Non-despair Mercenary AU
And here was Mukuro, in all her bloodsoaked glory, frozen in place because someone smiled at her.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
"It doesn't look like you're here to save me this time."
"...Do you hate me?"
"I don't think I could ever hate you. You're just doing your job."
"I'm sorry."
"I am too. It looks like I made you cry."
The deafening sound of gunshots fired in the room.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
The first time they met was a stroke of luck.
Mukuro Ikusaba was a capable person. At thirty years old, she's been working as a mercenary for hire under Fenrir, an elite private military company which only recruited the best out there. Fenrir usually dispatched missions in groups depending on the skill of the members. The general rule was that the smaller the group, the more competent the members were. And for the ten years that she has been working under Fenrir, all of the missions given to her were solo ops. Her exceptional skills and undisputed reputation of coming out of every battlefield unscathed has even garnered her the title of Ultimate Soldier within the group. It doesn't get her a pay raise though but it did bring in more jobs for her.
With another war breaking out in the Middle East, there's been more work piling up for her. Fenrir has been contracted by one of the many sides to join the conflict and by extension, herself included. The mission was not too complicated, just kill on sight all threats. It was simple enough because she was going to infiltrate the enemy base so there won't be any friendly fire for her to worry about. The camp she's headed for was the size of a small town with at least a hundred armed men and heavy artillery around the borders. Stealth was not an option since she was given specific instructions to attack in broad daylight. They're expecting an enemy squad to arrive before dusk so they want the camp annihilated before then to send a message.
This might have been a suicide mission had it been anyone else but her assigned to it although frankly, this was just too easy for her.
With her preparations complete and her arsenal ready, she did one final scope of the area just in case anything changed more than her plan could accommodate. Satisfied, she started to get to work. She wore her enhanced night vision goggles and launched a barrage of smoke bombs and already there were panicked yells coming from everywhere. Before they could move out of sight, she sniped the more troublesome targets, those that wore the same goggles as her, those stationed at the artillery, and those who she assumed were lieutenants or generals because they were already disseminating orders. After which, she left her position in order to encroach enemy territory. So far she has eliminated 22 targets and she had 103 more to go.
If anyone was properly watching her, they would have thought her to be dancing or doing an advanced acrobatic choreography. Well, if you take out the bullets and the daggers and the bloodshed out of the picture. Every movement was precise and predetermined within seconds that had she been any slower, she would have died many times over by now. But she wasn't. She was flexible, she was faster, she was the best. She's killed more people than she's fired bullets and she has yet to finish one whole magazine. The number of targets were thinning as the bodies piled and in a matter of minutes, only one was breathing out in the sun.
She's not even gasping for breath.
It's not over yet though. Her orders were to eliminate all targets and while she made sure that none of them had escaped, there was still the issue of some of them retreating to hide. With agile gait, she scoured through all the tents and buildings, even checking inside vehicles for any survivors. She made sure to double-check the corpses because experience has taught her that the best way to hide a tree was to use a forest even if that meant lying underneath a pile of your dead comrades. By the time she was through all of them, her kill count was now a staggering 115. She was still ten persons short but she's certain that there was no other soul touching the ground. Perhaps her intel was mistaken? But she couldn't risk reporting back with less than a complete kill count all because of a failure of checking. There's still enough time for her to check the camp
The secret door did not reveal itself until it was her fourth scan over the area. The sun had moved across the sky and so did the shadows stretch. This made it possible for her to notice an inconspicuous gap on the floor. Well, at least she was right about there being no souls on the ground since she was heading for underground now.
After the stairs was a straightforward and narrow hallway leading to a single room. She didn't even bother to use stealth to kill the two guards since they looked like they were expecting her. That didn't mean they put up a much better fight though. No one rushed outside the room to greet her so she assumed that they were planning to lure her inside and take her out surrounded which wasn't a shabby plan in itself if only they knew what they were up against. She wasn't just any soldier, she was a soldier of Fenrir, and most importantly, she was the Ultimate Soldier.
She fearlessly walked into the room with nine people in it, eight of which had their guns fired at her.
None of the bullets hit her though because she's been holding one of the guards she finished off before as cover and shot at three more right in between their eyes. Dropping the deadweight, she sidestepped and kicked a table over to two unsuspecting targets as she lunged right after them with a dagger to the neck. Then she snuck behind one of the three left and aimed his gun at the other two at the same time that those two fired at them. All three dropped on the floor writhing in pain and a few well-aimed shots silenced them. With that, she's eliminated the final ten missing from her kill count and her mission was complete at last.
But what was she supposed to do with the extra person in the room?
Right there, in the middle of the room, was a blindfolded, gagged, and handcuffed person lying on the floor. She took off her goggles in order to make a better assessment of his situation. From the rise and fall of his chest, she confirmed that he was still alive. His injuries seemed superficial, just a couple of bruises here and there and bleeding from rope burn around the wrists and ankles. That meant that he wasn't interrogated or at least, not yet. Her guess was that he was a hostage. However, what did that mean for her? Intel hadn't mentioned any civilians involved nor were there any given specifics on what to do on encounter.
Should she kill him and leave no survivors? There was no guarantee that he was a mere bystander. He could be a threat and her order was to eliminate all threats. Should she release him and let him escape? After all, if he was on the enemy side and this was just their way of punishing delinquent infantry, then they wouldn't go so far to try and hide him underground. But that only meant that he was important enough to not immediately kill him. Or maybe she should just walk away and pretend she never saw him. That sounded like the best answer, right? It was neutral and indecisive, just like her. Yeah, maybe she'll do just that.
But something in her conscience told her to at least get some of his restraints off.
