Before we left for another mission, I gave everyone(Mine, Lubbock, Sayo, and Ieysayu)a hand-crafted mask—similar to the one Scorpion wore—to conceal their identities.
Elsewhere:
"So this is the red light district, eh? Seems pretty exciting." I said, as I watched the crowds of people walking below me. The street the we were overlooking was lined with dozens of brothels and bars. The air was filled with smoke and laughter as men hopped from bar to bar and brothel to brothel.
"Your innocent reaction is just adorable." Leone said, ruffling the top of my hair. "Now then. I've got to work and pay back those debts. Transform! Lionelle" I watched in awe as Leone's body was bathed in brilliant golden flames. I watched as her hair elongated and cat ears appeared on top of her head. Then her hands turned into powerful claws and a tail snaked out of her back. The display was so impressive, that I couldn't help but clap. "Man! I always get so pumped when I'm like this!" Leone turned so that she could look at me. "Now Tatsumi before we get in there, remember what I've been teaching you the past few days."
"Of course!" I said with a wide grin, as I gave Leone a thumbs up.
Flashback:
"Alright Tatsumi we've got a very important mission coming up in a few days." Leone said, leading me onto the training field. "You're a skilled swordsmen almost on par with Akame, and you're a damn good shot who could could Mine a run for her money...But there's one skill you're almost abysmal at."
"And that is?" I asked, as I stopped in the middle of the training area. Before I had a chance to react, Leone lunged forward and grabbed my sword and pistol.
Leone said, tossing the weapons towards the other end of the training field, "What are you going to do if you're ever disarmed and there are no other weapons around? You need to learn hand-to-hand fighting, because honestly you're terrible at it."
"I guess you're right, I'm not that skilled when it comes to fist fights." I admitted, as I hung my head. But I was surprised when I felt a hand gently rest on top of my head. I looked up to see Leone smiling at me.
"Don't worry Tatsumi, I'll teach you everything you need to know." Leone said, sliding into a fighting stance. "When I'm done with you, you'll be able to kill a man with your bare hands."
"Alright! Teach me everything you know, Leone!" I cheered, as I took my own, somewhat sloppy, fighting stance—I always used a combination of the fighting stances of Sub-Zero, Jax, General Blade, Mr. Cage, Kenshi, and my teammates.
"Okay! Here I come Tatsumi! We're starting off with blocking! So prepare yourself!" Leone exclaimed, charging towards me. However, my lack of skill showed immidiately(Sure I defeated Shinnok, but all my fights in the future were still close calls). Leone's first attack, a harsh kick to my stomach, sent me flying across the training area. Leone sighed and cracked her knuckles. "Oh boy, you're in for a lot of pain Tatsumi because we have a loooooong way to go."
"Good." Leone said with a smile, as she scooped me up bridal style. "Now, we're going to sneak right in and kill the target, Tatsumi."
"Huh? What's going, Leone?" I asked in a confused tone, watching Leone crouch down. Before I had a chance to question anything else, Leone rocketed off the roof we were on. Wind whipped passed my face as Leone leaped from rooftop to rooftop at an incredible speed. In a matter of seconds Leone was in front of our targets building. Hugging me close, Leone crashed through a window on the building's top floor. Once she was inside, Leone stopped briefly to make sure she hadn't alerted any guards. After hearing nothing for a few moments, the busty blonde gently released me. Leone wiped the sweat off her brow and let out a sigh of relief. "Phew! We made it, no problem!"
"You call that sneaking?" I hissed, as I glared up at Leone. "At least warn me next time before you do something like that."
"Awww, but I liked holding you close like that." Leone pouted, causing a slight blush to spread across my face. Giggling at my reaction, Leone gestured to a loose floor panel. "Alright this way! We've got work to do!" I walked over and peered through the now open floor panel. On the floor below I saw a roomed filled with half naked girls and smoke. I immidiately recognized that the smoke was opium. Leone and I both covered our mouths and noses so we wouldn't inhale the drug. After a few moments, two men entered the room with the girls.
"Oh!" The man with an eyepatch said. "Very nice! Very nice indeed. If you girls earn good money we'll send around more 'medicine' for you!"
