Ok I know that it is long, but I don't expect a review from it. Don't correct any mistakes because I understand that it is long and it would take way too long for a correction review. Just tell me what you think and if you like or dislike my concepts and the way I portray actions, dialogue, characters, and such. I just want to know what people think of it, and if you can last through it without shying away because of it's length, I would appreciate it so much.
The Following story contains: Blood, Killing, Killing, and More Killing, and total advertureness. Please, it's worth your time.
Chapter 1: Encounters-From a Book that will be later famously known as The Flame Assassin
It was the very next morning until Hao had awaken from his usual nightmare of his past memories. Standing upright, his usual sleeping stance, Hao awaken in a calm, poised form, with arms crossed and his large, dark sunhat resting over his face. He was leaning against the hard trunk of a tree, with legs straightened out as the morning sun shone through the canopies of the trees above, landing on his dark, cloak-like clothes, held together with a series of belts that wrapped around his waist. With a strange appearance, Hao stood with his dark clothes: an open trenchcoat that ran down to his calves; a compactly-made, long-sleeved shirt made with grey cloth; a long pair of black matibiki that ran down his legs until the end of the knee, which was wrapped around his calves, which had been used to enhance his speed; a pair of dark tabi socks, which were held by a pair of metal, old-fashioned, ninja slippers; and a dark sunhat that rested on his head, covering his head and a long scar that ran over his left eye. On his sides rested a pair of daggers, one on each side, held in designed, wooden cases, carved with words in the ancient languages, reading "hate" and "revenge". These daggers, made in some special, heat-resistant material, held a blade that curved like a feather of an exotic bird, each specially carved on the sides. One carved with the word "fire" and on the other, "death". Resting to side of him, on the side of the tree, rested a black bow, held in a quiver of arrows. This was Hao Riona.
Opening his crimson-red eyes, Hao continued to stare out with the same eyes from the day of the massacre, long, long ago. Not even awoken for a few minutes, Hao glanced all around himself, glancing at the bodies standing around him, all staring at him with the hatred that Hao had held against them. Recognizing that there had been at least twenty imperial soldirs standing around him, holding spears pointed forward, Hao stood still and calm, only moving to blink and breathe. These imperial soldiers, dressed in a basically-designed uniform armor, made of iron and painted with the imperial colors, black and white, stood ready to kill this man before them, the crimson-clothed man. Sounds of a horse came as a man, dressed in the same type of uniform yet more decorated with medals and insignias of an upper ranked, rode the horse up from behind the soldiers, holding a special sword. This rather face-distorted man, had gave a glance of shock as he looked at Hao with confusement and slight frustration, shouting out, "You there! Identify yourself!"
Hearing these words, Hao only looked up to meet the man eye-to-eye, replying, "And who am I to identify myself to? A mere man who I choose not to obey?"
Soldiers took a step closer as the captain on the horse shouted, "Under the Imperial Order under High Emperor Thorn, I demand that you identify yourself! Give me your name....or else you will be taken into custody to spend your life in prison."
Hao now leaned off of the tree and now stood with his arms hanging down to his sides, resting and relaxing from the tensions of last nights sleep. He continued to stare at the captain and as he heard the man's words, he answered, "I give my name to noone. The highestauthority can not demand anything from me..."
"You dare defy the Emperor?!" the captain shouted with anger as he held the sword pointed at Hao's head.
"Damn the Emperor! Does it look like I care? His authority means nothing to me..." Hao slowly said as he pointed his eyes at the soldiers and then into the eyes of the captain.
"Oh? A rebel? Do you understand that speaking about his higness's name in such a way can have you at the end of an excutioner blade?!"
"Only if you hold me long enough to place one over my head..." Hao said, hinting a sense of confidence.
"I have twenty men...you are a mere person who is unarmed. You expect me to think that you stand even a mere chance against the imperial army?" the captain said as he laughed sarcastically, mocking the man before him.
Hao gave a short laugh as he said, "Twenty men...each armed...and all of them have surrounded me...However...you don't know who the man in front of you...to your own knowledge,...I could be a normal traveler who just despises the emperor...possible? Yes, it is. However, what you don't know is that...I could also be then one who killed one of your generals...Renegun...Ty Lo...ring a bell?"
