Well, I'm finally adding a new addition to this story. I've been pretty busy as of late, but hopefully this makes up for it. So without further ado, let's get on with it.

Issei spit out a mouthful of water as he surfaced from the pool. He turned and gave a look to the perpetrators. Indra and Shoraku both had small grins on their faces as they watched the brunette make his way over to the ledge.

"That's for the shopping, by the way." The half-blood quipped.

Issei rolled his eyes. "Alright, you guys can have that."

Aki was smiling. The buxom nurse hadn't been very well since the whole yakuza incident. So seeing her students still in good health after their disappearence was a very good prize. She leaned back on her lounge chair, picking up a bottle of sunscreen.

"Hey Indra, could you help me?" She called to the white haired young man.

Shoraku nudged the younger boy towards her, his smile turning into a smirk. "You have fun Indra. Issei and I will keep the ladies entertained."

The whitehead shook his head, but he obliged the nurse's request. While Indra tended to Aki, Shoraku turned his gaze back to Issei. The sniper and the brunette held a silent conversation that only they could understand. They held each other's gazes for a few moments before the golden eyed assassin dived into the water.

There was a round of applause.

"Very graceful Shoraku." Rias commented.

"Ten." Koneko smiled.

"Like a real swan." Akeno giggled.

"Well what are you ladies waiting on?" Shoraku surfaced, shaking his head of excess water.

Rias and Akeno smiled, dipping their legs into the water before dropping themselves in. Koneko however, was still standing a good couple of feet away from the pool. Issei could see the fear in her eyes.

"Afraid of water?" He asked the nekomata.

"I can't swim." She replied.

The brunette smiled. "Then would you like for me to teach you?" He offered.

Rias felt like a proud mother. Sort of. She smiled as Koneko held out a hand for the master assassin before he slowly guided her into the water.

"We'll start with teaching you how to float." As the master assassin began to instruct the youngest member of the ORC, Shoraku gazed on sliently.

Akeno seemed to be the only one to notice and moved towards him. She kept at solid feet of distance between them. The sniper didn't have to look at her to know she was concerned about how quiet he was. A hollow grin made itself known.

"Watching this kind of reminds of me of my old man." He said. "There were a few times where he would take my mother and I to this river. A private spot. No one to intrude, a nice view, you get the picture."

Akeno remained silent as he shared his little tale.

The sniper left out the fact that his father also used that very same spot to train him. He learned about balance, focus, being overly patient. Just a few key things every assassin needed in their everyday life.

"Well, one day we were on our way there, he didn't show up. When we returned home, my mother and I learned he'd been killed. His neck had been broken in two. Supposedly, a serial killer was running around at that time."

Or so it was said, but Shoraku being raised as an assassin knew what really happened. The templars had gotten to his father, and as such, he was the legacy left behind. Ironic don't you think? An assassin taken by an ambush attack. To this day, Shoraku had yet to find who was responsible, but he wasn't keen on joining his father anytime soon.

Akeno had a hand over her mouth as she listened to what the sniper had told her. She could relate, but...she wasn't exactly fond of her own father. Her mother was dead, and he was the only living family she had left. She resented him for her mother's death, so she wasn't as inclined to feel the same way Shoraku did.

Not that she could. Shoraku had been disciplined. Being an assassin doesn't just teach you to hold a blade. It also teaches you to hold the reigns over your emotions. So as much as the sniper would have loved to hunt the perpetrator down, he knew it wouldn't turn out well.

Issei smiled as he witnessed his golden eyed friend converse with Akeno. He put his attention back on Koneko, who was ready for the next lesson.

"Alright Koneko, now you need to kick your feet. I'm only going to hold you by your hands, alright?" He smiled when she nodded.

/

The group had a calm, fun time for the passed two hours. All good things must end eventually however. Everyone had changed back into their normal clothes, and were making sure everything was clean and put back into order before leaving the premises.

"I hope you come back again." Aki said as she gave the three boys a hug.

"We'll try and make time when we can. Don't worry about us Ms. Nijouu." Issei chuckled. The nurse saved Indra for last before she hugged him like a teddy bear.

"Thanks again for joining us Issei, it was really fun. Hopefully we can do this more often." Rias smiled at the brunette.

Unfortunately for her, this wouldn't happen as often as she wanted. Not with the events that were going on in the shadows.

"It was no problem Rias." He said looking at Indra and Shoraku. "We need to go home now. There is still business that we have to attend to."

Rias nodded. Akeno and Koneko both bid the trio farewell before making their way back to the old school building.

