17:15 PM

Three days have passed since Sakurako started her shooting training, and Shiba could say it is very exciting. Shiba is currently and happily sorting out the financial accounts in her book. Honestly, this should be Maru's job. Then again, Maru is currently prepping up a job downstairs so that Shiba will be in charge of this damn financial documentary for now. Not that she hates it, but she pretty much enjoys the number of money she got from the selling of the weapons. Mostly from lower-class criminals, legal securities from Yakuza, and people from outside the country.

Now she wondered if Sakurako is okay with this.

As usual, she's waiting for Sakurako to come over. And frankly, not for training, but a job. Shiba still finds it terrifying that Sakurako managed to learn how to use firearms that fast. Even she finds it funny that Sakurako admitted that she's not that fast to learn, and she's just dumb. Sakurako could be lying about it. Well, that's if Sakurako is okay to invite her to her house.

She finishes the accounts and closes the book. At the same time, George happens to walk into the office. Her chief-security is in his well-dressed black and white outfit, plus with his sunglasses. There's the usual smile on his smile; either that's the sign that he's in a good mood, or Sakurako just comes over. The violet woman stands up and takes the accounting document before putting it inside a cabinet.

"Boss, Sakurako's here," George said as he watched her looking for a file in the cabinet.

Shiba happily turns her head as her hands slip into the cabinet. "Tell her to come in."

"Oomuro-san," George took a step to the side to give way for the blonde girl.

Sakurako then walks in and looks over to the woman. "Konnichiwa, Matsubara-sensei."

"Are you still going to call me that?" Shiba asked with a snickered smile before looking back to the cabinet.

"That depends on you, I suppose," Sakurako shrugged to the woman. "You're a teacher, after all."

"Former teacher, Sakurako," Shiba corrected as she grabbed a file and closed the cabinet. "I'm not in Nanamori anymore."

"You could apply again if you want," Sakurako suggested as she sat down on the chair.

"No, thanks!" Shiba replied as her tone became a little higher. "I'm fine with this job. At least, that teacher is not here."

"Why?" Sakurako asked with a raised brow. "Nishigaki-sensei often invites you to blow the school together?"

Shiba then looks at her. You could say she's irritated, but… "Now, you're giving me flashbacks."

A year ago.

Shiba happens to enter Nishigaki's lab. The principal had asked Shiba to call Nishigaki over to his office. And the first sight before her is the full set of chemical glasses and tubes. Apparently, that crazy teacher is currently making a chemical compound. There's no helping to let out a sweat on Shiba's forehead.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" Shiba asked as she observed the full set of chemical tools on the whole table.

"I'm mixing a chemical compound," Nishigaki happily said as she looked up from her chem. "Why are you here, Shiba-san?"

"The principal's calling ya'," Shiba replied, still gazing with a speck of dread in her empty pupils.

"Again?" Nishigaki asked with a curious look before walking over to Shiba. "Is it because of that office that I blew up?"

"You really had balls to blew up the office, y'know?" she had seen explosions in her life, but a comical explosion in school seems absurd at best.

"Hey, I didn't intend to blow that office," Nishigaki replied, putting her right hand on her hip as Shiba looked over the chemical set behind the science teacher. "I was inventing medicine."

"Of course, Sherlock, I see how'd that go," Shiba began to notice that the chemical compound began to boil and let out harsh steams. "By the way, does that supposed to boil like that?"

"Huh?" Nishigaki looked back at the compound, but then smiled and carelessly looked back at the violet teacher. "Of course, I intended that way."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Shiba is concerned enough that she made a frown and winced her eyes.

"Of course, it's safe," the science teacher is so confident that she didn't realize the compound is boiling higher than it should. "Have faith in me for once."

*BUUUAAAAARRRRR*

So much for faith. That colossal explosion is enough to turn the whole lab with black ashes. This time, the explosion was so huge that it somehow didn't kill these two teachers but left them covered in ashes. The only casualty they suffered is their torn clothes, and the only surviving clothes they had is only their underwear. They stand there like unmoving statues before they look down on themselves and then stare back at each other. Shiba stares at the science teacher, emptiness and disbelieves in her eyes.

"Are you shitting me?"

"Well… that could've been worse."

Silence shrouded the room for the current moment. Even Sakurako and George stare blankly at the sighing Shiba. You could tell she's a bit embarrassed to talk about it even with her composure. There is a clear blush on her face, at least at a lighter tone. Now that she mentioned it, she hasn't seen an explosion that rips people's clothes off like that.

"So…" Sakurako paused with a straight face. "Nsihigaki-sensei found another way to strip people naked without getting her hands involved."

Shiba, still keeping her blush, then looks up to her with obvious suspicion. "Hey, don't get any ideas."

"Well… I don't mind seeing you naked," Sakurako then shrugged, yet somehow keeping her straight face. "George?"

"A-erm…" George could admit that Shiba is showing her dreadful steely eyes on him. "No, I'm already enough to see Boss is just in her bikinis."

Shiba continues to stare at him, with a flat smile and empty eyes. "Really?"

"What?" George raised his eyebrows behind his sunglasses. "I'm not even sure what else to say for that."

"Now, let's put that aside," Shiba then sat down at her desk, along with the file put on the desk. "I'm guessing you're here to do the job."

"Yes…" Sakurako trailed off, and there was a clear frown on her face.

Shiba becomes concerned about her expression. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Sakurako replied, composing herself again with her straight face.

Shiba could sense the doubts she had on her face, and it makes her sigh with sincerity. "It's not too late to back out from this, y'know?"

Sakurako shakes her head as she looks down before looking up at her. "I'm confident to do this."

The woman sighs with concern but then gives a soft smile to her. "I know you'll say that."

Shiba then leans against her chair. "And because this is the first time you're doing this kind of job, I'm not letting you go out there by yourself."

"I figured much," Sakurako expected this coming. "Who's going to be with me?"

