The Assassin's Dream
Chapter 1
The music was loud- almost to a point of being unbearable- but the presence of the lead singer in front of the crowd was enough for them to ignore the gradual ringing in their ears. She was mesmerizing; and had every man's attention, but she only dared to look at one teenage gentleman in the crowd, the infamous assassin, Ryan Bordeux. He watched on, leaning on the rough cement wall towards to back of the music venue, and a small smirk played at his lips while he watched the young woman belt out her trials and tribunes through the electronic dance music her group was known for. He was drawn out of his gaze when he felt a slight vibration in the front pocket of his jeans. He withdrew his cell phone and sighed when he realized his small effort of pulling his cell phone out was only for a possible pointless text message. He absently checked who the message was sent from and drew a strong intake of breath when he saw the name. A shaky thumb pressed the 'OK' button to open up the message.
Ryan,
I must speak with you immediately. Please bring Elle along.
-Commander Thomas
The band was finally ending their final act of the night and the young female lead singer bounced off the front stage towards the boy she saw lustfully staring her down throughout her show. She mindlessly dismissed all the 'great job' and 'you go girl' comments coming from the adoring audience and continued on her journey to the back of the club. Her smile slowly drifted from her face as she saw the state the young man was in. His face had shifted from the one he held earlier to another of upmost worry, him failing to notice the girl who had popped up in front of his face.
"Ryan? Is everything alright?" She asked, expressing her empathy for the worrisome boy and laid her hand on his upper arm as a sign of her comfort and understanding- an attempt to get him to speak. The boy shifted his gaze so his eyes were at dead lock with the girl's in front of him.
"I got a text from Commander Thomas saying I need to speak with him immediately." He sighed, contemplating on how he would phrase the next part. It wasn't everyday that the commander would want to see the rouge assassin, Elle, and that only meant that Ryan was faced with another strong force of foreboding. The young woman continued to stare curiously at the boy, encouraging him to continue. "Elle, it seems that he wants you to come along as well."
Elle looked at him with astoundment. It has nearly been a year since she left her destiny as an assassin to be in a dance pop group. She argued that the group had actually a chance to make it big and they were nearly there- finally catching the attention of some LA agents and music producers. Catching and destroying soulless demons was not what she wanted to do her entire lifetime, let along her teenage years- the ones that were supposedly the best of someones life. Now her almost forgotten past was there beckoning for her return. "W-why?" She managed to sputter the one word that escaped her lips. Her shock was no more lessened when Ryan sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in towards him. She clinched the front of his Ralph Lauren polo shirt and laid her forehead against his broad chest. "I don't understand. He said nothing when I left and now- now he wants to speak with me?" Her words didn't make her feel any better and she shook her head and backed away from Ryan. "No. I'm not going."
Ryan only met her eyes with disdain, fretting over what he would have to tell her. "Elle, you know you have no choice. You are still a part of us even though you left. You are the infinite prodigy- an important piece to the assassins. Did you really think that they were going to leave you alone?"
The infinite prodigy- words she did not want to hear. Born with the mark of infinity on her lower right abdomen. That mark decided her destiny before she was able to comprehend words. She became the trump card; the one who will "save the world." His plea was returned with a snarl and her eyes narrowed at his betraying allegiance. "And did you think that I wanted this? That I had the choice? You're so naive." With that, she turned her back on him and started to make her leave towards backstage, but she was stopped by a sharp grasp on her wrist. "Let go." She clenched her teeth and tried to release the hold, but failed in the battle of brute strength. His power mirrored hers. It was only natural since he was so well-known- getting the occasional "let's go to lunch" or "lakers tickets, u in?" from people such as Zac Efron and Chris Pine. Ryan was a born celebrity. The American people relished the assassins, thanking them on many occasions for their ruthlessness and selflessness in killing off the demons that threatened their safety. She turned back to him, surrendering, knowing that there was only one end to this. She was going to see the commander, whether she liked it or not. She put a hand on her hip and feigned annoyance. "Are we going or not?" She let her hair fall along her back from the position it laid on her shoulder as she swept away in pursuit of the door, leaving a bewildered Ryan forced to follow in a path laid in fury.
The two teenagers stepped within the conference room, looking much dimmer at night than at the usual day meetings that were held. A stout man sat at the end of a large desk, his head resting in his palm, as he sifted through papers filled with statistics and observations. When he felt the presence of two familiar persons approach, he slowly lifted his forehead off his hand and smiled with obvious exhaustion at the two before him. He stood and strode over to the two, extending his hand to Ryan who took it in his and slightly bowed to the greater presence. He nodded in acknowledgement and moved over to Elle. His smile brightened as he took in the presence of the girl before him.
"Well, it's been a long while, hasn't it?" He asked, as he extended his hand out to the girl.
She hesitantly took it and replied with a mock statement of sarcasm. "Not long enough." Once she withdrew, she slinked back into a position of annoyance as the man sat back down at the desk before them.
Ryan was the first to speak after the man was back at his desk. "Commander, may I ask what you have asked us here for?"
The commander straightened in his chair and looked at the boy standing tall in front of him. "Ah, yes. You see, I have located the warped presence we have become aware of. I am going to send a duo team out to assimilate into the environment and investigate the cause of the recent chaos. Seeing that you two are my most capable warriors, I would like to send you out to investigate. That won't be two much of a problem will it?"
Ryan nodded towards the commander and glanced at an annoyed Elle before replying. "Of course not. Where, may I ask, is this strange presence coming from?"
The commander sifted through the papers again, searching for something. "Ah, here it is." He looked harder at the paper and drew it closer to his piercing gaze. "The location you will investigate is located in Japan. Karakura Town, Japan, specifically."
"Karakura town? I have never heard of such a pathetic place in my lifetime. Why can't we go somewhere more fascinating, like France or Rome, since I obviously have no choice on the-" Elle's complaint was ended with a sharp elbow to the side. She spun to fire a punch back at Ryan, but was stopped when he saw the look of authority resting in his eyes. "You fool," she spat. "Whenever did you think you owned authority over me? You really think you have power? What lies have these people been feeding you?"
Ryan stared at her shocked. "I-," he stammered, completely lost for words.
"Enough!" It was in turn the commander speaking up. "Last time I checked, you had left this association, making Ryan superior to you, and I'm not sure of your awareness to his promotion-"
"Promotion," Elle seethed. "You received a promotion, and you have the audacity to not inform me of it? Real honorable, Ryan. Obviously you have no confidence in your skills. Some things never change." Her fists were now curled up into tight balls, her skin glowing with white, red, blood-shot, lines threatening to rise to the surface. She turned- she would have no part of this- and left towards the door. A strong grip to her shoulder caused her to stop, almost tripping over her feet in the process.
The commander displayed no emotion to the back of the girl. He could almost see steam elevating from the furious girl, her rage flowing throughout her blood. He spoke. "I'm sorry, Miss Cristiano, but I do believe that, even though you self-proclaimed separation from us, still have no choice in the matter. You will depart, with Ryan as your escort, to investigate Karakura Town. Do you understand me?" Nothing came from the girl. The commander took this as a notion to continue. "The captains and I have been researching the area to see if there were any presences that resembled our assassin race. We found these "soul reapers"- odd spiritual entities that are in fact human but do not reside in a living human body. They ward off creatures, much like the demons here, called hollows. Be very wary of these so called soul reapers. They might have a part in this warped vision I've been sensing." He paused and smiled at the two assassins standing, slouching at exhaustion from the late night meeting. "Very well then, you two should be on your way. Good luck in Japan, and return to the U.S. not too beat up." With that, he smiled, and sent the two on the long and brutal journey that laid before them.