《Drops of Blood》 Behind the Killer I washed my hands as I let the blood swirl in the kitchen sink below me and washed off my face as my father behind me cleaned the next body, shoveling it into the black bag to be transported to somewhere. I had never really questioned where it went but I assumed it was somewhere where it could never be found. I laughed at my phone as our next job came in, a message from my mom. This time I was on my own, my first solo mission. This is going to be fun. Whenever I asked my parents about how everything got started they always told me the same stories to the point I memorized them. A young girl who became a big hit after her first song debuted, then a famous actress and stuntwoman who starred in many movies my mother, Kishimojin Ito. She starred in many hits where she met my dad, a young rising actor and they very quickly found out she was in love with him. She never likes to talk about it much but somehow she got involved in contract killing and when my dad found out he just... stayed with her. Apparently he "just loved her too much". After 2 years of dating my parents tied the knot, then had my brother Baku Ito. For some reason by the time my brother was 8 they decided from now on every one of the family would be trained and become a part of the business. Four years later and they had me, Akumu Ito. And I too was trained. By the time I was 5, I too was a cold-blooded killer. Now finally 13 years later and I finally got to work on my own, and I can''t wait. Slipping on my dark trousers with the ugliest suit jacket I mentally reworked my plan perfecting it to its exactness. As I selected my knives out of my large collection I stepped into the hallway and said my goodbyes to my brother who looked more worried than usual which didn''t fit his rather delicate shaped face which reflected my mom more than anyone. He inherited her deep brown eyes and a small nose but reflections of my dad shined through with his shy smile and frighting (when mad) expressions. " You don''t have to finish, if anything goes wrong you can call me. Rember to always watch your back aim for the heart and Ummm...." He looked as if he was racking his brain for anything else to stall me from leaving. Baku had always been different, I don''t know what happened but I do know that when he went on his first killing to he came back... changed. He didn''t talk for days but when he did his first word was "Monsters". My parents looked at him in disbelief and asked him what he meant, shrugging he just got up and left. Over time, he slowly returned to his previous state but still never the same. " I''ll be fine, I''ve done this a million times before just never the killing part" I grinned patting his shoulder trying to calm his nerves. " You have your earpiece right?" Mom yelled from across the kitchen, not at all worried but still nagging. I hugged Baku then my mother before leaving, exiting the door more ready than I had ever been in my life. Shifting the wheel to merge onto the highway I smiled at the thought of what reward I would get for this job. In my family at age eighteen you get to go on your first solo mission, when my brother got back he got two cars of his own. But I hoped for something better, I didn''t really know what that was yet but I did know that I had to kill a rather difficult target. Reaching the destination I prepared myself to get into character. This part was always my favorite moment when I got to act, pretend to be someone else reel the bait in before snapping them in two. Strutting in with an air of confidence that only came with years of experience, I approached the receptionist who was rapping against the keyboard. "Excuse me, I am the new temp here, Sara Beppu where should I go?" I tried to sound as enchanting as I could. "Let me see" She glanced down at her list, I already knew who I was with but I feigned innocence waiting patiently for her to find my name. " You are with Mr. Vermlin, over there" The lady pointed at a large room hidden by blinds that were closed I thanked her and walked over to the office delicately knocking on the door if knocking can be delicate. "Who is it?" " Your new temp Sara Beppu! I am working with you for the next month!" "Come in!" I bowed greeting my new boss hiding my excited smile as I met the eyes of my innocent target, who wouldn''t live past today. Mr. Vermlin explained in detail my assignments while pausing every few minutes to look me up and down. Probably wondering how young I was and whether I was old enough not to get him landed in jail. I settled at my new desk and observed my target and checked whether my info was right. The client had stated that there were no cameras in Mr. Vermlin''s office. I had avoided the ones in the reception and entrance as well as the ones sprinkled outside by wearing reflective sunglasses. Easy. The sun sank in the sky as the night slithered in and I got prepared I had already locked all the doors and made sure everyone else had left. The only people left were me and him. " Would you like to get dinner? You know to welcome you to your new job and all?" He leaned toward me getting uncomfortably close. Oh only if he knew I was eighteen, actually that might not even stop him. I rolled my eyes as I reached for my favorite knife. Its handle is long and decorated with flowers spreading across the white marble that acted as grip. I grabbed it firmly and plunged it into his heart. The look on his face showed such surprise I should have taken a picture. I ripped the knife out and let him hit the ground with a thud. Normally I would have grabbed him and put him in a bag and tossed it. But this client wanted the body found. I had one last thing to do, preparing to bend down I saw someone flash behind me. Curious instead of defending myself I stood still, just as I thought when I opened my eyes again I saw a knife against my throat attached to the knife was a man- no boy.. he looked no more than a year older than me. His eyes looked.. desperate? No, madder. His hair was on the shorter side and he had tight curls peeping out the top. His dark skin was almost glowing when it reflected the moonlight which also highlighted his scar across the top of his head not longer than 4 inches. He was probably 5''9 only about 4 inches taller than me. Most people would have been scared by having a knife against their throat yet it was just a minor inconvenience I had already done most of my job and I could easily take this person on. " Who are you?" His voice was oddly calm.. hmm I guess he isn''t intimated by me. But then again my appearance isn''t the most intimidating. "Uhh.. a temp?" I smiled playfully not really intimidated either " Temps aren''t able to kill someone in one go without shedding a sweat and be able to be so calm with a knife to their throat." Weird... How long had has he been watching me? "Maybe I''m a special temp? You never can know who you''re hiring right? But who are you? I mean I don''t think what you''re doing is super legal either." "Breaking and Entering isn''t as bad as cold-blooded murder. Are you an assassin?" I contemplated whether I should tell him the truth or not. I mean he saw my face so I might have to kill him but that meant more work but at this point, it wouldn''t hurt he would die either way, also if he had been watching me for as long as he claims he saw me murder someone and did nothing which means he''s not here to arrest me or something. So I took a chance. "No, I''m a contract killer, there''s a big difference you know" I flashed my smuggest smile preparing for him to attack. "I am too, and this was supposed to be my job." I rolled my eyes not even surprised more annoyed even that this client couldn''t even trust our well-known name in the industry and decided to call an amateur too. " So I guess you can take this knife off my throat since it''s not nice to kill your co-workers?" He dropped his hand while slowly backing away still wary, at least he''s not stupid. I strolled toward the dead target. "What do you think?" I said poking the dead target with my toe. "Of what?" his tone had an air of...condescended- ness that just rubbed me the wrong way. Did he think that he was better at killing or something? " What else would I be talking about? How well I picked off the lint of this suit? Of course, I''m talking about the target." I didn''t mean to be rude or come off as harsh but he just sounded so... judgy. " I mean you killed him with a knife in one stab if killing someone is something to be proud of then I guess you did a great job. I don''t think I have much more to do here I''ll be leaving I suggest you do too." He circled the bleeding corpse of the target lying on the carpeted ground while talking. Everything about him was pissing me off. His arrogant stroll, his degradation of my skills, and judgment of my kill. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "What do you mean proud of? You don''t think I should take pride in my job? What''s wrong with what I do? You do the same!" I sighed frustrated as he just stood and he stared at me, with a disappointed look on his face. " We don''t have time to argue about your non-existent morals, we need to leave before someone discovers this body." I sighed and crouched near my first solo kill looking, facing it face to face. " I need to do something first, you want to see?" He definitely rolled his eyes but crouched next to me, his face coming uncomfortable close to mine. One last task left to do, I pulled out my knife from its hidden sheath and dragged it across my thumb, and to the surprise of the stranger next to me let a single drop of blood slip against the kill''s forehead. I proceeded to pluck out a hair from the top of my long brown wide selection and dropped it on the body somewhere visible. I stood up and dusted myself off. "What are you doing? This can be traced directly back to you. Calling cards are stupid, especially as a contract killer! Are you trying to get caught?" " No, it can''t my DNA on file is completely different than my actual DNA. This DNA will lead to someone else with who I switched files." "Who? How?" " A random person, it changes every time, they get investigated and the police see that they have no relation or correlation to the crime they usually just close it. I don''t really know-how, these types of things are run by my parents." I was completely unbothered by the fact he knows this information now. I cleaned off my sword using a handkerchief I carried around. If he really was a part of this world he would know who I was when I told him my name. So in the end it wouldn''t matter whether he knew who I was or not or if my family was involved. I glanced at my watch, I didn''t have to be home until 12 so I still had an hour or so. Smiling I stepped closer to the unknown guy getting ready to see his reaction and also find out if he was a fake. "Don''t you want to know my name?" I breathed a little too close to his face "No. That means your going to try and kill me and then I have to kill you which I don''t want to do." He stared at me coldly not wanting to give in or be one-upped yet his upper lip trembled slightly. I raised an eyebrow, he didn''t want to? " I don''t think you could." I smiled taunting him with my eyes "Why is that?" " Because my name is Akumu of the Ito - Nosaku family" I shouldn''t have laughed at that moment but I had to. Whoever this was face dropped and looked at me with-anger? He stormed to the window he came from and sat on the ledge. "What are you doing?!" I demanded, most people cowered in fear at just my family name but me, I was known only to come second to my mother, the best contract killer in the business. Yet no one had dared show anger. "You should hope I never see you again because when I do you will be killed without hesitation scum of the earth." He practically spat at me before falling back and disappearing into the night. Before I could grab and kill that brat I had to go home. As knocked on my front door I saw my mom glaring at me from the kitchen in her robe. "What made you so late?" Her tone gave off no concern, angrier. As a part of the training, my parents gave me I had to learn to analyze people and their emotions from just their eyes. They obviously didn''t think about how this could work on them if they weren''t paying attention. "You said I had to be here by 12, and it''s 30 minutes till twelve. So why am I late?" " That was an overestimation I know you. And how long you take to kill. So what held you up?" While holding her harsh gaze she strolled over to look me in the eye probably to use the same techniques on me. Even though she was the one who taught me to guard against the very same attacks. Even though we were close, I was still a daughter who wanted her own privacy, I didn''t want to share all my life with her even the professional side. I didn''t want her to know that the daughter she thinks is perfect got distracted and missed. "Ahh, well the target was difficult also I stopped by the ice cream shop near the mall. After changing clothes" I handed her the bag of bloody clothes and walked off before being questioned anymore. I was ready to flop onto my bed and pass out but before I could walk into my room a hand yanked me by my shirt. When I turned around I saw a very mad Baku. "Why were you late? Really? Don''t give me the same bullshit you gave mom." " I ran into some dumb assassin probably a year older than me, double-booked by the client. I won out obviously. But I may have rambled a bit, not anything he wouldn''t know if he found out who I was." I fell onto his huge king bed wanting to erase the embarrassing event. Baku came over to flop next to me. "You told him about the DNA signature right?" "Yup" "And your name?" I sat up surprised he could have guessed that part. " How did you know?? I didn''t say anything about that?" " I bet you said it like this too-" he stood on the bed with his hands on his hips and changed his face into a mean scowl. "My name is Akumu of the Ito - Nosaku family," He said it imitating me with a much grander bravado than I thought I sounded like. But I couldn''t help but giggle because I finally felt like I had my brother back. We used to be quite close but after his first solo mission he cut me off too, for no reason this is the first time I''ve seen him as his old self. "I do not sound like that." I was never good at hiding my thoughts. "So what did it feel like?" I sighed laying back down in sync with him. "What are you talking about?" "When you went on your first solo mission what was it like?" I practically whispered it. We never talked about this in my family, it was unheard of. Yet I wanted to know what had changed my brother from the best assassin in the game (even better than my dad) to someone who became vegan because he refused to take anything from animals. For a little while, it was quiet but then he answered. "Well... I learned what it is we really do." "What do you mean?" " I mean have you ever thought about what it means to kill a human, a person?" I sat up in confusion. " Of course, I know how to kill targets, we both do we''ve done it millions of times since we were born nothing new." He sighed and sat up to meet my eyes, but when I read him it confused me because I couldn''t understand why he looked like he was pleading with me. "Not a target. A human. A person." I tried to meet his eyes but I just ended up darting them around the room. "Why are you spouting nonsense?" I felt my anger sizzling over and burning my tongue making me want to lash out but I didn''t know why. I breathed attempting to subside my anger. I needed to figure out why. Why was he angry? What happened to him, that''s what my next words should be. "Sorry, but can''t you tell me what really happened? What made you start thinking like this?" He sighed, telling me that he was trying to get his point across without giving up to much information. Walking over to his corner of stuffed animals he grabbed his favorite, a green dino he earned at a county fair for a shoot-off competition. He held it tightly before starting to open his mouth. Just as he was about to tell me there was a sharp knock at the door. My father pooped out his head peaking incautiously. He always to me looked like a bullfrog with his jutting mouth and wide jaw, with bulging eyes. I always wondered how mom fell in love with him of all people concerning her looks. She was a tall woman who spoke confidently and whose long black hair retained its shiny bounce always as if she was in a shampoo commercial she had wide downturned doe eyes that would pierce anybody with a simple gaze. Yet she fell in love with my father, at the top of her career. Of course, I never told him that. In fact, I''ve never really had more than 2 minutes of dialogue with my father before. He scared me so much, his eyes always seemed to be more harsh and cold than my mother''s which would occasionally glow with warmth. He always silently did one job, clean up the bodies. As long as I''ve been alive, from a young age I learned to never ask anything personal. Once when I was 8 we had a project at school, for grandparents'' day. I went home excited to tell my parents about the assignment I had from my teacher. All I had to do was bring in one grandparent and show them around the