"Maru and George will be going with you for this one," Shiba then flipped the file open. "Someone gotta keep an eye on you before you can work this on your own."

Sakurako nods before taking a step forward and looks down onto the upside-down file. "What I'll be dealing with?"

"For a start," Shiba then pushed the file to Sakurako. "Got a contract to neutralize a certain small drug operation."

Sakurako then spins and looks over the open file. "Who's this… contractor?"

Shiba then exasperatedly sighs. "Sucks for you… I got this contract from a known criminal associate for now. I hope you don't mind about this because I'm still looking for potential contracts."

Sakurako didn't like this much, but it's better than nothing. "Well… I don't mind for now…"

"But… the pay is quite nice," Shiba smiled with her head tilted. "Costs about $5000."

Sakurako winces her eyes to her. "How much is that in Yen?"

"Well, basically," Shiba smiled, playing her fingers tenderly on the table. "We're talking about 500.000 yens, more or less."

The blonde can't help but look up to her with widened eyes. "I didn't think it would be that a lot."

"Well, girl. I'll be damned if you actually get paid this much on your first job," Shiba snickered as she lazily landed her right cheek on her fist. "I can bet you'll have a fun time with that much money."

"I guess so…" Sakurako read over the file. "Huh, they have a drug workshop down in the neighborhood?"

"Yeah," Shiba nodded before leaning against the chair once again. "Our contractor wants you to take them out and destroy their workshop."

"Well… I can deal with dealing the thugs," Sakurako stated, then looked up to Shiba. "But not destroying the workshop."

"Maru will handle that part," Shiba said, clasping her hands together above her chest. "You worry about killing them."

"I see…" Sakurako nodded in understood. "When do we start?"

"Now," Shiba then looked at her chief-security. "George, get her ready with her gear."

"Yes, Boss," George then looked at the blonde. "Come on, Oomuro-san. Our gear is downstairs in the warehouse."

Sakurako closes the file and keeps it on her side. "Alright, then we should head down. Matsubara-sensei."

Sakurako and George begin to head towards the door when Shiba halts them. "Wait."

They stop, and the blonde turns around, then Shiba continues. "You haven't told me the description of the thugs you saw back at Bakimura Store, didn't ya'?"

"… No, I haven't," Sakurako replied with a shook.

"Well… you can bother me with it after you finish your job," Shiba replied with a shrug.

"I can't do that tonight," Sakurako shook her head with a frown. "How about tomorrow? I'll give you a call about it."

"Agreed," Shiba nodded.

Sakurako then paused for a moment when a realization dawned on her. "Wait… I thought you have connections, including the police."

"It's not that easy to access video recordings, even if I have a connection inside to the department," Shiba shook her head with a flat smile. "I would also create trouble if I did hack their storage files. They won't leave any chance when it comes to storing video recording."

"I see…" Sakurako nodded, then something dawned on her mind. "Then why don't you try to find out who rented the storage behind that store?"

"Huh… funny that I didn't think about that… alright, I'll look over to it later," Shiba replied with a raised brow and then a smile. "You can go now."

"Arigato," Sakurako bowed before she proceeded to leave with George following on her tail.

Once they're out of the office, Sakurako lets George lead the way. She's been here for a couple of times, of course, getting familiar with the building's layout. But that doesn't mean she knew it well that she won't enter the wrong room. Alas, they made it down to the warehouse. The first thing they saw is Maru, standing and waiting by the open white van. Maru is currently filing his nails.

"Maru, nice to see you," George stated as they stopped in front of him. "Got everything ready?"

"Ya' just in time," Maru then put away his file and proceeded to open the van's backdoor. "Got everything we need here."

While it's no surprise they'll be using weapons, including Sakurako's rifle, what caught her off-guard is the combat gears presented before them.

"Wow… what are these?" Sakurako looked over to the gears.

"Body armors, helmets, small radios, protections, choose what ya' want," Maru lazily said as he waved his hand toward the gears.

"And thankfully, we got a small-fitting-sized plate carrier for you," George then grabbed the black plate-carrier belonging to Sakurako. "Shiba chose these gears specifically for you. Including this high-quality tactical lightweight carrier vest made by Ms. Shiba herself."

"Nice…" Sakurako nearly grinned as she looked up to George. "Looks like I will thank Matsubara-sensei later for these gears."

"Oh, ya' should, kid," Maru grinned as he's scratching his tongue beyond his teeth. "Come on, are we playing dress-up or get to work already?"

"We're going to work," Sakurako then gave the file she's holding to Maru. "Here's the file to go to that drug workshop."

"A'right!" Maru chuckled as he pointed the file to her before heading for the van's front. "Let's go kick some assholes!"

Sakurako just grunts to the statement. "Not sure what to say to that."

30 minutes later. Hayakawa District.

"Alright, we're here."

"Okay, people, load up."

It's nice that they reached their destination. George, Maru, and Sakurako prep up their gears and weapons while the van driver turns the van off and watches their surroundings. There's peace in this silent neighborhood. No one is roaming about the road, whether that is pedestrian or car. Of course, the sounds of cackling and cocking of weapons are heard only from the inside of the van.

George doesn't wear any headgear, but he did wear his black MOLLE Vest. The chief-security is armed with MP5 and an M9 Beretta. Nothing much he used aside from those gears. But… it's nice to see him maintain his formal MIB appearance.

Maru, on the other hand, didn't bother to wear any bulletproof vest. That fellow opts to wear only a grey jacket and a handkerchief for his face. As for the weapon, he only brought his trusty HK VP70 pistol. Well, he did say he is familiar with rifles and SMGs. But he is best at shooting people with a pistol.

As for Sakurako, let's just say she's overdressed to go to school. Aside from the lightweight plate-carrier, she wore a zipped-up dark green jacket provided in the van, with black combat cargo trousers somehow provided by Shiba in the van. Moreover, Sakurako wore protection for her elbows and knees. As for the headgear, she tied her hair into a small ponytail to wore a combat helmet. She can't tell if Shiba was so concerned that she prepared all this gear just for Sakurako.

