Author's Preface
*MURMUR MURMUR*
*STEP STEP STEP*
"Ugh—you didn't have to pull me that hard just to run off into the crowd! Are you in such a hurry...?" Hanabi complained, rubbing her right wrist, which was still sore from P’s tight grip.
P’s eyes slid down to his left, looking at her face.
"Yeah, you could say that. And sorry about that... So, what should we try next?" P said. His eyes refused to settle in one place.
Hanabi locked her gaze onto his rolling eyes. Suspicion flickered across her face, but she brushed it off with a sigh and a shake of her head, assuming he was just hyperactive and looking for the next game.
*STEP STEP*
She paused as something ahead caught her attention.
*BING...*
"Hahh... Was that it?!" yelled an angry girlfriend.
"Baby, listen! I tried my best... at least I scored a 50! It wasn't easy..." a sobbing man pleaded, handing a massive sledgehammer back to the game operator.
"Tsk... that got us nothing. Let's try something else. Come here—" The girlfriend angrily dragged her boyfriend away by the arm.
"Step right up! Come give this High Striker your best shot! Score a 100 and you win balloons! 500 gets you a Teddy Bear! And for the ultimate score of 1000, you win a giant fluffy teddy bear with chocolates..."
The operator grinned, a cheeky glint in his eye as he held the hammer.
"...WITH AN ADDITIONAL $1,000 IN CASH! Just 20 bucks a pop!" he bellowed.
*MURMUR MURMUR*
The crowd began buzzing, and a line quickly started forming around the High Striker.
"Hey, over here! I wanna try!" a man called out, waving cash.
*That's right... keep 'em coming, folks. Hand over all that sweet cash,* the operator thought with a subtle, greedy smirk.
*STEP STEP*
P walked alongside Hanabi, who was marvelling at the High Striker setup to her right. P, on the other hand, was scanning the environment like a hawk.
*DUDUUUN...*
P’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened as he looked toward their forward-left. A strange man tucked his cap low, walking just a few paces ahead of Hanabi. P looked at his own feet, carefully adjusting his walking pace.
*BATHUMB BATHUMB*
P’s eyes automatically began scanning the crowd at lightning speed. Back, forth, left, right. His posture stiffened.
*BATHUMB BATHUMB BATHUMB*
*We're already surrounded by several of them... maybe more,* P realized, a shock of adrenaline hitting his system.
*BATHUMB*
*...DAN-GER...*
*CLENCH*
Instinctively, P grabbed Hanabi by her right arm, pulling her back and tucking her tight against his side as he kept walking.
Hanabi could hear his heart hammering against his chest. Her face flushed a slight red.
"Uhh... what are you doing now?" Hanabi asked, trying—and failing—to hide her blush.
"I just felt like you shouldn't be walking so far away from me," P said, his voice deadly calm.
"...O-Okay... could you let go of me now?"
"Oh." P snapped back to reality, awkwardly nudging her a step back.
"Well, I don't know what's gotten into you, but how about we try the sledgehammer game over there?" Hanabi pointed behind her.
"Hammer...?" P asked nonchalantly, looking down at Hanabi, then up toward the swinging sledgehammer slamming into the High Striker base. *...Hammer... could I possibly...*
"Okay then, let's go try it," P said with a sudden smile.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's hurry!" Hanabi grabbed P's left hand and yanked him along.
*I don't know why, but why do I feel so threatened when SHE'S the one in danger...?* P thought worriedly, staring down at the back of her head.
*SWING*
*SLAM*
*DING!*
"Haahh.. 700! What a nice score for a second try—" the operator started.
"Hehehe... Seven hundred. Looks like nobody's breaking my record tonight," a hugely muscular man bragged, puffing out his chest.
"Whoaaa... this guy's a monster!" a onlooker gasped.
"Jesus, is he even human?" another whispered.
"My goal was 1000, but it's impossible. 700 is the highest anyone can get," the muscular man scoffed.
*Of course that's the highest anyone can get. I rigged the machine myself! It would take a miracle to score 1000... But people will keep paying because of the cash prize—* the operator thought to himself, before being cut off.
"Excuse me, mister—"
The crowd went quiet as Hanabi stepped up.
"Who's that girl?"
"She's cute."
"She's way too small for this."
"Hey, get back in line!" someone shouted.
"Who the hell—" The operator blinked, suddenly facing an ridiculously cute girl.
"How much does it cost again?" Hanabi asked.
"Oh—uhhh... It's just 20 bucks, ma'am," the operator stammered. *Damn, she's fine as hell...* he thought, swallowing hard. Then his eyes drifted behind her. *Who the hell is the bastard standing behind her? Her boyfriend?!*
Hanabi turned to P, who was standing right behind her shoulder.
*TMP*
She lightly slammed her small, folded fist against his chest.
"P... since you're the sponsor today, I think it's time you do your part."
*Tap Tap*
Giving his chest two light pats, she stepped up to the High Striker and picked up the heavy sledgehammer resting on the base. She looked up at the score tower with total determination.
