There was once happiness…
Because happy endings aren't always the best.
Shifting Midnight - There was once an Innocent Girl…
"AHAHAHAHA!"
A petite girl no bigger than twelve twirled around in her paper-thin dress, waving her metal staff around, flinging liquid red stars into the air. A cold, sick smile was plastered on her face, her violet eyes showing nothing, just a blank surface.
"Never. Never again!" The dim moonlight was reflected on her pearly white teeth as she spoke, the top crowns glinting almost malevolently.
They can never hurt her again.
Corpses were littered at her feet, yet she continued to dance, barely detoured by the rapidly cooling lumps under her feet. Who would care if she stepped on their corpses?
Dead men feel no pain.
Her dress, which was once white as snow, was now covered in crimson, staining it a dull maroon. The pigtails Mama had carefully tied with sparkly, purple ribbons to celebrate her birthday were now matted with dried blood along with her violet hair. Even her pale white skin was splattered with it.
Blood, blood, blood...
Everywhere she looked, blood was everywhere she looked.
She laughed again. Her maniac laughter echoed throughout the still, empty village.
She was the only one alive now. So be it.
Better her alive than them.
They hurt her, they hurt Papa and Mama, and then they burned their house down.
She will never forgive them.
Those tax officers. Those stupid tax officers. This, she gazed at the corpses, this was their own fault. Everything was their fault. Papa and Mama couldn't do anything, they were already dead and buried by the villagers. So instead, she punished the tax officers herself.
An eye for an eye.
She bashed their heads with her metal staff until they stopped begging for mercy. When they fell limp, she checked to see if they were alive by jabbing them in the belly with her staff.
They were dead. Perfect. The bad guys were gone.
She had hurried home, to tell her best friends and neighbors the good news.
"They are gone! I made sure the tax officers are gone forever!" she had announced. She had smiled her biggest, proudly standing in the center of the village, shouting out the good news to everyone. The villagers had stared at her in horror, noticing her blood-splattered dress and staff.
"What's wrong?" She couldn't understand why they were looking at her like that. She didn't do anything wrong. It was the tax officers, and she killed them already.
Shouldn't they congratulate her and throw a party to celebrate?
Oh, how wrong she was.
Slowly, the villagers began to move backward, the children cowering behind their parents. Her neighbors, her relatives, and even her best friends refused to meet her questioning gaze. Suddenly, a stone sailed through the air and slammed into her forehead squarely.
"Ouch…" Why did they throw that at her?
It hurts… It really hurts!
Painpainpainohmygodsomuch—pain...
She wiped the blood off her forehead as another struck her arm, forming a large bruise. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
No.
No, no, no—this can't be happening. I-I didn't do anything wrong!
"Murderer… Murderer… She is a murderer." Whispers became louder and louder until they became shouts. "Murderer! Murderer!"
"No… No, wait!" This wasn't supposed to happen! Where was the celebrating and the partying?
"Kill the murderer! Kill the murderer!" they chanted. More and more stones hit her small body, each one more painful than the last.
Each stone symbolized their betrayal, bruising her and cutting open her heart.
A heart that she thought was well-defended by her most precious people.
TRAITORS, TRAITORS, TRAITORS! They were all TRAITORS!
"STOP IT!" She screamed, covering her ears with her hands. But they didn't stop. Instead, it only increased the speed the rocks pelted her without mercy. "STOP IT! PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP IT!"
Still, jeers and insults spewed out of their mouths like poison, the flurry of rocks or anything they could get their hands on blurring behind her watery eyes. All she could do was swallow her sobs and choke on the toxic words aimed directly at her heart.
Please, please, please… She whimpered, slightly comforted at the gradual numbing of her limbs with every piece of stone. Stop…
A glass bottle sailed through the air, smashing into the side of her head, the shards digging into her forehead. She saw stars, beautiful stars waiting for her to come to them. But she didn't want to go just yet—she had to show them they were wrong. This pain was too much, too raw and deep. She couldn't take it anymore.
This betrayal… She will never forget this. If they turn against her, then she will turn against them.
A tooth for a tooth.
Emotions like sadness, love, and happiness were useless in this situation. Who needs them? All this pain...They were a hindrance to her survival. A feverish light entered her dull amethyst eyes. An echoing breathless laugh rang throughout the area. Slowly, she stood, brushing off the glass shards, uncaring for the sharp pinpricks of blood dripping down. Spinning her staff in her hand, she smiled, showing all her teeth.
"Goodbye, traitors."
With a sudden wild abandonment of emotions except the burning, scorching revenge singing in her veins, she had slammed her staff into their faces. All she needed to do was channel her anger outward, toward the villagers who hurt her so badly.
