So, this is a repost of a fic I wrote about four years ago under the name Roselilia which I can't access so now I'm posting it here. Someone reminded me about it and after some talk and discussing it with my lovely girlfriend, I've decided to try to repost it. However, I don't particularly like my writing style from back then so I will also be rewriting it a bit, just fixing it up. Story is the same, writing different. I have writer's block with a project I'm hoping to publish someday so I guess I'm just hoping this project will get rid of it and inspire me. This will be the only story I'll be reuploading. Also uploads will be sporadic. I used to update almost everyday before but I have a full time job with weird hours so I'll upload whenever I can but no specific dates.
Disclaimer: First few chapters are loosely based on the movie, Unleashed. Unedited.
Chapter 1
Dogs were useful little beasts. Teach them young, teach them well, and they turned out to be obedient slaves willing to do anything to please you. Give them a little praise, a treat here or there and punish them thoroughly when needed. That's all it takes. As smart as dogs could be, they were also very simplistic beings.
Haizaki grinned around the cigar resting between his lips, leaning against the soft leather of his chair. His sharp grey eyes watched the motionless boy sitting in the cage in consideration. He was quite small for his age though Haizaki had long forgotten when he had been born. It was probably from growing up in a cage for most of his life. It worked out in his favor though, when he went out to obey Haizaki's orders. Right now, he was on alert, his blue eyes that never held any emotions in any situations looking in a corner, so he could watch Haizaki from his peripheral. Yes, his dog was particularly smart. He knew directly watching his owner got him punished.
Haizaki's eyes dropped to the collar around the boy's neck. It had been around the boy's neck for about ten years now. It was a simple thing, a thin band made out of strong black leather. The skin around the collar was scarred from when Haizaki had put it on too tight but it had healed sure enough.
"You've been a good dog lately, perhaps I should get you a new one." Haizaki pondered out loud. The boy completely ignored him, didn't reply, didn't even shift his gaze. Haizaki didn't mind, any reply given would've annoyed him anyway. So instead, he chortled as he focused on the pile of money on the table in front of him.
Today had been a good haul. Sure, he had to rough up some people, but they paid the money he had given them with the owed interest. Of course, it was the interest that had them begging for mercy but Haizaki had little care for peasants who had needed to borrow the money in the first place. Haizaki was just considering turning in for the night when his cellphone rang. After some consideration, he shrugged and decided to answer it.
"I hope, for your sake, that this is important." Haizaki drawled as he propped his feet up on the table.
"Haizaki-san, I'm sorry for calling at this hour!" A voice dripping with fear replied. "I was just informed that Seto Kiba hasn't been in contact for two days."
Of course, it took Haizaki a moment to remember the client. A lot of people owed him money, he could hardly remember every single one. "That was the one who borrowed half a million dollars."
"Yes! You asked to be given an update if he stopped answering our calls." The voice said with rising panic. It was for a good reason, Haizaki was known to punish the messenger when he was in a bad mood. Heck, he didn't mind doing it when he was in a good mood either. Luckily, Haizaki didn't feel like torturing a minion that night.
"Give me the address." Haizaki ordered. He memorized the information given to him before he hung up. A yawn escaped him as he stood, stretching, before he walked over to the caged boy. The boy was growing, the top of his ungodly blue hair that refused to be dyed was beginning to touch the roof of the cage. Perhaps instead of getting him a collar he would be generous and get him a new cage. "Time for work, Kuroko."
The boy got out of the cage immediately once it was unlocked and he stood, staring ahead blankly as he awaited orders. A simple snap of his fingers had Kuroko following him out of the room with a grace that contrasted almost obnoxiously with Haizaki's gruff demeanor. It didn't take them long to leave the building and get into Haizaki's favorite black car that had costed him a fortune.
"Same procedure as usual. Seto is late with his payment and now ignoring our calls. Either collect the money or kill him." Haizaki said lazily as he drove off towards the address. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Haizaki-san." Kuroko finally replied with a soft whispery voice not often used.
The drive was mostly silent save for the music Haizaki played. It took an hour to reach the location which turned out to be a nice modest house big enough for a small family. There was a for sale sign on the lawn though Haizaki could see through the windows that it was still lived in. Haizaki nodded to himself before he reached back, easily unbuckling the collar without looking. As soon as the leather left the boy's neck, the air grew colder.
