146 94th

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In the building not too far from Jazz Star hotel, a man stood in the darkness motionlessly as he peered into the scope of his rifle. He was waiting for a signal that was supposed to be the flowers pointing towards the heart of the intended victim.

He had to hand it to his employers. Though he already had a reputation for his secrecy and completion rate, they were very careful not to let him know who the target was until Kurogane Shishio had approached her. The target was a beautiful woman who looked coldly at Shishio. Even a hardened man such as him couldn't help but feel attracted to this elegant woman who he was supposed to eliminate.

"Such a shame…" he noticed the gesture Shishio made as he stepped in closer so he adjusted the angle of his rifle. This had to be done perfectly or even he would be hunted down if there was a slight mishap.

*BANG*

He was determined to do a good job because he was informed that there was possibly another target that they wanted to get rid of.

"Bullseye!" he praised himself as the bullet directly hit the back of Kurogane Shishio.

"Huh?" the smile on his face immediately froze as the woman who stood in front of Shishio was startled but remained standing. He was baffled because he used special rounds and even shot in a place that was sure to have his bullet pass through.

He took aim at Kouzuki Kyouko who was still in a state of shock but the scope's view was immediately blocked by a young man with long hair. This sent shivers down the sniper's eyes because from what he was seeing, the boy was directly looking at him. The boy kept staring at him and even pulled out a phone while preventing another shot from being taken

"Damnit!" he cussed and immediately rushed to pack up his equipment. There was a strict instruction that he couldn't take a shot at that boy so he had no other choice but to start retreating before people could figure out where the shot came from.

The sniper felt nervous because he knew that his client had taken a the risk of being shot just to fend off suspicions. Their plan was that Kurogane Shishio was supposed to be the target while Kouzuki Kyouko was just there at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Kuroganes had no shortage of enemies after all.

"(I better get out of this town fast)" he thought after throwing the bag that contained his disassembled rifle down the garbage chute. This was to ensure that he wasn't seen with any luggage for the areas with security cameras.

Though he had rare instances that had him fail jobs, he was aware of the fact that his clients weren't exactly good guys either. He knew the risks of failure that was why he intended to leave as soon as he could. If they were reasonable, they would accept the result calmly. This had been their plan from the beginning and he had done everything perfectly. He just had no idea how Kouzuki Kyouko managed to avoid the bullet that supposed to have passed through Kurogane Shishio.

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"Did that guy have some kind of bone abnormality that blocked the bullet?" he wondered as he recovered his equipment and headed for his vehicle in the underground parking area.

"Are you him?" a female voice reached his ears and startled him. He had been on full alert ever since he failed his mission, so he was shocked that someone had come so close to him without him realizing it.

He turned around and saw a woman who was wearing a dress and was strangely trying to catch her breath. Her hair was a bit disheveled and it looked like she was rushing.

"You must be mistaking me for someone else." he wanted to leave already so he didn't wait for the woman to reply and turned towards his car.

"A rifle in the bag." The woman fixed her hair and revealed a grin. "looks like I hit the jackpot."

"Now you shouldn't have said that." he glanced around to make sure that there weren't any other people in the underground parking lot before putting his bag down. He looked at this girl who was still grinning at him. He didn't know if the woman understood that he was going to silence her for her careless remark. "How did you know?"

"Because I was sent to see who the unlucky bastard was who dared to take a shot at my master's mother." The high heels she wore made clacking sounds as she fearlessly approached the man. "I am in a bad mood since I won't be able to see the young master tonight but since you seem to be a man who doesn't look like he will break easily, I will have some sort of consolation."

Anri immediately rushed towards the man who was shocked by such a direct approach. He couldn't tell if this woman was reckless or had been hiding something but the fact that he had to get rid of her didn't change.

*BAM* Anri's abdomen was quickly punched. She was knocked a few steps backwards but the man didn't immediately follow up because his instincts warned him that something was amiss.

