Hidan no Aria: Requiem of a Lost Melody
2nd Clip - "Phantoms of Yesterday"
A 'partner'.
Aria cringed at the sound of that word, the moment she remembered the way she was rejected by her prospected 'partner' Kinji Tohyama.
It was only a few days back when she last saw him yet, she just can't erase his face from her memories. The time they spent together, whether fun, sad, near death, pervy, it doesn't matter. It all flowed continuously inside her head.
The droplets of water that sprinkled against her silky smooth white skin felt colder than usual, her right hand traveled upwards towards her forehead, feeling the slanted light scar that was left as a mark of brushing closely against death, it's slightly raised groove a painful visual reminder of the danger she had faced with the person she chose to be her 'partner' yet, the very same person that pushed her away.
It was painful, it was lonely.
Aria's tears mixed with the shower's torrent of sprinkled water, the sight that her camelia red eyes was seeing was all blurry, her nose was red from crying and her arms were flailed around her lithe, petite body.
"Uuu... Kinji you idiot... You... There really isn't anyone... Like you... Uuu..."
She cried like a child as she sat on the cold, white shower room tiles, her long pink hair now dampened by the water, was all but a mess, scattered around the floor, with strands wrapping around her body, and her hands were trembling as she hugged herself tightly, her eyes closed, with warm tears mixed in along with the cold water. Aria silently lamented over her loss back in Japan for a couple of more minutes, her eyes starting to her redder than usual, and her whole body started shaking from the sheer coldness of the bath.
"Kinji... You just wait, I will definitely find someone, someone better than you and in time, you will certainly regret it. I swear!"
She screamed as she picked herself up, self-pity starting to sink in inside her heart. "Yeah, I will definitely. And in time, I will come back to you, because no one can ever replace you in my heart, no one..." Aria added as she started to dry herself with the white bath towel by the hanger, her thin arms skillfully bunched up her hair in a bun shape before covering it in another towel. As she exited the shower room, the phone by her bedside table started ringing.
*RING RING*
Aria walked over her bed, still wrapped in her bath towels, water dripping from her neck towards her deep seated collarbones. Picking up the phone, she made the preemptive greeting. "Hello, Aria Kanzaki speaking." She said, as she placed the handset over her ear, while her shoulder clutched the other side, freeing both her hands which she then used to remove the towel from her hair, letting the bunched up locks to tumble down to let it dry, using the towel to help in the process.
"Oh, Miss Kanzaki! Have you settled down yet? I'm so sorry that we had to ask you to stay in a hotel for tonight as the branch is still in tatters following the previous incidents around, you know." The voice on the other line said, it's tone flattened by the frequency.
"Oh, hello Ms. Summers, good evening." Aria replied as she closed her eyes, her hands still brushing her long pink hair dry. "You don't have to worry, I am doing fine and this hotel is rather luxurious enough so don't mind me. Furthermore, what brings you about at this time of the night? Did something came up?" She continued asking, her voice trying to mask the weakness she was hiding deep inside.
"Good to hear that..." The one called Ms. Summers said as she hid the fact that she was quite amazed that Aria was able to immediately discern who she was while she was using the Butei Branch's voice scrambler which masks the user's voice to appear a little bit different to the listener on the other side. "...Anyways, the reason why I am intruding on you this late at night is because there's been an urgent request from the Masters; it's a commission specifically for you, Miss Aria H. Kanzaki..." She added, getting directly to the point. "...However, this request will be a discreet mission and thus, no one other than you will operate, and the danger levels are quite high, and you've been given the option to reject as you see fit." She continued, her voice carried an "as-a-matter-of-fact" tone.
On the other line, Aria's eyes brightened, she stood straight up in an instant, all fired up, the phone almost fell as she did. "Really? Then there's no questions to it! I accept it! I accept it right away!" She replied in a slightly louder voice, the towel she was using to dry her hair was tossed on the ground in her excitement.
"Uuhhmm, I think you should hear more about the details be-" As tried to reply, she was cut off by an anime-like voice coming from Aria.
"No no don't worry about the danger levels or whatsoever! Don't forget you are speaking to Aria Holmes-Kanzaki, S-Ranked Butei, descendant of the great Sherlock Holmes! Hahahaha" Aria laughed confidently, puffing out her chest (which is almost non-existent) in the process, the small mounds apparently doing their best to protrude out. "So yeah, when's the briefing?" She added.