The sniper of the group sighed before his visage turned compleltely neutral.

"Sadly, that wish isn't going to be fulfilled." Issei commented as they walked.

"I know you said we needed a break, but what was the real reason you had us out here for?" Shoraku questioned.

Issei didn't miss a beat.

"As you know, that student council president is suspicious of us. Rias is bound to our agreement, so she can't get info out of her. She knows what the price is."

Shoraku raised an eyebrow.

"And how is that different from giving information to the fallen angels in our care?"

Issei gave off his little mysterious smile. "You'll figure it out soon old friend. You know what they say about devils however."

Devils always value their contracts.

Komiharu silently followed the man in front of him. His target was a slave trafficker by the name of Dominic Huchins. He'd spent four weeks in Spain following lead after lead, and now he had a solid shot at the man.

"So what's your preference?" The man leading him asked

"I like mature ones." Komiharu answered.

The man chuckled. "I personally like them young. The sounds they make are so unique." A sick grin crossed the man's face.

The young assassin kept his composure, nodding to the man's words.

"Well, boss man is just inside here. Just head inside and he'll show you the merchandise." The man opened the door to a shop. A front it seemed. Komiharu stepped inside and saw only one man at the front. His target. The man looked up and Komiharu could confirm it.

Dominic had rough features. He had a beard that looked recently trimmed and short brown hair that looked liked he just taken a rake to it. His eyes were hard and instantly locked onto Komiharu.

"You the buyer?" He asked.

"Yeah. You have my pet?" Komiharu asked, internally rolling his eyes.

Dominic pressed a button under the desk and a section of the wall opened up, showing a dimly lit room. He stepped inside and gestured for the assassin to follow. Inside Komiharu could see cages, the majority of which were filled with women ranging from 13 years old to 25. He received many pleading looks, some even trying to reach out to him through the bars.

"I only have a few that fit your personal taste, but they are quality goods. I can promise you that." Dominic sstopped in front of one cage that housed two women. Both looked about 20 to 23 years of age.

One was exotic looking with tan skin and short black hair that was shoulder length. Her hazel eyes were staring at him with unshed tears. The other was a brunette with lime green eyes and fair skin. Her gaze was far off, like she had lost all hope.

"What do you think?" Good right?" Dominic crossed his arms over his chest.

Komiharu nodded, smiling as he turned to him.

"Very good. Exotic beauties like these two are to die for." Komiharu commented.

"Well then, that will be ten grand. These women are the best I have, so they aren't cheap." Dominic said.

The assassin nodded and reached into his robes, pulling out a small case. He handed it to the trafficker, Dominic opening the case to see the money he needed was there.

*Shlink!*

A sharp pain in his chest made him drop the case. He saw the still smiling face of his customer, and saw that his left arm had been extended toward him. His hand was placed right over his heart, and he could just barely make out something metallic poking out from under the young man's wrist.

"Be at peace now." Komiharu spoke softly, retracting his now dirtied hand away from the trafficker. Dominic fell to the ground as blood began to stain the floor.

Komiharu kneeled by Dominic as he bled out. "Do not be afraid. Let your mind and body rest." The Japanese assassin placed his hand over Dominic's face and closed his eyes.

The women in the cage were staring at him with wonder as he searched the body for the keys to the cages. Finding what he needed, Komiharu opened up every cage one by one. He dropped the keys on the floor and watched as the free women ran out of the building. However, the two women that he 'purchased' were still there staring at him.

The assassin was confused and pointed to the wide open door. "You're free. Get out of here." He said, turning once more and began to walk out of the buidling. He was only a few feet away from the holding building before he heard rough footsteps behind him. Peering over his shoulder, he saw that the two women were keeping pace with him. He sighed, knowing full well what was happening.

In that moment that he had set them free, they had become emotionally attached to him. It was like a reversed version of Stockholm Syndrome. Komiharu let his shoulders sag as he realized that these women would follow him as long as he was within proximity. That meant getting back to Japan was going to be much more tricky. If it was just himself, he'd have no issues.

Now however, he had to worry about two would-be sex slaves wanting to stay close to him at all times.

The grey haired assassin chuckled. In the words of a once great assassin, he just had to ask, "When does our work ever go as planned?"

"Alright you two, let's go. May as well bring you with me since you don't have a home." He would have to send a message to Issei beforehand. Hopefully they would be able to at least get a suitable flat, or at least a decent place to shelter them. As much as his heart went out to these poor souls, he couldn't put them in more danger by letting them live among the other assassins.

