Hey Death's Beauty fans! I've reached a lull in my daily routine, so now I have more time to update! Yay! *insert confetti* And so, in the spirit of all things RK, lets go!

Morning shone joyously through my open window. Streams of multi-colored bright light filtered onto the floor, and danced upon my face. I lay in my bed with my eyes closed, letting the reborn warmth of the sun gently stroke my skin awake. Last night was the first good night of sleep I had had in a long time. I rolled out of bed, and stretched every one of my muscles, flinching a bit when I strained my shoulder. Rolling my white bed kimono down, I looked at it. An ugly purple stain spread from the center, and out to the bottom of my neck, where there was a dim green ring around it. Yep. Definitely bruised. I pulled my sleeve back up, then went to the back of my room to dig for wearable outfit. On the way, my foot came down on my futon. I heard a metallic clink and stopped. Then it hit me.

Last night, I had met with to assassins from the underground government group, known as Tadashi Subeta. The had offered me a position, and I had accepted. They had given me my own sword to use in combat. I was to meet with them tonight by the old oak for my first assignment. Tonight, I would test my true worth in the Kamiya Kashin Style.

After I had picked out a kimono, a plain white, with a blue ribbon thingy that tied it in the back, I set out to help Dad with the morning chores. As usual, I found him around back, washing the laundry. Wow. I thought. Dad's good at laundry, Mom did always say that when before they were married, he always did it. Makes me wonder if Mom was any good. Dad was oblivious to me as he squatted in front of the wash bucked.

"Hey, Dad?"

I watched him jump a couple feet into the air, and nearly go head long into the wash bucked. That's the good thing about being a kid. No matter how old you get, you can always effectively sneak up behind your parents and scare the heck out of them. After regaining his balance, Dad turned around, and smiled when he saw me.

"Ah, Tori. You shouldn't sneak up on me. A scare like that can send a man to his grave."

Sure. If they happened to be ordinary, and not the former Battosai, The Man Slayer. I squatted down next to my father, and began to help him with the laundry. All the while, the both of us talking about anything and everything. When I went to reach into the bucket, I pulled my left shoulder, and whimpered. Dad looked up at the sound. Concern sharpened his soft features. He glanced at my shoulder then up at me.

"You should probably go see Miss Megumi this afternoon. Take Kenji with you too. He's been complaining about his chest. I think you two might have overdone it at yesterday's training."

Over done? No. We were just being a typical swordsman, and swords mistress. But of course, there was no arguing with your father. Especially if you happened to be over attached to him.

"All right. We'll go into town."

I told Dad, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"There's no need to worry though. Kenji's fine. Me too."

Dad smiled, but I could still see the shadow of parental worry in his eyes.

"The last time you told me you were fine, the next day you were in bed-ridden for weeks with a serious illness."

I remembered that. It had started with a fever, then lightheadedness. The next day, I was throwing up, and bed ridden. I had been…what? Seven? Eight? The one thing I'll never forget, is how scared Mom, Dadand Kenji had been. One night, I had heard Mom crying. From that point on, I had vowed to always be strong, and try my hardest to never get sick. I could understand Dad's fear, but I was fifteen now. Not a child, and I certainly didn't need anyone hovering over my shoulder. Standing up, with a folded pile of wet, clean clothes in my hands, I began walking over to the clothes line.

"We'll go, but I assure you. It's probably nothing!"

* * * * *

"Hm. It's a pretty big bruise, but there's no signs of a fracture. Here, just put this cream on it each night before you go to bed, and you should be fine Tori."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Megumi."

"Oh, and Kenji, try not to do anything that exerts you too much, I don't want you widening that fracture on your sternum."

Kenji smiled, as if to say 'Sure', but tipped me a wink, like 'No promises.' I made my payment to Megumi, who smiled at me, bade me a good day, then called in the next patient. As we exited her place, we stopped by the Akabeko, to pay Tae a visit.

"Oh hello, Kenji, and Tori. How're you two doing?"

We smiled, and told her of our day. Afterwards, we started walking out of the market, and back home. I wasn't counting on spotting one of them. He was standing in an alley, watching me. He looked at me as if to say, 'Tonight. Don't forget.' Then turned away and vanished from my sight. Tonight after sundown, what would happen then?

* * * * *

Silence enveloped me in its cold, black shroud. The night shone with countless stars, each a shining jewel embedded in the slab of ebony sky. There was no moon to aide me as I walked alone to my meeting place. I wore a black short kimono with my sword at my hip. I made no sound as I journeyed through the forest, moving to the rendezvous solely by instinct. The branches of the rotting oak clawed for the moonless sky like dead hands. At the foot, stood the blond man I had met last night. He smiled as I approached.

"So, you came. You look lovely. Black suits you."

"Skip the chivalry. What's my assignment?"

Pulling out a slip of paper, he told me.

