Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Into The Void ❯ The Dead Still Smile ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: MellyN 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.25.2015 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 404 | Status: Work In Progress
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.25.2015 | Pages: 8 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 404 | Status: Work In Progress
WARNINGS: There will be
shounen-ai in this story. Violence, strong language and sexual
references and/or innuendos. If any of this bothers you, please
leave. This is not your type of story.
Genre: Romance/Humor/Action/Adventure/Angst/Psychological
:
Into the Void
Chapter 1: The Dead Still Smile
By: Melissa Norvell
:
A masculine hand reached to the top of a dark oak finished dresser and swiftly clutched a black tie, which had been lying atop of it in disarray. A pair of crisp, white high heels could be heard clicking down a long flight of stairs. The hand pulled the tie tight around a thick neck. A kiss was planted on a pair of red lips.
Across the room, a pair of shiny blackdress shoescould be heard walking across a dark marble floor. Their clacking noises echoed through the large and hollow room. It was as if these three beings were the only ones who existed in that hollow space. The floor was pitch black and very clean; a reflection of a young man with shoulder-length silver hair could be seen. He wore a black formal suit and bore long hair, which shone in the sunlight. The man's hair swayed back and forth across his shoulders, dancing in the air behind him.
The darkly clad man strolled casually through the large and fancy room. It was spacious with rich furnishings that were spaced a distance apart throughout the area. They were all made of velvet and embroidery and the lamps were all tall with beautiful crystal glass shades in the shape offlowers. He soon approached the door, where a man and woman stood in a romantic embrace. When they saw him approach, they turned their heads in synchronization as he stood erect, stiff as a board with his hands to his sides. The silver haired man's haunting blue eyes cast a gaze to the two figures.
The other male, who was of muscular build and had gelled back short black hair and a mustache turned from his mate- the woman with beautiful lime-green hair that she wore pinned back with elaborate hair pins that resembledflowers, vines and leaves.
He greeted them in a deep and professional voice. "Good morning, Rubio."
The silver haired man now addressed as Rubio, took a polite bow. "Good morning, Ibuki."
"I suppose you know your tasks," Ibuki got straight to the morning tasks.
"Yes sir," Rubioconfirmed, "to keep Mrs. Angora safe from enemy intrusion, as well as the standard procedures."
"Correct, I have a Nuclear Weapons meeting to attend and I don't know when I'll be back. Remember; guard her with your life. If you shall fail, it will cost yours."
Rubio blinked at this; usually he was used to a threat such as this but this one caught the young man off guard. Being the body guard of a terrorist's wife was something he had done ever since he was introduced to this line of work but something seemed wrong about this whole set of events, no matter how mundane it appeared. He couldn't put his finger on it but he had a growing gut feeling that today would be anything but normal.
He finally spoke up. "Not to contradict your last statement but I've been wondering something."
"Yes?" Ibuki asked, impatiently. He had no time for his employees to be questioning him at a time like this.
"What if I die or become badly wounded and they manage to kill her anyway?" Rubio knew this inquiry was stupid but he wanted to make sure of what would happen in that course of events. If he were injured too badly, he wouldn't be able to protect Angora to his best ability.
The black haired man looked at him with a stone cold expression. "If you're already dead, whoever it was accomplished what I would do if you had been perfectly fine. If you're wounded, then I'll put you out of your misery, won't I?" His voice was unwavering. Failure could not be tolerated and if Rubio were to fail, then he would be disposed of.
This meant no option for failure. It always shook the silver haired man's nerves when he heard things like that. He always played the possible scenarios through his head and cringed at the thought of probable disappointment. This was a serious situation.
"Y-Yes, sir."
Ibuki walked a few paces towards the door and opened it as he cast a glance over his shoulder. Rubio wished him good luck and he nodded to that statement before he exited the building, shutting the door.
There was a long moment of silence as Rubio and Angora simply stood in their places, not moving an inch, much like action figures suspended in stance. They stared at the door as cryptic thoughts ran through their heads. The room had been so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Finally, a feminine voice spoke up from behind Rubio. "How long do we wait?"
It was Angora.
"What?" Rubio asked. He hadn't quite caught what she had said to him.
"Until we check to see if he's gone?" The lime-haired woman clarified.
He knew what she had been asking about. She wanted to know if everything had been in the clear for the two of them to let their guard down. For the two of them to act as more than servant and mistress.
Rubio replied. "We should wait half an hour, incase he's forgotten anything and decides to come back. I wouldn't want us to get caught."
If that were to happen, then the silver haired man would lose his life. If things were to turn out good for the two of them then he would have to lay low. If there were any possibilities that Ibuki may come back and catch them, then it was not a safe time for them to perform their activities.
"You're right," Angora agreed.
As he stood there the black clad man had been reeling hundreds of questions through his head and weeding out the stupid ones. Finally, he asked Angora with sincerity which man mattered to her more, he or Ibuki. Angora confirmed that it was him but Rubio was still skeptical. He continued his round of questions with why she continued to cheat on her husband with him. He had to know why she continued this scandalous relationship if she didn't love Ibuki anymore. Lime green eyes looked at him, the sun catching them and reflecting their many depths of beauty as a torn look crossed the young woman's face.
"Do you really think he'd keep either of us alive if we didn't pretend?" She asked. For that moment in time, she felt like a bird in the jaws of a crocodile. Rubio didn't seem to understand, things had to be this way if they were to continue being together. There would be no way to tell her husband. He was the head of one of the largest terrorist rings in the world and to cheat on him with his acknowledgement would be like playing with death.
"Why not just be faithful?" Rubio, on the other hand didn't know the dark secrets that had gone on with this man. He didn't seem to know what a large disappointment this moment would cause, but she had to forgive him. He was naive as to what had truly been transpiring around him.