Sakurako's weaponry is her AK-103 as her primary, still keeping the M4 stock. For now, a couple of attachments of Red Dot Sight and vertical Fore-grip are on her rifle. Her secondary remains the same without any extra attachment. The whole trip was enough to re-inspect her gear and loadout.

"I'm surprised you're not wearing anything, Maru," Sakurako stated the obvious.

"I'll be fine with this, kid," Maru said, pulling the slide a little to see if there's a bullet in the chamber. "I like my jacket better than those gears."

"You do remember how many times you got shot without one," George stated with his head bowed enough to see his eyes.

"That's just another Tuesday, Georgie," Maru playfully replied before standing up and walking over to the driver. "Where's the place, bro?"

"Over there," the driver pointed to their front right at the second story light yellow building with a high concrete fence. "That's the house."

"Alright… give me a quick briefing of what we're dealing with," Sakurako said as she overlooked what they are seeing.

"Okay, what the file said, we're going to take those jackasses out and destroy their chop-shop," Maru briefed, waving his gun forward at the said house before looking to her. "According to the layout, they should have a basement underneath where they set up the shop. And also, a friggin' open backyard. We can get in through front and back."

Without a second thought, she replied. "I'll take the front."

"I'm with you," George volunteered.

"And I take the back as always," Maru then handed over the file to Sakurako. "Here's the layout of the house. Read it for a moment."

"Alright," Sakurako began to read the layout of the building. "Any plan to destroy the workshop?"

"I'll worry that one, you worry the rest," Maru said confidently. "Ya' done yet?"

"Just about," Sakurako then put away the file to the seat next to her. "Let's hope the police didn't come while we're doing this."

"Hey, we'll be long gone before they show up," Maru then proceed to open the van's side door. "Meet us at the back when we're done."

"Okay, Maru," the driver said with a thumbs up.

"We're going loud on this one, so let's make this quick," George stated before looking at Sakurako. 'You ready, Ms. Oomuro?"

Sakurako nods at him. "Let's get to work."

One by one, they have their boots on the ground and proceed towards the suspected house. Maru runs off to the street down their right to find access to the building's backyard while Sakurako and George stack up at the metal on the front. Thus far, the streets are still serene for this evening, and no one sees what they are doing. George carefully opens the metal gate by sliding it to the side as Sakurako aims through the gate, standing by him. They then proceed to move forward until they stack up at the front entrance.

There's always one thing that George always takes into account, don't rush it too far. George was almost tempted to touch the door when they both heard voices behind the door. Alas, it was the voice of two men chatting with each other behind the entrance. Sakurako could tell they are laughing but also discussing getting foot massages. For someone running drug operations, that is just a weird topic to come up with, in Sakurako's opinion. But probably she's just unreasonable to complain about that.

Thankfully, that didn't last long when they began some shouts, probably from the backyard. They knew that's Maru. Sakurako preps herself, aiming her rifle towards the door. On the other hand, George still has his MP5 down, but his eyes are on the doorknob. They waited for a moment even if they didn't have any comms to bring.

*DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR*

"What the-!?"

"Dammuitto! Get Jirai and Koru!"

"The hell's going on out there!?"

"You, guard the basement! Make sure none o'them gets through!"

Sakurako looks over to George and gives him a nod. Receiving the cue, he lifts his foot and kicks the door open in one shot.

*BRAAK*

"The hell!?"

"Oh, shi-!"

*BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR*

In a blink of an eye, she just killed two armed suspects with three shots each. But what took her off-guard was that sharp pain she somehow felt in her heart, even though she didn't get shot. Nevertheless, that feeling of pain quickly subsided in less than a second as she entered the house, followed by George. She didn't complain as Sakurako and George takes position at each corner of the room. Of course, Sakurako didn't think it would be that loud to shoot her rifle inside the house.

George crouches down to one of the hostiles they killed and flips the dead man over, only to see that a pistol fell off his pants. "Yep, we're in the right house."

"Are you saying that because you doubt we're in the wrong house?" Sakurako asked with a raised brow.

"No, just making sure you didn't shoot an innocent people," George then stood up with his MP5 at the ready.

*DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR* - "AKH!" - *BLUGH*

Sakurako and George raise their primary weapon forward and find a dead man dropped in the other room. And then, someone steps out into the doorway in which Maru reveals himself with his gun still in his hands. The blonde and the discount MIB lower their weapons as Maru snicker at them both.

"You're just in time," George stated as they both marched forward. "How many you got?"

"Got four of 'em," Maru said before sighing. "You?"

"Sakurako already got two," George said as the blonde watches another doorway at the end of the next room.

"Nice, kiddo," Maru complimented. "Not a bad-"

"Die, you assholes!" they suddenly heard, and that came from the doorway behind Maru.

"Oh shit!" Maru said as they instinctively pointed their weapons at the hostile as quickly as they can.

*BAR-BAR-BAR*

Sakurako was quicker than the men. She drops him to the ground as her rifle barrel is still steaming hot. Now, this is when Sakurako raised an eyebrow. Unlike before, she didn't feel the sharp pain in her heart after killing someone. She's starting to think that her feelings maybe become numb after killing a number of people.

"Nice shot," George complimented but still cautious of his surroundings.

"That's odd…"

"Hmm? Whatcha talkin' about?" Maru asked with a raised and a frowned brow.

"Grrr…"

Now, that did surprise them. They looked back at the bastard she supposedly shot and see him still alive but dying and lying on the floor. But, Sakurako saw his head is looking at the pistol in front of his head. The armed-blonde raises her AK as the man is about to reach for the pistol.

*BAR-BAR* *DUG*

She shot him in the shoulder and the head. That's when she could feel the sharp pain once more. Funny, it didn't occur to her that her heart aches every time she killed someone since the incident at that store. Well… that's the theory. She can't say that theory is right just yet.