"Uhmm well, I.. Uh... Apologize but, even if you just came back home, we'd have to request you to be briefed about it tomorrow morning, 0830 hours, here at the Branch, and the mission will commence in less than a week, I hope you've had enough rest..." Ms. Summers apologized as she noted that Aria only arrived just this morning and she might have had a rough time in Japan judging from her demeanor earlier when she dropped by.
"Nah, I'm fine don't worry. I am more than happy to perform missions rather than sulk all day long about my problems. Better be busy with something than mope around, I guess." Aria answered, twirling the coiled telephone cord branching from the phone's main body to the receiver. "...That way, I..." She added, her voice suddenly a lot weaker than how it was beforehand. "...N-no, n-never mind that. I'll be there so don't worry Ms. Summers." Aria continued, sitting down heavily on the fluffy peach colored bed.
"Okay then. Well, I'll let you rest now and I'll see you tomorrow morning then..." Ms. Summers Replied, this time, her voice carried underlying tones of concern for the young Butei. "...Don't push yourself too hard Aria, okay?"
"Mhm mhm!" Nodding, Aria gently placed the handset back into the phone's main body, cutting the conversation off before removing the towel that was wrapped from her chest down to her thighs and raising the sheets up to her chin, covering her entire body with the thick and comfortable rose patterned blanket that the hotel provided. She laid straight, facing the room's fancily decorated ceiling, her eyes shallow, indicating sleepiness.
"...A mission to keep me busy huh... I guess it's not as half bad as it should, better keep myself busy then..." She muttered to herself as she drifted off to a deep sleep.
The heavy and harrish smell of the Cuban cigar that his captor smoked almost suffocated him as he continued to hang from the walls of this dimly lit and stinking place, the vulgar odor of the perimeter reminded him of a butcher house that was filled with rotten dead pigs, adding to the torment he was experiencing as he struggled to breath in and breath out air, each intake induced a different level of haziness up in his head.
The big, muscular bald guy wearing an eyepatch puffing out the cigar came into the limelight, his face slightly brightened by the hanging lamp that swayed back and forth, his hands were holding one of those leather-like whips that were used by horse jocks to make their steeds run faster.
"Are you now feeling generous enough to share the information that you know?" The sound of the whip cutting through the air and hitting the ground was like sharp lightning, echoing throughout the room.
There was nothing but silence from the chained man, his throat constricted several times, up and down yet there was nothing, He didn't respond, and with a dead look in his left obsidian black colored iris, he just stared at the monstrosity before him, his right eye completely covered by the long hair he sported which hanged down on the other side of his head.
"I see you're not kind enough eh..." Just then, the whip thundered across the captive's left cheek, the reddish lacerated wound appearing a few seconds after the whip's cracking sound split the silence. A low grunt could be heard escaping his lips, the part of his cheek that was hit already swelled to double it's size in just mere seconds.
'You are the inheritor of the eye of Godspeed. It shall be your gift, and it shall be your curse.' Now he could hear voices ringing inside his head as the pain from the swelling flesh continued to ravage his already numb body.
"Still not generous enough? Hahahaha I like your resistance but I'm sorry, I'll break you right now!" The whip cracked again, this time it was his upper chest, the sound thundered through the room, making the lamp sway violently as the big bald guy laughed ferociously at his captive's predicament.
'You shall be destined to carry the sins you never had, to atone for the things you haven't done. Such is the curse you must bear...' More voices were heard as he continued to struggle to breathe, the pain he felt in his chest was already non existent as his mind went blank. Warm liquid started to trickle down from the lacerations, down to his toned six-pack abs, staining his sweat drenched black pants.
The pain in his body was close to unbearable, mixed blood and sweat made his body all sticky, and his hands, which were chained to the wall were numb as hell, and there were black marks that were starting to appear around his wrists. His limp legs almost gave way from the dead weight his total body decided to rest on it, his vision was all blurry and his head was in high heavens.
