Just A Stressed Bean

Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, the doors to the bathroom opened up.  “You ready?” Leandro heard Akira call out as his footsteps followed. “Yeah… but where are we going?”

Akira took his red jacket from the hanger and slipped his arms through. “We’re heading out and having some fun today! We’ve both been working very hard and took down Sendak. I think we deserve a break and a little celebration. Besides, I heard that there’s an event to celebrate the meteor shower tonight! They’re holding some sort of fair somewhere in the center square of the town nearby. We can head off to the hill to watch the stars when it gets dark!” He states as turns around to face Leandro with a wide grin on his face.

“Wait… what?” The cuban gasped. His mouth was wide open as a look of shock was clear on his face. Akira was not expecting this kind of reaction. For one, he thought that Leandro would be overjoyed to relax a bit after everything that happened. Was he wrong? He laughed nervously. “Uh… surprise?”

Leandro lowered his head, his face now unreadable. “‘Kira…”

“U-um… I mean… I just thought that like… because you just recovered! I thought we should take a break… You  know…?” He stuttered out, confused with the other’s expression.

“Kira… I-”

Akira gulped, ready for the worst of the worst.

Leandro’s face lit up with excitement as he bounced up and down on the spot.

“I’m only going if I get to choose your outfit at the mall!” He exclaimed. Akira sighed in relief, a hand coming up to his chest. “I thought you were mad at me for a second… though I’m not sure why you would get mad at all?” He states, exasperated. Leandro giggled.

Leandro’s gaze met Akiras and he instantly relaxed, his shoulders sagged and the frown on his face disappears. “Right… I have you with me this time.” He mumbles as he straightens up. Akira pulled away and slumps back on to the couch. “So, what’s the game plan?”

Leandro scoffed. “Pff, game plan. Who says that anymore?” He jokes as he rubs his eyes and reached into his jacket to pull out the USB hiding in his pocket. “I’ve gathered information weapon and found out how it operates.” He yanked out another small rectangular device from his pocket and presses a few buttons.

The small box shifted and opened up, little projection lenses rose as lights flickered and a screen popped up. Leandro placed the box onto the table in front of Akira and inserts the USB into a little slot in the back of the device.

The screen faded into a blueprint of some large weapon in the shape of a cannon. Akira’s heart dropped as he recognized the design.

An ion cannon, known for its ability to destroy battleships and tear buildings apart- except this one looked bigger, stronger and far more destructive.

Leandro sat next to Akira as he zoomed into the visual of the large cannon. He pointed to the base of weapon as he began explaining. “This is where they enter. There’ll probably be sentries and galra guarding it, so sneaking in would be quite difficult. We will go through this small gap here and through the vents.” He says and zooms into a small panel off to the side.

“We will cut through this and sneak in through the vents.” He presses onto the screen and the blueprint transitioned over to a map of the inside.

Leandro trails his finger across the pathways. “We will make our way through here to the communication room and disable it. Then, we’ll go to the main control room where Sendak will be. You’ll distract everyone and pull them out of the room and keep them occupied while I shut down the cannon and set it to self destruct.” He then pans out and a blue dotted line showed up.

“We’ll be taking this route to get out unnoticed, since it’s the quickest way. Then boom, mission accomplished. Of course, assuming I don’t mess up and-”

“I said, let her go.” His voice more firm and demanding. 

His eyes narrowed as the other finally turned around. The galra glared at Leandro before dropping the woman who slumped to the ground. She muttered a ‘thank you’ before hastily picking up her things and stumbling away.

The galra was not pleased. He bared his sharp teeth as he turned to Leandro. His eyes flicker to the gun in Leandro’s hands as he grunted.

“What do you want human? You think you scare me?” He growls as he steps up towards Leandro, raising to his full height which was well over 7 feet. Leandro steeled his mind as raises his gun to aim at his head, his pistols glowing.

No words were spoken as the Galra dashed forward to stab Leandro, who sidestepped out of the way. He brought his other hand down onto the Galran’s neck with ease as the other slammed into the ground. Leandro feels the adrenaline kicking in as his eyes began to glow their cerulean blue.

