I sat, breathless, Naroo by my side as we sat before the field of passed out kids. Naroo felt around his pocket and sighed, "I forgot I got rid of all my cigarettes". I felt a little disappointed in myself that Naroo got a little more then half the kids, and that I couldn't keep up with his need for a fight.
"I have one", that same voice echoed in my head. The very girl Vendetta stood behind us, "I managed Lieutenant" She had that same snarky grin only the fatigue was evident on her features.
Naroo stood, stretching how his hand, his fingers and wrist cracking as he did so. "Looks like we missed one" I stopped him, I held my arm in front of him and sat him back down.
"If we fail her there'll be exactly... 6 maybe 7 if that one kid got away when Poppy dragged him away" The realization hit me and I slapped my hands over my face "Oh my fucking God, 7 out of a few hundred? These little shits SUCK! And I'm letting some of them pass"
There was three minutes left on the timer. Giving the last hidden kids a chance to try and pass the right way and not wait out the timer. "So, you got any hidden friends Venny?"
"Egh, Venny? Whatever. Yeah I do"
I hummed at her and started collecting the wooden knives in my arms so I didnt have to stay after later. "What are their names?"
"Well, theres Cirid, the others were named by the academy trainer, Clip, Camera, and Bee"
"Camera? Clip? What kind of names are those?"
"We came here with no name, Camera always manages to get a video of something, she's good with technology. And clip is trying to get into a reporter job so she can divert the media away from her crimes"
Huh, I guess those reasons aren't as bad I thought they'd be. Naroo nudged me, "Look". They were all emerging from the forest, only something was strange, they were running full speed away from the darkness of the forest.
Poppy was pretty far ahead of the other teens which surprised me. I started walking towards them. I expected them to try and mark me as they ran past but they just kept going.
"You miss counted, look" Naroo moved my head to look back to the forest where the young killer skipped out with a large splintering branch dragging behind her. "That's not good".
"Check them to see if they're okay" Naroo shoved me back to kids that were running. It was irritating that I couldn't finish my unfinished business but I listened. One of the girls was holding her right eye while blood was flowing over her hand, down her face and arm.
The guy that Poppy helped earlier had a sleeve torn and wrapped around his hand. "What the hell happened to you guy's?!" Ven tried to check the girls eye but she cried in pain and Ven put her hands over it too.
Mm, we should buy some jam later, this reminds me
"Who can carry her?". Poppy shot jer hand up and stood in front of her to give her a piggy back ride. The girl did her best to hold on and Poppy took off. "You, are you okay?". He looked down and nodded, "They're only fingers, not even the important ones"
That's optimistic.
How did this even happen? The kids never attack each other! "How... What happened?". He shook his head, "She walked up to us and just slashed that girls eye then tackled me, I don't know where she found pliers..."
Damn. I didn't know she was still apart of the test. I remember fighting her, did I just let her go? No, I wouldn't do that.. is that how my hand got cut? That was careless.
"...." I pull out my phone to check the time, "There's only 15 seconds left, while I can mark all of you I'll let you pass, go, we'll take care of her"
They all ran back to the mansion. Naroo seemed to be talking to her, he had his hand out for the weapon and he waited. She smiled with a demeanor of sweetness wafting around her, she put the branch in his hand but held onto it for a few seconds then dropped her hand.
He threw it more then 10 feet away and kept talking then guestered to the ground and stood back. She reached down into her pockets and dropped knives, scissors, a curated blade on the dirt before Naroo. He wagged his finger and had her continue. She pouted and unzipped her jacket to grab the hidden pliers, she held the bloody weapon proudly and dropped it with the others.
Her eyes rounded and she reached back into her pocket and held something in her hand. I walked closer to them to see if I could recognize the item in her thin hand. Naroo didn't seem to bothered by it but he held his hand up to stop me though this time I ignored him.
"It's a bad idea to get any closer" He warmed. Now I stood around 15 feet away and the small things in her hand finally clicked in my brain.
