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*Ratatatatatata*
*Tink Tink Tink*
Yoru's eyes opened to the sound of gunfire. A shot of adrenaline and war-forged alertness rapidly coursed through her system, slowing time to a crawl around herself. Her pupils bounced all over their sockets, briskly scanning her surroundings to put together a map of the battlefield.
Seven hostiles are firing in her direction. They're clad in midnight black vests with helmets and ballistic masks obscuring their faces. There's an insignia on the top left of each of their chestpieces, a wheel-like symbol with the region of Calabria serving as its spokes.
'They're foot soldiers of the 'Ndrangheta.' The hitwoman realized as her fingers clenched around hard plastic.
There's a familiar weight in Yoru's hands. A porous handguard with a continuous picatinny rail came into her view as she lifted the object held in her arms.
'A rifle.' The assassin realized as she noticed the way her right hand was positioned. 'A Kalashinakov variant.'
A red dot floated over the torso of her target right before she fired off two shots in rapid succession, one toward the body and one toward the head.
*Ta Ta*
To her surprise, her bullet effortlessly punched through the gunman's ballistic armor. The man dropped dead after the newly created holes squirted out blood like a juicy tomato.
*Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta*
Yoru fired six more times, all toward the head now that she's fully aware of the type of ammunition her firearm was chambered in. The remaining combatants all crumpled to the ground like wet tissue paper, but the teen didn't let her guard down.
She lowered her gun, and scanned the area around her.
"Azrael!" A familiar voice came over the radio. "Report!"
'Wait…' The girl's thoughts came screeching to a halt. 'A radio?'
Almost without prompting, Yoru's right hand removed itself from her rifle and pressed a button to the side of her head.
"The hostiles are neutralized." Her inflection was cold, almost hostile.
It was a tone reserved for those who had truly earned her ire, but the girl over the radio hadn't done anything to her yet. Why did the hitwoman speak to her in that way?
"Copy." The woman responded. "You and your team have caused quite a lot of disruptions behind enemy lines. 'Ndrangheta forces are consolidating around you."
*Ping*
"I've marked an area where you and your squad can hold out until reinforcements arrive." A display on the bottom of her left forearm lit up with an accompanying notification sound. "Prepare yourself for a temporary siege. Flybird will drop off ammunition to help you hold out."
"Watcher, out." With that, she cut communication.
'This is a dream.' Yoru realized. 'No, a memory.'
The hitwoman looked down and tilted her rifle. It was an AK-Alfa, the very same one she used in the High Table Civil War. No wonder the rounds punched through ballistic vests and masks like they're made out of styrofoam.
After finishing her inspection, the assassin let it hang by her side before removing the helmet covering her head. The night vision the headgear provided disappeared, plunging her vision into newfound darkness. Yoru clipped the helm to her belt as she let her eyes adjust to the new dimness.
*Step Step Step*
Footsteps rang out from behind her. The Wick instinctively shouldered her rifle before whirling around.
"Asa." She was greeted by a familiar face, her face.
"Not even a hello?" The specter tilted her head. "It's been a while."
"It's been two weeks." The oldest twin lowered her gun and let it hang by its sling. It's made to kill men made of flesh and blood, useless against whatever Asa is made of.
"One week and five days." The ghost corrected her with a smile. "But, I digress."
"You're probably wondering why you're dreaming of this place, aren't you?" The apparition asked. "Why you've been dragged back to this warzone you'd left behind without a second glance."
"Not really." Yoru replied. "I believe I know why you're meeting me here of all places."
"Oh?" Asa raised an eyebrow. "Do tell me."
"You're trying to make me reconsider retirement." The teenager declared. "That's what you tried to do last time."
"Do you remember what I said?" The specter inquired.
"...'Don't come crying when everything comes crashing around you', right?" It took a moment for the assassin to recall their last conversation.
"Hmm, so you remember." The spirit remarked before she started moving once more. "Good. That makes this easier."
"Is this about what Michael told me?" Yoru's gaze remained on the specter as she paced around her. "Retirement will already take care of that."
"But what about before then?" Asa shot back. "You still have to complete a retirement mission. Surely you know that it won't be something that can be completed in a single night, right? Not with the Angel of Death's reputation."
