[SS] Unendliche Jagd (Unending Hunt)

Someone might not being putting a lot of faith in him to take care of the situation. As good as a bait can do, he may be considered of accomplishing its purpose …. But he intended to achieve more.

With Oda and Tsukasa gone, presumably they already rerouted when Tougane decided to take the blonde bitch head on, there were just only him and her in the gloomy tunnel.

Even his preference was blonde and foreign, he was not exactly turned on, and unfortunately the place was even not remotely romantic. But that was not the only reason it would kill all the mood.

It was obvious.

Fangs she bared had been proven to be lethal to an extent. Had it not been her carelessness and the darkness, he would not gain the upper hand just now.

Still too soon to be glad about it.

A few drops of blood dripping down from the tip of the blade as it now pointed to the ground, resulting from swinging it across the blonde head’s face who caused tremors 500 meters below the ground with her explosive.

She had a quick reflex, he would admit. It saved her from getting a severe-deep cut and traded for damage on the level of cat scratching with its paw.

Not to sound psychotic, but those reddish drops relieved of his edginess and agony within him for the past 6 months. He felt he was back in where he belonged.

Previously a fox hunting for her preys, now she seemed nothing more than a bitch who was cornered and rid of her claws.

He felt of rushing forward to the girl and stabbing her numerous times before he even acted, but that only remained a thought when she reacted.

Back in those days when he was operationally active, foes moving even slightly with their hand in a standoff would result their untimely death. But he was too rusted now, before he could follow his instinct her finger already tapped on her earpiece and from her lip uttered something that caught his attention.

"Mugino, Kinuhata. I encountered the target and his bodyguards but the target escaped with one of the bodyguards in the end. I can't tell if they are backtracking or taking a detour through a path under surveillance but at the moment, I am kinda occupied."

2 names.

They may not mean anything significant, but at least it confirmed his suspicion of his party and herself were not alone in this tunnel, her colleagues may be in the vicinity as she spoke at the moment.

In an exchange to know a little about the person who barely looked belong in the battlefield, his information that was vital for the survival of his party was unintentionally traded. He could have stopped her there but he did not.  

Why they were here would be somewhat important, he intended to find that out soon.

Not much time before the cavalry would eventually arrive.

Not too long after she rattled it out, the knife spun in the air after being tossed up upward, he gripped it in a defense stance (the tip pointing down) when it fell to his right hand.

He recalled the basics of close quarter combat.

His left shoulder bent forward, right foot launched himself to the air forward, the left arm was on guard and the right which was holding the weapon was on his flank.

He was still quick for closing the gap that was only a meter apart.

He reached her.

He twisted his torso slightly clockwise before her as he tried to accumulate some force.

His left hand grabbed and twisted her right hand by the wrist, he jabbed her jaw up with his right knuckle before using it to push her on her throat back against the wall.

Applying some amount of force on her throat with the knife and right arm to restrain her ….

He finally got to communicate verbally like a civilized.

“You entrance was a blast, but too bad I’m still not yet blown away by it. Just a moment ago you did say something interesting and I’m curious about it. Keep it in mind that I can be a lot more persuasive if you don’t talk now.”

Rin thought about blocking off the connecting tunnel from the intersection. But in some way, she was pretty sure that it was safe to leave it. The false look of passage ways she created further away would be good enough to buy what they needed which was time. And Tougane would also be buying what they needed, she only hope the old man would get out of there alive and meet back up with them. She was sure he wouldn't be fooled by their delaying tactic and come straight down this path.

But those thoughts didn't last long on her mind. The further she got away from their confrontation with the blonde girl. Her eyes became focused, the further they got away from Tougane she seemed to be more determined. This is because she knew that she alone had to defend the VIP and ward of any attackers. No mistakes were allowed and that seems highly unlikely as they was about to head towards the one location Rin knew like the back of her hand. This is because she also hid a stash of supplies for any further missions down this area.

Since she knew you can get lost in these tunnels for days if you're not careful. The area they came towards opened up someway to a large space which helped produce clean water in this area of Academy city. An underground water treatement system which was automatic on it's own. The machinery and pipes was everywhere like creating a maze itself in this large room, with the only comfortating difference between the metal machines was the stone floors and the stone pillars which dotted across the area. Not forgetting the stream of water going down the middle of the room in a protective metal pipe. And around the wall there was a second level which you can climb up from the metal stair cases to get to a control room and mostly adminstrating offices.

This place may be automatic but some people still have to come down here on occasion if a problem arises. Somewhere in this place Rin had her stash of supplies and only through the use of her power would you be able to obtain it without damaging them. She knew the way out towards the location they desire was on the other side. Though admitingly if they needed to take a detour they could go through the other two passages going to completely different directions only briefly.

She turned to the VIP before moving any further ahead.
"Stay close to me Tsukasa Katsushige. If you don't follow what I say from here on out, then be damned you will be wishing they killed you." Rin said unemotionally hoping this made clear this wasn't any time for any second guessing.

Disengagement, successful. Pursuer, lost. Target... Still breathing.

Those three phrases were more than sufficient to describe his current situation, but at the same time they completely failed to adequately describe the gravity of his failure. He had escaped with his life, but so had the enemy. Now, a rival faction knew of their existence. And on top of that, he'd lost his sniping rifle; something of such significance to not just his way of killing, but also his way of living that it wouldn't be too far off to say that it was symbolic of his raison d'etre. Of his identity as a sniper.

No, there's no time to dwell on such things.

After clearing his head of sentimental thoughts, he resolved on his course of action while on the move.Now that he'd lost his rifle, his value as an individual combatant was minimal. But that didn't mean he'd lost his ability to fight. He still had all his other accouterments, and his aim was stellar as ever. Even then, however, his ability to effect changes on the course of a battle, and to end his target's lives, was still far too low, especially if there were more with abilities on the same level as that girl from earlier. As he was now, he would be able to make the most of a difference by acting as support fire for his partner on this mission, Yasuo.

"This is Tsukino. I encountered a rival faction and moved in for the kill, but they were an esper with a strong defensive ability; likely automatic. Level 4, at least. I lost my rifle in the process of disengaging. I suggest we regroup so that I can offer supportive fire."

Despite his phrasing, he'd been on his way to Yasuo's presumed location in the first tunnel since before he called. It didn't matter whether Yasuo accepted or refused the suggestion, he'd have gone in that direction regardless. If his partner was sensible enough to accept the suggestion, then all would be fine. But if he were to refuse, then that could only mean that the pride he'd seen him display earlier was what led to him do so. It'd mean that he preferred fighting alone and with his own strength over taking every possible advantage he could for the sake of victory. It'd mean that he would inevitably die, and far sooner than most.

