An annoyed sigh escaped my lips as I rolled over onto my side, the darkness that came from my closed eyes was starting to be overtaken by the bright rays of the sun. I desperately covered my head with my pillow hoping that I could fall back asleep for another few hours art the least, but it was useless. Once my body started waking up there was nothing I could do to put it back to sleep. I pulled myself up to a sitting position, silently cursing myself for not closing my blinds last night. A few sleep filled blinks finally got my eyes to adjust to the bright light of the morning sun. I stretched my arms over my head, and realized that I was not in the clothes I had fallen asleep in. One of my many silk nightgowns had been put over me. My face heated up a bit at the thought of my mother getting me dressed for bed as I lay asleep, but that embarrassment was quickly replaced with joy that she took time to get me ready for bed.
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I slowly climbed out of bed and walked over to my desk where my mission file was still resting. I took the file in one hand, and slipped my netrix gemstone onto a silver chain and put that over my head. “Aiko if I have to be up then the least you can do is be up with me.” I spoke sharply and a moment later my prized spirit animal began to flow from the gem like fresh smoke off a fire. A long pink serpent wrapped around my shoulders, her head coming to rest on top my own.
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“Do not be cross with me because you woke up early.” I reached up to give her a small flick but as usual she was quicker and moved her head to rub against cheek quilling my small anger. “What do you have there?” Her attention shifted from me and to the file in my hand.
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“My first actual mission.” I opened the file up allowing her to look at the picture I was given. “We are going to be heading to New York City, to take out this little girl. Oikawa Ori.”
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“They gave you a little girl to go and kill?” Aiko asked, a small giggle escaping her lips. “This is the great big mission from home that you were hoping for?”
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“None of that now, Aiko.” Though I couldn’t help but also feel disappointed that I wasn’t being given something worth my skills. “Think about it like this, Aiko. I can get a good pay day on what seems like an easy mission.”
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I flipped through the pages of this file for a few more minutes. There wasn’t much here to be amazed at for the most part, she was annoyingly taller than me by a few inches and apparently younger than me at 12. The thing that got me most interested was her apparent ability to take a beating and keep on moving. She apparently had two blades that she had been using to cut down men with ease but she never took their life. There was another picture mixed in with these papers and it was a few camera angles of her running away. Around her was a silvery energy surrounding her, and beside her was a reptile I had never seen before. It looked like a snake but it had small legs carrying it off the floor. I was taken out of my thoughts as someone knocked on my door. “Lady Ivy, are you awake?”
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I put my papers away and sat a bit taller before saying. “I am awake, you may enter.” My door swung open and a girl around my age stepped inside. She had an adorable round face with soft amber eyes, she was dressed in the uniform most of our maids wore. Only thing that separated her from the others was the bright pink bow that was resting in her hair. “Emily, what brings you to my chambers so early in the morning?”
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Emily Mason had been found by my sister Zinnie and was adopted by one of our head maids. The little girl had been so grateful that she practically forced my mom to hire her as one of the staff to make up for it. So she was in charge of simple tasks that a child her age could handle, such as dusting and sweeping, washing dishes and being in charge of the mine and my younger cousins' laundry. She took the edges of her black and white skirt and gave me a small cuthsey, she was getting much better at that in the last few weeks. “Your mommy is requesting your attention in dining hall.” She stepped past me and towards my large closet. “What do you want to wear today, Lady Ivy.”
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“Decide for me,” I gently swatted Aiko on her side, her tail had lifted slightly and I knew she was waiting to shoot it out like a whip to smack her backside. One of her most basic but enjoyable jokes she enjoyed playing on the staff. “Do not harm a hair on her head, go and miss with one of the older maids.”
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“Thank you for sparing me from your serpent's wrath, my lady.” Emily disappeared into my closet and returned a few moments later with a pair of black jeans and one of my favorite shirts, a purple and pink shirt with my favorite pokemon on the front. “I heard that you will be leaving on your first important mission.”