"I'm a caged bird to him. I'm wealthy, young, and beautiful. I'm being forced to display around people, like a trained song bird…" She inched closer to him, where the two bodies were almost touching. The woman could feel his breath on her face as black fabric made contact with white, flowing silk. "But with you, it's different…" Rubio could feel hands gently tracing down his chest and looked down at her with calm eyes that held a little sorrow to them. "I could never do with him what I do with you."
"We're supposed to wait," he warned. He held up to his half an hour quota. That was about the time that he allowed the two of them to be together in a physical sense. He wouldn't want Ibuki to come back because he had forgotten something and catch the two of them in a scandalous situation. That would result in eminent death.
"I'm sure that he's gone," her face inched closer to his and Rubio noticed how the golden light from the large framed windows bounced off of her ivory, flawless skin and snow white dress. It made her seem angelic, against the tile.
A pair of blood red eyes watched them from high above. They laid their sights upon the two figures with a hollow gaze as if one were staring into the cold, unmoving eyes of a doll. The eyes watched their every move and there was no doubt that it would simply be a matter of time before the two made a move.
'They're too close together. I only need one.'The figure of a man in a red cape thought. His gaze was intent on the two below as he continued to monitor their movements.
Rubio took a step back, resting a hand gently on Angora's shoulder and gave her an understanding look. "We really should wait; he smiled kindly, "besides…" The man reached down and kissed her gently, "maybe he won't come back this time."
"We can only hope…" Her voice reverberated through his ears. Angora sighed and looked down out of impatience. "…though it's doubtful."
Suddenly, an idea struck Rubio that may get the both of their minds off of the subject at least a little. "I know what will calm us down, some of that imported wine."
Angora smiled, “that would be wonderful." She walked over to the window as Rubio turned around and lifted up the lace curtains peering out. Angora checked on her husband's vehicles to see if he truly was gone and had no intentions on coming back.
Above, the eyes could see Rubio's figure walk under their hiding spot, which was a crevice atop the roof from one of the fancy entrances of the room upstairs. Their spy was a man with long, black, unkempt hair. He was youthful in appearance and looked rather frail at first glance. He wore a red trench coat of sorts that was unbuttoned, revealing his black shirt, baggy black pants and brown belts underneath. His trench coat had two long, flowing tails, each with a round, gold decorative button in the middle of them. The dark-haired man wore a short cloak, only reaching elbow length and tying in the front, around the high collar of the coat which was adorned with gold studs around the edge of the cloth. When looking to the side, you could only see half of his face because of his black tresses, which cascaded like rivers over a red headband. It was wrapped around his head twice and had two locks of hair sticking out from the crevices.
The room was dead silent and all that could be heard were the fast clicks of heels on hard floor as Angora ran upstairs over to Rubio while she kept her white, frilly dress above her feet by holding it back with her hands. She didn't want to trip or tear the rich material. They both disappeared out of the red eyed man's sight.
This wasn't good.
The man swiftly and silently moved to the opposite side of his crevice, regaining sight of the two as he sat up against the diagonal wall with his knees bent. Now the two were a distance apart.
'Perfect, let's just hope they stay that way.'Though he was glad they had been a decent way apart, his face showed no hint of any emotion.
He heard a feminine voice below.
"Rubio?"
"He's not back is he?" The silver haired man looked over his shoulder to see his secret love running back to him. He feared that she had seen Ibuki pull up the driveway by how frantically she had tried to catch up with him.
"Do you love me?" The green haired woman questioned and he was relieved that it had not been her dismay of her husband coming back.
"What?"
"I've just never heard you say it to me, ever since we've been together."
"Neither of us really have, I guess we've been so caught up in our lives that it was never really needed. But now that you mention it, I do have to tell you how I feel." Rubio told her thoughtfully. "I do love you. You're the one I cherish and hold dear to me. I'll protect you with my life and soul…"
The red eyed man's frown deepened upon hearing how the other male pour his emotion into his words. Those were words that pierced all too deep for the silent man.
"Thank you for being everything to me," the man finished with a kind smile, still casting a warm glance down on his mate who returned the smile with her own curve of the lips from a few feet away. She walked up to him.
"Show me how I belong to you," Her voice dripped with desire. Angora had waited for far too long. She wanted to be taken by him and now was the perfect time.
Love's intoxication had begun to take over Rubio's features as his form swelled with longing and his expression was tranquil. A mixture of feelings swirled around in his eyes like haunting blue swimming pools. "I'd love to…in every way…"
"Kiss me, like you did last night," Angora's face moved closer to her loves, slowly closing the gap in between them. Rubio inched in as well. He wanted this- more than anything. This was one of the times he had cherished most, even if he knew what he had been doing was wrong. This moment, with the two of them, felt all too right.
The black-haired man's hand which sported a black glove with brass studs in the knuckles gripped the handle of a long sword.
'Now…'
After that final thought, the red eyed figure leapt from his hiding place amongst the roof walls and drew a sword longer then his body with a thin blade and pointed it downward in position. He aimed to kill whatever had been beneath him. The blade struck through skin, stabbing into the marble floor and splattering both it and the unsuspecting figure. He stood only a few feet from the target in blood. The body hung limply on the sword for a few minutes as the life was savagely stolen from it. Seconds later, it went limp and fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, a soul wiped away from the world without a sign of a struggle.
Rubio had been caught off guard by this. He stood there, sprayed in Angora's blood, frozen stiff. His mind was still in a state of shock as he tried to process the events that had just unfolded before him. Pale eyes went wide and a look of alarm spread across his face like an enigma as he beheld the ghastly sight before him.
