CHAPTER 4 - Jam-Packed July (5)

[PROFESSIONAL TIME]

For their summer assassination in Okinawa, Karasuma asked two professional killers to train the Class 3-E students. The first one to arrive was Lovro Brovski, a hitman dealer and Irina Jelavić's mentor. He was willing to help out in any way he could, even privately supervising the best marksmen in class - Chiba and Hayami.

"Since the two of you will execute the finishing blow of your plan, it is critical that your aim and accuracy be perfect," he said upon approaching the two.

The hitman dealer has an able-bodied physique, indicative of his experience, and black hair with pinprick brown eyes. Aging lines showed on his skin particularly on his protruding cheekbones and clearly defined chin with a scar etched on his left eye. He wore a black turtleneck top under an unbuttoned white shirt layered with a black blazer, then, suit trousers and black shoes with matching black gloves. Over and above his clothing was a grey trench coat.

When the young snipers had demonstrated their skills by landing direct hits on the targets, Lovro smiled pleasantly. "I can see why I was told that you are at the top of this class. Your sniping skills are on a professional level," he stated.

He took a few steps closer with hands behind his back. "But there is one thing that you must work on – balance. Based on your master plan, you are to shoot the target from the waters," he said. "Floating on seawater is different from the waters in your makeshift pool. It will be deeper and more erratic due to the wind. I suggest that you practice shooting while your body is moving up-and-down."

They carried on with their practice while keeping steady on a wooden plank with a rolling barrel underneath. The drill had driven the top snipers into a relentless struggle. The hitman was right. This was not like when they were shooting in the pool; more balance and concentration was needed in this setup.

With this, Chiba's weight stumbled to the ground, making that five times in a row. Hayami walked over in his direction before bending down slightly, her face towering above him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He hummed and, then, accepted her hand. "This is harder than I thought," he said while dusting off his pants.

Hayami handed over the rifle he had dropped to the ground. "You'll get there. I know you can do it."

One look at her and he could see her unwavering confidence in him. At that moment, he felt his determination coming back. As he returned her smile, he took the rifle when Lovro turned up behind them.

"I like your attitude. For that, you just continue with your training as I have nothing more to teach you. But let me give you one piece of advice: during the execution, you must not only prepare your body but your mind and heart as well. Remember that."

Aware of what he was trying to say, they both nodded. Yet it was not until on the day of the assassination itself they were able to fully grasp it.

On the third day of their training, they finally become attuned to the wavy movement while maintaining their aim. The next day, Red Eye made his appearance to personally give tips to the sniper duo.

While Lovro had focused on their foundation for the Okinawa assassination, the sniper assassin challenged them to put their skills into an application – by shooting all the targets scattered within the forest.

They only have five minutes. Until then, he would be taking a nap somewhere since he still has the jet lag from his flight from Egypt.

Only three minutes have passed when Chiba and Hayami were finished gunning down all the targets. They each took a side in retrieving them from the forest.

Then Hayami spontaneously chanced upon Red Eye's sleeping figure beneath the shelter of the leaves. Somehow, he looked vulnerable with his eyes closed and blonde hair exposed but she knew better. Concealed by that defenseless form was a tiger ready to pounce for any sign of assault.

Wary of startling him, she crouched down beside him without making a sound. "Red Eye-san," she called out.

The sniper's eyelids fluttered open when he saw a familiar silhouette. A distinct memory – of a girl with a deadpan look calling out his name under the blinding sunlight – flashed in his mind.

"Kyouko?"

Slightly perplexed at the mention of a name, not hers, she said, "Chiba and I are done with the task."

He slowly got up, realizing what he did. He drew in a breath. "I'm sorry for that," he said.

She replied with a bob of her head.

"How long was I out?" he asked as he rose to his feet.

She followed suit. "Not that long. We shot all the targets for three minutes. Now we are just taking them back."

While she searched for the last target, he gaped at her trekking figure from behind. The way she spoke and her demeanor – it somehow reminded him of his ex-wife, who was also his first love.

When they had returned, Chiba was already there refilling ammo in their guns. Red Eye checked the targets, all pierced clean, and with a satisfied nod, he proceeded to their next test.

That is, they have to hit him within two minutes as he wandered around the area. They were not allowed to step beyond the square that he had drawn on the ground with a stick. This was perfect for when they only have limited options while the target has more space to move.

"Of course, I won't go for more than one kilometer," he added right after pinning the target printout on his torso.

Back-to-back, the sniper duo tried to pinpoint their target's location, fingers ready on the trigger. Because they were adept at Korosensei's inhumane speed, they thought that tracking the sniper assassin would be easy.

They were deadbeat wrong.

Beads of sweat rolled on Chiba's forehead. Unlike Korosensei, who would dart around like a pinball, the target this time used the forest's cover to conceal himself from their sights.

"I don't see any movements," Hayami began to say. "So that means he is camping in one place."

It would be unfair if he had hidden in a way that would require them to move into the forest to see him. But this was a test, not a competition, so surely the professional assassin would not resort to such a meager ploy.

His hold on his sniper rifle tightened as he tried to assimilate Red Eye's position. If I were a top-notch sniper, where would I be?

"Two o'clock," Hayami muttered in a way that he could still hear it.

With one swift turn, he aimed his weapon to the tree where their target was taking cover. Before he and Hayami could open fire, the target already dashed away from his spot and out of their sight.

Still, Hayami was able to catch his silhouette with her eyes following him as he moved from tree to tree. Using her instincts to aim, she started raining pellets at him.

The professional assassin was, by then, getting disappointed at the young snipers. It seemed like the orange-haired girl was just pulling the trigger pointlessly and the raven-haired boy was hesitating with one knee bent down.

What he didn't know was Hayami's shots were on purpose. She was forcing him towards certain positions while Chiba was simply waiting for that decisive moment to strike.

With few options left, Red Eye climbed on the roof of the old building. It was too late when he had realized that -

Woosh!

Hayami turned towards Chiba's line of sight. There, she saw Red Eye – wearing a beanie and wrapped in a poncho with sunglasses on – having a splash of paint on his body.

"Good job." The words unconsciously flowed out from her mouth as she gawked at her companion, who managed to hit the bullseye of the target.

"You too," Chiba replied.

Both of them raised their hands for a fist bump only to find that the guns were in the way. So they settled with tapping the muzzle of their guns together as if having a toast.

"You two did great," the blonde sniper uttered after coming closer. He was dumbfounded at their teamwork and skill although it would actually take more than that to defeat him if this was a real fight.

"We still had a hard time," said Hayami.

"You did only have several seconds left, but at least you made it. I'm impressed that you were able to corner me back there," Red Eye stated to which he added with his arms crossed, "Watching the two of you work together really takes me back."

"I once had a partner at work too –" his face softened as a nostalgic smile carved his mouth "– although she and I were like cats and dogs; we would argue even over trivial matters. But when we're on a job, we became perfectly in sync making us undefeatable."

Their interest piqued, the two young snipers remained still and quiet as they stared at him.

So he continued as his face turned glum. "She was later on killed as revenge for one of our assassination targets. That's why –" he looked at the two simultaneously "– you should take care of each other. Never let the other one leave your sight."

'Since it was my fault that she died.'

The sniper pair shared a look before replying at the same time, "Definitely."