RPG Kill Adam: Volume 1 [M-LSV]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[b]Then[/b] [i]

Jeanette Marie Diaz sat smiling in quiet anticipation, her black cylindrical leather case resting at her ankles. She loved bull fights; she loved the sadistic skill and the raw, unmerciful emotion that encompassed the sport, she loved that ballet like grace with which the matadors moved, and she loved the primal ferocity of the enraged bull. Jeanette was the embodiment of the term ?aficionado?.

Today two brilliant matadors were performing, the legendary Caesar Hector and his young protégé, Carlos Paho. Hector was considered the foremost matador of his time, and, despite having reached the twilight of his career, he still worked extremely close to the bulls, taking risks that would cause most in his profession to tremble. While Hector was the greatest bull fighter of his generation, his young protégé, Paho, had the potential of becoming the greatest bull fighter of all time. Courageous and brave, Paho worked within a hairs breadth of his bulls, relying solely on his own speed, skill, and agility rather than the usual feints, tricks, and misdirection tactics that others in his profession hid behind. Paho was fearless, humble, and cared deeply for Caesar Hector who was more like his father than a mentor.

A fanfare of trumpets bellowed and a giant bull was released onto the field. Jeanette had seen countless bulls in countless bull fights, but this beast was different. A torrent of hooves and horns, it seemed to possess the strength and stamina of a herd of ferocious bulls. The toreador?s piccadillos broke upon the beasts hide as it gored and gorged their frightened horses. Realizing that the bull would not be broken easily, Paho waved the riders off of the field and approached the bull. Brandishing a velvet cape and his wickedly sharp muletto Carlos Paho locked eyes with the bull and unwavering electricity shot between their eyes. The bull charged. Holding his ground the bold young matador tightly gripped his red cape. For a moment Paho and the Bull were one, then, with uncanny speed the matador pirouetted away from the bull. The great beast slid and turned to face Paho, the two stared at each other for another electric moment, then Paho fell, a bright crimson flower blossomed on his shirt.

Snorting translucent steam, the bull glared mockingly at the fallen matador. Stamping a hoof, it lowered its massive head and prepared to charge. Across the stadium a flutter of crimson caught the bull?s attention in mid stride. Caesar Hector took the field. [/i]

[b]Now[/b] [color=indigo]

Jeanette stood over Joshua, lightly licking her lips as his blood pooled onto the stadium floor. Raising both her rapier and her dagger, Jeanette readied for her coup de grace. Her action was halted by a cold flash of blackened steel. In a smooth fluid motion Jeanette leapt four or five feet backwards, narrowly escaping the snakelike blade.

?That is my friend,? snarled a dark man, his katana wavering with decisive malice. Jeanette smiled and hissed a catlike hiss at her new opponent, who was strong and lithe and held his sword in an arrogantly careful manner. The two combatants danced for a few moments, locking eyes and testing wills, trying to force the other to misjudge their footwork and gain the upper hand. Then, in a moment of finality, they both rushed at each other. The man struck first, aiming a diagonal blow at Jeanette. The sword cut through empty air where she had been a moment before. Swiftly and silently the blade retreated to a defensive position only to strike out snakelike again and again.

Dodging the man?s deft strokes Jeanette looked for an opening. Her opponent was skillful, very skillful, but Saint Death noticed a subtle fault and struck. When the man lunged forward Jeanette caught his blade obliquely, pinning it between her rapier and her dagger. Holding tightly to both blades the angel side stepped and turned her hips into her attacker to ward off any incoming kicks and to gain leverage. Smiling at the katana wielding man, Jeanette slid her dagger down his black blade towards the man?s throat. She laughed spitefully as the friction sent sparks flying between the blades. [/color]

[b]Then[/b] [i]

Caesar Hector valiantly battled the massive bull. However, with every flutter of his velvet cape the experienced matador came closer and closer to falling beneath the animal. In a final vain attempt Hector dropped his cape and drew his muletta. Holding the sword at eye level, the matador took a gamble and swung at the bull?s throat. Missing its mark, the silver blade clattered against the beast?s great horns and was sent flying across the arena. Hector closed his eyes as the bull charged. He felt the heat of the bull?s breath and the stink of its fur, but he didn?t feel the anticipated impact. Opening his eyes to the roar of the stadium, the aged matador saw his bloodied protégé straddling the great bull, his muletta protruding from both sides of its thick neck. [/i]

[b]Now[/b] [color=indigo]


Jeanette?s opponent shut his eyes as hot sparks caressed his cheek. The dagger made a noise not unlike that of a nail on a chalk board as it slid towards his throat. He knew he had been bested and he knew he was going to die. All of a sudden the noise halted and the pressure against his black sword eased so quickly it caused him to stumble forward. He opened his eyes and stared into Saint Death?s smiling face. Maroon tinted blood bubbled grotesquely from her barred lips and large butcher knife pierced her swan like neck. Behind her, Joshua sat crumpled, broken and bloodied on the stadium ground. [/color]

[b]Then[/b] [i]

Jeanette Marie Diaz left the bull fight upset. She realized she just witnessed a pinnacle moment in bull fighting history, but she would have savored the match so much more if the bull had come out the victor. [/i]

[Shy]

[center]
[b]Crying' Time[/b][/center]

It was through a random encounter that we were able to have our conversation ? Jamie?s train from the bathhouse had been delayed, so I spent a good deal of that afternoon waiting for him at the Azabu Juuban station. I sat by one of the newsstands for a few hours, catching up on the few ?Western? publications that were available in this city. Adam had tried to teach me to read the kanji during my time in prison, but I never bothered to become literate in anything other than English. I admit that I don?t have a lot of interest in Hollywood celebrities, but given the right amount of boredom I?ll read anything. The train station was quiet that day. The children were still in school, and the commuters were still working hard at their desk jobs. Assuming that Jamie?s train didn?t take too much longer to arrive, we would be able to enjoy a nice evening together before the restaurants became too crowded. This was the most important thing in my life at the time. Revenge was still a priority, but after the battles we had just been through I?d like to one last night together, one where I don?t have to think about Adam. I was buried in my tabloid magazine when I heard a familiar voice from behind. ?Is this how all of your assassins like to pass your time? Gossip and movie stars?? My eyes veered from the page, and discovered that Yasuo?s daughter was standing directly behind me. She looked beautiful than when I had seen her before. The conservative business dress that she once wore had changed into a more elegant black dress. ?I?m waiting for Jamie. He had some out of town business to take care of. This magazine is just here to pass the time.? ?I guess that?s the difference between us, Cowboy. You?re content here waiting for someone to show up, while I?m on my way to seek someone out.? ?Anyone of note?? I asked, feigning curiosity as I put the magazine back onto its shelf. ?An old flame,? She thoughts to herself for a moment and smiled, ?I guess that?s what you would call him. My father never supported my relationships, even when I let him choose the suitor.? ?A lot of people aren?t happy with the choices they make,? I placed my reading material back onto the shelf. ??what about you? Are you happy with the life you have made for yourself?? Jeanette?s cold body was lying right next to me, or so I?m told. I was unconscious at the time ? in fact, I was unconscious for most of that trip. That?s what happens when you make a mistake in the presence of an Angel, Jamie reminded me later on about how lucky I was to have survived that encounter. He was lucky too, you know. Sometimes that man gave himself a lot more credit than he deserved.

[size=1]-Shy[/size]

[James]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 4: Adam's Switch[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, we learn about Ann Dominion's first battle with Adam. She was hired by a group of Japanese thugs to take him out for reasons unknown. But when she confronted him, he overwhelmed her with his skill and precision. She then decided to work for him; it was that, or death. [b]Characters:[/b] Ann Dominion (AKA "Switch") [b]Setting:[/b] Osaka, Japan

Note: Sweetreyes, you're going to have to re-read your sign-up for Kill Adam, if you do not remember it.

[url="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=33055&page=3&pp=15&highlight=Kill+Adam"]You can view it by clicking here.[/url]

This chapter will be all about your fight with Adam. I anticipate that it will only require one post from you (since nobody plays Adam). So, the post will probably need to be quite long. Anyway, good luck -- and be creative! ^_^

[Hinata]

OOC: Arigatou.. James..heheh after not being here for a while I needed that lil history lesson. But with the spotlight on me I hope I can really do this post well. Anyways here it goes! Sorry it took so long didn't really know how to open this so I did my best! ENJOY!!!
[SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][COLOR=royalblue]

24 hours before mission.....

"Hey Ann, come here."

The thin looking woman came out from behind the beaded curtain, into the living area of her boss, Kana Watanabe. Kana wasn't there that evening but she was still allowed access to his home for routine surveillance as well as pleasing the company who came by. Tonight though was all about business though as her latest victim sat unknowingly in the area becoming more and more intoxicated as his plump figure sat on the sofa.

His name, Kenneth Stevens, an American buyer, who stood all but in the way of Mr. Watanabe's purchase of an over-sea business. He, Kenneth, was the right hand man, of the man who owned the business, and also a hard bargainer for the company. He looked to be in his forty but much too bald and much too fat to be any true threat, but he still had his wits about him. Wits that were now being drowned away with every sip of the drink he was consuming.

"Yes, Mr. Stevens?" She asked politely as she walked in the room wearing only a black bra and thong. Her black hair was now to her shoulders, but it was all to impress the company. In her hands was a tray with many h'or derves some of them expensive sushi left by Kana others especially made by Ann.

?Come and sit next to me sexy,? he patted the seat next to him and she came willingly to him placing the tray down in front of him, placing her buttock right in front of his face.

?Are you trying to tell me something by doing that,? he said rubbing his hand up and down her thigh and buttocks.

She turned towards him and smiled before sitting next to him.

?Maybe,? she said and grabbed two pieces of sushi. She moved her legs unto him and kissed him. Then slowly withdrew her lips, ?Here try this.? She places a piece of the fish into his waiting mouth.

?Hmm? she heard as he began to chew. Instantaneously his body began to convulse and shake.

Ann stood up and walked into the kitchen and retrieved the camera as Kenneth sat on the sofa his eyes widening as he knew that he was being killed.

?Smile for Mr. Kana Watanabe.? She snapped the picture as Kenneth eyes rolled to the back of his head and he laid motionlessly on the sofa. She went straight into the bedroom and called her people.

?It?s done send in the crew?..?[/COLOR][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]


There were plenty ?party- favors? the next day, she was thanked and thanked again by Mr. Watanabe by the wonderful job she had provided. Even her co-workers were impressed. [I] Poison[/I] That was the kicker, but it would also help when they did an autopsy on Mr. Stevens. They wouldn?t be able to find it, but luckily the piece of sushi she fed him was puffer fish which was at times known to kill a person.

?Aw, Ann,? Mr. Watanabe came up to her with a big gleaming smile on his face. ? I am happy with your work and you have progressed well.?

[I] Yeah if you consider 5 years progress.[/I] Her head filled with anger but the smile on her face remained.

?That is why I have a new assignment for you.? He said placing his hand on her back and walking her into a private room, already filled with other important men she had worked for.

?And what will it be this time Mr. Watanabe, the janitor that refuses to clean.?

He smiled with her comment, playing it off as another of her jokes. But she was serious?seriously sick of the mediocre killings of stupid and weak men and women. She was ready for a change but wasn?t going to put up with the ******** Kana kept sending her.

?I wish it was that simple Ann,? he replied closing the door behind her.

?Here?s his profile,? another man slid a stack of papers in front of Ann, she flipped through it obviously unimpressed.

?And what?s he about?? She closed the file just as quickly as she opened it.

?That you must find out on your own?..?[/COLOR][COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]




?That?s where he is staying right,? she asked checking her disguise in the mirror.

She had to cut her hair once more but this time it was vital. She was to impersonate one of the maids and had to cut her hair to accommodate the look.

?Yes,? Kai answered, ?Room 544.? He took her wrist as she adjusted her hair once more. ?Be careful Ann, he?s not as easy as you think.?

?Thanks for the concern,? she said looking a bit spiteful of his comment, ? I?ll be alright.?

She snatched away her hand from him and left the car, he drove off a few seconds later and she went to the employee?s entrance of the hotel. She said hello to many of the employees, many of them falling for the act. Others just shocked by the resemblance and thinking she was new. Who cares it worked. She found a cleaning cart and went on to the floor.

With her weapons easily hidden under the uniform she went straight to the room and hoped he would be there. She wanted to end this quickly. She had to. She didn?t need to waste time with this guy. And that she didn?t.

[I] Room 544[/I] A smile came on her face as she read the number on the door. She knocked lightly,? Housekeeping.? She said in Japanese trying her hardest to keep up the façade. She heard no reply and entered the room.

She moved the cart into the door way and looked around the room for a moment. [I] Damnit he?s not here?[/I] Before she could turn to walk out of the room, she was hit hard on the head.[/COLOR][COLOR=Blue]



She looked around, complete darkness surrounded her. She hadn?t been bound but could still sense she was somehow not alone.

[I] A match was lit.[/I] She turned around quickly and saw a lone figure standing in dime light.

?Here to kill me huh,? He said flicking on switch revealing a medium sized and yet empty room. ?Well here?s your chance.?

From behind him a female quickly entered the room and through Ann?s says towards her. The abruptly turning out once again to leave.

?H-how did you??

?Are you here to talk or kill??

Ann smirked at the comment and raised herself slowly from the ground and walked a few step to her weapons.

[I] Just what I wanted?[/I] She let out a deep breathe and charged at the man. It was her target but she knew killing him would be well worth the trouble?.


Five minutes?.that?s all she had lasted? and that number replayed in her head over and over again. She rose slowly from the floor after what seemed hours laying in her own blood. Her arm, her back, her abdomen, her face. He hadn?t been nice in the fight and showed how much he did now of the assignment. He taunted her. Made fun of her.