"Ai can just stay in the hospital while I do the wetwork." Yoru retorted. "The hospital has security to stop opportunists from taking potshots at high-value targets while they're recovering."
"But that's for regular assassins." The apparition returned. "The chaff of the underworld. The hotels themselves can likely take care of some above-average assassins."
"But we're not dealing with regular old assassins here, are we?" She continued. "The more layers of separation that exist between the Continental and the establishment, the weaker their security forces will be. Twilight establishments are as close to a legitimate business as you can get in the underworld."
"The antagonistic members of the High Table will be kept in line by politics." The hitwoman responded. "The Ruska Roma and its allies are unquestionably the ones in charge. An attack on Ai would be seen as an attack on me, and thus, would be a slight against the alliance."
"Entire High-Table families have been wiped out and replaced before." Yoru leveled a look at Asa right before the specter stopped walking. "If any of the losers were smart, they would let me retire."
"The wrath and grief can turn even the smartest of human beings into nothing more than callous savages." The spirit met her gaze, and challenged it. "You – of all people – should know this."
"I suppose I should've." The Wick averted her eyes first.
After all, she was angry once too.
The assassin looked down at her hands. For an instant, blood and bits of pink flesh coated her gloves. Yoru curled her fingers into a fist, squeezing tightly before unfurling to reveal motes of white ash sitting on her palms.
Though there was no wind anywhere within the dream, the particles rose within the air, dispersing before melting away like snow.
"However," The hitwoman began to move. "I have options to make sure Ai isn't a sitting duck for those families to take advantage of. Even though I'm no longer a member, I still have a lot of pull within the Ruska Roma's military. People will come if I ask."
"I'll always have enemies Asa." Yoru stopped when she's just one and a half steps away from Asa. "I have wronged many, many, people from all across the underworld's hierarchy."
"There is no way I can rid myself of all of them without retirement." The Wick continued. "Any other method will only lead to more people wanting me dead."
"I know how hard it is to trust after your heart has been torn out and stomped on." The teenager placed her hand on the specter's shoulder. "But, please, have faith that it will work out."
The apparition raised her arms before placing her palms on top of Yoru's.
"You know I can't do that." She gently lifted the girl's hands off of herself. "You know why I can't accept that."
Her touch was gentle, almost floaty. Even after the specter removed the assassin's palms from her body, she didn't let go of the dream's other occupant.
"Things can't stay the same forever." The hitwoman declared. "Change is something neither you or I can stop, but I can at least try to control which direction it's going to go in."
"You're not going to listen to me, are you?" Asa sighed.
"I have considered what you said." Yoru replied. "But I decided to go through with it."
"I see." The girl looked up. "Then, goodbye for now, Yoru. I hope I don't see you again."
"For what it's worth, I don't want to see you again either." The farewell between the two held venomous words, yet their tones didn't display the hostility those words should've housed.
Yoru blinked and Asa was gone. The spirit disappeared without a trace, leaving the assassin alone in the vacant street. The sounds of vehicles rumbled through the city seconds later, prompting the teenager to look in their general direction.
A swarm of armored cars stopped to a halt just four streets from where she was. Soldiers wearing what appeared to be modified riot gear streamed out of the vehicles with their rifles drawn.
Yoru didn't move an inch. She fought every instinct to quickly put on her helmet and dive behind cover. This dream had gone on for way too long, and she wants out.
*Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta Ta*
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2012
Osaka prefecture
Osaka continental
4:49 PM
*Kschh*
The Osaka Continental's doors slid open as Yoru approached the entrance. The assassin entered the establishment without interrupting her stride.
The establishment had changed very little since its deconsecration and subsequent reconsecration just two years prior. It kept the same Japanese eclectic style with a hyper-modern flair. However, the changes are easy to spot if you know where to look.
Tons of new decor had been installed, blending into the background of the hotel like they're always meant to be there. The lighting of the reception had experienced a slight shift, barely noticeable unless someone pulled out a photograph to compare side by side.
Akira had managed to imbue the hotel with her own personal touch without dramatically altering what the Osaka Continental feels like. Yoru had to give her friends props for that. She liked the hotel's original atmosphere.
