Disclaimer: I have borrowed a bit of Japanese culture into this fic (Kunoichi means female ninja and an Odachi is a long Japanese sword) but that's basically all the Japanese elements that are in the story. I hope you enjoy this!

"Lopez," the hooded figure hissed from the shadows, covering his face.

Santana flexed her shoulders and looked up. "Yes?"

"Miss Quinn Fabray," the picture of a map was shoved into the Latina's hands. "The corrupt mayor's daughter. She is your target tonight."

Santana nodded, jaw clenching. "Anything I need to bear in mind?"

"Kill Russell if you get the chance too, but I doubt you'll get anywhere near him."

"Got it," Santana nodded. "Anything else?"

"Nothing," the figure articulated his words in a disjunct manner. "Except… Don't. Fuck. This. Up."

"Won't," was Santana's respectful answer. "You'll let me quit after this, correct?"

"Only if you don't fuck this up," he responded. "You have a three-hour window."

"Got it," Santana placed the map in the pockets of her sleek black attire before she slipped away from their hideout and into the cool midnight air, adrenaline surging through her system.

Santana closed her eyes as she rounded the corner to her destination. A hand gently touching the hilt of her Odachi, she counted to fourteen in her mind before she turned the corner and walked down the pavement.

Fourteen. The number of kills she already had under her belt already.

Kills. Not murders.

The Fabray Estate was not hard to spot as it was humongous and riddled with security. That didn't defer Santana, however; she was more than used to getting past these security measures.

Santana kept herself low as she approached the border walls of the Fabray Estate, seeing a bored guard at his post, watching the other side of the road blocking the entrance.

Santana briefly contemplated knocking the said guard out, but she decided against it. She didn't want to hurt any more people than she had to, she would get this job done, take the huge sum of money and quit before everything goes to shit.

Santana crept to the side wall and examined the bushes that were blanketing the fencing. It was dark so it took a short while, but Santana found a small fault in the fencing which she was able to wriggle through and just like that, she was in.

Santana walked into the shadows as she took out the floor plan her higher had given her. Examining it, she was quickly able to identify which room belonged to which and this way, she ran through the permutations in her head until she found the optimal route.

Mind set, she started her way towards the back door but then suddenly something felt wrong.

Frowning, Santana looked down at the innocent grass, until she realised that some patches looked different from the others. It was dark so it was hard to tell the difference, but Santana was almost certain that they were sensors to trigger alarms to alert the entrance of an intruder, or worse, a trap that could cause her physical harm.

Sighing, Santana took her second optimal route and that went without a hitch. Before long, she was outside the window of the mayor's daughter's bedroom, and she examined the woodwork before attempting to break inside.

Santana tried her best to stay away from the light as she wriggled the frame of the window, before she realised that it was a lock-from-the-inside one so she had to try to pry it open from a specific angle.

Angling her odachi at a half-acute angle, she sliced the lock to deform it, granting her access to the bedroom.

She slipped open the curtains and forward-rolled and just like that, she was inside.

Santana looked at her watch: half-past two in the morning. Still plenty of time.

Standing up with a small pant, Santana's eyes landed on the bed where her target was sleeping as expected. The moonlight hit her partially in the face which illuminated her features.

Santana took a deep breath and gripped her odachi in an offensive position before advancing, and it was only until she was two feet away from the mayor's daughter she could see the latter's features more clearly.

And Santana's heart stopped.

Quinn let out a small groan in her sleep and shifted, into direct contact with the bright moonlight. Her eyes clenched closed tighter and her nose wrinkled cutely, before she let out another sleepy groan and rolled away from the moonlight, where she sighed contently before remaining still again.

Santana lowered her weapon as she leaned forward even more closely to examine the young, blonde girl who was peacefully sleeping.

Something Santana had never done before – normally the target would've been dead by now.

Santana felt her breath hitch when she saw Quinn's face more clearly, because she was the most beautiful girl Santana had ever seen.

Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed as the right side of Quinn's face was pressed into the pillow, and her lips had a small pout to it as she breathed evenly, inhaling with her nose, exhaling with a small puff out her mouth.

