RISING SUN

Part I: Family Ties

By Dino Pollard

My name is Logan. I’m a special agent of SHIELD, and field commander of a government-sponsored mutant task force called the X-Men. I’m a mutant myself, with enhanced senses, a healing factor, plus bones and claws that are laced with adamantium—which basically makes them unbreakable. Right now, I’m on a mission for SHIELD, so I’m away from the X-Men. Step one of the mission is complete—infiltrate the Clan Yashida crime syndicate. Now time for step two—take them down from within. That’s gonna be a bit more difficult.

First off, Shingen wants to concentrate on getting rid of people within his organization who want to ursup his position. I’m his new hitman. The way I see it, that’s a good thing. If I take out people within his organization, that means I’m removing potential successors as well. The first target? Shingen’s nephew. Shingen warned me about this guy. He’s a street tough, apparently, mean little prick with a real bad temper. I like ‘im already. Shingen told me he does a lot of street racing, so that’s the first place t’ look.

I start my search down in the Bronx. There’s a street race going on here tonight, an’ there’s more souped-up cars, motorheads, an’ half-naked women than in that shitty Vin Diesel movie. I’m guessin’ I came t’ the right place. I’m dressed in a pair of jeans, leather work boots, a wifebeater, an’ a beat-up old leather jacket. There are a couple Asian guys here showin’ off their imports, but I know none of them are the guy I’m lookin’ for. I hear the rumble of an engine from behind me, an’ I turn t’ see a car pull up. A fairly tall Japanese man with spiked, bleech-blonde hair gets out of the car. He’s wearin’ a pair of sunglasses with red lenses. Reminds me a little of Summers, except this kid’s got a tint in the lens that’s far lighter than Cyke’s. I look down at the picture Shingen gave me and crumble it up into a ball, then toss it over my shoulder as I approach the man. He’s dressed in leather pants, leather driving gloves with the tips cut off, and he wears a leather jacket over his bare chest. He’s also wearing a bunch of gold necklaces an’ shit. When I come up to him, he’s got a small gathering already there. I push my way through and grab his shoulder.

“Shiro Yoshida,” I say.

“What do you want?” he asks.

“I’m an associate of your uncle’s.”

“Tell my uncle to fuck off,” he says and turns away from me. I spin him around and lift him up by the collar of his jacket, then I slam him against the hood of his car.

“How’d ya like t’ deliver that message yourself, bub?”

I hear the sound of guns cocking. Looks like his fanclub happens to be composed of bodyguards. It’d be child’s play f’r me to take care of all of them. T’ prove that I mean business, I keep Shiro pressed against the car.

“Kill him,” he says. One of his men takes the cue and pulls the trigger, shooting me in my head. The bullet obviously can’t get through my skull, and the wound heals up in a matter of seconds. I turn and look at the man.

“Alright, you’re first,” I say. With a thought, three razor-sharp adamantium claws pop out from between the knuckles of my left hand. I swing it across and cut the man’s throat. He’s still alive… barely. An’ he’s in a helluva lot of pain. I retract my claws and look back at Yoshida.

“Very impressive…” he says. He grabs my arm, an’ I can feel the temperature begin to rise. Without warnin, my jacket catches fire. I pull away from Shiro and pull it off, then I turn to look at him. He removes his glasses, an’ I can see fire burning in his eyes.

“Looks like my uncle sent a mutant,” he says. “And, from your reaction, I assume he didn’t tell you that I’m one as well.”

Yeah, y’ could say he neglected t’ mention it.

The claws extend from both hands, an’ the fan club backs away. They’re giving Shiro an’ me room t’ settle this between us. He keeps his eyes focused on me, an’ it’s almost like his eyes are made out of flames. I see sweat beginning to appear on his forehead, somethin’ I assume must be a natural reaction t’ his body generating that kind of heat.

“Give a message to my uncle,” says Shiro. “Tell him that his days as head of the Clan Yashida are numbered.”

He extends a hand towards me, an’ a jetstream of fire appears before his hand. I leap away, an’ it just barely singes my leg as I do so.

“On second thought, maybe I’ll just spell it out with your ashes.”

“Bub, you an’ what army?”

I leap at him, my claws ready to do some damage. He extends his hands again, and flames rage all around me. The fire forces me back, and burns most of the skin from my body. Parts of my skeleton are beginning to show, an’ my face is almost entirely gone now. Shiro keeps up the heat for a few more minutes, then stops and turns away.

“Honestly uncle, can’t you do better than that?” he asks. He puts his sunglasses back on and I can hear him boasting over his victory before he tells his men t’ dispose of me. Right now, I can’t really move, an’ two of his cronies grab me by both ends and toss me into a dumpster in an alley.

It takes me about thirty minutes t’ finally find the strength to pull myself out of the dumpster. It’ll take another hour or so before my burns heal completely.

Shiro Yoshida barges through the doors of the mansion which he is currently occupying. He storms through the halls with only one thought on his mind. Servants simply avoid him, they know better than to disturb the master when he is in such a state. He continues through the house, until he opens the basement door, and quickly descends the staircase.

“LEYU!” he exclaims.

He hears cries of pain, a man’s voice, and he slows his pace down as he explores the basement. He can see a bright light, and walks closer towards it. In this room, he sees a man chained against the wall, and he sees a smaller Japanese woman dressed in a skimpy leather outfit standing before the man. She pokes the man with her fingers, and with each poke, the man cries out in pain, and a burn mark is left there. She turns when she hears footsteps and a look of happiness spreads across her face.

