I flip through the old yellowed pages and mutter to myself, "laws here include, following the every command of the empire and council, as well as never question them? shady." I say lowly as I flip through them, my eyes glossing through the entire page as well as the door to the basement so the old man doesn't try something funny. "if you are part of the ninja, always take part in helping civilians, and never speak of the curse" my brows furrow at the last word "curse?" I mutter as I look up at the old man on the stairs before I flick my eyes to the other bookshelves and look for a more historical section.
"building history...folklore...council rules....famous nin...ah curses." I say scanning the shelve labels, 'hmm if someone broke in they could easily collect info for enemy nations, just because they are labeled' I think with a slight smile as I pull the book from the shelve and blow the dust off of it. "the red devil?" I ask the old man out loud, he gives a gruff grunt as he gets up from the pavement steps and shuffles toward me "yes the curse." he says flatly as he stands next to me, his crippled body bending down towards me, I lean back from him as he reaches for another book. "this has more information on it then that one, but feel free to read both" his lungs rattle after he speaks, he coughs violently after and shuffles away from me to go sit on the cold pavemented steps once again, lingering in the shadows, waiting for me to do something deemed threating to him or his village so he can execute me quickly.
"the red devil, a cures of which an infant is born on a blood moon and a devil is freed from the depts of hell only to merge as one and reek havoc on a city" I mutter. I get a weak cough in response as I continue to read both of the books before closing them as I mutter to myself and give the man very few fleeting glances as I stretch upwards to put the books back on the appropriate shelving. I see the man finally get up and slowly turn and head back up the stairs, I follow swiftly as to not be left behind, the flat of my shoes silently scraping against the cold pavement floor.
finally we make it out of the cold musty hallway and back into the main floor, then slowly back into his office. "I'll take up the deal as long as I'm not fully chained down. meaning I can leave of my own vallation" I say flatly to the Empire as his old body found purchase behind his old oak desk. "meaning you can visit other country's without asking for my permission to leave?" his voice raspy and almost unclear, for we had not talked in over twenty minutes it had to long of a break and had some build up in this throat. "yes." a simple answer for most but it was all the was needed to be said. "will you tell me before hand?" he asks as he folds his bony fingers together "I suppose" I said poised, getting slightly irritated at all the questions. I see him pull open a drawer on his desk and reach his hand in before he pulls out a red velvet sack. he places it on top of the dark oak desk.
"here, this is your first payment" he says as he shoves the velvet coin bag closer to me for me to take it. I raise a brow but none the less take it into the palm of my hand and feel the weight of it. I open the velvet bag and see seven gold coins nestled safely inside, I nod "and where will I be staying?" I ask as I pocket the coin pouch, "one of the new apartment buildings, south of town, I'll have a ninja escort you" he said, smoke billowing from his mouth as he took another long drag from his pipe, leaned back in the red velvet and gold embroidered chair.
he leans over and taps a button under his desk, not long after a ninja knocked on the door "enter" the old mans voice cracked over the silence like a rock wall crumbling and hitting the ground. A tall man enters the room, his hair black and silky, yet kept high and tight while his shoulders and arms are toned with muscle, along with piercing green eyes. I catch a glimpse of a tattoo under one of his black sleeves that cut off at his shoulders. "escort this young lady to the sliver district apartment's. that it all" The emperor says because a cough claws out of his throat, that tall mysterious man nods his head before looking at me with distrust before swiftly turning on his heel and walking away.
"..."
"..."
"so...nice weather we are having" I say trying to strike up a conversation with the stranger, he only grunts and continued to walk at a fast pace, wanting to get ride of me I can only assume. finally I get a response after waiting for a decade as it would seem "If that's what you wanna call it" he grunts out, his voice a raspy but pleasant melody that sooths over the ears, much like honey going into tea, Oh i don't know, im rambling to myself at this point. its almost pointless trying to get any sort of information about this guy or the village, its like pulling teeth, not even that, more like trying to pull teeth from an infant who's teeth have yet to develop. how annoying.
"well to me yes its nice, no blinding sun or cold wet rain" I ponder while tapping my chin with a slight grin, I see his eyes glance down at my face before he grunts once again and walks faster. I sigh but easily keep up with him, I take in the sights of the village and the route im taking right now so I dont get lost in the future. finally we make it to a large apartment building, the color grey and white seem to ravel around the building as we walk up the stone steps.