Her assassin, who was now on one knee with his sword frozen in the same position, stuck inside of the body's chest cavity as the blood washed over the black tile. He wore odd, round framed sunglasses, in which he put on in his descend to the floor. The sun reflected orange off of the lenses, which were black in color. The legs of the sun glasses were also odd and made several points before they curved behind his ears.
Rubio looked at Angora, who lay motionless on the ground; blood still emptied itself from her body then to her killer, still positioned the same way he came down. He had been ready for any attack that he had been willing to throw at him and beneath his round, tinted frames he was watching the other man with eagle-eyes.
"Too afraid to run?" A mechanical voice asked him quietly from below. "Or perhaps you're trying to single out every reason to act on emotion? I don't blame you for hating me in the future. I have no regrets. Perhaps you can learn as I have, not to take hold of something precious to you."
"Are you going to kill me?" Rubio finally managed to let out in an unsure and still stunned tone of voice. The man before him looked extremely leery and he didn't want to take the chance of being sniped off later. He was nearly expecting him to kill him on the spot. A part of him wondered why he didn't kill him immediately after he had slain Angora and the sheer fact that she was dead hadn't completely sank in yet. This was all too much like a surreal nightmare.
"You have good training. You've been very rational so far. Most people's composure would snap in such a situation," the assassin complimented.
That didn't exactly answer his question, just praised him on his ability to deal with the circumstances. Rubio didn't have much time to consider that at the moment, he was concerned with his own life. He would think on Angora's demise later. He had to get away from this man, first and foremost.
"What's your answer?" He asked again. He wouldn't leave until he had gotten something that resembled an answer.
"That was not in the mission. Had you have asked any other assassin that, they would have killed you," the mysterious man informed him.
"Why not? It makes no sense to keep me alive," the silver haired man questioned. He hadn't made contact with the sheer stupidity of his question but he had figured that if the assassin was going to kill him, then it may as well be now and get it over with. Running would only make the matters worse.
"It makes perfect sense to keep you alive. Why haven't you left yet?" The dark haired man asked and wondered why Rubio didn't take the opportunity to get out instead of asking him why he spared his life. It wasn't a wise decision on his behalf.
"What will happen if I don't?" Rubio man questioned, as he wondered what threat the assassin would give him.
"You'll be prime suspect number one. Think about it." It was simple really; if he stayed then he would obviously be trialed with Angora's murder.
"I see what you're saying."
"We'll meet again," that was a promise.
"Damn right we will," Rubio swore, then tore his gaze from the figure and turned his body quickly. As he did, a crystalline tear fell and hit the man's gloved hand. The mechanical assassin held his hand up to his face and adjusted his glasses, examining the tear as if it were a precious stone.
Rubio ran through the room upstairs. Upon seeing an open window, he took a flying leap through it, glass shattered all around him. It cut his skin but he didn't care. He couldn't feel the pain at this moment in time. The emotional pain that he had felt was far too anguishing. The rose that was in the pocket of his fancy attire fell to the ground, the small red blossom laid among the disarray glass shards.
'If I ever see him again…I'll kill him.'Rubio thought out of fury. His thoughts were pulled in several different directions. At the moment, he decided to think of his current job situation. He sighed.'What am I going to tell Ibuki? I'm going to get killed…'
Back at the scene of the crime, the silent male stood over the dead woman on the floor and looked down at her.
"I have a couple of minutes until the authorities get here." He said to no one but himself and walked emotionlessly over to a nearby table as he grabbed a white rag lying atop it. He then walked back over to the stairs and sat on the second one from the bottom, running the rag across the blade, the white material turned a deep crimson as he rid his blade of the blood which tainted it. He looked to the body lying slightly below him and stared into the woman's lifeless features. "You have to understand," he told the dead body as if it still held some sort of life and understanding. "It's nothing personal. It's your fault too, you know. You were torturing me."
He sat the rag down with his gloved hand to make sure that he left no fingerprints as evidence. It same one he had cleaned the sword with. If the authorities did take it in as evidence, they would have no fingerprints to gather. "I'd better be off. It wouldn't be worth it if I got killed, would it?"
He dashed stealthily off and jumped out of the already broken window and landed on the concrete patio in the back yard. He glanced through the glass shards and spied the lone blossom among them. Plucking the flower from the ground, he held it in his hand and placed his other hand behind the delicate blossom. The man caressed it with extreme care.
"The rose blossoms…" He started as the assassin moved his free hand behind the flower and felt the smooth, silken petals brush against his fingertips. "Are so fragile…" Soon after, petals flew up by his face, brushing against his cheek with their velvet touch as his hand crushed the innocent blossom under his grip. The mysterious man walked away nonchalantly as if nothing were wrong, as the petals fluttered to the ground.
Rubio had finally run out of energy from sprinting far away. His form came crashing down in the soft, dark green grass and curled into the fetal position, tears streamed down his face as he uttered Angora's name in choked sobs. He began to recall her sweet words- telling him they would have fun together and asking if he liked her hat, or making a cake to cheer him up. All he had now were memories as he recalled the events of only a few moments ago, the brutal killing and those cold red eyes staring at him through tinted shades. His eyes widened. The last images he recalled were Angora's smiling face and then icy scarlet eyes.
'I have no regrets.'The assassin's words bounced around through his head like a never-ending nightmare.
Rubio sat up slowly.
"Those eyes…dead…" the emotional man could feel tension rising as a stream of rage course through his blood, making it run cold. He cried out in mixed emotion as he punched the ground as hard as he could. Rubio didn't care if he broke his hand or not. "Red like blood…That's what he's going to see in the end. But…who was he? I didn't even ask him his name…All I know is what he looks like but there could be more than 100 people who look just like him. I'll also be up against some major competition. The authorities will want him and so will Ibuki." He pondered aloud in apparent frustration. "Speaking of Ibuki, I can't go back to him. I've got to go solo on this one. Perhaps I can still catch him."
