The man who became shadow.

Posts : 760

The hotel room was decent enough. It had a average mattress with just a few lumps from the spring, the carpet didn't smell like old piss and beer, the bathroom was cleaned up well enough, and his door had minor cracks in them. Alayasha moved the curtains to cover the window. With the evening mellowed to a warm and orange sunset, the small city came to live with the night birds coming out of their dens to engage in the activity that most vagabonds and wanderers engage in. Alayasha was one to do such engagement. He didn't know how long it's been since he had a nice glass of scotch, a shot of tequila, or his favorite whiskey.

He knew it's been awhile. A year and a half since the time he spent with Kirima back when he was Kyuseishu, and she was just a young girl who had a dislike for her biological father and a hatred to everyone in the general vicinity. That was a good time in Alayasha's life. He had enjoyed being an advisor and the go to guy when the Mizukage was away. He didn't miss the paperwork. Memories of stacked paper on his desk that was as tall as Kia did not bring any pleasant emotions with that. Maybe that was why his father had so much paper stacked away in his closet. He finally understood the pain behind that feeling. But that him being nitpicky with something he had so good. The life that was meant to be a lie was when he had the easiest.

When it all came tumbling down, that facade disappeared. Kyuseishu didn't necessarily 'die'. He had faded in the woodwork of Alayasha's mind. He was a personality that he had forged and crafted over the years as a spy. To be someone that he wasn't was all a part of the game. To keep up with such a facade will eventually break a man down. Alayasha knew that. He seen many men fall when the time to ride of that mask was upon them. They couldn't let go of it. He wasn't going to play it off as something easy to get rid of. When he finally realized that Kyuseishu had to go back into the stockpile of masked in his mind, he had a bit of trouble letting it go. He had gotten too attached with the people in that village. He had been to many village before. Kumogakure, Amegakure, Iwagakure, Kusagakure, all of them were once his 'home' at one point. Yet, they didn't have the same value as Kiri. He never truly invested his work into the business, into the people, into the low district that was once a ghetto many feared.

He got attached to the idea that he could be someone else. If he could've stayed that way forever, he would've. Alas, here he was in the mountainous regions of Hi no Kuni where it had the same feeling of the Kiri streets before his influence. He could here an explosion in the background, maybe a kilometer away just by the echo. Who it was, he didn't know.

There was a soft knock on the door. Three knocks. Two fast, one slow and drawn out. His contact arrived. He looked over at the clock on the wall. 6:46. He was fourteen minutes early which was a strange concept for Alayasha. The Creeds' assassin's were known, very well known, to be fashionably late. He found that if you asked for their assistance around 8 o clock, they would arrive at 8:15 or 8:30. They were never remorseful about their tardiness nor would they ever show that they could care. What was more obnoxious about these type of assassins was that they were so good at their damn job that no one could complain about it.

This was a different. He almost hesitated Alayasha went to the door. His left hand grabbed the handle and right hand formed into a fist. The first sign of something off, he would be unleashing a fury of punches too fast for even the strongest of ninjutsu user wouldn't contest. He counted.

One.
Two.

Three.
He opened the door. Outside of his door was a young man in his late teens staring back at Alayasha. He said the young man was a teen because he had the features of a kid who was around eighteen or nineteen years old. His face still had the child that was slowly fading away into the man that he would turn in his later years. He looked at the young man standing outside. Alayasha looked him up and down. He looked up and down again. He wore the proper attire of the assassin. The mask, the cloak. His hands were hidden within his cloak.

Alayasha points to him "Let me see them hands, kid."

The young man did so. He slid it out through the sleeves and showed his hands.

"All right, now turn around. Slowly. No sudden movements. I'll pop you so fast, you'll be seeing God."

The young man kept his face neutral so Alayasha couldn't tell if he was annoyed by this entire ordeal. He turned around, hands up, doing a 360 before facing him. "Is everything in order?" The young man said. He had a surprisingly deep voice. It didn't fit his face at all, which made Alayasha raised an eyebrow.

"I supposed so. What's your codename?"

"Hawk."