What's more annoying is that he shouldn't even be in this predicament, if only he could use his 'power' as freely as he wanted. What did he do to deserve this? He only wanted to live a simple and normal life, yet the fang and claws of conflict seemed to find it's way home, all thanks to the 'gift' he possessed, no, 'curse' would be a much more appropriate term to use, as he can't even utilize it's powers when he needed to, it's just... Useless. He'd be better off not having it, it only served as a constantly burning wick counting down to his own timed death and destruction.
He felt another hit slamming against the lower part of his left jaw, his teeth gnashing against each other from the impact.
And then another.
And another.
It was endless.
He began to think death would be a better feeling.
"Butei of the London Butei Branch, Aria H. Kanzaki reporting for duty!" The small girl which was almost only three quarters of his own height said as he, the Arms Master of the Butei Branch stood in front of her, noticing her almost rigid posture, a little bit awkward if you were to imagine a girl saluting an older man. "I am here to accept the assignment that was requested in behalf of the Branch!" She added, her squeaky voice reverberated through the closed room, plushly decorated with antique ornaments. Waving his hand, he gestured her to be at ease, and at that sight, the girl relaxed yet her eyes still shone with seriousness.
"Why, first of all, good morning, Miss Kanzaki, I, on behalf of the London Butei Branch appreciate your assistance in this particular case..." The man lightly coughed, placing his gloved hand over his mouth. "...I'm pretty sure you're dead tired from your long journey so I apologize to impose this on you so suddenly." He added, his eyes displayed an apologetic demeanor behind his monocle.
"N-No, i-it's really okay Mr. Locke, and I've had a good night's sleep last night, thanks to the lodgings the Branch have provided, and I am in your debt so in exchange.." Aria replied, holding both of her hands in front of her, shaking them in a rejecting manner. "...I am glad to be of any service, please utilize my skills as you see fit." She continued, camelia colored eyes full of confidence.
Giving her a positive nod, the one addressed as Mr. Locke briefly tapped his bony fingers against the wooden table in front of him, making minute pitter-patter sounds before finally walking off towards the huge LCD screen monitor set behind his high-back classy leather chair, flicking the 'on' switch, the colored crystals inside the slim device started coming to life.
"Moving on, I am here to brief you on this mission, please listen well..." The Arms Master said, his voice carried an aura of authority as he switched into serious mode. Lightly coughing, he continued. "This particular mission will be a covert infiltration slash search and rescue slash demolition slash assault..." Surprised at the seemingly incoherent mixture of words, Aria was taken aback, her hands flicked upwards in shock.
"W-wait... It's a 'covert infiltration slash search and rescue slash demolition slash assault'? Say what? It.. Doesn't make sense, pardon me Mr. Locke but could you explain further?" She inquired, still cannot believe the mission's ridiculously absurd description.
With a hoarser voice, probably because he was suffering from dry cough, Mr. Locke continued, his expression showed an 'as usual' tinge. "As I was saying, yes, you heard it right, this is a covert infiltration slash search and rescue slash demolition slash assault type of mission. In short, first you have to covertly infiltrate a remote facility somewhere around the outskirts of a town, then you have to find and rescue our VIP, then after securing the target, you have to blow up the place, and disable all the enemies that might be present, and all the enemies that might come in as reinforcements. Oh, don't forget, Butei Law Article 9; Butei cannot kill. Is in effect so don't mess up." After finishing his long speech, he loosened the collar of his jet black suit just a little bit to get more air, before finally sitting down on his desk.
"That... Sure is alot hahahaha." With small sweat beads starting to form around her forehead which was partly covered by her pink forelocks, Aria gasped as she took in all the details, letting them sink into her brain which was working probably two or three times the usual speed. "...But not matter, I will still do it. Please continue on Mr. Locke."
"First of all, I would like to introduce our VIP for this mission, the one you need to rescue..." His hands reached out for the wireless mouse and keyboard which was sprawled haphazardly over the desk, his trained hands seemed very adept at navigating the computer. With a few clicks and button presses here and there, a Powerpoint slide started playing on the huge screen.
"I want you to meet Lander Kirinji, a Butei." Mr. Locke pointed his slender index finger to the screen, which was showing the picture of a teenager guy with black hair who's length partly covered his right eye. His complexion was a bit on the brown side, signifying his oriental origin.