"Good morning, Yoru." Asuka greeted the hitwoman as she strode toward the front desk. "You're a little bit early, but the manager should be ready to receive you."
"Same room as always, Asuka?" The assassin asked the blue-haired woman.
"Yes." The hotel's red-eyed caretaker nodded. "She's currently in her office."
"Gotcha, thanks." With her gratitude expressed, Yoru turned around and made her way to the Continental's elevators.
The doors opened before she had to call for it. The machine displayed its destination for the fifth floor, exactly where Akira's office is stationed.
The twin glanced at two nearby cameras for a brief moment. Either Asuka informed one of the building's security officers, or Akira herself had called the elevator for her. Either way, the Wick gave the recording machine an appreciative nod before stepping on.
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Akira's office
"Hello Yoru." The Shimazu clan's matriarch greeted Yoru when she opened the door to her office.
"Afternoon, Akira." The hitwoman gently closed the door behind her.
The yakuza boss wore a simple gray yukata and her raven hair was styled into a simple singular braid. Her red orbs softly tracked the assassin as the shorter girl made her way to her tea table.
Akira's office is well-decorated with a blend of traditional Japanese and modern elements. A cherry wood office desk with a pile of neatly stacked papers and a white desktop computer stood at the foot of her office. A digital desk clock and a filled wooden pen holder imprinted with the symbol of the Shimazu clan adorn the left and right sides of the maroon table respectively.
Several bonsai trees sit on three windowsills across from the workstation, casting long shadows across the room's carpet as the evening sun slowly falls below the horizon.
The center of the room sported a pair of beige floor cushions on either side of a low ashwood tea table. An electric kettle sat in the center of the squat furniture, a stream of white steam gently poured out of its spout and cover holes.
"The water isn't quite ready since you came a little bit earlier than expected." Akira stood from her desk before striding to the center of the room.
"It's fine." Yoru shook her head. "There's still ten minutes before my appointment is supposed to start."
"May I sit?" The assassin inquired right after the yakuza boss sat on her knees.
"Of course." The older woman affirmed. "It's unbefitting of me to demand a friend to stand."
The Wick nodded and gently put her weight into the cushion.
"So – Yoru – I want to ask," Akira started talking right as Yoru placed her hands in her lap. "What brings you here today? You'd usually call the front desk if you have a problem with contractors."
"I'm not here to ask about the Akatuski clan." Her voice was gentle, far more tender than the mob boss was used to hearing. "Akira, I'm going to retire."
*Click*
It was then the kettle turned itself off. The silence culminating in the room after Yoru dropped a figurative bomb only accentuated the sudden noise.
"One moment." The hotel manager reached underneath the table.
*Thunk*
She pressed a button and in just a moment, every gap that existed in her office slammed shut. Even if the room was bugged, the signal blockers ensured that not another word of their conversation would get out. Although Akira implicitly trusted every member of her staff, something as big as the Angel of Death's retirement was bound to leak one way or another.
"Continue." The yakuza boss beckoned once the whirring of sound-proofing died down.
"I found out my twin sister's pregnant." Yoru divulged. "She's twenty weeks in."
"... You're sixteen, right?" The Shimazu matriarch asked after taking a moment to digest the information.
"Yes." Yoru frankly responded with a nod. "I turned sixteen three and a half months ago."
"Hmm." Akira hummed in response. "You're retiring for her sake?"
The hitwoman nodded.
"Family." The Shimazu matriarch softly mused before picking up the kettle and pouring the hot water into a tea pot. "I can get behind that. But you know the rest of the underworld wouldn't see it that way."
"You've been active as an assassin for a little over two years." The teakettle clicked as its ceramic lid met its body. "Even with the high 'turnover' rates, that's still extremely short for someone with as much notoriety as you."
"I am aware of just how recent my introduction to the underworld has been." Yoru added. "Dad was in the business for fifteen years before he retired to marry Mom and many others had been operating since before I was born."
"But if I want to guarantee my sister and her children's safety, then retirement is my only option." The assassin continued. "One of my old teammates recently informed me that my reunion with my twin had been leaked. It's only a matter of time before my enemies come after her."