And suddenly, the cold blood Santana had trained herself to have to carry out her deeds warmed up and Santana felt herself softening, as huge, unfamiliar affection washed over her.

Santana really wondered what Quinn's eye colour was.

As if on cue, Quinn let out another sleepy groan before she seemed to realise that she wasn't alone.

Groggily rubbing her eyes, Quinn let a final puff out her lips before her eyes opened, into the moonlight.

Santana didn't think she could be even more blown away. And she couldn't have been more wrong.

Her eyes.

They were a soft hazel shade with small flecks of green in them, diamond-shaped and innocent.

Those eyes were cloudy for a few seconds before they cleared and focused, and then drifted downwards until they saw what was in Santana's hands.

Quinn let out a squeal in fright and scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall, cowering into a small ball as her eyes were peeking, now riddled with fear.

Santana was confused for a few seconds before she remembered what she had come here for.

Shit.

She'll never be able to quit now.

"H-Hey…" Santana tried as she advanced but that seemed to have given Quinn the wrong idea because she tried to go even further backwards but her head hit the wall with a loud thud.

"Don't come any closer!" Quinn held a pillow in front of her as if it could defend her, voice laced with fear and it made Santana's heart clench.

Santana stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Y-You're here to kill me, aren't you?" Quinn whimpered as she curled into the pillow, body shaking. "O-Oh, god…"

"Q-Quinn…" Santana trailed as Quinn rapidly wiped at her eyes, sniffling.

"There is no escape for me, is there?" Quinn whispered forlornly as she bit her lip, looking longingly at the window, then at the odachi in my hand. "P-Please, whoever you are… um," Quinn's voice broke. "J-Just make this quick, okay? P-Please?"

Santana looked at the petrified girl in front of her and that was when every single bit of resolve within her broke down completely.

Santana dropped her odachi which clanged against the floor and she edged her way forward slowly, warily.

Quinn was still shaking as she hugged her pillow close to her chest, staring at Santana fearfully with wide, glazed hazel eyes.

"P-Please just make this quick," she whispered brokenly, averting her gaze. "Please, that's all I ask of you."

Santana took one more look at Quinn and that was when she made her decision.

Fuck her job.

"Q-Quinn…" Santana took another step forward and Quinn whimpered. "Shh…" she tried to coax but it didn't work.

Not that she expected it to anyway. How could it?

Santana took off the black mask that was covering her face. "I'm not going to hurt you," Santana tried to make her voice as genuine as possible. "I promise, I'm not going to hurt you."

Quinn simply looked at Santana as her chest heaved, a single tear track down her cheek.

"I'm Santana," Santana whispered the first thing that came into her head.

"I-I'm Quinn…" Quinn responded.

"Look… I know how, um, with how I'm dressed and the odachi I was holding… um…" Santana fumbled desperately as her mind drew to a blank. Talking was not her strong suit. "I won't hurt you, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

"W-What are you doing here… then?" Quinn whispered.

"Um, well, yes, I was hired to kill you BUT–" Santana quickly said as Quinn flinched and stifled a sob. "I-I don't want to kill you, Quinn, I really don't."

Quinn tilted her head, puzzled.

"All my life," Santana started to explain. "All the targets I've been given were bad people. Mafia bosses, drug lords, corrupt leaders, tyrants… those people I don't feel as guilty killing because I was trained to believe it was for the greater good. B-But… you?" Santana averted her eyes as they burned in shame. "You're just a young, innocent… beautiful girl, you have a future ahead of you… you don't deserve this… I can't possibly kill you, Quinn, I can't."

A tear fell out of Santana's eyes and she wiped it away quickly. It was unfamiliar because she was never allowed to cry because it showed weakness and would've gotten a beating.

"It's only until I saw you that I realised everything I've done is wrong…" Santana started to sob and she couldn't stop. She didn't know why she was suddenly venting everything but she couldn't stop that either. "Nobody deserves to die… what gives me the right to kill them? What gives me the right to end their life and all hopes of a second chance? O-Oh… if anybody deserves to die it's me… I'm not an assassin, I'm a murderer…"

"Santana," Quinn whispered as she placed a warm hand on Santana's shoulder and it sent electric tingles down the brunette's spine. "You don't deserve to die either," she said and her voice was so smooth. "You were only doing your job, what you have been brought up to become. It's not your fault… you were sent to do these jobs and not of your own accord, you're not a murderer, okay? P-Please, look at me," Quinn requested and Santana looked up into Quinn's beautiful eyes. "You're not a murderer. If you don't want to do this anymore, surely you can quit?"