Surprised yet again that she was supposed to rescue a fellow Butei, Aria hang her head and started to ask questions. "So he's a fellow Butei huh... But aren't Buteis supposed to be capable themselves? I mean, how did he ended up in that situation? What is his rank anyway? Wh-" She fired questions like an SMG on full auto mode before Mr. Locke's hand glided in front of him, immediately silencing the rapidly talking young Butei.
"Now now, please let me finish..." He continued as he smiled lightly towards Aria. "Yes, he is a Butei, a comrade to us. But well, to be honest, he's just your ordinary Butei, he doesn't really standout that much, he doesn't have any special 'outstanding' abilities or whatnot, I guess he could easily be placed through Rank C or D under normal circumstances yet..." Mr. Locke added as he switched back into his serious mode, his hands linked together and was placed over the table, the top of his palms being a rest for his wrinkled chin. "...The only special ability he posses has a very very huge potential, that's why he is currently ranked EX, one of the most highest rank a Butei can have."
Butei, being the civilian armed forces that they are, specializes in accepting and accomplishing a number of different missions from the people, from the Butei department they belong to, and the Government. They are what you call the 'civilian action force' and they are trained to help pacify whatever the Police Force lacks in manpower. They are people who have special authority in case of emergency situations, have the privilege of carrying guns and blades anywhere, and all of those special stuff that any decent Police Officer possesses.
They are ranked using a dignified system, in use by all the Butei Branches that stretches across all the countries that employ Buteis. The ranks are as follows, in ascending order; Rank E, Rank D, Rank C, Rank B, Rank A, Rank S, and the rumored Rank EX. Basically, the ranking is originally based on one's capability to accomplish missions, using percentages as a form of leverage, but recently, the International Butei Association adopted a new system that abolishes the former rule, as a Butei's mission rate does not necessarily reflect his or her own performance, and instead, Buteis nowadays are ranked according to their individual capabilities and prowess.
Rank EX.
Before actually hearing it from the Arms Master's lips, Aria always believed it was just another silly rumor and that the Rank she is currently holding, which is Rank S, is the highest of all. For whatever reasons, She felt quite uneasy, learning that there are people who are still on top of her, people who are twice as strong, or possibly even more capable than she is, it left a gap inside her feelings.
After being silent for a couple of seconds, the aura inside the room grew more taut, and as the little girl still couldn't believe what she just heard, her mouth ran off. "W-Well, if he is ranked that high, th-then wh-why is he in such a farce?" Aria asked, her voice tinted with a little bit of annoyance as her pride raged inside her heart.
Still sitting down with his chin resting on his hands, Mr. Locke answered, his voice unwavering. "You could say... It was our own fault..." At that remark, Aria's already big eyes started to further widen in shock. "...We sent him into a rather cumbersome mission without even giving him proper information, and briefings as the client demanded it's utter secrecy, with it's over the top payout, it seemed extremely lucrative, and upon accepting and partaking in it, he... I mean, we fell into that group's trap... The client itself was part of the group and we sent that young Butei into this predicament..." He ended, sounding gloomy as he remembered what transpired over the last couple of days.
"With that 'group'... Could you perhaps mean..." Aria, still wide-eyed hammered down at the oakwood table, banging it as hard as she can, rattling the stuff placed over it, much to the Arms Master's surprise. "...Could you possibly mean..." Aria trembled, her throat constricted and her eyes dilated, her hands balled into fists as the sweat that accumulated in her forehead started dripping down amidst the room being well ventilated.
Furrowing his own brows, Mr. Locke seemed a little bit hesitant at first, but he then remembered what her stance is with that group. "...Yes. It is what it is. It is I.U." His words resonated deeply into Aria, making her camelia hued eyes seem to burn more redder.
I.U.
The group that framed Aria's mother, Kanae Kanzaki, and had her imprisoned, served with 862 years as punishment, in short, life sentence. Aria's eyes seem determined if not, angry, and she was now more than willing to accept this mission, even if it sounded idiotic to some degree, because she doesn't want to let the opportunity to come in contact with whatever she can find out about I.U at the very least.
She glanced up to the Arms Master, the look on her was full of confidence. "I see. That makes this mission more worthwhile. Please continue, Mr. Locke".