She didn't realize she's still aiming at the dead man until Maru pats her shoulder. "Did ya' just suddenly daydreamin', kid? Now's not the time."

"I'm sorry, I was just distracted," Sakurako said before she, along with the men to march forward to the left doorway.

She slowly hugs the wall and ignores the dead man by the doorway. With her rifle aimed forward, she slowly peeks around the corner and slowly scans the next room. Nothing more than an empty room and a stairwell. The room seems clear-

*DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR*

I'm sorry, that was too soon.

Sakurako retracts back to avoid the gunfire. George got behind her as Maru dashed past the enemy line of sight to hug the other side of the doorway. So surprising, to be honest, she swears that a bullet flew past her head. They continue to take fire as dust, and small shrapnels of wood and concrete fell off the door's frame.

Maru returned fire in a burst before taking cover and reloading. "The brats are on the stairs ahead!"

"I see them," Sakurako calmly replied before she and George peeked out and suppressed the stairs.

*BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR-BAR*

*DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR-DOR*

*TRATATATATATATATATTA*

After a consecutive five seconds, they managed to take out two shooters on the stairs. They fell down to the bottom of the stairs with their pistols thrown away from their hands. Even with the mixed shots to their bodies, Sakurako once again felt the ache, twice. Despite the ache, she continued to march forward and didn't bother to make sure they're dead.

"Are you okay, Ms. Oomuro?" George asked in his American accent.

Sakurako didn't say anything, but she nodded. And, of course, Sakurako reloads her AK by unloading the current mag and inserts it with a fresh one. She then cocks her gun through under the gun and uses her fingers to pull the bolt.

They could hear faint voices beneath them; they must be prepared for their arrival. There's a door beneath the stairwell, and that must be the path down the basement.

"George," Maru called as their weapons are aiming at that particular door. "Can you handle the second floor?"

"Sakurako?" George asked if she didn't mind about it.

"Do it," Sakurako replied, not even looking at George.

"Alright," George then shifted his gun and walked towards the stairs. "Good hunting, Ms. Oomuro."

As George went off upstairs, Sakurako carefully approached the door. Her left hand then tries on the doorknob as she holds the rifle forward. Frankly, not much to her surprise, the door's locked. Well… of course, a door lock won't be enough to keep her off the basement. The next thing she does is to shoot at least seven bullets onto the doorknob before Spartan-kicks it open.

Maru quickly hugs onto the door's left side and aim his gun downstairs. The man then suppressed the stairs in bursts that he shot down a couple of them and pushed them back downstairs. While the stairs are clear, they have a problem. And it's apparent on Maru's unconfident face.

"Kuso ̄, Imma up for fun," Maru said as he peeked his head at the stairs. "But we gonna get mowed down once we reached the bottom for all I know."

Sakurako walks over to him and looks at the stairs. Indeed, it is problematic. The path downstairs is too narrow to dodge or even duck from the expected gunfire. And there's more than that. They even heard their taunting.

"Ya' bonehead! We gonna kill ya! Come down here and kill us, dumbass!"

Even with the harsh taunting, she doesn't feel like to taunt as well. So, instead of indulging her enemy with words, she looked around the room to see if there's something useful to protect them from gunfire. She looked in a particular direction and found something that could help them.

"Maru, can we use that table?"

Maru looked at her first, then looked at what she's looking at. "What? A table?"

The table was relatively small but enough to bring it through the door. Its ornate wood is also a bit thick on the board. Three seconds are enough to realize what she meant by that. The pistol-hardcore skinny thug then looks at her.

"Ya' tellin' me to use that as a shield?" Maru had some doubt, and that's assuming they are only facing pistol rounds.

Sakurako just stares at him. After that, she tilts her head with a raised brow.

Maru can only sigh as he looks up and shrugs his armed pistol. "'K, ya' know what? Screw it, let's do that."

Maru holsters his pistol away and quickly grabs the small table. He then holds it vertically to use it as a shield. As Sakurako watched over the narrow stairs, she let Maru enter first before following up behind with her rifle trained 45 degrees to the ground. They stop at the top of the stairs for a moment when they hear another taunt.

"What's wrong, ya' scared, coward?! Show yourself!"

Sakurako tightens her grips on her AK, and then… she pats onto his right shoulder once. "Go."

Maru charged downstairs without much trouble with the troublesome small table as Sakurako caught up. To be honest, this is the same analogy as charging German MG as a Russian in a tight corridor. The difference is that they're going downstairs. Anyway, when they reached the bottom, they immediately hailed by effective gunfire on the front. Their heads duck as bullets are impacting on the temporary shield.

Well, they were indeed pistol rounds.

They both charge forward before Maru dumps away from the shot-up table, and both jump in to separate cover. Maru is in charge of the left flank while Sakurako handles the right. Unfortunately, the hailed gunfire keeps them pinned down in their cover of the workshop desk Maru flipped and a pillar. Both of them had to peek out of cover a few times to see how many they're dealing with.

"I count seven!" Maru announced to Sakurako, holding his gun in one hand.

"I'm covering," Sakurako peeked out to her right and proceeded to engage the enemies behind the boxes and flipped white tables. "Maru."

"You still miss me, dumbhead!" Maru taunted before firing blindly from his cover.

Sakurako then proceeds to return fire again as she ignores the incoming bullets.

"Uagh!"

"Aakh!"

She got both of them killed, evident that they dropped back from the impact and her heart ached twice. She then retakes cover after receiving fire ahead of her. Shots returned back at her flank but barely the two hostiles hiding behind small crates of drugs and another pillar. But for sure, some of her bullets flew off towards nearby chemical sets to create those illegal drugs. At least, she did some damage to destroy their workshop.