Hurt them, show them your wrath, and show them your anger.
Many had tried to fight back, underestimating their enemy.
Never underestimate your enemies. Because you now have one more...The one you created.
Others, seeing that they were losing, tried to run. She bounded after them, giving each of them a little twirl of her staff, killing them in one blow.
Kill them, show them your withering heart, and show them your pain.
She had to make sure. She had to make sure that they wouldn't get away.
Nobody gets away after this betrayal.
Now, she stopped dancing and stood there, a forlorn figure in a mist of bodies. No one had been spared in her killing rampage. She was alone, alone in this huge, empty world.
What will she do now?
There is no longer a home to come back to, no family to take care of her, and no one who knows her true identity. Her role on Fate's stage has been played.
What is her purpose in living now?
Footsteps were heard from behind.
How could this be? She had made sure they were all dead. Alarm spreading across her face, she turned. And met the strangest thing she has ever seen.
"Who," she uttered quietly, "Who are you?"
His eyes and hair were the same color as the blood she had shed, crimson and flame. A star-shaped pendant hung from his neck, shining a dull maroon.
"My name is Infinity," his eyes flashed a brilliant ruby red and a smirk spread across his face as he continued, "And I came to offer you a deal."
"A deal?" she warily eyed him. He couldn't be much older than her; his jeans and hoodie confirmed that he was a teenager. Yet, somehow, she could feel the authority and power radiating off of him like heat from the sun.
"You could say it's a contract with the devil," his voice turned slightly darker and a calculating gleam sparked in his tantalizing orbs, "With your life on the line."
A teenage Satan, offering her a devil's contract?
"What are the terms?" Her curiosity spiked up. It sounded fun.
"You kill anyone I tell you to, and, in return, I will provide you everything you need. I will take care of all your needs, wants, and...Desires." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a glowing violet stone, "All you need to do for me is take out the trash whenever I say so. Easy, isn't it?"
What a dirty job… But her hands were already tainted, what is it to kill more?
Depositing the stone in her empty palm, he kept his crimson eyes on her as he coaxed her into wrapping her fingers around it. "You understand, right? Hang this Moonstone around your neck if you agree."
She gently held the simmering purple stone up to her eyes, biting her lip as she numbly thought it over. But, to be honest, there wasn't much of a choice left for her.
Her life… It no longer has any meaning. It's a void, a blank and empty hole. This will give her something to do with her life for now on.
A life that wasn't wanted is the life that needed a purpose.
This would be hers.
"I agree." She faced him with her staff in one hand and the other busily looping the string holding the Moonstone around her throat, ready for anything that would come in her way.
An evil for an evil.
"Name?" He held out a hand, ready to seal the deal.
"Aisha." She firmly shook hands with him, and the contract was ignited.
A contract that could either make her or break her.
"That's it?"
"That's all that needs to be known."
After all, the old Aisha was dead. Forever.
If she was going to live the way she wants, it was best to cut all ties with her previous one.
And a hammer of justice for those who do wrong.
Dark New Moon - There was once an Easy Job…
Her job was fun.
In fact, it was so much fun that she didn't even care that she had to do all the messy work.
She was the one who protected from the shadows. She was justice in the world where justice didn't exist. Nobody would ever thank her for a job well-done.
Inwardly, she knows she's nothing more than a murderer with a twisted sense of right and wrong, killing other murderers, rapists, thieves...
Just kill, kill, and kill some more.
Perhaps she would also meet them again in hell one day, but really, who cares?
As long as she had Infinity… Nothing else matters.
Fear filled the air.
His breaths came in huffs and puffs. He ran through the hallways of his house, a seemingly endless maze full of twists and turns. His heartbeat was in a jagged frenzy, adrenaline flowing through his veins. She was coming to get him. The Witch was after him.
The one that destroyed evil despite being evil herself.
Oh why, oh why had he laughed it off? When she had sent him a warning letter, he had pushed it aside without a second thought. Just another petty assassin who was after him. Now, as he ran behind a door and locked it, he dearly wished he had hired bodyguards. It wasn't as if he didn't have enough money. Oh, he had plenty of that. It was just that he didn't want to share his money with anyone.
For now, he was safe. Pulling out his phone, he was about to call for help when a voice interrupted his actions.
"I just love it when the target runs to me. It saves me a lot of trouble, you know." A light sing-songy voice rang throughout the room, bouncing off the walls.
How could this be?! The phone clattered to the floor. Where?! Where is this assassin?! He frantically searched for her with his eyes, straining to even see anything in the darkness.
