[Normal P.O.V]
The flight to Milan was silent but peaceful. Nadia had found the autopilot switch and set the plane's navigation system towards their desired location. She left the cockpit, leaving Hayden to keep things in check while she roams around the plane. Who knows, maybe there's some hidden assassin in the back that's waiting to stab them in the back. It wouldn't hurt to check.
However, there wasn't that much to look at. The Skywagon was built to only carry eight people, including the pilots. The fuselage looked and felt narrow. Nadia could stand in the middle, stretch out her arms, and touch the walls of the plane without even moving. She could tell that this was an old plane that just had been renovated and turned into the head of the Triad's personal toy. If the loose leather casing from the seats weren't enough to tell, then maybe the amount of rust on the steel platings or the empty luggage bag sitting at the back, could.
Whatever Nie Li was planning to do with the plane, he either succeeded by turning it into a hybrid piece of trash or failed because he turned it into a hybrid piece of trash. But Nadia couldn't complain. Without Nie Li and the plane's help, she and Hayden might've been captured or worse, killed. But that doesn't stop Nadia from viewing the plane as the worst transportation of flight in the entire world. Not even the jet thrusters or the hover wheels could change her opinion.
Taking a seat on one of the rotting chairs, she released a heavy sigh. It's been a while since she took an actual rest. Before all the chase for Sleipnir, she was actually taking a small vacation from all these vigilante and mercenary business. There was a nice hotel back in Washington that she visited years back that she still visits today; All-you-can-eat buffets, a comfortable queen-sized bed all for herself, a flat-screen TV with a personal PS5 console, and thirty other games, and the best thing about it—the hot tub.
She racked up enough money from her job to stay in that hotel room for an entire year. It would've been amazing if she had stayed there long-term instead of meeting the same receptionist every other month, only to stay there for a single day. But she knew that she was the one who picked this lifestyle. It's not like she's forcing herself to kill other people and take jobs from other people for money. It's her personal desire to do this yet sometimes, she's growing sick of it.
It's like a drug. She knows it's a horrible thing to do but she couldn't help but keep on taking it. It's not like she's doing this for a shallow reason. Almost every mercenary or vigilante she knew had some reasonable explanation for their actions. Some are justifiable, and some aren't. But to their eyes, they just don't care. However, Nadia noticed that they all share at least one thing in common; that the world is eternally cruel and evil.
The government always loved to promote peace or announce that they want to achieve these unattainable goals. In reality, they themselves are the ones causing chaos. Their actions for peace will only cause more chaos around the world, which will cause more people to take actions similar to the past. It's an endless cycle of suffering and cruelty. They came to a point that they became so desperate that they create these supposedly righteous organizations that kill whoever is in the way of peace.
But all they do is achieve their own hidden agenda that they themselves might not even realize and create more problems for other countries. The only difference between mercenaries like Nadia and assassins from government organizations like Drakos; is that they could give two fucks about world peace. They realize that the world cannot change because humans are one of the worst things to grace this planet. They have accepted that not everything will be full of rays of sunshine and flowerbeds of daisies. So they act according to their own desires and survival.
Vigilantes kill criminals only to satisfy their desires and beliefs. It has nothing to do with justice or peace. It just so happens that it benefits the government with their goals to achieve "peace". But in reality, you might even say that vigilantes and mercenaries only help by causing more chaos. But some people are too blind to realize that.
Nadia isn't an exception. Just like everyone else, she experienced first-hand how cruel the world is. It only went downhill after that. This is also the same reason why she got involved with Sleipnir. As far as she knows, every vigilante and mercenary that she met isn't a bad person. They were just forced to watch the truth happen in their eyes. They were an anomaly to society. But then she met Hayden.
Speaking of the devil, the same dark-haired man emerged from the cockpit. Nadia raised an eyebrow as Hayden awkwardly took a seat right in front of her. Since the chairs were designed to face each other, it made it even more awkward. Trying to act casual, he propped his legs up on another chair and then leaned back onto the backrest. However, Hayden isn't exactly the type to sit still. So he would squirm or jolt from his seat every once in a while and Nadia watched all these happen in front of her. At first, it was amusing to see the oh-so-great Hayden squirm in an awkward and uncomfortable situation. But now it just became annoying.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nadia decided to voice out her thoughts.
Hayden stopped his squirming to stare at her and with the straightest face, he replied, "I'm thinking of a topic to start the conversation."
And at that point, Nadia realized that she and Hayden aren't exactly friends. In fact, she's just been reminded that they were strangers to each other not so long ago. They were barely acquaintances. They're co-workers at most. So when the time comes where they're not in the middle of a fight or at each other's throats, they almost have nothing to talk about.
They could talk about their incoming conflict with Camorra, but both individuals thought that it was the worst conversation to have during this time. To be completely honest, Nadia wants to figure out what is going on inside Hayden's head. Where did he come from? When did he learn all those skills? Is he really who he says he is? All these questions started to fill up Nadia's head. Any one of those questions would be a good way to start a conversation. But her mouth had other things to say.
"Can I see your sword?"
Hayden arched his eyebrows at Nadia, who looked equally baffled at her own words. Nevertheless, the dark-haired man took out his sword and presented it to her. Still a bit confused, Nadia carefully took the sword out of his hands to examine it herself. She had to admit, she was surprised to realize that she was actually curious about the sword. At first glance, it may look like a normal katana. But once you take a good look at it, you would see that it's far from normal.
