A/N : Hey everyone, it's me again! With another chapter of OUaRM, nonetheless! Thank you, Cresent Moon Magic, Chaos Assassin, and last but not least, Loli-Punk-Dreams for the Story/Author/Alert/Favorite's:D Cookies for you all! If I forgot anyone, I'm very, very sorry. I've not a very good memory... Anyways...

Velocidrome - Thank you for the constuctive critism! You deserve a cookie, too!

Loli-Punk-Dreams - Thank you for the compliments, we'll try our best!

Now, without further ado, on with the story!


Disclaimer : Found in the Prologue.


Once Upon a Red Moon - A MapleStory Fanfiction.


Chapter Three- Kill or Be Killed


I could not sleep that night- Thought about the mysterious man, Hj Kaosu, kept me up all night. I remembered his expression on his face when he saw my gun, and when he showed me his. Another gunslinger... I also kept remembering the dream I had- More like a nightmare, frankly. Was he going to kill me? Did he intend to? I did not know. All these questions ran through my mind, and not one I could answer.


Akatsuki woke up to a noise of sorts. His eyes flickered open lazily, and glanced at the clock. 10:30.

'Darn.' He thought. 'I slept in too late.' His brain finally began to focus, and categorized the noise as the squeal of many, many girls. He blinked. 'Wait... What?'

"Aka-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!"

Suddenly, a head of light blue hair popped into his view. Hj. The blue-head was grinning brightly. Because of the better lighting, he was more than just vaguely shown, unlike the previous day. He sported a white silk Chinese-styled vest with a lilac colored sweater on top of it, loosely hanging off his shoulders. The sleeves were cut off at mid upper arm but the rest was connected with two strips of leather. He also wore a long, beige scarf. A silver chain dangled from the washed denim cargos he wore- He looked to be a teenager, possibly only a few years the elder of Akatsuki.

"Morning" He chirped.

"Hj? What are you doing here?" Akatsuki said, voice was shaking. "How did you know I was here?" Madeline and Francis came down too, wondering what the commotion was about.

"I DID kidnap Francis, y'know." He retorted matter-of-factly. Hj caught Madeline and Francis from the corner of his eye, and turned to them, a bounce in his step, revealing the earrings which adorned his left ear. "Hiii, people"

"Um... good morning," Madeline said unsurely, as Francis raised his hands to greet him. "So... what brings you here this early?" Akatsuki asked, still remembering the event that happened yesterday. He still remained cautious.

"Well, you see, I was out for a walk earlier today, accompanied by those lovely ladies out there." He explained, and pointed at the window, where the mob of fangirls stood, squealing. "Anyways. So, I passed by here, and thought, 'Hey, why not visit? They won't mind.' So, here I am now." Hj grinned, and waved to his fans.

'Why did he assume we won't mind...' Akatsuki thought. "Well um, okay, but who is that person behind you?"

Hj blinked. "Ara? There's someone behind me?" He turned around, only to be bonked on the head by a small, rubber hammer. "...Oh."

A woman, about the same age or older than Hj stood there, a frown gracing her lips. She removed the hammer from his head, swinging her long, honey-brown hair over her shoulder as she watched Hj rub his head, with annoyed jade-green eyes.

"What did I say about running off while you're staying with us in Henesys?" She spoke, a dangerous tone.

"But Jade-nee-chaaaaan.." He whined. "What's the fun if I'm not allowed to do anything without you watching my every move?"

"That reminds me. I'm still quite angry at you for going off on your own without leaving a note, yesterday." She spoke, the annoyance clear in her voice. Hj grumbled something under his breath, but quickly brightened up.

"Nevermind that," He chirped, and pulled Jade by the arm so she was standing infront of Akatsuki. "Jade-nee-chan, This is Aka-chan. Aka-chan, this is my cousin, Jade Pierce."

"Um, hello," Akatsuki said quietly, as he held out his hand in front of Jade, to give a handshake. Madeline came downstairs.

"I'm Madeline, an artist and an assistant to my brother. He is Francis, my brother," she said, as she pointed at Francis, who waved, "and he's a monster anthropologist."

"Nice to meet you all." She greeted, and shook Akatsuki's hand.

"Well anyways, Hj, when and why did you start calling me Aka-chan? It sounds weird..." Akatsuki asked.

"Your name's too long." He replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He probably considered it to be, as well.

"Okay... but what's up with the -chan? Can't you just call me Aka?" He sighed. "Well... forget it. I'm going for a walk."

He tilted his head in confusion, and turned towards Jade, grinning. "I'mma go with him, kay?" Before she could protest, he'd dragged the younger boy out the door, and onto the sidewalk. He shouted an excuse to the fangirls, and walked alongside Akatsuki.

Jade sighed. "Sorry about my cousin.. He's always like this." She apologized to Madeline and Francis. The brunette smiled apologetically, and left the house.


"Oh... why are you following me?" Akatsuki asked, walking a little faster than awhile ago. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I original purpose was to take a walk anyways, and because you wanted to take a walk as well, I merely tagged along. Simple as that." He replied, walking beside Akatsuki.

"Well alright... but you have to tell me two things... one, Jade's last name... Pierce... is she related to Athena Pierce, by chance?"

"Of course. Athena-han is my aunt."