"I'm over here~!" The girly voice came from behind him this time. "You better start getting ready to receive your judgment."
He immediately turned in the direction he heard her voice in. In the poorly lit room, he could somehow make out the Witch clearly.
Too clearly.
Taking another shocked look at her, he burst out laughing in the previously tense room, not even bothering to keep his eyes on her now that he has seen her. "The Witch, oh what a riot!"
The one he was so scared of? Merely a girly little teenager who was trying to play hero.
"You think a little girl wouldn't be able to kill you?" Her sing-songy voice now gone, she faced him with a frown on her face. She felt like sulking and gave a loud sigh to keep herself focused on the target. "Eh, why does this happen every time?"
Oh, how she hated it when they underestimate her.
Nobody has ever understood her except Infinity.
"Die!"
Her musing was stopped short when her target lunged at her, his hands outstretched ready to snap her neck in half in a desperate bid for survival.
Too bad, too slow. Her survival skills were top-notch compared to scumbags like him.
Dodging his useless attempt gracefully, she smiled.
A smile that could fool millions. A smile that held no emotion.
Her staff, upgraded over the years, now resembled more of a piece of beautifully, sharpened steel than anything else. Lifting it above her head, she purposefully missed his head and instead, sliced cleanly through one of his legs.
"Argh!" He screamed as he fell to the floor, writhing in agony, but still trying to get away. She quickly killed that stupid notion by stabbing her staff through his stomach, pinning his body to the floor. "Please! Spare me!"
With a sigh of content, she leaned in closer and listened to his pleads for a while before straightening and abruptly beheading him. She stood in his pool of blood, hands busily shuffling in the pocket of her dark, violet cloak for something to write on.
"Found it!" she exclaimed happily. Pulling out a blank notecard and Sharpie, she elegantly scribbled the target's name and number, adding a little heart, in the end, to make it pretty.
Target #911: Richard Johnson - Checkmate 3
Smirking, she flicked it upon the target's body carelessly, letting his blood soak the card until the pure white spaces vanished.
Purity turned dark, drenched in dirty blood.
With a sigh, she stretched her body, preparing herself for the long journey back to Infinity's place. Blinking that thought away, she leaped through the window, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
Mission complete.
"Once you kill your current target, the next one is going to be him." Infinity tossed her a photo, his spiky pieces of black and red hair glinting in the moonlight. "If you succeed–which, by the way, is definite considering the training you went through for the four years while you were with me—he is going to be your 1000th kill."
She caught the photo with ease because he was right beside her, laying in the grass to view the bright full moon like they always do.
The photo was taken in a classroom—a math class, judging from the volume formulas on the whiteboard. Target #1000 was sitting in the back, obviously trying to stay awake with his half-lidded eyes. Male. Slightly tanned and well-toned muscles. Likely athletic. High, sharp cheekbones. Spiky, scarlet hair. Matching blood-red eyes.
But that looks like…
"Infinity…" she breathed, looking back and forth from the photo and to the real-life Infinity right in front of her. "This…This is you!"
"No, it's not, Aisha." His smirk was replaced by a bitter smile as he leaned closer to her, lips slightly brushing her outer ear. "This target is special; I saved him last just for you."
"Who," she had to know, "Who is he?"
He was quiet for a while, before heaving a long sigh. She shivered as his fingers reached up to play with her curly pigtails, undoing the satin purple ribbons that tied them up. Her long hair fell, framing her small, childish face at strange angles. Leaning into his hand, she rested her head on his lap. Tucking a stray piece of violet hair behind her ear, he finally spoke.
"Target #1000 is… my younger brother."
"Y-your brother?" she couldn't help but stutter. Infinity frowned at her for missing the proper manners in the current situation, but her brain was trying to sort the life-changing fact and failed to notice.
It was too hard to take in at once. A brother. An honest-to-god brother. Infinity never offered up information from his past willingly. To be honest, he got rather irritated whenever she asked. An irritated Infinity was a grouchy partner-in-crime, so she usually just left that thorny topic alone. But now that he said that...
Questions by the thousands more bloomed in her mind. Were he and his brother close? How come she'd never heard him mention this person? Did his brother do something evil? Of course, her mind snapped at her for even thinking of that thought, why would Infinity tell you to kill someone innocent?
"I have to go now. Those useless police officers have caught on my trail just a while ago, so I won't be back here anytime soon. You know how to contact me if anything happens."
He didn't answer any of her protesting questions. Instead, he stood and flipped the photo over, revealing his distinct loopy handwriting on the back. "This is all the information you need. Good luck on the kill, Aisha. I know you can do it."
