Plan to Assassinate Tatsuya Shiba - Volume 1 - The Girl Assassin - Chapter 4

[4] Abduction

Just because it’s a Sunday doesn’t mean that you’ll get a day off as a professional killer. If you take the company format, it’s the same. ——In the first place, all private enterprises allow one day a week off, but you don’t get to choose which day you get off.

Therefore, on Sunday morning when Yuki received a call while she was still sleeping calling for her to get up and come in to work it didn’t become an awkward situation, it was unavoidable.

“……What do they want at such an early time?” I still haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“It’s about the matter in the parking lot last night isn’t it? Here you go.”

Today Wanizuka came to meet her in a compact car rather than the station wagon, replying in a soothing tone whilst also passing a plastic bag to Yuki in the passenger’s seat.

Inside the plastic bag she finds a chocolate cornet and a plastic bottle containing a cold drink.

Yuki immediately takes out the chocolate cornet and bites into it. It seems she didn’t complain of hunger simply to pose.

In the blink of an eye Yuki ate, emptied the plastic bottle, and resumed the conversation.

“That thing yesterday, I wasn’t being foolish. In that kind of situation, it was impossible not to withdraw in theory.”

She said the last part with a serious look, not nonchalantly —— the person themselves thought so —— as she wiped the chocolate crème off her mouth.

“Will it be fine if I explain that to the company president?”

Wanizuka laughed with a stiff smile on his face, as he presented a small detached trash can to Yuki from the door’s interior.

“It’ll be troublesome……”

Yuki looked away her eyes from Wanizuka and threw the tissue she used to wipe her mouth, plastic bottle and plastic bag in the trash can her partner was presenting.

“It can’t be helped; consultation is the organisation’s obligation.

“…… the company employees are professional killers among other things, it’s absolutely laughable.”

“These days no matter how well they raise their skills, freelancers won’t be dispatched. It’s the times.”

“Tsk.”

This time Yuki clicked her tongue as she turned to face the other away, as Wanizuka revealed a bitter smile.

When Yuki returned from the company president’s office, her face was worn out.

“That was surprisingly fast.”

As Wanizuka raises his voice in laughter, Yuki glares at him with a menacing look in her eyes.

“……What’s so funny?”

“It’s not funny. Anyway, if it’s just the company president, don’t you think you were lucky to get out of one of the director’s sermons in less than thirty minutes?

“That guy can kill people with his tongue……”

Yuki works outside, she doesn’t possess a chair in the office. She sat anywhere there was an open seat.

“You could say he’s really tenacious…… I can’t believe it, no matter what you say you should see your face.”

Yuki was summoned the company president’s office, for the purpose of reporting the details relating to the parking lot last night.

When giving a field report you should be prepared for it to be transformed into the scene of a reprimand, that doesn’t change for a criminal organisation.

“Did management not say anything about falling behind schedule on the clean-up?”

“Be thankful you’re getting assistance.”

Thankful, whilst saying that Yuki’s tone was slovenly.

“We don’t have to form a team, do we?”

“You know my feelings about that sort of thing”

Yuki laugh’s through her nose as she answers Wanizuka question with a denial.

“Is that so?......”

A slight look of relief floated across his facial expression, it appeared Wanizuka was also reluctant to make use of other professional killers.

“Incidentally, who’s lending a hand?”

“Bobby and Jack, they said.”

“Them again……”

Upon hearing the code names of the oni who murdered for pleasure and the demon bomber who both have bad reputations within the company, Wanizuka grimaced.

If they were to work together it’s likely to become an awkward situation…… thinking about it made the complexion of one’s face pale.

“Jack’s one thing, but I don’t want Bobby clawing around. Croco, we need to quickly finish getting rid of that bastard.”

Yuki’s facial expression was listless, but Wanizuka caught the sharp glint in her eyes as she made the declaration.

“Yes, of course.”

