Assassin's Creed and The Monster Girl Encyclopedia belong to their rightful owners.
This is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to people, organizations, religions, and places is just a coincidence.
Grammar issues ahead
Chapter 1: In This World or The Other One
Everything was in chaos. A group of mercenaries had invaded the property and were determined to wreak havoc wherever they went. He tried to stop them. To defend his home and family. That's what got him into this situation. A fight in the game room of his mansion.
He was an expert when it came to fighting. With swords or pistols, at the age of forty-two, he forged his reputation with both weapons.
He held his sword firmly as he took slow steps to the side. In front of him, his adversary mimicked him. They were measuring each other. Waiting for the right moment to strike. Without saying anything to each other, both men launched into the attack. The initial blow was the impact of both weapons which released a burst of sparks. The sound of steel against steel echoed through the room as both pressed with all their might to overpower their opponent.
He was fast and agile, this together with his experience led him to skillfully dodge the mercenary's attacks. But that thug would stop at nothing to beat him.
Cuts and thrusts were dealt with. Although he had the upper hand, his mind was scattered. As his home was attacked, so was his family. He barely managed to get his wife and son to safety but saw no trace of his eldest daughter. This distracted him. The worry that something might happen to him because of him.
After thinking about it, he made an opening in his guard, which was taken advantage of by the mercenary, who managed to close the distance and strike a blow to the man's chest. The cut went diagonally from his waist to his right shoulder. Blood splattered, but the pain brought the man back to the real world. He managed to dodge a thrust aimed at his heart by taking a quick step to the side, then turning on himself as if in a dance, tracing a path to the mercenary's back and stabbing him.
He saw the gleam of his sword emerge from the opposite side and heard the final gurgles of the bad guy before he withdrew the sword and let the man fall to the floor. Blood stained the expensive carpet, but he didn't care. He then staggered to the door. This was no time to rest, he had to find his daughter.
He could only take a few steps out of the room before he felt the cold steel piercing his flesh. Paralyzed by the pain, he could barely move his head in an attempt to see what happened. At his back was another mercenary, a man with a cloth covering his mouth. He let his guard down too soon, how could he be such an idiot? Years of training and practice. All that led him to be who he was, and yet he was still a human. Someone who made mistakes, and it was a mistake that had just brought his story to an end.
He tried to articulate some words. A curse. Or whatever. But he couldn't.
A groan was all that came out of his mouth before a boot hit his popliteal fossa, causing him to be unable to stand and fall to his knees, only to fall to the ground and exhale his last breaths.
England, December 3, 1735
Edward James Kenway was many things in his life, but philosopher was not one of them. He never stopped to think about what would happen after he died, preferring to be focused on other, more productive pursuits than thinking about death. Managing his home, Kenway's Manor, tending to his beloved daughter, Jennifer Scott, or his second wife, Tessa Stephenson-Oakley, and their son, Haytham Kenway. Even being plagued by too many papers and reports from his company kept him away from philosophical thoughts of that style. Not to mention how his life out of the public eye led him to be a guide and teacher to the young initiates of the secret order of which he was master. The Assassins.
His life was full of defeats and victories. He made friends as well as enemies. Chief among them was the Templars, an order as secret as his own that wished to enslave mankind in a peaceful manner.
It was no wonder that, with enemies of that caliber, sooner or later it would be his turn to taste steel.
That's how it was. Lying face down on the floor. The great Edward Kenway exhaled his last breaths. All of this was because of some mercenaries who broke into his home.
Edward felt rage boil in his body. Those scum dared to attack his home and his family. His family. He should make them pay with interest! Make them taste his hidden blade as they gurgled trying to call for help! But it was too late, he had failed. Once again he failed. Failed as a husband. He failed as a sailor. He failed as a father. And now he failed his new life.
He would have preferred to live longer. To see his daughter, get married. To see his son, try to woo some lady and fail, and then give her the best advice to do it properly. To see them both live their lives and create their own families. To meet his grandchildren. He ended those thoughts when he could only see darkness.
There was nothing left to do. He did everything he could and tried to live as best he could. Maybe he had some regrets, but crying about the past was useless. He could rest and maybe see Caroline again. Caroline... He could never apologize to her and only heard from her sometime after she died. There was so much to apologize for. Would she be angry that he went on with his life? He didn't want to be scolded even in death.
It couldn't be like that, right? Years passed and although she always had a place in his heart, he had to move on, for him and Jennifer. He could only hope that his former comrades would be there to protect him from his ex-wife's wrath.
Could he see Thatch again? Mary? Had they been waiting for him all this time to drink and celebrate like so many years ago? Maybe, if he was lucky, he could see all of them one more time.
Those thoughts calmed his mind and drove away his regrets. He had no idea what he would encounter, either heaven or hell, but any slightest hope of seeing them was enough.
"In a world without gold, perhaps there we could have been heroes."
Those were the words of Edward Thatch, also known as Blackbeard.
So much reason in so few words. Edward never considered himself a hero, even as a Master Assassin he refused to be considered one. He was just another monster in the bunch. He was not as blind as others, he continually questioned things and it was what he instilled in his son.
Perhaps the only regret he could have was that he could not have done more for the world. Give his children a better place to live, away from the sword and war. Maybe then he could be worthy of being called a "hero".
It was time to be embraced by the cold, wet waters of death.
He could feel his body sinking and sinking. A familiar sensation. It was like diving into the ocean waters once again.
He was feeling his clothes getting wet and pulling away from his body. Was this reincarnation? Would he be a baby once again and was he just reminiscing about his life as he would forget it? If so, he hoped his new self would not make the same mistakes.
No, this was too cold. It was different from the warmth that a human body emanated. What was going on? Why did it feel like he was running out of air? Why did he feel like something slimy was crawling over his body?!
Edward opened his eyes. To her surprise, he was not on the floor of his home, and what was more impressive. He was still alive. The man looked around, everything was dark, but it was a kind of darkness that was familiar to him so he looked up. There he saw a white light so without hesitation he began to move his arms and legs to rise. Or at least he tried to.