With a smirk and a flash of bright cerise light, Infinity was gone, but his unspoken words still drifted in the air. Left unsaid, the pressure was immeasurable.
Do not fail me.
"Elsword Siegehart," she read to herself in the bright moonlight. "17 years old. Goes to Elrios High." A small frown etched itself on her face as she turned over the information in her head, trying to figure out why this whole situation gave her bad vibes.
Either she had got really paranoid in the past few years or...
Something about this target was really off.
1. Infinity always helped her get ready for every kill, but this time, he had left without a backward glance.
Maybe he was pushing her to be independent?
2. Every target has to have a reason to be on the hit-list. Greed, corruption, and even murder made the previous targets easy to kill without second thought. But there was nothing written about this target. Only his name and location.
What had this target done to deserve a death?
And why didn't Infinity tell her?
3. She didn't know what to do. Every target had a different way to approach or kill, and Infinity was always there to suggest ideas or ways to carry out the death… Kidnapping, torturing maiming, burning, blackmailing, etc.
What is she supposed to do without Infinity?
He was her supporting pillar, the only one she wanted—no, needed; she needed him so very much—to continue living her tainted existence. Their contract was her only purpose to live. She was his to control, use, and entertain himself with. Infinity was her life. Without him, without Infinity, she could just be dead, rotting in her village, and no one would know.
No one would care because a broken puppet without the master is quite the useless one indeed.
Infinity… What's wrong with you? Don't you know you can tell me anything? I would do anything for you… Why don't you trust me? You know that I would rather die than betray you, right?
Right?
Parting Eclipse - There was once a Simple Target…
"Hi! I'm Dimension, a transfer student!" She smiled as wide as she could, inwardly wincing from the pain of stretching her lips that far.
She had no clue what Infinity wanted her to do in regards to how to treat the target before she kills his brother, so she had decided to get closer to the target and figure that out herself.
Besides, Infinity wouldn't really care if the target was a few days past due his execution. He always had the mind of 'better late than never' anyway.
A breeze through the open back window blew by and her skirt fluttered along with it. She resisted the urge to pull her extremely short blue skirt down, and instead, fiddled nervously with her blue necktie tied neatly around her starch white collared dress shirt.
The class looked at her with boredom evident in their eyes, along with the instant judgment of her social ranking. Human kids were cruel in that way.
Just another brainy transfer student with no fame or fortune coming to a prestigious school like theirs. How boring.
But not everything is what it seems.
She didn't blame them too much, though, not with the subject they were learning right now. History was not an interesting subject, as most of the people they studied, for a lack of a better word, were dead.
"Dimension, dear, why don't you sit behind Elsword?" Miss Ariel, her very smiley teacher, pointed to the seat behind him. "Elsword, raise your hand."
"'Sup, new girl." He waved his arm in the air lazily in her general direction, not even bothering to raise his head from the desk.
Aisha supposed he was too stupid to learn even her fake name. She huffed inwardly in contempt, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. If he wasn't going to call her name right, then he would have no reason to complain if she gave him a bad name too.
Hmm, how about…Eldork?
Good enough. A perfectly dorky name for an idiot like him.
His head raised suddenly as she walked down the aisle, with his crimson orbs clashing with her lilac ones. Her breath caught in her throat, refusing to come out, resulting in her almost choking to death.
Because, because, because...
Fate must work in mysterious ways, Aisha decided, forcing her lungs to expel the stale air out. Staring into his blood-red eyes as she passed by him, she bit her lower lip in an attempt to distract herself and obediently sat behind him.
That color, that shape, that mischievous and sly glint…
Why does he have to look so much like Infinity?
It wasn't fair!
He already had something against her and the cat-mouse game hasn't even begun. This was going to be such a hindrance...
Already, she could tell there was a hard battle ahead, but that was okay, she could wait more patiently than a cat.
Cats were patient. They can wait for the mouse to come out of hiding for a long time, just waiting for the prey to give up. Really, it was a matter of perspective. Sometimes, cats are far more cunning than a mouse.
Infinity and Elsword are nothing alike, she convinced herself. They're completely different people who happen to look the same.
And only one of them has done an evil deed.
Elsword could feel the new girl boring holes through his skull during the whole period. The phrase 'if looks could kill' ran through his head not once, but twice. Seriously, if that was true, he would be six feet under and buried by now.
Like, WTF did he ever do to her?
...Hell, who knows?
Girls were weird like that.
"Staring isn't polite, you know?" he stage-whispered. His eyes met hers for about a millisecond before she denied it, her curly purple pigtails bouncing as she shook her head so fast she probably got whiplash.
