Two years have passed since I learned the beauty of shapeshifting. My success rate has skyrocketed, and I had surpassed my parents, masters, and almost everyone in this branch of the Star Clan.

I was quite proud of my rank and skill and how many kills I had made. Not many people challenged me anymore, as I had proven to be far superior to most others. Including my fiance, White Star.

That boy was finally starting to get more serious about his status and mission in the Clan. He no longer whined and cried about me being stronger than him, but instead, he constantly challenged me to sparring matches to try and best me. Not that he ever won.

The Chieftain didn't speak to me as often anymore. While he was certainly against me being so much stronger than the heir, he knew there was no way for his son to surpass me, so it seemed like he had given up.

People around this Clan were starting to treat me with respect now that I had bested most all of them. Not many tried to treat me like a dainty princess anymore. The last two people that did that are no longer here.

Today, I was training in my room without much of a care. I had done three missions in the past week and had decided to take a day to train. I was practicing some of my stances when there was a knock on my door.

Before I stopped to answer it, the door opened to show White Star standing there. He had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Yes?" I asked, continuing my stance. He let out a huff, jabbing his thumb behind him.

"Blue Star is here to see you. He says he has something he wants you to do, to help and… make our future heir more brilliant, or something like that."

I felt my skin crawl and the hairs on my neck bristle. I hated that man something fierce. He and his overzealous attitude.

I sheathed my knife and released my stance, turning around to walk out. When I got to the door, White Star didn't move. He stood there and stared at me, his eyes wandering over me.

"Well, are you gonna move?" I asked, watching him inhale deeply. After a few moments, he stepped aside, allowing me to leave the room. I walked down the hall towards the living room, dreading what this man had in store for me.

When I got down the stairs and into the room, I saw Blue Star sitting on the couch waiting for me. He was quietly speaking with the Chieftain, their faces serious.

"Are you sure about this Blue Star? Do you think she'll push through?" The Chieftain whispered, his eyes narrow. Blue Star shook his head vigorously, smiling brightly.

"Not at all, My Glorious Chieftain! Our dear Shadow would need a soul of steel, and I don't think she has the wits about her to slay those of her own blood!"

I narrowed my eyes. They were planning something…

I stepped out, making my presence known.

"Blue Star? You summoned me?"

The two both rose up to look at me, their eyes wide.

"Why yes my dear Shadow! I have an AMAZING opportunity for you!" Blue Star suddenly cried, leaping from his seat. As he approached me, I fought the urge to shrink back away from him.

He came around me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me to the door.

"The Chieftain and I have been talking, and we think you're an excellent candidate for a position high in our ranks!" He cried, opening the door and leading me out.

The village was dotted with flowers this time of year, the spring season. We didn't have many clients this time around, for many people wanted kills carried out in the winter, for it was harder to track down killers.

"I'm already The Shadow, the position next to the future Chieftain. How much higher can I get?" I asked, watching his smile crawl across his face even more.

"Well, while you are correct in that, what we have to offer is something that will broaden your skills to the maximum, and give our future heir the greatest bloodline in the history!" He explained, throwing his free arm about wildly.

I rolled my eyes.

"While your shapeshifting gives you an advantage when you go on missions, what you don't have is the ability to oversee missions!"

I rose a brow, staring up at him with confusion.

"Overseeing? Like, under control?"

He nodded, "Yes, yes! Precisely my dear! I want you to oversee a series of missions being carried out this week! If you can succeed, your status and respect throughout the Clan will increase tenfold!"

I pursed my lips, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. Why did they want my status to go up so badly? I was already high in the clan, what else would I gain from this?

But, I decided not to say anything against it.

"Fine… I'll oversee these missions. But don't expect me to be merciful to anyone who fails."

Blue Star smiled brightly, bobbing his head up and down.

"Oh don't worry, there would be no point if you did. Now, let me show you where you'll be for this assignment."

I followed him silently, eyeing him as we walked.

What was this all about? And what were he and the Chieftain discussing earlier? Something that I didn't have the backbone for from what I heard. There was a part of me that believed they were setting me up to fail.

