|CHAPTER 0|
{EPISODE-0}
[Refugee]
|Year 2002|July 7th|
|Location-Sichuan, Capital Of Chengdu, China|
"Dad, wanna see my drawing?" I called out to my dad gleefully, going down the flight of stairs, I lived in a rather marvelous home in Sichuan.
It was the capital of Chengdu, a lot of buildings were built next to one another, it was like a maze of a city.
And today was July 7th, my birthday!
We lived somewhere near the outskirts you could say, and I...
"Ah, has our Leo made another wonderful piece of art?" Dad chuckled brightly, mom was with my older sister who was 11, she skipped past a lot of grades and was doing great in her studies, they were currently discussing something I couldn't hear in the living room.
So was a so called brilliant genius, she was so smart and pretty!
"Yeah, do you like it?" Presenting the artwork I made, Dad studied it closely, crouching down to my height as he was in a thinker pose.
His left hand under his chin, his right hand rubbing the top of my head as he smiled.
"Is this your older sister?" Dad and I looked at the picture together, it wasn't too impressive, but hearing praise was enough for me as my Dad could guess who it was.
"Yes." I smiled cheerfully with a happy emotion embarking upon my face, "You draw a lot better than most kids your age." Dad said again, he had told me this many times before, I was 3 years old, but today I was 4 years old!
"Mhm." I sincerely believed my dad's words, because my art was from my dreams, I loved it a lot and so did my family.
"I heard that someone drew me?" A voice so pristine, like a goddess, her appearance like a princess from fairytales and fantasy.
"A-Ah, yeah." I nodded embarrassingly whilst holding the paper, my older sister sat down on the smooth wooden floor as her brown hair draped forward, her sparkling blue eyes like the sea.
"You draw so well Leon, do you love your big sister that much?" She giggled sweetly, Zin, that was her name.
"Mhm..." Flustered, I hid my face behind the paper, but Zin brushed it down and revealed my veiled face.
"Hehe~, well, I'll be going with dad so stay on your best behavior with mom okay?" Zin told me, squishing my cheeks with her hands, grinning so happily.
"Okay!" I agreed, Zin and Dad got off the floor and went out as they were already dressed for the outside, going to the garage.
"Mom, can you teach me more?" I ran over to my mom who had a strikingly similar appearance to my older sister, or well, my older sister took after our mom.
But she was more in personality like Dad, whom often said I was like Mom.
"Alright, so what do you want to make today?" Mom asked me in her usual calm yet soft tone, her face gentle as was her touch, letting me sit in her lap as she brought out a stack of paper and art tools.
"Um...anything!" I spoke with a quick answer, my mom was so much better at drawing than me, and whenever she taught me, I learned so much.
"Then let's start." Mom began to etch a pencil onto the paper, drawing swiftly as she dragged, guiding the lines along.
It wasn't long until she was done, as a gorgeous piece was finished by her hands, I always enjoyed our time like this.
"~"
Mom turned the television on, the news popping up first, I wasn't one to watch these type of things, but today just somehow felt different.
Staring off intently to the screen, it was of a criminal breaking out of jail, driving through...the streets of Sichuan.
Maybe coincidentally so, the criminal's name was uttered, "Relion Gaxfiel has broke into a nearby supermarket..."
Eyeing the screen intensely, it wasn't long after my mom went silent, it was like the world had come to an end.
-Bang-
A single shot from the barrel was enough for me to know, a murder was taking place in the area I lived in, and...as the shooting continued in that very market, the screen was going to flash to black until...my older sister appeared on it.
With dad, she lunged at the criminal, knocking him over, but the gun still in his hand.
The two scrambled against each other, trying to keep the grasp on the weapon, although despite the effort, it was a fatal outcome.
-B A N G-
This time when I heard the gun fire, this time however, was when I deemed today, as the worst day ever.
The bullet pierced my sister's head, the cops, the police force arriving at the scene.
The memory put into my mind, my heart bellowing with sorrow in a wild beat, my hatred seeking out a target amid its sharp jaws.
That was the moment I swore, to exact my vengeance against a single person, once I grew up...I would...
"Leon..." Mom's voice, usually, her demeanor was one of calmness.
Mom barely showed much emotion, always smiling and being happy for us, allowing us to do whatever we wanted in life, to pursue our dreams.
She was a caring parent, so fabulous that it was like a storybook.
But it was as if this moment, I seen an expression on my mom's face, that told me a different tale.
Rage marked itself into her eyes, though she faced me with the same or even greater amount of grief, she hugged me tightly in despair.