"Wow... I see. So of course you're an Archer?"

"Nope."

"Then... what class are you?"

"None."

Akatsuki looked at him quizzically. "Is that even possible in this world?"

"Well, if you consider being a gunman as a class..."

"I see. Oh, and my second question is, how do you have a gun, like me? Certainly you know these weapons are illegal."

"My, you're certainly very forward, asking someone who you've met twice, his past."

"I'm just really curious how you have one. There are only ten in the world... and you carry one, like me. Even if you have a point that I don't really know you, I still want to know this mystery. So please, tell me."

"Meh. I got it at a really young age, that's all you need to know." He muttered. "If you wanna know more, you're gonna have to find out yourself."

Akatsuki stopped asking questions, and started thinking as he continued walking, both hands in his pocket. He remembered when he got the gun, when he just stole it and ran. He wondered how Hj got his...

Hj had since then started walking with a bounce in his steps, whistling.

All of a sudden, Hj stopped whistling, and halted. He stared at a group of people infront of them blocking the path. They were all dressed with at least one chain, and a tattoo. Some wore sunglasses, while others held a cigar between their teeth. Their clothing consisted mostly of black, as well. The blue-head walked up to them.

"Ne, mind moving outta the way?" He asked politely, albeit a bit childishly.

"Actually, we'd prefer if you moved." One said. Apparently, the leader.

"I moved so I was able to get your attention, did I not?" He contradicted.

"Hah. Guys, look. A transvestite with an attitude problem." the leader said.

The gunman rose an eyebrow. "That's not very nice."

"Then tell us, oh mighty she-man, are you going to continue walking in our territory, or are you going to leave like a good crossdresser?"

He scoffed, childishness had abandoned him a good while ago. "Please, a gradeschooler could come up with something better than that. Try again."

Akatsuki just stood there, quietly, trying not to get involved in this quarrel.

"Then learn me in the art of insults, and then leave. Will you be satisfied that way?"

"Leave? I think not. Though it would be a wise choice for you to relearn the ways of insult. Of course, I'll start off slow. With a brain-- No, the lack of a brain like yours, it already takes forever for a single word to register."

The leader scowled. "Okay, I think it's my turn to teach you a lesson!" He threw a fist at the blue-head. The force of the blow sent him flying back, crashing into a lamppost. A drop of blood trinkled down Hj's lips. He wiped it away, and looked up at the leader imperiously, with a disgust as if he was a bug.

"All brawn and no brain, ne?" He stated in a cocky manner. "Then so be it. But, now it's my turn."

His hand, hidden by the overly long sleeve shot up, revealing the jet black pistol- Beretta 92FS. Gunshots ran through the air. Suddenly, three of the members were down, blood pouring from a fresh wound in their skull.

The others stared in shock. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" one yelled, charging at the blue-haired gunman. The others followed suit.

He plastered a looked of boredom on his face, an dodged him with ease. A click. Cold metal pressing against the brute's neck, and a slightly muffled gunshot. More shots ran though the air, each one followed by the collapse of one of the attackers.

Hj pointed the gun at him, and pulled the trigger. A click. Then, nothing. He blinked and realized he was out of ammunition. Cursing at his bad luck, he put away the gun and pulled out a paper thin projectile. Green, black and white dominating its appearence. From the way his arm was positioned, one could easily see the glove covering his hand, as if a second skin. The body, a milky white, was fingerless, adorned by sapphire knuckles. A silver wristguard was slightly visible from behind the sleeve. Within the blink of an eye, the projectile had flew from his hand and lodged itself into the boss' neck.

He fell over, obviously dead.

Putting his arm down, the blue-head kicked away a corpse in disgust, and made his way over to Akatsuki. "Et voila. I win, fatally."

Akatsuki was speechless. His fighting technique, it was flawless. The use of his gun, the poisoning; absolutely amazing.

"That was amazing," He gasped in awe, while he voiced his thoughts. Immediately, though, his face twisted into a look of sheer anger. "But absolutely malevolent! Why are you massacring everybody? There was no need to!"

He scoffed, like he often did. "Quite the law-abiding good citizen, now are we?"

"You didn't have to kill them, did you?" Akatsuki continued to reason. "Carrying that gun you just used is bad enough... but using it for murder? That's even worse! If everyone in the world was as insensitive as you, the human race would've been done for long before our time!!!"

Hj was unfazed by the yelling fifteen-year-old infront of him. "Really, now? And this is coming from someone who, like me, also carries a gun? Someone who'd also commited to murder before? If you call this a massacre, then you've seen nothing yet. Let me teach you something, Aka-chan. In this world, it's killed or be killed. That's the way I've always lived, and it's the way I'll continue to live. You, too, are gonna havta live with it, if you plan on keeping that revolver of yours."

Akatsuki was speechless. All this was correct. How he carries the gun, how he murdered somebody with it. He had no right to say what Hj was doing was wrong. Then, something caught his attention.

"Wait... Hj, how did you know I killed somebody?" The reply was sweet and simple.

"I was there."


A/N : Yay, cliffie! So, what didja guys think about this chapter? Constructive critism is always appreciated!

-Till next time, the OUaRM team. (Glacier123, Hjiscool, BloodyHanyou)