Chains of An Assassin [StarxTAG]

[Starcry]

Kanna was from a humble and average background. Nothing remarkable about her. No top schools. No massive and amazing achievements to her name. Nothing. Unless you counted living in a small apartment as something? Even then, Kanna had only just achieved that last year. Until then she had lived with her parents while working a dead end job as a general office worker. She had hoped that she would have a promotion by now but those dreams had been shattered last month when someone who had "secretly" been screwing around with their boss suddenly got a promotion, despite Kanna having to work late nights to correct their work. It was pretty much an open secret but no one bothered complaining because anyone could be fired or hired in an instant in this company. The only thing that made work worth going to these days was a handsome guy that joined the company a few years ago. He seemed like a nice and reliable man. She had tried to approach him a few times to invite him for a coffee but as she went to she always just happened to see another girl or guy from the company confessing their feelings only to be shot down. So she had kept her thoughts and feelings to herself. Well... she'd complain to her friends about the situation but they weren't exactly helpful. 

Once again she found herself at her crush's cubical with some more paperwork that someone else was supposed to deliver but they conveniently had "other things" they were supposed to be doing. Not suspicious at all. Kanna hoped that they would at least stop treating her like she was stupid and just outright be honest - they just couldn't be arsed and wanted to finish work early. 

"Hello, sir." Kanna greeted as she peeped her head into her work colleague's cubical. She had hoped that she wasn't interrupting him. "Takishi Nakushi said he had a prior appointment and asked me to deliver these documents to you." She told him as she handed him the documents. "I hope you have a pleasant day."

With that she gave a respectful bow and walked out and back to her own cubical. 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Starcry

[Thatannoyinggod]

Ryōshi Kizoku had a very different life growing up compared to his coworkers, which he knew of course because he researched each employee before he entered employment in the company he now worked for. He was the eldest son of the Kizoku organization, a yakuza family that was stated to descend from many noble samurai. He had a trying life, not ever learning to socialize properly with people outside of the criminal underworld. His childhood was filled with memories of being sheltered in his family house, being tutored instead of going to public school, surrounded by men and women that were life long criminals. As was family tradition, when he turned 10, he began his combat training. His body and mind were constantly broken and tested, eventually turning him into a killer of unparalleled precision. On his 14th birthday, he was given his first target and only 2 hours to accomplish it. He finished it in 30 minutes, using only a pencil that he found when he located the target. That was also the same day that his tattoos were first started. They began on his shoulders. That was 14 years ago. Now the tattoos went down both of his arms stopping just before his wrists, still able to be hidden under a long sleeved shirt. On his left arm was the green dragon of the Kizoku family, symbolizing their noble heritage. On his right was the visage of a raging oni demon, the symbol of the punisher and executioner.

When he became 25, he was given his final test by his father and mother to finally cement his place as the next family head: he had to live and work in normal society for 5 years to prove that he could blend in. He was given an apartment that normal people would call beyond luxurious and a regular allowance from the family so that he could get supplies for any of his assassination missions he was given. He is in his third year now. 

He hated the cubicles that this company used. He could hear someone walking toward him, but not see them. It made his body tense, awaiting an attack that hadn't come yet. He was a model employee, always on time to come in and leave, never stepping on anyone's toes or making himself stand out due to his good work. He went to the office parties, but never truly socialized with any of the other workers there. Many had approached him, but he turned them all down, not really interested in having a connection with another human being.

He heard her steps long before she got there, but he held off from turning toward her until she spoke. He made sure that he gave a small smile, knowing that it would be impolite to and possibly dangerous to look at her with his blank killer face that was his natural expression. "Ah, thank you. I have been waiting for these. I'm sorry you were troubled by this. I could have gone to him and picked it up. I hope you have a pleasant rest of your day as well." He gave her a half bow back in response to her own bow and then turned back to his computer. In an hour it would be time for him to leave. In 2 hours, he would be on his way to deal out the punishment that a former employee of his family had earned for skimming money off of one of their business dealings for the past few months. In 3 hours, the deed should be done.

[Starcry]

Seeing Mr Kizoku had really made her overtime shift worth it. Even though she had been forced to stay behind and cancel another girly night. Kanna smiled to herself as she reached her cubical with a new sense of motivation to finish her work... well. The work of other people...