Wanizuka understanding Yuki’s true intention from her expression, nodded his head in assent.

Yuki disliked the modus operandi of killing with bombings which shallow up people other than the target. From the bottom of her heart, she believes murdering people herself has significance. No, she wants to believe, is the more actuate way to say it.

They judge villains who cannot be judged by law. Put simply, this is the touted principle of Abousha. Naturally, Wanizuka understands this is just the public face of things, and in theory Yuki understands this too.

But emotionally, she wants to believe in this ideal. Even if it’s a ninety nine percent hollow public front, there exists one percent of truth, which she believes from the bottom of her heart.

Yuki is a young girl who has just turned seventeen years old. She was twelve years old the first time she killed a person, and even though three years passed since she attained the occupation of assassin, she is as yet still too young to abandon her hopes and dreams.

As yet still too young to understand, there is no good and evil in this world, good and evil are simply labels affixed to people at one’s own convenience.

Her heart isn’t ready to accept that she’s killing people for the sake of earning a living.

Hence, her feelings of disgust of tools like bombs that will involve not only the villains but unrelated members of the general public.

But Wanizuka considered that a good thing about Yuki.

Professional killers, each one has a speciality and style. She isn’t suited to killing with bombs. If you hate bombs, you won’t be able to take an interest in such an unsuitable style.

Moreover, making a point of applying strange wisdom to weaken the feelings of guilt, is no different to a person finding happiness by believing in outlaw justice……

◇ ◇ ◇

Sunday afternoon. Fumiya, having finished investigating the professional killer aiming at Tatsuya, was visiting the Yotsuba main house to report the results.

Not making use of a telephone call not because he feared wiretapping but because he had business other than the report.

Fumiya was meeting with the head of the Yotsuba family, Yotsuba Maya, without his father Mitsugu accompanying him, and upon finishing his report on the murderer’s association ‘Abousha’, gave his thoughts.

“The long and short of it then Fumiya-san, is that you wish to announce your candidacy to become Tatsuya-san’s bodyguard, is that what you’re saying?”

A gentle tone, a cold gaze.

Fumiya had not yet turned thirteen years old; he is unable to read into Maya’s real intentions.

Nevertheless, he hadn’t been broken.

“Not a bodyguard, to confer a lesson to a criminal organisation that has drawn its bow at the Yotsuba family.”

“A lesson, is it…… Why not crush them quickly?”

“Well, it could be of value to use them in the future……”

However, to Fumiya who was thirteen years old, the supposition in the dialogue appeared appetising.

As she gazed at Fumiya who was comically mumbling, Maya calls Hayama who had been waiting behind her.

“The fellows that compose Abousha, they appear to be a group of shinobi.”

Hayama passes Maya an electronic paper terminal. It contains more detailed data than Fumiya’s investigation report.

Regret floated across Fumiya’s expression. But, neither Maya nor Hayama looked to condemn him. The investigation into the organisation aiming at Tatsuya was really to test Fumiya’s ability. That had been said in the beginning, he hadn’t forgotten. For it to be a test, it was only natural to investigate separately for the sake of finding the answer.

“Not a bearer of ninjutsu, a taijutsu ninja.”

Bearers of ninjutsu are a school of ancient magicians. Taijutsu ninja, it isn’t a term as such, but a word coined to differentiate between ninjutsu using ancient magicians and the ninja who cannot use magic.

Before the time magic’s existence was validated and it was considered by society as fiction, ninjutsu was also simply taijutsu but also a system of medieval intelligence techniques, and once magic became a scientific subject, it became obvious the mysterious portion of ninjutsu was a form of magic.

Believed to be fiction, believed to be mysterious, these ‘arts’ taught by the ancient magic users, the ‘ninjutsu bearers’.

However, not all ‘ninja’ in their entirety are ‘ninjutsu bearers’.

Magic is a rare talent. Within ‘ninja’ the ‘ninjutsu bearer’ is still a minority. ‘Suspicious arts’, with the exception of people from special lineages most won’t be able to inherit these special abilities.

