to be super into music, and singing, and stuff, and then she just kinda…. stopped. ’Cause of teenage insecurities. Y’know. Wondered if it was the same kinda deal.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

Matsu

She giggles. Again.

That fake innocent look makes them grit their teeth, but the more she talks the more their eyes widen and face. The recognition in their eyes quickly shifts to dawning horror as they realize that she watched them.

You were like, younger, and looked so happy, y’know?

What gave her the right to look at those? And Taran, whoever Taran even is.

Dear Matsukaze, Things weren’t supposed to be this way.

It’s hard to breathe, especially as she just keeps talking about bullshit like ‘teenage insecurities.’ What did she know about that? Matsu can barely think past the sound of their pulse rushing in their ears, the shallow, quickening breaths. Their vision blurs with barely restrained tears.

They stand there, motionless, for several moments, before impulse drives them into action.

Matsu steps forward to close the distance, pulling their hand back to slap her in the face as hard as they can.

Viper

Whoa, whoa, whoa-!

Viper can’t say the slap… hurts, I mean, it kinda does! But the fact Matsu has gloves on definitely makes it hurt a lot less than if it was bare skin on bare skin… regardless, she still yelps a little at the sudden contact- okay. She definitely deserves that.

But in what seems like almost a rehearsed manner, a matter of seconds after the slap hits her face, she grabs hold of their wrist, her other hand hitting them square in the chest. She had initially been aiming for the solar plexus- she knew that was a great place to hit someone if you were trying to get them to leave you alone, but hey, she wasn’t consciously thinking of where to hit, okay!

Her own breath was ragged with the exertion of such a forceful hit- or, well, forceful for her at least. She wasn’t the most athletic by a long way.

…As she blinks herself out of an apparent stupor, she realises she’d made them cry, and all. …Yeah. Maybe people were right to call her an asshole.

“Look, just- let me defend myself, goddamnit!” She grunts, still gripping onto their arm. “Don’t just go and hit me! If you wanna fight, just say so, I’ll fight!”

Matsu

She grabs their wrist, and they’re already planning on trying to wrench it away when her other hand hits. Hard. Or at least it felt hard. They make a little oof as the air is forced out of them and a sharp pain spreads through their chest.

Breathe. Breathe. They need to breathe.

Matsu’s free hand quickly goes to their chest, trying to defend while they breathe raggedly. She knew. She had to know, maybe there was something else that she found.

“Give, give it back!” They manage breathily. They mean the USB drive, which they didn’t seem to realize wasn’t something she had. They want to hurt her, but it was so hard when every breath hurts like this. The only think they can think to do is to shove her to the ground.

They try to wrench their wrist out of Viper’s grip unsuccessfully, but with their other hand and that one try to shove her at both shoulders. Likely only one will even connect – but the attempt probably is answer enough that they want to Fight.

Viper

“Um, like, did you not even hear me?! I. Don’t. Have. It!” Viper staggers a little from the shove, more out of surprise than anything else. “If you want it back, Taran has it! Guy with the blue sweater with the cat ears!”

Surprisingly, she lets go of their wrist, taking a quick step backwards so she can quickly shrug off her coat and toss it aside. Her bag is also abandoned along with it. She narrows her eyes as she looks back at them.

“You wanna fight fair and square? I’m even giving you the first hit.” Viper was just oh so gracious like that, you know, the fact she was currently about to fistfight Matsu was nothing at all related to that.

Matsu

Matsukaze is breathing heavily, and they pull back on their wrist again right as she lets go. Should they fight her? Absolutely not. Are they going to?

Absolutely.

They take the moment to try and catch their breath and to follow her lead, throwing down their scarf and jacket, and the cardigan beneath. Their face mask had already been put away, at least. They don’t give themself a chance to stop and think. Just be angry. Something wet finally slipped out of their eye, and they didn’t want to give her the chance to notice.

“Life’s not fair!” Matsu retorts before trying again to hit her in the face, this time with a closed fist. Their technique is messy, it’s clear they are not a trained fighter, they are just getting emotional and lashing out.