She's not that heartless to leave a bystander in such poor tastes as being imprisoned in a room full of rotting corpses. So she removed the gag first which prompted him to violently cough and gasp from the newly found freedom. Next was the blindfold, his eyes squinted over the returning sensation of light and eyesight. She didn't do anything to the restricting ropes yet since she figured it would be troublesome to catch him should he attempt to flee.
"Oh, t-thank god!" The captive choked on his first words, his voice cracked because his throat has been dry for who knows how long. "I-I heard gunshots and, and yelling, and I thought I was going to die." He was wheezing, as if he was part of all that action.
"I didn't get shot though, did I? I mean, if I did then I would've felt it but I can't really tell because I've sorta lost feeling in some parts of my body so I might not have noticed it. Or maybe the adrenaline is blocking the pain." He must have been delirious from starvation because he was rather talkative for a guy who just narrowly missed death.
He was still squinting, his eyes trying hard to see through the blinding light. "I can't believe how I'm still lucky enough to be ali-" When his sight finally returned, his voice got lost instead.
He was surrounded by gruesome dead bodies while he himself was unaware that he had been partially sitting in a pool of blood and in front of him was the person responsible for such scenery.
"I see that aside from you, I'm the only one who's alive here." It looked like it physically hurt him to say those words. His words slowed down and his tone sombered. "I knew it was too much to hope for them to still be alive after what I heard, but still…"
Mukuro could have sworn that this man was upset over having his captors killed. It was as if he felt sorry for the men who captured him in the first place but she banished the thought because that was absurd. This person had no reason to sympathize with the enemy, especially not when they placed him in this hellhole and treated him no better than shit. But his face didn't hold any satisfaction over their deaths. Instead, all she could find was remorse.
Just who are you?
She initially wanted to ask that but stopped herself at the last second and instead changed her question. "Why are you here?"
"Huh?" He turned his head towards her as if only just noticing her now. "You're the one… who saved me?"
She merely nodded and then proceeded to repeat herself. "Why are you here?"
"Um, well… I guess I was captured? But you already know that so…" He fumbled on his answer. "To be honest, I'm not really sure why. I mean, I'm not from their enemy's ranks, I'm actually more of a neutral third party. Sorry, did that make sense?"
She nodded again which doubled as a cue for him to continue.
"I'm not even that important of a person within our party. Right now, I'm officially a spokesperson but it's really more of being on messenger duty." He sighed. "I think they were planning on contacting someone regarding what to do with me so I could have guessed what they wanted with me from there but well, the call never happened because… you know, you happened."
A neutral third party? Then technically he wasn't on their client's side nor their client's enemy side. He wasn't on anyone's side at all. Which made his situation all the more gray.
"You don't look like you were sent here to rescue me though."
"..." She stared at him silently, her face unreadable.
"I knew it. Even if we were running low on people, they wouldn't send just one person on a rescue mission." He didn't sound worried though, in fact he sounded relieved instead. "Since you didn't know I was here, at least I know you're not here to kill me."
"How can you be so sure about that?" She asked in a flat tone.
"That's because I've been talking to you all this time and I've been alive the whole conversation." He tried to laugh a bit at the end but his voice just croaked. That didn't stop the ridiculously bright grin that spread on his lips though. "I believe in you."
And here was Mukuro, in all her bloodsoaked glory, frozen in place because someone smiled at her.
She didn't let it show though. "That kind of thinking will get you killed one day."
"But not today. Hopefully." He spoke lightheartedly. And as he stared at her with an unflinching smile that looked tired but still tender at the same time, she noted how the room seemed just a bit brighter than before. "Thank you. Really. I know you could have left me here or killed me while you're at it but you didn't. You're surprisingly a good person."
She blinked at his declaration. "Good people don't kill people."
He shook his head. "But you spared me so that has to say something about you."
"Tell that to all the corpses I made." She didn't mean to snap at him but for some reason, it bothered her more than she would have thought. Him calling her a good person.
She was a good soldier, yes but a good person? Hardly.
"You're pretty honest. That's a good trait to have." His eyes crinkled in understanding. "I knew I was right about you being a good person."
"Compliments won't get you a free ticket out of here." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I know." He was still smiling but this time it was melancholic. "I just wanted you to know that. In case nobody has ever told you this before, I'm saying it now. You're a good person. You're just caught in a bad war."
A good person caught in a bad war.
She whispered more to herself. "You won't be saying such nice things about me once it's your head I'm aiming my gun at."
Mukuro's steely gaze was assessing him. Judging by his build, nothing too lean, he was hardly fit for combat. It didn't look like he brought any weapons with him based on his attire but then again maybe they got confiscated. Her gaze lingered on his still smiling face. No, definitely unarmed. He didn't seem like the type that could fire a gun even if his life depended on it. And if so, just what was he doing here? He was totally out of place in this room of broken bodies, in this country of broken dreams, in this battlefield of broken principles. War was not a place for the softhearted. He was sympathetic to his captors and he was even friendly with her. How did he even last this long? This was no place for the compassionate.
He did not belong here.
"What? Why did you-" He started when the ropes binding him were cut.
Her expression was unreadable. "I overheard them talking about reinforcements coming here before nightfall."
"What are you-" He stumbled a bit when he tried to get up, his legs still asleep.
"And when they come, they'll know that I was here and I wiped out this camp." She narrowed her eyes at him and spoke the next sentence with more weight. "You were never here."
"I…" His eyes were scanning hers, frantically searching for something. And then they widened in comprehension. His tone serious and accepting. "I understand. Thank you."
She sighed at what she had just done. "This doesn't guarantee that you'll live."
"This is plenty enough to work with." Finally, his legs decided to cooperate him as he shakily stood. A relieved sigh escaped his lips and when he looked forward, he saw her on already making her way out. He unconsciously called out to her. "Will I see you again?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She already had her back turned to him and then she looked back at him one last time. "We never even met."