"Is she…" The teenager knew what Akira was going to ask her.
"She is." Yoru affirmed. "Fortunately, she got her checkup at a twilight clinic. The doctors there are all – as far as I know – Continental certified."
"Okay, that's good." The Continental manager nodded. "I can see why you were sparse on the details when you asked Asuka for a meeting. News like this needs to reach as few ears as possible."
"Do you have anything for me, Akira?" The hitwoman inquired.
"I do." The Shimazu head affirmed. "But I'm… hesitant to contract you to do such a thing."
"Even so, you're my best option." The eldest twin responded. "You're the only one who wouldn't hold my retirement over me. Anyone else I can ask would add conditions to the contract I'm obligated to fulfill."
"This is a job for several teams of elite assassins, Yoru." Akira's hesitancy refused to budge. "You're just one person."
"People hire me because it's cheaper than hiring entire teams." Yoru simply shot back. "I'm not a stranger to eliminating entire crime families."
"But that's when you take them by surprise." The yakuza countered while pouring out two cups of tea. "Your modus operandi is to keep which contracts you've accepted secret and strike when your targets are the least prepared."
"But what I'm going to ask of you is beyond anything you have done before." The manager set the teapot down with a soft thud. "In fact, what I'm asking may be impossible without me contracting at least half of Osaka's assassins."
For a few scant moments, Yoru didn't respond. Instead, the girl gently lifted her filled teacup from the table and took a generous sip. Akira hoped that she had convinced her otherwise.
"You're going to ask me to eliminate the Shimazu's rivals." That hope was quickly dashed.
"It's the only one that makes sense." Yoru continued upon setting the ceramic container down, heedless of her friend's reaction. "A smaller mission wouldn't serve as a satisfactory conclusion to my career in the underworld's eyes, but its sheer scale is making you question whether or not I can complete it."
"So could you?" The clan head inquired.
"If I hadn't misremembered," The assassin replied with a shade of uncertainty coloring her words. "There are major three clans that have taken territory in Osaka after the Continental got deconsecrated."
"Yes, the Omi, Ishii, and the Yashida." Akira confirmed. "We fought them when they tried to stop me from attending the meeting for the Osaka Continental's reconsecration two years ago."
The teen went silent for a while after she pressed her pointer finger to her upper lip.
"Having second thoughts?" The mob boss asked.
"No." Yoru shook her head. "I want the contract, Akira, but I'll need every scrap of information you have on them."
"What's making you so confident?" The woman tilted her head. "There is no way you would accept a hell's reach contract like this normally."
"Let's just say, my teammates didn't come just to tell me the clock's ticking." The twin replied as she interlocked her fingers. "They also came bearing gifts."
"I've heard some rumors regarding the Ruska Roma's interactions with you," Akira remarked. "But never did I think they would actually bend the rules to that extent."
"There were strings attached." The hitwoman added. "I didn't have access to everything I used during the war, just my chest-piece and an updated version of my sword. But I think that's enough to level the odds."
"Okay." The manager breathed out.
"Okay?" The Wick parroted in a more incredulous tone.
"If you think you can do it, then I'll place my faith in you." The yakuza boss reached into her robes and pulled out a phone. "I'll give you the retirement contract, but it will become an open one should you die or fail to eliminate them within a week."
"I have no issue with that." Yoru responded. "Putting all your eggs into one basket – even if it's mine – is a bad idea."
Akira nodded and dialed the number to the Osaka Continental Administrative Office.
"Accounts payable." She spoke into the speaker as soon as the call went through. "Order One-One-Four-Zero-Six. On the first of November, Yoru Wick: Recessisset."
"Exclusivity protocol seven," The Shimazu head continued. "Yoru Wick will be contracted to eliminate the Ishii, the Yashida, and the Omi clans of Osaka. Non-existence protocol for secrecy, Recessisset protocol upon contract completion. Open group contract for failsafe, ten million United States Dollars for reward of failsafe."
"…Order One-One-Four-Zero-Six confirmed." The voice of a continental secretary said after a brief pause.
"Isn't it bad practice to have another person in the room when you make an order?" An amused smile made its way onto Yoru's face as Akira ended the call with a beep.
