Rogue

Chapter 28

"W-Wait! Everyone hold your positions," he commanded. A and B-Ranks popped up on the radar surrounding the street they were on, watching the scene unfold from the rooftops. "This is something unlike anything we've ever seen before. We're risking the lives of agents just for a necklace!"

"You understood the orders when you took on the task. Carry them out." He bit his tongue.

"I-I can't." The older boy shoved her younger brother behind his back to try and hide him from other agents that had now filled the area. "I won't."

"I'll handle it," Konami's voice suddenly called out over the comms.

"Did you not hear what I just said? What makes you think you can take her on?"

"Because I've done this before." Izumi scowled at the standoff happening in front of him. Akira stuck her arm out from her cloak, revealing her inhuman hand, claws stretching out as a black steel staff began appearing in her palm. She grasped it tightly while it extended out, reaching longer than her usual scythe by at least thirty centimeters. Whereas her Border scythe was about the same height as her, this one towered over her. Right below the top of the staff grew a thick blade of a dark color, and the bottom released a heavy chain, part of which she held in her other hand with the rest pooling at her ankles.

The two glared at each other and Akira had yet to say a word. She was always mischievous and snarky, but she seemed to be very cautious about how she was acting. She was very serious and straight to the point, showing little to no emotion behind her green eyes, one lit with a green flame. Her lips parted, taking one solid breath as she prepared to speak.

"Any last words?" Her threat echoed through the area with a smooth tone, showing no sign of anger. She hadn't even addressed him properly and was instead going straight for the kill. He curled his lip at her, scowling at the disrespect he was facing. She wanted him dead but wanted no parting banter? One of them was bound to die today no matter what, leaving them little time to say their last words. Was she really gloating about her strength by implying that she would be the one left standing?

"You pretentious brat!" She almost wanted to grin, having gotten under his skin without any effort whatsoever. She huffed and set off to attack him but found her muscles stiffening up as a female voice called out to her from the right side of the street.

"Wait!" Akira felt her feet shift ever so slightly as she halted her action, glancing to the side to see a familiar redhead panting with a panicked look on her face. "Don't do this!"

The blonde returned her gaze to her enemy, not giving Konami the time of day. There was no way in hell she was gonna give up this opportunity, no matter what they had to say to convince her. "Remember what we talked about? Remember how you told me that you didn't wanna live this life anymore? If you do this, you might never get the chance to move on again."

She didn't wanna listen, but she couldn't deny that her interest was piqued. "You told me that you wanted a fresh start. This is your chance to move on, Akira. No more running... No more hiding... You can stay here with us, but you can't do this. Isn't that what you want?" A thick silence settled over the street with tension so thick that the other agents could tell this was madly serious without even knowing what was going on.

"What I want...?" Her voice was no more than a mumble, but it somehow echoed in the space they occupied. Her eyes narrowed at the man before her, staring at her with an egregious smirk. She wanted to wipe it off of his face. "I want him dead."

With her left hand holding the chain of her weapon, she yanked it up, uprooting it from the ground where it had been snaking its way toward Hiroto beneath the concrete. The links ripped up right beneath his feet and circled him. Just as he jumped up to escape her grasp, a tight grip yanked him down by the ankle. The rotting hand of a corpse clung to him and kept him in place while the chains made their rounds on his body, completely latching him to the position he was in.

There was no fight to be had, just a massacre. He never stood a chance.

In a flash, Akira was behind him with her weapon poised high in the air, begging to strike the man. Just as her muscles tensed for her to swing her scythe, Konami cried out again, this time in horror.

"Stop!" The terror in her voice made the blonde freeze. It was like she finally came to, recognizing what she was about to do and who was watching her. Green eyes scanned the field, finding numerous agents surrounding her and watching her every move, including Kohei and her brother. Was she really about to commit this heinous sin in front of all of these people? "Please stop, Akira." The girl held her blade firmly where it stood centimeters shy of his throat. "Please don't do this."

She didn't know if it was the glassy look of Konami's eyes, the fear in Erias's, or Kohei's bitten lip, but something was begging Akira to stand down. She leered at Hiroto again and kicked him in the back of the leg, effectively dropping him onto his knees before taking a step back. She needed a second to breathe and think things over.

Akira stared at the back of his head while Konami continued to ease her mind from a distance. "It's okay, Akira. We can take him into custody and make him of use to us. There's no reason for you to fight anymore, okay?" She bit her tongue. The redhead was right, but she couldn't help but feel like it was wrong. It was like after four years she was letting her parents down once again. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Hiroto chuckled, forcing Akira's eyes away from her friend and back to the back of his throat. Was this man serious right now? Was he really laughing with his executioner at his heels? The female glared into the back of his head. She could feel the fire of her eye heat up a couple degrees as her anger returned to her body. The sound of his glee made her blood boil.

"Your parents would be so disappointed in you..." The grip on her scythe tightened. "After all these years that you promised to avenge them, you're giving up?"

"Don't listen to him."

"You're a coward," he cackled. All of Konami's words exited her brain as her ears became overwhelmed with his slander. "Just like your brother... Like your mother... Just like your father."

Akira took a couple of steps away from the man but never let her gaze falter. She wouldn't hesitate ever again. Konami felt relief as she watched Akira back away but felt a lump in her throat as her scythe moved again.

Spinning it a couple times at her side, she let it pick up momentum until they could barely follow it with their eyes. The blade spun so flawlessly around her body that it looked like she was being surrounded by a halo. It all came to a head when she planted her left foot and brought the Grim Reaper's blade down across his neck with a quickness that made the cut like it was butter.

Erias tucked his face into Izumi's jacket, hiding his eyes from the splatter of blood that covered the ground. He winced as he heard Hiroto's body drop to the ground and the silence that came after. The air was tense as they all stared, never even imagining such a sight. Konami had to cover her mouth to stop her from crying out and Kohei just stared in horror.

Looking like she lacked a soul, Akira stared down at her work with her body still in its striking position. Speckles of blood covered her face, some of which made her eye's flame turn red. She didn't look upset or remorseful over what she had done. No, this was her job. This was something she was used to seeing everyday.

Izumi watched carefully as the glowing number above her head which read 27,206 shifted, going up a single digit. The sight of the increased number made Konami turn and lose her lunch, finally understanding why the girl was insistent on not telling her about it.

"I-It's a kill count...?" Izumi's comment went ignored as Akira spun her blade again, this time bringing it to an abrupt stop to rid it of blood. Then she stood it up straight and placed her hands together, shutting her eyes and letting herself come back to her body. The flame on her face extinguished and her hands returned to their normal state, though they remained discolored. A large bell sounded, signaling the successful delivery of yet another soul by her hands. It was eerie how serene she looked after doing something so detestable. Even then, Kohei couldn't feel disgusted with her how he once had. She had spoken about this happening long before they became close, so he knew what he was in for. In fact, part of him was proud of her for finally finishing what she'd set out to do four years ago. Now, the only thing he was worried about was what they hell they were gonna do now.