No one´s POV
Amy and Myla reached their destination. In front of them was a huge entrance to a Japanese fortress, which consisted of 2 Japanese castles, positioned in a plain with a wide river and water. They had built moats and hedges around the first building, which was 3 stories tall, to protect the castle´s defenses. There was a massive stone wall as well that surrounded both castles, even in the water. Water divided the buildings, only a bridge connected them. The second castle, which was 7 stories tall, had curled tiled roofs and sumptuous decoration, symbolizing power and that their target was in that building. Obviously, the bridge was the only way to reach the second castle which was completely surrounded by water. Swimming was no option. Firstly, the wall made it difficult to enter the water from outside. Secondly, even if there must be some kind of water channels underwater, you could see that there were vertical and horizontal currents. Due to their force, they probably would hold you underwater. Thirdly, if you believed the rumors, dozens of dangerous creatures were placed in those waters to protect the castle.
It was completely dark, the only thing illuminating the castle was the moon and some torches, mainly positioned at the entrance and some more around the whole stone wall. You could faintly see 2 shadows walking on the top of the wall, guards, protecting and observing the castle´s entrance from intruders. The wall was not huge, you could easily climb it. You just needed to find the right position, where the torches were not enlightening much, and wait for the right moment. That´s exactly what Amy and Myla planned to do.
"You remember our mission, right? We have to infiltrate the fortress, reach the taller building where Hirayama is. According to our informant, he´ll be in his study, on the seventh floor, while his wife is, considering the time, in their bedroom sleeping. Their bedroom is on the fifth floor. A guard specialized in Japanese martial arts is protecting the wife, he´ll probably be guarding her door. Hirayama on the other hand is always accompanied by his second in command, as well as 2-3 guards. However, he´s capable of protecting himself. It is important that we don´t get caught until we reach the bridge to not alarm Hirayama. We have to neutralize the guards by the entrance. The building in front of us is where the guards and fighters are residing. Some are going to be outside, patrolling. It is important that we don´t get caught by them. We´ll take care of this building and the remaining guards as soon as we finish Hirayama off. We don´t know the exact number of people. Once we cross that bridge, we´ll climb the walls. You´ll take care of the fifth floor while I´ll go to the seventh floor. Remember, don´t spare anyone," Amy said, explaining their plan once again to Myla. She knew she could count on her on remembering everything, she just wanted to make sure.
She nodded. "By the looks of it, there are torches along the bridge. They would expose us immediately. What are we going to do about that?"
"We´ll think of something when we reach the bridge. Right now, we´ll focus on being discreet. Now, position yourself. You´ll climb the right side of the wall and I the left." Myla disappeared into the woods again, walking to the right side of the wall.
The guards marched away from the entrance, looking at their surroundings. When they reached the next torch, they turned around, facing each other and marching towards the middle of the stone wall again. Amy and Myla used this opportunity and started climbing the wall, as silently as they could. When they almost reached the top, the guards turned again. Amy and Myla both stopped, clung to the wall and held their breaths. Myla was positioned higher than Amy. The guard that was near her stopped on the spot where Myla was. Slowly, Myla let go of one hand and reached for one of her sai on her back. The guard looked down. That´s when Myla gathered all the force she had, pulling herself up with only one hand and pushing on the wall with her legs, to support her jump. The guard was taken by surprise. He reached for his Sword but Myla was faster, sticking her sai into his neck, cutting his carotid. Blood gushed out of him. With a grunt, his body collapsed on the ground. He was losing too much blood too fast and was dead within seconds. This alerted the second guard. He turned around, seeing a black figure with a bloody sai above his fellow colleague. He took his sword out and charged at that black figure. He walked 2 steps and felt something piercing through him. When he turned his back to face Myla, Amy pushed herself off the wall, the same way as Myla did, took her katana out and impaled the guard, piercing through this heart. He collapsed. Amy and Myla looked at each other, nodding. They jumped down both landing gracefully. Even if those hedges and moats were meant to protect the castle because it was positioned on a plain land, they served as perfect covers for Amy and Myla. They disappeared in the shadows, like true ninjas. To their luck, not many guards came across their way and they easily reached the bridge, hiding in the shadows.