From the darkness, several tentacles emerged and imprisoned him in a viscous embrace. The former pirate captain was shocked by this attack and tried to free himself. Those limbs, although gelatinous and flexible, were devilishly strong.
Like an apparition, suddenly, a beautiful young lady appeared out of the darkness. It was a beautiful lady of beautiful proportions and brown hair.
Kenway was stunned for an instant at such magnificent beauty, and when she pressed their lips together, his amazement only increased and he was tempted to let go, but his senses reacted. This couldn't be real. Some kind of illusion - was this the work of an artifact?!
The man resumed his efforts to free himself, which took the young woman by surprise. Kenway finally realized that those tentacles and the girl were one. This creature was not human. It was similar to those legends of beautiful half-fish women. Mermaids who captured sailors to take them to underwater tombs.
No. It wasn't going to end like this. If this was the road to hell, he would fight until his hands were covered in his blood to get out.
With all his strength, the man released his right arm and curved his wrist backward. He did it out of pure inertia, so many years of attacking like that against opponents who thought being closer was a good idea. He didn't even know if his weapons were still there, but he did it anyway. From under his clothes, a sharp blade appeared and he launched his attack.
His blow connected with the right side of that monstrous creature, who instantly released it as he felt the sharp pain of being stabbed by a hidden blade.
Edward did not waste it and began to swim to the surface while the half-human creature was lost in the depths.
The waters of the sea were pierced by disheveled blond hair. Edward took deep gulps of air trying to fill his lungs once more.
He looked around him, what kind of illusion was this? Couldn't even in death be far from the ocean?
He looked in all directions to find some point where he could lean on and escape from whatever that creature was. He managed to spot land, perhaps a little more than three hundred meters away, so he began to swim towards that place. Adrenaline flooded his system so he could not tell if his body was injured or not.
Nighttime in the ocean was always dangerous and Edward knew that, so he had to get out before some predator decided to add him to its nightly menu, or that tentacled thing came back for more and who knows, brought reinforcements with it.
As he swam, Edward's mind tried to make sense of the situation he was in. He was supposed to have been stabbed in the back while killing one of the damn mercenaries that broke into his home. Why in the name of all the rum was he now in the middle of the ocean being attacked by an octopus, thing, monster girl, or whatever it was!
Finally, he reached the shore and crawled onto the sand. She began to cough and vomit up all the salt water she had swallowed and then dropped down looking up at the sky. The full moon adorned the firmament and the stars accompanied her.
"Is this the afterlife?" he whispered. His only response was the sound of the surf breaking against the shore.
The man began to sit up and looked out at the ocean. The vast sea in front of him made him feel comforted, but at the same time uneasy. Was that creature still there? Lurking and waiting for him to be distracted to come out of the ocean in search of it? It had a human appearance, maybe it could do it.
Not wanting to find out, he got up and decided to walk away from the beach. He examined his surroundings. In front of him was what appeared to be a forest, to his back was the open sea, and to his left and right was only the beach.
The adrenaline that flooded his body began to fade and the fatigue that followed flooded him. The man staggered but did not allow himself to fall. He had to find a safe place. Without much choice, he decided it would be best to get into that forest, away from the ocean and that tentacled creature.
He was thankful that the moon was in its full moon phase, the light that the star provided was perfect to advance through the thicket without stumbling, this added to his skills developed over the years, Edward was an expert when it came to traversing rough terrain.
He had no idea how far he walked, but the sun began to rise over the horizon and Edward was tired. His mind and body were going through extreme fatigue, something that was unusual. Was it because of his age? He was barely over 40! He wasn't that old!
Thanks to the sound of a stream, the man was able to find a source of drinking water and did not hesitate to bend down and start drinking. The cold liquid ran down his throat, which made him realize something, his body felt hot. His whole body began to burn.
"Ah... ah... what the hell... is going on now?" he questioned observing one of his hands. He could see how it was moving back and forth and ethereal copies of it were dancing in circles. He was hallucinating.
"Hiip!" the man heard a shriek of surprise and not wanting to relive his experience with the tentacular monster, he drew from his waist a flintlock pistol and aimed at the source of the sound.
There he saw a young woman, he deduced instantly that her attire was not something he was familiar with, but he was sure he had seen it before. Perhaps in Istanbul? No, it was more oriental. Macau perhaps?
"Uh...why are you moving so much?" he questioned before falling into the stream completely unconscious.
The young woman, perplexed and frightened, did not hesitate to turn and run away, but as she took a few steps away she stopped and turned to Edward.
Cautiously, she began to approach, observing his features and clothing. It was not something she was familiar with, they looked expensive despite being damp. An ocean blue coat with gold embroidery covered his top, black pants on his legs and brown leather boots on his feet. She looked at him more closely. His tanned-skinned face and blond hair were something she had never seen before. Along with this, she also noticed that he was breathing heavily. She touched his forehead, discovering that his body was on fire and that he appeared to be in a state of deep unconsciousness.
She couldn't leave him there, she couldn't! She decided it was better to try to help him. Take him to a place where he could rest and recover.
With difficulty, she managed to drag the man. It was difficult because of the difference in size and weight, but she did not give up. It took her more than two hours to drag him to the gates of her village.
Their arrival attracted the attention of other villagers, who came to see what was going on.
"Aisha, what is the meaning of this?" questioned a man as he approached. He was a man in his mid-thirties, with the top of his head completely shaved. On his shoulder, he carried a hoe for plowing the land and his expression was not a happy one. "Who is that man?"
Without stopping dragging the unconscious man's body, she replied.
"I don't know, I found him in the woods by the stream. He seems to have fainted and his body is burning. We must help him."
The other villagers who approached to browse began to murmur among themselves and point at the man. His appearance and clothes were strange, a sign that he was an outsider. The situation was unusual, that village was far from the big cities and trade routes, and it was rare for someone to arrive there accidentally. Even more so if that someone appeared in the forest.
