RECOLLECTION

Lunamaria grew up as a war orphan. Knowing nothing of her parents and where she was originally from, the only person she could call family was Meyrin, another war orphan who Luna treated and protected as if they were related by blood. By the age of 12, Luna found out that the orphanage was a front for sex trafficking, so Luna and her sister escaped and ran away. They did their best to survive on their own but were eventually taken under the wing of two Viera siblings, Rooke and Meer.Living in the surrounding area of Kugane and the Ruby Sea, it was only a matter of time before their town was devastated. Leaving Luna (16) and Meyrin on their own again. Inspired by her former Viera caretaker, Rooke, who fought against Garleans as a Paladin, she too wanted to follow in his footsteps, leaving Meyrin in the safety of Gridania; she promised she would come back stronger and better to protect her.Luna quickly found herself climbing the ranks in the coliseum as a gladiator in Ul’dah. But her dreams of being a paladin were crushed when she discovered she had problems controlling her aether. She trained and fought for a year, joining Ul’dah’s ranks in their army with the goal of being a paladin that could protect her sister from anything.In a battle against Garlemald, she was met with Gridania’s joint forces and ran into Meyrin, a healer for the Twin Adders. The battle was bloody, and with complete devastation, Meyrin sacrificed herself to save Luna’s life. Despite being alive, she was barely so and was taken into Garlemald's captivity as a prisoner and a subject for experiments.It was no secret Garlemald carried on nasty experiments, and human experimentation with orphans and prisoners of war was common practice. Garlean scientists were aware of Luna’s combat prowess, but her lack of aether control was her biggest weak point and was used as a development for soul experimentation as a way to improve her faults. With magitek technology and Ascian knowledge, they were able to extract a soul from a prisoner Au’ra, Stella, one of the fiercest combatants they had seen from the Steppes, and fused her soul into Luna’s, hoping it would make up for Luna’s lack of aether abilities.Despite all their efforts, rehabilitation, and training, it became apparent that Luna was a failure and did not produce the results they sought. Even with brainwashing and destroying Luna’s past memories, Luna was too difficult to control and unpredictable because of her split personality from the soul fusion process. The biggest failure was Luna’s aether output, as it came in powerful bursts but was inconsistent and could not be handled for long periods of time. As with many failures, Luna was disposed of, thrown in the wild, weak, and gravely wounded. But despite all odds, Luna managed to survive.With no memories of her past, she was alone and could only trust herself. She quickly figured out that she was able to fight well. She became a heartless mercenary and assassin, taking any job, didn’t matter if she killed innocents or other assassins. She would even go as far as switching sides and betraying her previous client if the amount satisfied her. Money talks, and Luna knew only one way to survive, and that was only to trust herself.Eventually, her mercenary job brought her to the Scions in Kugane, and was hired to fight at the Bozjan front during the WoL’s absence in the First. In the war she fought against Garlemald, she discovered the human experiments they had conducted, and in quick realization, she added the pieces together and concluded she must have been one too.With her newfound discovery, she gave up her cold-blooded mercenary ways and became a wanderer. She aimlessly wanders Eorzea trying to find and learn more about her broken past and fill this yearning wanting to protect something or someone.

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FRAGMENTS

Loose End

It was just supposed to be another job.

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A Familiar Face

To Be Continued...

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LOOSE END

“I have another job for you.” The cloaked man spoke alone in an alleyway. His raspy voice was barely audible from the torrential downpour the sky had released, matching the dreary and dark evening that loomed over the town. A few moments passed as the man remained still, the alleyway partially covering him from the rain. Just as the man was about to let out a sigh, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him.“Who is it this time?” He should have been used to the ice seething in the latter’s voice. They have already spoken several times, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling from his bones that he was talking to a cold-blooded killer. It didn’t help that he didn’t sense the hired assassin’s presence or approach.He quickly turns around, a natural response from being surprised, only for his neck to be met with cold hard steel, the sharp blade already pressing against his skin. The man immediately raised his hands, showing he had no weapons, only a tattered and soggy note wedged between his fingers. Once again, he should have known better than to move suddenly when meeting with this particular assassin. He had always wanted to question her methods and why things were always done in a particular fashion, but after receiving her first glare from when they met, he knew better and just do as the assassin says. Despite him being the client and paying for services, it seemed the assassin wouldn’t have a second thought of killing him then there.Pink and golden eyes glared piercingly at the cloaked man, causing him to take in a nervous gulp, allowing the blade at his neck to dig into his skin as blood began to trail down his collar. Lunamaria irked her eyebrow at the note, snatching the piece of paper from the man. The assassin took a quick glance at the note, two names and a crude picture of her targets. “More nobles?” She scoffs then her glare returns to her client once again. “Payment.” The Mi’qote assassin says curtly, using her free hand, and opens her palm.Without delay, the man slowly reaches into his pocket to retrieve the Gil and leaves the pouch in the assassin’s open hand. He spoke with as little movement as possible so the blade wouldn’t dig into his throat any more than it has. “As usual, half now, half after. Needs to be finished tonight. No loose ends.”Lunamaria lowered her head, her vibrant heterochromia eyes now hidden in the shadow of her hood, hiding her glare that was trained on the man. She quickly sheathes her Wakizashi, jumping back and tossing the man's machinist gun at his chest. The man just now realizing that he had been disarmed. In a blink of an eye, smoke engulfs the man; and the assassin vanished without a trace.