All the soldiers suddenly took a step back in fear as then shook from the surprisment of the man in front them. The captain himself found himself uneasy as he stammered while speaking, "You!!....You are the one who murdered our general?!!...That can't be possible!!...That would mean that...that...you are the notorious...Flame Assassin!!"
"The very one..." Hao said as he pulled out a stone figure from his sleeve and threw it into the air, calling out, "Shiba!! Release!!"
"Get him now!! Kill him now!!" shouted the captain as he ordered his men into battle against an assassin of deadly potential.
The stone object rose up into the air and with the sound of Hao's words, the figure had then shattered into a showering light that dove down into the ground beneath them.
"A Summoner?!" the captain had shouted as soldiers approached Hao from all sides.
"That's right! And now you will all die here today!" Hao shouted as shadows began to appear underneith the feet of all the soldiers. This omnious shadow, that seemed like it came from completely nowhere, collecting from the shadows of the trees and rocks nearby into a single pool that sat in the center, grew and grew as the soldiers stared at it in fear and anxiety for they were incompetant to what could happen next. The tension of the group increased as Hao stood still with arms crossed, literally watching the soldiers nervously step back as the shadow began to rise from the ground, looking as if it were erupting into a mound of pure darkness. Then came the bone-chilling roar of an unseen animal, screeching from the mound as something formed before their very eyes.
"What the hell is that?!" screamed the voice of one soldier.
"A demon of Hell?!" called out another.
"We must kill it!!"
"We must retreat!!"
Soonly the captain became frustrated from the cowardly words of the men he led, forcing him to yell, "Kill it now!! Kill the Flame Assassin!! I want no survivors!!"
Hao only slightly laughed, after hearing the captain shout an order,and as he heard this he muttered under his breath, "No problem..."
The mound of darkness grew larger and larger, and soonly, a creature formed from within, with its head partially out of the mound with the shadows melting down the side of its face, pouring back down into the ground. This face, that seemed to be somewhat feline-like, appeared with a ferocious jaw with long, white teeth, and a pair of golden, orb-like eyes. Then its front legs formed, and then its back legs, all four well-defined, with a X-shaped scar on the front, right leg. A tail shot out from the mound of darkness, revealing a smooth, black-haired tail that moved unstoppingly around. This panther-like creature only roared again as the shadows and darkness disappeared away from the creature, revealing the ten-feet-long animal, baring its teeth, ready to kill.
From the blood-chilling roar, the soldiers only stepped back farther, shaking with each hesitating step. Each eye on the creature, they shakingly griped onto their weapons, barely pointed at the panther named Shiba. The soldiers then began to breathe at an intense rate where they were beginning to frighten one another, all fearing for their lives.
Seeing this, but yet still afraid of the creature, the captain on horseback began to order his men with an aggressive yell, "Attack!!" The order came out clearly, yet noone moved. Not a single soldier set a foot near Shiba. Frustrated, the captain shouted again, "Attack!! Or else you will have to answer to the Emperor!" Apparently, from this new order, the roughly twenty men gripped their weapons and began to slowly march toward both the panther and the lone assassin.
As eight soldiers began to surround Shiba, and the rest closing in on Hao, Hao then said, "Shiba. Go eat your meal..."
Shiba roared out loudly, rippling the grass like the waves of an ocean, as it began to leap out onto the body of a soldier, instantly ripping his chest out with the mere swipe of its claws. Soldiers nearby jumped back, but with the fear of the emperor in mind, they charged on ahead. Shiba swiped its tail at the weapons of four nearby soldiers, quickly and forcefully knocking the spears out of their hands, and into the ground. Then, turning surprisingly quick, Shiba leaped toward the four soldiers and with its jaws, Shiba bit large portions of flesh off of each individual body of the four, unarmed men. With five dead, Shiba turned its attention toward two soldiers who had charged from two different directions, both pointing their spears forward. Shiba only leaped away at the last second, making the two soldiers accidentally spear eachother through the chest, forcing eachother to fatally fall down to a pool of blood. Shiba roared as the blood of its prey dripped down its fangs and then into its mouth, relishing a perfect set of easy kills. But then it heard the sound of a whimpering man, shaking from behind. Shiba turned its head slowly, baring its fangs aggressively with a low growl and sharpened eyes. With this look in sight, the remainder of the eight soldiers dropped his weapon and began to run uncontrollbly in a random direction, frantically sweating and breathing in fear, with a heart that beat faster and faster than ever before. This signalled the action of a prey, and because of this, Shiba took the reaction as the predator, leaping of into a sprint, chasing the soldier down, disappearing into the wood.