Lightly coughing yet again, the old gentleman continued. "With the latest intel that we have, the section which perpetrated, no, orchestrated this farce is none other than the Diamond Dust, Durandal's corps. And we also have recently received a report coming from the Japanese High Butei Agency that that section is currently targeting different Buteis who hold special abilities..."
"Durandal... The Diamond Dust... Arresting her would lead to mom's sentence being further reduced to less than 600 years I believe..." And just then, Aria's eyes widened again. "...W-wait! WAIT!" She shouted. "Did you just say... Japan High Butei Agency?" Aria stammered as she screamed with her anime-like voice, sounding like an angry cat, with regards to her pitch and tone.
"Yes, you heard me right. The Japan High Butei Agency. Yes, you'll be coming back to Japan for this mission." The Arms Master said in an almost chuckling voice. "Our VIP, Lander Kirinji is currently held captive in Durandal's custody in an undisclosed location that the Informa will let you know later in Japan, and you would need to again go back in that country for this mission." He added, glancing to the LCD TV which was currently showing some sort of a non-descript building. Japan.
Aria holds special memories and attachments with that place. It's the place where her mother is in prison. It's the place where she finally met a prospecting partner, and although it ended up not being on the better side, still...
"I see. Well, I don't really get a choice of location do I? Hahaha~" Aria replied half-laughing in an attempt to diffuse the roaring emotions inside her chest, doing her best to subdue the bittersweet attachments she had left there, in which, that bond will yet again, be kindled.
Yeah. It's not as if she was purposely coming back, and most certainly not for Kinji Tohyama's sake, it's just...
A coincidence.
Yeah, a coincidence.
Aria's lips curled into a faint smile.
The dizzying vision his eyes showed him was a sanctuary amidst this hellish nightmare. Lander looked around, there was no one, not a soul, was there, and only the sounds of the wriggling chains and the warmth of the constantly swinging head lamp were the only accompaniment his own ragged breathing had.
Mustering what little strength he had, he swung his head to the left, glancing up at the chains that binded him. Restriction. He felt that he had experienced this all his life, being tied to one destiny that wasn't his own choosing. The long black hair that tumbled down the right side of his head was scattered wildly around his face, covering the menace, no, monstrocity would be a better term that was part of his body.
The Eye of Godspeed.
He shook the hair that was covering it, revealing a greenish glow permeating from his right eye, it's almost demonic gleam brimming with malice. The gift he received, the curse he was destined to burden until the day his breath leaves him. In his pitiful state, the life he had flashed before him, showing a vivid recollection of the memories he chose to lock away deep inside his torn heart, the fleeting, haunting scenes that he tried to run for so long, it all came back to him.
"Lander, do you wish to have power? The power to protect the ones you love?" The elderly man in front of the young Lander Kirinji said as the two of them sat in the veranda of their ancestral home, the light provided by the moon beamed towards the duo as the younger Kirinji feasted his mouth on the succulent watermelon he had for dessert.
"Of course! I want to be as strong... No, I want to be stronger than you grandpa!" Lander answered in earnest, with a loud childish voice, his hair was cut short, revealing the bandages that wrapped almost half of his head, on the right side. "But... How? I lost my eye due to that accident that made mama and papa go away... I... Don't know if I still can't..." He added, teary eyed as he placed the finished watermelon back into the white dish.
"Hhmm. So you are doubting yourself, Lander?" The elderly man replied, the daunting smile he had on his lips foreshadowed his expression."So you're accepting defeat even before you tried? You're saying that you loose just because you can't see properly?" He continued as he craned his head upwards, looking at the pale white crescent moon.
Swaying his dangling feet, the young Lander pondered a few moments before he gazed towards his grandpa. "If it means I can prevent the people I love from being taken to heaven, then I will fight, even though I am weak, even if I lost my eye... Even if.." It was just too much for the young Kirinji, the trauma he encountered from recently loosing his family in a freak accident that occurred when his parents took him into the laboratory they worked on, killing both of them off and infecting his right eye with Radeon Poisoning, prompting the doctors to remove it to prevent further damage.
Lander started feeling the rough white colored bandage that wrapped his head, a reminder of his painful memories.