Now they had to face their next problem. How would they cross the bridge without getting caught? They also didn´t anticipate that 2 guards would guard the bridge. How are they going to get rid of them?
They observed the surroundings and analyzed the situation. Two guards were positioned in front of the bridge, which was enlightened by in total 4 torches. The hedge where Amy and Myla were hiding was positioned directly near the bridge, close to the water. Sure, Amy could bend water to extinct the flames and then they could strike. However, this would alarm the other guards in the building which is exactly what they wanted to avoid. The other option would be crossing the river through the water. Amy couldn´t possibly create an ice path due to the strong waves and currents in the water. And swimming in the unknown is, even if Amy is a skilled water bender, risky. These were the only options they had. Amy looked at Myla, indicating something with her fingers and Myla nodded. She took a stone in her hand and threw it as far as she could in the opposite direction of them, to distract the guards. They took the bait and ran towards the other bush, examining what was the cause of this. Amy and Myla took advantage of the distraction and jumped, hand in hand, into the water. They opted for this decision. They couldn´t see a thing because it was so dark. Amy used her other hand to bend the water out of their way, creating a bubble over their heads. The currents were stronger than Amy anticipated. They wouldn´t make it if she only had a spare hand. She remained focused on deviating the different water flows so that their bodies wouldn´t flow away. The last thing she needed was for Myla to get trapped in the currents, she wouldn´t make it. She tried pulling her closer to her body.
"Hold on to my waist Myla!" she shouted.
Even though she struggled, she managed to hold on to Amy while she was deviating the currents with her spare hand, avoiding them to get carried away in the water. As soon as Amy felt both of Myla´s hands around her waist she froze her midsection to secure Myla properly. With finally two free hands, she could do whatever she wanted. Amy made a short circular movement with her hands and suddenly, a powerful stream was formed behind them. It wrapped around Amy´s feet and as soon as she stretched her arms back, they beamed through the water. Myla was amazed by Amy´s abilities. Even though the water they were in was restless, putting a lot of pressure on their bodies and almost making them trapped in the flows, Amy managed to pull them through. Before Myla realized it, they were facing a giant sea serpent.
So, the legends were true…, she thought. She was freaking out. She didn´t know how they would manage to get out of this situation. In her mind, they failed and were about to die. She couldn´t look away. The sea serpent moved easily through the water, eying his new preys. He opened his mouth, revealing a long tongue and 2 immense sharp teeth. Suddenly, the stream that pushed Amy and Myla forwards stopped. Myla looked at Amy, with a distressed look on her face, but she remained silent.
WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING?! THAT´S IT! WE´RE GONNA DIE, Myla thought.
However, the serpent stopped as well. It simply looked at them. Myla looked up to see if Amy was as shocked as she was. But to her surprise, she was simply starring back with a piercing gaze. It was like she was communicating with him. The serpent slowly moved away from them.
She talks to serpents now?! No way! Myla was astonished. She knew Amy, she couldn´t possibly talk to animals and certainly not to sea creatures. She looked back at the serpent. It seemed like he was struggling to go away. Or more precisely, it seemed like he tried pushing back. Like he didn´t want to go but something, or someone, was making him.
Amy created the water stream again and they pushed passed the serpent who seemed like to be stuck in place.
How is she doing all of this at once? She controls the streams, creating a new stream, avoiding being eaten by a serpent. She makes the unbelievable possible. Myla couldn´t stop fixating Amy, feeling both admiration and somehow, fear.
If only she knew.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the other side of the river where the caste was built. The stream that was pushing Amy and Myla pushed them towards the surface, and before Myla realized it, they were out of the water, in the air, she was freed of Amy´s ice belt and they were about to land on the ground. They managed to land gracefully and to their luck, without making any sound.
"I thought you said you avoid using water bending on our missions?" Myla whispered, questioning Amy once again.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Do you really think it´s time for such questions? I only use it when it´s completely necessary and our life depends on it," she whispered back. "Now prepare yourself to climb the wall. Reach the fifth floor and do your job. Shouldn´t take you too long, once you finish meet me on the seventh floor. Use the stairs and kill whoever is on your way, understood?"
