Yo, been a while but I have something I hope you'll like. The next few updates will revolve around some of the lesser updated fics I have. I already have the order in which they will be done too so I hope to get those out soon. If you guys wanna see what I'm working on and read some fics not on the site featuring bleach, final fantasy 7, and others, feel free to join the server. We're even hosting a gaming tournament soon for the community so come by.
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vW4waX6T
"Got lucky the water is calm today, I hate choppy seas." A man said from the deck of the small vessel he was riding. The twenty nine year old had blond hair and blue eyes, traits he'd inherited from his dad as opposed to his mother. The man wore a maroon short sleeve shirt along with some black pants and shoes. He wore a black leather shoulder holster which only contained one firearm safely tucked away in the left slot. Slung lazily over his shoulder was a long white fabric, almost four feet long, that seemed to be hiding something metallic if the soft clanks occasionally heard were any indication.
His eyes glanced out to the vast ocean ahead of him, along with the visage of a city in the distance, and he whistled at the beauty. Leaning onto the small rails of the vessel, the man took a deep breath, enjoying the nice sea breeze. As beautiful as it seemed from this distance, he knew it was nothing short of a hell hole.
"Of all the places where I could've ended up…it's Roanapur." He said with a humorous sigh. He'd heard of this place before, a lot of people had. At least those knowledgeable or involved with less than legal activities. This place was home to the worst of the worst that the world had to offer. Drug addicts, mercenaries, killers, prostitutes, psychopaths, and mafias of all different places called Roanapur home.
This was also where his mom's younger brother called home. How he ended up here was another story entirely, one that even he wasn't completely sure of. All he knew was that his uncle had managed to secure a firm position as one of the bosses in the area, and as such was more than happy to offer him a place when he heard about his circumstances.
Against his uncle's discretion, he refused to dress up in a suit and tie like the man, instead opting for something a little more casual. At a glance, one would think that he was slightly out of place. Not because of the way he dressed, but because of his demeanor. He didn't wear a constant frown on his face like battle hardened soldiers, there were no scars littered across his face, nor did he have the eyes of someone who enjoyed killing.
He'd done it, of course, plenty of times but it wasn't something he would claim to enjoy. It was work, his duty at one point. The blond chuckled softly to himself at his thoughts.
"I'm already starting to think like the people from this place." He said to himself. There were plenty of former soldiers here, Russians, if he recalled correctly. They would surely see things the same way he did, simply carrying out orders as they would in any war. "I wonder just how bad things here really are. Are they as bad as uncle said or was he exaggerating to make it seem worse than it really is?" He added afterward.
His conversation with himself was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing from his pocket. Reaching down, he pulled it out and with a quick flip, placed it up against his ear.
"Hey, uncle." He greeted casually. Turning around to rest his back against the rail, he looked up towards the blue sky and nodded. "Yeah, I'm almost there." He replied, glancing sideways.
The boat was making excellent time and he could even see the large buddha statue beginning to get closer to them. The large stone monument had seen better days. While most of the figure was still intact, the face of the Buddha had been mostly destroyed. It was almost comical how a statue of Buddha, which was supposed to bring peace to the world, had been destroyed. It seemed fitting though, all things considered.
There was nothing in Roanapur that would bring peace. Just like the statue, the only thing one would find there, is ruin.
"I'm just passing the giant statue now." He said into the phone. "You were definitely right, it is a lot worse up close. I can already hear bullets flying in the distance and I'm pretty sure I'm being monitored by a few different groups." He added.
His eyes darted to the right to see another boat making its way toward them. The boat he was on was manned by regular folks who he'd paid to bring him here so the locals must have seen them as easy pickings.
"A meeting already? I haven't even arrived yet. Does anyone know about me? I doubt the others will take too kindly to you bringing a complete stranger." He said, ignoring the shouts from the pirates next to them. His uncle simply laughed at his concerns and gave him a 'don't worry about it'.
"Alright then if you're sure. I should be on land in a few minutes. Pick me up at the port." Closing the phone, he shoved it back in his pocket and took a deep breath.
