It is a hard story to explain. My world felt as if it was behind a shower curtain. I couldn't see, and I felt vulnerable at every moment. I wish not to entertain you with a sad childhood or a blood-crested vengeance. It's more complicated than that. A world where I thought it would be like night and day was, in truth, a quilt that was not yet completed.

After I had boarded a private American cargo plane, I was met by my Superior, Lieutenant Anvi. My mission was a success, as expected, and there wasn't much dialogue between me and her. All I know is that her raven black hair was always nicely put in a low bun, and her flawless deep auburn skin glistened in the low light.

She only told me that the General was expecting me at 1600 hours and to prepare to be flown to another mission. "Yes, ma'am," I answered as I grabbed a yellow sealed document from her. In the corner of my eye, I felt an eerie presence of all those who had fallen from my hand.

I huffed through my nose as we both sat silently until we returned to home base.

The document in my hands with the abbreviation L.A.U.G.H in red and TOP SECRET overlapping. I tapped my black gloved finger over the red and wondered where they would send me now. Not that I cared about rest, but felt like this entire thing wasn't necessary. They would have reassigned me right then and there once I had completed my mission at the previous location. This felt a little formal, and wondered which political power I would have to be working with. By the size and heaviness of the envelope, it seemed like this would be a long term assignment.

As agent K-0738, civilian name Kira Alexander, my purpose is whatever the client needs me to be. There used to be 1000 of us special soldiers, but there was a massive incident and only 1% survived the attack. I was part of that 1%, and so our training was maximized to achieve the high society's ultimate auxiliary.

When we landed, we put on our winter coats and waited for the door to open. The blizzard snuck its way into the crevices until it began to fill the inside with snow. "Let's get a move on, cadet. Hussle, hussle, hussle." She grabbed my shoulder and pushed me out the door as she followed suit, and we both landed on our feet from 9 meters above.

The trucks and soldiers moving around the base were a reminder of the never-ending grind this organization had and its importance to the rich and powerful.

Anvi was handed a piece of paper, and her reaction that followed made me wonder if I had done something wrong in the previous mission. She crumpled the paper and stuck it in her coat's pocket as she walked faster into the building with me only a few steps behind.

I raised a brow, and I couldn't hear her grumble under her breath, but I could surely hear her hard breathing. Once inside, our coats were taken, and Anvi stopped me before I walked out of the coatroom.

"Cadet Alexander, from this point on, you have been promoted rank and so I will escort you personally to the briefing room. From there, you are to have a meeting with new clients who are going to fund your mission, and you will be transported after. Are there any questions?"

I shook my head, and she followed.

"That will be all then." She finished with a salute, and I looked at her with a nod and proceeded.

I was quickly handed a new uniform that had my rank on the epaulet that was neatly pressed, and I changed before leaving the mudroom. My heart pounded in my ears, and I walked out to be led to the briefing room. I stood outside the door for what felt like an eternity. I knew this life was fast, but it felt like I could never get used to it. I smoothed my long hair and tugged at the bottom of my uniform and entered the low-lit room, slightly anxious.

I remained standing in the small room. I looked at the clock on the wall and watched it tick for about five minutes until the lights dimmed. I straightened myself and remained at a salute.

General Ander was the first one to appear and followed by two faceless suited figures that displayed expensive suits, and their hands were templed in front of them.

"At ease." I lowered my hand and clicked my heels to fold my hands behind my back for the duration of the meeting.

I looked at General Ander as they were going over the details of the mission until I heard one of the men in suits question my gender. "General, we know that your candidate is well suited for everything that we might need, but we cannot have someone like her partaking in this assignment. We were wanting a male agent, and we do not feel comfortable that she will be able to perform, and are afraid that her physical prowess will be a deterrent. Not to mention if her long hair were to get caught in any-"

In that moment, I could feel my eyes widen, and without a second thought, I grabbed the small scabbard at my hip and cut my hair with swiftness.

"If I can interrupt, gentlemen. Nothing would impair me of manage any duty that I am assigned. I am whatever you wish me to be. If you wish me to be male, I will be as you please for the safety of the clients imposed on me."

I laid the hair in my hand on the table and could see the contractor's body shift, and General Ander only scoffed, knowing that he created a top-performing soldier.

"We...well, we will go ahead and sign the documents. General Ander, we will pick our new head of security at 0400 hours JST. That will be all."

Both suited men logged off of the call, and only I remained looking at the General, who, with his cold calculating eyes tried to intimidate me. You are to go straight to the barracks and pack, and NEVER pull something like that again."

"Yes, sir." I saluted and waited to move until he logged off the screen. I could only ball my hand into a fist and shake my head. My head did feel lighter, and I grabbed the hair that was on the table.

Walking out of the room, I made my way to the incinerating room and burned my hair.

