~In China
The President's Elite Guard Rank 1 walks calmly through the bar filled with international assassins, his pink hair and eyepatch making him impossible to ignore. His white shirt and tie were messy, as if he didn't put himself together properly.
Beside him was his lieutenant, Kik Rocks. His open-buttoned shirt was blue in contrast to his gold hair. His eyes were sharp and tense, scanning the bar for threats.
And there he is, Xia Clifford Moxmore. "The Whale Hunter," an assassin known to kill some of the biggest-named politicians and fighters.
Xia's entire presence was concealed with a trench coat and different coverings. Only his eyes were visible. His eyes were bloodshot red. He stared at Rank 1 with the intensity of a murderer.
"Race traitor," he mumbled. "Now that you've sided with the Americans, you don't even have the proper decency and manners to cover yourself up in an assassin bar—"
Elite Guard Rank 1 slammed his ballpoint pen on the table so hard it ricocheted off the wood and flew upwards, destroying the ceiling with brutal precision as blood started to leak through the roof onto the table.
Kik Rocks didn't even sense the hidden assassin's presence. "Creepy… China really is a country of hidden killers…"
Rank 1 smiled, simply drawing a happy face emoji with the bloody mess.
The bar was now silenced, clearly getting the message.
Rank 1 whispered softly, his voice gentle and childlike as he spoke fluent Mandarin. "Now, Xia, no more tricks. We have over 500 million dollars for you, alongside three islands. All in your name." He pushes the contract forward.
Xia stares at the contract, then looks back at Rank 1. Xia was calm. 500M was a lot, and with an investment of three islands, it might even be enough to retire him for good.
And that's when Rank 1 pushes forward a picture of Mr. N. "All that, just to kill this man."
Xia looked carefully before looking back at Rank 1.
"Nothing doing."
Rank 1 slams the table, holding in his building anger as he responds softly. "Aww, a big-shot assassin like you… scared?"
Xia snapped. "You pay me to talk to you and you don't listen?"
"Of course I'm scared."
"And it ain't just me."
"You want me to kill Vercingerot? Sure. Osprey? I'll have a go at him too, why not. Liam? Fine. A human weapon? I'll kill it. But Mr. N?"
Xia pushed his contract away. "Yeah, kid, you need to go back to your K-pop boy band group or SOMETHING. Get the fuck out of my bar."
Rank 1 hides his anger, stabbing the picture of Mr. N onto the table as he walks away. Kik Rocks followed suit professionally, with his hands behind his back.
Kik Rocks lets out a visible sigh. "Welp, that's about it for scouting. We don't have much time, and we should probably head back to the States."
Rank 1, visibly annoyed, "The President said he got a new fighter regardless," and honestly, "I think he'll be more upset about the amount of money spent trying to kill N and not even getting to scratch him."
Rocks's face was hard, no emotions, as he spoke. "I mean, it's just a bad job. The propaganda the guy has going for him makes him seem untouchable, and he's too pussy to leave the country, so naturally we can't assassinate him."
Rank 1 continued, "Eh, it's expected. He is notorious for being 'Rumor Man' after all, but really and truly, it's too bad. If the President sent me, we could have gotten it done."
Rocks nodded in agreement. "No doubt, but he's not going to send his Elite Guard to do that before the presidency battle, much less his acting Rank 1. This presidency battle is essentially your coming of age."
Rank 1 lets out a nervous sigh, simply tired.
Rocks finished his statement. "It just means you guys need to win the presidency battle… I guess. That's all there is to it now."
Rank 1, annoyed out of his mind, thinks about going back to the bar and wreaking havoc, but that would take too much effort. He simply mumbles,
"Indeed."