Disclaimer: I do not own Scissor Seven nor do I own Killer Seven.

Prologue

Rule # 13 - Stick to your Assassin's Code. Break it and you will fall.

He had a code for a reason. He had come up with that code through trial and error ages ago. So why had he nearly broken every single one of his rules? Just for some girl he barely knew. He'd walked away as her mother had been killed and he'd felt guilty for doing so. He'd buried the woman in hopes of easing his guilt and the girl had cried quietly as he did. He'd left after he finished his task, the girl still crying at her mother's grave.

Not long after that he'd run into her again, but now she'd angered a lot of the Xuanwu Assassin's and they were set on killing her.

Rule # 3 - Don't get involved in the affairs of others.

He broke that rule when he decided, in his lingering guilt from allowing her mother to die as he walked away, to protect her from her pursuers. He'd taken her with him for a while and had kept defending her as she recovered from her injuries and once she was healed, he'd shown her how to wield a blade in order to protect herself, so he no longer had to. They'd gone their separate ways a few months later and that had been that.

Rule # 4 - Don't get attached.

He broke that rule a year later when he over-heard a few assassin's saying they'd captured 'Killer Seven's lover' and she was being held prisoner by the Xuanwu Guardian. He hadn't realized who they had meant until he had arrived at the location of the Xuanwu Guardian, all he had really known was that some poor girl was being held captive because she had falsely been accused of being his lover. He knew it was a trap meant for him and as soon as he realized who they had mistaken as his lover, he realized that it was his fault for interacting with her in the first place.

Rule # 2 - Don't show weakness or emotions.

He'd broken this rule on the bridge once he'd killed the Xuanwu Guardian, a powerful dragon, and escaped with the girl. He was weakened from his fight with the Xuanwu Guardian and surrounded by dozens of Xuanwu Assassin's but she was weak as well and it was his fault. He'd told her he would protect her. He'd dared them to try to stop him. And she had answered him with a dagger to his back and scornful words, "That's for my mother, Killer Seven."

The girl had played him so well. Protecting her as she healed, training her to defend herself, he was fond of her but ultimately his guilt for not defending her mother is what led to his actions with her. He had begun to trust her and the moment he did, she'd taken her chance. Granted he had thought she'd be going after the creature who had actually killed her mother and not someone who had just been walking by and minding his own business, but he supposed you couldn't really argue with how someone dealt with their grief.

Rule # 11 - If you can't win, take them down with you.

Rule # 12 - Don't let them take you alive.

She'd missed his heart and that was her mistake. The other assassins advanced on him and she just stood there. All illusions of injury gone now. He went to his knee, his trusted Thousand Demon Dagger the only thing keeping him from faceplanting. He thrust the blade into the bridge and used his Qi to manipulate it into collapsing the bridge.

Rule # 9 - An eye for an eye: if someone wrongs you or goes back on their word, return the favor.

He doubted that he'd killed all of them, probably not even her, but if the river rapids below didn't kill some of them, the bridge rubble in the rapids would. The rest would brag that they'd manage to kill him and end up hunted down by assassins wanting to prove their worth against the strongest and even the girl wouldn't last long with her level of training and the moniker of 'Killer Seven's lover' following her around. He wondered if she had really thought past her revenge on him. He would have to be satisfied with the knowledge that his betrayer and the assassin's wouldn't last long. The strongest were always hunted constantly and they were nowhere near the strongest. He admitted that their victory over him had more to do with his mistakes than their strength. They wouldn't last long. He grinned viciously at the thought, as he fell into the rapids.

When he woke again, it was to the blurry images of a short woman with long flowing brown hair and a very large humanoid dog in a doctors coat, who looked to be a St. Bernard breed, standing over what he assumed to be his hospital bed.

His faithful Thousand Demon Dagger was in his hand within moments and despite his weak grip on it and his injured body, nobody in the room underestimated exactly how much control and power he still held. He stared blankly at the two, waiting for them to speak. He could see the fear in their eyes and their tense forms. They were both fighters, the woman more so than the doctor, but even as wounded and weakened as he was nobody could pretend that he wasn't in complete control. He had earned his title and rank as the # 1 strongest assassin and they were right to beware his ire. Injuries didn't really put him in the best mood, despite his high pain tolerance, and having a woman, who looked so close to the girl who'd betrayed him, standing over his bedside wasn't necessarily putting him in a better mood.

