The Mask Thief (ViperFang x ilaughatmyself)

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ViperFang

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Joined
Jan 24, 2013
The Carnevale.

It was a huge event in Venice and all sorts of people gathered to enjoy the fun that night. Games, dancing, competition...this night had it all. One woman, however, was here on a different mission. One that would ruin the expectations of many. This night, there was a big competition to win a golden mask, one that would gain the winner entry to Marco Barbarigo's party. Unfortunately for the competitors, this mask was also incredibly valuable. Selling it elsewhere would fetch someone a great deal of money, and it seemed Kicho was ready to be the one to do this.

While the competition raged, she slipped to the holding area for the golden mask and was delighted to see that only one man served as the guard. Once she had the area cased, she waited for the competition to reach the final event, when the other guards made their last checkup on the mask and left the area once more. She then sauntered up to the guard, donning a confused look on her face and looking around.

"Excuse me miss, you're not allowed back here," he called to her before looking at her scantily clad body. He was already falling into her trap.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry sir...I think I've had a little too much wine," she replied, slowly stumbling up to him. She then made her self trip over her own feet, making her fall into the guard's arms, eliciting a dirty grin on his face. Clearly, he assumed he was going to have some fun with her. She giggled as she then slipped her hand into her kimono sleeve. "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. When I'm drunk, I can be a real pain."

With her last word, she slipped a dagger from her sleeve and plunged it into his gut. The guard was in shock as the pain slowly set in. She quickly slipped behind him and slashed open his throat, ensuring he couldn't scream. Once she was satisfied with her work, she picked the lock of the cage containing the mask and pulled the daggers from his body, once again hiding them with her sleeves after cleaning them off. Once that was finished, she heard applause and realized the last game had ended. She quickly ran off into an alleyway, trying to make her way to the docks in the canals. She needed to get away as soon as possible. It wouldn't be long before the guard's corpse was spotted.
 
Ezio finished his final battle with a huff. It was supposed to be a simple, hand to hand fight, one that Ezio had lived in before with Vieri and his gang of idioti all those months ago. He then had to face armed guards, sent in by Il Rosso to stop him from winning that mask from them. Obviously, such a thing did not work as planned, because Ezio thankfully had learned to disarm enemies quite some time ago and has used it countless times since. It proved him well eventually, as his uncle had told him.

But all of this fuss over a simple mask? It seemed a bit too...unnecessary for everything.

Ezio shrugged as he walked up onto the stage, where the announcer was beckoning for him.

"After all three trials, one man has prevailed above every other man." He grabbed the Assassin's arm, thrusting it into the air. "This man! He has won the mask." He put the arm back down.

"Congratulations, messere. You proved your speed in the capturing of the flag, you charm in the ribbon collection, and your might in the brawl. Your reward is-"

At that moment, a guard appeared, shouting to the announcer, "The mask! It has been stolen!"

And in a flash, Ezio was on the rooftops, scouring for the thief.
 
Kicho could hear screams as people discovered the death of the guard. It made her grin. She may be barely over twenty, but all her years of training to perfect the kill still had a powerful effect on people. She felt proud, but also exhausted. She had spent so much time trying to cover her tracks, she needed to rest. Once she arrived at the docks, she stepped onto the stone edge of the canal walls and inched her way under one of the archways. She always found these to be perfect to hide in. Now, she wanted to get a look at her prize. she reached into her silk bag and pulled out the golden mask. It was shiny and light and very nicely detailed.

"Those greasy men fighting over something like this, then it ends with it being all for nothing. I can't wait to see what I can get for this," she hissed to herself, feeling very successful. She turned the mask around in her hands, examining every detail. She found it odd that it had a number carved into it. She hoped this wouldn't hurt the price. After all, aside from that, it was in pristine shape. Not a scratch or scuff on its polished surface.

Unfortunately for Kicho, she was unaware of how open she had left herself on the way to the canals. While practically invisible to a commoner while on her journey, the eyes of an assassin would easily be able to track her suspicious movements. There was little chance that Ezio missed her slipping into the shadows of the canal archway.
 
