Chapter 1: The Message

(Karma POV)

My old friend became a new enemy...

A bureaucrat, that's who I am. My dreams were achieved, and I got a paying job with a lot of power. Just the type of work that I enjoy. And even better than that, is that I stayed in touch with some of my close friends.

One of my great partners in crime, happened to be an ambassador.

The She-Devil was also an official of Japan. At least, she was great with her words. Math and English are a deadly combo.

And on some stormy and rainy days like this, I prefer to not think about the possibility of me becoming a target. That's what my coworkers tell me. I believe that I can still defend myself, but years had rot away my skills.

That's when I got an email.

Dear Akabane Karma,

It has come to our attention that your position in the government has attracted an assassin wanting to end you. You might not know the reason for this, but we know that right now, you're being targeted. We're working with the Ministry of Defense to identify the potential killer, but in the meantime, stay safe.

Huh? The email address this letter came from was written in random letters and symbols. I can't tell who it was. But nonetheless, tomorrow, I guess I just gotta be on the lookout for miscreants.

-In the Morning-

That's a good sip of coffee I must say. I love how close this shop is to my place of work. Really lets you relax and take in the atmosphere.

"Oh hello Karma, did you miss me?" Said a familiar voice.

I looked to my left to see the one and only Rio, but I guess she prefers to be called Nakamura. She still kept her appearance, but she appeared to be more mature and seemed to have grown taller these past years.

"Indeed, it was starting to get dull around here." I said in a sophisticated voice.

"Drop that fancy act Karma, I know you well, and I know that you don't talk like that." She said jokingly.

"Oh is that so? Maybe that trip to Paris must be still messing with your head." I grinned as I took another sip of coffee.

"Whatever, at least I go to other places." She took the seat in front of me.

"So, how are things going you red head?"

"Oh not so well I guess. I think someone out here is trying to assassinate me." I said in a casual tone.

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I got a message from an unknown telling me that I'm being targeted." I showed her the email on my phone.

"Well shit, I really don't wanna see you disappear." Her voice had hints of melancholy in it.

"Not after what we had been through in the past." She continued.

"Yeah, me neither, I think we need to get Karasuma to help solve this problem. Is he still with the Ministry of Defense?" I drank all my coffee.

"Yeah he's still there. Why don't you come over to my place so we can talk about it some more. I think these people shouldn't be hearing this." Nakamura pointed at the various people.

"Yeah that doesn't sound too bad."

(Nagisa POV)

"Nagisa, you have made quite a name for yourself." A grim voice said.

"I would like to use your skills in order to takedown somebody important."

The voice came from a shady man, covered in darkness. It was all too mysterious for my liking.

"Yeah, and who would that be?" I looked around the room, where the only source of light came from the sun peering through the window.

"I would like you to kill the Red Devil. You can't really miss him, bright red hair, government official with a lot of power. It should be a cinch." The man proceeded to grab a suitcase.

"And if you manage to follow through..." He pauses opening the suitcase.

"All of this can be yours." He shows the contents inside. Gold, jewelry, drugs, and money filling every centimeter of space in the suitcase.

You know, a long long long time ago, I had second thoughts about taking a life. But as time went on, I got better and better, being paid more and more and getting to take on bigger targets.

I was the Blue Viper.

No man escapes my fangs.

I see a smile from the man.

"I would take that as a yes."

(Nakamura POV)

"So Karma, how do you like my place? I know it's small but it gets the job done." I showed him around.

"Seems very quaint." He squinted his eyes.

"But it seems that I had skipped breakfast. Where's the food?" He asked with urgency.

"In the kitchen. Get it yourself lazy ass." I jokingly said.

"Don't be mad if all your good food is gone." He said in a chipper tone.

"I won't be mad, I'll just go to your place in order to steal it back!"

"Whatever, I see that you still enjoy the video games once in a while." Karma pointed to the console next to my TV.

"Yeah, but we aren't here for that. I'm gonna get my laptop out so we can do some research." I went into my room.

Picking up my sleek laptop, I ran out of the room just to see Karma sitting on my sofa, shooting me a grin.

"So, what do you have to show me?"

"Well come here and find out."

I already knew that I wasn't going to be happy with the truth. That was a fact.