Myla nodded. She wanted so badly to ask about the sea serpent and how she managed to do that, however, she didn´t want to annoy Amy further.
They started climbing, hoping that everything would turn to their favor.
Amy´s POV
I hate it when someone questions me this much. She has every right to, it´s just that I don´t want to justify myself all the time. If our life depends on my choice to use water bending or not, I´ll always use it. I didn´t choose to survive all this time to end up dead now, just because I didn´t want to remember my friends and former self.
The gloves we´re wearing are no ordinary gloves. They were specially designed for situations like there due to their ability to "suck" on any surface, the same for our shoe soles. Nevertheless, they remained light-weighted and soundless. We soon reached the fifth floor and I saw Myla slipping in one of the windows. I continued climbing up, as fast as I could because I could already hear and feel blood gushing. One thing about Myla is she´s fast and doesn´t take long to strike. She never spares an opponent. I reached the seventh floor, above me was a window, I peeked into it, realizing that it´s the window not far from a staircase situated on the left. Two guards were standing in the halls on the right side, guarding a door.
"Hey, do you hear that?" one of them said.
"It sounds like something is happening on the floors below us." Soon, they heard a bloody scream coming from a female. "It´s the heiress! Someone is attacking her, we have to get to her, fast!"
Wow, she was faster than I thought. Now she´ll have a bunch of guards on her back.
They started running towards the stairs. I took the opportunity, jumped into the corridor and as soon as my feet landed on the wooden floor, I looked at them. I took them by surprise, they didn't expect a black figure to appear out of nowhere and suddenly stand in front of the staircase. Only a few inches were separating us. They didn´t have the time to take their sword out of their belt because I was way faster than them. I positioned myself, bending slightly my knees and having a wide stance. I grasped the grip of my sword using my right hand. My other hand grasped the sheath beneath the hilt of the sword. I used my left thumb to press the hilt, lifting the sword slightly upwards and with my right hand, I pulled the sword from the sheath and adjusted my stance. The heel of my left foot was even with my right heel but slightly turned outward for me to maintain my balance. I charged at them, taking my sword out of its sheath and swung it. Soon, I was standing behind them, my sword dripping fresh blood on the wooden floor. I looked back to see them falling to their knees. The cut was deep. It didn´t slice them in half but the cut was deep enough for their upper body to lean back while their lower body remained on the spot. Soon they collapsed, their bodies surrounded by their own pool of blood. I took my napkin out and cleaned my katana. It was a habit of mine, I didn´t like to leave it bloodstained.
It was quiet, too quiet. Why were there only 2 guards? The scream of the heiress was loud enough, the whole castle must have been alarmed. But this floor was empty. My sword remained in my hands as I entered the door, preparing myself to finally face Hirayama. However, the room was empty.
But if he´s not here… MYLA!
I ran, as fast as I could along the corridor, down the stairs, making my way to the fifth floor.
How could I be such a fool! The information that the study was on the seventh floor was false, the room was empty. We´ve been tricked! As soon as we´re back I´ll deal with that foolish person who thought he could deceive me. I knew we couldn´t trust him! I just hope that Myla is fine.
Some guards crossed my way but nothing could stop my determination. Without hesitation, I killed everything that was between me and my goal: save Myla. Even if she´s strong, she wouldn´t stand a chance alone against the guards, the second in command and a furious Hirayama that would want to avenge his wife and send a message. He must have figured out that Sutoku sent us. I found many bodies on my way. Myla had done a good job until now. I decided to follow the trail of bodies, hoping I would find her sooner. I was led to a long corridor with a massive wooden door. I pushed it open with my foot and as expected, everyone was in there: 3 guards, the second in command which you could recognize due to his clothing, and lastly, Myla.
So, Hirayama is not here. Where is he?