Suddenly, the galra made a noise as he pushed himself up. His yellow pupils meet Leandro’s as his face turned into one of shock. 

“Hold on… Those eyes… you’re that human that stole the blueprints from Sendak and wiped out half of my quadrant…” He mumbled, a hint of hesitation laced in his voice. 

The aura changed to a dangerous setting as Leandro gave a deadly smirk.

“Damn right I am…”

The galra growled and backed away from Leandro, who took another step closer. 

“Come on… you wanted to fight me, so come. Fight. Me.” He emphasized the last words with a hard punch to the galra which sent him flying. Leandro raised his gun once more and placed his finger on the trigger.

The galran looked up at Leandro, his expression completely blank. “So, you’re gonna kill me?” He mumbles, the yellow pupils staring right into Leandro’s eyes. The cuban glared and pressed his gun towards the other’s forehead with no words. He switched his pistol off stun as the galra’s face widened into a mad grin.

“Well then… you convince yourself that you’re doing this for the greater good… and yet you’re here murdering me in cold blood.”

The galran surged up next to Leandro’s ear as he whispered his next words.

“You’re no different from us.”

Leandro’s mind blanked as his breath hitched as he pushed away from the galran and pulled the trigger. A loud ‘bang’ went off, deafening in Leandro’s ears as his breaths quickened, taking in large gulps of air to calm his racing heart down. His thoughts began to cloud this mind as the same words echoed in his head again and again.

Voices echoed down the road as Leandro turned into an alleyway. He frantically looked around for somewhere to hide before ducking behind a trash can. He shoved the stolen cash and USB chip into his pockets, panting as he peeked around the edges. Shouting could be heard and he ducked for cover as lights flooded the area. A small group turned the corner, a single Galra with multiple sentries following behind him, all carrying their blasters.

“I swear I saw him come here.” He heard the galran say as footsteps drew closer. Leandro felt his breath hitch as they neared and shifted; to his horror, his foot brushed against a tin can, which began to roll, the scratching of the can against pavement sounding impossibly

loud in the narrow alleyway.

The noise caught the Galra’s attention, and the sentries turned towards the sound, readying their blasters. Leandro heard the general approach the tin can, inspecting it. He trailed his eyes to the direction it came from, stopping right in front of the metal trash can Leandro was hiding behind; there was a long silence, and Leandro held his breath, knowing his cover was exposed.

“Fuck.” The cuban grimaced, jumping out from behind the dumpster. In one smooth motion, he drew his dual pistols and fired, the shots raining down upon his enemies. The galra general was taken by surprise, scrambling away from him, but Leandro didn’t give him any room to move. A bullet pierced one of the sentries right through the core, their body crumbled and hit the ground with a thump. He destroyed the robot, leaving it in a piles of scrap metal and shrapnel.

He turned to the rest of the sentries, their blasters all raised and aimed towards Leandro. His breath hitches as they began fire. He wove to the side, dodging the projectiles coming his way. The bullets flew past him, hitting the wall behind him instead. In the midst of all the action, he noticed something glowing in the corner of his eye. A faint purple light coming from behind a wooden crate against the wall. He carefully pulled a pistol from his waist and he aimed it towards the light. The bullet hit the crate with a bang, sending wooden splinters everywhere. He saw the Galran general frantically type something into his hologram. Quiet and quick mumbling came from the general.

“Tell Sendak. General Plarox has located the target.”

Leandro’s eyes widen.

“He went down this way!”

Voices echoed down the road as Leandro turned into an alleyway and ducked behind a trash can. He shoves the stolen cash and USB chip into his pockets. He panted as he peaked around the edges. Shouting and lights flooded the area. He sees a small group turn the corner. A single galra with multiple sentries following behind him, all carrying their blasters. “I swear I saw him come here.” He heard the galra say as footsteps drew closer. Leandro felt his breath hitch as they neared. Leandro shifted his position and in doing so, accidentally moved a tin can. It rolled out making significant noise that seemed to have caught the galra generals attention. The sentries turned to the sound as well, readying their blasters. He hears the general approach the tin can, inspecting it. He trailed his eyes to the direction it came from, stopping right in front of the metal trash can Leandro was hiding behind, giving it a suspicious look.

