The Venom

Judgement

     Time passed, and Tiger's now eighteen years old. Tiger's combat gear has improved to accommodate his birthday. Tiger bought a long black coat to go over his black and red long sleeve shirt. Tiger also wore grey and black pants, and tall boots. Tiger's hood was now black with red accents. Tiger bought a leather armor rig for his body. The leather armor covered his shoulders, upper arms, and his back. The leather armor wrapped around, covering his sides. Tiger's vambraces were adjusted to fit his forearms better. Tiger's two knives now had proper sheathes, and Tiger carried throwing knives on sheathes around his boots. "Now to find Grim." Tiger said, leaving his hideout. 

     Tiger ran down the dark street, swiftly climbing up a building. Tiger jumped across the rooftops, and Tiger made his way to the bandits' den. Tiger peered down at the bandits as they moved supplies around. "Stand guard for tonight. Make sure no one gets these supplies." Said the bandit captain. Tiger jumped from the rooftop, landing on a lower ledge. Tiger slowly crept down to ground level, sneaking up to one of the bandits. Tiger covered the bandit's mouth with his hand, as he stabbed his knife into the bandit's neck. Tiger laid the corpse down, before throwing two throwing knives into two other bandits. Tiger rushed forwards, and decapitated the last bandit guarding the supplies. 

     Tiger approached the bag of supplies, rifling through the bag, taking what he needed. "What do you think you're doing?" The bandit captain proclaimed. "Taking what I deserve." Tiger said. Tiger turned, running away. The bandits gave chase, and Tiger quickly jumped up, climbing onto a ledge. Tiger continued climbing, and ran across the rooftops. Tiger jumped down, landing on a lower ledge. Tiger quickly got back to ground level, where he ducked into an alleyway. Tiger hid in the shadows, as the bandits ran past him. "Find him. He cannot get away!" The bandit captain yelled.

     Once the  coast was clear, Tiger turned around, and noticed Grim Reaper standing behind him. Tiger flinched back. "You managed to get away from them for once. I'm surprised." Grim Reaper said. "I'm just trying to get what I need to keep going." Tiger said. "Figured as much. Put away your acquired stuff, and meet me outside of the bandit's territory. Tiger nodded, and went to deposit the supplies. Tiger soon returned to the bandits' territory, and Grim Reaper was waiting for him. "Time to see if you are now worthy of joining the Skulls." Grim Reaper said. "What would you have me do?" Tiger asked. "Kill them all. Take over their territory and make it your own." Grim Reaper said. "All of them?" Tiger asked. "Seems about right." Grim Reaper responded. "Come back here when you're done." Grim Reaper said, sitting down.

      Tiger began to approach the territory, and climbed onto a rooftop. Tiger waited for when the bandits began to let their guard down, before striking. Tiger jumped from the rooftop, landing behind a bandit, stabbing him in the back. Tiger quickly ran behind cover as two bandits went to examine the corpse. Tiger ran to the two bandits, equipping his two knives. Tiger stabbed one in the back of the neck, before rushing to the second. Tiger tackled the bandit to the ground, stabbing him in both sides of his ribs. Tiger withdrew his knives, and looked towards the bandit hideout. Tiger saw the second story window was open, and climbed inside. Tiger equipped his sword, creeping through the building. "Now!" The bandit captain yelled. 

     The second story floor began to crumble, and Tiger fell down to the first floor, getting covered in debris. "What the?" Tiger grunted, pushing the debris off of him. Tiger got up, clashing his sword against another bandit's blade. Tiger pushed the bandit away, and stepped towards him. Tiger jumped up, kicking the bandit across the face. Another bandit approached from behind, and Tiger quickly stepped out of the way, punching the bandit in the face, and slammed his sword into the bandit's head. Tiger's sword deflected to the side, and the bandit screamed in pain. Tiger quickly finished him off with a stab to the stomach. Two more bandits approached, and Tiger was hesitant with his attacks. 

     Tiger held his sword tightly, and moved loosely. Tiger deflected a bandit's attack, and the second rushed at Tiger. Tiger dodged under the second bandit's attack, and the bandit slashed the first across the throat by mistake. Tiger quickly stabbed the second bandit in the neck, before running to the bandit captain. The bandit captain readied his sword, and Tiger quickly picked up a piece of debris. Tiger used the debris as a shield, blocking the bandit captain's attack. Tiger pushed the bandit captain against the wall, and hit him in the face with the piece of debris. The bandit captain was flustered, and Tiger quickly cut off the bandit captain's hand. The bandit captain dropped his sword, and Tiger began bashing his face with the debris shield. Tiger kept beating the bandit captain, until he stopped moving. Tiger finished him off with a stab to the chest. 

     Tiger took a moment to catch his breath, before leaving the bandit hideout. Tiger walked out, and Grim Reaper was standing there, waiting for him. "Take down their flag. Let the other bandits know they've lost their territory." Grim Reaper said. Tiger nodded, and began climbing the flag post, swiftly cutting up the flag. Tiger slid back down the post, and Grim Reaper turned to him. "Promising. Here's my notion. I've decided to teach you to properly utilize your sword within combat." Grim Reaper said. "I am honored." Tiger responded. "Training starts tomorrow morning, just before sunrise. Don't disappoint me. You'll be training along with several other recruits of the Skulls." Grim Reaper said, before walking away. Tiger looked at the bandit hideout. "Guess this is mine now." Tiger thought. 

     Tiger cleaned up the bandit hideout, and began to set up a personal training room inside of it. Tiger woke up the next morning, and looked out of the window. The sky was still dark, and Tiger quickly got up, and threw on his equipment, before rushing outside. Tiger arrived at the training site, a large rooftop that looked like an arena. "Kid, glad you could make it." Grim Reaper said. "This is the boy you recruited?" Asked another assassin. "Calm down. I feel like he has a decent chance to join the Skulls." Grim Reaper said. "Pit him against anyone from The Venom, and he'll be returned in pieces." The assassin muttered. "I make sure that all my recruits are worthy assassins. Besides, The Venom have gone off of the grid. They don't do anything anymore, at least not after the last time I dealt with them." Grim Reaper said. "Fine. What do you want me to teach them?" The assassin asked. "You'll teach them to be effective in combat. Don't stop teaching until they are efficient." Grim Reaper affirmed. "Got it." The assassin said.

     The assassin turned to Tiger and the other recruits, as Grim Reaper left. "Alright. Time for you to show me what you all are worth. Get in groups of two, and we'll establish who's the more capable fighter." The assassin said. Everyone began to split up, and Tiger faced against another boy. "You and your partners will fight barehanded, and we'll be doing this as a tournament." The assassin said. "Begin." The assassin called out. Tiger and his partner began to fight with each other. Tiger threw a punch, and the opponent caught his arm, and pushed him back. Tiger blocked his opponent's kicks, and dodged away from his punch. The opponent threw another punch, and Tiger dodged to the side of it, punching his opponent in the side. The opponent flinched, allowing Tiger to keep landing hits. The opponent grabbed Tiger, but Tiger quickly broke out of his grip, and elbowed him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Tiger's opponent stayed on the ground. "You won." The assassin said, looking at Tiger.