Kobun

[Zeltak]

[font=Palatino Linotype]The Black Dragon gently landed on the docking pad. As Hideki exited the vessel he was instantly greeted by a stranger.

"653-319?" The stranger quietly listed the number sequence.

Hideki nodded in response.

[color=#CCCCCC]"Right this way." The stranger gestured with his arm as he proceeded to walk away.

They made their way towards the exit of the docking bay and then continued walking through a narrow hallway. Towards the end the stranger opened a door which lead to an apartment that was attached to the hangar. The third floor button was pushed in on the elevator, once they arrived they took a left and stopped at Door 311. The stranger searched in his pocket and after a few seconds he took out a key which he gave to Hideki. He then swiftly bowed before hastily leaving the scene.

Hideki opened the door which revealed a small room that consisted of a bed, a wooden desk and another door which lead to the toilet. He had figured out by now that this stranger was a man of the Yakuza who had been ordered to escort Hideki to this location. During the whole journey Hideki had been holding onto the light-brown box provided by the equipment officer which he now threw on the mattress. He opened it and first brought out a set of knives made in different sizes, then he brought out a small firearm and mounted a silencer on it. Finally the box contained one last item, it was a signaling device which transmitted only to a specific receiver. The tool was used to message another operator which would pick him up when the mission was completed.

Once Hideki was finished with equipping himself he exited the room, locked the door and threw the key away. A car was waiting for him outside the apartment which would drive him to a designated location and from that point on he would continue on foot. The trip took several hours and the clock had by now reached midnight, darkness ruled the streets. This was all perfectly planned by The Oyabun himself. The time it would take to reach Planet New Tokyo and the time consumed transporting Hideki with the car was all carefully calculated so he would arrive during night-time in order to move undetected in the shadows.

As Hideki exited the car which immediately drifted away from the location he entered a random apartment and made his way too the rooftop. From this vantage point he could spot the house approximately thirty meters from where he was standing. The main entrance seemed to be blocked by two of Shinoda's personal bodyguards so Hideki would be forced to infiltrate from above. Here his dexterity skills would prove to be extremely useful as he jumped from roof to roof. When he reached the correct one he began searching for the standard ventilation tunnel installed on all houses. Once it was located he carefully removed the metallic ventilation bar and squeezed his body inside the tunnel. From this point he would continue crawling slowly in order to not produce any sounds that would risk compromising the mission. At the very exit he removed yet another metallic bar which revealed an opening. He clung on the edge with his hands as he slowly pulled himself down. As his feet were about to land on the ground he immediately bent his knees in order to diminish the magnitude of the impact.

Before he proceeded he started to observe the surroundings, planning in advance where and how he would move towards the bedroom. When he was satisfied with a certain path he began sneaking his way towards the room where Shinoda was sleeping in. As he arrived he began glaring at the eyes that would soon be shut down permanently. He slowly reached for a small knife suitable for a swift attack and re-positioned it so the tip pointed downwards. Hideki then proceeded to aim towards the heart, ready to strike at any given second. Something Hideki would always do prior to ending the life of another human being was to silently chant a familiar song to himself.

"Hey, will the world turn upon me
Will the soul survive ultimately
Oh, will peace ever be found
When I drag my feet on hallowed ground?

And I don't want to know what the future will hold
And I don't want to pray because I'm lost anyway

Hey, will the pain follow me there
Will I turn my back on despair
Oh, will the sun shine upon me
When the body dies, is the soul set free?

And I don't want to know what the future will hold
And I don't want to pray because I'm lost anyway

Because your mind can close you in
And seclusion becomes a friend
I won't walk away
And my eyes can't fool me
When your world seems at an end
There's no reason to pretend
That things will be okay
And my eyes can't fool me

To your soul

I say...

LET IT GO!"

Shinoda suddenly gasped for air and opened his eyes in terror. The knife had penetrated through his skin and buried itself deep within his heart. A few seconds thereafter he ceased breathing...