⠀⠀Tonight was a night that Kenshin despised. Once every year, his father hosted a ball for high ranking officials and high class citizens of their kingdom, and he was required to go. It was always held in the massive ballroom inside their palace, and it was the only time that this room was used. Every ball was held in the midst of December.
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⠀⠀Kenshin stared into the mirror, examining his attire. He had a white, long sleeved shirt that buttoned up the center with silver buttons. This was accompanied by a pair of black pants, and black boots that were also accented with silver buttons. He wore a black cape as well that went down to his calves. To top this all off, he had mandatory silver crown; it was the crown of the prince of Ainsteille. He looked quite dapper. "Time to get the night over with..." He muttered under his breath.
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⠀⠀Under normal circumstances, he wasn't required to do much, but attending this ball was a requirement from his father. He saw it as an importance to have the future king attend such events, since he would be hosting them in the future. Despite his distaste for the event, Kenshin did enjoy the fact that he could see his father. Normally, he was always off planning war while Kenshin did whatever he wanted, which was usually sword training. He appreciated his father's successful work. They had conquered numerous other kingdoms thanks to him.
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⠀⠀The white haired male sighed, and then turned and exited his large bedroom. He walked through the palace until he reached the ballroom. Servants were waiting for him, and they inevitably opened the door for him and bowed. He entered the crowded room, which had classical music playing. Numerous people were chatting amongst themselves and enjoying wine and other various treats. A few bowed towards Kenshin once he had entered. Where's my father? He thought to himself as he looked around, hoping to find the king.
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⠀⠀The kingdom was falling apart. Everyone knew that. Every creature that didn't have true power were slaves, servants to those that were too rich and stuck up to see the pathetic mess of dreary and poor citizens.
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⠀⠀"This is ridiculous," the teenage boy said monotonously, staring at his comrades. They were armed with knives, daggers, guns, you name it. But all of this wear was concealed within tuxedos and dresses—err, one dress. There were three males and one female total, no more, no less. And they weren't just any citizens of the kingdom.
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⠀⠀For a while now, people talked about rebellion. Word got around, and four friends decided it was time to free the people, no matter what. Alright, three of the four thought that. The other was a slight pacifist, he didn't believe it right to take violence upon the upper class people. But his comrades persuaded him otherwise. He would now participate in the mass manslaughter that was soon to come.
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⠀⠀The plan was the sneak into the ball tonight as rich citizens and then murder all the higher ups and finally, the king and prince. These were assassins, and they were trained and ready. Each had skills that would aid in the murder of the higher ups, but the leader was the most skilled of all. Alright, there wasn't technically a leader, for it was a group of four, but still.
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⠀⠀Meet the first one to suggest a violent rebellion: Akumu "Illusion" Tsukiakari. She specializes in claw-like daggers strapped to her fingers, and larger knives for bigger—or harder—kills. The most eager of the group, Akumu, who prefers the nickname "Illusion", was the one who first brought together the team. She suggested the assassination attempts and the massacre. She now wore a pink and black dress with petal stitchings in the fabric. The calligraphy was that of a professional, a rebel friend of Illusion's. Her task was to take out the prince. He was known for being flirtatious, and that was one of Illusion's strong suits.
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⠀⠀The next would be Reikan Rizadon. A skilled swordsman, this boy could kill with ease, his sword being sharp enough to slice through solid metals and concrete. His blade has never dulled once. He had always hated the kingdom and its rotten ways, and was quick to join Illusion's small rebel assassination squad. In fact, when he was younger, he was captured and experimented on, thus giving him his abnormal fiery abilities and strength. His target, or should you say targets, would be the upper class citizens. With his sword skills, he could kill up to several people at once, and with just a swipe of his sword. He would also be attending the ball in an all white tailed tuxedo with a white bow and black dress shoes.
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⠀⠀The third and youngest member of the assassination group is Teiboku Aibori. Specializing in close combat, this thirteen-year-old young boy is much more of a fighter than you think. Knowing the body inside and out, this boy could hit the right nerve and paralyze you with one blow. He usually finishes it quickly with a sneak attack: wrapping his legs around your neck and twisting sharply. Because of his ability of being up close, he would be going after the high ranking officials. He would not be attending the ball. He would be directing the others on top of the building and take out any reinforcements outside before joining the fray within the palace.