“But I don’t wanna go to bed.” The young Elezen girl had her arms crossed in defiance as she pouted at her older sibling.“There there, Itrie,” The noble soothingly cooed and chuckled at his siblings' antics while tucking his little sister in bed. “I shan’t be gone long. Before ye know it, I will be back.” The older brother reassuringly stated. “I promise.” He stuck out his pinky finger to his sister.The girl obediently nodded, a small frown still framed on her face, but she knows her brother never breaks promises. Itrie’s small pinky meets with her brother’s much larger hand, and the older sibling immediately wraps his pinky around his sister’s. He warmly smiles at their gesture and kisses his younger sister’s forehead. “Now sleep well, my dear sister.” The young noble rises from the bed, and despite Itrie’s earlier rebuttal, she had instantly fallen asleep. He quietly leaves the room, almost completely shutting the door but leaving just a crack open because he knows his sister doesn’t like it fully closed.The noble releases a tired yawn, and he stretches out his arms, cracking his neck in the process. He was tired himself. Just as he was about to retire to his own room, he had turned and looked at his parent’s door. He swore he saw a shadow move on the floor, seen through the small opening at the bottom of the door. Then remembered his mother complaining about waking up in the middle of the night recently. He quickly goes to the kitchen, only taking a few minutes to brew up a cup of warm milk tea to aid in her mother’s sleep. He makes his way quietly to his parent’s room, slowly opening their door, ensuring not to wake his parents if they happened to both be asleep. But the moment he looked at his parents' bed, nothing would have prepared him for the horror he saw. The ceramic tea cup shatters on the floor, the milk tea quickly going cold against the hard floors.The young noble rushed to his parent's bed. “Mother! Father!” Blood bled through the sheets, all over their pajamas, and pooled onto the mattress.The eldest son didn’t care if his new adventuring gear was now stained with crimson red. In fact, he expected them to be stained with crimson as a show of valor and bravery on all his new adventures he would go on, from slaying beasts and taking on challenging quests. He had trained hard endlessly to prove that he was worthy of being an adventurer. Proving his worth on the training grounds and even begging for his parents' approval to break away from the aspirations they wanted for him. But he would never imagine that the first mark of his new adventure in life would be the death of his parents. Tears fell from his eyes, and his world left in a blurred rush, his vision tunneling at the corpses of his parents.No loose ends.Suddenly he can’t breathe. The young noble immediately began coughing, gurgling, and drowning in his own blood. A blade pierced through the backside of his neck and through the front of his throat. Without remorse or any sign of emotion, the Mi’qote assassin quickly removed her blade from the young man’s neck, then with her secondary short sword, she swiftly swung without any resistance. The young noble’s head rolled clean off his shoulders, falling onto the floor and slowly rolling its way to the doorway. His headless body fell perfectly between his parents’ corpses.With practiced movements, the assassin swiftly slung any leftover blood off her blades without letting a single drop get on her clothing. She makes her way to the window, and just as she jumps outside, she hears the door creaking open. Lunamaria quickly presses herself against the wall outside the window, her figure now hidden in the shadows. Her hands already hovering over her sheathed Wakizashi’s to clean up another loose end for the job upon sighting the newcomer to the room. It was a little Elezen girl.Itrie woke up from what seemed like yelling. Worried that something had happened, she made her way to her parent's room. Though in a rush, she opens the door as quietly as she can. The door first hit something on the ground but rolled away with some ease. At first, her mind couldn’t really comprehend what was going on or if what she was seeing was real. The first few steps inside, she saw what first blocked the door. A trail of dark red led from the bed to what she was staring at. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Staring back at her were wide open familiar eyes. The same eyes that had just warmly smiled at her to say goodnight. The same eyes that promised he would be back soon.The lonely girl stuttered, struggling to say the words of the name of her family member. “Lu-Lu-Luicon?”Lunamaria remained hidden, observing and watching the girl, and suddenly a fiery, sharp pain shot through her head as she heard the girl call out her brother’s name. It was as if a pin needle had stabbed its way into her mind. It took everything in her to remain composed, to not cry out in agony. She bit at her lip, drawing blood in her mouth, and winced in immense pain as she kept quiet in the shadows. The assassin swore she could have passed out. With quick judgment, she decided to retreat to safety while she still could.