I walked to my small quarters and thought about visiting my old mentor, but didn't want any trouble since I was to leave in less than an hour. I only had a small suitcase and didn't have very many belongings, so I quickly decided to make a quick stop at his office.

When I turned a corner, I stopped briefly to see cleaning staff going in and out of his office with boxes.

I furrowed my brows and wondered why they were clearing out his office. I knew I couldn't investigate further,r but my conscious was not going to let me stop thinking about it until I knew the reason why.

"Excuse me, why is it that you are clearing out this room, and for what reason?" I looked at the woman, eyes tired from the long shifts, and she briefly glanced at my shoulder, and I could see her straighten up. "Oh, Brigadier, we were instructed to clear this room. "The commander took an immediate leave of absence four months ago. I can't talk for too long, but I sure did like Commander James. If you'll pardon me." She hurriedly walked passed me and I walked to his office.

Every shelf was emptied, but only a picture frame remained. I grabbed it and I could feel my eyes feel the sting of wanting to tear up. It was the picture with the top brass, and I was in it, being held by my mentor at around 2 years old.

I couldn't imagine leaving it there to be thrown away so I kept it and went to my room to finish packing.

By the time that I had packed things in my suitcase the small private plane was waiting for me to board it.

Entering I settled down and saw another yellow envelope for me. I opened it to see my information and passport, and other documentation that would be important for me once I landed. Not that I would need to go through customs. On paper, I am a stateless person due to the job that I have requires me to renounce my citizenship to any country that I originally belonged to, but that wasn't an issue since I was born on base.

The flight wasn't too bad and the deboarding wasn't a hassle either. Being in the air gave me plenty of time to strategize and familiarize myself with the hierarchy of the school.

It was originally a vacation villa for a favorite illegitimate child of a royal Japanese family that had gotten the youngest daughter of a European duke pregnant. The secret still remained, and so the couple decided to create a home in Japan. Seeing that the child was so well taken care of and was regarded as a prodigy, both families decided to end their short-term bliss. Fate was to interfere, and so the child and mother were banished from the villa, and the father was to take his betrothed and marry into Japanese royalty.

The soon-to-be-crowned prince would then use the emptied chateau and turn it into a school to have the wealthy train and educate their children into high society. In reality, he made it so that his child would be able to attend the school and check up on them whenever they could.

I snickered at the thought of the school's origin, and wondered how true it could be. If everything were to be based on mere speculation, well, it would be harder to track where the truth came from if the secret had been kept for such a long time. "It doesn't even say the gender of the child that was born out of wedlock," I mumbled under my breath.

"Brigadier, you have arrived, and your ride is ready for you once you have gathered your things." I heard the pilot speak, and I promptly put away my materials to exit.

The air was slightly humid, and the sun had not yet risen. The sound of morning doves in the distance and the smell of diesel filled my nose. I looked below to watch my step as I climbed down the stairs and as I looked in front of me. I could see a modest Aston Martin waiting for me and a well-suited driver who seemed too eager to welcome me.

His hazel eyes followed me as I walked down, but from his face, it didn't seem like he was expecting me to be four heads taller than him. Even at the drastic height difference, his face was filled with curiosity, and the tips of his ears began to redden as he was trying to welcome me in English. I held up my gloved hand and spoke Japanese. "It's fine, I'm actually Japanese," I spoke to him, and I could see his shoulders relax. I had to make sure that my assignment was flawless, and misleading others just came with the job.

"Oh, r.. ! My apologies, you looked North American. Will we be waiting for your luggage to be unboarded?" He opened the back passenger seat and took the suitcase in my hand.

"No, that's all I have. Thank you." I said as I looked down at him before sliding into the car.

"Well, let's get going then!" The perkiness of his voice was rather entertaining and we set off from the private airport.

"I have been instructed to only briefly pass by the school so you are familiar with the area.

I looked at him through the rearview mirror and nodded. I had already memorized the routes to the school and how long it would take me to commute, walk, or ride to the academy. driver and nodded again as I could see him start the vehicle and make his way out of the property. I let my mind drift for a while. It took me a while to fully take on the importance of this task.

Of course, even before we reached the school, the area was well kept with luxury dining and shopping areas. At every corner I could see expensive sports cars and designer outfits on the nouveau riche while the old money handled their wears with nonlabeled designers, but my trained eye could easily distinguish the tailored from the off-the-runway.

I could see from a distance the clock tower and the smell of flowers. Reaching closer, the trees and the shrubbery of the academy in itself were impressive. I sucked in a breath and cleared my throat as I remained neutral in expression. Throughout the entire ride, the driver had not stopped talking and I could only faux my responses. He wasn't necessarily annoying, but his positive outlook only made me suspect that his life was gruelingly hard for a civilian.

We passed the school and followed another path as we turned into a small suburb of condos and apartment complexes, decreasing in the amount of retail value.

