Hi this is Benji Himura. I am now starting a new fanfic. Is a Sakura Taisen story. I don't own Sakura or any of the characters. Some anime or manga characters might show up in the story I also don't own then. I own Benji Himura and others characters that will show up in the story. It might be violence and sex in the story so if you are underage of seventeen are warned the content might be too improper to your age. Read by your own will and risk. In anyway enjoy the story.
Signed: Benji Himura.
Pre-story author notes:
This story is an altered universe for Sakura Taisen. As it will be told on the story it is a game being played. At least that is the very beginning of the story. Things might take odd turns as the story develops. But so far one thing is for sure. Ogami Ichiro won't be the leader of the hanagumi and I am not sure if he will appear on this story. Kyougi means game in Japanese the title of this story is Sakura Taisen the Game. But it isn't based on the real Sakura Taisen game.
"Text" Talked or thought sentences.
(Text) Talked sentences in a foreign language. As English when everyone else speaks Japanese.
:Text: Messages show in an electronic screen.
Tenth coin: Final fight
September eighteenth 20XX Vitória. Vitória Apart Hotel.
Inside a large suite ten men in suits are celebrating. They are the leaders of the mercenaries who where killed. They target was killed and that gave them all the money that all the dead ones would have been paid. A brown haired waiter with a tuxedo is serving them. They talk loudly in English plainly ignoring the servant who is fueling the party with food and many drinks.
Two of them left to get them women to spice up the party. The waiter keeps serving them. Much later a computer screen lithe. "I am informing that you all will be paid for the job." A heavy accented voice says in English. "Please come to the Beira Rio hotel in São Paulo to receive the payment."
"Well seems that you are the leader. Well let me inform that the target wasn't eliminated." "Who is speaking!" the man asks trying to see the speaker. The waiter walks to the range of a small camera. "The target." Benji says pulling his now waist long hair from the jacket. "And don't worry in sending more mercenaries here. After all I am moving to São Paulo after you."
An Japanese man stares at Benji. "Stay put if you want to see if you can kill me before I kill you." Benji adds closing the laptop. He passes by the side room where eight mercenaries lie dead. The two remaining ones enter on the suite. "I am going to fetch more drinks sirs. Your companions drank all." Benji says to them. The two nods and walk to the side room. Benji places a grenade on a champagne cup, which is over a pushcart. And walks away.
"Hey you smell something weird?" A blonde one asks. "No. It must be impression." the other one a brunette replies. They open the door of the side room and see all the others dead and blood sprayed on the walls. They turn and run to the door but the grenade explodes igniting and exploding three gas barrels that was stashed inside the cart.
The explosion moves Benji's hair. He is by a fire alarm and he gives the alarm making all the others guests running from the just started fire. Benji removes the tuxedo while he walks upstairs.
On the lobby Ringo and Lisa are there with many more cops trying to enter with the sea of people trying to leave. On the tenth floor a massive fire is burning a room. Ringo knows that it is the room of the mercenaries that she finally tracked. She looks up and sees a figure leaping to a nearby building.
Ringo chases it and Lisa goes after her. Both of them see the figure leaping again and landing skillfully on a power wire and using it as a trampoline and leaping farther and landing over a truck that is leaving the outskirts of Vitória to enter on the city. They look at Benji who is wearing black coat, black trousers with the boots over the hem of the legs and a pair of sturdy leather gloves finish the get up. The wind moves his clothes and hair.
"Why he placed that gear?" Lisa mutters recognizing the style of the inner coat. Ringo is more shocked with his actions than with his clothes. He made an almost suicidal leap after exploding a room. That after being considered dead. Benji just sits on the truck and wait to arrive to his destiny knowing that he is not being followed thanks to the mess in front of the hotel.
Near of the airport Benji leaps out of the truck and walks to the parking lot there to fetch his bike. His hair moves with the strong winds of the zone. His hair is plain until reaching his neck and from there it forms many curls that move as a brown flame with the strong winds.
Benji arrives on Carla house and walks inside Emi's lab. He picks his com link and hears the cheerful voice of Shizue when hearing from him again. "What happened? I thought that you were killed on that explosion." She asks. "Well there was a delay but I escaped right on time." Benji replies.
On the night before
Benji jumps on the water before the explosion hits him. But he only surfaces far from there. And he leaves the water on a beach two blocks from the yacht club. He is soaked wet and walks to Carla house to prepare to go to the hotel. In the morning Benji goes to a hair salon and get a full service. His beard that was beginning to grow was shaved, his hair cutted and styled neatly, his nails was treaded and cutted. Benji left the salon almost looking as a new man.
After putting a tuxedo and gray overalls over it Benji leaves with the document that he forged and the resin knife that he made. Carla drives Benji to the hotel. Benji enters on by the service entrance. A security there scans his id and let him enter. Benji passes by a metal detector after placing a tool box on a balcony. He doesn't trigger the machine. The box is given to him and he walks away. Benji picks few gas barrels and hides on a food cart and covers it. He takes out the overall and adjusts the tux. Putting a grenade on his pocket and filling the cart with drinks Benji moves to the mercenaries room as soon they called.
Present time
"Resuming the entire story it is that." Benji says Shizue while he packs his things. "You didn't need to trick me you know?" Shizue replies. "To deceive your enemies you must first deceive your allies." Benji says. "You was not the only who thought that." Shizue sighs. Carla walks to him and hands his a parcel.
"In here there is a pair of gloves that I made using your old lab coat and Emi's favorite jacket. The one that she used before converting." She says to him. "It will be a bit short on length of the waist but it will fit. Think that is like a bullfighter jacket. But made out of black leather."
Benji nods and opens it. The gloves are red instead of white and he knows well what gave the color. "I treated them so it will be always that color." Carla explains. Benji puts the gloves on his trousers pockets. He takes out his coat and puts on the jacket. Fitted him perfectly on the shoulders, arms and chest. The jacket ended over his abdomen.
"Well Emi bought a men's jacket of a large size when young because she liked the style of it. At least fits you." Carla says seeing that the jacket ended too short because Emi cutted the excess that reached on her thighs. "When arriving in São Paulo go to the Sé station." Carla says giving him a key. "Emi gave his to me after she converted. She locked all the guns that she had on this locker and told me to hold on this key. It seems that she foresaw that someone might need them."
