Chapter 1: Baretta M9

Kuga Natsuki believes herself to be a normal high school girl who aspires to join the military in her father's footsteps. All that changes when a highly trained assassin appears and somehow Natsuki is framed for a heinous crime she did not commit. Suddenly she is thrust into Garderobe, a secret elite school run by the government that trains the most talented assassins in the world, in order to escape her death sentence and take her revenge on the assassin that ruined her life. But there is more that ties Natsuki to this world of killing than this aspiration for revenge...

"Yo, Natsuki!"

"Hello, Natsuki-senpai!"

"Yo!" was the simple reply to all the greetings a certain dark-haired girl received on a normal Friday afternoon. Both seasonal and newer members of the shooting range club alike always stared in wonder and awe at the star-gunwoman of their team every time she walked through the field. Not only were her skills unmatched, she was both beautiful and intelligent, known as the idol of Fuuka Academy to boys and girls alike. What's more is that she was never the type to flaunt her beauty, brain or brawn. In fact she was quite the opposite, humble in every way possible and portrayed an icy, rebel-like attitude that kept everybody at a distance. Sure she seemed cold and serious at times but hey, that didn't stop anyone from adoring her all the same. She was the star that anyone and everyone looked up to.

To Natsuki, completely aware and slightly annoyed of her status at school, this was just another day to shoot a few targets down with a good hand-gun. In other words, her good ol' semi-automatic, 9x19mm Beretta M9. But of course, her desires had to wait for she had promised to train the lower classmen today…

"Now remember everyone, the most important rule here is to be safe! I don't want any accidents happening here, got it?" Natsuki's commanding and husky voice entranced her fawning students, absorbing every syllable that escaped their ice princess's mouth.

"Hai, Natsuki-senpai!" came the reply in unison.

From there, the 18-year-old took the time in being a good upperclassmen and demonstrated the proper stances and techniques in the art of shooting. She was irritated that most of them were more interested in watching herself rather than actually aiming where they were supposed to. Fortunately, the bullets they used during practice and even competitions were always tranquilizers or blanks depending on the occasion. They can knock each other asleep all they want 'cause they deserve it for not listening to the damn rules. And give me a break, I'm actually teaching here for crying out loud!

Natsuki inwardly smirked and snickered when soon enough two bodies hit the floor after tranquilizers nailed them, immediately inducing sleep. Although again, Natsuki was trying to be good today and held in her amusement by keeping her stoic composure, not that it was too difficult to do so, and simply dragging the dead weights to the side. The only reason why Natsuki even put the time and effort into this aggravating task was because she was allowed to have her own personal shooting time once the younger ones leave.

Beretta M9, Beretta M9, Beretta M9, that's why I'm doing this! was her mantra for the rest of the afternoon. It at least stopped her from incapacitating those who were currently giving her a splitting headache.

Natsuki's father was a proud military man who wished he had a son, but treated her like one anyway. He made sure she was trained in all forms of hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, and strategic planning. As a result, she did end up trying the judo, kendo, and archery clubs in school. However, shooting was her favorite and she ended up quitting the rest. The Beretta M9 that she so very loved used to be her father's gun which she secretly treasured because of the fact it was his, not because of its sleek and efficient make and model. Of course I would never admit it.

By the time Natsuki headed home, the sky was already full of orange and pink streaks from the setting sun. She spotted some kids on bikes from afar, whooping and hollering for whatever reason. As they passed by, a small smile spread on her face. Damn delinquents. She remembered the old days in middle school when she was a delinquent herself, skipping school, vandalizing walls and causing chaos wherever she and her gang felt like it. Good times, good times. Natsuki cleaned up her act when she started high school due to the fact that she really cared if her father took pride in her. She fully planned on joining the military one day and decided that her father's approval was what mattered above all. Yes, my old man is my role model. Got a problem with it?

As Natsuki was about to reach for the doorknob to the front door of her house, her hand froze before it even touched its copper finish.

