ZABANIYA

Hassan of the Cursed Arm Citizen W - 1

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“Loud and bold conquerors... hmph.”

“Almost reminds me of that man, Lionheart.”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

     He had been likened as a ‘vigilante’ to some, though in reality, all he did was occasionally help people who were in trouble down in the seedier parts of the Hive, such as the alleyways and Sector 3. The Hassan was an assassin, a murderer-- but, killing was only a job. He neither liked, nor disliked doing it. It was simply something he could do well. ... That said, today, he had just spied a small child cornered by a group of men from a rooftop.

And it angered him, as it should anyone. But just as he was about to strike, dirk in hand, another man entered the scene-- a dark-haired man who seemed to be just as angered as he was by what was transpiring. And even sooner than that, a punch would be swung from one of the thugs in Bigby’s direction. A punch that would soon be intercepted-- by a large dirk piercing the man’s arm.

Leaping down, the Hassan drew a few more from his cloak.

“Two against three should even the odds, I believe.”

@blowyourhousedown

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

beardolci:

“Why would I assume that you were mean? That would be rude of me…” She clutches her plush bear tighter, the pink tufts of her ears perking in a gesture of curiosity.

“It’s just a scary mask, right? I could wear one, too… That wouldn’t make me a bad person.”

“Heh,” he chuckles at the other’s words. This girl-- she was naive and innocent, undoubtedly. “To call it just a mask would be incorrect... but, assuming everyone to be good is dangerous, child. It’s always good just to be cautious... just a little.”

“Not just for men in masks, but for regular people too.”

     A short pause follows.

“... But your kindness is refreshing. What is your name, girl?”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

shadowofthesnake:

       Thus far, it seemed like another quiet night for Kazuma Kval. He’d stay home for the most part of the day, preferring to avoid any social interaction for the time being. He wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, and talking to people became somewhat exhausting after a while. So, he’d taken the time to sit in his hut and take time to himself. 

       Night fell, and as he sat in the corner, he could feel himself nodding off. Slowly, surely, he would probably have fallen asleep. 

       That is, until he noticed a shadow moving inside of his hut. It took him a moment to react, but the moment he realized the silhouette was present–

“–?!” Fear shot through his body and his limbs went stiff. Was this a– “Th–” A thief?! Oh no, did he forget to lock the door to his hut–?!

     Already, this wasn’t going as planned.

“... Good grief,” the Hassan starts, a sigh passing through his hidden lips. “To think that you would be awake as well... truly this is an unfortunate occasion-- for you and me both. This only complicates things... ah, well. Now then...”

“I would advice you to not yell,” Says the man, brandishing a dirk from his cloak-- the metal glinting from the light coming from the nearby window as he held it upwards, making it clear to see. “For you will not be able to yell ever again if you do so.”

     A murder was unnecessary here, even if he was an Assassin. His voice, though stern, was calm and respectful. He didn’t feel like committing a kill that wouldn’t matter, anyways.

“Keep calm, and keep your voice down. All I desire is your money.”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

arnath:

“ It’s a number of things, I’d presume. The theft is one thing, but I’m also more so curious. “ It wasn’t hard to notice this man out of a crowd. Cloaked hood, white skull mask.. if this were any other day in her world it might have been harder. But she was taking this rather casually, due to the fact it was nothing BUT petty theft. Tapping her open palm with the flat of her blade as she looked him over. 

“ You’ve got the look of a demon and yet.. it’s hard to pick up anything from you. If anything.. it’s something different. You’re not 100% human and yet there’s still something. It reminds me of a few people I’ve met here but that’s besides the point. “

“ Appearance aside.. petty theft? Really? What do you gain from stealing small things like that? It’s unnecessary and just burdens others so just give it back. “ Normally she wouldn’t get too involved in matters like these in their entirety, but considering how it could be technically considered a supernatural case.. might as well intervene while she had the power to do so. 

“... Ah, that,” he snorts. So he had been caught. Truly, this was shameful-- making a blunder like this was quite frustrating. Sadly, it was too late to rectify it. Killing a witness had no effect here... “Hmhm. So you wished to peddle your morals to me and take back the stolen goods? I see... though, your senses are keen.”

