It was finally time.
Her first assassination contract.
It was time to prove herself. To the cause she set as her own. To the group she swore her allegiance to.
And she was beyond terrified.
She had done it before. Taking a life with her own hands. She knew how murder felt like. She should be used to this already, right?
No. No, she wasn't. That time was different. It was her own vengeful instinct. And it was a need to survive.
This time, it's an objective. She was ordered to kill this person. And her target isn't some random patrol guard. Now it's someone with a name.
"Are you sure you can do this, Naoki?"
The leader of Night Raid's voice was absolute. Najenda expects the best out of everyone under her command. Even those who aren't sure of their own potential.
And Naoki was one of those unfortunate people.
Can she do this? It wasn't something trivial such as catching fish or something much more dangerous like hunting a Danger Beast.
Had she trained enough for this? What if she hadn't? What if she makes a mistake and fails the mission? Or worse, what if she ended up losing her life? What if-
"-Naoki!"
She finally snapped back to reality. Najenda was staring at her, eyes narrowed.
"Listen... I know it's scary. Everyone gets scared on their first target. It's normal. You've only trained for at least a week or so, and you are far from being adept at this. I can understand your fears. If you think you're not ready yet, then perhaps I should pass this mission to someone else.
But... if you really want to realize your true abilities and be able to exact your vengeance against the Empire and its corrupted roots, then this is your chance. It's your choice. And I hope you make the right one."
It was no wonder that Najenda was the leader of the Night Raid and one of the primary driving forces of the Revolutionary Army, it wasn't just her strength. It was her voice, and the words carried by it.
Somehow, she was suddenly filled with a new wave of confidence. And unwavering determination.
And with that, she had made her decision.
"I'm... I'm ready."
The dim moonlight bathed the Capital, with darkness feeling almost every corner of the tainted city.
One could almost smell the corruption festering within.
At the top of a closed down hotel, stood two figures. Their faces hidden underneath their own shadows, courtesy of the moon.
The raven-haired girl focused her sights on her target. A third eye on her forehead opened. Even in the dead of night and from hundreds of feet away, she could see him clear as day.
A black three holed balaclava mask over his head, green buttoned shirt underneath a beige jacket, and yellow jeans. A strange fashion choice, there was no mistaking it.
Foster. Head of one of the most vile gangs in the Empire. Responsible for a handful of smuggling and human trafficking operations inside and outside the Capital. The only reason the imperial police haven't acted upon them yet was because his gang provides "benefits" to the Capital's high-ranking officers. As long as he gifts them with some of his own "products", they continue to turn a blind eye on their activities.
Without a doubt, a true example of a waste of society that needed to be disposed of.
He seemed to be accompanied by two other rough looking men in sleeveless jackets, possibly members of his gang acting as his guards. They were just entering a fancy restaurant, probably to enjoy some luxurious drinks. Too many witnesses. She might need to wait until they finally come back out.
Accompanying her, was a green-haired young man with red goggles that he seemed to never actually use, keeping an eye on the former.
This was her first assassination mission, and even though she had spilled blood before, the feeling of anxiety still flooded her senses. She could understand why Najenda had opted to have Lubbock, a veteran member of Night Raid, to see her performance on the field.
But it was still her mission, and she needed to be able to finish it on her own. She mustn't rely on anyone else this time.
Kai didn't come with her. She assumed it was because he trusted the members of Night Raid enough to let her out of his sight and under the care of one of them. She didn't know what Kai would be doing right now. Was he still back at base? Was he out on a mission of his own? He never told her anything.
"You're pretty on edge, aren't you?" Lubbock commented casually, breaking her focus.
"That's alright, I was a bit like you too when I went on my first mission. Always afraid of what would go wrong. Always worried that I might not make it back.
But, I put it all behind, and just focused on completing the mission. I say, there's nothing wrong with planning ahead, but don't think too hard about what happens if you fail or what could possibly go wrong, otherwise you'll never be able to act and move forward.
Besides, a pretty lady like you shouldn't be looking grumpy all the time, ya know? You'll get wrinkles on your face faster." Lubbock stated, while grinning at the last statement.
