TW: Violence/Torture/Self-harm

Chapter 2

A heavy downpour beat on the street as strong winds roared and rattled the trees fencing the street. It was past midnight and the street was deserted. There was no visible sign of life anywhere in sight. It was pitch dark except for a brief scintilla of moonlight that managed to filter through the thick black clouds.

Suddenly, sounds of cantering could be heard from a distance. A lone horse was galloping down the street, its rider in a hurry to reach their destination.

However, the young rider halted the horse once he sighted something, or rather someone in his path. Although the heavy rain was clouding his vision, he could perceive that it was the body of a person lying in the middle of the road.

He pulled up the horse a few feet away from the body, and got down. Ignoring the heavy beads of water hitting his face and drenching his body, he made his way towards the unmoving figure.

He knelt down next to the body, which was turned away from him; and pushing aside their long hair, he delicately placed a couple fingers on their exposed neck to check their vitals.

Alive. He thought. Alive but dying. Because although the pulse was present, it was weak.

Carefully, he turned the person over on their back.

It was a woman. A young woman; probably in her late teens or early twenties.

He only noticed now that she was injured. And badly so, because she was heavily bleeding. Or at least it seemed so, watching her blood coalesce with the running rainwater; forming a stream of blood flowing down the street. He grimaced at the sight.

His hand flew to her head. He'd sensed heat radiating off her body when he'd checked her pulse earlier. Brushing aside her hair, he placed his palm horizontally on her forehead and his suspicions were confirmed when he discovered that she was burning up. Withdrawing his hand, he bit his lip as he contemplated his next steps.

Awamori didn't have much to work with. All she had received from Vermouth was a piece of paper with a name inked on it and the word that the hit had been paid for by none other than the Imperial Court. Her first thoughts upon receiving that little piece of information was that her target must be quite high-profile if the Imperial Court wanted him dead.

However, she was sure there was something more to this, because the way Vermouth's otherwise dull eyes glinted during their exchange suggested that this mission was important to her. She knew Vermouth. No amount of money could light up those hollow, emotionless eyes. It must be something personal then. She is definitely gaining something more from this deal. Finding out what that is wouldn't be so easy though, since there was no way she would tell her even if she asked. That woman is a brick wall. There's literally nothing that can break her. At least she hasn't discovered anything yet. Plus, that wasn't her focus right now.

Her eyes shifted back to the piece of paper she was holding. Her priority right now was to hunt up information on this man.

Two months. That was the time given to her to complete this mission.

She didn't really have to work too hard to find who he was when she actually started seeking out information. Kudou Shinichi was a popular name in the circles, and held considerable reputation. He was the Chief Advisor to the Daimyō of Edo- Megure Juzo. His right-hand man, as people dubbed him. Ever since he'd assumed the title of his Chief Advisor four years back, the Daimyō's popularity and approval among the people in his province, as well as outside, has skyrocketed. His state was doing much better, not just militarily, but economically as well. Over the last few years, Megure Daimyō rolled out several policies to generate sustainable jobs in his kingdom, owing to which, a considerable portion of their population had been lifted out of poverty. The state was on a growth curve, with prosperity on its heels. As a result, Megure Juzo's name was skating leaps and bounds across the realm, even catching the attention of the Imperial Court. He was slowly gaining power. In times of crisis, he was emerging as a hero who could lead his people to a brighter future. And if word was to be believed, Kudou Shinichi was the brain behind all of this. He consulted Megure Daimyō on every matter of the state, be it defense, economics or diplomacy. Some even went so far as to say that the Daimyō can't go about a day without him.

That's why the Imperial Court wants to get rid of him, Awamori mused. It is clear that the rising popularity of Megure Daimyō is hurting the powerful people in the realm. They are insecure and see him as a threat to their power. They are intimidated by the prospect of losing respect among the masses because of him. And losing respect was equal to losing power. If people don't look up to the Imperial Court anymore, it will be only a matter of time before they are replaced or overthrown. But they're calculative. And careful. If they touch the Daimyō right now when his popularity is at its pinnacle, it will surely ignite a furore. The public isn't that dumb. Sooner or later they will connect the dots and trace it back to the Imperial Court. They don't want that, obviously. However, if his Chief Advisor were to be killed in a supposed unfortunate accident, it wouldn't raise that many eyebrows. There would be no reason for the general public to suspect the involvement of an authority as high as the Imperial Court in the death of an insignificant Chief Advisor.