"Already got work and I don't even have a place to stay yet." He said to himself in a monotone voice. Pulling out a cigarette, he placed it in his mouth and lit it, enjoying the taste of nicotine. Well, not the nicotine itself but rather the effect it now had on his body.
'This is my life now. Living in a run down city with the worst the world has to offer.' He thought. 'I suppose it could be worse. I could be back in Hong Kong watching the government fuck over its people and then blame others. At least here everyone knows they're a piece of shit.'
"Cut the engine!" One of the pirates yelled as he made his way onto the boat. The captain was obviously frightened and did as he was told, as did the others who accompanied him. The blond shook his head and wondered why he didn't just take up his uncle's offer of having some company he knew to pick him up.
"Everyone hands up! Let's make this quick and maybe you'll all live." The leader of the group yelled. Five more men made their way onto the vessel, each holding a rifle at chest level. None of them stood out in any special way, and the way they carried themselves told him everything he needed to know. These were low level thugs trying to make a quick buck.
Taking another pull from his cigarette, the blond continued to watch the scene unfold. Even as one of the men yelled at him to move over with the others, he simply stayed in place wanting nothing more than to finish the stick.
"Hey didn't you hear me?!" The leader asked, getting up close. The man sneered at him and gave him an inspecting look. "What the hell is a guy like you doing near Roanapur anyway? This place isn't for you." He added "You're lucky I'm one of the nicer guys in the city, otherwise your brain would've been in the ocean already. Now move." He ordered.
Finally nodding, the blond let the cigarette fall out of his mouth. As if it was in slow motion, he kept his eye on it as it made its descent. The moment it touched the ground, he moved. Faster than anyone could react, his right hand reached into the left holster and pulled out his weapon of choice.
A custom black desert eagle with gold accents. Most of the firearm was black with the barrel, rear sight, hammer, and trigger being gold plated. No one had a chance to say something before the first bullet was let off. The 44 caliber round impacted in between the man's eyes, ending his life before he even realized it.
The other thugs who had come aboard with him watched in terror as their leader was quickly dispatched. Too bad for them, the gun was already pointing in their direction while they had been distracted by the falling body.
Five more rounds were fired off in quick succession, each bullet easily finding its target. Six shots, six dead bodies.
Walking over to the leader, he nudged him with his foot until he was ceremoniously kicked overboard, letting his body plummet into the ocean. As they had arrived together it was only right that they left together, and soon, there were six total human buoys in the ocean.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to dirty your boat," He apologized to the frightened people. "We should be good now."
The captain just nodded slowly and made his way back to the steering wheel. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the coast and began to stretch. The ports were getting near and now that they were closer, he could see he'd been right about being watched.
There were street soldiers all over the place, each dressed differently signifying what group they belonged to. Those in white suits with floral shirts were clearly with the Colombians, there were some who looked like old soviet soldiers so they were the Russians. Then there were some of more Asian descent which meant they were with the Triad.
He could already see a few making phone calls, no doubt reporting a newcomer to whoever they worked for.
'They really don't like outsiders do they?' He thought to himself. At the distance they had been at, he was sure they'd seen the little altercation he'd just been a part of. Lighting up another cigarette, he shrugged. If any of them tried anything, they'd meet the same fate those third rate thugs did.
xxxx
Making his way into the back seat of the black Mercedes that was waiting for him, he buckled his seatbelt and allowed himself to relax. The man that had opened the door for him wore an expensive looking black suit with a decently concealed firearm at his hip. The man silently took his seat in front of the steering wheel and pulled the car out of the docks.
Though he tried to be discreet, the blond could see the man's eyes behind his glasses taking occasional peeks from the rearview mirror. It was clear his uncle didn't give him any information as to who he was picking up. By all accounts, he was just a regular guy that somehow knew their boss.
Lighting up another cigarette, he opened the window a bit and blew a puff of smoke out. Now that they were on the road, he could see the city up close. Prostitutes littered the sidewalks by the dozens. Each looking as miserable as the last. Some seemed to be content in the company of their customers, sitting on their laps with their arms thrown around their necks as they showed what they could do.
