Chapter 155: Check-In
/Bloodstain, eh? A mean fuckin’ bitch, that one. Ye don’t wanna cross her, lest ya get reduced to a smear on the floor. Been around longer than most, and earned her reputation from the ground up. With blood, I mean.
Her gang’s flobs, yeah, but they’re also a Bloodline. That’s the gang’s name. Their leader, Bloodstain, is… well, as you’d expect, she’s a blood mage. She infuses others with her blood, a powerful contract-type skill, which gives ‘em powers at the cost of exploding if they betray her.
Yeah, exploding. Turning them into a smear against the ground. That’s where her name comes from. People who betray her, and people who stand against her, that’s what she turns them into.
Stains of blood./
-Zinc, level 44 Heathward, innkeep on the fifth floor.
- - -
Anna stares at me. “You… fucking what?!”
“I’m engineering a gang war,” I inform her.
“Engineering?!”
For a moment, I tilt my head in thought. Then I nod, agreeing with her. “You’re right, engineering is too generous. Let me try again. I’m starting a gang war.”
The girl stares at me, then stomps a leg. “Fucking… how!? You don’t even have a gang!”
“Yes,” I nod sagely. “That’s why I’m starting one.”
“Why are you starting a gang?!” she screams
Once more, I tilt my head, as if it were obvious. “Because I need to start a gang war.”
“Why?” she demands, grabbing her face with her hands, exasperated.
Smiling softly, I reply. “Oh, that’s easy. One of my friends got stabbed.”
She stares at me. Then she grasps her face again, groaning, leaning against the wall and sliding down until she’s sitting on the ground. “That’s fucking it? Someone got shanked? Did they survive?”
I nod. “She did.”
“Which gang shanked her?”
“Bloodline.”
Anna stares at me one more time, eyes wide. “Holy shit. You’re gonna fucking die,” she says.
Slowly, I shake my head. “No, I don’t think I will.” A small smile spreads on my lips.
A long silence hangs in the air, the girl too stunned to even swear. “You’re insane,” she eventually concludes. “You’re delusional.” She throws her hands into the air. “Completely off your rocker. You’re gonna falling die.”
“Nope,” I wave her off. “I’m not even leading my gang.”
“But you’re starting it!” she demands.
I nod. “That’s correct.”
“Then who in the Tower’s name is running it?” she finally asks.
This time, I just give a shrug. “Another friend.”
“You’re gonna die,” she says again, exasperated. “You’re gonna die, and then my brother will die. Why are you abandoning us like that? I know I haven’t paid, but I-” Her words break off, tears pricking at her eyes, and she hides them behind her hands.
Very slowly, I sit next to her, then tap Kuro. The black shadow slithers off my back, shapes themselves into a cat, and purrs softly, rubbing their head against her legs. Anna looks at Kuro in surprise, and slowly reaches out to pet them.
“Let me be clear,” I say softly. “I’m not leaving. I’m not abandoning you. I will live through this.” The words come out calmly, as they always do, but I hope it has a reassuring tone to it now. Before, I was definitely bullying her.
She opens her mouth, but the words die before they leave her lips. She curls up her knees and buries her face in them, Kuro’s fur trapped gently in between her thighs and torso. “Falling hell,” she eventually says. “Fuck.”
Anna takes another few minutes to compose herself, then finally looks at me. Her eyes are irritated and grey. Which makes sense, since that’s the colour of feryran blood. For a long second, she just looks at me, then bites her lip. “Damn it all. Why do I believe you?”
“Can I touch you?” I ask.
She nods.
I reach over, and ruffle her hair. “Cuz I’m telling the truth. Not gonna abandon you.” I look to the ceiling, wistfully. “This’ll be dealt with before you know it.”
A small laugh leaves her lips at that. “You even believe it,” she says, reaching out and squishing Kuro to her face. “You really do.”
This time, I don’t grace her with a reply. Instead, I settle in next to her brother, then hover my single hand above him. Anna gets some more time with Kuro, and I patch her brother back up. “You know,” I say quietly, “you never told me his name.”
“Yeah,” she says, muffled by Kuro’s fur.
“Would you like to?” I ask.
Slowly, she nods. “Trey.”
“Mh. I hope Trey’ll be in good health again soon. Did you notice he’s been improving?” I ask.
Her eyes glisten and she stares. “He… has?”
Smiling softly, I hum an agreement, then focus. Twisting my healing skill to take as much of my mana and as little of his energy as possible. She’ll still have to feed him for a little while, of course, but that’s fine. Anna’s a good sister. Far better than any of my siblings ever were.
Eventually, I am done with my treatment.
[Solidification 21 > 22]
[Job up! Core Controller 0 > 2]
More points go into my vessel and I quickly adjust my attunement loop, before it cracks again. The needles are denser than ever before, ready to fuel the enchantment for even longer than usual. This way, he should make it through four, rather than the usual one-and-a-half or two before I need to check in.
Slowly, Trey stirs awake, and I rise to my feet. “He’ll be scared to see me first if he wakes up,” I tell Anna, encouraging her to look after him.
Her face turns to me, calmer now, and she slowly shakes her head. “I don’t think so. You’re really pretty without that cloak on.”
A small snicker escapes me. “Usually I’m told my face is infuriating.”
“It is,” she nods. “You’re handsome and pretty at once. And when you stare with that deadpan expression it’s scary. In an aggravating way.”
Slowly, I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”
“That,” she says, then snickers. “That expression. Though with the tilt it’s kind of cute.”
As my revenge, I reach out and ruffle her hair again. Kuro uses their chance to liquify, flowing up my arm and settling into the usual cloak and hood, hiding my missing arm and the half of my face that has the handprint on it. It’s a scar, even after I healed the skin, though with each session, more of it fades.
When I mess with her, Anna laughs, just a little bit. Her eyes follow me, even as she shuffles over to her brother. When the door opens, and the wind and rain whistle into the small, run-down hut, she turns away and whispers. “Please, come back, Yuki.”
“Snow,” I say quietly. “You can call me Snow.”
Her eyes crinkle. “That’s the same word,” she says slowly.
A small smile spreads on my lips. “It sure is, isn’t it?” I ask, then step outside, and let the door shut.
My smile vanishes, slowly but surely. I step down the street, my mana already filling back up. I breathe in, then out, weaving it into needles that I carefully stash in my coat for now. Step by slow step, I walk to the street, putting my regenerating mana into preparations.
Thatch waits outside the inn. Inu, Opal and Sylves are all there, too, draped in heavy cloaks. Even Richard has her own, tailored by Sylves and enchanted by me. “Ready to go, Snow?” Thatch asks me with a small smile.
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “Let’s show them what we’re made out of.”
“These crybabies are gonna make some fools cry,” Opal says with a grin.
And then, all at once, we set off with the intent to kill.