3Jian Ikari, bodyguard to the Emperor of Balangathan, drove quickly to the palace. He stood taller than all the others in the empire at a good 6 feet tall. His black hair fell forward in spiked bangs down to his nose. He held a smirk on his face that matched the confidence in his usual stride. Muddy brown eyes were seen between the bangs covering half his face. His lean muscle frame revealed good amounts of both agility and strength. He parks his car and got out of it, smoothing the black jacket he wore over the t-shirt and leather armguards. Fingerless black gloves covered both hands, which were often in the pockets of his black pants. A well-made katana was at his hip almost constantly. The black boots he wore and the pants covered a slurpy shaped birthmark above his right ankle.
Often the black haired bodyguard detested his birthmark. It was irritating to have a shape of flavored ice in a cup anywhere on his body. He once tried using his katana to scrape away at the area. After the patch of skin healed, the birthmark had remained there. Jian decided against maiming himself again in favor of just covering it up.
He walked through the front gates of the Balangathan palace, unchallenged. Everyone knew him in the palace and would not pick a fight with him.
"So, finally here huh? You're late you know." a female voice said from behind the bodyguard.
Ikari grinned and turned around. "Sure. Does it matter if I'm late? It's not like anyone actually cares about assassinating the Emperor," he replied.
"It's still your duty to be here on time. You get paid for this you know."
"Which means if someone pays me to kill him I should?"
"Well, er... no..."
Jian smirked. "Just because I'm getting paid doesn't mean I should do it then, see? I mean the reason I signed up for this job was because I was hoping someone would try to kill the Emperor, therefore giving me an excuse to kill them first." His casual smirk twitched a few times into an insane grin.
"Sure, sure. Whatever, just hurry up and get in there. But be quiet because the Emperor is meeting with some commoner."
"Alright." The insane grin on his face vanished. It became a serious look that seemed out of place on the man. It revealed how seriously he actually took his job.
The swordsman opened the door slightly to let himself in. The creaking sound the door let out revealed his presence to the leader of the country and a man who had come with either a request or to pay his respect.
"Ah, Jian. There you are," the Emperor said.
"Sorry I'm late," was the reply. Jian eyed the other guards that hid in the shadows.
"This man here was asking for you."
"He was?"
The man rose from his kneeling position in front of the throne. "I was indeed. And now that I have met you, you die."
Jian barely had time to recover from the shock of the words. He drew his katana out on pure instinct and blocked the first downward strike aimed to cleaving his body in half. The guards all around sprang into action at that point. They were useless though. All had been cut down by the assassin's strikes as soon as they took out their weapons.
Jian used the time of his companions' sacrifice to free the sheathe from his belt. He held the katana in his right and the sheathe in a reversed grip in his left. "C'mon, let's see you match my sword style." Ikari charged and thrust immediately towards the enemy's midsection. He followed up with a downward stroke with his sheathe. The blade was sidestepped and sheathe blocked. Minutes passed as the two warriors continued to fight on, neither spilling blood. Eventually the assassin tired of the battle.
"You are a fine fighter Jian Ikari. But can you match this?" The mysterious assassin took out a pistol.
A rapid round of blinking followed. "Um... what exactly is that?" Jian asked, confused. Whatever the item his enemy held was, Jian didn't like it. He quickly charged in to take care of the hand that held it. A sharp kick sent him flying back. He tumbled and stopped on his back, looking at the man who held the unknown item.
"My master will be very pleased with me," he said. "You will perish here!" The man was about to squeeze the trigger but something happened.
A blinding light was emitted from Jian's mark and a moment later, he disappeared. Darkness claimed Jian's consciousness.