☆Wish Upon A Star☆

☆~Chapter 29~☆

Nikolai's force pushed through the forest's net of trees and fallen logs, successfully beating every obstacle he found in his blind race, guided by Toris' eyes.

The man gripped the horse's leather leashes, urging him to run faster to recover from Princess' weak pace that probably made him lose an important amount of time that would be essential to don't lose the second round against the Russian mafia that Ivan lead.

Soon, the forest's thicket came to an end, trees and bushes parting separate ways to show the top of the cliff, covered in thin layers of grass and soil; a tongue of land that licked into the ocean's cold water.

Crowning the cliff, there was his target. He had seen it from the beach when he came to talk to Kiku and offer his help, but he had only caught a glimpse of it in the darkness.

Now, a warm light poured from the top story, dying yellow the darkness that night provided, washing over the shadowy grass and reflecting on the wild waves underneath.

As he tied Nikolai's leashes to a thin branch of one of the yard's trees, Toris noticed a sound behind the sea's bellow. A set of piercing screams that came from the story where light glowed. He flinched, a cold wave of fear washing over his chest as he almost felt his objective slip between his fingers like a handful of soil.

He practically jumped off the stallion's back, feeling a sharp pain slash at his knee as soon as he landed, but ignoring it.

'You're getting old, Toris...' The thought felt like thousands of needles raining over him; the stinging fear of getting to taste defeat even before battling.

And nothing was more dangerous before a fight than not trusting you to be victorious.

Toris knew this, so he took the sharp needles that were holding him back and used them as swords for the battle to come.

Swiftly but silently, he pushed the hanging front door and got inside. He took his gun from his belt and quickly got it ready for the combat, working under the pressure of Kiku's crying and screaming, more desperate as he got closer to his room's door.

"T-The Mission!!"

Toris' eyes went wide at Kiku's cry. What was Ivan doing to the poor boy for him to tell the enemy about the ones who had helped him and Yao?

He gulped and let his war-sick brain take a short break before resting his hand on the door's handle.

For a brief moment, he forgot about Kiku's whimpering through the wooden door, and the vision of his life flashing through his mind disturbed him more than the fact that he was about to face his enemy again. He guessed that you didn't only remember your past when you we're seconds apart from death- maybe it could expand to minutes.

He remembered his childhood, son of farmers from a tiny Lithuanian village, helping his parents with basic tasks. He remembered his teenage years, his family's slaughter and his confinement in the Russian mafia's chambers. He remembered the slavery, the auctions, being bought by the Braginski family. Leaders of the Eastern area of the mafia, mostly independent from other areas and other leaders.

His knee was burning in pain, but he didn't mind. He quickly snapped back to reality, ready to fight or die.

He pushed the door open and pulled the trigger as a greeting.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Ivan's ears rang as the bullet whistled millimeters apart past his nose, leaving a burn mark slit over the bridge of his nose, that started to bubble with blood droplets.

He grinned, pushing the blade out of Kiku's injuries, earning a pained whine in response. "Your aim has gotten worse with time, right, you traitor?"