"Aoshima Hanake. A merchant who deals with trade in European countries. Outside sources have informed us that he has been reportedly capturing young girls from rich families, and selling them off to Middle Easter countries. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about the ones who have already been sold. What we can do, however is abort it where it stands right now."

He handed me the paper. Written on it, in spidery handwriting was the address of Mr. Hanake. I thanked him, and went straight for the old man's home. On cat's feet I moved noiselessly, and with the speed of the wind. It didn't take me long to reach where I was going. The manor was located in front of a large lake, which shone like black glass. I hopped up a nearby tree, and scanned the front vicinity of the manor. There were two guards posted in front of the door, one on the west side, one on the east, and one in the courtyard. Only five? My hope sank down into a deep sea of despair. Five guards, and one old guy. Did they really think that little of me? Okay, fine! I was just going to have to show them what I was really made of!

I made a daring leap from the tree onto the top of the stone wall surrounding the place. Thanks to my black kimono, and a moonless night, I avoided being seen. My feet made a muted thip sound as I landed on the other side. Hm? How would I get their attention without killing them? After all, my only target was the old guy. A rock, about the size of my fist sat to my right, grinning, I picked it up, and threw it over to the west side. Upon landing, it made a nice little clattering noise, that sent all guards present running.

Easy enough. Quickly, I ran to the west wall. I was in luck! It seemed that every single rich house you find has some sort of vine system growing up to the roof.

"Dammit! It was just a false alarm!"

"False alarm? Rocks don't move without being thrown. Come on, there has to be an intruder nearby!"

Crap! Gathering all my energy in my legs, I sprang straight up. Surprise! I actually managed to jump eight feet up. When I had my hands securely wrapped around the interwoven vines, I began my ascent. On the top floor, I happened to peek in a window. Kneeling by the door with her back to me was a girl about my age. Everything about her screamed despair. She was a perfect picture of hopelessness. Tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks as her chest heaved from choked sobs. Well, this was where I would get off. Raising a fist, I smashed through the window. She looked up at the sound of breaking glass. Her watery eyes widened in shock at the sight of another human being who was not an old man.

"W-Who…are you?"

She asked in a creaking, raspy voice. Apparently, she had spent a long time crying. I took a step forward. Her eyes caught my sword, and she backed towards the door.

"Who I am doesn't matter. Go. You can probably climb down, and sneak out if you're careful."

"Sneak out? I can't leave!"

Can't leave? Did that mean she actually liked the idea of being sold to some stranger who would use her as his personal prostitute? Rich girls these days. Jeez.

"Are you stupid? You have to leave. If you don't you'll be sold to some man in a far off country. Do you not understand that?"

Then the waterworks started.

"I..I can't escape! Mr. Ha-Hana…ke sw-swore he would hunt…me d-down and k-k-kill me! My father is dead…and m-my m-mother ran o-off with a-another man! I-I have no one!"

Wow. She really didn't understand. This girl had looked directly at my sword, backed away, and now she was telling me she couldn't leave? Disappointing.

"Look. You don't get it. You can leave. Because-"

I told her, unsheathing my sword. It caught the fragments of starlight, and glimmered like a large diamond of death.

"I'm going to kill this man."

Those six words made her bolt straight up, rush forward and grab me tightly around the shoulders. Her eyes were wild with blue lightning.

"Are you crazy?! If you kill him-"

"If I kill him, you go free."

Now that knocked some sense into her. She let go of me, and backed away. Raising an arm, she gestured to the door.

"Through that door. Turn right, continue until you reach the fifth door on you left. That is his main room."

I nodded, and walked forth. The door was unlocked. Surprising, and then again it wasn't. If you swore to kill someone, if they fled from you and they practically had no family, then you didn't really need to lock the door. A darkened hallway met me. No sound reached my ears. Stepping out onto a plush carpet, I looked both up and down the hallway. Once again, no sound. Where were the guards? Were they really that big of idiots?

"Hey."

I turned back to the girl, but the only thing that remained was a vacant, and quiet room. Without its occupant, it actually seemed a bit creepy. Smart girl. She obviously took the initiative and went with what I was saying. Score one for me. Now, if I could only go for the double pointer, I would win this little game. I quietly sheathed my sword, and stepped out into the hall, shutting the door softly behind me. The whole manor was as dark as a ravens wing, and as silent as a graveyard. That troubled me, then again, it was quite thrilling. Looks like I would be killing more than one tonight.

Cl-click. The sound of a gun barrel being cocked caused me to spin around. Standing at the end of the hall was one of the guards. His gun was aimed right at my chest.

"Hmph. Stupid woman. You think you can actually kill anything?"