Grey looming clouds rolled into the sky, perhaps it had been overcast for the past few days, but the Mi’qote hadn’t really noticed. The assassin isolated herself by a small creek that cut through the grassy plains of a small town. The sound of running water had always been able to soothe her busy mind, or maybe the lack of thoughts? Lunamaria shook her head, tossing a flat rock to skim across the water's surface. Unlike her usual assassin attire, she was out in public, not wanting to cause a scene or attention to herself. She donned full black attire in her cropped vest-shirt, fitted pants with a studded belt, and rugged knee-high boots that had certainly seen better days. Her black gunblade rested by her side, it was a gift from- who was the crafter she slept with again? In all honesty, that portion of her life was a bit of a blur. The Mi’qote stared out into the water again, letting her mind run or go blank? She couldn’t tell these days. Lunamaria brought her attention to her arms, which rested on her knees as she sat by the water, tracing the black-inked patterns that seemed to be embedded into her skin. This was why she hated not keeping herself busy; her thoughtless yet busy mind would always seemingly ask all these questions that she didn’t know the answers to of herself.She begins to blank out until a droplet of water lands on her arm. It wasn’t long until more followed, and eventually, it began to pour. It seemed to rain just like that day, from her last job- Has it been that long? Weeks had passed since her last assassination job, it was the last job that Lunamaria had taken, which was unlike herself. She had always taken anything back to back. Whether they were hunts, bodyguarding, assassinations, mercenary work, hell, she had even taken bouncer gigs if it really came down to it. Thankfully the pay was high from her last- Lunamaria cursed under her breath. She had completely forgotten to pick up the other half of her money. What has gotten into herself? She has always taken her payments right after she completes her jobs. The frustrated Mi’qote curses again. Ever since that night, she hadn’t been able to think straight or be “herself.” When that little Elezen girl called for her brother, she kept dreaming of images in her sleep. Sometimes it got bad enough that hazy figures and shapes would even appear when she was conscious. She wasn’t even sure if the images or figures she had been seeing were a person or a thing. The words “Lu-Lu” had been repeating in her sleep or even all day? Lunamaria grits her teeth; another painful spike in her head seemingly pierces her mind as she is about to stand up. She immediately sits back down, clutching her head and shutting her eyes tight as she takes deep breaths. Remembering the words and comfort from a certain, well now former, friend? Partner? Saying that she too experiences panic attacks at least that maybe Lunamaria was going through something similar. Regardless, she just wanted the pain to ease, and this always seemingly did so.The lone Mi’qote hadn’t noticed when the rain had stopped pelting against her skin, or when the presence of a small figure stood in front of her. Her eyes snapped open, her slitted pupils tightened as she reached for her gunblade. As her face rose to face the intruder, her vision was completely filled with a plush hatchling Chocobo. The small figure squeaked, surprised by the sudden movement Luna made as the start of a counterattack. Lunamaria leaned back, gaining distance from the yellow stuffed toy shoved in front of her face.At first, only half her face was visible. A blur of a hazy image appeared, the lips mouthing what seemed to say “Lu-Lu” before the delusional imagery disappeared, making Luna’s eyes go wide at who she saw standing in front of her, holding out an umbrella out to shield her from the cold rain.“Y-you look like you n-needed to cheer up m-miss.” The little girl’s voice spoke nervously To Luna, alternating her weight on her two feet as another sign of timidness as she continued. “I-I saw that you looked hurt a-and well my-my brother gave me this toy to h-hug and make me feel better.” Tears began to well up in her eyes as she spoke about her brother. The girl’s voice faltered, barely audible in the sound of the rain that hit against the small parasol. “A-And I-I wanted to b-be like my brother and make you feel better too.” Itrie’s voice strengthened, remembering that she needed to be strong now.The older woman remained stunned, eyes still wide as she stares at Itrie. The girl’s family that she had assassinated in cold blood just weeks prior. Who is now comforting her, the murderer of her family.Lunamaria slowly reaches out, her eyes darting from the girl to the toy and back to the girl who adorned a soft encouraging smile with tears filling her crescent-shaped eyes. Her hand begins to shake as it inches toward the small plush toy. Unsure if it was even moral to be in front of the girl like this. Lunamaria’s fingers graze the soft and warm feathers of the toy Chocobo.BANG!The plush falls into Lunamaria’s lap, and blood splatters onto her face. Itrie’s eyes, once full of vivid life and youthful warmth, suddenly turn vacantly dull and dark.And the small, cold body falls into Lunamaria’s arms.The rain begins to clear, but the dark clouds remain overhead. Lunamaria didn’t see the dead girl as Itrie. Instead, imagery of another girl, what seemed to be a Mi’qote with pastel purple hair, appears before her, lying on the ground. In her mind, she could hear “LuLu” being called out again in what sounded like a young, sweet voice. A voice that wasn’t Itrie. The assassin hadn’t even realized a tear sliding down her cheek.