I make my way up the quiet and lonely mountain. Geeze do these students have to climb up this stupid hill every day? How tiring. I let out a sigh as my legs finally carry me to the top of the hill and the broken-down schoolhouse comes into view. This school building looks as if it had been abandoned years ago, is it even humane to keep kids in a building like this? Oh well, it's not like I'll be staying around long. I've never failed a job before, and I don't intend to change that.
"Ah, there you are," I hear a man's voice comment behind me.
In one swift motion, I pull out my knife and whip around to face the individual. It takes me a minute to process just what I'm looking at. Standing before me is a tall, yellow creature. So it is true, my target isn't human. There is no way he would've been able to come up behind me without me hearing otherwise. The only way I could describe this thing to you is that it looks like a yellow octopus mixed with a human. I place my blade back where it belongs in its sheath, knowing that real steel will do nothing to this thing. The creature laughs at my reaction.
"Well let's go inside now, any longer and we'll be late for class," he says cheerfully.
I give a simple nod in return and we enter the run-down school building together. We walk wordlessly down the narrow hallway and into the classroom. I take a moment to survey the room. About 24 or 25 students are holed up in this hellish building with a monster teacher. They are talking amongst themselves, not even noticing a new peer has joined them. Not that it matters, I don't intend to stay long enough to make friends anyhow. As I scan the room I accidentally lock eyes with a boy with blood-red hair and pale orange eyes. His expression quickly turns into a cocky smirk. I quickly avert my gaze away from his. I can immediately tell he's trouble. I'll have to make sure to keep my distance from him.
"Alright students, to your seats," The octopus man announces over the chatter of the surrounding students. All the students take their seats and the teacher continues. "This is Akari Suzuki, he is going to be joining us from now on."
I give a small bow and give a small smile, not sure what else I should do. A yellow tentacle places a piece of chalk into my field of view. Of course, he knows my secret and the fact that I cannot speak to keep that secret. I look in his direction, confused about why he is offering a piece of chalk.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?" He suggests knowing that I can't exactly turn him down.
I give him a small nod and grab the chalk from him. I turn to face the blackboard. I write slowly and deliberately to try to make my words as legible as possible.
Hello, my name is Akari Suzuki. I've been an assassin for two years. I'm pleased to meet you all, I hope we can all get along.
I set down the chalk and turn back around. I give another smile and bow. While I won't be making friends, I can still be courteous to my fellow classmates.
"Why don't you speak, Akari?" A girl with short orange hair and lemon-colored eyes questions innocently.
I should have figured that question would come up, it's not exactly normal for kids our age to be entirely mute. I turn and scribble down a quick answer to satisfy their curiosity.
I'm pretty insecure about how I sound, so I prefer to communicate through writing.
After answering that question no others arise.
"Alright, you may take an empty seat," The octopus man states after a couple of moments.
"There's one here teach," The boy with the red hair pipes up.
"Thank you, Karma," The octopus teacher praises and then turns to me. "Go ahead and take the seat in the back next to Karma's," He instructs.
I give him a nod and make my way to the empty desk. Why did it have to be next to the boy who's clearly a troublemaker? I don't want anything to do with this kid. With a soft sigh, I sit down at the empty desk, unable to avoid this fate.
"As you all know, midterms are coming up soon. So, it is my job as your teacher to prepare you." The octopus states matter of factly.
"Why do the midterms matter? It's not like it's going to change anything." A boy with short brown and blonde hair in a seat nearby pipes up.
The class goes silent and the teacher's face seems to darken a bit. In an attempt to ignore whatever seems to be going on, I pull out a notebook to take notes on the teacher. Whatever happens to this class is of no consequence to me, the outcome will be the same either way. I need to collect as much information about him as I can before I make my move.
Top speed is Mach 20
Can only be killed with specialized weapons
This is going to be tough, I usually always know at least 15 things or more about a target before I ever even meet them. I don't intend to stay long so I can't the usual amount of time I take to collect intel. I tap the mechanical pencil impatiently against my chin. What to do? Suddenly, I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder, startling me out of my thoughts. I look up to see a boy with sky blue hair and pigtails, his eyes matching the color of his hair.
"Sorry, It's just that Koro-Sensei told us to follow him outside," The blue-haired boy explains.
