An Insignificant Memory

Written by Avarice Aeon

If there’s anything about Ralaneas you need to know, it’s how peaceful it can be. Friendly faces, good food, a diverse group of people roaming the streets with their own stories to tell, it’s a great city. You could have a picnic on the outskirts of town and probably meet your future wife or a new best friend. Yeah, it’s that peaceful.

...Well, okay, I might be stretching it a bit. There’s something that people tend to ignore about this huge farce of a conurbation, and that’s how openly crime operates around these parts. Thugs can be pretty much anyone: cops, travelers, you name it. There’s always a chance they can be involved in some shady business below the surface. That nice swordsman that helped find your kid’s ball? Probably shook some merchant down at the market after they dared to suggest paying for a couple prunes. The guard that stopped a raid of robbers and other lowlifes? He was in on the joke, and let em out as soon as the bribe money hit his palms. I’m probably rambling too much at this point, but I think you get the picture. This place just isn’t as peaceful as it claims to be. Organized crime runs amuck and they’ll keep doing their jobs as openly as a prostitute spreads her legs. Which, if you have ever been to the red light district here, is unlike anything you’ve ever seen, I assure you...

...Okay, sorry for the image, I just had a really good time two nights ago. By now, if you aren’t a little repulsed by the fact I compared a lady’s fetal highway path to organized crime, you’re probably asking “but Mr. Baron Munenori, nobody else seems to be this paranoid about their city. I don’t see your supposedly universal experiences, how do you know these claims are true?”

Simple. My father had to learn this truth the hard way. I come from a family of fairly privileged standing. We ate well, my siblings and I had a comfortable childhood, nothing special but it was enjoyable. One day, father came home with his clothes shredded and torn in all sorts of places, mumbling about how someone found him out. I didn’t quite get it then, but things just kept getting worse. It was like the world was forcing me to realize what was behind Ralaneas’ rosy exterior. I came home from school one day to find some gangsters killing him in front of my mom.

“You should be grateful, kid.” one of them tells me. “Your old man here’s been testing some weird drugs on innocent civilians. We can’t let that sort of thing happen on our turf, you know. I mean, what would that make us look like?”

“You hypocrites!” my mother suddenly shouted. She was collapsed on the floor and covered in blood, but she grabbed a knife that fell from the kitchen counter and tried to swipe at the intruders’ legs. But of course, her injuries seemed to hurt her accuracy, and nothing hit. The two gangsters delivered one swift kick to her face and prepared to walk out the door.

“Sorry you had to see that, kid, but don’t worry. Our business was with the old man and nobody else. Your mom and siblings will be fine.” one of them said. “You’re the oldest, yeah? You gotta make sure you don’t get into this. A sense of responsibility is important for a man! We better not see you messing with the Oshino Clan’s turf, now.”

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the faces of those two men. The cold stare as one drove a sword into my father’s heart...and that fake smile the other man wore to set an example for me.

To this day, I still hate those two. Regardless of how much of a piece of shit my dad turned out to be, I couldn’t just let them get away with hurting my family. I made a vow to rise up in power no matter what. To find those two men. To give my siblings and mother a source of income. And to ensure that nobody hurts them ever again.

As soon as I grew up to be an adult, I started my plan. My rise to power began when I started selling those drugs that father made. I’m well aware that I became exactly what I want to hunt, but I see no faster way. The money rolled in faster than I had ever seen, and soon I was able to hire some muscle. A couple of swords grew to a slowly expanding underground empire. Four percent of this massive conurbation was under my influence, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of slowing down.

Have I done some unsavory things? Course I have. That’s just how this business works. People have to give up their lease on life earlier than God expected. Other gangs and clans have to be supplanted. They can’t be trusted to “protect others” like they claim. They’re just out to make sure their turf is spotless so that they can feast on their prey themselves. I refuse to sink to their standards, not after finding out what exactly they do to those that don’t fall into their set of rules.