"And your number?"

"582942."

It was standard procedure, but Alayasha couldn't take any chances. Not after that shamble of a fishing trip. "Come in." He made room for the young man to enter. When he did enter, and stood by the cabinet, Alayasha closed the door and locked it. "Properly on time. That's a first."

"Our protocols have changed over the past seven years, Alayasha-dono. You are behind the times."

"I guess I am. It has been awhile since I've 'requested' the services from the Sword of the Hand."

"We got your message. It's been awhile since you've came in contact with us. We thought you went AWOL."

With my father still being one of the main leaders in The Creed, not a chance. Alayasha smirked. "Hell nah, I'm still with this family till I die."

"That's good to know." He moved to the cabinet and one hand went into his cloak. He pulled out a scroll. "The Sword of the Hand will aid in your request. However, you must do a request for him."

"He wants the help of the Hidden Hand? I never believed that I hear the day."

"This request is a bit on the particular side. We usually ask you to use your spy network to find out information. We understand that your espionage skills have improved over the last years, and your information is valuable."

"Are you trying to butter me up. If you are, please, don't stop."

"No, sir. I'm simply stating a fact. At the current, we aren't looking for information. What we are looking for is..."

Oh? Alayasha sat down at the edge of the bed. "Please, do go on."

"There is a nukenin group within this sector that we wish to be disbanded. Not because it is causing any trouble, at the current, but because it has one of our former creed brother is running that organization."

"A member of the Creed, eh?" Alayasha ran a hand through his beard, contemplative of the thought of someone who had gotten away from the hand of the Sword. "So he's asking for my secondary task of eliminating old creed members."

"The sword understands that you've done missions like this before. That is to stay, you have some expertise in handling those who have been taught under the shadow of The Creed."

"So a favor for a favor?" Alayasha rolled his eyes. It wasn't that this was Hawk's doing, but it was just the way The Creed handles their issues. It was all bureaucracy and paperwork to Alayasha which is what he said to his father when he first join. It was annoying, his father said, but it had to be done. It's better to have things in order than to be anarchic. For two decades, that still hasn't changed.

"Yes, sir." Hawk answered, curtly and to the point.

"You know you don't have to be formal with me, Hawk. I'm hardly a pushover when it comes to...well, formality. You can relax."

Even though he said that, Hawk did not lighten up or even show any sense of humor. He's going to be a good assassin, but hell of a boring conversationalist. It didn't matter. Alayasha got up from the bed. "Let me see that scroll." Hawk gave it to him. Alayasha unraveled the scroll and looked at the description of the task.

"Huh..." He made a 'this info will do' face, shrugging his large shoulders and raveled up the scroll back up. "Guess I'll get started."

The first visible expression on Hawk's face showed. It was small, so nondescript that anyone could've missed it if they blinked. "What?" Alayasha said, throwing the scroll on the bed. "Did you think I wouldn't take it?"

"The Sword did say that you were not apt to do assassination missions. Not anymore that is. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, is that "He was a young lad that wanted to prove his worth and fuck shit up.""

"I said that?" He pondered, then nodded. "Sounds like something I would say. I did stop a decade or so ago. When I was younger, I was all about killing someone without remorse. Creed, non-Creed, shinobi, politicians, I still did that kind of things in Kumo and Kiri but that not as heavily as I once did when I was in my early twenties."

"You'll be out of shape with that."

"Ha, you're right. I will be a bit rusty. But it's like riding a bike. Once you get on, it'll get easier to do once I get started."

Posts : 760

It was 9:24 now from what the clock said. He was sitting in the bar, a corner booth where eyes would not traverse to see a large man sitting with a small glass of whiskey in his hand. He wasn't going to drink it, not unless he needed to, but he needed to something with his hands for the time being. The bar was relatively large, enough space to probably fit about 125 or 130 people at the max capacity. When he came into the bar, he heard the soft noises of the jukebox playing a sad tune about how a man loss his girlfriend and is trying to sway her to come back (He absolutely dreads sappy songs). He saw maybe four people, all at the bar, drinking or whispering amongst each other. They turned to see the person walk in, but they were simple glances, nothing more.