"Perhaps." The manager responded with a smile of her own before laying her phone on the tea table. "When – not if, when – your retirement becomes public knowledge, you will experience no peace until the contract is complete. Your contract starts automatically on the first of November. Spend the extra time with your sister and prepare."
'In case I never see her again.' She left that last part unsaid, yet both of them knew that's what she meant.
The mob boss lifted her teacup and the assassin did the same. They both finished the remainders of their drinks in one big gulp before setting their containers down.
"I can't thank you enough, Akira." Yoru stood up from the cushion and bent forwards in an almost ninety-degree bow.
"Please, raise your head, Yoru." The Shimazu matriarch stood up and placed her hands on the shorter girl's shoulder. "It should be me that's thanking you."
"I suppose we're both doing each other an immense favor." The twin looked up at her friend before straightening up. "A debt for a debt, a wish for a wish. Both of us walked out of this room better than when we went in."
"Nicely said, Yoru." Akira smiled. "So, would you care for some more tea? I'm free for the rest of the day, and it's been too long since we've had a chat."
The hitwoman quietly mulled over the option. Her mind's eye scrolled through dozens of responsibilities and dates to see if any conflict.
"Sure." Yoru eventually nodded and sat back down. "It'll be a couple of hours before I need to get home."
The hotel manager simply poured more tea into their respective teacups and the two soon became engrossed in casual banter their stations wouldn't let them experience.
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The next day
Across from the hospital
10:17 AM
*Click*
*Kschhh*
Yoru killed her motorcycle's engine and deployed her kickstand with her foot. The teen took off her helmet before sliding off her bike and hanging her head protection on its handlebars.
The soles of her puncture-proof shoes crunched loose asphalt as she made her way toward the hospital Ai's staying at, each step a prelude to yet another heavy conversation with her sister. The girl's heart pounded like a drum as she got closer to the clinic's entrance. Breathing exercises did little to assuage the organ, but years of experience allowed her to keep herself focused on her task.
'Two, three, five, seven, eleven.' Yoru pushed the steel doors open, internally counting primes to distract herself.
"Room 119." The hospital's receptionist glanced at her for a brief moment before candidly telling the assassin her destination.
The Wick nodded at the front desk worker and continued toward the clinic's left wing. It didn't take long for Yoru to reach her destination, but she stopped in her tracks two steps before she crossed the doorframe.
The hitwoman's been simulating the conversation in her head ever since she left the Osaka Continental, but that didn't help. The twin released a breath and pushed every bit of anxiety into the back crevices of her mind like old clothes into a laundry bag.
'Let your emotions be like those dirty dishes.' Yoru remembered one of her former squadmates' words. 'You don't have to clean them up right away if there's something more pressing to do. You can always deal with them later even if what you're doing will create more.'
*Knock Knock*
"Who is it?" Gorou called out from the room after the teenager knocked on the metal doorframe.
"Doctor?" The girl called out. "It's me, Yoru."
"Yoru-chan?" Ai's voice rang out before the gynecologist could form a response.
"Hey, Ai." Yoru greeted her little sister as she stepped into view of the doorframe. "Morning, doctor. Can I come in?"
"Of course!/Come in!" the hitwoman nodded at the two's responses and stepped through the room's entrance.
"What can I do for you, Yoru?" The bespectacled doctor turned toward her.
"Can I take Ai aside for a conversation?" The assassin inquired. "It's important."
"Is it private?" Yoru shook her head at Gorou's question.
"I wouldn't mind if you didn't leave." The Wick replied. "But, it is about my future plans."
"Ah." The clinician instantly guessed what direction the teenager wanted to take her conversation with her sister. "Alright, I'll give you two some room."
The man got up from his chair and walked out of the room, leaving the twins as the only occupants. The air was still for a little while, right before the oldest twin broke the silence.
"I've finalized everything yesterday." Yoru's tone was almost wistful. "If everything goes right, I'm set to retire in November."
Uttering those words was like putting the finishing touches on a painting. The life the hitwoman imagined for herself in her naive youth was concluding in just three short months after years of yearning.