The concerned man then jolted up and suddenly took off running.'If I get to town fast enough, I can still catch him!'
In town, Rubio ran through the masses of people out that day. It was mid-day and the market square was busy and filled with people buying and selling goods. The citizens were equally aggressive. They shoved him back and were bumping into him. A few of them got into his way and the whole mass of them seemed like balls in a lottery machine, being bumped and bopped around.
"Please let me through. Huh?" Rubio said as he noticed a particular figure that stood out in the crowd. The figure was slim and wore a similar red trench coat with long tails and golden studs. A cloak which only came to elbow length with gold embroidery around the edges in a triangular pattern and long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail. This figure was all too familiar for this simply to be a coincidence. It had to be him.
Blue eyes narrowed.'He thought he could fool me by pulling his hair back.'
When he neared the figure enough to touch them, he grabbed their shoulder harshly so that they wouldn't get away if they tried to struggle too much. This caused them to turn around and grab his hand with a fierce vice grip. Whoever it had been was incredibly strong and could undoubtedly hold their own in any type of fight. He had to stay on guard with this one. It was an attractive woman who wore red lipstick and had a mole on her chin near the left corner of her mouth. She wore a stern expression and looked at him with brown eyes that held contempt to them.
"You do well to keep your hands to yourself, young man," she warned him. This woman wasn't so kind when it came to people grabbing her in a threatening way out of nowhere.
"Uh?" It had been the only word that Rubio could muster to escape his mouth. The fact that it had been a beautiful woman and not the assassin he had been searching for threw him off and embarrassed him a little.
He had indeed felt stupid for that mistake.
"Who are you, anyway?" The woman snapped defensively.
Rubio blinked in response. He still felt a little dim-witted from his mistake. "Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else."
"Well, who's this woman that you were looking for? Maybe I can point her out to you." The dark haired woman questioned, assuming that he was looking for a female.
"It wasn't a woman."
"Well…Uh…" She felt a bead of sweat run down her head, irritation ran across her features. How dare he mistake her for a man!
From across the deck of a nearby ship, a small girl could be seen. She wore very short blue jeans shorts and a very short top with a flowing ribbon between her breasts. The shirt was tight fitting, only covering half of her breasts and was light blue in color. The girl had short hair that was a very pale mint green with white accents and her eyes were the same color and round in structure with bold, dark lashes. A tiger lily nested itself in a tuft of short hair on the left side of her head. She was small in build and didn't appear to be very old, somewhere in her early teens. A man stood behind her carrying large planks of wood. He was a rather rough looking individual and he reminded Rubio of a pirate.
"Yo, Captain Aeris!" The young girl shouted, stating the woman's name. "Where do you want me to put this fine, imported timber?"
"In the Lower Deck somewhere. I don't know. Go ask Krankuji!" Captain Aeris shouted back.
"Yes, Capt'n!" The girl saluted before running off, out of sight.
"Bosnia's a little thick-headed, but she's a good kid," Captain Aeris told herself then turned back around to face Rubio. "Now, what did you say your name was, again?"
"Rubio McDougall," he introduced himself.
"I'm Captain Aeris of the Nightwind."
"A pirate?" He questioned.
"There aren't many of us around. Can't help but notice, you look like you've been in a murder." The pirate pointed out and gestured to his clothes, face and hair, which still had blood splatters on them. She was right; he hadn't washed the blood off or changed his attire and he had just run through town like that. He hoped that no one had told the police or anything like that. He really should have thought before he'd done that.
"I was," he admitted and looked down in apparent stupidity.
"I'd change in case someone noticed," Captain Aeris told him. "You wouldn't want the authorities on your tail. I'd wash up too." She tossed him a dark brown cloak with a hood to conceal the remnants of his ordeal. "Wear this so they don't notice your clothes." The captain instructed.
"Capt'n," Bosnia butted in. "He should pull up the hood too. His hair is a bloodied mess!"
"She's right," Aeris agreed. "Oh, and you never told me who you were looking for."
"I don't know his name, but I can describe him. He wears a red cloak and long trench coat with two tails like yours. He has long black hair and spoke mechanically."
The light green haired girl listened to the description and her eyes lit up at what he had said. The person he described was someone that she had met only moments ago when she had been in town.
"He wears black clothes and boots. He has odd, round framed sunglasses."
"Valentino Valerio?" Bosnia asked.
"Huh?" Rubio looked to the possible person who could identify the one who killed his love. Any clues were good for him at this moment in time. He'd definitely question her on whatever information that he could get.
"That's what it sounds like," she told him.
"Who's the Valentino guy?"
"He's a rouge Dark Renegade Assassin," the youthful girl educated.
Just as Rubio had thought that he was about to get more information, a voice behind her called out to go ahead and set sail.
"Wait!" Rubio called out in desperation. He didn't want any possible information get away as the young girl headed to deck. "Where did you last see him?"
"On his way to some mansion! He sat by me on a bench in town! He didn't say anything to me, I just saw him headed off towards a mansion!" She shouted from the edge of the deck, was the ship was taking off out of the harbor. "Well, gotta go! Good luck on your quest!" She waved good-bye to him.
"Thanks!" The cloaked man yelled in reply then turned around and sighed to himself in exasperation. "Well, that didn't help me any. I still have no leads…but I do have a name… Valentino Valerio. I don't know if this Bosnia has the right guy in mind but it wouldn’t hurt to look for this Valentino." Rubio contemplated to himself, mulling over the possible task at hand. "Tomorrow, after funeral services for Angora Belladonna, I'll be looking for Mr. Valentino. In the end, the dead will smile."