"As expected of a professional. Your physical strength is definitely above the norm." Anri rubbed the place where she was hit and smiled. She kicked off her heels and looked at her opponent. "Unfortunately for you, this body of mine has gone through a transformation thanks to my master." She attacked once again and this time, her opponent's counterattack didn't even faze her.

"Who… who the hell are you?" the man was shocked. Though it was obvious that this woman wasn't as skilled as he was, her vitals being hit did nothing. She kept attacking and it was as if she was enjoying it.

"Don't tell me that's all you've got?" Anri mocked. While she was still unable to subdue this man, she was slowly getting used to his movements as well as she was successfully making him lose more stamina.

*GRAB* a surprise attack caught her off guard as her leg was swept and she crashed to the ground.

The man wasted to time and immediately grabbed her neck with both hands and started strangling her.

"Die! Damn monster!" finally this zombie-like woman was showing a suffering expression. He gripped tighter and watched her struggle with satisfaction.

*STAB*

His arm suddenly felt sharp pain as blood immediately scattered around. He tried to pull his arm back but the woman whose hand looked to be embedded on his arm twisted it and made him lose the strength he had on his legs.

*SPLURT*

Anri pulled her hand off his arm. The man's expression grew even paler when he saw how sharp the nails were on Anri's bloodied hand. He could have sworn that the length of her nails weren't even long when he first observed this opponent of his.

"Looks like you've killed with your bare hands before." Anri looked at her bloodied hand before turning towards the man who witnessed her transforming her nails back to normal.

He had been in the business long enough to know that there were certain mysteries and certain people that bends the normal sense of reality. He wasn't exactly a spiritual man but he had once failed a mission because of someone that had came out alive after his bullet passed through the victim's head. Luckily, he had escaped the chase which was why he ended up wandering the eastern countries.

"What are you…" he had already given up as his legs had grown numb. He was afraid that this woman was still hiding more of her abilities and would kill him if he escaped. If he figured that if he cooperated, he might just have a chance to walking out of this situation alive. He was just a hired hand after all.

"I am but my master's servant."

-

While everything was transpiring at Anri's side, the supposed charity event had turned into a crime scene. Kazuya thought about what had just happened and remembered the moment when he held back Yumi who was going to attack the guard who blocked their way. He pulled her back as he felt an object heading directly towards their direction. What surprised him was that it had hit Shishio's shoulder before it went through and shot towards Kyouko.

*CLINK*

The gems on the elegant earrings Kyouko was wearing shattered immediately as the bullet hit an invisible barrier that made it dissipate into nothing.

"(So this was their plan…)" Kazuya frowned and moved past the guard who was still in a state of shock.

Kazuya extended his senses and directed it towards the building where the bullet came from. He immediately found the sniper who was intending to take another shot at his mother.

"(These bastards already got away with it once. Do they really think they can get away with treating my mother like they did Kurogane Nagisa?)" he took out his phone and immediately dialed Anri's number. He knew she would be around because as the CEO of Kazuno Tech, Mei was supposed to be in attendance as well.

"Master?" a slightly excited voice answered.

"You should already be in Jazz Star Hotel for the charity event right?"

"Y-yes, I'm with Kazuno-sama. We heard that there was a commotion outside…" she realized that it might be because of her master.

"Quickly head to the building east of Jazz Star Hotel. A sniper tried to target my mother. Capture him and let him be the 94th test subject." His tone was serious as his eyes narrowed towards the man who backed away from the windows.

"Y-yes!" Anri didn't expect that something this serious had happened. Kazuya had eradicated the Dokuro clan just because they threatened Mei's safety. This time, it was a direct attempt to kill his mother. How would her master react this time?

Kazuya ended the call and turned towards Kyouko who touched her earrings to find that the gems have already shattered. She felt a little heartbroken because this was something her son had made for her and even improved over the years.

"Mom…" Kazuya held her hand after seeing her expression and waved his other hand to clean away the blood that splattered on her clothes. He turned to Yumi who was relieved that nothing happened to Kyouko. "Take mom inside the venue, Yumi-nee."