The two and a half years she's been a part of the underworld felt like a lifetime even though she knew it shouldn't. So many things have happened in just over nine-hundred days. The teen was forced to say as many goodbyes as she said hellos. It's cliche, but it felt almost unreal, like a dream just two steps from wakefulness.
"Ah." Ai blinked. "That's amazing Yoru-chan!"
"Yeah." Yoru nodded. "I also don't have to take any other contracts until then, so I can spend as much time as I can with you."
"Oh! That sounds super nice!!" A smile split across the pregnant girl's face. Yoru could see all the ideas for potential hangouts race in front of the performer's eyes.
"But, not that I'm complaining or anything," But as suddenly as it began, it faded when the idol processed the implications. "It sounds like there's a catch."
"Why would you think that?" The Wick tilted her head.
"You sound like you're hiding something." Ai answered. "Not in like a… lying way but more like you're not saying something."
"You mean I'm omitting critical information." The oldest twin understood what her sister meant.
"Yeah, that." The idol affirmed.
"You're right." Yoru admitted. "There's something I'm not telling you, and that's the reason I came to talk."
"May I sit?" The assassin gestured at the empty swivel chair next to Ai.
"Sure you can." The younger girl asserted. "Sensei won't mind."
The teenager pulled the chair closer with her foot upon receiving her sibling's permission. The plastic wheels made a hollow rolling sound as the seat rolled across the tiles.
"How much do you remember from what I told Mr. Saitou two days ago?" Yoru inquired right after she sat down.
"Hmm…" The expectant mother tapped her pointer finger on her chin for a couple of seconds before shaking her head. "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. It sounded kind of boring so I tuned it out."
"That's alright." The assassin responded while her sister sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "I don't mind repeating a couple of things."
"For starters, the underworld is a society bound by traditions and expectations." The Wick began. "There are rules and traditions that must be abided lest you suffer the consequences."
"Ai what comes to mind when you think of someone 'retiring' in your line of business?" Yoru's gaze shifted onto her sister.
"Well…" Ai tilted her head. "A goodbye concert or maybe a grand tour if they're big enough."
"So one last hurrah before disappearing." The taller girl remarked.
"That sounds about right." The performer nodded.
"It's the same for us assassins." The hitwoman continued. "For those who are contracted to or just closely work with a crime family, they ask the leader for permission to retire. If they agree, then those assassins are free to go."
"But usually, the leader asks the assassin to complete an 'impossible task'," The expecting mother's eyes widened as she finally grasped the reason why her sister asked to speak to her. "A job that surpasses anything that one assassin has done so far. Something just barely outside of their capabilities."
"Is… is that the catch for your retirement?" Ai's voice came out like a wisp. "Somebody making you do the impossible because they don't want to let you go?"
"Not quite." Yoru assuaged her twin. "I'm considered a free spirit by many because I'm not bound to any one client. Rather, my reputation and my name has made it impossible for me to quietly retire."
"I think I understand." The idol nodded. "You're… like a superstar assassin and retiring without making a big bang would have bad things happen, right?"
"You got it." The assassin confirmed. "Retiring quietly is an option for untethered assassins like me, but that usually happens because they're past their prime. I've only been active for two years, one-and-a-half if you discount the war. I am very much still in my prime, maybe a little bit before depending on who you ask."
"So, what is your retirement mission?" Ai inquired.
"... I suppose there isn't any harm in telling you." Yoru said after mulling over her sister's question for a couple of moments. "Do you remember the Shimazu clan?"
"I stayed at an orphanage run by one of their members after Mom got arrested." The pregnant teenager answered. "Do they still run the… less savory businesses in Osaka?"
"Things changed two years ago." The hitwoman replied. "The former Shimazu head and a large portion of the clan was decimated because they chose to stand with Dad and I. The remnants of the clan were able to stay together because of his daughter, but the sudden power vacuum allowed other groups to carve out their own territories in Osaka."
"I've been tasked by the current Shimazu Matriarch to eliminate all of them." The Wick continued. "I have a week to do it once I begin, but the deadline for that is November 7th."
"That's a little over three months away…" Ai remarked. "What are you going to do until then?"
"What do you want to do?" Yoru responded with a question.