?You?re only a pawn my dear Ann?.He knew you wouldn?t win?..?


She was not only hurt physically but her pride had been scarred as well. A pawn. She?d make him pay?


The note on her door was short sweet and to the point. She hadn?t yet gone to be bandaged up but did a half-assed job herself.

?You failed?. Show your face again and you?ll be dead?.Kai?


She hit her door hard and walked into the small apartment Mr. Watanabe had set up for her. It was cleared out. All her things gone. He was quick to get her out of the organization.

?DAMN HIM!? She yelled and turned to walk out the door. It had only been 6 hours and he had already packed her away. She had nothing. She had nothing, [I] A PAWN[/I] As he had put it.

?Hey you!?

Ann?s head moved quickly to the door where a dark haired woman was standing, the same one who threw her the sais. Her eyes widened but was a bit curious with the visit.

?Here to finish me off?? Ann asked taking one of her sais from behind her back.

?If you don?t accept this offer from Adam then the answer to that is yes.? The dark haired woman, later identified as Lelia took the letter from out of her pocket and threw it onto the floor. ?Get it, read it, you have one minute to decide.?

Obviously angered at the threat Ann moved to pick up the letter. It was plain and concise.


[CENTER] Ann,
You lasted longer than I thought.
That impressed me. Join my organization
or your life as you know it, is over.

Adam [/CENTER]

?Ten seconds dearie.? Lelia said.

It only took her one more second to answer, ?I?ll go.?

Lelia smirked at Ann and then turned her back. ?C?mon then ?Switch.? We gotta go get you cleaned up and back on the streets.?

Ann slowly followed the woman still a bit weary and yet confused by this new ?organization? she was a part of. She didn?t voice her concerns, she just went along with it. But she was wondering about Lelia?s comment.

?Back on the streets for what?? She moved down the stairs still a few paces behind Lelia, her weapon back behind her.

Lelia smiled. ?He?s wants you to kill your old boss, and anyone else who stands in the way of you accomplishing that.?

Ann?s eyes opened wide with the comment, but she liked the idea already. Revenge on those who doubted her. The ones who set her up to fail. The ones who took everything she had away from her. She laughed a bit causing Lelia to turn around.

?Don?t want to do it?? She said quickly turning around and putting a gun to the woman?s head.

Ann kept laughing for a bit and then moved the gun out of her face. She moved down one more step keeping her eyes glued onto Lelia?s.

Her laughing began to subside. ?You have no idea? hw wonderful that sounds. When can I start?? [/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[James]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 7: Adam Talks Revenge[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, Jamie has a rare discussion with Adam. The chapter takes place just after Soju goes missing, but before Jamie and Joshua decide to undertake their revenge. [b]Characters:[/b] Jamie Kidd, "Adam" [b]Setting:[/b] Osaka, Japan

Note: This is quite a short chapter; it is primarily dialogue driven. We already have quite a few chapters (far more than the "Kill Bill" movie), so I'm preparing to wrap up Volume 1.

There [i]will[/i] be approximately two more chapters (depending on what I decide to hold over for the next story, or for something else). Some of you will have had relatively short appearances in this first story, but like the movie itself, the story must have a focus and it is impossible for me to accommodate everyone to an equal degree.

Since I want to avoid double posting, I shall add another chapter [i]after[/i] my post for this chapter. Any chapters that are "missing" by the end of Volume 1 are missing/omitted because I intend to cover them elsewhere. This RPG has already been quite a long one...so let's go out with a bang and make it memorable, shall we?

The doors were definitely oak and they felt heavier than they looked, when Jamie finally pushed them open. The entire building was dark, as it usually was. It also seemed to be entirely empty; corridor after corridor of doors, with very few lights. Jamie knew that it was deliberate. The building had already been through a couple of raids by the Osaka police and the entire area was well-prepared for more to come. For his part, Jamie was still confused. He had entered the building as always; getting in simply because everyone knew who he was. And usually, on any normal day (or those that Jamie would consider normal), there would be an Angels meeting waiting for him in the conference room. Today was different; Jamie could feel it. It was tangible. Everything looked darker and every door was tougher to push open. It was as though the hinges had all rusted long ago, but Jamie knew that there was only one reason why he felt this way. And that reason's name was Adam. As Jamie entered the darkened conference room, he saw the familiar elliptical table, stretching off into its pitch black bowels. Was the room a lot smaller than usual, today? No, not likely. It was just darker and colder...emptier. But it wasn't empty; Jamie could see a faint glint of silver somewhere at the back of the room. A blade. Adam's blade. Jamie stood at the head of the table and didn't move. He was ready for anything. His muscles were tense and his eyes examined every shape and silhouette, for a trace of movement. If there was one thing that Adam had taught all of his Angels over the years, it was that he was unpredictable and dangerously so. "Take a seat," said a cool-but-husky voice from somewhere nearby. "I might be your enemy now, but I haven't lost my manners." Jamie approached the nearest chair, at the table's end, and sat down on it. He didn't remove his blade, for fear that the two of them may not be alone. The room was dark and Adam [i]never[/i] went anywhere without protection. The silver speck in the distance twinkled brightly in the darkness. A single, thin ray of sunlight was now creeping through the blinds, lifting the black veil somewhat; Jamie could see Adam's hand, gripping the katana's hilt tightly. He massaged it lovingly, as though it were one of his Angels. "I know what you did," said Jamie quietly. His voice broke the silence and was soon followed by a shallow, husky laugh. "You do, now?" replied Adam, a sense of mild fun in his voice. "I suppose it was obvious. Only two types of crime happen in this town; the stuff I do myself, or the stuff I know about." Jamie's voice stuttered a little as he spoke. "Should I bother asking why you did it? What did you get out of it? He was our son." "Mmm," Adam hummed for a moment, as though he were considering his response. "You're asking the wrong question, Kidd. What you really should be asking, is why you got attached to that boy in the first place? You know that I demand loyalty from my Angels." "Joshua and I weren't your Angels, but we were loyal." Jamie knew that Adam was smiling now; he could somehow sense it. "No, you're right. You weren't my Angels. But the two of you owed me, make no mistake about that. Joshua was released from prison thanks to me. And you were given a high-paying job, thanks to me." "And we did our job. What difference does Soju make?" "You got attached, Kidd. You and your ***** got attached. And it made both of you soft and weak. My Angels are loyal to me, but do you think any of them would avoid slitting my throat if they thought there was a profit in it? You bet your *** they wouldn't." Jamie paused. It seemed to him that Adam had something in mind, that this discussion was going somewhere. But where? "Okay, so you have Soju," said Jamie, "is that enough?" Adam sighed. "It's never enough." Jamie stood up from his chair slowly. He could see the silver glint flickering back and forth, but he knew that Adam wasn't standing. "Leaving so soon?" asked Adam, in what almost sounded like a mocking tone. Jamie grabbed his katana tightly and thrust it into the boardroom table, which let out a thunderous snapping sound, as an enormous crack snaked its way across the surface. Adam didn't move. The sliver speck remained in position. "Are you intending to kill me, Kidd?" A grin ran across Jamie's lips, as he gripped the sword tightly. "Killing you here and now wouldn't even begin to do justice." Adam laughed once more, but this time it sounded far more genuine. He apparently found the whole situation quite humorous. "You can try your luck," said Adam. "I'll do even better than that," said Jamie flatly, "I'll get revenge. Pure, old-fashioned revenge. I won't kill you yet; I'll kill your Angels first. And then, when you're all alone...I'll come for you." Adam didn't laugh. He gripped the hilt of his blade a little more tightly; Jamie could hear the leather creak in his fist. "Killing me isn't enough?" "It's never enough."

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 5: Two Sides of the Coin[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, we learn about Shinmaru Hazuki's history, in two seperate flashbacks. The first deals with the development (and emergence) of his "personality disorder". The second deals with his entrance into the Southern Vipers gang. [b]Characters:[/b] Two-Face (AKA Shinmaru Hazuki) [b]Setting:[/b] Unknown

Note: Shin, I'm throwing you a curve ball here; your sign-up never explained how Two-Face developed his two identities, nor did it explain how he joined the gang.

This is not a deficiency though. In fact, it's a good thing; now you have the opportunity to jump into his past somewhat, with your post. By fleshing out this character's past (and others), we can build up a history to the story which will allow us to develop future RPGs and such, using these same (and related) characters.

[Shinmaru]

OOC: It took forever, but I?m finally done. Huzzah!

---

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the best of times on the outside, and the worst of times on the inside. Growing up only seemed to encompass the best for Shinmaru. He lived in a nice house, went to the most prestigious schools in the country and was extremely wealthy. However, as we all know, appearances can be very deceiving and this holds very true in our little tale?

[center][b][u]Heads: Personality Crisis[/u][/b][/center]

Shinmaru walked home slowly, knowing exactly what was coming to him when he got home. He had been struggling mightily in school as of late and his father was not very appreciative of this fact. Shinmaru?s father demanded absolute perfection out of even his merest of acquaintances; Shinmaru himself was not so lucky; he could never hope to live up to his father?s punishing expectations.

Shinmaru slowly approached his home, the door looming larger with each step he took. He could feel himself shrinking with each slow stride. By the time he got to the door, it seemed an impossibility that he could even think of opening it.

Shinmaru stretched his arm out at the brass doorknob, but he couldn?t reach it, nor did he want to reach it. However, in spite of this, the door opened. Shinmaru contemplated running away for a few seconds, but he knew that this would only make matters worse. He did not see how things could be any worse, but he knew his father would find a way. He always found a way to make things worse.

Shinmaru advanced lingeringly towards his father?s room. He knew he had to go in there, but lumbering through the massive stretch of hallway on the way to his father?s room was like walking across a bed of hot coals. His feet burned with pain after each step, but he never loitered, not even for a second. At long last, Shinmaru finally reached his father?s room. He turned the doorknob and, with a soft creak, the door opened.

Shinmaru closed the door, enveloping the room in darkness for a split-second, before the light turned on. His father sat in a chair across from him, for a mere moment looking like death was eating away at him. He stood up and assumed the full strength that his presence commanded as he glared down at his only offspring.

?I saw your report card,? Shinmaru?s father said icily.

?I--? Shinmaru started.

?Don?t try to feed me any of your ********,? his father growled. ?I?m sick and ******* tired of telling you this every time you get your grades!?

?The courses are too difficult!? Shinmaru yelled. ?None of the kids are doing well!?

?Any son of mine should rise above the challenge,? Shinmaru?s father shot back. ?[i]I[/i] rose above it when I was a kid.? Shinmaru knew that this was a lie. He had come across a record of his father?s grades when he had gone to the school and they were no better than his own; a bit worse, in fact. Shinmaru?s father did not get into the position he was in because of hard work and grades.

?You know, I try to be a good father,? Shinmaru?s father started. ?But I can?t help but be ******* ashamed of you every time I see your god damned grades! They make me sick!? Shinmaru decided that arguing further with his father would get him nowhere. He fought the tears welling up in his eyes because he knew that if his father saw even a hint of weakness, he would pounce upon it like a scavenger. However, one tear rolled down that Shinmaru neglected to catch onto and his father punched him across the cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.

?You gonna ******* cry now?!? Shinmaru?s father yelled. ?Jesus Christ, I didn?t know I was raising a crybaby!? His father kicked him in the ribs a couple times, but Shinmaru refused to utter even one grunt of pain, lest his father act upon that, too. His father kept beating on him until he was satisfied and glared down at him. ?Get the hell out of my sight. You?re no son of mine.? Shinmaru stumbled out of the room and the door slammed shut. Shinmaru immediately fell to the floor and coughed out a short stream of blood. His father?s words kept ringing in his head. ?You?re no son of mine??

?If I?m not his son,? Shinmaru thought. ?Then who am I?? Shinmaru forced himself to stand up and he limped toward his room. He made it to his room without losing too much blood and entered his room, locking the door behind him. Shinmaru sighed wearily and made his way over to his bed, several thoughts buzzing around his head at one time. He decided to use this time to read a comic or two and took out a couple of his favorite Batman comics.

Shinmaru read these comics for a couple hours, completely engrossed in the world of Gotham City. One character, in particular, had always struck Shinmaru as interesting: Harvey ?Two-Face? Dent. Shinmaru was captivated with learning about Two-Face and the different aspects of his personalities. After Shinmaru was done reading, he set his comic book back in its special spot and rolled back onto his bed, hands clasped behind his head.

Shinmaru tried to rest but he couldn?t. He rolled over continuously, back and forth, from one side of the bed to the other. He just couldn?t get comfortable. He felt a dull ache on both sides of his head. He blinked a couple times and his vision began to blur slightly. He thought he could hear whispers in the back of his mind.

A few minutes passed and the whispers began to grow louder, the aches in the sides of his head growing sharper. Shinmaru rolled over again and sat up on the edge of his bed. The pains in the side of his head were pounding, mercilessly beating his brains in. He grimaced and raised his hands against the sides of his head in a vain attempt to stop the pain. When this did not work, he staggered slowly to his feet and tried to walk over to his desk, where he kept his aspirin.

This was easier said than done. Shinmaru?s vision was blurred to the point where he couldn?t tell one thing from another. He fumbled around the room, tripping a couple times. He was reduced to crawling agonizingly towards his desk, where he grasped the edge of it with a shaking hand. He forced himself to his feet and, after feeling around the desk for a few seconds, picked up the bottle of aspirin. He struggled for a few seconds to open the bottle and took out a white pill. He raised it to his mouth, but before he put the pill into his mouth, his headache suddenly disappeared.

Shinmaru blinked twice and his vision was restored, as well. He walked back over to the edge of his bed and sat down. He could still hear two voices arguing clearly in the back of his mind, but it was not painful to listen to the phantoms of his imagination. In fact, it was quite pleasurable to hear them speak their minds.

?He has to die, you know.?