“I will tell you this, however. I was human, once...”

     Hassan couldn’t call himself human anymore. But he hadn’t been human in a long, long time. The man he used to be had disappeared upon taking up the title of Hassan-i Sabbah.

“That, and everyone has a means of making income. This is simply my way of doing so, you see.” He pauses, momentarily. “My usual line of work would make me little money, in this place... now, of course, this should go without saying-- but I’ve no intention to return what I’ve taken. My apologies.”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

beardolci:

Monsters? Well, that’s true enough. She’s met plenty of what most people would consider ‘monsters’ – things like ghosts, vampires, and mummies – but in her world, monster doesn’t always mean villain. Maybe this man comes from a similar place?

“Should I be?” She hides a yawn behind her hand.

“You don’t seem mean…”

     “Oh? Is that so?” He gives the girl a thoughtful look-- though such an expression would be hidden behind his mask, of course. “Hm. Good. Though you should be more wary, girl. Was I a ‘mean’ person, you could be in trouble right about now.”

     He chastises the other gently, nodding a tad

“It is always good to be brave, but it also good to be careful, you see.”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

beardolci:

That looks painful. At least, it should, but Teddy barely even bats an eyelash at the gruesome sight of thread going through skin.

“Oh.” She pauses, her eyes losing focus as she thinks deeply on this new information.

“… Are you a youkai?”

     Quietly pulling his hood over his head again, the cloaked man pauses as the girl speaks up again, eyeing her with mild curiosity. “Hm. One of those Japanese monsters? ... No.”

“Though you are not far off from the truth of it.”

     A pause.

“Are you not frightened by my appearance, girl?”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

bhiksu:

Can you blame the fear ingrained in this monk, haunted by demons from left to right ever since stepping out of the walls? Wooden staff trembled in her hands, a defensive stance taken for a while – she looks at him with teary eyes, wishing for the best outcome. It is of wise men to accept death but there’s something little tempting about becoming someone’s meal. 

Xuanzang had heard him anyhow and she shuddered at the (much awarded) threat. The monk is quick to place herself on the ground and bow, forehead almost glued to the ground. 

“Forgive me! I have committed a great crime against life itself! HOW CAN I AMEND MY MISTAKE!?! I DO UNDERSTAND A KNIFE IN MY BACK IS BUT FAIR BUT ALLOW ME TO FIX THIS!!!”

“...”

     What was he supposed to make of this, exactly?

“... While I appreciate the apology,” the man started, hand rubbing his still mildly sore forehead, “You can start by showing some dignity. There are people watching. ... Now, stand back up. I shall pardon your transgressions, just this once.”

“... No, really, please stand back up. Everyone is watching.”

     They were in the shopping sector, after all. That aside, he really... couldn’t help but feel this girl was something hugely pitiful. She was crying, even! Was he that scary?! ... Of course, he was that scary, but-- really now, what was this Servant?!

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

     This Servant... had a presence unlike others that he had met here before.

A cool animosity sparked and crackled in this man’s eyes. He did not have the eyes of a hero, for certain. ... Was he an Assassin as well? The Hassan pondered such a thing, unable to ascertain what manner of Servant this person was. How troubling, indeed.

Hassan couldn’t help but grow mildly wary.

“... If you have an interest in me, speak it.”

“You don’t seem like a hero, and yet you approach me deliberately after witnessing me pickpocket from that man. So what do you want with me?”

     He carried an unfriendly, but patient tone.

@cavernking​

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

beardolci:

@delusionalheartbeat

“…”

“… Is that a mask, or are you a skeleton?” Straight to the point.

“Hmph. It is a mask,” he replies quickly, taking off his pitch black hood to show off his equally pitch black skin. “See? It is sewn onto my face, but indeed it’s a mask.”

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

     For the Hassan to get pranked, it clearly meant revenge.

... He was not a petty man, for certain. But to be tricked so easily, and to be made such a fool out of... the Assassin just couldn’t bear it! It pissed him off! While he appreciated children, even he had his limits when it came to the endeavours of younger people! So, naturally--

The Hassan had to strike back.