"You were found washed up on our beach on Chicken Island. The local Doctor needs your permission to approach for treatment. You are still bleeding out but neither of us can approach for fear of your sentient blade." The woman spoke, firmly. She feared him, but her voice, which sounded older than she looked, didn't even tremble. He could respect that type of control over one's self.

The girl had never managed to do that in the entire time she had known him, even her scornful words trembled as they left her lips.

He was amused at the woman's obvious frustration with what she thought was his blade's defense of him. Everybody always assumed that the Thousand Demon Dagger is the reason for his quick rise to rank 1 assassin and to a point they'd be right. His blade required a very strong will to even earn the loyalty of and an even stronger will to keep from being corrupted by the thousands of demons within the blade. It's blade was made of the shards of a thousand different demon blades and each shard needed to be Qi controlled by the users own Qi and will. It did not and could not act on its own without an epic battle of wills against him and he had long since overpowered and mastered the Thousand Demon Dagger. There was a reason people called him a prodigy of qi manipulation. The sentience she spoke of was his own qi and will defending him subconsciously in his injured state.

She glared at him as if sensing his amusement, "Well boy! What are you waiting for?!"

What a demanding woman?! She amused him but that amusement was tempered by how much she looked like the girl who'd betrayed him. He liked her spirit and gumption but he also knew he wouldn't be able to tolerate much from her.

He tilted his head, casually as if doing so didn't twist and pull at his wounds that were being held mostly closed by pure qi power, his voice was deep and mocking, "I'm waiting for the part where you swear you won't try killing me the moment my guard is down. Not that my... sentient blade, will allow you to."

The woman blushed furiously at his mocking tone and grumbled under her breathe about disrespect, "Your blade is not sentient?"

He gave her a mocking smirk, "It cannot act on its own."

She scowled at him. That didn't necessarily mean that it wasn't sentient and he could see she had gotten his under lying message. Just because he was young didn't mean that he acquired his title and rank just because he managed to find a legendary weapon. People seemed to make that mistake far too much, which was strange in itself, because he only acquired his blade at 16. He's been a Shadow Killer since 15, and you don't get recognized by the Killer's League unless you're incredible strong in the first place. People just didn't like realizing that someone younger than them could be so strong and that thought is what clued him into why the woman seemed so strange to him.

She was actually an old woman, who looked as young as she was in the prime of her life. He'd heard of such spells before in Xuanwu; spells designed to turn back time on your body for short periods of time with just a kiss from the opposite gender which would drain whoever had kissed her of their qi. That explained her grumbles about disrespect. As an elder she was used to people giving her the respect elders like her in the general populace were often given. This woman was obviously born in Xuanwu if she could use spells like that, so why would she expect him to fall all over himself to give her respect when she knows that Xuanwu only respects the strong. The only guess he had was that she'd been out of Xuanwu for too long or she was the strongest on the island.

And what kind of name was Chicken Island? A retirement island for elderly assassins, perhaps? From what he remembered of the maps, Chicken Island was tiny and a nearly insignificant dot on the map.

"As a Doctor I took an oath to never cause physical harm." The humanoid dog-doctor spoke.

"You're a fighter." Killer Seven stated, leadingly.

"Self-defense only and only to protect my patients and myself." The dog-doctor stated matter-of-factly.

"Hm." Killer Seven nodded. That made sense and lined up with what his qi sensing was telling him.

His eye's flashed to the glaring woman, "And what should I call you?"

"Chairman Jiang." She gritted out. She had an issue with him that didn't have anything to do with his profession or anything he had actually done.

He stared her down as he spoke, "Feel free to drop your spell. It won't do much good anyway, Chairman Jiang."

If looks could kill, he pondered in amusement as she powered down. Her face and hands withering and wrinkling with age and her long brown hair shrinking and turning gray.

"Doctor, you'll have to do the treatment while I'm awake. My subconscious deems anyone who comes near me in my sleep as a threat and I've trained myself that way for a reason. I'm sure you understand."

The old woman grunted mockingly, "Are you sure you can handle such a thing boy?"

Boy again. She kept calling him that as if it was the worst insult she could think of and he was beginning to get pissed off. She had held his respect for the fact that she managed to control her fear of him but her casual and purposeful disrespect specifically to his gender, was negating any respect he held for her. A hardcore feminist who was greatly biased against the male gender. That was just great.

His voice became threatening, and the shards of his blade coiled around his body with the same lethality of the Xuanwu Guardian dragon he'd recently killed, answering to his anger, "I'm sure I can handle it better than you can, Chairman Jiang."