When she lifted the blade on top of my flattened fingers, she noticed that the balance of the weapon was impeccable. Despite having a light hilt and a hefty blade, it was easy to swing. She thought it would be terribly unbalanced, but it almost shifted its weight to her preference. Another thing that she noticed was that the blade's metal was oddly clean and polished. Yet she hasn't seen Hayden clean it at all. Plus, there was no sign of rust beneath all that shininess. It was impossibly perfect. It's like the silver used to forge this sword was made directly from a raging heat source.
The iron grip, and the linen-bound hilt, balanced the thin yet heavy blade efficiently. She stood up to give it a few more swings, adjusting her stance to compensate for the weight of the sword, which seemed to become lighter as she became accustomed to it. She actually became too invested in it that when she performed a swing, she accidentally sliced one of the seat's headrest, clean off. Nadia was more impressed than shocked at the fact that the thin, heavy sword just like the one in her hand could smoothly cut across metal and leather.
"Whoa... This is a nice sword." She complimented, still holding the sword in a fixed manner.
Hayden smirked. "Yeah. I had that sword with me for the past four years."
"The balance is nothing like I've ever seen. It's both heavy yet light at the same time. Where did you get this?" She raised the blade up in the air, shifting it from side to side.
"It came from an old friend of mine; Tobias," Hayden replied in a rueful tone.
At the corner of Nadia's eye, she spotted Hayden with a neutral look on his face. But anyone with a heart no made of stone and a functioning brain would notice the hidden sorrow underneath his expression. The platinum-blonde could already tell that there's some history behind the sword. But just like she concluded, they weren't friends... yet. So in the meantime, she'll stay away from his past and maybe he'll stay away from hers.
With that minor conflict settled, she decided on another way to continue this somewhat light-hearted interaction. She reached her hand over her back and pulled her sword out of her sheathe.
"Here's mine." She said before tossing it at Hayden's arms up when used properly, it could be a danger on the battlefield. When it's not in its whip form, its appearance remains similar to a standard double-edged sword. The handle of the sword was bound with black leather, the hilt decorated yet understated.
The blade itself was made out of pure iron ore with a lighter shade than usual. In fact, it might even be stronger and lighter than normal iron. However, the one detail that catches most eyes is the eight thin gaps lined horizontally across the blade, creating nine sections. Hayden realized that this is how the blade extends into a whip. By pushing a single button hidden in the hilt, this will cause the bolts holding the blades together to loosen. Therefore, this will separate the blade into nine equal parts with strips of cable wires that are already welded inside the blade to keep the sections from flying off, creating the image of a whip.
Hayden was more than impressed. The person who crafted this sword has to be an experienced blacksmith with ties to rare kinds of metals, he thought. He knows a bit about blacksmithing since there was a forge back in Tobias' town. The blacksmith working there was very proud of his works and would carve his name under the hilt of his weapons. So if Hayden remembers correctly, there should be a name or at least some sign of who made it, somewhere around the handle or the hilt.
After giving the blade a few last looks, he traced his fingers over the hilt, feeling the leather bindings wrapped around the handle. He dragged his fingertip along the entire length until he reached the end, where he felt something engraved under the hilt. He flipped the sword over to check it out and once he did, he was hit with an odd sense of nostalgia;
H.H.H.
Initials. Hayden almost immediately recognized them to be the initials of a name. Despite not knowing what those three letters meant, he somehow found it familiar. It felt like something that belonged to his forgotten past. But Hayden can't be too sure. It might mean something or maybe it doesn't. For now, he'll keep it in his mind just in case the topic would come up or when he remembers another fragment of his lost memories.
Hayden went back to examining the entire sword before concluding. It certainly is a majestic and powerful weapon to have. He admits that the whip-sword is far more formidable than his weirdly balanced katana. But in terms of beauty...
"It's horrible..." Hayden accidentally let out under his breath.
Unfortunately for him, Nadia heard him. "What?" She exclaimed. Her face had a mix of anger and confusion. She didn't know how to react. How else would someone react when another person called that person's personal belonging ugly?
"Nothing." Hayden quickly covered up his mistake. "I said it looks good."
"Cut the bullshit, Hayden. You said it looks shit!" Nadia hissed out.
She wasn't truly angry. She knows that despite her weapon being a pure mass of chaos and death, it isn't exactly the prettiest sword in the world. Unlike Hayden's sword, her blade easily rusts when she forgets to clean her blade after a long day of murdering criminals. Even if she tries her best to remove it, some always get left behind and stays
permanently. Although she herself knows this, she also feels that she has the right to defend her weapon. Only she gets to call her sword ugly.
"Hey, I never it looked like shit! I said it looked horrible-"
"Aha! I knew you said it looked horrible."
"Fuck..."
Their bickering lasted longer than they expected. They drifted apart from the original topic and somehow ended up with the subject of ice cream. It turns out that both are passionate about their opinion and won't back down. You might even say that their food arguments were even louder than political debates.
"How many times am I supposed to tell you? Mint chocolate is the perfect flavor for ice cream!" Nadia declared proudly, raising her sword in the air like a flag.
