The Reminiscent

Chapter 10: Part Two~ "I Am Back"

I hear Roy and Benji's cries as they are being chained up. No doubt what the assassins meant by ‘we have to break her heart’, they were referring to those who are in it.

I still hover on the ground, bent over and clutching my middle. My mind and my body may have been ready for this fight, but my spirit wasn't. The weights of exhaustion and weariness from the former are dragging down the latter. But I have to try. My inner voice says determined.

I feel an assassin drop down beside me, his mouth close to my ear.

“You underestimated what a handful of ‘common’ assassins can do,” he whispers. “But a Core Punch will do anyone in, whether you're an Energy user or not.”

“Please.” A stream of blood flows down the side of my face. A cut over my eyebrow proved to be the culprit. “Please, please don't kill my friends. Do what you must to me, but leave them alone.”

“Oh, Red Lioness,” he tilts my chin up so our eyes lock. “Don't you get that we do this only to unleash your true potential? To show you what you are truly capable of?” At that moment, blood spurts out and runs down into my right eye, scewing my vision for a brief time. Automatic tears well up in response to the red intruder and wash away the dark substance that didn't belong there. When it is cleared away, both of my eyes focus on this young man before me. As I study him, I realize that this is the only life he has ever known, and this clan of assassins that surround me are his family. And empathy fills my heart for him.

With the most serious of tones, I look into his eyes as I search his soul-I am a mere spectator of his life-and I carefully answer, “I may not know a lot for I have only lived this life a short time. I do not think that is my true potential though. Darkness leads to a bad conclusion. It may have a continuous path that leads to another destination of its own, but it is not the path I choose to go on. It is not my destiny. And common assassin or not, Energy user or not, I promise you that Darkness will take you further than you originally wanted to go and, it will end up destroying you no matter how strong you become.” The man's eyes look back into mine; uncertainty now clouds his once confident stare.

My eyes shift over to rustling grass, signifying the oncoming footsteps and the person's attached to them.

“It is done. They have been chained up, Az.” One voice speaks up. I don't make contact with the arrivals. Instead, I lower my eyes to the ground when I first hear them approach and use sound as a silent way to partake in the conversation.

The man beside me-”Az”-turns toward them and says in a neutral tone (he tries to cover it up but the uncertainty is still there), “It is her turn.” My eyes close at those words, my teeth clenching. I am guessing, though, it wouldn't matter if I blurt out another protest on the idea of being uncomfortably contained with cold metal that restricts movement. So, I just leave it in peace.

Az continues to think about whose gentle order to follow. Meanwhile, Time ticks on. One, two, three, four…

Too late. Az can't save me now. Metal cuffs click around my wrists, showing that they are firmly locked into place, and I am going nowhere. Once all is said and done, the assassin who had come up to As tilts his head in a curious way, almost friendly, like we are not in a life or death situation.

“What is it, Canton?” Az asks the man, noticing the new change in position. Canton's eyes flick to Az's.

“We are going to have to do more than this to break her.”

Az pauses and then reluctantly says the question he and I are both wondering, “What do you have in mind?” Canton just smiles warmly at Az and when his gaze lands on me, his expression becomes cruel. Before I could stop it, a scared gulp escapes my throat. What idea this man had planted in his head was something I am sure I would not like. Could it be….No, no. Must not think of that. Still, what could he be planning?