It was a damn shame. Some of those women were really good looking, easily able to pass off as models in other parts of the world, but instead, they had become drugged up whores.
"So how far are we?"
The driver looked back at him and then turned his attention back on the road before answering. "Not too far. The boss is already making his way to the meeting point, as are the other bosses. We should be arriving any minute now."
Nodding in thanks, he continued staring out the window, taking in the fucked up view of the run down buildings as they passed by. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, as neither man had anything important to say. The only thing he could think of was perhaps what this meeting could be about, but something told him a courier wouldn't be in the know about important meetings.
Once the car stopped, the door was once again opened for him. Those on the streets looked at him with questioning looks. They knew who the driver worked for but seeing him, an unknown man, probably had everyone wondering. Ignoring them for the time being, he allowed himself to be escorted into the building. Music quickly flooded his ears as he was escorted through the dark room.
He was led down a flight of stairs and with every step, the volume of the music got lower and lower. The smell of nicotine was strong and the environment was tense. Stepping forward, any conversations going on died down and all eyes were on him. Apart from his uncle, there were only two other people in the room with them.
The first was a rather tall woman with blond hair tied up into a ponytail with two bangs framing her face. She had sharp blue eyes along with a myriad of scars littering her body. They ran down the right side of her face, continuing down her neck, chest, and legs. The woman wore a wine red skirt suit along with black stockings and black high heels. While scars tended to make one look disfigured, he couldn't help but think the woman looked very nice.
Standing next to her was a large man wearing a black turtleneck underneath a dark green jacket. His pants matched the color of the jacket but other than that, there wasn't much else going for him. Though he definitely gave off an imposing image, what really stood out to anyone who looked his way was the large diagonal scar running from the right side of his forehead to his left cheek.
"Well what have we here?" The woman spoke in a calm but seemingly playful tone. "A new associate Chang?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the blond.
Chang laughed goodnaturedly and nodded. "You can say that. Balalaika, meet my nephew Naruto." He introduced the blond. "Naruto, this is Balalaika, the leader of Hotel Moscow. The man next to her is her second in command, Boris."
"A pleasure." He replied smoothly. "Uncle Chang has spoken highly of you."
Balalaika turned her attention to Chang who continued watching the interaction with an amused smile on his face as he smoked.
"Has he now? You'll have to tell me what he's said sometime."
"Good things. Well, as good as they can be when dealing with someone from this place I suppose." He replied with a chuckle.
The woman took a pull from her cigar and tapped the end of it on a small black ash tray on the table before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.
"How true, and while I'd love to continue bantering…" She trailed off. "It's time we address the purpose of this meeting, Chang."
The leader of Roanapur's Sun Yee On branch of the Hong Kong Triad nodded in agreement and also put his cigarette out.
Naruto stood silently, listening as the two leaders of their respective groups began discussing the drug trade as well as what people were trying to infringe on their territories. It seemed that someone from the Triads had gotten a bit too ambitious and had begun dealing drugs on Hotel Moscow's turf.
That wouldn't have been so bad had one of the Russian's not been killed when trying to rectify the situation. That had sparked off some tension since the rogue Triad had gone into hiding soon after. How the man had managed to remain hidden when both his Uncle Chang and Hotel Moscow had incredible resources was beyond them. That meant either they weren't' looking that hard, or he was that good at hiding. Something told him it was the former though.
For the next hour and a half they discussed in detail how they would handle this. Hotel Moscow wanted him alive to pay for what he'd done, but that would mean breaching into the Triad's territory since it was believed he was hiding somewhere in that area. Considering these were two of the most powerful people in the city, Naruto was quite surprised at how cordial the two were.
He half expected the woman to be much angrier since it was one of their men that had been killed but she was surprisingly calm. Chang had told him how much she valued her men, so seeing her casually lighting up another cigar kind of threw him for a loop.
"How about instead of risking a small war you let me and my associates take care of it." Chang proposed. The woman raised an eyebrow, prompting the man to continue. "I'll have him delivered to you by the end of the night. Feel free to do as you please with him."