?I agree, but wouldn?t it be a bit preferable to have some justification for our actions first??

?Justification? What the hell are you talking about? He deserves to die. That?s all the justification that we need.?

?Without justification, killing is a senseless act.?

?Senseless? Killing makes my senses real, it makes me feel.?

?You know damn well that?s not what I meant.?

?Regardless, you know as well as I do that the man can?t go on living.?

?I know that and you know that. But the boy has some sort of attachment to him, despite how much of a dick the old man is. He?s family, you know.?

?The kid will go along with us. He likes us.?

?Is that so??

?Yes. He wants to kill the old man as much as we do.?

?We?ll just say that he would have ended up killing the boy eventually and use that as justification. Is that all right with you??

?Sounds good to me.? Shinmaru snapped to attention. He felt his head and looked around. He was still in his room. He had dozed off for a few minutes?he thought so, at least. He could not remember dozing off, but he had been unaware of things for a few minutes. That was the only logical explanation.

Shinmaru stood up and walked over to his door. He opened it and stepped outside. He walked over to his father?s room and brought his hand to the doorknob. His hand stopped just above the doorknob, however. Shinmaru began having some second thoughts about this. He turned around and walked down the side hallway to the lounge area.

The room was darkened, except for the glow of the fire which was roaring in the back of the room. Shinmaru approached the fire, feeling the warmth against his skin. The color of the flames flickered against the darkness that was enveloping Shinmaru?s body, on and off, on and off. He spotted a poker in a rack by the fireplace. He picked it up and held it in his hands, staring down at it. The poker was made of a blackened iron, long and a bit rough, the end split apart a bit to better mix and stimulate the ashes in a fire.

Shinmaru slid the poker back and forth in his hands, getting a feel for the poker. A slow smile spread across his lips, as he chuckled to himself. He inserted the split end of the poker into the fire and held it there for a few minutes, while it turned white hot. As soon as this was done, Shinmaru walked back over to his father?s room and knocked on the door.

?What is it?? his father asked.

?I want to talk to you,? Shinmaru replied.

?I thought I told you to stay the hell away,? his father said.

?It?s urgent,? Shinmaru said. ?I need to speak to you right now.? Shinmaru?s father sighed.

?Fine, but make it quick,? his father said. ?The door?s open.? Shinmaru opened the door and stepped inside, hiding the poker behind his leg. His father spoke up again. ?What do you want, boy??

?Turn around,? Shinmaru said quietly.

?What?? his father asked incredulously.

?Turn around,? Shinmaru repeated, his voice cool and completely devoid of emotion. Shinmaru?s father rolled his eyes, sighed and turned around.

?What the hell is it?? he yelled before staring into Shinmaru?s eyes. Shinmaru?s father?s eyes widened with horror. These eyes were not the eyes of the son that he had beaten mercilessly for over sixteen years?yet, they were one and the same. There was a certain psychotic nature to the look that Shinmaru was giving his father right now and there was also a certain familiarity; like Shinmaru could have, should have, done this all along.

?That?s right,? Shinmaru said, a psychotic grin spreading across his face. ?You see it, don?t you? Daddy?s little boy is all grown up. Do you like it? Do you?? His father paled considerably, though he was still standing. He couldn?t move at all, it was like his feet were rooted straight into the ground.

Shinmaru took a couple steps backward. His father was shaking like it was the middle of winter. Shinmaru took out the poker from behind his leg and pointed the white-hot end at his father.

?You like this, don?t you?? Shinmaru asked. Before his father could answer, Shinmaru reared the poker back and brought it full force into his father stomach. His father?s throat was immediately clogged with blood and he couldn?t utter even a hint of pain. Shinmaru removed the poker with a jerk, sending chunks of flesh and innards across the floor. His father fell to the ground, expelling the blood that was caught in his throat.

?Don?t hurt me anymore!? Shinmaru?s father managed to gasp. ?Please, don?t hurt me!? Shinmaru looked at him with a hurt look on his face.

?Hurt you?? Shinmaru asked, looking around the room. ?Did I hear you right?? Shinmaru cupped his hand over his ear and bent a bit closer to his father?s mouth.

?Don?t hurt me!? Shinmaru?s father rasped once more, his throat raw with pain. Shinmaru shook his head back and forth.

?I [i]did[/i] hear right!? Shinmaru said. ?I?m not a dangerous guy. I don?t want to hurt you.? Shinmaru held his arms out to his father, as if he was pleading with him. His father?s stomach was still bleeding profusely, but he still found the strength to crawl away from Shinmaru, inch by inch.

?Get?get away?from me?? Shinmaru?s father whispered violently, still crawling away from Shinmaru.

?I don?t want to hurt you, daddy,? Shinmaru said. His father groped against his desk and managed to pull himself up to his knees. ?I just want to bash your brains in. Bash them [i]straight the **** in[/i]!? Shinmaru swung the poker back like a baseball player, then swung it forward into the side of his father?s head, shattering bone and sending it straight into his eye, bursting it with a flourish of blood.

?That?s the stuff!? Shinmaru yelled. ?That?s the kind of show I wanted to see!? Shinmaru continued to strike his father?s skull with the poker, hit by hit, blow by blow, until his father?s skull was an unrecognizable mass of flesh, blood and bone. Shinmaru?s breath rasped out in short, quick breaths, almost unable to contain the raw excitement he was feeling. The poker had finally begun to cool down and was dulling back to its normal black color.

Shinmaru looked from the poker, which was covered in blood, to the lifeless body of his father. A small, short chuckle escaped from his mouth, then another. He began to chortle a bit, quietly at first, then louder and louder still. The chortling developed into full-fledged laughter as Shinmaru was unable to control himself. For several minutes, he laughed at the top of his lungs. Then, as suddenly as he started, he stopped laughing.

?This man got what he deserved,? Shinmaru said. ?The powers that be decided that he would get his long ago. I?m just his personal Angel of Death.? Shinmaru raised the poker into the air and plunged it down into his father?s spine. The body spasmed a few times before finally coming to rest. ?I shed a tear for you,? Shinmaru said, mockingly wiping a tear from his left eye. He was about to turn and leave when he spotted something.

There was a box on his father?s desk. A small box, no larger than those used to carry wedding rings around. The box was opened slightly. The object in the box reflected what little light was in the room back at Shinmaru. He looked closer and realized that this was his father?s lucky penny. The penny was like a beacon of light in the middle of the darkness of his father?s desk. Shinmaru was drawn to it, as he had never been drawn to anything in his life. He picked up the penny and felt an electrical charge run through his hands. The penny was nothing less than pure power.

He ran it through his hands for a couple minutes, completely enraptured with this newfound item. He flicked it quickly using his thumb, the penny making a small pinging noise. The penny turned over and over in the air coming to a rest in Shinmaru?s palm. He smiled down at the penny and pocketed it.

?Well, my lucky little friend,? Shinmaru said. ?You didn?t work very well for my good old pops, but maybe you?ll work well for me, eh?? He walked out of the room and was about to head to the door. However, he stopped at the phone first and dialed for the police.

?Hello, operator?? Shinmaru said.

?Yes?? the operator answered in a smooth voice.

?I just killed my father,? Shinmaru answered. ?Did a real good job on him, too. Bashed his ******* brains in and everything. The whole area is rather messy. You guys might want to check it out.?

?Wait, who is this?!? the operator yelled, before Shinmaru hung up. He opened the door and walked outside, never coming near his house again.

[center][b][u]Tails: Revenge of the Minds[/u][/b][/center]

[i]Cling.

Cling.

Cling.[/i]

The old man couldn?t believe that he had been reduced to this type of life. Reduced to recon missions, reduced to passing along information to people like his current employer and, most of all, reduced to being chased along like a piece of meat by people like the young punk hunting him down. The old man turned a corner quickly and found himself staring at a dead end alleyway.

?Damn,? he swore under his breath. ?I?ll have to get out of here before??

?Going somewhere?? a voice asked behind him. The old man turned around and looking into the grinning face of Shinmaru, staring down at him from the shadows. The old man tried to flee, but his actions were too fast for his body to keep up with and he tripped onto the ground.

?How did you get here so fast?? the old man asked.

?I know this city just as well as you do,? Shinmaru replied. ?Need some help?? Shinmaru held out his hand to the old man. The old man stared up at Shinmaru quizzically before deciding that he really had no choice other than to take Shinmaru?s offer to help him up. As soon as he grabbed Shinmaru?s arm, the old man was jerked to his feet and felt a sharp pressure against his throat.

?Now, now, now, you didn?t think you would get out of this that easily, did you?? Shinmaru asked. ?You have to give a little before you receive, understand?? The old man rasped out a choke in response. ?What was that?? Shinmaru loosened his hold on the old man?s throat very slightly.

?I don?t understand what you want!? the old man yelled angrily. ?Adam doesn?t want you!?

?That?s not what I heard,? Shinmaru said, nicking the old man?s throat slightly with his lucky penny, just to assure him that death was close by. ?I heard that Adam wanted me dead. A death mark from someone of the stature of Adam puts a bit of a damper on business, wouldn?t you say??

?Look, it?s not my problem if you run out of people who want you to kill for them, but, believe me, Adam doesn?t want you dead,? the old man chuckled slightly. ?I doubt he even knows who you are. You?re not really on his priority list, if you know what I mean.? The old man saw red less than a second later as he struck the dirty, concrete ground headfirst. He looked up at Shinmaru, eyes widen, heart beating a mile a minute. Shinmaru stared back coldly.

?You?re not in a position to insult me, my friend,? Shinmaru said, placing a bit of sarcastic emphasis on ?my friend?. The old man tried to get up and dust some of the dirt off his suit, but he was pulled up roughly, right back into the position that Shinmaru had him in a few seconds earlier. The old man was now sweating profusely, not because he was tired, but because he was honestly afraid for his life.

?So, if the death mark isn?t on me, then who is it on?? Shinmaru asked.

?Well?they call him the Desert Taipan,? the old man said reluctantly, knowing that he couldn?t argue with Shinmaru, no matter how hard he tried. ?Only a few select people know his true name. They say he?s the leader of a gang called the Southern Vipers. He?s got a grudge against Adam, or so I hear.?

?Interesting,? Shinmaru muttered to himself. ?Any idea where these ?Southern Vipers? may be at the moment??

?That?s for Adam?s ears only,? the old man said, and then regretted it shortly before Shinmaru sliced his left ear off with the lucky penny. The old man?s ear hit a brick wall with a smack before falling to the ground. The old man?s ear began to bleed profusely and he clapped a hand up to the spot where his ear was formerly, in a vain attempt to halt the bleeding.

?Adam?s not here right now,? Shinmaru said. ?So, I think I can be a fairly good Adam substitute for the moment. Don?t you agree?? The old man nodded up and down quickly. ?Good. Now that we are on the same page, how about you tell me all you know about our little Desert Taipan, aye?? The old man told Shinmaru every bit of information he knew, including where the Desert Taipan was to be that night and at what time.

?How can I be sure that this information is reliable?? Shinmaru asked. ?Do you really think that the Desert Taipan would allow his position to be leaked out so easily??

?That?s what I thought,? the old man rasped. ?The whole thing sounds really fishy to me. Then again, it could be true. You never know.?

?A leap of faith is all it takes,? Shinmaru said, to nobody in particular. The old man stood up and Shinmaru?s head whipped in his direction. ?Where the **** do you think you?re going?? Shinmaru asked. The old man froze in place.

?Well, I figured that, since I gave you the information, I?d be free to go,? the old man replied. Shinmaru grabbed him forcefully and pulled him over, staring at the old man face to face.

?I don?t think you should go anywhere,? Shinmaru whispered. ?In fact, I think I would like to play a little game with you. You?re not really of much use to me, anymore. I think it would be for your benefit if you provided me with some entertainment.? The old man paled considerably. Shinmaru turned the old man around and lifted his head skyward.

?Let?s see how well you can paint the walls, shall we?? Shinmaru ripped his penny across the old man?s throat, the sharpened ?edges? of the penny easily cutting through the fragile flesh and veins of the old man. Blood sprayed out in a hellish display of crimson red color. The plasma splattered across the brick wall and slid down slowly. Shinmaru pushed the hidden button in his penny and the penny expanded and long, sharp blades protruded along the outside. With one swipe, Shinmaru sliced off the old man?s head.

?Your blood doesn?t really hold up too well,? Shinmaru said, eyeing up the blood that decorated the wall. ?But it?s not bad. I?d like to take a little souvenir with me, if you don?t mind, that is.? Shinmaru walked up to the severed head of the old man, stuck two of his blades into his eyes and pulled them out. He plucked them deftly off of the blades and pocketed them.

?There we go. Always good to have reminders,? Shinmaru chuckled to himself.

[center][b]Later on, that evening?[/b][/center]

The nighttime sky was alive with brightly burning stars, a sea of diamonds that one could only hope to stare at, thunderstruck with emotion. Jamie?s face betrayed nothing, however; nobody would be able to tell what he was thinking beneath the emotionless mask on his face. He lowered his head slightly and raised his eyebrows skyward, in a slightly quizzical expression. He was tailed.

?You did a nice job of following me until the last moment,? Jamie said aloud. Shinmaru stepped out from the shadows, keeping a relatively safe distance from Jamie, as there was no telling how dangerous this ?Desert Taipan? could be.

?It would?ve been a nice tail job had I followed you,? Shinmaru said. ?I?ve just been waiting up here all day and all night.?

?It?s not wise to reveal your inefficiencies to your opponent,? Jamie remarked.

?Inefficiencies?? Shinmaru questioned. ?I just have my own ways of going about my business.?

?Did he send you?? Jamie asked, assuming that Shinmaru knew of whom he was referring to. Shinmaru shook his head from side to side.

?I come of my own accord,? Shinmaru answered. ?And of my own curiosity.?