"Yes, sir!" All of the girls cooed in their drug induced states.
"Hm?" The second man muttered, feelings something tug on his pant leg. Looking down, he spotted one of the girls giggling hysterically and appearing to be barely conscious. "Boss...check this one out."
"Ah, that girl is no use to us now." The man with the eyepatch said, as he eyed the girl with disgust. "She smells like shit. She's obviously been completely broken."
"Gimme more!" The girl whined, tugging on the second man's pant leg again. "I want more!"
"Get rid of her." The boss said, as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We can get a new girl to replace her in now time."
"Got it boss." The second man said, pulling out a switchblade and stabbing the girl in the neck. Up above, Leone tensed up as she watched the girl fall to the floor in a small pool of her own blood. The second man chuckled to himself, as he pulled out a rag and wiped off his blade. "Let's go make a call to those sluts in the slums."
"Of course, those dumb broads will do anything for money." The boss said with a disturbing smirk.
"Those men are monsters, just like the client said." I said, as I tightly clenched my fists. "They deserve a painful death."
"That girl he just killed..." Leone muttered darkly, her wild blonde hair hiding her eyes. "Was a friend of mine growing up." Leone growled and stood onto her feet. Punching a fist into her hand, Leone glared at the retreating men. "Now I'm pissed. Let's kill these sick bastards, quick!"
"Got it...I'll leave the one with the switchblade to you." I said, as I gripped the hilt of my sword. "After hearing Sheele's story, I have no patience for narcotics."
In the next room, the boss grinned as one of his henchmen handed him a drink. He released a content sigh as he sunk into his usual seat. Two girls walked up and hung off his arms; rubbing their large breasts against him.
"Boss..." The man who had killed Leone's friend said. "We should think about expanding our territory and area of operation."
"That sounds like an excellent idea." The boss said, taking a sip of his drink. "I'll talk to Sir Chibul tomorrow." As soon as the words left the boss' mouth, the ceiling to the room exploded open, and two figures dropped into the room.
"The only place you're going..." Leone and I said in unison. "Is hell!"
"A-Assassins!" The boss yelled, as he pointed at Leone and me. "Get them!" Immidiately a dozen guards charged towards us.
"Let me handle them." I said, unsheathing my sword and sprinting towards the henchmen. The I made quick work of the first three guards, easily stabbing and slashing my way through them. Keeping my momentum, I unholstered my pistol and took out four more guards with precision shots to their heads and vital organs. However, while I was busy shooting the henchmen another guard snuck up on me. I managed to raise his sword to block the guard's attack, but the guard's strike was far stronger than I expected, which caused me to drop my sword. Reacting quickly, I raised my pistol and pulled the trigger...but nothing happened. I had run out of ammo in the clip. The guard waisted no time, and lunged towards me with his blade ready. "Remember Leone, and Mr. Cage's training!" I grabbed the guard's wrist to stop his attack, then in one swift motion brought my palm up into the guard's elbow. The guard howled in pain as his arm was shattered from the powerful strike. Using my new advantage, I did a split, punched the guy in the crotch(Destroying his balls(A move I learned from the Cages)), grabbed the guard's sword and impaled him with it. I let out a shaky breath, eight bodies on the ground around me.
"Holy shit! He killed eight of them in less than thirty seconds!" Leone thought, as she stared at me in awe. As Leone stared at me, a second wave of guards surrounded her. "Well, I can't let Tatsumi have all of the fun." Leone had a feral grin on her face as she cracked her neck. "Our target is this whole disgusting drug trafficking ring, so you're all guilty." The guards nodded at each other, and all charged Leone at once. "So I'll kill you all in one go." A look of pure pleasure was on Leone's face, as she took out three guards with one series of attacks. Then, in one fluent motion, Leone whipped her leg around. Her foot slammed into one guard's side, which sent him crashing into three more henchmen. With the monumental strength granted by Lionelle, Leone's kick sent the four guards flying across the room and crashing into the wall; killing them all instantly.
"Y-You g-gotta be fucking kidding me." The guard with the switchblade yelled, pulling out a gun and aiming at Leone. "You ain't killin' me that easily!"