And with that, she left him alone in the room where she found him.
He managed a hurried thanks and farewell that reached her through the echoes of the hallway. It didn't even make her pause one bit. And although this was has been such a strange encounter, she knew that this had no bearing whatsoever. It's just one of those random things that happens on the job. So she thought it was better to file this event far in the back of her mind.
After all, it's not like it'll happen again, right?
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
The second time they saw each other, she may have walked into that one.
Maybe her name was meant to be a self fulfilling prophecy. There's war, blade, and corpse written in between the letters and somewhere amongst that was her. She was like a blade that could cut through any war and leave nothing but corpses. And that's exactly what she did.
That's what she has been doing for ten years now.
She's still in the Middle East only in a different country this time. She's not sure if she's fighting in the same war since a lot had happened in six months. They may have been battling for the same side, killing the same opposing side, but for a changed cause that meant it was an entirely different war. It didn't make any difference to her though. Politics was not her strongsuit, as far as she was concerned, as long as Fenrir assigned her a job, she'd do it in a heartbeat no questions asked. She's not here to settle the war. She's here because of work.
This time her mission was to infiltrate a high security facility at the enemy's stronghold. The reason for its superior defense was that it housed the higher ranked officials in the military that weren't currently out on missions. This was truly an attack at the heart of the enemy base. Her orders were to kill on sight all members of the opposing faction, whether it be a general, a rank and file soldier, or even unsuspecting houseworkers. Anyone that worked in that building was a target by default. Simple instructions as usual.
At least this time she's allowed to work during the night.
The security did not live up to its reputation. No matter how skilled a soldier was, they just weren't up to par next to her. Machinery and traps were always easy to bypass or simply wreck them altogether. After eliminating all outside personnel, she then rewired the system so that the traps would activate indiscriminately. This way she could ensure that no one would escape while she was looking away and even if they did, they'd just die on the spot with electrocution.
And inside, the defense was much too lax for a facility that housed important personnel. It was as if all their efforts was placed on guarding from the outside and look what good that did for them. She swept through the facility quickly and efficiently, never letting a target on sight live for longer than a second. Except for this one group that she inadvertently crept upon while they were discussing something about a prisoner.
The mere mention of a prisoner has her hesitate to kill them on the spot.
"Reporting of duty, sir!" Both soldiers saluted.
"We have captured a suspicious person who was lingering by the gates, sir." One announced.
"The suspicious man has already been detained, sir." The second supplied.
"Is that so? Then leave him there overnight. It's late. We can interrogate him in the morning." The commanding officer declared, not even bothering to stand up. "Until then, continue with your patrols and await further orders."
"Yes, sir!" They both bowed and left.
As soon as their backs were turned, Mukuro shot a well aimed bullet at the commander, dead on the spot. And another at one of the soldiers. Before the live one could even react, she already has him in a submissive hold with her dagger one centimeter deep, his blood thinly coating the edges.
"Where are the holding cells?" It came out as an order rather than a question.
"W-what the, why d-do you- urrgh!" He suddenly choked midway.
"Tell. Me. Now." Her dagger drew deeper by punctuating on every word she said.
"O-okay!" She drew the blade back but not all the way through. His sentences were now reduced to half-gasps and half-stutterings. "It's in the other building! T-the smaller one on the west side! Y-you can't miss it!"
"And?" She tightened her grip.
"And w-what? That's all there is! I SWEAR! W-what else do you w-want from me?! P-PLEASE, JUST DON'T K-KILL ME." He frantically pleaded with every fiber in his body.
But his request fell on deaf ears. Then his body fell next.
It's still too early for Mukuro to head for the cells and she hasn't even finished her mission yet so she sets the information aside for now. Her job always comes first. Even though she kills people on sight, she still has to check the vicinity for any overlooked corners and hiding survivors. It's only after her fifth scan through the whole area that she's satisfied she hadn't missed anyone out so she now has free time to check the holding cells.
She convinced herself that she's only checking for targets and not for anyone else.
"Are you going to let me explain myself now? This is all just a misunderstanding. Please, at least listen to what I have to say first." The voice sounded exhausted but it was definitely in a much better shape than last time.
She called out. "What happened this time?"
"That voice…?" The prisoner approached the bars until she could actually confirm that he was indeed the same guy she helped from before. Since he seemed harmless enough, she finally revealed herself by stepping out of the shadows which in turn, surprised the man. "Oh, wow. Hello um, it's nice to see you again?"
She didn't even bother with greetings. "Explain yourself."
He sighed as he slumped against the bars. "Right well, about that. You know about my job right?"
She shook her head in response.
"No? I thought I mentioned it the first time. Must have imagined that part then. Sorry for the mixup." He took a deep breath and straightened his posture enough to restore a dignified look. He almost looked like a different person. "I'm a peace activist. Officially, I'm here as a representative of an intergovernmental organization trying to negotiate with both parties to stop the conflict."
"And they imprisoned you here because of that?" She raised an eyebrow at him. It seemed reasonable enough.
"Partly yes but not quite." His air of dignity didn't last that long. He timidly scratched his chin and looked away. "I was actually sent somewhere else to talk for a conference but on our way there, we got ambushed and I got separated from my escorts. This was the first building I saw so I thought I'd try to get help but as soon as they saw me…" He trailed.
"They thought you were suspicious." She continued.
"And I was put inside this cell instead." And he finished after her. He smiled weakly at her. "But I guess it's not so bad since aside from the handcuffs and the fact that I'm trapped here, this is actually pretty tame compared to when we last met."
"You mean when we first met." She corrected.
He shrugged. "Yeah, so this is fine too. At least it's more humane."
