𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐁𝐒𝐃 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈𝐈 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈𝐈
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐞

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4,598

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"My name is Kyouka. I've killed 35 people in six months."

Atsushi sat dejectedly outside of the agency's infirmary. After having gone out shopping with Yosano, an attack on the train they were on by the Port Mafia resulted in an altercation with one of their agents—a girl—whom Atsushi ended up saving. Thankfully, after jumping off of the train after her, Yosano had found them and brought along the girl for treatment.

Inside, the little girl—whose name was Kyouka—lay asleep on the infirmary bed with the agency's resident doctor keeping an eye on her. She had yet to wake up and was sleeping peacefully; it was a moment of respite from her life as a murderer in the Port Mafia.

Just outside of the infirmary door, however, Atsushi was in a state of inner turmoil, unable to keep the scene of his encounter with her out of his head.

On the train, the little girl who had been strapped with a bomb and planted there against her own will stood at the edge of a massive hole that had been cut out of the side of the train by her own ability created apparition.

"My name is Kyouka Izumi. I've killed 35 people," she repeated the same catchphrase robotically—almost as if it were some kind of script. But unlike all of the other times, this one was not said in monotone. Instead, it was laced with guilt and sorrow. She looked up, eyes glistening with tears. "I don't want to kill anybody else ever again, not ever!"

And with her final shout, Atsushi watched with wide eyes as she jumped off the train and straight towards her death.

Yet the weretiger was not willing to accept such a tragic fate, and thus threw himself after her, managing to rip the bomb off of her person with the help of his tiger claws right before it detonated, leaving the two to plunge into the water below to safety in the nick of time. When they made it to land, Atsushi had passed out from exhaustion right on a dumbfounded Kyouka's lap. Luckily, however, Yosano found the two, which brought them to their current situation.

"Still attracting trouble, are you?"

The sound of Kunikida's voice successfully broke Atsushi out of his thoughts.

"That girl is a lost cause," he stated bluntly as he stood in front of Atsushi. "It seems that her roots as a heartless assassin run much deeper than you know," he continued, only fueling the weretiger's concern for the young girl. "She's taken out entire organizations using her appearance to trick her targets into lowering their guard. She accomplished too much too quickly. It was only a matter of time before she was caught."

Atsushi's eyes softened, feeling pity for Kyouka. "Yeah, but... whoever was taking advantage of her ability is the one to blame," he defended. She was just a child—one who was being manipulated by the Port Mafia. It was clear that she did not want to be the cold-hearted assassin that she was ordered to be. It was most definite that she was in a position where she couldn't disobey, else it would likely cost her her life.

The very notion sickened Atsushi. 

"These gifts don't necessarily bring happiness to their wielders. You should know that better than most." Yes, Kunikida's words carried truth—Atsushi had suffered many a hardship thanks to his ability. Being kicked out of the one place he had food and a roof over his head, ultimately forcing him to fend for himself on the streets without a penny to his name. Not to mention the fact that it was his ability that caused him to be designated a security threat by the Military Police. Someone had even put a 7 billion bounty on his head just to get their hands on his ability!