Naoki glared at him for that joke, but eventually taking note of his advice. "... Thanks, for the advice.
By the way, you know I'm only 15, right?"
Lubbock shrugged in response. "Eh, I'm a patient man, I could wait.
... just kidding, I already have a special someone in my heart. And I know you already got your eyes on that Kai fella. Though I must say, he's probably a bit too old for you, dontcha think?"
Hearing his assumption caused blood to rush into her cheeks.
"W-we're not a couple, okay!? Kai's more of a-a... a guardian. That's all. And why would I be interested in him anyway? He's too old for me, just like you said!" Naoki retorted, surprising Lubbock.
"Woah, okay okay, I get it, sheesh... you don't need to freak out like that. In all honesty, I'm not even sure if that dude could land a girlfriend, not with that kind of dead expression on his face all the time." He defended himself, raising both his hands to calm the young assassin down.
Naoki wanted to counter his comment, but no words could escape her mouth. Lubbock wasn't wrong to assume such things about Kai. He was an enigma to everyone, even herself.
They have been close together for around two weeks, and so far she only knew his name, and... that's it. Hell, she wasn't even sure if Kai was his real name.
"So uhh, I never really got a chance to know you too well before, so if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you meet him?" Lubbock blatantly asked, curious about her past.
She was quite hesitant to tell anyone her backstory, but considering she is a part of Night Raid after all, perhaps she should trust all of them. After all, they trusted her. Couldn't she do the same?
"... I was chasing down the corrupt police officers who... killed my family. I was obviously nowhere near strong enough to take them all on, and just when I thought my life was over... Kaicame to me. And killed all of them.
I had nowhere safe to go in the Capital, and I knew I couldn't survive by myself outside, so... I asked him to take me with him. And he actually agreed. We lived mostly outside in the forests, but he would always hunt down animals to bring me food, and even go to the city to find me clothes and even a place to sleep. He even helped me train in self defense so I don't have to be protected by him all the time.
He... rarely talks, as you could already guess. His name was the only thing he told me about himself, and nothing else. But even though I don't know anything about him, I still feel like... I could trust him with my own life."
As Naoki was reminiscing her time with the silent swordsman, Lubbock was slightly shocked, and even a bit disturbed at her story.
What kind of creepy dude just shows up out of nowhere, saved a little girl from a bunch of bad guys(which he admitted was a good thing), but then proceeded to basically adopt her? Sure, the fact her family was all gone and she had to escape from the city made it sound justified, but still, it just sounds weird, okay?
Not to mention her not knowing anything about the guy at all makes him even creepier. Who knows what that mute would be thinking in his head all the time? That did beg the question though...
"Hey, Naoki, you have Spectator now, right? Why didn't you try it on Kai to see what's on his mind? Maybe we could figure out more about that walking mannequin and why he's so quiet all the time." Lubbock joked.
"... I already tried it once. I didn't see anything." She nonchalantly replied, much to the latter's surprise.
Quite frankly, it wasn't really much of a surprise to her.
--
"Naoki, you think you could try on this Imperial Arm?" asked Najenda.
"Hey yeah, maybe if we're lucky, she could use it instead of Tatsumi." Bulat surmised.
In Najenda's hands was Spectator, the Imperial Arm once belonging to the now deceased Zank the Executioner. An object that could apparently allow the user to see through far distances, creates illusions, and even see its victims' thoughts. Creepy and unnerving, but undoubtedly powerful.
The Imperial Arms... supposably relics of a lost time, and the secret to the Empire's long lasting reign of power compared to other nations. And their endless path of bloodshed.
If the legends surrounding these weapons were indeed true, then these things are greatly irreplaceable. Perhaps even more valuable than her own life. Which means there's no reason why she wouldn't possess one. Of course, it depends on whether or not she could actually use one of them.
Apparently these relics needs to have a compatible user, and it will just reject anyone else not worthy of it. It sounded strange, and certainly illogical. What kind of weapon chooses its own wielder? Maybe the bit about these Imperial Arms apparently being alive wasn't so far-fetched after all.