They've seen people like him all the time in this area. People who looked like giant brutes who were simply here for hire. Their simple minds can do one of two things: Eat and beat the hell out of people. So when Alayasha came walking in plain clothes, a purposely dirtied button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and blue jeans, they paid him little to no mind and went back to their whisperings.

Alayasha went to the bar. "Two shots of whiskey. No ice."

The bartender asked no questions, said no passing comments. He simply went to the side, got an empty glass, and poured the content. He slid it across the counter into Alayasha's hand. He watched the bartender as he was walking to the booth. His eyes didn't leave Alayasha. Not at first. Alayasha was trying to see if there was anything that could signal a trap in the making. A slight movement in the hand, a twitch in his leg, anything. He sat down and looked at the rest of the patrons. They still didn't say anything, still had their head low and out of sight.

Waiting for the target to come in, he went over the notes in his head from the scroll he glanced. Sengoku, Arashi. Codename: The Serpent. It was quite a title to give to a man who was clearly a admiral, or jounin, in rank of The Creed. He had some noticeable accomplishments of locating a gem for the Creed that could harness energy from an unknown source, a few good missions of infiltrating into small countries to invoke revolution into the people. The standard of most known spies. What made him important know is that he's contained so much information in that noggin of his that he decided it was best to take it and use it against The Creed.

Normally, the Sword of the Hand or The Hidden Hand, which was him, would deal with that kind of storm waiting to happen. It would usually go to the Sword because of the sheer numbers of assassins they had at their disposal. It would normally be their territory if he didn't have so much information. It went into Hidden Hand territory when it touched to extreme valuable information. From what the scroll read, he had a lot of it.

From the description of the scroll, the target had owned a few of the local businesses. It didn't take him long to find one establishment that he was known to go. The bar he sitting at was made for the purpose and intent of housing all of the nukenin in one giant location. If there was one thing Arashi liked, it was the love of liquor and women. The women he always had on hand, and this was the center hub for the liquor. Alayasha could see the stock just behind the tender. Expensive liquor, inexpensive, rare liquor, beer on tap. He looked like he had enough for an entire two week Hot Spring vacation.

Of course, the bar was still up to the public. They wouldn't try to deny entry. It was just the atmosphere of the place that drew people away from the establishment altogether. It had this forbidden aura that circled the entrance of the door like a guard seeing if you're worthy enough to party. He guessed the four people that were here were some of his soldiers or just some normal riff raff. He was feeling that they were the latter only because they didn't say anything like "Who invited you here, fucker?" or "You lost?" They simply looked at him and turned away like he was just another poor soul looking to drown his soul in some good liquor.

He didn't know if Arashi would show up now. If he could tail someone who did know his location, he would gladly jump on the train to that destination. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out some ink. The container was small, but it was certainly enough to do a ton of damage without him being spotted outright. He would use some fuuinjutsu if need be. If he was alone in the establishment, he would do the entire set up now. Too many eyes, he knew. Too many people, and way too much shit could happen that was obvious.

He spiraled the whiskey in his glass again. He was back in reality, looking at the gold liquid with some interest in drinking it. He was tempted to take just a small sip. He swallowed all the saliva that was rising in his mouth. He had his mouth slightly agape and raised the glass to his mouth.

He heard a good amount of talking from outside. Muttering and murmuring at first. He look to see if it was the four people at the bar, but they noticed it too. Their eyes were transfix at the door now.

"That sounds like boss..." One of the patrons said. He was the closest to the door.

"You think that's him?"

Posts : 760

Alayasha was hoping it was him. Alayasha set the canister of ink right next to his right thigh. He began to open it up discreetly, never leaving his eyes from the door and dip one finger into the ink. He was still viewing the door. He was seeing people now. A group of people of maybe ten? Twenty? They all started to walk in, loud and obnoxious screaming at the top of the lungs.

"WOOOOOOOO YEAH! TONIGHT I'm GETTING FUCKED!!!" one of the guys yelled as more and more people filled in the room. Alayasha was getting the impression that majority of the people who were walking into the bar were already tipsy or borderline drunk. The party was still going in their minds.