Maru fires off a couple of rounds from his cover, this time aiming down the sight at the enemy. He managed to kill one behind a metal barrel on his head. The two men on his flank suppressed him with their pistols, but it's not enough to keep this crack-shot ducking in his cover. If there's one thing Sakurako is glad about, it is that they're getting shot at by pistols rather than automatic weaponry. With effort, the blonde in combat uniform fires off other rounds at her flank. Luckily, she killed one covering behind the pillar across her in his chest. A kill equals for her quick aching heart.

The blonde then covers herself to reload her AK-103, reloading the mag with her left hand and cocking it with her right hand. She is then about to return fire-

"Geh!"

Bastard on her flank managed to shoot her and forced her to take cover from the volley of gunfire. A pain equals to get hit by a baseball bat. A pause of gunfire on her flank before she returned fire in bursts. She then retracts herself behind the pillar and checks where she got shot as Maru empties his fifth mag at the hostiles. Maru finally notices her when he turned his head to his right.

"Hey, you okay?" Maru asked aloud under fire.

Sakurako sighed with relief when she looked at where she got shot. "I got shot in the chest. The armor protected me."

"Still can fight?" Maru asked, but the only answer he got is Sakurako firing the same bastard in her flank.

*BAR-BAR-BAR* - "Aaagh!"

"Got him," Sakurako shot one who is apparently and unluckily showed his head behind the clear chemical set.

"Bastards got me pinned!" Maru exclaimed, ducking his head a little many times as he returned fire and ignored the incoming bullets.

"Hang on," Sakurako suppressed the enemy from the pillar's right side, and surely enough, that distracted them.

"Chikusō!"

"Kill that little-Akh!"

Maru manages to kill one that is close to him. "Keep it up!"

Sakurako continues to suppress the last man in a burst, and of course, scratches his arm. That scum groans in pain as he, in fact, fell a bit to the side of his cover of the metal table. Maru saw his opportunity and lay sideways to the left. With a strong two-hands grip, he aimed at his exposed back at 15 feet. Two shots rang out and hit his back, eventually killing him as that enemy unceremoniously fell like a ragdoll.

Now, she can't if those Maru killed are dead or not because she couldn't feel her heart ached. But, she convinces herself that they're indeed dead. Sakurako moves forward from cover on her flank and scans her surroundings for any straggles. Maru slowly stands up from his cover and pokes his head left and right as he releases the current mag and checks on it before inserting it back. To erase doubts, Sakurako carefully marches forward and checks each dead man no matter if they were Maru's or Sakurako's kills.

Maru is already satisfied that the workshop is clear, even with the armed-blonde checking the dead. Now, he can calmly look around to witness the sight of littered drugs, either in powder or package. There are at least three full sets of chemical tools on the desks. One of them is littered on the floor while the rest shot to hell—metal barrels and small crates placed carelessly at the corner and the end of the room. Sakurako believed that they're dead, lowers her rifle, and stands at the nearby desk with the drug packages and chemical tools.

Maru walks over to her. "Whatcha doing there? You sure they're dead?"

"I believe so…" Sakurako replied his last question. "And… is that the drug?"

"Yeah, that's the drug," Maru replied with a nod with his hands on his hip. "Why? Wanna get stoned?"

Sakurako then stares at him with confusion. "Stoned? What does that mean?"

"Well…" Maru paused for a moment at her innocence. "When you use that drug a lot, you'll feel that you are in paradise and become so drunk that you can't even stand up. That's what stoned means."

"Oh…" Sakurako paused before looking back at the drug. "It's dangerous, is it?"

"You using that too much, you won't be doing anything else than using drugs. Believe me, kid. That thing will just make you sick even if it feels so nice. It even kills you if it's too much."

"Hm," Sakurako shrugged to herself. "If I become a criminal, I rather choose to steal than that."

Maru chuckles at her answer. "You sure you could make money like that?"

"Progress," Sakurako responded before looking up at the only entrance.

George has such excellent timing to enter after they finished the bastards. "Is it clear?"

"Where the shit was you, bro?" Maru asked in a bit antagonized manner. "We need help like a minute ago."

"One hostile pinned me down for a moment upstairs," George replied with a shook. "He got an Uzi, apparently."

"Really? I thought you were a Ranger," Maru stated with a raised brow.

"Even if I'm a Ranger, that doesn't mean I have no problem being suppressed," George replied and then looked at the blonde. "Is that all of them?"

"I think so," Sakurako replied with a nod as she looked around the workshop. "So, they're out of the way. How are we going to destroy the workshop?"

"It's easy," Maru replied with a grin. "We burn this whole place down."

Sakurako stares at him, expressing nothing but her indifference to the answer. "Is that a good idea? There's another house next to this one."

"Actually, I agree with her," George protested with the idea. "We're here for the workshop, not the whole house."

"Oh, you both are such a killjoy," Maru expressed his mild annoyance. "That's the easier way to go."

"Now that you said it, I have another question," Sakurako said. "If we burn these drugs, shouldn't everyone near this house will get drunk from the drugs' smoke?"

They both stare at her with mild surprise; it amazed them as to how she knew drugs could be consumed accidentally through the smoke.

"Well… it happened once, but it was in the open air," George decided to change the topic. "Alright, Maru, do your job. The police will be bound to come at any moment."

"The workshop, Maru. Not the whole house," Sakurako reminded him.

"I got it, I got it," Maru then placed something from underneath his jacket to one of the desks. "I'm planting a bomb here."

Sakurako could say that she's surprised but hoped that would be enough to blow this workshop to hell.

"Hey, you two, go find some alcohol," Maru ordered; they both nodded wordlessly and went upstairs.

Exiting the basement, they then turn right to another doorway that Sakurako didn't bother to check previously. It's the kitchen, and by chance, the damn place is messy. George went ahead of her and opened the only fridge in the kitchen. Voila, they are greeted by at least five different bottles of alcohol. George left his MP5 hanging on his side, grabbed the four bottles, and let Sakurako hold the last one by her left while her right hand held her primary gun.

