Blood Feud [ENG]

An Encounter

Eiji was not in a good mood.

That did not matter, of course. Your mood should not affect your performance, as his uncle would say. And when Fuyuki Takahashi said something, you followed it. No questions asked.

Especially when Fuyuki is the chief operator of the most wanted thieving gang in the continent. And even more so when Fuyuki Takahashi is... well... your uncle. Your very ambitious uncle, Eiji would add, who raised you into being the only hope for Kurokai Hana. The best fighter. The fearless soldier. A fierce, strategic cold-hearted soon-to-be leader — if everything worked out according to plan.

And Eiji knew very well, everything had to work out according to plan.

Therefore, bad moods were not allowed as Eiji carefully walked through the empty bank in the middle of the night, the fabric of his kimono swinging softly behind him as a reminder of the cold breeze coming from the outside. As a reminder that there was still an "outside." People watching. The police department had kept an eye on any actions taken by the (gang's name) in the last few days. Nothing was safe.

Eiji had to do well.

And he would do well.

He took a deep breath as he entered the underground hallway of the vaults. Top-notch vaults, of course: loads of cash, luxury and treasures being kept away by steel doors, thousands of alarms and exquisite passwords.

Not an easy task indeed, but definitely not the hardest thing Eiji had done.

Alright. Keep it simple. Be quick. Don't take too long. Just grab the Urumi and get out.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked around, silently counting the vaults in the corridor in front of him. Eiji was no fool, he had mapped the underground tunnels of the bank weeks prior to his action. He knew exactly what to do and where to go.

Exactly like his uncle wanted.

He walked up to the assigned vault — fifth door of the left corridor — and stared at the lock for a while. That was the risky part, Eiji was very well aware, but he also did not really have a choice. It was a top-notch vault, after all. Rich people would go all the way to protect their bags filled with jewlery and other stupid luxuries, as Eiji would learn very soon in his life. That being said, that was no easy lock to pick. Thousands of numbers to choose from, endless mathematical possibilities and the very likely defense system that would sound off an alarm, revealing Eiji's position to everyone in the security department... No, he preferred not to risk it.

He drew his hand to the grip of the faithful katana in his belt, getting his favorite weapon into the appropriate position. Eiji never missed. If he had to be blindly sure about anything, that would be it. He never missed a katana hit.

He contemplated the lock once again, breathing in confidently before an only righteous stroke of his sword tore the lock of the vault open, making only the minimum noise possible as he opened the door.

Eiji took one step ahead of the vault, carefully running his eyes through the small room. The sword should be there in a very clear spot, on top of an earnest holder, as he had studied.

However, it was not.

Eiji hesitated, the grip of the katana on his hand growing tighter.

The only thing in the vault should be the Urumi. That was the sole purpose of so many protective measures around the door, right?

So why was the only thing lying in the center of the earnest, under the sparse light of the vault... a long wooden board?

He heard a brief noise from inside the vault — a stuffy "click" coming from a somewhat distant corner. An alert sign crossed Eiji's vision as he jumped in a defensive move, his forearm pressing the strange body against the nearest wall before he could even see who it was.