Writing The Hit 2

[Zen]

[color=red][b][size=1]The following fic is rated MATURE for violence, language, sexuality, drugs, and alcohol. The characters are all works of fiction based on the personalities of several Otakuboards members, though they are in no way personal judgements or a means of insult for said members. We're all friends here. Please enjoy the read, and comment me with any form of feedback you wish.

Thank you and enjoy.[/color][/b][/size]

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[center][b][URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=56225"]The Hit[/URL]

[URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=57460"]The Hit: Contracts[/URL][/b][/center][/color][/u]
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[b]“You need a new name… The Boss, it’s simply unbefitting a man such as you.”

“I’ll have a Sprite, thank you…”[/b] I looked away from the stewardess and back to Erica who sat on the row seat. [b]“Why’s that? I like it... its got panache. Besides, I didn’t even choose it. It kinda just, happened, somehow.”

“It makes you sound like a real asshole, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask you, did I Raiha.” My eyes didn’t leave Erica.

“Watch who you speak to in that tone…”

“Well what would you suggest?” [/b]I followed the stewardess’ behind with my eyes as she moved in her tight uniform to the back storage area.

[b]“Well, your style seems so… simple. You’re a very minimalist man from what I’ve observed.”

“From what you observed? Last I checked, all you did was drop a bomb in my hospital room and jet.”

“We’ve been watching your movements a lot closer than you realize, mister…. ‘ahem’, Boss.”

“Yeah, I see where you are coming from with the name thing now…”

“…Well as I was saying. You are very simple in your approach, yet effective. In eastern culture, things of simple beauty are often referred to as Zen. I believe that name may be more… suitable. If you asked me, that is.”

“Hah, simple beauty my Chinese ass. There isn’t anything beautiful about his style. He’s just lucky. I don’t see why James doesn’t just let us handle the target.”

“From what I gather, James just wants the job done right.”[/b] The stewardess made her way back down the isle in her tight powder-blue uniform, carrying a can of Sprite for me.

She reached across Erica and handed it to me as Raiha whispered something along the lines of killing me in my sleep.

[b]“Regardless, the name change was just a suggestion. Just an idle comment.”

“No, I like it. Zen… I think I’ll stick to it.”[/b] A groan of frustration rose from my left, out of Raiha’s body.

A chime went off over the plane’s intercom, and a relaxed man’s voice spoke elegantly in Japanese. Then he began in English, [b]“Good Evening, Passengers. I’d like to say to you all, Welcome to Japan. We shall be landing shortly, please fasten your seat belts and enjoy your stay in the land of the Rising Sun.”

“Cool… So where did you guys stow my sword at again?”[/b]

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[FONT="Impact"]The Hit 2[/FONT][/size]


[img]http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5513/hitmantextxp7.jpg[/img]




[b]Chapter 18:[/b] In With The New[/center]



We must’ve been some strange site, walking through the Japanese airport terminal as a pair. Two business like, and beautiful, asian women tailing a single red-haired Greek fellow dressed in an old track suit. The people around us must’ve thought I was a rapper or something and they were my agents. Funny thing is that one had tried to kill me not two weeks ago, and the other wanted to chop off my dick and feed it to a pack of dogs.

Erica quickened her pace, signaling me and Raiha to follow. [b] “Baggage claim is this way, or luggage should be rolling in soon. We must be quick…”[/b]

[b] “What’s the rush?”[/b]

[b] “The rush is that we’re smuggling a small personal armory into the country.”[/b] Raiha’s sarcasm went unnoticed when I realized what she’d said.

[b] “W-what?!”[/b]

[b] “Quiet your ass down!”[/b] Raiha screamed in a hushed voice.

My voice lowered to a whisper, [b] “What kind of morons smuggle guns on a commercial airline?”[/b]

Raiha turned directly to my face and growled,[b] “The kind of morons who can’t afford to search the criminal underworld for firearms because our target OWNS the underworld!”[/b]

[b] “Ah…[/b]


[center]************************************[/center]


Tokyo was bustling with human bodies. I’d been to Japan before, but that was many years ago when I was just a kid. A lot of memories were tied to the mountain side village that I was trained in. But I had very little experience in the city, and it had only grown in my time away. I lugged two extremely heavy, metal filled suitcases on my back as the young ladies ahead of me guided us to our hotel. Carrying bags full of weapons through a city this crowded was more than a little nerve-racking. I could only hope the hotel was nice.