"... yes, I will." Naoki responded, albeit hesitantly.
"Are we sure this rookie could actually use an Imperial Arm? Maybe she wouldn't be able to handle it and just faint or something like that.. " Mine mocked.
Tatsumi glared at the pinkette in annoyance. "Quit it, Mine! We don't know yet until she actually tries it on."
"Tatsumi's right. Besides, if Naoki could actually use Spectator, that means he's the only one in our team left who doesn't have an Imperial Arm yet." Lubbock remarked, while snickering at the end. Tatsumi's annoyed face quickly turned into one of despair as he realized the weight of the former's words.
"Ouch, I bet that really hurts." Leone whispered to Bulat, grinning.
"You think?" He simply replied.
As Naoki held the relic Spectator in her grasp, she felt a peculiar sensation flowing through the rest of her body. It was like the relic itself was calling upon her directly, as ridiculous as that sounded.
Finally putting the Imperial Arm on her forehead, she could feel the sensation getting stronger. And it was intoxicating. Before the feeling overpowered her senses, however, it dissipated as quickly as it appeared.
Opening her eyes, she could see... nothing out of the ordinary. Her eyes blinked multiple times. Did it not work? Wait...
"What's wrong, Naoki? You look like you're seeing things." Tatsumi asked, noticing her worried look.
Without warning, Naoki's cheeks began to flush heavily.
'W-why.. am I seeing all of their underwear... '
In her eyes, the entirety of Night Raid was wearing nothing but undergarments. The female members with their bras and panties, and the males with their briefs and... towels? Wait, why was she even paying attention to what they're wearing?
She immediately closed her eyes in embarrassment, trying desperately to turn off the Imperial Arm's powers or change it to something else. Opening her eyes again, she began to see... no, read something else.
'I want to have meat for dinner.'
'Why was she blushing... wait, could it be that she actually saw the same thing I just did?'
'Man, Naoki-chan actually looks pretty cute too, maybe even cuter than Sheele... I bet she looks good in a maid outfit... '
Are these.. the thoughts of the members of Night Raid? So now she could read their heads? Akame wants to eat meat for dinner, Tatsumi seems to realize her reason for being embarrassed, and Lubbock.. what was all that bit about her in a maid outfit!?
She immediately felt compelled to turn the Imperial Arm off, not wanting to find out more embarrassing stuff about her teammates. The excess information was a little too much to bear as of this moment.
So far, Spectator seemed to not reject her yet, and she was even able to use some of its powers with no problems. Though it did feel a little taxing on her mind afterwards. Like it was draining her mentally.
The weapon is only as deadly as its wielder. The Imperial Arms are powerful weapons with capabilities exceeding anything else known in the world, thus the wielders themselves must become as strong as the weapons they hold. It was clear that she needed to train more if she wanted to be able to use Spectator to its full extent.
"Naoki, is there a problem?" Najenda asked.
Naoki looked at the white-haired leader and, with a new layer of optimism, answered, "I think... I've found my Imperial Arm."
"Eh!? So I'm still the only person to not have an Imperial Arm after all!?" Tatsumi exclaimed in disappointment.
"I'm sorry for your misfortune, Tatsumi." Bulat exhaled, putting a hand on the brown haired boy's shoulder to comfort him.
"Better luck next time, huh?" Lubbock added, trying to add salt to injury.
As the members of Night Raid were budy paying attention to their less fortunate member, Naoki's attention shifted onto a certain yellow-eyed swordsman, who was leaning against a wall far from the crowd.
Kai always liked to keep his distance away from everyone, even from her. Almost like a shadow, always close behind, always within reach, but unlike reflections, their true appearances are never shown. She had never managed to get him to open up, and it was quite unlikely she ever will.
As if a light bulb suddenly lit up above her head, an idea formed in her mind. What if she used Spectator on Kai? She may be able to read his mind. If so, what could he be thinking right now?
Activating the Imperial Arm, she focused onto the silent swordsman and saw... nothing.
