Single mother Haku Yowane stood in her kitchen, cooking over a boiling pot of water. Her 7-year-old daughter, Neru, sat nearby playing a game on her mother's phone.
Suddenly, the kitchen timer rang. Haku bustled over to it, keeping a watchful eye on her pot, and turned it off. She put on an oven mitt and pulled a large roast beef out of the oven.
Then there was a loud crashing noise, almost as if Haku's front door had been kicked open. An intruder stepped inside the door. Almost immediately the mother knew what was happened. Haku's eyes flashed as she heard footsteps. Quickly she grabbed Neru and ran to the bedroom at the end of the hallway and hid the both of them in the closet.
Her heart pounded each time the intruder took a step. Neru, however, had no clue what was going on. She turned to her mother, whom put a finger to her lips as a sign to be quiet. The little girl obeyed.
The door to the closet flew open as if by magic, and there stood what seemed to be a woman with long, glistening silver hair and a mask. She held a knife in one hand, and a gun in the other. Neru's eyes widened and Haku clasped her arms protectively over the small girl, fearing for the worst.
"Please don't hurt us..." she whispered, her maroon-coloured eyes filling with tears.
"I'm sorry, that's out of the question." The intruder slowly held the gun closer the the mother's head, obviously showing no mercy. Haku, however, was too diginifyed to let the tears fall.
"Please, whatever you do, please don't hurt my baby. She's all I have. Please, I beg of you. Do your worst to me, but please don't hurt my baby." Haku folded her fingers over her clueless daughter's eyes and squeezed her own shut.
"I don't know if I can do that, but maybe I'll spare you child's life for my own amusement." The stranger lowered the gun to Haku's temple.
"Neru, you know how to get to your uncle's home...Please, please go find him and tell him what has happened. Please run to him and don't look back until you're safe with him... I love you." Haku once more opened her eyes and took her arms away from her daughter. The small girl immediatly got up and, obeying her mother's dying wish, ran. Haku listened to her pounding footsteps with blotchy, tearful eyes until she couldn't hear them anymore and knew her daughter was safe.
The stranger pulled the trigger.