A vicious yank on the collar around her throat caused her to choke, but she looked up obediently. The man towering over her had cold blue eyes that caused her to shrink back in fear. "Make sure not to mess up this time, Volpe" his crisp voice cut through her.
She flinched, remembering the punishment she had received the last time she had failed. He dragged her over to the only window in the room and opened it. Outside, there were a few surrounded men dressed in black fighting the forces of the mansion they were in. He pointed at them and said, "Erase them."
She stared at the men and concentrated. Slowly in her vision, a black blur surrounded the men. As she was about to detonate it, one of the men looked up and saw her. He glared at her and a glimpse of his silver eyes caused her to lose her concentration. Explosions went off all around the intruding men, missing them, but decimating their own ranks.
The girl gasped as her hair was grabbed and she was thrown against the wall. "My, my, messing up a task so simple? I'm beginning to think you enjoy being punished."
He kicked her, before leaving the room. The lock clicked in place behind him. She crawled over to the window and looked out. The men were already gone, leaving only dead bodies behind. A cold breeze swept in and shivering, she closed the window, before curling up into a ball in a corner.
A loud explosion from outside her room caused her to jerk up and attempt to make herself look smaller. There were shouts, gunfire, and the sounds of people dying; before the door was broken down with a loud crash. In its place stood a small baby. It was wearing an all black outfit with a hood that covered its eyes. On each cheek, there was a small upside down purple triangle. A yellow snake eating its own tail was in on top of the baby's head. Perhaps the most surprising thing was that the baby was floating in midair.
"Muu, this better be worth what I'm being paid" it spoke.
The baby floated over to where she was huddled in the corner and said, "Girl, come with me."
She shook her head frantically, eyes wide with fear. If that man discovered she had left the room without his permission, she would be severely punished. The baby sighed, "Yare yare, how troublesome. Why won't you go?"
"I-"the girl cleared her throat, rusty from disuse, "I'm not allowed to leave."
"Did this family make that rule?"
"He did."
If she could have seen all of the baby's face, she would have imagined that it had furrowed in displeasure. As it was, it said, "Muu, you don't need to listen to their rules anymore. We, the Varia, are taking you-" He was interrupted when a tall silver-haired man walked in.
"VOOIIII Mammon what's taking so long?"
At the loud voice, the girl cringed even more. "Muu Squalo, you scared her. I better not lose any money because of this."
The man ignored him and picking the girl up, slung her over his shoulders. Her eyes closed in fear and she stayed perfectly still. As he reached the main doors of the mansion however, she suddenly started writhing. Squalo yelled, "Stupid girl! Stop struggling!"
He stepped outside the mansion and a shriek escaped her. She grabbed her throat and started coughing violently. He dropped her immediately, "What the hell is wrong with you, bitch?"
The girl was coughing too hard to answer him. Sensing a large killing intent behind him, Squalo whirled around with his sword at the ready. A man calmly walked out, clapping, "My, my. You managed to get yourself captured so easily? Well, normally I would have left you to rot, but unfortunately, I have need of your powers."
He stepped forward to retrieve the girl causing Squalo to snarl. "Oi, the girl's ours now, or would you like to be cut into shreds?"
The man's mouth curved upward in what should've been a smile, but instead turned into one of the most frightening expressions the swordsman had ever witnessed, "Ah, you'll have to excuse me. I need to administer the antidote to her before she dies."
The man bent down and injected a needle into her arm. The girl stopped coughing and went limp. He reached forward to pick her up and found Squalo's sword at his neck. "You might not want to do that. After all the bitch belongs to me."
"Vooiiii just try laying a hand on her!"
The man seemed to think for awhile before responding, "Very well. I will allow you to take her for a few years. As she is now, she is of no use to me. I will come to retrieve her when I need her."
He disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving the terrified girl with two assassins. Mammon frowned, "Yare, yare, this could be troublesome. He didn't take the collar off her. Well, we might as well take her back."
They took the girl to where the rest of the Varia was waiting for them. "Oi, what's your name?" Squalo asked as they were walking.
"-pe" the girl muttered.
"Speak up! If you're gonna be in the Varia, be proud!"
"Volpe" the girl said, her voice slightly louder than before.
"Fox? Who the fuck told you that? That's not a name."
"Good grief, why don't you give her a new name then Squalo?" Mammon said.
"Voi, don't ask me. I don't know shit about girl names."
"How about Jade then? Your eyes are a green similar to jade I've seen."
The girl stared at the baby in awe and nodded. "All right then. You're Jade. I'm Mammon, the illusion user in the Varia. That's Squalo, swordsman. We're part of the Varia, an assassination group for the Vongola Family."