Getting rid of Kudou Shinichi would strip Megure Juzo of his best man; of his brain. With his best strategist gone, Megure's success and popularity will automatically plunge and the Imperial Court would achieve what they want without even touching him. They will kill two birds with one stone. And they're making sure to be extremely discrete even about this, which is why they contacted Akayurei- the secret assassins society, so as to ensure that no one can trace it back to them. They know the assassins here are highly skilled, with near expertise in conducting such surreptitious assignments. Even if caught, they would rather give their lives than reveal the identity of their client.

Awamori smiled. That was quite a plan. They were scheming, this bunch at the Imperial Court. Maybe, that is why they were at the top. God knows how many more of such dirty games they must've played to be where they are today.

This Kudou Shinichi is pretty impressive though. He is just 22, and has already made his presence felt among the inner circles of powerful people, most of whom are atleast twice his age. For a mere Chief Advisor, he had surely drawn the attention of some very important people. He seemed quite brilliant- almost a prodigy; who had mastered several subject areas at such a young age. And it appeared that he had a heart too, since there was disguised socialism even in some of the capitalist policies passed by the Daimyō lately. He actually wanted to work for the betterment of people. That was a rare find in this line. Most of them were just shrewd, selfish and manipulative. They were all very typical and inherently the same, which made it easier for her to kill them. Kudou Shinichi didn't look typical.

Her smile faded. A tinge of guilt crossed her mind at the idea of killing such an accomplished young man, who wanted to work for the people. In these desperate times of rampant poverty and hunger, he was giving them something to hold on to- hope. Hope, that life could be better for them too. She had experienced first-hand, how life-altering hope could be. If she had even a flicker of it three years back, she would've probably been someone else today, doing something else; not living as an assassin. Her thoughts went to all the young girls like her, who would've probably been assassins in the making right now, had it not been for this man giving them hope.

The idea of staining her hands with such young talented blood, whose future prospects looked so bright; made her hate herself, and who she had become. It would be such a disservice to the society. It was on rare occasions like this when, her conscience, which she'd assumed was dead by now, pricked her and made its presence felt again. However, she had learned over time and practice, to shove it aside. There was no role of conscience in her line of work. It was a weakness. And a weakness can be manipulated. That was one of her first lessons when she had come to Akayurei. To find your target's weakness, and capitalize on it. Not let it happen the other way around. Everyone has a weakness. It is just a matter of finding it and using it to your advantage. And beauty, she had learned, was the most common weakness among men. Men who fell for beauty were the easiest to manipulate. All she had to do was seduce them with her charms, and strike when they let their guard down.

Her preliminary research on Kudou Shinichi had revealed that that wouldn't be an option this time. He was a shut-off. He didn't really give people a chance to come very close to him, both emotionally and physically. He was an intelligent man who was aware of his position, and the enemies he acquired in the course of his job. He knew the hazards of getting close to beautiful girls with lesser known backgrounds who were actively trying to befriend him. He was far behind in experience to most men in his field, but he was strangely perceptive about such things. So, using beauty as a weapon was out of question.

If Kudou Shinichi didn't fall for beauties, there had to be something else. She smiled. She wouldn't be among the best assassins in Akayurei if she didn't love a challenge. It was a known fact in Akayurei that Awamori had an impeccable track record in her missions. She had 30 hits filed under her name so far, all very intelligently executed. Almost none of them had been traced back to the assassin society.