It'd mean that being near him was the same as dancing with the same reapers that almost certainly clung to Yasuo's shadow.

If Yasuo refused, then he planned on leaving through the middle tunnel and abandoning this mission altogether.

«Thank you for that valuable information, Frenda. I might actually take this into account when punishing you.»

Was that a good sign or a bad sign? She was going to get punished for losing the target, it seemed. She could not avoid it no matter what. She wanted to cry here so much but there was no point. Any moment of weakness could be exploited by this bodyguard.


Heck, he could probably start moving in like he was doing now if he sensed that moment of weakness…

Wait…moving in?! She thought immediately as she saw the guy moving closer. She could not use an explosive as the guy was too close in so she had only one option. With her right hand, she picked up the detonation tape shaped sort of like a white-out roller and aimed to draw a line on his body.

However, her arm was shifted when it was grabbed and twisted. As a result, she ended up only being able to draw crooked line on the sleeve of the right arm of his suit from the elbow to near the shoulder. In the next instant, her hand was slammed against the wall, causing her to let go and drop the tape roll next to her.

The next thing she knew, she felt the blade of a knife on her neck.

“Your entrance was a blast, but too bad I’m still not yet blown away by it. Just a moment ago you did say something interesting and I’m curious about it. Keep it in mind that I can be a lot more persuasive if you don’t talk now.”

She heard from the other man. But that was not the main focus. Even though the device had the output channel open, it seemed that Mugino had not heard anything as she spoke.

«Taking into account the target’s situation, they won’t settle on another option but the path ahead. It’s too late for them to turn back.
Therefore we should follow along our current routes. Of course we can also move through the monitored area to proceed faster than the target themselves. The priority shouldn’t be catching up to them, but trying to get ahead of them in order to quickly move towards their direction once we take notion of combat breaking out. From there on we’ll simply have to crush any resistance underfoot, understood?»

«Oh and Frenda. Wrap up your business quickly, so that you can catch up with us ASAP. I won’t allow for any more failure, understood?»

Or perhaps she did hear…

Frenda was definitely afraid. If it wasn't for the fact that the knife was too close to her neck, she would have been trembling a bit.

"Understood." She said simply while tilting her head to her side, surprisingly loosening the placement of the knife on his neck. She was directly answering Mugino while making it seem to the bodyguard that she was answering him.

Over the headset, she also heard the voice of kindness with Mugino wishing her good luck.

She then shifted her focus back to the man in front of her. She made not a single glance at the line she had made on the man's sleeve so as to not cue him into it.

…and she smiled. She had not been checkmated. In fact, the bodyguard did not realize that he had put himself in check. Even if her right arm was being pinned, her left arm was free and usable.

"In the end, you failed ask me what you wanted though." In that instant her, left hand tapped at her skirt and picked an ellipsoid-shaped object with a protruding metal portion. She pressed the button and then immediately pushed her arm up to his elbow with great force and speed.

She would detonate the tape on his arm. If he was lucky, it would only burn into his muscles and nerves. At worst, his arm would be cut off.  Regardless of what happened, his right arm would be useless. His balance would be destroyed, and she would be able easily maneuver around him and beat him in close combat.

Even if he managed to react in time, she would still burn his joint or his muscles with the fuse and she would be able to take advantage of the situation.

That's right. No matter what outcome occurred, all Frenda could see was checkmate. All she could see was the moment where she would conquer this man's destiny.

What he has experienced right now was ...

Utter defeat.

He could barely fight back. No, he could barely survive.

Currently, he was running away with his life... Or rather, dragging his feat. He could barely stand up. He was feeling dizzy. He was leaning on the wall to maintain his balance.

When he judged he was far enough, he stopped. He quickly tore off a piece of cloth from his shirt he was wearing underneath his coat and tied it above the wounded area. This was one of the first and most crucial steps of first aids that must be learned if one wanted to preserve his life. This at least would save him from any additional blood loss. He then took some pain-killer pills from his pocket and swallowed them.

In some minutes, he should regain his sense of balance and the pain should disappear.

He continued advancing in slow steps meanwhile.

The farther he was from that girl, the better.

The fight kept replay in his mind in infinite loops.

Just when had he become so weak?

He was feeling worthless. Shameful.

"Heh", he laughed at his misery, "that girl called me cheap if I recall correctly. How cheap I am indeed! Oh my lords! It pains my heart to aknowledge my weakness! It crashes my soul to realise how low I had fallen! Oh my lords! Please bestow your blessings on your weak servant for him to accomplish his holy mission and his supreme duty to you!"  

He was already regaining some of his focus when Tsukino contacted him.

"This is Tsukino. I encountered a rival faction and moved in for the kill, but they were an esper with a strong defensive ability; likely automatic. Level 4, at least. I lost my rifle in the process of disengaging. I suggest we regroup so that I can offer supportive fire."

"... Haaa", Yasuo let out a somewhat painful sigh, "So you too...?"

From just this sentence Tsukino should have already figured out the fate that his teammate met.

"Roger. I encountered two girls, both are espers. One just kept watching the whole time, so I don't know her power. However she had a very sharp attention ability. The other was firing laserbeams that could melt the iron and concrete walls and pierce them as if they didn't even exist. The maximum number she could fire simultaneously was four beams at a time. The recharge period before each one was one second. Taking all this into account, she can only be a level 5. In the fight one of my arms was shot down and thus rendered unusable. I shall accept your help. It probably would be safer to stick together with the kind of enemies we have right now. We shall devise our tactic better when we meet up. I'm still at my designed location. Where do you suggest we meet up?"

Yasuo gave the sniper the detailed report and waited for an answer.

According to what Tsukino had said, there was at least one other member of that team after Tsukasa Katsushige's life. Right now, that other team was well aware of the assassins' presence. They would with no doubt gather. If they meet them again, they would most likely have had prepared a counter measure for them. No need to mention Yasuo and Tsukino had a huge disadvantage, with one arm and one rifle lost respectively. If they met the other team with their current state, they'd have no chance of surviving. So, the safest route to take would be avoiding the paths both of them chose earlier. At least that way they are sure to avoid running into them again for some time. Also, the remaining path was most likely where the target was, seeing as nor the assassins nor the other team members encountered him and his body guards in the other paths. However, the girls surely have realised this by now too. So this was a race against time for all of them. The one who would reach the target first would have the upper hand, and for the assassins' case, avoid throwing their lives in vain fighting an antagonist team before finishing their mission.