"Bro, you just had...five shots back at the place. Why are you trying to get fucked more?" another guy said. He held a woman by her waist, brunette, short, who was staggering alongside the man as well.

"This is our vacation. We've been working hard for the two months. Fuck it, I'm getting hammered tonight."

Alayasha looked at the drink now. The golden liquor looked less appetizing as he saw a bunch of tipsy men and women walking to the bar. He kept the glass in his hand, playing with it as to appear contemplative and unsure of himself.

The bar seem to fill up quickly. More and more people were starting to pile in. He assumed it was thirty people total, but he was counting more totally up to sixty-eight people in the bar. A majority of them were already consumed by the alcohol, but those who were sober were just getting their drinks. The bartender was actively moving now. He looked so somber before, but now he was on the move like a martial art adept being taught how to dodge. He was moving to the left with one bottle in hande pouring shot upon shot upon shot into their glasses. Some were asking for refills, others were cheering on their friends on to chug more.

When he was around nineteen or twenty, he was stationed in Amegakure as a mercenary-for-hire. He was tagged along with a group of about 100 men and women who were set to destroy the government that was ruling Ame no Kuni at the time. Again, it was for show. His main purposed to make sure this revolution was going to happen. If any outside influence were to seep in, he was to eliminate them in a timely fashion. No messes, never slow, punctual. He didn't have to kill many spies during this time. Those who infiltrated he quickly dispatched. Those who did make it through the cracks, rare as that was, were usually alcoholics by the time they left.

This group was known for its partying. For its hard liquor consumption and drug usage. Most men and women who joined this cause were surprisingly thorough when it came to the ideas and creation of the Revolution, but the moment they were in that club partying their life away, it didn't seem like they were revolutionaries at all. Anyone could've mistaken them as young rebels who wanted to drink, eat, sleep, fuck and enjoy the destructive path that drugs produced.

Here he was, fifteen years later, and he was reliving that experience right now. They were all doing the thing that revolutionary group was doing. He didn't know if they were doing any of the drugs, but he wouldn't put it past him. The chaos had swallowed that forbidden aura. This was why no one wanted to come into this place. It was too chaotic. It was like the outside of the Kiri slums when there was a riot or opposing groups were waging war. He felt the energy, all disorted and out of focus. It was the energy that a large party produced.

Two men flopped in the booth he was sitting at. Alayasha's right hand immediately went towards his ink again. He slowly and indiscreetly moved it underneath the table and began to move in a pattern he was familar. The two menwere both drunk, both of them were looking at Alayasha with a curious glaze. "Whoa, dude, I like your hair." one of the guys said. He was tanner than his compatriot, rugged hair with a five o clock shadow that he had masterfully crafted over a period of five years.

"Oh, why thank you." ALayasha said politely. He didn't know what kind of drunks they were. He scoped them, watching their movements. Time to do a bit of acting.

"Yeah, man." The other guy, pale as snow, said. Alayasha could see his face was really flushed. "I fuckin dig your hair too. How long did it take you to grow it out like that."

"I've had this a majority of my life." Alayasha said. He used his cup hand to slightly tug one of the thick locs. "Probably when I was eight is when I locked it."

"So fucking sweet." The tan one said, drinking the piss color beer that Alayasha recognize. "I always wanted to grow my hair out like that, ya know. I think it'll look sweet, ya dig?"

No, I don't. You'll like a matted rug if you did grow it out."Totally man. I say go for it."

"Right on, right on. So you new in town or something?"

"Uh, yeah. Just got in a night ago. Really, this is just a stop for me. I'm passing on bye."

"No one just passes on by through this shit stain." The pale one spoke. "Not unless they have some business with Arashi."

"Who's Arashi?" Alayasha asked.

"Whose Arashi?!" The tan one said too gloriously. "How do you not know Arashi?!?"

Alayasha shrugged. "I don't keep up with the times. I'm not around Fire Country a lot, so I have no idea who is anyone is."