What is that? Ugh…there's this feeling in my gut. Something's off here. How can I tell? The heck I know…I just do.

The doormat was a little off-center and there were too many leaves on the porch. Yes, little details that could easily be played off as unimportant stood out to Natsuki at the moment. But the thing that truly confirmed her gut-feeling was the fact that all the curtains to the living room windows were drawn closed. Her father would always leave both curtains halfway open, some kind of OCD that he had with the "balance" it creates.

He should be home by now…

To that, Natsuki simply shrugged and rolled her eyes in annoyance rather than alarm.

The old man is up to his old tricks again. Does he seriously think that these fake break-ins and attacks prepare me for "the real world"?

Her father had already put her through countless mock scenarios in the past. Some were so extreme that he once asked a dozen of his military colleagues to set the scene up for his daughter, a house filled with hostages, a time bomb, gas masks and an enemy with unlimited amounts of weaponry all while the poor girl was temporarily drugged up to dull her senses.

Natsuki sighed in exasperation, rubbing the back of her head in annoyance. Fine then. The faster I finish whatever "mission" there is, the faster I can play my Xbox. Yeah, don't make fun of me for having such a shallow form of happiness.

Immediately, her bright emerald eyes steeled with determination and she took a deep breath, sharpening her senses to deal with the situation at hand. She pulled back the hand that was about to open the front door and bolted to the side of the two-story house. She found her alternate entrance when she noticed that the window to her room was open. With agility and nimble feet, Natsuki climbed the tree next to the house, jumped into the room on the second floor and landed with a somersault to deafen the landing. Once inside, she pulled out her pistol and kept it at the ready while she exited her room and hugged the hallways, searching for any signs of movement.

What the—I would have expected something to come at me by now. I hope the old man didn't grow soft on me. The thought that her father might have underestimated her abilities irked her to some extent.

Once she reached the bottom of the staircase she carefully scanned the area, again no signs of movement. Ok, now this is getting weird—

"Argh!"

What? Otou-san's voice? Coming from…

"Come now, all you have to do is give me the information I need and I'll be on my merry way," A chiding voice rang clearly through Natsuki's ears.

It's coming from the kitchen! Natsuki silently moved towards her destination. She was now keeping her back against the wall, hiding her presence from the two individuals inside the next room. She was so close to the two that if she simply spun around and entered through the doorway, she could easily take her shot. But before she acted on such rash thoughts she listened in on the conversation now going on in the room, trying to steady her breathing and heartbeat to an almost nonexistent state.

"Do you really want me to resort to more violence? Because I don't. Frankly, it's a waste of time and effort and I find myself to be kind of anti-sadistic at the moment." Her authoritative and sharp voice was picked up clearly by a close-by Natsuki.

A woman? Since when has Otou-san ever used a female in these training scenarios?

"I already told you. You're not getting a single thing out of me, so you might as well get rid of me now." The sound of her father's voice was strong, but a bit winded. Natsuki could easily tell he was in some kind of pain.

Holy crap?! Otou-san, I know you're not that great of an actor…you're really wounded aren't you? The dark-haired girl's eyes widened in realization, This…isn't a training session…is it? That woman…she's hurting Otou-san!

Before the green-eyed girl could even stop, an adrenaline rush coming from her protective instincts made her bolt from her position and point her gun directly at the enemy. Her movements were quick and took mere fractions of a second.

-Bang!-

A body hit the floor with a heavy thud. The enemy appeared to be a blond woman with long hair tied into one elegant braid. No, Natsuki didn't kill the blonde, only tranquilized. After all, her father never taught her to be a killer. Disarming was the honorable way to defeat an enemy if the situation can call for it.

"Na-chan? Is that you?" Natsuki's father's voice snapped her out of her examination of the body on the floor.

Natsuki's attention immediately turned to her father, striding up to him and untying the bonds that held him to a kitchen chair. He seemed to be alright, minus the few cuts and bruises.