And if they were, why? What motive could they have? Other than me surpassing White Star, and this was an attempt to lower my status with a failure.

If so, then why?

"Here we are!"

I stopped mid-walk, my eyes wide in shock. I turned around to see the house, noticing it in the distance.

"Wait, isn't the mission request stand farther away than this?" I asked, Blue Star nodding his head in agreement.

"Why yes, but the overseers of missions are stationed here!"

He gestured to the small building made of stone. The sign across the door read out, "Mission Information". So that was it, I was going to work as informative.

Thank the Divines, I got to work with some slightly smarter people.

Blue Star opened the door, gesturing for me to go inside.

When I stepped inside, there was a single bar with one person behind it, and a few people sitting in the chairs set out in front of the counter. The woman behind the counter looked up, her eyes blowing wide.

"Blue Star! What may I do for you sir?" she asked, bowing her head deeply. Blue Star moved past the chairs and up to the counter, leaning on its surface.

"Aquamarine Star, what a pleasure it is my dear, how have you been?" He asked, raising a sultry brow. I felt like gagging.

The woman in question, Aquamarine, blushed and giggled at his flirt.

"Why I've been just fine, thank you for asking. What might I do for you today," she cooed, batting her eyelashes. Blue Star gestured to me, waving me over.

"I have a new student for you. She's going to be overseeing a few missions for the next couple of days. And I'm sure I can leave her in your capable hands?" He answered, patting me on the back as he pushed me forward.

"Oh don't you worry, I'll have her trained up in no time! Come now my dear, we mustn't disappoint!"

Aquamarine wrapped her arm around my shoulders and lead me behind the counter. Blue Star gave me one last sly smile before he walked out, closing the wooden door behind him.

I narrowed my eyes, my mind running a million miles a minute, thinking about why they were training me to oversee missions.

"So, you're going to be overseeing missions!"

I jumped at Aquamarine's loud, boisterous voice. Goddammit, she had the same attitude as Blue Star. It's no wonder they couldn't resist giving each other goo-goo eyes.

"Yes. Blue Star said it would help boost my reputation as The Shadow. So, how does this work?" I asked, watching Aquamarine pull out a small box of files.

"Why, it's actually very simple. One of the easiest jobs in the Clan mind you. Every day, someone will come in with a small packet of the missions posted that day. What we do, is file them as new, open, working, completed, or failed. New is filed here, open and or working there. Completed is in this box, and this is the failure box!"

She bent down and ducked underneath the counter, shifting odd ends and objects around before pulling out a super small, black box. The box was dusty and covered in dirty patches, and a bit worn at the edges. I rose a brow in curiosity, watching her drop the box onto the counter.

"Well… not many failed missions I see," I said, reaching up to wipe the dust off of it's surface. Aquamarine shook her head, lining the boxes up on the counter.

"Oh no, of course not. Failure isn't something to be tolerated in the Star Clan, I'm sure you know that! So when someone fails, they are either sentenced to death or are doomed to serve a life long sentence to servitude," she explained, pulling out the small binder of daily missions.

I felt my mind buzz in curiosity, wanting to open the box and see the missions that had been failed by the Clan.

"You wanna take a looksie I see," she mused, leaning down to whisper. I furrowed my brows, turning my lip up.

"Absolutely not. Curiosity is the bane of an assassin's existence. Too much curiosity can lead to death and or failure, one being worse than the other-"

"But you wanna look, don'chu?"

I bite my lip, feeling my heart begin to hammer against my ribcage.

She looked up, seeing if there was anyone in the building. When she saw that the people had already left, she patted me on the head.

"Go ahead, I won't stop you. I peeked in that box on my first day," she offered, beginning to file away the daily missions.

Despite every instinct in my body telling me not too, I opened the box carefully and peered inside. There was a small stack of maybe thirty to forty papers, all with names, mission titles, and descriptions of said missions and how it was failed.