Benji takes the key. Holding back a sad whisper calling for his dead friend and lover. Benji takes out the jacket and places on his bag with the gloves. "Thanks for everything." Benji says. "Just avenge her that you are repaying me." Carla replies. Benji nods putting on a back holster.
He walks to the balcony and picks a large shield. The outer borders are made out of a white material and the inner part is black. The shield looks almost like a kite shield but much shorter. It is more like a trapezium with a triangle attached on it. The shield thinner point ends in a blade, the broader has a metal bar on it almost like a handle. The shield has two layers one lightly shorter than the other. Benji places the shield on his back on the holster changed to carry it.
half meter long blade, with two edge in the slight curved blade, the blade tip is larger than the middle and get larger again near of the handle, it have a small protuberance in the edge to inflict more damage with the tip of the protuberance and the other side of the edge the larger point of the blade, the tip if the edge is very thin and sharp with a slight turn to upside to the protuberance side, near of the handle is also sharp in the blade with a tips of the blade forming a guard, the part that is turned to the handle is blunt, a larger circle area in the connecting point of the handle and the blade are the main guard, in the handle of the knife white and red cloth strands wrapping on it and on the ring of the knife and have a final knot leaving about ten centimeters of fabric loose on the ring.
Benji places the knife inside a sheath made especially for it. He ties it tightly on his belt laying it horizontally on his waist under his back. He puts on a black denim jacket over them and the coat. He picks his bags and moves to the bike. He straps the larger one on the passenger seat and the smaller over the larger. He places the document case on the bike frame with both rifles there.
Picking his helmet and riding the bike Benji leaves after a brief farewell. As Benji drives on Vitória streets he passes by few familiars points on his way to the BR-101. His grandmother's apartment and Ringo's.
Benji parks the bike in a parking lot of a store and moves to his grandmother apartment. With skillful moves Benji jumps over the hospital wall to the second floor of the building and he quickly climbs the building reaching his goal. Seeing the apartment empty Benji enters on it. He moves to his grandparent's bedroom and open his grandmother closet. He moves few hanged clothes and reveal a safe box. Benji opens it and places inside it a thick wad of dollars. Two thirds of all that he got from the mercenaries. He locks it again and leave.
Benji is about to leave by the window when someone presses a gun barrel against the back of his head. "Since you entered by that way I am assuming that you got quicker. But I know that you aren't faster than a bullet." A female voice says. "Damn Maria what the hell you are doing here?" Benji asks not looking to the shorter brown haired girl wearing a black dress.
"I came visit your grandparents who are worried about you. I was on the little room that you guys use as depot picking up the rice pan when I heard you moving here." She says. "You did many bad things Benji. Very bad things." Benji sighs. "Tell me about it." He mutters. With a sudden movement Benji spins over his right heel and grabs Maria's wrist and disarms her before with a martial arts throw tossing her flat on her back over the living room table, as lightly as he could.
Maria gasps for air surprised with the entire motion that lasted shorter than she could notice or react. Benji is now holding her 32 caliber revolver. He opens the drum and drops the bullets before tucking the revolver on her belt. "You needed…to be that rough with me?" she asks panting.
"I kind of held back a lot and was as gentle as I could." Benji replies sitting on a chair lining up with her head. "It is pathetic. I mean I was with a revolver cocked on the back of your head and now I am flat on my back over the table." She mutters. "I changed a lot in the past days." Benji says trying to comfort her.
"You are right over that. You was different when you dated my sister in secret." Maria says letting out a sigh. "But you are mainly the same." Benji shrugs as saying 'can't help it.' "Mind in at least telling me what is going on? Why you are being chased?" Maria asks. "I don't know what is going on." Benji answers. "I have a theory about the why but I won't say it."
Maria sits up when her back stopped hurting like hell. "Just go away." She says. Benji nods and moves to the window. "Just tell everyone that I am fine and that they don't need to worry." Benji says before leaping out of the window. Shocked Maria ran to the window and sees Benji skillfully leaping down the small balconies until he leaps over the wall to the hospital roof. "He just got crazier than he was then. Much more skilled too." She says impressed while Benji lands on the hospital grounds and moves away. "How I will tell them this?" She mutters picking up the fallen bullets.
Passing by the bus station Benji is forced to stop because a van is blocking the way.
"Alemão." Benji mutters recognizing the driver. "I guessed that you would leave after that explosion." A tall man with short blonde hair says to him. He is wearing jeans pants and a t-shirt. "You don't know what is happening and you won't interfere." Benji says. Alemão opens the van. "I never said that I would stop you. I am going to give you a lift out of the town. They placed road blocks on the exit. All the bikers are being stopped." He says. "We place your bike in my van and you go with me then after passing the blocks you are free to continue alone."
Benji nods and they place the heavy bike inside the van with the help of a small ramp. After tying it and entering on the van they leave. "I haven't thought you any of the things that you used so far. Ringo told me that your style changed brutally." Alemão says driving. "I learned by myself." Benji replies. "It was needed."
After that brief conversation they travel in silence. Half hour later they are unloading Benji's bike from the van. Benji rides on it and is ready to leave. "Hold a second." Alemão says. Benji stops, the blonde picks something on the van. And tosses to Benji. "It isn't all that good but I made it out of the three swords that your friends gave you." Alemão says. Benji is now holding a katana. "It is stronger than all the three together. It could be a match to a real one." He adds. "It doesn't suit that you carries on your back but it will help."
"Thanks. But those swords were gifts." Benji says. "I know. That is why I used them, they are filled with the wishes luck and prosperity from your friends." Alemão replies. "The reddish color is there because Ringo, Lisa and Rosetta asked me to bath the sword in they own blood. I cooled the blade with the blood that they gave to it." Benji bites his lower lip. "No one understands what you are doing but we are accepting it. We all are hoping for your safe return." He adds. "I will try. Thank them for me." Benji says placing the sword on the bike frame held on the holster.
"I will. But come alive and say yourself." Alemão says before leaving on the van. Benji watch him off for a while before leaving himself heading to Belo Horizonte his first stop to his final goal of São Paulo.
