Chapter 34: Mercenaries

Travelling towards mainland China, Ronin. Alongside Tatsuko, Shakadou, the twins, and his shadow guard were in a stealth bomber.

And the package that would be dropped are them.

Aka and Miyo were the pilots and Shakadou looked at them with awe.

"Geez, kids sure are scary nowadays. A bunch of highschoolers can also pilot a huge ass plane." Shakadou snorted.

"It's only natural, we might need to carpet bomb a place later. But we'll just go with old fashioned infiltration.

The place we're going to hit is located in Beijing. It wouldn't be good at all if we carpet bomb the city." Ronin shrugged.

"Hmmm, I want some xiao long bao after this Ronin~ can we get some genuine chinese food?" Tatsuko clung to him.

"Focus, Tatsuko. Our enemies are trying to undermine our hardwork. We need to get rid of them first before we can have a little food trip." Aka scolded her.

"Urgh, yes ma'am~" Tatsuko saluted sloppily. She was definitely not suited for this mission.

But she insisted in coming after learning it from Shakadou. Meanwhile, Angel and Ami didn't want to do anything with this dangerous endeavor.

And Tatsuko's twin was busy reeling in trash at the shady parts of Kawakami. At least he didn't claim their booties anymore.

"Aka is right Tatsuko, focus for now. I promise we'll go and buy some take out later." Ronin smiled wryly at her.

'Such a glutton this girl is.' He thought that she was a bit troublesome.

"Yatta~ I'll crush them." Tatsuko's green eyes suddenly glowed. Her motivation burned.

"Drop off will be soon ETA, 5 minutes." Miyo stood up and she started cracking her neck.

Someone quickly replaced her and Aka also did the same, wearing her visor.

They equipped their odachis and wakizashi. Except they were blunted. Hume will notice if they killed someone after all.

"Places everyone, places." Ronin raised his hand like he was a conductor.

And his shadow guard armed themselves. Guns were cocked, knives were holstered.

"Let's go~" Tatsuko didn't even equip a parachute.

The hatch of the plane opened and Ronin walked up to the ledge. The twins also followed and they dropped like they were just going down a floor.

Tatsuko also dived and she went for a bullet dive. "Yahoo~ let's do this more often." Tatsuko mouthed to him as she glided around them in circles.

Ronin also did a bullet dive with the twins and they went towards a particular building where the target was.

Dropping on the roof, cracking the concrete. The four of them dusted themselves off and waited a bit for the others.

Shakadou soon followed and the rest of the assassins they had in their employ arrived.

"Whew, I didn't know that sky diving can be fun." Shakadou chuckled.

"It's good to experience new things, old man." Miyo snorted.

"I'm not that old..." Shakadou got depressed as he was starting to feel a bit stiff.

"Enough fanfare, let's move." Ronin waved his hand and everybody disappeared except Tatsuko and the twins.

He fixed his suit and Ronin started walking towards the stairs.

The heels of his shoes tapped on the hallways and gunshots resounded from time to time.

There were already corpses on the ground, yet they walked leisurely.

"Hngh, they sure are efficient." Tatsuko frowned upon seeing them.

"Well, we've dug a bit about them. And they're also doing a myriad of other crimes." Aka snorted.

"Extortion, child pornography, cyber sex, human trafficking, organ harvesting. These guys need to disappear, Tatsuko." Miyo huffed.

Ronin's electric blue eyes glowed in the dark and he looked at the side.

Tatsuko moved at breakneck speeds and her arm went through a concrete wall. "What do we have here?~" Tatsuko pulled.

A girl with long black hair groaned as Tatsuko forcibly pulled her from behind the wall. Gripping her neck.

(Pic)

"That outfit..." Aka squinted her eyes. They knew them from way back when.

"The mercenaries of Liangshan Yi. The 108 star outlaws." Miyo raised a brow.

"What are you doing here? You don't accept these kinds of assignments." Ronin furrowed his brows.

"Y-you know of us?" The girl blinked in surprise.

Another one then appeared, she had bluish white hair and eyes. Wielding two large swords; liuyedaos.

(Pic)

"Hands off of Lin Chong!" She swung her swords skillfully at Tatsuko, the trajectory and blade alignment was good.

Sparks suddenly illuminated the hallway as Aka repelled her swing with her own.

"Tell us, the Liangshan Yi fought against the corrupt bureaucracy of the Song dynasty a millennia ago. Why are you here?" Aka's blade gleamed.

"Yang Zhi, they are strong..." Lin furrowed her brows as she rubbed her neck. A hand shape bruise already forming around it as she coughed.

"If you don't want to answer, then perhaps I should make you." Ronin took off his jacket and gave it to Aka.

He rolled his sleeves and a royal blue aura formed on his arm.

"Ki!? And such mastery as well!" Yang Zhi was shocked.

"Yang Zhi, drop your weapon!" Lin Chong shouted immediately.

"But, but we need to get rid of the scum here in this building for tricking us!" Yang Zhi refused.

Ronin suddenly disappeared and he disarmed Yang Zhi. He then pinned her to a wall.

"Talk, I'll know if you're lying." Ronin squinted his eyes.

Yang Zhi gulped and she broke into a cold sweat at his killing intent that was thick.

"W-we were hired by the CCP to be bodyguards. But once we arrived here, we learned of their operations after a little of digging." Yang Zhi sang.

"I-it's the truth, we didn't accept this assignment knowing that they are evil." Lin Chong supplemented immediately.

"Hmph, I guess I'll let you go. Tread lightly, Liangshan Yi. You're wading through dark waters." Ronin let go of Yang Zhi.

