The assassin chased the woman down the hall, his gun in his hand. He was a professional killer with years of experience, and was one of the best in the business. He had shot and killed more politicians, movie stars, popstars, businessmen, and the like than he could even remember.
And yet he had never had as much trouble as he was having right now, chasing down the wife of that country music singer. Never would he have imagined that she would be so quick and light on her feet, running like the wind itself, her hair billowing out behind her like a dark banner.
He had yet to find the country singer, but until then, he’d settle with the wife first. Or so he thought. Now, he was reconsidering his actions. Maybe that guy would’ve been easier prey. But still, I don’t recall when I’ve had this much fun. A sneer spread over his mouth, and his eyes were alight with the murderous intent of killing the wife.
However, as he closed in on her, she suddenly disappeared right before his eyes. He skidded to a halt in shock, and had to go back over what had just happened in his mind. The woman hadn’t disappeared, but it sure seemed as though she had.
He replayed the events in his head, and was shocked to see that the woman had actually taken advantage of the stair railing, grabbed it with one hand as she raced past, and used her momentum to swing around down the stairs, making it seem as though she had disappeared.
His sneer grew wider. This woman was more fun than he had thought. He relish her death, down to its final moments, when he killed her.
Reloading his gun, he walked over to the stairs, hiding himself with his back pressed against the rails. He’d find that woman, without a doubt. She had to be around here somewhere. After all, there was no way she could outrun a bullet once he cornered her.
He was so busy imagining her dead body that he didn’t notice the figure that suddenly lunged out from the shadows until it was too late. By the time he began to react, her foot snapped out, and she kicked the silencer off the gun. Then her hand swung around, and she punched him right in the cheek, sending his sunglasses flying off, and revealing his face.
And as he staggered backwards, spitting blood and a tooth from his mouth, his eyes locked with hers. The moonlight illuminated the area around them, and he got his first good look at the woman.
The first thing he noticed was that this was no woman, but rather a young teenage girl. The shock was evident in his face once he realized that this girl was not his target, and that she was in fact Yusa Rowland, the famous actress from America.
And the two time world karate champion.
Yusa stood over her attacker, his face now revealed. She was shocked to see that he was only in his thirties, yet already a cold blooded killer. He had light brown hair, brown eyes, and a thick scar running in a diagonal across his face, starting at his left eyebrow and reaching down to the right side of his jaw bone.
“Who are you,” she demanded, “And why are you trying to kill me?”
The man didn’t reply, choosing to instead remain quiet as he wiped blood from the side of his mouth.
Yusa’s feelings of annoyance flared slightly. “Well? Say something.”
Again, the cold shoulder.
That did the trick. Yusa’s patience, already worn down past her limit, was shattered as her temper skyrocketed. She drew her fist back and smashed it into the wall an inch away from the man’s face, punching a hole clean through the wood to reveal the electric wiring. “Start talking already,” she snapped, “Or the next punch’ll break a bone!”
He smiled weakly. “Nice try, missy, but that’s not happening. No matter how good you are at karate, you can’t dodge a bullet.”
To prove his point, he raised his gun again, the barrel pointed straight at Yusa’s heart.
Yusa’s eyes narrowed. Can I dodge a bullet? No, not right now, not when I’m only a foot away from him. “You do realize that if you fire a shot right now, there won’t be a silencer muffling the noise, right? Or do you actually want the police hot on your heels?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. If I let you go, you’ll head straight to the cops and report me. You’ve seen my face now, so I can’t let you live. However, I’ll be generous and give you a few more moments to say your goodbyes before I blast you straight over to the other side.” A sneer spread over his face, and he had a wild look in his eyes.
“You’re insane,” said Yusa.
“No, I’m very sane. Perfectly normal. Nothing unusual.”
“You are insane. No, scratch that. You’ve completely lost your mind. Besides, I’m not your real target, right, Mr. Assassin?”
The man’s pupils slitted. “How do you know that?”
“I travel all over the world, attending tours, movie opening premiers, talk shows, and the like. Someone who travels like I do is bound to hear some news about some random killings. Isn’t that right, Dusche Raponov?”