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“That I am, I suppose you will be missing my company then.” The little girl nodded her head as she placed my clothes on my bed. “I will miss you as well,” I added.
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“I am glad that you will miss me, though Zinnie promised to keep me busy in your stead.” I couldn’t help but notice the shutter that escaped her.
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“If she is too much go, and seek my oldest sister for help. She will treat you much more kindly than Zinnie will.” I walked over to Emily and put my hand on her shoulders and pulled her into a small hug. I was quite fond of this girl, I honestly liked her more than my cousins. “I will be sure to bring a gift for you, for all your hard work.”
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Emily froze for a moment but she did return my embrace. “Thank you, Lady Ivy,” Once we broke our embrace she reached underneath her shirt producing a white netrix gem. It glowed bright and a moment later a small moose animal spirit appeared in my room. “Come along, Fluffy, help me carry Lady Ivy’s clothes to the washer.”
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Once she had left my chambers, I took my clothes and a small basket that carried my tolities and went to one of the four bathrooms we had for a shower. I wish I had time to soak in a warm bath but I was not gonna leave my momma waiting for me for two hours while I did so. So I took a quick shower and got dressed before hurrying down the stairs. As I entered the dining room, it looked much better with all the lights on. The polished wooden floors could be mistaken for gold sometimes, the clean silverware seemed to sparkle like gemstone in the light. My mother was sitting at the head of the table, on her left was her sister Azaleas, a skinny woman whose chin ended in a sharp point. Standing behind her were her twins, Lily and Jared both with matching black hair and dark plotting eyes. They were skilled in their own right and I often used them for sparring matches and they were not that fond of me. While lower members of my clan were not allowed large missions like my family, the best they could get were low paying jobs in the underground such as acting like bodyguards or small kills. The twins on the other hand could receive missions that my sisters saw as a waste of time. While they should be grateful for higher paydays, I understood why they disliked it so much. No one likes receiving the scraps that the elite didn’t want to eat, they wanted the same meal, the same drink. A better seat at the table.
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As I grew closer I could hear the conversation. My aunt was doing what she did best, trying to bargain with my mother for her children to receive a true challenge. “Aconitum, might I be so bold to suggest that maybe you are worried about sending my children on that mission because you are afraid they might taste failure like your daughters once did?”
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My momma who for the most part was just looking sipping on a cup of tea reading one of her favorite books, turned towards her sister with a look of pure rage in her eyes. She snapped her book closed and in a dark voice. “Sister, either remember your place or challenge me for my seat as head of our house.” My mother held hand out and her weapon, a long elegantly made. curved scythe, dark purple in color, appeared in it.
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My aunt put her hands out in front of her, a look of fear taking over her usually prideful face. “I meant no disrespect sister, I was merely suggest-”
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She stopped speaking as my mother held the curved blade against her throat. “Sister, I love you dearly and your children are quite skilled, however the most they will receive is what my daughters do not want. It has been that way since our mother was the head of the family and how her sister’s children could not get more. Now I will say it again, the answer is no, now unless you want to try me for my seat, then by all means let's settle this once and for all, cause you have grown more bold in these last few months.”
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My aunt bowed her head in defeat, her hands balling into tight fists. “You are head of the family sister, pardon me for being greedy, my children will gladly take what Zinnie has offered them, and we will bring glory and honor to our families great name.”
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My mother’s weapon disappeared back into her netrix crystal and with that same hand she rubbed her knuckles against my aunt’s chin. “You are still my dear sister, but remember who is in charge of this family.” Her gaze was turned on me for the first time today, and she smiled. “Now if you excuse me, I need to have a word with my youngest. Shall we perhaps get dinner tonight, maybe discuss things with less tension?”
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“I would love that dearly.” My aunt stood from her head and turned on her heels to leave out of the back door. Her children each gave my mother a small hug before following out behind her.
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“Come closer Ivy, my anger is gone for now.” My mother waved me over and my fear for her began to subside a tiny bit. I took my aunt's seat and with two loud claps a plate of food was brought in by one of our cooks. “I wanted to speak to you before you leave, and help you pick which one of the staff you want to come with you on your mission.”
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As a member of the head family, we were allowed to pick a butler or maid to accompany us, cook us dinner, take care of our hotel room while we were out and about. As I dug into my late breakfast of fresh waffles covered in sticky syrup and sunny side up eggs. I thought about who I wanted to take with me, I doubt she would let me take little Emily with me, Madam Jones would be too annoying. I thought of maybe taking Emily’s adoptive mother with me but I was not gonna separate them so soon. “Is father’s personal butler available?”
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My mother’s eyes glowed with interest. “Benjamin Alphoso-Lewis?” She asked for clarification. “I believe that he might be available. Your father recently took one of the new butlers to give him some kind experience in working for the Oren.”
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“When is daddy coming back?”
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My mother’s expression changed from her normally stoic expression to a dreamy look of love. “Your father is finishing his job and will be returning home in a week or two. He has plans to remain home for a year to relax, something about waiting for the fish to get bigger or something like that. He is running out of those that can challenge him.”
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A small grin appeared on my face at the thought of seeing my daddy once again. “Why do you want Benjamin?” I was taken out of my thoughts at my mothers sudden question. “Why not Madam Jones or one of the other female staff?”
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I rolled my eyes for a moment. “I don’t want to deal with the doting that will come with most of them. I would rather have someone that will respect my privacy and maybe tell me a few stories about daddy in the process.” I took a few more bits of my food before asking. “What else did you wanna speak with me about?”
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“Nothing much, I just wanted to see you before you take off. You can leave in the next few days or today.” My mother gave me a gentle smile as she reached out to take my hand. “I expect you to return with success, my daughter, and carry yourself how I would in all situations. There is a reason why I made you heir to my throne.”
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“I know, momma,” I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I will live up to your expectations and then some. I will get this done in three days time and return with new found glory and honor to our name.”
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“Are you willing bet on your success?” A playful glimmer appeared in my mothers eyes.
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The look alone told me it would be a foolish task in making a bet like this. “N-No momma, it would be disrespectful to make a bet with you.”
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She let out a small chuckle, “give me a hug and go get packed, I can see that you are itching to leave.” I practically shot up from my chair like a bullet and raced around to give her a long hug. “Do what I have trained you to do best, prove to me I was right in making you my heir.” I was kinda glad that she was hugging me because she didn’t need to see the frown appearing on my face.
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“I don’t want to be your heir,” I thought to myself. Once our embrace was completed I quickly left the dining room and once I was out of her sight. I sprinted up to my room to get packed, as I was racing up the stairs two steps at a time. I ran into Poppy who had just reached the second floor. As I passed, she grabbed me by the back of my shirt stopping me dead in my tracks.
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“Where are you going in such a hurry?”
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I wiggled free of her grip before jumping up to give her a hug. “I am leaving today, Poppy. So I need to go and get packed as soon as I can.”
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My sister returned my embrace. “I will miss your annoying presence around the manor, Ivy.” She whispered as she broke my hug, “I would suggest taking a jacket, we are nearly in December and I believe New York has rumors of snow beginning to fall.”
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“What are you going to do?” I asked now walking side by side with my sister back up to my room.
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“There is someone in the city that I need to go see.” The same dreamy look that appeared on mom’s face when she spoke about dad spread across her face. “Afterwards I will be taking a rest, maybe head back to our native land of Japan for a few weeks.”
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Once we reached the third floor, Poppy wished me one last goodbye before turning on her heels to go back the way we came. I sprinted to my room and began the dolting process of picking out my clothes for my trip. I also had to find and buy a plane ticket and luck was on my side as I found a flight leaving at 2:45. Since I was sure that I was gonna be finished with this mission, I packed enough for a month’s trip. I wanted to explore all of the city as soon as I was done, maybe go watch a basketball game, I wanted to explore every restaurant they had. I was so caught up in making plans that I didn’t notice someone was standing at my door. “Earth to my annoying little sister!” I let out a startled scream as Zinnie’s voice beat against my eardrum. I spun around to find my tallest sister looking down at me with her hands over her big mouth.
