Chapter 30
" your heavy ...can you lift your butt alittle bit " Sakamoto riding a bike turned his head toward kasumi who was sitting awkwardly behind him
" and how would that help with reducing the size exactly?? It'll only make the driver behind us distracted " kasumi said looking at the person who was driving behind them , it was a woman with a kid in the backseat he waved his hand innocantly at kasumi and kasumi waved back at him " and I don't want want another crime in my record...one indecent exposure charge is enough for me "
Sakamoto didn't respond. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead his expression distant.
Kasumi tapped his shoulder lightly. "Oi. Earth to Sakamoto."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Sakamoto asked, finally glancing at him.
Kasumi scratched the back of his head." I said I don't want to show my butt to strangers anymore...it's not cool "
Sakamoto tilted his head " That's good "
"Is what that guy said earlier still bugging you? Don't take it seriously,he probably dropped that name just to scare us."
Sakamoto shook his head. "No... I don't think he was lying. I used to work with the Garden before I joined the JCC. I know the kind of people they target."
Kasumi tilted his head. "Wait—Garden? What the hell is that?"
"It's an organization, kind of like the Order," Sakamoto explained. "But instead of maintaining the order of the assassin world , they take out corrupt High-ranking officials, criminals... that kind of thing."
' oh so thats what the order do ... i thought they were called the order because they take orders from somone... like a pizza delivery ...but more importantly 'Kasumi stared at him. "When were you gonna mention this? We literally had a meeting earlier ..was perfect time to spill your shady backstory."
"I didn't think it was important," Sakamoto said with a shrug. "Kindaka already knows about the Garden, so it didn't seem worth bringing up."
Kasumi sighed, sensing Sakamoto didn't want to linger on the topic. "Alright, fine... but what about that 'Throne Princess' that guy mentioned? You know her?"
"It's Thorn Princess," Sakamoto corrected. "And no—I don't know much about her or anyone else in that organization. Just that they're strong. Not on Kindaka's level, but still... strong enough. So be careful." He said glancing at kasumi " what about you what did you do before jcc ? "
"Told you before... I was just a normal kid with some martial arts knowledge, that's all."
"That's bullshit" Sakamoto said flatly. "Nagumo comes from a family of spies. Rion's father is a professional assassin. And you—the strongest among us—were just some random kid who knew martial arts? Doesn't sound right to me."
Kasumi smirked, shaking his head. "Well, I'm just that talented. But seriously, I'm not that strong. Anyone of you could probably kill me."
Sakamoto didn't reply right away—he just stared, clearly not convinced.
Kasumi leaned back, still wearing that smug grin. "If you're talking about raw strength alone, then yeah, I'm the strongest ... when i was a kid-"
Sakamoto narrowed his eyes, interested now.
"My mom used to tell this story all the time. Not sure why—maybe to make me feel bad and make me feel indebted to her. She said the first time I ever stood up as a baby, all my limbs shattered."
"What?" Sakamoto muttered, his expression shifting.
"Yeah," Kasumi continued. "She said even my spine started to break apart. If it wasn't for my dad knocking me out quick, I might've died. When they got me to a doctor, he said the bones didn't break from a disease or because i didn't suck mama tits enough... They broke because my muscles were too strong. They crushed my skeleton from the inside out."
Sakamoto stared in stunned silence.
Kasumi's smile faded slightly. "My parents thought I was done for. And my dad...may he rot in hell,actually suggested killing me."
Sakamoto's expression hardened at that.
"He was obsessed with appearances and public image" Kasumi added. "Didn't want a crippled son ruining his. But my mom stood her ground. Told him that if he wanted to kill me, he'd have to kill her first."
He exhaled slowly. "Her words stuck with me. So, for the next few years, I trained—forced myself to walk again using nothing but sheer muscle. And guess what happened next?" He smirked
"You failed?" Sakamoto deadpanned.
