Warning: The following chapter may contain some explicit and uncomfortable content for some viewers. Reader discretion is advised.
The next day, we were awoken by the sound of bells inside the dormitory area. However, Saki was still fast asleep, snoring to her heart's content. The ringing of bells means the missions have been posted for each squad. It'll usually be taped to the front door of our room, so Kuro went to the front door and collected the file.
The file contained the picture of our target, their whereabouts, and the list of crimes the target has committed. We set all the files on our coffee table and analyzed what we are going up against. Kuro read the information out loud.
"The name of our target is Masoko Yaiba. He lives at the east end of Downtown Seokyo and is 35 years old. He's an ex-convict who committed sexual battery on many young males and females. Our client claimed that he was a victim of such assault and wanted him gone from this world. It seems that Yaiba is a member of a gang who terrorizes downtown."
As we were analyzing the files in our dorm kitchen, we heard a loud yawn from behind us.
"You guys talk too loud."
We turned to look at who was there, and saw Saki yawning with one hand covering her mouth.
She looked up at us, scratching her head with her other hand.
"From what I heard, I guess being an Egotistic is pretty cool after all. Soooo- How long till I slit a bitch's throat?"
Saki saying it so casually made it seem as though she was a bit sadistic. Then again, aren't we all sadistic in a way? It's satisfying to watch disgusting people die. Answering her question, Kuro replied:
"We will be heading out once night strikes, so make sure you prepare yourself for the time being-"
He stood up and looked at us with a serious expression.
"-And don't you guys hold anything back."
"Don't have to tell me twice, Cap,"
Mizuki answered with fire in her eyes. Seeing how everyone was pumped, I spoke up as well.
"Let's end him swiftly."
With a timid smile, I walked with Saki into our dorm room to get ready for tonight. A little while later, Mizuki followed suit. Tonight, things will get a little interesting.
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Hoping to mentally and physically prepare ourselves, Mizuki and I made our way toward the training area.
Something suddenly nudged my arm. I flinched and turned to see Saki standing directly right behind us. Startled, we both backed away from her.
"Whoops- Sorry guys. Didn't mean to scare you there- ehehe…"
She gave us a nervous smile, but I brushed it off, and Mizuki just grinned and continued walking beside Saki. It was impressive how she snuck up behind us like that so silently. The training room was a bit loud, but I still should have noticed something different in the air. She really was a true assassin.
There were a lot of people already in the gym. Probably had the same idea as us. Mizuki spotted an area where we could train and pointed it out. Saki nonchalantly started walking towards the area.
"Oi oi. Wait up, Saki."
"...hmm? What's wrong?"
"We gotta check in first."
Saki gave me a puzzled face, so I proceeded to explain to her the rules in our training zone.
"Well Saki, this training domain is kind of controlled by Norman. He's been Boss's best friend since they were little and is usually the one in charge of getting us in top shape before entering any dangerous missions. I'm sure you'll like him. He's really nice."
"Wow, I'm impressed."
"About..?"
"On how organized you bunch are."
"I don't know if we should take that as a compliment or an insult-"
"Take it as both."
Saki reached in her pocket, pulled out the disgusting gum she chewed yesterday, and popped it in her mouth.
"Yay! It still has flavor!"
Mizuki covered her mouth with her hand and gagged at what she had just seen. I, myself, was disgusted as well but I let it slide and started walking toward Norman's desk.
Norman looked up from his desk and greeted us.
"Ahh well, if it isn't Yui!"
"Hey, Norman."
"Back at it with training, I see?"
"Mhm, I kind of want to get prepared, our mission this time is no joke."
Norman patted my head gently.
"Don't stress too much, kiddo. You got this."
He smiled at me and took his hand off of my head. Mizuki and Saki started to walk toward us.
"Hey Mizuki! You've been keeping Kuro and Yui in check? Hahaha."
"Hey Norman! To be frank, they've been keeping ME in check lately, ehehe."
Mizuki gave Norman a bashful smile as Norman laughed at her comment. He was sort of a father figure to us all. Boss is our other parental figure too, but I feel closer to Norman.
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After talking to Mizuki and me, he looked behind us to where Saki was admiring the cool antiques and weapons scattered all around the room.
"New blood?"
"You could say so. Boss took her in the other day."
Mizuki leaned closer to Norman to whisper in his ear; however, her whispering was very audible from where I was standing.
"She apparently knows Yui. Small world, am I right?"
Norman gave me an uneasy glare for a split second when Mizuki said that, but quickly regained his composure and brushed it off. He whispered back to her under his breath.
It wasn't loud enough for me to understand what he was saying, but from the look on his and Mizuki's faces, I knew it wasn't a positive comment.
Saki slowly started walking toward the front desk where we were, and Norman suddenly snapped back to his usual self and greeted Saki.
"Hey there kiddo! If you haven't heard from these two yet, name's Norman. What's yer name?"
I turned towards Saki as I visibly saw a puzzled yet irritated expression flit across her face.
"I'm not a kid; don't treat me like one, you geezer."
Mizuki and I turned to each other the moment she said that while letting out a simultaneous "uh oh" underneath our breaths. We turned towards Norman.
He was smiling, but we could tell from his eyes that he wasn't very pleased being called a "geezer." Let alone from a newcomer.
"What did ya' call me?"
"You deaf too, old geezer? I said I'm not a kid."
Saki blew a bubble with her lint-covered gum and repeated her previous statement.
Things are escalating quickly. This wasn't supposed to happen- But before I was able to split the two up, Norman let out a loud laugh that made his belly shake.
Huh? I wasn't the only one who thought it was strange. All three of us collectively stared at Norman with the same expression on our faces.
"I like this kid. She stands her ground well."
I let out a sigh of relief, thanking the deities that no conflict broke out between the two while Saki beamed proudly from Norman's comment.
Norman pulled out a sheet of paper with a clipboard on top of the desk.
"Ya know the drill, just sign in here with yer names."
Taking the pen he extended towards us, Mizuki took the lead and wrote her name first, then Saki and I followed.
We capped the pen and pushed the pen and paper towards him. Picking up the clipboard, he smiled gleefully at us as he picked up the clipboard and read our names, (most likely to find out the name of our newcomer over here-).
"Welp, you're all set girls. Station 6 is open so why dontcha train over there-"
He turned towards Saki.
"-and it's a pleasure to meet you, Saki. Welcome to the Egotistics."
"Thanks for the warm welcome, oldie."
Saki stuck her tongue out like a child and proceeded to taunt him. Norman didn't mind it and was actually chuckling at the taunts as we walked past him.
We passed Norman and walked towards station six where we could train to our heart's content until showtime.
On the way to our station, we stopped to pick up blades of our choosing and stepped into the area where the worn-out wooden dummies were.
It suddenly just struck me. Is Saki prepared for missions like these? I know the Boss took her in and she's a mercenary, but judging from the files, even a mission as drastic as this scares me a little bit.
I let my mind take over my actions and spoke out. Tapping Saki on the shoulder, I sternly asked,
"Can you kill?"
In response to my question, Saki gave me a puzzled look and started laughing hysterically. I can see her eyes tearing up a tiny bit from the laughing.
She took her hands, wiped the tear residue from her face, and patted my shoulder.
"The real question you should be asking is: can you stop me from killing?"