I give him a small nod as thanks. I dig through my bag and pull out a whiteboard and dry erase marker. I grab my notebook as well and follow him outside. By the time we go out there the outside looks completely different from when I first arrived. Before the field was overgrown with grass and weeds. Now the area is completely flat and a track is now standing instead of the overgrown grass.
"If you students fail to place in the top fifty during exams, I will leave this school and make sure to leave nothing behind when I do," He growls menacingly.
Wait…. What? I just got here and my target is threatening to leave. I let out an annoyed sigh. If he leaves before I can manage to kill him…. No that's not an option. I suppose I'll have to collect intel on him and study for these stupid ass midterms at the same time. I rub one of my temples out of stress and annoyance. These damn amateurs are going to be the death of me. With his threat still lingering in the air, the bell rings signaling the changing of class. We all file back inside sullenly. After that school proceeds normally until the bell rings announcing that it's lunchtime. Grabbing my notebook and pencil I make a b-line outside and find a place to sit, under the shade of a large tree.
I look down at my pitiful excuse of intel. How am I going to go about this? He is far faster than I could ever hope to be. A direct approach definitely won't work. It's not like I could use my charms on a teacher. I let out an angry sigh and lean my head back against the tree. I know this job is worth a lot of money, but he couldn't have chosen an assignment that would require less time and effort?
"What is it that you're thinking so hard about?" A male's voice questions snapping me out of my thoughts.
I let out an involuntary groan of annoyance. Why can't these kids mind their own business? I bring my gaze down to look at the nosey party. Standing before me is the red-haired boy I sit next to, Karma. I bring my head back to the level to look at him properly and notice the blue-haired hair boy standing next to him. I flip my notebook to a fresh page.
Just thinking about how I'm going to go about killing that creature.
I quickly jot down before holding the paper up to show the boys. While I have no intention of befriending anyone in this class, I do know they are probably holding valuable information, seeing they have been here longer.
"I have a list of-" The blue-haired boy starts before Karma cuts him off midsentence.
"How about an exchange of information?" He suggests with a mischievous grin.
I narrow my eyes slightly. It's helpful that the blue-haired boy is so eager to share information. However, it's problematic that I was right about Karma. It's going to make attaining information from other students more of a task.
What kind of information are you looking for?
I hold up the question written on the notebook page. What is this boy up to?
"What's the quickest way to take down someone bigger than you?" He asks earnestly.
I blink at him a couple of times. That's it? That's what he wants to know? Well, I guess there's no harm in teaching him something about fighting. I stand up and throw my notebook and pencil on the ground. I might as well use the demonstration on him, seeing as he's a whole head taller than I. Without missing a beat I walk up to Karma. I immediately use my knee and hit him on the back of his knee as quickly as I can manage. Then I bring my hand to his throat and use my entire weight to chokeslam him into the dirt. I bring my knee up to press down on his chest, making it harder for him to recover. I smile down at his shocked face and slap his cheek lightly a couple of times before rising to my feet once more.
I turn to the blue-haired boy who is standing there, just as shocked as poor Karma. I motion with my hand for him to come over. He hesitantly takes a few steps toward me. I stare at him expectantly. After a couple of seconds his shock wears off and he pulls out a small notepad. He hands it to me and I flip it open. I inspect the contents for a minute. They don't have a whole lot more intel than me but I might as well write down anything useful.
Top speed is Mach 20
Can only be killed with specialized weapons
Can shed skin once a month
Has short fuse
Has no tolerance policy
Loves sweet things
Has a strong sense of smell
Punches are soft
Has a weakness for big boobs
Metal puzzles freak him out
After taking down what I deem useful I throw the notepad back at the blue-haired boy. I give a small nod as thanks. I give a glare to Karma who is back on his feet by now. I begin to walk away but stop in my tracks. I turn to face the boys once more.
You with the blue hair, what's your name?
There is silence for a moment as they both read the question.
"Oh uh, my name is Nagisa," The boy answers honestly.
Alright, thanks Nagisa.
With that, I turn and continue on my way back to the school building. I give a small wave as I depart from the two boys. With this little bit of information, I can try my hand at my first attempts at the creature's life.
