Honor Bound

[LaughingTurtle]

(please bear with me in that when i wrote it, i didn't consider the size limitations of the post, so one post does not necessarily signify a chatper)

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 -

The smell. The same inexplicable smell keeps relentlessly coming to me night after night, tormenting me in my sleep. It is of that coppery, metallic, flavor that uniquely belongs to blood. That same smell comes from the same nightmare over and over again. I can remember it in vivid detail like it was just yesterday...

"Maruko Nakata, Shinji Ehara, step forward!” Bellowed an imposing Asian man, who commanded it in such a way that it brokered no room for tardiness. Just listening to the way in which he voiced it, you knew that failure to obey would surely invoke severe punishment. At this time I was only around the age of twelve and my soon to be opponent could be no more than around fourteen. We both walked trepidly out from our assigned places at the side of the cavernous room, which was the great fighting hall of our Dojo. We met at the center of a large white circle, perhaps ten or twelve feet in diameter. Everyone there could feel the tense feelings running throughout the room. I could hear his raspy breathing; it was as if he had just run a marathon. My own breath came and went with the same rapidity, and it felt as if my heart would surely burst right out of my chest. Shinji, from that point forward was known in my mind only as my enemy. I then evaluated him to better know my new adversary. We both were of similar build, but because of his advanced age, he was a good couple of inches taller than I. While walking towards the middle of the circle, I had noticed he moved with a certain skill and grace that I had yet to master. Slowly our Katanas were drawn from their sheaths accompanied by the soft sound of metal sliding across metal. Our readiness thus signaled, the man in charge of the fight stepped forward and offered only one word. “FIGHT!”

With the word still hanging in the air, floating up towards the rafters, we launched ourselves towards each other. Everything that happened next seemed to happen all in the single blink of an eye. Our blades met with a clash and thus began a dazzlingly beautiful dance of give and take, thrust and parry. Back and forth we flowed around in the circle for at that moment, the interior of that white circle was the entirety of our world. The winner of a performance such as this would surely have been guaranteed the gold metal, if that is, it were only a game. No, in this kind of fight, the only prize you won was your life.

[Arawis]

sounds interesting...........

[LaughingTurtle]

The muscles contained in my child like arms were soon burning with the effort of moving the man-sized sword around at such a blinding pace. The weight of my opponents blade slamming into mine only added fuel to the fire incased in my upper body, but it was the preferable choice to letting his blade fly unhindered, which would have been straight into me. I knew that with my strength falling, I either had to end this match soon, or it would be ended for me. Though, if I had learned one thing over the years of my training, it was that people tend to underestimate those smaller and younger than them. My opponent, being only a few years my senior, was not wise enough to accurately judge my skills, or so I believed. With that in mind, I laid my trap for him. I feinted a thrust at his ribs and then played at losing my balance due to overcompensation. In my mind I grinned as I saw him rush in for what he thought was an opportunity to finish the match. With a quick flip of my wrist, I reversed my blades direction and swung upwards, catching him off guard, or so I had thought. Thinking myself wise beyond my years I learned a hard lesson that day, that you may not be the only one bluffing.

[Arawis]

............................... im waiting...................... yup still waiting...................... ~taps foot rapidly on floor~ ........................ lets go!................. ~looks at watch~ ..................................... . . . . . . . . . :cool:

[LaughingTurtle]

As I tried to spring my trap, he effortlessly turned aside my blade and then since we were now too close to effectively use our swords, he rushed forward and body slammed me. I flew across the ring and landed flat on my back. I knew instantly that I had landed wrong when the world proceeded to flash white and was accompanied by a sharp stabbing pain in my left wrist. With one of my wrists broken, I knew that my next move would be the deciding factor in whether I walked out of the ring or was carried out. With my mind racing in a panic, I gave myself over to my instincts. Feeling almost as if I was a passenger inside my own body, I rolled over onto my stomach and quickly raised myself to a kneeling position with my back to my enemy. Spurred by the fact that he knew I was injured, Shinji moved in for the kill. He raced across the circle and raised his Katana in what would have been a triumphant swing, which would have decapitated my head, and flung it across the hall, if not for the fact that it never happened.
Just as he reached within striking distance, I gripped my Katana in my good hand so that the blade faced out behind me and leaped backwards into Shinji. Expecting the easy kill, Shinji was taken completely by surprise. The Katana in his stretched out arm, ready for the final blow, did him little good as it flew from his fingers while mine slammed into his chest impaling him on the blade. It was then that I first smelt it. As I picked myself up off the lifeless body of Shinji, I turned around to find that I had pierced him straight through the heart. His life’s-blood was rapidly fountaining forth into the air, inundating me with its coppery taste. As the attendants dragged the corpse away, leaving behind a red smear, I looked down onto my hands. My hands, which seconds ago had been tan and covered in sweat, were now dripping with the glistening bright red color that is blood.
It is always then that the smell becomes most powerful though thankfully that is also when everything fades to black.