Nothing at all. It was like his mind was completely empty.
She had to blink a few times to make sure that the Imperial Arm was actually working. She couldn't read his mind at all. Not even a single line of thought was seen. How is that possible?
Is his mind actually devoid of thought almost all the time, or was his facial expression and body language just so formless and static that not even a powerful sight-based Imperial Arm was able to read it?
She didn't know the answer to such a question. She wasn't sure if she could ever find out.
--
As memories continued washing over her brain, Naoki was snapped back into reality, by a sudden finger snap from Lubbock.
"Oy, Naoki! Stop daydreaming, don't forget to focus on the mission." He reminded.
The mission. Right. She needed to keep her eyes on Foster and his whereabouts before planning his assassination.
Activating Spectator again and using Farsight, she managed to get a clear view of the restaurant the gang leader recently visited.
What she saw next, rendered her stunned in terror.
One of the waitresses was thrown out the main entrance, causing a commotion. Not long after, one of the gangsters walked outside and proceeded to grab her by her hair.
Something bad must've happened. They're going to hurt her. Or worse.
Before she knew it, her body had already moved forward.
The mysterious masked man, Foster, watched in a bored expression, his arms crossed, as one of his henchmen continued to spout curses towards the waitress, who was now at his mercy.
The poor woman, a redhead by the name of Kalina, was defending another fellow waitress who were being sexually assaulted by the gangster. And she did so by pouring a steaming hot cup of coffee right on his lap.
And now, she was going to pay for her mistake.
"What the fuck do you need me to do to this bitch, boss!? Should I poke out one of her eyes!?" The enraged gangster asked harshly.
"Do whatever you want, Bean. Just don't make it too messy or too long." The boss, Foster, calmly replied.
"Hey, boss? Don't you think doing this right here is gonna attract some attention? Why don't we just bring this girl back with us?" The other gangster beside him nervously asked.
His answer had the same tone as before. "Don't worry, Sawney. All the commanding officers of the imperial police is under our grasp. Even if the citizens call for help, no one's coming anyway. Besides, we already have enough girls for this week. We could afford letting one go to waste."
The other customers in the restaurant as well as the waiters and waitresses simply stood back and watched in horror, as the woman was about to possibly get brutalized by the maniac.
If what that gang leader said was the truth, then that means there was no point in reporting to the police, as they would simply ignore it anyway. It was a hopeless situation.
"You hear that, bitch? I can do whatever the fuck I want to you.. you better start feeling sorry now for that fucking stunt you pulled.. " Bean spat towards the redhead's ear, while pulling a rusty knife from his belt.
Kalina used nearly all of her strength to hold in her voice, but it was clear she was in a lot of pain, as she failed to hold her tears in.
She couldn't believe it was happening to her again. That night, she was insanely lucky to have him save her, the night she was nearly kidnapped by a group of the same looking gangsters in a dark alley.
She thought that changing her work schedule to night shift would help her avoid dangerous situations like that to happen again, but apparently lady luck was frowning upon her. Hoping not to stumble into danger, instead, danger came to her when she least expected it.
Even though she was deathly afraid, and greatly powerless, somehow her protective instincts managed to take over her body when she saw one of her dear friends getting molested by those damn monsters in human flesh.
It was a dumb move, and she quite lamented it now, but there was no point in regret. At the very least, her friend was safe.
She hoped she could see him again. Those cold yellow eyes. As cold as they were, it was those eyes that saved her from a fate worse than death. But she knew that she wouldn't be so lucky next time. He was long gone.
No one was going to save her this time.
The gangster, Bean, slowly moved the tip of his knife towards the waitress' left eye, readying to gouge it out.
Slash
"Wha- AAAAGGGHHH!!! My fucking hand!!"
Blood. Lots of blood.
But none of it was hers. No, it belonged to the psycho who nearly gouged her eye. His left hand was now on the floor, still grasping the knife.
Stab
The same psycho was now vomiting blood, his consciousness fading, unable to breathe, as his throat was severely pierced with a dagger.
