[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Meliora or Kioko.

What name she donned and its associated mask determined her plans each evening. An unending alternation between dark streets, cold metal, and bloodshed or the warm amber alcove of Noyote filled with the heady scents of coffee and dark liquors. Her soul, at least the remnants of it, craved the sanctuary of the latter. Comfort found in familiarity and faces that didn’t immediately twist into fear or disgust when the silver titan darkened the doorway. Her mind would not allow her to fade away into a blissful obscurity though. Not when she thirsted for revenge more than she hungered for happiness that was more fantasy than reality.

So it goes.

Another night, another raid. The laboratory security system had been disengaged by quick fingers and an even quicker mind at the helm of a laptop now hidden away. Infiltration was easy after that. A sliver of mercury was all it took to mimic lock and key entry. Anything more complex was fried by ripping the pre-existing liquid metal from its circuitry. Parts were scavenged for later use, carried by a silver snake slither after its mistress.

All was going according to plan. Naturally, it didn’t stay that way. Fate was particularly fond of putting a wrinkle into Kioko’s meticulous plans. The windows lining the south and west walls of the room she was currently looting exploded in a shower of glass that obscured the arrival of three masked entities. And they all had swords. Kioko rolled her eyes. Assassins really liked swords. And masks. Though Kioko wasn’t one to talk when it came to that. Her own was as ostentatious as they came.

More importantly than either weapon or disguise, was the insignia each of them wore as a pen near their respective collars. It marked them as members of The Umbra Syndicate. Which meant Kioko didn't have to hold back.

"What an interesting mistake to make as your last."

Notes & Tags: tenma | Outfit + Mask | Assassins [1] [2] [3]

[tenma]

Kushiki Kioko. Twenty. Supposed heiress to the rank of CEO of Sovereign Technologies before falling from the podium and now hunts heads on her hitlist with reverence only belonging to a reaper. Deemed dangerous, but only to her enemies. Not a public threat. Activity must be monitored closely to recognise any deviations.

Tenma is impartial to recon. He usually leaves it to his fellow Kabuki, but Master has deemed him fit to tail the Silver Serpent, and as always, he has no room for argument.

The laboratory's windows shattering and thundering in his ears was a surprise for someone usually as quiet as Kioko— at least, to Tenma's knowledge. Had it not been for the underground network of information he relies on, he would likely have no idea of Kioko's existence, and he imagines she would like to keep it that way. But he is not here to pardon her sins nor interrupt.

He merely waits in the shadows, to wait and see what would need to be done.

Kushiki Kioko

[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Reciprocated banter and boasting were scorned in favor of fluid tandem motion—a hallmark of true professionals. Suigetsu was clearly increasing his offense against her in retaliation for the more frequent raids she had been making on Sovereign hubs. If there had ever been even an ember of hope that he might relent in the pursuit of his niece’s head, it was fully snuffed out in that moment. It mattered not. Kioko had no mercy stored within her for him upon their next meeting either.

Such a meeting would require survival in the present. A feat growing ever more difficult to achieve as the assassins split off in a pincer maneuver meant to trap Kioko in between them. One to the front. One to the left. One to the right. The only clear path that remained was behind.

Kioko was by no means faster than well trained assassins. Her skills had been refined in areas other than athleticism. Granted, it created a weakness she would eventually need to address. At least if she intended to live long enough to achieve her goals. Given that she could not simply grow strong in the heat of the moment as she wasn’t the protagonist of some silly shounen anime, Kioko had to continue relying more on brains over brawn. Mind over matter—and the matter in question was mercury.

Serpent surged forward on thought alone. Its hoard of collected tech was abandoned in favor of transitioning from transport to bulwark. The reptilian form undulated into a cocoon around its mistress. Blades clashed against quicksilver coils. Those held by harlequin and wolfkin were forcibly rid of their momentum upon impact with hardened metal. Such was not the case for those of flame wielded by none other than one almost more moth than man. It was not victim to the fiery siren’s song like its non-human ilk, but sacrificing another to the blaze as super-heated sword edges bit into the mercury with ease.

But not without consequence.

Toxic gas both colorless and odorless wafted away from the points of contact. Kioko could sense the vapors, though not control them. It was enough of a warning to inform her next actions. Part of the cocoon blossomed open at the top and ushered her out above the trio then dropped her behind them before it lurched away from the weaponized element to follow after as she sprinted toward the door she had entered earlier.

Mercury was not the sole entity in pursuit. Her would-be killers flitted after like silent wraiths—until the first retch. Envenomed now as they were, the assassins slowed to do battle with their own bodies. The distraction was sufficient enough for Kioko to temporarily lose them, and any other stalker, among a maze of hallways and doors.

Notes & Tags: tenma

[tenma]

The snake wasn’t without its fangs, that was clear.

Kioko was someone Tenma had to be wary around. Not for her quick tongue, but the venomous bite her mercury dispatched onto her enemies; he was sure, even with his own ability, he would likely die trying to fight her. Fortunately, she was not Kabuki’s target, though the meddlesome fiends that got in her way had something else to say.

What would Master do?

Tenma, silently watching from a shadow on the wall, tilted his head in thought. The assassins wanted to kill Kioko. Eliminating Kioko meant the mission was jeopardised. A jeopardised mission meant failure for the Kabuki. Failure in the Kabuki would lead to his own termination. So that’s it.

Still engulfed in shadow, Tenma slips past them and races after Kioko. He’ll see that to its end, with whatever method need be used.

Kushiki Kioko

[Kushiki Kioko]

I HAVE PROMISES TO KEEP

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

Kioko’s mind had always been faster than anything else around or within her. Her body included. The mercury overtook Kioko, an intended feat. A fluid motion brought her to crouching atop its surface. It had already been a transport for stolen goods, now it was a quicksilver caravan fit for the Quicksilver Queen.

No look was spared behind. Telekinesis required focus when used in more unusual ways—like whipping around sharply angled corners of an unfamiliar building built like a maze. Only sound told Kioko the assassins were still in pursuit. Such was not the case with the still unknown fourth pursuer.

In an effort to lose the other three, mercury rose up over Kioko’s hands and ankles, locking her into place along the serpent’s back before it rose upward. She ducked her head between her stationary arms to protect her face even as the serpent rose its own head and charged it through the ceiling above. Rubble rained down and Kioko surged upward to the second floor on the back of the beast.

Notes & Tags: tenma