Those are the guy's fingers.... Odd kid.
"She fails, Naroo. I'm making the decision"
Naroo whipped his head to me and flicked his eyes behind me quickly then he looked back at the small psycho. The evident footsteps came from behind me, the familiar walking pattern. "Ah, Kovik!" I spun around and stopped him, "She's a danger sir, I think we should deal with her while she's weak"
"Did I tell everyone to kill you when you were first brought in? I could've had young Naroo do it, show some mercy"
"She kept the kids fingers, she's a trophy killer. She's one of the ones that don't understand morals, look at her"
Kovik turned his relaxed face into a stern look of annoyance, "I value your opinion but you were the same when you first joined, while all the others had the training of the academy workers you were already killing your targets, which you refused payment for because, I believe you said 'I haven't graduated yet'. If you're so worried then she'll be your disciple and you can form her", he seemed done with this discussion for he started walking back over to Naroo and the girl.
"No, I mean no disrespect Kovik but I refuse I have to many people to care for to just have her there"
Kovik sent a glare my way, before Kovik could tell me off for talking back Naroo grabbed his shoulder. "Kovik you can't just disregard her worry, she has a kid and we have friends that come over, it'll blow our cover if she acts out. If you are set on her training her then it'd be best to have it on Y/n's terms"
"Naroo... fine, bring the girl back and us four will discuss it, we can't just waste her potential because she's got no control over herself, that's why you" Kovik pointed to me "And you" Then Naroo "Will train her".
He began walking back and the girl stuck to our sides instead of Koviks, me and Naroo would usually hurry to catch up but we drug our feet along the dirt this time.
"That giu should have let you kill me" She skipped along next to us, ignoring the weird look we gave her, "I'm just saying, you guys are right, heheh, though it doesn't seem like he knows though"
"Is it weird, Your mind?" Naroo asked, taking shorter steps, "Does it think things?".
"Ha, you sound like a doctor.... I'm not going to tell you, if I do they'll cry"
"Got it" Naroo didn't push any further, nor did he tell her he was a doctor. It's always been hard to tell with Naroo, whether he's actually interested or if he's just passing time, though he's said he just has a hard time talking sometimes.
"I can't control myself because that part doesn't work well in me. Heheh, the nurses didn't know what I gave them, the drink" She laughed to herself "Blood, blood, blood, just blood with a lot of water and sugar" She didn't stop talking, the urge to snap her neck right now grew by the second but Naroo threw his arm over my shoulders to calm me, "I'm sure the pictures are on the news somewhere, while I was in jail I got so many letters, most said they found what I did inspiring and said it was art, then there were some that called me awful, disgusting, a freak"
"Are you bothered by it?"
"No, the doctor said I lack empathy and that I was apathetic to the full degree, though I think I have some interests. They did love me while I was there, I was as they said 'the least problematic'. Though I'm sure that's only because I was to busy memorizing their schedules, the pervert, the nice lady, the mean one, the silent one, and the one that brought me food. The silent one always brought my clean clothes in organized stacks"
"Is that the ward I got you out of?"
"No, that was only the first one"
He nodded, listening to her. The girl kept peeking at me and grinning when I'd look back. "How old are you kid, whats your name?" Naroo blocked me from her, "Who are your parents, they abusive? Dead? They always are"
"Hm? I'm almost 14, my parents weren't abusive, they never hit me, we lived very comfortably, until I killed them both, my names Yami, my dad was from Japan and my mother from Germany, wanna hear a German joke?"
I eyed Naroo suspiciously when she said her father was from Japan but dropped it when she talked about how she killed them both, I still fond it weird about the purple hair, both share the very light and dull purple shade.
He told her to go on with the joke. "Okay, a German man is peeing on the side of the road in New York, a woman walks out and see's him and yells 'Gross!' He looked at her and said 'Thank you!'... get it, gross in English sounds like 'Groß' in German which means big"
Naroo smiled down at her and laughed. Why is he treating her like a kid? Like a normal person? She chopped some guys fingers off!
