Curiosity killed the Cat

Chapter 1

20/04/20 - I've re drawn Akiko because my first drawing of her was in yr 8 i think, but i'm now im older so i can draw much better than before. ANYWAY on with the story :)

//Akiko POV//

It's been years since I've seen them. My friends. My Comrades. The other sins.

Ever since we were betrayed by the other holy knights. Framed for the Grand Masters murder 10 years ago.

-Flashback-

We were called to The Grand Tower on the outskirts of Liones' capital city by the current Grand Master. None of us new why. Diane suggested that it may have been their expert handling of the Troll Queen and that we were to be rewarded.

Initially they were sent to negotiate about attacks that had happened on nearby villages, but it soon went south after some comments were made by a certain drunk immortal that had one too many to drink at the bar the night before. The alcohol hadn't worn off in time and Ban was still pissed when arrived for the talks. One sentence had flown from his mouth before the Troll queen had attacked in a fury. We managed to calm her down and make Ban apologise before it escalated into a full scale battle.

We walked though the long winding corridors up the tower. Down stone halls that were decorated with shining silver amour and large colourful banners. We approached the large wooden doors in front of us as the Captain called out to the Grand Master, signalling our arrival.

That is when we saw him. Brutally impaled at all sides by spears. Blood splattered the walls and floors. Cracks and cuts lining the walls in random directions. It was gruesome, to say the least.

A rumble sounded as King looked out the window, Holy knights had surrounded the tower. Captain told everyone to split up, and meet later...but that later never came. After running for years, I got word that King had been killed and Ban had been captured and locked in prison.

To make it worse the Captain had disappeared.

None of the others however had been caught yet. Especially me.

I never spent more than one day in a village or town. It was too risky. The wanted posters made sure of that. People believed that we where dead by now, but they were still scared of us and the lies that the Holy Knights had spread all across Liones.

-present day (10 years later)-

I travelled across the Britannia. Stopping at nearby towns and villages to stock up on supplies and to rest. Which is what i'm doing now.

The town was small in size but had a good market inside. Plenty of fruits, books, weapons and other items were on display. It was Vaizel, a merchant town and home to the Vaizel fighting festival. Which was the main reason for being here.

The town clung to the side of the mountain, rows of houses lined the hill side. Where the middle of the town would be, a rather colourful line of shops and stalls where on display. The town people would recognise me in an instant if they got a good look at my face. I usually wore a hood but that had destroyed after years of use, I would keep it over my head in the old days to hide my hair from view. You don't often see bright red hair. Soooo...I needed a makeover. Cutting my hair was the first step. Considering my hair was covered, only the sins new my hair was red. So the colour was fine. My light grey, almost silver eyes, I couldn't do anything about.

All I needed was a new outfit. Something that would protect me, but still allows lots of movement and flexibility. I could find that in the market.

I climbed over the bridge and up the path on the hill. A light breeze crossed over the houses, drying the hung up washing. Facing the mountain, to the left, was a large rock with a shack on top that acted as the arena for the festival.

The market was crowded and noisy. Slipping though the gaps, I made my way through the different stalls.

"Step right up! Get your blades from a skilled blacksmith!" Hollered the weapons seller, in a hope to have attracted peoples attention. A man in a blue robe was telling the crowd about a strange box that was found in the tomb of a dead king.

The perfect outfit I found in an armour stall, next to a stall for books, which I immediately bought once I checked the size.(The pic in the intro chapter was the new armour)

Passing a group of people I headed towards the fighting arena.

-Time skip brought to you by King's secret fashion knowledge-

"Now, lets begin the annual Vaizel Fighting Festival!" Announced a very small being that was wearing a metal helmet, red cloth attached to the sides. Now, because this is a world full of magic, giants, goddess, and other peculiarities, I didn't think that the small man was that different to everyone else.

"Use of weapons is strictly forbidden" he explained "Men who let their fists do the talking should sign up right away!"

I was so sighing up, more than ever just to prove girls could fight to. I pushed to the front and wrote my name down.

Now you're probably thinking, If they know your name then they will know your a sin. I'm not that stupid. I put a fake name down. What, you want to know?

Well...you'll have to wait.

The horde of men now started to migrate up to the arena. Once there, the people who were participating stepped up to an elevated platform. Onlookers grouped around the sides, cheering on the competitors. Because there was so many people, there had to be an elimination round to pick out the best fighters for the matches. And I plan on being one.

I don't really need to concentrate much because they're really weak. I moved down to avoid the oncoming fist and elbowed them in the stomach. Knocking him and 3 other people out of the ring. Once most of the fighters had been thrown out of the ring, the referee call everyone to a stop.

"Four, five, six, seven...eight?" A man from the crowd counted. "Look there's another one that hasn't been knocked out yet!" The person beside him pointed out. There was, in fact, a boy holding onto a green spotted pillow that appeared to be floating. I held my head as blurry image passed though my mind. There was a couch, a lot of bottles and...stuffed animals? The strong smell of alcohol was also present. I shook my head, I had to pay attention to see the result of the ref.

"Rule him out!" Yelled a lot of the spectators. "Well, while I admit its not fair, he isn't using any weapons...I'll allow it!" The ref replied.

"But it's an uneven number!"

Tired by all of the complaining and conversations, It is supposed to be a fighting festival, my head ache from the memory worsened. I turned to the nearest person to me, which happened to be a buff guy called Tizu, and punched him so hard in the gut he sailed out of the arena and down to the ground bellow.

Silence overtook the crowd, I mean who wouldn't be after a small female (in comparison to the guy), floored a man three times bigger than herself.

"There," I announced "Now it's even."

~Time Skip brought to you by Ban's Godlike cooking skills~

The people that were left gathered inside the small building by the side of the arena.

Standing on a box, the ref said that we would draw lots to decide the matches. As long as I can beat some heads in, I don't care how its done.

I stood in line and waited to draw my lot. After I had picked, I was matched up with some guy called Howzer that looked like he had toothpaste for hair. But I'm not complaining. I can feel his power from where i'm leaning against the wall. He's a Holy Knight. A strong one at that.

This will be fun~