Plan to Assassinate Tatsuya Shiba - Volume 1 - The Girl Assassin - Chapter 10

[10] Decisive Battle 

Fumiya has cornered Yuki in a five-storey building, one with a tenant that appeared to have originally been related to apparel. All the electronic signs and merchandise have been removed from the first floor, but the analogue interior has not changed as of yet. 

Visibility is worse than he thought it would be. 

Fumiya has an inherently high sensitivity to pushions as well as psions because of having a high aptitude for Mental Interference magic. But he is still inexperienced and has a way to go to master the skill of distinguishing those who are close by. 

Modern magic places the emphasis on altering phenomena, so has a tendency to put off improving perception abilities. The Kuroba Family sends more time developing perception abilities than normal magicians because they responsible for gathering intelligence. To begin with, the progress of the training as well as the technical systems for perception have stagnated when compared to those for magic that actively alters events. 

The lighting has been removed within the building. On top of that there are nearly no windows on the first story. It becomes pitch black just a short distance from the entrance. 

Fumiya turns on the night vision function of his goggles. The scenery emerged from the monochrome that was before his eyes before. Rather than simply amplifying the light, the images captured by the camera are added to his field of vision by the AR system. Fumiya could see the reality within the darkness perfectly. 

Whilst using the AR image to avoid obstacles, he concentrated his attention on looking for psion light. Pushion light is more difficult to misrepresent and conceal than psion light. But pushion light cannot be seen as clearly as psion light. Despite having a strong sensitivity to pushions, as a magician Fumiya is more intimately familiar with psions. 

Fumiya advanced all the way to the rear of the first floor and came to a standstill at the bottom of the stairs. Whilst the stairs leading to the basement are blocked off by a chain, there is nothing on the stairs leading to the second floor. 

There is no dust on the stairs. 

This is blatantly suspicious. 

However, he did not have the option to stop here. No, he really should consider turning back here, but that idea never crossed Fumiya’s consciousness. 

Should the stationary escalator be used to reach the second floor? Or this stairwell? 

The escalator, which is simple to work mechanically, is out of the question. 

So, the neatly swept stairs where no footprints remain. 

In all probability, it is a trap. 

Is the fact he advanced despite knowing that because of youth? Or else, is it because Fumiya is a boy? 

Nevertheless, as he climbed the stairs, he did not neglect his vigilance. 

Because he kept that possibility in mind, he would have noticed if there was a surprise attack from overhead. 

There was nothing. 

Even psion wave emissions were concealed perfectly. 

However, the air was moving. Inside a room with no breeze. 

Fumiya’s left arm jolts sideways as a sensation of sharpness runs through it. There was a thin line in the sweater made of blade resistant fibre. It is barely cut, but if the same place is slashed again then it will not be able to resist. 

Fumiya remains in front of the wall as he turns the muzzle of his armament device towards where he was standing. 

But there is no one there. 

He crouched completely on intuition. 

Blades painted black pieced the place where Fumiya’s neck had been. 

Fumiya tumbled down the stairs. 

As he is spinning, he raises the hammer of the armament device. 

This device has a dummy trigger, and the hammer plays the role of the switch to expand the activation sequence. 

The trigger only has the function of returning the hammer-type switch to its original position which Fumiya uses as a signal to himself to invoke his magic. 

After rolling about halfway down the stairs, he pulls the trigger of the armament device. 

A short needle is fired with magic, flying straight whilst ignoring gravity and air resistance. 

However, this magic does not have a tracking function. 

A man concealing his head and face entirely with a black mask, and entirely dressed in black, dodges the needle which such a quick movement that it creates the optical illusion that he disappeared. At this stage Fumiya finally realises the opponent is not Yuki, but a tall and slender man instead. 

However, the moment he confirmed them by sight, the man appeared to dissolve into the darkness. 

An alert displayed on Fumiya’s goggles. 

Following the marker, Fumiya raised the knife in his left hand. 

The impact does not hit the blade of the knife, but the bulletproof plate inserted into the armoured glove. 

The opponent’s weapon is not a knife, it is a short sword with a blade over thirty centimetres in length. 