“It seems you are slipping a bit.”Lunamaria glares at the source of the voice. Snapping from her reverie.“We said no loose ends, and we find out that this girl attended the funeral of our targets.” The burly Roegadyn cracked his neck side to side. “Which lead to us cleaning up your sloppy work.” The man snarls at Lunamaria. “Not completing the job, running rogue. Boss says you have to go. You’re a loose end now.” As the man finishes his declaration, more bodies emerge from the trees and rocks, completely surrounding and closing off any exit for the woman.Blood drips down her side. The bullet that pierced through the girl had clearly lodged itself into her side.The Mi’qote gently sets the girl’s cold body aside, her gunblade already in hand. She stands up straight, feet apart, as her heterochromia eyes scan through her peripheral vision to assess the situation. There was absolutely nowhere to run. Nowhere to escape.Her right eye twitches slightly.For any others in this situation, most would panic, others would beg for mercy, mayhaps even bribe if they have carried enough Gil. Perhaps some would even offer their body as a form of service and entertainment as a plea to spare their life.A grin begins to creep at the corners of her mouth.It must have been around twenty hired mercenaries taking their first steps closer to the lone Mi’qote. Each drew their weapons out, all were ready to charge in at once.A dim eerie gold limbral ring glows in her right eye.The group leader stands tall, easily towering over everyone at a staggering seven fulms tall. Hefting up his large firearm with one arm, he takes aim and eagerly pulls the trigger Click the burly Roegadyn fires the first shot. A loud crack shatters the serene sound of rain, startling the sound of nature. Lunamaria doesn’t even flinch; her body automatically reacts; flicking her gunblade up in front of her body, she deflects the projectile into the dirt. Other ranged users ready for a volley-style attack.To be clear, there was nowhere for them to run and escape.Lunamaria swiftly raises her gunblade and pulls the trigger to expend an aether cartridge while immediately charging headlong at the first conjurer in her sights. A faint shimmering barrier appears around her body, her pace now at a full-on sprint.“Covering fire! Defend our back line!” A man yelled out a command, and the group immediately moved into their coordinated positions. It would seem this group has worked together many times before, but the end result would still be the same. A mixed volley of gunfire, arrows, and even fireballs, rained down on Lunammaria; dirt and dust exploded in the air upon impact. The men held their next attack, but still kept the defense up. The smoke and dust impaired their vision, so they opted to wait for the air to clear to confirm the kill.“AGHHH!” A man screamed.Everyone’s attention turned to the sound. Only those that were close were able to make a faint glimpse of a dark blade covered in red and one of their conjurer dead on the ground. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that their target had not been felled. The few mages quickly began casting their next spell, firing off larger orbs of fireballs. Again the ground exploded, but with fire swirling and engulfing the surrounding space in flames, blowing away the remaining dust in the air. The freshly cleared space revealed an unharmed Lunamaria. The slight shimmer surrounding her dims and disperses.“Hey, I thought you said she was a ninja!” Someone angrily yelled at their boss; their numbers should have easily overwhelmed a single assassin with low defenses. “She-” The man froze as he saw the sight of Luna making direct eye contact with him. Her head on a slight tilt, a maniac-like grin spread across her face. Her eyes convey the message you’re next. Before he could utter another word, Lunamaria dragged her blade through the ground, the inked portions of her skin glowing with aether as the energy transferred to her blade. She swiftly swings the blade up, forcing a concentrated energy of aether to rip through the ground. The man was too slow to move, his body cut straight in half without any resistance as his innards and blood spread on the ground.A few of the marauder mercenaries charge straight in, their big and heavy axes raised in the air to swing down on their enemy. Lunamaria is quick, her feet already positioned and wound to rotate her body. She spins in a blur, her blade swinging in a perfect circle, as more aether seeps from her arms and into her weapon as she pulls the trigger to expend another aether cartridge. The combined power of her own aether and the cartridge is explosive, leaving multiple explosions at the tail end of her blade. The marauders stood no chance as their bodies exploded, their limbs blowing off and dying immediately.She can’t help but to start snickering. More! Her mind says.At this point, the remaining mercenaries all kept their distance. Everything