school. Until then I hadn''t met any of them, so I was ecstatic at the idea of meeting more family. "Mom! Guess what?" Her eyes briefly floated up from her target practice as she threw another knife hitting the perfect center of the rings, as usual. "What is it sweetie what did you bring for me?" I ran and handed her the colorful glittery invitation I made in class that had been adorned with all kinds of pasta and string. She looked over it, brows furrowing. " Honey.." Walking over to the black leather chair in the corner of the brightly fluorescent-lit basement she sat me down and smoothed my black hair she always insisted I kept long. It wasn''t nearly as shiny or nice as hers but whenever she touched my hair it meant she was about to give bad news. "Your grandparents on my side are no longer alive and your fathers.." She hesitates to pause to look into the air scrunching her nose as she always does when she is deep in thought. She turned to cup my face looking me in the eyes. "You can ask him about that yourself." She got up before I could ask what she meant and continued her practice which was a sign this conversation was over. I trudged upstairs hearing her hit thunk after thunk against the target knowing she was hitting the center for each one. When I reached the wooden top of the stairs I saw my dad gazing at me. I walked over and handed him the invitation. He looked at it just as quickly as Mom did and turned to me. "No." His voice sounded like a bullfrog if they could talk. Deep and warty. I was adamant about meeting my grandparents. "I want to. Why can''t they come?" I probably sounded bratty with my high-pitched voice and demanding tone. But don''t all 8-year-olds when they want something? So why did he answer the way he did? "I SAID NO DON''T EVER ASK AGAIN, IF YOU DO YOU WILL KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES." I don''t know what a bullfrog screaming would sound like but I think it would sound just like he did that day I don''t know if it was the poison seething out his eyes or the way the veins in his neck contorted and bulged out but I ran to my room, wondering if he would hurt me if I asked again. We never talked about it. The next morning he said nothing. As usual. The sound of Baku questioning my father snapped back to the moment brushing the vivid memories under my mental rug, making sure it didn''t get turned over was a problem for later. "Why are you here Father ?" Baku said adding some dark steel to his voice making the question sound more like a dare, daring him to try to say something. Ever since the trip, it was more than just my relationship with my Baku that changed, reducing what was already little to none. Father barely acknowledge Baku''s edging voice and instead turned to me as I quickly looked down to avoid contact. "Your kill is on the news, I thought you might want to see." "That was quick" he mumbled strolling away. I stood up offering my hand to Baku to take, he should see my first job and be proud too. Acceptance Letters and New Adventures "C''mone let''s go!" I offered my hand down to Baku who just stared at me, making me start to wonder if I grew an extra head. But slowly he stretched out his hand and gripped it tightly my hands disappearing into his firm large hands. The reassuring warmth reminded me of my younger days. As we both sat down on the rigid leather couch my mother sauntered over with her mug in hand. I looked her over, not surprised to see her wearing her usual silk pink robes that I loved to see as a child because it meant I could lie down in her lap while she smoothed my hair and feel the silk against my dangling legs while she hummed to me. That stopped a long time ago. Father switched on the TV settling onto the couch with a crunch. An insurance commercial buzzed by. Soon the news reporter cleared her throat and began delivering her well-practiced monologue. "Today at the C&V Law Firm one of the main partners Marshal Verlmin was murdered in his office. The assailant is assumed to be his newly appointed intern Sarah Bepp who was the last to be seen with the victim. Her current location is unknown. The victim was found at 2 am when an anonymous caller reported the body around 1 a.m. The caller is still unknown but is deemed to be a young male." I gritted my teeth trying to restrain my swiftly increasing irritation, of course, that scumbag reported it. No one else could have done so early. Why would he risk his exposure just to report me? I had never met him before so it couldn''t be that significant of animosity. I didn''t corporally hurt him so what was his problem? I was so caught up in my mental assertion I didn''t notice everyone staring at me. My father was a little less concerned than my brother and mother who right now looked more alike than ever. They were matched with their furrowing temples and compressed mouths, including dark scorch rooted in their dusky coffee-colored optics. I wanted to get up and run to my room thus I didn''t have to deal with vexatious narrations. Yet I understood that such an effort would occur in more pain and presumably a grounding. "So what exactly transpired out there? Did you get caught? What are you not telling me?" My mother''s voice echoed little concern and more irritation as it usually does. I knew that this was probably not the best time to work on my persuasion skills especially since everything I learned was from my mother. But might as well try. "It''s not a big deal just a slight slip up.. when I was leaving a janitor saw the body but only saw my back. But not my face I swear!" Even though my attempt was to be composed it all came out like I was spitting my words out, reveling my guise in an attempt of calmness. Eyeing my mother and brother I saw that my brother was skeptical with his eyebrow grazing his hairline. Mother on the other hand was less so and seemed alleviated that no one saw my face. "Did you leave your mark?" the question surprised me I expected more questions from her but I wasn''t about to complain. "Yes, I choose hair and blood" Baku at my words shuttered and stalked off to his room reverting to his new-old self. "Good, I will contact Goober to re-arrange your file. Go to bed. We have a job afters-" She paused to answer her buzzing phone call. She held the phone to her ear and walked to the corner to talk in hushed tones. My father stood the crunch of the couch scaring me, he always sat so still he seemed to disappear, like an animal waiting for its prey. He turned the humming TV off and went into his bedroom to retire. As his door shut with a quiet tick my mother rushed over grinning so wide that her eyes crinkled at the corners the only evidence of her age on her otherwise smooth face. "Hitorimusme, you have made me so proud!" I wasn''t one to reject praise but coming from her was so rare and when it did come it was delivered only far and few in between. Not bear hugs. Mother squeezed me, I could feel her grin on my neck. What did I do to make her so happy? The hug lasted a little longer than I was comfortable with. As she pulled away I swore I saw a single tear trickle down her cheek but it was more likely an illusion. Mother never cried, not even when she was stabbed viscously by a target she did nothing more than grit her teeth and stab it back. "What is it, Mom?" Why are you so happy?" "You have been asked to join the company! As an official member! An honorary member at that!" She sighed and placed her hand on my cheek. The company was the most prestigious contracting company, of which my parents were already members. This was probably the highest achievement in this business I could get! "You understand that you''re the youngest honorary member right? This is such an opportunity!" My excitement welled up and overflowed as I danced in circles, Mom joining me. This was one of the biggest achievements of my life. I couldn''t help it I started screaming and jumping on the couch. Laughing loudly my mother continued her dance on the ground before joining me on the couch, dancing and creating a symphony of plastic crunches. Hearing the circus in the living room my dad ventured out along with Baku to investigate. "What is happening?" Baku looked so confused, in return all I could do was laugh out of joy. My Mom stopped dancing and stepped onto the ground with a slight spring. She turned to Baku smiling, eliciting my earlier reaction from Baku. "Your sister made it into the company as the youngest honorary member!" For the third time in my life, I saw my life I saw my dad smile. It made me stop jumping and freeze where I was. It was what came next that made me want to run. But I couldn''t as my father