The Reaper in the Shadows

“Huh? Friends with a murderer? How crazy can you get?”

“You think just because your family can make others forget your crimes, we should too?”

“In the same class as the weird bitch…. How humiliating is that?”

“In that case, if we let you into our group….could you kill someone for us?”

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Many think being born into riches is always a blessing. You won’t have to work a day in your life, you have all you ever want in your reach, and it’s the best life that anyone can ever hope for….

But what part of my life was actually a blessing?

I never asked for a life like this, but the hand I was dealt looked like a blessing to others but was a curse for who held it. Days used to pass where I envied everyone around me…. Having people that care about you, willing to listen to you when you have enough of everything, and who do everything they can to help you forget.

I never saw this death maze of a game to be a better life, however it was one where for the first time in my life, I was given the option to be who I wanted to be all the time I was strung around like a puppet on strings back in reality. However, it also showed me what I feared the most.

….For this new beginning to be the same as it was before.

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“Have something on your mind, Mano-kun?” The master asked as I had my head planted on the counter, already halfway through my god knows how manieth rounds of a smorgasbord of different boozes.

“Master…. You look like you have a load of life experience….How do you get along with people without them hating you?”

The Master put aside the mug he was drying “I’ve seen this more times that I can remember…. Falling out with one of your friends?”

“I don’t even know If they are my friends? We only met a few days ago and…”

“So let's start there, shall we?” The Master pulled up a stool on his side of the counter and sat down, looking at my sorry drunk state. “Do you hate any of them?”

“No?”

“Do you want to get to know them? Spend time around them?”

“I guess?”

“Do they feel the same about you?”

“I think so?”

“Then there’s nothing to figure out…. Different people define what they consider to be friends in different ways…. However, I see a group of friends being people who like to get to know each other, who would embrace the fact that they are all different from each other…and support them at the time of their need.”

“But what if I’m too different to fit in? What if one of them gets hurt because of me?”

The Master got up from his chair and restarted his work “Let me tell you what friends are not. They are never the same, or even similar in that matter. That’s why if you take two clones of the same person who were brought up in the same way as each other… All they could even hope to do is co-operate with each other…. they can never be friends.”

“That was a kind of example I wasn’t expecting out of someone your age” I said, feeling a bit better

“Unfortunately, my customer base consisted of people less than even half my age for a very long time. You tend to pick up a thing or two” The Master served up another glass of scotch, which I chugged till empty the moment it was in my hand

“Give it time….. Find the one person in your life that accepts you for who you are, that makes you feel like life around them is fun and worth living…that’s when you will start to understand how people work…..” He cleared the glass off the desk “Bonds are stories, and stories don’t happen, without a few twists and turns along the way”

“Yuuu-Chan!”

Speaking of twists and turns…. Haru jumped at me from behind, putting both her arms around me

“Knock it off, Haru… wait, how did you even find me?”

She let me go and took a seat right next to me, I turned to face her “How? Hmmm…. Coincidence, perhaps?”

“Yeah, like I’m inclined to believe that”

And just as I thought it would end there,

“Oi, Tatsuo…. Just hold up for a second will you?” Hayato’s voice resonated even behind the closed sliding door.

The door slid open moments later and Tatsuo showed himself, we made eye contact for a brief second and he immediately broke off, pretending that I didn’t exist

“Master, you got any place I can get some privacy in this place?”

“Booths through the door beside the counter is what you are looking for” The Master replied

Hayato showed himself inside a mere second later, and by the look on his face, he had no idea that he would find me and Haru here.

Tatsuo walked past me and to the door to the booths.

“I thought you were in the mood for sukiyaki?” I asked

Tatsuo stopped in front of the door “I was, until someone soured the mood” and he disappeared into the corner of the izakaya.

Hayato kept switching his sight between us and Tatsuo, and he suddenly stopped at us “Let me worry about him”

“Master…. Can I get one of each of the strongest stuff you have, please?”

“Right away” and he replied from behind the counter….getting to work

The Master delivered two glasses and a full bottle of booze to us first.

