Whispers, inner voices, thoughts and emotions. Basic human brain functions. One round, one shot, two targets. Who gets hunted? "Damn my delusional ass, I bet they won't let me slack off this time." Ren's voice echoed. White walls around her. No doors, no window. Right in the center of the room she was sitting on a chair. The lights were bright and the whole room was shut sealed. "Maybe I should've shot Kaito instead."
She was looking dead calm. No tension, not a single bit of regret. She was sitting down and talking to herself. "I hope Michael gets well soon and I hope that idiot survived. He will." As she was whispering to herself the white wall in front of her started glowing. A small portion of the wall slides sideways and a man enters the room.
Blonde hair, red jacket. His eyes were brown and there was a katana resting on his back. A cross shaped scar on his face and he was wearing a necklace made out of gold which gave a shiny reflection. "Been a while miss Ren." He looked at her and speaks up.
Ren leans backwards and smiles, "well look who it is. So you finally showed up after all these years." She looked excited. The man takes a step forward and says, "I guess things went really messed up after the tournament right?" Suddenly the smile fades away and she looks at him straight in the eyes. "So are you tasked to kill me after what I did?"
The man paused for a second and bursts into laughter, "kill you? Oh I wouldn't dare. But I might get you out of this whole thing. After all we both are chasing the same ghost aren't we?" Ren looked at him but didn't speak. She keeps her cool and waits. The man walks around her and says, "so here's the deal, I get you out of here, legally of course and you help me find him." Ren looked at him while he was walking around and says, "of course I will be going after him but I don't need you neither you need a lower S rank right, V."
V, S Rank 3. The gambler of death. V looked at her and simply smiles, "it's not about rank or rivalry. Kaito Yashima is a force of nature. Do you really think a single S rank like you or me stands a chance against him." Ren's eyes get softened after she heard those words. Ren looked a bit tensed. "Then what do you want?" Their voices echoed.
"I am gathering a crew. I have selected a few candidates including you and Aoi Suo. I want to bring in Kaito and the ghost before him." Ren's eyes get wide opened and she stands up. The chair falls backwards. Just by hearing it she gets goosebumps. "You really think you or any of us stands a chance against her. Forget Kaito for a second, do you really think we can take down her." V steps forward. Face to face. "Kaito is now a free agent. A Ghost. Imagine if he and the ghost joined forces what will happen then." Ren gets goosebumps again. Her eyes looked shocked and she paused. She was looking ahead and thinking about everything. Her inner thoughts go deeper and deeper.
V puts a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "I know where he is." Just by hearing it Ren looked at him. Wide eyes. She doesn't say anything. V steps back and says, "so what do you say? Do you want to give it a shot or be a failed spectator of the chaos about to come." V stretched his hands for a handshake. Ren looked at his hand and gave it another thought. Right before V says anything she grabbed his hand. "Deal. But I need him alive. You can kill the ghost but I need him alive. I need Kaito Yashima back." V simply smiles and winks at her.
The deal is done and an alliance is made. "Oh and another thing someone wants to meet you." V says it but he looked a bit awkward. "Who?"
The door slides open again and a familiar figure enters the room. Aoi Suo. As soon as Aoi entered Ren gave a disgusted reaction towards her. Ren looked at V and yelled, "the hell is this bitch doing here?" V simply backs off and raised both hands. He smiles like a fool and says, "well she kinda wanted to know the whole thing happened in the lab so I thought why not." Aoi looked serious. She's not in her official outfit anymore. Stretched out tactical fit. She was stepping towards Ren in a furious motion. "You psychotic bitch." Aoi spoke out loud as she was stepping forward.
Aoi stopped at a distance and she looked down towards her fingers. Suddenly a slight ring like glow appeared around her fingers. V steps back and Ren grips harder on her modified arm. Ren's arm started transforming. Her cybernetic arm split open from the center and a barrel started to come out. She stretched her legs backwards and pushed her arm in front. The barrel came out and she locked it in.
One by one Aoi's fingers get split open from the center and a bunch of shiny threads came out of her fingers. As they were waving they almost looked invisible from a distance. "Why would you let him go? Most importantly you lost sight of him." Aoi's tone was furious and she looked at Ren. "You should be grateful to me that I let him escape. If I wanted I could've opened his skull."
Within a split second Aoi snapped and launched herself towards her. Her speed is fascinating but wasn't enough. Ren aims and takes the shot. As the bullet came out Aoi swings her hand and her threads made a spider net like barrier. The bullet gets sliced as soon as it made contact with the threads. "Shut up." Aoi yelled and swings those threads around. This time Ren is caught off guard. The threads are inches away from cutting her off. Aoi didn't hold back. Suddenly the threads get cut midair. Ren and Aoi both looked shocked. Aoi switched position midair and lands at a distance. They both looked stunned and they looked aside and see V holding his katana. A cybernetic modified katana which gave a purple aura and a straight code was running on the tip of the blade. They both stopped and looked at V. "Ladies. Let's hold this argument for a second. If you both want to kill each other I won't stop but at this point I can't afford to let it happen." They both pulled out their primary weapons. Aoi pulls the rest of the threads back and Ren turns her arm normal again. V puts back his katana and walked towards the exit. "Right now we need each other to hunt a ghost. We can slaughter each other afterwards." Without another word he walked out of the room leaving Aoi and Ren alone. They both looked at each other. A temporary alliance was built within these walls but what about the one who started everything.
"Give me eggs with it." Yama yelled out loud and Mira was busy devouring her noodles. The ramen shop was packed. The robots rushing with orders and the chef was trying his best with his extra arm to keep up. "I told you eggs taste good with them don't they?" Mira was speaking while stuffing noodles. "So you're telling me that Ren shot an explosive round to separate them?" Yama asked it, his chopsticks waving and he looked curious. Mira looked at him and says, "apparently that's not it. That wasn't just an explosive round, it was a CX0." Yama's smile fades away and he slides his bowl aside. "So you're telling me she was planning to let him escape." Mira was chewing her food and looks towards him, "isn't it obvious. She got those rounds from black market and she was planning this from the start." Yama cracks his fingers and leaned back. "So what about Michael."
Mira finished her noodles and she leans back. She looks at Yama and says, "he was the closest one to the explosion. He took some serious damage but he will be fine I guess. Currently he's unconscious but when he wakes up it will be the start of reckoning."
Yama breathes out and they both sit quietly for a second. The chef was breathing heavily and he looked exhausted from serving. The people around them laughing, drinking, a man showing a projection from his cybernetic eye. A man talking to a holographic projection. An era of cybernetic modifications.
"Hey Yama." Mira's tone was deep. Yama looks at her and tilted his head while giving her a side eye look. "How long has it been since we stopped hunting." Yama leans forward and gave a serious look. "You tell me. We are staying neutral for a long time Mi." Mira smiles slightly and looked at him. Her eyes suddenly changed colour. Her eyes became pitch black and a red glow was visible. "Then why not hunt again." Yama says nothing. A smile appeared on their faces.
The stage is set, the team is ready and the hunters are awakened. What's next? Where is the S rank 1? Where's the ghost? Or should I say who's the ghost?