On the ground were a dozen of dead bodies. Myla was preoccupied with the second in command and by the looks of it they were equally skilled. They both fought with sais, their blades clashing at each movement. You could see that this fight was intense. They both managed to knock off the sais of each other and continued their fight with their bare hands. Myla managed to sidekick him in the rips and tried heel kicking him, aiming his head by lifting her leg up straight and turning her hip to wind up the kick. However, he grasped her ankle and threw her across the room. In the air she made a backflip and landed on her feet and hands, as a lynx would, and charged at him with a flying sidekick, successfully targeting his torso which made him fall. She jumped to the right, trying to reach her sais to take advantage but he managed to grasp his sais as well and the fight continued. You could see that Myla was slowly losing speed and strength, probably because she´s been fighting for a while now. Sweat formed on her forehead. However, this didn´t discourage her.
As soon as I entered the room I caught the attention of the other guards. It seems like the commander ordered them to stay put because he wanted to take care of the lynx. The 3 guards charged at me. I quickly analyzed their weapons – one was holding a sword, the other one 2 kamas and the third one a nunchaku. I smirked because I knew this would be easy. I charged at them as well, clenching my katana in both hands. The closest one was the one with the kamas, he came to me and lunged out, aiming for my head. I quickly dodged by sliding on the ground and used this opportunity to round kick him from the ground. While he lost balance, I stuck my katana in his back. The other opponent, the one with the nunchaku attacked me from behind and to my surprise, trapped the blade of my sword with the metal belt of the nunchaku. He pulled, trying to bring the blade to my head and the last opponent, with the sword charged and tried impaling me. With all the force I had, I withstood the pulling and rammed the back of my head on the guard behind me. He quickly lost the grasp of one handle of its nunchaku, freeing me. The guard lunged with his sword but I managed to strike back and block his attack. With all the strength I had, I pushed my sword towards him while he tried doing the same. I decided to front kick him with my right foot which made him lose his balance and for a moment his concentration. I held my katana in both hands to the right side of my body, with both my elbows bent. I charged at him with a powerful outward swing on, left side of his midsection. He groaned and coughed some blood. With a last blow I jumped, holding my sword over my head, the cutting edge facing the ceiling and my elbows bent. I stretched my arms and straightened my elbows to bring my sword down, slashing his head. Looking over my shoulder I saw that there was one guard left. I successfully managed to break his nose, that´s probably why he took so long to strike back. I looked him in the eyes while positioning myself. I bent my knees slightly and stance wide, all while grasping the grip of my sword using both hands. I then lunged at him with a singe and heavy blow I struck a downward cut along the center of his body, finishing him off. My sword was still in my hands and I could see a reflection through my blade, someone charging at me with a sword. I quickly turned around and blocked the attack by holding my sword horizontally, because it was an attempt for an overhead cut. That´s when I realized who I had in front of me: Hirayama himself. He was a rather tall, older leopard with grey fur and piercing yellow eyes, full of hatred and fury. His white shirt was blood-stained, probably from his late wife. He grasped with both his hands the handle of his katana, which had a beautiful black blade. He pushed on his sword, putting pressure on mine and lunged out, placing his sword on the right side of his body and trying to give me a side cut, as I did with one of the guards. However, I managed to block this attack as well by placing my sword vertically on the side of my body which was targeted. We remained in this position as he started talking.
"You made a grave mistake by coming here and taking the life away from my wife and our unborn child! You will suffer great pain I´ll guarantee you that. I will personally take the pleasure to slash you over and over until your final breath." He lunged again, aiming for my head this time but I blocked his attack as well. "You will beg me to spare your lives! I will decapitate you and send your heads to Sutoku! That bastard, I should have known he´d be coming for me after I refused to be part of his empire."
He once again lunged out, held his sword over his head and tried slashing me but my movements were quicker than his. I jumped out of the way, to his right side and side kicked in his rips which made him lose his balance. I attempted to lunge and strike his side but he was quicker than I anticipated and blocked my attack.
He may be old but I shouldn´t underestimate him. It might be the last thing I´d do.
