Author's Note:

Hey, DarkSun here for anyone who know me. I've joined this merry crew on a whim and am not certain where I'm going, but my plan is to have some fun. Hope you can join me in that ^^

This here below is my attempt at a character I've never tried before, and also first person point of view. I have to thank Aaron for helping me with making it more legible, and that's all I have to say. Probably.

Enjoy!

*****

“Help! Please, someone!”

The voice sounded out loudly with hiccups interrupting it at times, but not enough for the words to be misunderstood. The voice echoed through the whole alley, sounding through the empty long-winding streets and dead-ends.

“Please, I beg of you! Stop! Don’t!”

I had no plan to get myself into a fight today but the voice was just so loud, it was interrupting my peaceful night time stroll and I just wanted it to shut up.

Why couldn’t I just walk around in this damn city without anything happening for just one night?

Oh right, I lived in the worst city of the country right now. That might have something to do with the fact that whenever I went out, screams for help were constantly in the background. They were so common here that most people didn’t even bother to differentiate between them and the sound of cars passing by. It was just that normal for this place.

After all, it was this idiot’s fault for walking into an alley. Taking a shorter path through allys in this city was the same as signing your own death warrant. Unsurprising with the Mafia pressence, corrupted cops, hooligans and random passing crazy people making up the majority of the population of the city.

“No! No! Stop! Please! Aghghgh!”

And I had thought, they would already be done by now.

The screams reverberated through the night air, promising to stay a long while longer before coming to an end. The show seemed to have only just started.

Well, it’s no fault of mine if I crash it then. They should have found a better place to play than near me, after all.

It had been a couple months since I came here, and I had harvested a reputation for myself as one that didn’t play around or play fair. If I saw anyone I don’t like, they didn’t get to die of old age.

I noted the direction the sound was coming from and jogged there without any real hurry, my prey wasn’t going to be going anywhere for a while. It would be new if they even saw me coming this time, usually, they were so engrossed in their own sick games that they never saw me at all.

What unfortunate souls.

Another turn and there they were. Three men stood around laughing amongst one another. One of them was holding a woman by her hands, while the other was tearing her clothes away. She was screaming, crying, and trying to push the man away with her lower body, but it only seemed to excite him more. He was part of the human scum that was inhibiting this city, scum like him were all wrong in the head.

Amid all the thrashing, the woman noticed my form behind the man and shouted for me to help her. Well, that forced my hand. I didn’t have the time to waste thinking about this citys many flaws, and had to act before the men decided to first. I was good, but I was still a petite young woman and there was a limit to my strength compared to them.

In quick succession, I unstrapped both of my metal fans my belt and sliced at the exposed necks of the two men standing before me. The cuts were deep enough that I felt confident that they were fatal so I stopped paying attention to those two, refocusing on the third one still standing before me.

He had turned around to face me, reaching for his gun.

No chance, hero.

I dashed forward, kicking the legs off him.

Damn, that hurt. Why are men all so hard? It’s as if I’m hitting metal!

As he fell, I jumped on him and sliced at his neck since that was the best spot open. His chest could have made a good strike, but embedding the blades of my fan into the heart was always a danger, I had learnt that lesson from experience. You never knew when they might get stuck, and there was always the downside of the opening that was made from the time it took me to pull the fans out after a strike like that.

Resting for a moment on my newest kill, I turned to see what the last two men alive were doing. The female had stopped screaming and she as well as the other two men were now staring at me wide-eyed.

Idiots...

I adjusted my grip on the fans and threw them full force at the two men’s hearts.

Bull’s eye! And Royala saves the day once more!

Both fans hit their marks, embedding a number of blades into the men’s chests. They coughed, reached for the fans with their hands, and tried to get them out. Unfortunately for them, the blades were stuck deep, and the men were quickly running out of the energy and life to do anything about that.

I stood up dusting my mini-skirt off and went to slice their necks to finish them off quickly, before i wrenched my fans out of there corpses. The weapons came out with a wet sucking sound and I saw blood dripping all over them.

Again. I should really take better care of them...

I cleaned them off with the cleanest shirt of the five men, and glanced over my night’s work deeming it a decent hunt. It wasn’t planned but I had some fun. These wimps hadn’t even known what hit them, it was kind of pathetic really given there were five of them here. They had been like little children faced with the demon from under their beds, unable to do anything much more than stare in horror at it.

I laughed at that image, and strapping my fans to their place to the belt on the skirt I left the alley. The woman laying on the ground was trying to say something, but I ignored her. If she was smart, she’d leave this spot as fast as her legs could carry her. Otherwise, I was sure another group of scum just like this last group would be quick to find a use for her. That was just the kind of city this was.

