Passing Time with Death (open)

[Bai Lang]

A spray of blood hit the cobblestones. Even in the dim light given off by the stars and a crescent moon, the deep red of the liquid stained the stone floor with such abundance that it could only mean one thing.
A moment later a body fell. The man was well wrapped up in furs and mixed pieces of hardened leather, covering his face was a simple grey scarf made from cheap cloth. Now part of the scarf had been died grey as the lifeblood flowed out from a slight cut across his neck. He had been a lowly thug payed to protect a local boss. He had roughed up a few people in the past but he had never done enough to warrant death.

Despite the death that walked the streets, no civilians did. It was deep in the night in the city and many were asleep in their beds. The only ones who were up were the drunken, the stupid and the ones up to no good. A cold wind blew down the street, raising small dust clouds from the dirt and bringing with it the common smells of a marketplace. The night was still, except for the sounds of death and destruction.

Yet despite his pointless death, his killer did not pay him even a moment of thought or a sliver of sadness. Bailang was a soldier through and through, a man meant for only one thing; bringing death. He knew what he was and he had accepted it long ago. Now he was in his prime; two dual blades linked in the middle weaving a complicated pattern in the air. The blades almost seemed to dance as if in water as was their fluidity. Despite the one dead thug, there were still 5 others circling him; trying to get a lucky blow.

A pack of wolves together may bring down a tiger, but these pathetic sheep were not wolves and they had no chance of matching him. No matter where they struck he was there, either diverting their weapons or nimbly dodging aside. A normal man may have felt pity for the sheep, but not Bai Lang. He only felt the exhilaration one only feels in the thick of a fight, and he was enjoying it. Lang twisted to the right and jabbed his dual-blades backward, impaling a man just below his neck and into his backbone. The next moment he pulled out the blade and continued his dance of death. Yet another life lost and not a single thought or care to whom it had belonged to.

Less than a minute later it was over. There were now six corpses on the floor surrounding him. Bai Lang ignored them all; he was an efficient killer and already knew each one was dead. Instead he looked over to the fat merchant whimpering in the corner. Bai snorted in disgust. The man had been too scared to run as he should have, and it even looked like he had soiled himself in fear. The cowardly merchant in question was corrupt, yet he was also with the Qiang Hounds; a band of thieves and murderers who dared to think they controlled the crime in this city. In truth Bai Lang had nothing against them; he was not even being payed to do this. He was simply... bored. These were the only type of people he could easily kill and not get in trouble with the city guard. He finally spared a glance at the new corpses as he used one of their fur tunics to clean his blades. They had been weak but fighting was fun no matter who it was against. Then he looked back up to the fat merchant and walked towards him. The killing still wasn't over yet...

[Ao Ai]

Chang An was a city, stepped in misery and corruption, it had been for a long time. its past was black with ancient dried blood, only corruption flowed thew the veins of this city now. This filth keep its criminals and corrupt officials wealthy while systematically draining the poor dry, it had to end one day. Of course the source was well known and could be tracked back to one man, an one day. Specifically the day Dong Zhou had ridden into this city, so many years ago with the young Emperor as his personal hostage against the lords of the realm. He might be dead and so his favored vassals but that did not mean the cycle he had put into motion was ended. As one terrible crime lord or corrupt official meet a bloody end it seemed 3 more stepped in to fill the void. It was not a problem that could be solved with a single blade, or a single strike. Still that did not mean one should turn a blind eye either. Even if she could not treat the source Ao Ai could still cut out the infected tissue.

In the dark of night, she was just a shadow, a illusion that only the most skillful could pick out of the shadows she hid behind. She was death, and yet she was hope, killing only those who deserved it. She did not seek wealth, she already had that, just to do something, she was done with watching and inaction. She didn't consider herself a heroine, she was just a noble doing her bit, at least that's what she told herself. Tonight she was stalking the roof tops of Chang An, like a nightingale, a living shadow, that went unseen, only felt.

Her sharp ears were attracted to the sounds of violence several streets away. Assuming it be perhaps a mugging or a murder she moved in that direction. She jumped from roof top to roof top where the gaps were small enough, making her way stealthily toward the sound of conflict. What she found was far from unprecedented, several men attacking a single warrior. What was however unprecedented at least in her experience was that he was winning. She could have killed them all easily, but only her way by stealth kills, like this, it was...impressive but also horrifying. This warrior seemed to be enjoying it, she was not sure why but she some how knew by instinct that he had started this fight. Feeling no sympathy for the low life scum of this city, she only watched as he slaughtered them one by one.

It was only later when he turned his blade toward the merchant that she felt driven to interfere. The thugs had at least been attacking him, this warrior had been given little choice then. now, to kill an unarmed men in cool blood like this, it just seemed wrong. Even thought she herself had done so, many, many times before it just seemed different. She had not had to look in there eyes as she killed them and besides she had known they deserved to die. This just seem like slaughter for the simple pleasure of it, this man should be arrested perhaps but killed it seemed unnecessary. The merchant had clearly surrendered to him. Against her better judgment she decided to intervene on his behalf.

"I'm definitely going to regret this." She whispered, scolding herself although sadly not enough to change her mind. She drew a small throwing blade, a kuni as the Japanese would refer to it. She was very proficient at fighting in the darkness and had night vision like a cat, it was easy for her to aim. She threw her blade carefully, it landed on the stone path just in front of the warrior, bouncing just inches from his foot. A warning shot, just enough to make him think twice before he slaughtered the merchant. Knowing she had given herself away she walked into the moon light. Not willing to get to close she jumped down to a lower roof top, just short of the street.