Now only Hao stood there, surround by the remaining armed men with the captain in back who sat on his horse. He sat there with arms still crossed, eyes peering forward with no sign of positive emotion, standing as if he had not a single care in the world. The soldiers all pointed their spears toward the man before them, hesitating for they knew the well-told rumors of the Flame Assassin. How they remembered the tale of a man who killed all in his path, no matter it would be ten men, twenty, or even fifty...they say that it didn't matter...he would kill them all. What made the rumors even more horrifying was that they said that the Flame Assassin could do all of this without a single weapon in his hand, with no weapon at all...he would still kill them all. Questions would rise and they all thought: What was his advantage? What made him so special? They thought and thought, but they did not know the answer.
Annoyed, due to proper engagement protocols, the captain called out, "Draw your weapon! Or we will attack you unarmed!"
Hao then moved his arms away from their previous, crossed position to his sides, yet he didn't move them toward the daggers that rested at his sides. Instead, he only took his right hand up and made a gesture signally for them to come at him.
This movement of the hand then caused the rush of soldiers who charged toward him, pointing their spears forward, all closing in on him with magnificent speed. Each soldier also screamed out with the adreniline rushing through their veins as intinct took over. Their metal boots crushed the ground rapidly with each step, as the wind whistled as it ran across their metal, armored plates, and as their spears peirced through the air. This was the time to test their ability, to test their strength, loyalty, and the bravery...unfortunately it had to be against the Red Death himself.
Soldiers charged from every direction, and Hao stood calm as ever as he began to raise both his arms carefully, acting as if it were in rhythm, and then he closed his eyes as if concentrating on something in his mind. He let in a long breath and then exhaled it calmly as he his fingers began to twitch for a few seconds. Then under his breath, he muttered, "There is no turning back...you all are going to die..." Suddenly, his red-irised eyes opened, glowing with the intensity of the sun rays that came down on them. This action caused a sudden uproar of energy that began to flow through his hands, building more and more, until...his hands burst into flames, burning with an serious intensity as it shined brightly in front of all the soldiers. These flames burned, yet for some strange reason, these flames had burned neither his skin or clothes it had touched. It just seemed to be there but at the same time...it wasn't. The fire that the soldiers had grown up with had burned everything and even to the magic users near the nation's capital couldn't use fire in a way it didn't burn them. It seemed illusionary...but how could it? The heat the soldiers felt couldn't have been fake. This was real. They all stared out at the assassin, as they charged forward, realizing that this was why rumors had called this man...the Flame Assassin.
Flames ignited throughout the air as Hao swiped his arm in a horizontal fashion at the soldiers in front of him. The heat of the flames soared out as they caught onto the bodies of four men, who had either fell to the ground or ran frantically away, all screaming from the searing pain of their flesh burning before their eyes. From that movement, Hao then swiped his arms low toward the soldiers to his right, moving in a rather circular pattern as if performing a form of Tai Chi. Fire erupted from his arms again as the flames flew across the wind toward a group of five soldiers. Flames caught the edges of their legs as the fire slowly climbed up their bodies, slowly incinerating their skin as they fell forward to their death, screaming in intense pain. Hao turned to his left where three soldiers had seemed to approach him rather quickly, having their spears mere feet from peircing his head and body. The flames slowly dying down, Hao quickly pulled his two daggers from their sheathes and held them with the blades facing down and the handle ends facing up in the palms of his hands. The first spear came close to his face, but with his superior speed, Hao only needed to flip backwards to avoid the fatal stab, and then rolling forward to slash at his enemy. After expertly evading the stab, Hao rolled and in an uppercut-like motion, he trusted his dagger across the soldier's body, slicing across the man's face with blood trailing off the metal as the blade came off of the flesh. The second soldier quickly came from behind, running with fear and adreniline alone, shouting with aggression as Hao prepared to strike again. Turning around, Hao began charging toward the second soldier, and with quick judgement, he flipped up through the air, and as he landed on the pole of the soldier's spear, he ran across it and stabbed the soldier violently through the center of the face before doing a flip off of him. Now only one soldier stood before him. This soldier only stood shaking with fear as he constantly stared at the bodies that were once his regiment. What had use to be a large group of around twenty had been slaughtered down to a mere captain and single soldier by the hands of a single man and his demonic pet. This soldier began to sweat, cleaning the dirt from his skin from months of build-up as the spear trembled in his hands. He stood there for minutes, practically waiting to be killed, but instead of taking advantage of this, Hao grew frustrated as he just placed the daggers back into their sheathes and then yelled out to he soldier, "Come on...attack me."