Now I knew, I swore.
That by oath, of if I ever found this man that killed my sister, I would torture him to death.
|Year 2008|July 7th|
|Location-Sichuan, Capital Of Chengdu, China, City Of Dujiangyan|
10 years old, though did that really matter?
I became quite invisible, I used to be popular maybe, symbolized by my art skills.
I went into a state of silence, my birthday kept secret because I didn't want to celebrate the day that my sister died on.
My parents were driving us to our cousin's wedding or something, I could be bothered less, nor did I care.
Sleeping soundly, my eyes closed, my mind blank.
Though my objective had never changed since then, 6 years passed, but so what?
It was a grudge I would never forget, although...something was shaking, it was a bit bumpy today out on the road.
We were traveling across a river on a bridge, it was very large too, it was a bit cloudy but you could still see the blue sky.
The sun wasn't seen during this time, so the views were a bit dull.
My life had changed drastically ever since my older sister's death, at least she got a burial, we had a ceremony at the funeral for her.
And that was when I first saw my other relatives, so many cousins and Aunts along with Uncles.
Three Grandmas, two Grandpas, five Aunts, five Uncles, dozens of cousins.
I knew that our family was well off, but to think...it was like this.
I didn't know much about my parents now that I thought about then, and so I researched a lot other than my studies, staying up late and all.
I found out quite a lot of interesting facts, so much so that it was unbelievable, keeping in contact with a few other relatives who told me things.
Family dinners or lunches, I had to be a perfect child in my elder sister's place, seeing what she had to go through now.
It was no wonder why she didn't get into a relationship, and so I decided to follow her path, this family...was a cruel turn of fate for me.
I dreamed and dreamed of fantasy, fiction, it was so endearing.
Now that I came face first to reality, my lenses to my new world, my real dimension.
(Leon Takuira->LT) - Why is everything always so...
Then my universe shook, an earthquake, a large one at that.
My head alerted, my senses jolting awake, anything and everything rumbled in a spiral.
It was a fall from great heights, into darkness, as our vehicle couldn't to safety.
Plummeting downwards towards the river below, alongside the broken rubble of the bridge, as our car sunk into the abyssal depths of the sea.
I couldn't think, or say anything, my mind and vision in a haze of a blur.
The only things I knew then, was that my mom took off my seatbelt.
The face of my dad smiling as he took me out of the car, my mom swimming out after, we made it to shore.
Before a incoming storm of debris fell from the bridge, my dad pushing me away into my mom's arms, as-
-S P L A T-
A huge amount of blood, trailed and splashed towards us, and a single arm was left out from underneath the big boulder art had...undoubtedly crushed my dad.
On my tenth birthday, I kept track of the dates, until the eventual day I would get revenge.
But who knew, that keeping track, of the days...would be so accursed like this?
My mom seemed broken, her eyes emptier than mine, we were...both machines of the same program, never to be fixed without the right tool.
And now, those tools were gone, our family...was never going to be the same, ever again.
|Year 2008|July 8th|
|Location-Sichuan, Capital Of Chengdu, China, City Of Dujiangyan|
A day passed after, a tragic death, a solemn ceremony held.
My mom did her best to take care of me, though it often left me lonely.
She had called some of our relatives, or someone she trusted, because as much as I didn't want to understand, I indeed understood.
Because I was an intelligent child, usually, that would be a blessing in its own right.
But for me, it was a curse, a privilege that was an ironic gift.
Aunt Halei, a cold hearted individual from what I knew, had arrived a few hours later, taking us in to her abode.
Despite her coldness, she was truly kind, she just...had difficulties in showing her emotions.
Like mom did, no wonder they were siblings.
Though they were also so different in terms of personality, but I guess that depended on experiences, and the bullshit life's unfair laws threw towards us.
And so days passed into weeks which soon turned into years, and...nothing bad ever happened again.
|Year 2011|July 7th|
|Location-U.S.A. , Central America, New York|
Transferred schools, and states, my mom moved us to America with a help of a friend.
My mom's friend, a strange tall woman with blonde hair, and onyx eyes that shined with a universe within them.
Briefing us as we arrived, and I managed to catch her name, hearing it by chance when heading to the bathroom whilst in the airport.
"Seras, you-" Mom was arguing with the blonde lady, Seras was what I presumed to be the lady's name.
"Hitori Takuria." My mom's name came out from the lady's mouth, so they certainly knew each other.
"...Zalriso, please..." I had never seen my mom like this before, the only times were when our family members died.
