Assassination [Quest]

[Hiei]

Quest: Assassination (Taken by Hiei)
Type: Normal
Mod: Yes
Difficulty: Hard
Description: Sneak into the yellow turban camp and assassinate Bo Zhang Yellow turban commander.

The city of Pu Yang. It was a stronghold indeed. One would not be surprised, really. The city was built in some of the worst conditions ever, surrounded by both bandits and mountains. And despite it all, this city had always stood strong, and was always getting stronger to meet whatever threat it would face. Unfortunately, it failed to stand up against a particular threat, one that probably had conquered the city instead from the inside. The Yellow Turbans, a bunch of rebels led by a religious tyrant.

Or at least, that's what Hiei figured how the city fell to the rebels anyway.

Not like it mattered much anyway. He was not here to save the city, at least not deliberately. He had been hired. By who, Hiei was unsure, for the procedure had been done through a messenger. Hiei had been left with details of his target, his position and finally, the reward. Zhang Bo, one of the commanders of the Yellow Turbans. A big head indeed. It would explain the large reward, at least. However, he did not expect Pu Yang to be such a well-defended city. Upon first arrival, Hiei knew that it was going to be hard finding Zhang Bo, much less escaping after his assassination, with so many guards all over the place.

And then came news of an army of Han soldiers marching to Pu Yang. It was like good luck raining down on Hiei.

The Japanese assassin could only smile to himself as he looked out from the window of his inn room. The presence of the Han soldiers could help provide Hiei with the distraction he needed to move around the shadows unseen. The Yellow Turban's attention would be towards the Han soldiers. It would definitely be easier to move around.

He was already inside the city, staying at one of the inns. Now all he had to do, was to find Zhang Bo, claim his head, and then get out of here without getting caught by either armies. There was no need to trouble himself with this battle. All he wanted was the reward.

Finally placing Death and Despair upon his belt, Hiei would make his way down the staircase, to the main lobby of the inn. However, just as he was able to peek into the inn, he was surprised to see a pair of guards standing there, conversing with the innkeeper.

What the...?

[Lu Xiang]

[Zhang Bo]

Zhang Bo quietly lounged inside the Palace of Pu Yang, quiet puffing a weird foreign substance. As high as the clouds personally, covered in women. Women clung to power, understanding their lives would be alot easier beneath the hand of the rich. His guards stood firmly eachside, a huge axe in either side.

Flustering down the halls, several guard patrols revolved around - watching for trouble. Zhang Bo was used to assassinations. He had anyone who had ever tried to kill him executed in the most horrible of ways. His doctors would cut them open, fill their insides up with rocks and if they survived that experience they would be thrown into the river to fend for themselves with the extreme excess weight of the rocks. He had failed to met a being who could survive.

The pipe swayed inside and outside of his mouth, the windows and the balcony was locked with a thick wooden plank. Strong guard patrols smothered the roof and the palace gates were locked. A curfew was entralled over the city which would come into play within the next hour - rendering anyone outside or found outside - a "threat"

Another rapture of smoke whistled away from his mouth, his mind strengthed by his tranquillity, weakened by his state. His guards looking fierce and brutal.

[At the Inn..]

"Old man don't play fucking games with me, we know theres an assassin staying in your company. Now hand him over before I lose my patience."

"I..I... I have no idea what your talking about.."

"You have one last chance... Tell me where he is or I burn your tavern to the ground."

"I have no idea what your talking about, take all the keys - check all the rooms if you want!"

The anxious inn keeper launches several keys at the guard captain, before falling down and hiding behind the counter shaking back and forth. Just the thought of seeing his beloved on fire and ruined, sends him into a complete state of shock.

[Hiei]

"Old man don't play fucking games with me, we know there's an assassin staying in your company. Now hand him over before I lose my patience."

That isn't good. Hiei had been compromised. He cursed under his breathe, slowly making his way up the staircase. How the hell did he get compromised? He hadn't told anyone of his presence. There was no one to tell anyway. Hiei had only been here in China for just three months. He could not have made such an impression throughout the whole country to be recognised. At least, that was what he thought. Had that been the case? Well, whatever the reason, Hiei knew that it was going to be a whole lot harder from here.

First thing's first, he would have to get out of here. At that point, he had two main choices. One was to sneak out of here and keep himself in the shadow, as a security measure. Of course, it may be difficult as there may be guards outside too. And he would easily be seen by anyone outside the inn. Seen and shot. Another was to throw himself into the spotlight and hope that no one was looking at the direction of the stage. The army outside the walls were still a playing factor here, of course, for they were definitely a bigger threat than Hiei was. At least, for the moment. They were just two guards, after all. True, there could be others outside, but if Hiei could take them down quickly and silently, they would not be alerted. At least, not yet. And it could make his escape from the tavern a whole lot easier too. Temporarily, of course.

