Bloody Murder [Rin]

Alaster hummed a little tune as he began to carve into the back of the traitor. Spike, meanwhile, continued to sob and cry for help. As funny as it was to hear him scream, Alaster was soon getting annoyed with the constant whining. God, won't this bloody bitch just shut up already! However, before Alaster could reach for the duct tape in his pocket, he heard a voice. An unfamiliar voice addressing him.

Bollocks! Of bloody course he just had to go and screw up by not shutting up the idiot earlier. Someone actually heard Spike and decided to come to his rescue. Why did he not think to exercise more caution? After mentally scolding himself, Alaster glared at the girl. Who the bloody hell was she? To Rin, she probably could not tell that Alaster was glaring at her, as his eyes were doing their usual squint. If anything, it was probably more logical for her to wonder just how the hell he could see with his eyes almost completely shut.

Alaster remained quiet as he listened to Rin talk, until the female requested that he put the knife down. Alaster just laughed. He pretended to pull the knife away from Spike's back, lifting it as high as possible while still keeping the pointed end towards Spike. "Oh, pardon me. Of course, if that is your wish! I'll put the knife down." Grinning, Alaster then dropped the knife, letting it fall towards the man's back. Just before it could penetrate Spike's back, Alaster quickly grabbed the knife's handle at the last second. Laughing once again, Alaster addressed Rin, speaking to her in an almost mocking tone. "Really, you ought to pick your words more carefully. Fortunately for you, I'm not an idiot. I know what you meant. Unfortunately, I don't think I can say the same for you. You really should mind your own business and not involve yourself in matters that don't concern you. Don't you know the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat?'"

Spike looked at the raven-haired female and began pleading with her. "Please, you gotta help me! This man's insane! He's a real villain, a nasty one at that! He needs to be locked up immediately!" Upon hearing this, Alaster laughed. The nerve of this bloody moron!

"Wow Spike. This is so rich coming from you of all people! How absolutely adorable!" Alaster then turned to Rin. "Here's the truth for you. We're both criminals. This worthless moron is just as much of a villain as I am, if not worse. At least I have a sense of honor, unlike you, traitor!" Alaster glared at Spike before looking back to Rin. "Are you sure you want me to release this piece of filth back into the streets? It's only fair to warn you. He's robbed, injured, killed, and worse. Not just men, women and children too. You really want to risk your life to save someone like that?"

As Spike began to cry and shake his head to try to convince Rin that the words Alaster spoke were not in fact the truth, Alaster stared at Rin, his usual creepy smile gone and replaced with a disdainful smile. "Look, woman. I have no idea what you're supposed to be. A hero? Vigilante? Some nosy bitch sticking her nose where it doesn't belong? Whatever the case may be, I really don't want to have to hurt you if I don't have to. So I'll make you an offer. You can either turn around, walk away, and pretend this whole thing never happened. I won't go after you, you have my word on that. Or..." Alaster moved his knife towards Spike's face. "I'll carve into you once I'm done with this good for nothing piece of garbage."

Alaster smiled. Which choice would the raven-haired female go for? Alaster was not lying when he said that he did not want to hurt her if he didn't have to. He was only interested in killing Spike right now. Still, if this woman decided to actually risk her life to save this worthless moron, then Alaster would not mind having a second person to carve into.

"Well? Your move. What will it be?"

WORDS 702 TAGS Rin Kurama
NOTES Does anyone ever go for the peaceful resolution?

Alaster honestly did not believe this woman would take his deal. In truth, he would have been surprised if she had. It would have made things so much simpler. Oh well, so much for doing things the easy way.

He may not have been surprised that Rin ignored his offer, but he was surprised at how bloody fast she was. His instincts told him to dodge right the hell now. Unfortunately, Alaster was not nearly fast enough. Rin's foot met its mark, colliding with his chest and pushing him ever so slightly away from Spike. The kick did not hurt much. Alaster had taken far worse beatings in his life. However, Alaster soon realized that the goal of the kick was not to cause pain, but to separate him from Spike. All Alaster could do as he was kicked to the floor by the unexpected attack was tighten his grip on his knife. Alaster gritted his teeth. This bitch may have secured his victim, but she would not take away his knife so easily.

The instant Alaster got kicked away, Spike began to get up. It wasn't easy, due to his injuries and loss of blood. However, he was determined to get the hell away from this alley as soon as possible. He needed to get back to the boss, tell Eyes that his attack on Crowley failed, and more importantly, get the hell away from Crowley. Resisting the urge to go over and kick the fallen Alaster, Spike grinned at Rin. "Whoever you are, you saved me. Thanks! I owe ya one!" He began to turn around to leave, when he heard Rin speak. Spike began to panic. Screw the authorities, he needed to make himself scarce, now!