“Oh? Not magicians, but people with an extraordinary ability. To have become attached to a criminal association, stray psychics?”

“That is correct.”

Currently, the existence of magicians is managed by the state. Civilian magicians too, excluding some exceptions, the government has a grasp on their whereabouts. Some exceptions are where you live in hiding on solitary islands and mountain recesses distant from human habitation. As long as you are receiving administrative services from the nation, you cannot escape the nations eyes just like the ordinary citizen, in the case of magicians this has become much more thorough. For example, high level magicians are in reality prohibited from leaving the country. Freedom of movement is restricted. The magician management system is unreasonable like that, the degree to which their human rights are infringed upon is significant.

However, this surveillance system doesn’t encompass people with an imperfect aptitude for magic. Those unable to interact with the system of magic and restricted to an innate paranormal ability that’s not useful —— extraordinary ability holders with a specific usable ability, have produced omissions in the tracking of ‘superpower users’.

Extraordinary ability users who slip through are not pressured as long as they are branded disqualified from the national magic control system and have three choices; they can sell their extraordinary ability to the government themselves, they can live as an ordinary member of society without a paranormal ability, or wield their extraordinary ability as a criminal. And regrettably, most choose the third option.

Maya asked a question, Hayama nodded, meaning such extraordinary ability users had joined Abousha’s members.

“The assassin that Tatsuya-dono is concerned with, appears to be an extraordinary ability user.”

Tatsuya is the family head’s, Maya’s nephew, the equivalent of being close to the head as far as Hayama is concerned. Nevertheless, his saying ‘concerned’ rather than ‘concerning’ and his designating him as ‘Tatsuya-dono’ and not ‘Tatsuya-sama’ reflects the delicate situation reguarding Tatsuya’s place inside the Yotsuba family at this point in time.

“This child.”

The data regarding the assassin referenced by Hayama, the record was taking up a large space on the electronic paper. Discovering the report didn’t cause Maya to become troubled.

“Her name Hashibami Yuki…… Her real name?”

“It appears to be, assuming the family register hasn’t been falsified, then it is.”

“So it would seem, either way is fine. Her ability is body enhancement…… Very common place.”

“The ability to enhance physical strength, perception speed and reaction times simultaneously and moreover in an instant. I wonder if it beneficial within actual combat?”

“The result will depend on the precise amount of doping.”

Hayama explains the usefulness of Hashibami Yuki’s extraordinary ability, but in spite of this it doesn’t appear Maya’s interest is aroused.

“……But you could say the opposite, despite being left alone the extraordinary ability user is the equivalent of an enhanced person due to doping.”

However, from her choice of words, it seemed she is concerned in a different direction.

In an honest fight, body enhancement extraordinary abilities wouldn’t be sufficient for a high-level magician to fear.

But is dangerous even for a magician of the Yotsuba family if caught off guard.

Magicians can only be said to have the technical skill to manipulate magic, their bodies are no different to those of normal people.

It goes without saying the threat regarding ordinary people.

“It does indeed, this itself is unrelated to the house.”

“I want to avoid Tatsuya-san’s actions reaching the point of harming the general public.”

There was a faulty expression in Maya’s words. It’s be more accurate to say, ‘I want to avoid Tatsuya-san’s actions being blamed for harming the general public’, and delving further into the real motive of the head of the Yotsuba family, ‘I want to avoid drawing attention to Tatsuya-san due to harm coming to members of the general public’.

Concealing Tatsuya’s existence was the consensus of the Yotsuba family at the present time. One group in the National Defence Force where acquainted with Tatsuya, and that unit was

able to agree to maintain secrecy. Beyond this, Maya and the heads of the Yotsuba branch families wanted to avoid attention being heaped upon him from outside the Yotsuba family, particularly from the Hundred Families and the Ten Master Clans and societies other influential magicians.