There was also the chance of the tavern being burnt down. Though, to be honest, Hiei could not care less. The tavern had rented him this room, so from what Hiei could see, he was not the only one to be blamed here. Yeah, well, he did come here without telling him that he was an assassin, but hell, what's done is done. There was no point regretting the past. Let the innkeeper do that himself.

Hiei retreated to his room for a moment, a considerable distance from the staircase, closing the door softly behind him. With that, he made his way softly towards the window, pressing himself against the wall beside it and peering through, looking down at the road in front of the tavern. There were indeed guards there. Three more, to be precise. A patrol squad, huh? Hiei acknowledged that then, knowing that it would be easy to take these people down. Also, sneaking off was rendered impossible now, with the three guards below being placed at strategic points, two standing guard near the entrance and another standing on the opposite end of the road, as a watch.

Time to handle the two inside, then. With that, he lowered himself to a crouch three steps away from the door. It was locked, and with the sound of keys, Hiei would be able to determine whether the guards were at his room yet. He would adjust his position to one akin to the postures athletes do before starting their sprint, with their hands and toes on the floor, his head raised and looking up. His Raven Fists were about to find their first victims tonight.

As soon as that door would open, Hiei would immediately charge forward, his right arm swinging back and forward in a swift movement, his fist aiming to find the guard captain's face, his left arm slapping downwards to swipe away any weapon or arms that would move to defend his face.

[Lu Xiang]

The thick pounds, knocking upon the firm wood. A loud creak came into place as the guard captain stopped. Knocking of the door three times, to check if anyone was inside. No answer after ten seconds - he knocked again. Before inserting the key and twisting it. The mechanism was pretty poor, and the door opened creaking revealing the empty room. His face look dissapointed before out of no where a man lunged for him.

He jumped back, having his weapon cast away - stumbling back some more. He was a strong man. His feet gripped the floor, unfortuantly not thinking straight he didn't call for reinforcements but swung his swords inside ripping into the foundations of the building and sending a beam and part of the roof crashing around them.

"You bastard!"

He shouted, noticing blood running down from his neck in which he had connected with the assassins fist.

[Hiei]

"You bastard!"

Holy shit, the man was much bigger up-close than looking from the staircase. Hiei had judged him to be an averagely-sized individual and had aimed at where the head usually was. Apparently, he missed. And to make matter's worse, the weapon was almost Hiei's height. The Japanese male let out a soft grunt as he rolled out of the way of the guard captain's mighty swing, keeping low so as to allow more leverage for movement. This man was obviously stronger than Hiei was, but Hiei figured something out from their first exchange. He was faster. A considerably lot more faster.

The roof crashed, blocking the hallway opposite the staircase, Hiei's room being the last one then accessible for the moment. And with the sound of that ruckus, Hiei knew that the guards downstairs would now be making their way up. Well, Hiei was going to have to end this fast. No time to enjoy the fight. He could do that once this was all over, in the siege of the city. For now, his target was Zhang Bo. And while that was still so, no one else was allowed his head. For the moment, he was racing with the Han soldiers.

Hiei reached to the back of his waist, grabbing the hilts of his two short swords, before pulling them out of their sheathes. Death and Despair. Anyone who had seen Hiei in action knew that he was now serious of ending this quickly. Such was the purpose of Death and Despair anyway. Quick and silent killing, leaving no space for entertainment of challenge. Hiei would leap upwards from his crouch position then, placing his left foot on the man's outstretched left hand, before swinging his right foot inwards, aiming at the same spot where the cut was.

This was not the killing blow, no. This was merely something to throw the man off his momentum. As soon as Hiei would land, he would dive forward once more, though this time with both his blades reaching forward, aiming to impale both the man's lungs.

A larger figure could only mean a larger target.

[Lu Xiang]

The blades eviserated deep inside of him, the huge man choked for a moment. He was nothing for this well trained assassin, and let out a huge cry and he fell down to his knees - blood spouting entrenching the floor. It wasn't the most silent way to remove a man, that was for certain. But he was dead/dying at least. No doubt the noise would've attracted attention. Several guards from below looked at eachother before gripping their swords and running up the stairs to investigate.

[In the palace]

Bo Zhang laid back, slightly calming down - his eyesight returning. He really needed to quit his habits. He shoke his head before finding himself between two breasts, both from different women. The joys of being powerful. He laughed, before standing upon his knobly legs and wobbling over towards the window and open the great doors towards the balcony - embracing the fresh air.