Seven hours later in a gas station near of the state border of Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais
Benji enters in the restaurant. It is half filled with truckers and bus passengers on a dinner break stop. Benji denim jacket is closed. He sits on an empty table and a waitress walks to him. "Good afternoon." She greets him, Benji greets her back. "Today special is Dobradinha." She says. Benji inhales and let out a pleased sigh. "I want it them. And give me a large portion of it." Benji says with a smile. "Also bring a two liters bottle of Fanta orange." She nods and walks away after writing his request. Few minutes later she returns with a large bowl filled with a red soup with many pieces of meat and white beans and a bottle of Fanta orange.
She walks away and Benji begins to eat. "What is that?" Shizue asks seeing the soup. "One of my favorite's Brazilian dishes. Dobradinha. Or cow stomach with white beans." Benji replies. "God that it is so gross." Shizue mutters on the other side of the line. "It is tasty, nutritious and cheap." Benji defends his food. "You guys eat raw fish. Not that I don't eat that too. You also eat all the kinds of sea food raw."
"But not stomachs." Shizue says. "Anyway thanks to you I lost my appetite. Ewww stomach…." Benji shrugs and keeps eating. "Another one." Benji asks to the waitress. And after two more bowls of Dobradinha and half of a chocolate cake Benji leaves the restaurant. "It is kind of soon to be stopping to sleep." He mutters. "Excuse me you know if there are more hotels ahead?" Benji asks to a worker of the station. "There it another one three hours ahead." The man replies. "Thanks." Benji says moving to his bike.
September nineteenth 20XX someplace in the BR-262.
Benji stops in a gas station and it is filling the tank. Since is around noon he decides to get himself some lunch. By Benji warning Shizue ate before him. As any gas station restaurant they served many typical Brazilian dishes that Benji ate with hunger and taste. And that made Shizue shiver. Especially when Benji asked for roasted bull heart on the rotation of barbecue.
Benji explained that he is eating mostly in trucker's stops and they mostly eat the most normal Brazilian foods as rice, beans and steak with some salad. And the restaurants also serve those dishes. Benji chuckles when hearing the comment of Shizue of going throw up when he began to eat the desert of mocotó jam. That after he explained her that was made from cow calf's.
Finishing his meal Benji drives away. And few hours later he enters on Minas Gerais capital, Belo Horizonte. He briefly stops on the house of his great-grandmother to ask her blessings since he is in town and to get some home made family food before leaving to a probable death. Of course that he won't tell them that.
"Bença Biza." Benji asks to an elderly woman. She is wearing a multi colored flower patterned dress and a red coat over it. "Deus te abençoe." She replies while he respectfully kisses the back of her hand. "You are so different that you were when I last saw you." She says in a normal tone but surprised with Benji new look.
His great aunts and cousins are also surprised by it. "It has been two years. I allowed my hair to grown on this time." Benji answers with a half truth. "At least I can see that you are following the religion." She says seeing the pair of crosses necklaces on his neck. Benji nods to not lie to her.
"I only came to greet you since I am only passing by the town." Benji says to her. "Why you are traveling?" Amelia one of his great aunts asks. She has short dark brown hair and is wearing blue shorts with a pink shirt. "I am going to a congress in São Paulo." Benji gives a half lie.
"It is good to hear that you are enjoying so much your profession." Lena another of his great aunts says. She is wearing green clothes. "I am." Benji replies. "Interesting that you did with your hair." Amelia says. "Well I felt like changing things a bit." Benji says. After a chit chat explaining with half lies his reason of showing there and a lunch Benji leaves. Half house after he leaves all his great aunts are in a room discussing the just found fact that Benji was missing on Vitória. To not worry they mother they just hide the subject from her.
Benji crosses the city to reach the 262 again. Not very happy for hiding things from them but the news would sooth they relatives in Vitória. After leaving BH Benji is in uncharted roads for him. But with Shizue navigating him and the road signs he would make it. And before the night falls over them the word of Benji show up in BH spreaded in Vitória like a wild fire.
September twenty first 20XX São Paulo capital
After registering himself on a hotel Benji moves to the Sé station with an empty bag pack. He founds the locker numbered 329 and opens it. Benji stares with his eyes wide open. Shizue is doing the same seeing the interior of the locker with the video feed. The locker is filled with guns and ammo. Benji puts it all inside the bag being careful to not call anyone attention in the process. Thankful that he chose to pick the things in the night when the station is emptier.
Benji closes the locker and picks the key. On his way out few thieves try to mug Benji with knifes. Just to be beaten almost to death by the prosthetic. Moving to his hotel that is near by Benji plans his next movement. In his room Benji calmly exam Emi's arsenal. "Okay I knew that we had similar tastes but this is quite of too much." Benji mutters picking a customized Beretta 92SB-F/F.
The barrel is metal blue and has a build in suppressor, the handle is jet black. Benji is surprised to how comfortable the grip of that pistol is for him. Benji founds twenty magazines of twenty rounds filled with ammo for it. Plus two more boxes of bullets. He also pulls an Uzi and magazines for it. He also founded on the locker holsters for the Beretta. Also a cleaning kit.
Benji carefully cleans and lubes the weapons. Shizue is searching for the location of the new mercenaries that was hired during the travel. And she founded them quite easily since a large group of foreigners registered in a five stars hotel. And she easily found that they were the right ones.
Benji leaves with the guns hidden on his clothes. He drives to a building in front of the hotel. He enters on it easily and goes to the roof. He assembles his Mk11 Mod0 Rifle and rests his back on the roof chain fence. He takes a deep breath and slides the rifle barrel inside a link resting it there. He aims to a window and spots the mercenaries all in black suits.
Inside the room they are being briefed by a computer showing a live meeting. "The target is armed and is extremely dangerous. He was fighting on his own backyard before but here he doesn't know anything or anyone. So learn to move here and then you will be able to terminate him." The hirer says. The mercenaries joke around. Until one of them fall. And one by one they fall with a bullet inside them skulls. Twenty mercenaries killed before they understood the situation.
"Thanks for the info about the wind." Benji says to Shizue who helped him to adjust the aim. "You are welcome." She replies. Benji ejects an empty magazine and puts a loaded one.
In another room of the hotel a tanned woman with long black hair is reading a file. "Himura, Benji. Age 21, born in august 23rd of 1983 in Vitória Capital of Espirito Santo." She whispers. "Another person blessed by the goddess of the Victory. I wonder which one of us she will bless us with the victory. The man born and raised in a city with her name or the woman who shares her name?"