The soldier fearfully nodded, "No."
Hao called out again, "I don't have all day...come and kill me."
The soldier nodded again, "No."
Hao then grabbed his head in annoyance as he replied, "Oh my...what the hell. Where is your dignity? Your bravery?"
The soldier dumbly nodded, "No."
Hao grew frustrated as he muttered, "Oh...smart ass...I'll end this quickly..." Hao walked toward the soldier, who stood frozen still, and as he approached the soldier, he grabbed the spear without any effort, dropped it on the ground and stared at the soldier straight in the face, meeting eye to eye. The soldier shook and shook as Hao only sighed. Hao only then whispered, "You really disgust me...you know that?"
The soldier then dumbly nodded, "No?"
Hao then suddenly punched the soldier square in the face, breaking the soldier's front teeth and nose with the blow of a single fist. As the soldier fell down, Hao left the unconscious soldier in the mud as he walked toward the captain on horseback, saying in a rather annoyed tone, "This is suppose to be the Emperor's great army? Truely pityful...and you, captain. Are you going to attack me?"
The captain only stared angerly as he shouted, "You'll regret this Flame Assassin! Once I inform the officers that you're in the nation, you'll be hunted down like a dog until you're dead." And with those final words, the captain rode off quickly into the wood.
Hao stood with his head staring annoyingly out in the direction of the captain's path, standing still and nearly speachless as he said, "Who the hell? Bastard thinks he can get away..."
Miles and miles away, the captain raced down the path between the trees as he tried vigorously to look for any escape possible in which he could use to be free of this assassin. He looked to the right, and then to the left. He looked behind and then to the front. He saw nothing but woods. He saw not a single form of life. Exhausted, yet still having a sense of paranoia, he stopped in the cross-section of two paths that ran straight through the forest. The captain took a breath as he tried to regain his nerves, while unsteadily drinking his canteen. Normal sounds such as the wind brushing against the bushes or the leaves whistling in the branches above caused his paranoid ears to make him uneasy for he constantly thought that the assassin lurked within the shadows. Going completely insane, the captain began to smirk as he swung his military-issued blade around in a meniacal rage, shouting out, "Come and get me!! I'm not afraid!!" He then laughed out insanely as something came from the bushes nearby.
Walking rather calmly onto the scene, the Flame Assassin walked out from the shadows of the woods with no emotion on his face, holding nothing but his black bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. With an annoyed tone of voice, Hao said, "Do you know that it doesn't matter if you run? I'm an assassin...does it look like I'm a slow runner? Just accept your death like a man."
Hearing these words and seeing the Flame Assassin, the captain jumped from surprise as he held his blade steady with one hand. The captain's dark eyes only stared on as his arms slightly shook to the sound of his heartbeat which grew faster and faster with fear as the Flame Assassin came closer and closer, revealing a glance with his demonic-like, red-glowing eyes. With a slight shiver and a hint of anger in his tone, the captain shouted out, "I won't die by the likes of you!! I am the captain of this troop!! Don't take me for a common dog!!"
"Then prove me wrong. Come at me now. Kill me." Hao said as he stared at the captain with a provoking hand gesture.
