at last. [illumi x oc]

1. sanaku.

The breeze caressed my skin as I listened to the seagulls' loud squawks. The sun had barely crept over the horizon, it was early. Slowly inhaling, the scent of the ocean filled my nostrils. I should really visit the seaside more often.

"Now, be careful and stay vigilant. You can take as long as you need, but make sure to send a progress report at least once every two weeks, you have your laptop for that." said Hanka.

Dekiai and my two brothers said their goodbyes back at home. Hanka dropped me off at the port.

He smiled at me, "You'll do just fine, treasure." and with that, Hanka went back to the car and was off.

I stood on the wooden planks of the port, waiting for the ferry to arrive.

Taking another deep breath and closing my eyes, I savored this feeling of temporary freedom. Getting sent on missions after teaching lessons after going on missions with virtually no breaks gets tiring after a few years. This is probably the most air I've allowed to have on a job in a while, all the jobs I've ever done before were just the usual 'sit and wait and kill'.

The wailing siren of the ship disrupted my peace. My ride was here.

It was an average sized ferry, not too big, but not too small either. Getting on the boat and into the passengers' cabin, I scanned the great room to get a better idea of the other passengers. Most of them were asleep in their cushioned seats, nothing unusual. I walked to an unoccupied corner of the cabin and sat down in a booth.

This ride was going to be long, and I had to take an airship after this boat ride was over. The swaying of the ship was strangely soothing. I decided to get some shut eye.

-

The sun had properly risen when I woke, and the passengers' cabin was now much noisier as people had woken up. Checking my phone for the time, we still had a couple more hours to go before getting to our destination. I didn't want to sit and stare at the other people chatting, so I stood and headed out and upstairs, to the upper deck.

The ferry was advancing at a considerable speed, causing wind to whip around me. No one was up here, it was cold and windy, most people would find it pretty uncomfortable. If I was with my brothers, I doubt that they'd let me stand out here and look at the ocean like I'm doing right now. Selfish thoughts invaded my mind.

Why can't I just run?

The feeling of wind whipping past my face, the sound of waves crashing against the hull of the ferry. Freedom. I can see it, almost taste it. It's right in front of me.

And yet I can't reach out and take it for my own.

Almost instinctively, my hand reached up and touched the back of my neck. Dekiai had inserted the chip so well that I couldn't feel anything by touching my skin.

Ugh. What was I thinking, it's not as if I was mistreated. My family, they've always loved me. Hanka and Dekiai hired the best assassins who trained me from birth, and my brothers always greeted me kindly, right?

To be honest, I never felt like I belonged in that tower.

I was almost always away on missions, whenever I had the rare chance to come back, it was to train Miku. Because of my packed schedule, I've never even had a proper meal with the family before. Back when I was a child, all my time was spent with trainers and butlers.

And the missions. I can very humbly say that I'm considerably more talented in the art of killing compared to Shiko and Miku. My parents always trusted me with the most dangerous of jobs, my two brothers only ever watched me do them for learning purposes.