"Hmph! My goal is to score at least a 100!" Hanabi declared.
"What is she going to do?"
"She's got a fine ass, though."
"This is no place for a girl..."
"Here goes noth—" Hanabi began, swinging back.
*SNAP*
The hammer was yanked clean out of her hands.
"Let me try this," P said smoothly, snatching the tool.
"Hey! Give that back!" Hanabi yelled, trying to haul the hammer out of P's left hand. It didn't budge an inch.
"Hey, calm down... I'm going to win you the top prize," P said.
"Hnnngh! I don't want that!" Hanabi huffed, still tugging on the handle.
"And isn't it only right that I do it, considering I paid with my money?" P looked down at her.
Hanabi stopped pulling and let go, pouting.
"...You—but you said you were going to sponsor me today!" she grumbled.
"I never said that! I said I wanted to make it up to you, and this is just one of the ways..." P replied.
He stared down at her unhappy, grumbling face. With her arms crossed, she looked like an annoyed child. P felt a strange flicker in his chest.
"Like I said... I'm going to win the top prize, and it's going to be yours," P said softly.
"Really...?" Hanabi looked up, her face instantly brightening.
P stared down at her cute expression for a second, almost getting lost in it, before locking back into reality. He had a job to do.
"...Yeah," P replied in a low, steady tone.
He turned toward the High Striker, gripping the heavy hammer. *So all I have to do is hit the base with all my strength, right...?*
The crowd murmured.
"What's the tall guy gonna do?"
"Heh... acting all cool. Let's see what he's got," the muscular guy chuckled.
The noise of the crowd faded into background noise for P. The vibrant colors around him dimmed into stark black-and-white. His locked-in eyes darted slightly to the right of the crowd.
*There.* Hidden in the shadows behind onlookers, he spotted the suspicious figures. He glanced left—same thing.
*Found you...* P thought.
Hanabi, the crowd, and the muscular man all had their eyes glued to P.
"Okay, give it your best shot!" Hanabi cheered.
P looked down at the sledgehammer, then tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white.
"Huff... Here I go!"
P raised the sledgehammer high into the air.
*SWING*
*SLAM!*
"Huh?" everyone blinked.
"What the—" Hanabi gasped.
P was standing totally still, staring blankly down at the untouched base of the High Striker. His open palms were facing toward the right side of the crowd.
The sledgehammer was gone.
P blinked.
*"ARRRGHGHHHGHGGHHGH!"*
A blood-curdling scream of pure agony shattered the silence from the right side of the crowd.
The onlookers parted in horror to reveal the sledgehammer, standing upright—its heavy steel head pinned directly onto the crotch of a man writhed on the ground. The man couldn't even form words; tears were bursting from his eyes as his body twitched.
"Eh... k-kk... h-hik..." he wheezed in utter torment.
*WeeWooh WeeWooh!*
Out of nowhere, an emergency medical bus peeled into the square. Two paramedics burst out the back, slamming a gurney onto the pavement.
They yanked the sledgehammer off the squirming man's groin, hoisted him onto the stretcher, and shoved him into the back.
"Haaa... guh... damn it... MY BAAAALLS...!" the man shrieked as the doors slammed shut.
*WeeWooh WeeWooh!*
*"One man down. I repeat—one man down,"* an assassin muttered frantically into his hidden comms unit.
The crowd stood in stunned, horrified silence for a few seconds before erupting.
"MAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" the operator screamed, clutching his head.
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO AIM AT THE TARGET, NOT PEOPLE'S NUTS!" another guy yelled.
"Doesn't he know how to swing a hammer?!"
"He's probably some spoiled rich kid who's never done a day of manual labor in his life..."
"Hmph. What a loser," the muscular man mocked with a smirk.
"P... what are you doing?!" Hanabi hissed, tugging on his sleeve while staring up at him in shock.
"I'm sorry. My hand slipped," P said plainly, looking down at her. "But do not fret. I will try again."
"...Heh?" -Hanabi
"I'd like to pay 30 bucks for another round, please," P said, holding out a wad of cash.
The operator’s angry face instantly melted.
"Heh... 30? Good sir! Heh heh... absolutely!"
Money changed hands, and P snatched up another sledgehammer, turning back to the High Striker.
*Kikikiki... keke... KEKEKEKEKE!* P cackled wickedly in his head. *Yes! It worked! My sledgehammer strategy is flawless. I took down an assassin in broad daylight—err, broad night—and nobody suspects a thing! KEKEKE!*
He cast a terrifying death glare toward the shadowy figures hiding in the crowd, sending an icy shiver straight down the remaining assassins' spines.
*Brace yourselves, twerps...*
P raised the sledgehammer high, a terrifying grin spreading across his face.
*Something is severely wrong with this guy...* Hanabi thought, her eyes narrowing into pure, unadulterated suspicion.
*SWING*
"Hospitals are going to be full tonight," P whispered with a smile.
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