Times were getting harder. Everyone seemed to be more panicked, arguments becoming commonplace. No one batted an eye as the rate of suicides increased. There was no pattern to the deaths. Young, old, wealthy, poor, male, female, homeless, or settled, there was nothing to connect them together. Naturally, Akira heard of them though. True to her nature, she had the optimistic belief that she may make a difference. If she could just find someone, she could talk to them, and find them assistance, a reason worth living for.

However, first things first, she always stopped by the guild before doing anything else. They always knew if she was in town and did not say hi to them. The kitsune was shoeless as she walked through the town, a basket of an assortment of food on her arm. Her black kimono top had pink cherry blossoms, complete with a matching short skirt. Today, she even had a pink ribbon tying her hair back in a single fox tail. Akira's tail lazily swished back and forth as she hummed a little tune to herself.

Yet, as she approached the guild, her ear twitched. There was the unmistakable sound of pain that she was sensitive to. It screamed louder than any sound most people could hear, as if the injury had a voice of it's own. Her feet faltered as she tried to triangulate the location of this sound. Curious, Akira turned toward an alley, literally a building or two away from the guild. ”Hello?” The lament was ever constant, seemingly growing louder the closer she approached.

”Anyone there? I have food and if you're hurt, I can heal. Don't be afraid.” Cautiously, she crept further into the darkening alley. The sound of sobbing could now be heard. When she was completely engulfed in the shadows, a single, telepathic scream could be heard in those closest to her, cut short. Her body froze, she could not move. When was all and done, her body slumped to the ground, half in the light now. A dagger was pressed into her wrists, slitting her fair skin open from mid arm straight down to her hands. The typical suicide marks. Blood quickly pooled around the foxling as she lay unconscious. The dagger was dropped by her as if she did this to herself, and her assailant disappeared.

It had only been a few weeks since his last task had been completed and he had found himself back in Hoja, back with the guild. What had started out as a simple assassination had turned into a long and twisted journey spanning most of the world, and finally, he had returned to the guild. Now, he had settled back into a daily routine.

This was why he had initially missed Akira when she had come around. His usual morning ritual started with the gossip mill, and now that his body had aged, he was allowed in places that children normally weren’t. The taverns and brothels of Hoja were a cesspool of vile and filth, but also a wealth of knowledge if one knew how to listen and be patient. And Lewis was patient.

It was like the previous few days. More who had decided to off themselves due to the hard times. Lack of money, lack of company, lack of food, lack of compassion. It was a trend. What started with one turned into many. What is this? Just people giving up so easily? It was disturbing, but perhaps it was a mindset. Lewis frowned as he pulled his coat closer around him and started out of the tavern. His next task was simple; check the dead drops.

Out of habit, he checked Xeik’s favorite first. Nothing. Of course. He’s been gone for quite some time now. He frowned at the thought. He missed his friend and leader. He also missed Danwe, the mentor who had brought all of this to fruition.

Lewis let out a sigh, and continued on to the next set of dead drops. After collecting them, he made his way back towards the guild, walked down the main streets. Hoja Mesto itself had not changed much since he had left, save for the rampant suicides. The vendors hadn’t changed, and the merchants still paraded about with their wealth. It was just like any other day.

“Hm?” He paused as he passed the alleyway next to the tavern in which Heaven’s Dawn was located. ‘Hey! What’s going on!?” There was a crowd of the guild boys huddled around a limp body. Another one? And so close. He started to move towards it. “Hey, back off alre-” His eyes trained on what looked like a fluffy tail. Suddenly he felt a chill.

Lewis darted forward, pushed a few of the boys out of the way. Laying there was none other than Akira….

—

It didn’t take long for Lewis and the guild to get things taken care of. They had moved Akira into the tavern’s main hall. One of the guild boys had savenged some bandages from Bat’s stash in the back of the tavern, and they had gone ahead and carefully wrapped Akira’s wrists.

For the moment, she was still breathing.

Lewis paced back and forth on the second floor, his mind racing. Despite being in a slight panic, his mind was clear and sharp; a sociopathic trait that he learned he had. Disassociation. It doesn’t make sense. He stopped pacing.

No. It makes perfect sense if we look at it from a different direction. They’re not suicides. They’re attacks. Akira wouldn’t. She has far too much to live for. And the rise of the suicides…this would explain why they’re so prevalent. The teen crossed his arms.

The real question is why.

He went back downstairs, and sat down next to Akira. He wasn’t sure if she would wake up. That worried him, but he wouldn’t show it to the boys. The assassin looked her over again, and cocked his head to the side.

