Assassins of the Hinata
'Love Hina' is by Ken Akamatsu
Chapter 11: Lapse of reason
Mission #14
Perhaps taking your rage out on someone who deserves it is great medicine for those inflicting it.
Collecting data and intelligence is not easy especially if you find out that someone is doing the same thing to you. Haruka and the other operatives here do not appreciate having someone target them as many in the past have found out much to their detriment. Anger, and even other negative emotions, can be an effective weapon if wielded properly and its aim is true.
Some are about to learn this lesson the hard way…
To the ladies of the Hinata, killing someone is easy. However, setting up people to be targets is where the real work begins.
"I'm so glad that no one knows about our tech advantages," says Haruka into the headset she is wearing.
Kaolla looks over at her and smiles.
Everyone it seems had volunteered to go on this sanction after getting an earful from Haruka's Kaa-san about her feelings toward Keitaro. This soured the détente the group had finally reached in sharing the man in question.
Here is how the first reunion went…
It did not help the situation back at the Hinata when Shinobu threw a European-style dirk less than five centimeters from Yoko's head.
The woman in question went for her blade, but quickly relaxed when Motoko thumbed her Katana for a quick draw. It could have gotten very messy if either had drawn their blade.
Kitsune swiftly pulled and cocked her Sweetie with the suppressor aimed only two centimeters from Yoko's skull. The speed of her draw surprised no one, but there was no doubt of the outcome if the situation did not quickly diffuse itself.
Only Hina Obaa-san's intervention and the coo of a little girl prevented a bloodbath.
However…
"Action stations, everyone," says Kaolla into her mike, "Coming into range of the LZ. Two-thousand meters and descending rapidly, electronic jamming hot and ready to deploy. Gambatte, minna!"
Acquiring this target was a puzzler for the Hinata tech genius, but once on the trail she was like a bloodhound. With Haruka and Kanako's help, Kaolla was able to pinpoint with certain accuracy where their new target was and, who it was targeting them. No intelligence can be one hundred percent, but gut instinct and experience can give you what hard data cannot.
Targeting her voice transmission, Kaolla asks, "Naru, are you sure you can bust through the door quietly?"
"If you have a silent back up, I'll take it," says the brunette. She adjusts her new camouflage coverall to attach a medkit.
"Overhead storage bin, second one behind my seat. Simple instructions and easy operation," replies the Princess.
"Copy," she says standing to retrieve the explosives mentioned. Having a handy zip pouch on the right leg makes carrying her ordnance easier as she uses her hands exclusive to do the work she needs.
"Everyone clear on what to do," says Haruka. She has put the confrontation with her Kaa-san out of her mind for the moment and thinks only about business.
Hearing seven clicks, she nods to Kaolla who lands the hovership.
Everyone turns on their night vision goggles after doing a final equipment check. The only sounds they hear are the cocking of an automatic-weapons bolt and cracking of knuckles.
Disembarking and deploying in a semi-circle to establish their LZ, the seven assassins then move out.
Kaolla lifts off and climbs up to one thousand meters to monitor the assets in place and assist with situational awareness.
Two clicks signal that someone has found the target. Using wrist trackers designed by Kaolla, the team re-assembles and quietly makes plans. With hand signals and silent gestures, Haruka re-deploys the team for their egress into the objective. Kitsune points to a spot for the rendezvous and extraction.
Seven nods later, everyone moves out.
Kanako, sans makeup and gothic costume, takes point along with Naru. Mutsumi and Motoko are right behind them since they also kill quietly and efficiently. Haruka and Shinobu are next with Kitsune covering the rear. They have found that her firepower comes in very handy back there.
Three clicks means target found and the area is active.
Kaolla hovers directly overhead. She activates her newest toys and onboard devices. Pleased with how everything is working, she reaches for a banana, as the definition on her scope makes the night visible to her.
Putting her hand up, Kanako motions for Haruka to join her. Quietly joining her younger cousin, she gives her a quizzical look.
Pointing to a well-placed camera, Kanako also pulls a bush aside to reveal an infrared motion sensor and mike.
Thanking the gods' right then for their new coveralls, Haruka readies her team for action. Clicking her mike in a pre-arranged signal, she tells Kaolla to activate her newest device and standby.
Receiving a click in reply, Haruka and the others wait.
A minute later, three men come through a doorway and check the grounds. Speaking to each other in American-accented English, they see nothing as Naru, Mutsumi and Motoko quickly dispatch them.
Stepping inside the now empty building, the seven see a sparse room with just a table and three chairs. No electronic equipment here, so they move up to a slightly opened door and allow Kitsune to go in first. Safety off, her Honey is the ready in case its services are needed.
Pulling a dagger and two Shirukens from her belt, Shinobu follows her in and takes the other side of the corridor.
The others proceed in and sweep the hallway to a secured door at the other end.
Naru, using her expertise, touches the wooden door and senses very little activity behind it. Turning to Haruka, she whispers something and waits for further orders.
Nodding, Haruka prepares the others.
Reaching for the doorknob, Naru retracts her hand quickly and steps back. Looking once again at the mission leader, she draws a finger across her throat signaling a possible trap.
Everyone standing here freezes as Haruka takes a moment to think. With her night vision googles still on, she looks around the corridor for anything out of the ordinary.
Spotting an-oh-so shallow crease in the wall about five meters behind them, Haruka has her team slowly back up and then stop. She motions for Naru to try here.
Touching the wall, the brunette nods and gives it a push. The wall section opens revealing another even longer corridor.
"Fuck," she hisses quietly and points up.
Kitsune releases her Honey and pulls out Sweetie instead. Without hesitation, she puts four slugs into the ceiling and after a couple of seconds hears two thuds hitting the floor up above.