The combination of his trained sight and his talent made it almost stupidly easy for Ezio to track her. That, and her odd clothing. it was a bit obvious that she wasn't from Italia, but rather, and Asian country from the Silk Road. He quietly hopped off the low rooftop he was on and landed on the street, quickly blending in to a crowd moving toward her position under the arch way. he was calm, focused on her, his eye locked on that shadowy form of the woman under the arch of stone. He was on a hunt he intended to succeed in on every point.

Ezio slowly walked toward her, breaking from the crowd on the side of the archway opposite the street, being reather stealthy for him, who rather charged into one on one confrontations such as this. He continued walking, extending his hidden blade for the kill.

He forgot about the sound it made, clear and distinct in this quiet area.
 
Kicho was just about to relax when she heard the familiar sound of a blade ringing through the silence. She quickly became alert and turned toward the source. A hooded figure was creeping up on her with a blade extended from his sleeve. She cursed under her breath, furious that she had apparently not covered her tracks well enough. She slipped the mask back into her bag before reaching into her sleeves, pulling out her daggers. She had come this far, and she wasn't about to lose her prize.

"Come to take it back?" she called to him, her blades glinting in the moonlight. "Did you work hard to try and win it for yourself? It's a shame when endeavors fail, wouldn't you agree?"

She then slowly inched her way to the edge, the canal waters just below her. She then slipped one of the blades to the string of her bag. She wasn't about to let this man win.

"Come closer and I cut this string. Then the mask is gone forever."
 
Ezio swore to himself at the sound, seeing the woman immediately turn toward him and spotted him easily, also cursing the white that he had chosen to die his clothes, standing out in the night more than a grey or black would have. His blade was highly visible as well, glinting sharply in the stark shadow of the arch. He was visible by the naked eye, something all Assassini actively tried to avoid at every cost necessary.

Her words were taunting, daring him to come closer in both situations. Thank the Gods he didn't have to. He actually stepped backwards, aiming his hidden pistol at her. He looked as if he were pointing however, speaking to her in English. "Madonna, i do not have to step closer to kill you." He smirked at her, jesting himself.
 
Kicho watched as the hooded man took a step back, and she took it as he was going to retreat. When he pointed at her, however, she found herself feeling nervous. His threat would have seemed idle if it weren't for that dangerous smirk on his face...or what she could see of his face. She didn't like this at all. She looked around the area and couldn't see a practical escape route. She would have to run and keep her path erratic. That, or she would have to find another way to get out of this.

She took a step forward, her leg stepping through the thigh-high slit in her dress. She moved the blade away from the bag's string reluctantly, but kept her eyes trained on him.

"Come now, no one has to die here, Stranger," she hissed. She didn't want to lose this mask, but she also didn't want to die or get thrown in prison. "I needed this mask to sell, but if you want it so badly that you'll try to kill me, perhaps we can work something out."

She wanted him to get closer so she could try and kill him and get away. Still, he didn't look like a normal person that was angry about getting his prize taken away. He almost looked like he did this sort of thing professionally. That didn't bode will for her.
 
Ezio saw the expression seem to change from confident to nervous, and the smirk on his face grew. He was breaking through to her, making her bend to his will. This woman was very easy to break it seemed, harder than most targets and civilians, but still easy, nonetheless. He eyed the leg that peeked out of the slit in her dress before his eyes darted back up to her face, his pistol trained on her chest the entire conversation as he spoke again.

"Perhaps..." He kept the gun up, realizing that she was slowly moving closer. He was ready to extend his other hidden blade if need be, his reflexes quick enough to do so, his eyes trained well enough to spot an attempt at an attack.
 
He didn't lower his hand. Kicho now knew what she was up against. He was holding a gun and she had no chance of getting out of this one unscathed. Her nervous look changed to one of disappointment. She was so confident that she could handle this easily. Now she had no choice but to give up the mask...unless he was willing to make a trade.

"Okay, would you mind lowering your gun," she asked before dropping her daggers to the ground, the blades piercing the ground and making them stand up firmly. "It scares me. I'd prefer to talk to you without weapons coming into play."