(LT) - Zalriso Seras...
It oddly sounded just right, the lady's name slipped off the tongue like so, smoothly.
And after that, eavesdropping, we embarked from the airport to a new place.
Tall buildings and many other things, a expensive looking car was waiting for us, as Zalriso went into the driver's seat, my mom entered the front passenger seat after leading me inside the vehicle whom someone was already sitting inside.
If I were to describe the person, who looked my age, no...it was instinctive, but I knew she was the same age as me.
13 years old, a girl that looked like Zalriso Seras.
Hair that dazzled like sunshine, the color of it was so golden that it was purely made of gold, but it had a pale color that made it addicting or like eye candy, so wonderful to the eyes.
And on that matter of subject, were her eyes.
I could see stars, constellations, in that dark sky.
Inside her irises, they were so blackened, but also so shimmering with such a beautiful scenery.
Skin so white in color, pale, but also so wonderfully proportional.
She was like a child model, a super child model.
I was so absorbed by her appearance that I didn't even realize we were out on the road, driving past many things, as the girl herself stared back into my eyes.
My mom was speaking with Zalriso, but I couldn't catch their words, a new feeling had emerged inside my heart then.
Solidifying its position, its embrace, as my name was soon called just so suddenly.
"It seems our children have taken quite the liking to each other, Hitori." Zalriso mentioned as my ears would redden from those words, as t wasn't shocking at all to learn of the fact that this child was Zalriso's because they were similar, but the way they acted were so different.
"Greet your new friend, my daughter." Zalriso would only speak in an elegant and refined tone, Alice seemed to analyze the conversation and her gaze seemed to accept her mother's commands.
"My name is Alice Seras, it's nice to meet you, may I know the pleasure of knowing your name?" Her voice was like an angel's, purity rang off of it, sparkling like sunlight.
"...I'm Leon, Leon Takuira." I flashed a smile like she did, it was the first genuine smile I had in a long time.
And so my life took another unique turn in an unexpected twist, like a novel, so was my life.
|Year 2013|???|
|Location-???|
My life changed by many, what I thought was a nice change was a worser one, and there were various things I forgotten or just didn't remember.
It was like my mind just blanked out, and I found myself in a camp, tossed after a contract with Zalriso Seras after or was it...during middle school with Alice?
Wherever I was now, was a place that strived for the strong, and only they survived.
It was an area where you had to kill to live, and I learned that the hard way, but with this...I could easily kill and get my revenge.
The first day I was there, kidnapped in the darkest night, midnight shadows took me into this living hell.
It was pure wildness, thrown into a mysterious land, where one had to build and start from scratch.
The only guideline, or description I was given read, "Starting from a age and land with no civilization, prove your worth by surviving and escaping this island, as you've been drafted into our order, Ariukat."
My last name reversed, I presumed it to be a code name for me, and so I began this journey of survival.
Traveling the land of forestry, it was the complete wilderness, animals and plants native to this region.
The only information I had so far, was that I was on an island, and I was drafted here or kidnapped.
So there was a chance there were other people here as well, seeing the contents of the letter and what I was given.
A combat knife was all that I had for now, but even that was enough.
For what seemed like hours was me walking, on this soil, I only went straightforward whisky making marks on the trees.
Of course I saw other symbols and marks too, which I assumed were made by people if not creatures from this forest.
And soon I came across a beach, in which I found a child on the shore, unconscious.
Maybe it was a strange emotion I held, or my emptiness subsided due to the care I had received after meeting Alice, but I wanted to help this little girl.
Examining her closely, my eyes always caught the smallest of details, due to me being an artist or so my dad...used to say.
(LT) - From the looks of it, she seems to be 4 years younger than me.
It was a guess, a scientific one, from the shape of her head and fingers to the palm, I used a lot of traits to deduce her age.
I was...15, almost 16, so she was probably 10 or 11 years old, to think this organization or whoever kidnapped me...took in children this young.
From whatever they were doing, whether it be an experiment or not, it was obvious they were going to use us for something.
And so my first log ended here, with details of my first day in that island.
|Year 2013|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
Days went into weeks, I was living with the girl whom I had took under my wing, she was more like a slave in terms of personality.
She had hair that was of unnatural color, a human being tested on by scientists, she didn't act quite like a human though.
But she was fond of me, we had made a little base together out of wood near the shore where I found her, but not in the opening where others could easily see.
It took us a few days to build our home, and she was dunked out, quite tired from all the physical labor.
But she was superhuman, hair that was silver with darkened hues at the tips of curled to, eyes that were of moonlight sonata as the steel inside gleamed like flaring lights at night.
