Warning: The following chapter may contain some explicit and uncomfortable content for some viewers. Reader discretion is advised.
Her answer was perfect. I mean, after all, everybody in our organization shares one common goal: break down the corrupted government.
We trained for a short while and seeing Saki train gave me more insight on her past.
Judging from the way she held a knife in her hand, I can already tell she was a naturally trained killer. I barely know anything about her, but everyone has a story as to how and why they chose this path.
We soon wrapped things up in the training area. Others were finishing up as well. The sun is setting. It's almost time.
Mizuki, Saki, and I put everything back to where we had found it, and walked out of the area while waving goodbye to Norman on our way out.
Norman, being a big ol' softie, patted me and shouted "good luck" to everyone that was leaving on a mission with a warm smile on his face.
Back in our dorm, I started changing into my outfit with Saki and Mizuki. With our outfits on and blades sharpened, we were ready to take on this target.
As we waited for further instructions from Kuro, we sat around our small kitchen table. I started to doze off into my own fantasy world where the Egotists have eliminated all the trash in the world, but Saki's foot tapping on our wood floor kept breaking my trance. My eyes shifted towards her, and I could see how anticipated she was to kill this target.
Suddenly the door next to my room opens up, and Kuro steps out, fastening his belt. Then he joins us at the kitchen table.
"You guys ready to roll?"
With no hesitation, Saki stood up from her chair.
"I'm ready."
Contrary to her earlier energy, she looks calm and collected. Not normal for a newbie.
Saki gives Kuro a cold stare. I can feel her aura shift into a more dark and sinister tone. Kuro shivers and acknowledges Saki's declaration with an awkward smile. The atmosphere of our dorm room changed. We were ready. Kuro signaled, indicating that we were about to head out.
I nudged Saki to tell her that we were about to head out. Just then, I realized something. The moment I met Saki and the moment she changed into her outfit, not once did I see her wear any form of a mask, so I stopped everyone and turned to Saki.
"Do you need a mask? It is required for us to wear some form of a mask before heading out for missions to protect our identities."
Saki thought for a bit, then reached in her pocket and pulled out a simple black mask that covered only her mouth and nose.
"Will this do?"
It didn't cover much of her face, but at least it's a mask. I nodded at her, and we caught up with Kuro and Mizuki.
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Going down to HQ's exit, we can see the other squads preparing to leave for their missions as well. We went down to the exit and exited with the others. It's very secretive and hidden in a secluded place, so I'd honestly be surprised if anyone were to discover it. It's in a very unpopulated area on the very outskirts of Seokyo. A great place to stay.
Kuro, Mizuki, Saki, and I ran to the city's nearest dark alleyway in case passersby noticed us on the streets. Safe in a secluded alleyway, Kuro called us over and whispered the plan.
"Remember the file, guys. Our target is a member of a small gang located in Downtown Seokyo. Judging from the area we're in, we could reach our destination in about 10 minutes if we cut through this alleyway."
Kuro points behind us to an alleyway that forks in two directions. Judging from the direction he's pointing in, his finger is aimed towards the right-most alleyway. We nodded in agreement and followed Kuro's lead.
Cutting through the alleyway and following Kuro, I can see Saki gradually picking up her pace. Deep down, it feels as though there is something mysterious. Something dark is coming from her. She soon caught up with Kuro and paced him step for step. Somehow, if it is possible, the darkness radiating from her is deepening. Lost in thought, I didn't notice we were just over a block away from the target until Kuro looked at us with hesitation and stopped. The building our target is supposedly staying in can be seen in the distance.
It looked fairly run down and there were a couple of gang members guarding the path to the front door. Kuro silently signaled to me and Mizuki to get rid of the two guards. Keep them alive, but silence them. The Egotists don't like excessive bloodshed.
However, the moment we were about to step out of the shadows, Saki rushed out before us.
Two flashes of light later, both guards dropped to the floor—never to speak another word. Their throats mangled and blood soon filled the streets of downtown.
We stared at Saki in shock. Yes, we kill—but never unnecessarily. Only our targets get targeted…unless there are extreme circumstances.
Uh oh. I snapped out of my frozen state. Saki just broke the unspoken rule of the Egotistics. Kuro's going to be-
"What. Was. That."
Mizuki stiffened next to me. He was mad. No…Kuro was fuming.
"Why did you kill them?"
Saki looked at him, confused.
"Heh? I thought you wanted them silenced. Dead men tell no tales."
"We do not revel in killing. We kill only when necessary. Our goal is not to inspire fear and terror in the masses. Our main goal is to overthrow the government. If our way of achieving that is through killing those who do not deserve to die, then we are no better than them. And if you cannot understand this, there is no reason for you to continue on this mission with us. Do you hear me?"
Saki pulled out a cloth and started cleaning her knives. Her disinterest couldn't have been more obvious. A vein bulged on Kuro's temple.
"Ok. Ignore me. That works too."
Mizuki and I both whipped around to face him.
"Kuro, we get you're angry at Saki, but Boss-"
"Boss will understand. I'll explain the situation later. But I won't have people who can't listen on my team, jeopardizing your guys' safety."
Saki snorted.
"Such a touching declaration. I've seen your type before. Pretends to be all caring and whatnot, but all you want are puppets."