"Yeah, man." The pale one shoved an elbow probably a little too hard into the tan one's rib. "Not everyone fucking knows him. Geez."

"Sorry, man. Sorry, ow!"

"So who is Arashi?" Alayasha asked again. He was drawing another seal on the bottom of the table.

"Oh, he's one of the owners of this town. Got us all together for some good times in destroying shit in Fire Country." The pale one said. He covered his mouth. "Oh shit, I probably-"

"You're fine." He raised a hand. "If you're about that life, then I'm cool with it.

"Oh really?" The pale one smiled. "You a nukenin?"

"I'm a business man, really. I do a lot of investing and I own a few businesses myself."

"That's so sick." The tan one chimed in. The tan one was enjoying too much of his beer to really say anything of value at the moment.

"So wait, why are you here in this shit hole of a town? Wouldn't you rather be in some ritzy ditzy place that serves champagne?"

"Ah," Alayasha began to fiddle with the glass of whiskey again. He was done with the second seal and was moving onto the third seal. Once he got the rhythm down, he was effortlessly creating more and more seals. "There isn't anything better than good whiskey at a bar like this. I prefer to be with people I understand than people that never really enjoyed life. I started on the bottom like a majority of people."

"Amen, brother, amen." The pale raised his glass. The tan one also raised his glass so they could toast. Alayasha obliged and raised his and they clinked the glasses together. He raised the shot to his mouth, smelling the deep scents that came with whiskey, but didn't ingest. His pale companion decided to draw his contents down in just a few swallows. The tan one was already have way done with his drink before they toast and he was the first one to finish.

"I like people like that. They don't try to set themselves above the rest of the society. They understand their past and never forget where they come from. It's why I like Arashi, man. He makes you understand that feeling. He makes you that you can never be too high. When I left my village in Kusa, I thought I would never find a home, ya know? I was wondering for years until I met Arashi and set us in the right path."

"He's a great leader, man. He gave us purpose."

"Dude, your purpose right now is getting trashed."

"Yeah, but we're on vacation. I can recuperate throughout man."

Posts : 760

Alayasha was ignoring their conversation now. They began garbles and blahs to his mind. The ramblings of a drunk man was hardly anything he would ask for. He was understanding why he was called the serpent. The man had a way with words that could convince any average joe some hope. He can inspire a few drunks, a few drug addicts, a murderer or two, and he can create a group. He understand the energy of mankind, he understood their thoughts and could make them relate to him.

It was psychological, again a trait most spies from The Creed are able to pull, but something about the serpent made him do one of the foolish things an assassin would spot: Discreetness. He felt safe. He was away from the eyes of The Creed now, away from their shadow, or so he thought, and laid his time and energy into his little project. He assumed this was a project because the people within this entire establishment were textbook definition of lowlife. He could inspect the tan one and see that his eyes were glazed over only familiar with someone who has spent much time with drugs. When he looked over at the pale one, he could see scars on his arms where one would inject a needle. Heroin? He had no doubt. Arashi believed if he could hide amongst the riff raff, he could hide away from The creed and turn hide away forever.

He probably felt safe, or if he at least felt scared of some assassin coming after him, it was present in his demeanor or his current actions. The serpent was hardly being discreet now. From the profile picture he saw in the scroll, Alayasha was able to spot him out now in the crowd. He was sitting in the middle of the room, bodyguards beside him and three women and men at a table playing poker. From the looks of it, he was winning a lot from the sounds of glee from some women and the groans of some men. He could see his face. It was handsome, shaven and clean cut. He was slimmer than most, at best a 150 pounds that was lean with muscle. His chiseled jawline showed his leanness. He was textbook appearing which made him stand out even more to Alayasha. He was so relaxed, laughing at the every joke and conversation that came up. He was so relaxed that even he didn't realize that there was a large man with locs were discreetly looking at him.

Arashi stood up. One of the women was trying to tug him back in the chair, but he kissed her lips. "Hold on, hold on" he was saying in a joking matter. "I have to pee. I'll be right back." He moved through the crowd down towards the back where he could see the signs saying 'restroom' on the top of the doorway. He made a turned and he disappeared out of sight.

