Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ THE WOLVES OF MUSHIYORI CITY ❯ The Killer In Sight Of Me ( Chapter 11 )

 

CHAPTER 11: THE KILLER IN SIGHT OF ME

 

 

 

"Yu, where's my Wu Tang Clan shirt? Black. Big yellow 'W' on it."

Kaito managed to nonchalantly point to a pile of laundry sitting on his couch while smiling on the inside at Mitarai's first words in more than a day. "You and your horrible taste in music."

"Hey, Wu Tang Clan ain't nothin' to fuck with!" Mitarai happily recited more rap lyrics to agitate Kaito further as he moved over Asato's sleeping body to retrieve his shirt.

"How come he's not at Yana's?"
Kaito pondered a way to tell the truth in a delicate way and failed. "Yanagisawa is still traumatized from his torture and Asato found it best to give him his space."

"That makes sense. I'm going out. While I was...um, out something came to mind that I have to deal with. See you. By the way I took ten bucks from your wallet so I'll pay you back later."

 

His knee and stomach still hurt from his fight and Mitarai knew that the man he intended to confront was at full health and might even pose more of a challenge than the man who put him in that condition.

Instinct and a certain logic told him where to find his enemy. Kaito had drawn him a map and told him where the best vantage point for a sniper woud be.

Mitarai stopped to pick up balloons and lye as well as two squirt guns before venturing to the nearest hospital.

 

After filling up his arsenal in the hospital bathroom he took the roof access to meet Sniper who seemed too busy shaving his head to notice him.

"What's up, Mitarai?"
"Nice nest, Sniper. I was wondering who took over my nightly demon sweep. It didn't dawn on me until recently that it's been quiet out but there was still that dead demon smell. After a busy few weeks I got really accustomed to it. So, how's it working out for you?"

 

Sniper cleaned off his disposable razor in one of the hospital bedpans and ran his hand over his freshly shaved head to check for stubble then turned to face Mitarai. "It's kinda disturbing how easily I fell back into killing."

Mitarai tossed a green die to Sniper. "Yeah...disturbing. Care to explain how people and harmless low-class demons in the area have been mysteriously getting dice-related deaths?"

 

Sniper stood up while never taking his eyes off of Mitarai. "So now dice are loading people, eh? I just thought I'd give the papers and a nice 'Man Bites Dog' story. They love that stuff. Anyway, that's pretty astute for a guy who's been a vegetable for the past couple of days."

"Don't give me too much credit. Kaito wouldn't stop talking to me when I was in my stupor. He actually put it together. I can see taking out some dangerous stray demons, but you've been killing demons that Yana could do in. Not to mention regular people."

Sniper rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you're going to stop dancing around and get to your point soon."

 

"I'll give you the same ultimatitum I used to give demons. I'm tired and I want to go home and I'd rather not kill you. Just put these spirit cuffs on and let's go."

"...Are you afraid of killing me, Mitarai?"

Mitarai leveled his water gun at Sniper. "Not really. I'd feel bad for a couple of days, I suppose. That's about it."

"That's good. Being afraid all the time is no way to go through life."

 

Before a monologue could start Mitarai fired a spear of water into Sniper's shoulder who retaliated by flicking a marble into Mitarai's previously wounded kneecap.

"Just can't keep that damn thing in one piece, can you?" Sniper asked from the edge of the roof while taking off the rosary beads that hung around his neck. "I was going to go on about how my experiment in organized religion was really just my fear of some sort of divine punishment manifesting itself but in short one day I just said 'fuck it' and started flicking dice again."

 

Mitarai shifted his weight onto his good knee only to have it punctured by a single rosary bead. When he glanced down he noticed black crosshairs painted onto his wrists.

When he opened his eyes he saw Sniper standing over him putting his stray rosary beads into the pocket of his worn jean jacket.

"You never got to see my deathmark bullseyes, did you? As long as you've got one of those on you I don't even have to aim. I can toss a pebble a mile away and still hit you." Sniper took another of the beads from his broken rosary and dropped it onto Mitarai's other kneecap with the force of a falling anvil.

 

Sniper dotted Mitarai's head with smaller crosshairs as well as his feet and the left side of his body. "If you'd read the bible I bet you know where I'm going with this," he said as he kicked him over onto his stomach and and marked his back with his deathmark bullseyes at an angle where they would only skim cross his back like lashes.

He once more kicked Mitarai over and sat him up with his back against the hospital wall and sat down across from him.

"I'm sure you remember our old boss Sensui. He set out to kill every single person in the world and he didn't mind sacrificing us to do it. Do you know why he used us as cannon fodder?"

Mitarai swung his water gun at Sniper only to have it swatted away and another rosary bead imbedded into his left foot.

