I'm not going to update for the next two weeks because I'm going on vacation, the next chapter is already written, but I have to edit it before posting it, I promise I will do it when I get back.

Thanks to everyone reading this crazy story.


Chapter 03: Determination.

During the past six months, Ichiyo's life had changed completely after her release from the hospital, she was taken to an apartment where she found her sister there, she hadn't believed the man had kept his promise until she saw Natsu with her own eyes.

Akutagawa her new boss or whatever hadn't visited her once since they first met, but he had put everything at her disposal so that she would heal quickly, there was even a nurse taking care of her and her sister 24 hours a day.

Her pride hurt her because she depended on a criminal to live in the literal sense of the word, because of her fall, she was unable to do anything or move anyway, so her only solution was to accept the generosity of her benefactor who was also the colleague of the woman who kidnapped her. Ichiyo didn't have a choice anyway, besides, she couldn't afford to take care of her little sister, she was able to make a pact with the devil for Natsu's sake. She didn't know what Akutagawa expected of her, but even if he told her to go to hell she would because without him she and her sister would have died.

The debt she owed to the creepy man tortured Ichiyo's mind and that day when Akutagawa came to her house, she knew it was time to start paying it. He had arrived at the apartment at midnight, entering without waiting for an invitation. At the time, Ichiyo was sleeping soundly, which is why her heart almost stopped when he suddenly woke her up.

"What are you doing here?" She dropped her question, which was silly, because the man owned the apartment she was in.

Akutagawa didn't respond to her as expected, instead he motioned for her to follow him before walking out of the room.

Ichiyo's heart started beating normally as she let out a long sigh to stabilize her breathing, her body unable to move because she was paralyzed with fear. Her mind was busy asking several questions, but she stopped doing it when she realized that she was wasting her time and making Akutagawa wait for no reason. After her final thought, Ichiyo jumped out of bed, now afraid that the man would get angry with waiting for her, but despite that, she took the time to put on jeans and a decent shirt, because she was not going to stand in front of the man in the nightgown.

Ichiyo found Akutagawa in the living room, his back turned to her as he gazed at the city through the large window. She stopped behind him, keeping some distance between them to make her feel safe, even though this man helped her in the worst time of her life, she didn't trust him because she felt that there was a sinister reason behind it all.

The more time passed and the more stifling the silence became for Ichiyo, she thought that maybe the man hadn't noticed her, but in reality, it had only been a few seconds since she arrived at the living room while to her it seemed to be longer.

"It's time for you to prove yourself." He began to speak cryptically, still keeping his back to her. "You're gonna have to prove you're worth it."

Confusion invaded Ichiyo's mind, she couldn't understand what the man in front of her was saying, prove herself? Worth What? She didn't understand anything at all and she didn't have the courage to ask for an explanation.

"You have to show me that you are ready to follow me," He added. "That you are ready to survive the difficult path that awaits you."

Ichiyo was starting to understand Akutagawa's incomprehensible speech a little, anyway, she had neither the choice nor the will to refuse because she wanted to pay her debt to him.

"What should I do?" She asked firmly, trying to mask the tremor in her voice.

He turned to her, holding a pistol in his right hand which scared Ichiyo. She swallowed as she forced herself to look him straight into his silver eyes.

"You have the right to choose whoever you want," He said as he handed her the weapon. "I wouldn't help you, I would just be a spectator."

The devil was standing in front of Ichiyo and apparently asking her to commit murder. She had never killed anyone in her life, even when she took revenge on her father, she waited until he was awake before burning the house down. She wasn't a criminal and she couldn't do it, but strangely, she felt the temptation to kill aroused in her like a burning flame, the man in front of her transformed an act that was taboo for her exciting, especially when the image of the person she wanted to kill appeared in her mind.

Ichiyo accepted the weapon and began to examine it with her eyes, she had never held a gun in her hands before, it was heavier than she imagined.

"I don't know how to use it." She said, looking up at Akutagawa again.

"It's loaded, you just have to aim and pull the trigger." He explained as he frowned even more.

She nodded and resumed examining the object in her hands, thinking of the victim she had chosen for her first crime. It was crazy how she had come to terms with the concept of killing so quickly.

"Let's go." Akutagawa ordered her, as if he had read her mind and knew she had chosen who to kill.

Ichiyo followed him to the parking lot where he was about to climb into the passenger seat of a black car (typical of the Mafia), apparently he decided she was going to drive, it was normal because she was the one who knew where the victim she had chosen was, but it was beyond her capacities, she had not traveled much in Yokohama, so she did not know very well the streets of the city, but her destination was marked forever in her mind, she will never forget the motel she stayed in when she arrived in town.

Silence reigned in the car, apparently Akutagawa was not a fan of conversation and Ichiyo did not have the courage to speak, she wanted to ask him several questions that had invaded her mind from the first day of their meeting, but it all evaporated because of the fear.

Akutagawa was a man who gave off a sinister aura and the fact that his life was in his hands scared Ichiyo even more. She didn't understand why he decided to save her and what he was planning to do with her?

She has already questioned the nurse who was taking care of her because the woman was hired by him and she was the messenger between them, but she did not gather much information about him, all she knew was that he was a member of the Port Mafia.

It was a weird situation for Ichiyo, she was on her way to murder just because Akutagawa asked her to do it, but she wasn't going to do it for him or for her, she was going to do it to avenge her little sister. After Ichiyo got kidnapped, the receptionist who apparently owned the motel was planning to sell her sister in the organ market, luckily Akutagawa arrived in time to save her, which is why Ichiyo swore to do whatever the man told her because her debt could not be repaid even though she worked her whole life.

