22 Estranging Past

"Hiro? Who's that?" He asks.

"You are Hiro.."

The guy then gazes at Rin.

As they looked at each other, another guy then suddenly appeared.

"Hahaha! What's this? A reconciliation of two friends?"

"You!?"

"That's right! It's me! Kioshi Ito, at your service... Just kidding!"

Kioshi laughed like an evil madman.

Rin gnashed, while the other guy kept his gazing look.

"You said you killed him..."

"I did? Oh well, I guess I did then. Hahaha!"

"So, deceiving has always been your hobby, huh?"

Kioshi shrugged.

"This guy is Hiro! What have you done to him??"

"Oh well... He is simply brainwashed by us. Isn't that obvious?"

"I could see that.."

Rin then raised her eyebrow and began summoning her bow.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Kioshi smirked.

Before Rin even summons her bow, Hiro's gun was already pointed at her.

"I don't think you can even evade his gunshot. After all, he is our best sharpshooter.."

Hiro's eyes are straightly gazing at Rin, while pointing his gun at the same time.

Rin gulped and immediately stopped summoning her bow.

'There's no doubt.. I learned my skill in range from Hiro. He's basically my teacher...'

"What's really the assigned task on you? It seems that eliminating us isn't part of your plan." Rin asks.

Kioshi then smirked.

"Exactly! My work is to not kill you all, but rather make you all be part of us! You know we are lacking manpower.. You are decreasing our numbers!"

"What? We can never be part of you! Hell we'd rather die than to serve any of you!"

"Blah blah blah... I've heard those words a million times! In the end, look what happened. Hiro is the perfect example of it. Hahaha!"

Rin gnashed once more.

"So... Are you telling me that Eiji's best-friend is still alive?"

"Oh.. Oh yeah! You were there listening and watching at us from the corner. So you heard it all?"

"Answer me first.."

"Yes! That boy is the most precious of you all! He is gifted! Hahaha!"

"What do you mean?"

Kioshi then rolled his eyes down.

"Do I have to explain everything!? Hiro! Knock her already!"

'Hiro may be good in range, but how is he in melee?'

As Hiro slowly approach Rin, Rin smirked.

She then, grabbed Hiro's arm and kicked him to the ground.

Kioshi's eyes grew in shock.

Rin then summons her bow and pointed it at Kioshi.

"Woah! Calm down there girl. Don't you know that you are surrounded?"

Rin was surprised to hear that she is surrounded.

"What are you talking abo-"

As she was about to ask, dozens of hoarders suddenly arrived.

Some of these hoarders have gun, while others have melee weapons.

They're all smirking at Rin.

Rin gulped and lowered her bow.

"You have two choices: Resist and die, or join us.."

Rin gnashed, clenches her fists and looked at Kioshi with gazing eyes.

Kioshi on the other hand, kept laughing at her.

Meanwhile, Hiro and the other hoarders are pointing their weapons at her.

"Fine! I don't have any other choice. Right?"

Kioshi then smirked.

"Good choice."

"But I only have one word to say."

"What...?"

Rin smirks.

"Flicker!"

The knives from her pocket, suddenly flickered to the hoarders that surrounds her.

Some hoarders parried the knives, others like Hiro and Kioshi dodged it, but the rest didn't make it.

"Ho-How?" Kioshi asks.

Rin smirked.

"Have you forgotten who're you messing with?"

Kioshi and the rest of the hoarders, gnashed.

The hoarders were about to attack when suddenly, Rin summoned her bow and shoots from the sky, above her.

Rin then chants,

"Shrapnel!"

"You fool! You are also gonna kill yourself!"

Kioshi stepped away as well as Hiro.

As Rin's piercing winds hit the hoarders around her, she then added another chant.

"Explosion!"

Majority of the hoarders didn't make it. They were too late to step back, only a few survived.

A large amount of smoke began to appear due to Rin's explosions.

Hiro has a sharp eye. He noticed that Rin summoned a shield to protect herself.

Sooner or later, random piercing winds, shoots the surviving hoarders, coming out of the smoke.

They couldn't see where and when it will hit them.

In the end, the hoarders were brutally killed.

Hiro then summoned a Barrett M82 and lied down in a prone position. He was aiming at the center of the smoke, aiming at Rin.

As piercing winds continued to appear out of nowhere and hits anyone who got hit, the smoke then started to fade.

As soon as Hiro saw Rin at his sight, he began to shoot.

A loud gunshot was heard, so loud that even the locals were alerted.

Hiro was confident that he shot Rin. However, as the smoke disappears, Rin already summoned her shield.

A shield that is so big, it could even cover the entire body. Including the head.

Hiro gulped, Kioshi cowers in fear, the surviving hoarders were shocked.

Rin then looked at them with a smug face.

"Send 10 men to kill me, and I'll give you hundred bodies back..."

"Whatever.. We all have our limits.. Look at you, so exhausted." Hiro gazes at her.

It's true that Rin is catching her breath. It seems that she used too much mana.

"Hah! This is merely nothing. I can break my limit, just so you know.."

