The Red Hand

Chapter 157 – The Assasssin’s Origin.

The next morning, Yumi went and picked up Kana to bring her home. Akagi hadn't seen her since she'd left the police station on Friday, and was a bit nervous about speaking with her. She'd kept in contact with Kana over the weekend, but intentionally distanced herself out of respect for her sister's emotional needs. Throughout the weekend, Akagi kept second-guessing herself, and debating whether she should have stayed with her sister during this trying time or not.

"Onee-chan, I'm back." Kana walked into the living room, seeing Akagi sitting on the couch in casual wear.

"H-hey, Kana." Akagi gave a wry smile.

Kana instantly noticed Akagi's strange demeanor. "Everything ok?" She asked as she walked over.

"That's what I should be asking you." Akagi's wry smile continued.

"I'm not exactly fine, but I'll manage. Spending time with Mika, Naomi, and Hishya this weekend was a good idea. It helped calm things down, and Mika and I got to talk things out." Kana took a seat next to her sister. "But what about you? Why do you look like a kid who got caught putting their hand in the cookie jar?"

{Did something happen?} (Kana)

Akagi took a second to answer. "I was worried about you, and I thought that maybe you were mad at me."

"Mad at you?" Kana tilted her head. "Why would I be mad? Unless something happened while I was gone, you didn't do anything."

{Please don't tell me you did something bad...} (Kana)

"I just thought you'd be mad that I didn't stay with you after what happened. Or that you'd be angry at me for giving you that power. I mean, Himari was my idea, and it's my fault you have magic in the first place." Akagi shook her head. "It's been eating at me all weekend.”

{So that's what this is about. I'm actually relieved its just guilt for something like that, and she didn't do something really awful while I was away.} (Kana)

"Come here you." Kana sighed as she brought her sister in for a hug. "I'm not mad about any of that. I told you already that what happened is not your fault. Plus, if you didn't give me these powers Mika might have die, so why would I be mad at you? As for staying away, I wanted some space to figure things out. I'm sorry if that made you think I was upset with you, and I should have been clearer about my reasoning." She squeezed her. "I already told Himari this, but I'll tell you too. I made the decision to kill Hito, it wasn't easy, but it was my choice to use the power I'd been given to save someone important to me."

{It... it still isn't easy for me, but I think I'll be fine, eventually...} (Kana)

"I just wish you never had to deal with that." Akagi said. "You shouldn't have had to kill someone, you're not like me."

Kana giggled. "You know, that's the same thing Hishya said to me the other night. She said that I was still normal and shouldn't have to experience something taking a life."

"It's true." Akagi pulled away from her. "I don't care about taking lives, never have, but you... you're still human. You shouldn't have had to kill, and even if it wasn't really Hito, it was close enough." Akagi shook her head.

{Those two really are alike in some ways.} Kana smiled internally.

"Can I ask you something?" Kana's face turned a bit more serious. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Go ahead." Akagi replied. At this point, she felt the need to hide very little from her sister anymore, so she'd likely answer most questions.

"What was your first time killing like?" Kana asked an interesting question. "Was it hard for you? And why did you do it? I've been wondering this for a while, and ever since Friday. its been on my mind a bit more. You've killed so many people, but how did that all start? What made you become an assassin?"

"That... its honestly not that interesting of a story." Akagi chuckled. "I don't mind telling it, but it might be a bit long."

"There's no school today, so go ahead and take all the time you want." Kana smiled.

"Then, can we move to the greenhouse? I want to check on Alice, and I'll get her to make tea." Akagi stood up.

"Sure." Kana nodded, and the two went over to the greenhouse. Akagi went and got Alice, who swiftly got to setting a table, bringing snacks, and making some tea.

"Mama, it's all done!" Alice ran over, and Akagi gave her a big hug.

"Well done, little one. Now, how about you stick around? Kana wants to hear a story, and you can sit on my lap." Akagi smiled.