"Send him back to the forest! Let the beasts take care of him!" the man ordered.
That order horrified Aisha, who did not hesitate to reply.
"He's still alive! We can't let him die!"
"It's not our problem! Besides, look at him! He's one of those Western barbarians! They come to our land and sully it with their customs! They have no honor!"
The villagers seemed to agree with the man. The Westerners brought the problems, they and their "Order", were the cause of many misfortunes.
"What's going on here?" questioned a new voice. The villagers stepped aside, letting an old woman pass by. She was a short woman, stooped due to age, and carrying a cane with her. "Jousuke, why are you scolding our little Aisha this time?" questioned the woman.
"She found an outsider and brought him to our village. He is a barbarian from the west." Explained the man, identified as Jousuke. "We can't let him in."
"I'll decide that, silly boy." Scolded the old woman. She watched Aisha, who was still trying to lift the man's heavy body.
"Obaasan, we must help him! I-I think he's hurt!" the young woman tried to convince the old woman, but the old woman only gave him a light tap with her cane.
"I already know that, silly girl. You, help Aisha with that stranger and bring him to my home."
Aisha was surprised to hear that, but a big smile formed on her face as she looked admiringly at the old woman.
"Take that expression off your face, you brought him, you're going to take care of him until he's better and can leave."
"I'll do my best! Thank you very much, Obaasan!" the girl bowed respectfully to the old woman.
"Leave him on the futon." Ordered the old woman. "Aisha, child, bring me some medicinal herbs." The girl nodded and hurried out of the room as the old woman looked at the man's body. "This is... interesting." She murmured as she saw that, underneath the man's clothes, a tattoo was peeking out. "Who are you?" she questioned as with her cane she moved the man's clothing a bit. Her eyes widened with genuine surprise as she got a better look at the etchings on the man's skin. She heard hurried footsteps in their direction so he chose to move a little away from the mysterious man.
Aisha hurried back a few moments later. As the old woman requested, she brought with her the necessary herbs and handed them to the old woman, who crushed them and mixed them with water in a small wooden bowl.
The old woman had Aisha hold the man's head while she brought the bowl to his mouth and made him drink the concoction. With each sip, the man's fever seemed to slowly subside.
The old woman could only watch and pray that the man's body would recover.
"What will we do with him after he recovers?" asked Aisha, as she carefully laid Edward's head on the bamboo floor.
"It's too early to tell. For now, it would be best to get him out of those wet clothes and let him rest until he regains consciousness." Aisha nodded silently, watching the sleeping man.
Despite his appearance being very different from what she was used to, she was somewhat curious about him and his story. What was it that happened that he was wandering in the woods?
"Girl, help me undress him."
"Yes, Obaasan." He answered automatically, but as he realized what the old woman asked, his face flushed red and he looked at her in puzzlement. "H-H-Huh!"
"I just told you, if we leave him in those wet clothes he'll get sick again. If you keep up that attitude, you'll never have a husband."
A few days later...
Edward felt an irritating tingling in his nose. This was coupled with the strange glow that irritated his eyes, which, although closed, still caught the light.
Little by little his eyes were opening. He didn't care what time it was, he just wanted to continue sleeping, but the sun wouldn't let him. Had his wife opened wide the curtains in his room just to bother him?
He noticed instantly that something was wrong. The room he was in was unrecognizable to him. Besides, it was on the floor - he had his bed that cost him too much money! He wasn't going to fall asleep on the floor when he could cuddle with his beloved Tessa!
The man wanted to sit up, the movement caused the bamboo blankets covering him to fall to the ground. He then saw that his chest was covered with bandages. What did that mean?
Suddenly, he remembered what happened with that tentacular creature. That thing, whatever it was, had tried to drag him deep into the sea! After that, he swam to a beach and walked for hours through a forest! And then...
"Obaasan, I'm going to check if the man is awake!" He heard a female voice say in a language that was foreign to him but somewhat familiar.
He heard the hurried footsteps, so he got up quickly and went to the corner opposite the sliding door of the place. Once there, he stuck to the wall and waited.
The door soon opened and a young woman entered, it was Aisha, but Edward did not know that she was his savior. His life had taught him to be suspicious in situations like this so when she set foot inside, Edward caught her.
The man covered her mouth with one hand and subdued her. The girl, who was not expecting a surprise attack, could do nothing in the face of the man's superior strength.
"You make noise and it ends here." Kenway warned. The man had brought his left hand to the level of Aisha's neck and bent her wrist back, but it was then that he realized something. He didn't have his weapons with him. That made sense, he deduced that he received some sort of treatment so his things were most likely taken somewhere else. He cursed in his mind but didn't let the girl go. "My things, where are they?" the girl whimpered, somewhat obviously since her mouth was covered by Edward's hand. "I will remove my hand and you will not make a sound, is that clear?"
Edward slowly removed his hand, which allowed Aisha to speak.
"Why did you do that!" she questioned in another language. "I just want to help you!"
Edward covered her mouth again. He hadn't expected that. That strange language again. Not being able to communicate would be a serious problem.
Seconds passed and the situation was at a standstill. If he tried to get information out of her then the language barrier would be a problem. What language was that? It sounded Chinese, but it was. Korean? No. He cursed in his mind. All Oriental languages sounded the same sometimes. He had to think. Was it Japanese? How the hell did he end up in Japan?!
His thoughts stopped when he noticed that the girl was trying to look at him sideways. Edward could only sigh, at least he didn't try to struggle, that would have been more problematic. Without further ado, he just let her free and she moved several steps away, managing to get to the opposite side of the room.
The man got a better look at her. She was a young girl. Black hair and dirty attire.
"Wait, you're... the girl from the creek." He said as he realized he already knows her.
Aisha kept silent, she was scared. Edward cursed, maybe he got too carried away with his experiences.
