Ninth Bullet

1. I Guess We'll Call it a Job Interview

"Well, apartment, see ya later I guess. It's gonna be a long one." You said to yourself.

You looked around at the unassuming one room apartment. Who knew how long this job would be, and now that you had new living arrangements with your new client, the place would go uninhabited for some time. You had done little in the way of cleaning up, with plain street clothes scattered across the bed, and dust bunnies poking out from behind every battered piece of furniture. At least you had done the dishes for once and ate up all the leftover take out that was starting to turn in the warm refrigerator. Perhaps your new place would be better than this dump. Yakuza were supposed to be rich, so maybe these ones could afford heating and air conditioning.

It was all part of the appearance, that's what the safety commission always told you. A struggling hired gun living in a shit hole, that's who you were supposed to be and that's how it had to look. But the least they could do is pay you enough to have a space heater.

After strapping down your chest, you dressed in baggy cargo pants and a loose black button up shirt. You considered throwing on a tie just for the occasion, since you gotta look good for a job interview. You nodded slightly as you secured a white tie around your throat, your appearance confirming you made the right choice. Sunglasses and a black medical mask completed the look and after throwing your duffle bag over your shoulder, you bid goodbye to your space. You had a final thought before leaving the room, you jotted down a quick note to Hawks in case he decided to crash at your place.

Don't leave the lights on, dumbass.

-y/n

You tossed it on the coffee table and locked the door behind you before heading out onto the busy streets. It was easy for you to blend in with the packed groups of pedestrians flooding the area as you made your way to the pick up point. With your shaggy, self cut hair falling into your eyes, you looked like any teenage boy sneaking out for the night.

Shops were lit up in glowing white and gold light and you passed the one again. You couldn't help but stop for a moment to look in the window where mannequins were lined up in the most lovely outfits you had ever laid eyes on. "If I didn't have to look like this..." you whispered to yourself.

There was one specific dress you looked for every time you walked by. It had been out for maybe a month now and it would probably be thrown out of rotation pretty soon, but there it was in the display. It had straps of creamy ribbon that tied in bows at the shoulder and a lovely swishy skirt of the same color. You tore yourself away from the window and kept walking. It was ridiculous to want something like that when you had no possible use for it. For the most part, living as if you were a boy hadn't bothered you that much. But there was still this nagging desire, an extremely childish need to be seen.

The only people who knew the truth about your identity were the higher ups in the safety commission, your parents, both now dead, and Hawks. The two of you had grown up together and there was scarcely a thing you didn't share. He had been your friend ever since you both had been adopted by the commission and put into vigorous training, even before they cut off your hair and began dyeing it the dark blue color it now was. All so you could enter the villainous underworld without having any ties with your past life. No one could track you down, because Y/n L/n didn't exist.

The black car was waiting for you in a McDonald's parking lot. When you were next to it, the driver got out and opened the door for you. You noticed he had gray, arrow shaped locks of hair around his face. "What's up with your hair? Hey you're that guy from last time right?" You asked.

"Just get in Mokusei." He said.

"Okay, chill dude." You muttered.

You jumped into the backseat and landed comfortably on black leather seats before realizing you weren't the only one there. Your new employer let out a sharp breath like he was injured as you roughly bumped into his sitting frame. "Oh, sorry about that, boss. Can I call you boss now? Oh look at that, we match! Looks like one of us is gonna have to go home and change." you pointed at his black button up and white tie, he also wore a black medical mask.