The baby sighed, "Now look at what you've done. I said I don't do anything for money and here I am giving information out freely."
The girl apologized, her hands suddenly grasping the bottom of the baby's outfit urgently. She remained like that until they reached the Varia, where he gently pried his clothes out of her grasp. Lussuria, being the resident mother hen, took one look at her and decided firmly that he would take charge of the girl. "Starting with a bath and lots of food" he stated.
The girl looked at herself in the mirror for the first time in awe. She had a small oval face framed by long strands of brown hair. The hair went down to her back and after a thorough wash, was now sleek and shiny. At first glance, she had dark green eyes, but when she looked closer, there was a thin outline of yellow around the pupil. Having been locked up inside for as long as she could remember, her skin was pale but covered with multiple scars from her punishments.
Feeling cleaner and warmer than she could remember, she was now dressed in a simple purple shirt with black stripes and black jeans. Although they belonged to Belphegor, a boy of the same age as her, they were still big on her underweight frame. She clutched the bottom of the shirt nervously as she followed Lussuria out of the bathroom. Immediately, she was whisked off to a hair salon. She hid behind the flamboyant man she had come with.
As the giggling ladies fawned over the girl, she sat in the chair rigidly. Although initially scared of the scissors that they had pulled out, after Lussuria had reassured her, she sat in the chair obediently. The ladies snipped away at her hair, long locks of it gathering on the floor around her. When they stepped back and allowed her to look in the mirror, her hair reached her shoulders, the ends cut wispily to give her an airy feeling. Her bangs were cut straight above her eyes, emphasizing the green in her eyes. All in all, it made her look like a pretty eight-year old girl and not the monster she was.
Lussuria was giddy by the time they got back to the mansion. He had picked the cutest outfits for the girl and was absolutely delighted when she made no protest at wearing them. He led the girl into the dining room where the rest of the Varia was began showing her off, "Look Squ-chan! Isn't she just adorable! Look at those pretty eyes and that dress looks so cute on her! Bel don't you think she's cute?"
Bel stared at the girl. She looked totally different from the terrified stray she had been when they had taken her. She looked like any other normal eight-year old girl. He sniffed in disdain, "I don't want to be associated with a peasant because I'm a prince."
Lussuria pouted and dragged the girl over to the boy, "Are you sure Bel-chan? Look at how adorable she is."
The girl clumsily bowed to the boy, and quietly said, "I'm Jade. It's nice to meet you."
She was partially speaking the truth. The boy had blonde hair that covered his eyes and a shiny tiara situated on his head. He was wearing an outfit identical to the one she had worn earlier before receiving all the new clothes. While the boy looked innocent enough, she knew that in the world she was in, there were no innocents. This boy had most likely killed many people. So while it was good to meet him, she was also slightly scared of the boy.
Bel's eyes narrowed and he lunged out of his seat at the girl. His hands went around her throat and he pulled out a knife. "Oi, trash! What the fuck are you doing?" Squalo yelled.
The girl stared wide-eyed at the knife, unmoving. "I'm Belphegor. Prince the Ripper. And it is not nice to meet you. Don't forget that."
He rammed the knife a hairsbreadth away from her head before getting off her and calmly resuming his dinner. The girl lay on the ground, her eyes unblinking. Lussuria rushed over to the girl, "Darling, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I don't know why Bel-chan would do such a thing!"
The girl didn't make a noise as she got up, but her hands were trembling again. She sat through the rest of dinner quietly. Just as she clumsily scooped up the last of the food, Bel stood up, his chair scraping back loudly. "Why is this girl here? She doesn't look like she can kill anything to me!"
He whirled around and left the room. As the door slammed shut, a large intimidating man sitting on a fancy chair spoke up for the first time, "Oi, trash. No more shopping shit. She starts working tomorrow. The other scum will brief you."
Lussuria pouted and was about to protest at the no shopping decree but another man with odd facial hair and piercings spoke up, "Are you questioning Boss?"
With a sigh, Lussuria gave up and resumed eating.
After a long and emotionally taxing day, Jade settled in her new bed sleepily. The bed was softer than anything she had felt before, and she was warm, huddled underneath the covers. As she drifted off to sleep, a sudden face popped into her mind. Blonde hair and a tiara. Her eyes shot open and she curled into a ball in fear. Belphegor. Prince the Ripper. She was scared of the boy. Not because of his earlier attack. She was used to violence. The boy's sneer had struck a nerve deep in her. This new emotion made her uncomfortable more so than his attacks.