We ripped someone's head off back at the mountains, you're acting like Daniel.
Naroo steered me through the doors and crowds while I spaced out.
I am not acting like Daniel, I'm afraid for Pan and all of them because she can't control herself from her bloodthirsty nature, I can! That's the difference, and I don't kill cops or innocents, she see's no difference in it.
To be fair... I'm the one that ripped off that guy's head but no one needs to know that.
"Hey, I saw those kids running back, what the hell happened" Xan caught up to us and walked by my left to keep more people away from me. Yamin stuck out from Naroo's side, "Hi!" She smiled happily.
"Eh, who's that?"
"The reason I had those kids run back here" I shoved past more people, I'm irritated that Kovik thinks I'm going to train her just because he said so. I've never really said no to him for something like this but I will not let her risk the safety of... risk blowing all of our cover.
I slam open his office doors but my argument is immediately knocked out of my head when I see the other people in the room. When Xan and the other two get in I snatch his gun and point it right at the Chairman Charles Choi's bodyguards, the two freak. "Sir, what's going on?"
"Put that down, he wanted to know why you were in Korea and why you were interfering with his bodyguards"
"And how did he find this place?" I looked right into the Chairman's eyes, he only smiled at me from where he was sat down, taking a drink of what Kovik poured him, "Also why you ran from a friend of mine, most would have gone along willingly"
Xan pushed my hands down so that I wasn't pointing the gun directly at Koviks 'guest'. "He said put it down", he gently took it from me and put it back in the back of his pants.
"Hey, but they have a Gun too" Naroo responded, pointing at Gun who stood right next to the Chairman. "Well, I'm handicapped because I have an idiot with me" He pointed at the fake blond Goo with his thumb then crossed his arms again.
Goo put his hand to his heart dramatically, gasping, "I thought you loved me Gun? Is all we've been through nothing to you?!"
Yami stood, eyebrows pinned together as she watched both of them, she reached in her pocket and went to the blond, holding out the finger she got fron the green haired teen earlier, "Finger?"
"EW!" Goo jumped back on kovik desk and started screaming, screaming at Yami, and at Gun telling him to kill it as if she were a spider. Gun seemed confused by everything that was happening and looked to me, Xan, and Naroo for answers.
I slapped the severed appendage from her hand. "Kovik I think we should send her back to a ward"
"I told you, no. Put of the 182 trainee's that went in that test only 8 passed including her. Even if she needs to be on a tight leash that's something we could work with"
He was right, it really made me want to rip apart all the furniture in this room, tear it to pieces because it was just a stupidly reasonable reason. The biggest part was because I couldn't do anything about it.
"She's not staying at my house K. She can stay here and be... I don't know, be drove to my place, but she's not coming near the people around me"
"Aww, come on I'm not that bad! I can listen!"
The door slammed open and all the guards readied themselves except for Goo who poked at the finger on the floor with a stick that appeared in his hands. Poppy rushed into the room behind the girl Vendetta.
Vendetta smiled and smashed her forehead into Yami's mouth and knocked her to the ground. Kovik sighed and stood, smiling and apologizing to the Chairman while he precisely hit Vendetta on the neck. He grabbed the back of her shirt while she slumped over.
"Sorry, its very rare for a new kid to act out in this way"
He held her to me and let her fall into my arms, I then passed her to Xan. He hoisted her up and over his shoulder. I glimpsed over at Poppy, she looks worried and tried to distance herself from Kovik and Yami.
"Heh, she knocked out my tooth" Yami spit out the tooth and swallowed the blood in her mouth though a few drops dripped down from her lips. "I know what I want from her now" She started getting uo from the floor but I put my foot on her chest and kicked her back down.
"Poppy how's that girl's eye?"