"No! You'll be even easier to kill!" I exclaimed, as I shot forward. I used the stolen blade to chop the guard's hand off. The guard roared in pain, clutching his arm as it sprayed blood. "Finish him off, Leone!" I kicked the guard towards the blonde assassin.
"Payback's a bitch." Leone said coldly, as she lifted the guard off the ground by his neck. The last thing the man saw was Leone's fierce golden eyes, before the busty blonde snapped his neck with ease. Leone then stalked towards the drug trafficker's boss. The man began to back up in fear until he ran into the wall behind him. When she reached the boss, Leone tightly gripped his throat and lifted him into the air.
"W-What are you after?!" The boss exclaimed, struggling to breath. "Is it money!? Drugs!? I've give you anything you want! Just let me live!"
"Oh, I so hate when scum beg for their lives." Leone said, as she cocked her fist back. "The only thing I want is your life."
"W-What are you?!" The boss asked, his face starting to turn purple from lack of air.
"I'm just a good-for-nothing." Leone said, as her fist shot forward; piercing straight through the man's stomach. The drug trafficker immidiately vomited a large amount of blood when Leone pulled her bloody fist from his stomach. The man staggered for a moment, before he fell forward into a puddle of his own blood. "That's why I get rid of trash like you."
"Come on Leone..." I said, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Let's free those girls...and bury your friend."
30 Minutes Later:
"That doctor you knew in the slums sure seemed nice." I said, as I shoved my hands into my coat pocket.
"Yeah, he's pretty good for an old pervert." Leone said, walking with her hands behind her head. "He loves young girls, so he was thrilled to help them. With his help they can probably get over their drug addictions, and eventually maybe live normal lives."
"Heh, you're such a big softie, Leone." I said with a grin, as I mock-punched Leone in the shoulder.
"It was just because my friend was amongst those girls." Leone said, scratching the back of her head.
"Your reason doesn't matter. So long as you gave those girls some hope." I said, which caused Leone's golden eyes to widen. "Now, onto finding the others." Once again, I used my Edenian genes to break the speed of sound.
Same Time; Park in the Capital:
"Damn that Chibul guy had way too much protection." Mine complained, as she sprinted through on of the capital's parks with Sayo and Sheele beside her.
"Well, at least we completed the matter safely." Sheele said, turning to smile at Sayo. "That was quite an impressive shot Sayo. I didn't know you could use a bow so effectively."
"Yeah, I was the best shot in my whole village. My father was a competitive archer and taught me everything he knew." Sayo said, as she slung her bow over her shoulder. "I used to do a lot of the hunting for our village, so I was really able to hone my skills."
"I'm glad I had a few specialty arrows lying around." Mine said, glancing at Sayo's full quiver. "Those incendiary arrows really came in handy."
"It was pretty smart to use the fire as a way to block the guards while we-" Sheele was cut off when someone crashed into the ground in front of them. The three members of Night Raid all leaped back to put some distance between themselves and the possible threat. "Is it an enemy?!"
"Who is she..." Mine thought, noticing that the girl was wearing the armor of a garrison guard. "I didn't sense her presence at all...she's completely different from the other guards..."
"I knew it..." The girl said in a dark tone. "You're definitely Sheele from the wanted posters...You're a member of Night Raid! And judging by your friend's Imperial Arms, they're members of Night Raid as well! I knew waiting until nightfall would prove fruitful...At last..." A maniacal smile spread across the auburn-haired girl's face. "At long last, I've found Night Raid!" The girl let out a sadistic laugh. "I am with the capital garrison! Seryu Ubiquitous! In the name of justice...I sentence you all to death!"
"Sayo..." Mine said, as she glanced at the dark-haired girl. "You know what to do."
"Right!" Sayo exclaimed, running and leaping into the nearby treeline; seemingly vanishing into the darkness.
"She won't get away, you know?" Seryu said, as she glared at Mine. "After I kill you two, Koro and I will hunt her down."
"Oh, she's not running away." Mine clarified, a grin spreading across her hidden face as she unslung Pumpkin off her back. "She's just getting ready to attack...Because now that you've seen our faces...you either join us or die."
