Deathmatch in the forest

Gorobana continued to parry all my shots with his own. Something seemed off though. 

The aura given by the man before me and the one I saw in the videos seemed completely different. The impression I got from the videos was that this man was an inhumane monster that enjoyed torturing people. Yet the impression I was getting here was that he was a battle-hardened coldblooded killer.

I began firing shots at the trees.

“Gonna try and ricochet the shots huh?” he stated as he began shooting at my marks.

“Dammit! This guy is blocking me at every turn. Heck, I don’t even think he’s moved from his stage. Wait! That’s it!”

I decided to change tactics. I fired my 1st, 3rd and 5th shots at him, while my 2nd,4th, and 6th shots were aimed at the stage. He then smiled and leapt towards a tree.

“Not bad. Too bad you picked the wrong target,” he said as he threw a grenade in my direction.

I had no choice but to shoot it away with my last shot. As I reloaded, Gorobana inched closer.

“Sorry sniper, but you’re not strong enough to defeat me alone. Though since you’ve already attacked, you won’t get the chance to regroup. This is it for you.”

Damn it! Ramona was right. I did need backup to take this monster on. But there was nobody I could turn to. Naname is my closest friend, but she would probably resent me if she found out about the mafia. Even if she didn’t, she has no fighting prowess. Sakura was strong but injured. Akagame and Himesaki were skilled at beating people up, but they’d probably be happy if I died. If only there was someone or something that could help me.

“If I had a tornado, I could beat him,” I grumbled aloud.

As if by magic, the wind picked up. It was blowing in my face and pushing me back.

“Perfect, now I’ve got him.”

I fired two shots at the tree behind him.

“What a fool, the wind will reduce your bullet’s velocity. I have the advantage. With this high wind speed, even my handgun will reach you sniper. Farewell!” he yelled as he fired a shot.

“That’s my line dumbass!” I thought.

I fired two more shots at the ones in the tree.

“Idiot did you-GAH! IM-POSSI-BLE!”

His bullet grazed over my head as I stood up. My shots had ricocheted off the ones in the tree and flew right through his neck. Blood oozed out of his mouth as he fell down on the ground.

“Very good. You have bested me Sniper,” he groaned.

Something wasn’t right though. This guy was way too humble to be the guy in the video. I guess maybe he could have a split personality, but if that’s the case then why didn’t it come out?

“Why do you act differently than you did in those videos where you murdered people!?” I yelled.

“*Sigh* A young boy, and you’re still naive. You’ve got skill, but lack either intelligence, experience, or both. Clearly, you came unprepared if you’re asking questions like that.”

“What do you-Augh!”

I was interrupted by a knife slicing my cheek. I turned to see a man that looked exactly like Gorobana juggling throwing knives with a demented smile on his face.

“Hey, pretty boy! Looks like your wittle face got ruined. Don’t worry, Bana will make it ALL better with a little salt,” he sneered.

“You may have bested me, but so long as my deranged brother lives, you won’t make it out alive,”  the defeated Gorobana stated.

I was in a bad spot. Bana was way too close to me and could easily take me out. Running away was risky since I’d be defenseless and vulnerable to his knives. I skirted back in terror as he slowly approached me.

“Oh, you’re afraid. Well, I’ll happily skin that pretty face off so it lives on in my collection. If you insist, I’ll give you the full body treatment, but I only keep the face so I’ll dump all the excess skin in the burn pit with you.”

Suddenly, Two figures emerged and kicked Bana, knocking him back.

“Well, well, it seems I’ve found some litter polluting the nature park. Kan, assist me with the cleaning.”

“At once, Madam!”

I recognized the voices to be Himesaki and Akagame. They were both wearing masks and hats. Akagame was in her tracksuit, while Himesaki wore a black jacket, nylon leggings, and sneakers.

The two then began brawling with Bana.

“Pretty women? You must have pretty faces. I want them!”

Himesaki pulled out a stun baton and parried a knife as Akagame threw kicks and karate chops at Bana. My eyes widened as I saw an opening. Bana was now trapped dealing with the two girls, meaning he wouldn’t notice…”

I fired a shot directly at his head. Even if he tried to dodge, the branches would hinder him, making it easy to hit him. There was no escape for-

*Clomp*

Bana caught the bullet in his mouth with a demented smile.

“Gotcha!” I yelled.

Bana’s face immediately went pale as he realized my plan. He quickly spit out the bullet as I fired another one at his face. He caught it again, but before he could spit it out a second bullet came flying towards him. He instead bit down hard on the bullet lodging it into his teeth.

“Does he think it’ll ricochet? Idiot. That second shot isn’t going to ricochet…”

The bullet slammed into the bullet lodged in Bana’s teeth. Bana managed to deflect it by jerking his head slightly, however, the impact shattered his front teeth. I then fired two shots directly at the hole in his teeth. They went right through the back of his head, killing him.

“Not bad, kid,” the other Gorobana said as he too passed away from his wounds. 

The Gorobana twins were dead. Himesaki and Akagame bolted before I could utter a word as Ramona called me.

“Not bad, seems like little miss president decided to help you out after all. Well, since I also commissioned you to kill Gorobana, I’ll pay you for the job.”

“Wait, did you know there were two of them?”

“You didn’t? The Gorobana brothers are infamous assassins in the underworld. The younger is more deranged and uses knives, while the older is a coldblooded but more honorable ballistics master.”

“Assassins!?” Then why the hell did they become politicians?”

“That one I don’t know for sure. Though if I had to make a theory, it would be that the elder brother grew tired of killing and wished to stop taking lives. He based his campaign around preserving life and suicide prevention. However, his brother was displeased and used his power as a twin to pose as his brother to continue committing atrocities. Your  “Civil Servant” president most likely found out about their atrocities via the younger brother’s dark web page.”

“Though if the older was reformed, why did I have to kill him?”

“Reformed? He murdered countless Panini men over his 40 year killing spree. This was his punishment. Though ironically, his wish to preserve life will get a little closer to reality now that he and his brother are dead. Oh, and you’d better get out of there soon. Wouldn't want to get caught red handed.”

Ramona ended the call as I began running out of the woods.

“I hope no one sees me,” I thought as emerged covered in mud and leaves.

*click*

Akagame took a picture of me as I emerged.

“Zerou! Were you doing some illegal skeet shooting in the woods?” Himesaki sneered.

“You two were there- “

“Hmm? Do I look like I’ve been in the muddy woods?” she asked as she stomped her sneaker into my face.

“Look see, just normal dirt. Besides, my white shirt is clean as a whistle.”

Indeed, Himesaki had ditched the jacket revealing her dress and white long sleeve underneath it. Akagame had also ditched her tracksuit an was in her shorts and sport bra, though I assumed the clothes they wore were in the backpack she was carrying.

“Did you clean up the litter?"

"Yes."

"Your community service today puts you one step closer to me considering pardoning you when I’m Prime Minister,” Himesaki sneered as she walked off with Akagame.

I sadly had a feeling this is far from over.