"That really isn't necessary, the others gave you no choice but now you should chose to show mercy, otherwise you are little better than him." She told the warrior firmly while keeping her distance. Her voice would easily betray her as both a women and perhaps a noble if he was perceptive. She had no intention of giving her own name of course nore little of anything else away. She was armed still, with two daggers, still sheathed on either leg. She really didn't want to have to use them, but she knew she would if given cause.

[Bai Lang]

Before he could reach the merchant another joined the game. A tiny throwing knife bounced off of the paved tiles before him, coming to rest only a few precious inches before him. It was a small thing, yet looked well made with a weight on the hilt for balance and accuracy. This was only the weapon of an assassin. Bai Lang had his dual-blades up again in an instant as he intently looked around for his new opponent. There was little he could do if he could not see them. But if he knew where they were that gave him a fighting chance.
However it seemed as if this assassin did not wish to fight, a shadow fell from above to a nearby rooftop. He could not see them properly, but he did not need to see their face to see an attack. He raised his own weapon up a bit more, he could not attack skilfully from this distance, however he was in a better position to dodge of block any more attacks if necessary. While Lang did not believe this person wished to fight, only a fool would drop their guard before any threat.

"That really isn't necessary, the others gave you no choice but now you should chose to show mercy, otherwise you are little better than him."
The assassin spoke out, warning his not to pointlessly kill the corrupt merchant. The girl, as she had revealed herself to be, was purely doing all of this simply out of the goodness of their heart to save a life which did not deserved to be saved. She sounded as if she had a rich lifestyle. Her accent and her idealism gave that away. Bai Lang shook his head sadly. He would never understand one like her

"Foolish girl, you would risk your life simply to save one that does not deserved to be saved" Bai said sadly. Then he paused and looked at the merchant. Maybe there was a way he could use this to his advantage…
"But then you might be right, this fat fool isn't worthy to die by my hand. Tell me merchant, where can I find the Qiang Hounds? If you tell me enough you may have even earned your life." Bai Lang finished.

At this point he didn’t really care if the merchant lived or died. He had intended to kill the man of course, but there would be nothing he could gain out of it. However the one thing he did wish for was information. He would never have started this fight otherwise. Why go for the farmers house when one could reach the palace? He didn’t even care about the Qiang Hounds themselves. Even if he did rout them out another band would swiftly take their place. The only reason Bai Lang was doing this was to pass the time and test himself.

The merchant looked like he was wavering. Sweat poured down his face to ruin his shirt. He knew that if the Qiang Hounds heard about this they would kill him, but at the same time it looked like he was going to die right now. In the end his fear made him speak

"p…please don't kill me lords! I'll tell you everything, just don’t kill me! The Qiang Hounds base is in the poor quarter, in the Song family warehouse in the northeast quarter. Please I have a large family who rely on me to survive…" The merchants voice shouted, his words slipping over each over in his haste to get this over with.

Bailang look up at the shadowy figure with a smirk on his face. He now knew where to go, but he did not know if this assassin would help, or hinder him.

[Ao Ai]

What was she doing? she knew it was right to step in and save the merchant but it was damn silly. She had exposed herself to a stranger. She never had done that before, it was always kill, hide the body and move on. No one alive had ever seen her in action. Still it was a thrill to have someone know almost, besides it wasn't like he could identify her if they meet in the street the next day. Her face was completely hidden by both her outfit and the shadows. Taking a calming breath she waited, patience was a virtue in her line of work, she only hoped it would not come to a fight.

Predictably he decided to ridicule her instead, which was certainly not the worst outcome. Even so she didn't exactly take it well, she had her own pride an besides she had the moral high ground here. As well fortunately as the literal high ground, unless this warrior found a ladder or something. Although he could not see it her eyes narrowed when he refereed to her as a 'foolish girl'. It was something she had heard he entire life, mostly when she stuck her neck out to do the right thing. Really if karma existed it wasn't holding out its end of the bargain very well.

"Maybe so. However you have to draw the line somewhere otherwise you become a vigilante." Ao Ai declared, sitting down on the edge of the roof. Putting her elbows on her knees and her hands to her chin she waited as if bored, leaving it too him to decided what he would do. Fortunately he chose the easy way out, that was good in a fair fight she really didn't fancy her chances again him. Of course he had no idea how good she was, which was perhaps fortunate for her, discretion really was the better part of valor, not that she fully understood that word either. Valor didn't really fit into the assassins handbook of reference terms.

The warrior instead preceded to bully the merchant for information, which she had no objection too. It transpired that he was in fact not after this pig but instead the gang with which he was affiliated. That of course didn't make him guilty of any crime, almost all merchants here had to pay 'protection money' to there local gang. This was just a fact of life in Chang An. Clearly however this warrior was determined to hunt down this gang, perhaps he had some personal motivation. Had these Qiang Hounds hurt someone he loved perhaps? she wasn't likely to find out.

"I don't suppose you know where this warehouse is? I'm not exactly local." She asked the warrior, not really caring if she gave away too much. Unless he knew her real identify it did him no good. Besides she wasn't likely to be able to find it on her own. Besides it seemed that now they had something in common. Clearly he wanted these people dead and for her part, it seemed like they would be doing Chang An a favor.

"Oh and i don't care if you kill those men." She added almost as an after thought. For some reason she didn't want him to think she was too much of a 'goody two shoes' even if she was realistically. As an kunoichi she still had her professional pride.