“Will be cutting you off for the night after this one, Mano-kun.” Said the old man

“Okaaay” I replied to him

“You look exhausted”

“That’s because I am…. I thought I left who I was behind in that river but…. Tatsuo called me out, saw through the lie that I didn’t even know I was telling myself” I said while I filled up my glass

I held my glass tightly “I grew up mostly isolated from others….I never had anyone who cared about me who wasn’t family…. I tried to talking to others, but all they say is that they want nothing to do with the princess who has blood on her hands”

I emptied my glass and filled up another

“I managed to make one friend recently, but before we got to properly know each other, we were betrayed ... .And she sacrificed her life so that we would live. At first I was confused, why would anyone trade their life for mine….”

And emptied it again

“All my life I’ve only been taught how to only fend for myself, it’s only after today I realized that I didn’t know the first thing about people” My mind was hazy from all the alcohol, but what does any of what I held within me matter anymore. I filled up and downed another glass

“Yu-chan… ”

“I wanted that to change…. I didn’t want to repeat my old life anymore. Even when I was clinging onto the end of my life that day, that was my biggest regret…. Apart from my sister, I didn’t have a single person I could rely on, I didn’t have anyone else I could care about. But now, I got a chance at fixing that…and I’m already pushing people away-”

I could barely keep my head up anymore, so I rested it back down on the table, barely keeping my focus on Haru’s direction

“I want to apologize to everyone…to Hayato-san, to Tatsuo-san, to you… But I don’t know what to say. I don’t know if I’d end up making everything worse than it already is.”

A brief moment of silence followed until Haru decided to break it

“Do you remember the first day on that bridge…. You pointed your gun at me, and asked me why I trusted you….someone I’ve only met mere moments ago at that point. It’s because when I saw you…. You reminded me of my own sister…. Headstrong, thinks she can conquer the world alone and hates to admit it when she needs help… But one thing that I admire about her, is that she never repeats the same mistake twice. And she is quick to apologize to anyone that gets hurt or affected by her rash actions.”

She took a sip out of her own glass “Her apologies were outright bad, sometimes turning simple arguments into fistfights… On a day like that, I asked her why, why eventhough she knows that it might hurt her even more, why risk bowing her head to others…. She told me that only someone strong realizes their mistakes, but it takes someone even stronger to own up to them.”

She put down her glass and turned towards me “It doesn’t matter if what you want to say is perfect. It doesn’t even matter if it would make things worse. If you think you did something wrong, you try to own up to it…doesn’t make you any less of a person.”

“You really do know what to say…don’t you Haru-”

I tried to force myself up “ In that case, I’ll go talk to him right now” but I couldn’t even stand straight anymore, and Haru was quick to catch me before I lost balance

“How about we call it a day, sober up…and then worry about that tomorrow. And besides, I’m sure Hayato might be wearing down his defenses right now so…let's give them some time alone.”

I took her up on her advice and decided to sleep off the booze after returning back to the house. My head felt like I had just smashed a few brick walls with it once I woke up, but thankfully, an HP potion served to be a good but not entirely effective remedy. However it was good enough to get me back up on my feet and not throwing up every few minutes like I did last night. I couldn’t remember most of what happened last night, but I hoped it was nothing close to what I witnessed the moment I stepped outside for some fresh air.

The one thing out of place about the whole house was the solitary flagpole that was attached to the building, and by the looks of it, it was put to use for once.

“I know I am a failure of a leader, Ishikawa… but you don’t have to be mean to me about it”

“I wasn’t mean, I’m never mean…. Everyone loves you, you big lug. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I know you are afraid and I know we put a lot on you. But that doesn’t make you a failure goddamnit”

The sight of two grown men on the top of a flagpole in their underwear did grab a few passersby's eyes, but while they chose to ignore it, Haru just kept looking at them from the ground, not speaking a word.

I joined her side and looked up at the two drunks

“Do I wanna know?” I asked Haru

While I turned towards her to ask, she didn’t budge “No, I don’t think you do…. Even I have no idea how they ended up there”

“And I thought, I had a rough night” I sighed and wiped the dust out of my eyes. “Speaking of which, how did we even get back here?”

“Well, for one… you were out for the count and it wasn’t too hard to get you on the train…Those two, I’m still working on that.”

“You got a plan to get those two clowns down?”

“I got a few ideas…. Although, I can leave them up there….Let them sober up, let them experience a different kind of pain. Leave these two to me, Yu-chan…. Won’t hurt to take it easy for today, considering we did hit the jackpot yesterday.”

“You sure you will be alright? You did take a few heavy hits during the raid” I asked to check up on her

“Nothing that a good night’s sleep didn’t fix…. Look don’t worry too much-” She turned me around and started pushing my back “You need to learn how to relax, reset, clear your head for a bit. Be sure to collect yourself by the time Tatsuo is back to his senses.”