Her outfit and attire was all pitch black, a dress so carefully made for the wearer as it suited the girl a lot, and from what the girl told me...she had lost her memories.
A amnesiac was what I had to deal with now, but taking care of her...made me strangely feel at peace.
So was the end of the second log I managed to write in my spare time, staying up again once more, as an owl of the midnight hours.
|Year 2013|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
I didn't know what day it was, but it was around September when I was took here, and at the end of the month as I count the days on wood notes I made.
Though because of my uncertainty, I didn't know if it was the next month or not, but the girl...she was quite an expert at hunting.
Was she a hunter before all this?
(LT) - Well her skills help me a lot getting food.
I crafted our furniture and made our meals as she caught them and brought the supplies to me, it was a good set up, a duo that was perfect for survival.
Having company was better than being alone, but saying that...
"~~~!" We didn't speak the same language, so it was hard to understand each other, but I knew a few words of what she spoke and she was a good learner as I taught her how to draw so we could communicate.
Whatever language she spoke in, it was not an Asian one as I knew Chinese which was my mother tongue, then including Japanese and Korean to which I studied hard for.
English was...a language I learned to read stories that were in English, because the people there were so interesting, but also so violent like all across the world.
Because we were all people, humans.
"You know I still can't speak what you're saying, right?" I spoke in English dialect, the girl puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms as it was the evening.
We drew on the sand, messaging one another, and...the girl never left my side so the only time I was alone was when she fell asleep.
She had a sort of anxiety whenever she was away from me, I took note of it as I knew very much of her habits.
And I never had to act as someone else around her, so I could always just be myself.
(LT) - Ah...she wants pork this time...
With the plants and materials I already had, and what we made, it was easier for me to branch out our recipes.
(LT) - What a silly girl...
|Year 2013|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
It was one of those sleepless nights for me, but maybe it was good I wasn't sleeping then.
-BOOM-
Catastrophe, an explosion, I would have died then if not for...the girl shielding me then.
She truly was superhuman, like something out of a fantasy world, what I wanted to become real had come true.
This very moment, was so significant to me, that it made my eyes shimmer with a light that relit the candle that had extinguished long ago.
Sparing no words, I grabbed of what remained of our base, getting a bow as I was confident in my aim as I assisted the girl in a few hunts before.
I shot straight and true, to the target that had attacked us, whatever was lurking in the shadows...would soon be unveiled during this minute.
"Ah-fuck!" A male's voice, Japanese, the arrow must've hit.
The girl went towards the source of the sound at a pace much faster than me, and so I followed the best I could, trying to keep up as we both arrived in a dense thick area of bushes where the male was hiding.
It was a boy, seemingly 13 years in age from a rough outline, his clothes were worn out and tattered.
Eyes that seemed to belong to feral animals, he was like a beast in human flesh.
Black hair and a gaze of green ivy, his skin a bit dark but enough to pass as a light tan, he had a few scars.
One on the forehead, quite small, then one on his left and right cheek, making the total of three scars.
It was like it was drawn on the boy, his eyes were quite lively.
"Hey, who ordered you to do this?" I asked simply in my calm manner, being threatening sometimes worked, but in this case with a child...
"...Why should I tell you?" The boy barked fiercely as the girl glared at him, pinning him down on the ground whilst disarming his weapons, what caused the explosion was a grenade and he had...a few guns.
But they were all types of pistols, handguns technically, nothing too special.
"Of course you have no reason to, but I need information, which is...the best weapon here after all." I mused with a chuckle, the boy seemed to study me, but his eyes squinted in the moonlight with confusion.
Then into terror.
"...The leader calls herself Wareme(Crack)." His voice stuttering, eyes jittering amid his sockets, his gaze shaking alongside his body as I pulled out the arrow stuck in his knee.
A scream of pain followed after, and there would be other things I needed to take care of later, but...I wasn't so cruel to kill off a child unless it was necessary.
That's how...my third log here ended.
|Year 2013|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
Entry of the fourth log, this was written after the journey.
During that night, the boy I took in was called Zachary.
He told me a lot about the island.
How it was a place to train assassins or so the natives born here were told, people who were abducted and bred here.
Three generations, and we were the fourth.
Their leader...sounded dangerous, but nothing I couldn't handle I suppose, because I went through worse.
"Italian." Zachary spoke unexpectedly out of nowhere as I carried him after bandaging him up, we were out in the forest at night, in guard for attacks.