Raponov’s gun barrel began shaking as Yusa continued. “You’re an internationally wanted assassin working under the codename Raponin, thirty-nine year old Dusche Raponov. Born in Moscow, Russia, you were hired by a mafia boss to eliminate his opposers over a decade ago. However, you were caught by a security camera and tracked down. Since then, you’ve fled from country to country, working jobs while hiding from the authorities. Isn’t that right?”
Raponov glared at her. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Shall I continue?”
“That would be appreciated, though it won’t do you any good.”
Yusa sighed. “You’re right, knowing more about your past won’t do me much good right now. In that case, I have some questions for you. First, what’re you doing here in Japan?”
“That’s none of your business, brat.”
“Second, why’re you at the Red Venus hotel? Are you meeting a client?”
“None of your business.”
Yusa let out a huff of exasperation. “Fine then. Third question it is. Why’re you after me? Did someone hire you to kill me?”
“None of your business.”
She scowled. “This is entirely my business, and right now, it’s only mine. Start talking, Raponov. I want an answer right now.”
She prepared to punch the wall again, until he cocked his gun. “Not so fast, missy. One wrong move and I’ll kill you.”
Yusa froze, her fist halfway in between punch and drawback. Raponov wasn’t kidding. He really meant it when he threatened to kill her. But how would she escape? He was going to kill her no matter what she tried.
Yusa slowly backed away until her back hit the wall. To her side, she could see the streets below through the window, the lights of cars driving up and down the street.
Horns honked in the distance, and the bright lights of buildings in the city lit up the night with thousands of multicolored lights.
Ah, Beika City, the place where she was born, and the resting place of her mother. It had been many years since Ruri’s death, yet the memory was as fresh as ever in Yusa’s mind. She had attended her mother’s funeral, having been in America at the time Ruri passed away. The funeral was held several days after Ruri died, and yet when Yusa went back to visit her mother’s hospital room, it still reeked of the sickly sweet smell of death. It clung to her skin, filled her nose, made her eyes water until she was furiously wiping the wet droplets away with the back of her hand. She hated that scent beyond anything on the face of the planet, and just remembering it gave her a queasy feeling like she was about to throw up right then and there. She actually did throw up once or twice.
Since that day where she visited the hospital room, Yusa had vowed that she would never smell that scent again, that horrible, awful scent, whether it be her own death or someone elses. She didn’t want to smell it, have to bear the idea that yet another person was forever gone from this world, having passed on into the next, leaving her behind like her mother had.
The click of the pistol’s safety being released jerked her back into the present, and her eyes narrowed, staring down the barrel of the gun. Raponov’s sneer spread even wider until it was a maniacal grin, his finger resting on the trigger. Yusa could feel cold sweat running down the back of her neck. Any moment now, and the bullet would come flying out of that gun, pierce through her flesh, and embed itself into her heart, or at least hit her vital organs, ultimately killing her.
Her fingers tightened into fists, her back pressed against the wall, while Raponov stood across from her. Neither one gave so much as a single twitch, waiting for the other to move.
Yusa’s mind was racing at five hundred miles an hour, desperately searching for a way out of the pinch she was in, when suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Apparently Raponov heard it too, and his eye twitched, the grin fading slightly.
Maybe it’s the cops. Maybe its Inspector Megure, or maybe Detective Sato. Are they looking for me? Yusa wondered. She was debating between calling out for them and keeping silent, and the footsteps grew closer and closer. Raponov’s hand tightened around the gun until his knuckles turned white.
The person was less than twenty feet away when all of a sudden, their phone rang. The sound was so loud in the otherwise silent hallway that Yusa gave a startled jump. The phone’s owner pulled out the phone, flipped it open, and answered. “Hello?”
Yusa froze. She knew that voice, she was sure of it. But from where? She listened harder, ears pricked to pick up the person’s next few words.
“Oh, it’s you, Ran! What's up? Is something wrong?”
The color drained from Yusa’s face, and the blood rushing to her head turned to ice. Sonoko! Ran’s friend, Sonoko Suzuki!