Huff'…Huff'…Huff''
Amid a dark gloomy forest filled with large trees of different emotions.
Their shadows stretched alongside the dark clouds.
The day was both half night and half day, as if the heavens were at war. The rain fell heavily, with each drop falling at tremendous speed.
Each drop fell with such a mighty force, as though it was ready to tear the ground.
The heavens were indeed at war.
/Step/
/Splash/
Huff'!
Amidst this thick half dark forest, steps were heard. The grounds wet, as the water on it was splashed with the countless steps running.
The sound of heavy breaths echoed.
Huff'
Each breath indicates the lack of strength and loss of stamina.
"Over there! I see him!" a voice yelled.
"Don't let him escape!"
Two men in black attire, designed for those who are called…ninjas, were running after a certain figure. One who looked like a fugitive
"You guys… I have him on my sight, he's just ahead."
As these words left the mouth of the one ninja, three others jumped down from various trees and began chasing this figure.
In total, there were five ninjas.
Huff '
Huff'
Streeeeeek…
"Oh!… I almost fell."
Staring down at the top of a cliff, a man stood.
On him was red matching up and down attire. It was in basic form, basically designed for military training.
He looked no more than thirty-eight years of age, with a full grown beard and long brown hair.
No shoes, nor sandals whatsoever. He was all barefoot.
"Damn… what am I going to do now. I'm at a dead end."
The man who was panting like he was about to faint at any moment, intensely looked for a way to get out of his current situation. However,
/Swoosh/
/Smoosh/
/Thud/
Five ninjas jump out of the thick forest in an open space. In front of them was the man they were chasing standing helpless and anxious.
"You are surrounded… old man, there's nowhere to run now."
Among the five ninjas who stood before the man, the one in the middle moved further a bit as these words left his mouth.
"I suggested you just cooperate with us and we can all go home early."
As these words left his mouth, the other four ninjas began to laugh, knowing exactly what their boss meant by that statement.
Huff'
"Who are you…?"
The man at the edge of the cliff asked curiosity.
"Hmm?… you're telling me you don't know?" The boss of the ninjas turned to his subordinates and spat out a heavy laughter.
"We are assassins you moron, can't you even tell?"
The man at the edge of the cliff looked puzzled. He obviously couldn't tell since they were dressed like ninjas.
"And who sent you?" He asked.
As these words left his mouth, there was a brief silence. Their surroundings became quiet, even the rain pouring couldn't be heard anymore.
"And why would we tell you such information…?"
An assassin spoke out from the far end of their boss.
"Yeah… why would we tell the like of you?" Another jumped in.
The four assassins all chuckled as the sight of the anxious man.
"Oh come, give him a break guys." The boss proclaimed. "Okay fine… I'd tell you. I don't want you to die without knowing your killer."
As these words flew in the air, the subordinate laughter ceased.
"Boss it is wise to tell who sent us?" A tough and broken female voice echoed.
She had a mask on like the rest of them, which made it difficult to tell whether she was a lady or not.
However, the voice wasn't deceiving.
The boss turned to the lady and stared at her with a sinister expression.
"Don't worry. Even though he knows, it's not like he would be alive to take his revenge."
The man at the edge of the cliff stood there anxious. He had one eye covered with an eye patch while the other was normal.
He stood slightly, hovering on the strength that his body could carry him, while he watched the assassin boss approach him.
"Hmm… Look at you." He began. "One couldn't think that you were once called the sprinting ace, feared across the lands as you conquered battles and tamed territories. However, while you were doing all that you didn't know your real foes were those closest to you."
Hearing this, the man's at the edge of the cliff, eyes widened in shock. The ones who were close to him? There were several people who were close to him.
The emperor, his to be wedded wife, his brother-in-law, and some other colleagues.
"Yes…!" The assassins boss exclaimed. "All of them. Those are your enemies. They all hailed you with so much glory, however behind your back they plotted your downfall. You were once at the spotlight. But now look at you… you are at nothing but an old fart who is about to get his head chopped.
You can't even stand against five assassins."
As the assassin boss said these words, he spread his hands, savoring the current moment.
Meanwhile, the man called the sprinting ace, gazed with a cloudy eye. Tears dropped down, but seemed unnoticed because of the rain. He had a sad expression on his face, showcasing his weakness and vulnerability.
"Pathetic. Was he really called the sprinting ace?".
"Yeah. He looks more like the crying ace to me."
Laughter echoed amongst the assassins as the rain tuned it.
The assassins boss gazed at his excited subordinate and the back at the former sprinting ace
"I guess it is true what they say.
Never meet your heroes."
"So you are telling me that my own family did this to me?" The former sprinting ace question with unbelievable tone. "The people I love and the ones who loved me. You are telling me that they wanted me dead?"
It sounded too real to believe, as his eye blinked with every drop of rain.
"I know it is hard to believe, but that's just how life is. One moment you are the world's lovable person, another moment you are their most hated. It sucks. I know. But that's how life is."
As the words left the boss's lips, he began walking towards his prey. Each step daunting but calculated.
One wrong move and he could be the one in doom.
"So don't take it out on me, take it out on those whom you loved."
Just as the assassins were about to make their move on the sprinting ace.
The world around him blurred.
Part of the cliff broke away, taking him with. Gravity forgot him. Or perhaps he forgot gravity.
And in that moment, as his body plunged into the misty abyss, he didn't feel fear. He felt… recognition. As if he had done this before.
As if he'd fallen many times.
His was falling and was about to die. Knowing this, his life flashed before him.
The moment he deemed as glory, was nothing more than an ugly lie. A trick. It was all…
'Fuck… I didn't even get to have sex yet.' he thought, in his last movements.
"Hehe… is that all you can think about?" A voice echoed in his head.
"Hey can you hear me? Hey… hey!"
/THUD!/