Wind Sniper Kazeno

Almost 1 year later…

“Heh, you look so much cooler,” Naname cooed as she ran her hand through my spiky green hair.

“Yeah, and puberty finally hit. Now I’m 168 cm tall and my voice sounds a tad more masculine,” I said.

In a year, I had leveled up quite a bit. My defenses were still lacking, but at least I had some muscle and looked and sounded a tad cooler.

Naname hadn’t changed, though now her hair was permanently styled in Ramona mode and she had ditched the contacts. Apparently, she only wore them to fool me.

She’s still just as cute and sadistic as ever. Heck, last night she forced me to get a body wax at the hotel SPA. Worst of all, she claimed it was a present for my 18th birthday.

Sakura’s fully healed and back in action. Though she’s taken an interest in computers since no one in our group has sufficient cyber security knowledge. She’s not at Akagame’s level, at least according to Ayaka, but good enough to pass.

Ayaka’s the meatshield of the party. She now wears a more revealing version of her battle attire. It’s essentially the same outfit minus the leggings, and the shirt. She’s also completely bald for life and wears a gagball most of the time.

 When she can speak freely, she rants and raves about how we can’t treat a queen like her like we are.  Though deep down, I think she enjoys being a masochist. Heck, her own power is literally acting as a meatshield. She’s also Sakura’s love experiment. Sakura decided to date her in order to experience love. Ayaka doesn’t seem to mind it. Heck, I think she’s into it. I guess their relationship is great.

Kasegawa underwent the greatest personality change. She’s now my friendly rival and more of a party animal. She told me it’s due to her just having so much fun being back in the hitman business. Apparently, she only became stricter after she was fired for being too rowdy. She’s become so enamored with our cause that she refused to have her chip removed as a sign of loyalty. She acquired the power of sound and still rocks the purple mohawk. Though now she also wears snazzy shades and headphones.

Alonzo is just Alonzo. He basically acts like a stereotypical butler. He does have a power, but I’ve never seen him use it. Funnily enough, Naname claims those microchips are actually created by his power. She didn’t tell me the full scope of his power, nor would Alonzo when I asked him about it. Well, I guess I am more on the loose lipped side, so can’t blame them there.

As for the Panini family succession, the event will take place in Rome, Italy in a few days. For now, we are all in Venice. Apparently, a rich family is hosting a Carnival style event. I don’t really care about that stuff, but apparently, it’s good publicity for Naname to attend.

“So how much would you say I’ve leveled up in almost a year?” I asked.

“Hmm on a scale of 1 to 100, Naname says 15!” Naname smiled.

“15!? Come on!”

“It’s better than being a zero, Zeno.”

Oh yeah, I’ve now got a cooler name now too. After my growth spurt, Naname decided Kazeno was a more fitting name for me. She still calls me Zerou at times, but I kind of like it when she does that. Guess I’ve become a masochist too.

We then entered the main room of our hotel room where everyone had gathered.

“I’ve ran analysis on all the rival faction members I could find. I apologize I still can’t pinpoint all of them with my skill level,” Sakura sighed.

“We’re just lucky that the succession event was pushed back a year. I guess the other factions wished to build up their strength,” Naname theorized.

“It would have been far easier if you allowed me to become prime minister of Japan. Then I could’ve used my political power to sway things in your favor,” Ayaka snickered as she slammed her sneaker on the table.

“I like you better when you have your gagball on,” Sakura smirked.

“I don’t. I only put it on because of that damn chip.”

“I took it out months ago. This is how you really feel.”

“You claim I’m a masochist tsundere? Rich. I’m just a prisoner of war,” Ayaka scoffed as she put on her gagball and reclined submissively on the couch.

“I’ve got the drinks! Who’s ready to party!? Kasegawa smiled as she entered the room with a crate of beer.

“I would recommend Madam and Zeno refrain from drinking before the event. It is almost time to depart,” Alonzo stated.

“Ngh!” Ayaka annoyingly growled as she rubbed her sneaker in Sakura’s face.

“Alright Miss needy, I’ll put you in your place,” Sakura smiled as she closed her laptop and pinned Ayaka down, much to Ayaka’s visible pleasure.

Naname began dragging me out before I could see anymore as she bid farewell to the party.

                                                                            …

We then walked through the night streets of Venice.

“Talk about romantic, I’m glad you agreed to go on this date Ramona,” I smirked.

“This isn’t a date Zerou. It’s business,” Naname growled as she wrapped her arms around mine.

“I head Jackal was spotted here. I promise you, I’ll blow him away for good for all the pain he’s caused us,” I sternly stated.

“That’s the Zeno I like to see. Maybe you’ll level up some more tonight.”

“Wait, can we have sex ag-AHCK”

“NO! When I feel like it,” Ramona snickered as stuck her gun in my mouth.

“Ahmoah Ow ong ill u eep is in y outh?”

“I thought you enjoyed this. Or are you blushing because of something else?” Naname teased as she removed her gun from my mouth.

“*Sigh* Guess I really am a crazy masochist. I’ll promise you this though, I will protect you, Ramona Panini.”

Naname smiled as we happily walked off to the event.

                                                                               [End]