Short stories

Masked Silhouette

3rd Person's POV

It was a peaceful night in the village. The villagers were preparing to end the day. Small shops were closing and kids were returning to their own homes. Families finished their dinners, getting ready to sleep.

When all were sound asleep, a figure swooped down from a tree. Wearing a black cape with hood, he stalked through the narrow alleys of houses as he searched for the home of his next target. He stealthily peeked through windows, his footsteps unheard by anyone. His movements can be compared to a whisper of the wind. Quiet and gentle.

It was no surprise if you knew about him. He is an assassin known for his dead silent and clean assassinations. Not a single drip of blood can be seen in the place where his attack happens. The victim's body is disposed properly without a trace.

He is feared by every village and villagers.

He is nicknamed as the infamous "Masked Silhoutte"

Hajime Mizuki.

- - - - -

"Haji! Come down already!" Hajime's mom called from downstairs.

"Coming!!" the teenage boy yelled back.

He wore his blue yukata and put on his sandals. His legs, feet and arms were already covered with white cloths because for unknown reasons, his skin in those areas were sensitive. Well.... majority of skin on his body were sensitive especially with heat from the sun. He had to shade himself with a Japanese umbrella when he goes somewhere outside.

Anyway, he quickly ran downstairs where he saw his mom cooking.

"Where's dad?" he asked

"He went out early." his mom answered.

"Oh.."

His father was a farmer. He usually wait for Hajime to wake up and eat breakfast together with Hajime's mother. But today, the teen woke up late so his father went ahead to the fields.

When his mother finished cooking, Hajime ate his breakfast. He told his mother that he would go and buy some ingredients that they were lacking. His mother denied at first but because he kept insisting, she gave in to his request.

"Keep yourself under shade okay?" his mother called as he prepared himself. "And be careful with strangers!"

"I will! Don't worry!" Hajime called back, taking an umbrella with him as he put up a cloth that covers his face.

For the past few years of his life, Hajime has been a pampered boy even at his teens. It started when he was at the age of 8, when his unknown skin disease began appearing. His mom got so worried that at some point, she insisted that he should stay at home for a whole month during summer.

But when he reached 12, he was already free to do anything under the sun with the aid of wrapped cloths and umbrellas. And now that he is 16, he could help his father in work or travel a bit far from home like going to the woods.

"Look it's him again.."

"That boy is really weird."

"Why is he always covered with those?"

"He looks like a bandaged living dead."

Mutters and murmurs were all he could hear whenever he went for a walk. People gave bad and cruel remarks at his condition. He got used to it that he didn't mind them anymore.

- - - - -

"I'll buy these." he told the seller after getting vegetables and other ingredients.