?What is it that you are so curious about?? Jamie asked.

?You have some sort of grudge against Adam,? Shinmaru said. ?Why?? Jamie turned his head, staring Shinmaru straight in the eyes for the first time, and he smirked.

?That?s my business,? Jamie replied.

?Fine,? Shinmaru said.

?And what of your business with Adam?? Jamie questioned.

?I have a death mark on my head,? Shinmaru answered. ?I?d like to get it off me before some madman decides he wants to kill me.?

?And what if I decided that I wanted to kill you?? Jamie asked, chuckling slightly to himself.

?Then, maybe, I?d have to kill you,? Shinmaru replied, withdrawing his penny. Jamie withdrew his katana, holding it firmly in his hands.

?Do you really think that you can kill me?? Jamie asked.

?That?s the last thing on my mind right now,? Shinmaru replied. ?I don?t want to kill you, I want to kill Adam.?

?Well, then,? Jamie started. ?How about we strike a deal??

?I?m listening,? Shinmaru replied, gritting his teeth in slight annoyance.

?You prove your worth to me,? Jamie said. ?And we?ll take you in with us.?

?We?? Shinmaru asked.

?I?m already traveling with another friend of mine,? Jamie said. ?I guess he couldn?t make it tonight. Our group is the Southern Vipers; much like you, we are out to give Adam his?just desserts, so to speak.?

?And what if I don?t prove my worth?? Shinmaru asked, grinning.

?Then I kill you,? Jamie said, also grinning. ?I can?t have someone roaming around free who knows who I am, can I??

?I suppose not,? Shinmaru replied. He tossed his penny skyward. The penny flipped over and over again while it traveled upward in a perfectly straight course. Shinmaru caught it, looked at the sign for a split-second, and then flung the penny like a discus at Jamie. Jamie stood, unflinching, as the penny swooped around his left side, around his right side and into Shinmaru?s left hand. A tiny cut opened on the left side of Jamie?s face and a drop of blood fell slowly down his cheek, like a tear. Jamie didn?t bother to clean it up and let it fall to the ground.

?An expert marksman,? Jamie remarked. ?Well, no matter how good you are with your ?weapon,? such a small item is useless in battle.? Shinmaru replied by poking the penny slightly. The penny expanded to the size of a small shield, about three feet in diameter. Another push of the button and sharp blades protruded along the ?edges? of the penny. Shinmaru crouched slightly and held his weapon in a battle-ready position. Jamie nodded and likewise held his katana in a battle-ready position.

Jamie made the first move. He took three steps forward and swiped his katana, sideways, at Shinmaru. The blade of katana was blocked with a loud clang from the penny and Shinmaru rolled to the side. He took this opportunity to take out Jamie?s feet with his blades, but Jamie leaped gracefully over Shinmaru?s attack and took out Shinmaru?s feet from underneath him. Shinmaru fell to the ground, the back of his head banging on the hard material of the roof. Jamie stood over him, playfully wagging the katana in front of Shinmaru?s face.

?You?re a bit slow,? Jamie observed.

?No,? Shinmaru replied. ?I underestimated you. Bad move on my part, obviously.? Jamie relaxed and stepped back slightly. Shinmaru bounded back onto his feet effortlessly, dusted himself off, and again crouched into a battle-ready position. ?That won?t happen again.?

This time, Shinmaru made the first move. He slashed his shield at Jamie and, when he missed, contorted his torso in order to avoid the slice of Jamie?s katana. Shinmaru ducked against the ground and tried to take out Jamie?s legs with a sweep of his own leg. Again, Jamie easily evaded Shinmaru?s attack, but Shinmaru was ready this time. He pushed himself against the ground and attempted a heel kick to Jamie?s gut, bolstered by the added leverage of the ground.

However, Jamie was far too quick to be fooled by such a maneuver. Jamie grabbed Shinmaru?s leg, just before the heel of his boot sank into his torso, and flipped Shinmaru backwards. Shinmaru forced himself to fly backwards in mid-air, and with good reason; as soon as he touched the ground, Jamie again swiped at him with the katana, this time missing Shinmaru?s throat by mere centimeters. Shinmaru could feel the cold, stinging air of the missed blow pounding against his throat and knew how close he had been to death.

There was no time to think about such things, though. Seeing how close he was to the entrance that led to the roof, Shinmaru leaped into the air, pushed off against the wall with his leg, and bounded over Jamie, with a graceful back flip. Shinmaru landed onto the ground, knees bent slightly to absorb the impact, and immediately bounded backwards twice in order to avoid the inevitable slash of Jamie?s katana.

Jamie and Shinmaru both watched each other from the opposite ends of the roof. Neither of them had broken a sweat or even needed to breathe a bit more than normal. Jamie called out at Shinmaru from across the roof.

?Impressive,? Jamie yelled. ?For someone who made the mistake of underestimating their opponent, that is.? Shinmaru smiled sardonically, muscles taut, still ready for battle. He did not know what Jamie?s next move was and that unnerved him slightly. He licked his lips, taking in the taste of his own blood where he had accidentally bitten his tongue upon his landing. The taste of the blood invigorated him; he was like a shark in a feeding frenzy. There was a crazed look in his eyes at that moment, like he was now a totally different person than the man that Jamie had just been fighting. Jamie saw this, of course, and reacted by putting his katana back into its holster.

Shinmaru narrowed his eyes at Jamie, at once confused and suspicious of this action. However, he knew that their battle was over, shrunk his penny back to its normal size, and pocketed it in his coat. Jamie approached him and spoke to him.

?I think that you have proved yourself sufficiently,? Jamie said. ?Your battle skills are decent enough, they?ll improve with time. That look in your eyes is what entranced me, though; you have the eyes of a madman. That?s exactly what we need. After all, you have to be somewhat mad in order to take on Adam.? Jamie laughed out loud at this and Shinmaru joined in on the laughing.

Eventually, Shinmaru calmed down, and the wild look in his eyes disappeared. Jamie left him with all the information that he needed, including where to contact him the next day; Shinmaru was now a Southern Viper. Jamie turned and started walking to the roof.

?You?ll turn your back on me that easily?? Shinmaru asked.

?Of course,? Jamie said.

?You don?t think I?ll attack you?? Shinmaru asked.

?Please,? Jamie said. ?I said I was impressed with your skill, but that doesn?t mean that I couldn?t have killed you any time that I wanted to. But it?s good to have some insurance with you.? With that, Jamie left.

Something about his words clicked in Shinmaru?s mind. There would always be the two voices arguing endlessly about what was right and what was wrong, when it was the time to kill and when it was not. There was one thing that the voices would not argue about, however: Despite how insanely mad the two voices were, from that night on, they pledged their undying oath to Jamie, no matter what Shinmaru himself might have thought of him.

[James]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 11: One Last Conversation[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, Adam has a final conversation with **** before his release from prison. [b]Characters:[/b] ****, Adam. [b]Setting:[/b] Alcatraz Prison Complex.

[b][i]|A puff of thick smoke...|[/i][/b] [font=trebuchet ms]"So you're back again."[/font] "Yes. I wanted to get one last look at you, before I go." [b][i]|A silence...|[/i][/b] [font=trebuchet ms]"Go? Where are you going?"[/font] "I'll still be around, but we won't be able to talk like this again." [font=trebuchet ms]"Why not?"[/font] "Because..." [b][i]|A deep sigh...|[/i][/b] "...when you leave here, you will find out the truth. You may think that you respect me, that you look up to me, but you will want to kill me when you leave here, just like they are trying now." [font=trebuchet ms]"I don't understand. You've always been there for me. You were a tough parent, but that's what I needed. It's my own fault that I've been rotting away in here for the past few months."[/font] [b][i]|"Keep your hands off the glass!"|[/i][/b] "I'm not your parent. I'm...only an employer, if you could call me that. You're not my son." [b][i]|Another silence, but no tears...|[/i][/b] [font=trebuchet ms]"That doesn't surprise me."[/font] "I know. I knew it wouldn't. You are..." [font=trebuchet ms]"What?"[/font] "You are revenge. You are payback. You are the result of someone else's failing to keep to a commitment -- a commitment to me." [font=trebuchet ms]"What are you talking about? Who didn't keep their commitment? And if you're not my father...what about Joshua?"[/font] "Joshua [b]is[/b] your father. So is...Jamie." [b][i]|A deep breath, and another puff of smoke...|[/i][/b] [font=trebuchet ms]"I see. So you and Joshua weren't..."[/font] "No. I enjoyed his company, but it was nothing more than that." [font=trebuchet ms]"And what of Jamie? You sent me to kill him, don't you remember? Or was that part of your plan too?"[/font] "Let me see if I can explain it to you." [font=trebuchet ms]"Go ahead..."[/font] "When you were very young, I had you taken from Jamie and Joshua. They found you and kept you without my permission; at the time, they were in the middle of a contract for me. It was an important contract, perhaps the most important I've ever given to them. And they abandoned it because of you." [font=trebuchet ms]"They wanted to save me..."[/font] "Perhaps they did. But the point is, they abandoned their contract with me. [b]Nobody[/b] abandons a contract with me, [i]nobody[/i]. If they can jump in and out of the business, what's to stop others from doing the same? It's carelessness like that, which puts people in places like this." [font=trebuchet ms]"I see. Go on."[/font] "I took you from them and they naturally assumed that I'd done it -- who else would? It made sense. But, they thought you were dead. You weren't, which is why you're still here. I kept you from them...I kept you from them for years. For years, they built up a hatred for me. They tried to kill me on several occasions, but failed. This is why they created the Southern Vipers; it was going to take more than two men to bring me down." [font=trebuchet ms]"For all those years, I was working for you...and I never knew the fate of my real parents. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you let me rot away in this cell for so long?"[/font] "Why should I have told you? To be [i]nice[/i]? Nobody was ever nice to me, kid. Nice doesn't build character...and nice doesn't make for efficient assassins. You were one of the best I ever had, 'till you got caught." [b][i]|"Keep the noise down over there! I'm watching you!"|[/i][/b] [font=trebuchet ms]"About that...about my getting caught. That seemed like a pretty sloppy operation."[/font] "Yes, it was uncharacteristically sloppy on my part." [font=trebuchet ms]"..."[/font] "I let it happen. Deliberately. That's why you are here. I didn't want them finding out about you. I knew they were coming after me...closing in on me. With you in jail, I stood a chance to survive. They couldn't talk you into joining their gang." [font=trebuchet ms]"Yeah, I would have joined if I'd known."[/font] "Exactly. By the time you are released, they will both have had their chance with me. If I'm not dead, they will be. And then it'll just be the two of us." [font=trebuchet ms]"You know I'm going to come after you."[/font] "I know. I knew you would from the very beginning. I didn't walk down that path being oblivious to the outcome. You can only commit so many crimes in your life before they come back and drag you down." [font=trebuchet ms]"Goodbye, Adam."[/font] "Goodbye, Soju."

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 6: Trailer Park Wars[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, Arianna has traveled home to the United States to visit her mother (and to do a little business in the area, on Adam's behalf). Jamie and Joshua track her down in the trailer park where she grew up. She fights them both. [b]Characters:[/b] Arianna, Joshua, Jamie. [b]Setting:[/b] Trailer park, southeastern United States.

Okay, so...Tori will write the first post, and Josh and I will write one post each. Of course, Arianna will be killed in this chapter. After this, there is one more chapter for Volume 1. So, have fun. ^_^

[Queen Asuka]