If it were not for the knuckle guard, the impact would have made Fumiya drop his knife. 

This force of the killing intent being released as they advance down the stairs makes Fumiya stagger. 

Both knees collide with the wall. 

The armament device slips from Fumiya’s right hand. 

Instead of picking up the armament device he rips one of the decorative buttons off the jumper’s skirt. 

And throws the button while remaining on his knees. 

Intense light tears through the darkness. 

The decorative button was actually a camouflaged ultra-small flash grenade. 

The man dressed entirely in black falters. 

The form of the man previously concealed from Fumiya’s senses emerged in his field of vision. 

Fumiya quickly stands up, the thumb that was grasping the knife in his left hand presses the button inserted into the glove’s index finger. 

The activation for Direct Pain is output, 

The magic structure is constructed in an instant.  

Fumiya projects his left hand in what appears to be japing a punch. 

This time, the timing coincided. 

A scream escapes the man’s mouth. 

The man tumbled down the stairs while screaming like a wounded beast. He could not remain standing while assailed from intense pain assailing the soles of his feet. 

Fumiya projected his left hand a second time. 

The man’s roaring cry was interrupted. 

As the intense pain exceeded the permissible limits, the body was deprived of consciousness. 

Fumiya exhaled as he adjusted the hem of his skirt. 

In that moment, the last traces of the decorative button could be seen shutting off. 

Fumiya silently expressed a bitter smile. 

That decorative button is a gimmick made by Fumiya’s father, the inspiration from an old novel. 

Fumiya had been shocked that his father had read something so juvenile, but after this moment he felt he had to revise his thinking. 

Fumiya picked up his armament device and resumed his advance to the next floor. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Yuki, who was concealing herself on the second floor of the empty tenant building, could sense that her colleague had entered hostilities with ‘Yami’. 

Yuki quietly heads towards the escape route. 

Here tonight, Yuki’s turn has ended. The rest of the plan is to kill ‘Yami’ with other employees whose abilities are unknown. 

Yuki’s footsteps were heavy, not only out of apology due to having forced work onto her colleagues. 

‘Yami’ is not a novice. Probably an inhabitant of the underworld the same as them. 

But neither ‘Yami’ nor Shiba Tatsuya are ‘villains who cannot be judged by the law’. 

Originally, neither was an opponent Yuki was supposed to kill. 

The reason for them to cross blades with her is because Yuki was seen at the scene of a murder by Shiba Tatsuya. 

Because of this quarrel, no, accident, Shiba Tatsuya and Yami will be killed.  

All for the sake of Yuki’s protection, the organisation will snatch away the lives of two people. 

—— If that is the case, she should at least do it by her own hand. 

That was the ill feeling that Yuki was carrying. 

Murder is a sin. 

Yuki believes that killing people is a sin, but the reason is not because that is what the law has decided. —— No, it is how she feels. 

She does not feel any immoral gratification from committing crimes. 

But she does remember that she is a murderer. That she has snatched away too many lives. 

You have already killed numerous times, so why fret over the unpleasantness of murder now? Yuki also feels this way. 

—— If that is the case, even if it is self-satisfaction, you can consent on that pretext at least. 

—— Even if she herself does not agree, she can still push it onto others all the more. 

Yuki, who thinks in such a way, is purer than she herself believes and is troubled by feelings of guilt even if she herself is unaware of it. 

Yuki understands and agrees. ‘Yami’ must be killed. 

But at the same time, desires to kill her with her own hands. 

That was Yuki’s real intention. 

However, ‘Yami’s’ management has been entrusted to the care of her colleagues. 

This is the company president’s decision. 

Yuki cannot go against the president’s intentions. 

Committing to memory the regret that she could not personally kill the girl who was not a sinner by her own hand, Yuki left the tenant building. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Fumiya was not even thinking about broken steps anymore, they must be aware of his invasion. 

That struggle had been flashy. The light of the flash grenade must have been from above the stairs, and that man had raised a scream which resounded throughout the deserted building. If he is not able to locate Yuki quickly, then he must consider joining up with the Kuroba troops by going outside for a moment. 

Fumiya was considering this while looking up at the floor of the second floor. 

