Crimson Dreams

The Beginning

It should've never turned out this way. I should've just stuck to the plan.

I'm sprawled out on the floor, an older man straddling my waist, a dagger pressed firmly against my neck. "Who are you?" The man seethes. His clothing is disheveled from our previous battle. He has messy gray hair. "Don't be rash," Another voice echoes in the small warehouse we were in. The familiar voice echoes in my ears as the man presses the blade harder, breaking the skin. The smell of iron reaches my nostrils. I chuckle. "T," The familiar voice speaks cautiously. "You've spilled my blood," I click my tongue as I reach up and grab his wrist that's holding the dagger. "Don't move," He barks. This makes me laugh out loud. The familiar voice sighs. "Great," I smirk up at the man. He gives me a look of confusion before I quickly twist his wrist. He yells out in pain dropping the dagger right by my head. I let go of his wrist and push him off of me. I do a quick backflip, landing on one knee. I grab the dagger and swiftly throw it towards the man who is scrambling up to his feet. The dagger pierces his heart, causing him to fall to the ground, lifeless. Across the room, the familiar man swiftly breaks the neck of his aggressor. He stares at me in disbelief. I stand up wiping the blood off my neck. "What?"

"Tazana Tava," My father, Koi speaks sternly. "You should have stuck to the plan! There's a reason why Anoki was with you!" I look towards Anoki, my older brother. He shakes his head. "I'm not helping you out of this one," He states as Dad tears me a new one. "Do you understand? He could have killed you!" Dad barks. "But he didn't! I'm reckless, but I'm not stupid, Dad. I knew how I was going to get out of there. It just took longer than I thought," My dad sighs. "I can't right now. I'm going to be in my study," He stands up from his recliner and walks into another room. "Taz, you do need to be careful," Anoki speaks softly as he sits on the coffee table in front of me. I sigh. "Don't tell Kaori. She'd freak if she knew," Anoki smiles softly at me. "How're you gunna hide that cut?" I sigh. "Makeup?" He chuckles. "You're full of it," He ruffles my hair before walking upstairs.

I'm sitting in my room, reading a novel I had just picked up. The face of evil, I've tried to deny it, but, I-- I'm interrupted by a loud rumble. Right by my bedside is a black steel sword. I quickly grab it and run downstairs. My father's knocked unconscious and a man with luscious black hair has Anoki up against the wall. His red eyes glare into Anoki. I clear my throat. The man snaps his head towards me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I'm sitting down at the top of the stairs, staring down at him. "Stay out of this wench," He sneers. I chuckle. I stand up and walk down the stairs slowly. "The last man... to call me 'wench'... ended up dying a slow and painful death," I stop a few steps away from him. He glares at me as Anoki looks between us. In a blink of an eye, I swing my sword at him. He dodged my attack just in time. My sword pierced the wall, where Anoki was standing. Anoki glared at me as he stands back up. "That was not cool!" He whines. "Shut up and get Dad out of here," He scoffs before running over to our father. I pull out the sword from the wall swiftly. "So, you going to tell me who you are, or are you going to die?" The man scoffs. "Like I'd tell a w--" Before he could finish the word, I punched him into a nearby wall. He groans. "As I said, the last man who finished that word died a slow and painful death," He gets to his feet and runs at me with a dagger in his hand. Metal clings as we blocked each other's attacks over and over again. I growled under my breath. "Fuck it," I threw my sword across the room. "Let's get this over with," I swing a punch at him, which he blocked with his arm. He tries to twist my arm, but I kick him away from me. This goes on and on until I trip him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the corner of an end table. Anoki watches in shock. "That was like... a fucking movie scene," I roll my eyes at him. "Shut up and help me bring him to the basement," He salutes to me before helping me drag him to the basement.

A few hours later, the man woke up. My dad, Anoki and some other members of the Tava family stood around him. His red eyes met mine. He jerks at his hands, trying to get free. "Don't bother. No one's ever tried to get out of my knots," I state stoically. "Who are you?" He stares at us intently. "We'll do whatever we can to get what we need, so you might as well just tell us, moron," Anoki speaks coolly. The man smirks before his eyes met mine again. "You're quite a fighter. Which means you must be Tazana," Anoki grabs the front of his shirt. "Who the fuck are you?" He barks. This only makes the man's smirk widen. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you," We all waited in silence. "I'm Jax Hakan. I was sent by the Ketsueki Kama," Dad, Anoki, and I look at each other, concern written all over our faces.