Strain

A young Japanese prostitute, Shion, attempts to rob her trick while he is in the shower. The altercation spills out into a local bar and she is caught and beaten badly. A young man at the bar follows the trick out into the streets after the girl has gone and beats the man in retribution. The man is Mayo, an assassin who kills anyone for $5. He is hired to kill a sickly woman in the slums. As he stands over the woman with the gun, her daughter suprises him. It is Shion, the same young girl he assisted earlier. He makes her an offer pay him $10 which buys her mother's life and kills the man that gave him the order to kill her. She takes him up on his offer.

The organization behind the order to kill Shion's mother is not pleased with this turn of events. They give him another chance. He is now ordered to kill Shion. He finds her and hands her his gun and tells her to make a choice: either die by his hand or kill him and run. She doesn't want to die but she can't bring herself to kill Mayo either. This puts Mayo is a tough spot. He has to kill Shion or he becomes a target himself. He makes a critical decision and decides to bring the fight to the organization.



As the story progresses, it is revealed that Mayo is the half-brother of an influential businessman, Shunichiro Kusaka - heir to the Kusaka fortune. Shion is revealed to be the daughter of Shunichiro. Mayo and Shion decide to publicly confront Shunichiro. All three are in attendance at a ball and the relationships are announced. The secret is out.

The Kusaka company has been having financial difficulty as they seek new Asian oil reserves. Shunichiro has had to put all his company shares up as collateral for loans he has taken out with underworld syndicates to keep his company afloat. As the company strikes oil, he discovers that he has been betrayed by a trusted business associate. Shimei Sai has bought out the loans and now controls Shunichiro's company shares. Shunichiro is still the figurehead of the company, but has lost ownership.



In an ironic twist, Shunichiro contracts his brother to kill Shimei and get the company back. Desiring to protect Shion's inheritance, Mayo agrees to do it. Mayo attempts to kill Shimei, but kills one of his hired doubles instead. Seeing no way to fight Shimei directly, Shunichiro resigns as head of Kusaka and names Mayo as his successor. For his act of betrayal, Shimei is expelled from the Sai organization. Both stripped of power, Shimei and Shunichiro reconcile and head to Russia to begin a new empire. Mayo marries Shion when she comes of age. Her inheritance is now secure.