"Then you obviously haven't tasted Rocky Road. The combination of nuts and chocolate has never been so good before!" Hayden countered, nearly slamming the katana into the ground.
"Stop lying to yourself. I can't believe I have to chew whenever I eat Rocky Road!"
"At least I don't have to eat toothpaste whenever I'm eating Mint Chocolate."
"That's not how that works!"
"That's not how that works either!"
Nadia threw her arms up in exasperation. She was tired of all the constant attacks towards mint chocolate. It's not her fault that she likes the taste of toothpaste. But even though she's arguing with Hayden, she's still genuinely having fun. Other than Camilla, this has been the longest interaction she had with another human being that's not trying to kill her or vice versa. It's a refreshing experience.
But then all of a sudden, a faint beep started to ring from the cockpit. Simultaneously, both of the passengers/pilots jumped out of their seats to check out what was going on. They lost track of time and nearly forgot that they were the ones flying the plane. Luckily, the problem wasn't that serious.
Once they entered the cockpit once again, they realized that it was already nighttime. Midnight to be exact. The sun had already disappeared over the seas and the darkness had already crept over the skies hours ago. They must've lost track of time. But there seems nothing wrong with the plane. None of the indicators were going over the standard levels. The plane was still pumped with fuel. They weren't of course. In fact, they're only a few miles away from Milan. They're already in the country of Italy, flying over city after city.
It seems that the autopilot A.I. was smarter than they expected. Whenever there's an obstruction blocking its path, the plane would automatically shift its path to somewhere more convenient. The lights from the cities shone from below like a field of stars. Cars sped around the roads like bugs along the sidewalk. Maneuvering around the skyscrapers, Hayden watched as the waves along the sea crashed along the sandy beaches of the city's coast. It's his first time flying, yet it feels like he wanted to stay up here for the rest of his life.
However, Nadia was focused on something more interesting. Right by the side of the control panel is a small, circular glass monitor with the shape of the plane on the middle-a radar. A constant beep would emit from the monitor, and a flash of green light would stretch across the screen. Normally, you wouldn't see anything else but the shape of the plane. But now, a small blue dot appears from behind the plane, every time the radar would beep.
Now Nadia isn't an expert in aeronautics or anything, but she's seen a few action movies, and every time a scene like this exact moment would show up, it would always end up in an explosion in the sky.
"Hayden, grab the wheel."
Hayden snapped his gaze away from the scenery and scrunched up his eyebrows at her. Still with her eyes on the radar, another dot had seemed to appear on the screen and they were growing closer.
"Huh?" The dark-haired man, confused at the situation, wondered why Nadia had her eyes as big as saucers.
"Grab the fucking wheel, Hayden," Nadia replied in a hard tone. This time, she won't take any other answers but direct actions. The dots are literally right behind them and she doesn't think they're here to greet them to Italy. "We're in trouble."
As if the enemy had their ears open for their cue, two foreign planes suddenly swooped in out of nowhere, hovering by the plane's sides. These two weren't your standard tourist planes or anything. They were military-grade jets, complete with armed missiles attached to their wings and fully-loaded turrets by the tips-a Eurofighter Typhoon. Judging by the fact that these jets could've overtaken them at any second but didn't, it only meant that their target had to be them.
Without another word said, Hayden immediately hopped into his seat while Nadia did the same. Even if those jets weren't an actual threat to them, they would rather be ready for absolutely nothing than unprepared to die. Nadia leaned over her window to take another look at the jets. The canopy was tinted so the pilot couldn't be seen. However, the logo painted across the entire nose of the plane was a dead giveaway to whoever they belong to, and it was probably the worst one.
On the tip of the nose was a spray-painted picture of a stallion's head. Its neck stretched across under the cockpit, where four legs extended out onto the wings. Nadia could only guess that there's another set of four legs on the other side. Her eyes widened, fear filling them up that you could almost see her pupils trembling. She could recognize that logo from anywhere. It was Odin's magical horse from Norse mythology, Sleipnir—or in this case, the exact organization they were trying to find.
"It's Sleipnir..." Nadia muttered under her breath. She still couldn't believe it, even after seeing it with her own eyes. "Gods, they really are back."
"What?" Hayden asked from his seat. "Isn't Sleipnir our target?"
Nadia gritted her teeth in frustration. "Well, yeah. But now we're their target!" Turning off the autopilot, the platinum-blonde quickly pulled the plane back to a slower speed until the two jets zipped past them. Now, all they have to do is either lose them or destroy them. The former has too much work to do and can easily be compromised. So she chose the latter.
"Hayden, remember that machine gun on the hood?" When he nodded, she flipped the same switch that activated. Sure enough, the same heavy machine-gun folded out of the hood, locked and loaded. "Shoot those bastards!"
Hayden apprehensively looked over to his side of the control panel. "How?!"
Nadia extended her arm out under the panel, and forcibly pulled out another yoke. However, this one was completely different from hers. It was a single U-shaped wheel with two red buttons on each end. An indicator is placed in the middle to check for the temperature. She pulled it up to Hayden, who reluctantly took it.
"Now, shoot!"