"What are you talking about? You're coming with us!" Kyouko snapped out of her daze when Kazuya wanted to stay behind.

"[The danger already passed mom. This was the Kurogane's plan to take care of you without arousing any suspicion. Just like they did with Kurogane Nagisa, they think that suspicions towards them would be close to none if they paint themselves as the victims.]" Kazuya couldn't say this out loud so he used this whisper skill to explain.

"[Are you sure?]" Kyouko was skeptical because the risk had indeed been great. One small mistake and the shot would have hit Kurogane Shishio's vitals.

"[I'm sure. The sniper backed away as soon as I blocked his trajectory towards you. It was obvious that it was the Kuroganes because I would have been shot if it were someone else.]" Kazuya's statement indeed proved his point but Kyouko was glared at him because he put himself in danger just to prove that point. She wanted to scold him but now wasn't the time.

"[I haven't allowed you to leave without telling me okay?]" Kyouko turned around and finally left with Yumi who looked at Kazuya before she followed her boss. Yumi already understood that her job wasn't only a secretary. The moment she learned about mana was the moment her responsibilities towards the Kouzuki family had increased.

"Now then…" Kazuya finally turned towards Kurogane Shishio. He wanted to crush the head of this arrogant piece of trash for their attempt tonight but killing this bastard while he was unconscious was too good for him.

"(It looks like your usefulness is no longer worth it. You people would have lived longer if you had just behaved.)" Kazuya approached his father with a glare and brushed aside the security personnel that surrounded him.

"Step aside!" the guard who earlier prevented him from going back to Kyouko was knocked aside immediately when he tried blocking Kazuya. This served as a warning to anyone else who decided to block him.

One guard supported Shishio and put pressure on the injured shoulder. Kazuya took out his phone once more and dialed a number that a few people had access to. He gestured the guard to remove his hand so that he could see the wound on his father's shoulder.

"What is it grandson? Aren't you supposed to be at the charity event with your father?" Tenma's voice sounded like he knew nothing of the events that were going to happen.

"Grandfather… father was hit by a bullet while we were walking towards the venue." The guard immediately lost all hesitation and allowed Kazuya to inspect as he liked because he had been reporting directly to the clan head.

Kazuya of course took advantage of the privilege and pretended to check the wound while using his mana to make Kurogane Shishio regret using his own body to paint his innocence. Kazuya killed a few of Shishio's nerves and made sure that the healing process was going to be slow and painful. He had to hand it to the sniper, the shot had been quite precise and there wouldn't be any noticeable problems once Shishio had healed. It was just too bad that Kazuya wasn't going to let him off this lightly.

"I see… are you alright? Did you or anyone else get injured?" Tenma tried to show care whilst masking the question about other casualties.

"The crowd and everyone else immediately scattered so I don't think anyone else was injured. An ambulance was already contacted and we're waiting for them to arrive so that they could take father away." Kazuya pretended not to know what he had been asking about. He could just imagine the disappointment in this old fogey's face as he held back the urge to grin.

"I see…" it took a few moments for the information to sink in. "You can let the security take care of your father. You would have to attend the charity event as the representative of the Kurogane clan." Tenma's reply shocked Kazuya. This old man was quick to take advantage of the situation. This old man had shifted his plan towards making Kazuya take on responsibilities and it was most likely another test to see if he really was as capable as Tenma expected of him.

"I…" Kazuya didn't know whether to accept or decline. Though it was only for a moment, he truly was caught off guard by how quick Tenma processed the situation.

"Don't worry too much about the details. I'm sure you'll do fine. You have the blood of us Kuroganes running through you after all." Tenma said in a comforting tone. "I have to make a few calls and make arrangements for your father so I will leave it to you Kazuya." Tenma didn't want Kazuya to refuse so he abruptly ended the call.

*BZZ* his phone received a message after the call had ended.

"[I've caught the test subject master -Anri]"

"[Good. I'll leave that subject to you. I'll be expecting a good report]"

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