She tosses the file over a coffee table. She gets up and walks to a bed and open a suit case. She takes from there a gun belt. She straps it around her waist over her black leather pants, she takes also a sword a rapier and places on her belt too. And the last thing that she takes from there is a MP5 then she picks a long black leather coat and leaves the room to take down her target.
Benji leaves the building where he was. But he is greeted by a spray of bullets. Benji jumps to get behind a car. Breaking the car rearview mirror Benji tries to see who is shooting him. He sees a tanned woman with an MP5. "Okay that is a new one. So far all the mercenaries were males." Benji mutters responding fire with his Mk11 Mod0 Rifle. She ducks for cover too.
Benji runs to a closed supermarket hiding his rifle on the coat. The woman chases him. She makes sure of locking the place so he can't run from her. She won't let a prey this good slide between her fingers. As all the others supermarkets the store light is always on. Benji tries to talk with Shizue with out success. Something that bothers him since that never happened before.
"I am Vittoria, some people calls me of Lynx. I am an assassin hired to kill you Benji Himura. Or the Player as the man who hired me calls you." Vittoria says walking around the isles. Benji picks two bags of one kilo of flour from one isle and moves to another where he picks a. can of air refresher. "I am intrigued. You were supposed to be an untrained civilian with little to none combat skills. But you alone killedone hundred and seventeen highly trained mercenaries." She continues.
"You show a lethal amount of training, wits, intelligence, reflexes and skill. One by one you escaped alive of multiple traps and attempts of taking your life. And when all this began you had nothing more than a single pistol." Benji manages to track her. He is just one isle of distance from her. Benji tosses the flour bags over the isle and they hit the ground ripping the bags and the flour forms a cloud around Vittoria.
She fires while coughing trying to prevent Benji from doing anything on that moment of weakness. But what she didn't notice was that she fell in Benji's trap. When the first bullet ignited the flour particles on the air ignites and in a chain reaction the entire cloud bursts in flames.
She screams in pain with the sudden and short burst of flames. Benji ran to the isle and tosses the can on her direction. He fires once with his 380 Beretta. The can explodes in flames once again taking the assassin by surprise. But even in pain Vittoria reacts. She fires on Benji direction. He leaps out of the way and run to another isle to prepare another trap.
Slowly recovering Vittoria opens her now red eyes. Her hair is scorched by the heat and her skin is in a painful shade of red. She has few cuts caused by the fragments of the can explosion.
"Very good! I just love when my prey raises the level of the game!" she says loudly walk now more careful. "Very creative. I never imagined that flour could be used like this." In another isle Benji is mixing cooking oil with soda pop and he closes the bottle and shakes it hard.
Benji founds Vittoria and rolls the bottle on her direction from behind. Then he fires on it twice. Vittoria ducks for cover from the bullets but she get splashed by the mix. Benji runs away and Vittoria tries to chase him. Just to fall on her face on the slippery floor. She screams in pain with a cut on the forehead.
While she gets up with trouble and walks away from that slippery isle she for the first time on her entire professional life have doubts over succeeding. In her long record of killings she always tortured her targets before killing them. She faced some very skilled body guards, but never someone who acted like Benji did.
Benji is in another isle thinking of what else to do. During the chase Vittoria got a luck shot and destroyed his rifle. Benji discarded it only keeping the bullets. Vittoria knew that. She saw Benji tossing the rifle on a sewer entrance. Vittoria founds Benji and fires at his back. Benji falls forward and Vittoria walks to him firing three more rounds on his back. "Now that was a bit too easy for my taste." She mutters in Italian.
Before she can reacts Benji kicks the gun out from her hands and with a low kick makes the assassin fall on the floor. Vittoria ease her fall and sees Benji running away. "Now that is much better." She says reaching for her MP5 just to found that Benji kick caused the magazine to bend and explode. She didn't heard because the adrenaline. She tosses the gun away and picks her pistol.
For the first time of her life she felt that good on a killing. The one time that came close was on her first death when fear mixed with the excitement of the hunt. But this time it felt much better. She was so excited that she could feel the pleasant warmth on her lower stomach moving down to her crotch.
"This feels so good." She whispers. "Not like the usual tingles of excitement." Years before she discovered that she was a sadistic. She loves giving pain to others specially those who are strong and spirited, that could resist her longer than most of people. She loved breaking them under her will before killing them. "After so long I found a worthy prey. I will savor breaking him before killing him."
In another isle Benji is happy that he decided to carry his shield with him. "At least I know that my crazy idea of placing those vests ceramic bars here wasn't all that crazy." Benji mutters knowing that he is only alive because he added bullet proof material on the shield. Benji climbs in one of the isles and moves over them.
Under him Vittoria keeps looking for him. Benji jumps over her. She is taken by surprise but she reacts. Attacking him back managing to make Benji lose the grip over his gun. But Benji did the same with her. The pistols slide far from them. Vittoria unsheathes her sword. Benji does the same with his katana.
Vittoria licks her lips sexily in expectation, savoring the intensity of feelings that her assignment is giving to her. But she is aware that a katana is the ultimate sword. Fairly know by its strength, speed, cutting power and versatility. And that if she doesn't takes care Benji will break her sword. The thrill is filling her with more excitement.
Deciding to get quick she gives the first move, a stab aimed to his lower torso. Benji sidesteps and responds with a horizontal slash on her thigh high. Unlike the assassin the prosthetic draws blood. But not much, Vittoria reflexes made her leaps backwards avoiding a severe wound.
"Really good." She says preparing to attack. "You aimed to my femoral arteries." Then she begins to attack Benji with a series of quick and less powerful stabs. Just few of them connect barely scratching Benji under four layers of clothes and one of silk. Benji respond with a swift vertical slash. Vittoria gains a shallow cut between her large breasts. She avoided being cutted on the half by stepping back. Her shirts now open shows her cleavage with blood running down her tanned skin.
She notices with angry that Benji is not noticing her assets and if he is he doesn't show any interest which makes her even angrier since he offended her woman pride. She charges him unexpectedly trying to hit Benji face with the sword hand guard. Benji blocks with his left hand. Vittoria is very aware that she is very attractive. And the fact that he is not caring about that wounded her great pride. With her left hand she holds on Benji katana guard.
Then she raises her right knee quickly to hit him on the groin. What she didn't expect was to Benji release his sword and punches her knee hard with his right hand. She hears and feels her kneecap cracking with the massive punch. And she winces with the pain. Before she can react Benji gives her a head butt smashing his forehead against hers. Benji pushes her and punches her again.
