The Ronin Gunslinger

A fight between a man and what seems to be a literal oni were reported in central Tokyo today.

Bystanders state that the man took a beating from the oni but was eventually able to decapitate it.

Security camera footage from before the fight reveal a connection to the old Devils on Wheels criminal gang.

The man killed multiple other assailants before confronting the oni.

Autopsies reveal both cuts from his katana and bullet hole wounds.

Videos of the fight have begun surfacing online. Here is one being played right now, viewer discretion is advised.

The screen started playing shaky video footage, likely from an old phone, of a huge red monster repeatedly striking a figure, covered in debris. The beast was yelling something, but it was incomprehensible from all the shuffling and mummers of "oh my god"s and "what the hell"s the phone was picking up.

The TV turned off.

The person holding the remote was a man, tall figure, black suit, brown hair, striking dark eyes. He was in a government meeting room with one other person sitting across from him.

This person was also in a similar suit, but her eyes were wild with a glint of humor, completely different from the man.

"I assumed you've seen this or at least something similar within the last 6 hours," began the man in the suit.

"Seen? Hell, my grandma texted me a video, and the last time she texted me, she thought I was Google!" replied the woman in the suit; her long messy hair bobbed every time she shifted positions while talking.

"Please refrain from swearing when in a confidential government meeting, Agent Kushogasha."

The man in the suit's eyebrow twitched with agitation.

"Oh confidential government meeting my ass! It's just the two of us here. Just call me Mizuki, Ok, Aki?"

Mizuki grinned. She emphasized the words "ass" and "Aki" because she knew what would push his buttons.

"Agent Kushogasha, we will be immediately pulling you out of your current operations and investigating this man."

He pulled up a blurry image from a security camera out of the manila folder to his side. It was a close-up of the man; his eyes and most of his nose was covered by the shadow of his cowboy hat. He was on top of what seems to be a cargo truck. His katana was bent 90 degrees, and he was holding it like a gun (?)

"I hope this does not come to a surprise to you, but this man is strong. And dangerous. He was able to kill at least 80% of the major players on the Devils on Wheels clan, a criminal gang untouched by the government for decades," continued Aki. "So under no circumstances, do you engage. Do you understand me? We don't know what is going on with these said onis, but it's far too dangerous to underestimate someone who's involved right now."

"Oh dang it! I was planning to give our little buddy a thank you card for beating our gang in the ass!" Mizuki joked.

Kenji glared at her. Daggers flew from his eyes.

"The Devils on Wheels gang (and most other gangs in Tokyo) usually keep it to themselves. Only trading illegal drugs and the likes within their inner circles. Gang wars are usually set in the abandoned parts of Tokyo. The Japanese Secret Service have been sort of turning a blind eye on them while we were so occupied with those Kuzesachi suicide cases. But if things start getting public and civilians are hurt in the crossfires because of this man, then we're going to have a problem."

"Then what's this new 'star of the town' like? Who is he? What's his name?"

"That's the thing. We don't know. From what we have (which isn't a lot) his face does not match anyone in our databases. All we know for sure is he's an expert swordsman and marksman. He has a pair of katanas that can, through some advanced mechanics, turn into a what seems to be a pair of Desert Eagles."

Mizuki raised her eyebrow.

"So this man is under the name The Ronin Gunslinger until further notice," continued Aki.

He slid the manilla folder across the table to Mizuki.

"The rest of what little we know about him is here. Study him. Locate him. And report back. Remember not to engage. You're dismissed."

Tracking him wasn't hard.

Mizuki always had a knack for finding the small details, a trail of dust, a streak of blood on the wall. 

She ran through damp alleyways, climbed brick walls, leapt across unfinished buildings. She wasn't in her suit and tie like before; she wore a tactical outfit, thin armor, utility belt, a pistol by her waist, and other weapons snugly hidden throughout. Small paint streaks of pink and blue dotted her armor; the higher-ups didn't allow any modifications on her attire, but she thought it would be fine as long as she wasn't caught. All of this was vaguely covered up by a big black trench coat which flapped behind her every time she ran.

Eventually, the trail ended right in one of the millions of abandoned alleyways in Tokyo. All there was were some faded posters and flyers and a rusty old dumpster.

She was hanging on the wall above the dumpster and slowly opened it.

No response.

Mizuki opened the dumpster completely and peered inside.

The Ronin Gunslinger was there, as suspected. But he was completely still, body stretched over the black bags of trash as flies flew around him curiously. He was between a state of sleep and complete loss of conscience from fatigue and injury. Most of the dust had left his body but the brutal cuts and bruises were still very apparent. Blood was sprinkled around the bags of trash.

Mizuki waved her hand above his face.

The Ronin Gunslinger was completely still.

He was out cold.

Mizuki knew he was a dangerous warrior, but right now, he just looked like a beaten up helplessly discarded body.

Do not engage was what Aki kept telling her.

But Mizuki was never good at listening to directions.