The group then proceeded to walk again, but Lin Chong called out to them. "W-wait! We want to help!"

"Help? This is something that you should not concern yourself with. I can smell it on you, you're too clean." Ronin didn't want to turn them into killers.

Not when there was a choice at hand. And filth should be taken care of by those with dirty hands.

Lest you corrupt everything that is beautiful in the world.

Aka and Miyo hit their temples with the pommel of their swords and they dragged them to a safe place.

"They'll be safe there at least." The twins nodded and they continued with their mission.

Hearing a cornered rat behind an intricate door, Ronin kicked it down. "Fire!" They were suddenly pelted with bullets.

Aka and Miyo quickly stood in front of them as they fanned their wakizashi.

"Too predictable." Aka tossed the bullets she caught with her sword to the air.

Miyo then slotted them to the flat of her blade and swung her swordarm.

The goons of the master mind were disarmed immediately and Ronin snapped his fingers.

"W-what are you doing!? Attack them!" A fat man shouted while sweating bullets.

The frozen mooks then suddenly got sliced into pieces. Blood dripped from strings in the air as his shadow guard appeared.

"Scum of the earth, your greed knows no bounds." Ronin squinted his eyes.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" The man still feigned ignorance.

"Skin him alive and keep him alive as long as possible, feed his own body to him." Ronin decreed his judgement.

"Wait! You can't do this to me! Don't you know who I am!?" He started struggling violently as strings took hold of his limbs.

One of his agents then dropped a suit case on the ground. Opening it, a myriad of vials and surgical instruments were revealed.

"Struggle as long as you can, worm." Ronin left it to his subordinates and the man's screams started to resound.

"Jesas, you're one brutal kid." Shakadou was wiping his hands with a handkerchief.

"Only to those who deserve it." Ronin shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. There were some of these kids that were wearing some kind of uniform. Didn't kill them though, too young. And they didn't smell foul." Shakadou reported.

"Good, they're a mercenary group that's hiding in mountains and dark valleys of China." Ronin explained.

"That checks out, so they're hired muscle." Shakadou nodded.

"They don't really accept dirty assignments like these, we learned of them back at our time in the orphanage." Aka commented.

"They were going to revolt too, which could have ended badly for some of their less experienced members." Miyo sighed.

"Ronin~ xiao long bao. Dumplings, buns, peking duck, noodles!" Tatsuko whined as she salivated.

"Sure, let's get some take out before we fly home." He sighed, but Tatsuko did lighten the mood.

__Kawakami__

After dealing with an annoying part of the CCP. Ronin was currently resting in the penthouse.

"Hah, I think I should copy Mikado and hire more exceptional personnel." Ronin felt tired as he juggled school, work, and having a life.

"Hmm? Koyuki?" Ronin looked at the side and the white haired girl slowly got out of her hiding spot.

"Senpai found me~" Koyuki said cheerfully with a smile on her face.

She gathered her courage and even talked to Momoyo and Miyako.

Koyuki bribed the former with money, while she let Miyako try to seduce him first. Not that she would have a great chance in doing so in the first place.

He was too busy nowadays. And Momoyo was a rival that just outclasses her.

"I did, why are you here though?" Ronin asked her and he remembered the time where she was as gloomy as Miyako.

And she was in a worse spot than Miyako. Koyuki needed extensive therapy for being beaten up and told that she was unnecessary.

"You look tired senpai..." Koyuki moved towards his head and she gave him a lap pillow.

Being a taekwondo practicioner, she has a pair of juicy legs.

"Hmmm, this is quite pleasant." Ronin remembered his time with Tatsuko under a tree.

"Really? Then I'm glad, have a marshmallow." Koyuki handfed him some marhsmallows.

He didn't like sweets, but it would break her heart if he refused.

"Senpai... I have a question." Koyuki looked fearful.

"No need to be afraid Koyuki, tell me what is it that you want to ask?" Ronin assured her.

"C-can I... Do you think I can be happy with you?" Koyuki's self esteem wasn't high to begin with.

And such a high pressure made her almost buckle. "What kind of question is that?" He sighed.

"That of course cannot be answered. It depends on a lot of things and our decisions." Ronin was as pragmatic as ever.

"I expected you to say that, senpai. You're too logical. I think I'll be happy if I can stay by your side." Koyuki replied.

"Well, that's just you. As for me, that is something that I can't answer right now." He shrugged.

"B-but... Can I atleast try? Try to win your love and affection?" Koyuki's red eyes focused on his blue ones.

"Who am I to refuse?" He chuckled and Koyuki smiled.

"But remember, we aren't really that close, Koyuki. You are beautiful, but that isn't enough for me to like you." Ronin explained seriously.

"I know... After all, who can compare to Aka and Miyo-senpai? They're called goddesses for a reason." Koyuki hummed.

"Then I'll just need to work extra hard. But will it end like my character; Drake?

He was a successful man, he had everything in the world. But he hasn't experienced love yet. And it saddened him greatly." Koyuki started a story.

"One day, he met a wonderful woman. Kind, caring, beautiful. He developed feelings for her as she brought joy to his life.

They eventually married and everything was going well. Until she showed her true colors and divorced him. Accusing him of assault and abuse. Draining him of his money.

He then turned into an alcoholic and killed himself upon losing the will to live, the end~" Koyuki finished with her happy tone.

"I don't even know why your stories are treated as master pieces..." Ronin deadpanned at her.

Koyuki is actually a world renowned author. And all her stories were brutally realistic. Yet the people love it.

"Then please give me a happy ending." Koyuki kissed his forehead and she was pleased that he at least didn't shove her away.

__

Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.