Mastermind | Chuuya Nakahara.

FORTY-ONE.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE:
You ready, baby?
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

                Aki had been back at the Double A for an entire week. She had spent most of that week in the training facility, pounding punching bags until her knuckles bled. She was preparing herself for what was about to come. According to Katsu, the Port Mafia and the Double A had declared an all out war with one another—only one side allowed to come out victorious. Katsu was sure it would be the Double A, what with his larger numbers of trained assassin's. Aki wasn't entirely sure of that. She knew the strength of the Port Mafia, and the fact they had the Gravity Manipulator only added to their strength.

                   Aki had thought about Chuuya often—and not fondly. She had convinced herself her only option was to kill him or have him kill her. The more time that went by, Aki grew more angry. She couldn't exactly blame him, but he had automatically assumed the worse in her. She'd told him before that if she had the choice, she would have chosen the Port Mafia and it hadn't been a lie. She thought he would have at least known that. But instead, he had painted her as an even bigger villain in his mind when she wasn't the true villain—it was Katsu. He was behind everything. He was the sole purpose Aki had even been at the Port Mafia in the first place. His elaborate plan had been the reason everything had gone to shit.

                   Aki was punching the living daylights out of a punching bag when Katsu entered the training facility, "Akira, dear," He called out. At the sound of his voice, Aki swung her fist one last time, wrapping it in seismic energy before slamming it into the punching bag. It broke from the ceiling upon impact, flying across the room as it's insides burst open, spilling onto the floor. Aki heaved out a breath, turning to face the man who was smiling at her, "It seems that this little game of chess we're playing with the Port Mafia has begun." He announced, two of his guards on either side of him. He made sure to never be alone in Aki's presence.

                   The woman turned to him, her knuckles worn and bloody, sweat clinging to her forehead, her hair tied back into a low ponytail, "What I need from you right now is to do exactly as I say without question. Can you do that?" Aki nodded. "There's a mansion house outside of the city that we own, it's usually kept vacant. I want you to go there and draw out the Gravity Manipulator. Do not specify that he has to come alone. I want him to bring as much backup as possible so that we can wipe them out in one clean sweep. Of course, you won't be alone, I'll make sure to send backup for you." Aki listened to him speak with a bland expression on her face.

                  "I won't need any backup. They'll only get in the way." She assured him, reaching up to rub at the nape of her sweaty neck.

                   Katsu gave a closed smile, "Regardless, I will make sure you're not alone," Aki felt like it was more to make sure she completed the mission instead of protecting her. "I'll give you a burner phone to call the Gravity Manipulator on. Lure him in and kill him, Akira. Or else..." He brought his hand up, tapping his index finger against his skull. Aki gritted her teeth together, grinding them so roughly they could have broke.

                    "Understood, Boss."

               Aki sat in the foyer of the mansion house Katsu had told her about. She was sitting on a red-leather couch, spinning the burner phone between her fingers. The drive to the mansion had been a silent one. The driver hadn't spoken a word to her, except for the moment he left—reminding her that she had thirty minutes to eliminate the Gravity Manipulator on her own before reinforcements were sent in to deal with the rest of the Port Mafia members that would come with him. Katsu was a terrifying man—somehow he knew everything. He knew that the Port Mafia would send in a sweep of armed men roughly thirty minutes after the Gravity Manipulator arrived—he was so sure of it. He knew their strategy; send in the strongest first and let the others handle the weaker links.