"Otou-san, what the hell is going on? Who's that woman on the floor? Why was she after you?" The dark-haired beauty growled while struggling to remove the bonds, "Goddamnit, what the hell are these things made of?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright. You probably can't remove these shackles unless you get the key. Listen, Na-chan there's not much time. Go pack your things, you have to leave this place right now and—"

-CRASH!-

Black figures began breaking in through the kitchen windows, swarming the father and daughter.

"Oh shit."

Natsuki immediately sprang into action, whipping her gun out and firing repeatedly, never missing a target. One by one, black bodies began to litter the kitchen floor, all asleep of course. One attacker came close enough to land a kick on Natsuki, though it didn't disturb her much since she sent a tranquilizer up his gut right after. Once she ran out of tranquilizers, she hid behind a countertop to reload, bullets darting inches away from her back. She was about to come out of her cover and fire once again but was halted by a loud voice.

"You might not want to do that," that same authoritative voice of a woman echoed through the now silent, battle-heated air, followed by the cocking of a gun. "Come out with your hands up or your precious daddy here gets to eat some heavy metal."

"Ooh, my favorite type of rock music."

-Whack!-

"Shut up, old man."

That brought a small smile to Natsuki's face. At least the old man still has the energy to crack jokes. How the hell is that woman awake?!

"I'm waiting."

The dark-haired girl gripped her gun tighter, her knuckles growing white. What do I do? What do I do?! Calm down, Natsuki. There has to be a way out of this—

"Don't try anything funny because I assure you, the pull of my trigger is faster than any scheme you can come up with. I'll give you 3 seconds. One…Two….Thr—."

"Ok! Alright!...I give up! Just get that goddamn gun away from his head!" Natsuki cursed inwardly for giving up so soon, but she couldn't risk her father's life. Grudgingly, she dropped her gun and as it clattered on the cold, marble floor, she turned to face whoever threatened her. The dark-haired girl's eyes widened slightly when her eyes fell upon the blonde's apparent beauty. Two words could sum up what she saw. Hot damn. Though that didn't distract her too much since she was the enemy and that put more weight on her thoughts.

The stunning blonde with icy blue eyes pierced through her own as she lowered her weapon and instead pointed it at Natsuki.

"Good girl," the blonde woman cooed.

"Who the hell are you?! And how are you even awake? I swore I got you with my dart." Her face remained stoic, hiding the inner turmoil that was raging within.

"Oh, how cute. The puppy is growling at me," The blue-eyed woman chuckled softly then turned to the man next to her, "You never told me you had such a cute pet for a daughter." Her eyes met Natsuki's, "I see your father here hasn't told you anything, has he?"

Natsuki didn't reply, only using her emeralds to glare at sapphires while her brow twitched in annoyance. The older woman chuckled some more at the younger girl's lack of response.

"I like that rebellious look on you. It's…" she licked her full, red lips and leered back with lustful eyes, "…making me hungry."

A rosy blush came to Natsuki's face at the remark but she tried to hide it and barked back, "Y-You didn't answer my question. Who are you?!"

The blonde smiled and snapped her fingers. Next thing Natsuki knew, two black figures grabbed her arms and held her in place. She didn't fight back because she noticed that the gun was once again pointed towards her father's head.

"It just so happens I have a very fast metabolism, so a tranquilizer as weak as yours does not last very long."

Natsuki's eyes widened in surprise. Fast metabolism, my ass! What a monster!

"My name is Alyssa Searrs from the Searrs Foundation. Sound familiar?" Again the sharp-featured woman received no answer, "Of course it doesn't, considering how much your father has sheltered you. Let's just say we are a program that focuses on this country's underground assassinations and are always finding ways to advance our technology. Your father here used to be one of our top scientists, but quit because—"

An interruption halted the stunning blonde.

"Stop! Please she doesn't need to know! Don't get her involved! " Natsuki's eyes widened at her father's pleading. Assassination? Otou-san a scientist? Involved? She wanted to find out more but the woman, whose name she now knew was Alyssa, slammed the gun into her father's head, knocking him out cold.

