An Assassin's Respite

Ken the Metal Wizard

Kazuna and Kagura continued to run through the bottom of the warehouse, with Ria following behind them invisible. While they were moving, Kazuna was carefully surveying their surroundings.

"We haven't run into anyone since the first hallway we entered. Did they send everyone to defend the front? No, they shouldn't have been able to move so quickly, and I'm pretty sure none of the guards were able to warn anyone through comms. Did they expect me to come through the front? If so, why did they only have nine guards in the front and so many clustered in that hallway?  And why didn't they know who I was? Were they buying time? What could they be planning? Ah, I hate not knowing anything," He analyzes.

They entered another room that seemed to be a holding cell. In the cell were young children. They were bruised and dirty. It was clear that they had been abused and starved for quite some time. Once the children notice them, their eyes go wide with fear. Most likely, they thought that Kazuna and Kagura were affiliated with the people that were holding them captive. Kazuna was unsure of what he should do. He felt he would only frighten them further if he approached, but he had to get them out of here. While he was thinking of what to do, Kagura calmly walked forward.

"Hey, my name's Kagura, and this is my friend Kazuna. We're here to help you all," She says in a calm voice. 

They still seemed cautious and afraid, but she wasn't going to give up.

"It's the guy behind me, right? I understand that, I thought he looked pretty scary at first too." She says.

"Really?" Kazuna asks.

The interaction brought upon a couple of weak laughs from the kids. It seemed that she was able to relax them. Her soothing voice and calm aura must have helped make the kids trust her more.

"Kazuna, what do we do? We have to get these kids out of here, but we still have to get Kari," Kagura says.

"Hmm, Kagura, you get these kids out of here. I'll change the plan a bit and keep making my way to Kari," Kazuna replies.

"You... You know, Kari?" One of the kids asks.

"Yea, she's the main reason we came here," Kagura answers.

"You have to help her. They looked really mad at her and took her somewhere else," One says.

"Don't worry, I'll get Kari. In the meantime, Kagura will free you all and take you somewhere safe. Are you the only kids here?" Kazuna responds.

This statement seemed to put some life into the kids, and they nodded in response, confirming that they had found everyone but Kari.

"Stand back. I'm going to cut through the bars," Kagura orders. 

The kids comply, and Kagura cuts an opening for the kids to get through. As Kagura was walking away, she stopped at the end of the hall and looked back at Kazuna.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," She says.

Kazuna nods as he turns and continues towards Kari's location. Kagura stares in his direction for a few seconds after he was out of sight before continuing her task of leading the kids to safety. 

Kazuna decided to speed up and run past doors since they had already found the kids that had been taken. But something didn't sit right with him. 

"Kari said all of her friends had disappeared. I had assumed that they had been killed, but was she just isolated? It's possible they told her that her friends weren't here anymore, and they kept her away from them for some reason. Were they having trouble getting her to activate her power? If they don't know that she can use her power at will now, then I can use that to my advantage," He surmises.

With this new theory and the knowledge he had on Kari's power, he started to formulate a new plan. Just as he was almost done ironing out the details, he came into contact with a suspicious-looking door.

"This door is practically screaming come in here," He whispers to himself.

He places a hand on the handle and pauses. His instincts as an assassin were screaming at him, 'it's a trap. Don't go. Think of a different, safer plan.' But he knew that despite what his body was trying to tell him, this was the best course of action. He took a deep breath and opened the door. For the first time, he ignored his assassin training and thought more like a special agent.

The room he walked in didn't look too different from the main warehouse building except that the metal walls in the room seemed to be less rustic. Across the room, there was metal circling around Kari keeping her in a sphere of sorts, and next to her was the man that kidn*pped her.

"Mr. Kazuna," Kari shouts. 

"Don't worry, Kari, I'll get you out of there momentarily," He assures her as he rests his gaze on the man calmly sitting next to her.

"Finally, it feels like I've been sitting here forever waiting for you," The man states as he starts to stand.

"Mr. Kazuna, get out of here, it's a trap!" Kari exclaims.

"I already knew I was walking into a trap. My question is, did you expect me to take a frontal approach?" Kazuna asks.

"That doesn't really matter. The only way you could have gotten into this room is through that door there," The man states.

"So his plan did cover both options. Talk about a worst-case scenario," Kazuna thinks to himself.

"Since you asked a question, I think I'll ask one as well. What's your name?" The man asks.

"An odd question. What's your interest in me?" Kazuna asks back.

"You're a high schooler that can not only keep up with but outclass highly trained special agents and criminal organizations. I have a hunch as to who you are, but your name will be the confirmation," The man answers.

"I see, well then I'll indulge you. My name is Kazuna Katsuchi," Kazuna replies.

"Katsuchi, huh? Well, since you allowed me the knowledge of your name, I will return the courtesy. I am Ken Hachimura, a pleasure," He responds.