I picked up the pile of papers and began to sift through them. Many of the failures were caused by miscalculations, underestimating their opponent, or growing a soft spot for their victim. The last one I didn't understand at all. How does one begin to care for the person they're tasked to kill? I only ever interacted with my victims if absolutely necessary, like to get close to them to make the kill.

I began to put them into small piles, wanting to look at the missions that involved this romantic bullshit.

I narrowed the files down to just ten. I went through them.

"Mission #4578

Task: Eliminate the daughter of the wealthy Nakatsukasa family.

Target Name: Aiko Nakatsukasa

Assassin in Working: Crimson Star

Description: Assassinate the eldest daughter of the Nakatsukasa Noble Family, Aiko Nakatsukasa. Take heed, as the Nakatsukasa family, is known for possessing the ability to shift into multiple weapons at a time. The daughter is the heir to the family, and possess these Dark Arm abilities.

Mission Status: Failed

The mission was failed, and Aiko still lives. The assassin responsible, Crimson Star, has abandoned the Star Clan to live with Aiko. DO NOT PURSUE! Crimson Star is cunning and smart. He has the support of a Spirit due south of Wakkanai. If caught alone, kill on sight."

I pursed my lips, my eyes narrowing at the description of the failure. What a stupid thing to do, to leave behind such a noble cause over a woman.

"Oh, Crimson Star huh? He's a legend around here."

I rose my head at Aquamarine's voice, seeing her looking over my shoulder. I rose a brow.

"Really? Why? Because he left over such a stupid reason?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"No, because he's the one who got away."

I turned to her in confusion.

"He, got away?"

She nodded, "No matter how many assassins were sent after him, none of them came back. Some say he made a deal with some Spirit to defend him and the woman he loved. In the end, we stopped sending people after him because we didn't see the point in wasting so many good killers. We still keep tabs on him, to make sure he doesn't reveal anything like our location. If he does, we'll leave."

I couldn't help but feel a bit of respect for the man. He successfully got away from the Star Clan and continues to live to this day.

I turned my eyes back to the files, flipping through a few more failures.

Failure by Red Star.

Failure by some other Blue Star.

Gold Star.

Magenta Star.

Wait…

I stopped flipping through the files when I saw a familiar name flash over me.

Magenta Star… my mother.

I put the papers down on the counter, setting the file on top and reading it over.

"Mission #4589

Task: Eliminate a Canis Shapeshifter living in Sendai.

Target Name: Malcunas

Malcunas… my father's true name.

Assassin in Working: Magenta Star

Description: Assassinate the Canis Shapeshifter Malcunas. Located in Sendai, Japan, Malcuna is notorious to use his power to try and fool anyone who comes after him. Try using a power similar in order to coax him into a sense of security.

Mission Status: Failed

My mother failed at this mission, and still lives? Why did they chose to keep her alive, what for?!

The mission was failed, and the assassin working the kill was caught attempting to flee. Originally meant to be sentenced to death, the Shapeshifter Malcunas bargained in order to spare her life. The pair will now serve as slaves to the Star Clan, and their sole purpose will be to birth a daughter to be The Shadow for the next Chieftain. Until done, the pair will bare child after child, and if successful, will be granted the freedom to take missions again.

I felt my blood begin to boil, and my body begin to tremble.

My parents… they failed a mission…

My mother failed… got my father enslaved…

And their only way to gain their freedom was to have… me?

"Oh, Magenta Star? Poor woman, I don't think she can take having another baby."

I looked up at Aquamarine, her eyes low in sympathy. I clenched my fists around the paper.

"What? What do you mean she can't have another baby?"

Aquamarine looked uncomfortable at my question, shifting around nervously.

"Well, when she got enslaved, she was told to birth a Shadow for the future heir, one with Shapeshifting abilities, her life would be spared, and she would be able to live with her lover. She had baby after baby, but they were all sons. So, they were all slaughtered. Then she finally had a daughter, and Magenta and Violet have strived to make her, or… you, perfect, to guarantee their freedom."

I felt anger begin to bubble up inside of me. The only reason my father gave me insight into my power, was not because he wanted to help me succeed.

