Through the Gates
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. I just play with the characters.
"You've accepted the offer then?" They seemed to always be meeting in the small alleyways, the bystreets of this large city. Usually, there was nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement between them, but this time, Jackal knelt at Yukimura's presence, his gun and badge on the ground before him.
"I have. Shall I turn in my badge, or...?" He was a stolid man, Yukimura thought. Yes, he would do well to balance the inner circle. But he shook his head at Jackal's question, 'No, keep it.' It would come in use someday, Jackal's position within the force.
"You should resume your beat now," and Jackal nodded and thanked Yukimura. "Come by here later, when you have time." Yukimura offered him a hand up, and left him with a slip of paper and a smile.
He was staid, boring Jackal, whom nobody ever really looked at twice except to gawk at the fact he was a half-blood. He'd learned not to mind such things, learned even to turn it to his advantage. Such was the way of things. One either learned to adjust or died.
The address he'd been given led to the docks, and if he hadn't already been on guard, he would have been when the first shot rang clear. There were scrabbling noises to his right, and the gunshot had come from north. He cursed at the open space, ducking behind one of the few crate stacks on the wharf. There was a loud hiss, and he turned to see a redhead motioning toward him. The man was biting down on a pair of chopsticks, and he eyed those curiously before edging near with his gun at the ready.
"Oh, stop being so cautious. I'm Marui. Cover for me, will ya? So I can track that bastard down and gouge out his eyes." Marui didn't even look for affirmation on his end, before counting down silently with his fingers. Three, two, one - and then he'd darted out and in alarm Jackal followed, keeping a close eye on the surroundings as Marui just moved.
Gunshot from northeast: "Go to your right." Marui didn't even miss a beat before switching directions. "Back left again. The shots are coming from the warehouse there." He himself fired off several shots of his own, seeking to warn the unseen opponent rather than actually injure.
They pinned the man soon enough, Marui's chopsticks blocked by steel when the redhead tackled. The man was laughing, and even when he aimed the gun at the man's head, the mirth didn't abate any. Marui grinned back and, nudging out another chopstick - this one much sharper - from hidden pockets, pinned one of their prey's hand like a butterfly's wing. Jackal didn't so much as blink. "Yagyuu is so pissed at you."
Jackal froze. Yagyuu was the one he should have been meeting, not Marui. He paid closer attention.
"Is he pissed I didn't finish things? Oh, let off me, Marui. That your new partner?" The man brushed back white hair, only afterward drawing out the bamboo stick in his palm with a soft curse. "Fuck, you bastard, it's going to be a pain in the ass fighting," though the words were spoken with something almost like humor. "Jackal, right? I'm Niou. Yagyuu is... otherwise occupied." Jackal didn't say anything, just kept his gun trained on Niou.
Marui put away the unused chopsticks, forced his hand down. "Don't worry, he's on our side. He's just Niou." As if that explained everything. It didn't, but Jackal didn't ask. He would probably find out eventually. "So you're planning on joining?" He nodded. "You squeamish?" He snorted. People who worked his rounds saw many things, including a good number of mutilated corpses. One didn't plan on becoming a hitman if they were squeamish, and he said as much. Marui grinned, and slapped him on the back hard in amusement. "Great, so from now on, you'll be working with this great genius here. All you have to do is watch my back."
Jackal reholstered his gun. "I could do that."
Later that evening, he received another invitation, slipped under the door of his apartment. Yukimura was waiting for him at the high-scale restaurant, calm amidst the boisterous meetings of businessmen in the rooms around them. "What do you think of Rikkai?" spoken in a gentle tone that made Jackal wonder if, perhaps, this wasn't a test after all.
"They're interesting."
Yukimura nodded. "They are, but that's why I love them all." Only now did Yukimura hold out the sake bottle and offer. "Drink with me, won't you?"
The liquid burned down his throat, and then he was in.