"Oi! Don't hurt him!" Natsuki barked.

"I think me hurting him is the least of your worries right now. Point is, your daddy made this special serum, NK-124, a neurotoxin that allows you to control people with your orders. Though the Searrs Foundation was about to use it as a new weapon for all in the program to use, your father deemed it too dangerous for mass reproduction and use. After he left the organization, I've been doing everything to get my hands on its formula. From what I've gathered, the key to the correct sequence in the formula is in his blood."

"In his blood? So what are you planning to—argh!" A needle was suddenly jabbed into Natsuki's neck and a green liquid that glowed was injected into her. Her eyes immediately hazed over and she felt herself weakening. "What…hah…did you…hah….do to me?" She was alarmed at how breathless she had become, practically gasping for air.

Alyssa moved closer to Natsuki, grabbing her chin and lifting her head so that their eyes could meet. The two figures let go of Natsuki, a sign that she was no longer deemed a threat. "This is our own version of the NK-124, though it doesn't last long and has horrible side effects. But it's long enough for me to do this," She put her gun in the younger girl's hands.

"What…hah…are you going to make me do?" The neurotoxin numbed her senses to the point where she couldn't even feel her arms and legs but she miraculously remained standing.

"Simple," The tall blonde only moved closer, pressing her body against the younger girl as she spoke, making her smile even more when she felt the smaller body shiver against her own. "My mission was to terminate your father and gather his blood. But now that you've come into the picture, I think this will be much more fun." An amused smirk graced the blue-eyed woman's lips. "I suggest you don't fight against the drug. The more you do, the more it destroys your body after its effects wear off." Then, if it was even possible, Alyssa moved even closer to Natsuki, her lips almost brushing against her ear as she whispered her command. "Now...kill him. I order you to kill your father."

Natsuki's eyes widened in horror as her hands unwillingly lifted the gun into the air, "No. No, fuck you! No, you can't make me!"

Alyssa backed away from the younger girl and chuckled, "I'd like to see you try, though I strongly advise you not to."

Strongly advise you not to my ass, I'm not about to give up and kill my own old man! Steeling her determination, she devoted every ounce of strength and willpower to stop herself. Though, the drug was too strong and the gun was eventually lifted to aim directly at her father's head. From afar, the dark-haired girl appeared to be frozen in place with a gun in her hands, though the older woman could see her muscles twitching violently, unable to distinguish between the drug's messages and her brain's.

"It's useless. You're killing yourself in the process." The blonde put on a bored look, however deep down she was quite entertained. Sigh, such a pretty pet and she's only making it worse. Perhaps if she lives through this I shall make her mine. Alyssa smiled at the thought and looked back up at the said girl.

"Shut up, you fucking bitch," Natsuki was able to growl, though she knew she was almost at her limit. Her muscles were aching and telling her to pull the trigger.

This internal struggle lasted for a few minutes, drenching Natsuki's back with sweat from the effort. Alyssa, on the other hand, was now very impressed, How can she stand it for so long? People always fight against it, that I know, but they last for only a few seconds at most. An amusing thought then came to the blonde's mind, bringing a chuckle to her throat. Let me try it again.

"I order you to kill your father by putting a bullet through his heart."

Natsuki gasped at the new order, bringing forth a new wave of strength from the drug. No! I can't stop it! Don't aim for the heart! She desperately pleaded her body to follow. Just disarm him! DISARM HIM! Remember what Otou-san taught you! YOU MUST NEVER KILL UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. AND THIS IS SOOOO NOT NECESSARY! PLEASE! JUST DISARM HIM!

-BANG!-

The gun slipped from her hands and clattered on the ground. Her heart was banging so hard in her chest that she could feel the blood rushing through her ears. The drug was still in her system, so she couldn't even move.

"Tch," The blonde turned away in disapproval.

I did it. I did it! A perfect flesh wound. No arteries, no bone, no major nerves or organs. The dark-haired girl's mind sighed in relief.

