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An Assassin's Memories

Fifth Shot: Should have listened.

Yuji stared at the sheet covered body and took a long drag on his cigarette. He kneeled down and pulled the sheets back. "Mister Watanabe was walking in this direction before he was shot, right?"

"Yes sir," the police officer said. "So who was this guy?"

"Carl Watanabe was the owned of the Tokyo-3 Gazette," Yuji said. 'He also kept his reporters away from NERV.' Yuji looked around, checking trajectories with his eyes. "The shot would have come from over there, right?"

"I guess so," the cop said. Yuji nodded to himself and started walking towards the building. "What are you checking sir?"

"The entry and exit wounds point to the shooter being on the fifth or sixth floor," Yuji said as he pushed the doors to the office building open.

"Can I help you?" one of the security guards asked.

"Yeah," Yuji said as he pulled out wallet and flipped it open. "I work for NERV. We're going to the fifth and we need you to come with us."

"Yes sir," the guard said. He turned and quickly led them towards the elevator.

"What did you show him?" the cop asked in a whisper.

"My driver's license," Yuji answered. "It's all in the attitude."

"I'll remember that," the cop said.

"Make sure that you do," Yuji said as he stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and the security guard punched the button for the fifth floor. "Do you have the master set of keys?"

"Yes sir," the security guard said. The doors opened and Yuji stepped out into the brightly lit hallway. "Most of the people are on lunch breaks now," the security guard added.

"Good," Yuji said as he looked around carefully. A slight red glint caught his eye. "Found it."

"What?" the cop asked. Yuji moved to the read stain on the door and then looked at the door. He reached under his leather jacket and drew his Glock 18. He reached out carefully and touched the door knob. He stood quickly and waved the cop into position on the opposite side of the doorframe.

"It's locked," he hissed. "Open it." The security guard quickly searched through his keys and found the one he needed. He slipped it into the doors look and twisted in. Yuji pushed it open and swung around fast, using the wall as a shield. "Oh shit."

"Oh my God," the cop said. Yuji stepped into the room and stared at the two bodies. "A suicide and a homicide?"

"Never take things for face value," Yuji said as he kneeled next to the male body. There was a single hole in the middle of his head and another in his chest. The female was a few feet away with a hole in each other her temples. In her right hand was a suppressed pistol. 'A Makarov?"

"What do you think sir?" the cop asked, holding one hand over his nose in an effort to block the smell of gore.

"Double homicide," Yuji said as he straightened up.

"How can you tell?" the cop asked.

"There are small drag marks by their heels," Yuji said as he examined the desk. "They were moved. Our sniper was here as well."

"Now how the hell can you tell that?" the cop asked.

"The scuffs on the desk," Yuji said with a shrug. "They match the legs of the chair. There's also some paint peeled off the window sill. This was a sniper's nest. He set the chair on the desk to gain the proper elevation and he used some kind of screen over the window to hide himself."

"What about them?" the security guard asked, looking at the two bodies.

"Wrong place, wrong time," Yuji said with a shrug. "Call your pals. They're going to want to poke around here."

"Right," the cop said.

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Ari stared at the television in horror. The door opened and she turned to see Shima walked in the apartment. He sat calmly at the coffee table and unsheathed his weapon. He laid the twenty-two down and began to disassemble it. "Did you do that?" Ari demanded, pointed to the television. Shima looked up and stared at the news footage of a woman in a bloody pink dress sobbing and holding the body of a young man in a business suit.

"Yes ma'am."

"How could you do that?" Ari asked. For the first time she could remember she felt a pang of fear when she looked at Shima. She had felt disgust and sorrow when she had seen some of his previous work, but fear, fear of him, was new.

"It's them or me ma'am," Shima said. "If I refuse to kill, then what purpose do I serve? Things without purpose must be destroyed."

"You mean SEELE will kill you if you won't follow orders?" Ari asked.