"Does this happen often?"
"Hmm, I guess? I mean, it's an occupational hazard, haha." He chuckled at his own joke but his eyes were dead serious. "Even if I don't have any weapons on me, I'm also doing my best and fighting hard in this war."
Even if that meant diving headfirst into hell without armor?
She couldn't understand why he, or anyone else, would dedicate themselves to such a cause and with such drastic methods. "Why would you go so far for the idea of peace?"
"It's not just an idea. I'm working for a reality where war is just an idea that can't hurt anyone." His hands tightly gripped onto the bars in an effort to hold back the feelings that were trying to burst forth from him. "I want to do something about the wars, not just this war, but all wars in general. I don't want to just sit idly by knowing that a lot of people are dying over things that can be resolved peacefully if only they'd just give it a try."
There were tears in the corners of his eyes and his voice may have cracked at the end. "The world is painful enough to live in as it is now so why make it harder?"
He looked as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was as if he could feel all the pain everyone else on this planet has experienced. And even though he was heartbroken from all of that, he himself was not broken. He was holding more than just pain in his hands but also something else. Something that kept him moving forward even when the rest of the world was pushing him back. Something that was necessary and yet hard to find in any bleak war.
He had hope.
"You're too kind." She spoke her thoughts out loud.
"I've heard that line too many times." He good naturedly laughed. "I've also been told that I'd get killed early with this kind of attitude and yet here I am still."
It really was a miracle as to how this man was still alive. He lacked the skills and the escorts to survive in such a desolate environment such as this war-stricken battlefield and yet somehow he's managed to survive this far. This was just beyond logic. Just how powerful was his luck to overpower all the dangerous situations he's encountered before? But then again, it's not her business. That was his life and not hers and she wasn't going to get any more involved than this.
That's what she decided upon.
His voice came out soft and timid. "Are you here alone again?"
"..." Her voice didn't come out at all.
"Wow, you must be really good if they keep sending you without backup." He remarked and then jokingly added, "I don't suppose you're here to rescue me either."
"...No." She flatly said.
"Thought so." The sudden slump in his shoulders told her that he had hoped otherwise though. He still didn't forget to flash her a brilliant smile. "But thanks for stopping by and paying me a visit anyways."
"It wasn't planned."
"I guess not but what are the odds of us meeting again here?"
What were the odds indeed. She didn't plan for this, for her to find him, for them to meet. Again, his situation was another gray area in her mission. Her orders were to eliminate everyone of the enemy side but technically, he was a civilian. Through a curious case of misfortune, he somehow got involved in this. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Killing him didn't add value to her orders but then again, letting him live as a witness could spell trouble later on. There's also the option of walking away but she's sure that she shouldn't have talked to him in the first place if she wanted to go for the neutral option. But it's not too late to walk away now, right?
But not before she asked a question.
"Just to be clear. You're not affiliated with this faction, are you?" Her gaze on him was calculating, searching for any hint of suspicion or lie.
"Hm? No, not really." He innocently answered, unaware of her current scrutiny. "I'm part of a pacifist third party. We're not supposed to support any side of the war only the side of peace."
"I'm going to regret this." She sighed as her hand dug through one of her vest pockets.
"Huh? What did you just say?" And in an instant his handcuffs fell off and the cell door was unlocked. "Oh."
"Now let's go. You can't get out of here without my help." She locked the door again after he stepped out and then returned the keys back to the dead guard's pockets.
He grimaced at the sight of the corpse but that didn't dampen his smile at her. "I knew it. You really are a kind person."
She casually shrugged. "Only sometimes."
"Then I guess I must have lucked out to catch your good days twice." He laughed heartily.
They didn't run into too much trouble as they made their way out of the place but that was because she already made sure to kill them all beforehand. The prisoner, her escort now, kept tripping over corpses or blood puddles though, sometimes he ran into walls or pillars when he wasn't looking. Frankly, it showed that he wasn't that reliable and just how much incapable he was if left alone. He looked upset throughout the trip but that was understandable given his beliefs.
When they finally made it past the gate, it was time for them to go their separate ways.
"Ever think about changing jobs? You seem to rescue me more often than my escorts do. How about you become my bodyguard instead?" He offered in jest.
She eyed him levelly. "Not happening."
"Can't blame a guy for trying." He scratched his chin in what she now recognized as a habit. He tilted his head and innocently smiled. "Who knows though? Maybe next time I'll get you to say yes."
The smile made her pause in her steps.
"There won't be a next time." She continued to walk away.
"I'm hoping on my luck that there will be." He yelled back as he enthusiastically waved at her. "Thank you again for saving me. And take care, okay!"
She tried not to imagine him smiling when he said that.
Just because they've already met twice doesn't guarantee that they'll get a third.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
The third time they met there were no bullets or corpses to get the conversation started.
It's been a month since her last mission and the region was still in chaos over it. A lot of high ranking officials got massacred that night and the country's still scrambling for replacements. It seemed that she managed to kill a few important leaders who just so happened to be there that night and the people were still mourning over that loss. There have been no further orders from the command center so she's currently on standby. Which was why lately, she's been out on the streets with civilians rather than in a hellhole of her own making.
Honestly, she preferred staying inside the confines of her room where it was safer but she had to eat and she didn't want to waste any rations in case she gets one of those longer-term missions. So here she was outside where she was exposed with so many openings and where any civilian could be a hostile in disguise. This was even worse than her missions because she had to hold back but at the same time still be fully prepared to kill in the event that there was someone suspicious enough to be a threat.
Just like the person who has been tailing her for a short while now.