His hand was done drawing the seals. There were five seals in total. Five seals that were meant to explode. He placed the canister back in his pocket and took a drink of the whiskey. It burned all the way down but he'll be damn to say it wasn't a smooth burn.

"Gentlemen." he said, as he was getting up. "I never got your names."

"I'm Hideyo." The pale said.

"My name is Dedashi."

"Hideyo, Dedashi. I'm going to go take a leak real quick. I hope you don't mind."

"Go on ahead dude. We got your back. Ain't no one gonna take your seat while we're here."

"Awesome, guys. I'll be right back. Don't go nowhere." He smiled and moved out. The smile faded, now. He had his back turn so he knew he needed not to worry about them following after him. He didn't know if they were shinobi. If they were, they were too intoxicated to focus their chakra. If they were in their right minds, they would've sensed the powerful, ancient chakra moving through his body. If one was sensitive towards it, they would've felt something deep within that chakra and saw that there was something powerful lying in wake.

Alayasha was sure he would be able to pass through the crowd unnoticed. He was tall, that's for sure. But there were other guys in here, guys who were taller and bigger than he was. They would look at Alayasha, give him the stranger's nod, and then go back to their business. Alayasha would return their gesture whenever he made eye contact. He learned early in life to never look like you got some business to take care off. Ninety-five percent of the time people don't even notice. The moment something appears off, a misstep after walking too fast, spilling someone's drink to reach the target, is when things can get tricky. Most will still not look depending on whether they were focus their conversation and how loud the commotion is. If it is disturbing like loud yelling, glass crashing, or some combination of the two, that's when the noticing begins. Other than that, acting like you're actually going to bathroom can cut the part.

He walked in the doorway. One sign read men's restroom and the other red women's. He turned to the left and so did Alayasha. Before he entered into the bathroom, he made sure the seals were still underneath the table. He closed his eyes then and moved his chakra towards the seals. He could feel the warmth of the seals humming in the pits of his stomach. It was like feeling a burp coming only for it stop midway in his mouth. The five seals were still there. No one had detected them. Even if he sent a small amount of chakra and someone did detect some type of chakra, it would be too mixed in with the crowd's energy. He would be fine.

Probably should've brought the hidden blades. Alayasha thought. He could've and still could just by summoning them back to him. That would take too long to do, and he rather take this opportunity while no one was looking. His hands would do. His hands would be enough to get what he needed to achieve. He opened the door and found his target washing his hands.

Posts : 760

The bathroom itself was pretty open. He housed about twenty stalls and twenty urnials all across the wall. It was expected to be this size to house this many people. He couldn't imagine the size of the woman's bathroom, but he digressed. Alayasha turned the knob to lock the door. It made a soft click noise that only Alayasha could hear. He doubt Arashi could had heard it. He wanted to make sure no one was coming in or getting out in the next few minutes. No one would be knocking, at least he hoped not.

Arashi had his hands in the sink, letting the hot water run. He sighed and had a warm smile on his face. Alayasha turned. He could see his reflection in the mirror. He did look like some workhand was who was ready to cut down some trees just by the look of him. He didn't know how he was able to pull of the "Investor" bullshit when he looked like he just did ten rounds with a pig. (That made him shiver internally and he decided to throw that thought away like a bad condom.)

Arashi had his eyes closed. He was smiling and humming while washing his hands. Arashi's face was flushed just like the pale man (Alayasha didn't really listen to the man's name so he couldn't remember it right there and then), and his humming was so awful that Alayasha was quick to put his hand into a fist. "Oh man," he said aloud. "Fucking awesome. So. Fucking. Awesome." He slowly opened his eyes and saw Alayasha standing behind him. He saw a fist move towards his face and before Arashi could react, the first thought that came was That is one big guy-

Arashi's head slammed into the mirror. The sheer force of his head colliding caused the mirror to shatter. His punch wasn't enough to cause all of the mirror to shatter at once. A few pieces fell onto the sink with his blood on it. Arashi was trying to get his bearings but Alayasha had him by the neck. He lifted him up in the air, one hand still holding onto his neck and slammed him hard into the ground.

