It was a day like any other. The wind gently caressed the grass and rustled leaves in nearby trees. Sun shone down, bathing the small village that was nestled into the mountainside, warm rays of light casting shadows here and there.
"Ja'far, why don't you take your little sister outside for a bit?" asked the silver haired woman with a loving smile on her face.
"Oni-chan, Oni-chan!" chirped up said little sister, the love and affection for her brother radiating from her tiny body, face lit up with a smile. Little hands grabbed out in front of her, try to get him in her grasp as she tottered about, until they fixed around his clothes.
"Yes, that's right Safiya, go with Onii-chan" replied the mother with warmth, "go and make the most of your free time" she added, turning to smile at the older boy.
"Yes, Okaa-san!" Free time? He thought, slightly confused as he lead the happy, smiling little girl out into the sun, having pried her fingers from his clothes and secured them between his own.
Stepping out into the sun from the cool shade of the place he called home, he made sure there were no small stones or sharp edges that his sister could hurt her feet on. He was used to the rough, dusty floor of the village now, and the way that, on some days, the floor was burning hot. Not that he really cared about his lack of shoes, he'd realised a while ago that his family didn't have much in the way of material possessions, but his kind parents made up for that with the loving warmth they gave. Ja'far also enjoyed the time he got to spend with his father. He'd show him how to use these strange blades on rope, but Ja'far enjoyed learning. He could use them to hunt in the forest and bring food back, he liked being able to help his parents like this, and they seemed to approve of his skill, giving him praise at any opportunity. Now he had his own little set of the blades, the kind village elder had given them to him, at least he assumed village elder, his father always called him "boss".
Ja'far led Safiya to the outskirts of the village, to the spot he would practice with his father; there was a nice patch of grass growing in a small clearing that would feel pleasant under their bare feet. The grass went just far enough under the cover of the trees so that there was also a comfortable spot to just sit and relax; he would often have some food with his father there after hunting or training. Ja'far had never brought his sister here before, but recently his mother had been asking him to spend more and more time with her so today he thought he'd show her the pretty flowers that grew to one side.
"Here, Safiya", He said with a smile, handing her some little purple ones from a group near a tree.
"Pretty, thank you Oni-chan!" she replied happily, sitting down out of the sun and twiddling them between her finger and thumb.
"Onii-chan, Safiya"
"Oni-chan?" she replied, cocking her to one side in cute confusion. Her eyes then shifted to somewhere above his head, "Pretty red one".
Turning, Ja'far noticed she was pointing at a rose climbing up a nearby tree trunk. It was growing out of his reach, but he knew he could get it for her. Getting the blades and the rope in his hands like his father had shown him, he quickly managed to cut through the stem, and caught the falling rose, noticing too late the thorns that were also present. One large one stabbed into his palm, making it bleed.
"Blood, hurt?"
"Mmm, I'm ok, it's just a little scratch, it'll heal soon", he replied positively, smiling to make sure she didn't worry. Despite her young age, Safiya often seemed to be the one asking if he was alright. He considered this cute, but he also wanted to look after her, just like a good big brother does, he thought, remembering back to what his mother had told him. Making sure he'd cut off all the remaining thorns, he handed her the rose, little hands adding it to her tiny bouquet.
They sat for a little longer, Ja'far intertwining some of the small purple flowers into his sister's hair, and enjoyed the nice breeze that blew away some of the days heat until Safiya started to yawn. Getting up, Ja'far took her by the hand once more and led her back through the outskirts of the forest and into the village. As they came upon their home he noticed that there were some men outside with his father, one of them was the village elder. Noticing their approach, the group turned round to face them, he could now see the troubled look on his father's face.
"Otou-san!" cried Safiya happily as she ran clumsily up to him, completely missing the mood, "Oni-chan get me flowers".
"Oh, so he did, don't they look pretty", he replied as he bent down to give her a hug, "as do you, my precious little girl", he added whilst holding her close. "Why don't you go and show Okaa-san".