"Because he had to. Human sacrifices were necessary. Keep in mind that he had a much easier job than you. You've got a whole population to protect. When this is all over, if the worst thing that happens is that one guy is tortured and you've lost all of your friends you should consider yourself lucky."

 

The urge to run away ceased when Sniper crouched in front of him and he noticed the deep sympathy in the killer's eyes. "You've helped me. It's because of you I stopped being afraid and took control over my life. I owe you. Big. So, please, please take my advice, Mitarai. Don't second guess yourself now. The only way for you to survive this is to have people in front of you when trouble starts. I can't always protect you."

Mitarai gathered what strength he could to place his left hand in the blood pooling on the ground under his wounded knee. Once he felt strong enough he solidified his blood into a small blade which he stabbed into Sniper's upper thigh, though he aimed for his throat.

 

Not seeing any real reason to pursue a wounded man on a roof when he could telekinetcally launch projectiles while sitting down, Sniper let the rest of his beads fly before pulling Mitarai's blood blade from his leg.

Instead of dodging, Mitarai let the beads aimed at lashing his back hit and tried his best to bat away the ones aimed at more dangerous places as he trudged away from Sniper.

 

In a manner way too calm for Mitarai's liking Sniper rolled over onto his side and faced Mitarai who sat on the edge of the building.
"Who was it that suggested to Sensui that we call you Sea Man?"

"....Gourmet. I always hated him for that."

"Yeah, that's the guy. What a dick. I would have chosen something cooler for you, like Flood. You know, drowning the wicked and all that good stuff." He absently flicked pieces of gravel in Mitarai's direction but not at him directly.

"If I wanted you dead..."

"I know. I'd of been dead a hundred times over already. Why, Sniper? Why all this?"

 

Sniper sighed and lightly hit Mitarai in the chest with a flicked bead sitting on the ground next to him. "I guess I haven't spelled it out enough yet. I owe you. I don't want to see you handicap yourself the way I did. I'll be goddamned if I'm going let that happen to you. Trust me, when you leave this roof you will leave a much more resolved man. All you have to do is get through me."

"You religous guys....always obsessed with martyrdom."

"I suppose. But can you think of anything that says how serious you are as much as offering your own life? There aren't many things in life that can be taken both literally and metaphorically. This hospital roof is one of those things. In both ways you have to leave it to get on with your life."

 

Mitarai ran for one of his dropped water balloons only for a broken piece of brick to be kicked into his ribs. He crawled to the first balloon but ony managed to get his index finger on it. Sniper slowly made his way over to him and squatted down beside him once again after kicking away his water balloon.

"Come on, Flood, you can-"

In the time Sniper took to let down his guard Mitarai pulled a smaller water baloon from the waist of his jeans and smashed it against Sniper's face.

He knew from experience that a lye burn was far too painful to discount and used the time to rub a handful of gravel into Sniper's chemical burn.

 

The time came to choose to fight or to run and both options seemed pathetically inadequate when dealing with Sniper. Still, he chose to run by crawling over the edge of the roof and using his floating water creature to slow his fall while his lye creature dealt with Sniper.

 

He managed to amble his way almost to the end of the block when he felt a sharp pain and pulled out a cross.

Despite it all, he had to laugh. "Guy shot me in the ass with at crucifix."

He felt another metal fragment pierce his left calf.

"And that was a Saint Christopher Medal. 'Go your way in peace'. Right now you're starting to look like that painting of Saint Sebastian. The one with all the arrows in him. You know that one, right?"

Sniper dragged Mitarai into a more secluded spot before anyone could notice a wounded man crawling through the city and his tormentor. He dropped Mitarai beside the medical waste cannisters where he assumed they wouldn't be bothered.

 

"I bet it'd hurt like hell to get a Star of David thrown at you," Sniper said taking off his six-pointed star necklace. "I have to admit you've put up a good fight. But as much as I'd love to pass out from pain right now I refuse to leave this fight alive."

Mitarai wobbly sat up and pulled a small plastic bottle from his coat pocket with one hand and his second squirt gun with his other.

He slowly took off the top of the bottle with one hand but swiftly splashed it's content of vinegar onto Sniper's face which shocked him by nuetralizing his painful chemical burn.

During his enemy's shock and relief Mitarai fired a single squirt of water into Sniper's open mouth.

"There. You're dead now. Happy?"

"No. I need to make you ready. I owe you that much."

 

Mitarai put his arm around Sniper as much for physical support for himself as emotional support for his friend. "Asato and Yana. Keep 'em safe, okay? You do that and keep your killer instict mostly in check and nobody need know about this. Damn, I'm glad we're close to a hospital. And you owe me a new Wu Tang shirt, Sniper."

Before he hoisted Mitarai into his shoulder and carried him to the emergency room Sniper put one of his saint medals around his neck.

"Take it. It's a Saint Jude medal. Patron saint of hopeless causes. If anyone needs his help it's you."