Here's a little something I've had on my mind for half a year now (probably from reading too many TFW Slav memes). The story - if you can call it that - can speak for itself. If it gets good reception, I might continue it.
The sun shone brightly upon the dirt road as a carriage slowly made its way uphill. A soft wind from inland, fluttering softly the leaves of the surrounding trees, brought promise of a dry weather for the next few days, as well as the end of summer. The carriage, pulled by two oxen, was carrying wheat, the produce of the two farmers driving it. They were chatting mindlesly as they moved.
"And that is why I believe a zombie would win in a fight against a ghoul. Now a wyrm against a wyvern, that's a different story."
"I hear ya. Though a troll might be able to best a giant."
"Yeah, depends on what kind of troll or giant we're talking 'bout here."
"Then what about demons?"
"Hm? What?"
"Yeah, I hear in the east, over the Ocean, they get invaded every now and then by some black-uns from another world."
"Those are called Africans, mate. And they're not demons."
"No, mate! I mean real, pitch-black demons! Black, maybe grey-ish skin, dark glow comin' from the eyes and all that!"
"Dark. Glow. You see the oxymoron?"
"Alright, maybe not glow. You know what I mean! So, these black-uns, they come from the underworld every now and then. And each is strong as an army."
"Tell me, mate, have you ever been to the east?"
"... No."
"Met anyone that's been there?"
"... No. But I've met a bard that's met a merchant in a ssouth-eastern port who came from the east."
"Yeah, a very reliable source. I've met someone that heard from some man that he'd met a woman whose grandfather met with the ghost of the first emperor."
"... Could be true..."
"You see, this is why no one ever takes us peasants seriously. They take one look at us and think: 'Oh, poor wretches. Still thinkin' the world is round and moves 'round the Sun. Only hearsay their window to the world. Will believe anything you tell 'em.' You see what the problem is? This time, let me do the bartering, alri-..."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. The farmers stopped their carriage as cracks began to form in the road. A giant shadow loomed over them. Looking up, the two men saw a dragon-like danger beast, as big as two barns. It greeted them with a tremendous roar. The farmers answered its polite hello with a cry of fear.
"Holy shit! What do we do!?"
"I don't know! Run?!"
"Where?!"
"I don't know!"
But the fear had glued them in their place. And besides, they couldn't escape the monster anyway. If it didn't crush them if they tried to escape, it would certainly be able to catch up to them easily. The beast prepared to strike. The farmers closed their eyes, awaiting their demise. However, the strike never came. Instead, they heard a swish of a blade striking, followed by a pained bestial roar. The strikes continued for a few moments, until calming down, letting silence claim the road.
The two farmers opened their eyes, only to see a figure standing atop a now dead danger beast. Dressed in a black coat, with three white stripes on its sleeves, and pants, which also had three white stripes on the side of each leg, their savior stood straightened, a plain bastard sword in his hand. He had a small rucksack on his back too.
The figure turned around to reveal the face of a young green-eyed man with dark brown hair and a wide smile. He was not from around here. Or anywhere near, for that matter. His face was... exotic to the two farmers. "And dis is how we handel leetle leetle beasts back home!" he exclaimed, with an accent the two farmers didn't recognise. It was very lyrical, as if he were singing, yet toughened by the peculiar pronounciation.
The stranger approached the two still awe-struck farmers, sheathing his sword into the scabbard on his hip. "Sorry, tovarishi, is dis road to Kapital?"
"Ah, y-yes friend. It's just a half an hour's walk to to the gate," the first farmer said.
"Ahh, gud, gud!" the stranger said.
"Can I ask what you're going there for?" the second farmer asked him
"Yuo kan," was his answer. "I travel from very very far. I am on mission from gods... and for personal gain too. Dere is dis group I need to find, for to make great benefits."
"A warning for you then. The Capital is a cesspool of corruption, the heart of our dying empire. Trust no one. Not the guards, not the poor, and especially not the rich."
The stranger nodded. "Tenks for varning, tovarish. Nasvidenje!"
.
"So, dis is Kapital? Kurwa, is big!"
Indeed it was. from his vantage point, the striped stranger could see a vast plain, urbanised as far as the eye could see. Rooftops of several colour - orange, black, grey - and white roads in between them, with cannals and green parks. District upon district of buildings stretched for kilometres into every direction around an elevated centre. There, atop the hill, stood the greatest palace he had ever seen. The magnificent feat of architecture with towers, walls and gardens that loomed over the vast city was the house of the emperor himself.
