Hey guys! I'm so so sorry for updating so late! I just haven't had any ideas lately. I hope you enjoy this!
"Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within."
-Arthur Erickson
#4: Under Lies the Secret Place
Under that mask was something he never expected. Something that froze him in place. Her jet black hair resembled that of a raven's feather coat, shining bright under the dim light filtering from that single skylight. Her pale, unblemished skin was almost transparent, milky against those full, red lips.
He would've instantly fell in love with her if it weren't for the current circumstances.
Her piercing gaze penetrated his defenses; he was frozen to the core. Looking at her in his restraining arms, the fact that he was enthralled by her and she still hated him for being her enemy in this fight still didn't sink in.
They say that the eyes are windows to the soul.
They were slanted, a gorgeous shade of brown, and all he saw was hostility and hatred.
Unexpectedly, she firmly elbowed him in the stomach, forcing his arms away from the fibers of her black jumpsuit. As he staggered back, she spun around and swiftly removed his mask from his face, as if to get her revenge for him doing the same to her seconds before.
For once, she got a full look at his face. He had tanned skin, a contoured face, and shaggy brown hair. He was gorgeous, and she undoubtedly took notice of it. It only annoyed her even more. No one could tell what she was thinking as she cocked her head to the side.
She scrunched her eyebrows.
And with a mere flick to the wrist, she threw the bundle of spandex behind her, far from his reach.
As her adversary grunted in pain, she slowly sauntered towards her disposed mask, and slid it over her face. Walking over to him, she looked down, put her hands on her hips, and said in a threatening tone, "Don't you dare pull that stunt on me again, do you hear me?"
He was still clenching his stomach, moaning cries of pain. He didn't know anyone else that could hit this hard.
The girl narrowed her eyes after seconds of no answer. She nudged his arm with the tip of her pointed boot. "Hey!" she demanded. "Do you hear me?"
He slowly moved his gaze to meet hers. "Wh-who are you? Aren't you-"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm Japanese."
He rose his eyebrows. "But I thought-"
"Yes, I know, we're supposed to be allies in this war," she completed for him, walking over to one of the numerous shelves to examine the gunpowder. "But we need the ammunition right now, so commander decided to have us grab it before you guys take any."
He got up, and restrained her once again by wrapping his arms around her. He whispered threateningly into her ear, "But we're surrounded. The Germans need it more than the Japanese."
She shivered as his warm breath danced across her earlobe. Her face flushed under her mask, and she was left slightly aghast. Shaking her head to rid of the feeling, she spun out of his grasp and sent a roundhouse kick to his legs. As he fell again, she snarled, "We're surrounded as well, so shut up."
Just then, the lights turned on, catching the two spies red-handed. They froze in place, their eyes widened with surprise. The guy quickly got up, as the girl took fighting stance immediately.
Surrounding them was a handful of Italian soldiers.
The commander in chief, an eccentric man with blonde hair spiked up to a point, gave the pair a sickening smirk. He looked at them with vivacious, violet eyes. "My my, what do we have here?" he asked, shifting his gaze from one to the other, both of whom were holding glares at him. "A Japanese and German spy daring to steal from Italy's arsenal? I feel so betrayed!"
The Italian commander-in-chief looked at the militants standing behind them, holding their artillery at the ready. "Get rid of them," he simply commanded.
As they obeyed his command and continued to close in on the two spies, the girl veered to face the guy she was fighting minutes ago. She said, "Hey, if we both want to get out of this, I suppose we begin working together."
The man didn't know what got over him, but he felt his heart surge. Turning his head to look at her, he gave her a smile. "Sure," he replied.
"Whoa, whoa, wait," she said. "Don't expect this to be some kind of friendly-"
He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Right before the Italian soldiers were able to completely close in on them, the pair got out their grappling hook guns and pointed them towards the skylight. They pulled their triggers, and miraculously, they didn't get tangled with one another. They shot up in the air, and got caught in the frame.
When they were both high enough so that the Italians couldn't get to them, the girl pulled out a tiny device. She placed it on the cool glass, and it adhered to it and began to blink red. She gave the guy a tiny grin. "Wait for it..."
The blinks were at first sporadic. Then they began occurring rapidly. The glass shattered a few seconds later, sprinkling all over the arsenal's floor. The pair of spies covered themselves, then hopped out once it was all clear.
Outside, it was frigid and snowing. The wind was violent, though the spies were impervious to it. The girl's heels clacked against the roof as she walked across as his shoes made distinct clops. Once she hopped off the roof's surface, she ran off in a seemingly random direction.
He called out, "Hey, where're you going?!"
She paused her run, and looked back. "To the forest. I have shelter set up over there."
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Oh, right..."
She sighed. "Look, the Italians are bound to catch us right now. I don't have time to talk to you. Do you...want to tag along?" She felt her face flush at the offer.
"Uh.. yeah, sure-"
"Then hurry."
The run seemed interminable. They entered a forest, and minutes later, they spotted a black tent. The girl unzipped the cover, and gestured for him to enter. He gave her a tentative nod, then went inside.
Inside the tent was nothing much, just a few cans of food and liquid, a pillow, and a blanket. He turned back towards the entrance and watched as the girl entered, zipping the cover behind her. She sat across from him, crossed legged, and stared at him intently. Awkward silence ensued. Eventually, she took off her mask, since he didn't have his on.
That reminded her that his mask was still at the arsenal.
He once again was mesmerized by her beauty. He wondered if she knew how pretty she was. She was so plain and simple, even elegant.
When she thought she couldn't take more of this, she broke the silence. She held out her hand. "My name's Yumi," she said. "Since it seems like you're going to stay until sunrise, I might as well introduce myself."
He shook it, taking notice of the flourish of warmth that came from her touch. "I-it's Ulrich," he stuttered, thrown off by her sudden approach.
She sighed once they pulled away. "Well, Ulrich, I'm going to sleep. You should get some rest too."
"R-right."
Yumi gave him a terse nod, then snuggled up against the pillow and covered herself with a blanket. She instantly closed her eyes. Ulrich watched as her delicate Asian features relaxed, her body steadily rising and falling from her stable breaths. She seemed so comfortable, so relaxed, almost as if she trusted him.
Or it was just the fact that she could easily kick his butt at any second's notice.
Taking that as the last thought, Ulrich laid on the bare floor close to Yumi and began to sleep.
This was their secret place.
The next morning, Ulrich woke up alone. Looking at the light that filtered through the thin fabric, he suddenly realized..
Yumi was just one of the hundreds of spies out there -last night was just a lucky encounter. They were both spies, and spies had to keep moving or risk their lives being done away with. Spies couldn't trust anyone, even their allies.
There was a slim to none chance of him ever seeing her again.
The wind blew at the emptiness that followed.
Author's Note: Well, I hope you liked it! This was amazingly fun to write. ((:
