A bright, oversized moon occupied the sky, surrounded by millions of glistening stars. Below the shine of the moon was a field filled with nothing but tall grass.
Within the field stood a man with short black hair and a scruffy beard, armed with a sword in hand.
His mouth formed a devilish grin as he raised his sword.
"You think you can beat me? Please. I've been a master of the sword since I was a kid. To think that I would be defeated by some random woman is laughable."
Standing a distance away was a woman with a slender build and shoulder-length black hair. Her weapon of choice was a small knife.
She formulated her response as she tied her hair into a ponytail.
"You haven't realized that this woman you're talking to has in fact defeated every one of your friends. If you need a reminder, take a look around."
Buried within the grass of the surrounding area were a multitude of slain bodies, each smeared in browning blood.
"So, what? They were all weak. I'm a true master. You're going to look like an idiot!"
The man angled his sword and charged.
"YOU'RE FINISHED!"
The woman allowed her knife-wielding arm to droop by her side.
"Is that so?"
The bearded man initiated a battle cry as he neared his opponent.
The woman's dull gray eyes began to glow ominously as the moon's brilliant white color began to shift towards a red shade.
The man's attack was halted just as his blade collided with a loose strand of the woman's hair. Blood appeared on his lips as he collapsed backwards, revealing a knife lodged in his chest. His sword dropped to the ground beside him.
The woman stooped down and moved to pick up the sword, but withdrew her arm at the last second. She rose back up to a standing position and removed her own sword from her back-strapped sheath. She raised the blade to a now blood-red orb in the sky.
"Forever rest in peace."
——
SAVIOR: Original Story by OneSevenEight
Episode: The Lightning Assassin - Autumn Days
——
Clouds drifted throughout the gray-tinted sky as the assassin with the sword strapped to her back approached Kita Mansion. Her gray eyes appeared as dull as ever as they danced back and forth between the sky and ground.
'Winter is coming… Another winter while being an assassin…'
As she looked ahead towards the mansion, she noticed a young teen girl waiting near the front gate, staring at the ground. When the girl picked her head up and noticed the approaching woman, she began to move and immediately broke into a run.
"Onee-san!"
The girl dragged her heals to stop herself directly in front of the returning assassin. The pair locked eyes with each other.
"Welcome back, Onee-san. How'd the mission go?"
The woman with muted gray eyes responded with a slight smile.
"Same as usual. I completed my mission."
"You make it sound like you never have any trouble completing a mission. How can someone as dorky as you be so good at such a badass job?"
The woman retracted her smile.
"I wouldn't call it a badass job. People get hurt, you know."
"Well, we have to fight Minami in order to protect our own, right? People are going to get hurt. That's just part of the job."
"Which is why you should never take up that job."
"Jeez, stop treating me like a kid, Onee-san."
The woman released a sigh of exasperation and walked past her younger sister. She briefly turned back to give one more statement. Although her sister also had gray eyes, the younger sibling's pair also emanated a slight blue glow.
"I've gotta go report to the President. You stay away from becoming an assassin, Yaku."
"Mind if I come with?"
"I do mind. Don't follow me."
——
"I'm here to report, Madam."
"Welcome back, Kira. Another mission well done?"
Kira closed the door behind her and moved to stand in front of Bri's desk.
"The group of insurgents in the countryside have been defeated. They are no longer a threat to Kita."
Bri reacted with a grin prior to noticing something behind Kira.
"Oh? Looks like you have a shadow."
Kira snapped around to find Yaku standing with her arms around her back and grinning.
"Sounds like an interesting mission you had, Onee-san."
"YAKU! What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to follow me!"
"Did you take them out all by yourself? That's impressive. I didn't know you had it in you."
"Yaku… I SWEAR, I'M NOT BUYING YOU ANY MORE FOOD!"
Yaku's expression instantaneously turned into worry.
"Now… wait a minute, Onee-san… That's kinda cruel…"
After giving her sibling a long stare of annoyance, Kira turned back towards Bri while folding her arms.
"You can preserve the small chance of me walking back my decision by getting out of my sight."
"You know, Onee-san, I'm already out of your-"
"GET OUT!"
As Yaku departed from the room, Kira resumed her report to Bri.
"Sorry about that, Madam. She's been getting really annoying lately. Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah, the insurgents-"
"How old is Yaku now, Kira?"
"She's twelve now. If I may, Madam, why do you ask?"
Bri folded her hands over her mouth.
"She's already started to do some basic combat training, yes? I think she might be ready to start full training to become an assassin."
Shock overtook Kira's face as she took a step back.
"Train Yaku… to become an assassin? But she's not ready! She's a child!"
"Yaku is approaching her teen years, and she's enthusiastic about becoming an assassin. Not to mention, her older sister is one of the best agents we have, so she might share some of your genes."
"That's… She's not ready, Bri. She's just a kid. Don't let her-"
"Are you saying she's not ready because she's actually not capable, or are you saying she's not ready because you don't want to see your beloved sister grow up?"
Kira opened her mouth to respond, but slowly closed it after no words escaped.
"I'm going to offer Yaku the chance to begin training as an assassin. All I ask of you is to let her follow her own path, Kira."
——
As Kira shuffled down the hallway, her head drooped as she thought about her conversation with Bri.
'Let her follow her own path, Kira.'
She stopped and slammed the side her fist into the concrete block wall.
'This can't be happening. No, I can't let it happen. I have to talk Yaku out of starting the training. I won't let her get hurt.'