Kari had neutralized a few more guards on the way up to the roof. Her ammo had started to run low, and she knew every bullet past this point was going to matter. Kurisu was her only rival in the Masaru Crime Syndicate and the only thing in her way that had the potential to cut this revenge short. Adrenaline coursed through Kari’s veins during the entire walk up. The hallways had eventually turned into a small spiral staircase that had lead up to the roof.

The roof of the Castle had not been much different from the other buildings in the city. On top was an assortment of air conditioning units that had been staggered across, eventually leading towards the helipad. In the center of the roof lay a set of windows—sixteen panels held together by a large metal frame. It was a massive sunroof that had given a clear view of the Castle below.

Isamu had already taken cover at the base of the landing zone while the helicopter made its approach. He had tried to keep behind one of the air vents while Kurisu had stood guard. The constant gunfire had not been able to disrupt the party below. Kurisu began to move towards the entrance of the roof with her Kahr 9mm still ready to go.

“I think she’s still alive,” Isamu called out to Kurisu just after hearing a few more gunshots. He dipped his head back down behind the air vent in desperation. “Take care of her, now!”

“She won’t be able to stop me.” Kurisu snapped back. She had taken a spot by the entrance, keeping her pistol held forward in anticipation. The door in front of her had let out a loud crack, sending chipped and splintered wood flying as it swung open. Kurisu’s gun began to let out a fierce cadence as the bullets started to fly from the barrel and into the door.

Within seconds, she had completely depleted the ammunition in the magazine, forcing her to release it to reload. As the metal from the empty cache smacked into the concrete below, Kari emerged with her weapon to return fire. The bullets flew past Kurisu, forcing her to dive towards one of the AC units to the side. Kari rushed to the opposite side to take cover.

“Is that the best you got?” Kari shouted over to her as she began to chamber another round from the fresh magazine.

“You know better than to underestimate me,” Kurisu replied. The slide on the top of her pistol slid forward, letting out a loud click. “You should have stayed gone.”

Kurisu stood and began to fire back towards Kari, striking the top of the cooling unit. A collection of sparks had shot from the top of the machine before being encompassed by a plume of smoke. Kari used the opportunity to dash towards the next unit. She continued to unload her silenced pistol while trying to keep sighted in on Kurisu. The two continued to zig zag between cover, still continuing to exchange bullets as rapidly as possible.

“How many bullets do you have left?” Kurisu asked while she started to dash over behind a larger AC unit.

“Plenty.” Kari replied. She tried to keep firm as she knew her ammunition was getting low. As she finally unholstered her second pistol and dropping the first, a helicopter began to approach. The blade rotor atop the vehicle produced a gust that consumed the two. There was another shot from Kurisu’s weapon that had struck the vent to Kari’s right.

Just like before, another wall of sparks had started to rain down on her, this time causing the wig over her head to begin to ignite. The smell of burning plastic started to make her nauseous for a moment. The morphine in her system had started to run its course, making her stomach start to turn. Kari then grabbed a hold of the wig and flipped it into the air. She stared up to see a few bullets strike it, causing the fake hair to feather towards the ground. Knowing that she was low, Kari jumped to her feet and charged Kurisu through the smoke.

The two had managed to get into arms reach. Once Kurisu tried to shoot, Kari had swiped her pistol away with her own. The two began to swing their pistols towards each other, sending bullets flying across the roof as the metal grips of the weapons clashed. After a flurry of precision strikes, Kari snapped her hand towards Kurisu’s pistol and pressed the release switch. The magazine inside dropped to the ground. In the same motion, she had managed to push the slide on the top of Kurisu’s pistol, causing the round in the chamber to eject

Right as the magazine hit the ground it had been kicked aside while the two began to struggle for Kari’s pistol. Kurisu managed to push the barrel of Kari’s pistol aside just before she could continue the barrage. The pistol continued to hiss with every shot. A stray bullet had pierced through Kurisu’s hair, causing her face to light up in shock. The pistol in Kari’s hand finally locked into place as the final bullet had been discharged.

“Was that your last bullet,” Kurisu asked before snickering. Kari tried to keep her in control, but she could feel the pain in her abdomen starting to flare up. “Was it worth wasting your second chance coming after me?”

“Worth every second.” Kari whispered back.

“I planned everything. If you would have killed Isamu in the first place, I’m certain the outcome would have been the same.” she cut herself short and drove her knee into Kari’s wound. The strike caused Kari let out a quick scream before she had dropped down. She had barely managed to land in a kneeling position before Kurisu followed up with attack. This time, she had smashed her knee into Kari’s face. Blood shot from her nose as Kurisu pulled away. Her vision blurred as she crashed into the concrete surface. The blood continued to pour down face while Kurisu started to casually walk towards the magazine.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I was the one who planned the hit on Isamu in the first place,” said Kurisu before bending down to retrieve her ammo. Kari had started to gain her focus—she could see the lone 9mm round that had ejected from Kurisu’s pistol lying to her right. As she reached for it, Kurisu had already reloaded her weapon. “Once that power vacuum opened, I would have easily hired one of the others to go for you. The outcome would have been much different, and much worse for you. It's a shame that Andrew didn't take my offer, because he's next.”