The stranger, though, had no time to admire the sight. He didn't come here for pleasure - and, really, no one ever did. He needed to find his contact.
As soon as he entered the city, the youngster felt eyes trailing him. It wasn't some conspiratory individual or stalker. Rather, it was the crowds, observing the man in strange clothes that just walked into town. "Another country bumpkin," the stranger could hear someone say. "What's with that outfit?" "He looking for work?" "Like all of them..."
He ignored them, for he had little time to mingle. He walked on, passing an advertisement taped to the wall, advertising the 'fearless fighters of the Shu Company, and a series of wanted posters of one Akame of Night Raid, until he reached an imperial guard recruitment office. He looked at the sun. It was noon. He was quite a bit early. But like his grandfather always said: Better late than never. Wait, wrong one! Better to hold it than to chase it. That's the one.
"Well, well! Why such a gloomy face?" he heard a female voice say next to him. A blonde haired woman slightly older than him stood there. She was a bit taller than him, rather gifted in the chest area, but not in the clothing department. "You got rejected, didn't ya?"
The stranger observed this woman. She was smiling at him, flaunting her... asets by having her arms crossed under them... "Tell you what, I have some free time, so why don't we have lunch and I'll find a way to help you," she offered.
He perked up at this. Lunch? Was she offering a free meal? Or was she trying to con him into paying for her meal? Either way, he had quite some time available and he was hungry. "Okay, lunch is gud," he said.
"Great!" she exclaimed. "The name's Leone, by the way."
"Pleased to meet you. I am..." The stranger though for a moment, trying to come up with a fake name. After all, it wouldn't do to go around telling people his real name. "...Tatsumi." Inwardly, he punched himself for coming up with what sounded like this country's most generic name.
"Tatsumi, huh? You don't look like a Tatsumi."
"Tenk yuo. Yuo look nating like lion either."
Minutes later they were at an inn, both of them with a glass of beer before them
"Aahh!" Leone exclaimed as she downed her drink. "Nothing like a cold beer on a hot day." She noticed that her companion wasn't drinking. "Hey, don't worry. There's nothing wrong with a beer at noon."
"I know, I ordered one. But all they give me was dis."
The young woman stared at him. "But... this is beer."
Tatsumi shook his head. "Yuo won't fool me, leetle leydy. I know my piwo. And dis is not it. Is what yuo call piss watter." He shrugged. "Guess I don't have much choice, though."
A moment later they got their grub. Without a pause, the misterious stranger, dubbed Tatsumi, started eating.
"As I was saying, I can help you with your little predicament."
"Oh?" Tatsumi asked absent-mindedly.
"Yes, countrymen like you come to the Capital, wide-eyed, full of ambition, hoping to get an honourable post at the Guard. But the last decade, more and more have been coming, what with the almost yearly droughts in the heartlands and floods on the coast, and the Revolution, not to mention the severe mismanagement. So, they're not letting many of the newcomers join, fearing the Revolutionary ideas might spread within the ranks of the Guard. But I happen to know a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Guard. I can get him to help you get in."
"Mhm, gud."
"But I'll need some money, to 'persuade' him, if you catch my drift."
To be honest, 'Tatsumi' hadn't been paying much attention to what she had been saying. He knew she had assumed that he wanted to join the Guard, but what mattered most to him was the fact that he got a free lunch. He didn't have any money on himself after all.
"Dat's gud," he said as he finished his meal. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to relieve myself."
As he left for the outhouse, Leone smiled to herself. 'Ah, poor gullible country bumpkin. It's almost funny how easily they give up their money. Too easy.' "Wait, why did he take all his stuff to the outhouse?"
"Don't you see, lady?" the propietor asked as he came by. "That boy scammed you into giving him a free meal. That's what they always do. They find a poor gullible country bumpkin, and it's almost funny how easily they get them to give up their money. Too easy."
Leone jumped to attention. "B-but... I... I was... the scam..."
"Look lady, scammed or not, someone needs to pay that bill of yours. And it ain't looking like your friend is coming back from his bathroom break."
Tatsumi, meanwhile, was outside, running away from the inn. 'Poor gullible Imperial. It's almost funny how easily she got skammed into paying for my lunch. Too easy!'
He arrived at the spot near the recruiting office. 'Well, this is where I'm supposed to meet my kontakt.'
And so he waited. The sun started to descend. He waited. The office started to close. He waited. The sun started to set. He waited. As the last rays of light disappeared, the stranger came to a conclusion. "Am starting to tink they're not koming."