She didn't look at me but she started talking while she was fixated on the girl under my shoe's. "The doctor here said she's going to be blind in that eye"
"Kovik, she damaged two other of the teens who passed, I could deal with her now and train the rest"
"Y/n we're not discussing this again, she lives, you and Naroo will train her but she'll live here"
Yeah, until she kills one of the 'guests' you have over. Yami grabbed my ankle and tried to push it off of her. She grunted in frustration and started laughing when I applied pressure, she laughed harder and started coughing saying she couldn't breathe while pushing at me.
I let her go, I pulled Poppy to me and away from her. "I already have decided to train Poppy so I don't know if I'll have time for that"
"I don't care, you have the rest of your week off of missions, all you have is time, I can always have someone else train Poppy. Anyways, all of you leave so me and the Chairman can talk"
I sneered at Kovik and made sure he saw me, I shoved Poppy ahead of me while I stormed out, not bothering to say bye to Kovik or the other guy. "Show me to the injured".
Poppy didn't nod, didn't say anything only walked back downstairs and into a room that usually Kovik had empty. Two small beds with a curtain around them, the room smelt sterile unlike how it did a few months ago when it was just an extra room, one that he let me use for... interrogation.
For some reason Gun and Goo followed us to the room. I slowly pulled back the curtain and the girl was sleeping with a white turned crimson bandage over her head. "I have an idea" I grinned "Yami training starts now"
I grabbed her neck and dragged her behind me outside, ignoring Naroo and Xan's protests. I slammed her face down into the dirt and pulled off the black button up I had on over my suit and let it fall to the ground beside me,
"If you can feel fear I'll find out".
I glared at her, ready to see how brutal I'd get to be with her. I could feel the anger swim through my veins and swarm my head, her twisted, almost sadistic smile on her face just made me want to kill her even more. The stare she gave was as if the anticipation of being hit was almost as exciting as neing in the actual fight.
Yami waited patiently for me to do something, she hadnt even put up her hands to block herself from me. When I'd land a hit she would burst out laughing, as if pain was some sort of twisted pleasure for her.
"Go ahead!" Yami cheered, her body unwillingly flinched out of the way. Pure instinct moving her out of the way.
"Fucking guard yourself!" I slapped her, not putting much force behind it. She beamed at me, "I'll still get hit won't I?".
I wrapped my hands around her throat and shoved her beneath me, "What is wrong with you?" I whispered "Tell me, why are you so fucking happy?"
"I don't know, tell me why am I happy?" She asked, a wavering gleam in her eye that only a crazy person would have. "I see things" She whispered, "Everything's blurry except for what I see, and they always are doing things, I think it's funny"
She coughed again, I slammed the back of her head into dirt and she began laughing again, it wavered and when she heard it she only laughed harder with tears forming in her eyes. I let her go, backing up a few feet, "Why don't you train woth these freaks? They like pain too"
"Really?! Are you like me?" She tilted her head in a sweet manner. Gun and Goo talked to each other and Goo started shaking his head, "No! I like my fingers!"
Gun chuckled and kicked him out to her. She sat up with her legs crossed as she gazed at Goo. "Heh, you're like a little mouse" She giggled, the tears gone already, "Do you like weapons?" She asked as she got up, her legs shaking under her.
Goo perked up at thee mention of weapons and he nodded. "Look at what I made" Her sweet smile was shadowed by the bitter truth of her nature. She walked by a bush and pulled out a black sledge hammer with a spike in the middle. "I was gonna use this in the test but it didn't fit in my coat" She frowned.
Naroo stood, waving both his hands "Bad idea", Xan stopped him and smacked his head, "I wanna see what'll happen, see". Goo had a shovel in his hand.
As Yami and Goo studied each other it was clear that Yami was inexperienced in fighting. However, it was equally clear that she was not new to violence. There was an undeniable viciousness in her eyes as she stared down Goo.
Goo, on the other hand, was clearly an experienced fighter which I knew from experience with fighting him. He recognized Yami's inexperience and took advantage of the moment to mock her ruthlessly. Yami's face twisted into a sweet sneer as she attempted to swing her sledgehammer at him only it was to heavy for her thin build and it easily took control of her.
