Suplexes are Supreme (4.4).

Suplexes are Supreme (4.4).

…

There’s a lot to be said about being prepared, about gathering intel, and about having the right tool for the right job.

But I have to admit that being strong enough to just win always feels good.

“Kay, are you okay!?” Kine’s words came through the communication charm loud and clear. The explosion set off by the target collapsed the building. “I don’t see anything because of the smoke!”

“I’m fine. Already recovered.” I went into the building after Kine let loose a salvo of shots that rapidly took out eight guards. We were at an abandoned construction site that was claimed by our target. A Mr. Fang and his crew had a big million-dollar bounty on their heads since the new owners wanted them out, and they killed all those who last attempted to get them off the property. “Mr. Fang’s a half-blood, it looks like.”

“One quarter mermaid. Two quarters, troll. One human.” I was corrected by my target. Gone was the suit-clad bald man with sunglasses at night. Instead, there was a humanoid fish ripping off human clothing and slowly growing. Trolls were usually burly, lumbering beasts with large guts and covered in warts that were dumb as hell. Mermaids stuck to water but preyed on people often. Both were powerful regenerators, and despite being at the center of the explosion, he was fully healed, and we dropped onto a hidden pool of water that came up to my waist but only to his knees. “You’re dead, mercenary.”

“I’m on my way.” Kine stated, probably overhearing some of the target’s words, but I just signaled that I was voluntarily turning the charm off. “Kay!?”

“Handle the rest of the crew. I’ve got this.” I told her and cut off comms while taking off my raincoat. The lumbering giant of a fishman observed me with narrowed eyes. The human part was honestly the most dangerous. Setting off a bomb at your feet to get yourself to an advantageous position away from sniper fire. Dropping right in a pool of water that gives you a mobility advantage? This was a situation I had to take seriously. “I can’t afford to worry about anyone in this fight.”

Fang gave a huff of approval before charging at me. He swung an elongated, webbed hand through the water and sent a wave to obscure my vision… which slammed into me like a car and lifted me straight off the basement floor. The plates of armor I sewed together broke apart, and even the hardened leather that I wore beneath was torn straight off. It was an alpha strike filled with energy. The transformation must have been a distraction. The wave was the real attack.

Neat.

Too bad for him, though; I was a lot tougher than I used to be, and the wave that ripped through iron plates and leather didn’t even scratch my skin.

I hit the wall, the wall cracked, and the wave fell around me.

He seemed a bit diminished and smaller after his attack, but he was recovering quickly.

Meanwhile, I felt like I went through a particularly hard pressure washer… and that was it.

To his credit, after seeing me no-sell his alpha strike, he did the smart thing.

Turned tail, leapt into the water, and started swimming fast towards a prepared exit.

Mr. Fang was definitely proving to be a cunning bounty, but I was already moving.

The foundational wall broke as I leapt off it and sped past him. I could feel some innate energy being spent while I sped through the air. I wasn’t flying, but I was still going through the air faster than I should, and I had more control over my trajectory than I should’ve without wings. I couldn’t directly control it; it was kind of like just leaving it up to my body after I committed to the plan, making it a liability… but for a short-range charge to catch up with a fleeing opening, it was fine.

Never in a life-or-death situation, but fine here.

I collided with Fang before he reached wherever he wanted to go, grabbing him by the shoulder blades, and he immediately tried to get out of my grasp by rolling and thrashing in the water.

Unfortunately for him, I was able to tear apart concrete with my hands.

Scales broke, flesh parted, and finally bone gave way while I was submerged in water. A pulse of water washed over me, an underwater wave formed from his roar of pain, and blood began to surge out of him in large amounts. He changed before me, becoming more fishlike, and claws extended out of his hands while fins sprouted from his back. His neck elongated, and his head seemingly parted around his mouth and filled with more teeth.

I should’ve been afraid.

He was transforming, becoming stronger, and was still regenerating.