The man began to think of a way to communicate with her. He had to think. She traveled a lot and with her company, which functioned as a front for her real activities, he had the pleasure of traveling to the Orient a couple of times. He had to remember a word or two. During his time in Macau, he found it necessary to learn Cantonese for basic things. The same thing happened when he went to Zipango. He had to remember.
"Got it!" Edward slammed his fist against his palm and bowed slightly. "Me. Edward. Forgive."
Aisha blinked and tilted her head to one side, somewhat confused by this simplistic way of speaking.
"Me. No. Speak. Language." He continued. Aisha reached over and took his hands to her surprise and looked at him with eyes full of childish curiosity. "Uh..."
"I am Aisha. You can rest assured; I will call Obaasan to check your head."
Edward could only smile. He didn't understand a word she said.
Using mime, Aisha asked him to stay in the room and then hurried out shouting a few words in Japanese. Edward wasted no time and began to inspect the place. It was not big. It was small and dilapidated. The passage of time was not kind to that room at all. Then he walked over to the window through which that annoying sunlight was filtering in. His eyes widened as he saw the village. Old hunts made of wood and oriental looking. People wearing strange attire come and go about their daily chores. A few children ran one after the other. Where the hell were they?
The door opened again and Edward turned away from the window. Aisha was back next to a short old woman using a cane. The woman looked at him with a frown and then said a few words to the girl. Aisha nodded and went outside again.
The situation quickly became uncomfortable. Edward, unable to speak Japanese, had no idea how to communicate with this geezer. Miming like a bunch of children didn't seem the best way to communicate.
The woman merely sat on the floor and looked at him with a very hard expression.
"Great, now what do I tell this fossil? " he questioned loud enough to be heard as he patted his face.
"You seem to have almost fully recovered." Said the old woman. Edward was caught off guard, the woman could speak English almost perfectly! A slight accent, but he could understand her. "And what a way to thank the girl who saved your hide. Is everyone back in your home like that?"
Edward frowned. He already disliked that woman. No, he couldn't think about such useless things at the moment, he needed to know where she was and if she had any way to get back to England. Nothing else mattered! He was going to go back and make those bastards and that bastard Birch swallow his sabers. He was more than sure that man was behind this.
"Where do I stand?" he questioned. In other situations, he would have made some joke, but this was serious. He remembered being stabbed, he saw the edge of the weapon sticking out of his chest. A person didn't survive something like that! He needed answers.
"Let's wait for my granddaughter. I sent her to make tea. I hear your kind loves it." Edward frowned. That old woman was trying to get under his skin. "I have a few questions, though. I'd rather have a drink while I ask them."
Edward chose silence. That old woman, her tone and manner, was detecting him as a danger. That was not good. If he couldn't get adequate information then it would take too long to get back, he needed to get her to talk. Be that as it may, he had to get her to talk. He opted to sit down, crossing his legs, thus achieving the same height as the woman.
As the woman said, soon after Aisha returned, the young woman carried with her a tray made of wood along with two wooden glasses filled with a steaming green liquid. The young woman carefully held one out to the old woman who sniffed the aroma before taking a sip. Then it was Edward's turn. Aisha handed him the glass and he took it but did not drink, he just looked at the green liquid. That stuff could contain a thousand and one poisons; he was not that dumb.
"Aren't you going to drink?" questioned the old woman. "My granddaughter makes good tea."
"I prefer something stronger." Replied the man. "Now, about my current location."
The old woman let out a shrill laugh that made Edward question what kind of old woman could laugh like that.
"You are a straightforward man. I like that. First introductions. I am Tamamo and you are in my home. This is my granddaughter, her name is Aisha." The girl hastened to bow respectfully to Edward. "We are in a Village with no name. Now, who are you."
That information was not useful, he needed more. Maybe if he blackmailed that old woman into hurting the girl? No. He was no longer that pirate from before, but he did consider using any method to achieve his goal.
He then noticed that both women were watching him. He had been silent for a long time, which was not good, he had to flow with the conversation.
"My name is Edward Kenway." He introduced himself. The old woman merely sipped her tea and Aisha watched him like a small child watching fireworks. "Were you the ones who healed me?" she questioned.
"You are correct." Said the old woman. "Aisha brought you. You were wounded, had a cut on your chest, and also very sick. You were unconscious for almost a week. I thought you would die, you should thank my granddaughter for saving you." Aisha remained silent but with a smile. "Tell me, Kenway, how did that happen to you?"
Edward detected that the woman was trying to get information out of him, perhaps to decide what to do with him next. If he thought about it in perspective, he was at a total disadvantage. He didn't have his weapons. He didn't know the village and if he decided to attack, his escape would be hampered. The best thing to do was to play along, at least until he got his things back.
"I'm a sailor and merchant." He replied with a half-truth. "And I'm afraid my crew mutinied and I was wounded in the skirmish and thrown into the sea." The woman nodded, processing that information and he decided to continue that lie this time by telling the truth. "At sea, I was attacked by a creature, but I made it to shore and wandered into the forest."
"That's when my granddaughter found you. You're a strong man, I'll give you that. You survived, that's something to celebrate."
"There are those who would not think as you do."
"I'm sure of that. As for the creature, you said you were attacked, could you describe what happened?" Edward found that question strange and hesitated a bit to answer, to tell the truth, he too wasn't sure if it was something real or just a hallucination.
"I'm not entirely sure, it was something with tentacles, maybe some kind of octopus. It tried to pull me under."
"Tell me, that creature, did you kill it?" Edward did not answer immediately, he had detected some concern in the old woman's tone, but it was only momentary and fleeting. What could it mean?
"It was dark and I didn't stop to think. I just stabbed that thing and swam to shore." Was his response. At the moment it would be best to keep that information hidden. "Whether it died or if it's still around I don't know."
"I see." The woman took another sip of her tea.
"While we're on the subject, what happened to my belongings?"
"You can rest assured, everything is safeguarded in the trunk in the next room." Explained the old woman. "Aisha took the liberty of repairing the damaged garments. I must say, for a simple sailor, as you claim to be, you had too many weapons in your possession."