“Oi, Haru” I tried to get her to stop pushing me, but when has that ever worked so far?

He succeeded in managing to chase me away…. While I was given the freedom to spend the morning as I see fit, I really didn’t know what I could do other than sit somewhere and pass the time. However, I did have something in mind that I had to get done and considering this was one of the few opportunities that I can spend away from the others, it was now or never.

There was a lot less fear on the street and a lot more groups who were more keen on beating the game rather than being terrified for their lives. The New World Order’s grip on the city seems to have loosened significantly, and with Isaac out of the picture, I had to strike while the iron was hot.

Even during the long L-Train ride to Mid-Sec, the atmosphere felt entirely different to what it was a few weeks ago. There was faint laughter in the distant carriages and a lot more people were talking with each other rather than riding in stone silence.

“So this is what you wanted to show me, Sayuri-san”

A few moments after I got off the train, I looked up at that Tavern….. I never thought I’d see this place again…not that I ever wanted to.

I walked straight in and the only thing that had changed was the fact that I wasn’t covered in blood this time. However I only noticed the other difference after I stepped to the back.

The stairs were there, but there was no guard…. That was odd.

I walked down to the hidden corner, and nothing stopped me from entering…The door was unlocked and there was not a soul insight through the whole long corridor. I slowly walked to the end and his whole base of operations was deserted. It’s as if this place was never used in the first place.

But I wasn’t alone.

I sensed someone in the shadows. Sticking to my blind spots, footsteps barely audible. I entered the main room and turned the corner. As he took the bait, I grabbed him and pinned him against the wall and placed the tip of my Karambit on his throat. And the cloak he was wearing gave away who he was.

“Where’s your boss?”

“Who’s asking?”

“The Devil’s Collector” I answered

He slowly lifted his hand to not provoke me, and placed his fingers on his ears.

“Connection 19 here, The Devil’s Collector is asking for an audience.”

“Understood”

That didn’t take him long.

He handed me a holo-note “The boss is there… He is expecting you”

I took the note from him and there was a location tag on it, with his seal. And the moment I knew it was legit, I let him go and put away my blade.

The place on the note was a bit away from his usual base of operations, so I was left with a scenic walk-through Mid-Sec. It was kind of nice to slow down and take in the sights of the bustling streets and the much more confident groups banding together to take on the dangers thrown at them by this place.

I laid eyes on the Mid-Sec Guildhouse and the stampedes of players almost drowned the sight of the tall marble-looking building with their presence alone. Even as someone who knew their patrol routes, The New World Order lackeys were very few in numbers, and even fewer of them were even taken seriously anymore.

….Oh, now that I think about it, I hadn’t had anything to eat ever since I woke up.

I can’t even remember the last time I enjoyed the taste of food. All those times I was starved close to death, and given no choice in what I ate, the sensation of food tasting good completely left me. And as I stared down the croquette I got from the food cart I passed by, I hoped that it might’ve changed.

I devoured my food in a matter of seconds, and took a moment. I felt the parts that were undercooked, the others that were burnt….

“Same as it used to be I guess” I told myself, as I still didn’t feel any joy in the act of eating.

After a long morning walk, I finally managed to arrive at the location. The building looked abandoned for a very long time. There were chunks missing from the top which is at the mercy of a rainstorm… the cracks along the pillars make it look like this place can crumble down at a moment’s notice.

“Talk about a downgrade”

I pushed the front door and it swung on a single hinge…. And for a moment, I doubted as if I even came to the right place….eventhough it was the arrow on my interface that lead me here.

I cautiously climbed the stairs to the first floor, and I was met with an open area. I looked both ways and the left side was a dead end, while the right side looked desolate. I moved further in towards the open right side, and I was given notice about the blind spot even more to the right as a familiar voice took over the silence.

“Guess there are some people that death should earn to keep…. Guess he hasn’t earned his greatest demon back yet”

I turned around and my eyes met with the man behind the shadows in this place

“To be truthful with you, Mano. I really thought you were crazy….. When you came to me at first, you wanted to face down an army. You can’t blame me for being convinced that even you wouldn’t make it out alive…. But I guess you really do live up to your name.”

I closed the distance while he spoke and took a look around the place “Love what you’ve done with the place… Truly a fitting image of its owner if I do say so myself.”

