TOKYO...
A black SUV sped along the highways of the magnificent city, overtaking every car it came across. It only occasionally halted in response to the traffic, and wasted no time in speeding up again when the road was free.
Within it, a man in an all black suit sat at the driver's seat with a solemn expression, his gaze hidden under the dark shades he wore, as he meticulously drove the vehicle without fear.
Meanwhile, at the backseat, two figures sat a distance from each other.
"The higher ups summoned me for questioning. You'll need to lay low for a while."
A melodious voice rang out, and the beautiful woman seated on the left looked towards her counterpart, the silent masked figure and spoke calmly.
"Lay low? I'm afraid that won't be possible. Since the Zen'in clan is so adamant on destroying me, I'll kill each and every one of them one after the other.."
The masked figure slowly turned to the beautiful woman, and calmly spoke his piece.
Sighing underneath his mask, he reclined in his seat. The Zen'in clan was going all out to eliminate him. Even going as far as to place multiple bounties on his head.
It's only fair that he gave them a taste of their own medicine. As of now, they had absolutely no idea who he was and who was targeting them and that was his advantage. He was going to work in the shadows to slowly eliminate them, starting with the bastards who had him killed.
After nearly an hour, the SUV stopped before a tall uncompleted building, and pulled over, as the two passengers walked out.
The woman nodded to the man and walked into the building, leaving the door open for him, as he walked in as well.
The next moment, his eyes widened underneath his mask, in perpetual shock. The structure, while ragged and worn out on the outside starkly differed from it's amazing and well decorated interior. It looked as if it was purposely done to create an illusion to deceive bystanders from the dealings that happened within the complex.
"Looks good right?..
Come on, don't tell me you weren't in the least bit amazed by the interior design?"
Mei asked with a teasing smile, while Sasuke ignored her and scanned the entire place, making a mental map of the first floor.
"Welcome to Q Association HQ. The building has three floors. The first or this floor is the reception, where new mercenaries are registered and become guild members. The second floor holds the Reward and Mission Segments, where missions are handed out, along with their appropriate rewards. The third floor is off limits .."
She briefly explained and led him to an elevator, which they both entered and ascended to the second floor.
There, Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, as he witnessed an incredible number of mercenaries lounging around and relaxing care freely, most of them dressed in Q's standard uniforms. The moment they walked out of the elevator, all eyes rested on his figure, some filled with shock, some surprise, some wonder and others fanaticism.
"Why are they staring at me?"
Sasuke looked towards Mei, his face underneath the mask scrunched up in discomfort. All the mercenaries around were looking at him like he was a God of some sort.
"You're famous. The one and only Zero, with a record only second to the sorcerer killer himself. You're like our local celebrity. Most of them look up to you."
She smiled and led him to a small reception where a beautiful woman sat around her desk.
Shaking his head, Sasuke ignored the stares from the other mercenaries and followed Mei to a small reception quite a distance from the entrance..
For anyone who had quite the knowledge on mercenaries and their dealings, it was hard not to recognise someone like him. Not when he was dressed in his signature Akatsuki robe and spiral mask.
The second floor starkly differed from the first in terms of aesthetics. There was a mini drinking bar in the corner, a small lounge where most of the mercenaries were resting, multiple food stands, some kind of emergency first aid center amongst a few.
It was like a whole community on its own, one free from reality and the harsh truths of existence. It was a place of solitude for the mercenaries, a home to some and a comfort to others. It was now Sasuke understood why Q was one of the biggest mercenary groups in the country.
Shaking off the thoughts, he walked to the small counter where Mei chatted and laughed with the receptionist and stood there awkwardly.
"Mmm. I'd like to collect a bounty from my previous mission and if possible another mission.."
He cleared his throat and spoke in a calm voice as the receptionist finally turned towards him and squinted her eyes.
"I see. May I have your QID please?"
She smiled warmly and gestured towards Sasuke who nodded and just flicked his fingers, summoning his ID from his ninja backpack, amidst the astounded gaze of Mei and the receptionist.
"Woah. It's really you. I mean I had my doubts at first, but it's really you!!"
The receptionist's eyes widened in surprise as she crosschecked his ID and turned towards Mei with her thumbs up.
She then rushed and pulled out a black briefcase from underneath her desk and placed it on the counter for him. Clearly the reward had been prepared for him before he even arrived. He reached out, and unlocked it, only to find stacks of money inside, his reward for the mission accomplished.
With a wave of his hand, the briefcase disappeared under the stunned gazes of Mei and the receptionist as well as the other mercenaries.
Most of them had never seen such an amount of money before, which was mainly due to the fact that aside from top notch assassins such as Zero or the sorcerer killer himself or others, most of them didn't really target Jujutsu sorcerers due to the fear of being hunted down by them and missions revolving around sorcerers were always the most profitable.
"I'd like to take up another mission.."
Sasuke wasted no time and went straight to the point, to which Mei raised a brow.
"Haruto Zen'in."
"Uh lemme check if we have such a mission in our database.."
The receptionist gasped in shock and quickly went to work. Had it been any other person she would've laughed in ridicule, but this wasn't any ordinary mercenary. The same way, this was no ordinary Jujutsu clan. The Zen'in's were top 3. Only individuals sick in the head would dare to target them. Of course she didn't say her thoughts out loud.
"Uhh..Mission found and activated."
She waited for a few minutes, after finding the desired mission, looked towards Mei who shook her head and then she activated the mission and handed over his QID to him.
"Thank you.."
He took back his ID and then turned towards Mei who was giving him an unnatural look.
"Um I know it's not a good time, but can I get your autograph? I'd like to add it to my collection.."
The receptionist broke the silent staring contest between the two and Sasuke raised his brow underneath his mask.
An autograph? When was that a thing in a mercenary world? He asked himself and shook his head, about to decline, mainly because he didn't have one, but, seeing the pleading look on the receptionist's face and Mei's side eye, he sighed, took out a sharp three pronged kunai and handed it over to her.
Without acknowledging her thanks he turned around, looked towards Mei one last time, about to leave, when a rather deep and annoyed voice sounded out, instantly grabbing his attention.
He turned around slowly, only to see a tall, handsome well built man walking towards him with a beer bottle in hand. His hair was messy and the scar on the edge of his lips made him look rather menacing. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt and dark blue pants, and the flip flops that adorned his feet were constantly being dragged as he walked..
Aside from his well built body and menacing glare, nothing about the man screamed dangerous mercenary, however Sasuke and Mei who now stood side by side looked utterly surprised by his appearance.
Sasuke, mainly because if not for hearing the man's voice, he would never have sensed his presence walking towards him. His senses even without the Sharingan, while dulled to the extreme was better than most sorcerers and yet even he had failed to notice him. Then again, what was he to expect, when even the six eyes with all its godly perception had almost to identify him.
A/N: And there ya have it!!!
Back to the normal update schedule guys. Three chapters per week. Your donations have dropped significantly since last two weeks, and the few comments that were coming in at times have reduced to Zero. C'mon guys. You can do better.