To Be Continued…
Genre: Romance/Humor/Action/Adventure/Angst/Psychological
:
Into the Void
Chapter 1: The Dead Still Smile
By: Melissa Norvell
:
A masculine hand reached to the top of a dark oak finished dresser and swiftly clutched a black tie, which had been lying atop of it in disarray. A pair of crisp, white high heels could be heard clicking down a long flight of stairs. The hand pulled the tie tight around a thick neck. A kiss was planted on a pair of red lips.
Across the room, a pair of shiny blackdress shoescould be heard walking across a dark marble floor. Their clacking noises echoed through the large and hollow room. It was as if these three beings were the only ones who existed in that hollow space. The floor was pitch black and very clean; a reflection of a young man with shoulder-length silver hair could be seen. He wore a black formal suit and bore long hair, which shone in the sunlight. The man's hair swayed back and forth across his shoulders, dancing in the air behind him.
The darkly clad man strolled casually through the large and fancy room. It was spacious with rich furnishings that were spaced a distance apart throughout the area. They were all made of velvet and embroidery and the lamps were all tall with beautiful crystal glass shades in the shape offlowers. He soon approached the door, where a man and woman stood in a romantic embrace. When they saw him approach, they turned their heads in synchronization as he stood erect, stiff as a board with his hands to his sides. The silver haired man's haunting blue eyes cast a gaze to the two figures.
The other male, who was of muscular build and had gelled back short black hair and a mustache turned from his mate- the woman with beautiful lime-green hair that she wore pinned back with elaborate hair pins that resembledflowers, vines and leaves.
He greeted them in a deep and professional voice. "Good morning, Rubio."
The silver haired man now addressed as Rubio, took a polite bow. "Good morning, Ibuki."
"I suppose you know your tasks," Ibuki got straight to the morning tasks.
"Yes sir," Rubioconfirmed, "to keep Mrs. Angora safe from enemy intrusion, as well as the standard procedures."
"Correct, I have a Nuclear Weapons meeting to attend and I don't know when I'll be back. Remember; guard her with your life. If you shall fail, it will cost yours."
Rubio blinked at this; usually he was used to a threat such as this but this one caught the young man off guard. Being the body guard of a terrorist's wife was something he had done ever since he was introduced to this line of work but something seemed wrong about this whole set of events, no matter how mundane it appeared. He couldn't put his finger on it but he had a growing gut feeling that today would be anything but normal.
He finally spoke up. "Not to contradict your last statement but I've been wondering something."
"Yes?" Ibuki asked, impatiently. He had no time for his employees to be questioning him at a time like this.
"What if I die or become badly wounded and they manage to kill her anyway?" Rubio knew this inquiry was stupid but he wanted to make sure of what would happen in that course of events. If he were injured too badly, he wouldn't be able to protect Angora to his best ability.
The black haired man looked at him with a stone cold expression. "If you're already dead, whoever it was accomplished what I would do if you had been perfectly fine. If you're wounded, then I'll put you out of your misery, won't I?" His voice was unwavering. Failure could not be tolerated and if Rubio were to fail, then he would be disposed of.
This meant no option for failure. It always shook the silver haired man's nerves when he heard things like that. He always played the possible scenarios through his head and cringed at the thought of probable disappointment. This was a serious situation.
"Y-Yes, sir."
Ibuki walked a few paces towards the door and opened it as he cast a glance over his shoulder. Rubio wished him good luck and he nodded to that statement before he exited the building, shutting the door.
There was a long moment of silence as Rubio and Angora simply stood in their places, not moving an inch, much like action figures suspended in stance. They stared at the door as cryptic thoughts ran through their heads. The room had been so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Finally, a feminine voice spoke up from behind Rubio. "How long do we wait?"
It was Angora.
"What?" Rubio asked. He hadn't quite caught what she had said to him.
"Until we check to see if he's gone?" The lime-haired woman clarified.
He knew what she had been asking about. She wanted to know if everything had been in the clear for the two of them to let their guard down. For the two of them to act as more than servant and mistress.
Rubio replied. "We should wait half an hour, incase he's forgotten anything and decides to come back. I wouldn't want us to get caught."
If that were to happen, then the silver haired man would lose his life. If things were to turn out good for the two of them then he would have to lay low. If there were any possibilities that Ibuki may come back and catch them, then it was not a safe time for them to perform their activities.
"You're right," Angora agreed.
As he stood there the black clad man had been reeling hundreds of questions through his head and weeding out the stupid ones. Finally, he asked Angora with sincerity which man mattered to her more, he or Ibuki. Angora confirmed that it was him but Rubio was still skeptical. He continued his round of questions with why she continued to cheat on her husband with him. He had to know why she continued this scandalous relationship if she didn't love Ibuki anymore. Lime green eyes looked at him, the sun catching them and reflecting their many depths of beauty as a torn look crossed the young woman's face.
"Do you really think he'd keep either of us alive if we didn't pretend?" She asked. For that moment in time, she felt like a bird in the jaws of a crocodile. Rubio didn't seem to understand, things had to be this way if they were to continue being together. There would be no way to tell her husband. He was the head of one of the largest terrorist rings in the world and to cheat on him with his acknowledgement would be like playing with death.
"Why not just be faithful?" Rubio, on the other hand didn't know the dark secrets that had gone on with this man. He didn't seem to know what a large disappointment this moment would cause, but she had to forgive him. He was naive as to what had truly been transpiring around him.