“The great Yulia Mano is capable of sarcasm…. Guess the world is really ending” he replied

While the building was a crumbling mess, everything that was there in his other place, was moved here…from the massive desk and chairs to his showboat booze collection.

“Consider myself extremely curious on how you are standing in my presence right now without being a cold corpse under a pile of rubble” He continued

“What, your shadows didn’t whisper in your ear?”

“Normally there is nothing in Helios that would escape my notice…. However, I had found myself outsmarted for once…. Causing me a substantial setback for my work, and my wellbeing”

I stood in silence for a moment “The great Ghost Broker…. Getting outsmarted. You are right, the world may truly be ending”

“Touche…. But, let’s get the pleasantries out of the way. I heard you were looking for me…. How can I be of service”

“You know damn well why I am here again”

“Makoto Sawamura… Yes I am aware. However, I’m afraid I am unable to help you” He got up from his pseudo throne. “Unfortunately, my aforementioned setback has robbed me of my network…. I don’t hold the power I used to on the information trade in Helios anymore”

“Which means you are useless to me. We are done here” I turned around to leave

There was no reason for the Broker to lie to me, and I know for a fact that there is no way that a coward like Makoto would’ve come to him for help. Meaning this whole trip ended out to be pointless

“I did summon you here for a purpose…. I want to hire you” Those words from him made me stop in my tracks

“I want you to kill the man who cost me everything…. Wouldn’t stand a chance against a ruthless hunter like yourself. Part of a small clan of five…whatever you do to them, I don’t care.”

“You can’t afford me” I said without turning back or even looking at him

“Name your price. I lost my network, not what I earned from it”

“Who said anything about money?” I started to walk away

“What about information?!” The Broker was getting desperate “I might not know where Makoto Sawamura is, but I know where you can find him eventually. Along with someone else you’ll definitely be interested in”

I stopped in my tracks giving him a few more seconds to speak

“I might not be able to confirm it, but I know for sure that this is what they will do considering the corner they are backed into…. Makoto Sawamura, Roland Arnett……and Razir Zawanni.”

That sick scum’s name got my full attention almost immediately, and now…so did the Broker.

I turned around and walked towards the Broker. I didn’t say a word, but I kept taking step after step to close my distance on him, so much so that one of his goons came in front of me and put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from advancing to his boss.

“Let me go” I asked

“Don’t be an idiot……back off” said the Broker

“You heard the Boss…” the guard told me

“I was talking to you, shit for brains”

“But Sir….”

“If you don’t want to lose your head this instant, let…her…go” his goon hesitantly backed off.

I continued my path until I was right in the Broker’s face, ready to make him draw his last breath

“You bullshit me about this, and that’s the last thing you will ever do”

The Broker backed off his head as far as he could as he was desperate to hide his fear

“Even if I decide to go against my code, I’m not foolish enough to cross you, Mano.”

“Then you are fully aware of what I will do to you if either you just lied to me, or if you ever sell any information about anything related to him and that goddamn place.” I threatened him

He put his hands up halfway “Relax, I meant what I promised…. No one but us will ever know about The Purgatory, and about anyone there. And I meant it when I said I know where you can find the three behind it all”

“Where?”

The Broker paused to collect himself “The Ascension BR”

“What?”

“Sawamura’s struggling…. The Tyrant pulled out Isaac Taylor at the worst time imaginable for the New World Order. The night rules are hemorrhaging them out of their funding and presence…. And all this time the only thing that Sawamura did was ride Taylor’s coattails. He doesn’t know how to deal with this now that it has happened”

I backed off, giving the Broker some space, letting him continue at ease “The New World Order was never expecting a resurgence from the Guardian Clans ... .not after Isaac murdered Ms. Sonozaki in front of all their leaders…”

Well doesn’t that bring back memories

“There’s a common practice among gamers. You mess up once, you restart from a checkpoint, and you redo it again with the knowledge of what’s going to go wrong. And Sawamura has no choice but to do so, if he wants to keep his new empire from crumbling.

The Broker returned to his chair “Right now, all the Guardian Clans are too busy trying to make sure the Night Rules get pushed onto every other city down in the Bronze Layer…..Sawamura knows this, and knows that unlike Isaac, he can’t stop enough players from hitting Rank cap and triggering the waves of Ascension BR’s that follow…. He’s planning to be on that first wave…. Beat the Guardian Clans to Cathedral City. And if he knows that the Guardian Clans are going to be an issue-”

“Then he could be prepared in advance. Establish the NWO again and give less room for the Guardian Clans to settle in….Start anew, but much stronger” I filled in the gap

“And who else would love to capitalize on a chance like that…. Maybe someone who handed so much control to Isaac’s regime in the first place”

“Razir!”

