The air in the house kept getting tenser with every passing day. It even followed me when I went to school. It was mostly from Iemitsu and I. We both despised each other and for good reasons. It's been like this for three months. While walking home from school, Aya alarmed me of people following us. I could hardly smell them when I concentrated. That meant they were hiding themselves on purpose. Regular people with flames didn't smell that faintly. I turned the corner and pulled Aya out from my bag. She grew to human size. It was something that didn't take a lot of energy out of me. She hid in the shadows while I crouched down to look at something. I could fully smell them now. One by one, their scents were disappearing. I stood up once all of the scents went away. I saw dead bodies on the ground. I grimaced.
"Don't worry, master. Death is just a process for humans. Anyway, I have enough memories to awaken everyone." Aya turned back into a doll. I caught her before going back home. Iemitsu looked surprised to see me. He was the one that sent the people after me.
"I'm back home, mama."
"Welcome home, Yona. How was school?"
"It was boring. Sending me to that academy made school go slow. I learned everything already." Mama chuckled. I had to play along with the notion I actually did go to an academy. It's easier on everyone if I did. As long as I knew the truth, nothing else mattered.
"I'm glad you're so smart, Yona."
"So am I. Grandma used to say how I'm exactly like her." I saw Iemitsu's stare darken.
"Go do your homework. Dinner will be done shortly."
Upstairs, Aya moved out of my arms and kissed each of her sisters on the lips. They opened their eyes before closing them again. "I thought they'd come to life."
"They're getting used to the new power. Let them rest. They'll wake up when you need them. Your power is still too raw and small to use all of us at once."
"How do I get more power?"
"Your body is small, master. When you grow, your powers will too. For now, using me to get rid of threats are all you need to keep your training up. You'll awaken my sisters one by one until you can use all of us. That will expand your power limit."
"Yona! Tsuna! Dinner is ready." Aya fell back down lifeless. I went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I was across from Iemitsu while mama sat next to Tsuna to help him eat. Tsuna ate happily, squirming in his seat from the sheer joy mama's food gave him. Iemitsu and I had a staring contest during the majority of dinner.
"How was school, Yona?" Iemitsu asked.
"Boring."
"Did you make any friends? It is the start of a new year after all."
"No. I don't need to make any other friends than the ones I have now."
"By the way, will you participate in the talent show again?" Mama asked me.
"I think so."
"It'll be nice if you sing again. Mama loves your voice."
School was actually really boring. Every day I went in, I'd repeat the same day over and over. Thanks to grandma's teachings, I could absorb the information a lot quicker. It's what happened when you're taught a certain way to learn. It isn't anything special. I'm not a genius. My classmates never interacted with me. They didn't dislike me at all. In fact, they were all kind to me. I just didn't put in the effort to become friends with anyone. We got an exchange student one day.
"Hello, my name is Marco. I'm originally from Italy, but I came here to study." He almost had no accent. Everyone was in awe. It was impressive he knew Japanese at a young age.
"You can sit next to Hiro." Hiro rose his hand. He was in the front. Marco looked at me and smiled before sitting down. I did not like that at all. It made my stomach ache. During recess, Marco approached me.
"Hello." I ignored him. He stunk like all the others. "It's rude to ignore a new friend."
"You'll never be my friend." I said coldly.
"Why not?"
"I don't like you." I continued to play in the sand.
"You're not a good person." He said bluntly.
"And?" He crouched down beside me.
"I don't like it when people are mean to me." He held my hand and started squeezing tightly. I continued to ignore him despite my hand starting to cramp. "Does it hurt?"
"Not really."
"I'll break your hand."
"Go for it. I'm sure they'll ship you back to Italy." He stopped and scoffed.
"At least I don't play with dolls."
"That's an insult? How about you think of something better?"
A couple of weeks went by. We had a group project and of course, I was paired with Marco. "Isn't that great, Yona? We get to spend the next two weeks at each other's houses."
"It's as great as my dead grandparents." He was thrown off his guard. "We'll go to my house after school." I said. When we got home, Iemitsu looked at Marco with familiarity. It bothered me. Mama was surprised to see Marco.
"Oh my. Did you get a boyfriend, Yona? He's very handsome."
"He's my project partner." I said bluntly.
"You can call me mama." She ignored me and kept talking to Marco.
"Okay, mama."
"Don't call her mama. She's not your mother."
"Don't be rude, Yona." Iemitsu said strictly.