"Then, that'll lead you to your death."

"It doesn't matter, but I'll make sure to bring you down with me."

Hiro gnashed and looked at her with gazing eyes, while Rin was just smiling at him.

As Hiro prepared his gun, Kioshi then taps his shoulder.

"Hiro! No! You have other more task than her. I'll take care of her from here."

Rin then smirked at Kioshi.

"Oh? What are you gonna do?" Rin asks.

"The usual way..."

Rin was about to resummon her bow when suddenly, dozens of hoarders appeared once more.

Kioshi ran as soon as the back up arrived, while Hiro walks away slowly.

Rin couldn't catch them anymore because she was busy fighting the hoarders.

As soon as Kioshi and Hiro left, the surviving hoarders then retreated.

Rin was left exhausted.

'I knew it.. Using the flicker to all of my knives without even summoning it, is gonna cost me too much mana. Luckily I was able to scare them away... '

As Rin catches her breath, she then coughed a blood.

'This is bad.. I must rest to regain mana.'

Rin then left, but she looked back and remembered the alley.

She was remembering the dumpster that could maybe lead her to their lair.

Meanwhile, as Hiro and Kioshi ran. Hiro suddenly pushed Kioshi from the shoulder.

"I thought you said she's my next target?" Hiro angrily asked.

"Yes, but not today."

"Not today? If I killed her already, my tasks will be lessen."

"I know, I know, but you have to follow the first task that was given to you."

"Well? Are you gonna give me details about my target, or what?"

Kioshi then took the photo from his pocket.

"Here.. He's the remaining runt who survived."

"Where was he last seen?"

"Some say he have personal guards, inside a bulletproof car, somewhere in Shinjuku."

"I'll take note of that."

"So how are you going to kill him? Shinjuku is a big place."

"I'll take care of it. You better make that girl join us or she'll be next in my sight."

"Hahaha.. I'll keep that in mind."

The two then dispersed.

Kioshi wandered somewhere again, while Hiro heads to Shinjuku.

It was around 3 AM, Hiro took a walk around Shinjuku.

He was observing around, trying to find out where he should position himself, and at the same time, trying to find his target.

His target was a former Yakuza member, who betrayed his colleague and turned them to the police.

Even though, he really was the one who committed the crime.

It seems that the oyabun of Yakuza has ordered the hoarders to hunt him down and kill.

It will be difficult for Hiro to find this man, for this man doesn't have a keychain and at the same time, Shinjuku is just so big..

However, It's only a matter of time before Hiro finds him. After all, Hiro have sharp eyes.

Hiro, then climbed up to the top of a building. There, he observed around and tried to find his target.

As he looked everywhere, he saw a couple of bar with girls dancing around a pole. Business men watches from their seat while clinking their glasses with one another.

He then summoned his sniper rifle and laid down in a prone position. It seems that he finally found his target.

As he adjust the sight of his gun, his target then entered a black SUV along with 5 men in black.

Hiro was aiming at his target when suddenly, the car moved and left.

He lost track of the SUV. However, he knew the road where it's going.

He then found a small spot where the SUV might head. It was an alley that leads to a road.

Hiro, then aimed his gun at it, and breathes in.

He was counting while preparing to pull the trigger.

'1.. 2.. 3..'

He then pulled the trigger, while breathing out at the same time.

It was a loud shot, but he doubt anyone hears it, because Shinjuku is loud as well.

Everything was so fast, the bullet reached the car in a second, and it bumps in a street light.

Since the gun are bound to have endless bullets as long as mana refills it.

Hiro uses his mana to produce another bullet. This time, he aimed for his real target.

He was so confident that his target is just at the back seat, and at the same time, ducking and hiding behind the SUV's door.

He smirked, and then he shoots.

He fired at the SUV 10 times in a row without even pausing.

After all of his gunshots. He climb down from the roof and headed to the SUV to confirm his kill.

As soon as he gets there, he saw a driver, 5 men in black, and his target, all drenched in their own blood.

He then left and walks away casually.

'That's a target down. Time for a next target...'

He then smirked with a gazing look, while walking away casually.

Meanwhile,

Rin was exhausted as she jumps from roof-to-roof.

She then took a break and tries to catch her breath.

"Those hoarders... That Kioshi... They're all gonna pay... I've had enough of them. Since I now know where their hide-out might be, I may be able to send them a little surprise..."

Rin then remembered Hiro through a glimpse.

"Hiro.. I swear.. I swear I'll free you from them. If things go sideways, I'll make sure to bring you down with me.. I promise..."

Rin was breathing heavily while gnashing and clenching her fists.

"Damn.. Losing a lot of mana sure affects my stamina. I probably shou-"

She then suddenly lost conscious and fell to the ground out of tiredness.

"I... I don't think I'm gonna make it to the apartment. I'm gonna have to take some rest here..."

Rin immediately fell asleep on the roof. It was an open door, roof, but luckily it wasn't raining.

'It's been a long time since it all began..'

She sighed deeply.

'I wonder how long has it been...'