𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

~𝟛𝟚~

OBSESSION

♦

"Emiko, you already know men will only hurt you." Her father says as he rubs the scar on his left eye. He got it on a mission back when she was twelve. She was supposed to tag along but his gut feeling told him 'force her to stay behind.' If he didn't have that sudden instinct, she would've probably ended up dead.

"This is coming from a man himself." She remarks.

"But this is your old man." He points at himself as he walks through her room's door. He sits on her bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Take it as an example from your mother."

A few months ago, her mother passed away. Emiko was informed she died of suffocation. Strangling marks were evident on her neck which most likely caused her death in the first place. Emiko's father never said anything but he was always very angry with her mother since then. It was always, 'She should've never done that' but never 'She didn't deserve this.' It's noted as strange from visitors that asked him about his mental state. It bothered her how she never had much of a relationship with her mother but it wasn't enough to drag her down to a state of depression. It would've been nice to at least say good bye.

"What's the point of this lecture?" She stands against the door frame with her arms crossed.

"I love you too much to ever hurt you and you know that. But I can't promise you that every man you meet will think the same." He says as he smiles at her.

"I can handle myself, and you know that too."

"Yes, that's right. But you're still my baby girl. Don't you ever let another man take advantage of you, sweet heart."

───────

Emiko twisted her body to look at the door frame of the bathroom. There wasn't a creepy—but attractive—skinny man making slick jokes.

It's been too long since she's had a normal dream about her father. But whenever it does happen, it always comes at convenient times. It's like he can read her mind even if she hasn't kept in contact with him. Though the mere idea of those telepathic dreams are what keeps her from believing he's still somewhere out there. Emiko's home was ravaged by the police after realizing it was the great Samuru's daughter. He kept very close tabs with the enforcements and for this exact reason, they had no choice but to erase all traces of it possibly being her in that massacre. All traces of the 'Satin Assassin' were never fully enforced. Only the word of mouth is what passed the information down but that might've been worse than the news itself. By the time it reached her, the story had changed tremendously.

Apparently, she was 'the inbred offspring of the devil himself that came to Earth to ruin the lives of anything that breathes.' At casinos and bars, she overheard talk about this 'demon' that terrorized Emiko's hometown in Yorbia. It left every person that the information flowed through shaking in their shoes. But she loved how afraid they were of the unspoken mystery of the devil's child.

It was two days after Sasaki's night drive and she was about to go down to the arena's cafeteria. The past few days have been quiet and relaxing. Emiko's urges to kill have been at a low recently but she didn't question this. It's common that those cravings come at random and even if they spark again, she's in the perfect place to relieve herself. She slips into her conventional outfit and red heels. She pops her lips after applying that dark lipstick she loves. I'm looking good.

The cafeteria was full of both watchers and fighters. They scrambled the second they notice she's in the room. Even if she's not concealing her presence, they sense her strong aura. Though unlike the scared witnesses, the boys never fail to amaze Emiko by the way they're so comfortable around her. They share their stories with her upon arriving at the arena and how they're on their way to already reaching the 200th floor. It's unbelievable. They've only just arrived and they're already so close to reaching the 200th floor. Although, they've shown that they learned only the basics of nen.