hugged me. I don''t remember the last time this happened. His hug felt more like a boa constrictor tightening its meal than a fatherly hug. After I was released I looked around for Baku wanting him to come to celebrate with me. But he was nowhere to be found. I scanned the open house plan to see where he had gone. My eyes focused on the light in the basement that fluttered in and out in a yellow glow revealing the outline of the wooden stairs. "One minute Mom." I interrupted her as she rambled about the details of the job I hadn''t paid enough attention to understand. Usually, she would have gotten mad at the abrupt interruption but her attention was elsewhere. I slowly walked down the creaky stars wanting to see what Baku was doing first. I soon saw him sitting at the old drawing desk where when we were little we would make all of our creations. Usually, whenever we got free time from our training and whatever school we were going to at the time. He was holding a sheet of slightly rumpled paper gazing at it deep in thought. I stepped onto the cold tiled floor inching behind him to see what pictures were so much more important than my grand achievement. I immediately recognized it. The picture was the one I drew in first grade, I had to bring home with a note from the teacher requesting a conference with my parents. The red crayon scribbles pictured the first target I ever witnessed. I drew it for fun and when I proudly displayed it the teacher''s horror wiped over her face causing me to look over the picture again to make sure I didn''t make a mistake. She grabbed my wrist with a firm grip and pulled me over to her desk in the corner. Without saying a word she began dialing a number on the phone her red nails angrily hitting each number. "Excuse me is this the Tanaka Residence?" She opened her mouth wide when pronouncing the "na" making it sound more like Tanhanyhoka. I giggled prompting a harsh gaze from the teacher pouting her peach-painted lips and scrunching her barely visible blond dyed eyebrows making her look like a weasel. "Yes, I would like to discuss the subject of your child and some issues she might have at home." She paused glancing distasteful at me one more time before waiting for an answer from the other side of the line. "Mhm, I''ll send home a note and the item with her. Yes okay, see you later today." She set the phone down with a thud. She pulled out a fancy blue paper with smiling kids drawn on the borders. She started scratching words down with her noisy pen the dragging causing an irritable noise. She folded the note in half and sealed it into a creme-colored envelope licking the top and closing it. She handed me the note and fluffed her blond curly bob. "This must get safely to your parents can you do that for me?" Young me rolled my eyes mentally. She was drawing out each last syllable making her sound like she was trying to sing but was horribly out of tune. I just nodded and sat back at my seat feeling all the eyes on my back, tracking me, wondering what had prompted me to be in trouble. I opened the door gently hoping not to alert the parents of my arrival but it didn''t work as my mom was already sitting at the marble island. But she didn''t look angry. Instead, she just stood up and left as Baku walked in and called me to sit next to him on the couch. I ran and crashed next to him landing with a bounce and hugging him tightly. He held out his hand and I eagerly handed him my picture which had attracted trouble to me. Yet I knew he of all people would appreciate it. When he took it into his hands his gaze scanned it and he smiled lightly before sighing. "Do you like it? The mean teacher didn''t say anything and got me into trouble but you like it right?? " He smiled wider this time and patted me on the head. "Imouto, you know how we have family outings and we get rid of targets?" I nodded not sure where it was going but forever eager. "Well we need that to make money, that''s why we have all those Barbies in your room, and all this nice stuff your friends don''t have. But other people want money too. People are greedy. So you can''t tell anyone or we might lose those outings you enjoy." I nodded not wanting to lose all the nice things I had. Baku smiled and we went downstairs to hang my drawing on the metal strip with a pink magnet. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Baku turned around snapping me out of my daze looking at the past he faced it down turning to me with a worn expression. "What are you doing here??" His voice sounded panicked yet disappointed, what a strange combination. I feigned a frown and walked to sit in the chair across from him that I had long outgrown. "Why are you not congratulating me? I got my dream job! Aren''t you happy for me?" I tried to add a touch more hurt to my voice than I felt. I was fishing for compliments I guess. " Are you that proud that you can make killing people your full-time job? Is that what you want to do with your life?" The urgency in his voice cornered me. I did want to do this. I enjoyed doing this. What was wrong? "Um yes? You of all people should understand how important this was to me. How important this was to Mother." My voice started escalating, I knew I shouldn''t be loud, but why couldn''t he just understand? "I still don''t get why you like this! You''re the one who taught me how important my job is to this family! You''re the one who taught me how to aim for the heart! SO CAN''T YOU JUST GO BACK BACK TO BEING NORMAL!?" I felt a hand on my shoulder I whipped around and saw my mother tightly grasping my shoulder while shooting venom at my brother. "Mother I-" "Go upstairs you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." Her voice was not asking, and I had never said no to my mother before so I wasn''t going to start now. I started up the stairs taking a glance back to see my brother''s matching gaze against my mother''s evil one. I didn''t care to stick around and get caught in the crossfires. Instead, I just crashed into bed letting the day drift away. I woke up to the sun on full blast through my now open curtains and my mother packing my clothes into a box. She had her hair put into a haphazard ponytail and was in paint-splattered sweatpants with an equally paint-stained shirt: Her "War" outfit. I groaned as a jumped out of bed to see what she could be doing with those boxes. "What are you doing?" I yawned anxious to get her out so I could get back in bed. "Don''t you remember your long-term job starts today? You are going to be a college freshman." I had no idea what she was talking about and I guess she must have read my face because she continued explaining as she probably had earlier before that I didn''t pay attention to. "You see, your job is more than just killing. This job is about revenge. Those are the hardest kinds. " She paused to smile at me as if it was a joke she was hoping I would understand but looked away and continued. "They want you to get close to the person that killed their daughter and is blackmailing them. His name is Cameron Evans. Some stats: He is getting his bachelor''s in biology, and plans to go to med school to become a neurosurgeon, your average golden nerd boy." She started folding the clothes into the box. "Okay, who am I then?" I hoped that this target was hippie calm plant women. That would be nice. "You''re Angela Lee, a smart, put-together girl who is majoring in biology and is going to go to med school too. Except you want to be a doctor out on the frontier saving lives. You have a sister, oh and you like country music." Yay. I couldn''t wait to have to talk about the human body for hours! My parents made us study college material for almost 15 different majors just for this type of situation. Biology was last on my list, I hated having to see all the technical terms again. But it was better than my last semi-longterm job as a high school dishrag boyfriend. Until my mother killed him of course. "Wait what about the other family jobs? We can''t just leave them to stack up, and you guys can''t do it without me!" I had always been the one to assist my mom in the killing since my brother refused to do anything beyond being bait. "You will still go on jobs, but after classes, all of them are in the morning for you at night to be able to come. But you have to be able to keep up with your grades, we are not going to hack them for you it''s part of maintaining your cover understand? I nodded my agreement as I got up and went to our dress room to see what I would be taking with me for this month-long excursion. Our dress room was just a walk-in closet at first glance but it held clothes for