At that point she seemed to realize that she was toeing a line she hadn't meant to touch and she grimaced, before blanking her face and keeping careful control of any further responses. Yes, she had obviously been away from Xuanwu for far too long if she didn't remember how to speak or deal with them. Xuanwuians didn't discriminate against anything but weakness and gender or race had nothing to do with weakness. Was this a general populace custom? To discriminate against your opposing gender?

"Doctor, how long will he need to recover?" Chairman Jiang questioned.

"With the injuries he sustained, at minimum he'll need six months to heal and regain his physical and qi strength." The doctor stated examining his chest injury.

"We just need to patch him up and send him on his way, Doctor. We don't --" Chairman Jiang trailed off at the disapproving look on the doctors face.

"He is my patient, Chairman Jiang and until I say otherwise, I will not release him from my care until he is fully healed and at full physical and qi strength." The Doctor stated, forcefully.

Chairman Jiang looked at him in disbelief, "Doctor! That boy is Killer Seven. He is the #1 ranked assassin and the # 1 enemy of Stan. He will be hunted by assassins from both Stan and Xuanwu in hopes of killing him in his weakened state and Chicken Island will be in the crossfire just for aiding and hiding him!"

"Then we'll need to figure something out because the moment I took him on as a patient, I became honor bound by my oath to heal him to full strength." The doctor growled, gruffly focusing his attention on qi stitching the boys injuries.

Killer Seven muttered irritated, breathing heavy with pain, "It's like I'm not even here."

"Yeah well you are and that's the problem!" Chairman Jiang snapped, "Chicken Island is a peaceful place. If word gets out that you are here, we'll be flooded by assassins trying to kill you. I doubt most of them will be an actual issue for you even as wounded as you are." She grumbled reluctantly, "But even you can't take on higher ranked assassins as you are and we will barely be able to handle the mid-range assassin's."

Killer Seven rolled his eyes, "I collapsed an entire bridge full of more than a dozen assassin's in my escape. Some of them might have been killed but most of them will have survived and will spread the word that they killed me. Most will be doubtful but so long as I disguise myself to prevent any sightings of me then people will begin to believe the rumors."

"And what if any higher ranked assassins try to find you by your aura? You have the aura of a high ranked killer, it is the main reason the doctor fetched me in the first place and I recognized you immediately." Chairman Jiang demanded.

Killer Seven sighed heavily, "You have a point. I suppose I could qi force amnesia on myself and force a new personality until I'm back at full strength. I don't like the idea of doing so though as it will leave me extremely malleable, however temporarily it will be. It will however keep Chicken Island safe from most if not all assassin's."

Chairman Jiang frowned at him in suspicion, "Why would you suggest something that will leave you so exposed to manipulation? And how do you know I won't just kill you the moment your vulnerable?"

The doctor growled at her disapprovingly.

Killer Seven gritted his teeth against the pain and smirked at her in amusement, "The amnesia is only temporary and I'll regain my memories once I have recovered. As for your second question..."

He laughed, darkly, "Without my memories, the killers aura will be hidden, that doesn't mean that my body or qi won't remember how to defend myself. Some things are just ingrained within me. For instance when I sleep, my qi will protect me at all costs. It would actually be more preferable for you to attack me when I'm awake. My subconscious doesn't understand the meaning of the words mercy or accident. As it is though, you are the strongest on this island, Chairman Jiang, and you are not in your prime anymore. Even amnesiac and wounded, you are no match for me.Besides any instances of life or death will draw me out in self-preservation for brief periods in time."

At this point Killer Seven stared them both down, his voice coming out in a deep growl, "While I am somewhat incapacitated and not in my right mind, it will fall to you two to keep me from anything too dangerous or eye catching. Any agreements made while I am in this state of mind will not carry any weight when I regain my memories, so don't bother trying it. If I am discovered, my memories will return immediately, whether I am fully recovered or not. Doctor if you want me at full strength when I leave your care then it will be up to you two to make sure that I am not discovered."

Chairman Jiang grumbled at his demands, but held her tongue, nodded and then demanded, "What will we get in return for our services then, Killer Seven?"

His respect for her made a comeback and he nodded at her in approval, "So you do somewhat remember how to speak and deal with Xuanwuians. Should you succeed in aiding my recovery and any future recovery needs, Chicken Island and its inhabitants will acquire my protection for the rest of my natural life, Chairman Jiang, so long as the doctor agrees to continue treating any injuries I acquire in my defense of the Island and it's occupants. I will of course provide full payment for your services, Doctor. Is that satisfactory?"