“Neera…are you there?”

Neera was brooding. Akira hardly has anything to do with her anymore. If the girl wanted to be pig headed, stubborn, and prematurely age herself, then it was her own mistake to live. But the puca had a promise to fulfill. To watch over and guide then child, keep her from harm that would end the potential life she had. Though, the puca had to admit, it was interesting to watch her blossom as a flower as her life transformed from naive child to a young adolescent.

Travels were becoming more silent as Akira spent time on the airships staring out the window. Her speech was trying to become proper, more often than not, yet her excitement kept made it far too easy to fall back in the poor common of an ignored orphan. The foxling was still into anything that shines and animals, and perhaps always will. Even her decision making seems to have matured some with the potion, the more time she spent in this aged version.

Thus, Neera spent most of her days curled around Akira's arm under her sleeve. There was only one flaw to Neera as she slept. Unless her life was in danger, she usually did not wake up until her name was called. The attack went unnoticed as she slumbered. Akira was picked up, taken to the guild, and tended to by the guild mates, all oblivious of the sleeping puca. Her name was spoken, and Neera stretched out, probably looking quite ridiculous as the child's sleeve started moving randomly.

As she crept down the arm, Neera noticed something unusual. There were bandages on Akira's arms. Why hadn't she healed herself if she was injured? Neera poked her head from under the hem of the sleeve, instantly recognizing the thieves guild of Hoja Mesto. Lewis was sitting next to Akira, who Neera just noticed was more than just innocently sleeping. It was still far too early for even a nap. ”Lewis? What happened? Have you called for Celeste or other healers?”

Neera, currently as a small, blue dragon no bigger than a hand, scurried off the foxling. Taking the form of a tall elf, she checked Akira's vitals and began to pace back and forth. Some choice curses passed from her lips. It wasn't a good predicament they have found themselves in. She failed. A simple task and the puca failed. What would she tell Celeste and Larka? Xunatar? Neera shuddered at the thought. Even Shiloh would be a bad person to tell, one of the few gods Neera knew was a deity that Akira did not. ”She looks pale. Lost a bit of blood? Get some blankets. Blood loss decreases warmth.” The puca told one of the boys, her tone suggesting the any negative reaction was discouraged.

The fact that Neera responded helped ease Lewis’ mind. The puca was probably far better versed in how to take care of an injured Akira than any of the boys would ever be in their lifetimes. Still, seeing the concern on Neera’s face was almost painful.

“I don’t know what happened,” Lewis replied. “When I got back, she was in the alleyway like this.” As he spoke, a few of the boys brought over their blankets, and covered the kitsune. Lewis nodded to them in thanks.

“I’m going to go check the alley…” he said after a moment of lingering on Akira. “I’ll be back shortly.”

Lewis paced back and forth down the alley, his eyes looking over any and every detail. There was the trash from the previous day littered about. Some stray probably broke into it and scattered it. Puddles, remnants of the last rain. Stagnant water. Nothing important. His eyes stopped on a gleam.

“The dagger.” Lewis squatted down, and looked at the dagger. It was an ordinary thing, a base blade and hilt. Besides the fact that the edge was stained in Akira’s blood, the dagger seemed normal. Still, he dared not touch it in case the weapon was cursed.

Akira… He crossed his arms. What did this to you?

Lewis walked back into the tavern, his arms still crossed. His mind was running through a list of contacts he could possibly talk to. His first order of business would be the dagger. If it was an attack, then the assailant would need daggers to make it look like a suicide. With the rampant cases all across Hoja, it would mean that the attacker would have to have a steady supply of daggers.

“Check the blacksmith’s first.” Asking was out of the question. He would have to sneak in and peak at the ledgers.

“Neera. This is what I’ve got so far,” he said. It didn’t take long for the would be assassin to explain his thoughts and plan of action. When he finished, he looked to Neera. “What do you plan to do?”

While Lewis was out, Neera began to further look the child over. Aside from her wrists, there seemed to be no damage done to her. Yet, she could distinctly recall Akira screaming somewhere in her dream. The puca did not like this situation one bit. Neera finished rummaging through Akira’s pack, trying to figure out a plan of action, when Lewis came back. ”This was not a theft. Nothing is missing.”

He was given full attention as he explained his reasoning. She could not dispute him, and was quite proud to see such a bright young lad that her ward had attached herself to. ”I found this.” Neera showed Lewis a small, ornate hand mirror. ”It’s twin is at the Nash Cottage. There is a magical bond between the pair, allowing for transportation. I intend to call on Celeste to heal and watch over Akira. Once she is here, I can assist you however you need.”