Maybe it was the dangerous glint that appeared in those emotionless eyes that changed an innocent enough looking boy into a beast. His entire being changed, Kuroko's very presence fading until it was hard to even focus on him. Kuroko was by far Haizaki's deadliest weapon. If he had to choose between him or a gun, Haizaki would always choose Kuroko.
"Go." Haizaki demanded and Kuroko smoothly left the car without a sound not even when he closed the door.
Kuroko didn't go inside right away, instead he trailed around the house first, taking note of any detail though could come in handy later. He found a foolishly open window which he crawled through and he found himself in a child's room. The boy was still awake, playing with his toys. He didn't even notice Kuroko as he crept out, stalking the hallways for his target. He passed a laundry room with a humming woman folding laundry, but Kuroko didn't pause as he passed her. He only had orders for a single target, he had no reason to kill anyone else unnecessarily.
His target turned out to be in his study, rifling through papers anxiously. The man was middle aged, balding and what hair he had left was grey. Kuroko wasn't sure if it was from age, or stress, though he supposed it didn't matter. He slipped into the room easily enough, even locking the door behind him without a sound. He glanced around the room, taking note of anything that could be used as a weapon before he focused on the man.
"Seto." Kuroko finally said, knowing his target would never notice him otherwise. The man leaped from his chair, fingers clutching his chest.
"Who are you? How did you get in?" The man said, quickly getting rid of his fear and diving into anger. Sure, the coldness in the boy's eyes unsettled him but he was too small for Seto to take seriously.
"You owe Haizaki-san money, I am here to collect it." Kuroko said. He watched as the man froze in fear at the name, his eyes widening and a gasp leaving his lips. His hands went to his desk, rummaging for something.
"Please, I have a wife and a kid." The man began to plead before he grabbed a letter opener, brandishing it threateningly at Kuroko who glanced at it with disinterest. "Look, you're just a kid. Let me go and I won't hurt you."
"Do you have the money?" Kuroko asked as he focused back on the man, not the least bit perturbed by the weapon.
"I'll give him the money!" The man said, raising his voice. No doubt his wife had heard, Kuroko could hear her footsteps approaching the locked door.
"I need the money now." Kuroko said.
"I don't have it now! I'll have it soon, I promise!" The man said, hysteria beginning to enter his eyes.
"Honey, is everything okay?" His wife asked through the door.
"Call the police!" Seto barked and there was a pause before his wife hurried away, presumably to get the phone.
"You don't have the money now?" Kuroko confirmed. When Seto failed to answer, Kuroko almost looked sorry for him. Before Seto could say anything else, he was distracted momentarily by something fluttering to the ground. It turned out to just be a piece of paper but when he looked up he realized the boy had disappeared altogether.
That's when he knew without a doubt who he was dealing with. He had heard of the phantom servant Haizaki owned, he had heard the stories at least, but he had thought it a myth. After all, who could take a tale about a ghost seriously? Perhaps Seto should have, then he wouldn't have accepted the loan he knew he could never pay back from Haizaki.
A hand, such a small gentle hand, touch his own that was holding the weapon. Then, with one smooth movement the hand jerked his own so the blade was turned to his own neck. Then another hand, just as dainty, slammed the blade forward. It was so quick, Seto didn't even have time to react. Instead, he simply gurgled, blood spilling from his lips and down his chin.
Then, his knees gave out and he fell to the ground, life bleeding out from his eyes until his body stilled. Kuroko only stayed to make sure he was completely dead before he slipped out the window without a trace. For a moment, he stood there, staring back through the window at the body. The police would come, burst through the door. Perhaps his wife would be there, screaming when she saw the body of her husband. She would have to raise the child herself. The boy would never see his father again, never know why he was so coldly murdered. A sorrowful tale but nothing new to Kuroko who slowly returned to the car.
The moment he got in, the collar was back on his neck and Kuroko went limp like a doll. The glint in his eyes disappeared and he was once more just a simple boy and not the weapon Haizaki had trained so well.
"He's dead then?" Haizaki asked.
"Yes." Kuroko replied and Haizaki laughed as he drove away, the sound of sirens in the distance.
"Good boy."
.,.,.,.,.,
It was weird rewriting this and even just reading my old writing. This was the story that inspired my girlfriend to contact me for the first time. If it wasn't for this, we wouldn't have met and I wouldn't be moving to another country to be with her. So this story is important to me so I'm pretty happy to be revisiting it. Anyways, again, I am Roselilia, I just can't access that account so I'll be posting here. I'll try updating some point soon, whenever i have the free time.