Bang! With the speed of the wind, I unsheathed my blade. The bullet hit the broad side of my sword, and bounced off back onto the ground. Crushed and useless. The feeling was welling up within me again. That beautiful, sweet seduction of blood being spilled. Five more rounds were fired. All of them useless. Now it was my turn. I raced forward, and slashed, severing the guard's right arm from his shoulder. He shrieked in agony, and fell to his knees, his blood dieing the light blue carpet a dark, malicious red.

"Ya, see. That's the problem with a gun. You use up all six bullets, and what do you have left? Nothing. A sword on the other hand…"

There was a meaty slish sound as he was decapitated.

"Never needs to be re-loaded. Life lesson for ya there pal."

The corpse fell to the floor with a solid thud. I looked at my sword, which was dripping scarlet. The smell of blood enriched my senses. I licked off as much as I could. Animal instinct began to gather inside my soul, that would burst forth from the weapon I carried. I began to run, not caring if I was heard anymore. Did it matter? I had just killed a gunman. I had seen the bullet's path! There was no way I could be stopped tonight!

"Hey! There she is!"

"Kill her!"

The other four showed up in record time. Smiling, I hurried forward. It didn't take long to dispose of those cowards. The last, stared up at me, coughing blood. He was lying in a sea of red, whimpering and begging to be spared? Yeah, spare scum like that? Forget it!

P-Please…don't kill me…I…I'll…"

"You'll what? Die on your own? Perfect! Makes my job easier!"

Before I left him to choke on his own blood, I did him the nice favor of cutting off his right hand. Just in case he tried to shoot me as I was walking away. It's not being cowardly, I was letting him take joy in his last moments. If that moron got the notion in his head to fire a gun at me as he lay dying, well…let's just say, not pretty. I ignored the spluttering sounds as I stepped over the cadavers, and continued onto my next target. The fifth door on the left is what the girl had said. Lucky me, it was also the one at the end of the hall. Leaning forward, I put my ear to the door, and listened.

Breathing met my ears. Fast and shallow, the breathing of a terrified man. I licked my lips. Ah, how fun! The prey had been chased to the corner by the wolf, and now it would turn and fight for its useless, pathetic life. Brilliant! Another sound reached my ears. A sob. A woman. Jack ass. Figures he'd have more than one holed up in this prison. Taking confidence in my situation, I turned the knob slowly, relishing in the gasps and moans from the other side.

When I opened the door, I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. Guns. Is that all people ever used anymore? Man, I thought rich guys knew about proper weaponry! At the back of the room, huddled into the wall was a twenty something looking brunette. She wore one of those really short dresses, you know, the kind that comes to the top of your thigh? Crystal tear streams made sparkling lines on her darkened sorrowful face. Mr. Hanake trembled as he held the gun at my face. He was one ugly son of a bitch. First off, he was fat, second, he had a nose the size of small melon, and he was completely bald! Not to mention the gray hair sticking out of his ears, or the mole on his cheek. Repugnant.

"We can-"

He never finished his sentence. Both gun and body had been sliced in half. Both halves of the body made a wet smacking sound as the hit the floor, blood pooling between the two. The girl looked up at me. Salvation was just beginning to peek over the horizon of anguish.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Wiping blood off my sword, I turned away.

"I'm not what you think I am. I am not your savior. I didn't do this in order to help. This is my job. Not a good Samaritan act."

With that, I left the girl to finding proper clothes, and getting the hell out of this fancy whore house.

* * * * *

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Local merchant, Aoshima Hanake, was killed last night! But that's not the worst part! They say that police have found evidence that he had been selling young girls from rich families to men in Middle Eastern countries."

"My how scandalous!"

"I know! Say, did you…"

I walked away. That was all I needed to hear.

"Hey, Tori!"

I looked over at my shoulder to where the rest of my family was. Mom was smiling and talking to Megumi who was standing outside her clinic, while Kenji was inspecting some dried herbs. Dad waved me over and I jogged back.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, your mother and I were thinking that while we were here, we would stop by the Akabeko, and get a bite to eat. Sound okay? Kenji's already put in his word."

"Sure thing!"

Dad smiled. A gentle wind blew from the south, carrying a delicate warmth. Mom and Dad walked a bit ahead of Kenji and I.

"Hey, look sis, Geishas."

Across the street was a group of Geishas. One stood out from the rest. She was wearing a plain white kimono, and she had sort of a sad beauty to her. She caught my eye, and for a moment looked shocked, but then tipped me a gracious smile. I smiled back and kept on walking. Kenji had question marks in his eyes.

"You know her?"

In truth I did. She was the girl I had first encountered upon entering the manor of my target last night. So she had no family, but at least she found some sort of a better ending. What happened to the other one? I'm not exactly sure, but I hoped she had someone. The again, fate loved pulling and playing with the strings of a person's life.

"Nope. Never seen her before. But its always kind to return the smile isn't it?"

Well, there's chapter five! Oooohhh the mystery of what happened to the brunette! Anyways, R&R thanks!