Prologue

Osaka, 20XX.

An assassination is to be taken place tonight, done by the United States Marine Corps.

The target of assassination is an American former ambassador to Japan. Right now, he is about to sell intel to corrupt Japanese politicians that could potentially spark a war between the United States and Japan.

And the one carrying out the mission is its best sniper, the Corporal.

He already set up his M40A5 rifle from attaching the suppressor to resting the bipod on the surface of a building rooftop. He then sets his sight on the target, who is sitting alone at a three-seat table outside a cafe terrace. And now all he has to do is to wait for the right moment to pull the trigger.

Dubbed as "Beige Ninja" due to his hair color and ancestry respectively, the Marine Corps's best sniper is known for his excellent accuracy and swiftness, switching from one spot to another in a flash.

And because of his tremendous use of skills and senses, he never gets spotted by enemies.

But that streak is about to be broken.

The proning Corporal, in street clothes, quickly senses a man behind him. He switches to his kneeling position and points the rifle to the potential assailant.

But when he did just that, a pistol was already pointing at his head.

"Identify yourself, sniper," the other man speaks, expecting a response from the Corporal.

The Corporal refuses to heed to the man. "Why the hell would I do that?"

He observes the attire of whom his sniper is pointing to. He identifies it as the formal uniform of the JSDF and looks at the insignia. "Staff sergeant, huh."

The other man is alarmed. He asks the Corporal while intensifying his aim, "How do you know that?"

The Corporal answers, "My father's childhood friend used to have that insignia attached to his uniform."

"Father's childhood friend? Are you… Japanese?"

"You're wrong. I'm an American."

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"I see." The Staff Sergeant was explained by the Corporal of the situation.

The Corporal fixes the position of his sniper and complains, "And here I thought I won't get caught by anyone. Jeez…"

He then asks the Staff Sergeant who is looking down the cafe terrace, "How were you able to find me? Satellite? UFO?"

"We don't have UFOs in the army," the Staff Sergeant complains.

He fixes his pair of glasses and answers.

"It's a clear-out for my men. They have the same mission as yours, but their targets are two anti-Anpo corrupt politicians plotting to break off the treaty between our countries and instigate a war. They are to meet an American man tonight. In other words, they are in line with your target."

The Corporal cannot believe what the Staff Sergeant just said. "What? Seriously?"

"Since you're from the Marines, why didn't your higher-ups inform us about it beforehand?"

"Beats me."

Both the Staff Sergeant and the Corporal are looking at each other for a couple of seconds, thinking of the same thing.

The Staff Sergeant looks down and holds his forehead in disbelief. "Honestly…"

"Looks like our superiors can be klutz sometimes," the Corporal remarks with a smirk.

Now that both men reveal their missions to each other, the Corporal raises a question, "So, what now?"

"You can still carry out your mission while we do the same," the Staff Sergeant gives an optimistic note. Then he says, "Let's pretend we never met."

At first, the Corporal gives thought on what the Staff Sergeant said. After all, they are not comrades.

However he chooses to trust him. The relationship between their countries is at stake so it would not make sense if he goes for the opposite.

"I guess that's not a bad deal," he replies in agreement.

The Staff Sergeant watches the Corporal with his sniper, thinking how a Japanese man is enlisted in the US Marine Corps.

'He did mention he saw his father's childhood friend wearing the same insignia as I have now. Does that mean he lived here before becoming an American?'

"Forgive for being rude but can I ask you something?"

"I hope you don't drop a bomb like Little Boy or Fat Man."

"Are you perhaps an immigrant?"

The Corporal answers nonchalantly while he looks through the scope, "You betcha. You see, I had a hard time when I was a kid but I was fortunate enough to escape that period and be brought to America. Then I decided to be a soldier to solidify my citizenship. I was told I have a good eye and fast legs so I chose the Marines, though that makes me a marine, not a soldier. We marines get offended for being labeled as soldiers."

"Oh… I see." The Staff Sergeant can only respond in such a way, hearing the Corporal's answer.

He rolls up his sleeve for a bit, looks at his wristwatch and then informs the Corporal, "Our targets are likely to arrive at the cafe in a few minutes. Shoot your target at exactly 7:30 pm."

The Corporal hears it and, instead of questioning, catches on. "And your snipers will fire at the same time."

"That's right. That way, our missions will be a success, although our superiors will make suspicions of that. Don't worry though, I'll tell them to consider everything a coincidence."

"We don't want to piss them off now, especially in this situation."

"Like I said, let's pretend our encounter never happened for safety measures."

The Corporal stands up from his sniping spot and replies, "I know. Well then, good luck, staff sergeant."

The Staff Sergeant chuckles and asks one thing from the Corporal, "At least tell me your rank. It's unfair you only get to know mine."

The Corporal fairly responds, "I'm a Corporal. Also, at least wish me luck too."

The former American Ambassador's wait is over a few minutes later. Two people have already come and sit on the same table as him in parallel with more people coming in.

As they have already ordered their coffees and desserts, fifteen seconds remain until the Corporal pulls the trigger.

In his prone firing position, his aim on the former ambassador's head is fixed by now.

Ten seconds remaining.

He inhales his breath for a few seconds and exhales for another few seconds to ease himself.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second.

His digital alarm makes an alarm sound, marking to pull the trigger.

He does so and the bullet travels downwardly fast to the cafe. It reaches the target and collides with the skull, breaking through it and hitting the brain afterwards.

The body flies down to the ground. Two other bodies take sniper hits from different shooters simultaneously, dropping their unfinished cups of coffee.

People at the terrace notice them lifeless and start freaking out, running away from the area and wailing.

The uproar in the cafe has just begun and the Beige Ninja is no longer at his firing position.

The Staff Sergeant sees the targets eliminated all at once through his binoculars. He switches his view to that rooftop which is now left without a trace.

Both men expect never to see each other again, not knowing what's to come in the future for them.