"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
— Ernest Hemingway
"It is even more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them."
— François de La Rochefoucauld
"He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted."
— Lao Tzu
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"What is your name?"uda asked her voice as low as a whisper as she had yet any strength the yell
"Ruke"Ruke replied but uda quickly said he lied and asked for his real name
"What's your name....., don't act like yu don't know what I'm talking about, I know you're a drax, an assasin....., I just want to know your name"uda said awaiting a response from Ruke.
"How did she know about the assasins?
.....moreover only those in the temple know the name drax should be used for every assassin she shouldn't know that yet again she does how?....."Ruke thought stareing down at uda who had her gaze fixed on him.
"Did asked for my name.....does she mean the drax name?...., this woman is no ordinary woman, before doing that I have to make sure I know more about her, I have to make sure if she with me or against me"Ruke concluded within himself preparing himself for the worst of it came to it.
"First I have to ask you. Question uda.."Ruke said sitting down on the sit beside the bed, his emerald green eyes almost piercing uda like a diamond, uda felt the pressure in the room but ignored it anyway.
"I've....i've seen worst, that doesn't scare me"she replied trying to keep her cool but in reality it took all her courage to stare at Ruke now and not get scared.
"How do you know about the drax?....mand can I trust you?"ruke asked, his question was so straight forward and obvious, maybe he had a plan she thought ready to answer his question
*Silence*
"My husband,amilas father was an assasin...."uda said her expression turning soar as soon. As she did, she looked like an old wound had been reopened.
With the great silence that followed her words she spoke again
"We were happy alright, stayed with me a couple years after our son was born but left as amila was born,..I...I haven't seen him ever since..,part of me wants to believe he's still alive there somewhere but who am I kidding when I know damn well how cruel the temple is,....before he left he told me to forget about him, that he might never return to me and our kids and that I should lay low because the grandmasters as he quoted them were surely going to hunt for me"she continued he emotions taking control as she couldn't top herself from tearing up after her words.
"Sorry for asking but if I tell you his name, do you think you might know him?"she asked her teary eyes displaying lost love and affection and revealing unattended injuries
"What is his name?"Ruke responded
"Kaiji...best sounding name I've ever heard"
At her words Ruke found himself battling against his emotion, for the first time in a long while he felt something else and not emptiness.
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"This might be the last lesson you learn from me shadow so listen well"kaiji said walking his student out of the complex building and out towards the tree outside the building
"What do you mean master, won't you be my sensai anymore"Young Ruke asked. It was raining and they both were drenched
"I will and still am your sensai shadow, I ....I just wish I had more time"kaiji replied, Ruke had never seen his master display such emotions before, like he was afraid of something
"Master what's going on?"Ruke asked confused and concerned when kaiji placed his plan on young Rukes shoulder then placed a knee on the floor making sure he was bent enough to stare his student in the eye
"I broke the rules shadow.., I found love., this only proves our lives as assasins isn't just about killing, sorry I was gone for so long...and sorry I won't be staying here long enough to watch you grow into a splendid drax, all I can do is leave you with a gift"kaiji explained gesturing his fingers and making a handsign, he then placed his left plan on Rukes right arm channeling whatever energy he had left into it. Feeling a burning sensation Ruke pulled his arm away, a specific tattoo had been burnt of his right arm, a tattoo resembling all four element mixed in one. The master was the only one with that tattoo, but as soon as Ruke gained the tattoo the master Lost it
"How's that possible?"young Ruke thought stareing at his master
"I wish I had more time to teach you about that and what powers it holds, but I'm sure you'll figure it out my younger apprentice, see you soon apprentice, always walk in a path crafted by you and do not be a dog for the grandmasters to push around"kaiji said leaving Ruke behind and running away but soon after Ruke could hear sounds of weapons clashing against each other, the next day his masters head was hung at he center of the temple as a warning for other drax.
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"Kai....kaiji?"Ruke stammered he couldn't believe what uda had just told him
"With you reaction...I take it you..you know him"uda said taking Rukes palm in hers and gripping it tightly with tears in her eyes she forced a question out, one she had always wanted to avoid since and forced herself not to ask
"How did he die?"
Ruke felt an unmeasurable amount of weight fall on him, "was this what he meant by finding love?,was this the reason he had to die?....should he tell her how he died?....."Ruke thought "no"he decided, should he just straight up tell her he was executed for going against the rules, she was already going through enough as it is, and he didn't want to add to them
"I'm sorry uda...but you have to rest"Ruke stood from where he sat and walked towards the door "tell amila you need the soda more than I do, I'll be off first"he continued closing the door behind him as he walked away.
The Streets was as lonely and dark as usual , with only the occasional flicker of a streetlight breaking the monotony. The silence was palpable, interrupted only by the distant sounds of crickets or the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Shadows seemed to stretch endlessly, casting eerie shapes that danced across the pavement. It was a night that invited introspection, where every step echoed with the weight of solitude. As the chill in the air grew more pronounced, it was clear that the night held secrets.
"Tomorrow is the day huh?"he huffed stareing up at the empty shy with no stars
"The massacre" he huffed a second time remembering lights words
["We kill everyone of them before they get to clloud mountain, it's kill or be killed and trust me doushin, I rather be the one doing the killing"]
The look he had on then wasn't the look of someone who had something to protect, it was the look of someone who wanted it all gone, the look of a demon. Maybe he really was getting soft out here Ruke huffed clenching his fists
"I don't know....but still....I plan on protecting uda and amila..., in masters stead" he promised.
With the rise of the sun Ruke was gone, he had an order and he was going to carry it out.
*VILLAGERS SELLING & CHANTING*
"Earlier than expected shadow"light greeted appearing from behind Ruke, Ruke said nothing but continued his trek while light walked up to him. He could feel more Kai energy from behind them so he instantly knew there were more draxs behind, this was going to be a slaughter not a massacre he concluded stareing at light surprised as how light up from behind him without him noticing or feeling any Kai