While Rin said her piece, Alaster got up. He could only watch as Spike made his attempt to flee. It was no use trying to stop him. The raven-haired bitch was in the way. She would either restrain Spike first, or prevent Alaster from giving chase to him. Either way, Alaster's prey was about to escape his grasp. He was not pleased. He spoke to Rin in a calm voice, albeit one that did not exactly conceal how very annoyed he was.

"You bloody moron! How dense are you?! Am I really the only one in this godforsaken alley with a functional brain? You seriously expect me to believe that scum like him will get the punishment he deserves from the freaking authorities? Are you kidding me? Corrupt bastards like them can't be trusted to do anything right! Even if Spike goes to prison, what then? He won't reform. If anything, he'll become worse. And prison is really not as secure as you may believe. He'll break out, and then he'll kill again, and do far worse. Would it not be more prudent to kill him now before he scars anyone else?"

Regardless of how Rin chose to respond to this, Alaster sighed. These naive heroes. They seriously thought that stopping a criminal was as simple as putting them behind bars? Government facilities like prisons and institutions only made people worse. They themselves often made more villains than they stopped. Hell, Alaster himself was proof of that! Being sent to that detention center all those years ago was what unhinged him enough to have to resort to villainy in the first place! That place tarnished his name and made it impossible for him to find a job, which was why he had to resort to joining a gang and becoming a criminal just to survive. Oh, but of course these self-righteous idiot heroes would never understand the truth! No, they were too blinded by their foolish ideals and views of 'justice' to be able to be reasoned with. At the end of the day, violence really was the only way to get the message across.

"Forget it. I'm clearly wasting my breath trying to make you see reason. If you really want to let this scumbag go out in the streets to do more harm and ruin more lives, then go ahead. But I'm done being a gentleman. I gave you the chance to walk away, and you spat in my face. Now, you better not dare have the audacity to blame me for what happens to you."

Alaster was ready to fight. He was determined not to be caught off-guard as easily. If this moron wanted a fight, then he would show her just what happens to those who pick a fight with the villain who was currently ranked seventh of all of Japan. There would be no mercy!

WORDS 769 TAGS Rin Kurama
NOTES The calm before the proverbial storm

Just as Spike began to run, or at least try to, Rin gave him her warning. Screw that! He did not care what that girl said! If he did not get away now, he'd either have to face arrest, or death by Crowley. Neither option appealed to him. There had to be a way out for him. There just had to be!

Suddenly, Spike felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Slowly, his face began to light up a bit. Of course! In his fear, and with Crowley torturing him, he had almost completely forgotten. Eyes had tasked him with ambushing and killing Crowley once his guard was lowered. Spike was then to report back to Eyes to confirm that he did do the deed. The fact that he was not able to respond for a period of time meant that Eyes had to have realized by now that something went wrong. Spike smiled. He had an idea.

"Of course, miss. I'll do as you say. I surrender. I won't run away. But please, keep that maniac away from me! I can't get a fair trial if I'm dead, now can I?" Lying down on the floor with his hands behind his head, Spike did his best not to smile too much, lest the girl begins to suspect that he was up to something. Crowley made a huge mistake by choosing to torture him in the nearest alley from where the ambush happened. Eyes was bound to send some more gang members to investigate the area to check what happened. And then, it would not be long before they found him. Spike began to relax a bit. All he needed to do was wait for the cavalry to arrive. Then he'd be free, and Crowley and this girl were as good as dead!

Meanwhile, Alaster could not help but scoff at Rin's words. "You're only partially right, girl. It's not just individuals like me. You see, greed, corruption, all of that exists because everyone is like that. Me, you, villains, heroes, everyone. Deep down, all of humanity is filled with nothing but greed, desire, and selfishness. Don't try to deny it or claim that you're different from that. We're all monsters." Of course, she probably would deny that, try and place herself and other 'heroes' on a pedestal and delude herself into thinking that only the villains were like that. It was sickening to Alaster. Such arrogance! But no matter. Alaster was not going to let this woman stop him from getting what he wanted. Not without a fight. "Oh, do feel free to try to stop me. If you can."

As Rin continued to talk, Alaster almost began to feel bad for her, almost. The poor naive girl. "You really think so? Well let me enlighten you on some facts, young lady. First of all, the police won't be coming anytime soon, if at all. Not in this neighborhood, at any rate. This is almost all gang territory. I would not be surprised if the police were paid off to look the other way. And before you ask, yes, the police are indeed that corrupt. Second, I can't leave Spike there alive. If he gets away, and believe me when I say that he will no matter what you or the law try to do, he goes back and tells the gang that his ambush on me failed. Then the whole gang will swarm on me like rats. If he escapes, I'm screwed. I have my own survival to think about!"