"Yeah!" Alice cheered, and Akagi picked her up and sat on a chair opposite Kana.

"That really is adorable." Kana smiled as she took a sip of her tea.

"Now then." Akagi took out her pipe and lit it. "Where to begin?"

_____________________________________________________________________________

February 16^th, 2055

It had been a little over four months since players were trapped within Free World Online, and told that death in game meant death in the real world. Things had finally settled down after the initial chaos and confusion, and there was already rumbling of a dedicated team to defeat the World Bosses. This brought comfort to some, while others had begun to act on their worst impulses, believing that things were hopeless.

Walking down the busy main road in the Imperial Capital was a single figure wearing a dark cloak, under which could be seen some light metal armor. At her hip was a rapier, and her amber eyes and green and black hair made her stand out from the rest of the residents.

{Alright, quest is done. Now I just need to report back to that stupid NPC and get paid. I hate working for assholes like him, but that reward was just too promising.} Akagi had taken a quest from a disguised noble who was promising an interesting item if she defeated a few specific monsters and brought him the parts.

After a relatively easy fight, she returned back to the Capital and arrived at the designated point rendezvous point in a back alleyway. Once the noble contact arrived, Akagi handed over the trophy pieces.

"Ah, excellent! These are in perfect shape and will make an excellent addition to my collection!" The noble seemed pleased.

*Cough*

"Reward?" Akagi glared at him.

{If you stiff me like the last noble I worked for, you're going to wind up nailed to the central district's outer wall!} (Akagi)

*Tsk* The man clicked his tongue. "A peasant like you should be honored to receive a quest from one such as myself, but a deal's a deal." The noble handled over a large quantity of green silk-like material. "This is worth far more than what you've brought me, but I need these pieces. Take that cloth and be gone from my sight." He turned away and left.

{And this is why I hate nobles.} Akagi sighed as she put the cloth in her inventory. She wanted to make special clothing out of it since it was rare material from Ocha.

"I'll take it to a tailor later, hopefully I can make something that looks nice and is powerful in the stat department." Akagi turned to walk out of the alley, heading back to the inn room she'd rented. Flopping onto the bed, she opened her status screen and started going through all the possible quests in the area, looking for anything that seemed interesting.

"Boring, boring, boring, not worth it, not worth it. Too high level." Akagi flicked through things until something caught her eye. "A named quest? And its colored black?" Quests in FWO were color coated with each color reflecting the type of job. A black-named quest was not something she'd seen before and it caught her interest.

"Who's offering this? It doesn't even have a description or anything." Akagi clicked on it, with it placing a map marker on her HUD. "Well, I've got nothing better to do, and I might have just found something rare." She smirked. Her gamer instinct told her to check this out.

Following the marker lead her to a small tavern in the border area between the poor district and the slums. Upon arriving, Akagi noticed an older dwarf sitting at the back table who was wearing rather fine clothing. He was covered in bruises, which seemed recent, and the scowl on his face could curdle milk.

{That man...} (Akagi)

Curious about this very out of place dwarf, she took a seat across from him, which earned her a growl from the old man.

"Kid, I'm in no mood for games. If you want some charity or just to bother a beaten man, go somewhere else." The old dwarf grumbled as he downed his cup of ale. "Besides, your kind have already caused me enough trouble, so beat it." He was referring to her status as a player.

"Not sure what others have done to you, but I'm not here to kick you while you're down." Akagi smiled.

"Hmpf." He rolled his eyes. "Sure, your kind show up and steal all my cargo, then leave me for dead in a ditch. So perhaps you can understand my lack of trust, especially when I'm not able to do much to retaliate!" He slammed his cup down.

"And why's that?" Akagi knew the answer already, but wanted to talk for a bit.