"You should have seen how rude she was when I tried to be her friend."
"Yona?" Iemitsu said as a warning. I ignored everyone and went into the living room. Tsuna was outside playing. He saw Marco and immediately didn't trust him.
"Your brother is cute."
"Let's get on with the project. The quicker we get done, the less I have you in my domain."
"You're so mean to me."
"You're an annoying fly." Iemitsu glared at me.
"So, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Marco asked me. The project was to get to know each other. This included our favorite things and what we wanted to be when we grow up.
"Magician."
"Really? I can see you as the assistant. You don't seem like someone who wants to be the center of attention." I ignored him.
"What about you?"
"Assassin. I think it's cool how they're always in the shadows."
"Isn't that childish?" I questioned, writing down his answer.
"It isn't. There's a lot of assassins everywhere in the world. You never know who could be one. It's exhilarating." I stared at him for a few seconds.
"I'll call the police to put you on a list of people to keep out of Japan."
"No police would be able to stop me." I rolled my eyes. It was a childish thought. "What's your favorite color?" Marco asked me.
"Gold."
"Mine is red. It represents anger."
"Do you know what gold represents?" I asked him.
"No."
"It represents royalty." He scoffed.
"You? Royalty? I can't see that." This went on for another two hours. Most of the conversation trailed off into us watching cartoons and eating snacks. "Well, I'm headed home. Sleep well, Yona." He had a grin I didn't like.
"Be safe, sweetie." Mama said.
"I will, mama." The way he looked at her pissed me off. Once he left, Iemitsu sat me down.
"Why did you treat Marco like that?"
"Like what?"
"You were rude and answered coldly to him. Do you not like him?" He asked. Mama was putting Tsuna to bed.
"I don't."
"If you don't like someone, you don't show it. You have to be nice to everyone." I tilted my head.
"I wasn't showing it. If I really did, I wouldn't even allow him inside the house."
"Marco is a good boy. He isn't a troublemaker or a bad person."
"How do you know him, Iemitsu?" I questioned. He hesitated for a few seconds.
"I don't." It was a lie. "Look, Yona. You need to let people in. It won't be you and mama for your life."
"I have all I need. You can't change my mind, Iemitsu." I got up and went to my room. Aya was dancing on my bed stand. "Having fun?" I asked.
"I am! Who was the boy?"
"Marco. Something is off about him. I don't like it."
"Do I get to have fun?"
"If he even tries to attack me in my room, then you have my permission to have fun. I don't want mama and Tsuna to be traumatized."
"Yes, master."
Again, Marco was at my house. Mama and Iemitsu weren't here. They were probably shopping. This time, he crossed the line. "Don't touch her!" I heard Tsuna yell. Why was he upstairs? Marco ran down with Freya in his hands.
"What kind of weird doll is this?" He asked.
"Let go of her." I demanded.
"Why?" He was playing with her as if she was a rag doll. Her limbs were going everywhere.
"I'm warning you. Let go of her."
"Or what?"
"Yona!" Tsuna ran down crying. He had Alter in his hands. Her clothing was ripped. My eyes widened. I glared at Marco.
"What did you do to her?"
"Huh? I wanted to see if she had the real thing underneath." I gave Alter to Tsuna.
"Keep her safe, Tsuna." He nodded. I turned to Marco. I didn't care if I'd get in trouble. I was going to teach him a lesson.
"Why do you look so angry, Yona?" He asked nervously. I immediately punched him in the face. Once he let go of Freya, I gave her to Tsuna. Marco was holding his face in pain. I took a hold of his hair and slammed is head against the wall several times.
"You do not touch what is not yours. How hard is that to understand?" I asked.
"They're just dolls. They're meant to be played with."
My grip on his hair tightened. I dragged him into the living room and pushed him onto the ground. I got on top of him and started to choke him. I made sure to sit on his arms so he couldn't stop me. He was struggling to breathe. I looked and saw Tsuna had gone upstairs to hide. I felt like snapping his neck. That's when I was kicked off Marco.
"Yona!" I looked and saw Iemitsu. Mama wasn't here.
"What do you want, Iemitsu?"
"What the hell were you thinking? You almost killed an innocent child. Marco, are you okay?"
"Fine, boss." My frown deepened. Tsuna ran down with Alter and Freya. He had wrapped Alter up in a washcloth.
"Tsuna?" Iemitsu questioned.