Part of her job was conducting recon on her target and his surroundings. And be good at it. She had learned with practice to keep her ears to the ground. She ensured she found every minute detail about her target- his routine, habits, people around him- before she chalked out a plan of action. She did the same in this case too. She had learned some decent disguising techniques, courtesy of Vermouth which she used on occasions like this. She went to Edo, in the guise of a handicrafts artisan, selling lacquerware around the main city as well as Kudou Shinichi's immediate neighbourhood. She went door-to-door, chatting up several shopkeepers and local women, mostly housewives who are more likely to keep tabs on the people living in their vicinity, in order to gather valuable intel. She had mastered the art of not raising suspicion while trying to extract knowledge from the locals. Most of the people thought of her as just another friendly and chatty artisan who was curious about the neighbourhood in order to gauge where she could get maximum business from. By the time she returned, she was armed with enough knowledge she would need to kill Kudou Shinichi.

What she found from the townsfolk wasn't entirely surprising. According to them, Kudou Shinichi was a simple humble man, with a soft side for the distressed and needy. The people from the main city were all praises about the Chief Advisor, whom they described as an emphatic and down-to-earth person whom they could approach with their problems and be assured that the Daimyō would do something about them. And according to the oba-sans in his neighbourhood who had been watching him since he was a kid and were more sympathetic, they remembered him as a cheerful kid, who had grown up to become more recluse, especially ever since his parents passed away. They were the ones through whom she obtained info on his daily routes and general habits.

She found out about a grand celebration which is going to be hosted at the Royal Palace a couple days from now. She decided to approach him that night. She figured he would be the least wary of her if she approached him in a helpless, needy state. So, she trimmed her beautiful deadly nails short, changed into an old worn-out robe and tied up her hair in a messy bun.

Around midnight, she situated herself on the regular route he took from the palace to his house. She took out her sword and made several cuts along her arms and legs. Her previous mission had been relatively easy, and she'd accomplished it without getting a single scrape of wound on her body. Too bad that won't be the case this time.

Not because it hurt. There was some physical discomfort yes, but after all the torture she had suffered since coming to Akayurei, both physical and mental, she had become numb to the pain. It was only a minor discomfort now. Next, she took out a vial. It was a special type of poison which induced fever-like conditions and would shoot up her temperature within a few minutes, and she would probably pass out in less than half an hour of consuming it.

It was a risk. There was a chance Kudou Shinichi might not fall for her bait and continue on his way. If left in her injured and fevered state for a few hours, she would most likely die. But it was a calculated risk. She wouldn't say her calculations were never wrong. But she had perfected them over time and torture. The worst possibility was that she would die. She wasn't afraid of death anymore. Not after all the things she had experienced in her line of work. Death was the easy way out. She opened the vial, and swallowed the poison and lay down in the middle of the road. If her judgment was right, he would be passing her any minute now.

Several minutes passed. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and without warning, they started coming down in torrents. The blood from her cuts mixed with the rainwater and started flowing down the street. The poison was working pretty effectively, as she realized she couldn't move anymore and was fast losing consciousness. There was no turning back now.

As the last remnants of her consciousness was ebbing away, she heard cantering.

It was past midnight when Shinichi decided to take his leave after attending the celebratory feast hosted by Megure Daimyō in the Royal Palace of Edo after his victory over the Daimyō of Kyoto. It was a grand celebration, observing the presence of several dignitaries and well-wishers of the Daimyō from across the realm. The palace had been decked and lit up, and fireworks set off to mark the occasion. The soirée was far from over, but Shinichi had decided it was time for him to make himself scarce from the celebration. Most of the esteemed guests had already retired; and now it was just Megure Daimyō and his close associates going on a sake binge in his private courtyard, as a float of traditional dancers dazzled the guests with their nihon buyō, which would most likely continue for the rest of the evening.