“You’ve always been a snake,” Kari replied as she cupped the round in her hand. She tried to lift herself off the ground, but her knees started to buckle again, causing her to drop once more. “When you surround yourself with people as treacherous as yourself, don’t be surprised when you find yourself getting a taste of your own medicine.”

“At least stand up,” Kurisu rolled her eyes as she watched Kari struggle. In that moment, Kari had slipped the last round into the chamber. Kurisu shouted again, “Stand up, now!”

Kari pressed her hand against the concrete floor and used what little strength she had to get to her feet. Kurisu smiled once more and whipped her pistol forward for the kill shot. Right as her pistol had fired, Kari quickly twisted her torso to the side and narrowly avoided the bullet. At that moment, she had sent the slide on her weapon forward to chamber the last round. The silencer let out one more hiss.

Kurisu’s jaw dropped just as the bullet from Kari’s gun had ripped straight through her heart. She had frozen in place, staring in disbelief and the strength had been zapped from her body. The Kahr had slipped out of her hand and bounced of the floor. Blood started to ooze from the wound in her chest—the empty case from Kari’s bullet sailed to the ground, letting out a loud click after hitting the pavement.

“You do know the way of the gun.” Kurisu muttered before finally collapsing to the floor. It was over. Her body laid completely sprawled out as a puddle of blood started to form beneath her. Kari took just a moment to take a breath. The pain in her stomach started to flare up again.

Isamu. She turned to the helicopter only to see Isamu stepping inside. He had reached up towards the handle bars inside the back set before turning back to Kari. The vehicle slowly started to rise, leaving her to stand and watch. There was nothing left to retaliate with at this point. Both of her weapons were empty and at this distance, it would be impossible to hit him using Kurisu's weapon.

“Until we meet again, Kari,” Isamu shouted over to her. His face lit up with the same jolly smile he had worn to every single meeting with her. Her eyes had started to go red while she squeezed the empty pistol in her grip. Isamu then continued, “The next round will be much worse. You won’t survive!”

There was another shot. The sound of high-powered rifle firing across the roof had sent a shockwave through the area. At the same time, the pilot of the helicopter had been struck in the head. Blood splattered over the inside of the cockpit as the man behind the control dipped forward into the yoke. All at once, the helicopter took a violent bank to the left, causing Isamu to lose his grip and fall back towards the roof.

He let out an ear-piercing scream of terror as he started to plummet towards the sunroof. The weight of his body combined with the forces of gravity caused him to crash directly through the glass and through Hinobu Castle. Glass had rained down towards the dance floor, causing the people below to scurry away to safety.

Isamu swiped at the air trying to grab at one of the balconies, but instead had smashed directly into the massive piggy bank set up below. The pig exploded into shards of plaster, causing dollar bills to flood the floor. His body had been pulverized upon striking the floor, causing blood to splash across it. The money inside the bank had showered on top of him before soaking up the blood.

Moments later, the helicopter had impacted the street outside and further fueled the chaos. The rotor on top snapped into pieces, sending shrapnel flying before smoke began to rise from it. Kari stared completely dumbfounded, but raised her head before starting to let out a nervous chuckle. She turned towards the edge of the roof and had noticed the smoking barrel of a rifle sailing towards her. It crashed by her feet, causing her to raise her pistol forward as another person started to approach her.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Andrew said to her once he had stepped into the light. Her mood slowly began to sink upon seeing the anger on his face. “Well, it’s over.”

“Yeah, its over.” Kari hesitantly replied. She could barely stand at this point. Fear slowly began to sweep through her as Andrew reached towards her. He grabbed a hold of the bald cap still wrapped around her head and pulled her hair free.

“I can’t believe you went and had all the fun without me.” Andrew said finally. He smiled at her and reached around her hips to pull her close to him. Kari seized up as he leaned in. Their lips had met with a gentle kiss, causing her to light up with excitement. She reached around pulled him tight, finally coming to the realization that it was over. For once in a long time, she had finally been able to live in the moment without having to look back.

The memories of Patricia and Ricardo no longer would haunt her. As she pulled away, she had blushed after finally sharing a moment with him—one that she never thought she needed. On the sound system below, she could hear a very familiar set of chords starting to play on a piano.

Kari laughed and asked, “Don’t stop believin'?”

“Do you still wanna do karaoke?” Andrew replied. Behind them, and explosion had roared through the area. A fireball had erupted from the helicopter before rising up to the sky and lighting up the roof. Kari continued to hold him tight, not bothering to look back at the fire.

“Yeah, karaoke sounds fun.” She said finally, pulling him in for another kiss—finally taking joy in her new found innocence.

The End