I slightly desired to be surrounded by neighbors and the like but the sensitive information that I possess, as well as equipment, will not permit me to.

I managed to remember most of the streets and avenues when the chauffeur for a moment seemed to be rushing into a dead end. I sat up to protect my chest, but suddenly, when I didn't feel the impact, I opened my eyes to see a barely noticeable driveway.

"This is your destination. it is about an hour to the school, but I was instructed to drop you off here, sir. In that yellow envelope, you will have my contact information as I have been assigned your designated driver for the duration of your stay here." He smiled and got out of the car to grab my belongings. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call. I will be back here in three hours." He handed me a black card with both of his white gloved hands and bowed. I returned the gesture and took the card. "Thank you." He then bee-lined back into the driver's seat and went on his way.

I watched him leave as the air left a smell of chained freedom. The trees welcomed me as the path was practically invisible except to the faint track lines that lead into the forest. "What kind of base is going to await me?" I sighed and thought of the previous places I was assigned and the pitiful arrangements they only left me. Other times I had been assigned with other members, I could scoff at the difference even with the rank disparity.

I walked for about twenty minutes and was surprised to see a cottage lost in time. It seemed like I had to enter through black rusted gates and the sound of cicadas in the distance felt as if they were warning me. It was locked but I found irony in the situation.

For a moment I felt the shackles of confinement unfaze me but I only scoffed at the idea. I took the keys from the envelope in my arm and pushed the iron gate as it scraped the moss-covered cobblestone. The path ahead was only a hint of what it was before and I followed it through the foliage. The sounds of nature filled my ears and it was satisfying to be able to live in a place that was not covered in snow all the time. Leaves browned and drained from their life from the sun crunched underneath my feet.

My train of thought wandered for a bit seeing how the fallen flowers from the trees seemed to overwhelm the ground despite having little to no sunlight as the trees above seemed to cloud the skys.

The building outside mainly seemed to be rustic and fairly old and I didn't mind if the inside was just the same. I tested the area for anything that could have been rigged but everything came clear. I opened the heavy wooden door and I waved the dusty air to see a surprisingly modern interior. The majority of the interior was covered with a white sheet as I would assume to not damage the furniture underneath.

As I walked inside the faint light that came from the windows in the living room illuminated the hallway and I closed the door behind me. My mouth was slightly ajar as I could only marvel what was loaned to me for the time that I would be living in Japan. Walking down the hallway, I could see the dust particles in the air coming from the large windows that I had not noticed when I was scouting. I opened the last door in the hallway and was surprised to see that the bed was covered as well in a white sheet. The room to the left had a large window looking into the forest and a large lake was just below the small mountain. The leaves shimmered in the wind and what little knowledge and experience I had with expressing my emotion,s I could say that the view was beautiful. My heart seemed to pound in my ears as excitement placed a small smile on my face which did not happen very often.

I briefly gathered myself and looked at my time, two hours had passed already and I was creeping onto the third.

"I wonder how often I would need to come here? Will my other rendezvous point also have the necessary materials I need?" I whispered and grabbed my suitcase.

I met the driver again after locking up and he greeted me with his cheeky smile and I once again entered the car without a single word.

He then took me to a rather nice apartment complex and gave me a large white envelope that had my new name on it and had stamped 'OPEN IMMIDIATELY' on it as well. I saw a document for a lease and key's and a handwritten letter from my recruiters.

I took it upon myself to open it only after settling in.

"Just so you know sir. I will be here every day to pick you up from school.." I held out a hand and stopped him before he could finish. "Are you obligated or are you volunteering?" I hoped that he was only volunteering because I wasn't sure how much I could take from his preppy personality.

"From here the academy is only a ten minute walk." I spoke and he looked a little disappointed.

"I would prefer to keep my identity on the down low. From what it looks like, I will be living in one of the penthouses. That in itself will leave many asking who I am, so I prefer to keep things as under the radar as possible. Is that alright Mr…" I failed to ask him his name but he seemed to not take offence. "Tanaka Shu. A pleasure, no worries, I will be more than happy to service you when you might need me to.

"Thank you again, ." I got out of the vehicle and walked to the front desk to get myself situated.

Looking back, he waved to me and I gave him a small salute and went on his way. The lobby was magnificent and there were many international people here, some of whom I had worked with in previous years, but would not recognize me now that I had grown.

The piano played in the background, and I was greeted with a rather expensive cup of coffee. I had grown tired and needed a shower, but I remained as I got all the paperwork settled and marched to the elevators.

I could feel eyes staring at me as I moved towards the private elevator.

I pressed my card to it and entered the gold and green accented elevator that only had three buttons, with my penthouse being the third one. I, for a moment, hesitated, but pressed the button and straightened my uniform.

When they closed, I knew there was no going back.