People running.
Cries, shouts echoing throughout.
"Goddamn." Jano shakes his head in disbelief as he drives in on snake alley.
Dampened gunshot thud in the distance—mellowed out, but steady.
Each shot, though scattered, follows a strange rhythm.
He drives slowly, not to prevent hitting any of the people fleeing, but he's trying to process what his eyes are witnessing.
San sitting silently in the backseat, watching.
He looks outside.
Dead bodies litter the ground.
Blood oozing out from the countless bullet holes riddling their corpses.
"Damn, I knew snake alley was bad, but…" Jano looking like he can throw up at any second.
"Hey, right here." San says, leaning forward and tapping Jano on his shoulder.
"Wait…" Jano blinks, trying to process what he just heard.
He turns his head back looking at San in confusion.
"...You mean you want to stop—right here?" He points his finger downwards, eyeing San like he's insane.
"Yeah." San answers briefly.
"But it isn't safe, I--I mean just look at it sir." He gestures to the chaos outside—people running, bodies everywhere.
"Just stop here." He grips Jano's shoulder tightly with might.
"Sir! You're life?!" Jano's tone rises, questioning whether San is brave… or just stupid.
Glancing at San through the mirror above the console.
"This is my duty!" San snaps.
"What is the point of a life if it doesn't have duty?!" San mouths it to Jano.
"....." Jano speechless.
His brain stumbles over itself.
Searching for an answer.
"Its useless… aimless," San finished.
Jano, holding the wheel firmly.
A cold sweat trickles down his cheek.
"So now… stop the car…" San's voice commanding with authority as he digs his fingers into Jano's shoulder.
Jano breathes heavily.
Each breath like swallowing stones.
He quickly slams the brakes. The car jerks to a stop.
"Yes sir." Jano mutters, bowing his head in defeat.
San releases the grip he has over Jano's shoulder.
He grabs the gun right beside him.
He looks at it.
He inspects it, checks for rounds in the magazine.
Nods his head, he removes the safety, opens the door and heads out.
"They better not blame me for his death." Jano mutters, turning his head slightly as he looks at San walking off.
San walks away, the gun gripped tightly in his hand as he scans the surroundings.
"From mouring graves to painted gutters of blood…" Jano shakes his head.
"...What a world." He sighs.
Meanwhile San walking with purpose.
People run past him, fleeing in the opposite direction.
He looks at them as they pass by, not saying a word.
"Ohh here he is! Finally!" A voice shouts from the distance.
San freezes.
The voice coming from nowhere and everywhere.
"Where did that come from?" He thinks—his eyes darting across the vandalized buildings and the scattering crowd.
"Look harder!" The voice taunts.
It sounds like it's enjoying this.
"You know what? You're dense. Why don't we come out and show you!"
A bottle clinks and rattles across the ground.
It rolls out from behind a building.
San narrowing his eyes—he's cautious.
His body giving all the cues, it was just pure instinct.
He quickly dives behind an abandoned car for cover.
"Pretty clever haha!"
The source of the voice finally appears—white powder coating all over his nose.
San squints.
"That voice… wait I know that voice."
His mind races through memories.
Eyes twitching rapidly—trying to match sound to face.
"Just who the hell is that?" San questions.
He peeks his head over.
He sees them, a man holding a hoe painted with blood.
He's relaxing the hoe on his shoulder.
The other men—no thugs,four in number, each holding guns.
Each stained with blood.
San, his vision focusing on the hoe.
"That hoe…"
His eyes widen in realisation.
"So it's him?!" San suddenly feeling a huge amount of dread.
"Hahahahahahaha." The man with the hoe laughs.
"Look at him hiding, like a kid." mocking San.
"Like what we did to the place." He gestures his hands, turning around in amazement.
"If he's here… then…" San thinks, trying to get a hold of his thoughts.
He places his hand on the trigger.
"Done this place better way more that you ever could."
He looks back at his men.
"Ain't that right guys?" His tone raised, asking them
Smiling with his hands relaxing on the hoe on his shoulders.
They all agree, chuckling and nodding their heads.
All except one.
"Huh?" The man noticing this.
"Do you have a problem?" He asks the thug.
The thug is speechless.
The man chuckles.
He removes the hoe from his shoulders, holding it in his hands.
Gripping it firmly.
An awkward silence feels the air.
"You must be new right?" He points at the thug.
The other thugs grip their guns firmly, all moving away from the man with the hoe.
"Yeah I'm new." The thug without a lick of fear in his voice.
"Ahh… I see." The man nods his head.
He steps back, still nodding his head.
The thug feeling normal, not picking the atmosphere around.
The man stops nodding.
Everyone still quiet.
Plastic bags, paper, smoke.
All floating in the air.
Then—
—BAM!!