But because he wanted out…

It was no wonder that my parents didn't bat an eyelash when I left. They don't care, they just used me as a tool to escape.

While I never held love for them… I do not want to be used as a tool!

I felt the anger begin to fester and build inside of me. I gripped the paper tightly, hearing the paper begin to tear.

"Um… Velvet Star? Are you alright?"

I tore the file in half.

"Just peachy."

I was NOT a tool! I was NOT a key! I will NOT be used as a toy! I WON'T let White Star do it, I am NOT going to let them do it!

If Blue Star thinks, for one goddamn second, that I'm too weak to end them!

I looked at the daily files of missions taken today. I threw the scraps off to the side and fished through the files, furiously searching for the ones taken today.

Aquamarine reeled back in shock at my rage through the files. I yanked out the ones from today, sifting through them.

"Mission #4769

Task: Eliminate the rouge gang of Grim Reapers in Central Tokyo

Target Name: Any Grim Reaper wearing an upsidedown cross on their clothes

Assassins in Working: Magenta Star and Violet Star.

I felt the anger inside me build even more and begin to bubble up to my surface.

I see what the Chieftain had done. He gave my parents an out of the blue mission, one they are almost guaranteed to fail.

And I would be responsible to rid the world of their pathetic existence.

'Our dear Shadow would need a soul of steel!'

I was about to show them a soul made of pure titanium.

I slammed the paper on the desk, turning up to the door.

If they think for one second, I'm afraid of ending the people who brought me into this world, they have another goddamn thing coming.

Towards the end of the day, my parents returned. The mission was supposed to take them three days to complete. But due to a distress signal sent out by them, three assassins were sent out to retrieve them.

Aquamarine was sitting at the counter quietly, eyeing me silently as we waited. I kept my eyes focused on the door, waiting to see it open.

It was a whole hour before she said anything to me.

"So… when your parents are brought in, what are you going to do?" She asked suddenly, turning to me. I didn't turn to face her, but I did answer her.

"What I would do with anyone brought in fresh from a failure. That kind of issue will not be tolerated in the Star Clan."

Aquamarine pursed her lips in concern, looking a bit disgusted with my answer. Love meant nothing to a killer, it's not supposed to. In order to rid the world of all evil, I must close my heart to emotion, and do what is required.

Even if that meant ending the lives of the people who brought me into this world.

"Get'in there you sons a bitches!"

"Viles failures! I hope you lose your heads!"

The wooden door was thrown open, and a barrage of noise suddenly filled the room. Three guards came in lugging the beaten, bleeding bodies of Magenta Star and Violet Star, and a large group of angry assassins were screaming behind them.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

"TWO-TIME FAILURES!"

"I HOPE YOU GET HANGED BY YOUR LOWER INTESTINES!"

The two were thrown into the room, landing on the floor in pathetic heaps. The guards had to push back the wave of people in order to shut the door, the noise droning out through the thick wood.

I stared down at them with hard eyes, watching them move around and struggle to get to their knees.

"So, you've failed a mission yet again," I announced, watching them move to their knees and look up at me through swollen eyes.

Magenta Star let out a small gasp when she saw me, blood leaking from her lips.

"Ve… Velvet? What are… what are doing here-"

"Why I'm here is none of your concern. You have no right to ask questions, weaklings!"

I was starting to let the anger sizzle out, the venom in my voice loud and clear.

The door opened once more, and the Chieftain, along with Blue Star, walked in. They didn't close the door behind them, but the crowd was now quiet. I saw Blue Star rush around to open all the windows to allow the crowds to see and hear the event about to take place.

And when White Star walked in behind his father, smug grin and judging eyes, I felt the desire to out-shine all of them.

With the light of the sunset pulling in, and the hundreds of eyes staring at me, I straightened my back and harden my gaze.

Violet Star rose up to face me, straightening his back to the best of his ability.

"No… don't tell me you're here to punish us… they wouldn't be that cruel!" He cried, looking at me with fearful eyes.

I snorted, clenching my jaw angrily.