[Hiei]

Now that this large bugger was taken care of, time to take down his grunts, who now stood rooted to the ground at the top of the staircase, sword in hand but too shocked to move. Perhaps his guard captain had been a reputable swordsman, considering the strength he had behind that swing of his from earlier. Too bad for him. Hiei would then leap off from where he was standing, coming upon the man, using his left hand to parry away his sword, his right hand following after and slicing open the man's throat, causing him to gag as he choked in blood. Hiei would then proceed to stab the blade in his right hand into his chest, driving straight through his heart.

It was at that moment that the other guards reached the bottom of the staircase, looking upwards at Hiei with swords in their hands, shocked at the sight of one of the squad mates hanging upon Hiei's small blade. They let out a roar of anger, before running up the staircase. Hiei could only let out a grunt of disapproval, as he proceeded to throw their own comrade's corpse at them. It hit them quite perfectly indeed, as they were weighted off their feet, rolling down the staircase. Something that Hiei would take quick advantage off by sprinting down the staircase, before leaping off and landing upon the pile of bodies, causing the two living guards to grunt upon impact, before Hiei proceeded to drive both daggers down into their throats.

Another set of boots reached Hiei's ears as he looked up, the guard from the opposite road finally entering the bar with that bow in hand, an arrow in the other. Hiei cursed. This wasn't good. Quickly, he pulled out Death, holding it in his right hand, just as the guard placed the arrow upon the string. Hiei would quickly toss Death forward, the knife finding the guard's chest just in time, as he lost his composure, the arrow going just over Hiei's left shoulder.

"... Wow."

Hiei could only mutter as he glanced back at the arrow that had almost taken him. He may have been an assassin, but he was no god. He was still human. He quickly got up, sheathing both Death and Despair, before leaving the tavern and also the tavern-keeper, who stayed behind his bar, shivering in fear. Hiei would then glance towards the Palace. Time to start the hunt. With that, he would start his run towards the place, keeping to the thin and isolated alleyways.

[Lu Xiang]

The palace was scattered with guards, most of them on patrol. Bo Zhang was a very paranoid man especially when he was smoking or drinking. He peered out of the balcony, stroking his god forsaken head before rubbing his eyes and returning to the palace.

"Where the fuck is my sword?"

He shouted awaking the women who were sleeping by hitting them, as they scattered - running and screaming before screaming in anger as his advisors tried to calm him by assisting to look for his sword. It was precious to him, but he often mislaid it due to his extreme nights.

"If I find the bastard who has stolen my sword, I will severe his hands for such a disgraceful act!"

He wretched spitting and spewing all over the place in a terrible state, turning over his own furniture before eventually stumbling upon the blade hidden beneath a female robe upon a bed. He cursed, but was thankful he had finally found it.

[Hiei]

It wasn't long before the quick-footed assassin had made his way to the Palace, and no, he was not making his entrance through the main gate. He already had his way in. Something he had discovered in one of his look-arounds of the area. A discreet back gate that was used by servants and slaves to bring resources and food between the place and the city. Something as dirty as this is never allowed to be seen at the main gates of the palace, after all. And it was guarded lighter as compared to the main gate. Of course, he would have more distance to travel, but it would suffice. After all, it was better than having to deal with a battalion of guards at the gate. Here, there was only a handful.

With the Han army attacking, Hiei knew that the guards in the capital would be considerably lesser too. Unless Zhang Bo was the paranoid type, Hiei knew that the idea of having an assassin inside while an army was attacking would never be thought of. It was... Unusual. Unfortunately for Hiei, though, Zhang Bo was indeed a paranoid one. As he arrived at the wooden back gate, he was shocked to see that the number of guards had stayed consistent, if not more, considering the two archers that now stood atop the wall that held the door.

Hiei hid himself in an alley for a moment, by the main road that led towards the back gate. If he stepped out, he could easily catch all of their attention, but from the distance, the archers could easily pick him out before he even reached them. And Death and Despair could only fly so much. What now? He peeked through the corner of the wall then. Then, he noticed and found his answer. The roof. It was closer to the wall, and the triangular shape of the roof allowed Hiei to stay hidden while moving closer. With that, Hiei turned around and started to climb the wall, placing himself on the further side of the roof, using Death and Despair as holds by stabbing them into the house. And he would then leap from house to house, moving only when the archers were looking away. From this angle, there was no way the guards at the floor would be able to see him, so his main threats here were the archers.

He just had to get closer.