The stalker wasn't a professional though since they didn't even bother to try to hide the fact that they were pursuing her. Were they that confident in their combat skills should they engage? She's tried to walk faster without making it too obvious but her pursuer just broke into a jog instead. Her left hand was on the hilt of a blade hidden around her waist and her right hand immediately went inside her vest where she kept one of her pistols and she aimed it behind her just in case. The target was now within her kill zone. Her shoulders tensed when a hand taps her on the back.
This was it, her peaceful standby was over, she was about to engage in a confrontation in such a public place.
"Ah, I knew you looked familiar." A kind and out of place voice spoke, a voice that she's heard before. "Oh, sorry about that. Um… do you still remember me?" He asked hesitantly.
What was it about him and his luck?
"Yes, you're that guy who always gets captured." She calmly answered.
"Well yes that's me." He laughed but it was more out of embarrassment than anything else. But he quickly picked himself up and his spirits with him. "I didn't expect to see you here. Ah! Not that there's no reason for you to be here. I mean, you're allowed to be here. No, wait that sounded rude. What I meant was that of course, it's perfectly normal for you to be out on the streets. It's normal for me too so it's perfectly expected for us to meet here and all but well…"
Ah, so he really did have a tendency to ramble when nervous.
"It's just that every time we meet…" He faltered.
"You're the hostage." She finished for him.
"Ahaha, yes, it's always when you're on the job." He nervously chuckled and then vigorously shook his head to compose himself. "Anyways, what brings you out here? Do you have work here too?"
Yes and no. "It's my day-off."
"Really? Wow, that's good. I mean, that's great!" He said a bit too much excitedly.
She raised an eyebrow at him in suspicion. She felt like there was something more than just being happy about her time off. "Is something wrong?"
He shook his head again. "Well, I don't want to bother you for too long since it's your day-off."
"You're already talking to me." She said matter-of-factly.
"I guess you got me there. It's just…" He sighed dejectedly. "Do you know your way around here?"
"I suppose so. It's not my first time here." She's scoped the area before for a mission so she's familiar with the terrain.
"Then is it too much to ask for help with directions? I can't seem to find my way and I keep getting lost." He timidly asked and raised both of his hands out in front of him in a placated manner. "But only if it's not too much trouble! I already owe you so much from before and I don't want to pile more on you. I mean we barely even know each other and I know you have other things you'd rather be doing. And have I mentioned how much you've already done for me? I understand if you say no, really, I don't want to force or guilt-trip you or anything but-"
"It's okay." She cut him off.
"Huh?" He looked at her with his jaw open in shock. It took him a few seconds just to confirm that he didn't imagine her say that. "Are you sure?"
She nonchalantly shrugged. "Yeah. I don't have any plans for today anyways."
"Then you don't mind if I ask you to accompany me for a while?" He clapped his hands in joy. He was beaming too much, his grin practically reached his ears.
She didn't understand why it was so hard for her to refuse him when he was smiling at her like that.
"Sure... I don't mind." She was starting to realize that this man was definitely dangerous in his own way.
"Great! Thank you so much!" He happily exclaimed and extended his right hand forward as an invite. "I'm Naegi by the way. Uh, miss…?"
There were fake names she has prepared for situations like this. "...Ikusaba" She took his hand in hers.
She's not entirely sure what made her say her real name instead.
"Miss Ikusaba then, I'll be in your care." He energetically shook their hands and then his free hand went to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's kind of weird. We barely know each other but it feels like I've been depending on you a lot lately."
"Must be your imagination."
"Or my luck." He let go of her hand and smiled sheepishly at her. "Please, lead the way!"
At the loud declaration of Naegi's stomach, they decided to eat first which was convenient of Mukuro since that was her priority when she went out in the first place. The trip to the diner was no different from their last walk together. He still tripped over the most insignificant obstacles and he attracted all sorts of misfortune. The brunch had to be moved to lunch because his wallet got snatched beforehand which had his ID and fortunately enough, she was able to track the thief's base. It was the interview with the police that took too much of their time. When all of that was over, they finally sat down at a diner to eat.
They ate in silence and whatever small talk they had, it was mostly Naegi doing the talking.
"I've never seen you with anyone else before. Are you really part of a group or do you work alone?" Halfway through the meal, he picked up the conversation again. "I mean, you don't have to answer if it's confidential."
"I'll keep that in mind." She didn't plan on revealing too much either but she figured she could tell him the things he could easily assume. "I'm part of a mercenary group so I still report to them after. I don't have a squad because I just work better alone."
"That's amazing, Ikusaba! I don't think anyone can pull off half the things you can do alone!" His eyes sparkled in genuine admiration.
She was unfazed by his adoration. "I'm just slightly better than others."
"Don't sell yourself so short. You're really talented and skilled so be proud of it!" At least he looked extremely proud of her.
"Thank you…" She slowly nodded, not quite used to the positive attention. "Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"
"Oh, okay. Then," His face scrunched up in thought. "Umm, well I've been thinking about something. And I was just curious..."
"Go on."
"I never did get to ask you but why did you become a soldier?" He nervously asked, sweat tricking down his jawline.
That's all he wanted to ask?
She shrugged. "I was good at it so it just stuck." End of story.
"Huh?"
"I used to be one of those homeless kids on the streets. It was pretty rough out there but I had to toughen up so I could protect my sister." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she fondly remembered her sister.
"You have a sister?" He was unconsciously leaning forward, obviously interested. He didn't expect her to talk a lot and much less, share this much information.
"Yes, twin sister actually but we look nothing alike."
"Is she…?"
"She's alive. She works as a big shot model now. But she's not the reason I joined the military." Her gaze was distant, she looked like she was staring at something far away, a distant past. "When we got older, she realized she had a talent for modelling and started taking on jobs. Meanwhile, I found out that living off the streets was harder for me and that the only thing I was good at was fighting."