He started pacing up and down the empty street, looking around, thinking that, perhaps, his contact awaited him nearby, having been given more detailed instructions on where on the street to wait. But nothing. No one waited for him. Scratch that, no one was out at this ungodly hour. The stranger dubbed Tatsumi backed away against a street corner and squatted, crossing his arms. "What do I do now?"
By dumb luck - whose luck and how dumb would be determined at a later time - a carriage happened to be passing by. A carriage belonging to one Aria DiSato, a young noble lady - well, more 'rich' than 'noble' and more 'girl' than 'lady' - from a family of considerable standing in the Empire. And by the same dumb luck, said girl noticed the young man squatting on the street corner.
"Stop! Stop the carriage!"
The mysterious stranger looked up, noticing the blonde-haired young lady exiting the luxurious carriage. An armed bodyguard accompanied her, imploring her to not talk to the 'filthy street rat', but she wouldn't listen. "Hello!" she greeted, in a friendly manner, as if she were talking to an equal. "What are you doing out here at this hour?"
"Yuo know, funny story," he answered. "I was to meet... friend there at rekruiting station, but they didn't come. Now am stuck on street, in strange city, with no money, no food, only my sword, my clothes and my rucksack."
"Oh, poor thing. Come on, get up. I'll take you to my home. It would be dishonourable to leave you on the streets."
"Lady Aria, please reconsider!"
"Ignore my bodyguard. He's just doing his job. I'm Aria, by the way."
The stranger got up from his squatting position. "... Tatsumi. And where I kome from, is konsidered impolite to dekline hospitality."
The DiSatos lived on the outskirts of town, in a luxurious mannor surrounded by lush, green woods. Their estate, spanning almost a square kilometre, was protected by about two dozen guards, sellsword contractors from the Shi Company. The mannor itself was a four-story building consisting of twenty-two rooms. The servants and guards lived in a much smaller building by the estate's wall. Aria's parents - middle-aged, kind-looking people - invited 'Tatsumi' into their tea room, offering him tea and biscuits.
"So, young man, what brings you to the Capital?" the DiSato patriarch asked.
"Am here for work. Was supposed to meet... friends at rekruiting station in city, but friend, he didn't kome. Am not sure what do now. Probably have look around city... tomorrow."
"Oh, then you can stay in our guest room until you find them," Aria's mother stated. "It wouldn't do to leave you on the streets, and Heavens know guesthouses aren't safe these days."
"Very kind of yuo, leydy. Fenks!"
"Oh, don't worry about it," the father said. "It's what any decent family would do. But then again, there aren't many of those around any more. The rich are distrustful of strangers. And The poor might take you in, only to rob you. And then there is the Night Raid on the loose, who would kill just about anyone, if it meant furthering the goals of those Revolutionaries."
"Go on, have some more tea," Aria insisted.
'Tasumi' loved tea, so he didn't need to be told twice. He had had several cups, and if his hosts insisted on serving him more, he would accept gracefully. After all, protocol demanded he accept anything a host offered.
"So, Tatsumi, where are you from?" the lady of the household asked. "You're not from anywhere near, are you?"
"No, no," the guest answered. "Am not even Imperial. Am from far, far away."
Mr. DiSato frowned, though quickly changed his expression into a kind one. "We don't know much about the Outland Barbarians. You're off from the... northen border?"
"Far to Sunrise way. Or Sunset, am guessing. Is kompletely different kountry. Even beasties are different."
The man smiled. "Interesting... you're one of those 'Round Earth Theorists' then? Very cute. Well, you must be tired. Wu, why don't you show our guest to his room?"
.
'Tatsumi' woke up in the middle of the night. He felt like he was about to throw up, which was strange, since he hadn't drunk any alcohol whatsoever the previous evening, much less exceeded his limit. He needed to get to the toilet - luckily, these nice rich folk had one right on this floor, with running water and everything.
He never made it to the toilet. As he walked down the hallway, he stumbled - literally, mind you - upon a dead body. The lady of the house lay there, with her throat and gut deeply cut and her blood soaking into the carpet. To the foreigner, it was quite a grim sight. Who would do such a thing? The carpet was a work of art after all, and probably an integral part of the Imperials' cultural heritage! Who would be so careless as to kill someone on it?
Well, 'Tatsumi' picked himself up - he had stumbled 'upon' the corpse, remember? - and decided that emptying his guts should be the least of his worries at the moment. Someone had just murdered one of his hosts, who had given him food and a place to stay - mind you, the former probably wasn't of the highest quality, considering the state of his stomach. And, as grandfather said... Uh... Well, it was inapropriate not to help those who give you shelter.