"They put me here to test me, to see if I had the hard heart of a true assassin. And I'm about to prove to everyone here that there is no harder heart than mine!"

Violet Star's swollen eyes widened, fear casting over his face.

"What do you mean-"

"Do not ask me any questions! I know exactly why you two made me! I know the backstory."

They looked up at me with shock and fear. It was Magenta who spoke up next.

"Velvet… it's-it's not what you think-"

"Oh really? It isn't? I know had many children before me, and I know why you two strived to make me as perfect as I am. Just so you two can have your freedom, freedom from the stupid mistake you two made."

They stared up at me with shock, mouths gaping as if trying to figure out what to say.

"The only reason you two kicked me out with no hesitation and never even stopped by to say hi was that you knew it meant you were doing what you needed to. The only reason you allowed me to study as much as I wanted was that you needed me to be as smart as I am."

Violet Star opened his mouth to speak.

"And the ONLY reason you taught me the power of Shapeshifting was because it would guarantee a strong heir. Am I incorrect?"

They stared at me in silence. It was another minute before I continued.

"Then, if I'm correct, then there's nothing else to say. You were given a chance to redeem your selves, and by failing this simple mission, you have taken that chance and thrown it away."

Magenta Star rose up, "Velvet, please! We didn't want this for you! We knew any of our other children would be killed, so when we had you, we wanted to leave this place! We didn't want to give you up to the Clan! We wanted to leave, to raise you as our baby! Please believe us-"

"BE QUIET HAG! IF YOU REALLY MEANT THAT YOU WOULD'VE DONE IT ALREADY!"

Violet Star rose, "Velvet, please listen-"

"I WILL NOT! Violet Star and Magenta Star! For the failure of two missions and secret conspiracy against the Star Clan, I hereby-"

I took in a breath.

"-Sentence you to death!"

The crowd roared. The people clapped and cheered and whooped, shouting my name over and over again. Blue Star stood rooted to the ground, jaw dropped to his neck. The Chieftain narrowed his eyes, flashing his teeth in a scowl.

And White Star looked ready to explode.

Violet Star and Magenta Star were lead away screaming, crying out for mercy, and for me to be their baby.

I put the file away and pulled out the box of assassin files. I sifted through and removed their files, slapping them onto the counter. I opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a pad of ink and a big stamp.

I pressed the stamp into the ink, making sure it bleed through. And as the crowd poured in, cheering for my long and healthy life, I stamped their files.

Status: DEAD

I now had, the blood of my very flesh, on my hands.

Velvet was a rather violent individual huh?

Sorry it's a day late, I forgot yesterday was Saturday.

So, let's have a chat shall we? Yes, Velvet killed her parents or at least ordered their execution. This was done, or she was tasked to do this because the Chieftain and good'ole Blue Star are still trying to take her down. Now there's a reason they don't just threaten her life, and that's because of her biology. That'll be explained more next week.

Also, did ya'll notice the Nakatsukasa thing? This won't be explained in the story any further, but yes, Crimson Star, now Sanjuro, is Tsubaki's dad. We learn about the spirit that protects him much later on. That was really just a fun little detail I threw in there, I'm thinking of doing a short story on him...

If ya'll wanna Tsubaki parent short story feel free to bug me on Twitter.

Anyhoodle, Velvet has ended the life of her parents, proven to the whole clan she's ruthless, and the three people living with her are pissed. And by three I'm including Blue Star because he practically lives in that house anyway.

Welp, that's about it! A Star's Revelation is updated every Saturday at 5 pm Tokyo time (+9)!

NEXT TIME:

Three years have passed. It's 1988, and the day of Velvet and White Star's wedding. Before the wedding, Velvet thinks about what she did to her parents, and how it has shaped her. She also thinks about the future and what it will hold. What does she think about, and how will her marriage to White Star change her?

Find Out Next Time: April 6th!

~HUGS ALL AROUND~

For any day to day updates and this story and others, and to find out how you can get bonus content, check me out on Twitter: Tiramina-Fan-Works