The world dissolved into a swirling vortex of colour and sound. A disorienting rush that felt like being pulled through a kaleidoscope came in at the speed of light. The scent of stale jazz and old leather was replaced by a complex mix of sweet, spicy, and unpleasant odors of perfume mingling with sweat, spilled alcohol, and something burnt, laced with tobacco. The scent entered his nose and stayed stuck at the back of his throat, giving a sensation akin to passively choking on air.
I started coughing like a man drowning in water.
''What the hell! Where am I?!''
He felt a sensation within his body...It felt different. Immensely powerful, dense muscle fibres corded under his unfamiliar tan skin. He sat there, opening his eyes, his new hands; large, scarred and clad in brown gloves, coming into view. He flexed his fingers, feeling the raw strength in them.
A sharp pain lanced through his skull, a flood of foreign memories, impressions, sensations and muscle memory. Lei Heng, Capo of the Thumb Syndicate. The Ten Blades of the East. The Winged Tiger, 25th among the outlaws and the one who corresponds to the Tiantui Star of the Pinky. A lifetime of violence, respect, lust, luxury, and brutal authority imposed by the gun and the blade. The memories settled like sediment, clarifying his new reality.
''I'm Lei Heng...Wait, no. Ronan?''
His ears and eyes started working properly like clouded water turning still and clear. He saw bright and flashing lights of all colors. An ear-piercing sound hurt his ears, loud EDM, singing, moaning and laughter filled the world in an instant. It hit him all at once as he sat there half knocked-out and disoriented. Simply overwhelmed by all of it, and then felt something on his crotch.
''What...Who the hell are you?''
A lady came into his view, her black hair and pretty face paired with lots of makeup. She was curvy in all the right places with scanty clothing. Grinding on his lap, savagely moving her hips as he sat on what appeared to be a couch. He was situated on the second floor of the nightclub, feeling the visually-pleasing woman's plush and surprisingly fat ass grinding left and right as she looked back with her somewhat delirious and flush face, with the smell of alcohol leaving her breath.
''Get off of me, woman.''
A low chuckle rumbled in his new throat, a deep, resonant sound that felt both alien and right as he pushed her off with surprising force. As he stood up, almost falling over now 2+ meters tall, he felt the weight of a long, sleek Podao-style Gunblade with exhaust pipes projecting out its flat side. The Tiantui Star's blade.
''Oh...That's the Gunblade...It's actually here...And real. It's larger than I thought it'd be''
He reached for the cigar case first, flipping it open with a practiced thumb. Inside, laid a row of perfect, dark-wrapped cigars. He plucked one out, brought it to his nose, and inhaled deeply. The rich aroma of aged tobacco was profoundly comforting.
"'Magnanimous' bastard wasn't lying about the cigars..."
He paused, standing there in brief silence surrounded by the loud EDM as the woman stood up, glaring at him, only to walk away towards some other guy on the dancefloor.
''How did I know where the cigars were..?''
He sighed. Walking off as he placed the unlit surprisingly large cigar between his teeth for now, and turned his attention towards himself as he looked at his hands, now placed within the embrace of fancy brown leather gloves. A rose-red suit with golden fastenings, a brown shirt, sort-of out-of-place matching oversized jacket, and his marvelously woven brown gloves, accented by four golden bars on his lapel.
''I got the clothing too...That's something, to say the least.''
He sat there, an eyebrow raised while grabbing a shining golden lighter from one of his many pockets serving to light his cigar. He took a drag as he ran a hand through his slick and black hair, which was long enough to reach his neck, crowned by his golden streak.
''What the hell am I supposed to do now?''
Ronan began bashing his way through the crowd, casually but forcefully shoving anyone in his way to the sides. His gait was blasé and brutish as he appeared deep in thought.
''I suppose I could try to use...'Winner takes all' to nab some abilities or contracts, maybe a few women''
He stopped walking, the EDM music, lights and people fading away as he thought to himself.
''This isn't me...Why am I having these thoughts?''
He stood there, hand on his face in silence. Multiple people dancing around him in the moshpit as he saw the woman from earlier speaking to what seemed to be a gangster of sorts, big and burly guy, pretty much some bald, ugly and wimpy mook.