Today, I stand atop my manor’s balcony, watching the night unfold, wondering what to manage next. My methods are nothing to be proud of, but for the sake of vengeance...for the sake of my family...I cannot back down now-

A crash echoed from somewhere in the manor. What was that? It was 4 am, only the guards should be awake by now! I opened the door and tried to take a peek. And there it was: the body of one of my guards, slumped over by a nearby staircase! I went to check on him, but he was already dead; a knife was found in his throat. I pulled out the knife and looked around more, but I only found more dead guards! What do I do!? Has an assassin finally decided to come for me!? I had to hide.

I made a break for the underground wine cellar, but then I suddenly heard more noise from a nearby room. Panicking, I dashed down the stairs and tried to hide. The noises that chased me echoed down the staircase once more before suddenly coming to a close. With nowhere else to go, I snuck into the lounge room and locked the door. For a moment, there was no further noise. Perhaps I was safe at last and could call for help…

Another crash echoed from the wine cellar. The sound of broken glass rang throughout the manor and stopped my heart for a few beats. Then, when the noise began to subside, I suddenly started to hear voices…

“Geez, you’d think a guy as rich as this would organize his glass stuff better. I mean, come on, it was way too easy to knock these over…”

What the hell? It sounded like a young woman...what kind of assassin starts talking in the middle of the job!? Is she trying to intimidate me!?

“...Well excuse me for trying to make a dynamic entrance for once! I’ve been telling you, a duo like us should have some cool phrase or entrance to match! You know, strike fear into the hearts of evildoers!”

Is she...talking to someone? As soon as she finished her sentence, the room grew quiet again.

“...Whaddya mean? We’re gaining some infamy even if they don’t know our names, so what’s the harm here?”

Another moment of silence.

“C’mooooon, don’t give me that! It’ll be fun! It’s not like they’ll survive past our visit anyway, so we can say our names, Fio!”

If it weren’t for this door, I’d be able to tell if she was a crazy loon talking to herself or not, but I’m just so scared for my life that I’d rather not take the chance!

“...Do you really find that fun?” a different voice whispered. Well shit, there really are two people here. I’m guessing this quiet one is Fio.

“Yeah! Heroes do it all the time on the radio! They announce their big entrance and list off their target’s crimes and stuff!” The louder woman was silent for a moment. “Eh? Really? Alright! Let’s check that door over there!”

Fuck.

I tried to dash to the other side of the room, but the door suddenly busted open with the force of an explosion, knocking my back to the wall. Before I even knew what happened, five knives were thrown from the smoke, stabbing themselves into the wall only inches from where I was.

“Oh! We got him. Nice place you got here, Baron!” said the louder voice. She was a woman in a red tank top and, from the looks of things, kicked down that door herself. Her partner was a small ninja girl in a pink, long-sleeved gi and a scarf that flowed through the air like it was practically made of fire. Her bob cut hairstyle didn't extend past her neck. She looked no taller than five feet and three inches, but was swift enough to practically materialize in front of where I lay flat on my ass. I looked up to find her pointing one of her knives at me.

“You...know my name...so you really are after my life, huh-”

“My name is Ryukari Kurosawa, vigilante of justice and beater of thugs!” she interrupted before I could even finish my thought. The girl glanced to her partner with an expectant look.

“Fiooooo! You promised to join me!” Ryukari said. But she received no response. “What do you mean you didn’t promise! You better do it next time, then…”

How she even understood complete silence as a detailed, if brief response is beyond me.

“...So, Ryukari? That...that can’t be your real name, can it…?”

“Well no, it’s not.”

“So why that name of all things?”

“Well it sounds kinda cool, doesn’t it?”

If I’m dying here, I might as well die laughing. “That’s the silliest made-up name I’ve heard-GYAH!” A sharp pain suddenly struck my left shoulder. That tiny ninja threw a knife at me faster than I could see!

“Thank you, Fio! Glad to know that someone thinks my taste in names is cool!” Ryukari seemed glad over my pain. She pulled out a small notebook out of her pocket. “Now back to business…Baron Munenori-oh, ‘Baron’ is his name, now I see. You should have specified that, Fio.”

Fio said nothing, but Ryukari’s face made it seem like she snarked back with an inside joke.

