(A/N: I didn't like my first story idea, so I decided to rewrite who Nise was a few times before I settled on this idea.)
Trigger warning: Abuse (Physical and verbal)
All the other teas could go to Hell. An Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade was better than all the drinks in Starbucks. A sixteen year old blue-haired elf boy sat on a bench in the shopping mall, swinging his legs back and forth. The lower halves of his legs were wrapped in gauze where the pant line of his jeans stopped. On the upper half of his body he wore a dark blue long sleeved shirt with two white rings on either sleeve. And though the temperature was warming up in the city, he wore an oversized sweater that took up a quarter of his upper body. On his feet were a pair of black sneakers with a rim of white that dipped underneath and covered the sole. And last, but not least, the boy had a stuffed Shiba Inu tucked under his left arm.
One who didn't know the boy personally would find it hard to believe he was actually sixteen. He looked about twelve, yet he acted mature for his age...most of the time. He was still a kid at heart. He looked at his surroundings, as if he was casing the place. His black eyes swept over the shoppers, the shop windows, everything. But no, he was just simply watching.
He looked so…innocent. Maybe that's what drew people's attention to him in the first place; his apparent cluelessness of the world. The way he was dressed, the way he was acting.
"Nise." A voice spoke, causing the boy to nearly jump out of his skin."Nise" turned his head to the left and up, towards the direction of the voice.
Standing before him was a young man, though he looked older than his twenty-two years. He had a small goatee and slicked back hair, giving him a mature look. His button up shirt was tucked into a pair of faded jeans, simple but effective. The only thing that gave away his youth was the pair of circular glasses that sat above his nose. The man's face showed little emotion as he stared down at the teenager.
"Oh, Aladaire! You're here." Nise replied, standing up. For an elf, you would think that he would be taller. But no, not him. He hadn't hit his growth spurt yet. He was short, barely reaching 5'4''. It was a bit of a curse.
"You bought a toy?" The man sighed. "Nise, you know the rules about spending company money."
"I'm sorry," Nise puffed out his lower lip. "I tried to resist, but every time I circled back to it, it just kept taunting me to buy it."
He set the drink down in order to raise up the Shiba at the eye level. It had these big, black circular eyes and a smile. Nise pushed the toy forward so that its nose touched Alafaire's.
"Do you see this face? It's not my fault that its tactics were so effective." Nise looked up to meet Aladaire's green eyes with his own bright, black eyes. Aladaire's eyes were flat and cold, but Nise's held a small twinkle of humor and playfulness.
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"I want you to take it back," Aladaire said in a deadpan voice.
"I can't," Nise replied. "I...kind of...maybe...threw out the receipt?"
"Nise," Aladaire warned.
"I'm sorry!" The boy whined.
Aladaire reached forward, grabbing the arm that held the toy and twisted it behind his back. Nise let out a yelp, but Alafaire just twisted the arm further and shoved the teenager against the nearby railing. A dozen shoppers had heard the cries and turned towards them. The elven boy let out a pitiful whimper, yet no one came to his aid. He was used to dealing with the repercussions from his antics.
"I swear, I will break your arm if you don't let go of it!" Aladaire seethed, his face barely an inch from Nise's. "Let go of the toy, Nise!"
The boy complied, letting go of the Shiba with tears streaming down his face. Aladaire let go of Nise's arm and stepped back, a frustrated look on his face.
"What trashcan did you throw the receipt in?"
Nise was still trying to catch his breath and settle the rush of adrenaline that hit him. But he didn't falter to reply quickly.
"I...I can't remember."
"Then let me help refresh your memory," Aladaire said, grabbing the drink that Nise had bought earlier and splashed it on the boy. Nise flinched as the lukewarm liquid doused his face and soaked into his scarf. "If you can't remember where you discarded the receipt, then that means you stole it in the first place."
Nise didn't reply. It was true. He had stolen the toy from the store. In his defense, he really wanted it, but spending company credits was against the rules unless it was really needed. The money they had was used for various types of weaponry. They were assassins, especially Nise, even if the boy looked too childish to participate or even understand what it meant to take someone's life. But it was true. He was a killer. Aladaire was too.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," Aladaire said. "Did you take that drink, too?"
"No...I took it out of the trash." Nise muttered, avoiding the scolding gaze of his comrade. "I was thirsty."
"Stop being so dehydrated and be more mindful of your surroundings. You could've gotten someone else's drink, or worse, gotten sick from drinking the liquids that people throw away."
"I'm hot. I'm tired. I'm bored. I don't want to do this anymore..."
"Stop it," Aladaire said. "We're not done with this yet. You stop whining right now, or I'll make you sorry you were ever born."
Nise sniffled, but seemed to hold it in, for now. He knew that Aladaire was capable of making good on his threats. His expression was that of one enduring some sort of pain. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself. It was probably for the best that he didn't say anything else, as Aladaire was clearly in no mood to hear whining or complaining from his underling. In fact, it seemed like he was in a very bad mood for some reason.
Aladaire let out a long sigh, as if he was trying to calm himself down.
"We all need you to be awake and attentive for tonight's banquet, Nise. If you screw up, our cover will be blown"
Nise nodded slowly, the earlier stern expression Aladaire had quickly fading away to a more neutral one. The man quickly left and Nise felt his legs fatigue themselves as he struggled to keep up with the longer stride of the other. Out of nowhere, his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground. Aladaire quickly turned to him, an irritated expression on his face.
"Are you joking me?" He snarled, grabbing Nise by the scarf and lifting him to his feet. "Can you even walk a straight line?"
Nise just stared at him blankly, not knowing how to respond. Something was wrong, he just didn't feel right. Standing was an exhaustive task. Walking was worse. He wanted nothing more than to just lay on the ground and sleep for the rest of his life, or pass out and have someone else take over for tonight's banquet.
Aladaire snorted, "I swear, I'll get a better class of recruits eventually. Just hope you're not one of them."
Nise wanted to protest and ask why they were in such a hurry, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He just followed along at Aladaire's heels as best he could.