Why do I enjoy killing?

---

I awake with something soft covering me. Taking a look at my surroundings, I see that I am on the floor of the building I entered last night. Underneath me is bedding, and I am covered in a blanket. Looking around, I see that the blood stains have been scrubbed off the walls and floor, and the bodies have gone. In my hands is my sword.

I wonder why they let me keep it? I was asleep, so they could no doubt have slit my throat and taken it.

Perhaps, like all humans, they fear responsibility. Beside me is a bowl of cold soup, and a small bag that is most likely full of food. I think about the possibility of poison, but dismiss it. Poison is not how they would kill me, if they wished. Just smothering me would do.

Getting up, I eat and do my exercises to warm up my body. Because I am a child, my body is not used to such abuse as I put it through. I do wish my body were not so fragile, as it makes killing much harder. Technique can only take you so far against raw strength.

After warming my muscles up, I stretch and push my joints to exercise my flexibility. From now on, fights will be harder, and I will need all of my strength. Picking up the sack and preparing to be on my way, I see a piece of parchment fall to the floor. Curiously picking it up, I read: Thank you for what you did, you saved us. This is all we can do.

Saved them? I wonder what made them think that? All I did was kill a few people.

Shrugging, I head out the door. Bandages are wrapped around my feet, as well as my hands, where my blisters from walking and holding the sword had popped, come back, and popped again. Really, I wonder why they went to the trouble. It's not as if this could kill me. But, I do appreciate that they gave me this cloth. Tearing a piece off of my foot wrappings, I wind it around my face and cover my mouth. Keeping myself from breaking out in a smile had distracted me too much, and since I wasn't willing to cut out my tongue, I would just have to deal with keeping the laughter in. With this, at least, I can smile all I want and nobody will see.

I dislike when people run. I have to chase them down. It is so much easier to have them come to me, and besides. Their legs are longer, so it's less distance for them than it is for me.

Walking down the road, I begin to see the difference the wrappings make. No longer to I have to cut off my pain in order to keep walking, so I have more brain power to walk. This is much faster. Though, having something to hold my sword would be good. My arm has to exert strength to hold it, and this means I will be slower in killing. I will acquire such a device.

I pay no heed as to where my feet take me, as no matter where I go, filth is sure to show it's face. Such is the corruption of this land. If only I could purge the whole face of this country with fire. Sadly, I am not a god.

I am just a child. But I do what I can.

How old am I? I haven't thought about that in quite a while. I will have to pay attention to my age. I think when I turn thirteen, or somewhere about, I will come into contact with troublesome urges. I will just have to cleanse the country before that. So, before I am thirteen. I guess I have two years.

What was my name?

...

Meh, it's not important. When it comes up, I can think about it again.

As I ponder over my time limit, I stop walking, and wait until a group of men are all out in the open. When the sparsely clothed and unwashed men have finished getting together, I prepare to hear their final words. Not that I'll remember them five minutes after their dead. I prefer to keep my mind open, and not bog it down with words of lesser beings. Not that I am any better than them. They are simply lesser because they are the ones who will die.

Settling down into a comfortable crouch, I hold my sheathed sword in my left hand behind me, and my right hovers over the hilt, not touching.it. Unlatching it with my left thumb, I become still, not moving except to breathe.

"Heh heh, what do we have here? A little runt with a blade? Hah! Come on boys, let's kill him!"

My hair is long in the front, and covers my eyes. The bandages cover my mouth and nose. This amuses me, as I look more like a bandit than they do. Feeling safe behind the bandage, I smile.

Hoof beats.

From behind the bandits, two horsemen charge. Both raise a sword, and cut down one apiece. I am impressed, and slightly peeved. Impressed because it takes skill to fight from horseback, and annoyance that there will be two less to kill. Such misfortune.

The two horsemen, having broken through the band of thirty-forty dirty men, come to a stop next to me.

"Hey! You better run while you have the chance. We'll try to keep them busy long enough for you to get away, then we'll get reinforcements. Understand?"

Keeping my mouth firmly shut, for fear I would laugh at their foolishness, I shake my head and point to a location behind me. Looking confused, they reluctantly fall back. As the charging men draw near, they ignore my direction and charge forward, hoping to save me.

Such fools. If anything, they should save the bandits from me. But it's too late now, I am too far gone to stop myself.