But that decision came a little bit too late. 

Feeling uncomfortable, Fumiya stops walking unintentionally. 

This building is a tenant building for clothing shops. Taking that into consideration, it is not really strange for it to be here. 

However, this scene seemed profane given the situation where all the other stores had vacated. 

Unlike the first floor, the second floor has space for a tea house with a large window at the back of the floor. 

The light shining from there gave rise to a strange scene despite its normalcy. 

Suits and jackets are hanging on display in a way that it is easy to imagine it is on the sales floor of a menswear store. Hanging on coat hangers and lined up for three rows. 

The fact that he stopped conferred an opportunity to the enemy. 

Hyutu, there is a sound similar to a weakly exhaled breath. 

By the time Fumiya noticed it, there was a tiny needle stuck in his neck. Even shorter than the ones used by Fumiya’s armament device, and with a cone shaped wind guard attached. 

It is a blowgun. 

Fumiya crouched down while simultaneously dropping the knife in his left hand and operating the CAD in his right hand. 

An Anti-Object Shield takes form around his body. 

His left hand then takes the blow-dart out of the jumper’s bottleneck. 

There is no blood on the head of the blow-dart. Underneath his high-necked jumper is a chocker with the width of a belt. It is for the sake of safeguarding the neck, which is a vital point. The enemy’s blow-dart had unintendedly been stopped by the choker. 

The fortuity was due to the enemy’s aim being accurate. 

While thanking the enemy’s skill, Fumiya searched for their whereabouts. 

“Heat Source Detection.” 

Fumiya murmurs in a whisper so faint that it could not be heard by anyone but himself even within this silence. 

A heat distribution overlay appears in the goggle’s field of vision. 

Even if you are wearing a stealth suit that conceals body heat, to use a blowgun you must expose your mouth. 

And the breath being exhaled from inside the body cannot be cooled. 

As expected, the enemy’s whereabouts were revealed. Hiding behind a jacket hanging on a coat hanger. 

Fumiya activates the armament device as he takes aim and pulls the trigger. 

The needle flying with movement magic cannot be stooped by the material of a jacket. No matter how thick it is, even if it is woven from bulletproof fibres. 

However, the armament devices needle pierces the jacket, and disappears into the floor. 

This time, a shuriken flies in from a different angle. Not a throwing dagger, a traditional bōshuriken. 

The shuriken is stopped not by the blade resistant fibres of the jumper skirt, rather, it falls after being caught in the Anti-Object Shield. It does not rebound. It loses its kinetic energy and falls to Fumiya’s feet. 

Looking back the enemy’s form can be seen. This time it is not an AR image of a heat source, the enemy’s entire body is exposed. 

Fumiya aims the armament device again and fires a needle. 

It cannot be evaded at this distance. 

There is no mistake, the needle pieces the enemy. ——That is to say, it is an illusion. 

There was no enemy there, just the fallen jacket of a suit entwined with the needle. 

(Utsusemi!?) 

Fumiya was not perplexed by this phenomenon. He is acquainted with this ninjutsu. 

Utsusemi no Jutsu. The Technique of the Empty Cicada Shell. 

Although ninjutsu, this Utsusemi is not an ancient magic. It is a slight of hand. 

Just as teleportation magic does not exist, no magic exists which can switch two objects from across the room. 

There are two types of Utsusemi no Jutsu. 

One is genjutsu, an illusion technique. The technique attaches an illusion of yourself to clothing or wood and is removed in a timely manner. 

The other is a technique that requires instant movement to unfurl clothing prepared in advance or to quickly take off your clothes with body handling and true skill. 

The Kuroba Family has users of both techniques. Kurokawa is also a master in the sleight of hand method of Utsusemi. 

Fumiya, seeking cover, jumped to the other side of a partition. Taking a crouching stance to turn up his skirt and return the armament device to the weapon belt wrapped about his thigh. 

In this situation and given the enemy’s level of skill. 

It is no longer possible to say he can leisurely conceal the scope of his power anymore. 

He rolled up the right sleeve of the jumper to expose the CAD underneath, for the purpose of operating it more speedily. 

