The city was silent for a night as clear as this. The moon was full, flowing softly in the inky black sky. Not a cloud covered the glowing orb or the stars. Tonight was truly a wonderful night to be out on the streets, with no thief or human being stirring in the darkness.
A new war had begun, taking over the city's rooftops at night, while everyone slept calmly. Assassins now roamed freely at night, killing anyone unlucky enough to come across the hooded figures. They hunted the rooftops, looking for anybody foolish enough to be out with gold or jewels. Or better yet, a member of any other assassin's Guild in the city.
Crouched cat-like on the edge of a high roof waited a large hooded figure. Her cloak billowed silently behind her like a shadow. She had her twin daggers out, ready for anything. Her blue eyes scanned the streets below. She sighed and pulled back her hood, letting the breeze run through her charcoal hair. Suddenly, a figure stumbled out of the shadows and into the light of a torch.
The assassin placed her daggers back in their sheaths, pulling her crossbow free of the hood on her back. She loaded a quarrel and took careful aim. She closed one eye, losing the bolt. The quarrel flew straight and true. It embedded itself in the man's torso, puncturing his heart and killing him instantly. He fell, landing with a soft thump. Gold coins split out or his coin purse, clattering loudly on the street.
With silent footsteps, the assassin made her way carefully to the dead merchant. As she got close, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The man had been drinking and none too lightly. She set to work, picking the man's many pockets clean. In moments, the assassin was loaded down with gold and jewels. She stood and wiped the blood and dirt off of her palms.
A glint of light caught the assassin's eye, and she tumbled out of the light and into the shadows. She ducked behind a crate and pulled out her daggers. She advanced slowly back into the light, holding her blades at her sides. Her blue eyes flitted uneasily around as she bent to collect her pouch that contained the stolen riches.
A searing pain shot through the assassin's shoulder blade. She whimpered and reached for the throwing knife that was lodged in her back. She threw the weapon aside and stood shaking. She raised her blades into a defensive position.
A blood red robed figure stepped out of the shadows, lowering its arms. Only its mouth showed, and it was twisted in an almost evil grin. The figure walked slowly to the light, reaching for its scabbard and drawing a large, curved blade. The black assassin lunged at her foe, her twin blades glinting in the moonlight. The new figure leaped straight up and appeared to float in thin air. For a moment, this confused the assassin, until she noticed that her foe was balanced carefully on one of the many ropes that crisscrossed above the streets and alleyways.
The figure leaped down, blade first. The black robbed assassin rolled to the side, barely avoiding the curved blade. She sprinted forward, daggers raised in anticipation. The fight had begun, cloaks billowing, shadowing their wearers every movement. Both figures twirled and dipped in a beautifully deadly dance. They stopped on opposite sides of the street, blades and bodies bloody, but both were still standing. Their shoulders heaving, breath escaping in short gasps.
The red cloaked figure dropped its stance, wiping the blood off of its dagger. Only then did the black robed figure realize something; All of her cuts and gashes stung something fierce. She looked down at a small cut running up her arm. The skin around the cut was puffed up and red. She cursed under her breath; her foe had poisoned the blade. She knows she needed to kill the other and get out of there, to the safety of the Guild house.
She took up one of her daggers, and threw it across the street. It tore through the fabric of the red cloak's hood, and pulled it back. The woman gasped. Standing across the street, holding its curved blade...was another woman.
Someone she knew too well.
The woman smiled, her purple eyes glowing in the moonlight. She pulled a small dagger out of her boot, spinning it deftly between her fingers. She looked up at the woman and smiled, and the sight sent chills down her spine. She lifted her second blade, charging towards her blade first. She smiled, the fight had begun again.
She twirled gracefully out of her way, causing her to stumble past her and almost collide with a merchant stand. She turned clumsily, arms pinwheeling in a desperate attempt to hit the other woman. She sidestepped easily, laughing as she did so.
After a few moments of fighting, the woman's motions were beginning to slow, her vision blurring. She stumbled and landed in a small ditch, her weapon clattering just out of reach. She tried weakly to rise to her feet, but her legs crumpled underneath him. The poison ran through her veins, killing her slowly. The other woman walked up and stood in front of her, her blade raised and pointed at her chest.
The woman lifted her blue eyes, looking the woman up and down. She chuckled quietly.
"So, this is how it ends... killed by my student." she said in a raspy and weak voice. The woman stopped just inches from his face. She smiled sadly, something like regret shining in her eyes. The woman moaned as the poison began to take full effect. Her blue eyes looked pleadingly up at the woman.
"Do it for your parents, do it for your Guild; you earned this more than anyone else."
The woman sighed, plunging her dagger into her foe's chest.
"Himeko... you're free now."
Her body shuddered momentarily. And then all was still.
The winner stood, pulling her dagger free and taking the stolen gold. She climbed up the side of a building and ran off into the night. A single raven drifted down and landed near the fallen assassin. It began to cry out, a beautifully terrible sound.