Realistic or Modern One Last Mission~ (w/morumana)

[JustYourFantasy]

A gloved hand drummed lightly against a metal table, the smell of roses floated through the air. The voices of laughing children and lovesick couples penetrated the peaceful environment. Most people would see this as a nice time, a relaxed place. But, the dual eyed man drumming his fingers against his table found it- Disrupting. Bothersome. Loud.
Pushing back his chair, letting a shriek of the legs scrap across the ground and for a moment of silence to fall. The man moved his gaze across the startled, disgruntled, and wincing faces with a perfectly sculpted smile. A smile of utter fake apology. “Ah, I do apologize for that,” he drawled, before dipping his head, turning, and walking away. The unseen smirk gracing his lips the farther away he got.

Don’t get him wrong, the peacefulness of this small town was quaint. The former assassin chose it for its lack of ties to any part of the UnderWorld, the place he’d least likely be found in. Renjiro wanted to live without drama, without enemies attacking him at every hour of the day for revenge or some nonsense. Coming here was something he did not regret in the slightest, it was just that every once in a while the innocent nature and naivety the people lived in… irked him. It may have been five years since the man walked away from his life of blood, chaos, and familiarity. Nevertheless, time did not change what Renjiro was underneath the facade of a friendly lifelong bachelor, it couldn’t erase the blood that once stained his hands. Or the want for bloodshed that he keeps to himself.

Arriving at his second-storyhouse Renjiro paused at the end of the walkway, taking in how… plain it was. Standard off white walls, regular brown roofing, and rose bushes going along the outside walls of the house. Perfectly manicured yard.
“‘Scuse me?” a squeaky young voice pierced through Ren’s complementing. Mentally, he took a breath before turning around and going to one knee, “Zackary! I see you and your family are home from vacation. Did you do what I asked you to do?” the black haired man with a lopsided grin, easy and friendly.

With childish glee, Zackary dug in his pockets and pulled out a dark blue velvet bag. A strange symbol was sewn onto the bag, which was tied with a woven string. “Here ya go! I need to get home now, bye!” Words hurried and eyes sparkling with innocence, the boy handed off his trinket and made his way back home.
“Don’t eat all the candy before dinner!” The man called after the boy, chuckling. How simple it was to give a handful of candy to a child for the boy to hand off a letter.
Feeling much happier now, the man walked into his house, making sure to lock the door behind him and that the alarms were activated as well. Did this mean he was paranoid? Meh. Habits merely die hard.

Opening the bag, the man found a tooth falling onto his open hand. “Oh? Well, I suppose that answers that,” he murmured to himself, amusement dancing in his words. The tooth belonged to a pesky rival who’d managed to track Renjiro down to this area. So he sent the offender a little letter encouraging him to either end his search and destroy all evidence, or ‘The Mask’ would come to greet him- properly. Apparently, they did not want that.

After dropping the tooth back into the bag, Ren walked into his living room, lit the automatic fireplace and tossed the bag in. As he watched the bag slow burn up, the doorbell rang through the quiet house. In a blink of an eye, two wolf hybrids; one pure white (Mizuki, meaning Moon) and the other pure black (Himari, meaning Sun) came trotting to the front door.
The man straightened and he walked calmly over, fixed a polite smile upon his face and then he opened the door. The smile melted from his face and a frown tugged at his lips, eyes trailing up and down this unknown knocker. “Can I help you?” While no longer smiling, Renjiro did keep his voice mildly polite.
= morumana

 

[morumana]

Comfort breeds contempt, at least, that’s how Seon had always seen it. There was something about such a cruel person living within the confines of a quaint town, unbothered and sweet that made this newcomer wrinkle his nose in disgust. It admittedly too, made the man’s heart ache in a way he couldn’t quite explain. A sort of pain only that of a scorned ex would feel seeing their past lover find solace in another. Alas, however, they had never actually been together. But that made it all the more bitter.

While Renjiro spent his last five years in this so called comfort, Seon spent his in turmoil. Bitter and pained by the absence of not only his best friend, but business partner. And while the slender man was capable- more than so- the sudden change had crashed into him like a bus. Like a bride left at the alter, he had felt blindsighted and betrayed. Yet, there wasn’t a word he could say to oppose. Rather, at the other man’s announcement, Seon mustered a smile through twitching lips.

“I wish you luck.” Had been the last words he’d spoken to his friend, those five years ago.

Running an assassination business on the surface was already a hard sounding job. Not only did he have to maintain anonymity with the clientele, but he had to arrange the hit, discuss payment, discuss method, discard of a body, manage his finances, all on his own. So not only was he emotionally torn by the other's absence for his own personal reasons, but the workload fell soley upon him. At least the money had been good.

And here he paced through the hustle and bustle of a cozy civilization, like an alien as his now chopped hair hung down and shaded his hues. His steps rhythmic and sharp. Near silent as he followed his phone directions straight to the man’s house. And to reiterate, it truly had been plain in comparison to the lavishness that Seon had shourded himself in the absence of any meaningful connections. Money had helped fill a void that deepened once Renjiro left. Angry as he may have been, it would have been a lie to state that he wasn’t slightly looking forward to the reunion. Dusting his shirt and pants preemptively Seon would check his appearance in his camera, pushing his hair back only for it to flop back where it had rested before.

