The bar breathed neon, lights flickering like dying fireflies.
A half-empty bottle sat near ryu's elbow -
Untouched
She sat alone, a shadow in a black suit.
Her white half-mask—blood kissed one side—rested on the table like a warning.
A fresh envelope glistened beside it.
Another target.
Another name to forget.
A girl slid into the seat beside her — uninvited. Wine- lipped, dark eyes, a coat too clean for a place this dusty.
"You're young," she said , her fingers tracing the rim of her glass.
Her voice was soft, but not kind— like she was Observing something.
"You don't have to do this."
Ryu kept her eyes on the envelope, tracing its edge with her knife. Slow. Deliberate.
Eyes flickering with sadness too deep to hide.
The girl tilted her head, smiling slightly. "You're bleeding."
"Scarped wound" Ryu muttered, blade ready under the table.
"Relax. I'm not your enemy." The girl sipped.
"I know about running. And being caught."
Ryu's gaze lifted — a flicker of something raw.
"Your name?"
The girl shrugged. "Names are dangerous in places like this."
She stood, adjusting her collar. Her boots silent.
"Call me Verni."
Then, softly, like the truth hurt to say aloud—Ryu replied
"You don't come back from a past like mine. You just learn to wear it.
But maybe… you can learn to walk forward anyway."
She let out a slow breath.
Then smiled, her reply a blade wrapped in a silk.
There was mockery in her eyes.
"I wish you luck on your next mission too, Verni."
Verni turned, her gaze drifting to the mask.
And with that, she left the bar for her next kill.
---
RYU'S POV~
The alley up reeked of gasoline and rotting premises.
Four, maybe five men—laughing, kicking someone small and curled on the ground.
A boy.
Couldn't have been older than seventeen.
I froze.
My hands trembled.
My vision blurred for a second.
My breathing staggered.
"No. Not now. " She wishpered.
Then mask swallowed her whole face.
The envelope in the pocket crackled as I stepped into the dark.
The flickering streetlamp cast a pale halo on my suit—black and silent, like a shadow with bones.
"Look , what we got here," one of them sneered.
His voice was grimy. Slurred.
The others turned.
One had a pipe.
Another twirled a switchblade.
The other two cracked their knuckles like it meant something.
"She alone?" one muttered.
The leader grinned.
"Nah. She's dead."
Wrong answer.
I moved first.
My knife soared through the air and sank into the shoulder of the one with the pipe.
He screamed and dropped to his knees.
The big one rushed me.
I ducked, slid low, swept his leg—CRACK.
But he slammed me into the pavement.
I groaned.
Before I could fully rise, the one with the switchblade lunged.
His blade slashed across my ribs—sharp, fast, and hot.
"Blood bloomed black in the lamplight like a second skin."
I hissed.
But I didn't back down.
I spun and drove my elbow into his throat.
He choked, stumbled, and dropped the blade.
I kicked it away.
Then the punch split the mask
Cracked - a spiderweb split crawling across one side.
I staggered.
Too close to get knocked out now.
Too late to quit.
For a second… I felt human.
Then smiled.
"You hit like a memory."
I surged forward.
Heel to his chest.
Elbow to his temple.
Slammed him into the wall.
He dropped, twitching.
The leader?
Already running.
I didn't chase.
"Huh…" I grunted.
"Not in the condition for a fucking chase."
I pulled my second knife from my boot.
Walked back to the one still groaning on the ground.
"Tell the Senior… I don't need orders to kill."
Before leaving the alley, I looked over my shoulder.
At the alley's mouth.Verni stood wide-eyed.
I pointed to the carnage.
Mask cracked.
Blood dripping from its edge.
No words. Just a shadows walking home.
---