"Eh?" The performer tilted her head. "Why are you asking me, Yoru-chan?"
"I never really planned on not working for such a long period of time, so I've never given much thought about vacations." The assassin responded. "I usually get started on contracts the day I get them, maybe two or three if I need time to recover."
"Well, what do you do on your days off, Yoru-chan?" The expecting mother goodnaturedly asked. "Your life can't just be work, work, work every single day!"
"I cook." The sharply-dressed teen replied.
"And?" The younger twin pressed.
"I clean." Her response wavered more this time.
"And?!" Ai's brows began to raise.
"... I watch Game Grumps." Yoru seemed to get smaller with yet another reply.
"And?!" The idol's incredulity seemed to reach its tipping point.
"..." The silence that followed was deafening.
"Yoru-chan." Ai's tone felt dangerous. "Why are you living like a corporate slave?"
"Elaborate." The assassin's dallying, and the performer knows it.
"You told me you have enough money to pay my rent and groceries for five-hundred years!" The shorter teen almost exploded in astonishment.
"They're all bound up in assets!" Yoru shot back. "I have to liquify them all first!"
"You have a card I didn't even know existed!" Ai returned. "I looked it up and I'm not rich enough to understand half its perks!"
"I think we're getting off track." The hitwoman raised both her hands, attempting to placate her sister. "I didn't come here to discuss my apparent lack of work-life balance."
"So you admit you have a problem!" The idol almost haughtily pointed at her older twin.
"... I do." Yoru breathed out after a few moments. "Happy?"
"Very." Ai's lips stretched into a very proud smile.
The assassin sighed before shaking her head. Yet another conversation derailed by her sister's eccentricities. It was completely different from the orderly and sometimes stiff verbal sparring matches she's used to. But for some reason, the deviation felt right to her.
"So, do you have anyplace you wish to go?" The teenager inquired. "It doesn't have to be in Japan. I can get you passports and plane tickets without issue."
"Hmm…" The idol hummed. "I'll have to think about that, Yoru-chan. I never had the chance but if I had to choose…"
Yoru let herself smile as her sister pondered about potential travel destinations. Most of which she had visited, but revisiting them for pleasure instead of work would be a fun experience.
Retirement came both too slowly and too fast, but the hitwoman will make sure she made the most of her time from now until then.
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Somewhere in Europe
6:14 PM
*Click*
A brown-haired man closed the door behind him with a metallic noise, announcing his presence to everyone in the conference room. Thirteen people turned their gazes toward him, each stare a different blade pointed at his neck.
At first glance, the meeting might seem like a normal business conference. All of those in attendance were dressed sharply with briefcases resting at their feet. However, the normal appearance was shattered almost instantly upon a closer look.
Concealed firearms and blades poked out of the individuals' pants and jackets. Past injuries littered some attendees' faces, with one of them wearing a full face mask to cover up horrific burns.
The ones sitting down at a U shaped table were the heads of High Table families – more specifically, the ones that lost the High Table Civil War – and standing just two steps behind them was their most elite bodyguard.
"Ladies and gentlemen." The scarred brunette regarded everyone sitting around the table. "I bring news."
"Is it about Azrael's retirement?" The patriarch of the 'Ndrangheta inquired. "If so, then you're wasting all of our time, Fixer."
"No, " The now-named Fixer shook his head. "But the matter I want to bring up is related. I would like for you all to see this."
With a hand signal, the door behind him opened. Seven people clad in ballistic armor strolled into the room with a folder clutched in each of their hands. The seat-holders didn't do so much as glance at them.
"These pictures were taken from security cameras at a twilight clinic in Japan one week and four days ago." The brunette continued once all the members had taken a look at the pictures in the file. "It shows Azrael hugging her twin sister – Ai Hoshino – whom we previously believed she had cut all connections with."
"Where did you get this?" The heavily accented voice of the Venezuelan cartel head questioned. "Something like this would've tipped off my network."
"It was scrubbed off of Continental systems minutes after it was recorded." The Fixer replied. "Likely an effort by Metatron to protect her former teammate."
"What are you trying to suggest, Fixer?" The Triad leader jumped in after the one-eyed man finished.