Erica handled the talking at the front desk, and soon we were off up the elevator towards our lodging. [b] “I got us an entire room to ourselves. You should feel lucky.”[/b]

[b] “Is that supposed to be something special?”[/b]

[b] “In Tokyo? Well, to explain it in terms you’ll understand, I just spent four hundred dollars on one hotel room for one night. Tomorrow we’ll have to stay somewhere else.”[/b]

[b] “This better be a nice ass room.”[/b]

[b] “Just shut up and be happy with what you get.”[/b] Raiha’s shortness with me was becoming hard to put up with.

The elevator stopped and we stepped out. The hallway was extremely thin, and claustrophobia suddenly became an understandable ailment to me. We stopped at the end of the hallway and Erica opened the door to a room that might have been the size of a walk-in closet. On each side of the room were two holes in the walls the size of a man and a window facing the door.

[b] “Welcome home, Zen. Atleast for the night.”[/b]

[b] “You gotta be shitting me.”[/b]

[b] “I wish we were. Lay the bags down in the spare bed.”[/b] Raiha stepped up and sat down on the bottom hole in the wall, bending over on her knees.

[b] “Bed? You mean those are beds?”[/b]

[b] “What’d I tell you about complaining…”[/b]


[center]***************************[/center]


Raiha and Erica said that they had to go check in with a contact within the city, and make a call to James. I decided to stay back and sleep off my jet-lag. As I lay there I remembered the weeks prior to when I’d arrived in Japan. After handling my deal with James, I left the now destroyed Vigor. Gavin, The Riot, and every other life form had completely disappeared from the premises. Less for me to deal with luckily.

After I let Sakura and DW know about what the deal was, I told them to not get involved. I didn’t want to put them in danger ever again, or at least, not in the kind of danger a job such as this would put them in. Sakura tried to put up a fight, but I wouldn’t let her. I told her to work on her own career for a bit, earn some money, let me do my job. DW on the other hand had no qualms at all. With a warning and a good luck, he said good bye to me. James kept in close contact with me for the week leading up to my flight. He offered me all the ammunition and weaponry I could want, but I refused, telling him my odachi was all I needed.

That was when he decided to send Erica and Raiha along with me, though I’m pretty certain he had planned to have them watch me anyways. They’re the ones who told me who my target was supposed to be. Head of the Black Hand Yakuza, a mysterious man without a name or face to identify. He was apparently a highly guarded and secretive individual whose criminal activities often rivaled those of James himself. James entailed me with the information that he was guarded by some of the most dangerous body guards in the underworld, and had a vast amount of human resources at his disposal.

James also let me know the little legend behind the Black Hand’s leader. Apparently the Black Hand was formerly run by five members, all of whom had equal power. It was the current leader who walked into one of their meetings one day, an apparent outsider, and single handedly murdered every one of the heads himself. Some say with his bare hands. Others say with some dark magic behind him. Personally I don’t believe that mumbo jumbo, but what is clear is that he won his power by force, and the guy is dangerous. I told James that’d I’d take care of myself.

Sleep was growing close when I heard a knock at the door. I’d hoped it was room service. Opening the door myself, I stepped out and looked to my right down the empty, narrow hallway, and then to my left.

No one.

Turning around, my eyes fell on a loomingly tall figure dressed in all black. A large cross laying on the window seal.

[b] “Interesting…. Most interesting.”[/b][/color][/size]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]And here, right up until that last line, I was worried you wouldn't bring me back in this Mike. Heh. Looming tall figure all dressed in black ? Give me a white haori and you make me sound like Kenpachi, and that's not a complaint in any respect.