"So I went to military school to train some more and then after graduation, I jumped from one group to another until I finally got recruited by my current company." She closed her eyes in resignation. "There's really not much to say. I don't have anything else aside from this talent so might as well use it."
A somber silence weaved its way between them.
"But don't you feel bad when you kill?" He worriedly asked, concern etched across his face.
She shrugged in reply. "I try not to since it's the only thing I'm good at."
"You've got that wrong." He suddenly said earnestly.
"Your talent doesn't have to be killing." He was staring at her straight in the eyes with nothing but determination. "Didn't you say it yourself? You started getting stronger because you wanted to protect your sister."
Protect? It's true that she started with protecting her sister but when they grew up and she didn't need protection anymore, Mukuro was left without a purpose, and only a talent.
"There's…" She faltered. "More people out to hire killers than bodyguards."
"And there are even more people in need of protection." He continued pressing on. "You're really good at what you do but I believe that you'll be happier if you used your talent to protect instead, just like how you used to."
Happier? Why was he telling her this?
She frowned. "Maybe. But I'm part of a group now. It's not for me to decide."
"You'll have to decide for yourself eventually." He smiled understandingly. "And I believe in you. You'll make the right decision."
And in his smile, she swore that she could almost see the hope shining brightly, alluringly, almost calling out to her.
But she refused.
"I don't get to call the shots anymore."
He really was dangerous. Him and his hope. She hoped that she wouldn't see him again.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
The fourth time they saw each other, he was a photo.
This time she's assigned to an assassination mission with him as her target. It seemed that the current employer of Fenrir has a grudge on him because of his constant meddling in the political affairs which costed them budget cuts and demoralized manpower. He may have looked harmless but apparently he was a powerful speaker that could talk down even the most scrupulous leaders into turning the other cheek. He was a walking legend amongst peace activists. His profile stated that he was even able to stop a war before it had started just by merely talking once to the leaders. And now he was interfering with this war and their employer was not amused.
In spite of his amazing record, he wasn't that highly guarded. He didn't get an escort all the time nor did he have a personal bodyguard with him. This just fueled his reputation as both fearless and reckless. The man himself had zero self-defense skills and not a single drop of fighting spirit in his veins. He didn't even look that impressive, in fact he was completely average. He's the type of person that wouldn't even register in your radar, much less spare him a second glance when you pass by him on the streets.
And yet this country's military leaders were afraid of him.
Afraid enough to hire Fenrir just to eliminate him. And that job just so happened to be hers.
She's not even surprised when they handed out the mission to her. This happens a lot with her line of work. Whenever some stranger is even remotely good to her, they all eventually die early or worse, they get killed by her. That's why she made it a rule for herself to never get attached to anyone she meets on the battlefield. And she never did.
This time was no different.
Even though they met more than once, even though they talked on more than one occasion, and even though they knew each other's names, even though they're well acquainted by now, she didn't hesitate at all when she accepted her mission. That's why there's no reason for her to hesitate now that he was right in front of her.
This time would be the last time they meet.
"Hello, miss Ikusaba. What a coincidence, right?" He greeted her enthusiastically despite his predicament. He was tied up inside a basement, captured again. "Wow, I am so glad to see you here!"
"..." She just stared at him coldly.
He sweatdropped. "But it doesn't look like you're happy to see me."
"..." She didn't nod or shake her head, she just kept quiet and continued staring.
Meanwhile, his eyes widened at the realization and his energy level took a hit. "Oh, I see. Then it's that kind of meeting."
"..." She didn't even blink at the accusation.
"It doesn't look like you're here to save me this time." He could have worded it differently, but they both knew what he meant.
"...Do you hate me?" She blankly asked.
He just slowly shook his head. "I don't think I could ever hate you. You're just doing your job."
And all this time, he was still smiling.
"Why? I'm about to kill you and yet…" She's not sure why she's still talking to him when she should have finished him off before this conversation ever started. But if she's let him lived for this long, she might as well ask him while he could still answer. It's frustrating as to how badly she wanted to ask him one question right now. "Why are you still so nice to me?"
How could he still smile at her like that?
"That's because it looked like you were hurting the most." He said knowingly, sympathetically, as if she, and not his impending death, was the reason that he looked so sorrowful.
It didn't hurt. She wasn't hurting at all.
"Liar. I'm not hurt. I haven't felt a thing for killing anyone." She said snappishly.
His face became downcast. "Then it must be painful to kill a friend for the first time."
"Friend?" Did she hear him right?
"Huh? I thought that much was obvious. Of course, we're friends!" And all of a sudden, his vibrant energy returned. "You're an important person in my life too! Ah, but I guess you didn't need to hear that since I'm just making this harder for you."
Them? Friends? She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this because I saved your life?"
"Not really. I mean we did get to meet because of that but that's not the only reason." His tone was light, it was as if they were just having another casual conversation but his eyes told her that he was speaking earnestly from the heart. "You've been nice to me all this time and we even hung out that one time so I thought we were already friends."
"Friends don't kill other friends." She bitterly spat.
"Then I guess we have a pretty unique friendship, huh." He softly chuckled. "That's fine with me. As a friend, I'll do my best to be understanding."
"I don't…" She faltered. He just didn't make any sense. With every question she asked, he answered in a way that raised more questions for her. He just confused her, him and his absurd positivity. How could he just take this all in stride? "I don't understand you."
"That's okay, we didn't exactly have enough time for us to get to know each other." He half-joked.
"Are you trying to talk me out?" She asked skeptically, maybe he was just buying time to escape.
"I wish I could. But I won't." He said morosely with a sigh. "I know that this job is important for you and I don't want to get in the way of that."
"So you've given up." She quipped.
