It was the morning of the 18th of October. On the 200th floor of an exceptionally classy and expensive hotel, the barrel of a sniper rifle was pointed through an open window. Its target was approximately 5000 metres away. The owner of the weapon tapped her nails on the windowsill, then whistled a short tune with the same rhythm, and repeated. The target was a young lady who was associated with the girl she had been given orders to abduct, and the sniper had been waiting for an opportunity to take her out.

  But, truth be told, something felt off. She was no stranger to long-distance assassinations - in fact, she was a master of them - but it didn’t feel like the right choice this time. It was like putting a round peg in a square hole; it worked, but it wasn’t satisfying. She had been told to snipe the target to minimise exposure and collateral damage, but what did her client know? She was the assassin here, not them. She clicked her tongue in frustration and began to disassemble the sniper rifle.

  “I’ll get it done my way. Kill one girl and kidnap the other in one fell swoop. Still, they better not dock my pay for this.”

  Satisfied at having justified her course of action to herself, she shut the window and walked over to the bed, where a collection of clothes were scattered about. Pulling on an oversized shirt, baggy jeans and tattered old trainers, she couldn’t help but think she looked nothing like a killer. Of course, that was the purpose of a disguise. The truth was that the only people who cared about the aesthetics of assassination were frauds who couldn’t land a shot to save their lives.

  The assassin carried no weapons with her as she stepped out of her hotel room and headed to the elevator to begin her mission. After all, she had no need for them.

  Time to meet your end, Miss Riina Ivyn.

  Riina yawned and rolled over in her bed, stretching out her limbs. She felt unusually stiff and groaned at the sudden pain of sore muscles being exerted. Fumbling for her phone on the nightstand, she grabbed it and looked at the time with bleary eyes.

  “...Eleven thirty?!”

  She was several hours late for school. Normally, if Riina wanted to have a chance of getting there on time, or at least only a few minutes late, she had to make it onto the 7:15 monorail to Ward 5. Her frequent sleeping in ensured that she usually flew into the train carriage just in the nick of time, out of breath and red in the face from sprinting all the way to the station. However, this was a whole new level of lateness. Rushing to school now would only see Riina having to endure lectures about her poor attitude from whichever teacher’s lesson she burst into and plunging into despair. For her own sake, Riina decided to stay home.

  “I never usually sleep this late, though… what’s that about…?” Riina mused to herself as she laid back down in defeat.

  “Mmm… what…” the sleepy girl next to her had been awakened by her outburst.

  “Oh, sorry for waking you up, Exon. I’m going to stay home today, so do you want to do something?”

  “Mm… mwmm…”

  She’s… too cute…!

  Suddenly revitalised and eager to start her day, Riina jumped out of bed, only to stumble as her knees gave out.

  “Oww! Am I an old lady or something?”

  Exon was fully awake now, rubbing her eyes and looking down at Riina who had fallen to the floor. An idea suddenly dawned on Riina.

  “Why don’t we go to a public bath? There’s one really nearby!”

  “Huh? A public bath?”

  “This idea has three merits. First, I’m really sore and some hot water would be soothing. Second, I’m willing to bet it’s not something you’ve experienced before. Third, I think you’d look really cute in a towel!!”

  Riina brazenly proclaimed her reasoning as to why her idea was a stroke of genius. Surprisingly, Exon assented.

  “Actually… that sounds like a good idea. It’s been suspiciously quiet this past week, and we can’t afford to grow complacent. Something refreshing like that is sure to awaken our senses.”

  Riina beamed, and Exon grinned back at her.

  “So, about the whole ‘War’ thing. When is it actually set to end?”

  The two girls were walking down the street, chatting happily. It was surprisingly quiet, and the Sun shone gently overhead. Exon was silent for a while in response to Riina’s question, as if pondering how best to respond.

  “It started about four months ago. The deadline should be early June next year. However, I’m not sure about the exact date. Point being, don’t leave it until the last minute, okay?”

  “It… you mean, ‘fulfilling my Quota’. Right, good call.”

  “That’s how it is. I’m sorry again for dragging you into this.”

  Riina lightly shoved Exon’s shoulder.

  “Idiot! I’ve already told you it made me happy. I’ll definitely do it… so that I can continue to protect you even after the War is over.”

  Exon smiled and suddenly squeezed Riina’s hand, prompting a comical squeak. Soon enough, they arrived at the bathhouse.

  The bathhouse was mostly empty, although that was to be expected given most people were at school or work at this time. Riina and Exon sat side by side in the hot water with towels on their heads, soaking up the heat and steam.

  “Aah… it feels good… I still don’t know why I was so stiff this morning, but this really helps…”

  “… You’ve been worrying, haven’t you? About me, about the War. You’re afraid we’ll be attacked. I think you haven’t managed to relax for even five minutes this past week.”