He slams the hoe right into the thugs head.
It penetrates into his skull, sinking right in.
The man, smiling as blood splashes on his face.
Already dead, the thug's corpse falls towards the ground with the hoe still stuck in his head.
"Oof… hehehe." He chuckles.
Grabbing the hoe, nudging it from his head.
He swings the hoe around.
Blood sprinkling all over.
BAM!!
BAM!!
BAM!!
BAM!!
The man continues to bash the corpse, smashing its head into pieces.
Chunks of its brain litters everywhere, all flying around.
The man being stained with blood.
His whole body covered in blood.
Only part of him that isn't red are his gleaming white teeth.
He smiles as he smashes the head into a bloody messy pulp.
The man pants in exhaustion.
"Oof." Putting his hand on his hips, stretching.
"All in a day's work." He grunts, cleaning the blood off his forehead as if it's sweat.
The other thugs all laugh, all afraid at what they just witnessed.
Even though their laughters were hollow, the man was still gleening.
"Okay guys here's my new routine." He says while chuckling.
"What the…" San in confusion as he hears this, his hand still on the gun.
Ready to shoot.
"I know you're still there San, but just wait a little bit." He points at the car San is using as cover.
San speechless, confused, and a little bit of fear setting in.
"That motherfu–" He's angry, frustrated.
But still says behind cover.
"You have to still see it, so now interrupting please."
"Or else, it'll turn into a bad show." He grins, while chuckling.
His tone sounding grim, like all the joy in it had vanished—poof.
He's barely able to contain himself as he clasp his hands.
He squeals.
"Okay here's it." He raises his hands up in the sky.
"Damn, I'm nervous." The man mutters as sweat rolls down his face, he's shaking.
He breathes in and breathes out.
"Hey there mum." He deepens his tone to sound more like the dead thug, holding what's left of his mouth and moving it.
"Yes honey." He lightens his tone, and also acting more feminine.
"It's my big day tomorrow! First day on the job." He switches between being feminine and his deep tone.
This time sounding more energetic and hopeful.
"Oh really, that's going to be great son, remember I believe in you."
"You're going to make a big splash." He smiles, hands up in the air, eyes blinking.
"Yes I will mum, thanks." He sound enthusiastic.
"Yes my dear, go make their head pop right open because you are a star… my star." The man then hugs himself.
Tears rolling down from his eyes.
The thugs look at him and the corpse in absolute fear.
Horror and disgust.
No words could describe the cringe the thugs were feeling.
Even San, every word was churning his insides.
It locked him into place.
"And la fin." The man stops, as he bows down.
Tears overflowing.
The thugs just stare at him as he's bent down.
They hesitate to even do anything.
They clap and cheer him out of complete fear.
"Thank you Thank you." He smiles.
"Oh c'mon San, hating much?" He chuckles.
He then bends over as he looks at the corpse.
"Mummy's little boy."
"Well you did make a big splash, even on me." He gestures all over his body.
"But you didn't pop any body's head off."
"Only yours." He laughs, grabbing his hair.
Scratching it, ruffling them up.
"Enough of this." San breathes out of frustration.
"I can take him."
"I can take the warau no kuwa." He breathes sharply, thinking.
He smiles, his teeth parted but can't say anything.
He looks towards his thugs. "C'mon that was a good one."
"Yes sir it —" One of the thugs tries to say.
BANG.
A bullet driving right into his head, kills him, shutting him up.
The body drops towards the ground.
"Womp Womp." Warau no kuwa says with a sad expression on his face but he's also sticking his tongue out.
He then turns around.
"So you've decided to come out of hiding?!" He shouts and brandishes his hoe in the air, blood splattering on the ground.
San, standing there.
The gun in his hand.
Smoke emanating from the chamber.
His finger still firm on the trigger.
He focus his vision on Warau No Kuwa.
"C'mon do it!" WNK smiles, looking at him
BANG!!
San fires the shot.
Silent, the bullet bang speaking for him.
WNK raises his hoe in the air, and swings it in front of the gun's direction.
THUD!
"Hehehe." WNK chuckles.
"Tsk Tsk, gotta try harder man." He shakes his head as he faces his hoe to the ground.
Shaking it violently.
Then a bullet falls to the ground, rattling.
"How could he stop a freaking bullet?! With a hoe?!" He sounds annoyed, frustrated.
WNK laughs and laughs, swinging his hoe around in the air.
San, baffled by what he just say.
His only reaction is silence as he checks his gun.
Not like he can do anything, but he just looks at it in confusion.
WNK smirks.
He walks towards San slowly.
"Hehehehe." He chuckles.
He then increases the speed at which he runs.
"Let's gooo." He screams at the top of his lungs, raising the hoe in the air.
—The end of chapter 9—