The Olympians: The Fall of Kin

The Dogs of War

And, from what Yokai understood, Oni had yet to experience her rage. Should that come to pass, would she too feel that becoming a betrayer was the only route open to her? He couldn't be sure.

"Why did you come and see me? From what I gather, most think I'm very uninteresting."

"What?! You're like super interesting. You have a very..." She pinched her chin in thought. "Mysterious aura about you. It's a bit alluring, honestly."

The winds picked up once more, flowing through Oni's shortly cut hair, which was crimson as the blood in a man's veins. Her eyes were affixed to the sky, one of a deep red and the other a hollow black. She wore a gray sweater that barely fit her slim figure, and a skirt that was three inches up her well-muscled thighs. A pair of leather Converse adorned her feet, socks erupting from them all the way to above her knees, dyed in a black and white plaid.

"And...you seem like the only person that I can talk to about something I have on my mind." The girl spoke solemnly, all joking gone from her voice.

"And why is that?"

"Because you tend to tell the truth."

She nodded in response, urging her on.

"I—I wanted to know...do you think that what we're doing is okay?"

"What? Laying here?"

"No, idiot. I mean, is the mission, okay? We're talking about killing hundreds of people. People that we've never met."

"You've killed people you haven't met before. We're assassins," She spoke dully.

"Sure...but I mean...I just want to know that it'll all be worth it. You know? All the kills I've made in the past had some kind of purpose behind them. Some I did just for the money. Others were for more than that. This war? It's just a bunch of killing. I feel like I'm losing sight of the goal. I mean...is this really how we achieve The Providence that Adastros thinks is so close? How will this help us?"

And there it was. The doubt in her voice. Fickle as a child should be...

"You can't get caught up in the semantics. In our jobs, we're assassins. It makes sense to focus on every detail. In war, we are soldiers and nothing more. We have a chain of command. You just have to trust in your leader with all your being. If you can't do that, you have no place on a battlefield. If you have faith, then merely follow orders. Focus on those single things as we move forward. Do you trust him?"

"Yes. Absolutely." She looked down at her hand, reminiscing. "He saved my life. He and Kirin. Sorry...I guess I'm just scared. I don't know what to expect. When Kyn left...it just shattered my world."

She nodded knowingly. She had been in love with the man. Yokai hadn't really cared one way or another, but he could at least relate. After all, he had loved someone once. A long time ago, before he'd been blinded by her once she had found out what he was. Turned out that human women weren't very fond of Godkin.

Who knew?

"Remember what you're fighting for...remember that goal and nothing else. It will help. All of this is necessary...because if we do not fight, the humans will just kill more of us, oppress us. And I for one am tired of not being able to live in the real world. I was forced to choose to be a killer, because there is no other choice for one such as I."

She nodded, laid back. "Do you think he'll be there? Kyn, I mean."

"Without a doubt. The traitor will make himself known."