He rectifies the Anti-Object Shield to be persistent and calls up the activation sequences of magic for offensive use. 

Fumiya jumps out from behind the partition. 

At that moment, short arrows come flying at him this time. It is probably a probably type of crossbow. Fumiya decides not to move to evade, instead releasing the magic he had construction beforehand. 

The arrow is stopped by the Anti-Object Shield and drops. 

Transparent blades of air, ‘Air Blade’, dance boisterously and tear up the jackets and suits hanging on the floor’s hangers. 

The ‘Air Blade’ Fumiya uses is a variation of Air Bullet. Firing a mass of thinly compressed air at high speed. 

Similar blades of air are fired by the magic sequence ‘Hot Air Blade’, which creates blades of air using high temperatures, compressing the air this way, and firing them as is. In contrast with this, ‘Air Blade’ does not raise the temperature and that proportion of energy is converted and transferred into the speed it fires. 

The reason Fumiya used ‘Air Blade’ rather than ‘Hot Air Blade’ was for the sake of preventing a fire. Instead, a mass of ultra-thin air scatters at high speed, shredding the jackets and suits blocking his field of vision, and cutting deep into the body of the enemy preparing to use their crossbow. 

The man collapses to the floor as a massive amount of blood spills out. 

It is probably a fatal wound, but Fumiya does not freeze up due to being caught up in guilt. 

Naturally, he did not vomit due to the graphic scene of internal organs and blood. 

While he may possess moral restrain towards murder, he has no physiological revulsion to it. 

This was a blessing, as the unexpected now happened. 

The body of the collapsed man exploded. 

Self-destruction. 

The power of the explosion is small. For the sake of a final counterattack against the enemy who approached to make certain they were dead. 

But that was not all. 

The explosion scatters a shower of sparks inside the room. Jamming against heat source detection. It also has the effect of obstructing the night vision system. 

The next enemy attacked without in no time at all. And it is not just the one. Seven assassins are coordinating to commence an attack. 

A lethal slashing attack at the neck from behind. The Anti-Object Shield is still effective, but Fumiya did not take it on purpose. 

Throwing himself to the floor, he extracted a spare knife with his left hand from under his skirt. His thighs wrapped in tights are more than half exposed, but he does not feel embarrassment in battle. 

Turning once, he receives another enemy’s attack with the knife he had transferred to his right hand.  

Not a katana, but a tekko-kagi. Long and sharp iron claws. Its surface was lacquered with poison, droplets flying at Fumiya’s face the moment, having sprayed the moment they exchanged blows. The face paint protecting his face melts a little. But it never reaches bare skin. 

Without resolving the contest between the knife and the tekko-kagi, Fumiya starts up the CAD in his left hand. 

Invoking Direct Pain. 

Even in the current situation where their weapons are in contact with each other, the aim cannot miss. 

The enemy in front of Fumiya screams, clutching his stomach as he tumbles to the floor. 

Agitation runs though the remining enemies. 

Causing a further intensification of the attacks. 

Shuriken and throwing kunai fly about, along with chains furnished with weights intended to snatch away Fumiya’s freedom. Not just knifes and small katanas, but some enemies also slashed with blades equipped with a stun function. None of the enemies are using small arms, are they afraid of bullets ricocheting and hitting their companions within the dark room? 

Caught in coordinated waves of hit and run attacks, Fumiya is unable to find a chance to remove his hand from the defensive magic to fire Direct Pain. 

Overwhelmed by the number of attacks, Fumiya is gradually driven towards the middle of the floor. 

However, he was not struggling alone with no prospect of victory. 

Suddenly, one of the enemies froze unable to move. He looked at his arm in wonder, and immediately following that, raised a sound of anguish as though his entrail were being wrung out, and collapsed to the floor. 

Of the remaining six enemies, three people, half their number, turned their eyes towards the stairs. 

There, was the same number of black suits. 

The black suits and assassins glare at one another. 

Fumiya’s opponents are reduced to three people. 

Fumiya did not miss this opportunity. 

With the reduced density of attacks, he took the opportunity to retreat to the space in the tea house where the tables and chairs had been removed from.  