Edward already knew that this woman didn't trust him and saw him as a threat, but he didn't even make an effort to hide it. She was a very brazen woman. He could be too.
"One is never protected enough." Was his reply. "If it weren't for my arms, I might not even have been able to survive."
"I concur."
The two of them were locked in a very intense staring match. Aisha, who only listened without understanding a single word, could only imagine what her grandmother and the man were saying.
In the end, the old woman just looked away and took another sip from her cup of tea.
"Since you seem to have recovered, I'll give you back your things. Take your time, you must still be weak." The old woman finished drinking her cup of tea and left the room. Aisha stayed with Edward, who was still not touching his cup of tea.
The young woman looked at him expectantly, which caused Edward to arch an eyebrow.
"What?" he questioned. The girl lowered her eyes to the cup and then back up again. Edward did the same and understood. That girl wanted him to drink that. "You can drink it if you want." The girl reached over and picked up the cup in both her hands and brought it up to Edward's mouth, who leaned back. "Hey, personal space. Ah... you're not going to stop bothering unless I drink that thing, are you?" She just looked at him while maintaining a smile. "Fuck... I just hope I don't die again." The man cupped the mug with one hand and drank the entire contents in one gulp. "Ahg, it's bitter." He grunted.
He handed the cup back to Aisha, who happily accepted it and then left the room.
Edward just sighed, what was the point of this whole situation? He didn't understand anything. He needed more information. Maybe get out and stretch his legs.
Following Tamamo's directions, Edward went to the next room and rummaged through the trunk that was there. Before long, the man was dressed just as he had arrived on the island. A curved sword was strapped to his waist and on the opposite side was a flintlock pistol. The man made the final adjustments to his attire, placing under the hands of his coat a pair of reinforced leather bracelets. With a flick of his wrist, a blade concealed within the bracelet emerged. His blade glowed for a few moments and then returned to its place.
Satisfied, Edward left the room and walked to the main part of the house. There he saw Tamamo, the woman was sitting on her legs on a pillow. Edward found the position quite uncomfortable but said nothing. A few steps away, at the entrance of the house was Aisha, the young woman was humming while she was sweeping.
"You even look like royalty." Commented with a sarcastic tone Tamamo upon seeing Edward's attire. "Those clothes don't go with you. Not at all."
"May my choice of fashion not keep you awake at night, Lady Tamamo. At your age that would be a bad thing." He replied, mocking the woman as well. The woman said nothing, but Edward knew it made her angry, pointing out a lady's age was always something that made them furious. "I thank you very much for your help. If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction to the nearest port city, then I will be on my way."
"And where will you go? Your crew deserted you. And seeing as you don't have a single coin with you. Are you planning to steal?"
Edward cursed, the old woman was watching him, he had realized that when he set foot in the room. No, even before that he could feel himself being watched.
"That's none of your business."
"No. But I don't want to have on my conscience the death of a young man like you. Even if I don't know your true identity. You should rest more. Even if you are already able to stand, it would be best to rest." Edward thought about it for a moment. She was right about one thing, he had no idea where to go, besides, even if he denied it, he could still feel a weight on his body. The bandages on his chest, though hidden, remained there, it still hurt so his body wasn't quite healed. "You are free to stay as long as you want. Of course, you're not a guest, if you want food you'll have to earn it."
"What a great deal." He scoffed. "I think it would have been simpler to just give me to the dogs."
"Don't think I didn't consider it, but my granddaughter seems to like you. Make sure you don't hurt her while you're around." The threat was not subtle, but Edward could only swallow his words. Yes, maybe he was a morally questionable person and he was pretty angry, but he wasn't going around attacking young girls just because!
"Of course, Lady Tamamo. I will be respectful to Lady Aisha and will do my best not to offend anyone in my stay here."
"Good, now go away, your presence interrupts my meditation. If you want to do something, go out and hunt or bang your head against a rock."
"Hunting, huh? That sounds like fun." Edward said nothing more and just walked out of the house.
Tamamo watched him go. She had figured him out when she first saw him, but Edward was no ordinary person. Where everyone had life energy called Mana, Edward was empty. He was like a broken vessel. Something unnatural.
"Your mana... What kind of thing are you, Edward Kenway?" Tamamo kept her eyes glued to the man's back. Even her eyes had opened, wide enough to reveal the golden color of her irises.
Edward came out of that house and for the first time, he could properly see the town. It was a rather small place. About thirty houses. The villagers passing by watched him and whispered among themselves. Edward didn't think anything of it, people always talked behind each other's backs.
"Oh, Kenway-San, are you going out for a walk? I hope he'll be back soon and can have dinner with us." Said Aisha, who stopped her sweeping work to talk to Edward.
Edward just gave her a gentle smile and started walking. He didn't understand a word she said.
His walk was quiet. The townspeople looked at him with curiosity. It was normal. Being a foreigner in that land and his attire hardly went unnoticed were points that played against him. He would have preferred to have something other than those stuffy nobleman's clothes. His assassin attire would have been better.
He walked through the streets of the village, noticing that most of the houses were small and had suffered the mistreatment of the elements. The plaster on the walls of some of the houses was beginning to fall off, revealing the thatch that was used for their construction. Wooden or thatched roofs had their fair share of holes. Edward was dismayed at how poor the place was. He could guess that it was due to high tax rates. No matter the place or the time, something like this always happened.
He opted for another approach. That small town didn't look like it was going to grant him the information he needed, his best option was to investigate the surroundings and he knew how to do that.
At the entrance to the village, two men with tools for plowing the soil were serving as lookouts, although their work was not the best. Edward was able to slip away unseen and leave the place. He chose to avoid the path that led from the village and continued through the forest. It would be strange if a group of thieves had not located themselves in such an area, it was the perfect place to ambush, so he chose the path through the trees.
With Tarzan-like skill, the man moved through the trees. The branches of the trees were paths that allowed him to move forward, ledges to cling to, or footholds to jump from.