Spike's sudden surrender and cease of trying to flee did not go unnoticed by Alaster. Eyeing him carefully, Alaster was suspecting that he was up to something. Just what was it this rat was plotting? Alaster then faced Rin. Seeing her enter a stance of some sort, Alaster deduced that she was trained in combat. His smile widened a bit. Good, he did like a challenge. It would be disappointing if this bitch was all bark and no bite.

"I think we can both agree that the time for words has passed. Come at me!" Alaster began to run towards Rin with knife in hand. He was not exactly the kind of person who was good at close combat, or even liked it for that matter. He much preferred carving up his victims slowly and methodically over doing any actual fighting. Still, that would not deter him. He was not going to run. Even if she was a powerful brawler, Alaster was determined to fight. Both to ensure Spike's death, and to ensure he himself got to escape.

...

A few minutes earlier, Eyes was having a drink in Ramos's Bar and Grill. After sending a text, the man put his phone down. Still no word from Spike. The man sighed. That fool had one job! Couldn't anyone do anything right? "Pex! Boulder! Mummy!" As soon as he called out, three men approached him and bowed. One of the men was shirtless and had huge bulging muscles. One had skin made entirely out of stone. The third had his body entirely covered in bandages. The bandaged man spoke. "What are your orders, sir?" Eyes took a sip of his wine and then responded. "Spike has not yet answered. Go to the area and find him. If Crowley is there, kill him. Whoever does so gets Spike's paycheck."

As the three men left the bar to carry out their mission, Eyes took another sip of his wine. He sent another text to Spike, but still no response. He then sighed. Those fools had better not fail the organization again. The leader made it very clear that failure would not be tolerated. If they don't kill Crowley, they would all die.

WORDS 960 TAGS Rin Kurama
NOTES Alaster sure likes to talk a lot. But hey, it's time to fight! And oh boy, things are not looking good!

Boss. Leader. Sheriff. Although nobody knew his real name, the leader of the gang had many aliases. There were many things the man was known for. He liked guns, cigars, cowboy movies, and staying ahead of the other local gangs in Tokyo. He was not power hungry or foolish, however. He always knew better than to get in the way of the big fish like the Kobayashi clan. By intentionally remaining relatively unknown and under everyone's radar, the gang has been able to survive for this long without getting any unwanted attention. Their goal was to fly high, but avoid the Sun.

However, there were two things that the leader did not tolerate. Failure of his subordinates, and having to do things himself. Whenever either one happened, someone would end up dead, and usually in a very bloody manner.

Recently, one of his admins was being a bit too disappointing in terms of results. Ever since Eyes hired Crowley to do work for the gang, things were going well, at least initially. The leader was pleased. But then relationships began to sour. Mishap after mishap. It was getting tiring. The leader then made one simple instruction to Eyes. Get rid of the problematic people. But it seemed as though his admin was failing him there. The boss sighed upon hearing that the ambush on Crowley failed. It seemed as though he really did need to do everything himself.

---

As Pex, Boulder, and Mummy walked down the streets, they looked down every dark alley they came across. Their orders were clear. Find Spike. Find Crowley. Kill Crowley. Pex and Boulder were talking about what they would buy with the money they got from killing the white-haired man. Mummy, however, just ignored his idiot comrades. They were arrogant and foolish. If not for their sheer power and muscles, he doubted that the two would ever have been allowed in the gang. Crowley was a cunning and slippery man. He would not fall so easily. They could not afford to screw this up.

Suddenly, Mummy stopped moving. The bandaged man noticed someone approaching them. It wasn't Spike, and it wasn't Crowley either. Mummy immediately addressed Pex and Boulder. "Shut up, you idiots! Look who's here!" He then bowed immediately. "Hello, Boss!" Pex and Boulder may have been lacking in brains, but even these two morons had the sense to bow respectfully to their leader. Their leader looked down at the three thugs before giving his orders.

"I'll deal with Crowley myself. Stay here and deal with anyone who tries to interfere. Surely, even you idiots can manage that." The trio immediately nodded and bowed. The boss usually never showed up to anything in person unless it was extremely important. They knew better than to try to argue or disobey.

---

Meanwhile, Alaster was becoming more and more annoyed by this girl, although he did not visibly show it. Who did this bitch think she was? Looking down on him like an arrogant and presumptuous fool. As if his behavior was the one that needed to be rectified! She was just like those people back in England, the ones who looked down on him, ignored him, bullied and mocked him, even beat him. The people who made his life a living hell and were the ones responsible for Alaster's hatred of humanity. The ones who pretended that they did nothing wrong and even had the audacity to call themselves good and kindhearted. She may have come here to try to carry out 'justice', but she was no hero. She was just like the rest of them. Alaster's patience and potential mercy for the girl were ebbing away. Soon, there would be none left at all.