He didn´t take long and he anticipated many attacks at once. Even if I blocked every single attack, I struggled to keep up with him. He was fast, way faster than I thought. I didn´t manage to counterattack, I was too preoccupied to hinder him from slashing my head off my body. It was like his rage of losing his wife and unborn child fueled him. Behind me, I could hear that the fight between Myla and the second in command was still going on. But I didn´t dare to lock back, my focus was on Hirayama. Somehow, I managed to jump back to make some space between us and to allow myself a moment to breathe. Deviating and blocking all of his attacks was exhausting, sweat formed on my forehead and my breath was faster than usual. I frowned, clenched my hands tightly on the grip of my sword and bent my elbows. My sword was now on my eyesight, bent to the left. I lunged and aimed his arms, wanting to disarm him. But he managed to block my attack and due to this withstanding force I was facing, I bounced back, losing my grip and balance. He used this to his advantage and attacked. Even though I avoided this attack by quickly jumping to the side, he managed to cut my left leg. The cut was not deep but I was astonished. It wasn´t often that an opponent did this to me. But he´s not an opponent like any other, he´s known as a legendary swordsman here. He and Sutoku worked together a long time ago when they were younger. They formed an alliance that was driven by their thirst for power. They fought honorably and won many battles together, conquering many empires and lands. However, Sutoku became, even more, greedier for power and did everything he could to obtain more. He was obsessed and did some unorthodox things, like the one he did to me and others. Hirayama however wanted out of this lifestyle. On one hand, because Sutoku was getting out of control and using methods that Hirayama was not willing to accept. Even though he killed and fought as well, he always did it with respect and dignity to the opponent. And secondly, because he fell in love and wanted to found a family. This degenerated and Hirayama left and founded his own empire where he taught his soldiers how to fight honorably. Yet here we were, sneaking up on them and striking at night, send by Sutoku. I would relate to Hirayama´s anger. However, this was not going to make me get killed. We lunged simultaneously at each other, attacking over and over again, not wanting to let the other one have the upper hand. This went on until he finally took the upper hand by twirling his sword, cutting my arm and disarming me. He then attempted to slice me but I stepped back, avoiding being cut in half. He still managed to cut me in the stomach. I was slowly losing strength from the blood loss and I was feeling dizzy. I gripped my stomach and out of a sudden, a frontal kick sends me to the back of the room, right there where a huge window was. I tried kneeing as fast as I could, but the cut on my stomach was deeper than necessary. Blood was coming out of my mouth and I saw him slowly approaching me, his hands clenching the grip of his sword. I quickly glanced at the sight. Myla was in no other position than I was, disarmed, on the ground and hurt. Above her was her opponent, who was pretty beaten as well but still standing and taking his time to finally take her life.
He is a legendary swordsman with years and years of experience. I can´t beat him in this field.
My head was hanging down and my eyes were shut. I felt the full moon shining on me. He slowly approached and started talking.
"You really thought you could beat me, Hirayama the greatest swordsman, little girl?"
This feeling is every single time incredible.
"I must say you fought well. I did underestimate you at first. You´ve got nothing to say? Are you scared now?"
It´s like the moon is enriching me with its energy. "Well, you already give up? You´ll suffer the same amount of pain you and your little friend there inflicted on my poor and innocent wife."
All this energy. I feel so powerful. I have no other choice if I wanted to survive.
"I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL! I´LL MAKE SURE TO SEND YOUR HEADS BACK TO THAT BASTARD. IF HE WANTS ME DEAD, HE SHOULD COME TO FINISH THE JOB HIMSELF!"
No one´s POV
Hirayama put once again his sword above his head, wanting to strike a final blow. He stretched his arms out and bent his elbows. However, just a few inches over Amy´s head, he stopped. His arms trembled, it was like a force was preventing him to finish her off.
"W-what is happening? Commander!"
The commander was in the same situation as his master. He too wanted to take Myla´s life. But just a few inches above her heart, he stopped. Myla, not understanding what is happening, took the opportunity to reach for her sai, which was near her and ram her it into the commander, finally killing him. Hirayama was still frozen in place, he could only see from the corner of his eyes what happened to his commander. Myla stood up and watched Amy carefully, who was still on her knees and with her eyes closed. Slowly and what seemed like forcefully, Hirayama moved his sword from above Amy´s head and dropped it next to him. His whole body was trembling now, but he was still stuck in place, his arms right next to his body like a statue. His eyes were wide open, fearing and not understanding what is happening to him. Carefully, Amy started to stand up, clenching her stomach. As soon as she was on her feet, her eyes shot open and she fixated Hirayama. She stretched her right arm towards Hirayama, who was just a few inches away from her and slowly moved it upwards. Myla´s eyes shot open as well, not realizing what she was seeing. As soon as Amy´s arm moved upwards, Hirayama´s body elevated. He struggled to be in the air, his feet were kicking in every kind of direction.