“Fuck.” The cuban mumbles before jumping out of cover, firing his duel pistols. The galra general was taken by surprise and scrambled away from Leandro, who proceeded to take out sentry after sentry. One after another, his accurate shots taking out the robots. He weaves to the side, dodging any projectiles coming his way. He dashes up to them, swinging his leg into a roundhouse kick knocking them back into the wall. He raised a gun, aimed right at their core and pulled the trigger. Their metal bodies fall and slump to the ground like rag dolls. A loud clunk rang as it hit the hard ground. Leandro turns to the galra general, backed up against the wall, clearly afraid of him. The cuban smirks, setting his gun to stun before shooting the general. Leandro lifts the gun up to his lips and blows the steam coming from his guns. Carefully stepping over the bodies, he exited the alleyway. He peeked around the corners of the wall before stepping out.

“There he is!”

Leandro cursed and ran off again. He pulled his turtleneck higher, covering his nose to try and avoid the galra identifying his face. He glances behind him to see groups of sentries, drones and soldiers chasing him. The sentries began to fire as they ran while Leandro dodges, ducking his head as lasers flew above him. The cuban raises one of his pistols and shoots behind him. Most of his shots end up missing but the few that land manages to take them down. Lowering his gun, he looks forward and is greeted with another wave. Both filled with drones, sentries and galran generals. He stops in his tracks. Leandro glanced both ways. No matter which way he took, he would be ambushed.

Leandro’s mind raced, trying to find the best option.He growled pulling out his other pistol and taking a deep breath to calm his heart. He keeps his head down and shuts his eyes tights. He hears the pounding footsteps drawing closer. The whir of the drones deafening in his ears. He steadies himself, feeling a rush of adrenaline kicking in as they near. His eyes snap open.

Leandro’s eyes glowed.

Honestly, Akira didn’t know how he got into this situation. One minute, he was stepping out of the cafe he worked in, the next minute, he was pinned against the wall by a bulky man with a terrible case of cigarette breath. Then he’s surrounded by two others, both wielding knives. Judging by how they’re holding it, none of them know how to properly use it.

Akira lets out a huff. “Seriously? You’re gonna pick on someone thats half your size?” He receives a glare by the man who’s pinned him. The thug brings a hand to grab at Akira’s collar. “What did you say to me kid?” Akira smirks and calls in a teasing tone. “Man, if you guys are too scared to fight the bigger guys and choose to fight me? You’re pussies.”

Akira let out a punch to his attacker. The fist collided with the goon’s head, knocking him out. The other two stared at him before they lashed out, madly swinging their knives. Akira simply side steps their attacks before striking their lower neck. He lets out a kick to their stomachs. They crash into each other and crumbles to the floor groaning, efficiently rendering them immobile.

He sighed and patted his jacket, brushing off the dust. The streets in this area were filled with more and more criminals and thugs and Akira wasn’t liking any of it. He makes his way over to his bike, parked along the wall nearby.

Just as he was about to grab his helmet, he heard a shuffle. Groaning, he faced the angry man. He stood up straight, wiping off a trail of blood coming from his nose. He was twice the size of Akira and he was not happy. “You fucking bitch. Look at what you’ve done.” He growls before running to tackle Akira.

He let out a ‘humph’ as his attacker ran him into a wall, knocking the air out of his body. He groaned and stumbled as his feet touched the ground. Akira huffs and yanks out his dagger from his thigh, holding the sharp end against his attackers neck.

“Right, so I really don’t want to do this, but you’re leaving me no choice.” Akira says in a teasing tone. He presses the blade against the flesh, drawing a bit of blood. He smirks as his attacker’s face morphed into anger. Suddenly the atmosphere dropped. The rims of Akira’s purple eyes began to glow a crimson red colour. He stared dead into his attackers eyes. His smirk dropped. Fear was eminent in the others eyes. Akira’s glare, piercing his soul, like he could read every secret and exploit his every weakness.

In a hushed voice, Akira leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

“Trust me, you’ll regret it.”