Chapter 1
She was just about finished with her mission when life suddenly chose to make everything go possibly wrong. An assassin for hire, she was bred from a young age the ways of a murderer, and then some. Except, this wasn't your usual hit-and-run. An escapee of a Satanic cult originally intended to become a High Priestess with the help of her three older brothers - albeit not blood related - at five years old, she was picked up at the tender age of seven and forced to participate in an assassin training program in lieu of her brothers, given her traits, or so her Masteress assumed. Given she was the runt of the pack, she was given extra special training and forced to endure twice the amount of what the usual assassin would experience in a lifetime. She rose up the ranks, thanks to extensive training, and under the threat of her brother's safety, she insured her allegiance to the Assassin's Alliance, carrying out orders via missions assigned by her mentor and expected to carry them. In return, her brothers' lives remained untouched and her due pay relayed, despite her reluctance to accept blood money, but for the sake of a living, she saved up.
And so, enters our full fledged assassin, at just the cusp of adulthood at seventeen years old, a teenager born from hardship. Her name? Rachaelle Rosenthal, or preferably Rachel Rose. But as an assassin, she is known as Ruth, considered a prodigy for her skills and finesse. A pretty child, although life may not have favored her, her looks won her some favor, no matter how much of it was unwelcome, despite her dislike for her appearance. Pale silver moon eyes, alabaster skin, and straight waist-length raven hair, she stood at 5'7, tall for most young adults but with an aura of indifference and intimidation, her cold appearance staved off the majority men, and for good reason. She knew the price of beauty all too well, and not one to repeat past mistakes, she maintained distance within any relationship until the day one man managed to surpass her wall of thorns.
/
Tch. /Everything was going so well. What the hell happened?/ She looked behind her as she entered a forest, irritated beyond belief at the amount of reinforcements that arrived soon after she eliminated her target. The operation was running smoothly for a solo mission, and yet somehow, someone managed to call for backup. Swearing, she jumped up and took shelter amongst the shadows of the treetops, thinking of a strategy when she heard a rustling of leaves behind her. Using the commotion to draw her sword quietly, she drew it before her protectively until a shock of white hair appeared. /Zero./She frowned, eyes narrowed as she popped him in the back of the head with her scabbard, hearing a yelp of pain. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me during a mission?! Do you want to get killed?!"
He looked up with a sheepish smile on his face, hands held up in mock surrender. "Hey, hey, just come to rescue my favorite person, relax~ Anyways, I heard about what happened. Apparently, Masteress sent me to assist you. But just a quick heads up, they're just as formidable as we are, so stay on your guard. From what I heard, there's two of them; one can manipulate time and the other can make himself invisible." His mood switch was sudden, but considering they were a tag team, she was accustomed to it by now.
She nodded, processing the information. "Fine, then, I'll be taking the time traveler. You just need to draw blood and track the scent from there, can't you?" The time traveler would be difficult, but if she could outsmart him, then she'd go for the kill. What she didn't know was the very outcome of the fight that would change her life.
He grinned. "But of course, Ruth. If you can manage to injure him with a gun shot, then I'll take over from there~" He withdrew, his dark uniform concealing him in the shadows, before pulling out several knives. "Ready?"
"Hmph, as ready as I'll ever be." This job didn't spare any failures, so carelessness was off the agenda. Reaching into her black coat, she grasped her kunai, which she could attach by either chain or transparent string, before checking her ammo in her gun. Then, she stood up on the branch, putting away everything but her sword. Silver half-moons peered out from the branches as they locked onto the two wandering targets. "Let's go."
Both assassins dropped from the tree, Ruth quickly pulling out her gun and shooting Zero's target in the arm to give him a headstart while her target was distracted so he could have a scent to follow. He'd always had an obsession with blood, which didn't help with his sharp nose. His target grunted, trying to return the favor but failing as Zero diverted his target, and as expected, he turned invisible, hot on his trail. Now, it was only her and the time traveler.
A chuckle. "Well planned; as expected of an assassin your caliber, /Ruth/." The target was a female, dressed in a baggy cloak. Shadows enshrouded her face, but that mattered not to Ruth. All she knew was to keep in mind that baggy clothing meant hidden weapons. She blinked in response, a neutral mask on to conceal all and any emotions. She knew the target but shared no familiarity, however, her popularity was no surprise.
"I don't recall ever meeting you." A low monotonous tone which held a sliver of suspicion.
"Oh, no, simply a fan." Her target smirked. "You must be wondering what happens now, what weapons I must be hiding. Well, you see, with time on my side, I don't have to worry about that one bit. Just a knife will suffice." Suddenly, the target pulled out an Albert, attached to a chain which she swung rapidly, and before Ruth knew it, there was a cut on her arm, her waist, and her back.
"Tch." She swung her sword, barely managing to knick the cloth of the time traveler's cloak. The cuts were semi-deep, making it enough to hurt when she moved although she ignored the pain, but not enough to worry about bleeding to death. /But if I sustain enough of these, then it wouldn't matter in any way./ She grit her teeth as the target guffawed.
More attacks inflicted more wounds until it almost seemed that Ruth had bathed in her blood. Slivers of red slithered down her lightly soaked shirt and pants, but she barely acknowledged the pain, taking the brunt of the beatings silently as she defended as best as she could.
"Oh come now, you have to do better than that~" The time traveler tauntingly skipped a circle around Ruth, just barely out of reach, but enough reach for the katana to graze her. However, the assassin had something else in mind. She disappeared quickly, the time traveler gasping as she vainly attempted to locate Ruth's location only to cry out at the unforeseen attack as the sword cleanly sliced off the arm holding the Albert. Inhaling strangled breaths, she gripped her arm tightly to stave off the blood flow and looked up in panic to see Ruth nonchalantly holding up her trump weapon.
"Looking for this?" The Albert dangled precariously from her bloodied fingertips as the moonlight reflected off it's brass finish and flashed off the previous owner's face, igniting her fear. Although it may have seemed that Ruth had transported, to be honest, she only moved faster than the eye could see, thanks to her inhuman nature that she activated. Narrowing her silver eyes into slits, she dropped the blood-stained watch onto the ground, summoning her dark essence into her sword. "I think it's about time we rid ourselves of this, don't you think?" Raising her sword high, the moon only enhanced the inhuman glow of her cold silver eyes as she readied the blow.
"No! Wait! You can't destroy it or else-"
But her pleads fell on deaf ears as the blade struck the glass of the watch, and suddenly, time seemed to stop. And before she knew it, she was being surrounded by reels like one would see from old movies, and they enshrouded her, swirling around her in a dizzying blur until she heard the faint call of her name from her companion before complete darkness consumed her vision.