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“What is wrong with you?!” I snapped, throwing a quick punch her way.
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Zinnie allowed it to hit her cheek and a brief surge of pain filled my knuckles in the process. She was always a master at the basic techniques such as protection and amplification. She sent a small smirk mh way before roughly wrapping her arm around my shoulder. Squishing me against her impressive bust. “No need to be so violent, Ivy. I just wanted to see what had my dear sister so distracted.”
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“If you must know, I am making plans of what to explore once I finish my mission.” Zinnie let out a small chuckle causing me to ask. “What is so funny?”
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Zinnie released me from her grip. “You are so confident in your skills but you have yet to have a target that tries to fight back. Word of advice, Ivy, do not underestimate your target so quickly. Even the smallest of mice tend to fight back when their back is against the wall.” She jabbed her fingers against my neck, stomach, and legs causing a dull pain to start to form. “All it takes is a good strike in those places to put you down for the count. I would rather not hear that my sister lost her life due to her own foolishness.”
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“Thank you for the advice.” That seemed to please my sister as she turned her heels to walk away. She was clad in a cute red skirt and a black shirt. “Why didn’t you want the mission mother gave you, Aunt Azaleas was speaking with mother about her children getting a harder one, did it have something to do with that.”
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Zinnie moved to lean against my door frame, her arms now crossed and a look of annoyance on her face. “That mission wasn’t even worth my time, just to provide my protection during some meeting in London. My hirer knows my talents lie in other departments of our work, besides I am itching for a challenge.”
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“You mean you enjoy seducing men and killing them.” Zinnie gave me a dark grin confirming my suspensions.
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“There is no greater joy I find than pulling at the strings of the heart, just to watch it break.” Zinnie placed her hand on her chin seemingly thinking about something. “One last word of advice sister, try and find what part of this work is more fun for you. Fighting like Wisteria, tricks like me, or the art of waiting like Poppy. It will make deciding future jobs much more fun.”
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Zinnie slipped around the corner leaving with odd words of advice that seemed to stick to the air. Once I managed to shake them out of my head, I finished packing my suitcases and made a call for Emily to come to my chambers. Her large moose spirit will come in handy carrying my bags down the steps. Once she arrived at my chambers, I noticed that she was carrying something in her hands. She took a few hesitant steps towards me and stuck the poorly wrapped bundle my way.
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“What is this?” I said, “did you get me a gift?”
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Emily nodded her head, her cheeks flushed pink a bit from embarrassment. “I thought it would help you on your way, I know it helped me when I was lost and it led me here.” She bashfully kicked at my carpet, a slight wiggle escaping her. “Aren’t you gonna open it?”
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I gave a long roll of my eyes before tearing the package open. Inside was a small box that held a tiny book, “Holy Bible '' the cover was dirty and torn in places and around it was a necklace, The Christian Cross. “Emily, you know what my family's beliefs are.” I said looking at the girl.
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The small child's face fell a tiny bit. “I know you are supposed to hate him but he doesn’t hate you, and I want you to have my necklace, something to keep you safe and remember I am always praying for her.” For someone so young as she was, her devotion to her faith was always something that amazed me. “Please promise me that you will keep them safe for me, and maybe even read a page or two. Specifically the ones I highlighted in pink… maybe the ones in blue too. Maybe even let him inside your heart?”
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As Oren we were taught from birth to hate him. “The Unfair God of Israel that tried to wipe our name from the earth over a mistake his people caused. The Unfair King of the Earth that refused to save one of us in need. Hate him, do not fear him, he has done nothing for us and never will.” My mothers words echoed through my head but when I looked at Emily I never saw the unfair God my clan thought he was. All I knew was that I was supposed to hate him and I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
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I shook my head a few times, freeing me from my thoughts. I slipped the necklace over my head allowing it to hang beside my netrix gemstone and slipped her small bible into my backpack pocket. As I turned around to face her, she was practically beaming with joy at this small act. “I make no promises to read a book I hate, but I will carry this cross to remember you.” I covered the distance between us and gave her a small hug. “I will come back with a present for the only member of the staff I don’t hate.”