"I'm suggesting that we make a move on Ai Hoshino." The suited man answered. "Azrael's retirement is clearly heavily influenced by her meeting with her twin sister. She's likely the main – if not the only – reason the Angel of Death is retiring."
"What she did during the Civil War can be recovered from, but her retirement would cement her as a legend." The Fixer continued. "Allowing someone who struck such a blow to walk away – much less be forced to use our own authority to shield her – will only further destabilize our position."
"So what do you propose?" The Cartel head in charge of Mexico piped up. "The Ruska Roma's the most powerful it's ever been. If we're too obvious, we'll have all the winning and neutral chairs come down on us."
"We'll support the three clans Azrael is tasked with eliminating." The one-eyed man replied. "Whatever they need – guns, money, men, control over infrastructure – we'll give them."
"And what else?" The masked leader of the Cosa Nostra pressed for more details. "Surely you can't believe three mud-blood yakuza groups would accomplish what we couldn't."
"No, I expect them all to die." The Fixer responded. "The resources given to them would allow them to break Azrael down, sap her stamina and soften her up so a strike force can take her out."
"You've mentioned her sister." The final drug lord – the leader of the Colombian Cartel – finally piped up. "What will you do with her?"
"She'll have her use." The brunette assured the man. "Either as a temporary bargaining chip alive, or a destabilizer dead. I plan to have another strike force stationed at the twilight clinic to capture Ai Hoshino once Azrael completes her contract."
"If she proves too much for our men," The Fixer continued. "Then we'll kill her sister and break her. Suicide isn't out of the question if we were to go by how she behaved right after the War ended."
"In summary, your plan is to pour resources into Azrael's targets to weaken her, then use her sister as a hostage to make her easier to kill." The Triad matriarch remarked once the suit finished. "And if she survives, you'll kill the girl and hope Azrael will commit suicide."
"Yes, you've summarized it well." The scarred man nodded.
"You're an idiot." The silence that followed her declaration was almost deafening.
"I'm not presumptuous enough to speak for all of us, but the Triad has yet to recover from the War." The woman stood up. "Pouring resources into three yakuza clans facing imminent execution will needlessly strain our already drained coffers."
"What's more, you still haven't answered how you would hide our involvement." She levied a pointed stare at the Fixer. "That leads me to believe you lack a plan for that."
"There are rules everyone sitting at the table must follow." The brown-haired man moved to rebuke the Triad head's criticisms. "Azrael won't have access to the resources she had when she fought you all. There are many methods we can use to obfuscate even Metatron's information gathering. The Ruska Roma wouldn't even know it was us."
"Then, explain this." The Chinese matriarch reached into her robe and threw several photos on the table.
The Fixer's expression turned taught at the sight of the pictures' contents. They contained several snapshots showing Michael presenting Azrael and her sister with two very large briefcases.
"Yesterday, my informants in Japan sent me these." The crime lady knew exactly how damning these photographs were. "You said that there are laws each seat-holder must respect, and that Azrael wouldn't have access to Ruska Roma's technology. Both of these are untrue."
"We can bring this to the attention of the Elder." The eye-patch wearing man quickly recovered. "A violation like this will not go unpunished."
"Hah!" One of the Cartel bosses let out a laugh. "The Elder? He's too scared of Azrael killing him like her father killed his predecessor! Going to him won't change shit!"
The Fixer's lips twitched at the man's crassness, but he couldn't form any sort of rebuke.
"I see that this meeting has been a waste of time." The Triad head declared after several moments of silence. "XiaoZhu, let's go."
"I'm sorry Fixer, but I'll need everything I have to stabilize the Cartel's influence in my country." The Colombian stood up once the Chinese woman and her bodyguard left the room. "My rivals have been getting delusions of grandeur, and I need to remind them who's in charge."
The other two Cartel leaders followed their Colombian counterpart out of the room without a second glance, lowering the room's number of occupants to just six.
"Are you two willing to proceed with my plan?" The Fixer addressed the two seat-holders who hadn't walked out of the conference room.
"Aye." The 'Ndrangheta patriarch replied just as the Costa Nostra head nodded.
"Excellent." The scarred man smiled. "I'm glad to have you both on board, gentlemen."