“……This should be fine, Fumiya-san, you have permission to intervene. But you must earnestly avoid revealing your true identity.”

“I understand.”

Being given permission to lend a hand pieced Fumiya like a nail, he bowed his head with a faithful expression on the outside but inside his mind he was raising shouts of joy.

“I’ll handle Fumiya-san’s middle school for this. Hayama-san, if you would please.”

“I respectfully obey.”

The private middle school Fumiya attends is secretly ruled by the Yotsuba family. The Ten Master Clans may not be able to interfere with the Magic University and its affiliated high schools since they are national schools, but small scale private schools with no direct relation to magic training, there are a surprising number of cases where a magician family is behind the scenes and it’s not restricted to just the Yotsuba family.

While regular magic training is monopolised by the Magic University and the Magic University Affiliated High Schools, magical talent often manifests from the upper grades of elementary school and in middle school. Influential magician families have a hand in the administration of private middle schools, with the intention of finding promising young boys and girls and winning over future subordinates from those admitted to a school with a tone they themselves set.

On top of that, the family influencing the community ‘behind the scenes’, makes arrangements with the school to acquire freedom of attendance for the sake of making use of their children for work. Maya had ordered Hayama to manage the latter.

“Fumiya-san, I’m giving you two weeks to deal with this problem. That’s agreeable isn’t it?”

“I respectfully obey. Two weeks is sufficient.”

Fumiya immediately bowed making his gesture respectful with all his might.

◇ ◇ ◇

No matter how much security systems develop, criminal cat burglars won’t disappear. When using the system, people make mistakes. It takes time to open a lock under full automated security. For that reason, against their better judgement people don’t suppress the at home mode when they depart.

Yuki had creeped into the second story of such a house. From the window she’s clinging to, the gate of Shiba Tatsuya’s house is barely in view.

“Nuts, is there any activity?”

“Hey.”

To her partners question heard through a secret transmission speaker, Yuki returned a short response.

“That guy, does he intend to seclude himself at home continuously?”

However, immediately after grumbled a complaint. She had been patiently lurking for nearly eight hours. Due to the nature of her work, Yuki had grown accustomed to hiding without moving, they weren’t presently in the middle of killing each other. The cause was the lack of the feelings of tension when risking one’s life, she was getting too tired.

“Because it’s Sunday, there is no need to go out to run errands.”

“Isn’t he a middle school student? Doesn’t he go have a good time?”

Yuki, who had become attached to a murder association without attending high school, muttered to herself on the ledge. On the other side of the transmission circuit, Wanizuka was digesting the comedy of ‘you’re saying that?’, but Yuki didn’t notice.

The time was gradually reaching nine o’clock. Not in the morning, nine o’clock in the evening. At such a time they were unexpectedly lucky the house’s inhabitants hadn’t returned, but that notwithstanding, it would irresponsible not to bring things to a close.

In the first place, Yuki hadn’t intended to linger until such a time. The police interview —— by another name power harassment —— had ended quickly. After one thing or another, they left the company before noon. After that, breakfast led to lunch which also ended up being fast food, sneaking into this house just after one o’clock.

It was Sunday afternoon. They were standing watch based on the conjecture it was natural for a middle school student to go out, but it appeared to be a mistake to consider the target a respectable boy.

Yuki thought so,

“……You’re not limited to going out on days off just because you’re a middle school student. We don’t know if they’re just playing games at home, and third year students could be studying for entrance exams.”

Her partner seemed to be thinking differently.

“If that’s the case, you should have said so earlier.”

Wanizuka, who was irritated with Yuki, wanted to object by saying ‘didn’t you say that before we stared the stakeout?’, but swallowed it again. Saying it now would not help matters, so he showed the attitude of an adult.

“Anyhow, how about giving up for today and heading back?”

“……I guess so.”