He turned the gun around and aimed it at one of the planes. His thumbs hovered over the red buttons before completely pressing them, causing a shower of bullets to fly off the gun. The machine-gun's twin barrels smoked as each of its bullets zipped towards the enemy jet. It didn't take long for the gun to rip the entire plane to pieces, to the point where it could barely stay up in the air. With the first one nose-diving into the sea, Hayden aimed the gun at the second one.
However, it seemed that the enemy jet had finally caught on. It had already swerved around and began flying towards them. Hayden tried barraging it with bullets, but unlike its fellow pilot, this one was ready. It was obviously more experienced than the two vigilantes, both of who have barely flown a plane. The enemy jet spun and twirled across the air, performing evasive maneuvers to avoid the incoming bullets. Hayden didn't realize that the longer he kept on firing, the higher the chance of the gun overheating. Sadly, he only came to grasp this when the gun stopped firing even with the chamber still loaded with ammunition.
Taking this chance, the plane started firing its own guns that were equipped to its sides. Hayden's eyes widened, "Get down!" He yelled out before he and Nadia dove down to avoid getting barraged with bullets.
The enemy jet continued to rain fire at them, puncturing holes across the fuselage. Unfortunately, some of the bullets hit the machine-gun on the hood and, together with the air pressure up in the sky, ripped it apart. Miraculously, none of the bullets pierced through the glass, only causing minor cracks. The jet flew over them and swerved back around to try again. Noticing the lack of noise outside, Hayden poked his head up and saw that the gun was blown apart.
"Fuck!" He sat back in his seat and tried to move the gun, but it was useless.
Nadia jumped back to her seat and saw the enemy jet circling towards them. "Hayden, he's coming back!"
Just as she said, the jet began to make a beeline towards their direction, and judging by its speed, it has no intention of stopping. If the plane goes any closer, they're in danger of meeting their end. It was already zipping towards them at an intense speed. With the machine-gun blown off of the plane and with no way to take it down, they have to stall some time. Nadia noticed the plane growing closer by the second but this time, she knew exactly what to do. She placed her entire strength into her arms and turned the yoke to the side. The plane tilted to its left just in time for the enemy jet to miss them by a couple of inches.
"Oh my fucking god!" Nadia cursed out loud. If she didn't act right away, they would've been charred corpses under the sea.
"Was it trying to crash itself at us?" Hayden breathed out, practically hyperventilating out of fear and panic. "What the fuck is their problem?"
"It's Sleipnir. They don't care what happens to anyone or anything else. Just as long as their goal is achieved." Nadia replied through her gritted teeth. "Even if it means sacrificing themselves."
As the enemy jet began swerving back to attempt to destroy them, Nadia was ready this time. with a plan forming in her head, she pressed the button to activate the hidden jet thrusters. Then, she leaned over and turned a knob by 180-degrees. Hayden looked over by the wings and saw the jet thrusters slowly turned itself around until it was facing the other direction.
"What are you doing?" He asked. In his perspective, Nadia was randomly flipping and pushing across the control panel when in reality, the plan in her head had finally come together.
"I need you to fly the plane." Nadia suddenly announced. She faced him with a look of determination. "Can you do it?"
Hayden took a moment to let those words sink in. He closed his eyes and then took a deep breath before chuckling humorlessly. "Do I have any choice?" He flashed her a grin.
Returning it, she focused her attention back on the panel. When she finally found the button to turn on the jet thrusters, her eyes glanced back at Hayden. "Hang on." She said, holding her breath herself.
"What?"
But it was already too late. As soon as Nadia's finger pressed the button, the jet thrusters began releasing highly-compressed air pressure all at the same time, causing the entire plane to boost itself backward. Hayden had to grab onto his seat to keep himself from falling. He turns his head to his side to say the same to her, only to find her seat empty. That's when her previous words sunk in.
He rolled his eyes before hopping to her seat and taking over the yoke. "Nadia, if you wanted to take a piss then you should've told me!" He yelled out in the back.
Nadia was actually in the fuselage, grabbing the passenger seats one by one until she reaches the door. She's surprised that she could even stand during all this chaos. Her eyes widened as the empty luggage case started slamming against the walls and barrelled towards her. It only registered in her mind for a second before she forcibly slammed her body against the wall just as the luggage case flew right past her.
"Ah, fuck. Hayden! How close are we to the plane?!" She had to scream to the top of her vocal cords just to make sure that Hayden heard her.
He looked over at the radar, "We'll meet him in about thirty seconds! So whatever you're going to do—do it now!"
Nadia mustered up her strength and courage, or what's left of it, and practically crawled her way to the door. She stretched her hand out to grab the interior handle, where she proceeded to pull it open. While it worked, the wind and air pressure caused the entire door to fly off into the sky. Wind began to violently suck in everything inside the plane. A few of the seats were ripped off the ground and flew out to the open. Even Nadia was picked up by the wind and nearly got herself thrown out of the plane but luckily, she was able to latch her fingers on the side of the opening. Her entire life is literally depending on her fingers right now.
Nadia looked down below and saw the vast sea. The sun has started to rise above the horizon, painting the skies and sea with a youthful shade. She could only imagine how painful it would be if she would slam against the waves at this height. Moreover, she's flying over ten-thousand feet in the air. It's a miracle that a Skywagon could fly at this altitude.
But it no longer surprised her. The fact that she encountered so many strange things on the plane was already enough to numb the logic in her brain. 'This plane is always full of surprises.' She thought.