[Arawis]

proceed.

[LaughingTurtle]

Chapter 2 -

I awakened the next morning exhausted, ravenous, and just plain miserable. It was reminiscent of a very bad hangover I had once had. With muscles aching I slowly crawled out of my warm creaky bed. I shuffled over to the window and cracked the blinds only to be greeted by the harsh multicolored neon lights of downtown Seattle. As always, there’s a fine mist blanketing the whole city, making everything appear an even more depressing sight to behold then usual. I crossed my mini apartment, which had more in common with a prison cell than a living space, to the bathroom. As I gazed into the cracked, and dirty mirror, with the painful florescent lighting, the image of a man with Asian descent stared back at me. He had short black hair, a somewhat small nose, an expressionless mouth, and brownish eyes. Though the features weren’t what were startling about this man. The thing that seemed most out of place was his age. Normally, he could be guessed at being in his early twenties. But with his semi-glazed, bloodshot eyes, that had a haunted look in them, he appeared to be almost twice that.

Life’s not easy for a man on the run. Especially when the past that you’re running from is catching up to you. Though, at the moment Maruko had more important things to worry about then the past, such as the present. That which was at the forefront of his mind was the job that he had been contracted to do tonight, a job that would hopefully net him enough capital so that he could jet out of this sorry place. The past may not have been at the top of his list of troubles, but it was getting a little too close for comfort.

[Arawis]

................

[LaughingTurtle]

Even after a quick shower and a shave, Maruko still felt soiled by the dank city. He slowly shuffled back to the center of his cramped apartment. His gaze quickly swept across the room, taking stock of his current situation. During his examination he noticed those certain small things that made his apartment differ from the hundreds of other similar ones scattered across the city. Lying next to the bottom of his bed was his custom Sabaka. It was like the Japanese katana, only it had but one edged side. The other side was blunted, and it was custom because it was shorter than the average length of a katana. You can’t exactly walk around town with a sword sticking out the back of your coat; it might just attract some unwanted attention. Attention which Maruko could ill afford to attract, especially with his circumstances. He used the Sabaka because unlike many of his fellow tradesmen, Maruko shied away from the more lethal methods of the trade, and preferred to solve things with a minimal body count. An additional benefit besides soothing his conscience was that fewer questions were asked with the employment of this method. But even though he had reservations about killing, if things came down to kill or be killed, Maruko would make sure that there'd be one less punk taking up space.

"Humph." murmured Maruko, a ninja with a conscience. What's next, bank robbers will only steal half of what's in the vault? Sitting next to the apartment’s dirty closet were basically the rest of his worldly possessions in two bags. He had chosen to forgo using the closet due to its condition, which most likely resulted from one too many of the former residents getting drunk and not being able to find the bathroom in time. Besides what personal effects he could carry on himself, the rest resided in his oversized, military style, jet-black duffel bag, and his backpack. Other than two pairs of average civy clothing, jeans, t-shirts and the like, he also had his “work” clothes. These consisted of midnight black shirt, pants, trench coat, mask, soft-soled shoes, and was completed with a mini weapons bandolier. The bandolier contained numerous odds and ends frequently used in breaking and entering and melee combat. For besides his Sabaka, he also had a compliment of throwing knives, caltrops, nunchuku, and a glock 9mm. He may have been a traditionalist in choosing the majority of his weaponry, but he was anything but stupid.

Maruko’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the chirping of his cell phone.
“Yes?”
“Tis high time we met to discuss our…arrangement,” replied a male disembodied voice.
“I’m betting you already have a place in mind.”
“Corner of Summit Avenue and Seneca Street. It’s a cozy little bar I know. Be there, 8 pm, sharp.”

Before Maruko could reply, the line was cut and all he was left with was just the hallow ring of a dial tone resounding in his ear. Well a job’s a job, even if your contact is a prick. Glancing at his watch Maruko saw that he had just about eight hours til his meeting. Plenty of time to grab a bite, settle some unfinished business and do some reconnaissance on a little cozy bar. After hastily dressing in the semi clean pair of his civilian clothing he grabbed one of his ceramic knives and headed out the door.

[Arawis]

a hit man? interesting........

[LaughingTurtle]

Chapter 3 -

Walking down the hallway of his apartment complex Maruko sneered at the blatant decadence of it all. Just to get to then end of the hall he had to step over two passed out drunks, one crack head, avoid the various puddles, some consisting of bodily fluids and others he didn't even want to try guessing at, and what seemed like the whole month's load of undisposed of trash. Sadly due to the near paper-thin walls you could also hear quite clearly what was going on in each room as you passed by. One might be the hushed voices of a secretive drug deal going down, or in another the cheap moans of passion that are all just part of the job, or in the next an illegal immigrant's entire family which meant both third and fourth cousins, sitting down to a meal. Reaching the end. he chose the stairs because he didn't trust the dilapidated aging elevator which one of these days was just bound to break free and send it's poor occupants plummeting down towards their deaths. Finally emerging onto the street Maruko was surrounded by the typical atmosphere of a downtown city slum. Even with it being around noon, the sun's cleansing light was muted to a dull haze by dark ominous clouds rolling in, foretelling tonight's storm. The noise was a nuense as well, never ceasing day or night. It was kind of funny, without clocks there'd be no way to tell the time.