The impact shook everything in Arashi's body. His bones, his brain, his internal organs. Arashi was drunk. He was very much drunk. Alayasha could smell the mixtures of Vodka, Tequila, Scotch, and gin all over his breath. He was able to take it well and handle normal conversations to a certain degree, Alayasha was sure. But now? Now that he was getting his head smashed into the ground, all that regret would be starting to sober him up.

"P-P-P-" Arashi was trying to speak. He spat out blood. "Please!

Alayasha smashed his head into the ground. Harder this time. He didn't want him to start screaming out. It was loud outside, yes, but he had no intention of letting that one unattentive guy who was listening to that one guy's bullshit story hear something odd in the bathroom. "Why you leave?" Alayasha whispered.

"W-What...?" Arashi sounded disoriented.

"You left the order. You left The Creed. Why?"

"I-I couldn't-"

Alayasha smashed his head in. He doubt he was going to get an answer, but what the hell. Maybe he'll be surprised. "I know you're drunk, but try to think coherently before I take you out of his life. Why you leave? Think before you"

"I-I was forced to leave." he said. He was trying to sound calm with all the blood that was coming out of his nose and mouth. Alayasha could see all the broken teeth.

Alyasha could almost taste the lie. He slammed his head again into the ground. The floor was tiled white and black like a chess board. With each impact Alayasha made, the white and black was disappearing and it was showing a ghastly effect of red, pink and black. "Bullshit you were forced to leave. You left because you thought you could take down The Creed by yourself."

"No..." he coughed. Alayasha slammed his head again. This time it was hard enough to put the man out cold. Alayasha got up from the ground and looked at his palms. They were covered in sweat and blood. He looked at one of the many broken pieces from the mirror. Damn shame. He wasn't in the mood of finding out whether his hidden blade was in good use, but he was a man who loved improvision. And right now, he was simply going to enjoy this next little part.

SC used:

Posts : 760

He took a piece of the mirror. It was a long piece where it was so perfectly sharp at the end that it could probably pierce someone's throat. Someone's unconscious throat. He looked at Arashi on the floor, bleeding out from the nose and mouth. He looked at the piece of the mirror in his hand and shrugged. "If all I have is a hammer...." He pulled up the man's head. Alayasha made sure the impact of his strike and his positioning would be good enough for him to get the least amount of blood on him as possible. He set the blade up in his hand, grabbing it carefully and precisely. he began to go to town.

He drove the blade deep into the throat. For a second, Arashi's eyes lit up. He made a coughing noise. Was it coughing or was it a cry? Alayasha was hard pressed to know, but wouldn't really ask this question until later that night. The blade went hard into the left side. Blood came out in gushes now, dripping out onto the floor and began to spread outward like warm syrup. Alayasha was moving his the makeshift blade slowly making sure he was being careful not to spill blood. Arashi's body was beginning to shake trying to hold on to the life he was had. Alayasha got one knee on his back and held him still as he slit his throat from ear to ear.

There was a slow groan that came out then silence. Alayasha dropped his head and the body was limp. He got up from the body and went over to one of the sinks that didn't have glass resting them. He soaped and lathered then making sure all the blood was off his hand. He did this for a minute while the body of Arashi was starting to get cold. He pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and began to rub his hands clean. He could smell something pungant hit his nose now. Feces. The man had defecated himself after a few seconds. It was strong smell, almost unbearable.

Alayasha unlocked the bathroom and walked out with a paper towel still in his hand. He shoved it in his pocket knowing it was easier to place in another location rather than the spot he was just murdered a man. He didn't rush out of the bathroom. He simply walked out like nothing had happened, like the few minutes that he did in the bathroom was as simple as taking a sharpening a blade or taking out the trash. He walked out of the hallway and out into the crowd again. He was suspecting that perhaps someone had seen him come in and were on their way to try to kill Alayasha were he stood. He still had his insurance card of blowing the hell out of this place. He knew ways of surviving a blast equal to fifty explosive notes, and he was banking that he could use some people as meat shields to get away with just some minor rooms.