As he moved on, Edward could see that the forest was blooming with life. Birds were nesting around the area, a few small animals were scurrying among the tree roots. The wind rocked the treetops like a wet nurse to a baby. The forest was beautiful and impressive.
His gait stopped as his body began to exhaust itself, leading him to catch his breath on a rather thick branch.
"This stupid wound is a drag." He muttered while touching over his attire his chest. The bandages that stuck to his skin hindered his movements, he wanted to take them off, but he was already taking too much risk to be doing parkour while injured, he would rather not die from an infection.
His hearing picked up a strange sound. It was as if many simultaneous footsteps were hovering on the forest floor. It was too many footsteps, which alerted him. Were his suspicions correct? Were bandits roaming the area? Well, it was his civic duty to go arrest these lowlifes and then loot their bags. Money was important.
He jumped with extreme stealth through the trees, he was like a shadow moving over the ground, barely leaving a trace behind him. Those were his skills, years of practice to the point of being considered a master of the order.
As he repositioned himself, he pressed his body against the main trunk of the tree and looked out his face. He expected to encounter those bandits, but he did not. His eyes widened like saucers and his throat went dry. There on the ground, crawling among the trees, a monstrous creature stood. It was huge, he wasn't sure how huge, maybe twice his size. If he had to describe it in any way, he would use centipedes as his example. If seeing an arthropod of disproportionate size was disturbing enough, that this creature had the torso of a human woman didn't make it any better.
Edward looked at her. She was a beautiful woman, omitting that monstrous lower half. She was a seductive beauty with hair as black as onyx. She gave off a dark impression as if she were in distress. Edward did not understand what could make such a hideous monster depressed and melancholy.
That encounter did not last long. The creature continued advancing through the forest until it was out of Edward's sight. The man did not understand what he had just seen. Was it real? Was it a hallucination? What was the point of it all?
The sound of the wind stirring caught his attention, so he snapped out of his stupor and looked up at the sky. The treetops were intertwined which prevented him from having a proper view. Edward had to climb higher to find out what was causing such a sound.
His head emerged carefully above the treetops. He could see the sky, the clouds, and the distant mountains. He carefully scanned the surroundings until he saw a black spot hovering over a nearby area.
Large black wings held a humanoid body high in the air. Despite the distance, with his trained eyesight Edward could see more. He saw a humanoid and female body again, with bird-like legs and instead of arms were those black feathered wings. That creature flew over the area, it seemed to be carrying something between its legs. Was that a person? I was not sure. The creature flew away too fast.
Edward climbed down to a branch and stood there. His mind was spinning. He didn't understand what was going on. What were those creatures? Added to the octopus creature, did that mean there were more of these things? Why was he never informed that there were things like this in the world?! Were they products of some artifact? The brotherhood had no records like these!
He thought and thought, but the answers eluded him. It didn't make sense, the Brotherhood of Japan never reported that such creatures swarmed their lands! Was this a conspiracy? Something recent? He needed to know more!
His mind began to go over all his master knowledge. He thought about all the information he knew. Stories, stories, you name it. The closest thing was the stories of Medusa, the Sphinx, and the Minotaur, but those stories were different! Except for Medusa and Sphinx, they didn't have torsos of attractive women! What's more, why the hell were those things so attractive!? He needed answers.
Without wasting any more time, he set out on his journey back to the village. That old woman, Tamamo, should know better.
Unnoticed by the man. A silhouette showed itself in the shadows of a nearby tree. Dark eyes watched the direction in which he went and long hair held in a ponytail fluttered in the wind.
It wasn't long before he saw the entrance to the village once again, only this time there was no one guarding it. Edward climbed down from the trees and opted to enter through the main street. It was strange, on what excuse would a watchman leave his post with those creatures swarming around the forest?
He noticed that the dust on the floor had been recently removed, so he bent down and inspected it carefully. Fresh footprints, lots of them, maybe five or six people. For an instant, he thought that the thousand-foot-shaped thing came, which might explain why there were no guards, but he dismissed it, the footprints were different, definitely human and also of a horse.
They did not seem to be the tracks of thieves, these were in formation, the thieves were more disorganized, preferring to flank and attack from behind. No. Whoever they are, they came from the front.
Edward returned to standing and looked deep into the village. He saw some people heading toward Tamamo's house. Was the old woman the leader? That would explain a few things. Be that as it may, he preferred not to be seen by undesirable people, he had to stay in the shadows for the time being.
The people of the village had gathered near Tamamo and Aisha's home. The old woman stood outside, her arms behind her back while a kimono-clad shoulder with a chonmage-style cut read a piece of paper. The old woman maintained a neutral, almost bored expression. This was almost routine, once a month, the tax collectors from the fief to which that village belonged would come and demand to be paid commissions for "protecting the village".
They were samurai in the service of the feudal lord of those lands. Honorable samurai who would put their lives on the line to protect the honor of the Lord of the day. Bullshit. They were just greedy idiots with egos so inflated it was a wonder they didn't rise to the heavens. Tamamo just looked at them and waited for them to finish their speech so he could send them away.
"Oh... he came back quickly." Tamamo thought, getting distracted for a moment, and absently turned her eyes in the direction of a nearby house. There stood Edward, hiding his presence and with the wall as his cover.
"Old woman! Are you listening! These are orders from our lord!" exclaimed the man with the scroll.
Tamamo returned her attention to them. Silly children. If it weren't that he was too over the top, she would teach each of them a lesson.
"I'm afraid, the last tax collection was too exaggerated. The land the lord granted us is not the best for farming and merchants rarely come through. I add that, we are denied trading with the Yokai which makes it difficult to get the money your lord desires." Tamamo was eloquent and calm, with a hint of sarcasm at the mention of the feudal lord.
The samurai gritted his teeth. He had dealt with this old woman before. She was too smart a woman and she wasn't afraid of the edge of swords. Of course, there were ways around that.