God I gotta get out of the place, the gloom and this incessant rain is so depressing. Walking down the street he found a suitable car for his transportation. It was an old '94 black Cadillac which had definitely seen better days. Maruko deftly slipped a rod between the window and the car door and with a little jimmying he unlocked it. Ducking beneath the dash he popped open the case covering the wiring and selected two of the many multi-colored wires. After splitting the wires and the reconnecting with the opposite ones he heard the familiar noise of the engine turning over. Putting the car into gear, Maruko pulled away from the curb and sped down the street. The denizens who lived here thought of any car parked along these streets as a communal car. The people really didn't care because for the most part, they didn't pay for the car in the first place. So stealing a car from someone who had stolen it from somebody else was all just a part of the cycle of life in this area.

[Arawis]

hahaha

[LaughingTurtle]

First on the agenda is most definitely lunch Maruko thought, as his stomach rumbled for what seemed like the thirteenth time. After cruising around for perhaps thirty minutes or so, traffic was surprising not a bitch this morning, Maruko pulled into a tiny four car parking lot behind an oriental soup shop called Little China. Maruko was not one to boast but Asians make exceedingly good food. Pushing open the glass door, Maruko's senses were suddenly assaulted with the distinct aroma that uniquely belongs to fried chicken, vegetables and rice. Though, from the looks of it there was big trouble in Little China. Two huge and one small sized Caucasian men were at the front counter, and Maruko didn't think they were ordering General Tso's chicken. The small goon in the middle of the trio appeared to be the leader, mainly due to the fact that he was doing all of the talking.

"Just gimme the cash old man, you're late on this month's payment, and I would just hate to have to start break'n things," growled the irate middle man.
"I pay you last week, I have nothing now," the owner replied shakaly.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, we never received any payment...it look's like you paid the wrong people. You know what happens to people who don't pay their dues.
"No, please, I get your money, give me one more week."
"You had your chance, no money, no insurance. Time to get to work boys."

It was then that the door, which had slowly been gliding shut, finally closed, causing all of the tiny bells hanging from it to start ringing. All three men turned simultaneously to the source of the interruption.

"What the hell? Can't you see that we're busy, come back later."
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see I'm quite hungry and I intent to get some lunch."
"F&#$ you and your stupid lunch, either you walk out now, or you'll be carried out."
"Heh, heh, heh, try me big guy, you might find out that I'm somewhat tougher to intimidated than a senior citizen."
"Big words, small man, you seem to forget it's three to one, Don, rearrange this punk's face."
"With pleasure, boss," answered the goon on the left.

Selecting the nearest chair, Don picked it up and pulled it apart like it was wishbone. Obviously Don had been hired for his physical prowess rather than mental abilities. Gripping one of the splintered chair legs in one of his meaty hands, Don advanced. Quickly judging his opponents reach Maruko waited for Don to strike. Like the bear, which Don so closely resembled and smelt like, he wiped his arm around in a massively powerful attack, which could have easily shattered bone, and turned muscle into jelly. Luckily Maruko didn't wait for around to be hit. Like some graceful courtier at a royal ball he bowed forward under the swipe and grasped Don's arm. Using the brute’s own momentum he catapulted him across his shoulder to land smashing into one of the restaurants tables. Before Don could deduce what had just happen, Maruko knelt and swiftly delivered a quick jab to the goon’s throat. Eye's bulging and gasping for breath, Don began to spasm on the floor, looking somewhat like a break-dancer performing a new routine.

[Arawis]

ooooooh. that cant be good.

i meant for don :D

[Shadow Angel]

Why is Ara the only one that Responded to anything LT wrote? ITS DAMN GOOD LT. (once again just going over some old threads looking at what I missed)

[TimGoldenboots]

Wow! Doesn't anyone post here anymore?

[LaughingTurtle]

Well I've kinda changed the story from the posted one, so I'd have to do some editing but mainly because I've taken to writing The Wheel of Wotism...though I may go back and continue this story.

Who knows what the future may bring

[TimGoldenboots]

K, hey LT, Was that an editing mistake when you switched from First Person to third person in mid chapter? Or was that an intended feature of the story?

[LaughingTurtle]

well actually the character was originally created for a RPG....so the beginning was kinda background for the game and the rest just came later as i came to like the character and developed the story.....