every different type of person you could imagine. As my fingers brushed past each piece of clothing I grabbed a few outfits I thought would make sense neutral sweaters collared shirts and baggy pants in different shades of brown. If ended up going on dates I would need fancier outfits that still fit my persona. In the end, I chose just three outfits that I could mix and match if needed: A chocolate brown autumn-colored milkmaid dress, a spaghetti strap top with a checkered skirt, and finally a dark brown retro midi dress. I took the bundle of clothes and stuffed them into an empty box. As Mother and I finished packing the car with all of my things, I ran back into the house toward Baku''s room wanting to say goodbye though I would see him tomorrow anyway. I ran into his room not bothering to knock and tackled him with a hug. He seemed too surprised to hug back but before he could try to stop me from going I sped out rushing and jumping into the car''s driver''s seat revving up the engine. I waved to my parents as I backed out preparing to face university. As I hit the highway, I smiled speeding up to match the car next to my speed. This was going to be interesting, but then again weren''t all revenge plots? I breathed in the crisp air around me as the fall weather brought out white puffs curling from my mouth. I began unloading and taking my things one box at a time to my dorm. I already knew that I didn''t have a roommate, a strategic placement to allow me to have privacy and a home base. After I finished unloading my car I began unpacking. I lifted my mattress to see that my arrangements had been met, underneath were empty spaces for my knife collection. Perfect. I quickly filled my room with all the necessities and stocked my closet up with all the clothes, being careful to hide my work clothes behind them. I exhaled finally done with the packing standing up to see how I looked, or maybe just to admire my beauty. As I met the gaze of the reflection I stared myself down checking every little detail. My eyes were slightly maroon brown. I had never been allowed to dye my hair Mother said I''d look suspicious or worse attract attention. So I never had, my hair was almost jet black and was in two dark braids against my shoulders. I was dressed in the first outfit that I chose finding some of it to be too big considering it was my mother''s not too long before. I didn''t mind the pants but I never approved of sweaters in general this one was worse it was a turtleneck too. I avoided anything on my throat that made it easier to suffocate with something. But of course, no one would be so crazed to attempt to choke me. I was taller than most of my family standing at 5''9 and a half, I savored being tall, it gave me a sense of dominance and a tactical edge. A knock at the door interrupted my evaluation session. I opened it to a lithe girl with features that looked almost like the skeleton of a crow, her skin appearing gaunt and tightly encased onto her head. "Hi! I''m Lillith! Welcome to Eastern University! I''m here to be your new tour guide!" Her voice was tinged with traces of a transatlantic accent making her sound ridiculously robotic when she spoke. "Tour guide? I''m sorry I think you have the wrong person...Lilith." I worked to speak in an elegant tone, no use in being uncivilized."Aren''t you Angela Lee? I have you down since you joined late, also it seems here you requested one." Ohh Mother must have ordered it I nodded and grinned."Oh, your right! I can''t believe I forgot let me just get my purse and we can leave!" I reached for my purse and fastened the door. As she whirled around stringy, blanched, and bleached hair whipped me in the face giving me a mouth full of greasy unwashed hair. This was going to be fun. Lillith led me down the long-drawn brown-colored hallway chronicling the history of the university. We strolled down hallway after hallway with Lillith''s droning monologue about the building. It was a rather small college compared to the ones I had only seen before. Finally, the tour concluded at the student commons where there was a mass assembly being held for all freshmen, the globs of students a blended sea of color that packed the gymnasium. I struggled to find a seat as I pushed past hundreds of students chattering. Finally, I sat in the almost top row next to 2 empty seats. As I surveyed the polished wooden floors someone sat next to me, while I looked over I saw a young man with dusky skin, coiled hair, and a scar that was about- I stiffened as I met his eyes and he too studied me. I have one of two options, knock him out and hope no one notices, or pretend I don''t know him and deal with it later. As the perpetual procrastinator I am, I choose the latter. I graciously nodded with the most tolerant smile I could conjure up and spun away. I knew he couldn''t go around telling people what he had seen that night, but it didn''t stop him from trying to blackmail me. He wouldn''t dare... "Welcome Freshman to Eastern University!" a middle-aged woman stood and gestured grandiosely stretching her arms open. She resumed her cheering: "We are so excited to have you! The purpose of this assembly is to make sure you can get to know each other! We''ll start with some icebreakers! You''ll be in a group with your row!" I wanted to hit someone. As the students migrated downward towards the plank floors that boy followed me like he was stuck. Even as we got into groups, he sat down next to me, and when I dared look over his mouth would contort into a smirk taunting me with his eyes and the information I knew he held. The middle-aged woman from earlier picked up the mic to start talking again. " Now we''ve elected leaders in each group to lead the ice-breakers! Each of these people raises their hands!" For our group, there was a rather tall blond man with sharp brown eyes. " Everyone will now introduce themselves and what they are majoring in!" With that, the woman stepped back and turned around, and click-clacked her way out the door. "I''ll start." The blond boy looked around before continuing " My name is Tye Brewer and I''m an English Major" Everyone in the circle went around, and finally, it was my turn. I swallowed down my quickly building anxiety and tried not to meet the boy''s eyes. I am Angela Lee. I''m smart, extremely smart. I breathed out then spoke: "My name is Angela Lee, I am majoring in Biology." People nodded as we prepared to move on to the next person. Someone I was anxiously waiting to hear about, whether it was his real name or not. But before he said his name other words came out of his mouth" Anglea it''s been a while." He said it looking at me his grin taunting me again. I smiled widely. "Oh, sorry I don''t remember you. Who are you again?" the group''s eyes tracked us the whole group was silent against the loud chattering around us, they had nothing better to do. " I didn''t think you would forget that night so quickly I remember it very vividly, I''m sure you remember the promise I made to you, what I would do if I ever saw you again?" He leaned in closer to the circle members mumbling and small grins on some of their faces. It took me longer than a second to figure out how this sounded, at first I was just worried he was going to expose me but this, this is much worse, not that I couldn''t deal with it though. I smiled back and I leaned in I was not about to let this man blow my cover on the first day. I leaned in close speaking into his eyes " I think we should finish the conversation these people don''t even know who you are yet " I punctuated my words making sure he knew exactly what I meant. I needed to deal with this situation as soon as possible but I saw the blond boy was eager to keep this good thing going. He stood up and gestured to the boy next to me " She''s right what''s your name? And please tell everyone what you major in as well" his smile looked painful as the corners of his mouth stretched wider and wider. "I am Dai, or Daiksuke. I''m studying International Relations." He smiled broadly as he spoke directly at me. I needed to make sure he stayed silent no matter the cost, even though I didn''t like killing fellow coworkers. I leaned close to his ear "Meet me at 12 in my room. Or I bloody murder you." I reverted to my previous vile voice echoing. As I pulled away his eyes kept darting back and forth between my pasted smile to my dagger eyes. "Time to pair up!" Round 2 Dai gripped my arm before I could react. I attempted to signal anyone else that I was available, but everyone had left us to our own devices. I didn''t understand why he would do this. I evaded everyone I knew like the