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“Thank you for your kindness, Lady Ivy.” As we broke our embrace I nearly jumped out of my skin as my oldest sister was leaning against the wall. How she snuck into my room without me noticing I have no idea. Emily followed my eyes and she quickly gripped the edges of her skirt in a deep cuthsey. “It is nice to meet you face to face, Lady Wisteria.”
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My sister looked down at the child and stepped towards her. Her hand reached out and in one smooth motion she fixed the ribbon around Emily’s hair. “I am guessing you are the little one that has been looking for me. I believe my sister trusted you into my care correct?” Emily slowly nodded her head. “Head to my room and inform my snake that you are to be let inside, I need help unpacking and rearranging my things. Perform highly and I have a treat with your name on it.”
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Her face lit up with new found joy as she said goodbye to me one more time before scurrying out of the room. “How long has that little one been in our manor, mother doesn’t hire children.”
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“Zinnie found her a few months ago and brought her here. She offered to become a maid to repay the kindness we have given her.” Before I had a chance to react, Wisteria had taken a grip on the cross now around my neck. “That belongs to her, she gifted it to me as something to remember her by.”
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Wisteria looked at the cross with almost a sense of longingness in her eyes. “Does mother know of this girl’s faith in our enemy?”
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“She knows,” My mind flashed back to when my mother nearly broke the girl’s fingers as she desperately tried to keep her grip on this small cross. How I had to step in before she really did hurt her. “She has allowed her to keep it as long as she doesn’t see it or she will throw it so far that the little girl will have no hopes of getting it back.”
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Wisteria let go of the small silver cross allowing it to thump lightly against my chest. “And I am sure that little one will go to hell and back to retrieve such a simple object. You would be amazed at what lengths those people will go to to keep their faith strong..” Wisteria walked over to my door, she closed the door and locked it before sitting down on my bed and opening her arms to me. “Come to me and let me hold you before you take off on your first mission.”
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She didn’t need to tell me twice as I jumped into her open arms and she held me just as she always did. The same way she did when I was just a little baby, it was odd to think about it but sometimes I thought she cared for me more than my mother did. We stayed together in silence with only her heartbeat providing any sound to reach my ears. Her voice finally spoke up in a hushed whisper. “Promise me something Ivy, promise me that you will come back home, that you will not be a fool and earn the punishment that Zinnie and Poppy earned.”
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“Sister I am not-”
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“Promise me!” I jumped a bit at the stern tone in her voice.
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I slipped out her grasp a bit to kneel on her lap so we were eye to eye. “Wisteria, I promise I will come back with success, honor and glory for our family.” My eyes widened as I saw the small sparkle of tears in her eyes. “I will be fine, sister.”
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Wisteria pulled me into her arms for one last hug. “I know you will,” she let out a shuttered breath. “I will miss you little sister, but do not rush home on my behalf, explore where you go and make your own choices.”
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We shared a long embrace but never did I once want it to end. Eventually she released me and stood up to leave my room. Once she was gone, I laid bac and held my pillow to my chest. Aiko returned to my room and upon seeming like this she climbed into my bed and wrapped herself around me. Part of me didn’t want to go now, part of me wanted to push this off another few days so I could spend time with my sister. However, the other part of me was screaming for me to get out and leave. “Maybe let him in huh.” I said out loud and I let out a small chuckle. As I remembered what Emily had told me.
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“If you are real, then show yourself to me in a way I understand, show me it is that simple.” As those words left my mouth, I don’t know why but I could have sworn a cold wind brushed against my face.
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An odd thing since my air condition was pointed away from my bed and was currently off.
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