The plan that she formulated in her head was immediately thrown into the mental garbage bin. Nadia couldn't believe that she thought that a plan like hers would actually work. To think that it's possible to take down a fighter jet with her whip-sword at ten-thousand feet. She didn't know what she was thinking. And now, she'll probably lose her grasp and fall ten-thousand feet down the sea.
All of a sudden, she felt someone's hand on her wrist. She looked up and she couldn't be more glad to see the murderous dark-haired vigilante she's been traveling with for about a day. He propped his arms against the sides of the opening to keep himself from being sucked out of the plane.
"I have a plan!" He shouted over the intense winds forming around them.
Nadia arched her eyebrow. "Can't it wait?! I'm literally holding on the edge here!" She yelled back.
"Sorry, Nadia. But that plan involves you letting go!"
Her eyebrows flew up to her forehead so much that it disappeared under her hairline. "What?"
Hayden shrugged her shoulders. "But if you don't want to, I guess I'll give you a hand."
"What does that mea- AHHHHHH!"
The platinum-blonde screamed at the top of her voice but she could barely hear her own voice from all the air slashing and screaming winds. She watched as the plane she's just been pushed off grew smaller and smaller. Her stomach churned and flopped around in her body. She watched her hair fly forward-or what she thinks is forward. She couldn't even recognize which direction she's falling from. It's as if she's trapped in an endless chamber of winds, flopping around like a ragdoll.
Nadia suddenly heard the sound of an object ripping through the air. She tilted her head upward and saw the enemy jet zipped through the clouds and crashed itself against the Skywagon. If the free-falling wasn't enough, to see that she missed being a burnt corpse by mere seconds made her heart drop to her stomach. A cloud of fire and smoke bursts across the air, metal parts of the plane falling down faster than herself. Luckily, all her flopping and flipping moved her body out of the range of the falling debris.
At this moment, she couldn't help but wonder where Hayden. The last thing she remembered was him, forcibly pulling her grip away from the plane and then pushing her off. If his plane was to save her from the incoming crash, then he must've never realized that slamming against the water from ten-thousand feet isn't any better. In fact, it's actually worse. Nothing hurts more than falling from the sky and hitting something as hard as concrete. But what does she know? Maybe burning up into a crisp is worse. Either way, she's going to die... or she thought so.
Emerging from the clouds, Hayden's form whizzed through the air like a bullet. His arms tucked to his side and his legs closed together. Hair blowing in the wind, he began to near Nadia until he fell alongside her. The former wasn't even screaming anymore. Her hands crossed over her chest with a hard gaze directed at Hayden. The dark-haired man nervously grinned at her, only for her to return it with a scowl.
"Is this your grand idea?! Death?!" She yelled out through the screaming winds.
Hayden arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?! The water would cushion our fall, wouldn't it?!"
"No, dumbass! It'll be like hitting concrete!"
"Ah, shit!"
Nadia just wanted to choke the living hell out of this man if it weren't for the fact that they are about thirty seconds away from hitting the sea. But she couldn't put the blame all on him. If she went with her original plan, she would've failed horribly in every situation she conjured up. Both their plans would end up with both of them dying so it's useless to argue. It's not like...
"Hayden! What's that on your back?!"
The man in question perked his head up and eyed the backpack he had strapped that's now flapping around the air. One would think that it's just a normal, brown backpack with a blue and red tag attached on the side. But Nadia isn't exactly that dumb to think that.
"I found it by the plane. I think it's extra supplies that we could've used but I think it's rather-"
"YOU FUCKING DUMBASS! THAT'S A PARACHUTE! GIVE THAT SHIT TO ME!" The platinum-blonde frantically shouted. They were rapidly closing in the sea. If they don't pull the parachute now, they might break a bone or two on their landing, or possibly die.
She practically yanked the parachute bag away from Hayden's hand and strapped it around her arms, making sure to secure it around her chest area—though her fairly ample bosom made it hard for her to lock it. Once she forced her body into a skydiving position, she stretched her hand out to Hayden. No matter how stupid he can become sometimes, there's no plausible nor justifiable reason to let him die.
"Grab my hand!" She cried out.
Hayden's eyes gazed downwards, watching the view of the sea grow even closer than ever. Before, he found it exhilarating to be gliding down the sky like a majestic eagle he always wondered how birds felt when flying. This was probably the closest he could get to feel that same emotion before he realized that unlike birds, he's devoid of any wings, feathers, or anything related to birds. Maybe he sounds similar to the sound of chicken clucking in a free-range but that's about it. He's just a skinless mammal with enough sentience to realize that he's about to experience what certain death is. He looked back up at the blonde and threw his hand at hers.
Though Nadia wasn't confident that she could carry Hayden herself, she'll have to rely on his strength and endurance when it comes to gripping her hand. With her left hand occupied, she used her right hand to pull the blue tag, activating the chute. Nadia's body was suddenly and forcibly pulled into an upright position, nearly knocking the wind out of her. Luckily, both Hayden's and her grips are strong enough to maintain their hold.
Hayden gazed upward and saw the nylon, dome-shaped parachute that's holding them up. He proceeded to look down, where they're floating about two-hundred feet above the sea and a mile away from the main coast. Although, he can't complain. Seconds ago, he thought that his death was imminent. It wouldn't hurt to swim an entire mile when you survived a ten-thousand feet fall.
