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The rain poured from the night sky, neighborhood lights shimmering as you watched from one of the rooftops. A couple people scrambled around, grabbing things from their vehicles before darting back inside of the small house.
You knew why they were doing this, why they were so frantic.
He was wounded.
You followed him here after he had a recent encounter with an enemy that also happened to be tailing him.
You, of course, had to be sure that he was truly weak and wouldn’t put up a fight. After all, the stories that you had heard of this man and his former glory were enough to make even the most esteemed assassins quake in their boots. There was no room for error, so the utmost caution was advised.
“Hurry! He’s bleeding so much!” a woman whined before closing the door.
Of course he was. He was hit hard enough to kill a normal person. He was shot multiple times and then had his head hit by a metal pole. He should have been incapacitated, but instead, he just whipped right up and took out that poor guy without a bit of effort.
Like hunting deer, let them bleed and tire out and victory is almost assured, ready to grant you your prized antlers.
You scaled down the side of the building, taking in the earthy smells of brick mixed with the fresh scent of rain, trying not to slip on the slicker parts.
It was only two stories so it didn’t take you very long for you land on the concrete below, your legs in position, feet together, ready to roll and distribute the force through your body. Hardcore Parkour.
After a quick roll, you were sneaking your way to the door that hid the Shimada Assassin, which to your surprise, clicked open, forcing you to move , hiding by the porch to keep out of sight.
“What are you doing!? Come back in here!”
The woman looked around, fear plastered over her features as she searched for what she knew was more dangerous than she could ever imagine.
“Something's out here. I heard it!”
You could hear the man sigh.
“I don’t doubt you did, but get back in here. This man was wounded by something and it’s probably coming after him still.”
With that, she was quick to retreat back into the home, but this changed nothing. Those two have the Shimada. The moment they brought him into their home, they were doomed to the same fate as him.
You readied your blade and crept up the stairs to the front door. You figured you would knock and whoever answers first would he dragged away to their death.
The second would also be pulled away at the best advantage and Hanzo would be dealt with accordingly.
You did just that, the door creaking open, but revealing the wounded archer instead of one of the home owners.
You dodged back towards the left to avoid an arrow, rolling into cover and detaching throw able knives from your pouch.
“I didn’t expect you to still be conscious. You’re one tough motherfucker.”
He said nothing, only panted as his tired muscles notched another arrow into his bow. You could see the ornate dragon tattoo ripple over his skin as it shimmered with blood and rainfall.
“Quiet, huh? Good. Not much of a talker, myself.”
You peeked out for less than a second to throw a couple blades in his direction, which he gracefully deflected with the edge of his bow as he fired a slew of brightly shining arrows that seared the ground where they hit.
Those weren’t normal arrows by any means. In fact, they left nothing behind after the flames that indicated where his shots landed, had disappeared.
Interesting.
A thud and a pained gasp pulled your attention from the strange burn marks on the ground. Had he finally fallen? Adrenaline can only get you so far.
You gripped your larger blade and waited for a moment, listening to his sounds of what you presumed to be agony?
He could be baiting you? It wouldn’t have been a surprise. He had a lot of cheap tricks hidden in that file of his, so you couldn’t put it past him to try something like that.
You moved just a bit to try to get a better vantage point and see him from beside the porch, almost chuckling to yourself after you noticed the gasping had stopped.
This old fuck isn’t done yet. No where near done.
You listened as best you could through the pattering of the rain and gripped a trusty flashbang in your hand. You weren’t sure if he had anything to combat that, but you hoped it would be enough to get the drop on him.
Perfect.
The door creaked open and once again the dumbass woman leaned out.
“Are you Okay?! What’s out there!?”
You threw the flashbang onto the porch, taking just a second, long enough for the Shimada to shout for her to get away, to go off with a loud crack.
The woman screamed and the door slammed shut, the Shimada heir on the ground, hands over his eyes and on his side.
You vaulted over the porch and stood over him, knowing that this asshole had so much more fight in him than you could have even imagined. It was definitely a good thing you didn’t have to resort to close combat, otherwise you may have ended up like the poor dude he pummeled before he got here. This guy was huge! He looked strong enough to flip a car by himself. His brute strength alone looked to be enough to smash you.
You pulled out your blade and knelt to finish him, but couldn’t move.
Why in the hell could you not move?
You were falling forward, your face staring directly into the Shimada's red, probably still blinded, eyes. You were still just conscious enough to see that the man had smashed you over the head with what looked to be a fireplace poker, but not the sharp end.
Great. It’ll be fun digging out of this one.