So, 'Tatsumi' went back to his room to get his sword and rucksack, then headed straight to mister DiSato's study... only to find him dead. He had his throat ripped clean off, with blood dripping on his mahogany desk and on the fancy rug. The young man decided that he was not cleaning that mess up, and left to find the last surviving DiSato – Aria.
He happened upon two of the mansion guards escorting said girl out of the house. They looked scared, absolutely terrified! 'Tatsumi' made a note that the Shi company apparently weren't as fearless as the advertised themselves to be. Oh well... The lady 'graciously accepted' (read: demanded) the guest's help with getting to the shed and hiding her there.
And so, they ran accross the backyard, The lad in the front, followed by the lass and the two ladies tailing behind. They had hoped that by having the foreigner lead the way, he would get attacked first. How they came up with that idea, no one would ever know, because just as they made it half-way to the shed, one of the guards dropped dead, a cut that hadn't been there before appearing on his now bleeding neck. The other guard turned around, only to have his neck pierced through.
Aria turned and screamed, making 'Tatsumi' turn as well. "Kome on, only leetle more and we are the-..."
Standing before them was a raven-haired girl, dressed in black clothing, with red eyes (which went quite well with the blood on her black blade and clothing, the foreigner thought), which were fixated on Aria. "Target sighted," she stated, quietly and monotonously. "Eliminate." She lunged forward at an incredible speed, sword aimed to stab, giving the girl no time to react. The boy, however, did, and parried her strike.
"Oy! Kareful wit dat, yuo kould poke somewan's eye out!"
The girl backed up slightly, but raised her blade to attack again, her eyes now on the stranger. "You are not a target. Stand aside."
'Tatsumi' smiled. "Now, I don't know abot yuor kultur, but in my kantry, we all ways help out our host. Aria gave me kookys and chay, so..."
"Very well," the girl nodded, attacking again. The foreigner barely parried her attack, and countered... and missed. The girl sidestepped and followed up with a stab, right at 'Tatsumi's chest. The boy had no time to react. The blade went through his clothes and...
*clink*
The girl immediately had to jump back ast the buy hunched over, emptying his guts right there and then. He hurled out everything he had eaten since lunch - which really wasn't that much - on the ground between them. After he was done, he wiped his mouth into his sleeve, still coughing a bit. "Uhh, kurwa, dis is kazin Bedrzich's wedding all over again..."
The assassin's expression didn't change much, but one could tell she was confused. "Murasame should have killed you in one hit. How are you not dead?"
'Tatsumi' laughed, raching into his pocket. He pulled out an old, plain-looking flask. "Deda, yuo save me yet again! And I laughed when yuo said: 'Boy, keep yuor frends klose, but yuor rakija kloser,'" he answered, mimicking a raspy old man's voice. And with those words, he took a big chug out of the flask.
"A flask?" the girl asked. "Murasame was stopped by a flask?"
"Not any flask, leetle leydy!" 'Tatsumi exclaimed. "See the kolovrat?" he pointed to an eight-sided rounded swastika carved on the flask's front. "Is protekted by gods! Yuor toofpik won't get tru it!" He put it back into his pocket. "Where were we agen?"
Akame attacked again, but this time, 'Tatsumi' had no trouble parrying her strikes. When he, just moments ago, couldn't keep up with her speed, now, he was skillfully moving his blade around as if it were a utensil! Wile he had 'fought' tensly earlier, now, he had a relaxed smile on his face. He was enjoying himself! To be fair, 'Tatsumi' wasn't making any defensive moves, staying completely on the defense, but still...
The assassin jumped back, out of his reach, to catch her breath. The boy, too, took a moment to catch his, before they could continue. But before that, this happened. A tall, scantly clad blonde with clawed paws and cat ears appeared. As crazy as it sounds, she jumped off a nearby tree, landing next to the assassin.
"Akame, what are you doing? Weren't you supposed to kill the girl?"
"I was. An obstacle blocked my path," she pointed at 'Tatsumi'.
The blonde took one look at the stranger and... "Wait, I know you!"
"Yuo do?"
"You scammed me into getting you free lunch! I had to wash dishes for the rest of the day because of you!" the blonde accused.
"I've skammed many folk into washing dishes; my braders, my sisters, my kazins, some whore I met on street today named Leone... Wait, yuo? So, yuo not leydy of night den? Bekause, now would be yuor work time."