  “Don’t tell me I’m gonna feel all stressed like this for eight more months…”

  Exon’s expression was suddenly serious.

  “I will gladly massage your shoulders to ease the tension as many times as is necessary. That’s the least I can do for my protector.”

  “…Ahahaha! You look so determined, I can’t even tell if there was any kind of innuendo in that…”

  BANG.

  “Huh? Did you hear something just now, Exon?”

  Clearly, they had both picked up on it. Something was wrong.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “… Yes. I… Ah! Riina, get down!!”

  A storm of bullets flew overhead, tearing through the air where Riina and Exon had been sitting moments earlier. The two girls crouched on the shallow floor of the bath. Bullets sprayed into the water, creating turbulent waves in the once-pristine pool. Although the bullets lost some momentum when they hit the surface of the water, they were no less dangerous. Exon grabbed Riina’s arm and kicked off the floor of the bath, sending them both soaring onto the poolside. They finally caught a glimpse of their assailant.

  Tall, with long, blonde hair. Completely naked except for a towel around her waist. Her right arm was outstretched, her fingers splayed out as if giving an order to fire. A familiar red number glowed on the back of her hand - a 0. Floating around a metre behind her, in a semicircle surrounding her head, were a number of assault rifles. As she pulled an imaginary trigger with her index finger, the rifles fired and the room was pelted with bullets once more.

  Riina and Exon ran. There was no cover in this main room. So all they could do was run and dodge with everything they had. Stray bullets caught Riina on occasion, sending spikes of pain through her body. The entry and exit wounds began to heal as soon as the bullets passed through her, and all the damaged flesh and tissue was restored moments later. The pair ducked into a changing cubicle and slammed the door shut, gaining a moment of respite.

  “How can we fight her? We can’t even get close!” Exon asked, eyes wide with fear. Riina didn’t even have a chance to respond as a shotgun blast blew open the wall of the cubicle. They clung to each other, pressed against the opposite wall, as their opponent approached through a haze of dust and smoke.

  Riina only had a millisecond to react as a bright muzzle flash indicated another attack. She turned to face away from it, covering Exon with her body, and closed her eyes in anticipation.

  The rocket-propelled grenade collided with Riina’s back. The sheer heat seared away layers of flesh, and the explosive power of it tore a gaping hole in the middle of her chest, blasting through the spine, the muscle, the tendons and ligaments, the fat, the heart and lungs, the ribcage, the body. Steaming blood splattered onto Exon’s face as she stared through the hole in Riina. Exon wasn’t looking at their assailant. She was staring into empty space. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, the light gone.

  Even so, Riina’s body began to knit itself back together. The torn-open heart from which blood weakly spurted was made whole again. The ruptured lungs, gasping for breath in stuttering motions of a broken diaphragm, were able to inflate fully. A protective ribcage assembled itself around these vital instruments that gave Riina life, and layer upon layer of tissue was laid gently upon her frame until her pale skin was all Exon could see.

  “… You’re crazy, girl. Looks like you’ll be harder to kill than I expected.”

  Riina whirled around to face her attacker.

  “This is a public space! Don’t you care about collateral? What if there had been other people here?!”

  “Hah! Don’t be so soft. I’m an assassin. My clients are immensely powerful people. If I make a mess, they can throw all the money in the world at it to make the questions go away. … Anyway, aren’t you taking too many risks yourself? Tell me, did you know for sure that you could regenerate from an RPG hit?”

  Riina clenched her jaw and charged through the broken cubicle wall. However, the woman simply created a baseball bat and swung it into her face, knocking her away.

  “Tsk. I like you, but if you do boorish things like that you’ll start to annoy me.”

  The woman walked over and leaned down, extending a hand to Riina to help her up. Riina just stared at it, incredulous. After a moment, the woman sighed and took Riina’s hand, forcefully pulling the girl to her feet.

  “I am Retter Einia. The legendary assassin, known across the world by the epithet of ‘Golden Sorrow’. A brutal, savage murderer who leaves blood and tears in her wake. And you, Riina Ivyn, are my assassination target. As for you-“

  She turned and pointed at Exon, who was still in shock. “You, I need to take in alive. Your owner wants you back.”

  An uppercut snapped Retter’s head back, and she stumbled for a moment. Riina gave a small, confident smile and prepared a slow but powerful right hook.

  She missed by inches. Retter had recovered, and as Riina stumbled from the momentum of her missed attack, the cold metal of a gun muzzle pressed against her forehead.

  BANG.

  Riina’s left ear went flying. The spurting blood was quickly cut off by the regrowth of the damaged flesh, but Riina’s balance was still disrupted from the damage to her vestibular system. She fell backwards and landed on her back, just in time to see three shotguns appear in the air above her and roll to the side to avoid their fire. She struggled to get up, only for the impact of Retter’s foot hitting her stomach to knock her back down.