"You know damn well that putting quests on your kind is nearly impossible!" He growled. "Don't play dumb with me." NPCs were generally forbidden from going after players. Mostly because the Alpha was intended for players to break the game and mess around, thus NPCs were predisposed to not interfering with them. Though that didn't mean it was impossible, as NPCs can and would retaliate if they found a way.

"True." Akagi laughed. "But while you might not be able to do anything, what about asking a player to deal with a player?"

"Ha!" He laughed. "Good luck with that! Your kind won't fight each other, and without my paperwork I can't even access my accounts to pay anyway."

{I see where this is going.} Akagi smirked.

"Then how about me?" Akagi said. "I'd be willing to get your stuff back."

The old man stared at her. "Don't go playing with me, little lady."

"I'm not." Akagi shook her head. "I'm always down to do something new, and rescuing stolen goods from a player is very new."

{Its not often you get a quest that pits player versus player.} (Akagi)

"I can't pay anything upfront." The old dwarf said. "He took my books and paperwork, and my injuries mean that moving much further isn't going to be easy for me." His face showed a good deal of bruising.

"That's fine." Akagi smiled. "How about this? Rather than money, I'd rather you owe me a favor."

"Oh?" The dwarf leaned in, eyes glinting. "And what kind of favor would that be?"

Akagi returned an evil smile. "Well, as one of the larger merchants on the continent, I'm sure you can help me get out of a jam if needed." She'd known from the start that his man was Antenobrech Windhide, owner of one of the biggest merchant conglomerates in the Empire.

Antenobrech shifted his jaw in thought. "Fine, get back my cargo and papers from that bastard, and you've got a deal."

Akagi reached out her hand, and the two shook on it. "Now then, how about some details? Where are they, how many, and how much did they take?"

{I have a feeling that this is going to be fun.} (Akagi)

After a bit more discussion, Akagi was informed that a Player named Lightrune had attacked Antenobrech en-route to the Capital around one day prior. The Dwarf figured that with the number of goods being carried and their weight, he couldn't have gotten far in the short amount of time, even as a player. After a bit more discussion, Akagi headed out, having a good idea where Lightrune was hiding. She knew the Imperial Capital and its surroundings quite well, and figured he'd pulled the wagon into one of the nearby caves to loot it.

After gearing up and heading out of the Capital, Akagi began searching the nearby forests and looking through the nearby caves until she came across some carriage tracks in the woods.

{He didn't even try to cover his tracks. What an idiot...} Akagi followed the tracks while keeping an eye out for Lightrune, until she reached a cave the tracks seemed to enter.

{He must be inside here, though I suppose it's possible ditched the wagon and left. Let's be careful, I just need to get him to surrender and then take the stuff.} Akagi could feel her heart racing. She'd fought other players in duels, but never for real. Her rogue kit was good at 1v1 combat, but this would be the first time Akagi fought where she could die. {I'm really glad it got my racial change the other day.}

She unsheathed her rapier and slowly inched towards the cave entrance giving a listen as she crept forward. As she approached the mouth of the cave, she heard a voice.

"Man, that old man really had nothing but garbage!" A voice inside inside the cave rang out. "I was hoping for weapons, but all I got were ceramics and paperwork! I spent an entire day sorting all this crap for nothing! I guess I should hit another wagon and try again..."

{Looks like he's still here.} Akagi activated her body enhancement and slowly walked inside the cave, crouching behind a rock as she looked down at the man who was standing around a magical light and pulling items out of a large cart.

{Medium armor, one sword on his left hip. Most likely a fighter, and his level is around forty less than mine.} Akagi used her analysis ability to check his stats. He was far weaker than her, which wasn't surprising since she'd been grinding like crazy. Hishya was the only person at her level, and Akagi was confident that even at equal level she could beat her one time friend and rival.

{I'll give him a chance to surrender and hand over the goods first. If he doesn't, well...} Akagi stood up and walked over.

"Hey!" She called out to him.