Vittoria blind with pain just run away from him. But this time Benji is chasing her. She felt a strong terror for the first time having the roles inverted. Still she feels her excitement grow stronger and stronger. She recalls that she thought of him as a wild cat. A minor predator when comparing to a lynx as herself. Now she saw the truth she is not facing a wild cat. But a south American Jaguar.
She recovers her wits few moments before Benji hitting her with a flying kick on the back. She hits hard an isle with hers and Benji's combined momentums. Benji lands skillfully over his feet. Vittoria recovers and tosses at Benji a pot of jam. Benji blocks with his left arm.
She stares when the glass pot breaks against his arm. "He has something up his sleeve." She thinks attacking him with a series of punches. With a sudden move she grabs Benji left sleeve and rips it off. She looks at a large armlet on his forearm covering it from the wrist to five centimeters bellow the elbow.
Benji punches her and she flips him over with a throw. Benji slides a bit on the floor. She runs to attack him. But Benji dodges it. The fight until entering on the butchery of the market. She grabs a cleaver and hits Benji hard on the chest. With no effect. She is surprised with it and Benji draws his knife.
He attacks her and she blocks. A deep dent appears on the cleaver. They continue to fight. She manages to force Benji in a wall. His left arm is over a machine and she turns it on. A metal pillar falls and presses down on Benji arm over the armlet. The machine whines making more pressure. "Fuck! Just break!" she shouts increasing the pressure of the machine.
Benji right arm is tangled between two machines and the knife is on his left hand. Vittoria is using a chain to strangle Benji. "Finally!" she shouts when the armlet cracks with the pressure. "I will break your arms and legs then I will hang you in one of those meat hooks." She says to him with pleasure on her voice.
"What is this burning smell?" she asks confused. She looks at the machine but it is not coming from it. She looks at Benji and before she could react she shouts in pain. She takes few steps backwards covering her left eye with both hands.
Blood seeps from her fingers. Benji turns of the machine. Vittoria noticing the danger grabs a knife and tries to attack Benji. But he attacks first. He cuts off half of her hand, from the index finger to bellow cutting on the half her forearm until slashing it off on the middle of her forearm length. She screams louder with pain holding her eyes with her left hand.
"You ripped my eye off." She curses him angrily. With her remaining eye she sees Benji right hand nails long and black dripping blood. She feels faint with the blood loss and barely can react when Benji kicks her in the knee breaking it and making her fall. Then he grabs her by her long hair and drags her deeper on the butchery.
She screams with pain and a thought crosses her mind. "This is how all my slaves feel when I am torturing them?" even with the massive pain she can still feel pleasure. And it is growing stronger and stronger. He maimed her, blinded her, crippled her, beaten her and is planning something horrible to her. Just as she did with uncountable people before.
"My master is punishing me for being a horrible woman." She thinks after something inside her breaks. Benji lowers two chains with meat hooks. She screams with pain when Benji buries the sharp hooks on her back getting support on her ribs. Then when she thought that the pain couldn't get any bigger Benji lifts her.
She feels her flesh ripping under her own weight and the bones holding her on the place. More pain and pleasure runs on her body. Benji lifts her one meter above the ground. And he leaves. He returns one minute later and tosses her sword on her. The blade buries on her hip trespassing her. She reaches the peak of her pain and pleasure.
Benji leaves the screaming woman behind to die. He gathers his things and leaves the market. Benji is beaten returning to the hotel. He hears Shizue again and explains what happened. He enters on his room and strips down. His body is covered with bruises old and new ones. He moves to take a shower to relax.
In her working room Shizue is trying to found out the source of the link collapse. That after receiving the answer of her report to her superior after Benji returns. Her response was clearly a happy one but she wasn't glad with the so called blanks in the communication.
After dressing Benji picks up his combat gear. "I will try finishing everything tonight." Benji says to Shizue. She nods on her end. And Benji tries to locate the hotel where his target is. A dread feeling fills him up. And he tackled hard inside a club. The club is half empty since it is a Tuesday night. Music is blasting from the speakers.
Benji gets up and sees around him ten tall figures with black robes. An alarm goes off and the place is emptied. The loud techno music is filling the room and the lights are giving on the place an eerie shine on its multicolored and blinking pattern. With out waiting for an attack Benji fires at the figures.
They only take the shots and move to attack him. Benji keeps firing with no effect until he trades the rifle for his sword. Then the figures pull out weapons too. Most of them are with glaives, but two of them are with double edged swords. All them jet black and very odd looking.
Benji manages to rip off one of the figures robes. It reveals a very tall slender creature with a metallic armor. "That helmet looks like the one that the predator uses." Benji wonders parrying a blow. Benji manages to kill one of them. Another one takes a deep breath that makes Benji pulls his shield and attaches it on his left arm.
The creature began to blow fire in the prosthetic. The shield deflects the flames. Benji forcefully walks forward getting closer of that creature. When the creature stop to take a breath Benji tosses a grenade on the creature open mouth. He runs and the creature explodes.
Two creatures attack Benji and the weapons are blocked by the sturdy shield. The battle goes on with Benji taking minor wounds and barely able to damage the enemy more than he did. Shizue is freaking out again because she lost the contact with Benji again.
Unknown to the Brazilian is that on his com link a number appears. 3:00:00 Benji sweat under his mask. He is getting tired of fending the eight remaining enemies. On the com link a count down began 2:59:99 Benji takes a deep breath.
In another part of the club the fight continues. Now Benji seems to be even smaller than his opponents. But his moves are flowing much better.
1:59:90 The color the numbers changes of green to blue. Another creature falls dead and turns into black dust. Benji takes four more down. 1:02:34 with a flow back dash Benji avoids being hit by a glaive.
The numbers change to red 00:54:74 with trouble Benji kills the remaining three and run out of the club. 00:09:88 rain falls over the tired prosthetic, he runs in an alley and fall tired. 00:00:00 the com link says with red numbers.
His back is pressed against a building wall, his right leg is stretched on the ground and his left leg is raised with the foot on the ground a bit below his right knee. His left hand is over the left leg. The shield is on his back and his right hand is weakly holding the sword. His head is down and the water falls over him.