"He almost broke Yona's dolls. They're important to her." He handed the dolls to me.
"Why is Alter in a washcloth?" I asked him. He smiled brightly.
"I wanted to cover her up since her clothes were broken." I rubbed the top of Tsuna's head.
"Thank you, Tsuna." I looked and saw Marco snarling at me. I'll be sure to get rid of him.
"Go home, Marco. I'll take care of her." Iemitsu said tenderly. He showed more compassion to Marco than me. Once Marco was gone, Iemitsu slapped me across the face. Tsuna gasped and started to fuss. I looked up with a glare. I despised Iemitsu. "Your room, now. No dinner."
That night, I was fixing Alter's clothing. Thankfully, I could easily repair her dress. Aya jumped onto my desk. "Don't worry, master. My sisters are strong."
"It doesn't matter if they're the strongest beings in the world. It wouldn't even mattered if they were gods. They were touched."
"Your brother was very protective of us. He'll come in and look at us." This was new information. I looked at Aya from my homework.
"Why does he do that?"
"He thinks we're really pretty." Aya fell on the desk as the door opened. Mama walked in.
"Yona…"
"You don't need to say anything, mama. I refuse to apologize to anyone. That thing touched my dolls."
"You're very stubborn like your grandma. I know I can't make you think differently."
"Did Iemitsu send you up here to discipline me?" I asked her.
"No. I came to check on your dolls. Tsuna said they broke."
"They didn't break. Alter's clothing was ripped apart." Mama looked at my handiwork.
"You did a good job, Yona. I'm sure Alter appreciates it."
"I hope she does."
After that incident, Marco and I were separated. No one in class batted an eye. I didn't have to work on the project, but I did have to do extra work on the side. It wasn't much or a bother. In fact, I enjoyed not having to work with anyone.
"Yona." I heard Marco call my name out. It was the end of the day.
"What do you want now?"
"I wanted to apologize."
"I won't accept any apologies from you."
"I'm trying to be the better person. I shouldn't have touched your dolls."
"You still did it."
"Please? I really want to be your friend." I shook my head.
"I'd rather have a rock as a friend before you."
"Huh? Why a rock?"
"I can trust a rock." Marco suddenly had a personality change.
"You don't trust me?" He asked quietly.
"I don't."
"Run."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm giving you a head start to run before I kill you. I'm still very upset at what you did to me." I felt something I didn't like. I took my stuff before running. I didn't want to chance anything. I could hear Marco laughing. This kid was not sane. "You can't run from me!" Marco yelled. I turned the corner and Marco was there waiting for me. I took off again. "Like I said, Yona. You can't outrun me. I'm stronger than you. I'm faster than you." I was starting to get scared. Was he really going to kill me? I saw Marco waiting up the street. How did he get there? I looked back and saw another Marco. How the hell were there multiples of him? "Now that I've got you cornered, I'm going to give you payback."
"By killing me?"
"You learn quickly, Yona." He had a knife in his hand. There was nowhere I could run. Marco prepared himself.
"My, my. I never expected you to be the center of trouble, master." My eyes widened. It wasn't Aya. I felt a gentle, cold hand squeeze my shoulder. I looked up and saw Freya. She looked down and smiled. Marco looked at Freya with disbelief.
"What? The doll came back to life?"
"What shall I do to him?"
"Freya…" I was still in shock that she came to life.
"Shall I kill him?" She asked me.
"There's no way a doll can kill me." Marco said with confidence.
"It'd be too suspicious if you left a dead body. Make it look like an accident."
"Such a devious master you are." She curtseyed. "I shall complete my task perfectly." Freya moved quickly to Marco and threw him towards a moving car. His body was rolled over. The man driving saw us and screamed. Freya walked over. "We don't need any witnesses." She kissed him, ultimately killing the man. She walked over and smiled. "It's done, master. Shall we go?" I nodded.
"Thank you, Freya."
"I should be thanking you, master. You gave me life and a purpose." She turned into a doll. "Put me in your bag, master. No one knows I left. Iemitsu kept an eye on us today."
"He's really trying to kill me…"
"We haven't heard the words come from his mouth yet, but that is what we suspect."
I put Freya into my bag and walked home. I wasn't being followed. When I entered the house, no one was home. It was weird. Shouldn't everyone be home? Something was off. I put my bag down on the table and opened it to get my notebooks. Freya put a finger to her mouth to keep me quiet. Once I put my stuff on the kitchen table, I got some snacks in the fridge. I sat and started my homework. The door slammed open. Iemitsu ran in and stared at me with surprise and relief.