Ahh, this type of stuff truly makes me feel alive. I love this place!

----------------

This morning I woke up with a start, checking the alarm clock in a hurry. Father was going to be waiting for me in the cafe in the opposite building from my apartment today. He was coming back from some kind of writer meeting in a nearby city and was passing through this way to meet with his beloved daughter on his way back home. I tried to remember the last time I had talked to him one on one but couldn’t recall the occasion, It must have been years ago.

It was strange how time passes when one doesn’t let school, university, a job, or meeting with family cut into it. It just seems to blur into one long blob that never seems to change or has a clear end. No eager waiting for one thing to happen or another. Everything just was, and that was all.

Whatever, I need to get ready before I’m late. Time to look at that mirror...

Damn, I look like a mess. And these grey streaks in my hair aren’t making it any better. Why did I get to inherit the genes from my mother that meant I started to go grey before even turning eighteen. That’s just disgusting.

Grumbling to myself, I took a shower, dried my hair and drank tea while watching the news. The world was the same as always, everything still at peace, car accidents happening as usual, and a few people getting robbed two cities over. Just another day on this dull planet.

At least, I was in the only city that had some real excitement. Life and death here were bargaining chips that held no value, personal strength and lack of morality were what ruled the streets here. It was a place like no other. It was a blessing that I stumbled upon this place before growing completely mad with boredom.

Another alarm clock rang signalling there was half an hour left before the meeting. That was faster than I expected. I quickly applied some make-up to hide the dark rings under my eyes and make my face more feminine, then put on the first clothes that my hands grabbed in the wardrobe.

My outfit for today turned out to be a blue t-shirt with flowing fabric over my shoulders and greyish pants that went just past my knees, a silver necklace that mum had gifted me, and a matching bracelet from father. With that and a quick glance at the mirror, I was done.

Perfect.

I rushed out of my apartment, going down three stairs at a time until I reached the ground floor. Outside I dashed through the street, ignoring traffic and the horns honking at my suicidal dash. At this time of day the city was like any other, so I saw no reason to pay it any mind.

Half a minute before the agreed upon time I was sitting at the agreed upon table, a genuine smile on my face. Father was just entering the cafe and I waved to show him I was here. He lumbered towards me, a pained smile on his face.

“Royala! It’s so good to see you again,” he said as I stood up to hug him as he came closer. “You never come back to visit us.”

“Don’t say that,” I admonished him with a laugh. “I just wanted to read you next novel that much. It would be a great injustice to myself and other readers to interrupt you!”

“Always with an excuse,” he said, giving me a mock angry look as he lowered himself down. The whole process took over a minute and I knew his back problems had resurfaced. All that sitting with the computer in the weirdest positions while writing day and night couldn’t have been good for his health.

“How is mum?” I asked instead. There were topics better talked about, and others left untouched. His writing habits and the amount of time he spent doing it was one of the ones best not to touch on.

Father leaned against the back of the lounge with a heavy sigh, looking around the cafe with avid interest. He was probably thinking that this was a good setting for some event in one of his gazillion stories.

“I’m sure she’s fine. She is painting that death of the current age painting she has been talking so much about. It will be her masterpiece, or so I’m told.”

That was five years ago. The painting was seen as her entrance into the higher echelons of artists and she had become even busier after that if that was possible. It seems it was her masterpiece since she apparently hasn’t talked with father in all that time. Not that he has noticed either, apparently. Their love was one of those weird spirit connections were mere proxmity was enough for them.

I had often wondered what prompted them into having me but could never figure that out. And I had never dared to actually ask, afraid the answer would make me want to jump off some bridge from its stupidity. It wouldn’t be the first time some action of theirs muddled my senses and pushed me to questioning the intelligence of these two renowned artists I called my parents.

Noticing my silence, father took my left hand in his and looked into my eyes. “How are you? Is the city treating you well?”

“Of course,” I answered with a smile. It was moments like these that made me keep on going when I was so bored I just wanted to off myself and be done with this world. “I have made a lot of friends, and this city is full of opportunities . I have tried three jobs already and I’m certain the next one will be the one. It’s looking very promising.”

“I’m glad,” he said, squeezing my hand as the waiter approached. We both ordered chocolate ice cream cocktails and laughed at our own childishness.

We talked about his upcoming novel, how the beta-readers were treating it and that the publisher was pushing him into finishing it before the end of the month. He was planning on working on another novel just to annoy the man since he was so focused on making money and didn’t consider the true meaning of the stories.