“After what you did at the Purgatory and Isaac’s hunt for your head coming out blank, his loyal clientele started to fear a reaper that they can’t see. They are afraid that whoever took down Purgatory will come after their heads…..”

“Well they aren’t wrong about that” I told him

The Broker got up from his seat and stared at the wall behind him. “Razir will be looking to rebuild-” he then looked back at he “-and I don’t think I have to tell you why that would be a problem now would it”

I had heard enough, I turned around and hurried myself away.

“I gave you what you wanted, Yulia Mano!.......Now it’s my turn”

But I didn’t backtrack, instead I stopped for a moment and reiterated

“Like I said Broker….. you can’t afford me” And I continued along my way, leaving the man of mysteries completely clueless

I left the vicinity of the Broker’s building but every step I took brought me back to one of the countless horrors Razir made me endure. So much so that I had to duck into a nearby alley as I felt like I had to throw up.

All this time I had imagined the things I would do to that bastard if I ever heard his name again. And now, I will pay him back tenfold for everything he did to us, and bury his beloved Purgatory along with him.

But I wasn’t given a chance to vent my rage in my lonesome, as just a moment later, I heard a woman’s voice of anguish a little down the alleyway. She shrieked as she was thrown against the wall of the alley along with a child.

Three assailants entered the alley from the path right next to them.

“Don’t make this harder on yourself ladies. We are just going to have some fun with you….And don’t even think about resisting….my friend here has a lot of pent up rage he wants to let out….Best not let him get any ideas, yeah?”

I am so not in the mood for this…. I pulled up my hood and moved towards the disturbance

“HEY!” I stared them down

“Huh, and what are you supposed to….be”

All three of them lined up in front of me, and they were close enough to catch me if I ran away.

“Oh, ho, hoooo…. Hey guys, check this chick out…. Looks like this piece of eye candy wants in on the action”

And so they sealed their fate.

I took a deep breath and whispered “One move”

“What’s the matter, hot stuff…. Too scared to talk? Just so you know, you brought this on yourself”

He reached his hand out to grab me, giving me the window to act. I avoided his hand and slipped behind him, pushing the back of his head towards the rough stone wall of the alleyway, shattering his face and his skull.

Even before the second guy could even react, I stepped to the side and slid my blade under his stomach, causing his guts to fall out and for him to fall to the floor in agony. The third had enough time to react

“You bitch!”

He threw a punch my way but I used the wall close to me to jump over his head, grabbing the arm he threw at me. I used my weight to pull him down and forced him to slam the back of his neck onto my shoulder, snapping his spine and leaving him paralyzed on the ground.

And in a blink of an eye and with minimal movement, the battle had ended. I only wish it was a bit cleaner.

All of them were dying a slow and agonizing death… The first was motionless as the hemorrhages in his head will soon fill his skull. The second was losing most of his blood and crying in agony, desperate to stuff back his spilled entrails, and the third couldn’t breathe anymore…. As the spinal damage had cut off his respiratory system.

…..Might as well put them out of their misery.

I holster my gun and checked if it was loaded and chambered. I set it to single fire and started to end their suffering. One to the head of the guy who was writhing on the floor in a massive pool of his own blood, one to who was suffocating right in front of my feet, and the last one to who started it all.

And after three ear shattering shots, there was nothing by a deafening silence afterwards.

I put my SMG away and turned around to check the two who were being assaulted.

“You guys alright?” I went over to them and extended my hand to them

The mother looked up at me in horror

“Go away! You monster…. Please don’t hurt us”

“I’m not going to”

“STAY AWAY FROM US!” Her scream and the cries that followed from the little girl in her embrace filled the silence, turning it into an echo.

They forced themselves to their feet and ran for their lives.

It was only then I turned my hand towards me and realized that I was covered in blood. I should’ve paid more attention to the fact that others are not as used to these situations as I was.

I sighed as looked up at the sky “What a mess”

I kept my hood up and walked through the desolate turned alleyway, looking to tackle the next thing hurdle in front of me

….The Ascension BR.