"Of course ma'am," Shima said. "What did you think would happen?" Ari stared at the young man. She had never truly thought of that. Shima was an assassin. It wasn't like his job provided any protection, or personal rights for that matter.

"I see," Ari said as calmly as she could. Shima nodded and began to pack the rifle's components into its case. He drew the suppressed pistol from under his shirt and began to clean it as well. "Hey Shima!"

"Yes ma'am?" Shima asked, looking up from his weapon.

"What do you say we go out to dinner?" Ari asked cheerfully.

"You are the senior field operative ma'am," Shima replied. "Ergo the choice is yours."

"Can you give me advice if I want it?" Ari asked.

"Yes ma'am," Shima said.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Ari asked.

"We shouldn't go out ma'am," Shima answered.

"Then out we go!"

"Yes ma'am."

(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)

"Remember this place Asuka?" Misato asked as she looked around the small ramen shack.

"Yeah," Asuka said. "You brought everyone here after the Tenth Angel because you were too broke to take us anywhere else."

"Yeah," Misato said through clenched teeth. "I'll go order." She stepped into line behind a young couple and stared at the menu behind the counter

"So?" the young woman in front of Misato asked her friend.

"So what ma'am?" the young man asked. Misato frowned. That voice sounded very familiar.

"Isn't it nice just going out?" the woman asked.

"We're in the open ma'am," the young man said. "I do not approve of this situation."

"Of course you don't," the woman said. "It goes against your training, right?"

"Yes ma'am," the man said.

"Then that means that it is fun," the woman said patiently. "And don't forget, you wanted to come here."

"You asked me where to eat and I simply pointed this place out ma'am," the man said.

"The fact that you actually made a suggestion stands out," the woman said. "Why did you want to come here?"

"Seemed familiar ma'am," the man said with a shrug.

"Maybe you've been here before," the woman said brightly.

"It's possible ma'am," the man said. He turned and looked at Misato. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry," Misato said quickly, blushing at being caught in the act. "It's just that you seem really familiar." The man's sharp blue eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm Misato Katsuragi."

"I'm sorry," the young woman said. "My boyfriend lacks some social skills."

"It's no problem," Misato said. "Have we met before?"

"No ma'am," the young man said.

"I'm Ari," the young woman said. "This is Shima. It's nice to meet you Misses Katsuragi."

"I'm not married," Misato said with a laugh. "What about you two?"

"He hasn't proposed yet," Ari said, "right honey?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to talk to strangers. . .honey?" Shima asked.

"She's not a stranger," Ari said as she latched onto the young man's arm.

"So where are you two from?"

"Russia. . .ow!" Ari whirled around and stared at Shima.

"My phone just rang," he explained. "We need to go."

"What an odd pair," Misato said as Shima dragged Ari out. 'Russia,' she thought. 'Why does that sound so familiar?' Then the answer hit her.

(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)

Ari watched as Shima dug through the lockers in the back of the van. He pulled out a small pistol and pushed a clip into it. "What are you doing?"

"That's Misato Katsuragi," Shima said as he pulled the slide back.

"Yes. . ."

"Colonel Misato Katsuragi," Shima said. "She the TO for NERV. That's where I met her."

"You knew her?" Ari asked.

"I met her while I was there to talk with Commander Ikari," Shima explained. Ari's jaw dropped.

"She knows that you're Ryoji," she said breathlessly. Shima nodded and jacked the action of his pistol. He pulled on a simple black ski mask and climbed out of the van.

"Stay here ma'am," she said sharply as Ari started to get out of the van. Shima crossed the street and pushed the door to the ramen shack open. He could feel every eye turn on him as he raised the PSS pistol, aiming at the purple haired woman's face. A loud shot rang out and something slammed into Shima's shoulder as he fired. His shot went wild and slammed into the woman's chest. She went down even as Shima fell to the ground. 'Sniper.'

"Someone just fired!" Ari screamed, her voice far too loud in Shima's ear for his liking.

"There's a sniper on the building across the street," he said simply. "Take him out."

"What?" Ari asked.