plague. "What''s your problem? You will botch my cover if you keep this up. I''m trying to work. I don''t interrupt you do I?" I was attempting to be inconspicuous but I also didn''t care. He was in my way. I will have to get rid of him if he keeps it up I have no choice. " Yes, you have. I needed a partner; here you are. " He grinned again his eyes though didn''t match his mouth. His eyes glistened with indications of more rage and.. suspicion. "I think you should leave me alone before this turns ugly. I would rather not have to kill you but I will" "You don''t want to kill me? I think you do but you can''t." He shifted behind me and I sensed a soft jab through my sweater. Whatever weapon didn''t matter. I didn''t sense pain either way. He could impale me; I would be fine. I was tormented a million times over no amount of bodily pain would stop me. I required this job, it was my first with the company. Failure wouldn''t be just for me but for my entire family''s name and livelihood. "Here? You can''t." I wavered if I persisted my dignity would die just a little. I pivoted my head to meet him. I attempted my best to push him into reading my eyes differently than what I was feeling. "I truthfully don''t desire to kill you. I didn''t choose this life, I''m trying to be normal can''t you allow me?" Of course I wasn''t but I think he would buy it. In previous exchanges at most, he appeared disinclined to do his assignment. He could''ve killed the mark before me but he didn''t. If I could gamble, he was doing this job out of necessity or by force. Dai leaned in closer. He smelled like a holiday candle, the mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and spices. A clue. " Are you lying to me?" He started seemingly into my soul. I could vaguely hear the announcers instructing pairs to draw from the hat. I needed to end this with my cover intact somehow. "No. I can''t live with my family name. I can''t live that life. We can talk about this later though right now we have an icebreaker to do." Dai let go of my arm and shifted away his weapon before I could see it. He slipped a hand around my shoulder as we walked together to draw whatever was going on. "You and your partner will have to play out whatever scenario is on your paper !" The announcer gestured each word dramatically with the stringy-haired blond girl next to her. " Later you will vote who you think were the best partners and those people will be given a gift card to the restaurant of their choice!" Dai''s hand started shrinking away from my shoulder as the hat was passed around and reached us. I recognized the one holding the hat too, it was Cameron Evans, my target. He was much taller than I thought he would be with sandy loose hair, broad shoulders, and delicate brown eyes. If anything he looked like he would cry if someone denigrated him once, he looked too sensitive to blackmail anyone. I knew that meant nothing. I strode forward shrugging his arm off. As Cameron approached us, I executed a strategy in my head of what I would do to reel him in. I decided to go the brazen route, it would be most straightforward and he didn''t look smart enough for mind games. " Here." He held out the hat. I reached out to grab a slip but hesitated and peeked up at him. "My name''s Angi, what''s yours?" I smiled and reached down to select a slip. "Oh, it''s Cameron. Nice to meet you Angi.. you''re a freshman?" I grinned at his inquiry this was freshman orientation dumbass. But it was okay he didn''t want me to be one he needed me to be older he was a junior after all. "No, I''m just here because I needed a tour and it led here, I''m a sophomore but I just transferred" I spoke in a lower pitch attempting to cultivate a feeling of lighthearted care. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "Oh cool. I''ll see you around then, Angi maybe you should come to the party this week it''s next door." He beamed and started patting my shoulder; It took everything in me not to jolt away from his weighty touch. "Of course, I''ll see you there then." I touched his hand lightly on my shoulder as he moved on to the next group, looking back at me as he went. "Is he a part of this new start?" Dai stepped up beside me speaking straight into my ear. "Maybe he is. You think I''m here by accident?" I grinned as for once Dai''s eyes let up on the flashes of anger and reflected shock and .. hmm a little bit of laughter. I opened our slip to see what scenario we would have to act out: "The annoying couple who finishes each other..." This looked fun. I lifted the paper to Dai who was trying to look over my shoulder. "Do we really have to do these? Who thought this would be a good idea?" he sighed as the over-excited announcer came on again. " Once all of you have your slips, you can begin to interact with different groups, at the end make sure you reveal your scenario!" She hurriedly started the music and the giant timer on the presenter. "GO!!" I looked at Dai wondering whether or not he would follow along he didn''t seem like the type to be good with a cover, he was easily readable and seemed never to hide his intentions. "Think you can keep up?" I linked his arm as we went to our first pair to act out as the best couple we could be. "Let''s see how you do" Dai smirked as we reached our first interaction. It was two guys one was short and on the leaner side and the other was much taller but seemed stubbier. The shorter one was looking me up and down in a way that made me feel like he was calculating how much each part of me was worth. "Hi my name''s Daiksuke" he poked me as if I didn''t know I was supposed to come next "Hi I''m Angi and we''re.." I waited for Dai to catch what I was trying to say "So happy to meet you." We both extended our hands out at the same time unfortunately the short one was about to shake mine but then Dai interlocked with my hand instead. I just smiled and continued. The two guys were supposed to be acting as bad cop and good cop but they kept talking over each other and glaring, it seemed like they just were trying to convict each other. They both grilled us like we were suspects the whole time but me and Dai acted blissfully ignorant and continued finishing each other''s sentences. We moved on to the next pair who were impressively playing two shady businessmen. As the game continued I eased into my role, becoming accustomed to finishing Dai''s sentences. "And times up!" As I prepared to accidentally bump into Cameron, I hoped that I could trip and land on him somehow I figured it might work as clich¨¨ as it was. Just as I was about to execute my plan and "tripped" on a wire toward Cameron I felt a hard tug as I was pulled away from Cameron who kept walking. Out of instinct I stepped my foot back hard onto my attacker''s foot and jabbed up with my elbow. I whipped around as they grabbed my elbow inches from their face. " We need to talk" Dai''s eyebrows scrunched together as his mouth compressed into a scowl. "You interrupted me. We can talk later I''m busy." I tried to leave but he held tight onto my arm "Fine not here though, we can go outside or the basement." "No. I need to stay here don''t you want to know who won." I wouldn''t let his acting ruin the careful cover I needed to create although my instincts seemed to be giving me up. Dai who was still holding my arm reaffirmed his grip digging into my arm. " There is no way you are here by accident." To an outsider, he probably looked like he was lovingly whispering to me when in reality he sounded like he was going to bite my head off. "No really. I mean it. I didn''t know you went here, I came here for Cameron. He''s who I''m looking for" The sincerity in my voice should be winning me awards. "Not a target?" He grinned into my ear as he said it, the announcer had started announcing first and second place but nothing was audible over his deep menacing voice. " No, as my boyfriend dipshit. I ran away from home if you hadn''t noticed. I can''t date him and still live as Akumu." "So you''re giving up everything for him?" Before I could answer the announcer called us for third place. Dai dropped his hand from my arm to my hand dragging me up in front of the announcer and the auditorium. I didn''t care as long as it maintained my cover but I hoped Cameron wouldn''t see it. "I have to say I''m so surprised that y''all didn''t win first place the way I heard about you two!" The announcer giggled as she handed us our gift cards. Dai took them, smiled, and dragged us off stage. " I''ll see you around, I have someone I need to catch up to!" I grinned releasing my hand from Dai''s. I expected him to let me go as we were already to meet but