Red sword and Black gun
A joint fan fiction done by Benji Himura and Maria Tachibana
Disclaimer: We do not own Sakura Wars, but Benji does own his character
Chapter 1:
Maria
"No! D-don't shoot!" A rich man's cries filled the alleyways of New York City, but no one seemed to care. Everyone knew that the mafia was always at work here, and that they had become more deadly since last year. Normally, the mafia had their reasons for killing people. However, during the past few months, they had discarded that tradition and killed or seriously injured anyone who got in the way of their mission, or just killed for fun. "Your life has been on the line since you betrayed us…what makes you think that I'd spare you?" a very heavily accented voice, with each word as cold as ice, spoke, and the people of New York who happened to be strolling by, knew who had been given the job of killing this man. "I-I'm rich now! I'll give you lots of money if you spare me!" the man exclaimed, backing up slowly, until his back hit a brick wall, and he knew there was no chance to escape unless he bargained for his life. The assassin gave a low chuckle. "You couldn't give me as much money that I'd get if I killed you. There's a nice bounty on your head, and the longer I drag this out, the more I make." The man cringed at the thought that this assassin…this woman was the one who was going to be the one to kill him. He sized his attacker up quickly. She had on a waist length, dark blue, leather coat, and underneath, was a black cat suit, in order for her to disguise herself in the dead of night. She wore black boots, and although you would expect them to click when she moved, they were silent. Nevertheless, she was a foreigner. You could tell, even if you hadn't heard her voice. Her platinum blonde hair and Japanese features were enough to give her away in a crowd, but somehow, she managed being unseen. Her thin blonde hair was covering one eye, but the one visible jade green eye was displaying her amusement at him, and her thin lips were formed into a smirk. Both of her hands were gloved, but only one was holding the deadly weapon, her Enfield MK 1 Star Revolver. The man could tell she was getting restless, and he tried once again to bargain for his life. "L-look, I'll make out a check for a thousand dollars, and you can have it, if you just spare me." The woman raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to continue. Two can play at this game. I'm not as stupid as I look. Quickly, the man grabbed a pen and checkbook out of his suit jacket, but not quick enough. A silver gun fell out onto the ground. The man's assassin had little time to react to the gun, but did well. She had misjudged him, and she knew she was going to be shedding a little blood by the end of this mission. For in her own surprise, she had dropped her gun on the cobblestone ground. The man was quicker than she had thought he would be, in picking his gun up, but it was apparent that he hadn't used it in a while. Each bullet that he shot flew past the blonde and she easily picked up her own gun, and fired a shot at him. The target was down within seconds, and she casually walked over to him, knowing full well that he was still alive. "Now, about that check…" she said, holding one hand out, while keeping the one with the gun steadily pointed at him. As his last act, the man wrote a check out for one thousand dollars, and as he handed it to her, she shot him. There was the sounds of sirens, and she sighed, pocketing the check. "Damn police." she muttered before climbing the ladder that led to the roof of many of the buildings. Once atop an apartment building, she looked out upon the city which she called home. It was lit up with neon signs, and other bright lights. But the one that drew the most of her attention was a neon sign that read Fraunces Tavern. It was their meeting place for tonight, and it just so happened to be her favorite bar. She turned around as she heard voices coming down from the alley, and began to walk away, knowing it was the cops. She knew that they'd be looking for her up here as well as several streets over. It always happened like that. She put her gun away, and jumped from roof to roof to roof, before actually climbing down the ladder, several blocks away from the crime scene. The blonde woman then walked out into the street, into a crowd that was headed towards the tavern.
Upon reaching the bar, she smirked when she saw another mafia bouncer outside. It's definitely meeting night. She thought to herself as she walked right up to the bouncer, flashed her gun, and walked right in. The bar was at the peak of its business tonight; there were laughing drunks at the counter, and it smelled of cigarette smoke over by the normal meeting place. A man in his late 40's turned around to look at the blonde, and motioned her over to a seat as he exhaled smoke. "Back already?" he questioned once she sat down. "I'm a fast business operative." she replied calmly, taking her gun out from its hiding place and polishing it. "I see…" the man replied wistfully. He ran his fingers through his gray hair. "So where's the money? You know that's all I'm here for." the blonde said, noticing her contact's uneasiness. "He wouldn't give it to me." the man replied. Immediately, the young woman glared at him, her hand now fully gripping the revolver. "Repeat that please." she said, icily. "He wouldn't give me the money. He said you didn't have it in writing that he would be paying you. But he says you have he deepest tha-" The blonde slammed her fist down on the table. "Dammit!" she swore, before getting up and going to the counter. "Rough night Maria?" the bartender asked as the woman known as Maria sat down on a barstool. "One large vodka please." she said, as an answer to the bartender's question. "Very rough night huh?" Maria sighed. "I'll be in one of those seats near the balcony." was her only reply.