"There's no way I'm taking you three in alive." Seryu said, as she pointed at Mine and Sheele. "I will eliminate all of you!" Seryu's eyes hardened as she stared at the assassins. "My father died fighting evildoers like you! And your group killed my master and captain! I will never forgive you!"
"Then, you're willing to fight us. Fine by me..." Mine said, rotating Pumpkin's barrel, so that it fired in fully automatic. Without warning, Mine opened fire on Seryu. "Those who make the first move are victorious!" However, Mine was surprised when Seryu made no attempt to dodge her volley of fire. "Did I get her?" When the smoke cleared it revealed that Koro had enlarged itself and acted as a shield, which absorbed all of Mine's shots. "Tch, figures...things can never be easy."
"Mine, that's an Imperial Arms!" Sheele exclaimed, as she unsheathed her Extase.
"Yeah, and it's a biological type as well..." Mine said with an annoyed huff. "This is gonna be tough."
"Eat this!" Seryu yelled, raising two tonfa guns and opening fire on the assassins. But Mine and Sheele were prepared for this, and retreated to a safer distance. "Tch, they're too far away for these to be effective." Seryu then turned to her Imperial Arms. "Koro! Prey!" The biological weapon roared as it raced towards Sheele, it's massive mouth open revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. But Sheele remained calm and stood her ground. Suddenly, a silent whistling sound filled the air, then something impacted the side of Koro's head. Upon closer inspection, Seryu realized that the object was an arrow. The arrow in Koro's head began to flash rapidly, before it exploded. "Explosive arrows! That other girl must have retreated into the trees so that she could fire at us without being seen!" With a portion of its head missing, Koro staggered backwards. Sheele took this opportunity and chopped it in half with her Extase.
"I'm sorry..." Sheele said, as she stalked towards Seryu. But instead of showing fear, Seryu grinned wildly. There was a sudden rumbling behind Sheele, and she turned to see that Koro was back onto its feet, and it looked extremely upset. But before the Imperial Arms could attack, Mine blasted it, at near point blank range. Koro was sent flying forward by Mine's attack.
"Remember Sheele..." Mine said, running up to the purple-haired woman. "Biological ones have hidden cores somewhere in their bodies. They keep regenerating until you destroy them."
"What a pain." Sheele said, as she adjusted her glasses.
"Koro. Arms." Seryu ordered, immidiately huge, muscular arms replaced Koro's usual stubby arms.
"God, that's just wrong..." Mine said, as she cringed at Koro's hideous appearance. "We only have one option now, Sheele."
"Got it." Sheele said, taking a defensive stance.
"Koro! Crush them!" Seryu yelled, as she pointed at both assassins. Koro charged towards Sheele and Mine, unleashing a barrage of attacks as it ran.
"Stay behind me, Mine!" Sheele exclaimed, sliding in front of Mine and raising Extase. The purple-haired woman grit her teeth as she used the giant scissors as a shield to block Koro's attacks. "Hurry up Sayo! I need some help here!" Suddenly a piercing whistle sounded throughout the park.
"Reinforcements will be here in less than five minutes! It's all over for you Night Raid!" Seryu yelled with a crazy smile, as she lowered the whistle from her lips. However, Seryu screamed in pain when an arrow suddenly pierced her right hand, causing her to drop the whistle. The garrison guard hissed as she ripped the arrow out of her hand. "You bitch! Get out here and fight us! Stop hiding in the shadows!"
"First this bastard is unleashing a whirlwind of attacks, and now she's called for backup." Mine said, her eyes filling with determination. "Looks like we're in a real pinch now. Let's do this!" Mine leaped into the air and aimed Pumpkin at Koro. As if on cue another arrow struck Koro, but this time it was an incendiary arrow. The arrow struck Koro, and bathed the biological Imperial Arms in intense flames. Koro howled in pain and stumbled backwards, as the flames cooked it alive. With Koro away from Sheele, Mine fired a massive beam of energy at the Imperial Arms. The combination of the fire and Mine's attack kicked up a large amount of smoke and debris.