They then proceed to return downstairs to see Maru is ransacking the workshop tables and tools near the bomb. Maru steps away from the mess he made and smiled at the number of alcohol they got. Maru grabs the one Sakurako is holding first, pops it open, and pours them all over the mess. For the bottles George is holding, two of them poured around the mess, the rest is thrown towards the floor. Of course, that being they don't really mind about the dead bastards littered on the floor.

"Alright, all set," Maru then walked over to the bomb. "Let's get the hell outta here."

"What kind of bomb are you using?" George asked before holding his MP5.

"A time bomb, I set it for thirty seconds. Starting from…" Maru then activated the bomb by a single button. "Now."

With haste, they run out from the basement, with George taking the lead. Maru then takes the lead to make them follow him straight to the end of the next two rooms before U-turning to the left. They then turn right to exit towards the backyard. Of course, there were two dead punks on the field of grass, with pistols, lying near their hands. While the sight is still foreboding to Sakurako, they exit the backyard at the right corner where the metal gate access is.

Like as planned, the van is already right at the exit. The van is already opened for them. They waste no time to jump in and shut the bloody doors. Without a sense of surprise, the driver gasses the van up and leave the scene. Gas on full throttle and leave loud sounds along the road. A few seconds after they left the scene, they heard the sound.

*BOOM*

The bomb finally did its job. She is sure as God, she couldn't see it, but the sound is already enough proof that they did their job. Now, they don't have to worry about the police chasing them on their tail because they're long gone. The blonde can finally sit down with a sigh of relief, holding her rifle upwards by the barrel.

Maru and George then sit down across her, and George says to her. "Good job back there, Ms. Oomuro."

Sakurako didn't say much, but she nodded.

But then George notices that she's rubbing her chest. "Did you get shot?"

She nods again. "I'm still fine."

"What?" George suddenly became concerned.

"Don't worry, she said she's still fine," Maru assured him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" George protested as he pointed at the blonde with his open palm. "She's still a kid."

"Calm down, George," Sakurako sighed to herself. "The armor protected me."

There's no helping to widen his eyes and his mouth, but George breathes out in relief. "You need to be more careful, Sakurako."

"I know," the blonde then proceed to put down her rifle and open her plate carrier. "I guess we're going to get paid for this."

"Actually, ya the one gettin' paid, not us," Maru pointed to her. "We came along just to watch your back."

Sakurako raises her head with both eyebrows raised. "Wait, are you sure about that? We can split the money if you want."

"No is a no, kid," Maru snickered with a shook. "And hey, you're a damn good shooter than I do."

"You think so?" Sakurako still doesn't believe that, even if that happened before her eyes.

"No doubt, kid," Maru admitted with a thumbs up. "I can tell Boss would be so happy to have you around."

"We'll see about that," Sakurako then leaned against the van's interior. "Let's just rest for a while."

The next few minutes are spent for a quick rest throughout the trip.

Thanks to the light traffic in the evening, it didn't take them too long to return to Shiba's hideout. George and Maru are already out of their combat attire, but Sakurako is currently undressing her plate carrier and the jacket. While she's undressing to her previous civilian attire, Shiba, who is in her trench coat, comes over to the warehouse. George and Maru greet them happily as they tidy up their equipment.

"Hello there, Sakurako," Shiba greeted with a smile.

Sakurako turns her head to her. "Hi…"

"Glad to see you alright, Oomuro-san," Shiba responded as she stood beside the open van's backdoor. "How's your first job?"

Sakurako stays silent and looks at her before unzipping her jacket. "Dangerously okay."

Everyone chuckles at the answer, and George is compelled to cover his mouth. "That's one way of putting it, kid," Maru commented to her indifferent answer.

Shiba then looks over to George. "She's fine, right?"

"Actually, she got shot in the chest," George's comment made his boss frown with concern.

Shiba quickly walks over to the blonde and gets a hold of her. Her reaction caught Sakurako a little off-guard. Thus, Shiba finally looks over her chest beneath the shirt. Fortunately for her relief, there's no apparent wound on her chest.

"Hey, she's fine, boss," Maru casually replied as he lazily placed his bottom on a table. "Her armor saved her ass."

"Even with that, she's still a kid, Maru," Shiba sighed to express her slight frustration before patting her shoulder. "I'm thankful that you didn't get hurt."

"I'm the one who should be thankful for the plate carrier," Sakurako admitted with a nod. "And the helmet, too."

Shiba chuckles at her response. "If you say so, Sakurako. Anyway…"

Sakurako gets off the van as Shiba continues. "The result just came in through the police network. You have destroyed and burned their workshop. And even didn't leave any of them standing. It looks like you got yourself an income."

"I guess I have to wait for the payment in a couple of days," Sakurako stated, even though it's clear she has little to no understanding of how a job contract works.

"Actually, your payment just came through in cash," Shiba then pulled out a stack of money from her trench coat's pocket. "You got 550.000 yen for completing the job."

Sakurako can't help but widen her eyes at the money. That was surprising, to be honest, considering that it could take a little longer if it's in paper money. After walking over to her, Sakurako slowly reaches and takes the stack of money from her hands. Even if she feels a bit unconfident, it is sure nice to feel the stack of money nicely packaged in plastic with a paper tape to seal it. From the looks of it, she deserves this sum of money after that job.

"Now, now, don't get too greedy with that money you have," Shiba commented; it feels adorable to her to see how long Sakurako stares at the money.

"Oh, sorry, I was just… amazed…" Sakurako really can't say she's happy; she's just glad. "Thank you for the job, Matsubara-sensei."

"Come on, cut it with the sensei nonsense," Shiba shook her head as she smiled. "Now… I guess you need to go home."

"Agreed," Sakurako replied with a nod. "My sister just texted me if I'm on the way home."

"Well, you better don't keep her waiting," Shiba then looked over to her chief-security. "George, can you take her home?"

"Yes, ma'am," George then looked over to Sakurako. "Do you need to bring anything, Ms. Oomuro?"