Pigtails, he inwardly mused, were cute. As a full-fledged teenage male, he definitely appreciated girls and liked it when their hairstyles that attracted his attention. But, they seem rather childish on her.
"Am not." From the corner of his eye, he saw her puffing up her cheeks and reverting her eyes toward the doorway, the window, her desk. Anywhere, but him.
Huh.
Just like a little kid… How childish could she get?
He flicked his short, small ponytail over his shoulder in response to her loud huff and obvious attempt at a lie. Deciding against calling her out on her bluff, he tried a new tactic instead.
"I know you want me, but can you please control that urge?"
Even though she ignored him, he kept on whispering even more lewd puns, watching her get redder and redder with every word. Probing and teasing this new girl was so entertaining. He could do this every day, and it wouldn't bore him. Not one bit.
"LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT, ELDORK!" Finally, she snapped and jabbed a finger at him. If Elsword was an imaginative person, he might have even said he saw smoke was coming out of her ears.
Standing and banging her fist against the desk, she startled the half-asleep students all around the room. "I DO NOT LIKE YOU AND WOULD RATHER DIE THAN DO ANYTHING WITH YOU!"
He smirked, inwardly patting himself on the back for making her blow up so spectacularly. Then her words registered and he frowned. What did she just call him? Eldork?
"Ahem, Dimension dear, would you mind sitting down?" Miss Ariel herself looked quite startled. Elsword supposed this must be the first time someone actually interrupted her class since most of the students come only to catch their morning Zs.
"S-sorry." The new girl sat back down, trying to hide her now even redder cheeks by putting her head on her desk. "I hate you…" she mumbled, loud enough for Elsword to overhear.
"No worries. It's mutual, grape-head."
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The bell rang, signaling lunchtime. He stretched his arms and turned—only to find her missing from her seat. A sigh escaped from his lips. And he just about to ask what her name was too…
...Then again, why should he care? For all he knew, her name could have been 'grape-head' from her immediate response to it.
"Whatever." With a small shrug, he shoved all thoughts of the new girl aside and left to eat lunch with his friends.
The office door was locked while the principal left to eat lunch.
Figures.
She scoffed at the simple four-digit number lock. Do they want to get robbed?
Making sure that no one was around, her fingers tip-tapped over the electronic keyboard. Within seconds, the door swung open with a smooth click to reveal desks and cabinets stacked high with manila white folders, and wrinkled papers stuffed in every drawer. There wasn't a single camera in sight.
This whole place is run by idiots, but it's better safe than sorry, right? She nodded in satisfaction at the sheer possibility of the things she can now do without effort or getting in trouble.
Perfect. Everything is just perfect.
"Now, where could it be…?" Aisha pulled on her snow white gloves to make sure her fingerprints wouldn't give her away if she was caught and began searching for an important folder containing information. Specifically, Eldork's information.
She carefully put another folder back into its original place and tsked in annoyance. So many files to go through, and now she wouldn't have time to eat her freshly baked phoru cookies combined with her delicious tangy soda. It was her favorite too…
Simply dreadful. She will have to take it out on Eldork later.
Because it was technically his fault that she was here in the first place, missing her lunch time.
Student Name: Elsword Siegehart
DOB: July 1, XXXX
Age: 18 years old, senior
Family: Parents- {Status: Deceased}
- Elesis: older sister {Status: Deceased}
- Infinity: older brother {Status: Deceased}
(Currently living with a temporarily adopted family. Will soon need to contact them for important questioning).
Therapist: Dr. Clark
Temporary Address: 567 Dicey Sky Road, Bethma, Elrios, 23789
- WARNING: TROUBLEMAKER -
-See files attached-
She blinked rapidly as she reached the end of the file which consisted of a list of pranks Eldork had supposedly done. Somehow, processing these bits and pieces of information about him was hard. Who knew Eldork had such a horrible home situation? He really didn't seem like it… As cocky, loud, and stupid as he acted.
Hmm… I wonder if I can just take this without it being missed, she mused, spinning the paper around and around on a single finger. Judging from the natural mess of both scattered and towering papers around her, probably…not.
Stuffing the file none too gently inside the messenger bag she carried, she happily skipped out of the office, making sure to relock the door before racing off to her next class. ….Though her mood dropped dramatically when she heard her stomach growl.
Her phoru cookies and tangy soda… Phoru cookies and tangy soda… Phoru cookies and tangy soda… Phoru cookies and tangy soda… Phoru cookies and tangy soda…
She felt like crying her eyes out, but then remembered the reason why this was happening.