As if her words weren't already enough to infuriate Alaster, the girl took off her jacket and decided to fight with that while he charged at her with a knife. She wasn't even taking him seriously anymore! The bloody nerve! Just as Alaster was ready to stab, she wrapped the cloth around his arm and knife, then pulled him sideways, causing him to slip and fall. Even worse, the fall caused Alaster to lose his grip on the knife. She had successfully disarmed him.

Spike immediately began to laugh. "Ha! What a dumbass! Yeah, eat the concrete, you bastard! That's what you get!" Spike was about to say more, but he had suddenly heard footsteps. Crowley and the girl had not yet noticed, but Spike turned his head to see the person who was approaching. His jaw immediately dropped, and his eyes widened in shock.

B-b-boss! Holy shit, it's the boss! He... he's here! To save me! And to give Crowley and that bitch what's coming to them! Oh, this is awesome! I'm saved! I'M SAVED! I'M SAV-

*BANG*

A few moments earlier, Alaster was already getting up. He was pissed. This bitch had made a mockery of him for the last time! He may have lost his knife, but if she thought that he would lose this fight too, then boy was she mistaken! No longer holding back, Alaster was ready to activate his quirk and have his crows rip through the girl.

Or at least he would have, if not for the gunshot that immediately startled him. The gunshot that immediately ended Spike's life upon hitting him right between the eyes. Alaster turned to see just who it was that fired.

BOLLOCKS!

The leader looked down on Spike's corpse as he smoked his cigar. What a worthless failure. If he could not even accomplish a simple task, then the man did not deserve to continue breathing. He then turned his attention to Alaster and Rin. He did not know who the girl was. He did not care. She was not a part of this, and could just die here for all he cared. Still, he decided to give her a chance to get away with her life intact. A warning in the form of a shot to the shoulder.

Fortunately, Rin understood the message the man sent her. Flee or die. As she ran from the alley, Pex, Boulder, and Mummy saw her heading off in the opposite direction. Pex began to reach for the gun in his pocket, but Mummy stopped him. "Leave her. The last thing we need is unwanted attention, not to mention another body for Jaws and Sponge to have to clean up."

Now that it was just Crowley here, the leader smiled. "Boy, you and I have some talking to do." Of course, the man chose to talk with his gun half of the time, so he shot Alaster's shoulder in the same manner he shot Rin's. As Alaster began to grit his teeth in pain, the boss walked up to Alaster and smacked his face with his revolver, knocking him down to the floor. The man then pressed his foot on Alaster's head to keep him down on the floor.

"Now I hear that you're causing problems for Eyes. He doesn't seem to take kindly to you no more. And the last thing I need is trouble for the Deadlock Gang. So, you and I are gonna have to have a discussion about this."

He then began to kick Alaster with his other foot. Repeatedly, for several minutes. Alaster was more annoyed than in pain. After all, he had dealt with worse beatings than this. "Do your bloody worst." Upon hearing this, the leader blew out some smoke and then grinned widely.

"Boy, I'm only getting started."

For the next half hour, it was nothing but kick after kick for Alaster. He could no nothing back, as the boss's other foot threatened to crush his skull if Alaster tried anything. Not to mention the loaded revolver the man still held. Once the leader had his fill, he pulled up Alaster by the hair and looked him in the eyes as he spoke to the beaten man.

"Ramos's Bar and Grill. Tomorrow night, 9 PM. You and I will have another talk. If you're lucky, it won't end up like this one. I'm sure you're a smart enough boy to know what will happen if you don't show, or if you're dumb enough to try anything."

Shoving Alaster to the floor, the leader then took out a photo. One that after being shown to him, made Alaster widen his eyes and let out a gasp in horror. The leader grinned as he looked at the picture. "Cute girl. I especially like the lavender hair. Makes her stand out. I don't know how the hell someone like you ever managed to end up with a pretty little thing like her." Tossing the photo aside and watching Alaster scramble to immediately pick it up, the boss aimed another kick at him before continuing. "9 PM. See you then, boy. And don't be late now. After all, you wouldn't want to make me have to break such a pretty looking girl, now would you?"

With his business here being done, the leader turned around and began walking away, leaving the bruised and injured Alaster groaning on the ground. Now that the message had been sent and made very clear, the man looked forward to the meeting at the bar tomorrow night.

Slowly getting up, Alaster took out his phone to call Wheels. There was no way in hell he would be able to get back home in his current condition. He needed to get out of here, tell Meiko what happened, and start making preparations.

Preparations for war. If the Deadlock Gang and their leader thought that they could mess with him, betray him, threaten to harm his beloved girlfriend, and get away with it all, then they were seriously underestimating just how dangerous Alaster could be. If they wanted a war, Alaster would be happy to give them hell.

WORDS 1644 TAGS Rin Kurama
NOTES The gang now has an official name, and its leader makes his debut!