happened so quickly that their minds were still processing what they were witnessing. they were all starting to wonder if it was even worth the money. Their fight or flight was telling them to run. But before they could even act, a hysterical laugh could be heard. It was as if the woman before them wasn’t sane. The crazed look in her eyes called for a bloodbath, as if they were all animals for slaughter.One of the pugilist's knees shook in fear, deciding that no amount of money was worth this. “T-this bitch is craz-”Before he could finish his sentence or even take his first steps, the assassin had launched herself at the man. She flipped in the air, her boots landing in the center of his chest while the rest of her momentum carried her and forced them onto the ground. Grotesque cracks and breaks could be heard, the man’s ribs breaking and being crushed under the weight and momentum of the Mi’qote. She drove her gunblade into the man’s skull, ending his misery.Her grin grew wider as more blood sprayed and splattered onto her.One conjurer began to run, their numbers were starting to dwindle, and it was clear that the remaining that stood would all have a similar fate as their dead comrades. The woman’s glowing eyes immediately flick over to the fleeing man, she wasn’t about to let anyone go so easily. She effortlessly twists in the air to add more force to her throw and releases her blade mid-spin. The sword cuts through the air and pierces the conjurer through the back. The momentum further carries the sword, dragging the now-dead man and penetrating another unfortunate soul.The once confident Roegadyn machinist frantically got another weapon ready. Hefting an even larger contraption of a weapon and firing it immediately. Anchored chains launch from the device, coiling and hurling their way in the direction of the insane woman. The chains move as if they were like snakes, circling and surrounding their prey to bind them.She began to laugh once more, nothing was about to stop her fun.With nimble and agile movements, she avoids and dodges the dancing chains. She dashes towards her blade, as her boots crush the skulls of the bodies that became a temporary bloody sheath for her sword. She grasps the handle and removes her weapon, and begins deflecting and cutting oncoming arrows down, sidestepping, and evading oncoming fireballs and gunshots. Her next target was already in her sights.She won’t let a single one of them leave alive.The other mercenaries’ fates were just like the others. Their bodies, now limp and blown in pieces. Their blood had soaked and stained the once grassy green field and polluted the once-clear creek in crimson. Despite all their efforts, none of their attacks seemed effective against the crazed gunbreaker. One by one, they were mercilessly slain until the last remained.“W-what the f-fuck are you?!” The Roegadyn’s eyes were wide in fear, his mind screaming at him to flee, to run, to be anywhere but here. But his body froze, already knowing that if he turned his back on the assassin, he had no chance of living. He steels his resolve, flipping a switch on his machinist accessory strapped to his hip. The mechanical device began to whirl and whine, his firearm began charging up. The blood-covered Mi’qote’s head tilts, her white teeth and fangs sheen in contrast to her crimson-covered face as a form of her smiling, practically mocking and laughing at his efforts to attempt to fight for his life. She slowly begins to make her way over to him, her nonchalant steps made it seem like she wasn’t walking in a blood-soaked field. She ejects the empty cartridges from her gunblade and spins the cylinder as she loads two cartridges in.Luna begins to sprint at the Roegadyn, her weapon flings shut as she barrels toward the towering man. As soon as his weapon was ready, he pulled the trigger, and a barrage of heated and fiery shots shot out from his firearm. She twirls in the air as she launches herself at the man. His heated shells graze against her skin; if it were any closer, surely the damage it could have caused would have been severely detrimental.Even though it was the smell of her own flesh burning, the smirk on her face became more frenzied. The excitement of danger in battle drives her further from sanity.She hurls her blade at the man, the Roegadyn couldn’t fathom how fast the Mi’qote had closed the distance on him. He was forced to use his firearm to block the sharp edge, using both hands to keep the metal blade at bay that now embeds and digs into his weapon. But it only took a glance at the menacingly glowing heterochromia eyes that revealed he had made the wrong move. The gunbreaker pulls the trigger, her blade flashes white as an aether cartridge is discharged. An explosion at point blank causes the firearm in the man’s hand to explode, blasting his hands and fingers off. The man yells and screams in pain, and a maniac laugh cackles in the air as she drives her blade directly through armor and into the man’s body. She twists the sword, painfully tearing and ripping up his flesh and insides, and rips her blade out from the side of the man. The blade reels back for a final slash, she pulls the trigger once more to consume her last aether cartridge, and her weapon explodes upon impact, causing the man to blow in half.