Mizuki glares at Saki.
"Don't talk as if you know Kuro. He's nothing like what you think."
"It's logical. How are we supposed to magically be able to JUST kill him and not the members guarding him? What? Knock everyone out as if it was a fever dream for them? There would be too many to knock out. Have you ever taken that as a consideration?"
Mizuki felt insulted. She proceeds to walk closer to Saki and grabs her collar.
"We've done it before, we'll do it again, so keep your damn mouth shut."
This was bad. At this rate, Saki would be gone long before daybreak. Then I'd never be able to solve the mystery of how she knew me. I have to calm the situation down somehow.
Their bickering back and forth is causing a loud commotion. We don't want to alert our presence. Kuro broke Saki and Mizuki apart and started rubbing his eyes.
"Drag the bodies out of sight."
Saki sarcastically spoke out.
"Oh no but what if I get yelled at again for breaking an oh-so unspoken rule once more~?"
Kuro ignored the snarky comment and turned his back towards them. I can tell Saki was smirking underneath her mask, but she started dragging the other body to a nearby alleyway.
It was a good thing there was nobody out at this time, but that got me thinking as well: Why would there be guards posted at the door? Of course it's a gang, but it was as though they were expecting someone…expecting us? Couldn't be, but maybe we should be careful.
While Mizuki and Saki hid the bodies, I edged closer to where Kuro was standing.
I proceeded to share my thoughts about the guards and why they were posted at the door.
He rubbed his chin and thought about it too. Judging from his body language, he was just as suspicious as me.
"I'm sure it isn't bad and we're probably overthinking it, but keep an eye out, Yui."
He turned toward me.
"Also, we should keep this between us. I don't want Saki going on a bloody rampage because of guesses."
"Aye aye Captain."
Mizuki and Saki came back from hiding the bodies. Kuro looked at all of us and firmly spoke.
"No more killing unless we have to. Our main goal is our contract. Nothing more, nothing less-"
Kuro turned to Saki.
"Do you understand?"
"Yeah yeah sure, sorry."
Saki gave the look of 'I get it already.' She was probably scolded enough for 10 lifetimes, but we were staying on the safe side.
Where did Boss even find someone like her. No no. I shouldn't question his judgment. After all, his good judgment is the reason I'm here, so I shouldn't pry into why he would let a mercenary join us.
We all gathered together and prepared to open the door to their little base. Kuro slowly opened the door. Silence filled the vicinity.
It was dark inside. The only light source was from the moonlight flowing through the door. We all snuck inside and closed the door behind us.
Something was really off. It was too quiet. Too dark. The room we entered was pretty small judging from the street lights shining through the cracked walls.
We started whispering to one another.
"Something's not right."
"Keep moving. I see a door. Stay aware of your surroundings."
Suddenly, the lights turned on in the room behind the door in front of us. It was barely cracked open. We looked at the bottom of the door and could see a shadow moving around in there. We heard no footsteps but we could see the shadow moving beneath the door. Judging from it, there was only one person.
The closer we got to the door, the more a putrid smell filled the air. I gagged silently, but I assumed it's the buildup of mold on the walls so I paid no more attention to the smell.
Kuro signaled us and we readied our weapons. He then counted to three with his fingers.
One…
Two…
Three.
We burst through the door, and what we saw stopped us in our tracks. Blood. Blood everywhere. On the floors. On the walls. And right in the center of the room, face up, was the decapitated head of our target. His body was nowhere to be seen.
We were terrified. Not at the sight of the head, but at the fact that the person who killed him was nowhere to be found. It just doesn't make sense.
Why would his lackeys be posted outside if he was dead in here? How did they not hear this violence and rush in?
Suddenly the singular light bulb started flickering.
Kuro started to panic.
"Stick together. STICK TOGETHER."
Then the lights went out. Plunging us in darkness.
We all huddled up, with our backs against each other forming a circle with our weapons facing out. I felt the others shivering as we were huddled like penguins.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
I hear Mizuki yell at someone.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud and someone broke formation. I'm separated from the others. I can't feel them anymore. Then, everything went silent.
What is this? What's happening? It was as if we walked in on some paranormal investigation. I tightened my sword grip.
A flash of light and the light turned back on. Blinded, we frantically tried to see what was going on…and our masks were not helping.
Our eyes slowly adjusted and we regrouped to see another body on the ground in the room we were in. With Mizuki looming over it.
"Mizuki, what happened?"
She slowly turned towards us. She wasn't wearing her mask. Mizuki gazed calmly at us for what seemed like forever, then proceeded to answer Kuro's question with a sinister smile. A very not Mizuki smile.
"I killed him."
She pointed at the face down body that was right next to her.
I mean, sure that was obvious enough, but there was no new blood spilt on the floor, and her weapon didn't have a drop of blood on it. Unless she snapped his neck…
Kuro approached Mizuki, checking her face and arms for any injuries.
"Are you okay? Did he nick you anywhere? And where did your mask go?"
"No clue where my mask went, but I'm okay Cap. Thanks for the checkup though."
She smiled at Kuro again.
Saki had been staring at Mizuki and Kuro with a funny expression, and now tugged at my shirt from behind. The next words that came out of her mouth made a chill run down my spine.
"That's not her. That's not Mizuki."