“Well if the guy’s lucky, he’ll probably live through this, but oh man, I don’t think we can let him go with this list of crimes…” she said as her eyes trailed down her notebook. “Ah, where was I...Munenori, you are guilty of running a drug empire, killing innocents for so much as finding out the truth, participating in turf wars, yada yada yada…”

“Hey! Read that properly! This is my life you’re deciding, you crazy bitch-AUGH!” Another knife struck my torso. Nothing vital was hurt, but the knives were getting dangerously close to hitting something bad.

“Well now, looking at you, you don’t seem like you did this for simple greed or whatever. Lemme guess. Revenge? You wanted to support your family after some other gang hurt you? Did your parents die or something, cause that’s pretty common. Always sucks, too…” Ryukari’s tone dipped into a more dour tone when mentioning parents.

“Yeah...you’re right on the money. But I had to! I need to do this to find the two men that killed my father! But if I’m dying here, answer me this...Akira Fujiwara and Joseph Klein...do you know them?”

Ryukari flipped through her notebook. “Hmm...now that you mention it, I do sorta recall two dudes by those names...Fio, you remember?”

Once again, utter silence.

“Oh yeah, you’re right. She killed those dudes like...a year ago. I sorta forgot the job they were on, but yeah. They didn’t seem very memorable, what’s your beef-OH! Oh, they killed your pops. Sorry…”

“Sorry!? I’ve been hunting down a part of my plan for years and I find out from you that they died a year ago-GAH!” One more knife struck my abdomen. “Dammit...I’m not gonna let this city fall into the hands of a bunch of vigilantes!”

“Relax!” said Ryukari. “It’s better than having it in the hands of organized crime. I mean, we’re still killing killers and all, so I can’t say it’s in good hands, but...well, it’ll be in hands, definitely!” She grinned with the most hopeful smile a bad comedian can give when an over prepared joke fell too flat.

“Of all people to murder me, why you clowns...you don’t even understand why I went down this path...I need to do this to make sure no other clan abuses their power again! I need this…” I felt a tear roll down my cheek, but at this point I wasn’t sure if it was cause of my confession or the pain I’m feeling from being stabbed twice. “I need this to give money to my mom and siblings…yes I’ve committed crimes, but I can change things now and atone later!”

“Oh, is that so.” The ninja girl suddenly opened her mouth.

I couldn’t help but yell. “Oh now you can talk again!”

“You think you’re justified in your methods? You think your experience and goal of a greater society makes you unique and in the right here? You and your little sob story are a coin-a-dozen in this town, all claiming that their goals justify the means. That they will help people in the end and will pay for their crimes once they’re done. But they can never be trusted. You backstab others to further your own lies. You soak your hands in blood and lie to yourself that it will be worth it. That God still watches you and with his all forgiving wisdom and love, you’ll still be forgiven, even if hell is where you may end up anyway.”

“Hey, Fio…” Ryukari trailed off.

“But God isn’t watching.” Her cold eyes lacked any sense of empathy or remorse. When I gazed into “Fio’s” eyes, I sensed nothing but murderous intent. There was no life, no soul behind it.

I didn’t know what else to do. That gaze struck every cord of fear within me. In a panic, I pulled out one of the knives stuck in the wall and leapt at this would-be assassin.

“Gyaaaaaah!” I cried, but by then, the girl was already out of my reach. With a deft movement that I couldn’t even properly capture with my own eyes, she swung something that seemed to materialize into her hand.

A wet crunch was the last thing I heard before my vision went black.

Ryukari, who just watched her best friend murder yet another corrupt gang member, stood in silence as blood drained from the crater that used to be Baron Munenori’s skull. Fio, who reverted back to her quiet and stoic self, was just as quiet, the now-bloody weight on her kusarigama dangling from its chain at her side. Being a vigilante in Ralaneas, especially with a friend like Fio, means seeing death on a frequent basis. But this time, her cherished partner’s silent fury could no longer contain itself.

“Hey, Fio…”

Fio glanced at Ryukari without moving her head.

“It’s alright...let’s get something to eat, yeah?”

“...Hm.” Fio hummed as slowly walked out of the hole they left in the wall. “It’s rather late...but I would like that. Thank you.”

“My treat...I hope the janitors here don’t freak out too bad. The guy mentioned siblings and a family, right? Well we should probably go get them and give them some place to stay if they're innocent first.”