"W-what are y-you doing to m-me WOMAN! WHO ARE YOU?" he managed to say.
Amy remained silent at first. She made small movements with her fingers but this had a huge impact. Hirayama´s body started twitching and making unnatural movements in the air. One of his knees was bending backward, while the other one bent in the other direction. His arms were stretched out, his back arched and in overall, his body movement couldn´t be described. Myla didn´t know what to think anymore.
Wait, is she… BLOODBENDING! I´ve read that in a book once, this ability has always been rare among water benders and not everyone could do it. That´s how we could pass the sea serpent as well! I… I know I shouldn´t be scared. I was taught not to fear. But after seeing this side of her, her empty eyes and facial expression, I cannot help but feel helpless and scared, considering what I have done…, Myla was deep in her thought, all while watching Amy and Hirayama.
Finally, Amy spoke. "I am known as Izanami, the goddess of death. You probably already heard about me. Sutoku sent us to spread a message: Whoever decides to turn his back on him will face fatal consequences. It´s nothing personal really, but I have no other choice."
Myla was horrified at the sight. Amy balled her hand into a fist and lifted it higher and higher. Hirayama´s body twisted and turned, his back was arched and turned to the right while his neck to the left. His legs and arms turned in the opposite directions, you could hear bones cracking. However, he didn´t scream nor cry. It was like someone took his voice. Finally, his neck snapped. Amy removed her hand, leaving his lifeless body fall onto the ground. His eyes were wide open and you could see some tears on his face. What a horrible death, being twisted and turned until all your bones cracked.
Myla was still frozen on the spot, her mouth open. She didn´t dare to say anything, nor moving. She´d never seen such a thing.
So, that´s how she earned her name, goddess of the death. How fitting.
She was snapped back to reality when Amy addressed her again.
"You´re okay Myla?", she asked.
"Y-yeah, it´s just a small cut." Myla looked at her arm and held the wound with one hand. "Let me help you." Amy approached and was about to touch Myla´s arm when she flinched. Amy looked at her, however, Myla couldn´t read her mimic.
"S-sorry it just hurts a bit," she lied. Obviously, she was terrified by Amy. Nevertheless, Amy bent some water out of a plant nearby, placed her hands which were glowing on Myla´s arm and healed her. The cut as well as the minor pain was gone. Myla´s eyes were still wide open and her heart felt like it would explode due to the rhythm it was beating. She watched Amy doing the same on her wounds.
"Let´s go now, stay close behind me," Amy said, coldly and distant. Myla nodded and followed her. She tried focusing on getting out but her mind went back to Hirayama and how his body broke. Amy started running and Myla did the same. They were in a long and wide corridor and many guards faced them. They didn´t stop running. Amy pierced them with her gaze and literally, the guards´ necks broke and the to the ground. It went on like that until they were outside, in front of the bridge. Amy took the torches and threw them on the building, immediately setting it on fire because it was made out of wood. Everyone in this building was dead anyways, Amy made sure of that. They crossed the bridge. Myla looked down to the water, seeing on the surface many creatures. One jumped up, wanting to attack them but Amy stretched her right hand out and the creature stopped in mid-air. She balled her hand and suddenly, the creature exploded. It was pouring blood. Many guards, maybe every guard that was in the smaller building awaited them on the other side of the bridge. They shouted and ran in their directions with their weapons in their hand. Amy and Myla stopped running. Myla remained behind Amy who slowly approached her opponents. They were running at full force, ready to avenge their heiress and master. Amy stretched both her arms out and suddenly, everyone stopped moving, their weapons still in their hands. She turned her hands slightly and the bodies of the guards turned as well, facing each other now. As soon as Amy spread her fingers, the guards started charging at each other, killing themselves. Amy didn´t stop walking and she continued obligating her opponents to kill each other. Myla observed as a guard, who was walking like he had a puppet master over him, holding threads to guide his movement, took a torch in his hand and set the other castle on fire while walking in it. The whole scenery was horrible. There was so much blood everywhere, guards, maybe even friends were killing each other and Myla and Amy were casually walking between the battlefield.