"So... I guess it wasn't a bag of supplies after all."
"No shit, Sherlock."
Standing by the shoreline, a young boy at the ripe age of eleven hopped along the sand and splashed the incoming water with his feet. He had woken up early just to experience the beach. His mother had left to buy something from the store so, in the meantime, he took his time enjoying the cool breeze of the sea and the wet sand under his feet.
As he was playing with the water, he suddenly spots two figures emerging from the sea. The kid's eyes widened in fear, thinking that the sea monsters he saw in movies and TV shows were real. But as the figures got closer, they began to resemble the forms of regular humans. One of them had shiny, silver hair that's damp from all the seawater. Her clothes were dripping wet, the leather jacket around her shoulder acted like a towel for her. In her arms, laid a scabbard with a sword sheathed inside. The way she carried was almost similar to how a mother carries one's child. Her boots stomped the sand below as she walked forward, pushing the water with her body with more force than needed.
The kid gaped at her form, staring admirably as her blood-red eyes meet his aqua-blue ones. She turned to her companion, who was equally wet as she is. This tall, lean man loomed over the child as if he was a giant descending from Jötunheim. The sin rising from the horizon only made his form unearthly than before. His wide frame acted like plateaus from the kid's perspective. Dark brown strands of hair fell down his face, nearly covering his melancholic green eyes. At each step he made across the water, the young child heard the sound of machines wiring and metal grinding.
The two mysterious figures walked right past the child, both donning an unamused expression on their faces. Even with more people coming into the beach and staring at them from afar, they didn't seem to care. They continued walking towards the city, dripping wet and their muscles sore. After all, they just swam one mile across the sea. Hayden was the one who suffered the most since his metal leg didn't help in making him any faster.
Both of their arms are pretty sore, especially Nadia's. All the adrenaline she had when she carried Hayden for about two minutes before she threw him into the sea, was gone. Her forearm could be bleeding internally for all she knows. But whatever they plan to do next will have to wait. Right now, they need a comfortable bed, a buffet table, and possibly a shower.
So it wasn't a surprise that the first thing they visited in Milan is the motel. However, the one who was surprised was the receptionist. To see two strangers with looked like someone doused them with water along the side of the road. For a moment, the receptionist thought of calling security, thinking that they're homeless. But the sword in their hands and the menacing look on their faces said otherwise. Maybe they were cosplayers, she thought.
"Benvenuti al Gallipoli Motel. Come posso aiutarti oggi?" The receptionist greeted, regardless of their ridiculous state.
"One room. Two beds. We're staying for three days." Nadia breathed out. She then dug her hand in her pocket and pulled out numerous wet bills. She proceeded to let the money flop onto the desk. "Here's the money. Let them dry for a couple of hours."
The receptionist blinked in confusion, "O- Okay..." She slid the wet bills to the side before taking out a pair of keys and handing it to Nadia. Once the room keys were dropped to the lines of her hand, she immediately left the desk and began heading her way upstairs, leaving Hayden behind.
"Here's the tip." He dropped one of his knives onto the table. The receptionist's eyes widened at the sharp blade sitting on her desk. She immediately gazed back at Hayden, who was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Umm, it's made out of titanium ore so you can sell it for thousands of euros."
"Oh, uhh... grazie mille." The receptionist responded with a nervous yet confused smile.
Hayden nodded his head at her before following Nadia to their room. The blonde practically busted the door open when she reached the room. But he couldn't say anything because he probably would've done the same thing. Once Nadia's boots felt the fur carpet on the floor, it sent tingles up her spine and she proceeded to collapse to the ground. Hayden watched the blonde waved her arms and feet in the white fur of the carpet, creating imaginary snow angels.
Shaking his head in amusement, he stepped over the woman and went to inspect their room. For a simple motel in Italy, many would find this room very appealing and high-standard. It had enough space to fill two full families in this room, and it still won't be crowded. Other than the fur carpet that stretches across the entire room, most of the furniture laying around is also extremely high quality. There are two separate bedrooms—much to Hayden's relief. He would rather not share the same room with a woman or anyone else for that matter.
He opened the first one and the first thing that greeted him was the sweet-scented fragrance of the room. Just like the rest of the motel room, the floor was covered with the white fur carpet. Finally giving in to temptation, Hayden slipped off his shoe and slowly dug his foot along the carpet. At first, it tickled the bottom of his foot but once he relaxed, it felt like he was stepping on a cloud of feathers. He took a deep breath and sighed wistfully. It's not everyday he gets to feel comfortable. After recovering, he decided to take a stroll around. A queen-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, fully covered with a royal-blue bedsheet and a pile of feather pillows sitting on the head. Rays of light poured in through the oval-shaped windows by the wall. A body mirror is hanging on the off-white walls, with a desk beside it that contained every famous perfume, including Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and Dior, in a tiny box. But it's not like Hayden recognizes them or even has the need to use them.