Using her reflexes, Naru snagged each cartridge as it had ejected.
Nodding, Kitsune silently thanks the brunette.
Moving to the end of the corridor, a stairwell goes up to a second floor.
Stopping everyone, Haruka pulls out a special aerosol can and sprays the steps. The fourth tread up shows a laser pointing across indicating that someone took the time to rig an alarm.
Going up, the group steps over the offending tread as they slowly climb the stairway.
Haruka, wary as ever, sprays all the way up and finds another tread that is second from the top. Spraying the landing and the floor ahead, she finds that the coast is now clear.
Assembling again at the top, Haruka has everyone spread out cautioning them to watch out for anything.
Finding another door with a light on underneath, Naru cautiously opens the door. Being the room where Kitsune put in the four rounds, Haruka and Mutsumi lift up their googles and step inside.
Seeing two fresh corpses and a treasure trove of material, they get to work and call for Kaolla to come down.
Later, back at the Hinata…
"You set us up, bitch," says Kitsune in an icy tone. She looks directly at Yoko.
The others show no respect as well and cast a baleful look at her.
Hina Obaa-san and Yoko, with 'help' around them listen, but do not react to her words.
"I did it," says Hina without hesitation, "Look, minna. We had a problem, and I had to find a way to draw the enemy assets out of the shadows by using my best assets. I did only what was necessary to reveal who is after us now. In addition, I knew that you would be able handle sanctioning them without prejudice."
The eight, hearing her words, calm down but only enough to hear some coherent reasoning behind being set up.
"I will not apologize for what I said," says Kitsune just as icily.
"I do not expect one, Mitsune-san," says Yoko in return. She knows the Fox too well, and if her skull is still intact, their tiff is over.
"Now, if you don't mind," says Kitsune making a general statement and not caring who hears it, "I'm going to find Kei-kun and get laid." With no fanfare or other explanation, she turns her back on everyone and heads upstairs.
"Bitch," hisses Yoko just under a whisper as she sees off the back of one of her rivals for Keitaro's affection.
Not looking back, the Fox smiles.
Later that night…
Everyone gets an earful from Keitaro's room. Having four women at once tend to your needs after a long day of school seems to be paradise to the man in question. Friday night is a great night for letting off steam as Kitsune, Shinobu, Naru and Kaolla each vie for his attention.
In the other end of the Hinata, a beautiful woman holds her daughter in her arms. The sleeping child dreams of who-knows-what as her Kaa-san hums a soft lullaby. Biding her time, she has waited almost five years to see the man she loves again and will gladly wait a little longer. Sharing him with her elder daughter and the others is no problem for her, as she knew only his driven and possessive side, seeing his tender and gentle side may be a better option when their reunion occurs.
"Keika-chan, you look exactly like your Tou-san," she whispers smiling while placing her little daughter in a futon next to hers.
Slipping off her short Yukata, Yoko crawls into bed and falls into a deep lust-filled sleep.
Down the hall out of earshot, Hina Obaa-san talks to her older granddaughter…
"I think it was a bad idea bringing her down here, Baa-chan," says a very unhappy Haruka, "It could splinter us if Kaa-san tries to take Kei-kun away. Kitsune loves him so much now that she wouldn't hesitate to sanction her."
"This situation needed a resolution before your Imouto got too much older, Haruka-chan," says the sagely Hina sitting by a large open balcony sliding door, "My daughter was beginning to chafe under her exile in Sapporo. Damn my lack of foresight when it came to Keitaro back then."
Her melancholy is quite palpable, as Haruka understands what is going through her mind. Being the head of an organization older than even the oldest Yakuza family, gives the elderly woman a lot to ponder upon during her waking hours. Dealing with a rebellious child, incest, a brewing toxic situation with her best operatives, a grandson who through no fault of his own lost his edge by means of a bullet and a precious granddaughter down the hall sleeping with her Kaa-san.
"Yes, Baa-chan. That is true," replies Haruka sitting across from her, "However, the timing of this visit couldn't have happened at a worse time. I don't only mean with having to deal with new players, but Kei-kun's circumstance is also very delicate at this moment."
"If you mean hearing those faint screams coming from the other wing as being delicate, Haruka-chan," says Hina trying not to be too sarcastic, " Then I'd say it is those he is pleasuring that may need Naru's healing touch in the morning."
Remembering her own encounter after he had passed his exam in his new guise, she replies with, "He has never had any problems in that department and has even been good for the others. That said, I mean never wanting to see the teenager again whom on a few occasions even I had wanted to sanction. You know with Kitsune's cold brutality and Shinobu's quick-to-anger temperament, the man that I love would be dead now if the others truly knew his old self."
"Maybe," says Hina wanly, "but, my daughter's mental state needed a resolution to this festering problem before she came down here herself and resolved it on her own. You know how dangerous she can be, with beheading the man who shot Kei-kun along with killing most of the men in his family. This shit is so close to ending. You even mentioned something to me about a willingness to share him, and although it would be incest, it would be a very small price to pay."
"I think they would all go for it," says Haruka hearing a piercing scream from the Fox, "She however will need some convincing to go along with our plan."
"Will you do that for me, Haruka-chan?" asks Hina making it a request and not an order. Her daughter, grandchildren and those who live here mean a lot to the head of the Urashima family.
"Yes, and it shouldn't take too much persuading if that last scream from Kitsune means anything," answers Haruka nodding her head as a short bow. Relying on the wisdom of the family Matriarch, she believes that the delicate balance of this situation needs an even more delicate solution.
Hina smiles.
End of Chapter