The bloodied gunbreaker stands in the field of bodies and limbs. She laughs hysterically at the rising moon that peaks through the clouds, her laughter bears over the sound of the running creek water. Slowly, her laugh becomes less menacing, less maniac, and saner sounding. Lunamaria falls to her knees, falling onto their hands as she remains chuckling. She begins to laugh again at her own remorse. It seems she could never keep her mind together. It was always as if in moments like this, she had no control of her own body, and all she could do was sit in the backseat and be conscious of it all, yet at the same time, she wanted and yearned for it and made every decision on her own.Rain began to fall once more. Water washed and pelted away some of the fresh blood on her body. But she knew it wasn’t enough to rid her of her bloodstained hands. She takes a few moments, clenching and crushing the grass in her hands as she closes her eyes and releases shaky breaths. When she had decided it was enough, she rose. Made her way to Itrie’s body and carried it to the outskirts of the nearby town. She places the Chocobo toy on the girl but decides she will keep the gift that was given to her and walks off in the distance.

• Fragments

A FAMILIAR FACE

Perched up on the highest point of Kugane, the white-haired Mi’qote’s skin grew goosebumps, and the small hairs at the back of her neck rose. Her instincts told her something was off about tonight. It was an unusually foggy night in the streets of Kugane. The fog rolled lazily through the city. It moved slowly, matching the dense heaviness of how it appeared. Visibility and clarity were greatly reduced; it was odd for such a fog to stick around for so long in a city like Kugane. Being by the sea usually warrants the ocean winds to carry off fogs like these. The information that an assassination attempt would surely happen in these perfect conditions. Sken teethed her lip a bit and readjusted her mask, which was tugging on her braided bangs, even gripping and relaxing her hold of her weapons on her hips. She did everything she could to try to relax her nerves, and nothing seemed to be working. It wasn’t like this was her first time; on the contrary, she has prevented a number of assassinations from occurring. She did her best to be still in the shadows, overlooking the entire city, watching for anything that seemed off-There it was! On a rooftop by the inn, a slight wisp in the fog had rolled over as if a shadow had just passed. Even with trained and experienced eyes like hers, she had almost missed it and had barely caught it on time. If it were anyone else, the small detail would have gone unnoticed. She moved swiftly, jumping off from Kugane tower, landing gracefully and quietly from rooftop to rooftop. The assassin was fast, but she was faster. She knew Kugane like the back of her hand, knew all the shortcuts and tricks needed to get to any area she needed to intercept any assassin, just like tonight. Sken did her best to move without noise, even using the fog to her advantage to hide her presence, but even though she was at least 20 yalms away from the intruder, an unexpected shuriken came slicing through the fog heading directly for her face. Sken quickly pulled out her blade, having no other option but to block the attack; her cover and location were completely known by the sound of metal clashing. Sken quickly came to a halt, both of her tantos unsheathed, positioned in a defensive stance. She swore the other ninja should have been farther away, but through the dense fog, she could make up a shadow that couldn’t have been more than 5 yalms away from her. “When did they close the distance?” She asked herself in her head. In a blink of an eye, the shadow disappeared. Sken raised her weapons even closer to her body, her body sitting lower to make herself a smaller target. The other ninja was skilled and also experienced. This wasn’t like her previous jobs, and now she understands why the pay was so high to take this job. With her senses heightened, listening and feeling for any change in the air, doing her best to sense her enemy’s presence.To the rear!Sken swiveled her body around, turning a full 180; she barely managed to block the ambush, the enemy’s weapon only mere ilms from her neck. If Sken weren’t so focused on the blade threatening her life, she would have spotted the kick to her stomach. She took the brunt of the force, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She staggered backward, only for her masked face to be met with another swift kick, cracking