Crystal Spark

Chapter 10: The Memory

There was a panel of glass that allowed her to look into another room. Splashes of blood was everywhere painting the room like a Picasso. Akutagawa hung in chains his face casted down at the ground.

She watched another whip crash into his body and every muscle in her body strained against her mind. She was tense, but she could not show the others how this effected her.

"Akutagawa failed to procure a child for me a few weeks back." The Boss spoke as he looked upon his hound, shaking his head making a tsking sound.

"The phone call had something to do with that I imagine?" Her tone was level and it was a miracle she had kept it so. She moved her eyes to the Boss trying to play bored.

Don't let them get to you.

"Yes, a pity you have that hatred for children. We have yet to find the child nor it's kidnapper." Kidnapper? Hah! She had to fight the anger that bubbled in her throat. She had kidnapped the child? They had slaughtered the family of the child and had planned to kidnap them as well.

"Pity." She spoke again and yawned against her hand. Don't let them get to you.

"You might want to reconsider." Chuuya finally spoke again after falling silent during this scene. Keomi turned to look at him raising a single eyebrow.

"Until the child is found and the kidnapper is killed Akutagawa will be facing punishment for his transgressions." Chuuya revealed and it was like they had dumped a bucket of ice water on her.

"Oh? Truly a pity then. As I've stated I don't deal with children." Keomi made a tsking sound of her own and she looked towards Akutagawa.

"Well let me know when I'm allowed to snipe again. I have to go train." She spoke and began to walk away to head out into the city until a voice stopped her.

"You now know the price for those who fail me, Keomi. I suggest you heed this lesson." She didn't acknowledge that she had even heard the Boss and instead she took another step towards the door.

A lesson her Boss had told her. Yet, she had an overwhelming feeling that it was more of a warning than a lesson. She had barely been with the Mafia for five months and the entire time she had been trying to prove herself. She had killed ten people in the name of loyalty to their cause. Considering how many enemies they had she surely would kill more before everything was set and done.

The blood on her hands would only grow.

She closed her eyes as she stood on the port dock that she had always found Akutagawa at. She felt the salt breeze run through her hair making a few slivers of brown fall from its loose bun. The warm summer sun was slowly setting casting the city in shadows. She fought to remember where she was last summer, with her family, with a career that helped people. Her original path of selflessness had quickly turned into one of selfishness.

"I'm just happy to be out of school for a break!" Akasuki raised her hands to stretch in the air while they sat outside watching her sister work in the yard.

"Yeah its good for you and Tatsuo to have a break. You two really need to have some hobbies outside of school work." Keomi responded as she wiped away the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. She looked down at the garden that now was bare of weeds and watered. A basket of tomatoes and cucumbers sat beside her feet which she took great pride in.

"I know Dad likes that you're into all of the farm stuff but do you really have to act so..." She trailed off giving her sister a once over, she was covered in dirt and even had a leaf in her hair.

"It was his brother's farm Suki, I try to help him maintain it to honor the memory." Keomi responded with a bright smile completely ignoring her sister's comment about her appearance.

"Dad's not even home half of the time and we never even got the chance to meet our only uncle." Akasuki replied and for a moment a pang went through Keomi's body. As if something wasn't quite right with that sentence even though what her sister said was true. Her father had only one brother who had died before their parents had married. Their mom was an only child.

"We live an hour away from the city Suki, do you expect him to commute everyday? His job is important and-" Keomi continued to defend her father's choices since he wasn't currently with them. He was off in the city protecting people and in December Keomi was going to begin her police training at the academy.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say Kei." Suki responded as she reached over to the table and picked up the book she had started to read. A book called 'The Setting Sun' by an author who was only known by their initials D.O.

"Suki-" Keomi began but was interrupted from her mother yelling from inside the house. Both of the girls turned when they heard their mother's voice.

"Dinners ready!" Their mother's voice was like a beacon to Tatsuo, who had been playing on his computer in his room, and Akasuki. But Keomi waited for a moment overlooking the farm she so desperately loved. The farm her father had grown up on. She allowed herself to close her eyes to feel the last bit of warmth from the sun before it fell asleep once more. A sad smile made its way onto her face as she slipped inside her home.

To say that she was closest with her father would be an understatement. To say that she had a strained relationship with her mother would also be an understatement. She had been the only one in their family to understand that their father could not always be home. That summer he had only been home three times, once for Suki's birthday, once for their anniversary, and once more just to spend the weekend together.

He had only spent seven days with them in total.

Keomi let out a small sigh at the thought because while she understood... it didn't mean that she always likes her father's job. Keomi always knew growing up that her mother favored her younger siblings. But it did hurt when she made such actions that showed that favoritism.

She wondered what had happened to her father's farm now that everyone was gone. It had been nearly eight months since anyone had been home. Their had been no one to plant the spring plants or water the crops that came year after year. Everything she had worked for had been for nothing.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket bringing her from her thoughts and reminisces. She pulled it out knowing that there was only one person who could be calling her right now. She answered the call without even checking to see who had been calling her.

"Yes, Chuuya?" Keomi drew out the phrase pausing between the two words. She did not greet him or say more words than she needed. He deserved to know that she was aggravated with him. She heard him sigh from the other side of the phone call.

"I see you're in a foul mood Sparks." Chuuya responded with a roll of his eyes, not that she could see that, and he continued speaking sensing that she wouldn't talk until he revealed his reason for calling so soon.

"Against my recommendation the Boss would like you to return to your regular duties. You will be receiving your next target when this phone call ends." Chuuya told her and she could hear the disappointment in his voice. She let out a small tsk noise and she hung up the phone.

She knew he wouldn't care if she hung up him or not which made it that much easier to do. Her eyes closed going back to that memory as once again she felt the last rays of light for the day. The sun had set and gone to rest. But she would not be. She heard the ping signaling her next target.

Kill number eleven.

Kumika Yukimi.

And thus began the unraveling of Keomi's carefully crafted world.