"I'm not a-...! Ah, never mind! Akane, is he going to be a problem?"
"Wait, did yuo say Akame?" 'Tatsumi' asked. "As in 'the Demon'? I saw her aanted poster in city, yuo guys are Night Raid!"
"Well duh!" Leone mocked. "It's night. And were raiding a mannor. We-..."
"A lovely weather we are having," the stranger said, exagerating the Imperial accent.
Leone stared at him for a few moments, her jaw dropped. "But... but the front tomorrow might bring some storms," she slowly said.
"But after the red tide, sun will shine again," 'Tatsumi' continued.
"Oh, fucking no," Leone muttered. "And the rain will wash away all the filth that has gathered on the city streets," she finally finished.
Now, it was time for the stranger's mouth to drop. "Yuo!? Yuo were my kontakt!?"
"And you were the guy I was sent to recruit!?"
Akame looked from one of the flabbergasted parties to the other, and back to the first one again. "Guys?"
"Am guessing now know why yuo didn't show up at meeting point," 'Tatsumi' stated. "Yuo *had* been there, but got sidetraked into skamming poor, gullible kantriman, so left point. But how was I meant to know yuo were de kontakt. Dey sed 'look for byutiful young woman'."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Leone shouted. "Am I not good looking?!"
"Guys?" Akame chimed in again.
"Good looking, yes," the recruit answered. "But byuti, byuti is in soul. In looks too, but soul more important. And yuo weren't dressed as 'byutiful young woman', but a, a leydy of the night. Still are."
"Leone, we really should focus on the target," Akame stated, before the two could continue, pointing with her blade at Aria, who was now busy trying to open the shed.
"Oh, I kompletely forgot about her. Yuo guys are trying to kill her, for some reason. As guest, I kan't allow that happen."
"As guest, huh?" Leone asked, calming down a bit. "Let me guess: she found you on the street, then offered you shelter and gave you tea and biscuits?"
'Tatsumi' raised a brow. "Da. How yuo know dis?"
Leone waved to him to follow her. The stranger waited for a few moments, but complied. She led him towards the shed, where Aria was still struggling to open the door. She pushed the foolish girl aside, making her fall on her back, then struck at the door with her claws, breaking it open. "I present to you the other people she invited into her home."
The shed was lined with rotting corpses, which sported varrying injuries and blemishes, from simple, but precise cuts all over the body, to black, oozy spots on the skin. It was gruesome sight of the many ways a man can die in agony. And the stench was unbearable! It made one wonder why it wasn't smelled from the outside. 'Tatsumi' took a deep breath at what he saw (and, in between coughs, decided that it wasn't a good idea to breathe that air).
"Sayo... Sayo, is that you?" a voice came from inside. Someone was still alive. The mysterious foreigner found him quickly: a lad a bit younger than him was lying close by the door, black spots oozing a white substance lining his naked skin. He took a breath of fresh air, then went in and kneeled next to the lad.
"What happened to yuo?" he asked.
"*cough* They drugged my tea. I... woke up here. They put shots in me... with some black water in them... I got the plague, man... *cough*"
"So that's why I been feeling sik," 'Tatsumi' mumbled to himself. "How is yuor name?"
"*cough* It's me, Sayo... Ieyasu..."
'Tatsumi' took a knife out of his rucksack's side pocket. "Yuo return to Underworld and Heaven now. Rest in peace, Ieyasu." And with those words, he drove the blade into the infected boy's heart. He then stood up, wiped the knife in a handkerchief and threw the handkerchief as far away from himself as possible.
"Hey, hey! Where do you think you're going?" Leone suddenly said, grabbing Aria, who had started to crawl away by the shoulder.
"Th-they were just a bunch of countrimen no one would miss!" the lady yelled. "We all know there is no room for them in the Capital, so why is it wrong to have a little fun!"
Akame raised her blade after those words had sunken in. "Time to eliminate the target."
"Wait!" 'Tatsumi' said.
"Oh, what is it now!? Are you still going to 'defend your host'?" Leone asked.
'Tatsumi' came closer, towering over Aria with his sword in hand. "There's line when guest not need respekt etiket of host-guest relationship. Line she krossed. As guest, I need kill her." And, without a single moment for anyone to react, he ran his sword through the girl's chest.
He then kicked her onto the ground and turned around to face Akame and Leone. "So, about joining Nite Reid..."
Okay, that's it. I have two more stories I'm aiming to start, before continuing on my ongoing ones. Have a good one, everybody!