"WHAT!" I exclaimed. There was no way on Earth I could kill my own parents. It was one thing to watch them die, knowing that they were going to die no matter what I did, but killing them myself was an entirely different matter. I couldn't do it.

Kirigi grabbed the chain a third time, holding it loosely, which surprised me. He strode determinedly toward my house, and I was forced to follow him. If I didn't the chain would cut my neck. We got to my front yard where my parents were being held hostage. Kirigi let go of my chain, then pulled it out from around my neck quickly, making the back of my neck burn. I tenderly put my right hand behind my neck to try and ease the pain. My parents looked over at me and my mother screamed.

"Kirigi, please," I pleaded. "I'm begging you. Please don't make me do this. I'll do anything."

"You said you wanted to join The Hand. All I'm asking is that you prove it." Kirigi pulled my hand from my neck and stuffed my bracelet into it. "They're standing right there. One sharp blow should do it."

"I can't do it," I whispered quietly. "I can't."

"You have to!" Kirigi roared. I looked over at my parents. My father was looking at me with a pleading look and my mother was crying. The people that were holding them looked almost bored. I knew at that moment I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to kill my parents. I took my bracelet out of my fist and put it back on my wrist.

"Treasure, you have to do this. You don't have a choice. You have made a commitment to The Hand and you don't have a choice!"

"Fine, then," I said, looking up at him without flinching. "Make me."

"Treasure, just do it, then we can all go home."

"That's my home right there," I said, pointing to the little cottage. "Now I guess you're going to have to kill me." I knew that if Kirigi was trying this hard to get me to join and he kept offering me chances to back down he must really want me in. It gave me false hope that I had nothing to worry about.

I was wrong. Kirigi grabbed one of his dagger-things out of its holder and, gently and slowly, placed it against my neck. I couldn't move partly because of the dagger-thing and partly because I was so scared. Kirigi bent over and whispered in my ear, "Just do it."

"Go ahead, kill me," I whispered back. "I'm not afraid of death."

"Be that as it may, but The Hand needs you on our side," Kirigi whispered more fiercely.

"Hey," I whispered, "I never said I wouldn't join. You're the only one taking this as a big refusal act."

All of a sudden my mother screamed and tried running away, but the sword used to keep her in place took her head clean off. I quickly turned away, placing the front of my neck right next to Kirigi's dagger, which hadn't moved. When I did that, though, he quickly dropped it and ran over to my mother's dead body. He started yelling at the guy who was supposed to hold onto her. I couldn't even hear what he was saying because I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't feel anything. My entire body had gone numb.

Kirigi looked over at me with a stunned expression. He walked over to me and whispered as quietly as he could, "I still want you in. Run as far away as you can and I'll come back for you."

I nodded and took off in the opposite direction and I ran as fast as I possibly could, which was pretty fast. I ran until I couldn't run anymore, then I dropped down to my knees, put my face in my hands, and sobbed.

I stayed there for a moment, just crying. Then reality hit me. I had nowhere to go. I was all alone and I didn't know where I was, had nowhere to go, and my mother was dead. I heard a voice calling my name, and I turned and ran toward it. I was in such a state of shock that it took me awhile before I realized that the voice was my dad's. I ran into him and he hugged me. At that moment I felt like I was in my own little world and nothing could touch me, although in the back of my mind I knew that in reality, my father and I both were in mortal danger. Danger from The Hand, ourselves, and anyone we come across. I realize that neither one of us will ever be the same again, but something is still pricking at the back of my mind.

"Dad?" I asked. "Why did Kirigi keep calling me Treasure? What is a Treasure?" Dad explained the treasure thing to me, and I wished that I had never agreed to join The Hand. It sounded an awful like they wanted my power, not me. Then again, I told myself, What ever led me to believe anything else? Everything seems like it's in another dimension, so I'm just going to forget it and hope for the best. One thing I know for sure, though, is that I never want Kirigi to find me. Ever.