Arianna stood in front of her large bedroom window, allowing her a view of the city below. As the city lights outside illuminated the darkened room, she sighed deeply. She absent-mindedly ran her slender fingers slowly down the white silk of her kimono, then gently reached up and tucked a loose strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. From behind she appeared as an angel ascending to heaven, her figure glowing softly in white. Her mind was troubled, and for once in her life she was feeling regret. She couldn?t put her finger on what was bothering her, but something felt wrong. Slowly emerging from the shadows, Adam embraced her from behind, his arms tightening around her waist. He gently caressed the back of her neck with his lips, and she turned her body towards him, folding into his arms. ?Something on your mind?? he asked, his fingers running over the gentle folds of silk. ?It?s nothing,? she said, her eyes drifting to the floor. She tried to distract herself from his gaze by studying the embroidery on her new rug, vines and roses endlessly intertwining. She never truly realized the beauty of that rug until that moment. ?Regret? Sorrow? Lonely? Unfulfilled? All of the above?? he offered, his hand reaching up to her face, forcing her to look into his eyes. ?I can read it in your eyes. I know when something is wrong with you, Love. You?re not as feisty as usual.? He allowed himself a small chuckle, perhaps to try and lighten the mood, or maybe because he was truly entertained by his statement. ?I do feel a certain?emptiness, here,? she placed her hands over her heart, ?but I?m sure it?s nothing. I think I?m just fatigued from not being able to sleep.? She regretted that statement, because she knew what would come next. ?Haven?t been able to sleep. I see. But nothing is wrong? Nothing is wrong at all? Nothing is keeping you awake at night, Arianna?? She knew he meant business when he called her by her first name. ?Adam, please. I?m just feeling out of sorts. I feel as though something bad is about to happen, and it is weighing down on my consciousness. I don?t think it?s regret. I have nothing to regret.? She said this last statement with a certain firmness, as though she had to convince herself. Adam eyed her skeptically. ?Love, I have something for you to do. I believe that it will help you sort out your emotions.? Arianna didn?t speak, but finally broke his gaze, staring directly behind him into the darkened canopy of her queen-sized bed. ?I have an assignment for you, and I know it will be difficult. You should only be gone for a week or so in the States, but I am sure that it is sufficient enough time for you to accomplish what you need to,? Adam said, turning away from her. He walked across the room to her vanity, picking up a folder of papers. She stood watching him solemnly as he brought them over to her; she took them from him reluctantly. ?Adam?? she whispered as she opened up the folder and began to read, ?I can?t do this.? He closed the folder and took it from her, sitting it back down nearby, and taking her hands in his. ?Arianna, you can do this and you will do this. I prepared this assignment especially for you. Now, I want you to arrive at your destination earlier than I have scheduled, as I?m sure you have some unfinished business to take care of. This assignment is easy enough for you, as you?ll pose as one of the actresses for the film. You know as well as I that you?ll only be needed for a short amount of time and you?ll be able to do your job while you?re there. Please, Arianna, don?t let me down.? Adam released her hands slowly, pulling her face close to his. She looked again into his eyes and faked a smile. ?That?s my girl,? he whispered, bringing his lips to hers. Atlanta, Georgia. It was a big enough city, with its tall buildings and rush-hour traffic. A few colleges and luxury hotels were nestled in between, and Arianna found herself staying at the Hilton. When looking out the window, she could see the streets below, an array of artistic creativity gone awry, skateboarders littering every street corner and the roofs of low buildings. She was on the fourteenth floor, lucky for her, as she was slightly superstitious. She also had a great fear of elevators and had extreme dislike for the open-view class elevator that carried her to her floor. Her heart dropped to her stomach every time. She packed light, as she was only going to be in town for less than two weeks, making a cameo appearance in an up-coming porn flick. It wasn?t anything big, which was slightly disappointing, but Adam had set it up so she could in the meantime assassinate a man by the name of Scott Floyd. Apparently he had something to do with Adam?s toy company and he had crossed a line. He knew that he was going to be pursued and killed, so he thought he could hide out in the United States. Silly man. He should know better. From what Adam had told her, this man was staying only a few floors up from herself, the seventeenth floor. She wanted to take him out as soon as possible so she could finished the flick and hurry back to Japan. Being in the state of Georgia was the last place Arianna wanted to be. At the age of eight, Arianna was taken from her mother. Her father had left them before she could remember and their home was a run-down trailer in the middle of a mediocre trailer park. Arianna was never lonely for company, as there were plenty of children around her age, but none of the children did without as much as Arianna. You see, Arianna?s mother was an alcoholic, and she really didn?t take care of her daughter as she should have. Arianna didn?t seem to mind, but her teachers did. She was removed shortly after the Department of Family and Children Services came out, landing a home with a preacher and his wife. She hated that life, but didn?t find herself missing her mother. But now that she was back here in her home state, she found herself feeling sentimental, a feeling she wasn?t used to. Adding that on top of the anxiety of her mission and the emotional duress she had been suffering, Arianna was a complete mess. She learned from Adam that her mother still lived in that worn out trailer, taking in a few men to help her support her habit. She was not only an alcoholic, but her live-in boyfriend was a marijuana dealer. (?Only in the state of Georgia?? Arianna muttered as she read that line.) She seemed to be doing well, but she was on the look out for her daughter. After learning from one of her boyfriends of Arianna?s career, she began to start an investigation. It was too bad, since Arianna no longer lived stateside, but she was about to pay her mother a surprise visit, as soon as she was finished with her mission in Atlanta. ?As soon as I?m done with this damn film,? she said, driving down I-75 to the building where the filming was to be done. ?I wonder what mother would think of her wonderful daughter now?? The film was pretty kinky, involving lots of fun costumes. Arianna?s scene called for a French maid outfit, better than any of the one?s she?d ever seen in the Victoria?s Secret catalogue. For such a low-budget movie, she was very impressed. She learned that she?d only be needed for about three days, much quicker than she?d originally thought, and she?d be able to return home soon after, as long as she had accomplished her mission. After the first day on the set, when Arianna returned to the Hilton, she decided that a dip in the pool was exactly what she needed. She put on her favorite bathing suit, an expensive designer one, white, with wide-width ribbon and fun little wrap-arounds. She knew it was more than $1000, but Adam was very interested when she mentioned the suit. She reached the pool, happy to see that it had a diving end. She did a very graceful dive, emerging from the water and flipping her hair behind her head. She wiped the water from her eyes and swam a few laps, ignoring the older men that were sitting around watching her. As she stepped out of the pool, she glanced around and noticed that her victim, Mr. Scott Floyd himself, lounging poolside in a blue lounge chair. She decided that this was the perfect opportunity and made her way quickly out of the pool and up to her room. There, she had stashed a nice little housekeeping uniform and one of those nice silver platters. She carefully put it on, drying her hair, and stowing her whip underneath, attached to her leg. She made her way up to the seventeenth floor, to room 1706, where Mr. Floyd was staying. She wasn?t sure if he had yet returned, but she decided to knock anyway. ?The best way to get away with something is to act like you own the place,? she told herself quietly, a grin creeping across her crimson lips. She carefully knocked on the door, the tray in her free hand. She stood there for a few seconds before she heard shuffling behind the door. She then heard footsteps approaching and a man answer, ?May I help you?? She smiled brightly and answered cheerfully: ?Housekeeping!? The man fumbled with the door handle for a moment, before cracking it slightly. When he saw her, he began to open the door wider. ?Oh good, it?s about t?.? Before the man could finish his sentence, Arianna slammed the tray into his face, knocking him backwards onto the floor. He cried out, but she quickly shut the door closed behind her. The man rolled over onto his hands and knees, and Arianna quickly lashed out her chain whip, cracking it hard onto the carpeted floor. The man whimpered loudly, holding his bloody nose. ?What do you want with me?? he asked weakly, trying to turn his head and look up at her and crawl away from her at the same time. ?You know damn ******* well why I?m here, Mr. Floyd,? she said, kicking him over once again onto his back. He scrambled away from her, his back up against the wall, not knowing where to go. The man?s eyes got very wide. ?Adam?? he said, his face turning white. Arianna smiled charmingly. ?Bingo,? she said, snapping her whip hard and wrapping the chain around his neck from where she stood. The man began to gasp for breath and she pulled it tighter, yanking him down to the floor. His face went from red, to blue, to deep indigo, and he finally quit struggling. She waited a minute and then snapped her handle fiercely, unwrapping it from his bruised skin. She leaned over and checked the man?s pulse. ?Deader than a doornail,? she said, grabbing up her tray and placing her whip back where it belonged. She opened the door and looked at the man once more before exiting. ?Enjoy your dinner,? she said, closing the door quietly behind her. After Arianna?s last morning on the set, the director of the film stopped her to speak with her. He thanked her for being a part of his film and hoped that her appearance in it would give him the recognition he was hoping for. She smiled and thanked him for having her, and told him it was a pleasure to be a part of the fun. She then left, still in her French maid outfit, heading out to her car, an orange and black Dodge Charger, and sat down tiredly in the seat. Her suitcase was already in the back, and she was ready to hit the road. She was heading for South Georgia, to see her mother for the first time in fifteen years. She put on a tan leather jacket over the outfit, deciding that she wouldn?t bother to change clothes for her mother. Besides, her mother knew what she was, and she had nothing to be ashamed of. Early that afternoon, Arianna pulled into Wells trailer park. The owners had a nice blue trailer sitting atop a hill, surrounded by oak trees. Past that, there were rows and rows of dirt and gravel, a multi-colored array of trailers in between. She hadn?t seen the place in so long, and yet recognized much of the old landmarks. The place had changed, but she knew exactly where she was going. Left, Right, and then there, on the left, the old green and cream mobile home. There was an old rust colored Chevy pick-up sitting in the front yard. The place hadn?t changed one bit. There was still the same old doghouse, still the same rusted swing set, still the same pile of cinderblocks in the back, surrounded by weeds where her first dog was buried. The small peach tree still grew up the side of the right-hand fence, its fruit never ripe enough to eat. She stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, closing the door quietly. From inside the trailer she heard the yapping of a small dog. She made her way to the front door and began to have second thoughts about not changing out of her French maid outfit. Before she could open the broken screen door and knock, the warped front door was jerked open, a skinny man looking out at her. His eyes got wide upon seeing her and he choked over his words. ?Is Eliza here?? Arianna asked quietly, her skilled eyes taking in her surroundings. ?Who are you?? he asked rudely, before a larger woman came and pushed him out of the way. ?Bill, who the ****?s at the door?? the woman slurred, appearing in place of the skinny man. She looked at Arianna and smiled, a Budweiser beer bottle in her hand. ?Well, I?ll be damned!? she said, grinning from ear to ear. ?If it ain?t my goddamn good-for-nothing porn star daughter, Aria!? Eliza pushed the screen door open, pulling her in. ?Well dammit, don?t just stand there, get your *** in here and give your mother a hug!? Eliza squeezed Arianna tightly in her chubby arms, smelling strongly of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana. Arianna hugged her mother back, feeling outside of herself, as though the entire situation was unreal. Eliza stepped back to take a good look at her. ?Aria, baby, this is my boyfriend, Bill. He?s been taking care of me for the past two years. We?re engaged to be married this June.? Her mother was beaming, so excited to see her little girl. Bill generously shook her hand, giving her a starving glare, as though she was just a piece of meat. Arianna smiled as nicely as she could. Her mother just sat there, took a sip from her bottle, and then finally asked the question. ?What the hell are you wearing, girl? Did you just come home from the strip joint?? she laughed loudly, Bill sniggering along with her. ?Actually, I just finished filming on a set in Atlanta this morning,? Arianna answered, beginning to feel slightly embarrassed. ?Well good for you, baby, I?m glad to see that you are making a living doing something fun, not like those ******* cunts that took you from me, took my goddamn baby and gave her to the ******* preacher?s wife! Goddamn Christ-loving hypocrites!? Eliza said, sitting down at the rinky-dink kitchen table. Bill sat down on the other side of her, a chocolate colored longhaired Chihuahua jumping up into his lap, growling slighting at Arianna. She frowned at it, not being very fond of small dogs. ?So, Aria, where you been living these days? I been looking for ya, but they just couldn?t trace you down. Found a record of where you had been charged for the murder of a man named Richard, but you got off. Couldn?t find much else on ya except all of your porn videos. Bill found those, though, and it wasn?t very hard. Didn?t realize how popular my baby was!? Eliza laughed. Arianna stared at her, trying to keep a natural smile on her face. ?Oh, I?ve been living here and there, taking what flicks I can to keep myself making a living.? Her mother continued to beam, as though nothing she said would disappoint her. Bill disgustingly continued to stare at her, his eyes gazing at her French maid outfit, her garter belt, her black thigh-high fishnets, her shiny stiletto high-heels. Bill just grinned at her when he noticed she saw him staring, and lit a cigarette. The smoke soon enveloped the table as her mother went on and on talking. Arianna just began to feel nauseous, but continued to smile and answer her mother?s questions. She then noticed her mother got really quiet, and saw that she had started crying, tears streaming down her drooping face. ?Oh baby, I never thought I?d find my Aria again. I thought that you?d just forgotten about your mother and made a better life for yourself. I always hoped that you?d come back and see me, just one time if that was it, just come back and see your mother one time, so she would know what you looked like, and see how beautiful her baby girl had grown up to be.? Arianna reassured her mother to the best of her ability, her nausea increasing as she became increasingly more uncomfortable. ?How long are you going to be here, baby?? her mother asked, wiping her face on the sleeve of her shirt. Bill looked interestedly at her at this question. ?Just a little while mother. I have to go home.? That was all that Arianna said, and her mother and Bill sat quiet. Arianna didn?t mention Adam, didn?t mention Japan, and didn?t even want to think about how as soon as she was back in her home with Adam that he had promised her a vacation with him, somewhere tropical. She didn?t want to think of these things because she still had that gut feeling that something bad was about to happen to her. She thought it was because something would happen with Mr. Floyd, but killing him was easy enough. Did it have anything to do with Bill? He was still sitting there ogling her goods. Arianna just sat there, scratching her arm distractedly, trying to ignore the tension in the room. Suddenly, the Chihuahua jumped from Bill?s lap, barking insanely at the door. Arianna jumped slightly, rolling her eyes and Bill stood up. ?Better go see who that is,? he said, standing up to answer the door. He was half-way there when the door was kicked open and a gunshot was fired. Bill fell backwards onto the floor, a bullet through his chest, and the dog ran off to the back of the trailer. Eliza screamed and Arianna leapt aside as a second shot was fired, hitting her mother directly in the head, splattering her brains all over the kitchen. Arianna stared in disbelief as she saw two forms emerge in the doorway, holstering their guns. ?Joshua and Jamie,? she said, knowing who they were the moment she saw them. ?Arianna Love,? Joshua said, tipping his hat. Jamie merely nodded, the two of them standing there and watching her. Arianna knew that this was about to be a battle to the death, the two of them against her. She sighed deeply, pulling her chain whip from her leg and letting the chain fall heavily to the floor. ?I know what you guys want,? she whispered, looking at the dead forms of her mother and Bill, ?You guys want to ******* fight.? The two men didn?t answer her, but stood solemnly looking back at her. Finally, Jamie spoke up. ?Nice get-up,? he commented, ?Whip a part of the costume?? He chuckled, but Joshua didn?t even crack a smile. ?This whip is about to bust your ******* head in,? Arianna said, gritting her teeth. At that, she quickly jumped away from the table, doing a cartwheel in between the two men, who were suddenly wielding blades. They swung at her simultaneously as she passed through them, landing on her feet in the living room with catlike agility in a deep lunge. Her whip came swinging quickly behind her, hitting them both in the back of the legs, stinging terribly. They turned in her direction, lunging together. She jumped once more, kicking one in the head with her stiletto heels as hard as she could, seeing that it was Jamie who fell to the ground, a bleeding gash on his cheek. Joshua, however, turned around quickly enough to slash her slightly on the leg, tearing her delicate flesh through the fishnets. She screamed angrily, snapping her whip back around and cracking it hard on the ground before bringing it around again and wrapped it around Joshua?s arm. His blade went flying, just as Jamie stood back up, spitting a mouthful of blood at her and bringing his blade into position to defend Joshua. ?Gentlemen, I suggest we take this outside,? Arianna said, smiling at them. She cracked her whip hard on the floor once again, busting a hole in the cheap wood below. She did a back handspring out of the small area of the living room back into the kitchen, grabbing up Joshua?s blade before retreating out the opened front door.

