Chaung and Kimi vault over the storefront to the west side of the plaza, crashing beside Yasuke and Kimi in the process. Both of their hefty breaths disrupt the preexisting silence. Chaung looks beside him to see Kimi, brushing against his shoulder seated beside him with her head slumped over; he feels her arctic skin.

"Is she alive?" He asks, doe-eyed.

"She get shot," Yasuke grunts. "Lot of blood loss. She take vinium, so she sleeps."

Chaung and Matsuko release a synchronous exhale, this job wouldn't be worth dying for. Each of them is highly valuable to those in need of their services so losing a member is never worth a job. Chaung places two fingers against Kimi's neck, and feels a subtle rhythm beat in return. He nods to Matsuko who nods back at him.

"How many guards were on your route?" He asks as he removes his cloak to reach for his pistol.

"Five on the way. Nina took care of one,"

"Then five it is,"

"And when they arrive?" Matsuko asks.

"They won't surrender, even if we have them surrounded. So, we kill on sight."

Matsuko draws both of her flintlocks. Lining up two extra magazines on the floor as she loads another two into her guns. "Some siege this turned out to be,"

"It never really was. Surrounding them in the plaza is to avoid collateral."

"Commander Nappal would not be happy," Yasuke jests as the others chuckle in response.

"Nappal says that a civilian presence makes a siege more impactful. Although correct, I am more hesitant than Commander Nappal when it comes to killing those civilians."

Matsuko's weapon clicks as she readies them both at her side, turning to Chaung with a cold, fed-up look on her face, "You shouldn't be."

Chaung pauses, looking at the stern look on Matsuko's face as he switches focus between each of her eyes. He sees no humor or sarcasm in her statement which has him laughing under his breath. "Then I'd have to deal with your crying more often,"

Matsuko drops eye contact, scoffing as she shoves her elbow into Chaung's shoulder, briefly knocking him over as he continues to whisper in laughter with Yasuke.

"I'm serious," She adds. "Kimi could have died because we keep trying to do things without collateral damage."

"Maybe. What makes you think we're less at risk if we kill more people?"

Matsuko doesn't answer, she just inspects one of her guns. Chaung watches her ignore him, unsure of what's going on in her mind. Two close calls are too much, she's right.

"I didn't think this one through well enough," He levels with her. "Maybe it's not about killing more people, but it's about devising safer and more effective plans."

"No." She sighs, internalizing what he's saying. "This never happens. We've done a lot of jobs like this one and they've always gone perfectly,"

"Bad luck of the beginner,” Yasuke adds. "It is tradition,"

Matsuko grins, "Whenever someone new joins the team. Someone else almost dies," They all laugh as quietly as they can. "She can help Kimi though. She's more useful than all of us were on our first jobs,"

The clumping of large, rhythmic footsteps slowly emerges in the distance, it must be the guards. Chaung slowly peeks his head over the storefront but sees nothing. The strides slowly get louder, hidden behind the tree trunks and stalls in the area.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Ready?" He asks, passing a glance to both Matsuko and Yasuke who nod in response. They each take a knee, positioned to emerge from behind the counter. He peeks over again, this time spotting mutiple guards walking in formation and taking a stand around the plaza, covering the opposite end and each entryway.

"Why are there twelve?" Chaung asks, looking over to Yasuke who shrugs in response. Chaung shakes his head as he sighs, "We'll need better intel if we're going to stay in Dantas."

"We know you're here!" Yells one of the guards from across the plaza, "Come out with your hands up."

"They don't know we're armed," Says Matsuko.

"Yasuke, stun them," Chaung orders.

Yasuke grunts, as he reaches for a large round at his waist. Instead of loading it, he uses his strength to crack off a protective seal on its backside before quickly tossing it into the plaza.

"Nade!" Yells one of the guards as the sound of scurrying briefly passes through the plaza. But two seconds later an ear-popping flash erupts over the counter, prompting the panicked screams of several guards.

Without a word, all three of them rise from behind the counter and start firing at each of the guards. Not a single guard has the vision to fire back, turning this into a straightforward massacre.

Target practice.

It takes no longer than twenty seconds for them to seize fire and look out amongst the carnage. All the guards lay flat on the floor having received multiple bullet wounds amongst the shelling. A subtle tinge of smoke from Yasuke's nade hides the pools of blood. Chaung takes a count of the figures laying on the floor, counting twelve he lowers his pistol and takes another look around the plaza.

"Any more?" He asks the others.

"Not that I can see," Responds Matsuko as the magazines drop from her gun and she reaches down to reload.

Yasuke grunts, eyeing all corners of the plaza before shaking his head.

Chaung slowly glides his pistol into his holster as he continues eyeing the area for guards. "Alright then,"

He drops to have a seat next to Kimi, before placing a finger on her pulse to feel her slow but rhythmic heartbeat. "Lucky you, getting paid to sleep on the battlefield," He chuckles. He grabs a bandage from his bag to replace the drenched one currently around Kimi's leg.

"Good to know the medicine helps," Chaung says, removing the old bandage.

"But it doesn't fix the wound," Matsuko comments.

"The medicine's replaced a lot of her missing blood. That makes it worth buying more in my book"

"You'd go back to that psycho?"

"For a medicine that can keep you all alive, I will return as many times as necessary."

"They're here," Yasuke calls out.

Nina and Ara leap over the storefront, stepping in front of Kimi as Chaung is about to wrap the new bandage.

"Move." Ara barks, raising her hands that Chaung notices are wrapped up in bandages. He grabs one of her hands to inspect it before looking at Nina as if she's a failed babysitter.

"She got in her first fight," Nina comments. Chaung looks back at Ara with a shocked expression on his face.

"Did you win?"

Ara snatches her arm away, raising them above Kimi's leg before closing her eyes. "No."

A small ball of energy inflates from Ara's palms as it casts a glow on her souring face. It must be the pain in her hands. It quickly forms before the sphere flattens into a disc-like shape. She opens her eyes as she lowers the translucent plate down to Kimi's leg where it briefly rests before seeping into the wound. Kimi's body jerks as her head tilts and she groans in her sleep.

The procedure is much shorter than the last as the glow dissipates shortly after being placed. It briefly lightens the inside of Kimi's leg before it fizzles away, leaving a clear patch of skin where the wound once was.

"No scar?" Chaung asks, raising an eyebrow at Ara.

"Not for her." She answers, rising to her feet before stepping away. "She'll struggle to walk for a few days,"

"I carry her," Yasuke responds, still scanning the area without diverting his eyes.

Chaung stands up, placing his shawl back on to conceal his weapons. "Alright, we have a two-day walk to an outpost where we'll meet the insurgents. We stay low key until we arrive,"

Matsuko and Nina stand up beside him, also concealing their weapons and raising their hoods over their heads. Yasuke steps over to Kimi, taking a squat in front of her before heaving her onto his back, tucking his arms under her legs for a firm grip and draping her arms over his shoulder.

"Ready?" Chaung asks, glancing at each member.

They all nod, before heading behind out the back of the store and following a western path.

"Beauty is not found, it is revealed." - Prophet Mi'chel