"Hah?!" Kasumi shot him a glare. "You think you're funny?! Anyway, my control over my muscles is the source of my strength—that's why I can adapt so easily."
SCREEEESH
Rion and Uzuki's van suddenly veered off-course, tires screeching as it began to derail.
---
Earlier…
"Are Kasumi and Sakamoto the best fighters in your group?" Uzuki asked, eyes on the road as he drove. Rion sat beside him, arms crossed.
She glanced at him, brow raised. "Huh? You picking a fight?"
"No, no," Uzuki said quickly, waving one hand. "Nothing like that. I just figured… the enemy's most likely to attack from behind. Maybe that's why Kindaka put them at the rear."
Rion looked out the window for a moment before replying. "Honestly, I don't know. None of us have had a real serious fight yet. But if I had to explain it… think of it like rock-paper-scissors. Each of us counters someone else."
She continued, "Sakamoto can turn anything into a weapon, which makes him a bad matchup for Kasumi's ability to adapt quickly. Nagumo's trickery and disguises counter Sakamoto's straightforward style. My eyes can see through Nagumo's illusions, and Kasumi's ridiculous durability counters my ability"
"…Is Kasumi your brother?" he asked, glancing at her.
"Hah!? Cough... What?" Rion looked at him, startled. "That gorilla? My brother? Pfft—where the hell did you get that idea?"
He shrugged. "It's just… the way you two interact. It reminds me of my family."
Rion blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "Huh?? Wait—that's the kind of relationship you have with your family? Ugh."
He raised an eyebrow. "What? You two argue constantly, but there's no real hate in it. That's exactly how siblings act."
"...No, he's not my brother... we're... I..." she trailed off, struggling to find the words. "Ah—"
"I see," Uzuki said gently, catching on to what she meant.
"But I think it's one-sided. And honestly, I'm starting to Think he might be into men" she muttered, scratching the back of her head.
"You should ask him" Uzuki suggested. "Maybe he feels the same way and just doesn't know how to say it."
"You mean he's shy?" she scoffed. "That gorilla walked down the street naked yesterday. The man has zero shame... Anyway, I'm sorry."
Uzuki gave her a sidelong glance. "For what?"
"At the department store… when I said you'd make a lousy assassin. I was being a jerk."
"Huh. I'm surprised. You strike me as the type to say something like that and forget about it."
Rion scoffed. "Hah? Don't talk to me like I'm stupid."
"why the sudden change of heart?" he asked.
"No reason… I just th—"
She cut herself off, her eyes narrowing as she looked up through the windshield—straight at the top of the bridge tower....there was a figure with a feminine fetures looking down at them her bloodlust reaching down
"Duck."
Uzuki blinked, looking around"Duck? Where—"
Crack!
Something pierced through the windshield with eerie smoothness without creatinga single crack in it. The object shot toward Uzuki's neck—
But Rion's hand snapped out, catching it just in time.
She looked down at what she had grabbed—
A golden skewer?
Her brow furrowed in confusion, barely processing it when—
POOF!
The tires exploded with a deafening blast.
Her eyes snapped up to the windshield—
A storm of identical golden skewers was raining down on them.
Without thinking, Rion seized the steering wheel from Uzuki's hands.
Screeesh !
The van swerved violently, spinning twice in midair before slamming back down onto the road with a bone-jarring crash.
Then, the figure on top of the bridge leapt down, landing hard on the car where Kindaka sat. She raised her hand, ready to rip Konomi and her mother out of the vehicle—
Before she could move any further, a hand caught her face mid-motion and slammed her into the car beside them with a loud crash.
It was Kasumi who had leapt off the bike the moment he saw the van crash.
Without hesitation, he broke into the backseat of a random car, pinning the unknown assassin down.
As he hovered over her, Kasumi finally got a clear look—black hair, red eyes, and a sharp glare burning into his
Without hesitation, he thrust two fingers toward her eyes, aiming to blind her.
But she quickly tilted her head barely avoiding it she then twisted her left arm and yanked the seatbelt free, and in one swift motion, looped it around Kasumi's neck, locking him into a tight chokehold with her other hand.
In response, he tore off the backseat cushion and shoved her head out the window. Turning calmly to the driver, he said, "Sir, can you please turn left?" His tone was casual, but the intent was clear—he was aiming to make her head collide with one of the iron cables outside, hoping to decapitate her.
"Mm?" The driver glanced at Kasumi, almost as if he had just noticed him. "No."
Kasumi blinked, confused. 'What's with this guy?' he thought, staring at him, puzzled.
Before he could process any further, a kick landed squarely on his chin, snapping his head back and slamming it against the roof of the car. ' She's incredibly strong for a woman ' he thought as his head was stuck outside the car roof
"Wait... I just paid for this car!" the driver yelled as he was violently thrown out of the car, his butt hit the road with the seat cushion offering some protection
Before Kasumi could react, the car jerked to a sharp break, the violent motion sending it into a rapid flip. Kasumi's head smashed into the pavement, the increased speed of the flip making the impact even worse.
The assassin kicked the car door open, stumbling out with a limp, clearly out of breath she then walked away from the car as it was about to explode. Shards of glass were embedded in her neck and right shoulder
BOOM!
The car exploded in a fiery blast. She glanced over at the flames and flying debris, then let out a sigh of relief
Tap tap
She snapped her head toward the sound of footsteps, only to see a white-haired man standing in front of her. His expression was unreadable due to his glasses glowing from the fire behind her
The assassin took her stance, her eyes narrowed, prepared for whatever came next.
"Aren't you too careless for an assassin?" the white-haired man asked
She tilted her head, a bit confused by the question. "Mister, are you wit—"
"Kasumi" the white-haired man interrupted, his gaze fixed.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack followed by a crunch. The ground trembled, and rubble shifted behind her. She turned just in time to see a silhouette emerge from the fire.
The figure tossed a car aside with ease and stepped out of the flames, his presence commanding attention.
"My bad, four-eyes... shit, that was my favorite jacket too" Kasumi muttered, his clothes half-burned from the blaze.
"Kyaa!" The assassin instinctively shielded her face, not wanting to see anything inappropriate.
"It's okay, missy. My cloths are still there" Kasumi said with a smirk.
"So you're the throne princess making everyone piss themselves, huh?" he added, looking down at her. "Tell me, princess—why go after a bunch of civilians? Isn't your organization all about taking down corrupt officials? Don't tell me you're targeting them just because they're related to the chairman."
The assassin's expression shifted from shyness to a more serious one. "Ahem… I'm sorry, mister but I'm not authorized to discuss the details of my mission with outsiders."
Kasumi let out a tired sigh. "You still don't get it, do you?"
In the blink of an eye, he vanished—then reappeared right in front of her, driving his palm straight toward her midsection.
She reacted quickly, crossing her skewers to block the strike, but it was pointless. His palm shattered through them with ease and slammed into her chest.
"Gah!" she choked, blood spraying from her mouth as she doubled over, clutching her chest in agony.
"You're no match for me," he said, looking down at her with clear disappointment before turning and walking away.
Kasumi stepped up beside Sakamoto. "Yo, four-eyes. Didn't you say she'd be strong?"
Sakamoto gave a casual shrug. "Last time I saw one of them was three years ago. Maybe they've gotten weaker over time."
Kasumi clicked his tongue. "If that's the case, this organization never had a future to begin with."
Sakamoto glanced over. "Why didn't you kill her?"
Kasumi frowned, confused. "What do you mean? I drove my hand straight through her hear—"
A surge of killing intent cut him off like a blade. He turned sharply.
The assassin was standing again, blood running from her mouth as she clutched her chest. But something was different this time. The trembling, weak fighter from before was gone — replaced by a beast. Her eyes burned with unfiltered rage, and the air around her felt suffocating, thick with bloodlust.
'Well… that's just cliché,' Kasumi thought, staring at her in shock. A dry smirk crept across his lips. "Really, Princess? Couldn't have just played dead and saved us both some trouble?"
"I'm sorry again mister, i can't do that," she replied, her voice steady, eyes locked onto his without a flicker of hesitation "I have a mission to finish. And if you insist on standing in my way, I will have to put you down."
"Well, I'll leave you to it then," Sakamoto muttered, turning and walking off without another word.
Kasumi didn't spare him a glance, his focus locked onto the assassin before him. His eyes were locked into hers waiting for the slightest twitch to start the fight
They stood still, mirroring each other — a silent standoff, both daring the other to make the first move.
In the next instant, both figures vanished.
They reappeared at the center, Kasumi bringing his palm down in a sharp, chopping strike
The assassin blocked it with her elbow, the impact sending a dull shock through the air as their eyes locked again.
Then she drove her other arm upward.
Whoosh.
Kasumi tilted his head, narrowly avoiding it. 'Why is she still insisting on those to—
His thought cut off as a thin line of blood appeared on his torso, the slash tearing through his scorched clothes.
Without hesitating, she brought it her hand down again
Kasumi reacted fast, sidestepping and slipping out of his charred cloth that were cut in half. In one swift motion, he twisted the cloth around her arms, trapping her joints. Tightening the makeshift bind, he lifted her clean off the ground, sprinted to the edge of the bridge, and hurled her toward the ocean below.
The assassin dislocated one of her legs midair and jabbed her high heel into the iron support of the bridge, stopping her fall.
Then, dislocating her other leg, she used her other high heel to rip apart the cloth restraining her.
Kasumi watched the scene with a look of faint disgust.
The assassin slumped down, her arms hanging limp at her sides.
'Huh… did she pass out?' Kasumi tilted his head, unimpressed.
Then, without warning, her body jerked upright.
Two skewers flew toward his face.
Kasumi casually tilted his head, dodging them with ease. 'She used all her body for a half-assed shot like tha—'
SNAP.
The sharp crack of bridge cables breaking cut through the air. Two thick steel cables whipped down toward him like giant lashes.
WHACK.
One struck his right shoulder and the other struck him to the head slamming him face-first into the pavement with a bone-jarring impact.
For a normal person, even one of those cables would've sliced clean through them. But Kasumi took two. His head and shoulder remained intact, buried in the cracked earth, dust and debris settling around him.
The assassin launched her self up landing gracefully on her feet. She clasped her hands together, almost as if offering a prayer for Kasumi's fallen body, then turned without a word and began walking away.
A deep, grotesque gash split his right shoulder open exposing raw muscle beneath the torn flesh.
She gave him one final look before turning away.
Grnnnch!… crack!
The sharp sound of rubble shifting, followed by the unmistakable snap of bone, made her freeze. Slowly, she turned her head, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
Kasumi stood up clutching his face, blood leaking between his fingers"Agh… my head…" he groaned.
'How? A slash from an iron cable strong enough to lift a bridge this size would release over twenty thousand kilojoules of energy...his head shouldnt even exist after getting hit by it ' the assassin looked at kasumi in shock
Kasumi lowered his hand. A fresh slash wound ran from the top right of his head, across his nose, and stopped at the corner of his mouth, blood pouring from it.
Despite everything, he was still smiling.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, princess… now, where were we?"
The assassin dropped into her stance.
He clapped his hands. "Ah, right."
In a blink, he vanished — then reappeared right in front of her.
His palm came down in a sharp, chopping strike.
The assassin moved to deflect with her right elbow like before, but—
Crack.
The force shattered her elbow, leaving it twisted and mangled.
She didn't even have time to process the pain before Kasumi's hand clamped around her face, slamming her down and dragging her along the rough pavement.
she dug the heel of her shoe into the ground, halting his momentum for a split second then she caught his arm and hurled him aside.
Kasumi locked his gaze onto her midair ,
The torn muscle of her right cheek was exposed, blood streaking down her face, silent tears mixing with it. But her glare stayed sharp, burning through the pain.
Without a word, she lunged toward him grabbing his face mid air and hurling him toward an oncoming car.
He crashed through the windshield, glass exploding around him as his body slammed into the driver.
"Gah—!" the driver choked, blood spraying from his mouth as Kasumi's weight knocked him out cold.
Before Kasumi could move ,the assassin leapt onto the hood of the car, driving her a skewer straight at his eyes.
Kasumi slammed the brakes, trying to launch her off — but she clung on, burying her skewer deep into the car's hood to hold her ground.
Seeing that she didn't let go, he spun the car in a circle — but the assassin clung to the vehicle like a leech, refusing to be shaken off and still glaring at him
Kasumi sighed, glancing back at the unconscious man he was sitting on. "Dude... you see this?"
" sorry buddy , I hope you have insurance " Without wasting another second, Kasumi bolted toward the edge of the bridge, dragging the assassin along with him. Just centimeters from the drop, he stepped clean out of the car, pulling the limp car owner with him.
The car smashed through the barrier and plunged off the bridge, the assassin clinging to the hood making a desperate leap for the ledge. She missed by mere centimeters, vanishing into the darkness below. Kasumi stood at the railing, watching as the vehicle disappeared into the void, certain she was finished.
At least, that's what he thought.
Down below, the assassin crouched down at the falling car gathering every last ounce of strength in her legs. In one explosive motion, she launched herself upward — not quite enough to reach the ledge, but close. Mid-air, she hurled several skewers, embedding them into the bridge's side in quick succession. Using them like makeshift rungs, she began climbing her way back up
Kasumi looked dumbfounded looking around to see if there is anything he can throw at her
Before he could react, the assassin jumped for the skewer embedded near the railing. Concentrating all her strength in her left arm, she yanked herself upward pulling the skewer with her
As she soared, she caught Kasumi's indifferent gaze. She aimed the skewer at his head, but he simply tilted backward avoiding it completely
Desperate, she tried to plant her foot on the railing's narrow edge—only to receive a sudden kick to the abdomen.
"Gah!" blood sprayed from her mouth.
"Bye, princess ~" Kasumi waved casually at her as stepped back.
Veins throbbed in her forhead as she saw his shit eating grin. Gritting her teeth, she wrapped her legs around the leg he used to kick her and slumped back using her momentum to topple him
Kasumi's upper body teetered over the edge, his legs slipping off the pavement as he clung to the pavement for dear life. Below him, the ocean churned. Tears welled in his eyes — not from fear, but from the sharp pain radiating from his groin where the assassin had slammed him against the edge.
'Why the hell is everyone going for my private parts lately?'He exclaimed inside his head
'How the hell is she holding me this tight with one hand?there is no way all this strength is coming from her legs alone...' He glanced down at the assassin clinging to his leg, noticing how she'd twisted her mangled right arm around his ankle, locking it in place with her left. 'Oh… that explains it. And why is this bitch so damn heavy? What the hell are they feeding her back there?'
"Hey, princess" he grunted. "Mind letting go? We're not exactly close enough for a double suicide."
No response.
"At least let me take you to dinner first. I swear, after that, I'll jump off with you. Sound fair?"
Still nothing.
A bad feeling crept up his spine. He squinted down at her — and his eyes widened.
"…She's already dead."
That sudden increase in weight wasn't some unique assassin trick. She was just dead ' How did she die ? I dont remember doing anything that can kill ...did I jab my palm too hard ? Maybe i-
Grnnnch!
The pavement beneath his fingers , sending him plunging into the ocean below.
'Goddamn it.'