Alyssa strode over to the younger girl and grabbed the gun that had fallen to the floor. "Insolent little girl. That was a very interesting show, but you've wasted enough of my time for today."

-BANG!-

"N-No…NOOOOO!" Natsuki's scream of agony pierced through the air. The older woman had shot her father straight through the head. "No! How could you do that?! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" Something in the young girl snapped, causing her to spring onto the blonde and strangle her neck with her bare hands. They toppled over with Natsuki on top, attempting to crush that cursed woman's windpipe with all her might. Though, the woman underneath seemed unperturbed.

"Oh, look at the time. Your ten minutes under the influence of that drug is up." She said it so sweetly that it caught Natsuki off-guard for a few seconds.

"What? AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly, every part of Natsuki's body started to spasm uncontrollably. Hot white pain seared through her very being, so strong that she was beginning to have difficulty distinguishing between pain and reality.

"It makes sense for the drug to have such an effect on you. After all, you struggled against it for so long. But I did tell you, the longer you fight it, the more it harms you." The blonde could not believe the reaction that the girl was getting from the side effects of the drug. The most I've ever seen is a bad fever. But I suppose this is the result after actually disobeying me. How did she even do that? This girl…she interests me.

The blonde woman stood up swiftly, leaving the writhing Natsuki on the ground, who began to froth at the mouth. Pity, by the looks of things the girl won't make it. Oh well. With a stoic face, she pulled out a glass vial, collected what she needed to and finished her job. She turned to leave but was stopped by something that grabbed her leg.

"I'm…gasp….kill…gasp …you bitch…" The teen had crawled over to the older woman, desperately trying to avenge her father but the pain stopped her from even forming coherent sentences.

"Oh, so admirable," The blue-eyed woman flipped Natsuki onto her back with one kick, "Sayonara, Natsuki-chan. I do hope we meet again, that is, if you're still alive." With that, the Searrs heir left, leaving no trace that she was ever there.

Meanwhile, Natsuki lay still on the floor, succumbing to the pain induced by the side effects and slowly slipping into unconsciousness. Is this what death feels like? Tch, that sounds way too…cliché…

Natsuki…

Okaa-san?

Natsuki…

Okaa-san, is that you?

An older woman who looked like the exact replica of Natsuki appeared before her. Natsuki reached a hand out desperately, but the image disappeared into nothingness before she could touch it.

Okaa-san! I miss you…where are you? Why did you leave me? Leave us?

Us?

Us!

A glint of emerald eyes peeked through heavy eyelids.

"Ah, you're awake, Kuga-san?" A gentle voice coaxed Natsuki back into the conscious world.

Otou-san.

Blood.

Attack.

Alyssa Searrs.

Kill.

KILL!

Natsuki suddenly jerked upward from her lying position only to stop with a hiss escaping from her lips. Her whole body ached.

"Shhhh, it's okay, Kuga-san. Everything is alright and you shouldn't move too quickly, you're still far too weak. Now will you please lie back down?" The woman with shoulder-length, brown wavy hair gently helped Natsuki back into the bed. Her motherly tone had instantly calmed the panicked girl.

"Who—?"

"Pleased to meet you, Kuga Natsuki-san. I'm Youko Helene, the doctor who's been in charge of you for the past week," The woman in a lab coat who appeared to be in her mid- to late twenties seemed nice enough, though the teen was far from trusting anyone at the moment.

"Where am I?" Natsuki asked warily, surveying the bedroom she was currently in. It was quite simple, but elegant with its satin bed sheets, intricately designed carpet and ornate furniture.

"Please refrain from your questions, Kuga-san, until I finish what I have to say." The green-eyed girl was slightly taken aback at the serious tone that the doctor suddenly took. The doctor looked back at her patient and when she seemed to receive no form of objection, she continued, "You are currently at Garderobe, a government-run agency of Japan. We found you in a prison hospital and learned that the minute you recovered, you would be sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of your father, Kuga Akira."

"First-degree murder! Of my otou-san?! What bull is this?!"