Eldork.
…her mood successfully plummeted to the seventh hell when she heard her stomach growl again, even louder this time around.
Bloody, stupid Eldork!
Somehow, she made it in class on time, sliding into her seat just as the bell rang again. Sighing slightly in relief, but mostly in annoyance at a certain someone, she turned forward in her seat to look at the target again. Ok, take that back. She could only glare at his backside and the spiky scarlet red hair snoozing peacefully into his arm.
Aisha smirked victoriously, already forming her revenge plan. It was time to prank the prankster.
He is sleeping. Check. Now let's see… What to do, what to do…
She bent down and untied his shoelaces and retied them together. After that…Hmm…
Miss Ariel came back from lunch break, happy and ready to teach chemistry. Halfway through the teaching of moles and other units, she had stopped to ask a question.
"Class, does anyone know the Avogadro's number used to measure and count moles?"
At this exact moment, Aisha kicked the back of Eldork's chair, startling him out of his dreamland and making him jump in surprise.
"Oi!"
"Elsword, you want to volunteer?" Miss Ariel looked as if she was going to cry tears of joy at getting one of her troublesome students to answer her question. Aisha had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.
"Eh? Wait, what? What the hell is going on?" Poor, poor Eldork. She snickered behind her palm as she watched him turn around in his seat, looking for whoever put him in that situation. Something in her eyes must have caught his attention because when his furious eyes locked on with hers, they narrowed and he gave a low growl.
"…You."
"Yes, Eldork?" she answered, her honey-sweet voice coated in venom. Still, she managed to smile like she was an innocent bystander caught up in something bad.
He knew better.
"When I'm done with you—" his words were cut off when he tried to stand and nearly fell over. His scarlet eyes flitted from his currently prank-tied shoelaces back to her mauve orbs. Back and forth. Back and forth. She could see a familiar destructive rage building up within him.
Infinity… She had seen this once happening with Infinity. Horror crossing her face with the hint of fear, she involuntarily took a step back.
Infinity turned into a demon and anyone or anything near him was annihilated. He did that with a smile on his face… A cruel smile fit for a murderer.
"Grape-head…" When he looked up, it dawned on her that he and Infinity weren't really all that different. That smile… That same toothy yet cruel smile was on his face. On Eldork's face.
"E-Eldork? What's w-wrong?" She hated how she stuttered, but that smile… It brought back too many memories of Infinity and his rage mode.
Seeing it once had been enough.
She had to wrap her arms around Infinity's waist to keep him from killing more nearby people, killing more innocent people. No, no, no! They didn't kill innocent people. They only killed criminals.
"Stop! Stop it Infinity!" He struggled against her and it turned into a full out fight. With only her staff against his double swords, she was easily overpowered by him and was left lying there in pain.
But he doesn't just stop there.
His blazing maroon eyes swung toward more people, more people to kill. Blood covered both of his swords, shining a dark liquid ruby. His smile never faded. He didn't stop until everyone within one block of him was dead. When his rage had faded, he took one look at what happened and left.
She was scared… So scared of him. It had been her first time seeing it and it was her first time being so scared of him. Infinity never loses control… Not like that. But later, when she is fixing herself up, Infinity came to apologize to her.
If he had noticed she had stiffened a little, he ignored it and sat directly beside her.
"I'm sorry, Aisha." A bottle of hydroperoxide was in one hand and a roll of gauze-covered bandages in another. He set them down on a table and began to disinfect her wounds.
"Ouch, that stings, Infinity!" Trying to lighten the tense mood, she tries to playfully swat his hand away but he catches it and pulls her into a hug, a really tight hug.
"Aisha, don't you dare try to stop me if this happens again… You'll just get hurt. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me…"
Warm… Infinity was so warm and alive. It had been at that moment when she realized something. Infinity may be mean, he may be harsh, but he wasn't completely cold-hearted and apathetic. He was just as human as she was.
All humans, though, have breaking points.
And because of that, Infinity would also, one day, lose control of his darkness, his sanity. And then… No one, not even herself, would be able to stop him.
She felt so dizzy and lightheaded, remembering everything from that day all at once. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to concentrate on what was happening in front of her.
Eldork and his Infinity-like rage. Crap. Of all times to feel dizzy. She tried to focus, but all she could see and hear was blurred images of both excited and concerned classmates and snatches of hushed conversations.
"New girl is dying on the first day eh?"
"I know right..."
"Anyone wanna bet who the winner is?"
"You know Elsword is going to win."
"You're dead, grape-head." Eldork's face appeared in her hazy vision for a second, then something sharp and heavy smashed into her side and everything went black.