On the street the lights of the traffic toss some light on him but mostly fade on the road. "Why this? Why I keep fighting? All that cause was pain to everyone. Emi, my family, bystanders." Benji mutters bitterly. "Why you are giving up?" a soft and bland feminine voice asks lowly. "Why after coming this far and working so hard you hesitate now?" "I am tired of this." Benji answers to the question. "All my energy is gone. My will isn't enough."
"That is not truth." She says with her soft voice, almost sounding like a faint breeze. "Your will kept you moving. Your own strength brought you here. You felt my absence few times and fought even fiercer on those moments. You no longer need the power within me to fight. Yet you accepted it."
Benji looks to her direction. He sees a girl with a long black dress, with a light white vest over it and a long piece of dark green fabric as a sash on her waist tying over the vest. Her face is young and her skin is very white, her eyes are from a dark green color and her short hair is sand blonde. She is holding a large black umbrella over herself.
"This as your people call it is a 'corredor Polonês.' It isn't fair or easy being hitted from all the sides and stay running to escape from it." She continues. "You are near of the end. What you are feeling now it just the effect of a synchrony. Exactly the fact that it was severed instead of shut. It will pass." Benji grip on the sword grows stronger.
"If you depose arms now you will lose. They will kill you and win." She says. "Emi's death will not be avenged and will be meaningless because she died to protect you." Benji body shakes with anger with that memory. "How long you will lie there? Your life is no longer yours only." She says. Benji show sign of getting up and she disappears in the ocean of light.
Benji forces himself up and walks to the hotel where the man behind all of this is. Around midnight Benji arrives on the hotel. Benji is surprised to see the amount of foreign men with black suits there. Seeing the war torn Benji they all draw weapons. But Benji is the one who acts first. A rain of grenades falls over the mercenaries. Benji draws his shield and attach it on his arm and hide behind it.
The grenades go off cleaning the room from the mercenaries. Benji enters in a hall and fire against more mercenaries. This time they fire back and Benji keeps the shield in front of himself blocking the shots.
On her post Shizue is once again freaking out. Since Benji left the hotel she is unable to contact him. And even when she tried to give him a boost she found her efforts useless. But she reports to her superior who now moves to the location of the hotel.
Benji walks to an elevator shaft. His shield is badly cracked and a corner of it is missing. He hears the elevator moving and sliding the shield blade between the two doors of the elevator Benji forces it open. He fires at the cables causing the car to fall out of control killing another group of mercenaries. Benji climbs in the shaft and moves up few floors. There he meets not more mercenaries. But the creatures that he faced on the club.
Putting the rifle aside Benji fights them. Near of the battle end one of the two creatures stabs Benji on the neck with a dagger. Benji kills the creature. He is breathing hardly.
"Remove it slowly and don't move it to any side." The voice of the blonde girl says to him. "You unconsciously moved yourself in order to minimize the damage. By a hair the blade missed your jugular and your wind pipe. Not to mention the spine." Benji moves his hand to the hilt that is on the back of his neck and slowly removes the blade. Blood seeps from his lips while he fought the pain and the will to cough. Benji tosses the knife away and keeps walking with a minor bleeding on his neck.
His shirt is badly ripped revealing a badly cracked scale mail under it. From his coat the on thing remaining is some fabric on his back held by two buttons on the collar. His left leg of the trousers is ripped. Tired and in pain Benji doesn't react fast enough when a woman attacks him making him drop the rifle.
She is using long metal claws on tips of her fingers. She attacks Benji who blocks the attack with his shield. She keeps pressing the attack until Benji kicks her on the stomach. Surprised and in pain she can't avoid the shield blade burying itself deep on her left thigh. With a strong side movement Benji moves cuts her leg. She falls in pain with her left leg held only by few muscular fibers who where still intact.
Benji picks his rifle and moves away leaving her to bleed to death slowly. But he is attacked by another woman. An exact copy of the fallen one. "Twins." Benji thinks blocking the woman fierce attacks. Getting a distance between her and himself Benji hits the inner side of his left forearm and the armlet with the shield falls from his arm.
Surprised by the motion the woman reacts slowly to a sudden leap from Benji. Before she can react Benji arms are around her tightly and his hands are holding hers preventing her from moving. His left leg is tangled between hers preventing her from kicking. But his final move shocks her beyond reason.
Benji bites hard her throat. His teeth bury on her flesh, but that won't kill her. She feels with terror the real reason of that move, when her breath is cutted by the increasing pressure. He was choking her. She tries to struggle and break free, but Benji's full body grip is stronger than her. With horror she feels him swallowing a mouthful of her blood.
"Then he won't suffocate while suffocating me…"she thinks getting more tired on each passed moment. Her body relaxes and but Benji keep them standing. Until he feels her body limp and the scent of urine that came with the suffocation Benji doesn't let her go. Releasing her and opening his mouth Benji let her dead body hits the ground over a puddle of urine that her relaxing muscles released. Benji spits a half full mouth of blood on the floor and picks the rifle and walks away.
"That was for sure something unusual." The girl says to him. "Was the first thing that came in my mind." Benji mutters his reply. "Okay big cat." She replies emotionless as if trying to tease him. He finally reaches the penthouse. In there Benji sees the middle aged Japanese man sited on a big chair. "Really good." He says clapping. "No one has ever lasted this long or came so far. But you see I have aces up my sleeve." Them twelve mercenaries armed with pistols and knifes enters the room. And two of them are holding a couple of young teenagers. The boy has light brown hair and American feature. The girl has blonde hair and looks European. None of them is older than fourteen.
"You see those two are players like you." The man says. "But they don't have the flame. That burning will that you have. A fire burning deep inside your gut. Or a leading power as you has. They are just plain soldiers who waited for someone to lead them. If I haven't captured them or you. That leader would be you, someone who they would respectfully fear and love." The two teens are holding the other tightly in fear. "If you want have a quick death and give to those two a painless death surrender now."
The two mercenaries close of the couple point they guns to them. "What make you think that I care about they safety?" Benji says to him. "Because you are a good guy and a leader. Good guys don't let innocent people die." The man reply. "They are dead anyway. And I am not that nice." Benji says. "You have to do something!" the male shouts in English. "Please help us." The girl whispers in German.