"I'm a caged bird to him. I'm wealthy, young, and beautiful. I'm being forced to display around people, like a trained song bird…" She inched closer to him, where the two bodies were almost touching. The woman could feel his breath on her face as black fabric made contact with white, flowing silk. "But with you, it's different…" Rubio could feel hands gently tracing down his chest and looked down at her with calm eyes that held a little sorrow to them. "I could never do with him what I do with you."
"We're supposed to wait," he warned. He held up to his half an hour quota. That was about the time that he allowed the two of them to be together in a physical sense. He wouldn't want Ibuki to come back because he had forgotten something and catch the two of them in a scandalous situation. That would result in eminent death.
"I'm sure that he's gone," her face inched closer to his and Rubio noticed how the golden light from the large framed windows bounced off of her ivory, flawless skin and snow white dress. It made her seem angelic, against the tile.
A pair of blood red eyes watched them from high above. They laid their sights upon the two figures with a hollow gaze as if one were staring into the cold, unmoving eyes of a doll. The eyes watched their every move and there was no doubt that it would simply be a matter of time before the two made a move.
'They're too close together. I only need one.'The figure of a man in a red cape thought. His gaze was intent on the two below as he continued to monitor their movements.
Rubio took a step back, resting a hand gently on Angora's shoulder and gave her an understanding look. "We really should wait; he smiled kindly, "besides…" The man reached down and kissed her gently, "maybe he won't come back this time."
"We can only hope…" Her voice reverberated through his ears. Angora sighed and looked down out of impatience. "…though it's doubtful."
Suddenly, an idea struck Rubio that may get the both of their minds off of the subject at least a little. "I know what will calm us down, some of that imported wine."
Angora smiled, “that would be wonderful." She walked over to the window as Rubio turned around and lifted up the lace curtains peering out. Angora checked on her husband's vehicles to see if he truly was gone and had no intentions on coming back.
Above, the eyes could see Rubio's figure walk under their hiding spot, which was a crevice atop the roof from one of the fancy entrances of the room upstairs. Their spy was a man with long, black, unkempt hair. He was youthful in appearance and looked rather frail at first glance. He wore a red trench coat of sorts that was unbuttoned, revealing his black shirt, baggy black pants and brown belts underneath. His trench coat had two long, flowing tails, each with a round, gold decorative button in the middle of them. The dark-haired man wore a short cloak, only reaching elbow length and tying in the front, around the high collar of the coat which was adorned with gold studs around the edge of the cloth. When looking to the side, you could only see half of his face because of his black tresses, which cascaded like rivers over a red headband. It was wrapped around his head twice and had two locks of hair sticking out from the crevices.
The room was dead silent and all that could be heard were the fast clicks of heels on hard floor as Angora ran upstairs over to Rubio while she kept her white, frilly dress above her feet by holding it back with her hands. She didn't want to trip or tear the rich material. They both disappeared out of the red eyed man's sight.
This wasn't good.
The man swiftly and silently moved to the opposite side of his crevice, regaining sight of the two as he sat up against the diagonal wall with his knees bent. Now the two were a distance apart.
'Perfect, let's just hope they stay that way.'Though he was glad they had been a decent way apart, his face showed no hint of any emotion.
He heard a feminine voice below.
"Rubio?"
"He's not back is he?" The silver haired man looked over his shoulder to see his secret love running back to him. He feared that she had seen Ibuki pull up the driveway by how frantically she had tried to catch up with him.
"Do you love me?" The green haired woman questioned and he was relieved that it had not been her dismay of her husband coming back.
"What?"
"I've just never heard you say it to me, ever since we've been together."
"Neither of us really have, I guess we've been so caught up in our lives that it was never really needed. But now that you mention it, I do have to tell you how I feel." Rubio told her thoughtfully. "I do love you. You're the one I cherish and hold dear to me. I'll protect you with my life and soul…"
The red eyed man's frown deepened upon hearing how the other male pour his emotion into his words. Those were words that pierced all too deep for the silent man.
"Thank you for being everything to me," the man finished with a kind smile, still casting a warm glance down on his mate who returned the smile with her own curve of the lips from a few feet away. She walked up to him.
"Show me how I belong to you," Her voice dripped with desire. Angora had waited for far too long. She wanted to be taken by him and now was the perfect time.
Love's intoxication had begun to take over Rubio's features as his form swelled with longing and his expression was tranquil. A mixture of feelings swirled around in his eyes like haunting blue swimming pools. "I'd love to…in every way…"
"Kiss me, like you did last night," Angora's face moved closer to her loves, slowly closing the gap in between them. Rubio inched in as well. He wanted this- more than anything. This was one of the times he had cherished most, even if he knew what he had been doing was wrong. This moment, with the two of them, felt all too right.
The black-haired man's hand which sported a black glove with brass studs in the knuckles gripped the handle of a long sword.
'Now…'
After that final thought, the red eyed figure leapt from his hiding place amongst the roof walls and drew a sword longer then his body with a thin blade and pointed it downward in position. He aimed to kill whatever had been beneath him. The blade struck through skin, stabbing into the marble floor and splattering both it and the unsuspecting figure. He stood only a few feet from the target in blood. The body hung limply on the sword for a few minutes as the life was savagely stolen from it. Seconds later, it went limp and fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, a soul wiped away from the world without a sign of a struggle.
Rubio had been caught off guard by this. He stood there, sprayed in Angora's blood, frozen stiff. His mind was still in a state of shock as he tried to process the events that had just unfolded before him. Pale eyes went wide and a look of alarm spread across his face like an enigma as he beheld the ghastly sight before him.
Her assassin, who was now on one knee with his sword frozen in the same position, stuck inside of the body's chest cavity as the blood washed over the black tile. He wore odd, round framed sunglasses, in which he put on in his descend to the floor. The sun reflected orange off of the lenses, which were black in color. The legs of the sun glasses were also odd and made several points before they curved behind his ears.