All joking aside, it's great to see this series back, I know we spoke about it yesterday Mike, but I seriously didn't expect you to bring it back so quickly. I can't wait to see some of your legendary fight scenes again, it's been too long since I've had the treat of reading them.[/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh no. I don't know exactly how Gavin will react to seeing his long lost love. And check your tea whenever Raiha hands it to you. She has a thing for paralysis drugs.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]She has a thing for paralysis drugs.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]Yeah, because you just have no idea what she's going to go and do while your paralysed, do you Mike ? Heh heh. Sounds fun, especially for the man who can't be killed.[/SIZE]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Nice to see this back Mike, and I must say you're once again working at top form. A low-key start to what I suspect will be another action-packed saga, and one which I am very much looking forward to reading.

Keep up the good work!
[/SIZE]

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]So the prodigal son returns? For how long this time, I wonder?

Kidding. But really, in all seriousness, I'm glad to see this back. The idleness of [B]The Hit[/B]'s been far too long and, to be honest, we need more action in the Anthology. And agreeing with [B]Gavin[/B], I can't wait to read your legendary fight scenes.[/size][/color]

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Book Antiqua"]Bah, I can't believe I didn't read the first one. I need to start reading this series. Pretty good so far Mike, can't wait for this story to get heated up.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Zen]

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[center]

[img]http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5513/hitmantextxp7.jpg[/img]



[b]Chapter 19:[/b] Old Acquaintances.[/center]


A flood of strange emotions flooded over me, but strangely, dread was absent. Here stood before me the man who could have and should have killed me, but here also stood the same man who had saved my life. The same man who spared the life of a close friend, and as far as I’m concerned, my own life. He stood in the center of the room, examining the small beds inconspicuously, as if I shouldn’t be surprised by his presence. His crucifix sent a cross-shaped shadow across the room from the window’s light.

He slowly turned his large frame towards me, and nodded in acknowledgment. [b] “Well, hello there… Boss.”[/b]

I attempted my best to disguise my shock, [b] “What’re you doing here Crusader?”[/b]

[b] “Well…. The usual I suppose. God’s work. And please, call me Gavin would you?”[/b]

[b] “Are you trying to make friends with me or something?”[/b] My hand slowly reached towards my sheath that was not there. I still hadn’t unpacked my bags.

[b] “I suppose you could say that.”[/b]

[b] “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”[/b]

[b] “You owe me, young man. First you try to kill me,”[/b] Gavin consciously ran his hand across a discolored scar across his throat, left there courtesy of me, [b] “And then I consecutively saved your life twice.”[/b]

[b] “I don’t owe you shit! You tried to kill me first!”[/b]

[b] “I suppose that lays the record at two to one, then… Regardless, I’m not here to collect at this moment. I just want to protect my investment, until the proper time presents itself.”[/b]

[b] “You don’t own me, Gavin…”[/b]

[b] “Is that how you thank your guardian angel?”[/b] Gavin’s expression quickly changed from smarmy sarcasm to a sudden disbelief.

[b] “Gavin…”[/b] Raiha’s voice muttered from behind me. I turned quickly to see her and Erica staring through the open doorway.

Before I could speak, or even blink, Raiha’s body had disappeared and shot past me like a bullet.

I began to utter words, [b] “What the fu- “[/b] but Erica had already leapt in front of me as I turned to confront Raiha.

[b] “Do not get involved in this, Zen.”[/b] Looking past Erica’s shoulder, I saw that Raiha stood in an aggressive stance, her hand outstretched, holding a needle to Gavin’s throat while he stayed still and silent.

[b] “But he’s not here to cause anything…”[/b] I tried to move past the bodily obstacle before me, but Erica grabbed my arm tightly, holding me still with surprising strength.

[b] “You don’t understand, Zen. This goes beyond anything you think you know.”[/b] I was about to speak again when I heard Raiha’s voice mutter something softly through tears.

[b] “I’ll kill you…”[/b]
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[b]OOC:[/b] Please forgive the extreme shortness, but my day has been busier than I can explain, and I needed to get this part out of the way. Tomorrow, I'll have another chapter up, and I can assure there will be some action involved. Consider this the prologue.[/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Let us now take a few seconds to explain.