Goo easily dodged each of Yami's wild swings and countered with a quick jab, landing a hit to Yami's face. With a crazed grin, Yami attacked again, this time with more precision.
However, her lack of experience was almost funny to Goo as he easily took control of the fight. He moved quickly, landing quick, weak blows on her. He taunted Yami relentlessly, laughing and joking while landing punch after punch.
She growled at his taunting, using her hammer and legs to land staggeringly brutal blows on Goo, well as brutal as she could. It was apparent that Yami was determined to draw blood no matter what, even if it meant being toyed with. Goo wasn't trying to even hurt her, just messing with her and getting her angry.
He never once seemed to falter under Yami's assault. His experience showed as he deftly avoided each of her increasingly desperate attacks. Although Yami was able to inflict some wounds and bruises on Goo, they appeared to barely phase him.
The fight finally came to an end, Yami on the ground, blood pouring from her nose from a jab that Goo sent to her nose, she was smiling manically through her pain.
"I don't usually fight women, but it doesn't look like you feel it anyways"
She grunted as she got up, "I want your useless fucking eyes", she spat her blood at him and it landed on his shirt. "Ew, gross" He tried rubbing it of with his hand then wiped it on Gun.
"Gross? At the hospital the man would make us drink it" She stuck her pinky out and put her thumb to her mouth and tilted her pinky up in a drinking motion. Then she started humming "Blood, blood, hmhmhm.. give them blood".
"This kids fucking weird" Xan yawned, "Can we go, I wanna go home, and I'm sure Koviks pissed at you for beating her up"
"I don't care, she's like that black eyed creep, she likes it"
Goo dropped his shovel, "Ew". She glared at him with a sugary smile, "I don't get that kind of pleasure, let me tell you tall guy, the nurses would love you, they like when you can't feel pain"
"Okay, yeah we're leaving" I didn't want to be here anymore and I felt sick listening to them talk. "Finally!" He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder like he did Vendetta, only she was gone now, "Where's the girl?"
"I tossed her in the car already, you're collection of assassins in growing"
Naroo stayed behind for a little bit, waiting till we were out of earshot, what's he doing?
•°○°•
『Naroo's Pov』
I watched the girl, Yami, help herself up. I couldn't help but glare at Gun from the side of my eyes, my arms were crossed over my chest. Something I've always hated when I first joined Kovik and his academy was when I'd go after my victims and have the beg the 'White Ghost' for mercy.
"Whats with that look you're giving me?" He eyed me, his sunglasses blocking me from seeing his demonic eye's.
"Are you even looking at me? I can't tell either those fucking sunglasses, why are you wearing those? It's cloudy out, there's no sun out for you to need those glasses, are you trying to match your buddy?" I stopped myself and put my hand over my mouth, "Oh is that like a couple thing? Sorry! I won't talk about it again".
A shovel went flying past my face. I used both my hands to grab it in worry that it'd hit Koviks house. "Hey, even if you don't like the obvious that doesn't mean you get to act like a child, what's so bad about him?" I pointed to the bleach blond. "Yeah, What's so bad about me!"
Gun smacked the blond and it quickly escalated into a brawl between the two. Both giving the other hard blows to the face and body. They only stopped when I started laughing, "I want to get Y/n and Xan back here so we can place bets"
They both stopped, Gun pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. Right when he was about to inhale of the all too familiar smoke of nicotine Xan popped up behind him and the other guy. He grabbed Guns cigarette and put it out on his tongue before coughing and smacking the air to get rid of the smoke. Gun looked at him like he was crazy and tried to grab him but he ducked and ran, using the bleach blond as a shield. Whenever Gun hit the guy it felt like he was missing on purpose.
He gave up and pulled out another cigarette but Xan knocked the whole carton out of his hand and took the one he pulled out, letting it fall under his shirt... then he ran while Gun charged after him, Gun's partner ran slowly after Gun but he obviously didn't care to much. He seemed just, bored.