"I wanted to…" Santana whimpered as she buried her head into her hands. "This was going to be my last job, Quinn… they would only let me quit if I do this one properly…"

"Oh," Quinn breathed, before getting out of bed. Santana looked at her, confused, until Quinn picked up the odachi and handed the long sword to Santana.

Santana looked down at her odachi and back up at Quinn before she realised what it meant.

"N-No…" Santana whimpered, shaking her head.

"It's okay," Quinn whispered gently. "I'm basically dead meat already, anyway. My father has too many enemies, and unfortunately I'm tied to them so it was only a matter of time before somebody kills me anyway. But you, Santana? You deserve a fresh start."

"N-No…" Santana started to cry at Quinn's words. That girl was the epitome of perfection. She was so smart, so beautiful and so brave. So noble too.

"Just do it quickly," Quinn whispered.

"I refuse," Santana shook her head vehemently. "I can't possibly… I won't, I won't!" she shouted the last part before crumbling into sobs, everything she had done in her life, the remorse, catching up to her.

Quinn caught her in a tight embrace as Santana sobbed into her shoulder.

"You're okay," Quinn kept whispering into Santana's ear as she stroked Santana's hair. "It's not your fault."

Quinn smelled really nice. Vanilla.

Santana didn't know how much time passed, crying pathetically into Quinn's chest until suddenly, an idea struck.

"Quinn…" Santana pulled away, and Quinn looked up, locking eyes. "If… um…" A wave of butterflies suddenly flew in Santana's stomach, and it was a horrible feeling. Santana had never felt nervous in this aspect before, never had anything but coldness towards everybody let alone feelings, so she had no idea how to do this.

"Mm?" Quinn hummed and Santana felt her heart soften. It was truly the cutest thing.

"I-If, um… you hate being connected with your family and I hate my job, um…" Santana took a deep breath, wiping the last remnants of tears away from her cheeks. "How about we both… leave? Together?"

"You want us to run away together?" Quinn whispered.

"Well, yes…" Santana scratched the back of her head.

Quinn side-eyed Santana. "Well… how do I know this isn't a plan for you to kill me in cold blood?" she questioned.

"I-I won't!" Santana clarified instantly. "I promise I won't hurt you… please believe –"

"I was only teasing, Sannie," Quinn tapped Santana's nose as her eyes sparkled. "I think that's a very good idea. You can get me out, right?"

"Yes, of course," Santana breathed.

"Perfect," Quinn let a smile grace her lips and it was so pretty.

"So… um, do you want to pack your bags?" Santana questioned tentatively.

"Now?" Quinn said, eyebrows creasing.

"Well…" Santana drawled. "What other time is there?"

"You're right…" Quinn giggled. "I'll get my stuff now."

"Mama, why do you never tell me why you have fourteen lines down your arm?" Santana's sixteen-year-old daughter said exasperatedly. "Who gets a tattoo like that? What does it even mean?"

"Lau… you're not ready to know yet," Santana whispered, the dull pain of her past still present. "I'll tell you when you're older, I promise."

"You always say that!" Laura groaned. "You've been saying that for years!"

"Santana," Quinn whispered to her wife. "M-Maybe we shouldn't keep her in the dark forever."

"Quinn…" Santana pouted.

"She deserves to know, she's wanted to for so long now, isn't it only fair that she gets to know?" Quinn said.

Santana thought for a moment before she darted her eyes to her daughter, whose dark hazel eyes were eager with hope.

"O-Okay…" Santana relented and Quinn smiled, clasping their hands together and holding on tightly.

"Know what?" Laura said curiously.

"The whole story," Santana started as Quinn gave Santana a squeeze of her hand with a reassuring smile. "The real story, of how your mother and I met."