Kazuna lets his hand float over his sword as he prepares for a fight. The two stare at each other, sizing one another up. Kazuna decides to make the first move and begins to close the gap between Ken and himself, all the while waiting for Ken's trap. 

Once he covers about half the distance, he feels the ground begin to shake. He stops in his tracks and scans his surroundings. He looks up and instantly jumps to the side as metal rains from above. Just as he got his feet set, another attack came from behind. He jumps over it, and another attack comes straight for him. He sticks his sword into the ground and uses it to sidestep the attack.

"So his trap was creating a room that gave him an overwhelming advantage. He must have set those guards in the front and the hallway to make sure he had enough time to finish this room. But where are the rest of his men?" Kazuna thinks to himself.

"What do you think of my scrapyard?" Ken asks.

Kazuna decides to use this moment of conversation to get his question answered.

"It's a simple but effective trap. I'm just wondering where the rest of your men are? The ones I ran into can't be the extent of them," Kazuna asks.

"I guess there isn't any harm in telling you since you probably would have figured it out, but they would have just gotten in the way. I can't attack when there's a bunch of people blocking my attack and you could use them as leverage to dodge attacks you wouldn't have normally been able to dodge. Besides, I can finish you on my own and they have another mission," Kan states.

"It's true that his attacks are better for one-on-one fights, and this room makes it hard for me to fight the way I want. Every time he attacks, the metal somehow fits back into place wherever the attack lands, creating new angles of attack. Also, the metal here is harder than what he used when he attacked my house. It seems I have underestimated him a little. But what really worries me is this other mission his men are on," Kazuna analyzes.

He quickly runs and retrieves his sword and continues to formulate some type of way to counter-attack.

"It seems speed is the only advantage and best chance I have at winning this fight," Kazuna decides.

He takes a deep breath and lets lightning surge through him.

'Stream' He mumbles as he explodes forward.

The sudden burst of speed caught Ken off guard, but only for a moment. He had prepared for Kazuna's extreme speed. He pulls his arms back and throws them forward, causing a wave of metal to flow towards Kazuna. Left with no other choice, Kazuna leaps over the wave and is slammed by a mass of metal.

"Mr. Kazuna!" Kari shouts in anguish as Kazuna slams into the wall.

Kazuna gets up and spits blood out of his mouth.

"So he isn't limited to controlling individual sheets of metal, but can also mold them together. I doubt my ranged attacks will do much, he's more suited for long-ranged combat than me anyway," Kazuna notes before looking over at Kari.

"I can't let out any big attacks, or I might hurt her. I guess that leaves trial and error," He decides as he starts moving.

For the next couple of minutes, Kazuna charged Ken over and over, narrowly dodging his attacks while trying to connect with his own. He made a note to limit his use of lightning as much as possible. As he continued his seemingly pointless rushing, he started to move more fluidly and started to see a pattern. He rushes a couple more times before his stint of trial and error comes to an end. He had a few scratches and bruises, but it was nothing he wasn't sued to. He pauses to take a deep breath.

"Finished already?" Ken teases.

"Yes, actually," Kazuna replies with a smile.

'Lightning cloak, stream,' he says as he's covered in lightning. 

He grits his teeth as sweat drops down his face.

"It's been a while since I've used this. I forgot how much of a strain it puts onto my body. It doesn't help that I'm still recovering from my injuries," He thinks to himself.

He focuses back onto Ken as he bursts forward, cracking the ground beneath him. His speed had increased, but Ken was still narrowly able to send out a wave of metal. Kazuna once again jumps over the tide, but this time an attack comes from above. Kazuna draws his sword and uses the increased durability from his lightning cloak to deflect Ken's attack and propel himself forward.

He only takes a couple of steps before he suddenly jumps to the left and takes a few more steps before sidestepping. 

"Is he doing this by chance? No, there's no way he could do it by accident twice. He must have been learning where my attacks would come from when he was constantly rushing me," A crazed smile spreads across Ken's face.

"I'm enjoying this more than I expected," He says to himself as he watches Kazuna path his way towards him.

As Kazuna finally makes it within a few feet of Ken, a swirl of metal encompasses him, forcing Kazuna back. After a few seconds of Ken being covered, the whirlwind of metal disperses from him. Kazuna stares at Ken, concerned about the sudden change in momentum.

"The fact that you got me to resort to this even when I had a plan that clearly put you at a disadvantage is impressive. But now that I've brought this out, don't you dare disappoint me," Ken says.

Kazuna swallows his spit as a bead of sweat drops down his face. 

"It seems I've underestimated him even more than I thought." He notes.

Ken had covered himself in armor made from the metal that he had been using for his attacks. Kazuna clenches his fists, unsure as to how he was going to get through his tough defenses.