Item one: Raiha and Gavin are/were married and deeply in love, she knowing he was a contractor, and he not knowing she was as well.

Item two: The surprise from that caused a bit of a blow up on Gavin's part, shock, dismay at the betrayal, and then a good bit of shouting on both their parts.

Item three: Raiha has never forgiven Gavin for being angry with her when he found her choice of profession.

Item four: Even if the poison in and on her won't kill him outright, Gavin would in fact suffer ridiculously horrible amounts of pain before she was satisfied.

Item five: All this could be overlooked however if the makeup sex was a: fantastic and b: involved cake.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Two chapters in two days, nice job Mike, even if apparently I'm about to get into a giant argument with my little angel, get poisoned and experience horrific pain or deliver fantastic make-up sex with cake before she'll stop trying to find a way to actually kill me for good... Yeah, no points for guessing which choice I'm making here Mike. ^_^;

I'll have to see about writing a piece for Contracts, to develop myself a bit.[/SIZE]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]You can almost taste the pure sexual tension...mmm tasty.

A dramatic return for Gavin here, and damn is Raiha fast or what? I also hope that you will bring some resolution to that series of trippy dreams your character was having in the previous installment.
[/SIZE]

[Zen]

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[center]

[img]http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5513/hitmantextxp7.jpg[/img]


[b]Chapter 20:[/b] The Ones We Love[/center]


Tangible intensity filled the air as Raiha held a sharp eight-inch needle centimeters from Gavin’s throat. Gavin stood almost serenely, his eyes not diverting from Raiha’s with a look of mysterious passion. With her back to me, I could not make out Raiha’s face, however I could assume it was contorted into fury and sorrow, due to her heaving breathes and shaking voice. For a short moment, no one moved or said a thing. Calm. Quiet.

A car horn sounded off loudly in the city’s distance and in a nanosecond, both bodies moved in front of me at an incomprehensible speed. Raiha’s arm shifted forward quickly, attemping to stab Gavin through the neck, however, his large body leaned to the side, his feet staying in the same place, spread apart for balance and stability. With no room to leap or jump, Gavin continued dodging Raiha’s lighting quick attacks in the same manner, ducking and weaving in between needle-point punches. It soon dawned on me that Gavin was far faster than I could have ever imagined, I’d fought the man myself, and I’d never seen even a glimpse of reflexes such as this.

For a few moments, the two continued as they were, Raiha attacking and Gavin dodging. Then in a single motion, Gavin snatched Raiha’s wrists out of the air with both hands, carefully holding her hands away from his body.

[b] “Raiha… please stop this.”[/b] he spoke in a calm, deep tone looking deeply into her eyes.

[b] “Fuck you!”[/b] she shouted in fury, pulling her body away from him, twisting her arms in a circular motion, and releasing Gavin’s grip on her. Her body continued in the circular motion and she pin-wheeled on a single foot, bringing her heeled-shoe across Gavin’s face at a wicked angle. The Crusader’s body hinged sideways, however his feet still remained rooted firmly in the ground.

As his body angled back to an upright position, Raiha swung around with her needles now in a double stabbing motion going towards his rising head and neck. Gavin’s arms quickly blocked her attack off at the elbow, circling her arms in the opposite direction and stopping them as her hands pointed towards the floor. His thumbs applied pressure to a point on top of her hands, causing her to drop the needles. Gavin attempted to keep her hands secured, but Raiha was not a weak woman. She quickly released his grip on her by twisting her wrists towards the thumb and brought her hands forward quickly in a double punch to Gavin’s solar plexus.

Gavin’s body rocked back hard, hitting the crucifix in the window. I was confused while watching the fight. Gavin had yet to attack, as if he were afraid of harming the woman trying to kill him. Before I could continue my train of thought the action had started again. As the dazed Gavin recovered from the harsh blow dealt to him, Raiha continued to rain down fire with a barrage of her speedy punches and elbows, wrecking most of Gavin’s body. I had to do something, regardless of how I felt about the man, he’d saved my life.

I began to push Erica aside to stop Raiha’s attack, but my weight suddenly shifted underneath me as I tumbled to the floor. Erica stood over and in front of me still. [b] “I told you not to interfere.”[/b] she said with a strict tone.