The young man spun around. "Who's there?!?" He drew his blade and saw Akagi standing at the entrance of the cave. Her hood was up, so he could barely make out her face. "A girl? What do you want? This is my loot and I ain't sharing, even if it is garbage!"

"Yes, well. I'm sorry to say but your 'loot' is why I'm here." She pointed her rapier at him. "Hand it over quietly, and you don't need to get killed."

{Lets see what he does.} (Akagi)

"What?!?" Lightrune was surprised. "This is mine, fuck off! I robbed it fair and square, and I'm not going to cower before some girl!"

{This stupid girl thinks she can just scare me into giving over my stuff!} (Lightrune)

"Last warning, hand it over, or I'll take it by force!" Akagi yelled, her eyes showed just how serious she is.

The two stared at each other for a moment before the young man charged forward. Akagi was far stronger than him and easily deflected his blades.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

{Slow and weak. Not exactly surprising considering the level difference, but his build is also probably geared around fighting monsters, not people.} Akagi thought as she parried his strikes.

"Why can't I hit you?!?" Lightrune cried. "This is bullshit! I'm level twenty already! How is this happening?!?"

"Only twenty?" Akagi laughed. "Kid, I'm in the sixties. You're out of your league against me." She said as she deflected his strikes.

{That's the difference between us, we could do this all day and you wouldn't even come close to beating me.} (Akagi)

"That's not possible! It's only been four months since we got trapped in here, and it takes so long to level up!" Lightrune couldn't believe that she'd leveled so high so fast. “There's no way you could be that high level!”

"Check your analysis through your hud. You won't be able to see my stats because of the level difference." Akagi knocked him back. "Go ahead." He motioned for him to check, which he did.

"I- I can't see it!" He was stunned. That meant Akagi was at least thirty levels higher than him. "That's crazy! You must have cheated!"

{Even the best players are only in their forties or fifties! And those people are crazy!} (Lightrune)

"Nah." Akagi shrugged. "I'm just really good at this stuff. So what will it be? Surrender or die?" She wasn't exactly sold on killing him, but he didn't need to know that.

"I can't fight someone that much stronger than me, so fine." He lowed his blade. "Take that dwarf's stuff, it wasn't even that good anyway." He walked off to the side.

"Good choice." Akagi lowered her rapier and started collecting the items into her inventory. As she did, Lightrune circled around her back and waited until she was busy.

{Turning your back on an opponent, what a fool! Now I've got you!} When he was sure Akagi was too distracted, he dove toward her at full speed, slashing at her from the side, his blade sinking into her waist.

{Yes!} He cheered, believing it was over.

"Man, that new ability really is great." Akagi said.

"W-what?!?" He was stunned, his blade carved cleanly through her, leaving behind a trail of black shadow that disappeared after a few seconds, before showing that Akagi was unharmed by his attack. "How?!?"

"Racial abilities are very important, kid." Akagi swung around, slashing him across the chest with her rapier. "It took a lot of effort to get this one, but damn is it good." Akagi laughed as Lightrune stumbled backward, heavily injured.

{Becoming a nurarihyon was pain in the ass, but was definitely the right call with my build.} (Akagi)

"I surrender, please!" He cried out, his HP was in the red, and one more attack would end him. "I don't want to die!"

{I can't die! Not like this!} (Lightrune)

Akagi let loose an evil grin. "You should have thought about that before you pulled that little stunt." She lifted her rapier.

"No, please You'll be a Pker if you do this! A murderer!" He screamed.

"You know." Akagi's face contorted into a perverted smile. "For some reason, that sounds nice." She slashed downwards, killing him.

As his body hit the floor, Akagi was greeted with a notification telling her that she would now register as having killed another player for a few days. "Oh well." Akagi shrugged. "Not like that matters to me anyway." She continued collecting all the material in the cave before heading back to Antenobrech, who was surprised she managed to get his stuff back so quickly.

This would mark the first of many times she'd taken another player's life, and was the beginning of a friendship with her most prolific client.