Here's anoth for you...

by Dann Burdette

I felt his body shudder in the last throws of death as I removed my blade slowly from his chest.

The fool, if only he had cooperated, I might have left him alive.

I stood up, bandaged my relatively light wounds, and carried his body outside, to bury it. I wonder why his secret was so precious that we couldn't tell me one simple thing. But, I guess that's what you get from those worthless lackeys, foolish undying loyalty. I wonder if Nagi trained them to be that way, in case I did follow him one day. How could he not think of that? He was smart, but he made the mistake of not killing me when he should've. I was young then; I would've been easy prey for one as skilled as him. But now, I wonder if even he would suspect me to hunt him down like this. I still remember that day like it was yesterday…

Mom and Dad were so happy, Nagi was coming home for the first time in years, and we'd be together as a family again. None of us had seen him since the day he left to begin his training so many years ago. Mom was preparing his favorite sushi and rice dish; Dad had planned a bunch of activities for us all that weekend. Things were going to be great again; we'd all be together. At least so I thought.

I waited patiently by the door all day, waiting for my big brother to come home. He had promised before he left that when he came back, he'd teach me some of the things he learned. He knew I was jealous of him. I knew from day one that I'd never get to go and do all the neat training that he did. Get to learn how to move quieter and faster than death, strike with a killing blow of the katana, and leave unnoticed.

I knew I'd never be able to go out and hunt the monsters like he did. Because girls just aren't strong enough they always told me, we just screwed things up. Our purpose was to keep the house all nice and cook food, maybe do a little work on the side. But we'd never get to go out and the man's work. Hunt the beasts, work in big, important corps, nothing like that for us.

I had made him a little present, a music box, using tiny pieces of bamboo I had cut down myself (well, ok, Dad helped a bit) I ran into my room to get it, and just then heard him coming home. I heard Mom and Dad yell out at him, I knew they'd all be hugging him to death, not leaving any room for little old me.

But then, something happened, I heard Mom scream, I heard someone fall down, and I ran out to see what was going on. That wasn't my brother out there, no it couldn't be. His eyes, they darted around the room never focusing on anything, he was smashing things with his katana.

I saw Dad lying on the ground bleeding from a gaping hole in his chest.

I saw mom running from him, trying to get away, but he was too fast, too strong.

There was something horribly unnatural about him. I assumed he hadn't seen me in the chaos. I wanted to go help Mom, Dad was already obviously dead, but I couldn't. I just stood there, frozen in time, unable to move because I was so scared. What had happened? Why was Nagi doing this? I though for a second maybe it was someone else who just looked like Nagi, but there were too many connections. He ran through the house and finally got to Mom almost right in front of me. He attacked her viscously; her blood being sprayed everywhere, even on me.

It was then that I finally managed to move. And I ran, I ran as far and fast as I could out the back door of the house, never turning back to look and see if he was behind me, hoping he never saw me. And that's all I really remember. One day, evidently, quite some time later, I woke up in a strange house, with an old man watching over me. To this day, I still don't know how I got there, or when I stopped running…

That bastard had murdered my family. I later learned that my father had stolen some rather confidential data from the Yakuza back in his wilder days. Not only had they taken in my brother, they had decided to send him out to kill my father and anyone else in the house. I never would forgive him for that.

Old man Heichi had taken me in after I ran away, and raised me like I was his own daughter. I never really knew anyone other than him for most of my childhood. He taught me everything I know, reading, writing, he even trained me in the use of the katana, knowing of my vow to avenge my family's death.

He always taught that vengeance wouldn't bring them back, all it could ever do was consume me, and I never listened to him about that.

He was right though, ever since I left his home, I have dedicated my life solely to killing my brother.

Maybe I'm not a whole person anymore, I don't even know myself, but once I've rid the world of him, I'll move on with my life, maybe settle down, have a normal job, all that.

But back to today, I had used my rather significant resources at work to do a bit of research, on my brother, and the Yakuza, their operations, etc.

I had found a home, evidently dedicated as sort of a base of operations for them, in the country. Not many were stationed there, I thought perhaps my brother would be there. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, just a bunch of trainees in the middle of the woods practicing. I later learned that he had been there, but had left recently. One of the worthless pawns had mentioned Seattle when I asked about him (prior to me killing him), so to there I would go.

The others hadn't quite been as cooperative, and so, with that, their little outpost was eradicated. And I had my lead, Seattle, the center of the Shadow-running world, epicenter of corps, and filled to the brim with people that wouldn't take even half a second to think when deciding to kill you.

I had heard a bit about Seattle through my years, my English wasn't all that great, but I figured I'd manage.

My only problem was that damn Corp I worked for. There was no way Renraku was going to just let me walk away. So, I had to escape.  It wasn't easy, but I got a nice break.  Got a guess?  Yes, I slipped out during the period of chaos in which the great beast Renraku died and was reborn as Novatech.

I know they'll follow me, but I'll just have to deal with that when it happens. And so I go, to Seattle to finally settle an old score. Just him, and me. I also brought along the katana Heichi had given me before I left his home, Ketsurui. He told me it had been handed down through his family for hundreds of years.

It was the only gift anyone had given me, that I can remember. And so with that, I end this entry, I may write again, once I have found and killed him, and begun my life anew.