"Mhm mhm, good. very good." His grandpa said as he gently patted the kid's head, earning him a careless smile. "Now, I have a gift to you. The first and last gift that I can give you before I meet your parents up in heaven as well..." Then at that instant, Souichiro Kirinji removed the black ornamented eyepatch over his right eye revealing a green colored iris.
"This... Is the Eye of Godspeed. It can grant you the power to protect the ones you love, but..." He donned a serious looking face. "...If you will be the one to inherit this power, then it will be your gift, and it will also be your curse. You shall be destined to carry the sins you never had, to atone for the things you haven't done. Such is the curse you must bear... That is the price of protecting the ones you hold dear."
Puzzled and quite confused at his grandpa's words, all the young Lander Kirinji could do was give a light nod.
"Good. Good boy. One final thing, remember, this power... Will only work... If you have a person who can make it work... Someone... Who can make your heart beat..." With that said, the old man placed his right hand over the kid's bandaged right eye, slowly, it started to warm up, glowing green. Lander felt weird, and warm at the same time, the place where his right eye was before started to throb and pulsate, slowly heating up until he could no longer bear it, as sounds of pain and crying loosened up from his mouth.
Then he can't remember anything after that, most likely, he passed out.
And when he woke up, probably a few days later, his grandpa was already dead.
Brought back to reality, Lander shook off his sleepiness, the pains of the wounds he was inflicted with flared right back up as his senses went back possibly from being high all this time, blame the bald guy as he was constantly smoking weed. "Ha ha ha... That old man... You tricked me... This... Is not a power... If I... Can't use it at all..." He grumbled under his shallow breath, he could even feel the stiffness of his jaw, along with the pain of being repeatedly hit there, it was sore.
"Haha... A person... Who can make my heart beat... Does she even exist? Hahaha..." Like a disillusioned guy, he laughed and laughed and laughed, his muscles felt sore, and pain shot everywhere but he continued to laugh, killing his sense of pain.
He was ready to die.
The night was calm and the air was dead, it was silent, far too silent. Like a shadow, the twin tailed girl glided past the scenic backdrop of this rural looking place, in spite of it being smack dab in the middle of Tokyo. What a rich guy whoever built this, Aria thought.
Wearing a black colored Type C equipment; black colored pleated skirt with similar colored gun holsters which held up two of her pistols, both M1911's, one black and one white, along with her black blouse she moved with particular ease through the vast expanse of the manor.
"So, that's it, huh?" She whispered silently to herself as she hid along the low bushes in front of the manor, her eyes trained towards the small shed beside the house. Just then, the wooden door swung open with a loud bang, yellow light seeping out of the decrepit shed and out came a burly large person which reminded her of a gorilla.
The big guy slammed the door shut before throwing his lit cigarette on the ground, stepping on it with his foot before walking gaudily to the main house, his right hand carrying some sort of elongated weapon which Aria cannot discern clearly. After she visually confirmed that he was no longer in the area, she started making wide strides towards the shed, arms resting on the two guns she held on both thighs, making little to no noise as her lithe figure carried little resistance against the wind. In just a few seconds, she reached the shed.
After a little pause to double check her surroundings, the black clad girl stealthily slid the door open without making any obviously audible sounds and slipped inside in just a matter of seconds. As soon as she entered, her olfactory nerves were immediately assaulted by the strong putrid smell that emanated from the flight of stairs which led downwards, the seeping light breeze indicating that there's a basement.
Lightly scratching her nose, she continued to press forward, still on high alert, her trigger finger at the ready. As she descended down the dark stairwell, the strong smell began to intensify, almost forcing her to back out, but the faint sound she heard -a low grumbling sound, one that signified pain and suffering kept her pressing on.
After a couple of seconds of dashing breathlessly, she saw a light at the end of the long flight of stairs.
*tap*
*tap tap*
*TAP TAP TAP*
Still chained to the wall, he could no longer feel any pain, and his stomach growled like a mad beast, funny he thought, he was a hundred percent sure he was already dead for the past few days.
*TAP TAP TAP TAP*
Even if he tried to ignore it, the rapid descent of the footsteps he heard started sounding louder and louder, and it was totally deeper than the heavy, slow footsteps of the bald guy who was torturing him. Lander couldn't escape his mind's own curiosity.
