----------------------------------------
It didn't take much digging to find out about the Mercenary. After running into another gang, Hanma dealt with them easily before grilling them for information. Hanma noticed how hesitant they were to reveal anything about The Mercenary, remaining tight-lipped in the beginning. They didn't know much, but he got info about their next fight. Knowing the exact time and place they were going to be in was super helpful, giving him a chance to confront the mystery fighter.
The tattooed boy was on his way to that fight currently, a cigarette resting between his lips as he lazily sauntered towards the fight location. It was being held at an abandoned junkyard at 9:30pm and as he got closer, he began seeing groups of boys heading to the same venue.
Arriving through the open gates, he scanned the area to see if he could spot anyone who could be the Mercenary, but no one stood out to him. The two separated groups in the centre of the junkyard were all dressed in their respective gang uniforms, while Hanma was aware that this person belonged to no gang and would side with whoever paid more. Looking around, he saw a lot of familiar faces standing to the side as spectators. They sat on broken furniture and trashed cars, anticipating the beginning of this fight. All of this waiting was really boring Hanma, his ears perking up as a pair of boys started talking nearby.
"I don't even know why the Wolves even bother fighting the Tigers, they're known to use weapons and they always take it too far," the first boy whispered, sounding weary.
"I know that, dude. That's why this fight is gonna be amazing, the Wolves even have a wildcard so who knows who'll win," the other replied. Hanma's mind immediately went to thoughts of the Mercenary, wondering if that was the wildcard they were referring to.
"A wildcard, how do you know that?" his friend questioned, looking surprised by what he'd been told. The other looked around before leaning in to whisper, Hanma glaring at the sky in annoyance now that he couldn't hear what they were saying. The sound of yelling caught his attention, making Hanma lower his gaze as the battle began. He had been told that it would be brutal, and it was, each gang fighting their hardest to bring power to their respective gangs. It wasn't long until what Hanma had overheard happened, some of the more desperate boys pulling out knives. Since he had become bored with the fight in the beginning, his interest was piqued with the introduction of weapons. Seeing that the Tigers had done what was expected of them, the leader of the Wolves called out.
"Get out here Mercenary, I better get my moneys worth," he exclaimed in a joking manner, his eyes scanning the spectators for any sign of his hire. It didn't take long for a hooded person to step out of the crowd, revealing themselves as a part of the battle. Hanma inspected them closely, not being able to tell much by what he could see. They wore an oversized hoodie and a facemask to cover his nose and mouth, all that he could see was their eyes. And boy did they go wild when they were in battle.
Punches and kicks were thrown, knocking back the Tigers numbers exponentially. More knives were pulled and then knocked away, the one known as The Mercenary dominating the battle. They sustained no injuries whatsoever, able to dodge all attacks and then counter with brutal hits. The upper hand that the Tigers once had was gone, their weapons doing nothing when faced with the Mercenary's wrath. Hanma watched them carefully as they faced one of the opposing gang members. They stood unfazed before him as he reached for his pocket, sliding the handle of a knife into the palm of his hand.
"Come at me," The Mercenary encouraged, earning an annoyed glare from their opponent. Feeling like they had been mocked, he charged at them with knife in hand. Coming closer, the knife was swiftly knocked from his grasp, falling to the ground before a strong punch connected with his cheek. But it seemed that the Tigers had become even more desperate, digging themselves even lower as one member reached into his jacket to pull out a handgun. He looked confident with the deadly weapon in hand, aiming it directly at The Mercenary.
Shuji Hanma
Start from the beginning