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⠀⠀The last, and certainly not least, would be the famous Sorcerer Storm Kaminari. He's known for being a rogue magic wielder, a strange gift. Of course, fascinated with his ability, the king enjoyed having him come to the balls. This didn't necessarily mean Storm liked the king. He of course was the one who declined at first after being invited into the assassination squad, but soon realized that sometimes, you have to fight in order to get your point across. This train of thought came from his little cousin who he sees as a young sister. His magic is on a whole other level than normal fighting skills. Ranging also from close combat to some sword skills as well, Storm Kaminari is a hard figure to beat. He would be attending the ball in his usual attire: a grey shirt with a brown vest over it and black pants and shoes. Over this was a black, old, cape-like cloak with a hood. The teen's outfit was finished with a worn, tattered, brown fedora with a golden symbol that meant "aura". His job would be to take out the kind and then help reinforce in the main room.
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⠀⠀After entering the ballroom, Kenshin began walking around as people greeted him with bows, making him smile arrogantly a bit. He enjoyed this part of public events. He loved being recognized like this.
Nevertheless, he still had the goal of finding his father. He continued walking aimlessly in search of him, failing to find him. After about five minutes of searching through the crowd, he sighed, and gave up. I'll just find my father later, He thought to himself as he reached the actual portion of the ballroom used for dancing. As of now, there were a decent number of couples dancing to live, classy-sounding music. All of them danced elegantly and precisely to the music. The music sounded romantic, yet somewhat dull to Kenshin nonetheless. This event was exasperatingly boring for him. Because of his title of nobility, he didn't have much conversation with people his own age. It didn't help that he wasn't very approachable either. Hell, some believed him to be worse than his father. He would order executions without hesitation, and since he was the prince, it was an action that was always carried out. He executed everyone that he held distaste for: ex-girlfriends, servants who failed to please him, peasants who got in his way whilst walking through the streets, et cetera. This was why most people didn't approach him, including military officials themselves. His father didn't do anything to discipline him either. There was no need to. He was able to get anything and everything he wanted when he wanted it. The prince alone was responsible for numerous deaths, hence the reason many viewed it as a necessity to assassinate him.
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⠀⠀Of course, the one thing he wanted that he couldn't have was inevitably his mother, who died when he was younger. He knew that the dead couldn't return, nor was there a way to communicate with them. The male's red eyes continued scanning the nearby area for his father, but he had yet to see him. His father was actually on the opposite side of the ballroom, far from Kenshin's position in the room. He was chatting with military officials nonchalantly about war plans. No one in the room knew that the ball would be crashed by assassins, with the goal of ending the royal bloodline. This would inevitably send the kingdom into anarchy, but even anarchism sounded better than their ruthless and brutal monarchy.
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⠀⠀"This is ridiculous. There's no possible way that we are going to pull this off." The voice of Storm Kaminari whispered into the night as the three assassins headed down the street towards the large palace.
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⠀⠀"Don't be such a downer," replied a nonchalant voice. It was the voice of Illusion. "I'll slit every one of those bastards' throats with one swipe."
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⠀⠀"Language, Illusion," a voice echoed within the trio's heads. "Sheesh, I'm thirteen and about to kill people. Can I not have any other crap that will further ruin my innocence?" Teiboku was stationed at the top of the palace, using Storm's telepathy to keep from scanners picking up radio frequency.
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⠀⠀"You're an assassin, Teiboku. You lost your innocence long ago," Reikan Rizadon spoke softly out loud.
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⠀⠀"Everyone is ready, correct?" Storm asked. Everyone responded.
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⠀⠀The three walked up the steps of the palace and nodded at the guards. They were briefly searched, but their weapons were cloaked in a disappearing spell casted by none other than the sorcerer himself. They entered the ballroom to see people dancing and chattering. Immediately, the assassins' eyes wandered, searching the room for targets. Each moved into position.
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⠀⠀Reikan watched the citizens dance and have fun. "You're all pathetic weasels, dancing about in frilly tutus and other demeaning outfits while my whole village starves." He glared at every upper class person with seething hatred. He was tempted to draw his sword and just begin attacking, but he knew to wait for Teiboku's okay.
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⠀⠀I'm in position, Storm spoke via telepathy, alerting the others. Reikan also stated that he was in position. Illusion was making her way to the prince, and Teiboku was ready to draw attention to the soldiers outside.
YOU ARE READING
We Are All Sinners
ActionTaking place in a medieval times-like setting, four friends group together to form a rebel assassination squad. Designated as the ones to free the kingdom from a harsh and sadistic tyranny run by King Pheles and his son, Prince Kenshin, the squad's...