To think that someone had made this look like suicide. Whoever it was had picked the wrong target. Sweet, innocent, naive Akira would never take her own life. Not even when Celeste had perished had Akira contemplated taking her own life. Neera doubted that Lewis’s own life would drive the child to such extremes either. While Akira would most assuredly find herself locked up in either of her rooms at her mothers’ or father’s homes, grieving the only way she knew how, Akira could never consider death herself.

Taking Akira’s hand, Neera spoke directly to her bandaged wrist. ”Ar lath ma.” A red ribbon appeared, tied neatly around the dainty limb. The puca took the end and tugged on it three times. Taking the mirror, she held it up and stared directly into it. Soon, a face materialized before her in the reflective surface before Neera placed it on the floor and took two steps back. Due to the magic bond, Celeste now stood inside the tavern with the boys. She was tall, and slender, wearing a loose blouse, tight pants, and boots. Her hair was pulled back into an untidy bun, and a pack was hefted over her shoulder.

It did not take her long to be filled in and the elf find herself next to her adopted daughter. Tempest, who had lost her hiding area for the time being, hung about Celeste’s neck. At the sight of the young foxling, the spirit-like being flowed down Celeste’s arm and swam the air above the child’s body. ‘The beta mermaid stopped at Akira’s head and looked at Celeste. From here, the elf attempted to diagnose the problem. She frowned. ”I have never felt anything like this, before. I’ll see what I can do, but I … I don’t know.”

Even though Lewis had travelled the world briefly, her had not witnessed much of what it had to offer, so when Neera brought Celeste over with the power of a magical mirror, Lewis could barely believe his eyes. There was a lot about the world that he didn’t know about, and things that he needed to learn how to prepare for. Magic was something that he had no idea what to do with, or how to handle it. So far, he had lucked out in the few instances in which he had to fight against it, but he knew luck would only get him so far in this life.

Once he heard the diagnosis of Akira, Lewis turned his attention back to Neera. The gears were whirring again in his mind. Neera wouldn’t have called them if she didn’t think they weren’t able to heal Akira, or at least keep her alive. If this…Tempest person hasn’t felt anything like this before… He frowned. Whatever did this was strong, and unique.

“Neera. I don’t know what we’re up against. I-” he paused. Fear wasn’t something he felt. “I feel….” Finding the word was hard. “I don’t know what to do. If i knew what we were up against, I would be able to prepare for it, but…” Another pause.

“Finding out what we’re up against is paramount, but I don’t know if we have the time. If it learns that Akira is still alive, it might come back to finish her.” He stopped.

“Bait. Just like last time,” he said. “We set up bait. So far, the suicides seem random, but they all have a few key points. They all seem to happen in alleyways…” He pulled out his map. “I’ll send out some of the boys to get info. Let’s see where most of the deaths have been…and see if we can’t lay a trap."

Celeste moved from Akira’s side and approached Lewis, placing a hand on his shoulder. ”I understand completely. Take this for your hunt. To hide yourself from sight, should the danger be great. And this to protect yourself from harm. I shall pray for your success. May your aim be true, dear Lewis.” She placed two rings into his hand, explaining the value of their power. There was faith in Neera, but Celeste had no idea what Lewis was capable of. He was different, of that she was sure, but there was no way of truly knowing from barely meeting him once or twice.

Neera nodded. ”But if the suicides seem random, how can we set the bait? I can choose any form, but without direction, I can’t do anything specific.” What they had was an inconsistency of time of attacks, random targets, all made to look like suicides. It was a unique damage that the attacker had done to Akira. Tempest indicated the child’s head. What was important in the head? ”Personality? Did she get attacked for who she is? Or perhaps her magic?”

She had the bubbliest personality that Neera had ever seen. But she didn’t understand what could be obtained through personality. The puca peered over the map that Lewis had produced. ”We don’t want it too close to where Akira was attacked. It would be a bit suspicious. Let’s have the boys canvas here, and here. You and I can go here. I can call on birds to help relay messages to us as head of recon.”

The complexities of the plan were coming together slowly but surely. Lewis agreed that staging a trap close to the tavern would be a bad idea, for more than just the reason Neera had. The would be assassin didn’t want to endanger anyone else in the guild other than himself. Whatever was attacking and staging the suicides was dangerous.

“All right. Argus, Finnel,” Lewis commanded, pointing at two of the boys. “Take the left side of the main road. Linus. Felix. You take the right.” He pointed at the next set of boys, and relayed out a series of commands. Lewis held the aura of command long enough to set up a wide enough net, and then turned his attention back to Neera.