[James]

Joshua approached Jamie and ran his fingers over Jamie's lips delicately, wiping away the small traces of blood that were still there. Jamie smiled. "Let's get the *****," he said. Both men walked toward the trailer's doorway. As they passed the kitchen counter, Joshua paused to grab a wooden chair nearby. He reached down and snapped one of its legs off, which he then gripped tightly in his right hand. But just as he did this... [size="4"][i]CRASH![/i][/size] ...he saw Jamie fly past him. Jamie crashed through the trailer's rear wall and tumbled into a kiddie wading pool outside. Joshua's attention returned to the doorway where he saw Arianna, who posessed a satisfied grin. She stroked the handle of her chain-whip in an almost seductive manner. "You two still haven't learned, have you?" Joshua's expression didn't change, as Arianna chuckled to herself. "You [i]really[/i] expected to just walk outside and see me waiting there for you? Both of you are so damn naive, it's no wonder Adam didn't want you around anymore." "In that case, I won't waste any time," said Joshua flatly. Just as his sentence finished, he flung the chair leg at Arianna. She let out a shrill scream as it struck her shoulder; the few rusty nails that had been sticking out the end of the leg had dug into her skin. Arianna looked down at the wound and just as she was about to swear at Joshua, she felt a heavy boot against the side of her face. Joshua had lunged forward and delivered a round-house kick to Arianna's jaw, which sent her sprawling backwards out of the trailer and on to the grass beyond. "Argh!" Arianna tore the chair leg from her shoulder and groped around on the grass, in search of her precious chain-whip. She could hear Joshua's footsteps, as his boots clunked with each step. The sound of those cowboy boots was unmistakeable. Arianna's fingers could feel the cool steel handle of the chain-whip, which pleased her greatly; she had almost felt lost without it. But having it in her grasp once more gave her quite a confidence boost. Arianna spun 'round sharply, sending the chain-whip thrashing through the air in a circle around her. The chain-whip's end collided with Joshua's lower jaw, which stopped him in his tracks. He put his hand over his jaw and then looked down at his palm. He could barely see the skin on his own hand, for all the blood. Arianna stood up and dusted the grass from herself. She looked quite a sight, standing there in the yard with Joshua. Her cheek was bruised and the frilly white front of her French maid's uniform was now streaked with the red stuff. Adam would have been proud of her. He'd always said that she was at her most sexy just after a good fight. The trailer door gave a loud thud, as it snapped off its hinges. Jamie stood in the doorway, soaking wet from head to toe. He held his katana up in front of himself, as he approached Arianna. Joshua stood next to him, holding his knife; he'd managed to grab it from the grass, as it'd fallen out of Arianna's hand when she landed on the ground. Arianna smirked and began swinging the chain-whip around sharply, in a figure eight pattern. The whip sounded light; it almost screeched as Arianna manipulated it effortlessly. That sound was very unique to Arianna and many in the underworld had learned to fear it. The whip was travelling so fast that it could easily cut off a limb without too much effort. "******* bastards," breathed Arianna, as she spat blood at the grass. "You couldn't even let me catch up with my own mother, could you?" "We're just going after the cunts who took our boy," said Jamie slowly, as he pointed his blade at her, "and you're one of them." Arianna grinned once more, bearing her bloody teeth. "You can try your luck, Kidd. I'm more than just a pretty face." "Let's see how pretty you are once we're through with you," said Joshua. And with that, Joshua lunged forward at Arianna, closely followed by Jamie. Arianna flicked her whip at Joshua and knocked the knife from his hand once more. The knife flew through the air and lodged itself in the side of the trailer. With another flick of her wrist, the whip jumped up at Joshua's neck and wrapped around it tightly. Arianna tugged the handle and brought Joshua down to his knees on the grass. He had both hands wrapped around the chain, as he tried to loosen it from his neck. "You're forgetting that there's two of us," said Jamie, "and now your only weapon is occupied." Jamie held the katana over his head and brought it down through the air, right at Arianna's face. "Oh, I'm not forgetting," she said. She then pulled the feather duster from the belt of her maid's uniform. She gave it a sharp flick with her wrist. Just as she did this, a long, thin blade emerged from within the handle. Arianna held the blade up over her face, just in time. With a loud "clank", Jamie's katana met Arianna's dagger. Jamie pushed down on Arianna's dagger forcefully. "Clever," he said under his breath. Arianna tugged on the chain-whip again, tightening it around Joshua's throat. He gasped and looked across at Jamie, as his face began to redden. Jamie struck at Arianna again with his katana and for several moments, the pair lunged and blocked with their blades. "Okay, enough of this," said Jamie, as he stepped back and brought his katana down, right across chain, which connected the handle to Joshua's throat. The chain had been so tight that cutting it caused Arianna to fall backwards suddenly. Joshua quickly pulled the chain off his throat and stood up. Arianna had fallen backwards towards an old set of children's swings, that had been sitting in the yard and rusting for years. She fell right into one of the swings and grabbed the two chains tightly. Jamie momentarily put his hand on Joshua's neck. "Are you okay?" But Joshua didn't have time to answer. A pair of black stilettos suddenly came into view, hitting Jamie right in the side of the head, sending him backwards on to the grass. Joshua looked around and saw Arianna on the swing. She'd deliberately swung forward forcefully enough to strike Jamie and now she was coming at Joshua. But he was ready for her, this time. As Arianna's stilettos suddenly came closer, Joshua grabbed them and pulled hard. He heard a shrill scream, as Arianna was torn from the swing and sent flying through the air. With a sudden and thunderous crash, Arianna landed on the windshield of Bill's truck, which had been parked in the yard near the trailer. She slowly picked herself up. Her hands were shaking, as she pulled shards of glass from her skin. "Ugh, look what you've done!" she roared. "I'm going to ******* kill you!"

And that's where I'm going to leave it. Sorry if parts of it are a little poorly written...I lost my post and tried to remember what I'd said. And that never seems to work. -.-

Anyway, now it's Josh's turn. He'll be the last to post in this chapter. It'll be up to him to conclude this battle and decide what happens. ~_^

[Shy]

[center]
[b]Tumblin' Tumbleweed[/b][/center]

Ariana stumbled off of the hood, leaving a trail of shattered glass, blood and her mother?s brain behind her. Her face, once a vision of beauty, had become horribly mangled in the battle that had just taken place. Jamie smirked, ?I doubt anyone will be paying much for a centerfold of you now, Love.? Though it was difficult to notice beneath all of the blood and sweat, her French maid outfit remained almost perfectly intact. The wardrobe of a porn star must be able to handle all sorts of things, I thought, a fight to the death is nothing compared to some of the things I have seen Ariana handle in her films. Because of her profession, and my own previous work as a male escort our paths had crossed years before Adam had ever entered our lives. It made sense that Adam's only two American associates had become aquainted in their homeland; the irony was that I first got to know Erotica in the heat of passion. I was in Shag, a San Francisco night club with Matt, and had just started working as an escort. Matt, a famed San Francisco film star had been my boyfriend for several months, and this was one of the rare occasions where we could pull ourselves away from our work. Matt wasn?t the most attractive man I had ever dated; with his shaggy brown hair and slightly rotund shape ? but like most men in his profession he made up for it in other areas. This was our night of fun together, just the two of us, where we wouldn't be interupted by any discussion of what, or who I did for a living. But he persisted, and the topic of conversation kept coming up. For someone who engaged in casual sex so often, he seemed disturbed by my new line of work. Shag was one of the more exclusive clubs on the San Francisco club scene. The owners, afraid of being stereotyped as a "gay club" went through great lengths to hire some of the more prominent rock groups in the bay area. Playing in such a small venue was generally frowned upon by these bands, but the style and prestige associated with Shag had built a reputation for itself. African tribal artwork, a far cry from the disco balls and black lights found in the competition adorned the walls. This was [i]the[/i] club for those who didn't club. We were sitting at the bar, enjoying a pair of watermelon margaruitas when Ariana Love burst onto the scene. Had she entered any other city in the world she would have gone undetected, but this was downtown San Francisco, and here she was a god. She wore a low-cut black top and a simple pair of blue jeans, probably hoping to blend into the crowd. Unfortunately this was not an option for Ariana, and within a few moments the attention of the crowd had turned away from the dance floor and towards the blonde bombshell. Tommy, the regular bartender, just about feinted when he saw her approach the counter and asked for a drink. She turned towards Matt, who was sharing an intimate embrace with myself at this point, and smiled. ?It?s good to see you again,? She noticed Matt's hand, placed firmly on my leg, and rolled her eyes, ?I see that things haven?t changed with you.? Confused, I stared blankly at her for a moment. Matt released the soft hold he had on my leg, and leaned in towards Ariana to give her a kiss on the cheek. ?Joshua,? He announced loudly so that I could hear him over the loud music, ?This is Ariana Love, we?ve worked together on a couple of projects.? ?That?s a good way of putting it,? She giggled lightly. ?It?s nice to meet you... Joshua.? ?I thought you looked familiar, ? I paused and thought for a moment, ?You?re one of the woman I?ve seen in Matt?s films?? ?Those aren?t Matt?s films, darling, ? She seemed insulted, ?They?re mine.? Ryan joked, ?It?s all about top billing with her,? He shared a glance with her, ?Maybe you?ll find that out tonight.? I took another sip of my drink. It was one of the many I had that evening. Normally I was not a heavy drinker, but this was one of those rare occasions when I threw my reservations out of the window, and simply tried to have a good time. "Maybe not," She sighed, and twisted her hair softly with her fingers, "My hotel has a check-out time of 10am. Lord knows I'm not going to having any fun tonight and be awake by that awful hour." Her voice had a hint of the South to it, although I couldn't place it at the time. It wasn't as strong as one might expect from a Georgia girl; just soft enough to give her an aura of innocence about her. ?If you?re interested, you could stay with Joshua and I tonight.? Matt said lightly to Ariana, in an almost seductive tone of voice. ?I?d love to.? Jamie raised his blade in the air and made a charge towards Ariana, sitting defenseless on the concrete. The Angel slid her hand underneath the truck behind her and groped around for an item to defend herself with. In most circustances this would have been a simple coup de grace, but the bitch was trained better than that. Jamie's swift movements with a blade were that of legend. Most victims never saw his Katana blade, for the speed of his attacks gave the impression that it's broad handle was connected to an invisible blade of air. Only one, Ariana Love, was fast enough to counter such a lethal blow, and on that day she had proven it. Luckily, or unluckily for Jamie, she had discovered a wrench, 5/16 to be exact. Jamie had failed to notice, or perhaps just ignore this as he swung his mighty Hanzo sword at her. Dodging Jamie's first blow, Ariana tripped him with her legs, and as he hit the ground the wrench was passionately slammed into his forehead. Mostly unarmed, Ariana had managed to disable the world?s premiere assassin. A simple wrench, and a pair of legs was all it took to take Jamie and his beloved weapon to the floor instantly. Not failing to take advantage of a situation, the Angel grabbed Jamie?s signature weapon and assumed an offensive stance. Half-concious, he immediately dove under the truck, barely dodging the blade of his own katana by way of Ariana's attempted decapitation. Jamie drew his handgun, and carefully set his sight on the only thing he was able to see -- Ariana Love's ankles. [i]Bang.[/i] Her scream was unbearable, far worse than anything she could have done to me with Jamie's sword. The Cowboy and Desert Taipan had crippled another former ally; my guilt was apparent, but I decided that guilt was a luxury in this case. If things had been a bit different I doubt she would have been standing over me with the same feelings of remorse. ?A single move, a single breath,? My attention focused on her face, rather than the bloodied mess that was now her left leg, "?and you won?t be able to do any of those things again. We need to talk.? ?We have nothing to talk about,? She said, her tone of voice showing sheer disdain for the two of us, ?Just finish me off!? ?Finish?? I smiled, ?We haven?t even started yet.? After struggling to find the right key to my door, the three of us, more than a little tipsy from our night at Shag, worked our way through my small hallway and towards the bedroom. My apartment in San Francisco was always a mess. Work demanded that I make a home out of whatever hotel room I was at for the night, so over time I began to think of my apartment simply as a storage space. Cardboard boxes, filled mostly with clothes were scattered throughout the area. In fact, the only furniture in the entire apartment was my king-size bed, more than enough for three people to share for the night. My black collared shirt was mostly unbuttoned at this point, revealing a simple white undershirt beneath. Matt moved his hand along my backside, caressing me while Ariana began to completely strip down. She pulled Matt away from me for a moment, and began blowing into his ear. ?It?s so nice to be with you again, Matt,? She proclaimed, thrusting him and myself onto the bed behind us. Ariana slowly crawled on top of Matt, massaging his shoulders lightly while removing his shirt. I leaned in close, kissing Ariana on the neck. My jeans quickly became unbuttoned, lowering them to my ankles as Ariana moved her lips up and down my body. I grabbed her breast, not realizing that Matt had already taken a firm hold of them both, and paused. I gently moved my fingers through her long, beautiful hair, intertwining my body with hers and rolling on top of her. Matt placed his hand along my hips and adjusted himself to face my backside, whispering softly as that memorable night finally began to take shape. ...and that is how I first met Ariana Love. Ariana awoke from her slumber, in a daze from the drugs[b]*[/b] we had injected into her. Jamie and I had never really experimented in such tools, but tonight it served an important purpose, and was an absolute necessity. Jamie, still injured from the day?s encounter had left for Japan a few hours earlier. He was hoping to catch one of the final Angels, and possibly find a lead regarding Adam's whereabouts. While his manufacturing plant and other business ventures remained unphased by our string of murders, he had gone deep into hiding after the death of Lelia. If I couldn't get the information out of Ariana it was imperative that he find someone more willing to share, or at the very least someone afraid of the very painful death that we could provide. ?Where am I?? ?You can?t know that. You [I]know[/I] you can?t know that.? She began to vomit a volatile combination of the sedatives and the blood that had been slowly dripping down her throat for the past few hours. A girl like her healed fast, so I made it a priority to keep the bleeding constant. Ariana never knew, but we were 20 feet below the streets of Atlanta, directly underneath the Lenmark Astro Lanes: Georgia's favorite 24-hour bowling alley. It was just an abandoned storage area, most likely from the days of World War 2. Thick cement walls and steel doors made it nearly impenetrable from the outside, but over the course of time it had become connected to the lanes through an intricate network of tunnels. A favorite hazing ritual for new Astro Lane employees was to carry the "fresh meat" at random points inside the tunnels against their will, forcing them to make it to the surface on their own. If that wasn't difficult enough, the blindfold they strapped on was more than enough to keep things challenging. Some were able to succeed with relative ease, but a local legend claims that one man spent nearly 12 hours trying to find his way to the surface. Not willing to accept the aid of his co-workers, he felt it necessary to accomplish this feat and prove his worth to the others. When he reached the lanes it was time for his next shift to begin, and the poor fellow spent over 24 hours at the Lenmark Astro Lanes without a single moment of sleep. Ariana was strapped tightly to a steel chair with tight leather straps, nothing new to her, only this time she wouldn?t escape. A silk scarf that I had found on her costume worked as a suitable blindfold, and was the only hint of color in that dimly lit space. The walls were solid gray and all light coming from a single bulb dangling over her head. Brown tile floors, which upon their installation were quite colorful, had faded into a light hue over time, nearly impossible to distiguish from the cement walls. ?Are? are my arms broken? I can?t feel them anymore.? [I]Soft sound of footsteps echoed through those reinforced halls.[/I] ?I doubt you can feel much of anything right now, Love. Most people wouldn?t have returned to consciousness as soon as you did. But that?s okay, it gives us more time, to talk.? Ariana began to cough up blood again, staining herself and the floor beneath her. ?As for your arms, no, they aren?t broken yet. Those leather straps around them will do the trick, though, as soon as they dry. By that time the numbness will wear off, and you?ll feel every bit of it and everything else I?ve done to you so far.? [I]Closer. Tap? tap? tap?[/I] ?You get me out of this, Joshua. You?re better than this, and I?ll tell you?? Before she could finish her sentence I punched her across the face, silencing her instantly. ?Here?s the deal, Erotica. Shut the hell up, and speak only when spoken to,? I sighed, and took a sip from my drink, a simple mixture of orange juice and vodka that they had prepared for me upstairs, ?Why didn?t you leave when you had the chance? You, and the others didn?t have to suffer this fate.? ?I chose this path, and I?ll follow it through to the end. I wouldn?t leave Adam?s side just because the two of you wanted vengeance for what happened to that child.? ?[I]My[/I] child.? [I]?tap? tap? tap?[/I] ?If you only knew what he did, I wouldn?t be your target, Joshua.? ?You were at his side protecting him, how could I not take you on first?? [I]?tap.. tap? silence. The footsteps had stopped outside.[/I] ?It?s amazing how you can be so close to the man, and still know nothing about his actual location. Personal numbers, addresses, you couldn?t find them could you? Those links you once had to him are long since severed.? ?So are a lot of things, and there?s going to be a lot more if you don?t give me the information I need.? I drew my knife and shoved it into her abdomen, ?Where?s Adam? ?I wish you hadn?t done that, Joshua.? A familiar voice said dryly from behind, ?I?m right here.? - - - - - - - [b]*[/b][size=1]"I can't thank you enough for this, especially given the circumstances of our relationship." "You killed my father. Don't think for a moment that I had forgotten about it, or shown forgiveness." "From what I understand, you were prepared to do the same yourself. In either case, you, a young woman, are likey to become the most powerful person in all of Tokyo." "Not quite, not yet. A mark has been placed on my head by Adam, it's only a matter of time before his Angels, or some other mercenary arrives at the Den of Snakes." "I think you will handle yourself well enough." "And so should you. I'm exepcting results, Cowboy. Adam's business, his payroll, I get it all when this is over. For that you will receive whatever protection I can provide, and a promise that you'll be able to leave this scene behind once and for all." "That's a fair enough trade for me. Thanks again for these, Kyoko." "Take care of yourself Cowboy. Your son is lucky to have man like you as his father, even if your cause is an impossible one." "I thought it would be impossible to make it this far, but Adam is only a few steps away. It's too late to turn back now." [/size]