Yuki, though making idle complaints, would no longer continue further outbursts of anger if they didn’t continue. Her partner’s proposal was a welcome one for her.

However.

“——Wait just a minute.”

As often happens in these situations, there is a development with such timing.

“Someone’s leaving. It’s him.”

From the door of the house she was watching, the target appeared.

“Should I fly a drone?”

The meaning of the question Wanizuka asked was should he follow the target with a drone. Multi-rotor type drones were a widely popular means of transport for a time, now flying in city areas has become prohibited. But regulations and crime have always been in a continuous relationship. Exceedingly expensive silent stealth drones have been developed, primarily for the purpose of taking photos. ——Furthermore, the taking of such photos is not restricted to only criminal organisations.

“No, I’ll tail him.”

However, even if the present technology can turn off the sound, it cannot disappear. Even if you make it difficult to see, the technology to allow it to perfectly blend into the scenery is not yet complete. The risk being discovered is lower for herself than the drone. That was Yuki’s judgement.

“Roger, Nuts I know it goes without saying, but be careful not to be discovered.”

“If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t say such a thing.”

In response to Wanizuka’s common sense of evocating caution, Yuki exaggerated fearlessness.

After exiting the house that she was concealing herself in, Yuki was able to immediately locate the targets back. To avoid appearing suspicious she left the position she’d taken on the second floor for the sake of surveillance via the front door, but this required taking her eyes off the target. Inside her mind Yuki patted her chest, her greatest worry was that she’d lose sight of the target during that time.

As it is, Yuki maintains a fixed distance as she follows behind the target. She didn’t lower her guard, but she also didn’t think she’d be spotted.

Yuki’s specialisation is knives. Her work style is to make contact and stab people to death. Techniques for not being sensed when shadowing a target so that she can close in are indispensable to her, and in her three years of living as an assassin she has a record of having never been noticed even once. Yuki was confident of her ability to conceal herself and her shadowing techniques.

The targeted boy, Shiba Tatsuya didn’t turn his head once as he walked towards the station.

(……Why isn’t he using the commuter?)

Remembering, Yuki felt a faint discomfort, but her consciousness was focused on shadowing him, there was no surplus to think deeply about questions that suddenly floated across her mind.

That wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t think through to the true nature of the uncomfortable feeling.

The incident happened just before the intersection exiting onto the main street.

Her target was suddenly surrounded by four adult men.

These aren’t small time yakuza hurrying to threaten or impulsively assault him. Even at this distance, and under the light of streetlamps, she understood their bodies were built for combat. The stench of people who made a living with acts of violence was being clearly transmitted.

(This has to be a joke!?)

Yuki started running in panic. She didn’t forget to silence her footsteps, but she began to neglect concealing her presence. That was the extent she became panicked.

An illegally diverted large dark grey passenger vehicle is parked opposite the men surrounding the target. Yuki clearly comprehended the men’s intention.

It’s a kidnapping.

Those men, they’re going to kidnap Shiba Tatsuya

If they were just going to straight up kill Shiba Tatsuya, Yuki would welcome it. She could overlook it without doing anything.

But specifically taking the time to abduct him, it’s hard to believe they’d take his life. If they were just going to kill him, better to take him down by hand here in this place.

Even if it was to end with killing him, intending question him prior to that.

It would be undesirable.

Through that boy, she knew the situation.

In this world, to become appealing and improve their own circumstances, there are professional killers who raise their own stock value.

But, that’s the exception. The majority of professional killers conceal their existence.

Being able to silently disappear into the general public easily isn’t the only reason. When your traits are known, the jobs you’re sent on become more difficult.

As an assassin, Yuki’s biggest weapon is that she ‘has the form of a young girl’. Not only is she a woman, she’s petite, seemingly powerless really, appearing unrelated to any violent affairs.

It’s the perfect appearance for approaching the other party without putting them on guard.

Of the work that comes around to Yuki, there are numerous types that can make use of her appearance.