That was easy.

Still, it did not feel like this was over yet.

---

“Understood”

(Hmm?)

Just a matter of second, the knife that once pressed upon flesh merely shoved air lightly as it lost support.

Something was not right.

He got a smile from the girl, but this was the least situation he would want to see that.

"In the end, you failed ask me what you wanted though."

A sudden move she pulled after she said it, her free hand that he was not aware move along to his right elbow from her flank.

Spark emitted along the trail she moved her free hand earlier.

Burning scent caught by his nose.

His right arm was ablaze before a loud noise went off.

A sharp pain that ran between his shoulder and elbow manifested excruciatingly.

"Damn it, bitch!"

He let out a groan afterward.

It appeared that she got a chance to put the explosive tape on his elbow to near his shoulder when he rushed towards her, she ignited the trail that was made by the tape, even the amount that was placed on him was sparse, it turned that portion black as it went off.

The other parts of his body did not catch on fire. The explanation that he could come with if he did was the material of his suit: wool.

Off-the-racks and cheap ones are usually made of cheap fabrics, which are synthetic fibers like rayon, polyester and nylon. They are more flammable than natural fibers. Wool – the right fabric for a suit - is widely recognized as the most flame resistant. Wool’s inherent fire resistance comes from its naturally high nitrogen and water content. Because of this, wool requires higher levels of oxygen in the surrounding environment in order to burn. Wool may be ignited if subjected to a significantly powerful heat source but does not normally support flame, and smoldering usually continues only for a short time.

If he had worn one made out of polyester, he would have been scorched to death.

He could not manage to stay on his feet with the feeling of the side that he was attacked weighting him down, so he hit the ground hard after the attack. It appeared that sense of balance was deprived from him.

A buzzing noise went on in his ears, either that it came from the impact on the head or loud explosion near to the ears, it did not really matter.

He could never go up from now, he has been letting slide the whole time, leading things to turn out as it did at this moment.

On the ground, he felt a step closer to the gate of hell. The thought of giving up occurred to him. He might just let her end his life that had no purpose after all.

But in the end, before he could actually give up, he would think of those things he wanted to do again. Even those things were parts of his tedious cycle he has been going through prior to now, the dish he always thought of trying but never did in the restaurant he usually went to every morning, his favorite martini he spent a numerous attempts to get the taste right or warmth and comfort at a woman’s arms, just one last time to do those things so he could remember how they actually felt. What has driven him in the essence never mattered during these moments that he could have faded into oblivion, it was purely pity desires that got him back up.

(Just one more time. Just a chance to relive in the past.)

He laid on his back, at the corner of his eyes he saw that the knife was so close his right hand, in a range that he could easily reach. He could feel the charred stench near his nose as he was gazing on the knife.

He struggled to reach for the knife he had just dropped with his right hand.

He still felt it moving as he ordered it to, but from what he could see, it was not moving at all.

He abandoned all the hope and trust on that arm, he turned himself over half way and used the remaining arm to reach for his weapon.

The strength that could bring him up to the level that he was on earlier and she was on now scarcely existed.

But with all of that, it should be enough to bring her down to him .....

As expected, the detonation cut right through the man's arm. As he staggered back, Frenda could finally breathe normally again. She saw as the man staggered back and fell down due to the lack of balance caused by his now useless right arm, leading to the knife falling out of his hand.

"Damn it, you bitch!"

Of course, Frenda was an opportunist and there was no chance in hell that she would miss this opportunity. She immediately ran to the knife that the man had dropped and kicked it back behind her with great force such that it did not stop sliding away until it reached the entrance of the corridor.

"In the end, you can't even move your arm any more." Frenda said as she held a smug expression on her countenance.



She kicked the floor with her loafer, causing a knife to extend from the back of it. It would probably be a good idea to damage the rest of his limbs too so he can't move, she thought before mercilessly stabbing down on the man's right thigh. With that, his right side would be completely useless and his balance would be terrible even if he tried to stand.

But for good measure, she needed to stab the left leg too. So, she lifted her leg, and jammed the blade down into the man's left thigh before pulling it back up.

"I would love to stay but, basically, I have a target who's escaping every second I spend here with you." She said before turning off and running towards the entrance to the corridor and turning to kick the knife even further away before running again.

It was time to follow Mugino's plan and make it ahead of the target through the paths under surveillance.

Or that was just a hope in amidst of desperation.

(A chance to-) His thought was cut off as the knife slipped away from his grasp.

"Noooooooo!"

Even it was not the last thing he could reach for, but it was the last he could reach and make whatever he desperately hoped worked.

He watched the knife spinning away behind those legs, it was too late to get it.

He pushed him back on his back again and tried to get away from her.

Damned him, the holster was made for right hand to draw, he would not be able to pull it off in time.

But what he thought was prodigal was behind him, the submachine gun he had discarded earlier, it would faster to get this than removing the holster from the vest to the position he could draw.

(Just a few pushes and then I can reach it!)

"In the end, you can't even move your arm any more."

A sinister tone that he perceived seemed to him that it barely belonged to just a girl with a lovely appearance. He did not turn his head to look at the source, either because he was busy striving to comeback or afraid of the source of the voice that could turn to be a devil he feared.

He held grasp of the sling of it, he could pull it closer.

A sensation of something stuck deep in his right thigh caused to writhe before he grabbed it.

He got his sight that was seeing the gun upside down up as the top of the head was previously used to push him forward on his back after his body twitched.

"It would probably be a good idea to damage the rest of his limbs too so he can't move."

Just as soon as his head hit the floor again, he could see her kicked her foot into his other thigh.

Once was enough, twice was just too much.

The pain from the leg existed while he tried to deny it, whereas his right arm was completely forgotten.

He could see that it was a blade sticking out from the loafer that she pulled out from his leg.

He resisted the massive force that seemed to be pressing him onto the ground.

"I would love to stay but, basically, I have a target who's escaping every second I spend here with you."

6 months took a lot from him, things he would need to use to survive.

Victory was slipping away with her as she ran into dark corridor in a direction he no longer knew where it was.

The last dose of strength was pumped into the system.

As painful as it felt, he used that strength to reach for the submachine gun and pushed himself up to his feet with it.

He took each step as fast as possible after what was already gone in the dark and emptied what was left in the magazine into that direction.