"For the empire!!!" screamed the captain as he charged toward Hao with his blade raised high above his head in one hand while the other held onto the reins of the horse he rode on. With the captain approaching rather quickly, Hao only held his black bow up, aiming it at one of the horse's back legs, pulling an arrow back on the bow's string. With the bow string pulled back, holding the arrow, Hao released the arrow out into the wind as it rushed into a patch of soft, hairy skin. Before the captain could react, he heard the blood-screams of his own horse as the arrow drilled into the bone of the unfortunate animal. Pains rushed through the animal as it's legs gave out, making it fall backwards, also causing the captain to fall back as well, landing onto the ground. Now a horse lied in pain, while waiting to die, as its master lied on the ground trying his best to recover onto his feet. He lied with surprisement from the impact of a single arrow.
Stumbling to his feet, the captain rose up shakingly as he held his blade high up, trying to charge toward his notorious opponent. However, before the captain could take at least three steps, Hao, using his superior speed, had fired two arrows into both of the captain's calves, rendering them useless, as the captain fell down, grimacing in extreme pains. Dropping the blade from his hands, the captain grabbed at his legs ferociously, attempting to try to relieve some pain, although knowing it was useless to stop it. How unfortunate it was for the arrogant captain, who had sat over-confindently on his horse, to now be reduced to nothing but a crippled, old man, lying before the person known to be almost as unmerciful than the emperor himself. This was his ultimate bad luck.
Hao crept up closer and closer to the captain's crippled body, step by step as he had placed the black bow back into its quiver. Now unarmed, Hao began to walk closer to the captain, who seemed to suffer uncontrolable bleeding, for blood leaked down the sides of his legs, running from their wounds like water gliding down smooth rocks on a waterfall. Staring down at the captain, Hao never saw a true man...only a scared animal, waiting to die.
"There is no use struggling...just die." Hao calmly spoke as he approached with relaxness.
However, the captain lied trembling in pain, almost crying blood for the pain was too much, but he also knew that he would never survive, so he only did what he could possible do...he reached for his blade to stab into his chest, to end his own life. Ignoring the throbbing pains, he lunged for the blade that rested a mere few feet near him, he gripped onto the handle, lifted it and tried to lift it up into the air above him. With the last ounce of adreniline in him, the captain screamed out, "I will not die by your hand, Flame Assassin!"
"Don't move." Hao shouted as he jumped onto the captain's chest, making him unable to move, while pointing a dagger at the captain's face with one hand with the other hand holding the captain's blade down, making sure that it would not be used.
"Get off of me!! What more do you want?! I was going to take my own life!!" the captain shouted as he tried to free himself from his killer's grasp, being unsuccessful at the same time.
"I don't want anything...except some answers...answers that even a low-ranked captain should know." Hao said as he stared deep into this enemy's cowardly eyes.
"I don't have any answers for the likes of you..." the captain said as he once again tried to move his arms, failing at the same time.
"Don't toy with me...If you don't do what I say, I'll..."
The captain then shouted with anger, "Do what?!! Kill me?! Does it look like I give a damn?!"
"Depends on how you die...Of course I can just slit your throat out and watch the blood pour from your neck, but that is far too easy...however,...I can also stab your arms and legs, making sure that you won't die and then bury in the ground with hole over your head big enough to breathe out of...and if my guesses are right...noone will find you...you will die of starvation or thirst...imagine...waiting as your stomach slowly eats itself in its own juices as insects burrow into your skin...how painful will that be? What a slow painful death..."
"Damn you...what a cowardly act..." the captain muttered as he angerly stared at Hao with hate-filled eyes.
"Excuse me? Cowardly? What kind of captain hides waits during a battle and watches his own soldiers perish?" Hao asked as waved the dagger closer to the man's face, hindering a fatal stab.
"A captain who fights with his troop is nothing more than a soldier...As you see...running has its advantages...They're all dead...and I'm alive."
"Enough. You really sicken me...They are all dead, and you might be alive, but you really don't know for how much longer do you?...If you still want to keep breathing...you better answer my questions. Now tell me. Why did the Emperor attack the village of Ryn those many years ago?!" Hao shouted as he took his unarmed hand and gripped it around the captain's hand, squeezing it tighter and tighter, listening to the sounds of bones cracking.
Feeling the true pain in his hand and wrist, the captain only responded, "I don't know...much of the incident...there are dozens of villages that the Emperor raids and Ryn was nothing more than a simple village...he said that he was searching to conquer the four nations, but he had a lack of support from most of his nation's population. So in order to make his nation's people to obey...he had to make a deadly example...and that was by killing those that would set the example..."