[Lu Xiang]

The guard patrolled continued, noticing nothing weird. Little did they know that an assassin was running the width of the roof. However things were going to take a turning point; it wasn't long before the murders in the tavern were reported to the guards at the palace and eventually Bo Zhang. His eyes extended twice the size. Spitting the wine that was currently in his mouth all over the floor due to the news of a killer on the loose. His paranoia shot out of the roof. He couldn't die now; he wouldn't allow it.

"What on earth? See that this man is killed immediately!"

He exclaimed, throwing his guards all over the place and increasing his defence whilst sending patrols into the city to look for the man, still they didn't know he was on their roof. Placing a complete bounty on this mans head within an hour of his murders, Bo Zhang was the definition of paranoid.

[Hiei]

And at the last roof, Hiei would shift out of his hiding place and break into a full sprint, drawing both Death and Despair as he leapt off the edge of the roof, catching the two archers by surprise as they attempted to pull their bows out, their weapons strung around their torso. However, Hiei's running speed was faster as he landed at the side of one of the archers, quickly pushing himself up and ramming his shoulder against the still-unarmed soldier, before driving Despair, in his left hand, into the man's chest. The thin but sharp blade dug into his flesh, tearing apart the muscle that was his heart, before being pulled out and leaving a trail of blood to follow. One archer down. The other one had finally drawn his bow.

Too fast. Hiei retaliated quickly, rolling away and over the corpse of the earlier archer, grabbing his armor at the same time as he pulled him up, using him as a meat shield, Hiei keeping himself crouched and under the corpse, just in time as he felt the soft impact of steel finding flesh. The archer had hit the dead body of his own comrade instead. Hiei would quickly toss the body aside, sprinting forward. The archer would aim another arrow, but Hiei was already in the air, spinning as he threw his right leg at his outstretched left arm, throwing the bow and the misaimed arrow to the side.

Hiei would land on his left leg, continuing on his spin, slicing the man's torso open then with Death, before finishing his spin as he brought the very same right leg into the man's chest, throwing him back. He was still alive, though not for long. Hiei would quickly sheathe Death and Despair as he heard the guards down right in front of the gates call out, waiting for a reply from their archers. This was no time to be clean. With the defenses tightening up every minute, the faster he took care of his target, the easier it would be to escape. With that, he climbed down the staircase by the wall, finally entering the interior of the palace. At that moment, then, he found himself being forced to hide behind a thick bush by the side, as the sound of movement and yells from the palace escalated, a large number of troops emerging suddenly, leaving the palace and entering the towns, while others manned the main walls.

What the hell? Who was this guy? With a soft curse, Hiei would quickly move from his cover and to the nearest door, opening it and finding himself then in a small storeroom, one of the many storerooms in the palace. It was the storeroom that the servants stored items they just retrieved from the town. This was to be his entrance into the palace itself. With that, he drew both Death and Despair once more, as he proceeded to the other door of the storeroom, which would then lead him into the kitchen. There'd be no guards there, right?

[Lu Xiang]

The storeroom was stacked with food and wine and other assorted goods. Unfortuantly the assassin wasn't here to steal - a good fortune could be made. The storeroom was a quiet and long corridor; being caught here by guards would be fatal. However they didn't come down here much, after the last man caught down here was executed for being accused of stealing for the Master's personal food supplies. His head hung above the gates of the palace for two months, before being fed to the lords own boar.

What a nice guy.

Fortunatly for the assassin, luck appeared be shining down upon him. It was way past lunchtime and too early for supper. Inside the kitchen were nothing more then a few slaves, cleaning. No doubt they would scream and alert their master however. Of course they were female, young of age and force to work. Easily manipulated, but there was two of them not to mention the guard sitting outside the kitchen taking a heavy nap.

[Hiei]

Hiei would place his hand on the door, the blade still in grip, as he slowly pushed it open, allowing himself a small visage of the contents of the room. It was a large kitchen, though with the mass panic and all, it seemed that only two servants had been left behind, as they proceeded to clean the place up. These women were probably the lowest of the low here in the kitchen, the ones forced to clean up after the mess of the chefs and the food-carriers. He sighed. What a messed up system. Shifting to the side and keeping his peeping hole as small as possible, he made sure that they were the only two inside. Well, Hiei was not about to kill a girl.

At that, Hiei sheathed both Death and Despair, stretching his right hand out as he placed his left hand over his lips, slowly pushing the door open and letting out a hush sound as soon as the girl noticed him, the female immediately jumping, but making no noise at all. Instead, she just stared at Hiei, just as her other slave-mate did. Well, that was good.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just need to know how many guards there are now right outside this room."

