Blackened moonflower and flourishing sunflower

Fourteen. Ryuunosuke

We were about a half week into the mission and everything seemed to be running smoothly. Nakajima was still imprisoned in the basement, he was supposed to be executed today. However, that wasn't going to happen.

I had planned to sneak back into the basement and free him of those chains, I imagine with the three days he'd had on death row would be enough to gather all the information he needed. I hadn't returned to his cell in case of being suspicious of too many disappearances.

"Makoto! Come join us for a drink!" A man hollered slinging an arm over my shoulder and pulling me in close. He'd done that everyday.

I hated it. The close affection he showed me despite knowing nothing about me. It sickened me, it reminded me of...

"Makoto?" The man questioned once more as I shoved him away from me. I was going to enjoy doing this.

A cruel shriek escaped from him as his arm was pierced through with Rashomon. I felt a smile creep across my face, I was enjoying this more than I had expected. Guns were then trained on my body as the men surrounding began to panic. They let loose the barrage of bullets. What fools they were.

Each bullet was eaten up by Rashomon, not a single thing left behind. That's when the dred began to settle in their faces, they knew they weren't getting out alive.

~

"THERE IS AN INTRUDER, ALL FIREARMS ARE VALID UNTIL THE INTRUDER IS ELIMINATED!" That stupid woman's voice again. It was a real irritant, although it did give me an idea on how high risk they classified me as. I would deal with anyone that came my way later, my priority was helping Nakajima.

When I easily tore the door off its hinges I saw the man from three days ago standing before Nakajima, he was crouched down so his face was level with Nakajima's. Although his head was hung low, eyes trained on the ground, I could see he had even more injuries on his body, which stoked my anger even further for some unknown reason.

"Have you come here to save your damsel?" The man smirked as he revealed a gun from his pocket and trained it on Nakajima's head. No reaction whatsoever from the younger.

"He's no damsel." I snapped back, descending down the stairs. I wasn't worried about the gun, Nakajima could take it.

As I approached closer I managed to see Nakajima's expression better. His eyes were dull, like something had drained the small spark he used to have in his eyes. Given, it was a small spark. But had still been there.

"What did you do?" I snapped again, they would have had to do something to break him to this degree. We lived in the Mafia for god sake, it's not like we're innocent children.

"It wasn't me. I just 'assisted' in a way." Two guards then came rushing into the room, their guns trained on me once again. This was getting old fast.

"You will release my partner from those chains, we must be on our way." He must know about my ability by now, that's why his gun was trained on Nakajima, not me.

"Over my dead body!" He growled at me, he couldn't have phrased it any better.

His hand began to shake as I took a step towards him, the men behind fired at me. Rashomon took quick work of their bullets.

"You take one more step and I shoot him!" He cried in fear. It was quite amusing watching him try and barter Nakajima's life with me.

"You won't be able t-"

"Kill me." I was interrupted by another voice, Nakajima's voice. Why was he speaking like that? He couldn't die. His ability healed him no matter the damage. Right?

"As you wish." The man answered, matching the barrel of the gun precisely against his forehead. I felt a pang of fear wash through me. He would survive right? The bullet wouldn't kill him. He was Nakajima. He'd lived through countless gun fights and been the lone survivor. That was one of the things he'd been known for in the Mafia.

He had been known as the innocent kid who survived the slums, even though he hadn't, crawled his way through the Mafia to become Chuuya's student. Chuuya, who took on no one as a subordinate, chose him. He had shown off his skills in sparring matches, he had an impeccable reputation when it came to his missions. He was the undead child, otherwise he was known as Lucifer.

The safety on the gun was unhitched. My breath hitched in the back of my throat. Why was I relying on his ability to keep him safe, I should be helping him.

Just as he began to pull the trigger I attacked the man with Rashomon, he dodged out of the way causing the bullet to shoot just past Nakajima's head. A feeling of relief flowed through me, but he just looked disappointed. I'd figure out what was wrong with him later.

The man had begun to flee out of the cell, he wasn't going to get far. I chased him out the room and down multiple hallways until he threw himself into a hidden room. It was a perfectly furnished room which resembled a bedroom, a section of the wall was at an angle. Secret room.

The man quickly made his way inside the hidden room, when I followed him I was greeted by a group of guards who were encircling an old man.

He didn't look like he belonged in this kind of setting surrounded by the heavily armed guards, he looked like he should be in a care home or something similar. His gaze was fixed on the screens which sat before him. Each one showing various hallways and storage rooms, there were even ones positioned above ground which I assumed to be where the entrances were. I recognised one of them as the way we got in. But one that caught my eye was one of the prisons, specifically Nakajima's cell. He lay slumped on the ground at this point, all alone. No guards, no one to rescue him. Nothing.

I had to get to him quickly and get us both out of this god forsaken place. I made the assumption that this man was the boss of this place, there was no way an ordinary individual would get this much security.

"Are you the leader of this organisation?" The man laughed at my question as he turned around, when he saw the man I'd been chasing earlier cowering behind one of the guards he scoffed before paying attention to me once more.

"And so what if I am? You are trapped here with six men who are ready to kill you." He was correct, they were ready to kill me. Didn't mean they were going to get the chance to. I smirked at him and this seemed to anger the repulsive man.

"How dare you smirk at me! I own every damn square of this place, every person in here will die when I say, and serve when I say." I was starting to hate him more and more with each second that passed. I just wanted to snuff him out now. But I needed to confirm one more thing.

"If you own all of this then you must have a successor to take over, you're not exactly young." I only managed to enrage the man even more, I doubted I was going to get the information I wanted now.

"No one is equal to me! I deserve all of this! It is mine and mine alone!" Nevermind. No successor equals when he dies this place would collapse in on itself in the squabble for power.

"Good to know." I answered before running him through with Rashomon. His face frozen in an expression crossed between rage and fear as the impact had finally ended his life.

The guards stood there motionless, unsure on what to do since their boss had just been killed right before their eyes. The man from earlier passed out from the gruesome sight.

Good. That meant I didn't have to hear him anymore.

Within a few minutes after I checked the hidden room for anything useful, there were a couple documents that I snatched before making my way back down to the basement. Nakajima was now unconscious, a couple of wounds on his body hadn't fully healed yet but I could see the faint blue light across his shoulder as it readjusted back into place. It was working, slowly.

I thought it best to immediately return to headquarters instead of stalling. I was still unsure of Nakajima's condition and his words from earlier still rang in my head.