I decided to try to fit in. Maybe changing myself wasn't such a bad idea. It had been one month since i'd moved to Japan, and the transition wasn't that hard. Be polite, quiet in public, don't disturb others, it was fairly easy for an introvert such as me.
I thought about what I could do with this new personality of mine, where I can go in Japan, what I can spend my money on, my thoughts drifted as my eyelids drooped and I nodded off to sleep on my bed.
****
"You've got to be stronger than that. I don't keep you for nothing." He watched as I half heatedly punched at a punching bag. "Put some muscle into it. Be more aggressive. The faster you train, the faster we can get business done."
I sighed, remembering his violent punishments. I swung at it the best I could, putting all my energy in the fist when it made contact with the punching bag.
"More effort. Boost the aggressiveness. Imagine it's someone you hate." He demanded.
I pictured him as the punching bag. I would punch the smirk off his face, and the light out of his sky blue eyes.
"That's more like it. Harder, faster, really work it."
I imagined punching him to the ground, hitting faster with every blow. Eventually my speed was so insane he had to tell me to slow down.
"Now: the final blow."
I punched the bag one final time. It fell off the chain and split open on the ground.
He grinned, slowly clapping.
"Your training is complete. Go take a shower and return, we're going on your first mission."
My muscles ached, and my eyes were closing with fatigue. As much as this was hell for me, I couldn't escape. Each exit or entrance door was set up with locks only accessible with codes, an alarm if it happened to be rigged, or if there was a robbery, in some cases a break out. Security cameras were everywhere, even in the bathrooms and showers. No privacy, just 24/7 supervision.
I stripped and took a shower. The steaming hot water streamed down my body, relaxing my muscles and clearing my head. I didn't want to think about what he was going to make me do, so I decided to think about school. My best friend Luke, with his twin sister Lily. They were my safe haven. If they knew what I was like at home, they probably wouldn't want to be friends with me. An assassin in training? I wouldn't want to be friends with myself either. I washed my white hair, and ran my fingers through it to get the shampoo out. Dragging the lathery loofah across my body, I rinsed off the suds and turned off the water. I felt around the outside of the shower for my towel, grabbing it and draping it across my torso. I reached for the other towel and tied my hair up in it to dry. Unlocking my door, I quietly walked to my room. Opening the my dresser drawer, I grabbed a pure black suit and slipped it on. Brand new stretchy kind of boots sat on my newly made bed, and I struggled to put them on. Not bothering to dry my hair, I ran a brush through it and put it up in a bun. My red eyes glinted in the dim room lighting as I walked out of the room and flew down the stairs to him, who was standing at the doorway, holding the door open to show a black SUV with the driver antsy to get going. He was glancing around as if waiting for something horrible to happen, but nothing did.
"Get in. I'll explain on the way."
I walked swiftly out the door and stepped inside the car, the overwhelming scent of smoke and cologne making me cough. To the right to me, there casually lay a sniper on the seat, as if there wasn't a problem with a gun meant to kill being sat wide open in a car.
"I taught you well how to shoot a gun, and to be a sniper. So now we're going to use it." He said plainly.
I watched the trees whiz by out the window, the sunlight making the leaves glow in midday. It looked serene outside, graceful limbs stretching from the trunks of trees, as if trying to reach something. Children running about in the sprinklers to escape the summer heat. If only I could feel their freedom. They were about my age, 9, and seemed to be enjoying themselves, with wide grins and joyful giggles. As for me, I wasn't sure what I was doing.
"We have a client, who wants us to assassinate someone. And by us, I mean you."
I spoke quietly. "Is it confidential as to who I'm taking the life of?"
"Sorry, its two people, i'm afraid. A father and son. That's all the information I can give you."
My stomach flipped. I would take the lives of people who were in a family. Someone would be utterly heartbroken at the loss of one of them.
We pulled up to a deserted building downtown, and climbed the 20 flights on the side of the building to the roof.
"They're supposed to come out of that building in about 10 minutes," he said, pointing to a bank. "Put your aim on the door."
I set up the sniper so that it aimed right in front of the door, wanting to get this over with.
"Make sure no one can see the laser that shows your aim."
I watched out of the scope. Minutes seemed like hours, and hours seemed like years. My heart was beating nervously and dreadfully out of my chest. Then, finally, a father and son walked out. He pulled a picture out of his pocket and held it up to their faces. "That's them."
I took aim. My breath caught in my throat. It was Luke and his dad.
I must've hesitated because he began furiously whispering in my ear.
"Is there a problem? Shoot, dammit, shoot!"
The pressure was excruciating. I didn't want to shoot Luke. I couldn't.
However, between the yells and my thoughts, I couldn't take it anymore. I aimed, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger.
****
I shot up in my bed, gasping, sweat dripping from my forehead, my cheeks sticky from tears. The flashback had made me incredibly anxious, and my hands shook as I took my pills. I looked at the clock. It was time to get ready for school.
I washed my face and took a quick shower before throwing on my uniform and hesitantly putting on make up. I dragged my feet as I threw my bag over my shoulder and lugged my case out the door and into the taxi.
****
So, this chapter took me like half an hour to write, and it was just a quick update. One coming tomorrow I promise! I just got a new laptop from my previous one being thrown away by repairs man .-. But hey, a macbook air compared to a lenovo isn't that bad, right?(; But you know what this means, right? More laptop, more update! Thanks for reading!