To a position where he could confirm line of sight on all the professional killers at once. 

And thereupon, Fumiya preformed shadow boxing. 

Three consecutive jabs. 

That did no physical damage to the three professional killers rushing towards Fumiya, instead only conferring pain to snatch away their consciousness. 

The three black suits throw arrows simultaneously. 

The professional killers glaring at them, dodge them without any trouble. 

But after that evasion, they all bend backwards at the same time. 

One per person, three in total. 

A knife is sticking in the backs of the professional killers. All three knives have pierced vital points. 

All six professional killers, oddly enough, fell at exactly the same time. 

Fumiya let out a big breath and released his combat stance. Turning to look at the two black suits who were standing beside him and Kurokawa, who had taken a roundabout path checking for any unnoticed professional killers behind the scenes. 

The three men in front of the stairs advanced to the floor above. Going to scout and check the were no remaining ambushes.  

“Thanks. You really saved me there.” 

He smiled, calling out to Kurokawa and the other two.

“You are welcome, Ojou-sama.” 

The black suit standing at Kurokawa’s right side smiled broadly —— if Fumiya’s appearance had been as it seems, you would have caught sight of a ‘goofy deredere expression’ —— in response to the thanks. 

“Kurokawa.” 

Fumiya spoke to Kurokawa with a serious look. 

“Yes.” 

Kurokawa knew what he was going to say, you could predict it from his expression. 

“Where is Hashibami Yuki?” 

“I’m terribly sorry. We lost sight of her.” 

Fumiya let out a sigh. 

“……It cannot be helped. I’m also guilty of the same offence by letting her escape.” 

However, Fumiya did not try to condemn Kurokawa. 

“If there are no more wating in ambush, lets head to Abousha.” 

Instead of that, Fumiya gives the order to move up the schedule. 

“Ojou-sama, that……” 

Naturally, Kurokawa denotes disapproval. 

“Abousha’s actual workforce consists of thirty-six people. Of those, nine have been incapacitated. Eleven if you include the people incapacitated as of yesterday. And not all of the assassins amongst the actual workforce will be suited to direct combat, and not all of their members will be jammed inside of an office building. Kurokawa, don’t you think this is an opportunity?” 

“……It is as you say.” 

But Kurokawa had to recognise that Fumiya’s judgement was rational. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

There is a mid-rise apartment building approximately two-hundred meters away from the building which Fumiya was enticed into. A single woman is lurking on the rooftop. 

Her codename is ‘Jane’. One of Abousha’s professional killers. She is a female assassin who uses combat, just like Yuki. 

Although, the techniques they excel at contrast. Yuki uses a style of hand-to-hand combat using a knife, whereas ‘Jane’ is a sniper. Her style is sniping by making use of a silenced rifle. 

From the place where she has taken up position, the space for the tenant building’s tea house can be seen directly. 

A heat source with a small stature appears in the scope ‘Jane’ is peeking through. The scope is a special make which is able to detect heat sources through the window glass. 

Ammunition is already in the chamber. All that is left is to pull the trigger. 

(……This will be over in one shot.)  

A sniping mission using nine of her fellow assassins as decoys. The target is the young girl codenamed ‘Yami’. 

Jane understands the target has completely lowered their guard. Even if the target is the strongest magician of the Ten Master Clans, they will be killed by her bullet in a situation like this——. 

It happened the exact moment that ‘Jane’ tried to pull the trigger. The scope she was peering through abruptly falls of the rifle. 

Not just the scope. 

The bolt which is holding down the chamber come off completely. 

The detachable magazine falls out. 

The barrel springs off. 

In an instant, the sniper rifle fell into pieces. 

“Huh, what?” 

‘Jane’ was dumbfounded before being struck by shock. 

She could not understand what it meant. 

While her consciousness was stuck in this phase. 

Before she was able to comprehend what had happened, in the next moment, she lost her form. 

Her outline became ambiguous, 

And became mist, 

And vanished from this world. 

All that remains on the apartment building’s rooftop, are the parts of the disassembled sniper rifle. 

