Ultimate Trickster Lord Reincarnation

Wanted

Diane looked frazzled and distant, trembling with the adrenaline rush of defending against her assailant. She hadn't been caught, not yet, but it was clear she would have no idea how to hide evidence or act normal if questioned.

It might be another person's first instinct to leave this alone. Sympathetic or not there was nothing but risk in getting involved with a clean-cut murder, regardless of it being self-defense. My life, however, had been built on taking such risks. After years of building a criminal organization with talent from all over, I had a good sense of potential, enough to take risks for.

In my eyes, it seemed our little Diane might be a born killer.

Killing a grown man twice your size was no walk in the park, especially after he had pinned you down to take advantage of you. The quick thinking required to adjust to the situation, utilize the surroundings, and then overpower him with a single, lethal blow to the heart was impressive. She did it with such speed that he didn't even have time to scream. With a bit of training, this girl could make a perfect subordinate. A cheery attitude and soft, innocent appearance made people let their guard down, but the job she had done here signified there was beautiful, deadly potential.

My gaze lazily traced over her form, considering things. It was a huge danger to make myself a target my first night here just for some potential, and just because she could kill others didn't mean she would want to.

Oh well. I was too much of a showgirl to turn down a performance like this anyway. Besides; I wasn't planning to play the good guy in this world, and a grand debut would have to happen sooner or later.

The hood came off my head for just a moment so that I could switch the bandage on my right eye over to the left. Tonight, descriptions of me would focus on how I was a young, crazed, hooded boy with a single strange red eye.

I cracked my knuckles.

'I wonder how Diane would feel if I took credit for her murder?'

Bringing my bag with me had been a good idea, since after this was done I would be on the run. It was a shame I wouldn't be sleeping in a room tonight, but I was experienced in huddling on street corners.

I lept from the roof, landing beside Diane. She opened her mouth to scream, but my hand shot out to cover it, stifling the sound.

"Not yet dear, the show hasn't begun," I whispered, prying the shard of glass from her hand and tossing it on the ground behind me. It cut ever so slightly into my own as I released it. The broken bottle looked like the better weapon, and with a quick wrist flick, it swapped ownership from her to me. Her eyes looked up with fear and confusion. I had caught her so off guard she hadn't even thought to fight back.

"You want more out of this life, don't you Diane?" I met her shining eyes with my dark-bloodied one. Seeing that she had calmed, my hand slipped from her mouth. "Wouldn't be worth ending it like this, would it?" I gestured to the dead man behind us, indicating how she'd pay for the crime. Her head turned to him. She clenched a fist, eyes welling with tears and fury.

"It isn't fair." She cried, voice trembling, "He deserved it-"

I cut her off. "No time. Someone could see any second, so play along."

"Wh-" She questioned, before letting out a yell as I pushed her to the ground. My head pivoted backward, crazed eyes fixed on the sky as I let out a cruel, maniacal laugh dripping with vitriol.

"You stupid wench!" I screeched, "How dare you turn me down! Did you want him instead?" I swung the jagged bottle behind me, vaguely gesturing at the man in the alley. "Well I've killed him, and you still reject me!"

In a rage, I stomped towards the crates of glass bottles and pulled one out. I threw it just past her head so it smashed the wall with a piercing shatter.

I screamed again, grumbling and roaring like a man scorned. A swift kick knocked a crate full of wine over, the bottles tumbling everywhere with a crashing cacophony. Crimson liquid slithered away from the glass remnants, flowing like a river underneath me. My soaked shoes followed the trail as it reached Diane, mixing into her blood-stained gown. Diane began to sit up out of the forming puddle. I waded with ease through the sea of wet glass and liquor, throwing myself on her and pinning her under my weight. With one hand on her throat, my fingers bit down just hard enough to leave a bruise. Her hands gripped at my wrist, legs flailing in defiance. I didn't budge.

"Help!" She screamed, "Help me!" Her fear seemed genuine, though an odd calm in her gaze appeared cognizant of my lack of murderous intent.

"Truth is," I shouted, squeezing tighter, "I don't care about you. You're just another pathetic bitch in a world that isn't worth saving." I giggled, and let it become a cackle, before finishing with a shout "You are just an excuse to shed blood!"

I aimed for her throat with brutal precision, raising the broken bottle above my head like a prayer. A sickening, wild grin spread on my face.

'Come on, any minute now...'

"Ahhhhhhhh!" A woman's voice pierced the air, followed by the shouts of men. Lanterns had begun to come on as people peeked from their houses at the commotion, only to find a murderer as they rounded the corner and saw the bloody scene.