Balalaika thought it over for a moment, briefly speaking with Boris in Russian. Having studied a few languages, he was able to pick up words like 'deal' and 'convenient' before losing the conversation.
"Very well, we expect him no later than midnight." Balalaika replied. "We want him alive."
"You'll have him." Chang replied, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse us…"
Naruto followed the man but not before nodding to the two Russians. Heading up the stairs and out of the building, he swung the piece on his back over his shoulder and into the car after making his way inside.
"Hmm?" Chang hummed, looking over at him. "A desert eagle? What happened to the Beretta 92?" He asked, holding out his right hand. Knowing he wanted to see the gun, he pulled it out of the holster and handed it over without issue.
Chang held the gun up to the light, admiring the way the precious metal reflected the light. "A .44 caliber round too." He noticed, having pulled the magazine out.
"I still have it. The desert eagle grew on me though and I've been using it for years now. I'd say I like it more than the Beretta."
"I see." Chang replied. His glasses-covered eyes moved down to the white piece of fabric resting between his legs, resting against his thigh. "Has that one changed?"
Naruto smirked and undid the small strings that were wrapped around the top of the fabric. With the fastener undone, the fabric fell revealing a long barrel leading down to a black scope. Along the side of the body, a single row of X's had been carved in a neat row.
"Nope." Naruto replied happily. "Still the same old L96A1, minus a new scope but for the most part, everything has remained the same. I have been wanting to get my hands on a Barret 50cal, but prices for those have been a bit too high for me."
"A 50cal huh…" Chang hummed before taking another drag of his cigarette. "You should take a stroll over to the Ripoff Church one of these days, they can get one here quickly."
Naruto sweatdropped at the information. He already didn't want to pay the asking prices for the weapon, so going to a place called the 'Ripoff Church' didn't exactly make him feel like he'd get a good deal.
"I know what you're thinking but trust me, they're the go to's around here for weapons." Chang reassured. "Besides, I'm sure you only brought so much ammo with you, eventually you'll need to pay them a visit. I've already arranged a place for you to live in the city, you'll have to buy everything else though."
"It's a good thing I'm working for you then." He replied smoothly. "Any chance you have a job for me? I need clothes and a fuck ton of other shit."
The smirk on his uncle's face answered that for him. "As it turns out there is. There's someone we need to find and deliver to Hotel Moscow. You'll be paid nicely for a job well done."
Naruto mirrored the man's look and leaned back "Sounds good to me. You have the info on him?"
"You'll get it once we get back to the office, I'll fill you in on everything you need to know."
Hotel Moscow
"Well that went well. Wouldn't you agree, Sergeant?" Balalaika asked as she took her seat behind her desk.
"Yes. His proposition saves us the possibility of losing any more comrades." Her second in command replied. "That's assuming he sends one of his more trusted men."
"Oh he will, don't worry about that. In fact, I'm certain he'll be sending his nephew on the job." She said as she looked down. On her desk was a yellow manilla folder with countless papers neatly organized inside. She'd of course been notified about a new face arriving at the ports earlier in the day.
New faces weren't all that common, with the latest having been Rock of the Lagoon Company. The woman had written it off as someone who would be dead within the hour but once she'd taken a look at the younger blond and learned of his connection to her competition, she'd ordered everything they could find on him.
Balalaika let out a low whistle after letting out a puff from her cigar. It took a lot to impress a woman like her, but what she was reading did just that.
"What is it, Captain?" Boris asked. She could hear the curiosity in his tone and turned to look at him.
"It seems Mr Chang's nephew has quite the resume." She said before turning her attention back to the papers in front of her. "He joined the military the moment he was eligible, a few years after that he became the youngest person to join their elite special forces. He's a long range specialist with the most confirmed kills in Hong Kong history all with the use of a Remington 700. Busy young man wasn't he?"
Even Boris who was known to keep a stoic look at all times seemed impressed by what he was hearing. For someone so young to have accomplished that much was nothing short of remarkable, which posed the question in his mind, what was he doing here?
