A Flight of a Thousand Miles

The Start of a Journey

"Where the hell is that bastard!" A guard yelled, trying to remiscence what in the heavens could possibly kill his boss and comrades so quickly. Damn, this guy attacked them at the worst possible time. Why did it have to be when they were all so intoxicated? He didn't have much time to think about it though, as he suddenly became a victim of ever so kindly having a knife lodged in his throat from behind him. "W-what?" he choked, blood filling up his lungs. He tried turned his eyes trying to get a look at just who this monster was. Instead, he was met with a voice.
"Sorry, it's nothing personal against you. You were just following you're orders and happened to be here at the wrong time." The knife retracted from the guards throat, and he collapsed to the floor, his blood starting to pool. Fighting to stay conscious, his killer stood over him, and his now visible golden eyes seemed to glow in the dimmly lit hallway. The man squatted down next to the unfortunate guard's head, holding his knife right above it.
"The least I can do is give you a swift death."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well Run, I have to say, at first I didn't think you'd be able to do it," the recruitment officer started,"but you have most certainly proved me wrong. When I heard from our sources that Captain Tyron and his men had been killed, I was surprised. When I heard that there were no survivors, I was also surprised. When I heard that there was no evidence that you used your teigu however, I was astounded! How many were there, twenty?" He looked up at the the young man sitting across from him, looking to be no older than in his early twenties, golden hair and eyes reflecting the calm aura that surrounded him. Run only smiled back. They were sitting in a tent at one of the Revolutionary Army's camps, which was a pain in the ass for him to find initially, them wanting to make sure the Empire didn't find them.
"It actually wasn't that hard, really. I mean, most of them were heavily intoxicated anyway, and it was more of a close range skirmish, so Mastema would have likely been more of a liability than an advantage in those tight corridors." Which was the truth. Sure, he spyed on them enough to know when exactly their little 'drinking fest' was, but he had to be careful he didn't sound too arrogant. There was no way he could screw this up. "Be patient Run," he thought,"the way things are going, he's bound to bring up the offer."
The officer happily clasped his hands together, which Run thought to be a tad bit ironic, based on how rude the officer was when he first met him. He even went to great lengths threatening Run to not give away their location, but was now acting all buddy-buddy with him because he killed some people. "In all seriousness though, me and the other officers have already discussed your performance. And we all agreed that after looking through your background and making sure it matches up, that the Revolutionary Army could use your skills and asks for your service. Based on how you went and found us though, I doubt that you'll refuse this offer, no?" Run nodded in agreement.
"Yes sir"
"Well then, I hope you don't mind that we've already assigned you to a unit then?" Well, that was certainly unexpected. Run honestly didn't care where he was put as long as 1) He would be able to take the fight to the Empire, and 2) Be able to carry out his own deeds. Still, he was surprised that they were stationing him so quickly.
"Of course not, sir" The officer laughed and stuck out his hand, and Run shook it. "Well then, welcome to the Revolutionary Army, kid."
~~~~~~~~
Run wandered through the streets of the Capital, following the coded map the Army had given him to find his new comrades. "To be stationed so soon," he thought,"either the Revolutionary Army really was ecstatic about my skills, or they're really in deep. Not that I'm complaining though, I did say I wanted to help as soon as possible."
He turned another corner, trying to navigate through the crowds. It was a bit of change of pace for him, being from a remote mountain village. He had heard from others that the Capital was a busy place, but he hadn't imagined entire streets backed up with people. What didn't surprise him however, was the amount of homeless, sick, and shady people that were there. He had already accepted that the Empire was a despicable government, which was why he was here now in the first place, wasn't it?
As he turned the final corner before he arrived at his destination, he stopped. Something felt...out of place. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but the feeling this street gave was different. Maybe it was because he just now realized that he was about to meet a group of experienced killers (well, he hoped they were experienced). Or maybe it was because he now realized that once he entered the hideout, there was absolutely no turning back of any type.
He outwardly sighed. "Not the time to think about this Run," he muttered under his breath,"You already decided that you were going to do this, didn't you?" He started walking again, picking up his pace ever so slightly, until he landed in front of a book shop, the sign on the tinted window reading CLOSED on the window. Hideout? Confirmed.
He placed his hand on the doorknob, which felt rusty and out of use. "Remember Run," he thought,"this is for them, and for the well-being of every other soul in the Empire."
He opened the door, and the light that came from it revealed all of the dust flying about in the room. It was dark and musty inside, and books were piled up aimlessly around the shop, some stacks towering over even him. He quickly scanned the room to make sure there weren't any traps, or people for that matter, lying in the shadows. When he found none, he cautiously walked around and examined the room, finding it strange that there weren't any signs of anyone working here. "A test? They are part of the Revolutionary Army. Hmm, maybe there's something I'm missing here."
Suddenly, he heard the door that he had closed behind him creak open, and Run spun around, his guard high.
"Woah, woah, woah. Who the hell are you? And why the hell are you in my shop?" A green haired and eyed boy asked, looking to be in his teens. The stranger looked tense as well, but if Run couldn't read people as well as he could, he wouldn't have known. Run took a deep breath, and exhaled.
"I'm sorry, I was in the area and noticed your shop. I know the sign said it was closed, but I thought since it was open, maybe a staff member was here and would help me find something. I'm looking for a really rare and timeless book," he closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't screw up. "It's called Revoltio Exercitus Compleo, have you heard of it?"
The teen relaxed slightly, sighing outward a bit. "So you're the new recruit?" Run nodded.
"It seems like it. Night Raid I presume?"
When the Revolutionary Army had given him the map, they had also given him a phrase to signal the other members he was on their side, not the Empire's. It also let him know if they weren't some imposter. The assassin nodded.
"Yeah, name's Lubbock. Yours?"
"Run. It's a pleasure to meet you." Lubbock, apparently, just waved him off.
"Yeah, yeah, I know it's a pleasure- wait. Did you just respond to me politely?" Lubbock seemed to do a double take, as if it was an alien thing to do. Which was probably a bad sign.
"I believe so, yes."
Lubbock clasped his hands together, his eyes sparkling. "Oh my god you actually seem remotely normal! Yes! I don't have to deal with another prick! Yes! Holy crap, hahaha!" He danced around the room, looking truly happy.
Which made Run feel a little awkward. Did his new comrades actually have no manners? No, were his new comrades crazy as Lubbock? The green haired boy was still dancing around the room, until Run coughed slightly, making him pause. "Um, Lubbock was it? I really do appreciate you meeting me here, but do you think I could meet the other members of this unit?" Lubbock blinked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Hahaha, sorry it's just been a really long time since I've been treated kindly since....forever. Sure thing, just follow me!" He then proceeded to walk out the door he just came from.
"Isn't this the base of operations?" Run asked. Lubbock only laughed.
"Pfft, no. Not all of us can show are faces in the Capital without being targeted by the Empire. This is just a...sub-base, I guess. Our main one is just outside the Capital, out in the country-side, but close enough to where we can enter the capital pretty quickly." Lubbock turned around and proceeded to lead Run through the streets of the Capital. "Just warning you though, everyone else is kinda, well, off."
"I've noticed," Run thought. He looked up to the sky, glowing gold-ish red as the sun set over the hills. "If you think they're wierd, I'd hate to imagine what they're all like."