Myla was on many missions with Amy. But none required her to 1. use water bending and 2. use blood bending. Myla had done horrible things as well but she´d never seen something like that. Now she knew how Amy earned her name, goddess of the death. She was ruthless. No emotion was displayed on her face and her eyes were empty. It´s like she shut her humanity off. How else could she do such a thing while remaining calm and casual. And it was partly Myla´s fault that she became this ruthless person. They reached the exit. Myla looked back, seeing all the lifeless bodies and fire spreading more and more. However, Amy kept walking, slowly disappearing in the woods.
Myla´s POV
I-I´m shocked. I´ve never seen her like this. I never thought that she could do such a thing. But who am I to talk, I did bad, really bad things as well. But this coming from her? I´ve known her for 5 years now and even before, I was tasked to spy on her. She was always friendly and kind to everyone, joyful, full of hope and love. In harmony with everyone and her surrounding, although she had a short temper. You could see that she loved her friends and that they loved her. And even in battles she never killed anyone, nor harmed them to the point of death. She always tried bringing peace. It´s like everything that made her that person is gone now. Even if I spied on her, I never saw what happened to her in the beginning when she was brought to the clan. However, in less than 2 years she proved herself and adjusted to this lifestyle. What made her break like that?
"You´re so quiet suddenly." My thought was disrupted because of Amy´s voice.
"Yeah, I´m just a bit tired now." I laughed nervously.
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. It was like she was battling herself on something. Her facial expression changed again. It was not blank anymore, it was rather… sad? Her eyes looked down as she was walking. It was like she only realized now what happened back there. She shook her head and her blank mimic was back on.
Is that her coping mechanism? Repressing her emotions and perhaps thought to stay strong? In a position like hers you couldn´t show any weakness. How long did it take for her to become this cold?
"You´re scared of me now." It wasn´t a question, more like a statement. I looked at her with wide eyes. I tried saying something, tried denying it but nothing came out of my mouth.
"It´s alright, I would be too." She kept walking, her eyes scanning the surroundings in case of an ambush. "We fought many battles together but you´ve never seen the extent of my power and strength because I never had to show it. But…"
She was quiet for a moment, her expression changing again from blank to worried. She inhaled deeply and continued talking. "I was worried about you. When I saw that the commander was about to kill you I snapped. I had no choice and chose to show the dark side of me and my powers."
She stopped and looked at me. "After everything I´ve been through I can´t bear losing you too. I know I never told you that but you´re important to me and I´ll never let someone harm you. You´re like a little sister to me, even when I´m harsh with you I only mean well. Just know that I would never hurt you."
She reached for my hands and smiled at me. I faked a smile back and said:
"I know Amy. And no, I´m not scared of you it´s just that I´ve never seen you like this and I was shocked. But I´m sorry, my whole behavior and attitude were inappropriate. I promise to better myself."
It looks like she bought that lie because she smiled brightly now, her eyes lightening up. We kept on walking, silently, side by side.
So that´s what she´s worried about. That I am scared of her? Yes, I am. But only because I know she won´t be able to keep her promise if she finds out that I´m the reason her life is like that now. I just hope for my sake that she never finds out. I kept it a secret for 5 years now, hopefully, it will last longer… I´m like a sister to her? I-I don´t deserve that. I don´t deserve her. What have I done?
I tried hiding my emotions and facial expression. I didn´t need some questioning right now. I looked up, seeing that we arrived back at our base, faster than I expected. It was already dawn. I looked at Amy to see how she was feeling now. She looked angry and determined. Is that only a façade to show that she´s strong? To show that she´s not sad about what she did? Or is she really angry because she´s back here? I wish I could read her mind. As soon as the guards outside let us in, we removed our masks and made our way to the main room where Sutoku was awaiting us.