"That sounds like I lost. But I don't feel like that at all. I mean, I did sign up for this job with some expectation that I'd get killed for it so I'm kind of prepared for this." He lets go a deep breath and then smiled a melancholic smile. "I just wish it wasn't by you."
"I'm sorry." She said without thinking, unsure where the words came from or what she wanted to achieve by saying them out loud. No amount of apologizing would fix this.
No apology could save him.
He softly shook his head, his smile sympathetic. "I am too. It looks like I made you cry."
"I'm not…!" She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that she wasn't crying at all.
But the dampness on her cheeks and the blurriness of her eyesight stopped the words at her throat.
She didn't know the exact moment when she started to get teary-eyed but she's more shocked that it happened in the first place. Why was she crying? She's never cried over someone else before especially not when she's about to kill them. That's when she becomes even more heartless than ever because she doesn't need feelings to kill a person. That's why she expected to not feel anything at all this time.
So why did she feel so horrible right now?
"Ikusaba, let me make myself clear." He spoke strongly but with a certain hint of tenderness laced in his voice. "I don't regret us meeting and becoming friends. It's sad that it has to end this way but I'm happy that I got to meet such a wonderful person."
Wonderful? That kind of description didn't fit her at all. "I... I'm not-"
"You are! You're nice and you help people whenever you can, and you have a really kind heart. Didn't I tell you already? You're a good person caught in a bad war." He wholeheartedly insisted and did his best to convince her. "That's why even now, I can't hate you."
How can he still believe that?
He really was a softhearted person until the end.
"... Let's get this over with." She said with finality in her tone.
"Sorry, I bet I'm your most talkative target." He said embarrassedly.
"..."
"Bad humor? Sorry, I didn't mean to joke around. It just happens."
She coldly stared at him. "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
"Well, I do have a younger sister to worry about but I already have a letter and will prepared for her and for my friends back home." He thought out loud. "Hmm, what else… Oh, I know!"
"I know I don't have to say this because you've probably already prepared yourself but I'll say it just in case. Try not to think of this too much, I'm sure that this will become a painful memory but I don't want to hold you back. Don't let guilt stop you from finding happiness. As your friend, I want you to be happy."
"So just take care of yourself, okay?" He grinned at her one last time, not a speck of regret or betrayal smudged his brilliant smile.
And even in his final moments, he was full of hope.
"..."
"Goodbye."
The deafening sound of gunshots fired in the room.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
Mukuro sits at the airport alone.
There are more people booking flights now than they did before probably because of how much safer it is now. This region sure has calmed down ever since last year's ceasefire. The leaders of the countries were able to negotiate a truce and the rest of the world rejoiced at one less war to worry about. That also meant less work for soldiers and mercenaries alike but that's none of her business anymore.
Ever since that fateful mission from so long ago, she's quit her job.
Fenrir didn't take it too happily but after losing too many people sent after her, they stopped pursuing her altogether. She's grateful that they did because even though she is confident with her skills that she can survive any and all attempts at her life, she doesn't quite enjoy the idea of doing so for the rest of her life. She likes this peacefulness she's earned very much. She doesn't regret quitting. She knows that she made the right choice. She thinks that she's happier now with the newly found freedom. She's also changed for the better ever since then.
Besides, she immediately got a new employer right after.
"Sorry for the wait! I couldn't find my baggage." A voice calls out.
She smirks at the approaching figure. "You didn't get interrogated for the wrong luggage?"
"Hey! That only happened twice!" The person pouts in annoyance.
"Because the other two times, they arrested you on the spot with no questions asked."
"Point taken but still! It's bad enough that these things happen to me so don't try to make it any worse by jinxing it."
"Oh, I don't need to jinx it. As long as it's you, these things will happen on their own."
"I think I liked you better when you were distant and talked less."
"You're a terrible liar."
"You got me there."
They lapse into a comfortable silence. She helps him with his luggage, her hand lingering on his a few moments longer than necessary. They walk at a leisurely pace, simply taking their time, something they don't get to do so often. It says a lot when you can enjoy someone's presence in companionable silence. Lately, they've been having a lot of those moments. And every now and then, they'd say the same words in between.
"I'm glad you're still with me, Mukuro." He smiles brightly at her just like always.
"Me too, Makoto." She genuinely smiles back.
Mukuro Ikusaba has carried the title of Ultimate Soldier for almost twelve years of her life but she threw it away. She's no soldier now, not anymore but her life hasn't changed that much. There's still a lot of danger with her new job, nothing she can't handle of course, but she thinks that it's different. She doesn't kill as much as she did before. She's doing something better now. She protects people and she gets to protect one of the most important one in her life. She makes sure to never let him out of her sight. The pay is much lower but she still thinks that it's worth it.
Whenever she sees that hopeful smile of his, aware that she was the one who protected it, she knows that everything has been worth it.
And that's how she knows that she made the right choice in life.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
Shinra-ex-SOLDIER
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
OMAKE
Prisoner of Love
The fourth time they meet, she's on a mission again but he's not the target.
She still manages to stumble upon him and surprisingly, he isn't locked in a room as a hostage or shoved in a cell as a prisoner. No one is pursuing him either. He doesn't seem to be harmed or be in any immediate danger. From what she could tell, he just happens to be lost in the building.
"You're in much better condition than I expected. I thought for sure you'd be imprisoned again." She says not quite believing in it herself. This is too suspiciously normal considering that it's him.
"That's not true." He shakes his head and his tone becomes serious. The tension in the room suddenly grows thick. Upon closer inspection, he's actually sweating buckets. The situation must be worse than it appears to be. "I'm currently held captive right now."
That gets her attention. "Huh, right now? By who?"
"Who else?" He dramatically points and shoots at her with his hand. "By you, of course! You've captured my heart!"