When she parked in front of the motel, Ichiyo began to doubt herself because panic mounted in her, her stomach knotted and the thought of restarting the car was tempting to her. But the moment she heard the door slam, she turned to the passenger side and noticed that Akutagawa had already left the car and he was about to cross the street. Ichiyo picked up the weapon that was on her thighs and hurried out of the vehicle to catch up with him, she needed to talk to him before doing anything, it's true that he told her he was going to be just a spectator, but he could at least give her some advice and encourage her a little.

"Sir," She called him, deciding to use a title out of respect. "What should I do now?"

She swallowed and waited for him to answer her, she needed him to tell her something, besides, she didn't know how she was going to come in and kill the woman at the reception with everyone in the street, there were many witnesses to the crime she was about to commit, plus she had to take precautions, maybe her future victim would defend herself and had a hidden weapon, even without a weapon, the woman was the build of a man, she could crush Ichiyo with a single punch.

"I told you I won't help you." He pointed out before starting to cross the street.

"There are a lot of witnesses, if I shoot the police will probably disembark quickly." She underscored her concerns as she followed him, trying to hide the weapon in her hands from the eyes of passers-by.

"Don't worry about that, the police will never intervene in this area and people are used to hearing gunshots." He explained as he was heading towards the motel, apparently he guessed the identity of the victim chosen by Ichiyo.

"And if she has a gun and shoots us with it," She tried to argue in panic. "I don't even know how to use a gun."

"Be smart and don't show her that you came to kill her," He advised her before stopping and turning his gaze to her. "Or maybe you want to give up?"

"No," She hissed hard, fearing to anger him when she delayed answering. "I will do it."

He started walking again and she followed him without saying anything else because she didn't want him to get mad at her.

A lump of anguish was growing in Ichiyo's chest and she couldn't help but shake, she followed Akutagawa inside the motel where they were greeted by her future victim. The receptionist's already wrinkled face crumpled even more at seeing them, but her attention was focused on Akutagawa, completely ignoring Ichiyo, which was a good thing to try to think of a strategy to kill her. If there was no counter, she could have tried to aim discreetly and shoot her, but because of the half stone wall, the target was not only protected and she could even hide a weapon to defend herself.

"I wasn't expecting a visit from the mad dog." The receptionist said in a disgusted tone, it was clear that she did not like Akutagawa.

"I'm here on a business." He answered mysteriously, which prompted Ichiyo to quickly think of something to get the receptionist out from behind the counter.

Ichiyo tried to muster her wits as she watched everything around her. When she saw the keys hanging behind the woman, her mind lit up as she had an idea that might work.

"I came here to collect something that I left in my old room," Ichiyo said, trying to appear calm so as not to be suspected. "As you know, I didn't have a chance to gather my things before I left." She added more firmly, alluding to what happened.

"You didn't leave anything in the room, I checked it myself." The receptionist responded with her male voice.

Ichiyo glanced at Akutagawa for help, something he wasn't going to do because he remained silent, his hands in his pockets, looking at the old woman with a look of disgust.

"I hid it in a place so no one could find it." Ichiyo insisted, deciding not to let go.

"I've found nothing." The woman growled more firmly.

Ichiyo's patience ran out, she was tempted to shoot the woman with the weapon she hid behind her back, but she decided to change her approach.

"Listen to me very good old fool, I didn't come here to ask you to let me take back what is mine," She slammed as she spoke in a way of speaking used in the streets. "I just came to pick it up, so are you going to come and open the door for me or I have to go upstairs and smash it."

Ichiyo was surprised at herself, it was the first time she had threatened someone and she had to admit that she did a good job because the woman in front of her was thinking. Akutagawa's presence gave her courage, he was not just a spectator, he intimidated the old woman with his gaze.

"So?" The blonde added with the same threatening tone, she felt brave because she had Akutagawa with her.

"There are already clients staying in the room." The receptionist explained.

"No problem, it will only take a minute." Ichiyo insisted.

The defeated expression on the receptionist's face was relieving for Ichiyo, but what was even more relieving was the moment the woman stepped out from behind her counter and asked them to follow her.

Watching her target's wide back, Ichiyo scanned the right time to take her down, her trigger finger on hold. But the blonde couldn't help the hesitation overwhelming her, she was about to take someone's life away. So to cheer herself up, she thought about what might have happened to her and Natsu if Akutagawa hadn't helped her. She glanced at the man walking silently beside her and met his terrifying gaze, that was enough to dispel her hesitation and push her to aim at the woman in front of her.

It was a moment that was marked for life in Ichiyo's mind, she will never forget the sound of the shots she fired nor the image of the five bloody holes in the receptionist's back, she was frozen in her place, looking at her work in dread.

"Let's go." She heard Akutagawa growl as he started to pull her back.

Ichiyo understood that they had to run away before anyone saw them, it's true that no one cares about the murders in the neighborhood, but they'd better not be noticed.

Akutagawa escorted her to the car before letting go.

"Go home now," He said, burying a cell phone in her trembling hands. "Keep that with you."

Her throat tightened, preventing her from asking questions, anyway she couldn't say anything to him because he walked away from her with surprising speed like a ghost, she turned to the car, surprised he had left it.

Ichiyo took one last look at the motel where she had just killed a person before getting into the car, she threw the murder weapon and the cell phone in the passenger seat, deciding to pull herself together. Now was no time for remorse, it was the moment to realize that this is the world she will fall into as she follows Akutagawa.