"Daddy, I'm ready!"
A twelve-year-old girl with her dark brown hair tied back in one hurried down the hallway to meet with her father. She was wearing a pastel purple hooded sweater and blue denim jeans, with a galaxy rucksack on her back, and she seemed pretty excited. She was going to be thirteen in a month, and she was going to go shopping with her father and older brother to prepare for her upcoming birthday party.
"Oh, there you are, Jaela," her father laughed when he saw her. "Where's your brother? Not ready yet?"
"Mm, I dunno. Where is Zen-chan?" she wondered.
"I'm here. Sorry for the hold-up," her brother called behind her.
"Zen-chan!" Jaela wrapped her arms around her brother's waist. "What took you so long, Zen-chan?"
Fifteen-year-old Zende chuckled and smiled down at his energetic sister.
"Sorry, sis, I had to search for my phone."
"If you're both finally ready, then let's go," their father said.
"Okay!" the siblings chimed in unison, and followed him out of their apartment.
. . .
Jaela's excitement to enter the clothes store to select her party outfit was getting the better of her – during the car journey, she wouldn't keep still, and now she was so hyper that her brother had to hold her up to keep her from running away until their father was ready, but even then he couldn't stop her fidgeting and squirming. She finally calmed down once they were inside, but out of nervousness. The massive size of the store scared her since she wasn't yet used to exploring such huge places, but a reassuring squeeze from Zende gave her some encouragement.
"Don't worry, sis," he said to her with a smile, "Remember what we used to swear when we played heroes."
"We both solemnly swear that we will never leave each other's side no matter what," she recited.
"That's right! So just keep holding my hand and you'll be fine, okay?"
Jaela's confidence came back in an instant. "Okay!"
Whilst exploring, the siblings crossed the accessory section, where Zende found a headband with glittering black cat ears.
"Hey, Jaela. How about this one?" he asked, showing his sister the headband.
He was surprised to find Jaela shake her head with a frown. "Why not? It would look cute."
"I don't want black," she countered. "I want cat ears that match the colour of my hair."
"Dark brown?" Zen checked the rest of the accessories, but couldn't spot anything that could be to Jaela's liking. "They don't seem to have that here, sis. Sorry," he said with a shrug. "Maybe we can get Dad to order some, okay?"
"Okay," she replied with disappointment. Having a pair of cat ears that matched her hair colour was the only thing she wanted more than anything, but no matter where they looked, nothing could be found.
Her brother smirked with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, come on now. Cheer up. It's not the end of the world yet," – he took her hand again – "Let's go see if we can get you a dress. We might be able to find a cool hero costume, or even an outfit suitable for a little gunslinger like you if we're lucky."
"Hehe, yeah." She answered with a giggle, and soon they found a mannequin model wearing a short black dress under a matching jacket and ankle boots. The size was meant to be for teens, but it didn't match Jaela's size, but she liked it.
Jaela hugged her brother's arm as she admired the style. "I can imagine myself with that one."
"Yeah, wearing it to your party." Zende replied with a teasing tone. "All the guys are going to come chasing after ya once they see you in it."
"Found something you like, Jaela?" their father asked as he approached.
"Uh-huh. I want that one, Daddy." She answered, pointing at the mannequin. "Ha, ha. We'll have to see if they have it in your size first, little kitten," her father pointed out, lifting her up. "Is that the only thing you want?"
"Mm, I wanted cat ears that matched my hair colour, but they only have black ones," she replied with a pout. "Do you think you could…maybe see if they have any online? I really want them."
Her father smiled. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Don't fret, Jaela. Your birthday isn't until next month so we have plenty of time. We'll buy this outfit for you and get the cat ears later, alright?"
"Okay!"
Much later...
"You know, Jaela, sometimes I don't understand why you have an obsession with being a gunslinger." Zende remarked, as they stood outside the car in the parking lot.
"Cos it's super cool! And fun!" she replied with a giggle, before imitating 'gunshots' with her hands and voice. "Pew, pew! Pew!"
Suddenly, there was a loud and panicked commotion somewhere in the parking lot. The siblings froze in their tracks. Their father looked up in the direction of the noises. Soon afterwards, he was pushed back by the impact of a bullet hitting his left shoulder. His daughter turned around as he hit the floor.
"Daddy?"
Hooded men with guns poured into the parking lot, their head raised his into the air and yelled at everyone.
"Everybody down! Now!"
Two ear-splitting shots were fired. Jaela screamed and covered her ears, terrified and confused, while Zende wrapped his arms around her before he saw his injured father struggling to get up. "Dad!" He had just hit the floor on his knees before another shot was fired into the air, and the siblings quickly scrambled towards their father.
"Dad, are you okay?! You're hurt!" Zen panicked, not knowing what to do except support his father's back as he tried to sit up.
"Don't worry about me, Zende," he grunted. "I'll be fine. Just keep your sister safe…"
"No, Dad, we can't just-!" his son protested, before a shot fired right at his foot. He looked up and saw a gunman aiming at him.
"I don't miss twice. Better keep your mouth shut if you want to live."
Silently, Zen glared at him as he pulled his trembling sister close to him. Jaela whimpered, tears welling up in her hazel eyes.
"Zen-chan…I'm scared." She whispered.