I could feel his strength and desperation climbing; while his bones and flesh pushed against my hands, his scales were almost climbing up my digits, and I could feel their edge.

But in the end, I knew I was stronger.

I found purchase on the floor by simply slamming my feet into the flooded basement’s floor and held fast. His thrashing and rolling ended immediately, and I lifted him out of the water. He was as large as a small sedan, yet it felt like carrying a particularly full and tight, thrashing garbage bag in my grip instead of a monster.

I readjusted my grip as he tried to desperately bring his claws to bear to cut me apart.

His desperation grew as my fingers dug through scale, through flesh, and found his spine, and I gripped the top and bottom like a bar.

I squeezed hard, and they broke, and he went still, but already I could feel his regeneration kicking in around my squeezed fists.

There really was only one way to deal with a regenerator this strong.

I leapt upward, propelling myself out of the concrete and the water, and extracted my hands from his spine.

He immediately began to twitch and try to turn around in the air to try and claw and bite me.

But it was too late.

In midair, I wrapped my arms around his waist, then invoked the pseudo-flight that I now had to surge us both downward.

I was a jet engine strapped to his back, flying him headfirst into knee-deep water and concrete.

With his larger size, he collided with the water and the concrete below sooner than I did, and I let go of the suplex just as I felt his head crunch hard and break.

Instead of waiting to see if he was dead from that, I got a kunai out and sliced through his nape before taking hold of his head and ripping the rest off as quickly as possible. A single, final shudder went through the troll-mermaid hybrid while its jaw flopped open as I held the head in my grip. Just in case, though, I put some Hiyo seals down the beast’s gullet and set them off.

I didn’t look away until I was sure there was nothing left of that cadaver. The only trace left of Fang was his immobile head in my hands.

Can’t be too careful around regenerators, especially the smart ones.

I mean, I’m one of them, and I’d hate to fight one of me.

If I didn’t need the head for the bounty, I’d burn it too.

…

Interlude: Helena Horner, Assistant Bounty Hunter

…

Our bounty’s head hit the back of my car, and the door closed after Kay got into the passenger seat.

“We’re good. Let’s go.”

I started the car, started driving, and almost stopped when I glanced at Kay’s way.

Sitting in my passenger seat was a kid with milky white skin and green-tinted hair cropped close to his head. His face was youthful and serene with a sharp nose. With those features alone, he would’ve been scouted out by the gangs like most women at my school, but that wasn’t all of it. His eyes were sharp, narrowed, and predatory, and beneath the milky white skin were cords of defined muscle that reminded me of Olympic gymnasts.

Anyone else with his good looks would’ve been prey for attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Kay was undoubtedly a hunter, though.

“Not interested. Keep your eyes on the road, Helena.” I was startled by his words and refocused. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a spare shirt and pants. The rags he stuffed in the bag the spares came in. Thankfully, it was night, so I didn’t see anything after driving into an alley. “Kine, we’re in the alley. Get in.”

Kine landed and opened the backdoor.

I only belatedly realized what was going to happen as she sat down and rocked the car.

I’d been caught off guard and stared at Kay without him being covered up, and I was scared of him.

Kine practically froze as she caught him in the corner of her eye after reaching to confirm Fang’s death.

“Ah, wuh, bwuh?” Of course, the massive woman nearly taking up the whole of the backseat started babbling like a baby.

Kay snorted.

“Take a picture; it’ll last longer.” He huffed and crossed his arms while keeping his gaze forward on the road. He checked the mirrors, rolled down the window, and checked the roof. I did my best to not look his way and ignored Kine suddenly giving off a whine. He retook his seat and put on the belt. “We’re not being followed. Good work, Kine.”

“Oh, uhm. Yeah. Great job. Clean. Nice.” She was sticking to one-syllable words, and I glanced at my rearview mirror to find the fierce bounty hunter that can turn into a giant rage monster… trying to sit like a demure lady. Brushing hair back, legs closed and slightly askance, and hands on her lap. Like she didn’t have a decapitated head beside her or a gun that only fit because the barrel could be shortened. She was acting more girly than anyone I’d met in real life! “You, too.”