His left shoulder was the only part he could use to support the aim and recoil. Nevertheless, each time his legs collided on the ground or the right arm with his body, his accuracy was thrown off, it was basically spraying.

He only dropped the gun when it clicked empty.

He fell on his knees as there was nothing he could do when all of the power he once had left his body, and eventually to the ground.

His breath was taken more and more heavily as if he had not been taking it at all in the past few minutes.

---

(Huh!? Has it been hours ..... or days that I passed out?) The thought has occurred to him while he sat up with his back on the wall.

His watch that survived the incident indicated that it was only around several minutes ago since he was last conscious.

He managed to patch himself up with the first aid kid that was strapped on the back of his vest before he passed out.

There was no active bleeding on his right arm since it looked charred where it burnt. He could still move his hand and lift by the elbow up to some extent. But beyond that he could not, such as straight the arm forward. It was held with soft arm sling, he did not really use it to treat his injury, but rather to move his arm in the position he could still use the hand to reach the magazines on his vest and reload. To coordinate, he slung the submachine gun on his left flank and tucked the pistol into the pouch that was easy to access from the left.

Each wound on his leg was injected with a syringe of 'nano medical-sponge' that would inflated up once they were injected to seal up the wound and act as anesthetic. The stability in his legs was gone with the pain, there was not enough strength to compensate the stability. So he injected a syringe of epinephrine to provide boost to his strength.

He could only drag himself along the wall on the path he believed the grenadier girl was headed while waiting for the drug to kick in.

In the end, Frenda never needed to use the bluff she had planted in the maintenance shaft from earlier. She was annoyed since that meant that it was a waste of limited resources, but she could live with that since she had plenty of tape to work with…even if she did drop a nearly used-up roll in the shaft.

"Egh…" She forgot to clean up after herself again. Hopefully, Mugino would not notice, otherwise she would be pissed off.

But that did not matter right now. She could think of a way to avoid Mugino's punishment as she was heading to the next destination.

She was happy, though, that she finally got the time to wipe off the blood from the cut on her face. After wiping off the blood, the cut was still visible on her face, much to her annoyance, though. "In the end, it's just one annoyance after another." She sighed.

As she continued running, she saw a certain silhouette off in the distance. As she moved in closer, she saw her friend and comrade resting. "Hey, Kinuhata? Are you all right?"

"Roger. I encountered two girls, both are espers. One just kept watching the whole time, so I don't know her power. However she had a very sharp attention ability. The other was firing laserbeams that could melt the iron and concrete walls and pierce them as if they didn't even exist. The maximum number she could fire simultaneously was four beams at a time. The recharge period before each one was one second. Taking all this into account, she can only be a level 5. In the fight one of my arms was shot down and thus rendered unusable. I shall accept your help. It probably would be safer to stick together with the kind of enemies we have right now. We shall devise our tactic better when we meet up. I'm still at my designed location. Where do you suggest we meet up?"

The longer he listened to the contents of Yasuo's report, the less Tsukino felt they had any chance of surviving this. One of them had lost their main weapon, and the other had taken a serious injury. They had yet to even see their prey, and had instead met with a rival predator. And as if that wasn't bad enough, their competitor had more man and firepower than they did. If Yasuo's report was accurate, they, at the very least, had a level 4 with an automatic defense ability that could shrug off close range sniper shots, one of Academy City's seven level 5s, and yet another member whose capabilities they were as of yet unaware of.

They had every disadvantage conceivable. Even though Yasuo had not displayed the pride Tsukino had feared he would, the temptation to abandon the mission was strong. The chances of victory were far too low, and even then, there was still the target's bodyguards to deal with after that. This mission was a death trap. But even so, he wouldn't give it up just yet. To continue from here might be foolish, but if he failed here, then his reputation would fall. A single failure was more conspicuous than a hundred successes on a resume, and on this side of the city, showing the slightest sign of weakness would grant courage to those cowards who only preyed on the weak. Courage enough for them to plant a knife in his back.

So, even if his chances of success were slim, so long as they were still there, he wouldn't flee. All the way up until the very last minute, he'd continue trying. Only then would he give up.

"The entrance to Point B. Neither of met our target at Points A and C, so he must be there. Try not to die on the way there.

---

When they met up at the entrance, Tsukino simply stared at Yasuo silently, gaze resting on his ruined arm. It was completely ruined; just a hunk of useless meat. But even so, that was better than if it had been dismembered. If that had happened, then the disorientation brought on by rapid blood loss would have ensured that Yasuo died, and the change in his body's center of balance would leave him completely unfit for combat even if he had escaped and staunched the flow. As he was now, he could at least still fight. But still...

"You let your guard down, didn't you."

An amateur mistake, brought on by a lack of experience. The primary cause of death for people in their line of work. At the very least, since he'd survived, he could learn from it, but the fact that he'd made such a mistake in the first place caused Tsukino's evaluation of Yasuo to drop, though he was careful not to let on just how much. For now, however, he'd just have to ignore it.

"Let's go, we need to hurry. The targets are getting closer to their destination even as we speak."

With that said, he waited for Yasuo to take the lead as the vanguard, and then followed him into the tunnel, where their targets and their foes awaited their arrival.

Kinuhata Saiai was a highly trained assassin and mercenary. She's has had so much training, to the point where possible GENE therapy was on the table, to make her immune to certain poisons and toxins, though she was taken by ITEM before something like that came to the table. Though even as a highly skilled killer, she was still only a girl, and she tends to forget that often.

The brunette breathed slowly, as she slowly felt the pain go away bit by bit, but never completely. This was her punishment. She was too confident in herself. With a mature mind in such a fragile body, not to mention a power that acts more or less as a reinforced riot shield, this was bound to happen. But more specifically her body. It hasn't fully developed with thicker bones, more muscle tissue, and her brain isn't fully developed either. Yet, she doesn't blame any of those, rather she blames herself as a person. She should've been aware of the risks, and must readjust herself accordingly.

"Hey, Kinuhata? Are you all right?"

A familiar voice forced her eyes open as Frenda's words penetrated her eardrums, as she slowly turned her head over to the young blonde. "Frenda-san?...Gh!" The pain came back to life as she tried to move to get up, but her broken rib forced her back against the wall. "Kh...Still no good eh..." She got up slowly, this time without using too much of her core muscles to move, and she stood before Frenda. "I'm super fine, or at least alive. What's the current situation..?" She asked slightly exhausted from the battle she had to go through still. Just one bullet really done her in.