He was not alone. 3 soldiers were with him in this room, as well as the spy that misinformed us. He was sitting on his throne, not saying a word and watching our movements carefully. I watched as Amy made her way to the spy, took her katana out and slit his throat, without thinking twice. His hands clenched on his neck, trying to stop the bleeding but it was no use. Within seconds he was lying on the ground, dead. Sutoku was watching her, not saying a thing. This was probably one of the benefits she had as a commander. She could kill whoever she thought deserved it.
She watched the other soldiers who seemed tense. "Clean up this mess immediately and dispose of the body. This should serve you as a lesson as well, never EVER misinform me when I´m going on a mission. Understood?!" The tone in her voice was harsh and strict. The other soldiers simply said, "Yes mam!" and immediately removed the body and blood. She was now looking directly at Sutoku.
"It´s done master. Hirayama won´t be a threat anymore. We faced some difficulties due to misinformation but that didn´t stop us. No one survived."
He stood up and walked towards Amy. She didn´t flinch, nor move her gaze somewhere else. She remained as she was, determined and calm.
"Are you sure of that?"
"Yes master. I personally killed Hirayama. The guards were no real threat. Everything was set on fire." She said, almost mechanically.
He now looked at me and approached me.
"Tell me Myla, did you see how she killed Hirayama?"
Just as Amy, I was standing calm. I have no intention to show any emotions, especially not nervousness because that could be the last thing I do. "She used blood bending Master."
He walked away, towards his throne and murmured "Good, very good." He sat back and looked at us.
"You did a good job tonight, he was the last man standing in my way. Your next mission will be overseas, in a place called Mobius."
I couldn´t overlook Amy´s eyes shot wide open as she became pale. "There you will retrieve for me the 7 chaos emeralds. According to my source, they hold immense power when taken together. With their help, I´ll be able to not only conquer the east but the whole world! I´ll be the most powerful man alive!" He stood up. "Don´t fail me. You´ll leave tomorrow first thing in the morning. Upon arriving there your first step will be to look for those emeralds, as well as collect information about their existence and people who are interested in them as well. Amy, you´re dismissed. Go. As for you Myla, you stay here. I have some things to discuss with you." Amy bowed and walked away.
I turned to Sutoku. "What do you need from me, father."
He smirked.
Amy´s POV
I was back in my room. I quickly put my katana and away, got out of my clothes and immediately stepped into the shower, turning the water hot. I sat on the bathroom floor and hugged my knees. This was the last step of my routine. I let the boiling water on my skin, an attempt to wash everything off. The blood. This evening. I tried forgetting the fear in their eyes, the blood gushing out of their wounds. The way I felt when I controlled their bodies, their blood following all my movements. However, I didn´t feel anything. No guilt, no shame. No remorse. I couldn´t allow myself to feel all those things or else I would break. This isn´t the first time I´ve done such a thing, especially blood bending. Before coming here, I didn´t know I could do that. I read it in my books, describing it as a sub-element of water bending. It´s a dark power and never in my life I would have thought that I´d use it. But I had no other choice. Since I´ve been here, I´ve been taught to kill, to shut my emotions off and to do unimaginable things. This was my life now and I had to deal with it.
Mobius. I never thought I´ll go back there. I-I can´t go back there. If we´re after the chaos emeralds we´ll have to face them for sure. H-how am I going to do that. They can´t find out about me. I´ll only put them in more danger than they already are. I´ll have to be extra careful to not reveal my identity, as well as protecting them as much as I can. Myla knows about them, it will make everything more complicated. I have to show her that I´m on her side, all while I secretly protect my friends secretly and discreetly. How am I going to do that? That also means that I´ll see Sonic again… Oh Sonic. I dreamed of this day, seeing you and your beautiful emerald eyes again. But now we´re going to be enemies. I´m sorry… A single tear left my eye.
I stood up and quickly finished washing my hair and body. I dried myself by bending the water out from me and put something comfortable on. I jumped into bed, wanting to forget this day. Wanting to forget that tomorrow, I´ll be back in Mobius. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the realm of dreams. "Sonic…"