“Shiro!” she exclaims, and runs over to him. She practically jumps on him and wraps her arms around his neck. She presses her lips to his hungrily and bites his bottom lip once she breaks the kiss.

“What are you doing?” asks Shiro, motioning to the man.

“I ordered pizza,” she replies. She points to a Papa John’s box lying off to the side, untouched. “I was just having some fun…”

“Uncle Shingen sent another assassin after me today,” he says.

“Harada?”

“No,” replies Shiro. “Someone new. He was an American.”

“Past-tense?”

Shiro simply smiles at his sister.

“I fried him.”

She giggles in response and kisses him on the cheek.

“These hitmen are starting to get annoying,” says Shiro. “Think it’s time we retaliate?”

“Ooooh, are we gonna do some cooking?”

“Not quite,” says Shiro. “I think we should prove ourselves to Uncle by hiring someone to take what means the most to him.”

“You mean his little princess?” asks Leyu.

“Exactly,” replies Shiro. “Question is, who should we hire to kill Mariko?”

I limp into Shingen’s office, an’ practically collapse right in front of him.

“Hello Logan,” he says. “Did you get a haircut? It looks shorter.”

“Nah,” I reply. “Just hasn’t grown back to it’s full length.”

“I take it the job is done, then.”

“Why didn’t you tell me Shiro was a mutant?” I ask.

“I didn’t feel it was necessary,” replies Shingen.

“Bullshit,” I say. “I wanna know what I’m up against.”

“What do you mean, ‘up against?’ Is he still alive?”

“Yeah, he’s still alive,” I say. “Turned me into a fucking crispy critter.”

“You’re just going to have to go back.”

“Oh, I will. That was my favorite jacket he torched. Now it’s personal as well as business.”

“Good,” says Shingen. “Then the next time I see you, it will be once Shiro has been killed.”

“Not so fast,” I say. “I wanna know exactly what this kid’s deal is, understand?”

Of course,” says Shingen. “I’ll get you the necessary information.”

“Good,” I say. I stand an’ bow, then head towards the door. It opens before I get to it, and a young Japanese woman enters. Once I see her, I feel like I’ve been hit by a ton o’ bricks.

“Excuse me,” she says. “I didn’t realize you have company.”

“No, it’s okay,” replies Shingen. “He was just leaving. This is Logan, a new associate of mine. Logan, my daughter, Mariko.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Logan,” she says, an’ offers me her hand. I’m careful when I take it in my own, tryin’ my best to be gentle with my calloused skin.

“Likewise, Miss Yashida,” I say. “An’ it’s just Logan.”

“Mariko,” she replies.

“Mariko…” I repeat. I stand there f’r a few more minutes in silence, just shaking her hand an’ staring into her eyes. Lord, she’s gotta be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“If you’ll excuse us, Logan, I’d like to speak with my daughter in private,” says Shingen. His words snap me outta my trance, an’ I drop Mariko’s hand without hesitation. I look over to him an’ nod, then I look back at her and smile. She smiles back, and I move past her to get to the door. I close the door behind me an’ brace myself against the wall to stop from falling. I feel like I just lost my kneecaps, because for a moment, I can barely stand on my own. I take a deep breath, regain my composure, and walk off. I can’t remember the last time a woman had that effect on me. In fact, I don’t think a woman’s ever had that effect on me.

<“I came all the way from Japan just to kill one insignificant girl?”> the young woman who wore a leather catsuit asks in her native Japanese. She sits in a chair before a desk. On the other side of the desk sits Shiro Yoshida, with Leyu standing by his side, an arm draped across his shoulders.

<“Precisely,”> replies Shiro. <“We called you here, because you’re supposedly one of the best assassins in Japan. The Yashida compound is well-guarded, and what I want to know is, can you get past their defenses?”>

<“Don’t insult me,”> she says. <“What’s the price?”>

<“Name one,”> says Shiro.

The assassin considers Shiro’s words, and thinks silently to herself. Finally, she says, <“Five million.”>

<“You’ve gotta be joking,”> says Leyu.

<“You want me to kill the daughter of the most influential crimelord in Japan,”> says the assassin. <“I think five million is extremely generous.”>

<“Then we can find someone else,”> says Leyu.

The assassin stands from her seat.

<“I suppose you can, then.”>

<“Leyu…”> says Shiro.

<“Go on, get out!”> demands Leyu.

<“Leyu, shut up,”> Shiro calmly says. <“Five million is acceptable.”>

The assassin looks at Shiro and grins. Her grin turns into a scowl when her eyes meet Leyu’s, however.

<“Make it quick and clean,”> says Shiro.

<“I always do,”> says the assassin. <“I’ll show myself out.”>

She turns from the siblings and walks out the door. Once she’s gone, Leyu turns her anger on her brother.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” she exclaims in English. “Five million?! Five million?! That’s robbery!”

“I know what I’m doing,” replies Shiro. “We need someone with a high level of skill to complete this task. And make no mistake about it, Kwannon is one of the most-skilled assassins on Earth. If she can’t kill Mariko, then no one can.”

“This is a mistake, Shiro…” mutters Leyu.

“All a matter of opinion,” says Shiro. “This is how the game is played, Leyu. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

“Oh, I can stand the heat just fine, dear brother,” says Leyu with a smirk. “The question is… can you?”

Shiro feels the temperature in the room slowly begin to rise as Leyu begins to unbutton her shirt. Shiro grins and watches with rapt attention. Everything is falling into place. Soon, Mariko will be dead, then Shingen, and then the Clan Yashida will be his.