The thing about this water treatment facility that it was completely under the surveillance of Rin's own friends. She has performed many jobs in the last three years and while she had many enemies without a doubt she also has made friends. The possibility of them being caught on camera wasn't a problem since this place which served as supply for water to this district alone had dummy surveillance and was only for show. This could be a blessing and a curse for those who pass in this area.

It just really depends on your situation.

And without any word to the VIP, she pulled him along by the hand under the overhead banister which leaded to the offices above. Next to a water treatment control machine marked c-12 she moved one of the many black mats which dotted the floor across the entire facility and cut out the floor by just with the point of her finger. This took longer then what she can do normally with her knife, but there was no need to be so rushed with it. It was a cube shape that cut through 5 inches of pure stone, to reveal a gap into a massive pipe below large enough for the VIP to fit through. It seems the pipe running through the middle of the facility was attached to this one and could in theory be used as a form of escape.

"The metal pipes are thick enough to stop craze idiots from blowing through with explosives on their first try. So you know move your arse if you hear someone trying to break in. Other then this gap here there is no other entrance into these pipes other then forceful means. So despite the fact you're getting wet don't stay standing at this entrance point, wait for me return round the corner in a nearby pipe connection. And no one else shouldn't figure this location out unless you shout out towards them, so now hop down there it isn't a big drop. It's the safest place you can be while I get my supplies, since we're one man down I rather not risk you getting stabbed in the back while I pick out my freshly packed socks." Rin said who also moved the stone she caved out with her in the air. It was just hovering over her should with a slim blue light around it indicating she was in control. And when the ViP was ready to drop down she intend to cover it back up with the black mats to make it seem nothing had occurred here.

Halfway through, Yasuo had regained completely his balance. He halted his steps to reach the entrance as soon as he could.

When he reached his destination and met up with Tsukino, he could feel the man's cold gaze. More precisely, he was staring at his damaged arm. He surely must think his teammate was a failure.

"You let your guard down, didn't you."

"...", he just ignored him.

This sentence confirmed his suspicions. That look in his teammate's eyes, was it pity...? Or mockery...? What was the sniper thinking right now exactly?

Yasuo felt extremely irritated and frustrated by this. He didn't need his own teammate to look down on him. That was shameful. His opponent has already had the upper hand and was surely feeling superior right now, and now the man next to him will view himself as superior too. This made him feel like the worst individual in the current battlefield. No, he probably was really... If the others, except tsukino, were all high level espers, he would really be the one with the least chance of survival. Not to mention that, with such a great handicap as an arm less, his already small chances were even less significant.

"Let's go, we need to hurry. The targets are getting closer to their destination even as we speak."

Without any more words spoken, he walked ahead.

He felt his self confidence - which had reached the stage of arrogance - that he built up thanks to years of successful missions, was starting to crumble down. Was this his end? The end of his successful life in the underground? A failure had no hopes of survival here, let alone chances for redemption or whatsoever.

That's why...

If he failed in here, even if he miraculously survived, he would be disposed of.

Not even Kihara Kisue, who took him in since he was a kid, would be merciful enough to overlook such a failure.

But...

That also meant that, as long as he didn't mess up on the rest of this quest, and managed to kill their target, he might have a chance to maintain his work. His reputation would surely be damaged, he suspected that information about his shameful mistakes were probably already leaked out by now. But at least he could recover if he didn't fail again.

He shouldn't waste this last chance.

Feeling slightly better, he spoke as he advanced with steps that were getting steadier by the second, thanks to having his mind finally clear up from the torrent of negative thoughts that were haunting him.

"So, do you have any suggestions, on how to devise our strategy? We don't have much information about our enemies, nor about the bodyguards."

He already had an idea on how to proceed, but he prefered hearing his teammate's opinion first. He might have overlooked some facts that Tsukino might bring up.

He had learned it the hard way after all, that being arrogant would bring him no where after all.

"I'm super fine, or at least alive. What's the current situation..?" Kinuhata said after it looked like she strained herself to get up.

"You don't look that fine to me." Frenda muttered. "Basically, as you probably heard over the intercom, the target and a bodyguard are taking a detour path. We really need to get ahead of the target before Mugino starts to get mad."

Selfish though Frenda may be, she knew that there was no point in trying to be greedy at this point.  Kinuhata was attacked so there were likely more people after the target than them, in which case Frenda was likely not able to take them out alone. Plus, she had Mugino's punishment to worry about and she did not want to pull another stunt like that again and risk Mugino worsening the punishment.

Frenda held a hand out to Kinuhata. "Do you think you need a hand, Kinuhata?"

Frenda may have been selfish after all, but she wasn't cold and uncaring.

"Detour..." Saiai muttered, as she leaned up against the wall. Her body felt drained, as she used bare adrenaline to gain the upper hand on her enemy. If it wasn't for that, her body would've given out from the constant pain of running at full force, let alone getting shot again in the same region of the injury.

When Frenda asked if she needed a hand, Saiai's pride got in the way as she tried to stand up and say confidently that she was fine. However, her rib ached as soon as she did and immediately leaned up against Frenda's shoulder. She was weak in her current state, she pushed herself too far, that was certain. "...I might need a crutch afterall...Do super you mind?" She asked Frenda for some aid for once.

For continuity, skip to the fourth section of this post.


At the back of school in a late evening where nobody seemed to stick around, except for 3 delinquents and apparently a weaker boy in their stranglehold.

It was a heavy hand and forceful swing that struck on the boy’s right elbow as it was grabbed.

The boy who was surrounded could not keep himself on his foot.

He was let go and he fell on his knees.

He swung the left arm again and again, hoping to hit one of them.

The bigger boy, for average middle school kids, who should have broken the arm by that strike, did not have to exert much force to send the boy whom he hurt on the ground.

“You thought you told the teacher and we wouldn’t know that you did?”

“Well, I did what I thought was right to do. You shouldn’t have messed with the girl in the first place.”

“Oh, I see. You are trying to be a hero. This unsocial, quiet freak is trying to be a hero by being a snitch! So you did that because you thought you would sleep better at night? Or you just want to be accepted by the rest of the class which doesn’t even recognize your existence? If it weren’t us, you wouldn’t have any friend and the help you needed. Is this how you repaid us?”

He tried to push himself away with both legs, but no avail.

The delinquent did not have to rush at all, all he needed to do was just simply walked up and use his feet to cripple the boy’s legs.

The cry he let out did not make it anywhere, one of the thug who stood there and watched in horror came to use his foot to thrust on his mouth after the delinquent ordered so.