Viper

“Sure as shit it ain-!” Viper is cut off by the hit to the face. Well, she’s certainly hit, but it isn’t the most painful hit to the face she’s ever gotten. That’s… beside the point, because she’s pretty sure the hit makes her bite on her cheek or something which is at the very least mildly unpleasant. Ehhh, it’s probably gonna bruise a bit.

“Goddamn, you’re gonna have to hit me harder than that!” Viper does spit a little blood onto the floor, but it’s such a tiny amount that it’s definitely more from biting her cheek unintentionally. “I’ve been hit harder by a lil’ kid!” She sneers, aiming her own swing at their stomach.

Fight dirty, go for the weak spots, the face can come once they were sufficiently subdued.

If she could get them on the floor, she was confident she could win.

Matsu

Matsu sees her spit the blood out and while it makes them want to push farther, they can almost taste the all-too-familiar tang in their own mouth. If only they could get her on the ground, then they could run away and claim they won.

Unfortunately for them, she doesn’t hesitate to hit back, and the blow to their stomach knocks all of the air out of their lung. They stagger for a moment, grabbing at her shoulder to try and steady themself. She wants to fight dirty? They can fight dirty.

They try to stomp on her foot at the same time as trying to hit her throat, but they don’t say anything. They’re breathing too hard to shit talk.

Viper

Viper is breathing just as hard at this stage, a grim satisfaction on her face as she watches them recoil from the blow to the stomach- despite the fact neither of them seem to be strong enough to do significant damage given their terrible fighting skills, she has the upper hand, she can already guess that. She’s taller, heavier, and overall perhaps slightly stronger. Very slightly.

The foot stamp is luckily negated a lot by her boots, but still earns a wince and a hiss, the impact to her throat on the other hand causes her to let out a half choking sound, and she is seeing red.

“G-Goddamnit you son of a bitch-!” She hastily rubs at her own neck. “You asked for it!”

Viper grabs the arm holding her shoulder and yanks them downward, her leg moving to kick their legs and get them down on the ground, making no effort to cushion the fall.

She growls, following them down and sitting on them, pinning them to the ground unsympathetically, her glare full of utter anger by this stage. Without any hesitation she starts walloping. Anywhere she can hit, face, torso, arms. But there is definite opportunity for Matsu to fight back with her sloppy technique. A lot of her hits miss, but some of them are connecting at least!

Matsu

Their eyes widen as they feel themself start to fall. It happens so fast, but it feels like forever. Matsu hits the ground hard, including a rather painful impact when the back of their head hits the floor.

They don’t even have time to recover from that daze before Viper is on them and they can’t breathe – then her fist connects with their cheek.

Matsukaze immediately starts trying to scramble up, trying to throw her off, but they can’t move, they’re stuck and they can’t breathe. They push at her, trying to shove her off, but it quickly turns away from attempted offense to pure defense when that doesn’t work. It hurts! They are struggling with light, shallow breaths, trying to force out the words STOP! PLEASE STOP! but the words only come out as a jumbled mess.

Then one blow hits their shoulder, under their collarbone, and the sudden sharp pain gets an immediate reaction. An involuntary pained sound, somewhere between a scream and a yelp, escapes Matsu with what air they could force out, and they try to turn to shield that shoulder. They try to breathe.

Viper

There’s not a moment of weakness, a second of opportunity in which Matsu could unbalance her. Viper, as determined as she is to show Matsu they had made a big mistake in trying to fight her, that they had started the fight, and she would finish it… after the sound that escapes them, she feels… a little guilty. Truly, she hadn’t meant to hurt them quite that much. The sound of their pain makes her swallow, hard. A chill ran down her spine, but she shook it off and her gaze hardened once more. Viper was a stubborn woman.

Continuing her onslaught, determined to do so until someone either pulled her off or she was finally exhausted entirely, her blows are more pointed toward their stomach, and their face instead of their chest and shoulders. That pained sound is a sound she doesn’t want to hear again.

“Are you gonna give up yet?!” She puffs out, just barely, “'Cause it’d be easier if ya did! Ya feel bad for startin’ it?!”