Ch10 - Dark Acceptance

When one learns to accept their faults, nothing can hold them back.

Purpura opened his eyes, and sat up.
He was surrounded by flames, but it wasn't hot.
He stood up and looked around.
He was in a home, that was burning.
A quick look around helped him recognize it was his childhood home.
Suddenly, his mother appeared, looking about frantically.
His mother looked much less exhausted, now that the children were older.
The neko was bracing against flames, and silently calling out.
Though, there was no noise.
No noise from the fire, shouting, or beams cracking...
It was eerily silent.
He gently reached out as if to touch his mother.
Yet, his hand passed thru as if he were a ghost.
His mother then hurried upstairs.

Purpura watched as the roof failed in certain places, collapsing to the ground.
All the furniture burned, he knew how the fire started.
It had been an accident.
Six year olds often caused accidents, though not normally this catastrophic.
The question had always been how the fire managed to consume the house so quickly...
That Purpura didn't know.

Suddenly his mother came running back downstairs, carrying a child tightly.
He knew that child was actually him, about ten years old.
His mother was carrying him to outside the house, when a beam suddenly dropped from the roof.
The beam caught his mother, and his mother was knocked down.
This caused his mother to drop his child self.
The child got up, and turned around, to help.
His mother pointed to the door, and silently shouted a command, likely to leave the house.
The child looked like he tried to protest, but finally obeyed and went outside.
Purpura moved around the scene, to see that his mother's legs were trapped under the beam.
There was no way a child could help, the beam was much to heavy.
The scene faded to black.

Purpura crossed his arms, annoyed that he'd been caught by such a technique.

Mental manipulation, it wasn't new to him.

Then a new scene formed.
Now he stood inside a concrete arena.
It was rectangular shaped, and above were stands.
There was a deafening roar, yet the seats were empty.
Purpura looked to the left, to see a boy with extravagant ears, and blue markings on his face.
He was perhaps 12, and some sort of demon.
Purpura then looked right, and out walked a purple haired neko.
He recognized it as himself at the age of 12, nearly 13.
This was his assassin academy.
He'd recognize the sense of impending doom anywhere.
There was a vocalized command, though the exact words were unheard.
The two boys then lunged at each other.
Purpura stepped back, watching himself and the other boy fight.
It was very crude combat, he'd improved a lot over the years.
He questioned the significance of this particular battle.
Finally the child Purpura had the other boy bested.
There was an announcement, and the twelve year old neko looked uncertain.
The crowd became more deafening.
Finally the neko formed a blood dagger, and began stabbing the other boy in the stomach.
The other boy tried to fight, but quickly went limp.
Finally the child Purpura stood up, his hands and clothes covered in blood.
The neko shook, as the general realization and horror of his first kill took hold.
The crowd continued to cheer it's deafening roar.
The scene faded again.
Purpura stood, rather bored with the scene.
He'd long ago accepted his first kill, he'd make for a poor assassin if he didn't.

A new scene formed.
Now, inside a stone building.
The building was ancient, and collapsing from lack of maintenance over the centuries.
There was a fight though.
Three people fighting.
One was, of course Purpura, not looking much different than now.
Except that he was sporting a long bloody scarf that trailed behind his movements.
Another was dressed in all black, with a metallic cover over his mouth.
The one dressed in black had dark hair...
The darkest shade of purple that could still be considered purple.
He was wielding twin daggers, in the fight, and commanding shadows to strike.
That was Black Death.
The two moved with intense speed, and skill, working together against their attacker.

Their attacker, had bright orange hair, and matching trailing markings all along his body.
He would summon bright orange shields that blocked dagger, shadow, and blood strikes.

Purpura uncrossed his arms, watching the scene with interest.
"This scene catches your interest?" a voice spoke.
Purpura turned to see the last man on his contract.
"Now, why would this particular scene catch your eye, this was more recent than the other memories."
Purpura shrugged, he knew the man was a ghost in his mind.
There was no sense attempting to physically attack the male.
Purpura then moved, and stood by a window, it was cracked, but still there surprisingly.
"The fight is over here." the man said walking closer to the combat.
Suddenly the memory Purpura was thrown across the room.
Landing directly in front of the window, and jumping up like it was nothing.
Black was then thrown back, knocking memory Purpura over.
His past self pushed Black away, before readying himself.
The orange haired man appeared behind them.
He hit Black in the back of the head, with a orange blunt ax.
Black hit the ground, and the orange haired man then jumped thru the window.
His past self hurried over to give chase, looking down to see the man escaping.
He then turned back to Black.
Both current and memory Purpura stared at Black for just a moment, the male target walked over to observe.
His memory self walked over, Black's head looked smashed in.
It was oozing shadows in almost a liquid like form.
He didn't know what to do, blood he could work with.

He could heal a blood wound, force it to clot.

But shadow demons were something else entirely.
He untied the ribbon from his neck and wrapped it about in a makeshift bandage.
Purpura then picked up Black onto his back, and carried him carefully.
The scene faded, to blackness.

Only Purpura, and the target remained.

The target spoke.
"Interesting. Very interesting.
Who was that... follow assassin, I imagine?"
Purpura did nothing, to hint at the truth.
"Fine, do not tell me.
I should let you know though, that the guards have already seized you.
You have been promptly moved to a cell.
And I will proceed with your torture, until you talk.
Now, you can make this very easy on yourself.
Simply, tell me who hired you, and for what reason."
Purpura didn't even acknowledge the question with a glance.
"Fine then. Interrogation will continued until you tell me everything.
Then it will continue until your mind collapses from continued intrusion."
Purpura smirked under his mask, he knew the man had nothing.
The scenes had been half-formed, purposely blocked.
Being raised with a telepathic brother made him learn mental blocks, quick.
The man continued speaking, "Since the only scene you showed any true interest in...
Was the last one...
I suppose I can get the guards and all employs on tracking down this other assassin.
Shouldn't be hard, metallic mask is unique, as are twin daggers.
We don't employ assassins, so I am not familiar with those available.
Though, given that scene, I doubt he's currently in any proper fighting shape.
That was what, just over a year ago?
Even if he's not active, I doubt it killed him, perhaps he's simply in a hospital somewhere.
That'll make him easier to track down.
I imagine if we find him, we can break him too.
I wonder between the two of you who would break first."
Purpura growled, and held his hands forward.

The man continued, "Surely would be interesting to watch both of you descend into madness.

Have you both divulge all your secrets."

Purpura focused intently, and suddenly the darkness faded, and he saw he was in the same place as before.

The cells on both sides, the target in front of him.

Barely seconds had passed, as the guards were barely a step closer.
The man was frozen, as Purpura had frozen all the blood in his veins.
Purpura then growled in an annoyed rage, and ripped all the blood from the man's body.
The man practically exploded, all the little bits dropped to the ground.
Purpura then stood, and looked to the guards.
Should he kill them, or leave them?
He glanced to the girl, and she whispered.
"I'll count each guard here, on the headcount for the payment."
Purpura smirked, that was all he needed to know.