She had another, smaller knife in her right sleeve if she needed it, but she wanted to gain his trust.

"Now look, please. I need the money this mask can bring in for me. I'm prepared to do anything for you if you'll let me go," she continued, walking slowly toward him and swaying her hips as she moved. Her slender leg continued to slip through her dress as she walked. She hoped he would go for it, but if he didn't, she would have to risk a dangerous combat.
 
The facade finally broke, after about a minute of a gun trained on her vital organs. Ezio slowly lowered his weapon, his hidden blades still at the ready if he needed them, but his demeanor was calmer. He eyed her swaying hips and leg poking out every now and then with apathy, when in his younger years they would have driven him entirely insane. He kept his eyes trained on her face afterwards, the smirk still on his face.

"I do not think that is your intention of walking toward me, is it?" He gestured toward the sleeves. "Mighty large sleeves you have there. Many a weapon could be concealed." He really didn't know, but he made it sound like he did, just to see if she was trying to kill him.
 
Kicho felt frustration welling up inside her. This damned man. He could see right through her actions. She had to fight now, otherwise, he could easily kill her. After he finished speaking, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a tanto. It was smaller than her previous daggers, but it was just as deadly.

"Fine, we fight, but don't bring a pistol into this," she hissed. "A big strong man using a ranged weapon on a little lady? How cowardly."

She then dashed forward, ready to slash at his throat with the thin, single-edged blade. She kept her defenses up as she neared him, however, knowing full well that he would probably use that blade he was going to use before she spotted him. Once she was close enough, she swiped her blade at him before leaning back while she tried to kick at his groin, hoping to bring him down as quickly as she could.
 
Ezio chortled, expecting the charge to come at some point. He knew it was coming, so he dodged, not countering, trying to wear her down a bit before attacking. He also sidestepped the kick that was sent his way, frowning at the intended target of it. It was a sly move, one that he would have pulled, but at least that was the point of the dodge, it was something he would have tried years ago.

"Madonna, i do not appreciate the cheap tactics..."
 
She grew angry as she realized how nimble he was, easily dodging her attacks. She didn't like how this was going. She had to be careful, or he was going to succeed in killing her. In a desperate attempt to kill him, Kicho launched her tanto at him, aiming for his chest. Predicting that he was going to dodge her attack, she ran forward, curling her hands into fists then threw a punch aimed at his face, hoping to try and surprise him. Still, his statement annoyed her.

"Cheap tricks? Isn't that what your little gun was? A cheap way to kill me?" she hissed, hoping he took the 'little gun' term as a double-entendre. She found men were easier to beat when their manhood was insulted.
 
This time, Ezio countered. He dodged the tanto easily and caught her fist in his hand, holding it as he replied to the snark comment. He knew the double innuendo, but ignored it, knowing that she had no idea how well-endowed he was. He looked her carefully in the eye, never removing his gaze from hers, wanting to intimidate her as much as he could. It was a bit of an old tactic he had, but it worked often.

"My 'little gun' was no cheap tactic, madonna. It was me using what i had available to me." He smiled and threw her back hearing a bit of a tear sound from a twig or something.
 
Kicho knew he would dodge the blade, but she was so confident that she was going to land that punch. Instead, he caught it with ease and held her fast. She grunted as she tried to pull her fist away from his large hand. Her eyes glared into his, not wanting to let herself be intimidated by his dark gaze. She scoffed at his words as he defended his use of the pistol.

"Call it what you like, but I only have hand to hand weapons, so in my book, that was cheap!" she spat back at him. She then spotted his smile before he pushed her back. She cried out as she heard the sound of fabric tearing before she finally fell to the ground.

She quickly sat up and saw the damage that had been done. The entire lower half of her dress was torn from her with only a small amount covering her nether regions, exposing her long, creamy, unblemished legs. She cursed to herself as she reached down to cover herself as much as she could, spotting the part that had been torn from her under the stranger's boot.