He stood in front of the body mirror and took a long look at himself. For about a year, he's been wearing the same clothes every day, in and out of the battlefield. Of course, he takes time to clean them three times a week. If there's not a laundromat nearby, he'll do it by hand. He can't afford to smell like blood and dirt all the time. The only reason why he dresses in rags and other ripped clothes is because it actually helps him blend in with the environment and be mobile. The cuffs of his pants were ripped to help him not trip whenever he jumps around. His shirt blends in with the color of his bulletproof vest that he has strapped around his chest to hide it. The long, raggedy, and brown coat around his shoulders only serves to hide his hidden knives, his explosive-gas leaker, and his sword. This has helped in many situations so it's hard to change tactics. But now that his clothes are wet, ripped into strips, and burnt, he has to change. He might blend in with the homeless too much.
So he left his knives and the gadget on his wrist under the bed before leaving the room. As he walked back to the door, he spotted Nadia still lying down on the carpet. "Hey, Nadia. I'm going out to buy some new clothes. You coming with?" He called out.
Once she heard 'new clothes', she got up on her feet so fast she nearly broke her back in the process. "Finally! I'm so sick of seeing that potato sack of a shirt on you. We're getting something that will be appealing to me!" She said, the excitement and eagerness visible on her face.
"Isn't it suppose to be the other way around?" Hayden questioned.
She nodded, "Yup, but does it look like I care?"
With a reluctant sigh, he grabbed the keys and they both headed out. Just like Hayden, Nadia decided to bring her sword and then proceeded to sling it around her shoulder. None of them are that familiar with the city of Milan. Despite Hayden visiting the city multiple times, he never actually took the time to take a stroll around or even visit any of the stores. They asked directions from passerby's but only a collected few knew how to speak English and even then, it was too broken to understand that they ended up circling around the main square of the city. But fortunately, they met someone who lived in Milan that does speak fluent English. So they took his advice and directions and followed them. Eventually, they ended up in a mall called Rinascente Milan, which was close to a cathedral that they originally thought was their destination.
The security guards took one look at them in their glorifying clothes and obviously fake swords and then proceeded to let them in. Nadia thought it was strange at first but paid no mind to it. Right now, she could care less about what's happening in Italy. The seawater had already dried up in her clothes but the salty, seaweed scent still hasn't left. Plus, she can't wait to get Hayden out of those ridiculous clothes. He had already explained the purpose to her back at the plane but every minute she spends with him, she feels like her fashion senses lower inch by inch.
They wandered the mall for a while, searching for a good store where she could use her bargaining skills. Though she has enough money to buy from the designer clothing stores, she isn't stupid enough to spend thousands of dollars just for a plain shirt with the brand name ironed on the middle. That's like paying a teacher to ask the students to self-study. So she purposefully avoided those clothing stores, just in case Hayden might be interested in them. Luckily, they found a store by the name of Racks, that looks like it has decent clothes at a reasonable price. They walked inside and were immediately greeted by racks of clothes, mannequins, and tens of people shopping at the same time. Rows after rows of different kinds of clothing from different styles.
'At least they live up to their name.' Nadia silently commented.
What's even more surprising is that there isn't a single salesperson in sight. The people there simply picked, wore, and bought their clothes all by themselves. Nadia thanked whoever led them here because to her, it's a dream come true. She always complained about how every salesperson she met wanted to shove their products on her face. What's worse was that it's their job and she couldn't even get openly mad at it. But fortunately for her, it's paradise.
"Alright, leave your clothes to me and I'll leave my clothes to you. That way, I get to fix your fashion sense and I could nitpick on whatever you suggested." Nadia grinned cheekily.
Arching an eyebrow, Hayden tilted his head in confusion. "Isn't it suppose to be the other way around?"
"Yup. But yet again, does it look like I care?"
"Fine. We'll meet up back here in fifteen."
Fifteen minutes passed by and Nadia returned with a small cart filled with random clothes, while Hayden waited by the entrance, only carrying a single set. The blonde hopped her way towards him and shoved the cart to him. He glanced down at the cart and then looked back up at Nadia with an exasperated look. The latter simply donned a smirk, gesturing to the dress rooms where the customers could try out their clothes. Deciding to leave it to the expert, Hayden walked to the dressing room, dragging his feet. Ten minutes later, he emerged from the dressing room and Nadia couldn't believe her eyes.
Hayden stood there, wiping his hands off of his carbon-black duffle coat. With the loose buttons, he reveals the grey tactical shirt hidden under the coat, perfect for a bulletproof vest. He reached his hands to the indigo scarf around his neck, adjusting it to his satisfaction. From the upper half of his body to his face, he looked exactly like a model for Vogue. Nadia already knows that Hayden is objectively attractive, even she could recognize that. But now that he's a bit cleaner than usual, she could see how charming he actually looks. She noticed that his hair is closer to auburn rather than dark brown. His eyes would sometimes gain a darker shade of green at certain angles. But no matter how attractive the man is, Nadia could only see him as a dumb, skillful vigilante who just came out of nowhere.
Now, she did say that everything starting from the upper half of his body was pretty clean. But regarding the lower half, she has some questions. At first, you would spot that he has a normal pair of tech pants-the typical black pants that have multiple pockets along the entire thing. But as you look below his knees, you could see that the pants only reach down to half of his calves. The end was designed to be strips of thread as if to produce an image of a tiger ripping the pants' cuffs off. The only problem this has was that it partially reveals his prosthetic, which is not exactly the subtle type. At the corner of Nadia's eyes, she noticed black ink drawn along his calf;
'You're not my son'
She has no idea what it meant, but judging from the sentence alone, it might be tied to his past so she left it alone. But regarding the pants, she decided to let it slide since the rest looks fine. Plus, she has to admit that having loose cuffs does help when it comes to mobility.