Rising Dawn - There was once a Strange Boy...
Her right side burned and throbbed with every movement she had, so she stopped moving. The bed someone laid her on was soft and springy with a fluffy, puffed-up pillow. Still, it hurt to even breathe.
Trying to force her eyes open was no use. Her eyelids felt as if they were super-glued to her eyeballs and sewn shut with steel wire. Reaching her hand out for anything, anything that would stop the pain, she felt herself being pulled, slowly and carefully, to a sitting position and a glass of water was shoved into her hands.
"Dhank kyuu." Aisha tried thank whoever it was without slurring but failed. Miserably.
She took a sip of the water and rubbed her eyes with her other hand, hoping they will open soon. Thankfully they did, albeit sensitive to the sudden light, but as soon as she saw who helped her, she almost spits out the mouthful of water she drank. At the last minute, she swallowed it nervously, her squinty eyes meeting his.
Eldork's face studied hers while his own was curiously blank. Even though he was sitting a foot away from her on a nearby three-legged wooden stool, she felt as if he was far, far away from her, in place no one can ever reach.
Was he was trying to peer into her soul? ...Haha, what a strange thought. A person like her didn't have something like that.
A soul that she didn't have…
"Oi, Nurse Helen, she's up now." Before she could even ask why he was here, he stood up and was about to stride out of the room.
"W-wait a minute!" Why did he even help her? Someone else could've taken her to the nurse. He definitely wasn't supposed to have done anything to help. Didn't she just embarrass him in front of the class? Was he bipolar or something? Maybe the teacher told him to…
"You helped me—"
"Don't get me wrong," he turned and gave her a small smile. It wasn't his eternally etched on smirk or his usual taunting face when he was around her. It was a real smile. A bit small, but still, at least it was real and heartfelt.
Like all smiles should be… Unlike hers. Her smiles are used for deceiving.
"I just felt bad for throwing a desk at you."
Well… Now that you put it that way…
Aisha shook her head absent-mindedly. This meant she owed him. And she really hated when she owed anyone anything. It gets in the way of the game, this killing game she played. She was so lost in that thought that she didn't even notice when he left.
"You're the new transfer student, Dimension right?" A gentle voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "How are you feeling?"
The nurse, Miss Helen as she was called, fussed over her for half an hour before she hesitantly let her go home.
"Such a horrid bruise!" Nurse Helen scribbled furiously on a clipboard with a pen that looked somewhat like a feather quill. "I cannot believe Siegehart would do this…"
Aisha smiled awkwardly. It was kind of, sort of her fault. She slung her messenger bag on her shoulder and winced when the bottom pocket brushed against the bruise on her side. The pain may have dulled, but it was still there. At least school was over…
"At least he felt guilty about it."
She froze. Wait, what did she just say? Eldork felt guilty? About her?
Why?
Nurse Helen looked up, saw her shocked face and chuckled. "Oh my, is something wrong? Do you miss him already?"
"N-no, no. It's n-nothing." Aisha shook both her head and hands at the nurse, scrambling like mad toward the doorway before Nurse Helen could say anything more.
...Was a soul, she didn't need.
"Of course, it was nothing." Helen could hear her muttering to herself, as she exited the room.
After a few seconds, Helen finally put her feather quill pen down and remembered the days when she was in love, the days of many wonderful chocolates and sweets. With a longing sigh, she wistfully murmured, "Ah… Young love…"
But that couldn't stop her from wishing for one…
Aisha hated the rain. It was freezing cold, it was downright depressing, and most of all, it was soaking wet. Whenever she needed to kill someone in the rain, she always had to hide her wet footprints unless she wanted to be followed and hunted down by the police. The rain was annoying, both then and now. The bane of her existence and the often reviving her driving need to be kill.
Except, she couldn't actually kill rain.
Right now, it was raining and she felt like going on a massive killing spree. Though, rain was far too gentle of a word for this weather. This was a hurricane. Torrents and downpours of water with the exact amount of wind to make it one of the worst storms she has ever seen.
How bloody brilliant.
She watched the storm set forth its rage from the safety of the school. If she tried to make a run to her apartment now, she would probably die of pneumonia by tomorrow. With a dejected sigh, she leaned against the doorway, just waiting for the worst to pass…
"You're still here?" His warm, deep baritone tone tickled her ear. "Geez, I didn't think you were that much of a nerd."
"Ahh!" she shrieked, one hand cupping her violated ear and the other flailing around. "Ugh! Eldork stop bullying me!" She nearly tripped but caught the door handle just in time. With a sudden childish impulse, she spun around and stomped on his foot.