Looking back to the action, my eyes caught Raiha swiftly reach into her coat’s pocket and withdraw two silver needles and bring them down in a smooth motion towards Gavin’s chest. But the tall Irishman’s guard was already waiting. The needle’s plunged into his forearm, driving deep into his flesh. He growled in anger and pushed Raiha back away from him with surprising strength. She fell back several feet and was caught by Erica. My eyes followed her as she tumbled into the other woman’s arms. I then placed my sights back on Gavin, who was busy pulling the long needles from his arm. Tossing them aside, he seethed in pain and fell onto his backside, grabbing at his wound in agony.

[b] “No… no, what have I done?”[/b] Raiha’s tone switched from hellfire and fury to sickly worried. She rushed over to Gavin as his body went slowly limp. She grabbed him up by the back of the head and shoulders and held him in her lap, rubbing his hair carefully. [b] “I’m so sorry, Gavin.”[/b]

[b] “You really stuck me, my little angel.”[/b] he laughed through choked breathes.

[b] “Erica, get the antidote out of my bags, quick.”[/b] she commanded.

[b] “But Raiha.”[/b]

[b] “Just do it!”[/b]

After a few moments of sitting in disbelief and confusion, I finally stood up and shouted. [b] “What the hell is going on?!”[/b][/color][/size]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]A buyer's remorse. It'll get you every time.

But of course now the healing can begin. And it's not like he'd DIE from that or anything.....sheesh. What kinda monster do you think I a- Oh nevermind. The antidote's just so he won't suffer horribly while his ridiculously immortal body takes the damage.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Heh poor Zen, he's just had to watch two of the world's most dangerous assassin's just have their version of a marital spat and then kiss and make-up, I guess he should be just grateful he wasn't killed in the fighting.

Kidding aside, great chapter Mike, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens from here plot-wise, though obviously all the kick-ass fight scenes are going to be fun to read too.[/SIZE]

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B]How crazy love can make us. Even to the point of sticking two poisoned needles into the man you love. Then again, that could only be [B]Raiha[/B] and her love for poisons. Or perhaps it's [B]Gavin[/B]'s immortality that makes her want to kill him, then save him. Who knows?

But you know, I wonder who else will pop up in this story. I really do wonder. Well, let's get cracking, [B]Mike[/B]. Get those fight scenes in and whatnot. =P[/size][/color]

[Ellerby]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DimGray"]Very nice work here. It seemed like Anthology was going through a bit of a OB fanfic drought after the flurry of stories from last year but I'm glad they're making a come back for 2008. And what better way to start it off then with a continuation of The Hit?

I've got to say there was one line that really stood out for me.
[indent][i]I was about to speak again when I heard Raiha?s voice mutter something softly through tears.

?I?ll kill you??[/i][/indent]

That was perfect. I could feel the tension between Gavin and Raiha right away. Especially after reading Raiha's little explanation post afterwards. Great writing there. Can't wait to read more![/COLOR][/FONT]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]Ah, it's just as good as I remember :] And now it has fresh new flavors due to your writing skills improving since the last installment. Despite the fact I was merely mentioned in a few sentences (as a coward, mind you, haha), I will still look forward to reading more.

I like how we get right down to the nitty gritty right away. No jumping around stuff. We're already well into the story's intensity. And the character development is intriguing. Tell us more, bitch![/size]

[Kenso]

[SIZE=1]First things first. Damn you!! My freaking eyes hurt!! Moving on from that, very nice. Of course, I just had to read the entirety of all three topics, but it was well worth it. I almost feel sorry for Gavin though. Marrying Raiha just couldn't have been a good idea. He must've been drunk.

EDIT: I only have one real complaint. All this new reading stuff in Anthology makes me wonder how in the name of Kossuth I'm RPing on the same site as you people.
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[Zen]

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[center]
[img]http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5513/hitmantextxp7.jpg[/img]


[b]Chapter 21:[/b] ‘Til Death[/center]


Raiha desperately poured a small bottle of liquid down Gavin’s gaping jaw as his head lay back on her knees. It was obvious that her needles were highly poisonous. While Raiha tended to the injured Gavin, much to my deepest confusion, Erica filled me in on the current situation.

