Ultimatum [ST] [Saga]

A simple job. Perhaps a little too simple considering the apparent danger of who they were supposed to fight. The van was quiet, only interrupted by the occasional bump in the road as the men in the van all mulled over their purpose. Hit the dojo, threaten the students, lure in Red Edge and then knock him goofy. The team he'd assembled for the job wasn't... well, most were simple street thugs or kids hopped up on adrenaline with no other choices. Personally he found it a little pathetic.

A sharp knock at the dividing window told them it was time. All of the men in the van pulled their masks over their faces, all of them designed to emulate the beak and skull structure of a crow. A little melodramatic, perhaps but it was a symbol of fear. A symbol for people to associate with their master. A symbol that would one day bring terror to Tokyo, all of them knew it. To be on the right side of history... a truly momentous occasion.

The van ground to a halt outside of the dojo and a second later the back doors burst open, the team of seven filing out of it and into the dojo. In only a few minutes they'd subjugated most of the students and junior teachers. The leader, a tall, lanky man under a dark cloak heard the unmistakable sound of one of the students calling for help. Perfect, just what they were waiting for.

He held back until the boy was nearly finished with his call, before tossing a knife from beneath his sleeve into the boy's phone, destroying it. A scream of terror would be briefly heard by Kenshin before he left the restaurant before the call cut out. The boy scrambled backwards towards a few boxes in this cramped little supply closet but the leader snatched him up by the scruff of the collar, wrenching him from his hiding place and out with the others.

They gathered them in the central training area, one of the crow-faced crew retrieving a walkie-talkie and speaking the phrase, "We're set. Now all we need is the match." No response from the other side, as expected. They never seemed to respond. A rather burly man with a kanabo club stepped outside to the dojo entrance, taking up a defensive position while another set about towards the back to look for a good place to ignite the building.

The rest milled around their captives, either tapping their feet with anxious energy or drawing weapons with deadly purpose. Two had brought pistols, another had brought a small SMG, yet none of them had any real training. The only one who really did was the leader, who preferred his throwing knives. The rest were all apparently planning on getting into fisticuffs or close combat with Red Edge.

The leader could only smirk at their naivete under his mask. Those kids would need some damn good luck to actually be able to hit the famed Vigilante Red Edge in a close combat fight. The ones who had brought guns were smarter but... well, they weren't exactly here to kill him. He supposed he'd need to see just how much guns scared the wannabe Hero boy.

• Words: 547 • Tag: Kenshin Akadama •