Stepping forward and drawing, I cut the leader from hip to shoulder. Moving past him like a shadow, I dart my blade forward and cut the second's throat. Stepping to the right, I cut open his fellows' belly and let his guts spill out while I spin away from a blade and thrust deep into my next attackers heart

Ripping my katana from his chest, I duck a blade by inches and break the wielders knee, the let go of my sword with my left and and grab his chin. Jumping behind his back while snapping his neck, I bring my sword around and cut the head from another. Dropping to the ground, I bend and flex my knees before jumping and spinning, cutting threes' necks and letting their blood spill upon me.

For the first time since beginning my first step, I become still. My entire body is dyed red with blood, and I stand facing the sky, my hair falling back and the now-soaked bandages becoming clear for all to see. The two horsemen have come to a stop, and the only sound I hear is the breathing of the thirty men around me. I stand in the middle, shorter than all of them, and yet-

They are the ones who feel small.

Snapping my head forward, I bring my blade up and seem to glide forward, cutting a mans face in half. Side-stepping an incoming sword I move without taking a step and place my katana against his gut. I hear his pumping heart, and taste blood on my bandages.

Ripping my sword past his gut, I cut him nearly in half, and catch his falling blade in my left hand. Stepping to the left, I jam it up to its' hilt in a bandits skull, then kick him away into a crowd of this friends. Stepping to the right, I go on one leg and kick out, catching a mans chin and snapping his neck. Leaping forward I strike a mans' solar plexus and rise to my full height as he bends over. I behead him with a finality.

Twisting my hips, I turn to my right and catch a sword on my guard, then turn it and slide my sword along his blade until I sink my swords' tip into his face. Grabbing his sword I turn 180 degrees to my right and throw it a foot into another's heart. Leaning backward, I let three blades come within centimeters of my face. Leaning forward, I jump and flip over the man if front of me, cutting his shoulder as I spin. Landing with my sword held behind me, and my left held palm-down on the ground.

Lifting my right leg I spin and cut off ones' arm, and pierce another's throat before sinking down and gutting a third. Spinning the opposite way I cut from groin to neck, from shoulder to hip, from one side of the neck to the other. As the head spins in the air, I reach up and catch it, before throwing it with enough force to crack both the skull of the head and the man getting hit. Seeing him go down in a spurt of blood, I step forward once more and slash open my opponents chest, before reaching inside and ripping out the heart. Throwing the still pumping organ into another mans' eyes I step forward and gut him, then reach inside and take his intestines.

Ripping them out, I wrap them around another's throat and jump-spin around to suffocate him and cut another from shoulder to hip. Pulling my hostage in front of an incoming blade, I block another with my sword and let the now-dead hostage fall and retrieving my fleshy weapon. Wrapping it around the hands of the man in front of me, I twist his hands so that he shoves his own sword through the bottom of his chin into his brain, and out the top of his skull, before turning and parrying the one from behinds' sword. Knocking it back, I bring my sword to my hip, then twist my hips and add all the power of my legs, abs, and shoulders to my arms and using the momentum to cut him in half.

Standing completely still, first one half, then the other, fall to the ground. I stand up straight, and flick the blood off my katana. Looking all around, a carpet of blood-soaked bodies lay around me, and I step on them like a king. Seven dirty men are running, and I order the two horsemen to chase them down via sword point. Surprisingly, they follow my command and run them down, mercilessly cutting them down like the dogs they are. I think we can get along.

When they return, I keep the bandages on my face, to hide my smile. Barely trusting myself to speak, I exert every part of my mind to keep from bellowing in laughter. "You did well to cut them down. You have my thanks."

Looking as if they are unable to tell if they're dreaming, the two men dismount and babble useless compliments. Cutting them off with my hand, I look around where I started and find my sheath, then lay it to the side and sit down cross-legged. Sharpening my sword, I listen as the two men ask me to accompany them to a certain place.

It sounds as if a den of ronin have taken up banditry in the area, and these two were sent to exterminate them. They believe this is a suicide mission, but have regained hope after seeing me, and ask if I will help them.

All I need to hear is that there is a group of people or need to be killed.

"Lead the way. There is killing to be done."

I doubt the bandages were able to hide my smile.

---

Because one should always love their job.