Chapter 2: Assassin Arc

**Assassin Arc** is the 2nd chapter of *Zaix10*.

## Plot

Hagane Megasawa, an assassin, awaits her target atop a building's rooftop. With a sniper rifle in hand, she reflects on her choice of profession. Hagane finds her job to be unpleasant and hopes to exit the scene after completing her current task. Her final hit is the director of a corporation, but she finds the info to be trivial as personal details hold no significance to an assassin.

Hagane pulls back the bolt handle and loads the chamber of her rifle as Edogawa walks in sight. She stalks him through the scope of her rifle in anticipation of an opportunity to shoot. As per her informant's report, the director passes through a small road to recovene with her lover. He stops on the way, much to the surprise of Hagane, for a brief visit to a nearby shop. She had not considered the shop's location in her plan and now has to delay her shot due to civilian involvement.

The man engages in a conversation with the two kids outside the shop and brings out money from his wallet. Subverting Hagane's expectations, the coins were not meant for the children. He was asking the two to make way so he can play with the gacha machine behind them. The machine appears to be faulty and did not give him any toy capsules. Angered by the loss of his money, he thrashes the gachapon and causes both machines to fall onto the ground. The shop's boss hurries out and punches Edogawa in retaliation for his wanton violence. Edogawa manages to escape from her grasp and hides in a narrow alley. Meanwhile, Hagane is completely flabbergasted by the situation.

Edogawa makes his way to a sidewalk and stops to look at his watch. Hagane is momentarily reminded of her original goal before being distracted by the man's newfound fixation on the bicycle close by. He picks up a rock and attempts to break the bicycle's lock with it. Hagane comes to the sudden realization that it was her bicycle all along. Desperate to stop the theft attempt, she shoots the target straight through the heart. While Edogawa is staggering around with blood spilling all over, Hagane rejoices in the conclusion of her assassin life. She contemplates living a peaceful life in a foreign land where no one will recognize her. Before her thoughts could conclude, she becomes irritated at Edogawa's cling to life.

Hagane makes a second shot, but Edogawa remains standing after the initial blowback. He spits out the bullets and proclaims that he cannot be killed by an assassination attempt of this level. Hagane takes a closer look at Edogawa's hand only to find almonds instead of her bullets. Bewildered by his absurd behavior, she takes one final shot to finish her mission. However, a month has passed since then, but Hagane still maintains her assassin job. She is shown to be on a rooftop once more and watches as a man walks through the same road from her previous task. The man turns out to be a cyborg Edogawa. She then clenches her head in agony as her future life plans are thwarted by the survival of her target - making it an unending mission for her.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* **Hagane Megasawa** (Debut)
* **Edogawa** (Debut)