Connected Lives

Capture (Chapter 11)

NAGISA'S POV

An ideal plan with a simple execution, but it didn't work out the way I hoped. I just wanted to catch the targets off guard before apprehending them both, however my efforts all went to waste the instant it angered Red Mask. Despite the many signals I revealed to Red Mask, they were all disregarded when they entered his bloodshot eyes. And just like that, my plan collapsed.

In the split second I closed my eyes to blink, like a flash of light, Red Mask arrived in front of me and freed me from the disgustful embrace that plagued his sight. The one previously holding me had sweat profusely dripping from his forehead. He urgently touched the spot on his neck that felt a bit cold. The spot felt wet and sticky—blood. In that second, Red Mask released the restraint on his knife and swung the knife towards the man. Luckily, the man released his hold on me, otherwise his life would've been forfeit.

Much to the astonishment of the traffickers, they rapidly took out their firearms.

"See I told you they were highly suspicious!"

"Well damn," the bleeding man gnashed his teeth. "I can't believe they played with love like that."

The traffickers proceeded to point their guns towards us.

"Red Mask," I stared at him stupidly. "Why did you interfere with my plan like that?"

In response, he glared at me angrily. "Well, it's not my fault you decided to work alone when we were supposed to work together."

Before I could reply, a bullet flew right past me. The wind, the speed, the trajectory, all were within the scopes of my calculations. With nimble movement, I dodged the projectile flawlessly. It was quite shameless of them to interrupt our conversation.

As a matter of much more importance presented itself, I turned to Red Mask. "I'll deal with you later."

Unstrapping the dagger hidden in my pants, I held the bottom with my thumb and faced the sharp edge towards the perpetrators. Then staring coldly at them, I slid the knife across my neck to intimidate them. Angered by my lack of regard, they unleashed all of their ammo on me. Standing on the sideline, Red Mask had to choose between anger or worry, ignorance or assistance. Sighing heavily, Red Mask rushed towards me; however, watching my perfect evasion, he stopped midway. Relieved that this level of assault was child's play for me, he leaned back and enjoyed the show.

Waiting for the opportune moment when they needed to reload, Red Mask and I each targeted one person. Frightened by the speed we used to sprint towards them, they shook involuntarily. They were so terrified that their hold on their guns began to falter, until it ultimately fell to the ground.

The one I targeted instantly raised both of his hands in surrender: "Please spare me!"

I slowed down my motion. Faced with an unarmed person, I chose to preserve my dignity. That was until...

As the man saw me approaching him vulnerably, he smirked disdainfully. From his sleeve, he took out a knife and rapidly waved it towards me. With my guard up, I pivoted my foot to escape the slash. Using the momentum from the turn, my dagger slid cleanly as it sliced the tendon of his arm. It took a few seconds before the man felt the tormenting pain creep up his arm.

Looking at the man who was focusing only on his gash wound, I subdued him easily with little resistance. Finished with my opponent, I turned towards Red Mask to see how he was faring.

"Red Mask! What are you doing? We still need them for questioning!" At this time, Red Mask had his arm raised ready to end the life of the one kneeling in front of him.

Red Mask thought for a moment until he found an excuse: "But...he tried to kill me first."

"Ok, fine then. No wait!" His innocent stare almost made me lose control of my speech. "He wouldn't have been able to best you anyway. Just apprehend him."

"So you don't care even if someone tried to kill me?"

"How could I not?" I instantly responded. Red Mask's immaturity was about to anger me to death. "If he harmed you, I'd be the first to kill him."

With my response, Red Mask finally let the issue go. In a better mood than before, Red Mask became more gentle as he tied up the perpetrator. After shackling his hands, he dragged the man to appear before me. His eyes then gazed at me expectantly. I could only sigh as I patted his head and gave him a compliment. Just as I was about to remove my hand, Red Mask suddenly pulled me into his embrace. The next second, two gunshots resounded in my ears.