Belonging to a certain raven haired girl in a dark red hooded cloak.
Twisting the blade, she made sure his throat was completely severed, before pulling it out, causing blood to spurt out across her face. The gangster was reduced into nothing more than a fresh corpse, lying in a pool of his own blood.
Kalina blinked, unable to fully comprehend the events that occurred.
Someone saved her again. It wasn't the same person as last time, but her life was nearly lost, and now she owed it to another person, just like before.
She wasn't sure if she was the luckiest, or unluckiest woman in the world right now.
As the waitress was distracted by her own thoughts, the new arrival was distraught with a new feeling of dread.
Turning towards the last two remaining hostiles, she unsheathed another dagger, ready to pounce.
Naoki had fucked up. She knew it.
She had a clear shot. All she needed to do was kill Foster, their boss. She could've stabbed him from the back while his henchmen were distracted. It would've been much easier this way.
But if she was another second too late, the redhead waitress would've lost one of her eyes.
It was a tough choice. And although she was initially relieved to have prevented harm to the woman, she felt like she had made the wrong one.
The mission was going to be a lot harder now. Being the leader of a fearsome criminal gang, there was little doubt that this Foster could be skilled in combat, or he may have a few tricks up his sleeve. Not to mention his remaining bodyguard as well. She couldn't figure out a way to deal with them both at the same time. She wasn't trained enough for this.
The tension only got worse, as the masked man, Foster, unholstered a revolver and pointed it towards her. His remaining bodyguard, Sawney as she recalled it, also armed himself with a hatchet.
This has turned into a much more difficult situation than she expected. How was she going to dodge a gun? Wait, actually she could.
She focused. The third eye on her forehead opened.
Using Spectator, she could use Foresight to see even the slightest movements and foresee their next move, and all she needed to do is dodge it.
"Th-that little bitch... she killed Bean!" Sawney exhaled in fury, his grip on his hatchet tightening.
"Judging by her size, it's a girl... how could someone so young become an assassin? Doesn't matter, this little brat needs to be taken care of." Foster spoke calmly, despite the fact he just lost one of his trusted gang members.
His finger twitched slightly, preparing to pull the trigger. She saw it.
Bang
Immediately springing to the side, Naoki dodged the first shot coming from the gun.
The gang leader clicked his tongue. He oulled the trigger again, and again. And every time, he missed.
The girl was surprisingly swift. Factoring in her small physique, it made her a much harder target to hit.
Twisting one of her daggers, Naoki threw it towards the gang leader, forcing him to narrowly dodge it. The momentary lapse was all she needed.
Immediately sprinting forward, she readied her remaining dagger, preparing to strike. But her Foresight predicted something else.
The gangster with the hatchet proceeding to step in and swing his weapon towards her, at neck level.
She lowered her body into a slide, avoiding the hatchet. The gangster noticed his hatchet didn't hit anything, and tried to reorient himself. But she was already expecting that, and made her move first.
"Ughaarghk!"
A dagger straight to the chest, right where the heart would be. Afterwards, pulling the dagger back out, leaving a massive hole. A severe cardiac hemorrhaging, quite certainly fatal.
Now all that was left, was the target.
Bang Bang
Two shots were heard from behind the bleeding gangster, the bullets piercing through his own flesh. One of them managed to hit their mark.
"Aaagghh!!!" There was now a bullet wound on her right thigh, causing her to fall down. It was painful. Very painful. Nothing like she'd felt before.
As the body of Sawney fell completely onto the earth, the smoking barrel of Foster's gun could be seen. He knew that his remaining bodyguard was already dead, so he simply fired his remaining shots from behind, hoping one of them would hit the girl in front of him. And it seemed, lady luck was smiling down on him.
'Shit... it hurts... it really hurts... I can't move... I can't even stand... ' Naoki gritted her teeth, her breathing erratic, tightly grasping the bullet wound hoping to stop the bleeding. She lifted her eyes, only to be greeted by the cold stare of Foster, who was now reloading his gun, intent on ending her once and for all.