I listened to his rants while drinking my cocktail and enjoyed this quiet moment with my father. Soft music rang in the background, mixing together with the voices of the few other customers present. Father’s voice was the most distinct one but in time it also faded into meaningless noise for me as I smiled at him.

He was so into his tale, he forgot everything around him. It was as if this encounter with his publisher was just another one of the stories he had to tell the world, in this case me, and nothing else mattered. An atomic bomb could drop on the building next to us and hours later he would still be here, finishing his tale and oblivious to the rest of the world. That was just how important it was to him.

When he was finished, I pointed at his cocktail with a laugh. The ice cream had melted, leaving a brownish mass that didn’t look edible anymore. Father smiled nervously and took a quick sip. “I’m sorry, I must have bored you to death with my problems.”

“Not at all!” I assured him, reaching to pat his hand as he had done to me before. “I’m happy to hear how your life has been while I’ve been gone. It almost makes me feel like I’m back home.”

“You sure? Our time is almost over, and I have taken all this time just talking about my own problems...” he said with eyes looking everywhere but at me.

“I’m certain,” I told him once more and called for the waiter so I could pay for the order. Father didn’t say anything, knowing that I was the one who had his and mother’s credit cards anyway. It was pointless to protest me paying.

It was afternoon by now and the sun had long since moved past its zenith, hiding behind the skyscrapers. I led father towards the train station, talking about all the unimportant stuff and imagined encounters I had in this city. It wasn’t important for him to know the true life I led here. He wouldn’t worry too much but I was certain he’d feel double the grief once I died if he’d known about my actions but hadn’t stopped me.

When he left with a wave, I went to a restaurant for an early dinner and afterwards returned back home. Sleep beckoned me and I tried to let it overcome me but old thoughts invaded my peace.

Friends, a job? Who needed that? It’s all just a huge waste of time.

I had seen the people in school and what caricatures they were. So focused on grades, learning things that didn’t matter and acting out clichés in their free time, it was just too disgusting to watch.

There had been a few more decent human beings I met in my travels but after the journey ended for them they all returned to finish universities, find jobs and live their lives chained to society’s norms. Not one of them felt like it was dull and pointless. Not like me, i wondered what life was even worth if one just let it pass by like that?

“Stop it, you’ll never fall asleep like this...” I muttered to myself, rolling on another shoulder. I loved my parents but encounters with them always reminded me of things I couldn’t understand, like how humanity thought as a whole. The lies I spun to keep them calm just made me more aware of this truth.

“Enough!” I ordered, going to the kitchen and taking a swig from the bottle I always kept there. Cold alcohol brought a sense of wakefulness and putting on my sport’s garb, I went to the other room. Half of it was better equipped than most sport centres while the other half was empty.

I went straight there and picked up my training fans. They were heavier than the normal ones and I fell into a stance taught to me by that weird woman that lived in my old city. Whatever faults she may have had, they meant nothing when compared to her skill. It was astonishing, and with what she taught me I was able to get rid of people before they even knew what was happening.

No one expected a short thin girl in her early twenties to jump into a fight holding fans. It was as ludicrous as it was effective. I could kill five men before they even managed to wrap their heads around what was even happening.

If only my teacher hadn’t died so early, that number might be even higher now.

She was such a stupid woman, telling me to attack her whenever I had the chance. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her then when one day I caught her sleeping and threw my fans into her back upon quiet entrance.

Oh, but how she had raged. that was probably the most dangerous moment in my life.

She hadn’t died from the first strike and grabbing the weapons by her bedside rushed at me. My own fans had been thrown, leaving me defenceless against her onslaught. All I could do back then was dodge and evade, unable to block or fight back.

But that was a mistake of the past. I recalled her movements and mimicked them against an imaginary opponent. Swing left, bend the knees, a backwards swing with a block using the hand. Move with the flow of motion and just don’t stop. The moment you do, it’s all over.

I didn’t check the time when I finished training and just dropped into the bed, dead to the world.

Some time later I woke up and a look outside showed that it was pitch black.

So, I haven’t slept through the best hunting time. Perfect.

Quickly grabbing a bite, I prepared for the outing.

Tonight’s meal? Check. Distracting clothes? Check. Fans and a gun? Check.

It seemed like I had everything prepared and it was right around midnight. that gave me plenty of time to have some fun, and still return before the first light of morning colored the sky. Father would want to hear from me I got back home. It would be his last check-up before forgetting about my existence for the next couple of years, or the next time he leaves his room. Whichever came first really.

“Let’s have some fun till then.”