"Her firepower increased!?" Seryu yelled in disbelief, as she watched chunks of Koro's body fly off. "But..."
"Dammit!" Mine grunted, landing back onto the ground. "That thing is already regenerating...what a pain in the ass!"
"Don't underestimate the durability of Imperial Arms!" Seryu exclaimed in a cocky tone.
"Ah, but Imperial Arms are simply tools." Sheele said, as she burst out of the smoke next to Seryu. "If I take out the user, it'll stop!"
Fight
"She and that other girl have been gunning for me since the start!" Seryu thought, backing away from Sheele.
"I'll finish her with my Trump Card!" Sheele thought, as she raised her Extase. The giant scissors suddenly began to glow with blinding light. "Ecstasy!"
"A golden light!" Seryu yelled, raising her hand to block the intense light. "What the hell is this!?"
"It is the end for you!" Sheele shouted, as she stabbed her scissors at Seryu. However, the garrison guard managed to block all of Sheele's strikes, just barely. "She's quite strong!" Koro tried to help its master, but it was stopped when Mine shot a hole through its side.
"No sweetie, your fight is with me." Mine said, blowing the smoke off the end of Pumpkin's barrel. "I'm letting you go anywhere." Releasing a calming breath, Mine took aim once again. "Now that I'm not in as much of a pinch, I can't finish this bastard off...But with Sayo's help I should be able to keep him occupied...and through process of elimination I think I've found where this thing's core is."
"You're mine!" Sheele exclaimed, as she gave a particularly powerful thrust with her Extase. The strike was enough to knock Seryu off balance, and cause her to drop her tonfa guns.
"Damn!" Seryu screamed, seeing that Sheele's scissors were coming in for the kill. Seeing no other option, Seryu raised her arms to block the attack. With a sickening sound, both of Seryu's arms were severed clean off. The auburn-haired girl screamed in pain, as her arms gushed blood.
"She may have sacrificed her arms, but this next attack will finish her!" Sheele thought, as she sprinted in for the finishing blow.
"You will be..." Seryu yelled hysterically, raising one of her stump arms. Sheele's eyes widened when a gun barrel sprouted where Seryu's arm used to be. "Served justice!"
"Bionic upgrades!?" Sheele thought, as she prepared to use Extase to block the shot.
"This is a trick Captain Ogre taught me!" Seryu roared, aiming for Sheele's head. "Eat this!" But before Seryu could shoot, another quiet whistling sound rang out. A moment later, an arrow pierced Seryu's shoulder, which caused her shot to go wild. "Gaaaaah! I fucking hate you! When I get my hands on you...I will feed you to Koro piece by piece! I'll take my sweet time hacking all of your limbs until you're just a bloody stump!"
"Shut up." Sheele said cold, as she sliced the bionic upgrade in half. "It's over now..."
Sheele wins-Flawless Victory
"I'm not finished yet..." Seryu said, struggling to sit upright. "When he uses it, he overheats, and can't move for months...but I have to use it!" Seryu grinned wickedly and turned to her Imperial Arms. "Koro...Berserker!" The biological let out a deafening roar as its body began to morph and change. Koro's body became even more muscular, and took on a blood red hue. The result, somehow, became even more intimidating than before. Once its transformation was complete, Koro released a roar so powerful, that it caused Sheele, Mine, and even Sayo to cover their ears.
"Damn it, this bitch had a hidden ability too!" Mine thought, barely able to think with Koro's piercing wail assaulting her ears. But Mine was so distracted by Koro's roar that she couldn't stop herself from being captured by the beast. "Gah!" Mine grunted in pain as Koro's fist tightly wrapped around her small body.
"Mine!" Both Sheele and Sayo yelled simultaneously.
"I have to do something!" Sayo thought, as she reached for an arrow. But Sayo cursed when she realized she only had one arrow left, and it was an explosive one. "Mine's way to close! She'd get caught in the explosion! Sheele, it's all up to you!"
