(Reader's POV)
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"There you are..."
I heard a woman's voice say behind me. I spun around and saw two glowing amber orbs. My eyes adjusted and I saw indeed a woman. She was tall and elegant and wore a tight dress that hugged her thin frame.
"Who are you?" I asked bravely. "Narumi Sakura. Second Grade..." Her silvery voice spoke, sending chills up my spine. She didn't need to tell me that she was a Second Grade, her orange aura already told me.
"It's impolite to not introduce yourself in this situation." I snapped out of my thoughts and tightened my grip on my sword. "Hunter. You're here to assassinate Hana, aren't you?"
"My, very straightforward. I like that..." She slowly strode to my left, still keeping her distance as she circled me. Her heels were clicking loudly against the concrete and I was very aware of my own breathing.
I kept watching her from the corner of my eye, high alert. "Hunter... Why won't you tell me the whereabouts of Miss Tsuyoshi?" She smiled gently but it held malicious intent, like a predator coaxing it's prey.
She acted all friendly but I knew to be wary. But she didn't know where Hana was. Good. Maybe I can take care of her before she reaches Hana.
So I stood my ground and waited for her to make the first move. I noticed something shimmering by her side. 'A knife? A sword?'
"Hey, I got a question for you. What do you get if you kill Hana? What's in it for you?" I asked. She just chuckled politely and stopped walking. "Why, money of course." I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth.
"So it's all about the money with you... How could you? Hana has done nothing wrong! Why go after her like this?" Narumi looked like she was thinking then answered, "I don't care if she's a saint or some lowlife, I get paid for bringing her head either way. Just a heads up, some of us here today aren't interested in killing just this girl..."
I arched a brow questioningly. "Wait then why are they here?"
"Haha! You don't know? She's not the only one with a bounty on her head!" My eyes widened. I had completely forgotten.
"Is that right? So you already knew who I was. Are you going to kill me too? Is that it?" She laughed again then sighed, still smiling.
"You know, I might just do that. It's a shame, really. I wanted to chit chat for a little longer. But I'm afraid I must cut this short, I have another target to kill before it gets away. I suspect she's already getting further and further away." She suddenly darted towards me with the shiny object and I narrowly dodged it.
Then I noticed, it wasn't a sword or a knife. It was her one hand. Instead of fingers, she had long sharp blades for nails. I stepped back and blocked another attack. She was extremely fast (even though she's in heels) and was laughing sadistically, dropping the refined act.
"I'll tear you to bits!" She hissed and leapt towards me. I suddenly felt disoriented and was standing on a different spot than a second ago. "Huh?" I turned around and saw the woman looking around frantically before laying her glowing eyes on me.
She leapt again and the feeling returned, this time I noticed seeing a swirl of blues mixed with pinks right before it happened. Now my katana was already raised in front of me and blocked her attack.
I glanced behind the sneering woman and saw Hana by the ramp. My eyes widened but saw that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Her eyes glowed brightly and I saw the flash of colours and was behind Narumi, sword raised.
'This must be her technique!'
I slashed downwards but missed. Another flash. I was next to her and attacked. Another flash. Another attack.
Hana's technique sent me forward in time. She completely gets rid of the time it takes to prepare an attack. So after I've swung my sword at her, she forwards time to when I've already raised the sword above me.
She did it again and I swung my leg through the air and it collided with her neck. She stumbled back and hacked and coughed as I ran towards her again.
But she raised a hand and it cut through my side when I tried to avoid her. I glance towards Hana and saw her on her knees. 'A technique this powerful must have some sort of repercussions. She can't keep using it.'
She attacked again and managed to cut my leg. "Shit!" I quickly used the other and swung it at her. She jumped back to dodge it and I swiftly sliced my katana through the air towards her neck.
She brought up her hand and a loud 'shing' sound was heard and echoed throughout the empty parking lot. She smiled widely with crazy eyes and clamped her nails around my sword, causing sparks to fly and not in the romantic way.
She pulled it to the side and brought her face close to mine. She brought her other hand to my throat and dug her manicured nails into my neck. I let go of my sword with my one hand and used it to try and pry her hand off my neck.
"Let her go!" Her wild eyes shifted towards the voice behind me.
'Hana, you idiot!'
"There you are..." She lifted me then threw me aside, my sword clattering out of reach.
I heard her scream and gazed towards the two. She had her in a similar position as I was in a second ago but her blades were piercing her arm and was pressing her against the wall. "No!" I snatched up my sword and dashed towards them.
She pulled her hand out of her flesh and deflected my sword, Hana's blood splattering over me and the floor. I froze at the sight and she threw me back and turned towards Hana again, disregarding me.
I ran up and lifted my sword in front of her face, the blade facing her and both my hands held it at both ends and pulled it towards me as if I were going to choke her with it.
She lifted her bladed hand to her neck and blocked it from going any further. I continued to pull and she was forced to step away from Hana.
I yanked her towards the wall and glanced at Hana who watched worriedly while holding her bleeding arm. 'Let's hope this works.'
She slipped out of my grip and I tossed my sword away and wrapped my arms tightly around Narumi. "Wh–" I suddenly pulled her forcefully towards the edge. "Are you mad?! We'll both die if we fall!"
"I'm counting on it."
Then I jumped.
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Chapter Audio: Back From The Dead by Skillet