... An hour passed before he met Ganser again. Though, he didn’t quite ‘meet’ Ganser per say, as all he did was bump into the other.

“Pardon me,” the Hassan would say-- and continue on... with Ganser’s cellphone now in hand. ... Really, he wasn’t a petty man. But, just this once... just this once...!

@balderdashsyndrome​

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“Aaargh! Don’t whack me on the head! I’m no demon!”

     He did have a demon in his arm, but-- it’s not as if he was a demon in particular. And still, this girl, who had just gone up to him saying she’d take care of him or whatever... really, what kind of Servant battle was this?! Drawing his dirks, the Hassan backs up.

... Even worse, what was this Servant wearing? A bikini? Goodness.

Think of the children.

“Try it again and you’ll find a knife in your back!”

“I am no demon! I am Assassin!”

@bhiksu

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“...” 

He had been caught. By another Servant, no less. Though, the Assassin had been caught doing something someone would think to be out of his element. There was a dead man on the ground-- a knife not so far away from his flaccid hand. He’d been threatening a younger woman, scantily clad in a way that suited this red light district in Sector 3. So naturally, he was taken care of. ... He hadn’t received a thanks, of course. The woman who had been saved screamed and ran the moment she saw the looks of her saviour. But Hassan was not unhappy, he supposed.

“... If you saw what had gone down, then you have no reason to bother with me, Saber. You may pretend as if you’ve never seen me before.”

     Swiftly pulling one of his trusty dirks out of the carcass (along with some cash from the dead man’s pockets), the Hassan wipes the fresh blood off and onto his cloak.

He’d need to wash that, later.

@drachenheld

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“Hoh. Wary you should be of an Assassin indeed, Saber,” the dark-cloaked man chuckled as the other called him out. When a Servant barked at him like this, the Hassan was never surprised. If anything, it was amusing to him. “But you’ve no need to point that paltry weapon at me, for I’ll plunge no knife into your back.”

“Unless you intend to assault me, of course.”

     He could afford to sound a bit smug here, where the powers of Servants were weakened.

But he really had no intention of attacking. Idly, Assassin wondered if this young man would realize that. He had not even drawn one of his own weapons yet, after all.

@braahmastra

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“... I recognize a mage when I see one.”

     The admission of such a fact meant he recognized the man before him-- not personally, mind you-- but as the same type as those who would normally summon beings such as himself. Servants.

... Though, naturally, this man was not a Master.

But the fact that he could recognize a Servant of all things made the Hassan wonder how he would have known. Did they come from the same world...? It would only make sense. The secrets of the Servant summoning process were unlikely to be known here, after all.

“You speak to me as if you wish to inquire about something. If so, then speak, Mage-- hold not your tongue. I don’t mind being questioned.”

“Well?”

@rosaccel

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

     Breaking and entering was such an easy task for the Assassin.

That said, when people left their doors unlocked by accident, it was even more helpful for him. Breaking open windows would draw more attention, of course-- and if word got out of homes with broken windows having their objects stolen from within, it would make things a bit difficult.

So he went for more subtle ways to steal from others.

In a sense, one could see this as comeuppance for not being careful and locking their homes, Hassan thought-- but no one else would really see it that way, naturally. Others would simply see him as he was, as a thief. And this wasn’t something the dark man minded so much. All that aside, this hut was another easy target. The man had quietly slipped inside, without even so much as a sound... but paused, only to see in the corner-- someone was still here.

Asleep, of all things. ... Or, were they? The Hassan couldn’t even see their eyes to tell.

@shadowofthesnake

[delusionalheartbeat-blog]

“My appearance is not like this because of all that had transpired not too long ago-- so perhaps you ought to lay your weapon down,” the man coolly spoke, voice betraying his frightening appearance. “Nor am I here to harm anyone, either.”

     That said, his tone was particularly flat. He was clearly annoyed, for certain.

In general, this wasn’t the first confrontation he’s gotten for such reasons. ... That said, he had just pick pocketed from multiple people in the area-- though he had been careful enough not to be seen... though he doubted he was being apprehended for such a reason. And if he was, well...

It’s not like he couldn’t easily escape.

@arnath​