"Please, Kuga-san, allow me to finish. As I said, you were in prison and sentenced to death. From what we've gathered, Alyssa Searrs from the Searrs Foundation is the one who set you up for the crime."

"I swear to god, I'm going to kill that woman," Natsuki snarled as anger dripped from her lips.

Youko cleared her throat in annoyance before speaking once again, "Garderobe always tracks the Searrs Foundation's movements; therefore it led us directly to you. Before you ask, yes, for the past few days we knew that Searrs had started moving recently. No, we did not know what they were up to at the time, so I'm very sorry it was too late before we could do anything. "

"Sorry? Tch. My father is dead and I was almost forced to kill him! And all you can say is you're 'sorry'?!" The young girl's voice cracked under the pressure of her tangled emotions. It took every fiber of her being not to shed tears in front of the woman she barely knew. The freakin' government knew about Searrs…and they could have saved Otou-san… As much as Natsuki replayed the "what ifs" in her mind, she knew that it was not Garderobe's fault that her father was dead. Alyssa Searrs was his murderer.

This was a lot to take in and Youko's heart grew heavy with pity after seeing the torture displayed on the poor girl's face. "We could have easily left you to your fate, but the higher-ups have found a great deal of interest in you. Whatever you did, you should be considered lucky because Garderobe has given you a rare opportunity to start all over again."

"Start all over again? What exactly does that mean?" At the moment, Natsuki was far from confused and was completely bewildered at the situation.

"Garderobe has given you two options: One, we return you to the prison we found you in and you accept your death penalty. Or two, you will join Garderobe and agree to be trained to become a special government agent. If I am correct, you want to avenge your father's murder, yes?" Youko watched in intrigue when she saw a fire begin to light in emerald eyes.

"Yes, of course I do!"

"Then, Garderobe will be able to assist you with that as long as you keep up your end of the promise," The doctor's tone of voice seemed to imply some warning.

"Which is what?" Natsuki's head had lifted from the bed in her enthusiasm and hope.

"Become a Garderobe agent."

"And what exactly does a Garderobe agent do?"

She seems so pure and innocent, I hate having to do this to her…but I have no choice. Youko looked straight into Natsuki's eyes, "Garderobe trains its agents to become the world's top assassins."

The doctor watched as the younger girl's eyes widened slightly. "So…you're telling me…that I have to become a killer? Or else…be killed?" The words sounded so foreign to Natsuki's ears. For all her life, her father had drilled into her head that killing was only supposed to be used as a last resort. For all her life, she was taught that taking someone else's life was a whole new level of justice that could only be decided by one's sense of good morale. For all her life, she was taught that disarming was right and just, the only way to go unless the situation is inescapable and calls for a death, which she had never been in. Now…this woman was telling her that she had to go against all that.

"Once you've have healed enough, you will be presented to the Garderobe Council where you will state your decision directly. Until then, please rest for now." With that, the brown-haired doctor turned to leave.

"Wait."

Youko turned back to find blazing emeralds full of determination, "What is it?"

"I've decided."

"You don't need to make a decision now—"

"I've decided…I want to…live. I will become an agent of Garderobe," Natsuki's husky voice was stern and commanding, the complete opposite of what it was a few seconds ago. There is no way in hell I will agree to going to prison to die for a crime I did not commit! I'm sorry Otou-san, but I will do anything in my power to avenge your death. Even if it means going against everything you've taught me. Even if it means I have to sully my hands in order to see the life ebb away from the eyes of Alyssa Searrs.

Youko remained silent for a few moments, as if waiting for the younger girl to suddenly change her mind, "Very well, I shall notify my superiors and they will decide on how to deal with this situation. As for now, please rest, Kuga-san."

And with that, the dark-haired beauty was left alone in the room, having only her thoughts for company. What the hell did I just agree to?

Author's Note: Review if you liked it! Keep reading because more will be on the way! And of course...Shizuru's appearance!

Please note that my Alyssa Searrs is a much older version that will probably not have much similarity to the original character.