----- 3 hours later-----

 

Kanna let out a big yawn and stretch as she closed down her computer for the night. She had to correct a total of ten papers and three presentations. Once she was done cleaning her desk she looked around to see if anyone else was around in her section. Nope. But a couple of computers had still be left on. 'Typical' she thought to herself as she began to save a few of the documents and projects before shutting them down for the night. She then  put on her coat as she left her section of the office and went to check if Mr Kizoku was still pulling an all nighter or not. A small sigh of disappointment was released as she saw that he was no longer at his desk. Kanna really was the only office employee left in the building. 

"Good night guys" She said to the security guards as she waved them goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Terasu!" They replied with a smile. 

Kanna let out a small shiver as the cold night air hit her. She then looked at her watch to double check the time. 'Damn it' She had missed the last train home and it would be an hour before the next bus would be there. She then began to walk as she took out her phone, unfortunately, it died the moment she turned on. 

"Are you kidding me?!?" She slumped against a nearby wall. 

This was all she needed. She was exhausted, cold, her phone was dead, and she had to wait an hour until the next mode of transport came. Once she was done sulking over her situation she began walking to a store that was roughly ten minutes walk away. When she was almost there she saw the back of someone familiar. She knew that hair colour and style anywhere.

"Hey there, Mr Kizoku!" She called to him as she sped up her steps. 

Kanna hoped he had a phone that was working so she could call a taxi home. She was beyond done with today and just wanted a warm shower, bite to eat, and bed. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by LazarusLuna

[Thatannoyinggod]

When it became time for it, Ryōshi left work quickly. He drove his car back to his home, using the parking garage to store the car. To keep his cover safely secured, he drove a fairly inexpensive, common car to work. He rode the elevator to his apartment, happy to shed off the cheap suit that he wore for work. The white shirt he wore did nothing to hide the tattoos that covered his arms. He changed into a pair of black jeans, a dark crimson tanktop, and a black leather biking jacket, all specially made to fit him comfortably and to hide weapons all over his body.

After he had read the dossier on his target, he got out a metal spike, 2 knives, and a garrote wire. Then he left the large apartment that had a perfect view of the city skyline down to his sleek motorcycle.

The kill didn't take long. He had used the garrote to quickly strangle and cut the target's throat. Little blood got onto his tanktop, but not enough to be a worry. He made his way out of the alley, his jacket in his hand. He was about to turn onto the street towards his bike when he heard someone call his name. His hand reached for a knife as he spun quickly. Seeing it was one of his coworkers, his hand froze. "Miss...Terasu? What are you doing here? Another late work night?" Unlike normal, his face actually had a expression of surprise at seeing her.

[Starcry]

Yes! Her instincts and eyes weren't lying! It WAS him. Kanna was pretty easy to read to most people, so he would see that she was semi-excited she was at the fact she wasn't wrong and might have found a saviour to get her out of her predicament. Little did he know that if he couldn't help her then it mean hanging around awkwardly while she waited for the next bus home. An idea she really wasn't fond of. 

"Ha ha... yeah." Kanna, smiled and laughed awkwardly. This was the first time that she had met him outside of work related matters so she was a little nervous to say the least. "I am really sorry to bother you but can I borrow your phone, please?" She put her hands in a tight pray-like manner as she asked him. She had only known him from a distance but knew that he was only pleasant when it came to business. Anything else he was known for being aloof. This was part of the reason she had not approached him outside of work yet. "The last train has gone, the next bus is in an hour, and my phone just died so I can't call a taxi."  She added just so he knew why she wanted to borrow his phone... if he had one on him

Kanna then instinctively rubbed her sides as a cold gust of wind hit them for a few moments. She was too busy making sure she didn't freeze to death to even notice that he wasn't wearing his usual business suit nor that there was a bit of blood on him. She just wanted to get out of the cold and home. 

[Thatannoyinggod]

He quickly put his jacket on, hiding his tattoos from her. He hoped the shadows of the street kept them covered up. If he had to kill her, it could make things tense at his job. He flexed his hand to release the sudden tension he felt when she had spooked him. Spooked? Since when did anyone spook me? 

He listened to her plight wondering what to do with her. While he did have his phone, he would never let anyone other than himself use it. Too much sensitive information. Then a thought donned on him. Wait... she was nice to me earlier. What was it that people do for people who are kind to them? Oh right, reciprocate the kindness. That's the normal response if I remember right. He gave her a sympathetic face and tried to not have a monotone voice. "Oh no. I am sorry to hear that. Well, who knows how long a taxi could be. How about I give you a ride home? I don't have any more plans for the evening so it's no trouble for me." He waited for her answer before he went to his waiting motorcycle. 