There was no need to know which direction Hiei had to go to get to Zhang Bo. He had the schematics of the palace etched into his memory already. The position of the guards and quantity was the only debatable factor in this assassination attempt. Hiei had not expected to have been noticed so early, and for his target to retaliate so exaggeratedly. There could be thrice as many guards as he was told, for all he knew.

However, much to his surprise, the girl raised her hand, and showed a single finger. Hiei stared at her in confusion. Just one guard? Hiei turned towards the kitchen entrance, before slowly making his way there, not making any sudden moves as the two slaves too slid as far as they could from the assassin. Once more, he opened the door slowly, and there, right beside the door, right in front of him then, was a guard, sitting on a chair, deep in slumber.

... What? And Hiei thought this place was on high alert? Ah, there would be time to indulge in the oddities of this mission. For now, Hiei had to move. He opened the door, one hand placing itself upon the back of the sleeping man's neck, his other coming to his neck by the wrist. His gloves had blades on almost all sides. All he had to do was flick his wrist and blood would be shed. And that was what he did, the inner blade of his Raven Fist digging deep and slicing open the man's throat, a cut so deep the man could only open his eyes, twitch, before going limp. Hiei would then proceed to drag his body into the kitchen, keeping it out of plain view, before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Right. Infiltration, complete. Tracking down of target, commencing. Hiei turned to his right and with soft steps, started making his way down the hallway.

[Lu Xiang]

The hallway was long with several staircases, covered in painting of statues of previous ancestors and important figures. A long red carpet stretched down along the hallway and a wide opening with light flocking in, obviously some sort of entrance. Bo Zhang was on the second floor of the estate. Within his own imperial quarters, the door itself was guarded by two guards and inside two more guards. Not to mention several other guards marching around in small groups of three or four. All equipped with fearsome weapons and armours.

The assassin had come far already, even if he did kill the man - how was he going to escape?

Then came his break, the perfect away to make it into the master quarters. It wasn't dinner time nor lunchtime. But recreational time. In through the opened entrance came several concubines, a master and several muscians. Obviously of the high standard heading to impress the lord of the estate. One thing to remind you, Hiei wasn't a female nor did he have any musical instruments. It was too late to go back and this was probably biggest chance he was going to get into see the target.

[Hiei]

Hiei constantly turned back as he walked down the hallway, keeping himself to the side, his right hand tracing the texture of the wall. It was far from silent, and yet, Hiei could not see a single soul. True, there was a squad of guards earlier behind him who passed by, coming from another hallway at the crossroads of hallways, failing to notice him as the assassin had thrown himself into a dark part of the wall, keeping his body pinned against it as much as he could. This was starting to get a little awkward. Hiei would glance up then, at the ceiling. The second floor of the estate. That was where he had to go to. And the closest staircase then was the one to the side of the entrance at the end, the entrance leading to the grand hall.

There was bound to be more guards on the second floor. It was always that way. An empty first floor to mislead the assassin. Yeah, well, Hiei had seen it before. It was at that moment, then, that there was a burst of movement and sounds as a large group of people emerged from the entrance, all dressed brightly and galantly, as if a performing group. Hiei stopped in his tracks, pinning himself against the wall once more. A performing group? What the hell was up with this capital? Hiei let out a soft groan, allowing himself to retreat behind an attached pillar upon the wall then. A performing group... What the hell were they doi-... Recreation time!

Hiei's eyes widened. He had almost forgotten about that. He peeked through the corner of the wall, as they emerged as one long line of people. He did not expect there to still be such a presence with the security level raised. And it was definitely going to be hard getting past the security check even when in this performing group. Zhang Bo may love his entertainment and all, but with his paranoia, Hiei figured he would still have these people checked. However, it seemed like it was his only chance. He stepped out from behind his hiding spot, his scarf placed over the lower half of his nose and also his mouth, the remaining slack cloth being wrapped around his hair and forehead, revealing but his eyes, his arms crossed and majority of his Raven Fist hidden from view.

With that, he would gently drift into the center of the crowd, the other entertainers making no immediate notice of it, them being more worried about being called up even at a time like this. Zhang Bo, after all, had a reputation of being sadistic in terms of punishment. If they messed up in their performance, it would be their head.

And Hiei had done it right in time too, as a squad of guards crossed path with the entertainers, Hiei keeping his eyes in front, not wanting to attract attention. And just like the rest of the entertainers, Hiei was simply ignored. And they climbed the stairs to the second floor, approaching the throne room. As they reached the hallway that led to the throne room, then, the man leading the suddenly stopped. Hiei's eyebrows furrowed. What now?