“You’ve got such a big mouth. We’ll teach you a lesson how to shut up from now on. Nobita! Are you an idiot? Come help me carry this prick to that cottage. We’re making a piece of art!”

He started to feel pain on his back as he began to move.

That did not sound good.

His school blazer was torn as he was dragged to somewhere.

His legs tried to slow down himself, but their state was not even near capable of doing so.

He could see a few people looking down from the building.

He let his cry again as his mouth was free.

He wondered if it reached to them bystanders.

They only turned back as he seemed to be dragged further away from the building.

---

Abandonment, isolation, discrimination, exclusion, humiliation …

I tried to fit in ….

I tried to do the best to be a part in each society ….

But I failed to do so eventually ….

I am not cut in for this world ….

Everywhere that I go and feel like I belong to it ….

I don’t ….

I always mess up somehow ….

There is no place ….

For me.

---

Sound of something heavy and metal scratching on the concrete floor echoed lightly through the tunnel. He heard it in dark vision of his before he opened his eyes that from the heavy eyelids, there was not much to see.

He felt he was pulled up and dragged along the floor, the pacing stopped and continued like what was dragging him reached its maximum strength after each exertion before followed by another.

He could only see the other dark end catching up as he moved away as he laid on his back.

He recalled pushing himself with his feet forward to those dark voids further away earlier, it felt the void was pulling him by the head towards it, he could merely use those feet to withstand the force in the way he would not hit the floor with his head. The endless voids that vanished and appeared further away when closing into each.

It appeared that he had run out of what it takes to doing so. That was how he ended up here.

He finally realized that his state at the moment could not be good.

(They got me?)

The pistol that was poorly stuffed in the vest was about to fall out when he reached for it.

“Arrgh!” he let out as he was dropped on the floor.

He tilted his head to the back and took aim again as soon as he could.

“Oh! So you are awake. Dragging you along the floor by the handle of the vest was not remotely easy."

“What are you doing here? Hey , hey-”

The blonde woman with a familiar voice held him by his armpits and put him on the wall. Her sweet voice enlightened him pretty much despite the situation.

Unnecessary Soundtrack #1

“Trying to get you out of this.”

“That’s very kind of you, unlike when …. I shouldn’t imagine that I need yo-“

“My, my Masaru Tougane. I always hear your thoughts and needs.”

“Then there’s no sense in lying. If it could always be this satisfactory, I would always be glad to see you.”

“It depends on how you behave yourself, Masaru.”

She crouched down and moved both of her hands to through his chest, even the vest was in the way he could feel the warmth through it. She stopped as she found a liquor flask and opened the cork to smell it for herself.

“Hhmmm, ahh. Rice-grain, not potatoe-made vodka. You are seriously having a big issue for yourself, packing this kind of drink along with you in this situation. At least you made sure you could get a sip of nice stuff for the last time if it came. Smells like the bottle I once sat down and drank with you. That time we were so keen on getting drunk and on with it. You made such a bad face when you first sipped it, at the time I thought you were more fit for something kids these days would drink, anything sweet mixed with small amount of the real drink. Don’t let it be a waste.”  Something he has not heard for some time – English. She used that to talk to him apparently.

He was not so responsive, every degree of pain held him back from every move. His left side of his face twitched as he tried to lift the only available arm to her after putting down the sidearm besides him.

“Stop acting like a little girl” she said while she handed the flask to him.

He gladly took it and rotated the cork with his teeth infuriatingly. Then he enjoyed it rinsing down his throat.

The woman who oddly dressed for this season: wooly-knitted sleeveless light-blue rolled neck jumper and mid-brown corduroy skirt sat up on the wall and leant on his shoulder.

(People sure dress weirdly these days for the occasion. I don’t think I’ll see somebody running around down here in a track jacket and trousers, right?)

A minute of silence that he wished it was eternity, a long lost warmth and comfort he yearned and cherished, eventually interrupted by her words.

“What became of you, walking wounded?”

He founded it hard to put it into words ….

“I met a girl,” he used the hand he held the flask to move around the areas where the wounds were, “as you can see, she had her kicks.”

“A bit disappointing for someone who is said to have taken down a compound …. no, a villain stronghold with a lady pistol. Aging does you worse, it seems.”

“She’s young, so I must have held back-“

“No, you thought you had it under control.”

“…….”

“With those injuries, you insist on keep moving? That’s what I call a nasty habit of living. Great at putting all the effort for naught.”

“Nobody asks for your opinion.” He cursed it lightly to himself.

“Stop speaking to yourself. You deserve it.”

“Yeah, every degree of pain has its reason.”

“It’s been quite a while that you have been living like this. Aren’t you tired?”

“Frankly, I am.”

“Why keep persisting?”

“I thought I was good at it, quite revealing that it was not the case. And I had nothing better to do.”

“It’s been too long that one could have forgotten his purpose along the way… I think you are not telling the whole truth”.

“Did I?”

“You did not value and respect me as much as you think do, you know that?”

“I’d thought visiting you once in a while would be enough.”

“What a fool you are. I wish I could free you from those inconsiderable amounts of rage and pain that you tried to hide. It’s good that you don’t unleash them unto the world, but holding it back is slowly deteriorating you. It’s up to you to decide what to do with it."

She tried to pull the man who seemed to be too heavy for her up. “This way, it’s the exit. We can make it there before things go worse.”

That sounded too hopeful.

(Is it that easy to get out of this?

What then ….

Ah, right. It is not about that.

It is about if I want to or not ….)

He took her hands off of him.

“So you won’t go out with me?”

“Maybe the other time. I wish I could. For now, I think ….. I will stick around here to …..”

“Ahhhh, Masaru. Say no more. I forgot you were you after all. You never leave anything undone. You go crazy if you do so. I think we’re gonna take some time to see things better.”

She paused and let out a sighed, before (weirdly) cheerfully continued …

“I know you never feel cut in for any place … even in where you think you are good at and fit for: battlefield. It’s not the one I would be proud for, but go, prove it that you at least are cut for it, for the last time. I know you hate not leaving up to the expectation, so exceed it, at least exceed yours.”

He tried to stand up but her hands pushed him down ….

“It’s okay to take a step back sometimes, once you do it never means that you have to keep doing so. Have a rest until you are ready. We’ll see each other whether you make it … out or–“

Her words ceased to go on as he put his index on her lip.

“I know. Until then ..”