"There's an RPG in the back of the van," Shima hissed as shots continued to rain down on the table he was hiding under. "Point and shoot ma'am."

"Right." A second later there was a loud explosion. Shima climbed to his feet and looked around. All of the people were gone except for a single red-haired woman who was trying to move the fallen Colonel. Shima shoved her out of the way and aimed again.

"There are men coming in." Ari's hurried whisper immediately caught Shima's attention. He spun towards the door and drew the 9mm full-auto from the small of his back. The door burst open and Shima fired as half of dozen men in black suits flooded into the apartment. Those who didn't fall to the withering barrage of 9mm rounds dove for cover. There was a single un-suppressed gunshot and Shima gasped as something slammed into his stomach. He turned and stared at the redhead. There was a SIG-Sauer clutched in her hands and the Colonel's jacket was open, revealing an empty shoulder holster. He tried to bring the 9mm up to point at her, but there were several more gunshots and Shima was knocked onto his back. "Shima?"

"I'm down." He reached under his jacket and ripped half a dozen grenades loose. He threw them and rolled on to his back.

(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)

Ari watched as a single figure limped out of the ramen shack. She rushed to his side and carefully pulled one of his arms around her neck. "I can hear sirens," Shima said weakly.

"The cops are coming," Ari said. "We need to get out of here." She helped him into the back of the van and climbed behind the steering wheel. She started the engine and glanced over her shoulder. Shima has managed to get himself into a sitting position was his back against the side of the van. He was pressing a pain pen against his neck. "Hold on. This is going to be rough!" He nodded and dropped the empty pain pen.

"Get us the hell out of here."

(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)

Yuji looked around the hospital and pushed the door open. He stepped into the room and stared at the two people inside. "Ma'am," he said respectfully, with a nod to the purple-haired woman.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Yuji Kaido," Yuji said. "I'm with the NERV Special Investigations unit. I was just wondering how the sketch was going."

"I think I have it," the police artist said. "Is this him?" Misato nodded. "Here you go sir." Yuji took the sketch pad and stared at the assassin's face. "He looks young."

"He couldn't have been much more then twenty," the Colonel said. "How's Asuka?"

"She's fine," Yuji said. He had already stopped by the Second Child's room to inspect the sketch she had given. "Her right leg was moderately injured, but she'll live."

"That's good," Misato said. Yuji set down the sketch pad and walked out of the room. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in the familiar number.

"Report."

"The two sketches from the Colonel and Second Child are almost identical," Yuji said. "We also have an alias. The name is Shima Ryoji."

"It is time that you take a more active role. I want Shima Ryoji dead."

"Yes sir," Yuji said.

(:::::::::::::ii::::::::::::::)

Ari stared down at the injured assassin. Things did no look good. He had been hit five times. Once in the back, once in the stomach, and three times in the chest. It was a miracle that none of them had been fatal if treated quickly. She looked at his face and was struck by just how young he was. She reached out and brushed his bangs back. His eyes fluttered open and he stared at her. "How do you feel?"

"Excellent," Shima said. "I feel no pain ma'am." Ari frowned as she eyed the scar on Shima's neck. She really was worried about him overdosing. He went through pain pens at a much higher rate then she would have liked. 'Of course this time it's my fault,' she thought.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault that I was injured ma'am," Shima said. "I was too slow and. . ."

"It's my fault that we were there," Ari said, cutting him off.

"Yes ma'am," Shima said. Ari laughed.

"At least you tell the truth," she said. She suddenly realized that she was still stroking his hair. She knew Shima well enough to know that he was also aware of it. She also knew that if he wanted her to stop then he would have told her.

"I am going to sleep more," he said simply as his eyed slipped close.

"I should have listened to you."

"Yes," Shima said. "You should have." Ari stared at him in shock. That had almost sounded like a joke. She would have asked, but he was already sleeping

"Good night," she whispered as she continued to stroke his hair.

-End

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-Author's notes. I know its short, but that's all you get while school's in.