[Starcry]

Kanna bit her lower lip and didn't notice his tattoos nor that he was trying to hide them. She was just a little worried as Mr Kizoku stayed silent at her question. She was about to tell him that it was ok if he didn't want her to borrow his phone and planned to just walk to the store when he spoke. She taken aback as Mr Kizoku offered her a ride instead of and showed her to his motorcycle. She had never really pinned him as the sort to own or ride a bike and the bike itself looked really impressive. She had never dreamed of riding something like that. 

"Only if you are sure." Kanna replied with a bright smile. It was clear that he had made her day with the simple gesture. "Could you drop me off near Cicadas street, please?" She asked as she waited for him to help her onto his bike. 

Everyone who was everyone knew that the houses and apartments in that area weren't made for the well off. They were cheap and the lack of maintaince from landlords in that area was obvious. Little did he know that he was the first person, apart from taxi companies, that would know the area of where she lived. Kanna hadn't told any co-workers and used a PO box for her mail. Even her parents didn't know where she lived since she'd insist on visiting them. She only hoped that he wouldn't insist on dropping her off directly. Now that would be humiliating.

[Thatannoyinggod]

"As long as you think it is a safe location." He knew Cicadas Street to be an unsafe location. Some of his family's associates had some business out there. The sleek green and black motorcycle was built entirely for speed, being a street style bike. There was a small seating space behind the main seating on the saddle, just enough for her to fit behind him. He looked over at her and then frowned a little. "Here, take my helmet. Shouldn't be a long ride, and we wouldn't want your hair to be ruined." He handed her the full face helmet then took out a ribbon to tie his hair back from his face. 

Once she was loaded up safely onto the bike, he started it and revved the engine a little to warm it up. Then he took off onto the streets. He made sure to drive a little safer than he usually drove, not wanting to scare or throw the woman off. He took some of the side streets and shortcuts he knew, helping to make the trip faster than if they just followed the normal streets. 

[Starcry]

Kanna gave a nod as she confirmed the location, took the helmet, and made sure she put it on properly. She then looked on the bike and found it hand a handle bar on behind the rear just as she had suspected it had. She carefully climbed on so she didn't touch her co-worker in anyway. Not just out of respect but she had seen what had happened when someone touched him without his permission. Yup... not going to risk her ride yelling at and abandoning her for that. 

"I am ready." 

Shortly after that he started driving and she made sure to grip tight with both hands onto the bar so she wouldn't fall off. As he drove she looked at the scenery as she recognised some parts of the town he went down. Other parts she had no idea were pathways at all. The whole journey made her look at this area in a whole new light. 
 Once Mr Kizoku finished driving her to her destination she thanked him once more an waited for him to drive off before walking to her apartment. As Kanna walked up the stairs of the rundown complex she heard one of her neighbours arguing again. This was a regular occurrence that she had gotten used to by now. Although her next door neighbour was the reason she had invested in earplugs. More sex noises again. As expected as a "escort" that grew "fruit." As she opened her door to her pitch black, cold apartment she let out a sigh as the noises next door got louder. 

"Home sweet home..."

[Thatannoyinggod]

Ryōshi was thankful that she hadn't just grabbed onto him when he began driving. While it would have been normal, he wasn't comfortable with others touching him, especially unexpectedly. There was an incident at work that he was ashamed for, having been pat on the back and then twisted the person's wrist behind their back and told them firmly not to touch him again. 

After he dropped her off, he went off a little while and watched her walk home, discretely and hidden of course. He knew exactly where she lived, having done full background checks on all of his coworkers. Once he saw she got into her home, he sped off back to his home. Why did I wait on her? What would it matter to me if something happened to her... I might need to keep an eye on her. Once he got home, he sent the confirmation message to his father, then he went to sleep.

The next morning went as every morning does for Ryōshi. He bathed, dressed, drove his car to work. He was on time, as usual, in his cubicle and working right when he should have been. He did keep an eye out for Miss Terasu though, interested in seeing what was so different or special about her.