“Right, Until then. I know luck is not what you want, so I’ll just keep it then. Whenever you need me …”

He watched her slowly thread into the dark end ….. Spared the waving and goodbye because he knew it well it would not be the last time to see her.

Before the storm …. as if he had not been through one, he closed those eyelids.

---

It felt like a blink of an eye. It did not last long.

He survived a fierce ‘battle’ with the grenadier girl. Well, for himself, he would not even dare call it a battle, rather a severe outcome of an unwise mistake.

The client - Tsukasa Katsuhige – and the esper who can cut and place blocks, from what he knew, were long gone. But still, it would not be long enough for them to reach the exit yet. Following them was not easy, Tougane has not been down here before, he could try to figure but that would take some time, he thought he could take a detour to the other route and re-enter the shaft again the exit to find them.

(I wonder what they would say when they see me. Disappointing more than ever? Maybe he should have bought the premium package, at least the man in the double-breasted suit could provide him with a better operative, not someone who was just brought out of an overdue holiday.)

He got back on his feet again to reclaim his past. He pulled the one of the sidearm he brought along from his vest.

From what he has been through, he at least knew that the opposition force, consisted of 3 combatants minimum, was not here to kill the client as the girl he faced wasted an opportunity to make her job a lot easier by just blowing them all when she had the chance, she instead took a little tougher way. It was still unclear that if they needed to extract him out alive or only just a part of his, Tougane wished the latter was not the case.

The path ahead smelled. It could be wired with traps, with the pace he needed to use now, he would not be able to avoid all the trap in time.

The drug has kicked in, he could feel in running through within him.

He almost collapsed after a few steps but he recovered in time. He rushed back to the way he came to find the other route.

Unnecessary Soundtrack #2

Something echoed to here, where he was.

He slowed down just a bit, he could hear voice from the path ahead of him.

"You let your guard down, didn't you?  Let's go, we need to hurry. The targets are getting closer to their destination even as we speak."

(Damn it, they’re already here!?)

It could be a simple chit-chat between grunt patrols who roamed around a dark facility, and the atmosphere quite felt like an infiltration.

He was not the protagonist of a stealth-based genre, stalking them seemed like a stupid idea at this moment.

There was a path on his right, he took cover at the corner before he was spotted.

“So, do you have any suggestions, on how to devise our strategy? We don't have much information about our enemies, nor about the bodyguards."

(Enemies? Does that mean …. there is a third faction in the play here? By what the voice said, ‘our enemies’ should be the faction where the grenadier girl belongs to. But what just are they? Tsukasa, you are such a popular guy, it’s not just one party comes tearing down your arse. What in the world did you do that got you and me running for our lives down here?)

The steps sounded they were closer.

(Fu ….. you sure are hurry.)

If they caught him, he was done for.

He needed to move through this path, wherever it might lead him to, he needed to take it before they reached where he was.

He took the turns he saw first each after each, he was hurried, the trusty brogues were not made for silent infiltration, it could make a lot of noise as he ran, distance mattered most at this moment.

It seemed the path he took was quite zigzag, the end of it, from what he thought did not look like the entrance, hell, it may be even deeper in the tunnel.

He was a few meters away to the turn ahead.

He took a deep breath.

(Remember, the last chance to face it, don’t cock it up, Tougane!)

He took out his pistol, chamber-checked it with his mouth to pull the slide.

The round was in there.

He let go of it as quiet as possible.

He threaded carefully along the wall until he reached the end of it.

The other way he could see without peeking was clear.

He slowly peeked out, avoiding exposing his body parts as much as possible.

What he saw ….. it was brief, but his mind acknowledged it before the brain did, his heart was pounding rampantly, he quickly got back in the cover before cultivating concentration to do it again.

There were two girls standing there.

(Ah … Calm down, calm down. There are just girls, just like her …. Well, you can do it, Tougane. Just focus and be professional. Don’t be whatever you were last time. That girl in pink blouse looks menacing, possibly the alpha. Well, the tracksuit …. she looked like she’s out for a jog …. Doesn’t look that active, the combat-ready thing …. )

“Frenda, it might be better to just leave Kinuhata behind. Forcing her to move in her current condition doesn't appear like the appropriate solution at all. We can't afford to endanger her life needlessly, so it would be best to give her some time to recover. Just read a magazine or try to find a way to leave the tunnel network without any run-ins. We'll meet up at the parking lot once we are done.”

He pushed himself tight against the wall as he listened.

(Well, I doubt the girl who dresses as if she’s mourning for someone would have this kind of attitude when she sees me, or she would just tell me to cut the crap and get over with. I guess we'll see about that. Let see what I can get from what she said. So “Frenda” is the name of our mutual friend, ‘Kinuhata’ is for the other guy … or girl if this is a girl-group hit squad. That makes either of you two ‘Mugino’. Okay, cut the crap, it’s not like it’s important at all, not like I go in and try to be friendly by calling them names. But Frenda is really a weird name … Frenda, Frenda, Frenda …. Is somebody apart from you named ‘Frenda’? Well, at least it’s not something straight out of Ian Fleming’s typewriter like ‘Pussy Galore’ or something. Anyway, I’m gonna remember this name for sure.)

He finally realized that what was going in his mind was the opposite of being ‘professional’.

(You sure talk a lot of crap when you drink, Touge. Get a grip! Ambushing them at the parking lot … Not gonna work, they wouldn’t leave this place freehand, would they? I guess …. This is it. I think I’ve got a plan, it’s gonna work or not …. Well, at this rate, I’m not putting much faith in myself.)

His left palm was sweaty all over the polymer grip of the pistol.

He stood down ….

Waiting for a chance.

"So, do you have any suggestions, on how to devise our strategy? We don't have much information about our enemies, nor about the bodyguards."

"Despite your injury, your weapons are better for suppressible fire than what I have left. You take point. I'll follow from behind and cover you. I may have lost my rifle, but at this close a range a scope is simply redundant. Anyone who runs from you, or fails to find good enough cover, will be shot down by me. We haven't seen our targets yet, so we can't refine the battle plan beyond this. Regarding the other group, however..."

Until this point, he'd spoken without a single pause. He'd used every single experience he had accumulated over the many long years he'd spent as a sniper to take everything he knew regarding the situation into account, and formulate the optimal strategy for their current circumstances. He spoke with complete self-confidence in not the flawlessness of his plan, but that he'd used everything he'd ever learned from all his past battles to their utmost.