"Now look what you've done! That was my only dress!" she exclaimed before she reached to slide the bag from her shoulders. At this point, she didn't even care about the mask. She felt humiliated, defeated. She tossed the back at his feet and looked away from him. "Fine, take it. Just...give me back what you tore off. I need to have some cover while I try to find a place to stay for the night..."
 
Ezio Auditore da Firenze had practically stripped the entire lower half of her beautiful dress off of her through sheer dumb luck. Had it been any other girl that he knew, he'd be dead before the time he would have time to react. He didn't move to help her, even as she said that she needed a place to rest overnight. He was too focused on the newly exposed legs of his opponent, his manhood swelling slightly at the sight. He wanted to...so bad...

He snapped out of that mode he was in, knowing that she wouldn't even accept any advance from him. it wasn't even worth trying. Turning a bit red, he picked the piece of torn fabric up, tossing it to her gently so as not to do any more damage to it before thinking for a bit. Perhaps there was a way to bed her tonight.

"You need a place to stay for the night, madonna?" He paused, kneeling next to her and being careful with his words. "Well...there is a villa a while away that I own, and if you would like, I can have you stay for the night, and a warm meal or two for you to eat." In truth, he didn't own the villa, it was his uncle's, but he was sure to accept a guest of Ezio's any day. The assassin gave her one of those smirks that made women melt, though here, he wasn't too sure that it would work all that well.

"What do you say?"
 
Kicho brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly as she waited for the Italian man to do as she asked. She could feel his eyes on her, and while that usually made her feel proud, right now she was too full of anger. She hated this man for causing her so many problems. First, he cut off her escape route, then he bested her in combat, and finally, he tore her only good dress. She felt she would have been well justified to mutilate him for this humiliation.

She kept her eyes locked on him as he picked up the torn fabric and tossed it to her. She snatched the ruined silk and looked it over, wondering if there was a chance she could mend it once she had some time. For now, however, she had to wrap the fabric around her hips like a skirt. She tied the ends in a knot and straightened it out. It was far too short, now. She was sure to be mistaken for a streetwalker now. All thanks to him.

She scowled at him as he approached, kneeling next to her. She wished she hadn't wasted her last knife, now. She could easily have stabbed him here and now if she hadn't. He offered her a place to stay for the night, eliciting a confused look on her face. Did he really think she would just happily accept his offer after what he had done? Still...a bed to sleep in plus something to eat...it did sound nice. Her stomach growled at the prospect of a warm meal. She hadn't eaten properly in weeks, surviving off what she could steal. She glared at him as he gave her an annoying, albeit alluring, smirk.

"Fine. As long as you don't kill me in my sleep or take me to prison," she hissed, then pointed at him, her finger inches away from his nose. "And stop this 'madonna' stuff. My name is Kicho."

She picked herself back up, still feeling flustered at the shortness of her makeshift skirt.
 
Ezio grinned calmly at her as she ranted, storing her name into his memory, something he did with everyone he met, even the targets. The assassin slowly stood up, knowing that she would follow him to the villa through her own volition. He obviously had absolutely no intention of killing her now, especially since she wasn't all that much of a threat anymore. He started walking toward the piers to charter a ship for a bay near Monteriggioni, the town that the villa was housed in. when he did so, he turned around, making sure that Kicho followed him.
 
Kicho hated that he grinned at her while she snapped at him. He clearly didn't find her to be a threat of any kind, so she was probably nothing more than a mere woman to him. She hated being treated like some commoner. She wasn't, after all. She could very easily kill him if she had been properly prepared. She was just unfortunate this time. She would have her revenge. She just had to. Her pride depended on it.

In the meantime, while the stranger stood up and turned his back to her as he led the way, she scowled at him. Seeing his back while he treated her like no threat...such an insult! Before she went to follow him, she gathered up her knives and tucked them back into her kimono sleeves. She wasn't going to use them now, but she would later. Besides, she didn't want to let them go to waste.

She followed him to the piers, ignoring the lewd eyes of the men working on the docks. As he turned to look at her, she glared at him. "So, I've told you my name. What is yours?"
 