"Ugh, XAN!" I shouted by the backdoor of Koviks house. I heard him shout 'what?' Back at me from where ever Gun was chasing him.
"Let's go!"
I saw Xan running back towards me, his white hair blown back while he ran, he mumbled incoherent words until he was right next to me. The blond sped by me much faster then he was before. Xan was now shouting "Shit! fuck! GO, GO, GO!".
I stood confused until I watched as Gun skidded around the corner with a fucking knife in his hand, "Oh shit!" Xan grabbed my arm and started running with me. While we ran I watched Gun give a smaller knife to the girl Yami and she jumped and cheered before running off and he immediately began chasing again.
"Pff!- What the fuck?!"
He slowly got closer, Xan stopped running and ducked, he yanked me down with him. My hands shot out to the ground right before my face could collide with the ground. I looked back and watched as Y/n ripped his shirt and tied it around his hands then took the knife. "I know you all like games but come on I want to go home, I miss Pan"
I sighed, relived. I'm glad I didn't have to run anymore. It's only fun for so long... until you get tired and he tries to kill you.
"Oh is he done?" Gun's partner peeked around the corner. We all nodded and he did a comical 'Phew'.
°•○•°
♤Your Pov♣︎
I let Gun go and he just held his ripped shirt in his hands, like he didn't know what to do with it. Goo ran over and pulled on my arm like a child, "Gun said when he dropped by your place he got food! How come when I was there you just tried to hit me!"
"You freaked out first, chain reaction, and completely your fault"
"You should make me some food, the ugly fuck over there doesn't deserve food" He whined. "Goo if you ever come into my house unannounced I'll cook you and feed you to my dog".
"Then I'll give you a 5 second notice" With that he ran off before I could throw him around.
~■-■~
"Naroo, I'm sending all of you, including the school kids to a movie when we get home". At least the ones that might drop in on me randomly, so Daniel and Vasco and his boys.
"Okay, why?"
I leaned back into my seat, looking sleepily out my window, "Because I want some time to do my work alone, though I might have Pan stay, I haven't seen him all day"
"So I have to babysit? You know trouble follows Daniel everywhere"
"I think he follows it, I've never had someone not freak out when they figure out my... Occupation. Instead he was upset and curious about it"
Xan pushed Vendetta off of him and over too Poppy so he could squeeze up in the front with us, "Well I think we should see how much he knows with enough torture he'll spill. Curiosity killed the cat after all"
"The whole saying is 'Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back'. The last part got dropped, probably so that It'd sound intimidating"
Where does he find these things out? I'm sure if I got curious Google could find it but I'm around him almost 24/7 and he only goes on his phone to text Anne.
... Just a bunch of freak is what we are I guess. Okay, tomorrow, that's when I get to choose either Poppy or Yami's first mission but I think we already know who's going. I shove Xan back into his seat and tap on Poppy's knee to see if she's awake.
... maybe?
She's out, must be nice.
Well being afraid is exhausting, I was tired after I first passed the test. The fear and fast heartbeat and for how long the adrenaline pumps through your veins. It makes you so tired afterwards unless you're used to it.
I felt myself getting more tired by the second so I started messing with the buttons, turning on the radio, turning on the AC, anything to keep me awake. A short 'ding' came from my pocket. I maneuvered around in my seat to grab my phone.
K
All missions for
tomorrow got sent.
I'm sorry for forcing
you to train the girl..
But no one else could
handle her and she'd
just kill anyone else.
If she can kill
anyone else who's
trained and lived
years more then her
that sounds like a you
problem.
If she's so crazy
shouldn't she be
your problem?
Listen if we could
just kill her I'd say
go ahead but the
quality of assassins
is a shit hole.
You don't have to decide
for tomorrow, I'll let you
have the red head that
day. But after, I have
a mission lined up that
I'll only give to you.
Test her
I'm done. He's lucky I don't slip castor beans in his fucking food, let the ricin take him. I just want-
I know what you want.