—— A professional killer with a slender figure and a height of one hundred and fifty centimetres.

Such a rumour seems to have circulated, and her job has become drastically more difficult. The men are trying to get the boy inside the vehicle.

The boy, he doesn’t show any resistance.

(You! Show some gut’s already!)

Cursing the boy who won’t resist, Yuki charges ‘power’ into her feet.

Releasing the extraordinary ability to enhance the body.

Her petite body accelerates explosively.

However, the reparation for that, the sounds of her footsteps could no longer be concealed. All four men simultaneously turned to face Yuki.

(Grr, shit!)

Yuki didn’t want to fight against the men who appeared to be specialists at violence. From the beginning she was planning to kill from the primary target, Shiba Tatsuya, at this spot and leave. —— If possible.

But, thinking only of her own convenience she’d gotten sloppy and ended up making an overoptimistic calculation, she understood that.

From among the four men, two took a stance to intercept Yuki. The remaining two took the boy Yuki was targeting and got aboard the large passenger vehicle.

From there Yuki attacked.

By throwing a throwing dagger, aimed at Shiba Tatsuya.

The men were surprised by the unexpected attack.

The dagger weaves through a tiny gap in the fence built by their large bodies to attack the boy.

However, that small blade passes in front of the eyes of the boy who lightly threw his head back, though the passenger vehicle and bounces off the wall of a private house.

One of them shouts in an unfamiliar language as two of the men deal with pushing the boy into the vehicle. The other two remain outside the car, have they judged that Yuki isn’t an ordinary person?

Considering the throwing dagger just before, that recognition hasn’t missed the mark. It’s natural to be vigilant. Consequently, this became a bad move as in the next instant Yuki took an action that went beyond absurdity.

The two men prepared knives in advance.

Just before that, Yuki makes a tiny hop, with sufficient force to place her hands on the roads surface.

And cartwheels, no, backwards somersaults out of Rondart.

The body enhancement of her extraordinary ability brings about a jump outside of common sense as Yuki’s body danced high in the air.

The two men were stuck by surprise and lost sight of her as Yuki nimbly jumped right over the heads, onto the towering wall of a private house on the opposite side of the road.

And as is, jumped again.

She casually jumps onto the roof of the large personal vehicle that’s started running.

The carriage of her body may appear catlike, but as one would expect, that cannot happen without making any noise at all.

Everyone inside the vehicle noticed someone had jumped onto the roof.

Though said to be a narrow road, it still maintained sufficient width for two lane traffic.

To shake off Yuki from on top of the roof, the passenger vehicle begins meandering.

Yuki quickly jumped down from the vehicle.

As the passenger vehicle fled, she steadily looked and burned the licence plate into her memory.

Then, as she anticipated, the two men rushed over.

Not shooting with guns, not because they don’t possess them but because the citizens might hear them.

Now, using them will make no difference.

Yuki didn’t look down on the two men’s abilities.

(Still, I’ve no choice but to engage them!)

Just like them, Yuki had no desire to leave behind witnesses. The extraordinary ability of body enhancement has been shown to the two men in front of her. Though the meaning was different to being seen at the scene of a crime, it was necessary to silence their mouths.

One of the men extends his hand that’s not gripping a knife. Yuki steps to dodge it.

The other man lunges with his knife.

Yuki bends her body, but the point of the opponents knife still wedges into her sweater’s bosom.

In the next moment, where Yuki’s chest swells, one side disappears.

No blood flowed forth.

There was a sound like a small vinyl balloon popping, and instead of blood something resembling mist spreads from Yuki’s chest.

“Ugh……!?”

The man who cut Yuki’s jumper lets out a groan, appearing disorientated whilst standing as his posture becomes disturbed.

Yuki didn’t miss that opportunity.

She sticks her knife into the back of his neck.

It doesn’t pierce deeply. Gripping the piercing knife underhand, she pulls it towards herself.

“……!”