Revenge!
"Now, who's bullying who?"
She glared at him, annoyed by his constant smirk and amused tone. He didn't show any indication of pain from her stepping on his shoe either. What happened to that genuine smile he has shown her before? Had it just been her mind playing tricks on her?
"I could say the same for you," she huffed, answering his first question, "I'm here because a certain person sent me to the nurse's office, and they fussed over me for hours."
"Uh-huh." He rolled his eyes.
"What about you?" He most certainly did not look like a studious, hard-working student.
"Club activities," he shrugged. "I'm the president after all."
"Uh-huh." Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.
"It's true, you know."
"So was my statement."
Silence fell, and tension was felt after that. Both had nothing more to say to each other. She resumed looking out the glass door; he retreated against the wall, staring off into space, both waiting for the rain to calm.
"Hey," Aisha finally broke the silence. "I'm not going to say sorry about before, you know?" Not after what he had done in return. But still… She owed him something, if not an apology. Wincing as her messenger bag thumped against her bruise, she waited for him to reply in anger, in disgust, or even in resentment.
Instead, he replied, "I wasn't expecting you to." His voice contained nothing of what she expected. Understanding colored his tune but she could detect a tiny twinge of something else… Disappointment? Was he hurt by what she said?
He came closer until he stood in front of her. His ruby-red eyes stared into hers intensely like he did before in the infirmary. She gulped, shivering from the sudden chill.
"You're shivering."
"Duh. I'm cold." That was only half-true, but there is no need to tell him that he was the one causing it. His ego doesn't need to get any bigger than what it currently was. If she guessed correctly, it should be swelling, in fact.
His gaze flicked from her eyes to her arms tightly wrapped around her thin school uniform then right back up again. "You're going to catch a cold if you go out into the rain like that."
Did he think she was an idiot?
"I know that— Mmfph!" Something soft smacked into her face. All the air whooshed out of her lungs and she probably made a choking sound, but at that moment, she was more focused on the fact that she didn't even notice him throwing objects at her.
What kind of a sucky assassin are you? Her mind berated, don't get all cozy because he's just a civilian! Frantically grabbing whatever it is off her face, she narrowed her eyes and stared at it in confusion.
A jacket? The hell… What now? Had he been trying to kill her by suffocation or something?
"You'll need it." Now jacketless and wearing a short-sleeved shirt, he pushed open the door, droplets of rain splattering onto his bare face and arms.
"W-wait!" Why was he giving this to her? He needed it himself. It doesn't make any sense… Eldork doesn't make any sense. He is truly an idiot.
...And perhaps she was too.
"You need this, not me!" Stop being so nice…
The kindness shown to her from random people didn't make any sense unless it was Infinity. She shoved the offending object right in front of his face. "Take it!"
"Nah, you'll need it more." The door slammed closed, the ringing sound echoing throughout the now empty room.
She rubbed the fur lining the inside the jacket, the velvet softness calming down her wild, confused thoughts. Reluctantly putting the jacket on, she accidentally caught a faint scent of cinnamon apples.
The jacket itself wasn't so bad, with long, thick sleeves and a huge hood that was big enough to completely cover her head and pigtailed hair from the rain. Zipping up and pulling the hood on, she took a moment to look at herself. The jacket covered her almost entirely. The sleeves were beyond long and a bit frayed at the cuffs, but she rolled it up till she could actually see her fingers. The bottom of the jacket reached her knees, exaggerating her already petite figure.
But that wasn't the problem.
No, the problem was the warmth emitting from it…It's the same as the warmth in the hug Infinity had given her. Soft, cozy, and most of all… Kind. It was the type of warmth that envelops you and gave you a protected feeling, knowing someone is watching out for you. It was the type of warmth that always whispered, 'You're safe'.
Slipping her bag back on, she stepped out into the dwindling rain. The downpour had decreased to a fine misty drizzle and the sun peeked out from the rainclouds, sending out rainbows when it passed through the lingering droplets.
"Stupid Eldork, you could have just waited for the rain to calm down…" Aisha muttered to herself, flicking back the hood and tucking a stray piece of lavender hair behind her ear.
She didn't take off the jacket, though.
And she couldn't stop the smile forming across her face.
A/N: A oneshot that turned into a threeshot OWO
(Is it just me or has the Elsword community disappeared overnight?)
Anyway, this was a story that started around 2 years ago, so don't be surprised when the next 2 parts have a different writing style. If there are any grammar errors, please do tell me and I'll change it. My English is pretty bad, and while I think Vahlite tries her best, her English isn't all that great either. Anyways, thanks for reading!