"Time to return home." Komiharu idly cleaned the blood from his hands with a small alcohol swab.

Yorukaze clenched his teeth as he leaned against a wall. Blood dripped from a bullet wound in his side as he trudged along. The lone assassin found the weapons cache that was supplied to the rogue Japanese commandos. He had left a parting gift in the forms of a few splinter bombs. Needless to say, their operation was succesfully sabotaged, lest they wanted to look suspicious in a country that wasn't theirs.

Yet somehow, he'd been compromised. After destroying the supply of weapons, Yorukaze had been pursued by a hitman. He had to be one in order to actaully keep up with him.

"Hello young man." Yorukaze snapped his head toward the voice that spoke and glared from under his hood. He said nothing as the man wore a long tailed coat which covered up nondescript clothing. The main thing Yorukaze had focused on was the shining M45 in his hand.

The man currently talking sounded about 30 years old. His features were flawless with cleanly trimed facial hair, and his hair was short and curly.

"Well you're an odd looking one aren't you" He said, putting his sidearm away and took out a fairbairn sykes knife.

Yorukaze felt the blood still in his body turn cold. On the hitman's hand was the all too familar symbol of the templar brotherhood.

"You don't need to worry about this being personal. I'm simply freelancing. You're just unfortunate that someone wants you dead." He said. "Name is Jason Brigmore, not that you will remember it."

A freelancer? If he wasn't being pursued by his true enemy, that meant someone else must have known about his presence, but who? Yorukaze rolled to the right as the rogue nearly pierced his chest. This wasn't good, he was in no condition to fight for a long period of time. The wounded assassin dodged a slash aimed at his throat as he looked around for a means to escape this predicament.

"You aren't fighting back. But seeing as you're bleeding out, I can see why that would be difficult." Jason said as he followed up with another thrust of his knife.

Yorukaze backpedaled, reaching for a pouch on his belt. He took out a smoke bomb and threw it down. Jason narrowed his eyes as he waved his knife throught the smoke. His target had decided to retreat. A smart choice, but he would still hunt him down until he was dead. That's what he was being paid for.

/

Yorukaze cursed as he moved as quickly as his legs would allow. He made sure to keep pressure on his wound as he moved away. It wouldn't do well to give his pursuer a trail to follow. Finding the place he was searching for, he quickly scaled up to the roof, despite his body angrily protesting against such actions.

He let out a sharp breath as he reached a hatch on the roof and hastily opened it. He let himself drop inside and limped over to a small table with a first aid kit on it. This small space was currently the only hideout in the city. The main hideout for the order of the British assassins was in London, no other bureaus had been established since the last of the order had died out.

Yorukaze stripped himself of his bloodied robes and let his equipment drop to the floor, opening the kit and beginning to work. He took a small piece of wood and bit down on it, fishing out a pair of tweezers. He bit down hard as he fished around in the wound for the bullet. His breath was labored as his teeth left small marks on the wood.

When he felt the teezers poke something hard, he got the ends around the foreign object and pulled.

"RRRRGH!"

He grunted when he felt the object leave his body and saw that a 9mm bullet had managed to get stuck inside of himself. He dropped the teezers and picked up the alcohol. Knowing that he was in for pain, Yorukaze poured some of the clear liquid on his wound.

For a good solid five minutes it felt like his body was on fire, but the stoic assassin dared not make a sound.

After having cleaned the wound, Yorukaze wrapped his body was gauze and bandages to keep the bleeding to a minimum. He sat down on the floor, his breathing now starting to level out. He leaned his head back against the wall and sighed. He needed to get word back to Issei. After tonight, he wouldn't be able to complete this task alone.

He grunted as he forced himself to stand and moved over to where the pigeon coup was. He wrote a swift urgent message and slid the paper into a small cylinder attached to the pigeon's leg.

"Go to Kuoh friend." He spoke softly as he watched the pigeon fly out of the open hatch.

Yorukaze found himself in silence once more. There was nothing else to do but wait. He moved over to where some pillows were arranged on the floor and sat down, moving to lay on his back. There was nothing he could do but rest and wait for help to arrive.

Despite the situation, Yorukaze managed to feel some amusement. Al Mualim had been right. It seemed not every assignment happened as it was planned.

And there's the newest addition for you. I apologize if the pace is a little rushed. I've been quite busy as of late, but I still put in the work whenever I have free time. I hope this one was entertaining, a bit more action than previous chapters, but that's a hint of what's to come.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in the next one.