"Don't try to belittle our lord's kindness!" he exclaimed, placing his hand on the sword at his waist. "You dare belittle his good heart! Besides blaspheming! Trading with Yokai is utter blasphemy!"
"I do not belittle the feudal lord. I appreciate that he sent some men to take care of my village. Even the likes of you." The samurai gritted his teeth even more. "Since the lord is so generous, I'm sure he will understand our situation. We will give him whatever taxes we can collect, without us having to give him all of us."
"That's enough!" the samurai drew his sword and the villagers felt fear. "I will not tolerate you disrespecting the feudal lord!"
"I have not disrespected you. I've already told you, we'll do what we can, but we can't give them everything they ask for." She said in a soft but firm voice. "You are the one who shows no respect before your elders."
"Old woman! You will be...!" the samurai was not going to take it anymore. He was tired of that woman and her gossip. He was the law! They had to listen! Without thinking, he attacked her.
Aisha screamed when she saw that her grandmother was going to receive the blow, but instead of blood, the only thing that went through the air was some sparks.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Edward was blocking the samurai's Katana with his saber. The samurai was surprised to see it, but soon recovered and tried to strike at the man. Edward took a step back, retracting his arm until the sword was parallel to his chest. This caused the samurai's slash to fail to connect.
"Wow, you seem to lack some precision. Let me show you." Edward, neither slow nor lazy went straight ahead. He wasn't going to kill this man, that would bring too much trouble, he was only going to incapacitate him.
"Who are you!" the samurai demanded to know. "A foreigner? Are you one of those barbarians from the West! Who gave you permission to be here!"
Nothing that man said was understood by Edward, but neither did he need to understand to know that he was now the center of attention. Since he drew his sword, others did too, and now five swords surrounded him, and a sixth one was right in front of him.
"You dare to stand in the way of the Feudal Lord's orders! Cut off with his head!" shouted the samurai and his companions took the first step.
Edward chose to go on the defensive. He knew those weapons, Katanas, curved weapons similar to his sabers, but heavier and with certain disadvantages. For example, unlike a Western sword that kept all its weight on the blade, katanas on the other hand had all their weight on the hilt, so strength was needed to manipulate them properly.
For Edward, attacking without killing was easy, but if a large group attacked him it made it more difficult. The swordsmen advanced. He moved swiftly, evading the initial attacks of those men. His footwork was like a dance and at the same time he used his saber to block the attacks that came next.
With his experience and skill, he was able to strike precisely at strategic points that would cause non-lethal injuries. He punched and kicked in sensitive areas causing them to lose their balance for a moment. The samurai with whom Tamamo was talking tried to attack him from behind, but Edward dodged and positioned himself at his back, then lifted his leg right between the man's two legs.
"Ahg..." The samurai fell to the ground, dropping his weapon. In turn, many men present put on pained expressions. That attack was felt by all, even though only one received it. "Ba-Bastard..."
Edward picked up the weapon from the ground and increased the distance to avoid being surrounded again and keeping his guard up. The samurai understood that this was no mere foreigner. He was someone dangerous. Skilled with the sword and skilled in combat. Two tried to take their swords again, but Edward drew the Katana in the air aiming it at them.
"If I were you, I'd leave this here." Despite the language barrier, both men understood the message and just raised their hands in surrender.
"What the hell are you doing? Kill him!" shouted the samurai who functioned as a leader and tax collector. He was furious. First that old woman and now the foreigner! He wasn't going to let it end like this. He just needed to stand up and cut off her head.
"You know, no wonder you have alopecia, you look pretty stressed." Edward joked as he looked at the samurai. "Don't make me hurt you."
The samurai frowned and tried to reply, but suddenly Tamamo stepped between him and Edward.
"That's enough. I've seen enough of your games."
"Old woman! Are you in cahoots with that western barbarian!?" shouted the samurai as he tried to get to his feet. "This is treason! You will pay the consequences!"
"I'm afraid this is just a misunderstanding." She tried to sound eloquent. "This man is a merchant. He has come to trade with us." The woman looked at Edward for a moment and then turned to the samurai. "You shall have your money. But not now."
Edward noticed something strange. That samurai suddenly had the face of an idiot. Even more of an idiot. Like he was drunk. He lowered his gaze to Tamamo. Did she do it?
The samurai shook his head and looked at the woman and then at Edward with hostility who returned a look as hard as stone. That didn't sit well with the samurai, being challenged and humiliated. Things were not going to stay that way.
"One week. We'll be back in a week and I hope you have the tax money." He warned. Edward then threw the sword that belonged to that samurai and it stuck a few paces away. The man caught it and sheathed it and began to walk away his walk was uneven due to the last blow Edward had dealt him. Along with him, the other samurai followed.
Maybe it wasn't the best idea to intervene, but he never liked people like that. Be that as it may, he could no longer change his actions. Maybe he should thank Tamamo, the old woman covered his identity, now he was indebted to her.
"Well, that settles one thing." After saying that he looked at Tamamo. The old woman also looked back at him. "Old woman, may I have a word?"
"Obaasan! Are you all right? aren't you hur?!" Aisha approached her grandmother, fearful that the old woman was hurt, but she only tapped her with her cane.
"It takes more than a brat with an inflated ego to hurt me. That's enough everyone, back to your duties! You heard! Those men will be back in a week!" The villagers who had gathered there began to leave. Some turned to look at Edward, questioning his combat skills and techniques so... unorthodox. She looked back at Edward and said. "Let's talk inside, you seem to have some questions."
Edward and the old woman Tamamo were sitting on pillows on the floor. Aisha was not there by order of the old woman.
"So, what do you want to ask?"
"Who says I don't just want some tea?" questioned Edward.
"It shows on your face." She replied. "I don't like to waste time, I have things to do. Ask or shut up."
"In the forest, I saw a centipede-like creature and a flying creature with black wings. Both with the torso of a human woman. What were they?"