"She's asking why you kept me alive, but you don't seem to understand what she's saying, for a guy who seems to speak Japanese so well." His deduction had me make my conclusion, it would look like he had a good analysis on me, but it was only a small part of my character, but to know the girl...
"What's her name?" I questioned him as he spoke in the same tone, the same language as the girl, before answering my question.
"Jeanne Rajani." The name the girl whom I spent my time with here, the sound and verbal indication of how her name was spoken, it was sad.
"I see...thanks for telling me." I spoke softly, as we jogged through the greenery, into the shadows.
"...I guess I judged you wrong." Zachary said with a scoff, after we relocated, I now had two children to look after.
(LT) - How bothersome...
|Year 2014|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
16 this year, keeping count of how much time had passed, so many things happened.
I celebrated the children's birthdays, Jeanne's which was on December 4th, Zachary on May 17th.
Or so I roughly guessed on the dates I made for us, and today...was the day I would go make our escape from this island.
Jeanne had learned multiple languages quite fast, so we could have a proper conversation now, since there was nothing else to do here.
Someday...I would tell the two of them about my life sometime.
|Year 2015|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
Fending off against battles of attrition, countless on end, defending and attacking.
Always winning, or at least surviving.
17 now, nothing new.
I earned a lot of scars, I tried to keep injuries to a minimum, but they kept piling up.
At least the kids didn't get any, that just meant I was doing a good job protecting them.
Fifty log entry by the way-
"Ow-" Dropping the pencil I made, a wooden stick with graphite attached to it.
I was on a bed made of leaves as Jeanne was washing off the blood on me, her eyes worried, or so her expression told me she was overly concerned-
"We can handle ourselves, so why do you keep putting yourself in danger for us?" Bringing this up again, Zach always shouted at me due to that.
"...Because, it's what I need to do, an urge of responsibility you could say." I spoke calmly, my mind was often bored nowadays, but to these guys...I was like a source of hope for them.
"...When we escape..." Jeanne mentioned, but I pat her head, ruffling her hair as I stopped her from saying anything further.
(LT) - What a death flag.
|Year 2015|???|
|Location-Mystery Island|
How old was I now?
It was snowing, probably somewhere in December or October.
But the raft was done, we built it the best we could from stealing from Zachary's old boss.
I could never kill her, since our combat abilities were similar, it was rough handling such a person.
"Let's go." Simple yet direct, we ran out, marching as this was the best time to sail.
We got to shore, the boat awaiting for us, we made a lot of preparations for this.
"So this was what you were up to." Wareme had appeared, she had skin that was tanned, eyes that were a brown hue, and an outfit that was of wildness.
"...Tch." Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I quickly rushed toward her with my combat knives, occupying her.
"TAKE THE BOAT AND NEVER TURN BACK!" I yelled this to Jeanne and Zachary, but this was mostly to Zachary whom had pulled Jeanne off in that moment, onto the boat as their weight pushed it off to the waters as they began drifting away.
"NO, NO, NOOOOOO!" Jeanne wailed, tearing at the air, looking at me with a gaze that I would pity, because...that was how I looked when I lost my sister.
"..." And so I parted my lips in code, saying it was all okay, and that...I would find them again.
"How touching, but you know that they'll run to a bit of trouble at sea you know?" Wareme mused with a twisted gleeful smile, but what she didn't know, was that we had a clear route to get out of this place.
(LT) - Though...
"And you look like you're on your last legs, what happened during the few months I haven't seen you?" Wareme laughed aloud mockingly, though I didn't have a trait that was the so called pride, not even a single shred of that remained in me.
Nor did any actual emotions, because...everything I lived for was probably already gone.
"...We'll see." Speaking ruefully, to myself, although she was indeed right...all that was needed was...
"Batch 14, apprehend them." A commanding air wrapped around the both of us, a voice that was like death, a set of weapons were aimed at us then.
"Take them to headquarters like the others, everything will be dealt with after." All of them hidden by a veil, a mask and uniform, not even a single speck of their character showed.
(LT) - ...Annoying.
|Year 2016|July 7th|
|Location-Seoul, Korea|
18, a lot has happened.
The bullshit I was out through, the trauma arising in me.
But I finally did it, after being thrown away like trash, thrice.
There wasn't much to say expect for the fact that...if...well, there was a lot I wanted to say.
This note I left with myself for so long, I left it somewhere, buried deep.
So no one would find it, so it would be left in my memories as long as I hated it.
My life as an assassin, a killer, ended here.
It was time to live anew, once more, again.
To a brand new reality.