"Why you are chasing me?" Benji asks. "A good question. I will tell you then you drop your gun. You know that you won't make out of this room." The man replies. "I am a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Japanese Imperial army, my name is Tetsuo Sasaki. And you as them are one of the very few people with ability to vanquish the darkness from this world. You faced tonight many foot soldiers of the darkness and won. And is the greatest danger for my masters."
Benji hears lightly surprised with the man words. Oddly enough after all that he passed he found that almost natural. "Those who fight for the light are few and hard to locate." Sasaki says walking to Benji and ripping his memory card from his neck. "Sakura Taisen Kyougi. That is the name of the machine that gave you this. It is the only way for them locates people with potential and giving them spirit crystals cards to raise the energy of the players. But only one in six millions players has the potential to become a Player. As you did. The skills and abilities of your character of the game are given to you by this card. And with out it you are as dangerous as a kitten."
Three mercenaries disarm Benji who doesn't react. "My job was to infiltrate on the light soldiers and kill every Player who appeared in order to weaken the defenses of this world. You are the Player who gave me more trouble." Sasaki says. "Now that I explained why you will die. Just die."
Benji raises his hand and places them on the back of his head. One of the mercenaries laugh at the surrendering gesture. Benji slides his right hand inside his long brown hair. And with a swift move slashes the throats of the three mercenary's close of him. On his fingers is a blue resin and glass claw. Before Sasaki can react Benji drives the claw on his neck. One of the mercenaries shot the male teen. But before the other can follow the lead and kill the girl he is hitten by three bullets from Benji's 380.
The others attack Benji. He grabs his knife and they fight. Benji shot they guns and the fight is only melee. Virtually impenetrable thanks to his resin mail the stabs and slashes from the mercenaries don't damage Benji. But Benji's knife of amalgam maims and kills them. While the prosthetic show to them the reason that he stayed alive so long.
The girl hides behind a table. Soon all is over. Benji is standing on the middle of the room as a tower over the mutilated corpses of what would be his own executioners. Some one claps at him. "Good! Really good!" Benji turns at the voice ready to battle. "Easy there Player. I am one of the good guys." A woman walks inside the room. "Actually I am more like a good girl." She removes her army cap showing her short silver hair and blue eyes.
"Reni Milchstrasse!" Benji asks surprised. "Yes." Reni replies. "Indeed you are creative enough to recognize me as a grow woman from an anime teenager." She walks closer of Benji and faces him. She is only three centimeters shorter than him. But that is made up by her lightly high heels.
"And you are the hope of this world resisting against a new attack from the darkness." Reni says seriously. "You, Benji Himura will you lead my defense unit?" Benji stays in silence. Sasaki who is not dead yet draws a gun in an attempt to kill Reni. He fires but Benji reacts faster and blocks the shot. The bullet destroy the handle of his 380, Benji fires a single bullet in Sasaki skull. "I will think over that. Before it we need to discuss things." Benji says to her while tossing the empty and destroyed gun on the floor.
"Fine by me. Now you are safe and we have time to discuss it." Reni replies. The stress, exhaustion and wounds gained during the hunt finally take the toll on the young man. He staggers and falls forward and Reni holds him preventing him from hitting the ground. "Now you can rest." She whispers to him. Few soldiers enter on the room and gathers Benji belongings and the shaken girl. Reni drapes her jacket over Benji shoulders. And help him walking away from there.
September twenty second 20XX São Paulo capital
Reni enters on Benji room and hears the sound of the shower running. "Your suit is over the bed." She says to the young man. "Don't take too long." Benji response reaches her. "Okay! I am nearly done!" she leaves the room closing the door behind her.
Half hour later Reni and Benji are in the hotel restaurant. Benji is wearing a black suit with out a tie and with a blue shirt under it. Reni is wearing a knee long tight blue skirt, a white shirt, brown panty hoses, a pair of blue gloves and a blue blazer.
"I will repay the gun that you lost when blocking that bullet. Thought it wasn't necessary." Reni says. "Forget about that. It was just a pistol that I took from few crack heads before all this began." Benji replies. "But then why you haven't picked one of the mercenaries pistols?" Reni asks rather surprised. "That way I wouldn't mix the magazines. Since 380 and 9mm are different I wouldn't use a 380 magazine on a 9mm pistol." Benji answers. "Besides I already have pistol."
Reni nods and notices by the first time that Benji also wearing gloves. She decides to let it slide since he also hasn't asked the reason of her own gloves. "By the way that medicine that you gave me is amazing. I almost can't believe that I was with a deep cut on my neck this time of the night yesterday." Benji says sounding honestly impressed. Reni smiles.
"Glad to hear that. But as I said don't overdo. The medicine is only covering the wounds and medicating them. They are still there and with a small effort the fake skin cover of it will break and the wounds will open." She says to him in a serious tone. Benji nods at her words.
"Mind in explaining me exactly what happened? I mean why I was hunt down and everything." Benji asks. Reni sighs, she owned him that explanation since after the battle and being medicated Benji passed out with exhaustion. "Can we discuss it after the dinner?" Reni asks few instants before a waiter arrived with the meal for them. Benji nods deciding that he can wait another hour for the explanation.
Before they eat the young girl arrives escorted by a soldier in a dark brown suit. When the girl is sited near Benji and Reni he politely bows at Reni and leaves. "Who is him?" the girl asks in German to Reni. Reni smiles after all Benji now is far different from he was when she first saw him. With out a thick layer of blood and sweat over him, ragged clothes, weapons and armors Benji is almost unrecognizable.
"That man is the same man who rescued you last night." Reni says in German. "Hi." Benji says also in German. The girl stares at him. Not by hearing him speaking on her language but by the sheer and screaming changes on him. "That is not possible. That man was badly wounded. His neck was cutted!" she says in German. "I have many medicines." Reni says. "And I have many lives." Benji adds jokingly.
"I can't believe on this." She says looking at Benji. They eat in with a small chatter. "To be honest I am amazed with you." Reni declared before the dessert arrives. "I would clearly understand if you used normal weapons and equipment. But you used things like this." And she opens a small purse and places Benji resin claw on the table. It is clean and with out any sign of blood.
"In there doesn't have a single drop of metal. And you used it only on the very end of the battle." Reni says. "That is a defense weapon." Benji explains. "A last resource in a fight." Reni nods. "I understand that. But why you tied it in your hair?" she asks pointing to few long brown strands of hair on the lower ring.