[size=1]-Shy[/size]

[James]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]Chapter 12: Meet Me at the Astro Lanes[/size][/center] [b]Summary:[/b] In this chapter, Joshua and Arianna are having one final encounter, when Adam unexpectedly shows up. [b]Characters:[/b] Arianna, Joshua, Adam. [b]Setting:[/b] Lenmark Astro Lanes, Georgia.

Welcome to Volume 1's final chapter (and one of the last chapters in the entire story, chronologically speaking).

I've kept the summary deliberately brief, to give Josh the most flexibility here. Let's just see what happens, eh? ~_^

[Shy]

[center]
[b]Happy Trails To You[/b][/center]

?I wish you hadn?t done that, Joshua,? I said dryly, ?I?m right here.? There were a few moments of silence that had followed, the only noise being Ariana?s weak attempts at screaming for dear life. Seeing my girl strapped in that chair was a true testament to cruelty. She deserved better than that, and I gave it to her with my handgun. Two shots in the forehead, blowing out any signs of life instantly, because I cared for her. The truth is that Ariana?s wounds were already fatal, and even if they weren?t the toxins they had pumped into her certainly would have finished the job. I was too late. Joshua wiped the blood off his face with his classic red handkerchief, and struggled to make any sort of response to what I had just done. ?Y-y-you killed her.? He whispered. ?That?s where you are wrong, Cowboy. She was dead long before I got here. I just hurried the process along,? I fired two extra shots into the wall, hoping to snap him out of his current state. ?It?s taken us a hell of a long time for our paths to cross again, and at the risk of sounding selective, I have no interest of holding our epic reunion in this old military bunker. ? ?Then where do you propose we hold it?? Joshua replied, returning to true form as he withdrew his knife from Ariana?s corpse, ?Tomorrow?? ?Tonight.? I countered, ?Midnight. Meet me at the Astro Lanes. One way or another, let?s finish this upstairs.?

?Her name was Panyin, the ?Forgotten Angel,? and she was Adam?s first love. His relationship with Ariana, intimate as it may have been, was always a private affair. However, the romance with Panyin was something he would speak very openly about. She was a beautiful woman, or so I?m told. Dark skin, a slender figure, penetrating brown eyes and long dark hair that she kept wrapped up in a silk shawl. Born in Ghana, she was given a life of privilege and prestige by her parents. Making good use of their resources, Panyin, and her identical twin sister Kakra were given a formal education, and by the age of 15 the girls were fluent in three languages. While Kakra was the more athletic of the two, having done extensive training in several forms of martial arts, Panyin was the artist. She spent much of her free time painting the sights of Ghana, frequently visiting run down or ?dangerous? parts of the nation in order to capture their images perfectly on a canvas. Panyin was in London when she first met Adam, visiting for a week while Kakra competed in a female martial arts tournament of some kind. Adam was there for Kakra attempting to recruit her as a bodyguard and assassin, but it was fate that caused him to bump into Panyin first. Panyin was sitting in her hotel suite, relaxing in little more than a bathrobe when Adam came knocking at her door. She greeted the handsome stranger, and invited him inside for a few moments. He, believing her to be her sister, one of the world?s most fearsome martial artists, had mistaken the girl for identical twin. ?I?ve been watching you from afar, and I must admit that I?m intrigued by your talents.? ?That?s awfully flattering sir. I feel a little embarrassed,? She laughed, tightening the strap around her robe, ?You knowing so much about me, and me not even knowing your name.? ?I?m Adam,? He shook her hand nervously, slightly distracted by her appearance, ?I am starting up a few large business ventures in the East, and I feel like your services might be required.? ?That?s very exciting. I?d love to help in whichever ways that I can, but you know I?ve never done it professionally before. It was always for pleasure.? ?I feel exactly the same way.? He smiled sadistically, ?Perhaps we could get together tomorrow night and arrange another meeting, over dinner... when you are a little more clothed.? ?Oh, of course.? Panyin blushed, ?That sounds great.? ?I?ll pick you up around 9 o? clock then, in the lobby.? ?It?s a date.?

?The view from my office window is especially nice at this time of year. With spring comes the promise of new life, and nowhere is that more obvious than in Odaiba Memorial Park. As unpredictable as the Japanese climate may seem sometimes, one knows for certain that winter has ended when the first fresh flowers begin to blossom. However, from the 24th floor, the floor I call home, they seem quite insignificant. A single blossom is impossible to see; it?s only when many dozens of the flowers reveal their hues that I can take notice and appreciate them. ?When I sit up in my office on a lazy afternoon, looking out my window at the ground below, I feel powerful ? like God. I often wonder if this is how He views us from above ? unable, or perhaps unwilling to see us as individuals. ?Well one day Jeanette had picked me a flower from that very garden and given it to me as a gift. I immediately recognized it from it?s signature pink petals, but this one appeared to be suffering from some sort of terrible illness. The insects below chewed dozens of individual holes into it?s petals, and even when placed in a vase the stem was too weak to support it?s own weight. It would slowly sink below the water in the vase, as if it were trying to drown itself. What had appeared to be healthy garden from so high above was really just a collection of sickly flowers and weeds. ?So if this [I]is[/I] how God views us, how can we hold Him responsible for not doing anything about our suffering? How is He supposed to know about the AIDS epidemic or religious zealots claiming righteousness as they take hundreds of innocent lives? We?re all just flowers in His garden, small ones at that; and every other blossom makes you all the more insignificant to Him. ?Excuse me for getting a little philosophical on you, Cowboy. After all, this isn?t a time?? ?--There isn?t anything left to discuss. Let?s just do this.? Joshua?s eyes remained focused on my own. This was not the same look of affection that I had grown accustomed to in the past. I guess I couldn?t really blame him, though. ?I know,? I let out a small sigh, and loosened the grip I had on the briefcase at my side, ?You didn?t fly this far to hear about our Lord; which is a shame, because a man in your position should be looking for redemption at about this time.? He only continued to stare at me. His look showed nothing but distrust and hatred towards me, both of which were unfounded in this particular case. Had I wanted to, I could have incinerated the whole structure in an instant. A man such as myself only makes an appearance when absolutely necessary, and such was the case with bidding a fond farewell to my Cowboy. ?Why do this Adam?? His right hand inched closer and closer to the dagger he had concealed in one of his jeans? pockets. ?Had I wanted to cross Hanzo swords in a brilliant rooftop duel, I would have done so on my home soil. I came here with one sole purpose in mind ? but don?t think for a moment that I have neglected what has happened to my Angels. The both of you will suffer, far more than any of my girls ever did, don?t forget that. ?It?s time to begin, Cowboy.? ?Let?s bowl.? When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and when in the Lenmark Astro Lanes, we bowl. Joshua got out of his chair and moved slowly down the lanes. He paused for a moment to pick up his personal ball. It was a pale green, and had the name ?Lulu? engraved above the finger sockets. I had half a mind to ask him about the name, but he was not in the mood to answer many questions at the moment. He took a few small steps, adjusted his stance slightly, and looked at me for a moment. He moved his attention towards the pins, and on his first attempt the Cowboy had knocked over each and every one of them ? a strike. A large red ?X? appeared on the video screens above us, and some sort of silly animation immediately followed. Joshua ignored it, and walked back to his seat quietly.

Over the course of their dinner, Adam had realized the true identity of his date. Although he felt foolish for making such a careless mistake, he snuffed it off and never revealed the truth to her. On the spot, he created an elaborate story on how her paintings were gaining notoriety in Japan, and how he wished for Panyin to design several murals for his soon-to-be-completed office building. It was a smooth cover to the fact that Adam had originally wanted her sister to work as an assassin. After meeting Panyin he found himself more and more interested in her, and not the martial talents of her identical twin. In fact, he had [I]never[/I] been this interested in someone before, and insisted that the two of them travel to Tokyo one day so that he could show her the city that apparently ?loved? her paintings. Within a few weeks they were off, enjoying the sights of Japan together, and as Adam often recalled, it was when they had fallen in love. As a result, her original plan to stay there for a few days had ballooned into nearly a month long vacation. They were constantly together, holding hands, embracing one another ? given the strength of their passion it wasn?t uncommon for them to cancel a sightseeing tour in favor of more amorous pursuits. Unfortunately a number of complications had arisen during this time. Having Panyin so close so often made it impossible for him to carry on his illegal business ventures, out of fear of revealing his crimes to her. He assigned these dealings to some of his trusted associates, loosening the grip of his fledgling empire for only a moment, but long enough to almost lose it forever. Adam?s first protégé, a young man by the name of Jin Furuhata, saw the control that his mentor had lost in day-to-day operations and knew this was his chance to rise among the ranks of Tokyo?s crime bosses. Without Adam?s knowledge, Jin had recruited a personal entourage of his own, comprised of some of the most formidable combatants in the world. Years before Adam?s Angels had burst onto the scene, Jin?s move showed great foresight into how modern Tokyo would be run; had his attempted takeover been countered so early in the game, there?s no knowing how powerful his crime syndicate would have become. However, one showdown brought the end of Adam?s temporary lapse of power, and changed his own life, and the fate of the Tokyo streets forever -- the night Jin Furuhata and his group of assassins made their own attempt to kill Adam.

