The Aristocratic Assassin's Assassin

Chapter 1: Backwards Destination

"What a beautiful day to be out on the water."

Ann glanced up from her phone to look at her mom, Molly, who was shielding her eyes from the sun while gazing out at the blue-gray water that surrounded them. Ann glanced around at the tiny boat and deserted harbor they drifted in, and rolled her eyes.

"Seventeen and trapped on a family vacation," she thought grumpily, "This sucks! Who cares about family heritage anyway."

"I saw that."

Ann glanced over to find her father, Gary, glaring at her. She shrunk a little under his intense gaze.

"Sorry," she muttered. He merely shook his head and looked back out over the water.

"So like I was saying," Grandpa Henry, who was steering the little boat around the harbor, continued, "This was where me and your mom used to come for dates before we married."

"That is so romantic," Molly called, making Ann cringe. "I'm so glad we decided to visit here as a family."

Ann managed to keep her facial features neutral this time, but inwardly she heaved a disgusted sigh. Grandma Yoko had died the year before and, in memory of her, they took a family vacation to her home country of Japan. Grandpa Henry had met her here while he was in the Navy during the Korean War. They married, moved back to the U.S. and had several children, including her father.

Gary had wonderful memories of his mother. That's why they were there. Ann, on the other hand, did not remember her Grandmother fondly.

Grandma Yoko had a lot of rules that managed to cover all aspects of their day to day life. Everything had a ritual. Everything had a place and Ann never seemed to be able to remember any of it.

Her Grandmother had been a beautiful woman though, even at the end. Ann had always been simultaneously in awe and jealous of her looks, especially since she had zero resemblance with her. No, she was her mother's girl; brown hair, blue eyes, average body. Pretty normal for an American girl.

Ann looked back to her Grandpa and felt jealousy for her Grandmother all over again. His love for her, even after a year of not having her, was written strongly on his features.

"Only a true beauty could have a love like that," she thought. "I'll never know that feeling. I'm too boring looking."

Feeling depressed now, she turned from her family and looked out over the edge of the boat, glaring into the water. It was deep here, so she couldn't see anything other than the surface water. Grandpa wasn't driving very fast, so Ann allowed the tips of her fingers to drag through the waves.

The water was frigid, but managed to soothe her emotions. She gazed deeply into the water, her mind wondering. She thought of the temples she had seen, pristine and clean with people blissfully praying. Tokyo with its big buildings and streets full of busy pedestrians coming and going. There had been so much to see and honestly, this had been an amazing opportunity for her to see the world.

"Maybe I should be a little nicer," she reluctantly concluded after some reflection. "I've seen some amazing things. And the shopping has been fun. Maybe I should try harder."

A quick movement beneath the water suddenly caught her attention. A dark shape was becoming visible next to the boat.

"What the hell?" thought Ann. "What is that?"

A chill ran down her spine when she realized that it was keeping up with the boat. Whatever it was, it had no actual shape and it didn't move like anything she'd ever seen in the water.

"Hey, Dad," she called, moving back from the edge of the boat. "There's something over here."

Before she could say anymore, something pale moved up through the dark mass. Ann froze in disbelief when she realized it was a face. It was rigid with its eyes closed. A scream rose in Ann's throat, but vanished when the eyes in the pale face opened and focused on her.

"No way," Ann whispered while waves of ice cold adrenaline coursed through her body.

"What was that, dear?" her mother called.

Ann didn't get to respond. Great, black, tentacle-shaped arms streaked up out of the water and viscously wrapped themselves around one of her wrists, her waist and neck. She reared back in shock only to be whiplashed forward, banging into the side of the boat, as she was dragged into the ice-cold water. The last thing she heard before she was completely submerged was her mother's screams.

Down she was dragged into the darkness, the pressure of the water pressing in upon her. She struggled frantically to break free, kicking and clawing at the creature's appendages, but its grip was unbreakable.

Ann's lungs burned as their descent continued. She clamped her free hand over her mouth and nose, desperate for whatever moments this might grant her.

The pressure of the water was really starting to get to her, making the blood pound in her ears. She could barely see through the darkness. The creature in front of her was still an indescribable blob.

"Is this honestly how I'll die," she thought, as the edges of her vision began to darken. "What a load of crap!"

Abruptly, the creature stopped and surrounded her. She shriveled into a ball, waiting for teeth or claws to begin tearing her apart. Instead, the water receded. Ann gasped the air in, feeding her hungry lungs. Her vision cleared, allowing her to look around.

She was in an area that reminded her of a cave with uneven surfaces and damp walls, but instead of the rough textures of rock, she could feel the creature's soft, slimy skin. Its tentacles were still wrapped around parts of her body, which she tried to pull free from again, but was unsuccessful. As she looked closer at the tentacle wrapped around her wrist, she realized she couldn't find any little suction cups like an octopus might have.

"What the hell captured me?" she whispered.

"I did."

Ann gasped and leapt back from the deep voice only to be dragged forward by the wrist. She was brought close to the walls. A thrill of revulsion went through her when she realized something moved beneath the soft surface like a ripple in the water.

"Oh, hell no!" she exclaimed and struggled back from the moving surface. More tentacles emerged from the wall and shot towards her, wrapping themselves around more parts of her body. She was quickly held firm, like a fly caught in a spider's web.

"Let me go," Ann shrieked. Her pulse hammered up her neck and into her ears as she was, again, dragged close to the wall.

The movements beneath the skin of the wall came together into one spot and began to take shape and pull away. Ann cringed back as the protruding bulge began to form into a man. As his body solidified, she could see his flesh was decaying. It was gray and almost melting from the bones like badly formed clay. Black, oily hair grew in sporadic lengths from a scalp that looked to have the consistency of soap. His facial features took shape revealing a missing nose and shredded skin along his lower jaw which showcased blacken gums and stark, white teeth.