"If I was captured or forced in a situation like I was yesterday I would have a weapon hidden." Benji answers. "Inventive." She praises, placing the claw back on her purse when the waiter arrives. "To be really honest I am very impressed will all your equipment made out of that material. From what is it made?" she asks.
"Acrylic resin for dental prosthetics." Benji answers taking a spoonful of his lemon mousse. Reni seems surprised. "But how that shield resisted bullets?" she asks. "Inside the resin casing there ceramic plaques from two bullet proofs vests." Benji answers. Reni is clearly impressed.
"Creative. How it was fire proof?" she once again asks him. "I mixed on the resin on the outer layer a heat isolation product that is used to make foundering. And I made another outer layer with the isolation and placed on the shield." Benji explains. "The blades are from two combat knifes that I broke for it. The tip of the blade is a sharpened steel beam. The handle on the back is made of steel beams too."
The girl listen to all that not understanding the discussion. "So I can assume that the mail is also made out from that resin too?" Reni asks. Benji nods confirming. "The knife?" Reni asks. "Amalgam. Mercury and silver." Benji answers. "Very strong."
The trio finishes eating. Benji and Reni moves to a bar. The girl follows them. They sit on a discrete table. The girl Sasha orders a soda. Reni a glass of wine. And Benji a fruit cocktail with no alcohol. "You know what really impressed me over the entire deal is that in the final battle you wasn't wearing this." Reni says placing his memory card over the table. Sasha eyes go wide with surprise.
"But how he fought like that with out it? All his skills are in there!" she asked shocked. "Apparently he has his own set of combative skills. And the card uploaded the skills on him before the final battle. Much sooner than the expected." Reni replies looking straight to Benji.
He picks the memory card. "I would be a fool if I only leaned on the skills that I gained from my character." Benji says. "The sniper, the trapper, the fighter and the prosthetic that I am gave me a leverage that Sasaki didn't expected to me to have." Reni nods agreeing. "You acted different than all the previous players. All them relied only on the card skills. The American ones were the worse ones. They seem to think that they are bullet proof and invincible. They didn't last the first hour. They jumped on the line of fire shooting wildly. It was a miracle that they haven't wounded any innocents." She says.
"The others lasted one day on top two. They lacked the creativity or the skills to survive. Even the potential leaders weren't able to do anything. They only relied on the abilities that we gave them. But Sasaki knew those and used against them. But you mixed your own abilities with the ones that we gave. You used your knowledge and creativity to overcome the obstacles." Reni continues very serious. "And above all you picked combat useless skills like languages."
"Not useless." Benji replies in Italian the same language that she is speaking while telling him everything. "Vittoria spoke Italian and because that I understood her." Reni nods. "All that shows that you aren't thinking only as a warrior. They were. Because of that they were killed." Reni says.
"A samurai is a master in combat but also knows how to live in times of peace. Ikebana, tea ceremony, painting, poem writing and more. You live in Japan, you know about what I am talking here. A good warrior is already ready for war, but knows how to live in peace." Benji says to her. Reni nods. "I totally agree with that. I by myself got a nurse certificate and I play violin." She says. After one minute of a pleasant silence, with only the low background music playing Reni breaks with silence with a serious question. "Benji would you join me?"
"Yes." Benji replies after she speaks. "But I have my terms." Reni nods. "Which are?" she asks. "If I consider one order improper to follow or that would cause me or someone else damages or death I will refuse obeying. Any order that I says that I won't follow I won't follow. And I will make my underlings not to follow either." Benji begins. Reni nods, "Is reasonable." She says.
"If come to killing someone I have the final word. In the battlefield or out of the field. If you order me to kill someone I want to know why, if I agree on doing I will do it." Benji continues and Reni nods. "Understood. Also reasonable. But if I come to ask that I want you to keep secret over what I tell you." Reni replies. Benji nods to her.
"I will make more terms later. But how much money I get paid for it?" Benji asks. "This much by year with out taxes." She says writing a number on a napkin and passing to him. "This is right? Six digits?" Benji asks surprised. "Yes. Is a dangerous work so you are well paid." Reni replies. Benji nods. "Okay mind in answering me this, why with the original hanagumi you need a new group?" Benji asks in a serious tone.
Reni knew that sooner or later he would ask that. "Because I am the sole survivor of the original Hanagumi." She answers in a somber tone. Benji chokes with his drink. "You mean that everyone is dead?" Benji asks surprised after wiping his lips. "I survived barely. And I still carry a token of that day." Reni says taking out her right hand glove.
Her right hand is shinning silver, she moves her fingers and Benji can see the joints moving. "I lost all my friends and my right arm. We were able to replace it for a cybernetic arm." She says inwardly happy because Sasha went to the toilet. "That is why we need desperately a new team."
Benji holds her mechanic hand. "I am on it now." Benji says. Reni nods a bit embarrassed over the gesture. Most of people show repulse over her arm or a sick curiosity to dismantle it. She holds his hand and shakes it. "Welcome to the Ikazuchigumi Benji." Reni says in a solemn tone. "Leader of the team, Captain Benji Himura."
"At your service General Milchstrasse." Benji says in the same tone. Outside a major storm is falling on the city and lightning and a thunder fills the air. As if the duo sealed a pact with the night.
End of the chapter ten. End of the Book one.
Please read and review. I will answer every review. If you have time to read and send a review. I will send you an answer. I want to say thank you for the reviews to SilverBlue Dragon, Murasame Warrior, Posthumous and HaruNatsu. Thank you a lot for the reviews. I also want to thank to anyone that is reading and not reviewing.
I am making two versions of this story. One with out explicit sex scenes and one with then. As well with sexual related omakes. The unedited version can be found in MediaMiner fanfiction page. The address is on my profile.
Portuguese glossary:
Drobradinha.: Means double. A Brazilan traditional dish. Thought there is people who deslikes it.
Alemão:Means German. Is a nickname sometimes given to blonde men with a very white skin.When Benji called Alemão of Alemão he was calling him by the nikename.
Bença: Literally blessing.
Biza: Short of Bisavó.
Bisavó: Great grand mother.
Corredor Polónes: It is a punishement given to people by others. Usually kids or anyone who thinks that it will be good. You make two lines of people with a space between them and the one who will take it needs to run by the space while taking blows from everyone.
Corredor: Can mean runner or hall. On the case above goes for both because the word for runner and hall is the same in Portuguese.