he pulled me back, reaching into my pocket and grabbing my phone, well not my phone. He grabbed it and typed in his phone number calling himself. "Just in case you don''t show" I smiled and moved out as quickly as I could. Fish Bowl I descended through the people trying to organize my mentality after seeing Dai. For some reason, he gets under my skin, he seems to think he''s the shit, I hate that more than anything. I arrived at my dorm again preparing to go out at night for the target with my parents, my mother had sent the location and time already somehow I was running late. I secured my hair and began throwing my clothes to change into my work getup, just as I yanked off my shirt I heard something shift. I slowly stretched in the direction I heard a sound. I curved my knee into a lunge and reached forward I seized whatever was in front of me and levered it over me, swerving I anchored my knee on the chest of the intruder. I squinted in the low light straining to see the face and unfortunately, I recognized it. " I know you see me can you get off I think you bruised my actual lung." I slowly rose as Dai rolled and groaned on the floor. "Don''t be a pussy you''re fine. Why are you here anyway? That was your fault for being here you know?" I sighed as I gathered up my duffel bag and loaded it with my longer blades I saw Dai getting up. I snatched the knife and spun around, my mother would eradicate me if I were late for a job. " What is it then? Make it quick. I have somewhere to be." "Aren''t you going to put a shirt on first?" Dai kept making extreme eye contact it felt like he was singeing my retinas. " I guess so" I never really thought about it, it wasn''t like I was bare-bones naked, plus I had worn less on jobs before. "Can you hand me my shirt? You''re sitting on it." I bent over to reach for my shirt, but Dai kept gazing at me directly at the center of my head. For a second it looked like he was going to try and force me away but he was frozen motionless. "So? I have my shirt back on so you can start talking I do have to go." "Oh right, right.. why are you here don''t try to sell me on some bullshit about changing because we both know you have no intentions of doing that for some college jock." He leaned back, sizing me up, trying to read me for the lie. "Why? Because of my family or my reputation, do you think that I can''t? I just want to live a normal life one where I have a mindless college jock boyfriend so?" I was pulling out my best performance here all the stops. Dai nodded as if trying to understand the concept of one of "The Ito''s" wanting to leave the business. Of course, he wasn''t wrong I didn''t plan on it my life revolves around it but for the sake of maintaining my cover until this job was done I needed him to believe it then I would never need to see him again. "So that resolves it right? You stay quiet and live your life and I won''t kill you and get to live my life free of my history." "I guess so, but what are you''re parents going to say? From what I heard about them they won''t take lightly their best employee deciding she "doesn''t want to"?" As he resumed talking I zipped my duffel bag ready to go, I needed to shut him up somehow but when I pivoted around I learned he had gotten too comfortable. He was sitting outstretched, leaning back with his head cocked to the side. When I looked him up and down he looked genuinely concerned as his brows stitched together and his eyes almost appeared to tilt downward. It would take me 20 minutes to get to the job, I needed to be there in 28 minutes. " They don''t know. I don''t plan on letting them know. Anyway, I have a meeting to get to and you''re blocking the way you can let yourself out right?" I forced him out of the way clambered on the bed and began trying to wriggle out of the window, this dorm had a ludicrous curfew. But before I was out I felt a tug on my arm jerking me back in. "WHAT? WHAT POSSIBLY COULD BE IMPORTANT?" I was attempting not to be loud but I was going to be in severe crisis if he didn''t let go, and if I made him neither of us would like how that would turn out. He let go looking irate or confused I couldn''t care. "What kind of meeting do you need to bring two bigass knives to? Are you going on a job? I knew you couldn''t be telling the truth." He pushed in closer looking at me intently in the glow of the window with the moonlight and street lamps sifting in to smudge his face in crimson. My hand itched to drive him away or anything to leave I knew the consequences awaiting me from my mother. "My brother. I have to be careful although he says he''s on my side. I can''t be late he could get caught." With that, I scaled out the window carefully landing on my feet and running to where I had my car obscured before. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
My mother''s head pitched upward as her eyes echoed a warm dusk I understood all too well. "You''re late. I won''t say much because you already know how resentful I am but because we need to keep this job brief, I will not discipline you, for now." I looked around outside the window of our car, seeing a serene reclus cul-de-sac with lustrously lit immaculate cut-out houses that stood in the foreground to the shifting lake behind them. My mother pointed at the center house. "Our next target. You''re going to be on the inside helping me, the target is big so we''ll both need to strike. Understood?" She spoke as she tucked her yanagiba knives into their compartments in her pants. I nodded I could tell this would not be painless, my mother does not usually require assistance, and even when she does she never notifies me, I just have to assume. We rose out of the car the sun was setting bathing the street in a warm glimmer. I thought we would be creeping around but instead, we were just strolling casually. I felt my skin tingle it didn''t feel right, I felt supervised. Mother banged on the door after a few seconds the door unlocked, and I knew this man. It was Goober. His sparsely flecked head and his saggy eyes were instantly recognizable. I skimmed, stunned this wasn''t his house. "I arrived to witness your pristine house, brother." Mother grinned straining her teeth wide as Goober jigged back clasping at something that must not have been there. We paraded inside my mother sealing the door behind us. I stared at the large portrait of Goober and his bulldog hanging above the couch. His house was charming, affable, and snuggly kinda like him. I recall Goober used to have these dollhouses at his old place. Practically a garage if you ask me: stone floors frigid as ice with delicate drywall that would chip and crumb at every flicker. But it smelled like pine sole always, like he dry mopped the stone. The dollhouses were for me, my parents and I were always over at his house when I was younger as they needed a more hands-on approach to DNA erasing plus there were a lot of kinks. I never understood whether or not he was related to us since my mother always called him brother. I tried asking once and she told me: "Family is blood. There is only a human when blood flows, so your family is the only one you can''t kill. He is not our blood." She would beam when she declared that, a guileless smile of amusement. To me though it didn''t matter he was an uncle to me, he would be there on my birthdays, holidays, and whenever I called him. He was the only person on my phone other than my mother, father, and brother. His saggy eyes always creased up whenever he would hand me one of his quirky gifts, usually a toy my mother would despise or a hobby that would go on too long. As I got older we saw him less, but me and Baku would still secretly hang out with him. When Baku went on his first kill, for 24 hours he was gone. My parents were desperate before the call from Goober. His gift to me this year was a fish bowl and along with it three fishes he declared he named already: Kako, Genzai, and Mirai. He laughed and laughed when he saw my disappointed reaction, "You need to learn to take care of something living, something alive you know. You have to feed it every day, don''t let them die. I''ll get you if let them die now!" I rolled my eyes and stared at the glittering fish paddling I never was good at keeping things alive.
