Hello, mates! First of all , I would like to thank you for giving this fanfic a go. I promise you, it will be worth your time.

On to the summary:

Setting: This story is set in the same AGK! universe, and the events in question happen parallel to the main story line. I will assume that all readers are up to date with the anime of AGK! I , myself am up to date with the manga, but I won't include manga occurrences as not every one has read the manga, and it would be a shame to spoil the series. The location of the following events, for the time being, is Ipswind town, a completely fictional one I made up on my own. And for the time being, other than the occasional mention of Esdeath, none of the characters have made their appearances. YET.

Plot: This story follows the adventures of Susumu, an orphan from the frontiers. After witnessing the destruction of his village, he ventures into the vastness of the empire , alone , to try and eke out a living for himself as a bounty hunter. Read on to find out the choices he has to take, the friends and enemies he makes, and the situations he finds himself in.

This story is above all,a story of survival in the harsh and unforgiving empire.

For more info , pls check out L' Cie XIII's profile which has the character description. It is with the permission of L'Cie XIII that I have used this OC, created specifically for other writer's use.

Dsclaimer: I dont own AGK or Susumu, who is an OC by l'Cie XIII,URL: (tion)/u/5734390/l-Cie-XIII. Remove the brackets obv. Summary sucks, story better! Reviews appreciated!

Thanks!

CHAPTER 1: Kill The Intro!

To the casual observer, it was just another mountain town, no different from the numerous others scattered along the lengthy borders of the empire, except that it was quite bigger than the others.

There was the local inn, managed by old Hauser.

This inn overlooked the town center, and was adjacent to the manor of the prevailing authority of the village, the Lord Klaus. Klaus was a retired military general, who had once held a position of influence at the capital, right under Minister Onest. However the vicious power struggles, along with the growing unrest at the heart of the empire had led him to relocate to quieter pastures.

The revolts had yet to spread to this corner of the empire yet , and the town, strictly speaking , was in no immediate threat of a plundering. This town hadn't attracted the attention of the night raid as well, as news travels slowly from this remote and out of the way region of the empire. However, the people of the town were far from safe. There were danger beasts lurking in the surrounding topography. The woods , extending along the north in an east to west direction ,were full of them. The lake, located to the south east, just in front of the ring of mountains covering this section of the empires borders, had always been plentiful in terms of catch, but there was a reason that fishermen avoided going in too far, or too late at night.

The threats didn't stop here, as the most dangerous animal, was the one that lay within. The Lord may have moved out of the capital, but he wasn't quite ready to give up the luxurious lifestyle he had enjoyed at the capital so easily. He demanded the choicest of food and drink, the most luxurious of silks to drape around himself, and the most ornate of Jewels to be set into his robes and crown. Then, a man like him has other needs as well...

To that end, the pleasure tower , erected after his appointment as the ruling Lord, made sure to satiate his carnal cravings. All these didn't come cheap. Prices were on the rise, and beautiful abandoned girls were proving to be scarcer ; the reason being not that the girls were becoming uglier, its just that they put a prodigious effort to remain on the good side of the law and to keep their noses clean, so that they couldn't be whisked away to the pleasure tower. But Lord Klaus had his ways of implicating people and meeting his desires. A small order to one of his cronies, and Mr Horowitz , the owner of a small bakery business , is accused of swindling and promptly jailed. Meanwhile , the fiendish lord, who earlier set his sights on the baker's beautiful daughter, was happily chuckling at the prospect of some fresh entertainment, not to mention the tidy sum of coin he got from selling the bakery.

But what entertained the lord the most, was possibly the executions. Yes, he had acquired quite a taste for torture during his stay at the capital, and once every week, screams of pain from the execution fields, out by the back side of the town jail,disturbed the quietness of Ipswind Town.

As old Hauser set down the glass he was polishing, he sighed wearily. It was getting late, and only the outsider in the trench coat remained at the counter. It was because of the inquiries of this person, that he had embarked on the preceding narrative of the town. Well, the stranger ate light, and paid him for what he thought was trivial information, so he wasn't complaining. And besides, its not often that a new face stopped over at the town, and a relatively friendly one at that.

" Won't you take a room for the night?" asked old Hauser.

" Not necessary, I have a campsite set up outside the abandoned shanty at the edge of the lake " replied the stranger in a gentle feminine tone, but with a deep lying firmness.

It was this voice, coupled with the stranger's slender build, tear drop jade green eyes, angular facial features with high cheek bones, pale skin, and dirty blond hair, all of which were in sharp contrast with the manner of dressing , which consisted of an almost ankle length unzipped trench coat, grey slacks and numerous bandages covering the arms and the chest, which threw the strangers gender into ambiguity. The stranger could either be a cute slender girl, or a disturbingly pretty boy. And old Hauser didnt want to drive away potential customers by making prying inquiries , and although he seriously doubted that the stranger would take his question regarding gender in the wrong manner, he decided to refrain from the topic altogether.

As the stranger walked out into the snow laden town, he ( Yes , he) gathered what he had learnt during the day.

"So this is Ipswind town eh... seems pretty interesting. And now to find who I 'm looking for...". With that , he drew his hood around him tightly and zipped it up, walking in the direction of his campsite..

The townsfolk never went near the lake anyway so his goods, kept in the veranda of the shanty, were quite safe . He made his preparations for the night, he removed the katana he always kept hidden under the back of his trench coat. He then took another one from out under his bed and proceded to look, almost lovingly at the blades ( he had left one behind in order to avoid causing a stir. He couldn't hide two blades). He diligently applied himself to the task of cleaning his blades. One could say that he took care of his blades as well as he took care of his own body, if not better. In a manner that might be considered weird to other people, he began recollecting how his day went , with seemingly no one to listen. But he regarded his blades as valuable comrades, and it was a relaxing habit, for some odd reason.

"... and that's what the old man at the inn said.

But one thing is for sure. I came here for the bounty, and that's just what I will get.

Tomorrow, we get to work..."

AN: Feed back and reviews greatly appreciated!