Rubio looked at Angora, who lay motionless on the ground; blood still emptied itself from her body then to her killer, still positioned the same way he came down. He had been ready for any attack that he had been willing to throw at him and beneath his round, tinted frames he was watching the other man with eagle-eyes.
"Too afraid to run?" A mechanical voice asked him quietly from below. "Or perhaps you're trying to single out every reason to act on emotion? I don't blame you for hating me in the future. I have no regrets. Perhaps you can learn as I have, not to take hold of something precious to you."
"Are you going to kill me?" Rubio finally managed to let out in an unsure and still stunned tone of voice. The man before him looked extremely leery and he didn't want to take the chance of being sniped off later. He was nearly expecting him to kill him on the spot. A part of him wondered why he didn't kill him immediately after he had slain Angora and the sheer fact that she was dead hadn't completely sank in yet. This was all too much like a surreal nightmare.
"You have good training. You've been very rational so far. Most people's composure would snap in such a situation," the assassin complimented.
That didn't exactly answer his question, just praised him on his ability to deal with the circumstances. Rubio didn't have much time to consider that at the moment, he was concerned with his own life. He would think on Angora's demise later. He had to get away from this man, first and foremost.
"What's your answer?" He asked again. He wouldn't leave until he had gotten something that resembled an answer.
"That was not in the mission. Had you have asked any other assassin that, they would have killed you," the mysterious man informed him.
"Why not? It makes no sense to keep me alive," the silver haired man questioned. He hadn't made contact with the sheer stupidity of his question but he had figured that if the assassin was going to kill him, then it may as well be now and get it over with. Running would only make the matters worse.
"It makes perfect sense to keep you alive. Why haven't you left yet?" The dark haired man asked and wondered why Rubio didn't take the opportunity to get out instead of asking him why he spared his life. It wasn't a wise decision on his behalf.
"What will happen if I don't?" Rubio man questioned, as he wondered what threat the assassin would give him.
"You'll be prime suspect number one. Think about it." It was simple really; if he stayed then he would obviously be trialed with Angora's murder.
"I see what you're saying."
"We'll meet again," that was a promise.
"Damn right we will," Rubio swore, then tore his gaze from the figure and turned his body quickly. As he did, a crystalline tear fell and hit the man's gloved hand. The mechanical assassin held his hand up to his face and adjusted his glasses, examining the tear as if it were a precious stone.
Rubio ran through the room upstairs. Upon seeing an open window, he took a flying leap through it, glass shattered all around him. It cut his skin but he didn't care. He couldn't feel the pain at this moment in time. The emotional pain that he had felt was far too anguishing. The rose that was in the pocket of his fancy attire fell to the ground, the small red blossom laid among the disarray glass shards.
'If I ever see him again…I'll kill him.'Rubio thought out of fury. His thoughts were pulled in several different directions. At the moment, he decided to think of his current job situation. He sighed.'What am I going to tell Ibuki? I'm going to get killed…'
Back at the scene of the crime, the silent male stood over the dead woman on the floor and looked down at her.
"I have a couple of minutes until the authorities get here." He said to no one but himself and walked emotionlessly over to a nearby table as he grabbed a white rag lying atop it. He then walked back over to the stairs and sat on the second one from the bottom, running the rag across the blade, the white material turned a deep crimson as he rid his blade of the blood which tainted it. He looked to the body lying slightly below him and stared into the woman's lifeless features. "You have to understand," he told the dead body as if it still held some sort of life and understanding. "It's nothing personal. It's your fault too, you know. You were torturing me."
He sat the rag down with his gloved hand to make sure that he left no fingerprints as evidence. It same one he had cleaned the sword with. If the authorities did take it in as evidence, they would have no fingerprints to gather. "I'd better be off. It wouldn't be worth it if I got killed, would it?"
He dashed stealthily off and jumped out of the already broken window and landed on the concrete patio in the back yard. He glanced through the glass shards and spied the lone blossom among them. Plucking the flower from the ground, he held it in his hand and placed his other hand behind the delicate blossom. The man caressed it with extreme care.
"The rose blossoms…" He started as the assassin moved his free hand behind the flower and felt the smooth, silken petals brush against his fingertips. "Are so fragile…" Soon after, petals flew up by his face, brushing against his cheek with their velvet touch as his hand crushed the innocent blossom under his grip. The mysterious man walked away nonchalantly as if nothing were wrong, as the petals fluttered to the ground.
Rubio had finally run out of energy from sprinting far away. His form came crashing down in the soft, dark green grass and curled into the fetal position, tears streamed down his face as he uttered Angora's name in choked sobs. He began to recall her sweet words- telling him they would have fun together and asking if he liked her hat, or making a cake to cheer him up. All he had now were memories as he recalled the events of only a few moments ago, the brutal killing and those cold red eyes staring at him through tinted shades. His eyes widened. The last images he recalled were Angora's smiling face and then icy scarlet eyes.
'I have no regrets.'The assassin's words bounced around through his head like a never-ending nightmare.
Rubio sat up slowly.
"Those eyes…dead…" the emotional man could feel tension rising as a stream of rage course through his blood, making it run cold. He cried out in mixed emotion as he punched the ground as hard as he could. Rubio didn't care if he broke his hand or not. "Red like blood…That's what he's going to see in the end. But…who was he? I didn't even ask him his name…All I know is what he looks like but there could be more than 100 people who look just like him. I'll also be up against some major competition. The authorities will want him and so will Ibuki." He pondered aloud in apparent frustration. "Speaking of Ibuki, I can't go back to him. I've got to go solo on this one. Perhaps I can still catch him."
