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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE:
You ready, baby?
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                Aki had been back at the Double A for an entire week. She had spent most of that week in the training facility, pounding punching bags until her knuckles bled. She was preparing herself for what was about to come. According to Katsu, the Port Mafia and the Double A had declared an all out war with one another—only one side allowed to come out victorious. Katsu was sure it would be the Double A, what with his larger numbers of trained assassin's. Aki wasn't entirely sure of that. She knew the strength of the Port Mafia, and the fact they had the Gravity Manipulator only added to their strength.

                   Aki had thought about Chuuya often—and not fondly. She had convinced herself her only option was to kill him or have him kill her. The more time that went by, Aki grew more angry. She couldn't exactly blame him, but he had automatically assumed the worse in her. She'd told him before that if she had the choice, she would have chosen the Port Mafia and it hadn't been a lie. She thought he would have at least known that. But instead, he had painted her as an even bigger villain in his mind when she wasn't the true villain—it was Katsu. He was behind everything. He was the sole purpose Aki had even been at the Port Mafia in the first place. His elaborate plan had been the reason everything had gone to shit.

                   Aki was punching the living daylights out of a punching bag when Katsu entered the training facility, "Akira, dear," He called out. At the sound of his voice, Aki swung her fist one last time, wrapping it in seismic energy before slamming it into the punching bag. It broke from the ceiling upon impact, flying across the room as it's insides burst open, spilling onto the floor. Aki heaved out a breath, turning to face the man who was smiling at her, "It seems that this little game of chess we're playing with the Port Mafia has begun." He announced, two of his guards on either side of him. He made sure to never be alone in Aki's presence.

                   The woman turned to him, her knuckles worn and bloody, sweat clinging to her forehead, her hair tied back into a low ponytail, "What I need from you right now is to do exactly as I say without question. Can you do that?" Aki nodded. "There's a mansion house outside of the city that we own, it's usually kept vacant. I want you to go there and draw out the Gravity Manipulator. Do not specify that he has to come alone. I want him to bring as much backup as possible so that we can wipe them out in one clean sweep. Of course, you won't be alone, I'll make sure to send backup for you." Aki listened to him speak with a bland expression on her face.

                  "I won't need any backup. They'll only get in the way." She assured him, reaching up to rub at the nape of her sweaty neck.

                   Katsu gave a closed smile, "Regardless, I will make sure you're not alone," Aki felt like it was more to make sure she completed the mission instead of protecting her. "I'll give you a burner phone to call the Gravity Manipulator on. Lure him in and kill him, Akira. Or else..." He brought his hand up, tapping his index finger against his skull. Aki gritted her teeth together, grinding them so roughly they could have broke.

                    "Understood, Boss."

               Aki sat in the foyer of the mansion house Katsu had told her about. She was sitting on a red-leather couch, spinning the burner phone between her fingers. The drive to the mansion had been a silent one. The driver hadn't spoken a word to her, except for the moment he left—reminding her that she had thirty minutes to eliminate the Gravity Manipulator on her own before reinforcements were sent in to deal with the rest of the Port Mafia members that would come with him. Katsu was a terrifying man—somehow he knew everything. He knew that the Port Mafia would send in a sweep of armed men roughly thirty minutes after the Gravity Manipulator arrived—he was so sure of it. He knew their strategy; send in the strongest first and let the others handle the weaker links.

                   Aki had already called Chuuya. They hadn't spoke to one another. All Aki said was the address before hanging up. She was waiting for him, dressed up for the deadly fight she knew was about to come. There were weapons stashed throughout the entire mansion and Katsu had told her the exact locations. On her, she had a knife strapped to each thigh along with a handgun over the top of her leather trousers.

She was sitting pretty, flipping the phone in her hand when a smirk crossed her lips. She stood to her feet, moving to the side just as the front door got kicked in, sailing across to exactly where she had been sitting, knocking the chair down. Chuuya appeared in the doorway, the red hue fading from his body and a glare on his face at the sight of her. It had been over a week—almost two weeks since he'd last seen her, which was more than enough time to work up even more of a temper.

Aki grinned at him, "Hey, lover." She greeted, crossing the marble tiles towards him. Within a second, both of them had pulled their guns, aiming them directly at each other, the safeties being clicked off in unison.

"Hey, traitor-bitch," Chuuya retorted, his eyes narrowed down the barrel of the gun, pointing it directly at her forehead. There was a gap between them, a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling between them. "You think you can just call me and I'll come running?" He growled at the woman that was smiling at him, her gun pointed between his temples.

"You came, didn't you?" She quipped, arching a brow.

"Only because I made you a promise," He stepped closer to her, the nose of the gun inches from her forehead. "I said I was going to kill you. And I keep my promises." He said, his voice dropping an octave.

Aki smiled at him, "How long until your backup gets here?" She inquired, tilting her head.

"Around thirty minutes—but you'll already be long dead by then," He hissed at her. "How about you? How long until your little band of assassins show up?"

"Around thirty minutes," Aki chirped, repeating his words back to him. A smirk crossed her lips. "Why don't we play a little game until they get here?" She suggested, her eyes wickedly mischievous.

Chuuya's eyes narrowed, "I'm sick of your games, Kitagawa." He said through gritted teeth.

"You'll like this one," She assured him, eyes dancing dangerously at him. "The aim of the game is solely to kill one another before anyone else shows up—the catch? We're not allowed to use our abilities. Only our brawn, wit and fists. Otherwise, where the fun?" The entire time she spoke, her smirk got wider, sheer exhilaration flowing through her veins. She could see the murder in Chuuya's eyes. She knew he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity as sweet as that one. Without their abilities in the mix, they were nothing but human—and humans could be killed.

Chuuya's gaze narrowed, "Fine. I've been looking for an excuse to strangle your scrawny little neck anyways."

Aki laughed, "Don't excite me," She chirped as she lowered her gun before dropping it to her feet. She then kicked it in the opposite direction, the sound of it scraping against the marble floors ringing through the air. She rose her brows. "You next."

Chuuya hesitated. And then he crouched to the floor and slid the gun away from him. Both of their guns now out of reach. Aki smirked down at him, "Want me to count down?" She suggested, arching a brow.

Chuuya scoffed, "Count down all you want, it doesn't matter. You're going to be dead within a second." He said, so sure of himself. But of course he was. He didn't only rely on his ability—he was adapt to combat and often relied on it more than anything. He also knew his way around weapons very well. He was confident he could win a brawl against the assassin and claim the title of the victor.

Aki smirked at him as he stood to his feet, "You ready, baby?" Chuuya stuffed his hands into the pocket of his coat, almost looking bored. So cocky, Aki thought to herself.

She straightened herself out, her eyes shining into his, so much sin behind them, "Three... two... one."

AUTHORS NOTE.

y'all, shit's about to get crazy from here on out—we've entered the action packed era of this book🤭.

— taylor xx