Ezio grinned as he paid the harbormaster and turned to Kicho, spreading his arms wide in what appeared to be slight arrogance, an emotion that he rarely displayed. "My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Kicho." He let his arms down, chuckling a bit from his little joke before turning again and sitting on the edge of the pier, looking out to the sea and waiting for their boat to arrive.
 
Kicho glared at him as he turned around, spreading his arms out as if welcoming her as he introduced himself. His arrogant tone made her want to try and hurt him again. Though as he lowered his arms and chuckled, she couldn't help but find him...somewhat charming. His arrogance that he displayed wasn't more than a short show for her, a small joke. As he moved to sit on the pier, she slowly walked up to him before sitting beside him, her slender legs dangling over the edge. She looked him over, noting that while he had an intimidating stature when in combat, when he was calm, it was more appealing. He was tall, had broad, masculine shoulders, and even though he was heavily clothed, she could tell he had a nice build.

She was still a little bitter about him ruining her dress and humiliating her in combat, but even she was beginning to imagine what it would be like to have a little fun with him this night. She took a deep breath as they waited, though she was growing evermore impatient.

"Your boat seems to be taking a little too long to get here, wouldn't you say, Ezio?" she hissed, sounding impatient. She looked towards him again before her eyes descended to his body again, settling briefly at his pelvis, wondering what he looked like without his garb.
 
Ezio stare out into the horizon at her words, her concern rather valid in this area. Venice, being as popular a trade city that it was, often had pirates just outside of the harbor, waiting to strike at any ship that seemed to have any value. The Assassin let out a small sigh in relief as the sails peeked over the line in the distance, signifying the boat's arrival.

He did notice her looks at his body. It was a rather frequent occurence of the women he met, even if they said that they had no romantic interest in him whatsoever. He looked over Kicho's relctantly revealed body with his eyes only to make it look as if her wasn't eyeing her at all, knowing how well the shade of the hood concealed his eyes. After a bit of starting, the Auditore pointed to the sail on the horizon.

"That ship, right there, is our ride to a bay near my villa." Ezio grinned a bit and watched the ship come nearer and nearer.
 
Kicho watched as Ezio directed her gaze towards the ship that slowly made its way to them, unaware that he had also looked at her while she looked at him. It was a large ship, surprised to see that he could have such a large vessel to serve as his transport. She looked back at him, a skeptical look in her eyes. He must have been rich...if that's the case, why couldn't he have just bought his way into that stupid party? From her experience, that was how those with money operated.

"I suppose this means you are a rich man?" she asked as the ship drew nearer. "I'm surprised you're even bothering hanging around someone that others would consider a street urchin."

She did have a nice home back in Japan, but while she was here, she had nothing and had to make due. She often heard people calling her a tramp while she roamed this land. After seeing the ship, she wondered what his home looked like. Finally, the ship docked and they were ushered aboard. She stood up and prepared to follow him onto the decks.
 
Ezio merely chuckled at her comment about his wealth. "Yes, I am slightly wealthy, but I still have sympathy for lower classes." He watched the ship draw nearer and nearer to the dock until eventually anchoring, the walkway up quickly being lowered by a few crew members. The Auditore looked back to his new friend with that same smirk on his face.

"Before I settle in, I'm going to do a scouting run on the ship, just to be sure that there isn't any pirates or leaks." The smirk remained as he stepped onto the ship.
 
Sympathy? She didn't feel that she needed any sympathy. She almost felt insulted until she quickly calmed herself down. She did, after all, practically jump at the chance to have a warm place to sleep and a good meal for the night. Sympathy was exactly what she needed. None others had offered her such kindness. She was still sore about her humiliation, but she would get over it. She was certain of that.

As Ezio told her of his plans, she nodded, letting him run onto the ship first. She also ventured on board, her steps slow and deliberate. She noticed a few of the sailors eyeing her like the other scum on the docks. She shot them with a venomous glare, making them flinch before returning back to work. She walked up onto the deck and sat on a barrel, waiting for the hooded stranger to return from his inspection.
 
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