There was no way her Spectator could've seen that coming. He was right behind his own henchman, and she didn't get a clear sight of him, nor was she able to even pay attention quickly enough to the leader after dispatching his two guards.
"You little bitch, you just cost me two of my men tonight... I think it's only fair you pay for it with your own life, don't you think?" The masked maniac spoke with a calm, yet tense tone.
Naoki closed her eyes in self-contempt. She failed. Her first mission, and she couldn't do it. Not by herself.
"I think that's enough."
An unfamiliar voice caused the gang leader to turn to his back, as he laid eyes upon a new arrival. The man was wearing a dark long hooded cloak, concealing his face.
"Who the hell- gaaaghhkk!" His sentence was never finished. Countless strings of threads forming a long sharp spear, perforated his chest. Now he too, had joined his other deceased henchmen.
Retracting Cross Tail back, Lubbock let the body hit the dirt, before proceeding to walk towards Naoki, still clutching her thigh in pain.
"Can you stand up?" He asked.
"Uughh... no... I.. can't... " She responded weakly.
"... Alright, I'll handle it."
"What are you- whoa!" Lubbock pulled her up and then carried her bridal-style, without even asking the latter first.
The green-haired assassin looked around. There was way too many people here. The people in the restaurant still haven't budged from where they stood since the incident happened. It was a good thing he found a long cloak on his way here, otherwise his identity would've been exposed.
Carrying the rookie assassin, he sprinted away from the restaurant, and made his way back to the rooftops. Thank god the girl was small, and therefore light. Maybe even as light as Mine. He would not let anyone ask how he would even know that.
Finally making sure they were out of sight, he set her down, before grabbing a roll of bandages he stored under his jacket for precautionary measures and tended to her wound.
After finally making sure the bleeding had stopped for good, he released a deep sigh. "Well, that could've gone a helluva lot worse."
Naoki simply kept quiet, unwilling to say anything in response. Lubbock noticed, and tried to lighten up the moment.
"Hey, you did good, alright? You managed to take down two of them by yourself, that's an accomplishment, you know? Especially for your first mission."
It didn't work quite as well as he hoped. The young girl softly uttered, "It doesn't matter... I... still failed. I wasn't.. fast enough... if you weren't there, I would've... "
"Hey, that's why we're a team, right? We should count on one another. You can't always expect to do do everything yourself. That's why we trust each other, and work together as a team, as Night Raid."
She looked up to his face, acknowledging his advice. It was something that she should remind herself about. She always assumed that the only person she should count on was herself. She only assumed such so that no one else would be burdened by her shortcomings.
But she was part of Night Raid now. And even though the time she had spent with them so far hadn't been much, there was a certain level of care and devotion that each member dedicated to each other, almost like... a family.
"Hey, Naoki, are you fine? Is the wound hurting again?" Lubbock asked.
She blinked, noticing the wetness of her eyes and cheeks. Did she tear up again? Well, she couldn't really help it at times. Wiping away the tears, she softly responded. "I'm fine... it's nothing to worry about."
The green haired assassin stared directly at her for a few moments, before finally cracking a slight smile. "Come on, let's get you back before midnight. You're gonna need some time in bed to heal. Najenda will kill me if I let a cute girl as a rookie die on her first night out."
The 'cute girl' slightly frowned at Lubbock's attempts to flirt with her. "Stop calling me that, you perv. And don't think I'll ever wear a maid outfit for you."
"... Oh, so you knew about that, huh...?"
The forests reek of despair.
The silence of the night was shattered by the screams of the unfortunate.
Women and children, trapped within cages, treated as subhuman. Men chained to their necks, forced into physical labor. A once peaceful village, cut off from the horrors of the empire they lived in, now entangled in its corrupted roots.
Dozens of inhuman psychopaths, dressed in tattered clothes, leather jackets and bandanas armed with various assortment of blades and firearms patrolled the entire village. The wooden houses, were filled with tons worth of stashes of unknown chemicals, brought from outside the Empire. A large-scale drug smuggling operation at work.