Age changes people, and no longer did Seon rock his long hair, after a particularly nasty brawl and subsequent hack-job to his pride-and-joy, he had been left with no choice but to cut it all off, giving him a drastically different appearance. Not that he thought it mattered. And with a deep, albeit nervous sigh, the man would give a firm knock to the hard wood of the other man’s front door.

It felt like a scene right out of a movie. With the former companions standing face to face on both sides of the door-frame. And honestly, it wasn’t something Seon had been ready for.

“It’s been a while.” Is all that escaped him.

 

[JustYourFantasy]

Who the actual fuck? Renjiro was silent as his ever loyal canines barked happily at the man on the other side of the door. His mind went a mile a minute, trying to connect this person to any memories he had. Which was hard to do when he couldn’t find any.

Pressing his lips together, the man took the lead from how welcoming Himari and Mizuki were. The lead to trust. Turning, he silently moved further into his home and straight to the living room. There the dark haired man found his way to one of his many bookshelves and his index finger brushed against the spines of his alphabetical sorted books.
Thinking of what he saw with the others' outer appearance, Ren found the book he was looking for and he pulled it. Flipping it open to a random middle page, his dual colored eyes scanned over the seemingly random words and numbers. Each and every book in this house was a complicated code, with various means hidden for only his eyes to undercover.

A few keywords stood out and he connected the out of place dots. Another assassin from how he held himself, not an enemy according to Himari and Muzuki, one who spoke so casually to him. Oh. Closing the book Renjiro breathed out heavily, but silently. “You are far from home. Why are you gracing me with your presence exactly?” His words were quiet and gave no emotion away. A part of him felt a strange glee and curiosity that he was seeing Seon after so long. Yet, a bigger part of him was completely unnerved by the other man being here and with a… new appearance at that.. He vaguely had thought this situation through millions of times but now that reality was here the man was close to having a panic attack.

A light prodding against his hand brought him to focus. Muzuki blinked up at him with comforting and calming eyes. There wasn’t a need to panic, you are still you. That was what he read.

Allowing his body to relax some, the former assassin put the book back and motioned to the couches."ave a seat. Have you eaten a proper meal since your flight?" Ren asked lightly, taking in the new look the other supported. All the while walking over the couches, the man took a seat and clicked his tongue. Himari padded over and jumped up onto the couch beside their master. Taking his gloves off, the man patted the dog's head and gazed with an arched eyebrow at Seon.

 

[morumana]

Seon was always rather sharp. Quick to catch things in a person's expression. No matter how small the brow twitch or glance was, he always noticed. And this was no different. At the other's first initial confusion, and lack of recognition, the assassin couldn't help but feel a bit outraged. Not really tying that it was caused by his sudden and drastic hair change as opposed to what Renjiro had known him to have for the years they'd been together. The man wanted to punch him for forgetting, but yet a smile came to his face. A false smile to hide his irritation.

"We both know I'm not here to leisure. I don't want your cooking." Seon drawled back. Approaching the couch yet not sitting, instead, he'd simply lean against the armrest. "It was hard to trace you Ren... you did well when choosing your location. It's cozy, hard to see you in." He further jabbed. Allowing his eyes to dart around the surrounding room. On edge, despite their previously friendly relationship. You never really could just trust another when in the business they dabbled in.

"But I'll make this short and sweet. There's a job." he hummed. Keeping that smile of his as he crossed his arms. Finally turning his gaze to Ren. His own eyes harsh, without that familiar friendliness that he used to look at his former friend with. Now, he felt like a stranger when looking into Renjiro's new life, and he didn't quite like that.

"As much as it hurts my pride to ask, I need your help." He finished. Adjusting his hunched posture a bit.

 

[JustYourFantasy]

In response to his cookie Renjiro simply shrugged, watching the other with cautious eyes. LIstening to the other speak almost made him drift off. Not to sleep per say, just sort of daydream. It felt so easy, so normal that his walls weren’t there at all. As though he could fall asleep in his presence and whatever happened, happened. A familiarity that he was slowly losing as time went on.

‘A job? How odd.’ Ren thought, keeping his face perfectly blank. Especially when he was firm in retirement to come to him now of all times. In the first year or so, he could see himself being approached to help with something, but after so many years? No. This didn’t seem logical or reasonable.
“Your pride hurts? Interesting. I could see you coming to me a year after I left, however it has been years. We both don’t need to broach the possibility of being… rusty, of course. For creatures like you and I, there isn’t a hope of ever becoming lame,” Renjiro spoke quietly, words laced with a tinge of amusement. Gazing at Seon with half lidded eyes, he arched an eyebrow, “I don’t believe you my friend. Not in the slightest. That said, say I go along with charade. There are plenty of seasoned assassins who aren’t retired who’d help you. Their talents are just as useful as mine, the only difference is that I would be faster and or stealthier. Which matters not in the long run as long as the assignment is completed. So tell me, give me a reason I can not refuse.”

The life of an assassin is one wrought with deceit, power to play god, and death. When stepping into this lifestyle, one can expect to eventually be taken out; whether by an ally or enemy. The more successful you are the more likely it will be an ally.

Renjiro knew this and knew that the assumption of being killed by the one he held feelings towards, was not off the table. It never would be so long as they lived. That didn’t mean he would go down without a fight, without making sure that his enemies knew he was no fool.