"Yona…"
"What?"
"You're home."
"Was I supposed to not be?" I questioned. He shook his head.
"It's nothing. How was school?"
"Boring. Where's mama and Tsuna?"
"They're at the store. By the way, did you see Marco on the way home?"
"No. Why?"
"It's nothing. I was wondering if you two made up." I shook my head.
"He hurt my dolls."
By the time mama and Tsuna got home, I was done my homework. There was a concert on playing on the television. I was enamored by the music. Iemitsu was watching it with me and noticed how interested I was. Tsuna was coloring on the floor peacefully.
"Do you like the music?"
"What's that deep sound?" I asked.
"That's the bass. See? It's the red instrument. Do you like the sound?"
"I want to play it." I said with quiet determination.
"Maybe if you ask Santa, he might bring you one." I rolled my eyes.
"Santa?" Tsuna asked excitedly.
"That's right! You should start making a list so Santa knows what you want for Christmas." It was nearing December. No wonder the number of toys on commercials increased. I hardly noticed it. The concert was cut off by a news report.
"A freak accident happened today in Namimori where a child was run over by a car." A news reporter spoke in a serious tone. Mama came running in as Iemitsu turned the sound up. "Sources say an Italian exchange student and a salaryman that worked at a local accounting firm are the two victims. There were no eyewitnesses. They were found earlier today."
I stared with surprise. "Yona?" Mama said with worry.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine…I think." I answered honestly. It never really clicked in my head. I sent both of them to their deaths. Was I a bad person? Would anyone even believe me if I told them it was my fault?
"All of Namimori schools will be shut down until further notice." The reporter said before ending the segment. Iemitsu rubbed my back.
"It'll be okay, Yona." He said in a gentle voice. It almost made me forget my dislike towards him.
"I think I should have apologized." I said with slight confusion.
"Don't think about what you should have done, Yona. It won't help the heaviness." Tsuna looked at me and noticed something was wrong. He got up from his spot and hugged me with a big smile. His grip was tight for a kid.
"Are you worried about Yona, Tsuna?" Mama asked him.
"Yona looked sad." I put a hand on Tsuna's back. Despite everything I put him through, he'd still hug me. School would be out for a month. The legal aspects between the two countries is what was rumored to be why school was out this long.
"I'm going to lay down."
"You do that, sweetie."
When I got upstairs, I ran to the bathroom and puked. I'm a murderer. The blood wasn't on my hands, but that didn't make my stomach feel better. I still gave Aya and Freya orders. They're dolls in everyone's eyes. Did he actually want to be friends with me? Did he only want to kill me? Mama came into the bathroom and rubbed my back. Even when I had nothing in my stomach, my body kept forcing itself to get rid of any remnants inside. Was it trying to purge my sin?
"It'll be okay, Yona. I'm sure he didn't feel any pain. He didn't suffer." I knew mama was trying to make me feel better, but I knew the truth. His neck snapped as the tire rolled over it. I could still see his eyes popping out from the force. A human body wasn't supposed to look that contorted. I started to heave again just from the memory. When I stopped, my body was drained to the point of exhaustion. "Let's get you to bed. I'll bring up some ginger tea and crackers." I nodded and trudged across the hall to my room. I changed into my pajamas and got in bed. It was cold underneath the covers. I shivered. I didn't want to feel like this. I shouldn't be this guilty.
Mama came back in with tea and a package of crackers. She put them on a nightstand beside my bed. "Get some sleep, Yona. Tomorrow is a new day. Do you want anything while I'm here?"
"I'm good, mama." She kissed my forehead and left. Freya was still in my bag. Thankfully, I put it up in my room after I was done homework. She got out of the bag and jumped onto the bed.
"My master is sick."
"I feel guilty, Freya."
"It's all part of the process. Soon, you'll be used to this."
"Why?" I asked her, snuggling into my blankets.
"As an alchemist, life is essential to your work. It's a necessary sacrifice."
"My work?" She nodded.
"To awaken me, you needed to kill all those men. Aya did that for you. I was only awakened when I knew my master was in trouble."
"I'm confused." She smiled and rubbed my forehead.
"It's a very complicated process, master. Sleep for now. You're confused now, but you'll come to understand. Good night, master. The four of us will keep you safe. That is why we were created."