  As Riina laid on her back, winded from the fall, she saw the blurred shape of Exon fly over her and slam into Retter, sending both of them flying backwards. Having recovered, Riina managed to get up and ran over to assist. Exon was on top of Retter, raining punches down on her face. A lone shotgun appeared and shakily floated beside Exon. Riina’s eyes widened, and she dived, pushing the girl out of the way. The shotgun shell tore through Riina’s abdomen and she vomited blood.

  “Tch, you fucking brats! I warned you not to piss me off!!” Retter spat, and knocked Riina away with the stock of the shotgun. She walked over to Exon, still dazed from being knocked over by Riina, and raised the gun over her head before swinging it down. Exon slumped over, unconscious.

  “Now I can take my time in killing you sweetly and enjoyably. There’s nothing worse than being ganged up on.” Retter turned to Riina and began to stride towards her. Riina scrambled away, then ran forward as Retter caught up to her. She ducked under Retter’s arm and positioned herself in front of the sleeping Exon.

  “You won’t kill me, and you won’t take her. There’s nothing you can do to me that will keep me down. I’ll always get back up again and fight for her. That’s what I promised her!!”

  At Riina’s triumphant declaration, Retter seethed. Summoning a dozen machine guns, she charged forward. But even as Riina’s body was perforated with bullets, she stood her ground. The wounds healed just as quickly as they were made, and as Retter closed the distance, Riina’s advantage grew. With no weapons of her own, Riina’s only chance of victory was a knockout.

  Despite her bold claims, the odds were stacked against her. The more severe the wound, the longer it took her to heal, to say nothing of the excruciating pain that accompanied every hit. It would take a miracle to win. But Riina was prepared to try and make that miracle happen. As Retter came closer, Riina shot a rapid punch into her stomach. This created a small window of opportunity as the woman recoiled from the pain. Riina used it to deliver another punch into her sternum. Retter sharply exhaled, the wind knocked out of her, and doubled over.

  Now for what Riina hoped would be the final step. She had pulled back the right hand that had hit Retter’s stomach, and had been holding it in a tensed position, ready to strike at any moment. If luck was on her side, the blow would have Retter crumpling to her knees, and Riina could send her opponent into unconsciousness with a flurry of blows. She let that fist, coiled like a spring, rocket forward and collide with Retter’s cheek.

  The trigger on the shotgun behind Riina’s head was pulled with a discreet, instinctual hand movement from the reeling assassin. The shell collided with the base of her skull and exploded. The kinetic energy raced through the flesh and bone and tissue in Riina’s head, blowing it apart. When all was said and done, all that remained was her lower jaw.

  Riina’s corpse fell to the floor, collapsing over Exon’s unconscious form.

  “See, I told you! That’s some crazy regeneration, right?”

  “But her Quota is so low… there must be a catch.”

  “Whatever the case, we need to get in there now if we want a chance at saving them.”

  Three people watched from the doorway to the now-ruined bathhouse. The situation was this: on the floor were two bodies, covered in blood. One of them had lost almost all of her head, which was slowly regenerating, with white bone growing into a spherical shape to protect the nascent brain, pink and wet, and pale skin racing to cover it. The blonde assassin who stood over them pushed the corpse away with her foot, then bent down and picked up the other girl before slinging her over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. The three onlookers would be bystanders no more. They dashed into the room, blocking Retter’s exit.

  “Where do you think you’re going, huh? Point Liner!”

  The trenchcoat-clad, pompadour-wearing man unleashed his familiar. Retter jumped, but it was too late. The living arrow punched through her hip and she fell to the floor, letting go of Exon in the process. One of the interveners, a young man with long, black hair and glasses, rushed over to check on her. The third, a tall woman with navy blue hair tied in a bun, stood with her arms raised, ready to counter any movements Retter made.

  As Retter struggled to get up, her lips drew back into a grimace, and she looked up at her attacker with hatred in her eyes.

  “Now three on one? You must be fucking joking!! How is that fair, hm?!”

  Climbing unsteadily to her feet and hissing at the pain, Retter summoned RPG launchers to her side. Point Liner charged towards her again, but missed by a hair’s breadth as she lurched to the side. Squeezing the fingers on her right hand into a fist so tight her nails almost drew blood, she released a salvo of rockets in a final stand.

  The rockets exploded harmlessly against a blue spirograph that floated in the air in front of the group. The blue-haired woman glared at Retter, her arms shaking as she maintained a defensive ward. Suddenly, Point Liner soared through the middle of the spirograph, aiming directly at Retter’s chest. She cursed and summoned a smoke bomb, detonating it in midair. By the time the smoke cleared, there was no sign of her.