The world went black for you.
…
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
It was the man.
“I am fine. I must leave or you will be in more danger.”
The archer…
You couldn’t help the growl that reverberated in your throat, rage coiling in your heart as your consciousness registered the restraints. Their silence let you know that they heard you and now the attention was back on you.
“What do you want.”
The archer’s voice again. He was asking you what you wanted. Ha. As if you would give him a satisfying enough answer for him to let you go. You remained silent, knowing that it wouldn’t matter what you said.
Your fate was decided and the fact that you were still alive at this very moment was a miracle in itself.
“What. Do. You. Want.”
He held your face in a tight grip, forcing your barely conscious gaze to meet his own. His brown eyes, coming into focus, capturing you, mesmerizing you.
His presence was all consuming, even his smell dragged you under into an odd state of bliss even through your rage.
“Fuck off.”
His grip tightened, your gums throbbing around your teeth, a whine leaving your lips.
“I will not ask again.”
His large hand released your jaw only to grab your neck instead, squeezing hard enough to stop your breathing completely.
You bared your teeth, but It took only seconds for your resolve to crumble, your body shaking and struggling in his hold. You hacked and choked, his fingers pressing into your throat.
“Ack! St- ahp! Wai-“
A punch connected to your cheek and with the kiss of his fist, he let you go to gasp and shudder. The pain blossomed in your face, down your jaw and up towards your eye. Tears welled up on the side where he had hit you, your hair tussled, a thin stream of blood leaking from your mouth where you bit your tongue.
He kicked over the chair you were tied to and watched you struggle.
“What in the fuck, my guy!?”
He landed a kick to your stomach, your chest locking up and every attempt to inhale made your chest and stomach burn. Coughing and attempts to gasp had you writhing in your binds, wrists being rubbed red against the cords. He was serious when he said he wouldn’t ask again. He wasn’t saying another word, just staring down at you heave and shake underneath the pain.
“Can’t tell you… I’ll die if I do…”
He crouched down to your level, as if to keep what he was telling you, quiet.
“I will kill you if you don’t.”
His gruff yet regal words had you frozen in thought. Of course he would kill you. If he didn’t, you would just come after him again. There was no doubt of that. He, as an assassin himself, knew how this worked. He knew that being bound by contract could be a death sentence for the killer if the hit was incomplete. The archer couldn’t care less about it, however.
Chances were weighed and the odds of you surviving would be higher if you gave him the information he wanted.
“I’ll tell you… but you have to help me.”
The moment you finished your sentence, he had his armored foot on your cheek.
“I take order from no one. Tell me and I’ll spare you. You are lucky to be given that much.”
Asshole.
“They are trying to kill you. If you help me, not only are you getting to play hero and “atone” for whatever heinous act you committed, you also get to take out the group that’s trying to kill you. Kill me all you want. They’ll just send more.”
He didn’t respond and he didn’t hit you, which was a good sign that he was actually contemplating the offer.
“I can’t trust you. You are still under contract. At any moment, you could turn on me and take my life. I am not foolish enough to play your games.”
You grit your teeth, feeling your hands going numb and your legs cramping from trying to support the rest of your body.
“I’m not an idiot, Hanzo. No one in this industry is dumb enough to trust anyone, BUT there is no way I’m going to beat you, you’ve already proven that.”
You did your best to reposition your feet and after he so graciously removed his foot from your face, he allowed you to kick up, pulling the chair back into a sitting position rather than lying on the floor.
“If you let me out of here alive, they’re gonna kill me, if you kill me, they’re just gonna send more. We could just take them out! Take him out, I get paid and we both get to live. It sounds like a good deal to me.”
He stared down at you, brows furrowed, fists clenched.
This was it. The moment of truth. Was he going to kill you, let you go, or join you in temporary alliance?
His gaze burned, eyes boring holes in your own only to break away, walking to the back of your chair. Holding perfectly still, you waited, figuring that he was standing behind you, ready to execute you in front of these poor, innocent people. You flinched as you heard the arrow notch into his bow, your body going numb with adrenaline as you heard him take aim.
You closed your eyes, fear washing over you as you thought about everything you failed to do in life and lastly,… thinking of your mother, wondering what she was up to right now.
The arrow released, your body lurching forward only to have your hands fly around to grab for your chest and stomach.
Wait…
He had cut you free.
“This alliance is temporary. If I find you suspicious ever in our partnership, I will end your life without hesitation. Do you understand?”
You stared incredulously at him as I’d he had grown another arm.
“Yeah… yeah, definitely.”