[b] “Listen, this is something you might have a hard time comprehending, but those two are married.”[/b]

[b] “…. Say what?”[/b] I could only ask again, because the words just spoken couldn’t have been correct.

[b] “They’ve been married for some years. But they separated sometime ago after Gavin found out about Raiha’s secret occupation.”[/b]

A strange sinking feeling overcame my body all at once and I sat back for a moment thinking of the highly unlikely chain of events that have conspired in the past months of my life, and how these things were connected. [b] “You must be shitting me…”[/b]

[b] “Afraid not, Zen. You are looking at the most lethal married couple in the world.”[/b]

[b] “Is Gavin going to be alright?”[/b]

[b] “Well, he took two very lethal doses of puffer fish venom to the forearms. However, the antidote was applied quickly. A normal human’s chances of survival at this point are around fifty-fifty. But you and I both know durable The Crusader is.”[/b]

[b] “Yeah,”[/b] I laughed while I remembered our last encounter as enemies, [b] “… I can vouch for that much.”[/b]
I looked over to the two in time to see Raiha lean over and kiss Gavin’s lips while his eyes slowly opened. His body was still limp, probably numb and in great pain from the dangerous dose of poison he just caught. He struggled to move as Raiha began to whisper to him some unclear sweet nothing. Erica then tapped me on my shoulder to catch my attention.

[b] “I think we should give them some time alone.”[/b] her eyes jerked to the side, her head motioning toward the show.

[b] “That’s fine, but where should we go?”[/b] I reached over and withdrew my odachi, scabbard and all, from the armory suitcase. I didn’t plan on being caught with my pants down again. Figuratively of course.

[b] “Well, I still remember a few nice spots to visit from my last stay in Tokyo… are you feeling hungry?”[/b]

[center][b]****************************[/center][/b]

Erica had taken me out to a chic sushi bar a few blocks down the road, located on a busy street corner. We could watch the dense human traffic moving on the sidewalks through the large glass windows. Plates of various sushi and sashimi moved past me on a conveyer belt. Erica patiently selected several pieces of her choice. I took note and did the same, grabbing up pretty much everything that passed me. I was still dressed in my lazy travel clothes, a black Adidas running suit with white stripes down the side. My shoes matched my suit in both color and brand. Despite my snazzy threads, I still looked sloppy due to nearly 20 hours with no sleep.

[b] “So, is this supposed to be our first date or something?”[/b] I wasn’t too tired to be witty. Or maybe the sleep deprivation was just loosening my inhibitions.

[b] “Zen… I do believe it was but two weeks ago I nearly ended your life. Don’t you find it a bit odd to be hitting on me this soon?”[/b] Erica’s eyebrow had raised and I caught a glimpse of spunk in the normally business like woman.

[b] “Oh, don’t think I haven’t forgotten. You owe me at least three more dates to make up for that.”[/b]

[b] “I think that’s a bit much. I didn’t take you as one to hold grudges…”[/b] Erica placed a chunk of rice in her mouth with chopsticks, chewing with a smile on her shining lips.

[b] “Are you willing to work out a better deal, then?”[/b] I took an entire piece of sushi and shoved the oversized morsel in my mouth, chewing messily.

[b] “Oh, I’m sure I could offer you [i]some[/i] kind of service to make up for it…”[/b] she looked to me from the corner’s of her glasses’ lens, causing me to blush and choke on my food all at once. I was hunkered over away from her, trying force my food down my throat when the electronic door chime sounded off. The sound was followed by the first English speaking voices I’d heard since entering the country. They sounded oddly familiar.

I looked over to see a pair of males dressed in a white and black suit walk forth and in a window booth behind me and Erica. The sandy haired blonde dressed in black began to speak. [b] “Man… how do they expect us find one guy in fucking Tokyo? It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack, except the needle can kill you… and the haystack is a city… that moves… Shit, I lost the metaphor.”[/b]

His companion, a fair complexioned black fellow dressed in white, replied. [b] “Don’t strain yourself, I’m the brains now anyways. You’re the brawn.”[/b]

[b] “Are you trying to call me stupid or something?”[/b] the blonde responded. I looked into the reflection of a soy spoon to make out there faces, but the image was too distorted to make out much more than their basic features and color.

