Stray Dogs V2
A thin sliver of light broke into the warehouse as a hand pushed its steel doors inward.
Waiting in the center was the leader of the Stray Dogs. Beside the dark-skinned man were half a dozen of his cronies, including Dino and Zulu.
"That was fast, ma'am." Their leader, Gyeong-mi, grinned as the crimson cloaked figure stepped toward him.
Facing an 'individual' type Urban Legend was a dangerous affair for the Stray Dogs, considering that they were a 'group' type.
Generally, the fewer members a Hana threat had, the stronger each of their members were. The Hana Association ranked threats based on both power and influence, so although Little Red and the Stray Dogs had the same rank, Gyeong-mi was on high alert. Despite his carefree tone, he was tense.
The man snuck his hands into his pockets. Pulling them out revealed all ten of his fingers, now fitted with dark, obsidian rings.
Little Red noted the tension in the air, her eye filled with boredom.
"I have a report on Asher, the Capo killer." Her raspy voice cut through the air.
The meeting began.
Thoughts were exchanged for money. The woman disclosed that, according to her 'sources', Asher was at 6th Street during the last three days, only today returning to the Office he was employed at.
For this information, Gyeong-mi gave her the payment, in the form of a nondescript leather wallet.
Little Red checked the contents of the wallet as the Stray Dogs eyed her. Only after she confirmed the amount inside did she speak again.
"Then, anything else?" A prompt in her vision notified her of the 'Mark' that had been placed on the leader. Her purpose here was done.
Gyeong-mi had one last question.
"So, did you see him while you were there?" The man knew that Little Red obtained most of her reputation on 6th Street, colloquially named 'the other side'. He was curious, did the woman in front of him have any contact with the Capo killer while she was there?
Little Red nodded briskly.
"That Fixer is," she paused, thinking over her next words, "...dangerous. Why are you looking for him?"
Gyeong-mi chuckled, a dark helplessness flitting through his eyes.
"The new Capo's a maniac. He wants us to hunt that kid down, or die in the process." The man flashed an exhausted grin at the woman, having already resigned to his fate.
"What's his name?"
"Boris. You know him?"
Little Red flinched. Before they could notice her reaction, she transformed the flinch into a nod.
"Of course. Well, pleasure doing business."
Gyeong-mi made a flicking motion with his hand, toward the open warehouse door.
"Likewise, Little Red."
With that, two hundred Ahn was successfully transferred.
As Little Red stepped into the open air, a shadow shimmered beside her.
"So that is the new Capo's identity." The distorted air spoke in a quiet, soft voice. "He must have had previous contact with the Thumb. It did seem like he was at Vivi for other business. And his skill with the rifle was uncanny."
The air shivered as Sophie materialized her presence.
Asher sighed.
"Yeah. But why does he want to hunt me down?"
The question went unanswered. Neither of the two knew the answer to that.
In comfortable silence, they split into separate paths.
...
On his own yet again, Asher began to scan Little Red's email for targets. He had desynchronized by now.
Thus, as a Fixer, his list of targets were quite clear cut.
Asher hated cannibals.
In front of him was 'Little Piggy's Diner', the first restaurant that tried to commission Little Red for their operations.
He adjusted his bluish-green suit, tapping on the front door as the wings on his back fluttered about in anticipation.
Soon, the door opened.
"Little Piggy's, how may I help you!" An energetic voice squealed from the man in apron, unbefitting of his thin stature.
Asher's nose wrinkled as the scent of human flesh clogged his sinuses. He matched the man's greeting with an equally fake smile.
"Hi! I'm Asher, a Grade 7 Fixer, and I was wondering if you guys deal with human flesh?"
The man wiped the grin off his face, slamming the door shut. Asher scoffed under his breath.
"Well," he pulled Wingbeat behind his back, "That was rude-!"
With a single blow, the door snapped in half like a twig, caving into the building. He cupped his hands to his mouth, announcing his arrival.
"Everyone, on the ground~!" His eyes shone like lamps as he stepped inside. Ever since Hal, he had always dreamed of doing something like this.
As previously mentioned, Asher hated cannibals.
"Hup!" Asher twisted his head back, narrowly dodging the knife that sliced at his throat.
All his unvented emotions of his first encounter with Hal coursed through his veins.
Coupled with a maniacal laugh, Asher whipped his head forward. The man couldn't even scream as Asher headbutted his skull with full strength.
A single line of blood dripped down the boy's cheeks. As the shattered man fell to the carpet, the room fell quiet.
A slaughter ensued.
...
"Phew!" Asher let out a short breath, having finished a day's work.
Over the past couple hours, he followed a rigid schedule: one job as a Fixer, one job as Little Red, alternating between the two.
His list of unread emails steadily shrank as he took care of each request, either as Little Red or as Asher.
Asher watched with quiet interest as Little Red's scythe blade greedily consumed the blood from its latest victim.
And the last victim for the day, he decided as a faint night chill dug through his cloak.
[Blood Function: 85% progression.]
Asher nodded, rising to his feet.
The glow of dusk painted his face. With a flicker, he dropped from the rooftop into the alley below.
Left behind were three shrivelled corpses, the last remnants of a nameless Urban Legend.
Time flew by, just like so.
Despite Asher's greatest efforts, there weren't too many targets whose blood his weapons and cloak agreed to absorb. Most of them were too either too weak, or threats that he didn't dare to touch yet. Clues leading to Urban Plagues, especially the Carnival, were examples of the latter.
As such, despite after two days of monotonous tasks, there were no further upgrades to Little Red's skills.
Still, they were getting closer. His 'Mark', for instance, was at ninety-four percent, just a hair's breath away. It was quite amusing to converse with his prey before the slaughter.
A sense of calm crept through the Section's seams.
Due to the rise of the Chimere Office and Little Red (who had increased her selectivity for requests), not many Syndicates were willing to reveal their presences in public.
Especially with the new addition of the Chimere Office's 'Swarming Haze', Asher. The Fixer who killed Capo Stella. Just like the Office's Captain, Asher's past only manifested a few weeks ago, as if he appeared from thin air.
Or perhaps the ones who knew his past chose not to divulge it.
The 'swarm' of fairies and the 'haze' of cherry blossoms facilitated numerous souls to the afterlife, hence the Fixer's title.
What was strange to the outside observer was that most of Asher's targets were 'restaurants'. Many weren't listed on the Hana Association at all, leading Syndicates to theorize that Asher had some sort of external information network.
Thus, even more Syndicates' open operations fizzled away.
At least, in that part of Section 12.
...
But peace never lasts.
Mei's apartment door creaked open. Frost clumped on the cheap plaster walls.
A girl's breath crystalized in the air, into a fine white mist.
Sophie made it a habit to wake up right after the streetlights turned on, for more time during the day.
She froze.
Fused inside the door's number plate was a slip of paper. The sheet was frozen solid. It crackled with frost as her fingers neared it.
Sophie yanked the paper from the door, wincing as the ominous cold singed her skin.
It was a letter, addressed to Mei.
Rephrased, the contents of the letter were as followed:
The streets decimated by the Blood Red Night have successfully repopulated. Thus, now its residents could choose which Finger to stand under.
It was time for the Finger Selection Ceremony. Or in Mei's case, reselection. Though, Sophie had an idea which one Mei would choose.
Below the letter's contents were the seals of the two Fingers involved in the ceremony, the two Fingers within Section 12.
The first seal depicted a severed index digit, laid in the center of a vibrant cyan flower.
The second was a single thumbprint, dyed with parched, brownish blood.
The Index, the Thumb.