The concerned man then jolted up and suddenly took off running.'If I get to town fast enough, I can still catch him!'
In town, Rubio ran through the masses of people out that day. It was mid-day and the market square was busy and filled with people buying and selling goods. The citizens were equally aggressive. They shoved him back and were bumping into him. A few of them got into his way and the whole mass of them seemed like balls in a lottery machine, being bumped and bopped around.
"Please let me through. Huh?" Rubio said as he noticed a particular figure that stood out in the crowd. The figure was slim and wore a similar red trench coat with long tails and golden studs. A cloak which only came to elbow length with gold embroidery around the edges in a triangular pattern and long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail. This figure was all too familiar for this simply to be a coincidence. It had to be him.
Blue eyes narrowed.'He thought he could fool me by pulling his hair back.'
When he neared the figure enough to touch them, he grabbed their shoulder harshly so that they wouldn't get away if they tried to struggle too much. This caused them to turn around and grab his hand with a fierce vice grip. Whoever it had been was incredibly strong and could undoubtedly hold their own in any type of fight. He had to stay on guard with this one. It was an attractive woman who wore red lipstick and had a mole on her chin near the left corner of her mouth. She wore a stern expression and looked at him with brown eyes that held contempt to them.
"You do well to keep your hands to yourself, young man," she warned him. This woman wasn't so kind when it came to people grabbing her in a threatening way out of nowhere.
"Uh?" It had been the only word that Rubio could muster to escape his mouth. The fact that it had been a beautiful woman and not the assassin he had been searching for threw him off and embarrassed him a little.
He had indeed felt stupid for that mistake.
"Who are you, anyway?" The woman snapped defensively.
Rubio blinked in response. He still felt a little dim-witted from his mistake. "Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else."
"Well, who's this woman that you were looking for? Maybe I can point her out to you." The dark haired woman questioned, assuming that he was looking for a female.
"It wasn't a woman."
"Well…Uh…" She felt a bead of sweat run down her head, irritation ran across her features. How dare he mistake her for a man!
From across the deck of a nearby ship, a small girl could be seen. She wore very short blue jeans shorts and a very short top with a flowing ribbon between her breasts. The shirt was tight fitting, only covering half of her breasts and was light blue in color. The girl had short hair that was a very pale mint green with white accents and her eyes were the same color and round in structure with bold, dark lashes. A tiger lily nested itself in a tuft of short hair on the left side of her head. She was small in build and didn't appear to be very old, somewhere in her early teens. A man stood behind her carrying large planks of wood. He was a rather rough looking individual and he reminded Rubio of a pirate.
"Yo, Captain Aeris!" The young girl shouted, stating the woman's name. "Where do you want me to put this fine, imported timber?"
"In the Lower Deck somewhere. I don't know. Go ask Krankuji!" Captain Aeris shouted back.
"Yes, Capt'n!" The girl saluted before running off, out of sight.
"Bosnia's a little thick-headed, but she's a good kid," Captain Aeris told herself then turned back around to face Rubio. "Now, what did you say your name was, again?"
"Rubio McDougall," he introduced himself.
"I'm Captain Aeris of the Nightwind."
"A pirate?" He questioned.
"There aren't many of us around. Can't help but notice, you look like you've been in a murder." The pirate pointed out and gestured to his clothes, face and hair, which still had blood splatters on them. She was right; he hadn't washed the blood off or changed his attire and he had just run through town like that. He hoped that no one had told the police or anything like that. He really should have thought before he'd done that.
"I was," he admitted and looked down in apparent stupidity.
"I'd change in case someone noticed," Captain Aeris told him. "You wouldn't want the authorities on your tail. I'd wash up too." She tossed him a dark brown cloak with a hood to conceal the remnants of his ordeal. "Wear this so they don't notice your clothes." The captain instructed.
"Capt'n," Bosnia butted in. "He should pull up the hood too. His hair is a bloodied mess!"
"She's right," Aeris agreed. "Oh, and you never told me who you were looking for."
"I don't know his name, but I can describe him. He wears a red cloak and long trench coat with two tails like yours. He has long black hair and spoke mechanically."
The light green haired girl listened to the description and her eyes lit up at what he had said. The person he described was someone that she had met only moments ago when she had been in town.
"He wears black clothes and boots. He has odd, round framed sunglasses."
"Valentino Valerio?" Bosnia asked.
"Huh?" Rubio looked to the possible person who could identify the one who killed his love. Any clues were good for him at this moment in time. He'd definitely question her on whatever information that he could get.
"That's what it sounds like," she told him.
"Who's the Valentino guy?"
"He's a rouge Dark Renegade Assassin," the youthful girl educated.
Just as Rubio had thought that he was about to get more information, a voice behind her called out to go ahead and set sail.
"Wait!" Rubio called out in desperation. He didn't want any possible information get away as the young girl headed to deck. "Where did you last see him?"
"On his way to some mansion! He sat by me on a bench in town! He didn't say anything to me, I just saw him headed off towards a mansion!" She shouted from the edge of the deck, was the ship was taking off out of the harbor. "Well, gotta go! Good luck on your quest!" She waved good-bye to him.
"Thanks!" The cloaked man yelled in reply then turned around and sighed to himself in exasperation. "Well, that didn't help me any. I still have no leads…but I do have a name… Valentino Valerio. I don't know if this Bosnia has the right guy in mind but it wouldn’t hurt to look for this Valentino." Rubio contemplated to himself, mulling over the possible task at hand. "Tomorrow, after funeral services for Angora Belladonna, I'll be looking for Mr. Valentino. In the end, the dead will smile."
To Be Continued…