"'Kay". As she ran off into the house, he turned to speak, "Ja'far-"
"No more interruptions, the boy is here now, it's time he is tested".
"I know! I know, but please, not my wife, I was the one who traine-"
"You know how this works, either both of his mentors or you all die!"
Test? Mentors? Who's going to die?
The man who had been speaking, the elder, turned then to Ja'far, pinning him down with an intense gaze that sent shivers through his spine. Ja'far turned to his father, hoping for an explanation, but he simply looked away, anguish evident on his face.
"Ja'far, it is time you show us, Sham Lash, that you have what it takes to survive. Kill them, Ja'far! Kill your parents!"
"K-K-Kill? Why?"
"No! Not my wif-"
"Quiet! You will both die today one way or another. Boy, you heard, kill them now with your own two hands, or your whole family will be disposed of".
Kill? My parents? N-No, no, no, I don't want to. Why? I don't want to!
"Wait! Please, at least not in front of my daughter!"
"The girl will stay, she should see and understand". Pushing his father aside, the man walked forward. Pulling one of Ja'far's blades out, he forcibly placed it in his hands and encouraged him forwards with a shove.
"Kill them!"
"No...Please, I don't want too". Tears were starting to well up around his eyes, his heart pounded in his ears as adrenaline rushed through his body and he started to shake.
"Please, please, no", he begged, trying to back away, but he couldn't. The other men had started to form a blockade behind him. He couldn't escape and neither could his family.
"This was inevitable. A child born into the organisation must kill their mentors, their parents one day! If you want to stay in the organisation, if you want to live then show us your strength! Kill them Ja'far! KILL THEM!"
His father had backed up into the house, trying to shield his wife, Ja'far's mother, behind himself in a futile attempt to save her. He couldn't see Safiya, she must be there somewhere, but he couldn't see her.
"Kill them, Ja'far", more voices added into the verbal barrage, by now other members of the village had started to gather behind him. Why? Why? Why can't we just live happily? I don't want to hurt them. He still had the blade out in front of himself when the elder, the 'boss' pushed him forwards from behind. Stumbling he came to an abrupt halt as something warm and soft braced his fall. Hot liquid started to pour over his hands as he looked up to see his father, blade dug into his side.
"Otou-san?"
"That's it Ja'far, keep going", the boss encouraged.
"I-It's ok, Ja'far", his father added, as he pulled the blade from his side, he fell down on to one knee and angled it towards his chest. "Go for the quick kill, l-like I showed y-you when we hunted t-together".
Ja'far, make sure you aim for a vital spot when you hunt. You may have to kill, but that doesn't mean they should suffer. Right?
Tears streaked down his face as he recalled his father's words. He knew what he had to do, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
"It's ok, Ja'far. L-Live", his father managed to get out. As he looked up into his eyes for the last time he thought he'd see disgust or something akin to that, but he only saw acceptance of a fate that could not be escaped from, and perhaps pride.
Before he knew what he was doing he had pushed forward, the smile that had momentarily shone on his father's face, gone, along with the remaining light in his eyes. More hot liquid spilled over his hands but this time he didn't falter, barely registering his actions. The next few moments were a blur to him, almost as if his body was acting on its own; before his father's body had even hit the floor he'd moved forward, towards his mother. Lunging at her swiftly as if he were chasing a wild deer he delivered a fatal blow, and before he even realised what he was doing his mother, too, lay dead on the floor. He thought he heard someone speak as his senses returned, but wasn't sure. The first thing he remembered clearly was the bloodied blade still firmly in his grasp, dropping it to the floor in horror. As he started to look away he then saw the blood of his parents beginning to mingle and form a pool, some channelling off into the cracks and flowing further away; away towards tiny, white feet.