At the top of a watchtower, stood a man wearing a long black sleeved jacket above a kimono and hakama along with sandals, with a twig in his mouth, with his eyes closed.
He held his sheathed katana tightly by his side, as he meditated to tune out the noises of the suffering beneath him. He wasn't interested in such things. He only wanted to find more prey to feed his weapon.
"Izou."
A voice called out his name, breaking his concentration. He let out a sigh of dissatisfaction.
"What is it this time?" He asked, coldly. Turning to the man who called him out, his head covered in a three holed balaclava, he realised it was the boss in charge of this operation. He also noticed the look of anxiety the man's face.
"Some of my subordinates told me that you disappeared last night. Is that true?"
The swordsman glared upon the masked man for what felt like ages, before finally answering the question. "So what if I did? Do you really expect me to sit here in this place every single day, doing nothing but watch the birds fly and the trees grow?"
"I understand that you are one of our best men, but.. if you keep going out on your own and not doing your job, just because you wanted to 'feed' that sword of yours, then one of my messengers might inform Volker about this." The boss warned him.
Izou didn't bother to look at him a second time, but he did respond to the warning, with his own. "Are you asking me to stop feeding my beloved Kousetsu? Would you like to become one of its meals today?"
The boss gulped, noticeably agitated, but he kept his stern face. Deciding that he shouldn't discuss this matter any further, the boss turned around to leave the tower, but not before warning the swordsman one last time.
"Just watch your steps, weirdo. You know what happens to those who step too far out of line. They get paid a visit by the Red Lunatic."
Izou continued to seemingly ignore the masked man's voice, but he heard every word.
He was promised bloodshed, not guard duty. He initially had no qualms about joining this criminal empire, as long as he gets to feed his Kousetsu. But now it was clear that he was being treated as no more than a glorified guard. There was simply not enough action to keep him interested in this job anymore.
Oh, how he wished he would be given a chance to unsheathe his blade tonight.
BOOM
He turned around, his grip on Kousetsu's handle, ready to be unsheathed.
An explosion in one of the houses on the farthest side of the base, storing the drug stashes. Somebody had broken in and used explosives to blow it up.
The chained slaves were running away from the fire, while the guards were desperately trying to put it out, hoping to save whatever was left of their precious drugs.
And then, something else caught his eye. Something that made him crack a smile, as he felt his Kousetsu lusting after more blood.
On top of one of the still intact houses, was a man, carrying a sword of his own. With a red scarf around his neck and lower face.
A man, with bright yellow eyes.
Author's Note
This hiatus was completely unplanned. And I'm really sorry for it.
You'd think that half a year in quarantine would serve to fuel my motivation and give me more spare time to write, but the opposite actually happened. I won't go into any detail about it for personal reasons, but that's not what really matters. What matters, is that after so damn long, I finally updated this story.
For all those who had abandoned hope, well I don't blame you. But for those still reading, thank you for still sticking around. I really appreciate it. And yes, I do read the comments, and I appreciate every one of them(even the troll ones). To those who commented on this fic almost regularly, I really enjoy reading them, and I hope you don't feel ignored because I didn't address them much in my stories.
I have managed to catch up with some of the manga, and I decided that the manga's storyline seemed better to follow than the anime's. It just looks better and more interesting in comparison. I might still incorporate some key elements from the anime if needed, but that may change in time.
The part about Naoki receiving Spectator was not actually planned at first, but then I eventually decided that she needed some kind of power boost early on because she was really underpowered compared to everyone else, even Tatsumi. I might have to change some of my initial plot ideas now that I've written it this way.
Obviously, I made a few changes to the story and will make more changes, such as manga-specific characters appearing early. But that should be expected since this is a fanfic after all. But what some of you might not expect is me adding some new OCs on the villains' side, and them basically being blatant references to one of my favourite video games. If you can figure it out, then good on you.
I don't make promises because I suck at keeping them, but I can tell that the next chapter will not take as long as this one. I don't want another unplanned hiatus on this fic. Let's just hope 2021 will be kinder to all of us than 2020 has ever been.
Thank you for reading this, and have a great new year. Until next time.