[b] “I’m not [i]trying[/i] to do anything. I was just saying, you got the physical edge now, which leaves me in a more, contemplative role.”[/b]

[b] “Well, that edge came at the expense of my ass gettin’ blown up in an epic car wreck. Easily one of the greatest moments in ownage history.”[/b]

[b] “You’re lucky it was into the ocean…”[/b] my heart suddenly sank into my chest. [b] “It could’ve been another road we fell onto. None of us would be here if that were the case…”[/b]

[b] “You and you’re pessimism, Alex. I swear to God.”[/b] I slowly and carefully turned towards the two, knowing that what I would see would definitely not be good.

[b] “Hey, I’m trying to get you in the whole ‘half glass full’ mindset. I mean, now there’s no debate of who can beat the other in a fist fight now.”[/b] My eyes set down, and my heart dropped into my stomach, I shuddered, and laid my hand on Erica’s shoulder, turning her in my direction slowly.

[b] “Damn right. Now order, weakling! Mwuahahaha!”[/b] White laughed, sitting across from his partner Retribution. I’d killed them. I’d watched them die. I saw their dead, lifeless bodies floating lifelessly in the water myself. I know I did….

Why were they still alive?!
[/color]



[b]OOC:[/b] picture credit goes to the fabulous Erica/Revelation.[/size]

[Revelation]

[size=1][color=#8B008B][B]Raiha[/B] and [B]Gavin[/B]; [B]Zen[/B] and Erica. That's a nice mix, if I should say so myself. Granted, I'm pretty sure I'd want to kill Mike a few times, just to get it out of my system. But you know, I do feel for the two. I mean, they're a tragic couple destined to be at each others' throats for the rest of their lives.

But anyways, so now we've got [B]White[/B] and [B]Retribution[/B] back, huh? I guess they went and did a Jesus- died and resurrected three very long days after. It just makes me wonder if they'll notice Zen in the booth and start a fight. I mean, it really does make me wonder.

Speaking of Jesus, are you going to have Joe and Annie come back to life too? Or are we done with the entire resurrections?[/size][/color]

[Zen]

[color=darkred][size=1]

Well, me and Zeke survived the crash...

And to note, I never showed Athena or Joe die. I kinda just left them to Gavin. I might let him explain what happened in a few more chapters

And by the way, I have a World dedicated to The Hit on TheOtaku.com now.

[URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/thehit"]The Hit's World[/URL]

I post all the chapters there from the Hit and the Hit 2, so you can read there from start to finish if you ever have the desire. Comments would be cool too.


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[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Haha, White screwing up the metaphor really hit the comedy spot for me. You really have a knack for writing some snappy, witty dialogue, Mike, and that's something not a lot of amateur writers can do.

And I'm beginning to get the feeling that there are many characters in this universe who are nigh-on invincible. Zen, Zeke, White, Retribution and Gavin have all survived things that would end a normal person. But that said I'm not complaining - it's always helpful to have a reasonable-sized cast, and with a limited member base at OB it's difficult when you keep killing off characters.

Stellar work - I'm looking forward to it's continuation.
[/SIZE]

[Gavin]

[SIZE="1"]Ooh, so Zen and Erica are hooking up, seems D'Ann we may have a couple of understudies for our position of world's deadliest couple.

Good to see Alex and Stephen back, with brilliant dialogue, they always did make a cool pair. Hope Annie and Joe are still around too, even if I imagine I don't make a habit of leaving enemies alive unless the fight has been really good.[/SIZE]

[Zen]

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[center][img] http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5513/hitmantextxp7.jpg[/img]

[b]Chapter 22:[/b] Bits & Pieces.[/center]


[b] “Do you know those two?”[/b] Erica asked me while I stared blankly, slack-jawed at the two men sitting near us.

