Reimian Empire

Beginning

Lately, Tsukiko Shimizu had been frequently visiting the "Stingray" bar. Stress piled upon stress, worry upon worry, and in this place, the nihonka could feel some semblance of relief. She also liked that she could meet Livia at the bar; Tsukiko felt they had found common ground and become friends against the backdrop of the horror both had endured. But today, Shimizu-chan came at an unusual hour for her—at night—and she didn't intend to drink anything. Frankly speaking, not a single person in the bar noticed her presence at that moment.
A noisy company was gathered in the center of the bar; they were representatives of a bandit syndicate from the slums. They were celebrating having recently scored a decent haul. However, as merry as they were, they didn't drink too much—they knew perfectly well that if they overdid it, competing Clans would gladly prey upon their unable-to-fight colleagues upon their return to the slums. But no one could take away the lively conversation from these fellows.
— Have you heard a ghost has appeared in the city? — exclaimed one of them, a scrawny little man. — It's killing people in the slums!
— Ha-ha, what an imagination! Why would a ghost bother with our homeland?
— I saw her, — seriously noted a third person, who had been mostly silent until then. — Some badger was walking back after a job, shaking his purse... Then she steps out of the shadow, — and the man ran his palm across his throat.
— And what did you do?
— Nothing, why should I care about some badger? For some reason, she didn't notice me.
— What does she look like?
— Obviously. Dark clothes and a mask.
— Well, we have nothing to fear! — the scrawny one got carried away again. — We aren't some badgers, we are spiders! We only laugh at ghosts. Right, Spider?
Spider, their boss, shrugged.
— This is certainly not a phantom, as the newspapers call her. She is human. But we shouldn't let our guard down. Remember that, according to the chronicles, she only kills bandits. Why? Who knows. But I wouldn't be Spider if I didn't read the threats around us. And remember, two of ours disappeared two weeks ago. Stay vigilant, boys, — someone nearby chuckled, and the leader turned in that direction. — Boys and Hyena, yes. Alright, enough, let's go collect taxes.
The company gathered and left. Shortly after, Tsukiko followed them. Spider and his henchmen headed to the poor quarters, where a group of people was already waiting for them at the gathering point. Pickpockets, beggars—they were to pay "taxes," a fee for the protection of their place and lives. Also a decent income for bandits. The procedure began and continued for some time, during which the "taxpayers" tried to disappear immediately after giving the required share. No sense in getting underfoot, or you might end up under a heavy hand...
When everyone had paid, one last person remained. Covered in bruises, with a swollen eye, a tiny man limped closer to Spider, apologizing every minute.
— Zeroes again, dog?
— Uh.
— I'm asking you...
— Y-y-yes.
— You're getting beaten. It's a sign, — and Spider signaled his men.
At that moment, a shadow flashed, and two bandits were instantly hacked to pieces; another, a sturdy armored foreigner, survived but gasped in pain. A girl in dark blue clothing and a wooden mask stood there with a blood-stained katana.
The bandits' first impulse was to throw the rest of their strength at her, but as a result, their leader, Spider, almost immediately fell face-first into the road mud, while the ghost didn't have a single scratch. The remaining robbers preferred to flee, but two more, including the foreigner, were caught and killed; only the particularly nimble scrawny lad escaped.
The beggar stood nearby, unable to move in terror.
— A-a-a phan-antom? Don't touch me!
Tsukiko was wiping blood from her katana with a rag.
— What? I won't touch you.
For some time the beggar just stood and watched. Eventually, he burst into tears:
— What have you done? They'll kill me now! Or someone else will! M-m-me now... I am now... Why did you...
A loud sigh was heard from behind the mask.
— If you think I stepped in for you, then no. I didn't intend to protect you from anyone, — she began to walk away, then turned sharply. — I just... showed you an example. You are weak. But worst of all is that you are fine with it. A person must either be able to stand up for themselves, or run, hide, accumulate rage and take revenge. But you... You just endure. You offer your face when you're beaten. I simply gave you a lesson. Which you, of course, will not learn.