Hao began to tighten his grip on the captain's arm as his anger slowly rose. Memories of the massacre continued to flash before his eyes, and although he tried to push them aside within his mind, they continued to come. Hearing the words of the pathetic man, Hao began to ask, "He massacred the village to only set an example? He killed many people just so he could show a point...why? Why does the damn emperor have to destroy such a small, unknown village in order to prove a mere damn point? What does he have from that example to use in order to make his damn people to obey him?!"
Ignoring the sharp pains, the captain stared at the Flame Assassin with evil eyes as he said the single word, "Fear...that is the...ultimate weapon...to control an empire."
"Fear..." Hao replied as he looked away with a sense of angered hysteria, "My mother...my father...my three friend...Roy...Ken...Miko...all killed just to instill...fear!" With a rush of anger mixed with frustration, Hao quickly twisted the man's hand complete around, destroying the bones underneath the skin. The captain screamed from the action, but Hao continued to stare with an emotionless face, which held nothing except the hatred of memory's past. How he wanted to rip the hand off of the captain's arm to portray his hatred toward the empire and the cursed emperor who had left him alive those many years ago.
"You...bastard...you..." the captain muttered as the painful grunts transformed into hysterical laughter as he continued to speak, "I know...who you are...you are the one...who survived...the Ryn Massacre." He looked up at the Flame Assassin, glancing deep into his eyes. How his own reflection looked like in the two, dark, red eyes that rested on his own killer. With this sight, the captain calmed as he said, "So the rumors are true...the Flame Assassin's eyes really are stained with the blood of his victims...Your eyes...are almost as strange as the Emperor's...you both are alike..."
Hearing this, an uneasiness came over Hao's voice as he replied angerly, "I am not like the Emperor. I am nothing like that man."
Feeling another tightening of the grip on his broken wrist but ignoring the pain, the captain only laughed as he replied softly, "Both of you kill...both of you are cruel...sick...unmerciful...both of you are unwanted by society...but are feared by all who know your name...you are pretty much like brothers..."
Hao suddenly stabbed into the captain's left shoulder with his drawn dagger with a ferocity that only matched his hatred as he angerly, yet softly replied, "I am not...like him...I will kill him...he will die..."
"No...you are the one who will die...The Emperor will send you to hell!" the captain screamed as he felt the blood and life run out of his body.
Hao, hearing this, only calmed and pulled the dagger out slowly, trying to torture his enemy as much as possible. He then rose to his feet as he placed the dagger back into its case. Standing there, while listening to the captain try to move, Hao only stared down at the pathetic captain with both pity and hatred as he only held his right arm out forward with palm open, pointing at the enemy before him. Feeling the energy of heat rush through his blood, Hao could feel as the flow of his inner fire rush toward his arm, collecting at the palm of his hand. With the energy building up, Hao only said to his enemy, "I'll tell you this...I might go to Hell for my actions...I might be killed by the hand of the Emperor...but if I am killed and sent down there...I'll search for you..." Quickly after finishing his words, the collected energy in his right arm seemed to transform into a large ball of fire that had seemed to project from the center of his palm and fingers toward the body of the captain, which then spread across his skin, burning the man entirely. Sounds of screaming could be heard as Hao only stood with angry eyes, still thinking about the words that pathetic captain had spoken. He replayed in his head, the same words, "Both of you are unwanted by society...but are feared by all who know your name...you both are alike." These words replayed and replayed as the sounds of a panther came nearby. A small roar came from the trees to the East, and then suddenly the large animal appeared before Hao and the smoldering ashes that laid before the two. The animal took a few steps toward Hao and as it approached it rubbed its head against Hao's side, purring as Hao stroked the animal's side. With a calmer voice, he said, "So you caught your meal, huh...This fight was not as exciting as we thought it would be...so much for that my friend...Shiba...return to the charm..." And with those words, the large, black feline seemed to evaporate in a cloud of lights, seeming to change from animal to a small wooden charm that sat on the grass below. Hao only walked toward it, picked it up and spoke quietly, "Rest now..." And with these words, he walked out into the woods, heading off to his next destination. Having heard of a rumor of a raid, he headed toward the small village of farmers and tree cutters...the village of Syla.