the wooden mask and obstructing her view. The white-haired ninja quickly recovered, jumping back to gain more distance from her attacker. She threw off her damaged mask, quickly sheathing her weapons and, with practiced expertise, her hands creating precise and complex symbols for her mudras: Jin - Chi - Ten, followed by: Jin - Ten. A swirl of air hastens her movements as she pinches her fingers together in front of her lips and blows air between the gap of her fingers, shooting a fierce blaze of swirling flames that easily extended and engulfed the other half of the rooftops in burning fire. Even if Sken’s Katon didn’t land a hit, it still accomplished three things. First, with such a noticeable and bright fire on top of a roof, this would surely alert any of the patrolling Sekiseigumi around the area to call for backup and alert the city there had been an attack. Thus eliminating the element of surprise and stealth for the assassin, making their kill much harder to accomplish now that in order to execute their objective, it was now a much faster timer before the whole city would be on guard. Second, it also burned away the fog in the area. Even if it were for just a moment, it would allow Sken to get better visuals of her enemy, and following that, her fire engulfing Katon would force her enemy to make a predictable dodge. Just as she had predicted, Sken clearly saw her attacker in the air, as they needed to jump to dodge her flames. This time with a different order of hand signs: Ten - Chi - Jin. The white-haired ninja could feel the aether flowing in her veins as her palm hit the ceramic tiling of the roof. Her channeled aether traveled into the roof, stopping directly under the assassin, and a spout of pressurized water came bursting out. The water attack, Suiton, would not only come rushing at Sken’s attacker but would also douse the flames on the rooftops, to ensure the entire building won’t burn. With nowhere to go in the air, the assassin reacted with professionalism: Ten - Chi. A bolt of lightning struck the roof, hitting the area of the white-haired ninja, but more importantly, gave the assassin a way to escape the rushing water beneath her feet. Electricity wrapped around her arms, aether pumping through her veins and legs; the attack gave her extra movement, dodging the spouting water in mid-air. A ball of lighting gathered in her palm as she charged directly for Sken, who had just sidestepped the assassin’s Raiton. Luckily for Sken, Huton’s hastening effects boosted her movement speed and barely reacted in time to dodge the incoming Raiju. The assassin’s attack smashed into the roof tiling, ceramics shattering and exploding from the condensed lightning attack, creating a sizeable hole in the roof. The attack was meant to instantly end this fight, but to the assassin’s disappointment, it would seem this fight would drag out longer than she had hoped.With the fog still dispersed from Sken’s fiery Katon, she was finally able to get a good look at the assassin. Short, silvery hair emerged from the steam. Donned in a midnight blue for stealth and accented with silver bits of eastern-inspired patterns and chainmail. Her curved blades glowed a menacing red, but matching her weapons look, the piercing glare Sken received gave her a chill that ran down her spine. The assassin wore a mask that covered the lower half of her face, but her intimidating heterochromia eyes pierced through her silver bangs. Sken had never felt such mixed feelings from one look. A sense of intimidation, yet something familiar about them made her mind race. She has seen that look before; at least, it had been directed at people other than her. The assassin’s left eye was a vibrant pink, almost red, and seemed so familiar and nostalgic to her, but the other glaring eye left her stumped. She didn’t hadn’t met anyone with this eye color combination, and she surely would have remembered anyone who did. The silver-haired assassin’s right eye glowed eerily golden, almost as if it was an eye that belonged to someone else. It seemed out of place. It wasn’t supposed to be there; she knew for a fact that there was not supposed to be a mismatched golden eye. Then it hit her, the eye colors may be different from her foggy memory, but she knew those eyes, that look, that shade of silver hair with hints of indigo highlights, and another ninja with similar techniques as hers.The assassin was a fellow student, a reliable team member, and a dear friend.Lunamaria.*To Be Continued...

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