"Well, my weapons, the plate carrier and the helmet, and the pistol holster," Sakurako felt something dawned in her mind. "Matsubara-sensei, did you get any airsoft gun that I wanted?"

"Good thing you asked," Shiba replied with a thumbs up. "I already put a shotgun inside your rifle bag, along with its BB ammo."

"Alright then, then let's wrap this up," Sakurako then looked over to George. "George-san, do you have a ladder?"

George only stares at her with confusion. "Yes… why?"

Oomuro Household. 19:00 PM

Nadeshiko can't help but sigh with her eyes closed. It's already in the early night, and she hasn't come home yet. What makes it more annoying is that the dinner is already served at the table and they have to wait for her. They could have gone ahead and eaten the dinner without the darn sister, but Sakurako had just texted her that she is on the way home.

So what Nadeshiko did is stand at the front door and wait for her, leaning her right shoulder against the wall as her left foot taps impatiently. Sakurako did mention that she's going to be a bit late, but if she's getting too late, then she should then Nadeshiko has no choice but to scold her again for the delay. She finally notices the time on her phone and, alas, is about to call her. But then she heard a voice from the front door.

"Tadaima!"

Nadeshiko looks up to the door and sees her enter the house. Like how she was before leaving the house, she's still wearing the same shirt and shorts. It bothers her a little that she's still wearing the same oblivious expression for these few days. But still, Nadeshiko is glad that Sakurako has returned right on time.

"I was about to call you, Sakurako," Nadeshiko stated with a frown.

"I guess I came home in time," Sakurako stated with a raised brow.

"Well, you did thankfully," Nadeshiko let out a sigh. "I nearly wanted to scold you for being late. Anyway… dinner's ready. Hanako is waiting for you."

"I see…" Sakurako then undid her shoes. "Tell her I'll be in a moment. I need to get to my room first."

"Alright, and make it quick," Nadeshiko replied with her arms crossed. "The food will go cold."

"Hai, Onee-chan," Sakurako nodded before leaving her eldest sister behind and proceeded towards the stairs.

If she had paid attention, Sakurako's been going out in the evening alone for these days. Nadeshiko even suspects that she's doing something suspicious every evening other than taking a walk around the neighborhood. Of course, her best guess is that she got lost in the city again if that's possible in her current personality. With nothing else to do, the eldest sister proceeds to return to the dining table to accompany her little sister.

Now, focusing on Sakurako. She has reached the second floor and is on the way to her room. Be mindful that her steps are going a bit faster because she needs to be in her room. That such reason is very apparent once she enters her room and closes the door behind her. She then quickly moves straight for the only window that has been closed by curtains above the head of her bed. She opens the curtains up and then the window before she looks out down below.

As to what she expected, George is already halfway climbing his collapsible ladder to her window. The rifle bag is hanging on his right shoulder, and his right-hand keep a hold onto it, leaving his left hand to climb up the ladder. Sakurako backs away a bit from the window to give him some room, to which then George could carefully hand over the rucksack to Sakurako. It feels so heavy, considering the equipment that is stuffed in the bag. But thus far, Sakurako could put it down on her bed.

The blonde then looks up to him. "Thanks, George."

"No problem, Ms. Oomuro," George replied with a nod, and then he looked to his surroundings. "You know, the last thing I want here is to have someone looking at me and screaming that I'm the thief."

"I can hardly say they look out the window that often tonight," Sakurako replied as she approached her window. "You can leave now. Just don't make any noise."

"Alright, Ms. Oomuro," George nodded. "See you later then."

"Be seeing you," Sakurako nodded with a smile.

George begins to climb down, and without further ado, Sakurako shuts the window and then the curtains. Now, she changed her attention towards the bloody bag. If there's one thing she realized, she has no idea where to hide this bag. But then, she realized there's one such place to hide this bag. And she turns her head to the left side of her room. Next to the lockers is a closet that its primary use is to store her jackets. That's also where she stores her bags, including her school bag.

She carries that bag towards the closet with all her might and puts it against the wall vertically. Then, she opens the closet all the way before lifting the bag and putting it beyond the row of jackets. Satisfied that's it enough, she shuts the closet before turning around and heads towards the desk. Putting down her utilities, wallet, a stack of money, and phone before heading towards the door. She doesn't want to keep her sisters waiting for sure.

She walks down the stairs with such haste as she tries her best not to make her steps louder. Though, her footsteps already emit tiny sounds of feet tip-toeing onto the wooden floor. She's rather quick to make her way towards the dining room where her sisters are waiting. Well… apparently, her mother is already present as well. She slows down her pace once she entered the living room.

Nadeshiko, who is facing towards the living room from where she sits, looks up to see her second sister is coming over. "Glad you could join us that fast."

"I don't want to keep you waiting," Sakurako replied as she calmly sat down in her chair. "Along with the food."

"I can guess you're already hungry," Hanako stated to the indifferent second sister.

"Pretty much," Sakurako replied, fixing her chair to comfort herself. "What is the dinner?"

"Honey Salisbury Steak," their mother replied. "One of your favorite dinner."

"Ah, lovely," Sakurako complimented with a soft smile, and she clasps her hands together. "Shall we?"

The family then clasps their hands together and says the prayer. "Itadakimasu!"

They then begin to eat, grabbing a fork and a knife each before cutting the Steak. Sakurako takes her time to cut her Steak before bringing it closer to her mouth with the fork. The next thing she does is smell the aroma of the steak-covered honey before eating them in the process. She didn't say a word, but she's so delightful to the sweet taste of honey and the Steak's salty and sour gravy.

Her mother looks up to her. "How's it tasted?"

"Fascinating, Okaa-san," Sakurako genuinely replied with a smile. "I will take my time to finish this up."

"Don't take it too long," mother replied to the charming answer, and then in seconds munching down the meat she ate. "What were you doing this evening? I never thought you'd be this late."