[b] “Yeah. I thought I’d killed them.”[/b] I stammered, my words just spilling out me.

[b] “What do you mean?”[/b] her body language suddenly switched to a defensive posture as she placed her utensils down and turned in their direction.

[b] “Those two,”[/b] I whispered to her through the side of my mouth, [b] “they’re contractors like me who had gone after James. They tried to kill me back in Otaku City. White and Retribution…”[/b]

Erica went to speak, when suddenly an enthusiastic voice burst out from the two assassins’ table. [b] “Oh! Retri! It seems someone knows us by name.”[/b] My stomach dropped and I stood up from my seat carefully. White turned his head slowly with a smile that turned to a surprised grin upon laying eyes on me. [b] “HOLY SHIT! Are we the luckiest motherfuckers in the world or what?!”[/b] He shouted with bright eyes, catching the attention of the other patrons of the restaurant.

[b] “Would you calm the fuck down, Bit… we can’t be having the cops here so soon. We gotta kill him first.”[/b] The two stood up simultaneously, turning towards me, their hands reaching into their suit jackets, obviously for guns.

[b] “What the hell? Why are you here?! How the hell did you hear me?!”[/b] I couldn’t control my dread or confusion. Nothing about the situation made sense, and my mouth couldn’t help but express these thoughts.

[b] “Ooh, ooh! Lemme tell ‘em!”[/b] White enthusiastically stepped forward with a menacing grin on his face and his signature Stechkin APS gripped in his hand, which was strangely discolored from the rest of his skin. [b] “You see Boss, after our little scuffle on the bridge, my ass got blown apart quite literally. Retri’s lucky ass was fine, and he pulled what was left of me out of the ocean. So he took me to a hospital, where I was comatose… for something like two weeks. Some mysterious guy came along, told Retri that if we could find you and kill you, he’d pay to have me fixed up. That’s how I got this baby…”[/b] White then pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal the rest of his arm, obviously prosthetic, and cybernetic. [b] “I also got me two new legs, an eye, and even a nifty little ear that can hear for some… oh, five-hundred yards.”[/b]

[b] “Who hired you, White? Who wants me dead?”[/b]

[b] “Like I’d tell you, but I honestly don’t know.”[/b] White pulled the hammer back on his APS, and then rolled his sleeve back down. [b] “And the name’s 8bit now, Boss.”[/b]

[b] “Fair enough. Then let’s finish this.”[/b] I grabbed my odachi and withdrew the blade, holding the scabbard in my left hand. [b] “And the name’s Zen now, 8bit.”[/b]

[b] “Fuck if I care. You’re gonna be called dead in a few minutes anyways.”[/b] 8bit burst across the room at a speed I hadn’t expected, quickly throwing his gun in my face. I hit the floor just as he unleashed a short burst of bullets from his automatic pistol. From the corner of my eye I caught Erica’s legs fly across the room as she caught Retribution in the stomach with a front kick, knocking him back several feet, shooting wildly at her as he fell.

I didn’t have time to focus on their fight, however, as 8bit’s attack continued. His leg shot forth into my chest, sending me across the room with surprising, almost inhuman strength. My body slammed against a back wall, and I fell onto a clean table hard, my sword and sheeth still in hand. Looking up, I saw that he was preparing to fire at me again. I reacted fast by tossing my scabbard at the assassin before he could shoot. While distracted, I took my chance to leap across the diner and attack. My sword fell down onto 8bit’s risen shooting arm, stopping dead on the metal and plastic covering, doing next to no damage.

8bit simply smirked and pistol whipped me with the heavy gun, sending me twirling to the floor and rolling across the ground. Blood filled my mouth, and I felt as if a gorilla had just punched me in the face. I spat out a mouthful of crimson mucous onto the floor and steadily attempted to stand.

Grabbing up my sword shakily, I looked up to find a gun’s barrel pointing in between my eyes.

[b] “Say goodnight… Zen.”[/b]
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[Kenso]

[SIZE=1]Ah, poor Zen. Just can't catch a break. I wonder, do all assassins find it that hard to have a quiet dinner date?[/SIZE]