"Damn, you looking good." Nadia teased, pretending to check him out.
Hayden rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips betrayed him. "Yeah, yeah. Sure..." He then took out the clothes he picked for her and tossed them at the blonde. "There's yours. But don't blame me if you don't like it."
Despite thinking that his fashion sense was below zero at first, she was surprised to see the kind of clothes he picked out for her. It was really similar to the outfit that Lara Croft wears in Tomb Raider: a grey tank top, a pair of camouflage tactical pants, and an army green, bomber jacket. All she needs is a pair of gun holsters and a French braid, then she can star in her own film. Nadia gave him a nod of approval before they went to the cashier and bought it. Just like in the motel, she advised the retail cashier to keep the bills hanging to dry for a couple of hours, and then it's good to go.
Although she unironically did that, she never expected them to actually take it. She thought she would have to negotiate with them for it to actually work but somehow, they took it pretty well. But the strained smiles on their faces couldn't help but make Nadia suspicious of it. Any normal person would refuse it at first but with enough motivation, they'll accept it. That's not the case here.
As they head back to their motel, they pass by an alleyway between a rundown apartment and a wood workshop. It wasn't special or anything. Nothing unique or strange, just a bunch of trash bins and an old couch sitting against the walls. But Hayden suddenly stopped in his tracks. He took a glance at the alleyway, allowing his gaze to linger for just a few seconds.
Nadia furrowed her eyebrows, glancing back and forth towards Hayden and the alleyway. "Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Yeah..." He quickly replied before shifting direction and then made his way down the alleyway.
"Hayden, hold on!" She tried to call out but said person continued walking until he reached the old couch. He turned his body towards it, his eyes narrowing.
"Hayden! What the hell are you doing?" Nadia tried once again. She knew he was dumb at certain places but this is on a different level.
Hayden remained silent and ignored the blonde. All of a sudden, he grabbed the couch by his bare hand and yeeted it out of the way. Nadia was only getting confused by the second, but everything went from zero to a hundred when Hayden slammed his prosthetic through the brick wall, causing an entire hole to form along the side of the workshop.
Nadia couldn't form the words to describe how shocked and confused she is right now. She's now convinced that Hayden is completely crazy. Who goes up to a random wall and kicks a hole in it for no apparent reason.
"I'll ask again, Hayden. What the hell is your—" The blonde's words froze in motion, when she saw the dust settle from Hayden's kick. The auburn man stepped over the piles of rubble to enter. Nadia followed closely behind him, still unsure about the situation. But once she saw the hundreds of monitors around the room, she was overwhelmed with a sudden rush of shock.
"Wh- what is this?"
"It's a Camorra Information Base. This is how they get info despite hiding underground for about three hundred years." Hayden replied, scanning through the screens.
Nadia's wandered across the entire room. It looked like there were hundreds of windows dowsing the room with light. "How did you know this was here?"
"The Giorgetti couch was a dead giveaway. They always mark their territory with random expensive furniture. Giorgetti is a common theme among them
Nadia focused her attention back at the monitors on the walls. Some of the screens had been crushed under the wall that Hayden kicked in, creating a few sparks of electricity to spaz out through the openings. The room wasn't that large, but it was big enough to fit entire rows of monitors attached along the walls. Flashed across the screens are profiles of different people around the world. Some had a complete description about them, including a full portrait and even their current location. While others had little to no information. Some of them were blank except for their names, but Nadia isn't even sure if those were their real names.
One of the profiles particularly caught her eye. It was practically empty, lacking of any helpful information. But the name registered above empty profile was most recognizable out of rest;
Demon Slayer
Age: ?
Location: ?
Identity: ?
Known ties: ?
Relationships: ?
Everything else was just a bunch of question marks—which isn't a surprise. One would think that this profile is useless. However, the picture beside the name begs to differ. Nadia reached out her hand and traced her finger down the screen, her eyes as big as saucers. It was an unclear shot of the Demon Killer in action. Its body was positioned in a stance, with his sword in his hand, facing the other direction. His face, one of the major secrets about him, wasn't even revealed, even for a little bit. The shadows must've noticed and decided to cover his identity for him But there is one thing that was exposed about his face; two glowing green orbs floating on his face.
Slowly, a horrid thought crept into Nadia's brain. She felt her neck hairs stand on end, watched her hand tremble uncontrollably. Her mind flashed back to all the weird moments she experienced and, how each time seemed to make sense all of a sudden. She had her suspicions but she would always deny it. Repeating in her head, she told herself that it isn't true. That it isn't possible. It was just a blurry picture. But those eyes... She knows those eyes. She had those eyes gazing at her multiple times now. But to think that it actually belongs to him...
Fear began to settle in Nadia's brain. Her heart start pumping, and pumping. Sweat slowly started to form on her forehead. A million emotions and thoughts ran across his head. As if she had taken a drug, her vision started to get blurry and her head felt light, to the point that she had to hold onto the wall for support. She took short but fast breaths and then shook her head, realization and acceptance finally dawning on her.
"You're the Demon Killer..."