“You and I get the fun part. The Merchant’s District. There were several wealthy people who were found there. I also have a contact who owes me a few favors. I’ll see if I can’t get some info from him about the weapon. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ll probably have to break into the blacksmith and take a look at his ledger. If he’s being paid hush money, he won’t spill that he’s supplying them willingly.” That act alone would pose some problems. They were short on time, or at least Lewis felt they were. If Xeik were here, he would have no issue breaking in. The two working near perfectly in tandem. Neera, on the other hand, was an unknown factor. Was she a good distraction? Could she hold her own in a a pointless, circular conversation? In a pinch, could she pull a surprise?

Lewis scoffed. This entire scenario was bad. But he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

“Let’s get going. I don’t want to wait here any longer. We need more information before I can come up with a solid plan of action.” He glanced over to Akira’s form. Concern will only hinder me. She’ll be fine as long as I act.

Celeste had to admit, Lewis took charge. For such a young man, he held great promise. She listened as best as she could while healing, or rather attempting to, of Akira took much of her attention. Neither she nor Neera could blame him for wanting out of the tavern. He struck the elf as a man of action. Focus on what you can control, avoid restless worry and pacing. It was a far more efficient way of life.

Neera took point, her form screamed wealth. Her head was held high as if she was bred as a noble-born. The plan was to flirt it up with the blacksmith, try to glean information while keeping him distracted long enough for Lewis to do his thing. Making it to the smithy, Neera approached with a polite air. ”Excuse me, but perhaps you can help me. You’re the third blacksmith… You are a blacksmith? Oh good, you’re the third one I’ve been to today! You see… I need to make an order, but the other smiths say it’s impossible!”

The puca dove into an extensive and complicated description of a switchaxe. It was a concept she had heard of at some point. Neera was going to suggest it for a gift to Larka once it was available for purchase. It took a long time for the smith to scratch his head. ”Look, miss, I’d love to help you. But that weapon is extremely complex, and I’m up to my ears in trouble already. You see, a large shipment of daggers made for one of my regulars went missing. Uses them for training boys, he does. Known him for years. Anyway, I’m trying to remake the daggers to replace what was stolen.”
[br]
Meanwhile, back at the tavern, Akira finally opened her eyes. But she lay motionless, staring blankly at the ceiling. ”Akira? Baby?” Celeste spoke softly. Slowly, the fox turned her head to face the elf. For several long minutes, she was quiet until a single confused word hoarsely escaped her lips. ”Celeste?”

Lewis hated trusting someone else. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Neera. By all means, he actually got along with the puca better than he did most other people outside of his guild. But putting one’s life in their hands? That was something that he had to push himself to do.

He was pleasantly surprised though, when Neera assumed the form of some wealthy noble, and played the part almost too well. If it weren’t for Lewis tailing Neera, it was entirely possible the puca would have been a prime target for their operations. Still, as Lewis followed her to the blacksmith, his mind was already in the zone. As she started to talk to the blacksmith about some absurd creation, Lewis found himself slipping into the back of the blacksmith’s shop with relative ease.

The interior was much like most of the sales shops in the area. A basic wooden structure with a shop front, and a small doorway leading to the back office quarters. Some shops, such as this one, even had a stairway to the next floor, where the wealthier of shopkeeps had their own living space. Usually they left their ledgers in the office, and this was no different for the blacksmith.

Lewis scoured over the ledger quickly. Daggers. Set of one-hundred, special order. No magic imbued…no, that’s beyond this smithy. These look like mostly standard issue. Order was put in by…bah, the name is an obvious fake. But it doesn’t matter. The shipment was stolen. Looks like whoever put the order in had no intentions of paying. A part of Lewis was happy. It meant that there was no ill will from this man. The boy wouldn’t have to kill.

At least not this one.

Just to make sure, Lewis did a once over, looking for any secret stashes of coin, jewels, or other valuables. Satisfied with the results, the would be assassin slipped out the way he came, leaving not race that he had ever been there. He went down the next alleyway, blending with the crowd, making his way to Neera. He passed behind her, making sure to let his presence be known, and then continued down the way to their meeting point.

“It was a dead lead,” he said. “The blacksmith had an order put in by a fake name, and that order was stolen a few days ago.” Lewis crossed his arms. “We can either check out the alchemists next, or skip it entirely and go to my contact. Either way…” He furrowed his brow. “We’re limited in time. We need to move.”