Before he could ask, the woman continued. Reading through a few more pages, she stopped and stared when she came across another bit of info. Boris glanced at the woman's face, taking note of the brief flash of sadness that crossed through her eyes. Everyone outside of Hotel Moscow knew she was a woman to be feared, a strong willed commander that made examples out of anyone who dared cross her. No one knew the desires and dreams she had growing up.
The only times he'd seen that look on her face, was when she would talk with him about the old days. About what life would have been like had things gone differently.
"Something wrong Captain?" Boris asked.
"Naruto also happened to win two gold medals at the Olympics in two separate marksmanship events. Rifle three positions, and skeet shooting if you were curious. After that he resigned from the military and seemingly followed Changs footsteps and became a police officer before abandoning his post shortly after. What he did before the army and in between that time and arriving here is unknown." She finished, putting the documents down.
Boris understood now. Reading about someone seemingly living the life she could have had would certainly put her in a certain mood. She did well in hiding it, she wouldn't be able to command the same respect if she wore her emotions on her sleeve after all.
"You're similar." He replied.
"I suppose we are." She agreed. "We're both skilled snipers, though with how long I've been out of the field it's safe to say he probably has an edge. Both special forces of our countries and both had olympic aspirations, though fate worked in his favor." She added, taking another pull of her cigar.
Standing up, she made her way around the desk and sat down on the edge, taking a moment to look down at the city below them.
"I suppose all that's left to see is if he has the same mind as his uncle. He's proven himself competent with a weapon, but now we'll need to see how he handles the new environment."
"If he has a sharp mind, we could have a potential threat on our hands. It would be like dealing with two Mr Chang's." Boris replied.
Balalaika nodded. "That's true. The chance of him taking over the position of one of the other two bosses is a possibility that could disrupt the balance of power. On the other hand, he could also prove to be a powerful ally if we play our cards right. We'll just have to keep a close eye on him."
xxxx
Shortly after being given the information he needed on the target, Naruto began making his way through the streets of Roanapur. He'd already been told where he could find the man and if the amount of Russians he was seeing in the area was any indication, he'd say he was in the right area.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Naruto glanced up at one of the many clubs that littered the city and glanced around. Like most places, the entrance and surrounding area were flooded with men belonging to different competing factions. Parked just down the street was an unmarked black Mercedes like the one he had been picked up in. That was the car that would make the delivery when he was finished according to his uncle.
Making his way toward the club he was told his target was currently in, he pushed the doors open and began scanning the faces of all the patrons.
It didn't take long to find who he was looking for, the man was off near one of the corners of the room chugging down a bottle of alcohol with some hooker by his side. Shaking his head at the lack of awareness, Naruto slowly crossed through the busy room.
Many men, most notably from the Triad kept their eyes on him as he walked. Chang had mentioned to some of the guys who he was and word had surely circulated by now, whether it had spread quickly enough though was another story.
'I hope he doesn't mind a mess.' Naruto thought to himself. There was no way the guy would come willingly, meaning the building would be decorated with a few bullet holes by the time the exchange ended.
The man finished his drink, slamming the empty glass on the table in front of him and looked up with a frown on his face.
"Who the fuck are you?" He asked rudely.
"Don't worry about that. I'm here because you've become a problem not only for our boss but for the Russians too. You can come peacefully or I can drag you out by force. Take your pick." Naruto warned. He could see the slightest bit of red on the man's face from the booze meaning his reaction time would be slower.
Even if he had been fully coherent, he was still certain he would win if it came down to a quick draw. Predictably, the man sneered at him and stood up, getting up close and personal.
"I don't know who the fuck you think you are but if you don't…." By that point, the blond had heard enough. Quickly pulling out his firearm, the blond double tapped the trigger. One shot pierced through the man's thigh, dropping him to the ground while the other penetrated just above the waist at a downwards angle.
Those who didn't have a suitable weapon on them quickly made their way out of the building while those who were armed took cover behind whatever they could. Almost as if hoping for something to pop off, many of the others began shooting at each other as well. Clicking his teeth in annoyance, the blond kicked the man's hand just as he was pulling out his own gun.