''Again...What's happening to me? I'm Ronan.''
He ran a hand through his hair as multiple people walked up to the bald man, all with similar tattoos as they locked eyes and grinned. They walked towards him whereas the woman was walking off with a pleased smile on her face, staring daggers at Ronan.
''Hwhat...? Another one o' them strange jobs for me?''
He heard a voice in his head that sounded like his own, but yet, was not his.
''Who the fuck are you?''
He stood there in silence as the people dancing around him saw the group of five and wisely fled. Like cattle faced to a predator, leaving the center of the dancefloor as the music still blasted through. The pressure in the atmosphere made it feel like someone would rest in bass tonight.
''Ya don't know? Awrighty then. Lei Heng's the name, and there's no other name I'd rather go by. Folks don't got the spine to call me that, though...Hah!''
Ronan stood there in shock and confusion, veiled behind a face of mockery, the leader of the 5 crooks coming up to him and speaking but none of it reached his ears.
''you are... Lei Heng? Owner of this body? and you...Are in my head?''
He felt his head tilt left and a brief touch on his right cheek as he looked down at the bald bastard, they had slapped him, the voice in his head speaking.
''Right, lessee 'ere... y'a ready to bust some heads? Aw, don'tcha just sit there and stare at 'em! I reckon I could cut 'em all down in just three or so slashes.''
Ronan sat there as the ringing in his ears subsided to a male voice not of Lei Heng's reaching his ears, the EDM, moans, laughter, singing. Hitting him again as he sighed glancing at his cigar now on the ground. His jaw clenched a vein now bulging prominently on his forehead.
''Hey.. Big lug, Fancy clothing and a prop weapon...''
He slapped Ronan again.
''If you strip down right now and apologize to my woman right here and now ill let you live, are you hearin me boy?''
The crook tried to slap him again only for Ronan's hand to snake out grabbing his wrist and clench, a crack breaking of bone and a wail ensued drowned out by the music as the 4 other crooks looked at their boss's now broken hand mortified and then angry as they pulled out katanas.
''puff I hope them folks are 'boutta give us a good time! They wouldn't think to disappoint us by sendin' out wimpy mooks if they've got any sense. Don'tch'all agree? And... Fight back, Darned cowardly bastard... ill forgive ye this once since yer a greenhorn''
Ronan didn't speak he simply released the crook's hand. His hands working in tandem with muscle memory as he brandished his large Gun blade swinging it in air as the blade part folded away revealing 6 openings to cartridges, and he stopped.
''I don't need tiger rounds for the likes of you.''
He swung back the sound of a click as he did a horizontal swing the weapon felt like a part of him and 3 of the 5 crooks got bisected horizontally, their upper bodies saying goodbye to their lower ones. Blood spewing everywhere as screams ensued people scrambling to leave the nightclub their sweaty bodies colliding together at the small exit the music still going.
"Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice-skate uphill,"
He saw the two remaining ones try to escape as he leaned forward the floor cracking as he practically leaped into the air and landed on the other side cutting their escape, the men realizing there's no escape rushed at Ronan their katanas coming forward as Ronan grinned.
''Alright, alright... Now yer gettin' it. Pretty clear from a glance what yer s'posed to do, ain't it?''
Lei Heng's voice, the screams of the innocent the roar of the two crooks. His blood boiled, as he did two slashes aiming for their weapons.
''Double Slash''
The slashes tore through the flimsy katanas and bisected both of them as they fell to the ground, his weapon covered in blood, his breathing not changing in the slightest, his hand steady heart beating slowly.
''I just killed... 5 people, and I felt nothing... I can still see the hatred and fear in their eyes as it extinguished''
He flicked his sword sending a spray of blood onto the ground as he briefly searched the 5 corpses getting 5 wallets filled with wads of yen the voice in his head speaking.
''Lookee, ain't nothin' I like more than that crazed look in a feller's eyes when they're boutta bite it. It's the kind of murderous obsession I really 'preciate, know what I mean?''
He sighed taking another cigar from his pocket lighting it trying to take the edge off as he walked out of the now empty nightclub.
''Stop speaking to me, how the fuck are you even in my head to begin with?''