[Starcry]

Kanna looked at her alarm clock and sighed as she tried to pull herself out of bed but exhaustion was telling her to stay there a little longer. Unfortunately, she had worked a bit too late last night which meant she couldn't go to the gym today, so she decided to take her time in getting ready for work instead. Once she had her shower and gotten dressed she took her normal bus to work. Kanna gave a small smile and nod to the security guards that had changed over during the night and they did so back. She gave a small nod polite to her work collages as they greeted her; no doubt they would visit her later with unfinished projects. As she passed Mr.Kizoku she gave him a wide smile and more friendly nod compared to the general ones she had towards everyone else. She still couldn't believe he had given her a ride home last night. Then again she wasn't exactly going to tell anyone since it was no ones business. Kanna was just going to see it as a nice moment that was going to keep her going through the day. That was until she got to her desk.

"Really?..."

She said, clearly annoyed that her clean desk had been made messy and that she had been greeted with a massive amount of paperwork. Kanna had no doubt in her mind who it all belonged to. It was always the same person.

"To work then."

She muttered as she booted up her PC and started to look through the paperwork. Yup... it was their bosses bit of fluff. Miss.Toruru's work. Clearly she had either messed up royally and expected her to cover for her or she couldn't be arsed... or both. Yeah... this was going to be a long day. 

[Thatannoyinggod]

When he saw her walk by him, he gave her a more pleasant smile than he normally gave the other workers and returned her nod. He had already caught up on his work, but he liked to look like he was busy to not rouse suspicion by any of the supervisors. He made sure to follow his usual routine: work, get ahead on any work that he could, use the backdoor hack to spy on the higher ups and his coworkers' systems to see if there was anything worth noting on what was going on in the company, and taking occasional walks to stretch his legs and visibly spy on coworkers.

After a couple of hours of working, Ryōshi got up and decided to take one of his walks. As he walked by, he noticed that Miss Terasu had a lot of papers stacked on her desk, more work than one usually should have by now. He tilted his head in confusion and decided to take a look around at some of the other peoples' work loads in her group. As he paced around, stopping by the break room for a glass of water to explain his being up and mobile, he peeked into the other cubicles, seeing that the others had no where near as much work on their desks as the woman did. Something about that didn't sit right with the assassin. He made his way to his own desk and immediately looked into each member of Kanna's group. As he found that everyone, including the supervisor, had dumped most of the work on her, he felt an odd reaction that was not normal for him... outrage. Something about the imbalance of the work greatly irritated him. He quickly went to work, hacking into each system and dividing the work to who it properly should have gone, especially the supervisor. He also locked everyone else's computers so that they couldn't send any more work to the overworked woman for the rest of the day.

[Starcry]

Kanna cracked her neck and drank her fourth cup of coffee to keep her going through the massive pile of work that had been lumped onto her. She was beginning to think that she would have to do more overtime again this week. She also had the feeling that she wouldn't have much of a social life nor have a yearly holiday like she had promised herself.
She had no idea that Mr Kizoku had hacked the system to correct her workload since she was too focused on making a list of tasks for the following day. The only hint to it happening were a few tuts and grumbles of annoyance. Once she had her list in order she went back to the work that had been given to her but she was met with a pleasant surprise. She was amazed to find that her co-workers had actually removed their work from her load and had decided to do it themselves. This meant that, for the first time in months, she would be able to go home on time!
 Before she knew it lunch time had arrived but she waited for her co-workers to finish their before stretching her legs for a bit. She took the long way round to the cafe so her legs could get as much exercise as possible. 

Once she returned to her cubical she was shoved from behind and was greeted by a very angry manager. 

"You did this to me on purpose, bitch!" Miss Toruru snapped as she slapped Kanna across the face. The action made the whole office stop to see what was happening. 
"What are you talking about?" She was genuinely confused.
"You were meant to finish up my presentation before noon and when I used it there was nothing there! DO YOU KNOW HOW HUMILATING THAT WAS FOR ME?!" Her manager yelled. No one had ever seen her get this angry before. Especially at Kanna.
"What do you mean? I made sure it was ok this morning?" She said as she rubbed her now swollen red cheek. "Look... it is there..." Kanna did a few clicks and showed Miss Toruru where the files were actually were. Some of the people who were watching began to mumble to each other. 
"B-b-but I checked in there and they weren't there!" Miss Toruru went beet red as a flush of embarrassment and anger ran through her. "YOU REMOVED THEM AND PUT THEM BACK! HOW DARE YOU?!?!!?" She went to slap Kanna again only this time their boss stopped her hand.