"Crush that pink-haired bitch! I want to see her pop!" Seryu yelled in an insane voice, a crazy smile on her face. Koro followed his master's order, and began to crush Mine to death. Mine screamed when she felt her left arm shatter. The pain was so intense that tears began to fall from Mine's eyes. "Good! Kill her!"
"Keep your hands off my friend!" Sheele screamed, using Extase to slice through both of Koro's arms. Mine crashed into the ground battered and beaten, but alive. "Looks like I made it in time."
"Thank you, Sheele." Mine said, as she clutched her broken arm. But Mine's relief was shot lived, as a gunshot rang out. Mine's eyes widened when she saw blood spraying from Sheele's chest. "No! No! No! No! NOOOOO!" Off to the side a manically smiling Seryu laughed, as a still smoking gun barrel poked out of her mouth.
"My body...won't move..." Sheele muttered weakly, feeling her entire body go numb. The purple-haired woman could faintly hear rumbling footsteps approaching, and she knew that Koro would attack her any second.
"Justice...has been served!" Seryu shouted, as Koro moved in to finish Sheele off.
"What do I do!?" Sayo panicked, clutching the explosive arrow in her hand. "If I fire Sheele will be taken out by the explosion, and there's no way I can get close enough to attack with my sword!" Sayo's mind raced as she came to a grim realization. "I'd rather Sheele die a quick and painless death than be eaten by that thing!" With her mind made up, Sayo quickly readied her explosive arrow. As Sayo took aim, she could swear she Sheele nod her head and smile. "I'm so sorry Sheele...Mine! Tatsumi! Please forgive me!" With tears streaming down her cheeks, Sayo let the explosive arrow fly.
When I was only ten yards away, just then, I broke the speed of light(it was a one-time thing), and got Sheele out of the way, as the explosive arrow pierced Koro's eye, and the detonation blew up its head. "That was a close one!" However, grabbing Sheele caused her to drop Extase. "Agh, forget it! Come on!" Seryu's reinforcements had just come.
"Shit! I have to move!" Sayo thought, grabbing three flash grenades out of her pack. With speed she didn't know she had, Sayo leaped out of the tree and raced towards Mine. Sayo pulled the pins on the grenades and hurled them towards the approaching guards. Mine saw the grenades land and quickly shielded her eyes. The grenades went off in a blinding flash of light that rivaled the Sun. With the guards blinded and stunned, Sayo threw Mine onto her back and sprinted off back into the treeline. As both assassins escaped, Sayo couldn't stop the tears that fell down her cheeks. "Mine...Sheele's alive!"
Mine turned her head to see me, "Tatsumi..."
I put my finger where my lips were, "Let her rest."
Back in the park, the newly arrived guards were finally able to see again. Immidiately the guards began to investigate the area. After some searching, all the guards found of Sheele were Extase, a puddle of blood, and some scorch marks.
"Damn, what a fucking mess." A guard commented, observing the bloodied and battered park. The guard then turned to the auburn-haired girl who was sitting against her Imperial Arms. "Hey, Seryu, you okay?!" But the guard cringed when all her received in reply was insane laughter.
"HAHAHA! Daddy..." Seryu said, as she raised her two stump arms towards the sky. "I defeated a villain! I shed the light of justice on the world! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Suddenly Koro whined and Seryu turned to her Imperial Arms. "I'm sorry Koro, that masked bastard didn't leave anything for you to eat. Don't worry you'll get to taste Night Raid flesh someday."
Back at the base:
I had just put Sheele in her bed.
"Tatsumi...I'm sorry...you had to..."
"Don't be...we're a team."
Outside:
"Wait." Najenda said, stopping me before I could do anything rash. "What are you planning Tatsumi?"
"What else!?" I exclaimed, as I turned to glare at Najenda. "I'm gonna train my ass off! We all are!"
Same Time; Skies to the South of the Capital:
A woman with pale blue hair smiled, as the danger beast she was riding neared the capital. Esdeath relished in the thought of fighting new prey. Night Raid, hopefully we would prove to be worthy foes. "Capital, I'm home."
Sheele doesn't die, but she is temporarily incapacitated. Yes, Tatsumi broke the speed of light; but earlier, he broke the sound barrier. He was only able to crank it up like that only once.
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