His eyes, unlike his body, were very much alive. They were vibrant and red, calculating and malicious, all at the same time. Ann felt like prey being sized up for dinner by a master predator.

"This is a nightmare," she whispered. "It has to be a nightmare."

The corpse smiled, his jaw clicking with the movement.

"This is no nightmare, girl," he mocked in a gravelly voice. "I have searched for the soul of the Shikon for so long and now it is finally in my grasp."

His clammy hand gently stroked her cheek, a look of hunger burned deeply in his glowing, red eyes. Ann retched at the smell of decay and cringed away from his hand while whispering,

"What is the soul of the Shikon? I have no idea what that is. I must be the wrong person."

She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop herself. She had no idea how she was still alive right now, but she wanted to stay that way. Her mind was feverishly working overtime, trying to find a way out of this horrid situation.

"You are the soul of the Shikon," he reassured her as his other hand cupped the side of her face drawing her closer. He smelled her hair and nuzzled her. Ann groaned. The situation was quickly becoming too much. She was starting to spiral.

"I have waited so long for this moment," he moved from her hair to her neck, his teeth slowly grazing her skin. One of his hands moved from her face and rested in the center of her chest over her heart. Immediately, Ann began to feel a burning sensation there, like this monster had started a fire in her skin. She shrieked and tried desperately to fight him, but he held her fast.

"It is becoming stronger," he whispered and gave her a long, slimy lick up the side of her neck. "So close."

Ann's blood was roaring in her ears. Her vision was tunneling. His breath smelled like death. His skin was cold and clammy. His hands roamed her body.

"Too much," she whispered. "Too much. Somebody save me. Please stop this."

Ann had no idea who she was begging to help her, but there was nothing else she could do. She was trapped and who knew how far this monster would go to get what he wanted. She was quickly beginning to believe that death would be a mercy at this moment. This monster's intentions were to do to her whatever was necessary to get what he wanted.

"Please, somebody, stop this," she whispered.

From out of nowhere, a bright, purple light illuminated the space. The monster roared in pain, shielding his eyes. Ann didn't shy away though. The light was familiar. She pushed off the tentacles, which seemed to be weaken by the light, and moved towards its brightness. From the light, a small figure materialized. Ann gasped when she realized it was her Grandmother Yoko.

"Grandmother," she exclaimed in awe. "I don't understand. How is this possible?"

"You called for help and I was able to respond."

"I don't understand. You've been dead for a year."

"I know, dear, but I belong to an ancient line of priestesses. During my life, I processed powers that allowed me to keep all of you safe. We'll call this my last act."

"A priestess? Why have I never heard of this?" Ann asked.

"Nobody ever knew," Grandma explained. "That was part of keeping you safe."

"From what, Grandma? Our lives are so normal that they're boring."

"Creatures like him," Grandma Yoko's hard, brown eyes flicked to the creature cowering as far from them as possible. "He is Naraku and he has been searching for the Shikon Jewel for centuries now. I thought he would be dead by now, but, unfortunately, I was wrong."

"Grandma, what do I do?" Ann looked to the creature. His huddled form was pitiful, yet his red eyes were unblinkingly fixed upon her through the cracks between his fingers. Unnerved, Ann shifted closer to her Grandma.

"He won't give up, will he? He's going to kill me in the end."

Grandma's hand was suddenly on Ann's arm. Her touch was cold, but reassuring. Ann turned to her. Bathed in the purple light, she was even more beautiful than when she was alive. There was still a hard edge to her, but something else that Ann wasn't used to seeing, compassion.

"I don't have much more time," she said. "I can not send you back to your parents. They are not prepared to fight demons and many will come looking for you once your powers are awake. You also bare that mark now."

She indicated the mark on Ann's chest where the Naraku had touched her. It was shaped like the creature's hand and was severely burned. She glanced over at Naraku, her eyes turning sharp as she watched him.

"He will be able to find you wherever you go, because of that mark."

"What will I do, Grandma?" Ann's voice trembled. "What can I do? I am completely helpless."

"First," her Grandmother said, " I will awaken your powers. I should have done this when you were younger, but…never mind. I will do it now. Second, I will send you to a time where others will understand your powers."

"Grandmother, I don't know," Ann hedged. There was so much that she didn't understand and now she was being sent to an unknown place. The path ahead of her was so dark and she was terrified to take the first step.

"You have no choice," her Grandmother was firm. "People in this modern time do not understand demons and their world."

"But," Ann interjected.

"Enough," her Grandmother snapped. Ann clapped her mouth shut, but a few tears still escaped and rolled down her cheeks.

Grandmother Yoko quickly moved forward and placed her hands on Ann's shoulders. Her body began to warm and then glowed purple.

"I am sorry, Ann, but this is all I can do to keep you alive."

"No!" Naraku roared from where he cowered, "The soul of the Shikon is mine!"

"I am afraid not, Naraku," her Grandmother responded. "Now go, Ann. When the Shikon Jewel is safe, you will automatically return to your own time. Good luck, my child."

Raising her arms out at her sides, Grandmother Yoko released purple energy that slammed into the walls that trapped them, shattering them. Water crushed in upon them and Ann began her wild struggle for the surface. For the briefest of moments she felt a tentacle brush against her leg, but there was a quick zap that emitted from her and it didn't return.

Miraculously, Ann reached the water's surface. She took in great lungfuls of air while wildly looking around. She was in the same bay that she'd been in before, but it was different now. Instead of the abandoned beach and dense forest that bordered it, there was now a thriving village.

People were visible, going about their daily routines and Ann could plainly see they were not dressed in modern clothing.

"Oh, Grandmother," Ann mumbled. "I hope this was a good idea."