"Walking, as usual, mom. I also took my time sightseeing," Sakurako replied as she ate.

"Where were you walking?" Hanako asked as she looked at her.

"To the park, to Cocodes restaurant, and…" Sakurako paused for a moment. "I made trips around another neighborhood and the path towards the school."

"Hm… I nearly expected that you got lost along the way," Nadeshiko stated with a flat smile. "Like what you did a couple of months ago."

Sakurako stares at her for the moment, at which she reminds herself of that time. "That one day I ended up lost at the outskirts of the city?"

That happened once… they're definitely not going to talk about that.

"Yes, that one," Nadeshiko nodded. "We're glad that you remembered where you are going."

Sakurako should be glad to hear this, but she feels that it doesn't matter now.

"You're not saying anything, Saa-chan?" Hanako found it odd to see her being indifferent to the eldest sister's compliment.

"Whatever do you mean by that?" Sakurako asked back in confusion.

Nadeshiko and the mother look at her with a raised brow, whereas Hanako looks away back to her food. "Nevermind, Saa-nee-chan."

"Anyway…" mother began, at which her daughters looked at her. "Tomorrow will be your last day of punishment."

Now, that makes Sakurako sigh in defeat. "Are you saying that because I didn't do the cooking for dinner in three days straight?"

"Well… I'm just reminding you, Sakurako," mother replied as she put down her tableware. "You're bad at memorizing things until now."

"I kept track of how many days I'm doing my punishment, mom," Sakurako replied, leaning her back against the chair. "It's not easy to forget about that."

"I see," Nadeshiko then looked over to their mother. "Sakurako, we have discussed some things about you, and…"

Sakurako tilts her head with curiosity, albeit keeping her neutral face. "And?"

Nadeshiko then looks back at her with a smile. "We have decided to withdraw your punishment to do all the chores for a whole week."

The second blonde then looks straight at her, a little alarmed as she straightens her back. "What? Why?"

"Well, Sakurako…" their mother answered. "We think that you have done more than enough to serve your punishment."

Sakurako then frowns on her forehead. "But, you don't have to withdraw my punishment. I don't mind doing all the chores for the whole week's punishment. I only have one day left."

"Nee-chan, please," Hanako disagreed with the second sister's opinion. "We have seen all the chores you did. You didn't grumble, slack, or even complain a single word about your punishment. And most of all, Nee-chan haven't annoyed any of us by your stupidity and laziness."

"We're mostly glad that you haven't tried to break anything since nearly a week ago," Nadeshiko replied with a smile. "But, we are withdrawing your punishment because… what was the word, Okaa-san."

"Committed," their mother replied.

"Yes, you were so committed to doing all the house chores punishment. Even without any of us telling you what to do," Nadeshiko's smile still never fade.

"But…" Sakurako trailed off.

"Now, now, we know you still feel bad about what stunt you had pulled that time," Nadeshiko then stood up and headed to the fridge. "But, I think you shouldn't insist yourself to finish your punishment."

"She's right, Sakurako-chan," the mother agreed with a smile. "It's not good for your health, y'know?"

That left Sakurako speechless, taking a deep breath before sighing as if she's taking a smoke. "Alright, Okaa-san."

Nadeshiko then grabs something from the fridge before sitting back down in her chair. "Anyway, we have something for you."

The eldest sister then puts down the item in front of the second sister. Once her hand moved away, Sakurako could see with widened eyes at the item. It is the cup of yogurt along with its spoon on the table. And she is extremely familiar with the product, which is a favorite of Hanako's. Sakurako then lifts her head at Nadeshiko.

"That yogurt is for you," Nadeshiko added as she cut her Steak. "Hanako personally bought it for you."

Sakurako then turns her head to her little sister, at which Hanako replies as she looks away. "That's true. We think you deserved this for actually doing your punishment."

Six seconds was all it took for her to stare before her hand reaches for the yogurt. Her eyes stare down at the yogurt, like a prize she got from an X-mark spot. She is almost eager to take it for herself. But somehow… deep inside, there's still something bothering her. As if telling her to reject their offer. A sense of hesitance strikes her heart for a moment, then realizes that she might have lost her appetite for this petty yogurt.

Instead of accepting it, she pushes the yogurt away. "I don't need it."

Imagine the shock they had on their faces. Sakurako never, for once, rejects a yogurt, even if it's Hanako's favorite.

"Wait," Nadeshiko wanted to make sure she heard it right. "You don't want it?"

Sakurako only shook at her question. "You can have it, Hanako-chan."

"But… why?" Hanako just can't believe her ears.

"I just don't need it, Hanako-chan," Sakurako softly replied as she looked at her. "You can have it."

Sakurako just sighs, awkwardly looking over to her dumbfounded eldest sister and then her mother, before going back to her plate. As she eats, Nadeshiko and Hanako look at each other with the disbelieve they had. What bothers them is if Sakurako is in a bad mood or just too generous to reject the yogurt. Despite that, the two sisters decide just to eat as to not worsen the mood Sakurako had. The dinner goes on without a word. But their mother sits still in her seat and, without Sakurako's awareness, is staring at her. A thought crossed her mind.

"What's going on in that little head of yours, Sakurako?"I hope you are all doing well with this bugging Corona Virus going on. Because of this pandemic kinda... annoys me. I have to move back and forth to two houses because they have separate needs. But still, somehow managed to make this story.

Author's note:

Hello mate, it's me, Chittatos

I hope you are all doing well with this bugging Corona Virus going on. Because of this pandemic kinda... annoys me. I have to move back and forth to two houses because they have separate needs. But still, somehow managed to make this story.

So my question would be as always.

How are you liking the story so far?

Feel free to leave a comment and your opinion of this story.

I also opened a account dedicated to this story, please support me at my account called Chitta Putra

And also, let us all hope that this pandemic will be over soon.

I'm not much of a fortune teller, but I'll tell you that if this pandemic won't over at the end of December, then it will end next year.