When he turned out of the corner, the party...was still going on. The commotion had gotten louder. He hadn't heard the music before but now he was hearing every single lyric that was coming out of the people's mouth. A group of them were singing aloud, some very much out of tune and were joyful about it. Alayasha passed by them without one of them giving a single glance at him.

He could see his two friends had left the table. There were four people sitting at that booth now, no doubt shooting the shit as they say. Never depend on drunks to do anything for him, he reminded himself. Even if he wasn't returning to the table, it was still something he found himself saying from time to time.

The poker game was still on hold as he walked by them. Some of them were teasing saying "Where is he? Did he fall in the toilet?" hahahahaha, the crowd went. "Maybe he did, remember that one time-continues the joke" and hahahahaha the crowd goes. How surprising that they never did smell the blood that came off of Alayasha's hand. He made sure to wash them good but it's hard to get that scent off at times. No batted an eye, no one gave him an accusing look, all one did was continue their joking existence for another few hundred seconds. As Alayasha walked out of the bar, unnoticed and unseen like most men in the world, he whispered. "Let the dead bury the dead..."

He walked into the streets. The night was still at its peak yet he found that it was peaceful then. He looked to the sky and saw that the moon was out. Stars had brilliantly lit up the night sky dancing with the moon. The sky looked relatively peaceful. Time and space was so absent from the world below that when Alayasha began to ponder the workings of his assassination, he realized how small he really was in the universe. This one death would go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. He knew this would hardly make a dent.

But did the lion care if a gazelle far away is killed? Does a man care if another man was killed 300 kilometers away? He doubted this. This was just the nature of life and death. Such impacts mattered little to both the small and the big.

He felt it was time to change that.

He got out of blast range then. He did a series of handseals. He didn't need to go fast. He was find in concentrating his chakra for this next part. He could feel the seals react to him now. The formula, pulsating his stomach and his mind, began to ask if it was time to detonate.

Oh yes, it is time for you to do your work.

The night sky lit up. The blast of fifty explosive tags filled the air and the explosion consumed the entire establishment like an ocean wave consuming a small sand castle. It wouldn't of mattered in a place like this. Explosions that occurred on the regular, people dying left and right and on the street corner and their beds. This would hardly phase this place.

Alayasha turned the corner and saw a man standing there wearing a cloak and a hood over his eyes.

"Hawk." Alayasha said.

"I was expecting you to kill him in a week." Hawk said. There was no shock in his voice, not an ounce of surprise, but Alayasha could sense it was there somewhere. "Did you know he would be there?"

Alayasha shook his head as he was walking towards him. "It was the good fortune to be honest. I would've tailed anyone and killed their establishment elsewhere. It mattered not how the deed was done, as long as they got the message."

Alayasha paused. "You gave me false information. Or rather, you gave you half truths, didn't you?"

Hawk did not respond. He simply stood in the shadows looking at Alayasha with the darkness covering his face. Alyasha twisted his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine, be that way. You don't have to answer it. Just know that I expect my favor to be granted after this little show."

"We do not break any promises, Alayasha-dono. The Sword will make sure you'll get your favor. You have upheld yours."

"You're damn right I upheld mine. I rather not have this hanging over my head."

Hawk came out of the shadow and walked by Alayasha. Hawk said in a whisper, it was so soft and close to inaudible but Alayasha caught it. "Good job, Alayasha ben Yachazyal, you passed another test of your fathers..."

Alayasha's eyes widen then and he looked down at Hawk. Hawk wasn't there anymore. He had disappeared in a blink. A shadow. Was Hawk even there to begin with? Did Hawk even exist? All these questions ran through his mind as he turned to find a few people running towards the destruction.

He bit down on his cheek then. Father Yachazyal was doing his thing again. He hadn't heard from his father in years and now...now he was moving again. He didn't know whether he should be scared out of his mind or angry that he would one day have to confront him.

He didn't care now. Not now, not when the night was young.

[End Thread]

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