Shooting once more in the back of the hand, he reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. A red smear leading out of the building was left behind as he dragged the man out. The man let out grunts of pain and anger as he was forcibly dragged outside and tossed roughly onto the sidewalk. The doors of the Mercedes quickly opened up and three men ran over, each brandishing their own gun.
"Get him inside, hurry!" One of them yelled.
Naruto watched them kick the man a few times before picking him up and forcing him into the trunk of the car.
"We'll take him to Hotel Moscow. Need a ride back?" The leader of the group asked him, taking a moment to light up his cigarette.
"Nah I'll be alright. I'm gonna have a look around. You guys take it easy." He replied calmly. His fellow Triad member nodded and ran back to the car before taking his place at the wheel and fleeing the scene. It was still well before midnight, the sun hadn't even begun to go down yet and he was already done with his job.
With plenty of time before he needed to go to his new place, he decided getting to know their part of the turf would be beneficial. It definitely would have, had it not been for one minor issue. All the commotion that had been caused moments ago had gotten the attention of the 'authorities'.
Cop cars flooded the area and police officers made their way toward him as well as inside the building.
"Hands up!" One of them ordered.
Naruto sweatdropped.
'Is he serious?' He wondered. Roanapur was basically a lawless land ruled by the different mobs that called it home. It wouldn't surprise him a bit if these cops were corrupt. The looks on their faces however told him they fully expected him to comply with their demands.
'Must be because I'm new.' He realized. 'Had this been my uncle or even Miss Balalaika I highly doubt this would be happening.' Sighing to himself, he placed the now empty weapon back in his holster and raised his hands in surrender.
Quickly, the man apprehended him and led him into the back of their patrol car. Rolling his eyes at the dramatic fashion in which they were handling this, he made himself comfortable and looked out the window. He made eye contact with a man that clearly worked for the same people as him and nodded to him.
With that simple motion, the man pulled out a phone and made a call as he began walking away.
Twenty minutes later, he found himself sitting in a cell in one of Roanapur's run down police departments. His weapon had been confiscated but other than that, they hadn't done much of anything else. All that was left was to wait, for what? He wasn't sure. He wouldn't wait long however, as an hour later, the same officer that had arrested him opened his cell and led him out.
"Alright come on, you're free to go. Grab your shit and get out of here." The cop said in a bored tone.
"Just like that huh?" Naruto asked in a knowing tone.
"Yeah, just like that." The man pulled out his black and gold desert eagle and handed it back to him before pointing him towards the door.
"Good, you here. We leave now." He heard from his right hand side as soon as he stepped outside.
Leaning against the building was a woman a few inches shorter than him. She had knee length black hair with the right side of her face being covered by a chest length bang. Her clothing consisted of a rose Chinese cheongsam that revealed plenty of her admittedly wonderfully long legs. Above that she wore a white jacket with golden accents.
It wasn't just her legs that caught his attention, but her red painted lips and tassel earrings as well. She had a few knives strapped around her thighs but in their line of business, it wasn't too surprising to see.
"I'm going to assume the boss sent you." Naruto replied.
The woman nodded. "Yes. Come on." She ordered, making her way towards a green suv parked along the sidewalk.
"Thank you for picking me up." Naruto said in her native tongue. "My name is Naruto. I just got here today."
The woman looked at him with a pleased look, happy to be able to communicate in the language she was actually proficient in. "Don't worry about it. When the boss sends you somewhere you go. Anyways I'm Shenhua, this guy is Leigharch."
"Hmm? I heard my name." Leigharch said in English. The accent immediately gave away his Irish ancestry.
"Hey. Naruto." He greeted the man in English.
"Naruto huh. Must be important to the boss if he had us come get you." He replied, but not before taking a puff of his joint.
"I guess you could say that."
"So we go back to boss now?" She asked him.
Naruto hummed and pulled out his gun. He supposed now was as good a time as any to get things settled.
"If it's all the same to you guys, do you mind if we make a quick stop somewhere?"
"Sure. This baby can take us anywhere in the city. Where to?" The Irishman asked happily, tapping the steering wheel of his car.
Shenhua rolled her eyes at the comment but decided not to say anything. She pulled out a small mirror and began checking her lipstick.
"The Ripoff Church."
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