I decided to intervene.

“Kine, if you make a move, you’re a criminal. So, shove some ice cubes down your shorts or something!” I barked at her, and that shook her out of her fugue, while Kay gave a chuckle. I snuck a glance at him. Nope. Still think he’s a shapeshifting monster. Just because he shapeshifted into something cute didn’t mean I was letting my guard down. “And, you… this is it, right?”

“Should be. Half goes to her. Half goes to you. Your debt is wiped, and I disappear with the cuts I’ve made the last couple of weeks. After this, we can go make contact with the Hiyo Clan.” I nodded and focused on the road. It was dark out, and despite the explosions and violence, there wasn’t any sign of the police. Probably because I tipped off from a burner that there was a bounty in progress. The operator had snorted, said they didn’t fuck with the entire block, and told me that I should skip town before it ate me alive. “Generally speaking, this is about the time things tend to go wrong, so I’m just staying cautious.”

“Great. Thanks for telling me. So… we’re not going back to my apartment, right?” That made Kine blink and finally pay attention. “I already have everything packed up, and the money will be dropped off through the bounty board?”

“Yep. Go ahead and tell your landlord everything; the apartment’s his, and you’re gone. Going back and living there would be stupid.” My former classmate found me, debt collectors found me, and Kine found me. I’d wanted to leave after my classmate, but that would’ve allowed the debt collectors to put a bounty on me. I had the text ready and just tossed my phone to Kay. He gave a low laugh and sent it. “Alright, that’s handled.”

I mentally cut my link to my apartment, and it was like a weight fell off my shoulders. After my classmate first appeared, going back to it every day felt like digging into a fresh wound that I wasn’t allowing to heal. It started to fester when the debt collectors came. Kine was a good surprise, but not nearly enough for me to want to go back. Even if it was my first real home, I wasn’t attached enough to it to care.

“Alright, that’s that. What about your college?” Kay questioned, and I was ready for that, too.

“I’ve got winter break to find a new place closer to it, or I’ll skip a semester and get my transcripts.” I had less of a connection to my community college than I did to my first apartment. It was just a place to attend classes. A good place that didn’t allow any nonsense, but that’s how most community colleges were. Real colleges were where people could just disappear or fall in with the wrong crowd. “Maybe I’ll pick up a trade instead. Everyone needs electricians or plumbers, right?”

“A licensed trade role will be respected in the Hiyo Clan.” Kay agreed as we finally reached the nearest bar with a bounty board. “Kine, I’ll leave the submission to you and keep watch just in case.”

“Right, I’ll be back.” Kine managed a full sentence and got out of the car. I looked at Kay, wondering if we were going to peel away, but he shook his head and gave no signal. In just under two minutes, Kine returned and got back. A little piece of paper fell into my hands while my phone gave a ding. ‘Debt Cleared’—two words, and that was that. I was free. “Congrats!”

“Thanks. Thanks a lot.” I took a steadying breath and waited for my instincts to suddenly scream I was in danger, but nothing happened. I started the car, we drove in silence for a few minutes, and then I managed to break it. “Hey, Kine, are you going to try and get a job with the Hiyo Clan, too?”

“Yeah. Apparently, they’re tracking somebody called Daichi, and his description matches someone making waves in the undercity.” The Lupercal bounty hunter responded easily and sat back with the window completely unrolled. “Demon spawn are always on my kill list, and I’ve hunted a fair few. They’re tricky, especially ones with a lot of skills, but I’ve got a nose for finding them.”

That was probably why we didn’t simply split ways, then.

Not that Kay needed to explain that fact to me.

As far as his debt to me was concerned, everything was clear.

I saved his life, and now he saved mine and helped set me up.

I could only hope that my new life was going to be nice, neat, and stable.

Hm.

I just jinxed myself into being their mundane infiltrator, haven’t I?