Standing amidst fresh corpses, Shimizu-chan began to think about many things, to remember. "Oh, Taro, your little girl has grown up; did you ever think I would become like this?" Then Tsukiko remembered Muneshige, who for several weeks now had deprived her of his blessing and whose prayers no longer touched her heart... This was especially sad; the girl had previously hoped that after death, her soul and the soul of Taro, whom she loved, would be together under the roof of Muneshige's Temple. And now it seemed to her that this had always been her most passionate dream, the meaning of her existence, and she still wanted something like that. But Yachiru Hakumei changed her, and Muneshige betrayed her. He didn't try to fix or guide her in any way, but simply "left" and forgot about his adept. Tsukiko felt a conflicted emotion toward Yachiru; after all those strange, sleepless nights, she was now certain that it was the rescued nihonka who put the final touch on the character change of Muneshige's former servant. Who, she understood, was generally undergoing changes in the palace, but before that conversation, Shimizu had at least tried to be kind. In some ways, Tsukiko liked the new her. The girl had become stronger than ever, losing a part of her meaningless and hindering naivety. But along with it, the dream of Taro was lost; there was now a huge abyss of worldview between them, and for this, Tsukiko wished Yachiru death.
Turning back after all these reflections, Tsukiko didn't see the beggar; he had escaped after all. It seemed he had said something else to her, but it no longer mattered. Well, now, without witnesses, she could take the money and some property from Spider and his henchmen without losing the image of the mysterious night ghost. More accurately, there was one witness, as always on such sorties, but that didn't matter.
Tsukiko took what she wanted and went to a secluded spot to change into her usual blue outfit, and then to the hotel. Someone was already waiting for her in the room—a ninja from Nihon.
— I believe I asked you to kill only Spider, — he said. — How many people have you slaughtered up until today?
— I don't remember. Maybe five or six.
— Ten, Shimizu. Ten.
— Really?
— Yes. And those were bandits; one other was just a thief.
— ...
— Because of you, it took me considerable effort to kill the Badger today. Bandits are starting to get scared and are uniting into larger groups than before. But in any case, you did your part of the work, and I did mine. I won't thank you; you were more than compensated by my agreeing to teach someone like you. Farewell, Shimizu, — the ninja stood by the door. — By the way, the Phoenix clan sends its regards.
The girl started.
— What did you say?
— Why do you think I needed bandits in Calvade? It's simple. They dared to kill merchants of our clan who arrived in the city some time ago. And, of course, they paid for it. By the way, I will put in a word for you with the clan; I think they will forgive you for killing a couple of ours long ago. Not that they are still angry at you. Old news. Farewell.
And the ninja vanished as if he had never been there.
Tsukiko sat motionless for some time. She helped a clan she still hated and wished to exterminate? And he also helped her in some way? How strange it all turns out...
Apparently, it's time to leave this city. It is unlikely to offer any further opportunities for growth, and killing robbers at night only seemed like some kind of sword training to her at first. Perhaps it would have been better to simply continue swinging the katana indoors with weights (though Tsukiko never stopped doing that). And Livia... It seems she also expressed a desire to leave for the capital soon?
The girl decided to depart for Reims tomorrow.

Plans

Buying in Calvade (as soon as possible, on the first day of return, if possible):
1) Book about enhancers
2) "Night Secret" high boots

Not in shops, but I'll get/acquire/craft them somehow (no need to add to inventory, just for fact):
1) Dark blue attire with a hat
2) Moon mask

Due to balance changes:
1) Selling my light armor, same heart heavy. It's too inconvenient to fight in now...

Timeskip:
1) Reading about Rana Reims
2) I could have written more about what I do in Calvade in my free time, what I drink there, but I think it's not the point.


New skills:



Way of the Ninja

-- Taijutsu