"It's okay, sis," he murmured. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Four gunmen went around, planning to attach hidden explosive to cars. Jaela steeled herself and tried to find some way to get out of their situation, but there wasn't any. But then she looked up at the car boot which was still open, noticing the first aid box just near the edge, then at her father, who was making huge efforts to stop the bleeding from his shoulder. Then she had a dangerous idea.
"Zen-chan, I have an idea," she whispered in her brother's ear. "Maybe if we're careful enough, we can get the first aid box in the car and help Daddy…"
Their father overheard what his daughter was saying and lost his composure when his son slowly shifted towards the car boot and his daughter tried to reach the first aid box, and forced himself up. "No, Jaela, don't!"
Suddenly, there were two loud shots, causing the siblings to flinch. When they turned around, they saw that their father had been shot again. They shut their eyes as more bullets penetrated his body and he dropped to the ground like a lifeless rag doll. Screams of panic filled the parking lot. Zen jumped to his feet to try and help his father.
"Dad! Gah!"
Two bullets hit him – one on his arm and the other hit his calf and he fell onto the floor. Seconds later, the bombs detonated. Explosions surrounded everyone. Jaela ran and hid behind a nearby tree, taking cover, and before her brother could come after her, their father used the last of his strength, throwing his arms around his son to protect him from the full impact of the explosion.
When Zen regained consciousness and tried to get up, he winced at the burns and bullet wounds. His grey hoodie and black trousers were torn and matted with blood. All he could see were flames, blood and overturned cars. No gunmen. Just gentle rainfall. Regardless of the pain, he forced himself to get to his feet, only to turn around and see his father lying on his back with wounds all over.
"D-Dad! Dad!" Zende staggered towards him, dropping on his knees. He felt stinging tears in his eyes once he saw the fullest extent. Seven bullet wounds – two fatal – and multiple burns. "Dad, no, please, don't…"
His father placed a bloodied hand on his son's face. "You're a brave boy, Zende," he breathed out while Zende shook his head slowly, "Stay strong. Stay courageous. You can…become a hero…in this world, or another…"
"Dad, no…"
"Protect…protect Jaela…"
His hand slipped off his son's face, leaving smears on it, and dropped lifeless on the floor. Within a moment, Zende's screaming broke the silence. Biting his lip, he got to his feet with slight unease. Of all the people he wanted to protect if he became a hero, the one person he couldn't protect was his own father. The tears welled up when his sister, having heard his screams, came out of hiding and ran to her brother with joy.
"Zen-chan! Zen-chan! You're okay!" she said with happiness, but she stopped in her tracks when Zen turned to face her. "Zen-chan?"
"Where were you?"
"Huh?" Jaela was confused.
"Where were you?" her brother repeated approaching her with a limp.
"What do you mean?" But then she saw her father's dead body and realised the truth, and she started to cry. "No, I-I…I didn't know. I didn't know! I just wanted to help, I just wanted to help!"
"You…ran away. You ran away, while Dad was dying!"
Out of his self-anger, he slapped his sister's face. Hard. The impact made her fall backwards, and when she sat up she screamed, "Why did you do that?!"
"Because you're a jinx! A coward and a jinx!" he shouted grabbing her face, "I should never have listened to you!"
Suddenly, as Jaela started to cry and plead, Zen realised what he was doing and slowly came to his senses. What had he done? He had hurt his own sister, when none of this was even her fault. Wouldn't he have tried to reach that first-aid box in her position? He let her go, stared down at his bloodied hand with a pained expression, then closed his fist tightly. With self-loathing and pain, he gave his sister one last look, before he walked away from her, leaving her crying, screaming and begging him not to leave her. He ignored it, not wanting to feel any more pain than he already was. Suddenly when he reached a nearby car, he collapsed, succumbing to his injuries. The last thing he remembered was seeing a black figure before he blacked out.
Soon afterwards...
As the flames continued to flicker and the rain continued to fall, a figure appeared from the shadows and walked towards the dark haired twelve-year-old girl crying on the floor. The male was wearing a black bodysuit with metal highlights, with his purple scarf flowing behind him. He also wore a black hood over his head and a mask covering his mouth and nose. He stopped in front of the girl, who was crying so much she didn't even notice him, went down on one knee and pulled down his mask.
"Hello, little girl," he spoke in a soft-like voice. "Where's your brother?"
Jaela looked up at the male in front of her with a sniffle. All she could see under his hood was his obsidian bangs and the purple tattoos under his grey eyes. With tears in her eyes, she threw her arms around him, almost catching the man off guard. His hood came off in the process, revealing his black hair in a top knot.
"He…he left me," she answered in a broken voice, "He left me. He promised he would never leave me, but he…he broke his promise and abandoned me. He is not my brother anymore…"
The ninja looked down at the tearful child, and, pitying her, slowly closed his arms around her in an embrace, placing one hand on her damp hair.
"It's alright," he told her. "We'll show them the punishment they deserve. We'll show them to respect us. We'll show each and every one of them."
As those words sank in, a flame of desire ignited inside Jaela. A desire to become stronger. A desire to get her own back. A desire to make humans and monsters, heroes and villains alike, to fear her. A desire to show the whole world, including her own brother, to pay her with the respect she was due. And on that very same day, that small flame of desire became a wildfire.