The enormity of the place scared her. The number of people scared her. She was new to so many things that seemed so commonplace for the other residents. In the unfamiliar place, her fears seemed bigger than before. The collar around her neck reminded her that nothing had changed. That she was still being used for her power. And nestled in the nice warm bed, tears began sliding down her face. She pressed her face into the pillow to stifle her cries. Like this, she fell asleep.
A cry left the girl's lips as she was shoved out of the way by an angry blonde. "That was supposed to be my mission" he hissed in her face, before stalking out.
She shrank back, an apology on her lips despite not knowing what she had done wrong; but the boy had left before she could speak a word.
"Jade darling. Can you read and write? I need to know for future reference." Lussuria asked.
She nodded, "He taught me. He said that in the future I would have to do stuff for him."
Mammon commented, "Thank goodness. Now no time will be wasted teaching you."
"Voii! Hurry up and get out!"
She was quickly shepherded out of the room. The mission she was sent on was simple. They were to take out a group of poachers that were intruding on Vongola land. Lussuria would lure them into a group, Mammon would cast the illusion to allow the Muay Thai expert to get away, and then Jade would use her power to finish the men off.
The fact that the mission was simple didn't change the fact that Jade was still scared. If she failed, what would happen? Would she be beaten like before? She hid in the bushes, waiting for Mammon's signal. As soon as it was given, she focused. The black miasma appeared, surrounding the men. And then it exploded. Limbs flew everywhere. Blood splattered on the ground.
She stared in horror at the scene in front of her. Before, she had always been kept in the room, too far away to witness the results of her power. Although she had been told to get rid of certain people, she had no real comprehension of the meaning of death. Now, only a few feet away from a first-hand demonstration of what it was, she couldn't prevent the bile from rising to her lips. She turned and threw up. She continued to empty the contents of her stomach until there was nothing left.
Mammon sighed, "Yare yare, how troublesome. It's not the first time you've killed. Why react now?"
The girl was shaking so hard she couldn't respond. So doing what he would've done in his adult form, he reached forward and pulled her into a hug. Granted it was a rather awkward hug, due to his current size. But still, with her head tucked under his chin, he waited for the girl to stop shaking.
When Lussuria found them, Jade was once more clutching the end of Mammon's cloak. The baby made no complaints.
There was a scream from the kitchen. "Bel-sama stop it! You're hurting her!"
The boy paid no heed to the servant's yells, eyes focused on the girl below him. He clutched the kitchen knife in his hand and brought it down on her. She screamed again and tried to pull away, but the knife went straight into her arm. At the pain, the girl shut down. Her eyes became blank and she stopped moving. She had learned early on from a much crueler master that struggling would only invite more pain.
The boy, however, only became more enraged. He plunged the knife repeatedly into her arm, yelling in her face, "Why won't you react! I want to hear you scream! Scream!"
A tentacle wrapped around the boy, pulling him back. He struggled violently, but the illusion was strong. By this time, servants and assassins alike had gathered to watch. As the crowd slowly dispersed, Jade seemed to come back to life. She clutched her bleeding arm and watched dully as the wounds healed on their own, leaving new scars.
"Voi, what the fuck?"
"Someone needs to teach her self defense techniques. If this keeps up, Bel could murder her in her sleep and she wouldn't be able to do a thing."
"Who the hell would you suggest be the teacher?"
They stared at the swordsman.
And that was how an hour later; Jade found herself running laps around the Varia mansion. Or rather, attempting to. Having been stuck in a room all her life, she wasn't very athletic, and she ran out of breath very quickly. So Squalo, being the smart-thinking instructor he was, decided to chase her around with his sword. Driven by fear and adrenaline, Jade managed to run around the mansion 2 times before collapsing, her lungs heaving. The man had no intentions of letting her stop however, choosing instead to drag her to her feet and force her to continue running, albeit at a very slow pace.
Three hours later, after completing the 20 laps required of her, she could barely remember how to breathe and her feet felt like they were on fire. Yet Squalo, grabbed her and took her to the training rooms.
"VOI Xanxus have you seen the girl?" Squalo burst into the man's room loudly.
Xanxus glared at him from his chair and immediately threw a glass of wine at his head, "Why the fuck would that trash be here, scum?"
Squalo grunted and left. Jade crawled out from under the bed and bowed clumsily to the man before leaving quietly. Oddly enough, although the man was violent, she wasn't afraid of him. Earlier, she had ran into his room by accident and had dived under the bed. He hadn't questioned her, rather perplexed by her behavior.
Author's Note:
As promised, I started another story! I hope it meets everyone's expectations! If you haven't already, please also read my other story Sonic Life.
I have chapter 2 almost finished but it probably won't be posted until at least Saturday.
Please read and review~