"Given your descriptions, I gather that you saw a Tengu and an Oomukade. They are Yokai native to these lands. Their presence does not bode well. They are rarely seen, so it means that the Tengu's mating season is near. As for the Oomukade, she is another story."
"Yokai?" he questioned as he was unfamiliar with the term.
"In Zipangu, mamono are called Yokai." She explained, but Edward was unfamiliar with those terms.
"I never heard anything about these Yokai or mamono." His answer caused Tamamo to open her eyes, revealing her golden-colored irises.
Edward on the other hand was pensive. How is it that he never received reports of beings like these?
"The centipede looked quite dangerous. The right thing to do would be to alert the village. If you need it to be eliminated, then I could do it. As a form of payment for what you have done for me." Tamamo denied. This confused Edward, wouldn't it be ideal to eliminate the biggest threat? Why wouldn't someone want to kill such a monstrous creature?
"Don't get carried away by appearances. They are only looking for the love of a man."
"What man could fall in love with such a monstrosity?" he questioned. To her surprise, that caused a mild reaction in the old woman, it was for an instant, but she gripped her cane tightly.
"I hope you understand this, Edward Kenway. The Mamono are not heartless monsters as your people believe. Most only wish to live in peace. To love and be loved."
The love between monsters and humans? With each passing second, more and more doubts crossed Edward's mind. This didn't make sense. Nothing did. Something wasn't right. What was it? Why was the world so weird all of a sudden? A day ago he didn't know what the hell a mamono was, and now this absurd information was being thrown at him?
Nothing made sense. Edward thought. He evaluated and reevaluated everything that had happened up to that point. Was it all one big delusion? Was he lying on the floor dying while his mind kept him trapped in this bizarre reality? That led him to question something else. Was he even still in reality?
It sounded crazy, but it all seemed to make sense. He fought a mercenary and was wounded, but killed him. After that he was stabbed and fell dead, he was sure he was dead! Then he appeared in the ocean and was attacked by that octopus thing! After sheltering on land he met Aisha, who helped him heal. And then those creatures. Tamamo telling that legend. It was so out of his world.
"I'm... in another world?" he thought to himself. It was crazy! The fact that he was even considering that meant he was already going crazy! It didn't make sense! He was stabbed, to begin with! He should have been dead! But he was alive...
Tamamo just watched him. She said nothing.
Edward could barely put his thoughts in order. He looked at the old woman who remained impassive. She was his only source of information. He needed to know more. Everything possible just to confirm his suspicions!
Later that night...
Edward was leaning against a wall of the room that was kindly given to him by Tamamo and Aisha, the latter being the one who convinced the old woman.
He was thoughtful. Evaluating all the new information he had. After a very long talk with Tamamo, where he asked him about the world, you had many more doubts. He questioned her about Zipangu if it had anything to do with Japan, but the answer was negative. Then he questioned if she knew the West Indies, England, Europe, even China, or Macau. Again they were negative answers, but she was not well-versed in geography either. That was a disadvantage. If she wanted to confirm her already very plausible suspicions she needed to get as detailed a map as possible. But at the moment she had no way of doing that.
He needed to think. Come up with a plan. Right now he had the identity of a merchant. This is thanks to Tamamo introducing him as such. Perhaps if he used that as a front he could get his hands on a map and in turn money, but he had to be careful. He had experience, both as a sailor and privateer and as the owner of a trading company. With his charm and eloquence, he could make connections, but language would be a problem and Tamamo was an old woman who barely moved, carrying her around would be bad for her health.
He threw his head back and looked out the window of that room. Moonlight filtered in, creating a small illuminated square in the center of the room that Edward kept his distance from.
"I'd better save my energy. I'll think of something tomorrow." With that. Edward closed his eyes and made his best attempt to fall asleep.
Writing this turned out to be more fun than I thought. I've seen some pretty interesting MGE stories, but never a crossover with Assassin's Creed, nor do they explore things outside of Lescatie. I saw a few about Zipangu, but they are few. Although my original idea was to set things in Zipangu, I had other ideas. Edward is a sailor, conquering the seas is in his blood.
Now, I know some may have questions so let's clarify a few things.
As long as the words are written like this, it means that either they are speaking a language that Edward doesn't understand, or they are reciting magic, or memories.
Skills? Edward is a pirate and assassin, but also a trader. I want to use this to expand his repertoire and ways of acting. He also has his eagle sense. While I doubt I'll give him magic, I do think giving him a marine item or two would be a good idea. Like in chapter 0, Kraken ink.
Pairings? Right now I don't see anything plausible, but there is one character in particular that I want to have followed Edward. Maybe as a daughter, but I'll see about that.
Characters? That will be difficult. It's possible. I thought of Shay Cormac, an interesting enemy. But we'll see.
Overall, I hope everyone enjoys the story. I always thought about writing about Assassin's Creed so I will try my best.
I will not leave notes ever, or rarely, unless I want to give some warning, so this will be our last interaction for a while. But I will leave at the end of each chapter any monsters that appear or words that no one currently uses. If anyone cares to read, there it is.
Monster Girl Ecology:
Crow Tengu: they are a kind of harpy native to Zipangu. They are very fast and intelligent. They are known to be masters of martial arts and to be very cunning. But, they can also be very arrogant and proud. They usually live in the mountains and only come down during mating season to get husbands.
Oomukade: a species of highly venomous giant centipede. They use their venom to hunt and paralyze males to get a mate. They inhabit forests and mountains.
Words:
Popliteal fossa: the back of the knee. It sounded nicer than saying "the back of the knee".
Obaasan: means grandmother.
Futon: is a traditional Japanese bed.
Chonmage: it was a hairstyle from the Edo era of feudal Japan. This hairstyle was related to the Samurai.
Locations.
Zipango: not to be confused with Zipangu. Zipango was the name given to Japan in the old days. At least I understand that the Chinese and Europeans called it that way.
Macau: is a region south of the mouth of the Pearl River, near Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Istanbul: it is the largest city in Turkey and was a maritime trading region by the 1700s.