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence fills the room and it lasts longer than he would have liked.
"No, really, by who?" She continues with a poker face.
No reaction at all from her.
He crumbles in defeat at her indifference. "That's just cold."
He doesn't find the strength in him to tell her that he was only half joking and that yes, he did get himself captured again. It's just that his holding room looks better and they were nice enough to leave him untied this time. But he can't tell her that now, otherwise she'd ask why he had to make that stupid joke in the first place. He's not even sure himself why he said that joke in the first place. It just came out, okay! And oh, how he's already embarrassed enough over pulling it off, he thought that he'd rather stay captured here than go talk about the harrowing experience so soon after it fell flat.
She still helps him escape in the end though but that doesn't make him any less embarrassed.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
BONUS
Shoot to Not Kill
The deafening sound of gunshots fired in the room.
But none of them hits him.
"It seems that I'm not the only one who's out to kill you." She says intimidatingly, her gun still in hand and a knife in the other.
His restraints instantly fall off.
"What? Did you just? Why did you-" The turn of events startle him enough to speak in clipped words, trying to form a coherent sentence from his mind that's running haywire right now.
"I stand by what I said." But she cuts him off.
He doesn't understand. Did she change her mind? But why? She's sacrificing a lot just to spare him. Why would she do that? What would make her throw away her job that she's worked so hard for over him whom he's not even sure if she thinks they're more than just strangers? What's going on in her head?
Stand by what exactly?
She smirks at him while she helps him up. "Friends don't kill other friends."
Oh. Does that mean that she too...
He instantly smiles brightly at her as he stands up. "Then I'm lucky to have you as a friend."
She nods in agreement. It's just like he said. They're friends now and as much as she wants them to do normal friendship bonding activities, now is not the time or the place for that. There are more urgent issues to address..
"It looks like the ones I just killed are from the other faction opposite our employer's." She sighs in exasperation. "Just what did you do to get everyone to hate you?"
"Hehe, I'm just shocked that they even know me." He nervously chuckles. He never did attract the good kind of attention. He blames it on his luck. His powerful and terrible luck.
"They won't stop here though." She says as she checks the perimeter for any more eavesdroppers. "Once they realize that I'm not reporting back, Fenrir will send another one for my job."
That reminds him of another issue. He swallows his dread. "What about you? Won't your group hunt you down for treason?"
"They can try. But I can take care of myself." She declares confidently and then turns her head to him. "It's you that we have to worry about."
"Me?" His eyes widen in surprise.
"Even though I spared you, someone else will come and try to kill you." She says matter-of-factly. That's the reality of his situation. For someone who says they're a peace activist, he sure has a lot of not so peaceful connections. "A lot of someones by the way."
"You're right. This doesn't look too good for me, huh?" He visibly deflates at the news. What is he supposed to do now?
She lets out a breath and calmly speaks. "About that bodyguard job, is the offer still open?"
Wait, what did she just say? Does that mean...
He perks up as offers her his hand. "Only if you plan to take it."
They hold each other's gaze for a while, confirming a bond between each other. In his eyes is unyielding hope and absolute trust, and it is overwhelming her but she holds her ground. In her eyes is something similar but smaller, a just ignited spark of hope and an unwavering determination to reciprocate that trust. They're both entrusting more than just commitment, they're entrusting themselves to each other wholeheartedly in a way that's new for both of them. And it all feels natural. It's as if this is how it's supposed to happen, as if this partnership is meant to be.
They firmly shake on it, not just on the job, but on their newly established bond.
"Mukuro Ikusaba, at your service."
"Makoto Naegi, I'll be in your care."
And for the first time in a long while, Mukuro finally uses her talent to protect rather than kill.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
Prisoner of love, blue skies above! I'm probably the only one who will get the reference though. But everyone at least got the pickup line! Please say yes.
Ask and you shall receive. For ScareCrowFM who first reminded me of the soldier au I had been sitting on ever since day one. Technically, NaekusabaFanGirl also requested this back in chapter 4 but this was already written by then, huh great shippers think alike!
ScareCrowFM: I know you asked for a military au but halfway through writing, I only remembered to double check your request, thinking we had the same idea, and well, shit this was so different. This is really more of what I had planned before you requested but I also like your idea. I mean, here, they meet up mostly by chance but in your au, it sounds like Naegi purposely went to Mukuro to help her. And I just really like that idea. Maybe I should write another one so I could properly honor this request. Tell me what you think.
Alternate Mercenary AU: Instead of them meeting randomly a few times, only the first meeting is by chance. Naegi is a peace activist that's been captured by one side and Mukuro just so happens to stumble upon him being held captive during one of her solo-ops. Since Mukuro's current contract is with Fenrir, and Naegi's contract is short-term and non-conflicting with Fenrir's, she decides to take on his job offer. The escort mission is only supposed to last for a day, just until she gets him back to his camp. But on the way there, Naegi gets targeted by the two leading factions in the war and Mukuro somehow ended up on Fenrir's hit list. So it's everyone against them now.
TLDR: Basically, they're trying to survive assassinations from all sides and all the while also trying to resolve this convoluted war that is slowly being unraveled as they go along to be much bigger than they thought it was.
~xoxo~xoxo~
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: We're past 5 chapters and we just hit 50k words. Also 30 followers (looks at the 4 who didn't fav, jk)! Wow, thanks! Here's an early update to celebrate this. Really, thank you all for your support. I didn't think I'd make it past the first chapter. I have plans for this to reach double digits so I hope you stay with me for the ride. Again, thanks to everyone who's been reading especially the great people who review and talk to me :) I look forward to our journey together!
Up next is turnabout talent.
So tell me how this went for you. And drop by a request too! See ya!