No breath or voice could be heard from the man’s mouth as blood overflows from his neck.

Upon seeing this terrible spectacle, the remaining member of the pair pointed his blade at Yuki without wildly shouting nonsense. Evidently, they are professionals that have received a high level of training. However, Yuki’s methods are also well honed.

A man with a large build, a woman with a small statue. Yuki’s reach is greatly inferior.

The man swings his knife from outside Yuki’s range.

In contrast, Yuki crushed her remaining breast.

Needless to say, they are not her real breasts. They are pads using non-lethal nerve gas in place of air. You could say they are a woman’s secret weapon.

Its effectiveness has already been proven. Just like the second man’s companion, it greatly destroyed his posture.

And yet, he retaliated to repel Yuki’s knife, was it because the man was present to observe her modus operandi?

However, if the senses of balance and distance are thrown into disarray, then no matter how seasoned the man’s ability to cope is, he won’t be able to defend against Yuki’s knife.

The man knew that.

He reached out his hand and tried to grab Yuki.

Combined together, the handicapped sense of distance doesn’t become much of a problem. Besides, the difference between the physique of the man and Yuki is on the verge of being the same as that of adult and child. He may understand Yuki is not an ordinary girl, but the man doesn’t doubt he has superior arm strength.

For Yuki, she’s not reluctant to have a contest of strength. Discontent with the lack of growth of her height, she loved having the strength to hold down a giant of a man by using her extraordinary ability.

But right now, there was no time given the circumstances. She didn’t have time to play around.

Yuki dives under the man’s raised arms, flowing into his bosom.

Her movements are completely undisturbed.

It’s strange if you think about it. The nerve gas had spread from the air pads she was wearing on her chest.

Yuki should have been flooded with the strongest gas.

She should also be affected, but she doesn’t appear to be in a stupor.

This is her weapon that’s equal to her body enhancement.

Yuki has acquired an almost complete resistance towards poison. No, it would be inaccurate to say she acquired it. Her poison resistance consists of expanding her extraordinary ability’s body enhancement to the control of internal organs.

But originally this detoxification from her body enhancement only affected her nerves for sensory and motor function, then it spread to the blocking of toxins and emissions by training with and growing accustomed to poison.

She wasn’t drinking the poison herself. Yuki’s parents, they gave her a programme of poison without her knowing.

When Yuki found out, it was after both her parents had died. Why did her mother and father do such a thing? She never had the chance to ask them first-hand. What did they want me to become? What did they want to do? She already has no choice but to guess.

But whatever the reason was, at present, she is a professional assassin and that fact won’t change.

And now the complete poison resistance given by her parents has greatly benefitted Yuki in relation to her work as a professional killer.

In a direct contest, with the body enhancement, there wasn’t really any difference between the physical strength of Yuki and the two men. But with nerve poison undermining his condition, he can’t bring out half of his true strength.

Yuki’s knife penetrated the man’s throat from the front.

Pulling out the knife, Yuki quickly sidestepped to avoid going back bathed in the man’s blood.

However, remain too close to a corpse for too long and the smell of blood will permeate.

Killing these two was outside of the plan. Even if she calls the company, they won’t be able to arrange a disposal team. Abandoning the concealment of the bodies, Yuki leaves the scene.

Being quick of foot by means of her body enhancement, she run in zigzags until she’s three blocks away, confirming she has no pursuers Yuki switched on the voice communications which had been turned off.

“Croco, can you hear me?”

“Nuts? I was wondering what had happened when communications stopped. Did you kill him?”

“There was an accident.”

“What happened!?”

Her partner’s panicked voice reached her through the speaker in her ear.

Hearing that, feelings that this matter was becoming troublesome once again welled up inside Yuki.

“The target was abducted.”

“What was that!?”

“Calm down Croco. The vehicle those guys used for the abduction is a large dark grey sedan. A domestic Renault model. The registration is 多摩 3 X X – せX X X X.”