We spend the rest of the school day studying and for me at least, hatching a plan. Soon the school day comes to an end and we all make our way out of the rickety old schoolhouse. We all make our way down the mountain, with me keeping as much distance from Karma as possible. Soon the other students start to break off into smaller groups as they head home. I turn down my street and quietly start to make my way to my house as I contemplate my plan more. I'll have to conduct some tests to obtain more information before I can finalize anything.
I stop in my tracks when I hear footsteps behind me. They stop almost immediately as soon as I do. I place my hand over the hilt of my knife and take a few more steps forward. Once I confirm that whoever is behind me is tailing me, I pull out my knife from its sheath. I turn around pulling my hand with the knife up to chest level as I do. I stare at this person for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out if my eyes are lying to me. Of course, it's Karma. What is this kid's deal? We stare at each other for a minute or two. I don't dare bring my blade down. While he might just be a middle school student, I'm not going to take any chances.
"So you won't speak even if it's just the two of us, huh?" He questions finally breaking the heavy silence.
I only shake my head in response. There is no way in hell I'm letting this kid know anything about me. I've only known him for a few hours but I can tell he is the type you don't want to trust. I don't move an inch and just stare him down. He lets out a laugh.
"My house is this way too, if I were following you I would have been way more discreet," He tosses out casually.
I look at him suspiciously for a couple more seconds before dropping my hand to my side, but not sheathing my knife. So was he keeping his distance on purpose? Perhaps it's easier to observe me from that distance. While I would like to keep this space between him, I also cannot allow him to stay walking behind me. I wave my hand, Motioning him to walk closer.
"I don't think I will," He retorts defiantly.
I'm going to strangle him. Despite my face betraying my emotions, he doesn't budge. At this rate, we'll be standing here all night. If I don't get home soon… I shake my head violently trying to chase away those thoughts. No, I can't think of that now, I have to focus on the situation at hand. After another minute of our staring contest, I give in. Even if by some unforeseen circumstance he kills me, it'll probably be much better than having to endure the wrath of my father.
I wordlessly turn my back on Karma and begin my journey home once more. I don't even bother to see if he's trailing behind me when I reach my house. I just sheath my knife and enter.
"What took…. took you so damn long?" I hear angry slurred words shouted as soon as I come inside.
I take off my shoes and walk into the living room. There, sitting on the couch is my father, beer in hand. I give an apologetic bow and begin picking up the mess he's left strewn across the coffee table. He grabs my arm and turns me to face him.
"I don't want my son now, I want to see my daughter," He spits out, tightening his grip on my arm.
He wants to see his daughter, which means this night is only ending one way for me. I cast my gaze to the floor and give a small nod.
"Good, don't take so long this time," He demands, letting go of my arm.
I shuffle to the bathroom and lock the door and I take a look in the mirror. A human I hardly recognize stares back at me. How did my life end up like this? I turn on the water and wet my fingers. Bringing them up to what looks like the hairline of my pitch-black hair I rub my wet fingers gently underneath the lip of the wig, dissolving the glue used to keep it in place. Sliding off the wig revealing my waist-length maroon hair, I brush it a couple of times to smooth it out. With the wig gone, I glance at my reflection in the mirror again, this time a person he has tried to erase for years staring back. The only time he wants to see her is when it's convenient to have a woman around. Well, I can't keep him waiting, lest I'm begging for a worse time. With that depressing thought, I unlock the door and go to meet my inevitable fate.
He pulls me close and smells my hair. He stops, I don't dare move or utter a single word.
"Why is there a smell of another boy on you?" He questions furiously, throwing me to the floor like a piece of trash. I don't bother getting up, it's going to make things worse. The smell must be from when I was showing Karma how to take someone down earlier. Not that father will care either way. "I always knew you were a whore, if I ever smell boy on you again, I'll kill you," He growls glaring down at me.
He gives me a hard kick to my stomach. I curl up, winded from the pain. He picks me up off the floor and slaps me with all his strength. He then lets go of me, dropping me back on the floor. He takes his beer and exits the living room and stumbles to his room, probably to pass out. I lie on the cold hard floor trying to collect myself again. After a while, I manage to get up and make my way to my room. I start studying and catching up on the material. I study late into the night before turning in for the night, falling into a restless sleep.