And then, from the stairs leading to the rooftop, and on the other side of the closed door, Shiba Tatsuya departed. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Yuki, who had returned home as is without showing her face at the company, had received a call from her partner Wanizuka just before the date had changed. 

“……Huh?” 

And now she was beginning to doubt her ears. 

“What did you say?” 

Yuki returned the query reflexively. It was not that it was difficult to understand the voice on the call. It was that her consciousness rejected what Wanizuka was saying. 

“The company was attacked. It seems like the managing director and executive director were seriously injured and the company president has been abducted.” 

Hearing it a second time, Yuki finally comprehended what Wanizuka was saying. 

“Are you serious?” 

“Yes.” 

“How in the world did that happen!?” 

Yuki was not exasperated because her heart and soul are devoted to the company. 

It was due to how people get angry or despair when they encounter something so irrational it exceeds their limits. 

“It was a group of ten people wearing black suits.” 

“Only ten people!? Are you sure you’re not dreaming!?” 

Wanizuka could fully comprehend the feelings Yuki wanted to say. Therefore, he was able to ignore it when Yuki’s words doubted him. 

At any rate, she was about to cry out in an even louder voice. 

“Within them was a young girl with a bob cut and concealing her face with goggles.” 

“THAT GIRL!?!” 

Wanizuka had anticipated Yuki’s scream. 

“Was it Yami that abducted the president!?” 

“Going by the current state of affairs, it would appear so.” 

Yuki’s question is answered by Wanizuka in an indifferent tone. It is not that he has not received a shock. It is that the shock has exceeded the permissible limits, and his emotions have become diluted for the moment. 

“What happened to the kids!? Did Jane fail!?” 

‘Kids’ refers to the concealment experts who were to attack ‘Yami’ on the stairs. ‘Jane’ is the sniper entrusted with the final stage of the operation. 

“It seems they haven’t been able to make contact with the members of tonight’s operation, including Jane.” 

“Did they mess up......?” 

“Probably.” 

Yuki clutches the telephone receiver lost for words. 

The silence continues for ten seconds. “Nuts. What are you going to do after this?” Wanizuka asks Yuki the reverse. 

“What should I do……” 

Only the president has the advantage of being known to the politicians. With him snatched away we won’t be able to keep working.” 

“…………” 

“It’s truly a catastrophe for Abousha.”  

“……I guess so.” 

“Well then Nuts. What will you do from tomorrow?” 

This question is asking what direction they will be taking from hereafter, as partners. 

Certainly, with the company present gone, it is not possible to continue being a professional killer belonging to Abousha. She will not starve immediately as she has some savings, but her physical safety is a much bigger concern than finances. 

Until now, the highlight of Abousha and the connection to politicians that President Morozumi possessed is that it secured their safety to a certain extent. 

Though constraining to belong to an organisation, you will be in a close relationship with numerous colleagues, which becomes a restraint on other criminals and organisations. And that is all the more so when attaining connections to politicians which act as a powerful shield against a criminal’s greatest threat, the police. 

“The president’s recovery…… it’s impossible.” 

“I think so as well.” 

“It’s like you said, Abousha cannot run without the president.” 

“Agreed.” 

“……Do you want to run?” 

“Even if you flee the county, you still have to work to eat.” 

“I’m only able to do one job.” 

“Are you okay with that?” 

Yuki said it herself, being a professional killer is the only job she can do. 

In contrast with that, Wanizuka was asking her if she was okay with being a professional killer after this. 

He understood that in reality, Yuki hated murder. 

“——Yes.” 

However, Yuki’s answer was to keep killing people for money —— to remain an assassin. 

“I understand. I happen to know of a new employer.” 

“Another organisation?” 

“It’d be okay to go freelance.” 

“No…… it’s better to be a member of one.” 

Perhaps sensing Yuki’s conflict, Wanizuka did not return a comment. 

“I think I can take off in a week. 

“Leave it with me. But……” 

“Nuts?” 

Wanizuka’s voice was suspicious. 

And Yuki replied in a brazen voice. 

“I have to make a distinction.” 

When Yuki said distinction, Wanizuka realised what she was thinking immediately. 

However, he did not say anything to Yuki. Instead of stopping her, he did not say anything to support her.