Chairman Jiang had a dumbfounded look on her face. Acquiring the services of the # 1 strongest assassin was expensive and often a very risky gamble, and here he was just offering his protection to them. Protection, not services. That was a very distinct difference.

She questioned the difference, "Protection, not services?"

Killer Seven grinned darkly at her, "I was under the impression that Chicken Island was a peaceful place. Have you changed your mind about that, Chairman Jiang?"

She blushed in embarrassment at her mistake and snapped, "No. Then the terms are settled."

She was quick to rush from the room. The boy was too powerful for her to be angering but the amusement he garnered from riling her was going to cause her to do something stupid if she didn't get away from him.

The room was quiet for a moment while they waited for the loud slam of the buildings front door to indicate that she was gone, then the doctor spoke up in a chiding tone, "You shouldn't rile her so, child."

Killer Seven grinned unapologetic, "I wouldn't if she didn't start it. Xuanwuians do not discriminate against anything but weakness. Xuanwuians only respect strength. For her to know the spells she does means that she grew up in Xuanwu. She is very obviously heavily biased against males and her time outside of Xuanwu has convinced her that she is entitled to respect. You brought her here in order to help you navigate negotiations with me, but in all actuality her prejudices against my gender, of all things, and the fact that she seems to believe her being an elder means I need to respect her, was what I would have considered a cultural faux paus and could have ended badly. Negotiations against a stronger opponent from a foreign land is no place for prejudice or arrogance when you have others depending on your protection. You will need to keep an eye on her in future negotiations or she will be this islands undoing."

"Is that the reason you offered your lifelong protection?"

"Hmm." Killer Seven hummed, sighing as he closed his eyes, "I rarely meet kind people who would fight or defend me against anyone, including their own people. I offered because kindness and selflessness like that needs protecting. I grew up in Xuanwu but I've never truly had a home or people to depend on. I am curious if the rest of the island is like you. I guess I'll find out."

He seemed to have embarrassed the doctor because he was quiet while he worked. It was a good long while before the doctor finished up and spoke, "You were very lucky that the injury to your chest didn't manage to hit any major organs."

"..hmm, yes, the girl who stabbed me was an amateur with very little skill. She only managed what she did because I trusted her." Killer Seven admitted sleepily.

"..You have fractures in both legs, your right forearm, your left arm was dislocated, and two of your ribs were broken. I've qi stitched what I can, braced both legs and your right forearm, popped your left shoulder back in and qi splinted your ribs back in place. There's not much I can do about your bruises, those will take time to fade. How will you be paying your bill?"

Straight and to the point, just how he liked things. Killer Seven looked himself over. He was not wearing his usual clothes. The doctor had left him shirtless, bandages wrapped around his torso and had given him a pair of loose black shorts to wear. His usual clothes had been tossed into a laundry basket and were waiting to be washed, his hip pouch, leg pouch and dagger sheath were next to him on the nightstand. He reached inside his hip pouch and pulled out a very large diamond that he'd taken from the Xuanwu Guardian as a souvenir.

Handing it over to the now dumbstruck doctor, Killer Seven answered, "That should cover my current bill and any future services I accrue until I regain my memories."

The doctor nodded, place the diamond in his pocket and walked woodenly from the room, the medical bill paperwork still in his hand.

Killer Seven snickered to himself for a moment, before sighing and leaning back onto the pillows of his hospital bed. He needed to get started on holding up his word. He was very powerful qi wise but the last couple days had really taken their toll on him. It was lucky he was a prodigy with qi manipulation; if anyone else tried this they'd waste a lot of qi in the attempt, but he'd always been hyper aware of exactly how much qi he used.

What he was doing was very dangerous and after trusting someone and having them betray him shortly after, Killer Seven didn't really like the idea of doing this, but he was putting Chicken Island in danger just by being here and he did need to lie low. So Killer Seven set about qi forcing a new personality, embedding his Assassin's Code into it and then qi forcing amnesia on himself with his memories only to return upon his complete recovery and adding an emergency safeguard that would immediately return all his memories for a brief period of time in a serious life or death situation and if the situation persisted then his memories would return permanently.

This was only a temporary solution. He was just going to sleep for a while...


Read and Review. Let me know if I should bother continuing with this story.