Yuki told him the name of the area, the three-digit classification number, the single hiragana, and the four-digit serial number. She read it as the self-running vehicle fled.

“It’s 多摩3 X X – せX X X X.”

Wanizuka repeated.

“I installed a transmitter on the roof of the vehicle. You should be able to pick up the radio waves that way.”

“Say that first!”

Wanizuka’s voice cuts off. The image of her partner hurrying to operate the receiver floats across her mind.

“……Yes, I’ve got it.”

“Tell me where.”

“No, I’ll pick you up. It’ll be faster that way.”

“Really? Well then——”

Yuki tells him the meeting place.

Wanizuka ‘rogers’ in a single word and ends the call.

In line with his saying it’ll be faster to meet, the station wagon that Wanizuka is driving appears almost simultaneously with Yuki arriving at the meeting point in front of the station.

Immediately after the car stops. Yuki slips into the passenger’s seat.

“Hurry up.”

“I know.”

As he was replying, Wanizuka threw down the driving lever.

As the box wagon started to run, Yuki stared at the navigator’s map from the passenger’s seat. The flashing illuminated point at the top right of the map showed the current position of the tracker she installed.

Yuki magnifies the area around the illuminated point.

The illuminated point has stopped moving.

“It’s surprisingly close.”

“A chemical factory belonging to a small-scale chemical company. I doubt they’d have trouble dealing with the body there.”

“It would make it easier to do the processing without needing to do any extra work.”

“I agree.”

While Wanizuka and Yuki exchanged words, the station wagon is running at a speed just barely permissible by the traffic control system.

Nevertheless, it still required more than ten minutes to reach the actual scene.

The passenger vehicle that had abducted the young male middle school student Yuki was targeting was parked on the factory’s premises.

“Can you see inside?”

Confirming the cars location by sight from inside the station wagon as it came to a stop on the opposite side of the road, Yuki asked that of her partner in the driver’s seat. Not asking with the aim of using an extraordinary special ability. Asking about the response from a biological radar that detects biological signals at a distance.

“No good. There are too many obstacles in the way.”

“Hmmm, it looks that way.”

Upon hearing Wanizuka’s response, Yuki wasn’t discouraged. The sensitivity of a biological radar that could be loaded onto a box wagon obviously won’t amount to much. To be able to grasp the situation inside at this distance and with walls in between, you’d have to be extremely lucky.

“……I have no choice but to go in.”

“Nuts!”

As Yuki puts her hand on the door handle, Wanizuka grabs her shoulder.

“I know it’s dangerous.”

Looking over her shoulder, Yuki lightly pushes Wanizuka’s hand off her shoulder.

“But I have to do this, there’s no other way.”

Wanizuka was able to understand the reason in theory. However, the risk of performing the infiltration at the present time, it does not match her usual work. Breaking into a rival’s hideout alone without being able to completely investigate it beforehand.

No, they can’t be sure it’s an enemy in the first place. If that were the case, it’s not unthinkable that it could come to light that they kicked the hornet’s nest.

But the bitter smile his young female partner expressed meant Wanizuka wouldn’t be able to restrain her any further.

Since Wanizuka had known her this is the first time that Yuki had suffered repeated failures in killing her target. You can’t spend time preparing unlike a normal job, it may come to light it’s necessary to discount thinking about it at all. But rushing, there has to be a reason to do so.

They should have gotten rid of the witness on the very day at the original scene of the assassination, which was Wednesday night, today is Sunday, four days later. Furthermore, there hasn’t risen a prospective situation to reliably kill the targeted boy.

In addition to these circumstances, the situation has produced a risk that the information that she’s a professional killer has leaked to a third party. Yuki decision was made fully aware of the danger she was plunging into, and Wanizuka could see it was unavoidable.

“……Be careful.”

“Of course, I’ll be careful.”

Yuki got out of the car, Wanizuka watched on irresolute.