Granted, Shinichi was also one of his closest associates; however, the older man was aware that he wasn't really big on celebratory feasts and drinking nights; and he respected his wishes. He had known the young man long enough to perceive that he appreciated quietude more than noise; which was one of the reasons his residence was on the other side of the city, almost on its outskirts. It was closer to the woods, which rendered it serenity, and thus helped him relax.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried to make him a part of his celebrations. He had, initially. But he quickly realized that he wasn't a joiner when it came to grand fetes. He did stay when he coerced him to; but he could soon see that it was only out of respect for him, and not because he wanted to. So, he let him be. Apart from being one of his closest confidants, he was also like a son to him. Even more so, after his parents passed away. His father, Kudou Yusaku, was his original Chief Advisor. Young Shinichi had accompanied his father many times to the Royal Palace during events. Megure had practically watched him grow and become the intelligent man he is now. After his parents passed away in an unfortunate accident four years ago, he had barely hit adulthood. The accident had shaken him to his core, and all of a sudden forced him to take charge of his life. He had offered to take him in at that time, but he had refused, saying he'd be fine.

And he did turn out just fine. He had quickly filled into Yusaku's shoes, as his new Chief Advisor. If he would be honest with himself, Shinichi had quite literally transformed the face of his kingdom over the last few years. Megure Daimyō's approval among his subjects had never been higher. And it was all thanks to the policies suggested by Shinichi.

Shinichi arose from his seat and made his way to the head of the courtyard towards Megure, brushing past the dancers, careful not to interrupt their performance. Standing in front of him, he bowed to the older man before expressing his wish.

"If you grant me, I would like to take my leave now, Megure Daimyō."

Megure smiled. "Very well then" He said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Bowing before him for one last time, Shinichi made his way out of the courtyard.

Heavy dark clouds had already overcast the sky when he started from the palace. However, instead of being deterred and staying back in order to avoid getting caught in the storm, they only cued him to accelerate his stride as he kicked his horse into action, and within minutes, he was galloping down the now deserted streets of the city. He wasn't even halfway through, when it started pouring. The heavens roared as flashes of lightning illuminated the pitch-black sky. The chestnut brown stallion squealed in fear and his rider booted him to keep him surging ahead. By the time they traversed the length of the city, Shinichi was drenched to his bone. Households became sparse and only tall trees aligned either sides of the decrepit road, as he gradually left the bustling city behind.

However, his charger was reined in abruptly when he noticed something on the otherwise deserted path, through the haze of the rain.

His astute vision zeroed in on the figure lying on the road and discerned it to be the body of a person. Confounded, he alighted from his horse, and made his way to the body, a part of him hoping they weren't dead. And if they were….he wished it wasn't someone he knew from his diminutive neighbourhood.

Leaning over, he breathed a sigh of relief when he checked their vitals. He could still save them. He carefully turned the person over, in hopes of ascertaining their identity.

It was a woman. A fairly young woman. He mentally ran her face through his head, trying to match it with the handful faces he knew from his scant neighbourhood, only in vain. He'd never seen her here before. How did she end up in a place like this anyway? It was far from the city, almost on the edge of the woods.

But what bothered him more than her whereabouts was her state. There were several slits in her ragged and now soaked yukata, made from something sharp, probably a knife or worse, a sword; and she was bleeding heavily from those cuts. And he could tell she had been bleeding for quite some time now, as the rainwater had already washed away enough of her blood to create a river of vermillion flowing down the street. Her long hair was matted in mud and her face was pale. He frowned when he noticed that her features were twisted in pain. Sensing another reason for her expression, his hand flew to her forehead, feeling which he realized she was running a high fever.

Shinichi felt a pang in his chest. She looked so young. What could've possibly happened to her? Numerous unpleasant scenarios crossed his mind and he shuddered. He pushed those thoughts aside, and focused on contemplating his next steps. Had she been left here for a few more hours, she would've most likely died.

He bit his lip. It would be impossible for him to find a doctor at this hour.

Making a decision, he slid his arms under her slender frame, and lifted the brunette up in one swift motion, her petite figure coming to rest against his damp chest, and proceeded to carry her to his horse; as heavy rain continued to pour and beat the solitary path.

A/N: Good boy meets bad girl! Do sparks fly? Can the good guy make the bad girl change her mind? I'm not sure what to say right now XD Hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know! :)