He tried to muster all the strength he had left in his half-dead body to pull his head up, his hair was a mess and his body a little bit awry. For the first time in about a week, he couldn't help but be excited about the first hint of hope. The hope he didn't thought even existed the moment he fell for their trap.
*TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP*
Each lightly footed step brought her closer and closer towards the light, every at the ready, Aria strode on. A few moments later, she was greeted by a warm yellow light, seemingly embracing her lithe frame, the dark vestments she wore were drenched with the sweat that dripped down from her body, and in front of her loomed a man, chained to the wall, shirtless, with a ripped body that was full of wounds all over, his legs dangle almost lifelessly as his wrists supported all his weight.
He wore his black hair quite longer than usual and was parted to the side, his forelocks covered his right eye and his left eye was focused on Aria.
Twitching her nose a couple of times, Aria returned the glance before speaking up. "I am Aria H. Kanzaki, Butei from the London Butei Branch and I assume you are Lander Kirinji, Butei of the Japan High Butei Agency, am I correct?" She asked, her hands drawing both M911's and assuming a shooting stance, her back towards Lander, barrels of the twin guns pointed at the stairwell.
He could feel his parched throat protesting as he tried to speak, countless needles piercing the soft muscles. With all his might, he opened his mouth. "Yes..." Was all he can say before his lips ran dry once more.
"Acknowledged." Aria said before she touched her right earlobe using the index finger of her right hand. "Command, this is Q1, I've secured N1. Proceeding to Phase 2; demolition. Over." She whispered, a light static noise slipped out of the device hidden inside her ear. "Copy that; Q1 over and out." She added after a couple of seconds before throwing a confirmation nod to the still chained Lander.
Lander nodded back; that was the best he could do at this point before gesturing with his lips pointing towards the far right side of the wall opposite to him where a rack of copper keys were hanging, and in just a few seconds, Aria unlocked the chains that bound him in one fell swoop, releasing him from the restraint, his body slumping to the ground, too tired to move or even support himself up.
"Get a grip, Lander, if you don't both of us are toast..." Aria glanced backwards after hearing the crashing sound the now unchained guy made. "...You're... Supposed to be a Rank EX Butei but... Is this all you can do?" She added in annoyance, her eyes scrutinizing every inch of the dirtied Butei moping the ground.
Before she could add another word, Aria heard loud, almost banging footsteps echoing throughout the staircase, gradually changing into clanking steps that seemed to descend their way, the big guy, Aria thought as she readied for an inevitable confrontation as the confines of the underground prison did not provided an ample breathing room, much less a battlefield.
*BAM BAM BAM*
The footsteps were slow and loud, yet it continued to come closer, inching towards them. Lander looked up to the pink twin tailed girl in front of her, amazed that she had the ability to infiltrate this secured area, but what makes him more curious was that she knew he was a Rank EX Butei. Wherever Branch this girl came from, she might have a high disposition, he thought as he scanned the area for any possible escape routes, yet it was in vain.
"WHO GOES THERE?" The big man scowled as he reached the last five steps leading to the room, his vision clearly saw that there was something abnormal ahead of him as he saw silhouettes moving around, when there wasn't anyone who should be. His hands darted through under his heavy leather coat, grabbing the big gun out of it's holster, a .50 Desert Eagle, a gun noted for it's raw impact power, yet a little bit heavy for beginner use, but for this bear of a man, handling this type of firearm was next to drinking tea.
As soon as Aria heard the screams from the stairs, she nimbly pushed the grounded Lander towards the back of the room, his body rolling on the ground as she herself moved away from the lone entrance to this death zone. "Listen, you stay here, I'll take care of him." She said, prepping Lander up in a sitting position as she regretted her early words against him. Lander nodded. The big guy cautiously descended the last remaining steps the long flight of had to offer, his big, heavy gun aimed ready, at the same time Aria leered closer to the entrance, the two M911's trained forwards.
It was an inevitable encounter, both fighters knew.
A/N: Quite the long Chapter we have here eh? Sorry if I am quite slow, I've been addicted to playing Dragon Nest lately hahaha. I hope you guys still enjoy this as well as my Accel World fic. Anyways, nothing more to say, stay moe my friends!