The Shogun of Urvenia, Don Viper (106)

Don Viper. The Shogun of the entire country. In terms of political power, he's second only to the king, but his influence is everywhere. He is a man with over ten thousand guards and officers working for him. He clawed his way to the top through cold blood and sabotage. Eventually Dabi recognized his efforts and bestowed upon him his current position.

Viper was a tall man. He stood at around eight feet tall with slicked back black hair. He wore a black yukata with olive snakes on it, symbolic of his name, along with some straw-colored flip flops. He sat in the center of his room with four candles at equal distances from each other, forming a square. He liked to keep the room dim.

There was fabric coming down from the ceiling that covered him on all four sides. Behind him two women slept under a cover peacefully.

One of his personal female servants came to his doorway. She awaited outside of the sliding bamboo doors sitting on her knees patiently.

Don looked at the door and noticed the shadow. "Come in."

The woman slid open the door and stood up. She walked inside the room wearing a kimono. She bowed politely.

Don lit a cigar and took a drag. He casually blew out the smoke. "So? What is it?"

The woman stood up straight. "It seems that the target of the Tournament of Death has been disqualified for being helped."

Don Viper took another drag from his cigar. "Who helped him?"

The woman's eyebrows tensed. "One of the Bloodhounds."

Don let out a deep grunt of a laugh. "You don't say... I wonder why." He blew out smoke. "Hey. Bring me some booze. I feel like drinking now."

The woman seemed concerned. "You aren't worried?"

"Worried?" Don rested the cigar between his teeth. "Of the Bloodhounds? Hell no. Why should I be? They're basically children. Did you know that from infancy, an archangel's body matures completely in six months? The Bloodhounds aren't even twenty years old yet. I'm not thinking about them."

The woman's concern left. "You're right. But won't they be punished?"

Don glared at her. "Woman. You ask too many questions. Where's my drink?"

The woman bowed and left the room. "My apologies, I'll go get it right away."

Don smoked his cigar again. "That's more like it."

--

Hanami landed from the air in front of a ruined black castle. It was hundreds of years old, but it was home to the King's Bloodhounds.

She walked inside.

The castle was always dark on the inside. There were no light fixtures. If they wanted light, then candles would be needed.

Most of the time everyone gathered in the main room at the center of the castle. There was a faded magenta rug there that seemed to be just as old as the castle itself, but it had no holes or rips in it.

This main room was a popular meeting spot simply because of the hole in the ceiling.

A large piece of the castle was missing here, where the base of one of the towers began. So there was a hole that came from the top of the staircase to over the main room. It was just big enough that the moon could cast a light on the entire rug inside.

Hanami walked out of the shadows into the room. She looked around. There they were.

Sitting on the rooftop near the hole staring at the full moon with a scythe resting against his chest was Hikaru.

Hikaru was the silent type. He was a man of few words. He simply carried out his duties and nothing else.

No one knew much about him. But he was loyal, and a person that Hanami could trust. His navy blue hair that was tied into a ponytail wandered in the crisp nighttime breeze.

In the back of the room, sitting on an old chair was Kosuke, polishing his sword. He had short spiked blue hair. He looked up at Hanami.

Also in the room was Jin and Taichi. Jin is a woman. She wore the outfit of a kunoichi. She had a sword on her side in its hilt, dark purple hair tied back, and fish net underclothes and leggings. She was leaning against the wall with her arms folded and her eyes closed. Jin was a very disciplined and headstrong woman. She was serious a hundred percent of the time and had zero tolerance for foolishness. Like Hikaru, she was also loyal to a fault for her team, and sometimes defied Dabi because of it.

Taichi is a tall and fat man. He stands at nearly seven foot ten inches tall and weighs well over four hundred pounds. He has a mess of brown hair on his head, and his eyes always appear to stay closed.

One thing about Taichi is that he eats.

A lot.

But even so, he is still one of the more powerful members of the Bloodhounds and is rarely sent on missions.

Everyone looked Hanami's way as she stepped into the moonlight. "Where's Naozumi?" she asked.

Jin answered her, not moving a muscle. "He's with Dabi. Being used as transportation."

Hanami took another glance around the room. "What about Anzu?"

A woman walked slowly down the stairs. She had messy orange hair that came down to the middle of her back, clear pale skin and dark pink eyes. She wasn't fond of clothes that restricted her movement, so she only wore a sports bra and tight shorts. She came to the bottom of the stairs and walked in front of Hanami. "I'm still here." she said. "Need something?"

Hanami brung out a roll of paper. "Viper. I'm paying him a visit tonight."

Anzu grabbed the scroll and opened it up. "So you got a map of the place... nice. But this is treason dear." She handed it back.

Hanami took back the paper and put it away. "It doesn't matter anymore. Akira intervened on the assassination of our target. We'll all be punished when Dabi sees us. So might as well take advantage of the little freedom I have right?"

Anzu had a lewd smile on her face. "Akira stood up for the target? Interesting..."

Jin chimed in, still not moving with closed eyes. "Don't even think about it Anzu. He's not a target anymore. Once someone gets disqualified, that's it. If Akira stood up for him, then there was a reason for it. I trust his judgement."

Anzu tilted her head back, looking at Jin. "I don't care about all that." Her fingers twitched. "I just wanna know if he's powerful. I have to feel him."

Kosuke stood up and put his sword in its sheath. "Give it up Jin. We can't stop Anzu once she decides on something, you know that."

Hanami looked at Anzu. "So you aren't coming with me?"

Anzu straightened her head. "Nah. I wanna fight the target. It'll be more fun. Viper can wait. If you get captured or something I'll just come get you guys, no biggie."

Hanami looked around the room. "Well, who *is* going with me?"

Hikaru came down from the ceiling. He looked at Hanami and nodded once.

Kosuke slung his sword on his back. "I'll go too. I agree that Viper needs to be brought down."

Hanami nodded. "It's decided then. We leave immediately."

Anzu left the castle along with them. "Where is Akira and the other four?"

Hanami pointed. "North. The northernmost town in the country. South from the harbor."

Anzu smiled. She bolted into the sky and jet off. She was gone in seconds.

Kosuke looked in the sky. "Will the prince be alright? Anzu is stronger than the rest of us."

Hanami flew into the air. "I'm not concerned about him. She can do whatever she wants. My goal stays the same. Let's go."

Kosuke flew up into the air with Hanami.

Hikaru sat crisscross on top of his scythe and flew after them sitting up.

--

Don Viper sat in his room drinking alcohol. He let out a satisfied sigh. "Nothing beats some good food and booze on a full moon."

He gazed up at the ceiling. The women behind him woke up, sleepy eyed. They cuddled up next to him, giving him compliments and resting on his legs.

Don frowned. "You two should leave this place. In a period of time I won't be able to guarantee your safety."

They both were alarmed. They sat up with sad faces. "Will you be alright?" one of them said.

Don drank the rest of the alcohol in his cup. "I'll be perfectly fine. There's no way in the world that I'll die. I can promise that I will still be living."

The women gathered the remains of their belongings and left the room.

Don got up and walked to the back corner and changed clothes. He came out in a dark green suit with no tie and black dress pants and shoes. He fixed his hair and grabbed another cigar. He lit it and put it between his teeth. He left the room and walked down the halls.

"If you can hear me then leave this place until you're called back!!" he boomed.

Everyone inside left without questioning him.

Don stood in the center of the front room where the entry door was. He stood on the wooden flooring alone and smoked his cigar. He looked up at the ceiling and pocketed his hands. "I built this place from the ground up. I was nothing." He looked at the floor. "It'll likely be destroyed completely by morning." He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. "Too bad."