And yet, when the time came to speak of the other faction that they had encountered, he faltered. It was not that he felt fear, nor trepidation. He was not doubting his skills, or Yasuo's. It was simply that the conclusion he had reached was that dispiriting. Tsukino Arata could no think of a single situation in which the two of them could fight those two espers they had encountered and survive, much less win. With all his experience, the only thing he could do was realize the futility of fighting.

"We're outmatched. One is a level 5, and we have no weaponry of sufficient caliber to harm the other. Beyond that, they still have at least one other member with unknown abilities. Making contact with them... Would likely result in our deaths. We should avoid them at all costs."

He had already had the same thought. When the sniper said it out loud, Yasuo was relieved. The last thing they needed was getting in a discord about the plan they're going to use. If Tsukino had suggested going after the other group, for reasons like revenge or whatever, Yasuo would have had to go his separate way.

To be honest, Yasuo himself understood this point of you. He himself was feeling an urge to challenge that girl again for his pride. However, being attached to such naïve and childish way of thinking would only lead to ones end in their line of work.

Here there was no pride and no dignity. Only effeciency mattered. If you were no longer useful you would be discarded. If you are lucky you'll be killed. But most of the time a fate worde than death awaits failures. Death was a too merciful punishment.

Yasuo was boiling deeo down with the desire to kill that girl. However,  even someone as prideful as him knew how foolish that would be. It didn't matter if, by some sort of miracle, he managed to kill all of the other group now. Only by kiling his initial target would this lission be a success. Only by getting rid of the man who pissed off the higher-ups would he redeem himself.

"Right", he voiced his total agreement with the plan, "For that we should avoid both of the paths you and I chose before."


He needn't explain the obvious. Tsukino was probably thinking the same thing by now. So they better not waste time explaining what was obvious.

---

They have been walking for some minutes now. The Black Crow was in the lead and Tsukino behind, as agreed about before.

He was using his sensor to detect the presence of any person who was in the proximity.

He suddenly raised his hand to stop the other man.

"There are two people ahead down this path", warned Yasuo in a barely audible voice.

Kinuhata Saiai was a loyal, mature, and cold blooded assassin. She was trained in some of the harshest of exercises and treatments. But her one and potentially only weakness was the body herself. Such a fragile girl, and she hasn't even hit early adulthood yet. Her body wasn't physically adapted to take things such as broken bones so easily. No matter how mentally or genetically capable a person is, as a child your body can only take so much.

However, even with this it wasn't the most painful thing Saiai has felt. In fact, she probably felt the worst pain of all.

«Frenda, it might be better to just leave Kinuhata behind.»

"...!!" There it was. The words Saiai dreaded in her mind. She twitched slightly against Frenda, and it was obvious that Saiai was immediately bothered by Meltdowner's words.

«Forcing her to move in her current condition doesn't appear like the appropriate solution at all. We can't afford to endanger her life needlessly, so it would be best to give her some time to recover.»

Saiai's hand gripped tightly against Frenda's shoulder out of pure frustration. The sting of failure, of letting the one who freed her from her isolation down, wished to leave her behind. Not because she was injured, but because she was useless at this point. Saiai always knew Mugino was cold and simplistic, but at least gave the effort of pretending to actually care. In the end though...

Saiai wanted to do several things, but she didn't know what she should do first. Disregard her advice? Lie about her condition? Do what she said? Scream? Punch the wall? Saiai didn't want to be thrown aside, even it was only temporarily. She wanted to help bring another victory. She wanted to be useful. So she gathered up her strength and was about to talk back to Mugino. However...

«Just read a magazine or try to find a way to leave the tunnel network without any run-ins. We'll meet up at the parking lot once we are done.»

Mugino had already tossed her aside, like leaving some useless object in the car while she went to do errands, as the object collects dust until she would return. With those words though, the breath of Saiai was lost. No. Rather she spoke, but not in the way she intended.

"Understood.."

With that she let go of the call button of her earpiece and slowly pushed Frenda away from her as she slowly sat back down, her face hardly visible due to the lighting. Rikou knew what it felt like, and Frenda knew just as much how serious Saiai took her job and how devoted she was to Mugino. In the end, she followed the advice of her senior. Her idol. Her savior.

"I no longer need your super assistance. You should go on without me like Mugino suggested. She spoke in a softer tone toward Frenda as she leaned against the wall with her back. She didn't bring any magazines like Mugino expected, but she no longer had the energy to move as it was no longer toward the success of her mission.

«Frenda, it might be better to just leave Kinuhata behind. Forcing her to move in her current condition doesn't appear like the appropriate solution at all. We can't afford to endanger her life needlessly, so it would be best to give her some time to recover.»

In the end, Kinuhata was injured enough that she was in need of a crutch. That was an obvious fact. In fact, for someone like Kinuhata, that was a dangerous state to fight in.

«Just read a magazine or try to find a way to leave the tunnel network without any run-ins. We'll meet up at the parking lot once we are done.»

Mugino had made the right decision on how to proceed and was being gentle enough about it. While Frenda did feel bad since she knew that Kinuhata was likely not going to take it well, it was for the best. At least, it would take Kinuhata out of the danger.

"Understood..I no longer need your super assistance. You should go on without me like Mugino suggested."

Kinuhata leaned back against the wall seeming dejected. While Frenda was a selfish girl, she did care about her friends.

"I'm sorry, Kinuhata." Frenda said to the girl. "We'll see you soon, so just focus on getting better."

Those were her last words before she turned and began to sprint forwards. In the end, that meant that the only combat capable members of their group left were Mugino and her and she knew full well, that she would not be able to achieve this on her own after what happened  in the maintenance shaft earlier, especially when she did not have the time to set anything up.

Luckily Takitsubo would be a huge help since one of the bodyguards was an Esper. In the end, she could only hope that she and Mugino would be able to get ahead of the target and meet.

Rin's instructions were not confusing. He understood them clearly and understood her intent. They were going to waste more time, but it was time that they needed as Rin would not plausibly be able to defend him from death if the girl from before... or, god forbid, more assassins of similar level showed up.

He left only one message: "You'd better have something better than just socks." He didn't know what kind of supplies she had, but he had to bet on it. He couldn't turn back now. With that, he descended into the darkness of the pipes. Well, who knows. Maybe someday a sock would save his life.

His straight, frozen expression would never dare let that thought out of his head, though. Reaching the bottom, he began to move through the pipes slowly, focusing his efforts on remaining silent. He dared not use a light, so only the sound of the flowing water could guide him.

Deep inside, he prayed this pipe wouldn't blow up (a side effect from meeting the demolition-crazy girl).