He had only come to see what the ruckus was because few work colleagues expressed concern about at fight breaking out and didn't feel comfortable. He really wasn't in the mood for dealing with this childish rubbish. He knew that if Miss Toruru continued she could be escorted out for assault and he didn't want that. 

"What is going on?" He demanded. Before Kanna could say anything her manager was by their boss like a shot and began to put the water works on.
"Miss Terasu deleted the presentation I worked on all week when she knew I was due to do a presentation today and then put it back when I asked her where it was. Boo hoo hoo." 

Kanna was gobsmacked at the sheer audacity of this woman. No only did she steal a promotion from her and force her workload onto her, she now dared to manipulate their boss into believing her! No one spoke up for her since people feared their jobs. They knew that their boss was a fickle man that he was easily controlled by his dick and money. All she could do was sigh as the dread of getting fired slowly set in.

"Is this true?" He asked with a stern look on his face. 
"No, sir." She began. "I worked on the presentation until really late last night and saved it on both usb and onto Miss Toruru's PC." 
"LIAR!" Her manager interrupted her before she could say anything more.

Their boss rubbed his temples as a stress headache set in. He knew Kanna was a hard worker but he could pull plenty of strings to have her replaced at will. Loads of idiots wanted her job and would jump at the chance to get hired. Kanna had also refused his advances so this was the perfect opportunity to pay her back. Plus it would get him into his mistresses good books. 

"Calm down." He ordered as he placed a hand on Miss Toruru's shoulder in an effort to ease her anger.  "Miss Terasu. shut down for today and report to HR's office tomorrow. There we shall discuss your multiple acts of insubordination and your future with our company." 

Kanna was in shock. Her entire career was under threat of going down the toilet before her eyes all because her manager couldn't do her job and had decided to use her as a scape goat. She didn't try and argue. She knew it was pointless. She simply did as she was told in silence. Once she had tidied up everything she had been working on she gathered her things and left quietly. Kanna didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone. Not even Mr Kizoku. She just left the building and waited for the next bus. She knew that if she stopped and spoke to anyone at that point that she would just cry and she didn't want anyone to see her like that. She just wanted to go home... 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Starcry

[Thatannoyinggod]

Ryōshi slowed down his pace, not wanting to rush through everything and draw attention to him. Then his body tensed as he heard the all too familiar sound of flesh hitting flesh. He was prepared to strike at an unseen enemy when he realized the sound came from across the room. He slowly peaked his head up, along with the other employees to see the scene. He was surprised to see that it was happening at Ms. Terasu's desk. 

As the scene played out, the assassin found himself gritting his teeth. While he still didn't understand what about Kanna Terasu seemed to cause emotions to rise from him, but the injustice of the situation greatly angered him. In his family, honor is of the utmost importance. If someone were to make a mistake, then they will own up to that mistake. He couldn't, wouldn't, let something like this stand. As Kanna walked out, he gave her a brief glance before steeling his resolve and making his decision. It only took him an hour to conclude everything he had on task today. He sent his supervisor a message that he wasn't feeling well, but that he had made sure to finish his duties. The supervisor happily let him leave early, pleased at how smoothly their own section was running.

It was still mid-day when Ryōshi came home. He spent some time on his computer, doing research on Ms. Toruru. He eventually found that she would leave the office late once a week and always go to the same bar, one that he knew was surrounded by dark alleys. Luck seemed to be on his side, today was the day out of the week that this occurrence would happen. 

On his bike, Ryōshi drove through the dark, street lamp lit streets, weaving around cars as he began his hunt. He parked his bike away from the alley to remove possible suspicion. He wasn't wearing his jacket that night, letting his tattoos show in his sleeveless shirt. 

He waited for her to finally leave the bar, unseen in the shadows, and then he tossed a can down the alley to get her attention. "Hello? What was that?" When she finished her question, the assassin darted out like a bullet, wrapping the garotte wire around her throat,, dragging on into the darkness. He whispered in her ear as she silently choked. "In the old days, one would commit the act of sepuku to regain their honor. But you have no honor to begin with, so you die like scum." His voice was cold and calm as he spoke, betraying no emotion. But he was so focused on the kill that he didn't realize he had an audience.