"Please listen, Kishi, you d-" His voice quivered as he continued backing away from us" I will not. Do not call me that anymore, you have come against me calling me Kishimojin. You renounced the company. You stranded the family. You ditched us." Her voice had a bite making her sound as if she were a snake plunging into its prey''s ears as the poison bled in. I felt my heart jerking this wasn''t a target, this was Goober."I had no choice, Kishi you never told me what you did to Baku, I know now, what kind of thing you''ve become." Goober hit the table and stopped folding his hands behind his back, his voice lost the quiver. He appeared unafraid; the most threatening thing you can be in front of Mother. " You might think that you''re the one safeguarding your children but you just consume them further you drag them, Akumu, she doesn''t comprehend what you''ve d-"Before he could conclude my mother pounced forward with her knife arcing her wrist to cut from his ear, across and up. I stepped back as blood trickled everywhere. I just kept seeing the red flow out it painted my clothes my eyes my ears. I realized Goober had rolled over to me. I didn''t take a step back somehow before I took one forward. My hands felt warm, I looked down and caught my hands over his throat attempting to help. I don''t know how I got there but my mother was clamoring advising me to let go. I would never disobey her but I was shaking my head for some reason. I felt my face heat up and my neck go cold as the chilled tears drenched it. As I glanced down at Goober I noticed his ugly ass shirt. It was of a stupid goldfish smiling. It only reminded me I had let him down. Kako died. Coming of Age I loomed over the toilet as I stared at whatever my lunch was inside. I slid down hitting the tiled floor feeling every muscle shaking feeling like someone took a cattle prod to my nervous system. A hard thump against the door snapped me back to reality, the reality that I didn''t understand. I had never cared whether my mother carved out a target''s intestines or my father chopped up the target''s limbs. Never once had I ever thought it was odd or weird. I grazed my neck with my fingertips feeling the dried blood all over caking my skin in what felt like a sheet of lead. "AKUMU!" I shivered as I heard the pounding voice of my father I instinctively squirmed away from the locked door he sounded more than pissed, he sounded virulent. I tried to grasp at the walls as I felt my vision fuzzed at the edges, I couldn''t feel anything other than my lungs compressing themselves. I couldn''t understand as flashes of red seeped under my gripping fingernails against the tile. "Akumu open the door." I heard my mother''s voice and felt myself sinking into the ground. Is she disappointed? Concerned? Not concerned. Mad. She was angry. I felt my legs picking up on their own. Angry? My mother? Why? Disappointed I could understand her daughter huddling herself in the bathroom after failing to do anything. But angry? It was rare. She seethed as I heard her voice now. I reached for the rusty knob but before I turned the lock I saw the bathroom cabinet open. As I reached I saw a soap container with a rolled-up paper inside. Carefully unfurling it, I leered at the picture that sent a pit down to my stomach.
Goober was dressed in a clean white shirt and he was 25 years younger at least. His hair wasn''t gone and his eyes hadn''t sagged in yet instead he looked lively. Next to him in a flowy patterned dress, I instantly recognized my mother with her distinct features although I had never seen a picture this young. Mother often lets us browse her old singing photoshoots and movies but they all started at 20 she looked much younger in the photograph. I gazed at my mother who looked so different from the person I saw today. As I tried to roll the photo to fit into my pocket I saw scratchy faded writing sprawled across the back: "¼Ò×å¤Ï´óÇФʤâ¤Î¤Ê¤ó¤«¤¸¤ã¤Ê¤¤¡£¼Ò×夳¤½¤¹¤Ù¤Æ¤À¡£Ë½¤ÎÃäϥХ쥨¥À¥ó¥µ©`¤Ë¤Ê¤ê¤¿¤¤¤Ç¤¹¡£¤³¤Î‰ô¤ò˽¤¬×÷¤ê¤Þ¤¹¡£( Family is not an important thing. It''s everything. My sister wants to be a ballet dancer. I will create this dream.)" Sister? Mother had never stopped the campaign, the slogan, the mantra of "family is blood you can''t get rid of blood." She always preached about the insignificance of targets and the essentials of family. WE are people, they are not. They are targets. But Goober wasn''t. "Akumu. Do not make me ask again." Her voice dripped with rage and control. She was venomous with her syllables hissing them carefully to not alert me. I scanned the room and heard the lock fiddling. There was a small window that faced the wide-open lakeside. My mother had broken the only doctrine I was taught, which meant I had no beliefs, and neither did she. I scaled out of the window throwing my phone behind me. I jumped out of the window into the darkness again hitting the grass I ran left and hit the wind running straight into the night as the autumn night breeze swiped my tears into the wind. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. My legs pumped as I ran, I could feel the dried flakes of blood chipped away in the wind. I finally saw a bus stop, after what felt like hours of running. Another element I was trained in. The bus stop was dimly lit and surrounded by empty plain farmland. I sat down breathing heavily, but I knew I couldn''t hesitate for long, my mother was my trainer. She knew exactly how fast I could run, how I hid, how I thought because she had controlled it all. The stop was deadly quiet except for the faint light buzzing and the fluttering of leaves. I checked my watch. It was only 7:15 the bus would be here soon. I racked my brain trying to figure out where I could go that would be the hardest to infiltrate. My mother had trained me to always go as far as possible in case of emergency as far as I could then contact her. I felt a wet scalding drop hit my jeans as I buried my face into my hands. I realized as more and more rained down that I had never done anything more terrifying in my life. I had absolutely no one. I ran away from the one person who knows my every weakness, who I now know would not hesitate to dispose of me, or anyone. I felt my chest heaving as my sobs racked my lungs viciously tearing through me. I felt the darkness of the night pressing into me injecting my bones with despair. I looked down at myself, I realized my shirt was inside out from me putting it on in a hurry not that it mattered it was splattered with dried blood so were my jeans. I used my tears to rub away the blood on my face onto the inside of my shirt then turned it inside out and took off my jacket tying it around my waist. The blood was hidden well enough in the darkness that it wouldn''t be seen. I felt around in my jacket pocket forgetting I chucked my phone when I felt a small post-it note: In Case you forget it - 2515784948 :) I almost dumped it right then and there but, I realized, the best place to go would be the college there my mother couldn''t just come in anytime. Even if she found a way, my mother had never gone against the Company, ever. As the silently humming bus braked at the stop, I had decided where I was going to go. As I bent down to pressure my cut knee that was bleeding, I looked around my quiet dorm. I silently cursed myself for wanting him or anyone to be here when I got back. I let go of my knee and wiped the blood onto my already- red soaked pants, grabbed the nearest towel tied it around my leg, and flopped onto the bed. I looked around at my empty room desolate of anything personal. It was beige with a bed and my knife collection. As I grew up my Mother began to buy me fewer decorations and stuffed animals and more knives. For Christmas, Birthdays, and New Year, every gift from the time I turned 13 until now has been some sort of decorated knife. This year though, she gave me a Fuguhiki knife. It was engraved with two words: " µÆ̨Ï°µ¤·" I never knew what she meant. I lifted my bed to open the hidden compartment and started desperately grabbing at the knives trying to yank each one I had carefully placed, trying to dump them into my trashcan. I felt like a ghost haunting my own body nothing I was doing was making sense in my head but my body was creating its own movements unprompted. As if looking through a set of blurred illusion glasses I looked down at my seeping hands splashed with red. My body tried scrubbing my hands across my clothes in desperation but I felt nothing in my mind. My body continued to move without my control, reaching into my drawer, grabbing my fake phone from the bedside table, and dialing the only number I had. "Hello?" his voice echoed and reverberated into my head lulling me into my fuzzy sleep "I can''t keep being Akumu Ito. But you can''t cut out blood, you need it to live." The fire in my hands poured out as my eyelids got heavier " Akumu? Akumu?Hello? Are you okay?" My head lulled to the side as a smile stretched across my face as my eyes shut, laughing at the question, I was perfectly fine.