Tiny feet! He still stood near the doorway and in the rush of the moment had forgotten everything, including his sister, who would, of course, still be in the house. Body still shaking from the experience and tears still at his eyes, he slowly raised his head until she came into view. Huddled towards one corner, the blood now collecting around her, soaking up through her dress; confused and frightened she sat, staring up at him. Her tiny bouquet scattered about in the pool, the rose appearing to melt into the red that now surrounded it.
He couldn't look anymore, couldn't be there anymore! Ears barely registering the praise from the 'boss' behind him he ran, and ran, and kept on running, trying to get away from the scene. For a brief second he thought he heard a desperate call of "Onii-chan" behind him, but he didn't turn round. He couldn't. Blood dripped down his arms and his legs, leaving a trail of gory footprints in his wake.
As the adrenaline left him and the fatigue started to set in he slowed to a walk, the events that had just happened truly starting to sink in. Tears gushed down his face; he just couldn't hold it back anymore.
"Okaa-san" he sobbed.
"Otou-san!"
Safiya was glad that she always carried a spare set of 'assassins clothes' around with her (a term her brothers had coined when trying to describe said garments). They could never understand why she had insisted that a set was made for her every time a new growth spurt appeared, but Safiya was determined to be prepared for days when an unexpected situation may occur.
Today was one of those days. Heading back into her personal tent she swiftly changed into the black and red of her previous uniform. One thing that did surprise her, though, was her reluctance to change the design or the colours; as it was, Safiya could have picked anything for this purpose that felt both comfortable and practical, but she had stuck with the Kou style. Upon being sent to Kou it turned out she was the first female their assassin's guild had ever had (most females only being seen as breeding material for the next generation of unfortunate, tiny killers), and so, confused with what to give her to wear they had initially just put her in men's clothes. Not that she honestly minded; regardless of which sex they were meant for they had been the best clothes she'd ever worn, that was, at least, until a little outside influence saw her in something more befitting.
In the end she had been given a knee length, black kimono, decorated with thin red trim; fitted sleeves that had a finger loop to keep them in position replaced the usual style. This was held together with a wide red sash that fastened with a black ribbon, which she had found over the years, to be a good place for keeping throwing knives. Underneath she wore a shorter, sleeveless wrap-around top, both for dignity and because it was a good place to conceal weapons (more knives). Instead of the added longer 'skirt' layer that the ladies of Kou wore, she had a simple pair of black trousers that were bound up in her (also black) shoes that she had customised to hold yet more knives, because you could never have too many knives, in her opinion.
Connected to the back of her belt and resting just on the lower part of her back were her two 10" daggers, her preferred weapons for close range combat; being adopted in a society with Knights she'd had to readjust her fighting style to match up with the Longsword she'd been given (a compromise as no form of combat was considered 'ladylike'). To complete the ensemble she wrapped the familiar red wires around her arms. These blades weren't often used in actual combat, however, not because she wasn't competent with them, just that she had kept them more for the nostalgia than anything else. This particular pair had belonged to her brother, only having them still because she'd been practicing (ok, playing) with them on a certain day.
Stepping outside Safiya was met with the dim light of a new day. The sun was yet to rise but the reddish purple hue of the coming light could be seen making its appearance over the distant horizon. There was a slight chill to the air, her breath coming out in little white puffs, and there was early morning dew covering the grass. The air was still; closing her eyes and breathing in deeply she let out a sigh as she got into the right frame of mind, blocking out any overly emotional feelings that may impede on her mission. Listening carefully to her surroundings she could hear the breathing of the men, slight bursts of snoring here and there, with intermittent, faint nickering from the horses tethered around, and a slight crackling from various smouldering fires that sporadically dotted the area.
Making her way carefully to the edge of the camp so as not to wake any of the sleeping men, she set off on her journey to the Kou colony. There was no guarantee that Ja'far was in that particular place, but even if he wasn't it seemed the best starting point, after all, he was probably where Kouen was, and he should be easy enough to find.
Wait for me, Onii-san.