Eight frames down, two to go. Joshua was leading by a few pins, and given his years of experience in the game, it wasn?t surprising at all. By this time I had adjusted to the thought of Ariana?s death; after so many others had fallen, it didn?t come as much of a surprise to see her dying in that damned chair. Joshua remained silent, as he had through much of the night. He would repeatedly stare at me, probably expecting me to strike him down if his vision strayed away for only a moment. Conversely, my attention wanders throughout the bowling alley, surprisingly busy for so late at night. Even with the thunderous sounds of pins crashing everywhere, my senses were honed to the point that Joshua could not have made a sneak attack. He was fully aware of this fact, and part of me believed that most of his staring was an attempt to search for a moment of weakness, and make his move. ?Cowboy,? I spoke rather loudly, in order to be heard over the background noise, ?Before this game ends, and before the score is settled, -- or more correctly, before one of us is killed, because the score will [I]never[/I] be settled, I wanted to apologize. ?You know the price of living this life, and nobody can escape it. Not you, not the Desert Taipan, not Lelia? not even myself. That?s why I took your child from you, Joshua. It?s the same reason I shot Ariana downstairs: to save them from unnecessary suffering, to show them mercy.? Joshua got out of his seat, and picked up his bowling ball. He took a few steps down the lane, and lowered his head. ?So you ended an innocent life, to save him from what might happen?? He screamed, and turned back towards me, ?Do you really think you have it all planned out, Adam? That you know the future, that you were doing the right thing by killing him? Well that?s ********.? The Cowboy adjusted his hat with his free hand, and paused for a moment. Using me as his new target, Joshua flung the green ball straight towards me. I leaped out of the way, missing it?s trajectory by only a few inches as it demolished the plastic chair I had been sitting on. I stood up and opened up my briefcase, revealing a small assortment of weapons. I grabbed the first one that caught my eye, a beautiful Wakizashi short sword; he withdrew his signature blade. Within a moment the battle had begun, and all Hell was set to break loose in this tiny Georgia bowling alley.

Panyin had never met, or even heard of Jin Furuhata before that night. As far as she knew, Adam worked as a successful investor, drawing much of his fortune from the recent advances in robotics technology. A random office high-rise near the Odaiba Memorial Park became his ?future base of operations,? where Panyin was to one day paint the beautiful images that had supposedly drawn Adam?s attention in the first place. They were at the actual construction site when it happened. Most of the building was finished, except for the windows; Adam thought it would be a perfect place to spend an evening with his girl. Sneaking past the lone security guard was no problem for a man of Adam?s talents; even Panyin had shown an exceptional talent for breaking and entering, something that he was sure to make a mental note of. It was somewhere between the 20th and 30th floor when it happened, at least, that?s what Adam remembers about the night. He was holding Panyin in a tight embrace, talking to her about their plans for the future. He vividly described the apartment they could share, and the places they could travel to, together. She was more than a woman to him, she was a future. Before she arrived, Adam knew his fate, and like those before him, he was destined to a life of pain. If nothing else, Payin was his hope that there could be more to life than what was promised, and it?s something he could never have had without her. Suddenly a trigger was pulled, and with the muffled cough of a silenced gunshot all of that changed. A .30 caliber bullet blasted its way through Panyin?s arm, and she fell to the ground immediately, silently crumpling over. A second shot, directed towards Adam from behind managed to graze his shoulder, but by this time he had drawn his personal handgun and opened fire on the hidden assailant. Within five shots the masked man had been shot off his perch from the floor above, and dropped to the ground, hundreds of feet below. Knowing better than to drop his guard, Adam drew his Wakizashi with his free hand, and began to survey the area for more possible assassins. A pair of older men, dressed in faded brown ponchos, swung down and while Adam had managed to get one of the men during the pair?s decent, the other dashed towards him. Using his speed and resourceful, he dodged Adam?s attempts to gun him down, and disarmed the pistol from him with a quick front snap kick and followed through with a roundhouse, pushing Adam back. Adam stumbled for a moment, and then made his move with the Wakizashi. Stepping forward past the man?s next few blows, Adam proceeded to deliver some lightning fast cuts of his own. While the first few blows missed his opponent, The man, who was more worried about the Wakizashi, was caught off guard with a side kick that brought him to his knees. Adam, taking advantage of the convenient positioning, finished the fight with a standard decapitation. He began to breathe heavily, and ignoring the obvious danger, he dropped his weapon and rushed towards Panyin?s side. At this point she was unconscious, but still alive. The poor girl knew nothing of the life Adam had hidden from her, yet she was still a casualty in the war Jin Furuhata had initiated against her lover. Then Jin appeared, from where I have no idea, but he wore a simple gray business suit with matching tie, and tightly clutched a Bo in his right hand as he approached. [b]*[/b]?Adam, this ends now,? Jin announced loudly, looking at Panyin?s body with some deranged sense of accomplishment, ?Your empire, your power, and your fortunes: I?ve fought long and hard to get to this point and tonight they will all be mine.? ?You?re wrong, Jin,? Adam glared, ?You, and everyone you care about will die for your betrayal. Let this be a warning to anyone who ever tries to stop me?? Adam pointed his gun at Jin, closed his eyes, and fired. [b]*[/b] [size=1]Since I do not speak Japanese, this is only a rough translation of what was said that night.[/size]

Joshua crashed backwards onto the lane. The two of our blades clashed, neither showing any sign of weakness, or a willingness to submit to their opponent. Joshua leaped backwards a few feet,, ?This is going to be just as difficult as I imagined it, isn?t it? Getting my revenge.? ?Revenge isn?t yours to have, Cowboy.? ?You killed those I cared about, you could have achieved great things with your position, but you turn your back on the life I provided. Without me you would still be traveling around the world, whoring yourself to rich businessmen. Is that the father you wanted your precious son to grow up with?? ?Better a whore than a murderer, Adam. It was only a contract; one that I couldn?t ever agree to. It wasn?t all for him,? His gaze turned away from me for the first time that night, ?I couldn?t continue like that anymore.? I aimed my gun at Joshua, ?And you won?t have to ever again. Good night? I caressed the trigger and my piece spoke, but Joshua had already started moving. Normally my barrage would have cut him down since my piece instinctively tracked his movements, but this time he slipped. His cowboy boots weren?t ready for the slick bowling lanes and he slid down the lane. He took advantage of my surprise and drew his own piece. His magnum roared, shattering the nearby scoring machine and driving me towards cover. A shot from that powerhouse could rip an arm off at this range, possibly more for the unfortunate. Joshua wasn?t often off. The recoil from his gun drove Joshua further down the lanes and into the pins: a strike. Again, the big red X appeared on the screen, followed by the same stupid animation. Now it was my turn to bowl. I quickly leaped to my fallen suitcase and pulled out a timed grenade. I pulled the pin and tossed it at him as the machine began to clear out the pins. 3 second fuse. One. I heard the Cowboy scrambling around his cramped position. The machine had cleared out the pins. Two. Wait. The machine had returned the bowling ball, or in this case, my grenade. I quickly rushed away to safety as my grenade dropped into the ball return. Three. Taking cover beneath the remaining chairs, I covered my head as the grenade burst, flinging fragments of marble and plastic shrapnel into anything and everything nearby. As the smoke cleared Joshua made his way towards me, laughing at the good fortune that had just smiled his way. He steadied the knife with both hands, visibly shaken from the impact of the blast. I stood up and reached desperately into the briefcase once more. A three-section staff, the only weapon of reach in my arsenal, appeared to be the safest bet, and as such it was drawn immediately. I connected the individual sections, making sure they would not slip apart during combat, and readied myself for another frame. Joshua attempted to surprise me once more, rushing in with failed uppercut, and finishing off his charge with a stab through my right shoulder. Reeling in pain, I slammed my weapon into the Cowboy, and vaulted him skyward. He flew through the air for a few feet, smashing through the large glass walls that had separated the Lenmark Astro Lanes from its adjoining karaoke bar. In the panic caused by the explosion and ensuing fight, the karaoke bar, and most of the bowling alley had been completely cleared. Joshua struggled to stand up, more focused on the bits and pieces of glass that had stuck onto his body than my approach. Loud disco music blared over the speakers inside. The lyrics were unrecognizable to Joshua, but to someone from an older generation, they were the sounds of my youth. I hummed along softly as I carefully walked over the debris that had littered the floor. He threw his signature weapon, his signature move, a most ineffective signature move, I might add. His bizarre habit of throwing his weapon away was easily his biggest weakness, and I proved that fact once more by easily deflecting the knife. I thrust the end of my staff into Joshua?s chest, following through by slamming the other end against his face. Battered and bruised, he grabbed a microphone stand, and making a weak attempt at improvisation, used it to defend himself. My first few swings were countered successfully by the thin metal pole, though repeated stress from the attacks quickly forced it to snap into two identical halves. Without missing a beat, the Cowboy charged me again attacking with the two halves. I quickly flicked my staff into a low parry over my kneecap and twisted the top end to cover my face as both blows rained down from the ends of his shattered stand. I quickly separated my staff into three pieces and tried to use the bottom portion to disarm his left hand. Joshua, however, anticipated this and dropped both ends preemptively. He pulled off the microphone connected to one half of the stand and whirled the cord in an elaborate parry, totally entangling my staff. We stopped for a second, both of our weapons were hopelessly entangled. We looked at each other, dropped the mess, and sprinted towards opposite ends of the alley looking for new weapons. Seeing no better alternative, I grabbed a handful of glass shards and flung them at Joshua as if they were shurikens. Even though they were definitely not intended for such use, three of the pieces found their way directly into his leg. He rushed over the bar, hopping over the counter and disappearing completely. A moment passed, and Joshua revealed himself again, this time with a newfound shotgun, ready and willing to take down anything in his path. He quickly unloaded two shells into my position to the right of the bowling trophies. I somersaulted to the right and took down the biggest bowling trophy I could find. It wasn?t much, but there wasn?t any other sort of cover in the area. I quickly raised it as he emptied the next to shells into my position. The trophy took it but it knocked me back through the display case and into the diner waiting behind it. Out of ammunition, he dropped the shotgun to his side and took a bottle of whisky in its stead. He took a swig, stepped out from behind the countertop and pulled out the small dagger he had been hiding in his pockets this entire time. I demolished a wooden chair against the linoleum floor, and used one of it?s legs as a means of defending myself. Joshua struck with the dagger, I took the blow with the chunk of wood I had just claimed as my own. The blade sunk firmly into the pine chair leg and we both let go immediately, seeing no need to struggle over something as small as a dagger. But, while unarmed, the Cowboy struck with his whisky bottle, shattering it on my head and spilling the liquor all over our open wounds. In a daze, Cowboy swung at me wildly with what was left of that bottle, adding new cuts and scars to what was an already-plentiful assortment. I was cornered, unable to see, and so you?ll understand the mistake I made when the tin can I had grabbed to block the glass turned out to be pressurized. Another small explosion rang throughout the bowling alley, most of which was already in flames from my grenade. Thanks to the force of the blast we were once again on the ground, unarmed, unwilling and unable to stop this vicious conflict. Smoke crept into the small diner as flames drew in closer. He ran over towards the refrigerator, knocking assorted cans and bottles below it as he rummaged his way through tabletops of cooking supplies, looking for something he could use against me. I pulled the last ace up out of my sleeve, a lone dagger, and closed me eyes. I threw it carefully at the refrigerator, striking it's power cord.Sparks began to fly near the bottles and cans that were below Joshua?s feet. ?You know, I?m going to win this Adam,? He declared, breathing heavily, ?All in all, this isn?t the most difficult fight in my life ? your time is over, and I?m going to avenge my son.? ?Well if fate happens to reverse its directions today, be sure to tell your son, my son, that I cared about him very much? even in the end.? ?He?s alive?? I never gave him an answer, for I was never given a chance to. The sparks had ignited the cans at his feet, causing them to burst. He was flung against the cold refrigerator door when another set of cans exploded from behind the appliance, giving it just enough force to topple directly onto Joshua. With a resounding ?thud? all that was left visible of the Cowboy was a mangled arm, outstretched from beneath the wreckage, and the simple hat that had struck fear into the hearts of my lost Angels. ?Cheers.?

[size=1]-Shy[/size]

[James]

[center][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img] [size=4]End of Volume 1[/size] [size=4][i]James is[/i][/size] [size=5]JAMIE KIDD (AKA "DESERT TAIPAN")[/size] [size=4][i]Shy is[/i][/size] [size=5]JOSHUA (AKA "COWBOY")[/size] [size=4][i]Shinmaru is[/i][/size] [size=5]SHINMARU HAZUKI (AKA "TWO FACE")[/size] [size=4][i]BabyGirl is[/i][/size] [size=5]LELIA ANGELO (AKA "FALLEN ANGEL")[/size] [size=4][i]Queen Asuka is[/i][/size] [size=5]ARIANNA LOVE (AKA "EROTICA")[/size] [size=4][i]Sweetreyes is[/i][/size] [size=5]ANN DOMINION (AKA "SWITCH")[/size] [size=4][i]Heaven's Cloud is[/i][/size] [size=5]JEANETTE MARIE DIAZ (AKA "SANTO MUERTE")[/size] [size=4][i]Semjaza Azazel is[/i][/size] [size=5]******* (AKA "DEATH ADDER")[/size] [size=4][i]Based on the characters "Jamie & Joshua", created by[/i][/size] [size=5]J&S[/size] [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KILL_ADAM_EXPLODING_FIST.jpg[/img][/center]

Thank you for reading...if you're interested in signing-up for the next volume (which will go live within the next few weeks), please ensure that you [i]do[/i] read this thread. ~_^