All I remember is confusion, pain, screaming. It happened so fast like I was in a dream. My parents lying on the floor dead, a man with a long silver gun standing over them. My parents were the only people who truly understood me. Now they are gone. I feel nothing. My parents have loved me, provided for me, and were always there for me. No one understands how it feels to not experience emotions. It is like owing someone your life and never being able to thank them. This is all behind me now. My father once told me to live a life of regret is worse than not being alive in the first place. I don’t feel most emotions so regret is an unlikely commodity. Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with the world? I have lived sixteen years on this cruel planet, or maybe seventeen. I lose track. If only I didn’t feel obligated to avenge my parents' deaths out of respect I could end my life and rid myself of this fleeting existence.
“Rin! What the hell are you doing man?” Sty poked his head through the doorway. “It’s our first day at school, you don’t want to be late on your first day!” I slowly sat up.
“Sty.” He looked at me. “I like you Sty, but coming in here and waking me up like that is a death wish dude.” I raised my eyebrows at him.
He rolled his eyes “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, you don’t hurry up and I’m going without you.” Sty chuckled and shut the door. I got up and looked around the room. Some say I am young, too young. I have an advantage that has allowed me to be a formidable assassin. Revenge is a key weapon and motivator for any assassin. Revenge is like a ticking clock ready to explode and when it does, there is no stopping it. I channel my revenge into dedication, physical insight, knowledge, and above all else, finding out who killed my parents. Although I have never assassinated anyone, I am going to a school of murder. A training academy of sorts, where I can hone down my practices, get my legal killers identification, and kill my parents killers. I got up and looked out the window. Several teenagers were playing basketball, a man was smoking in a window, a man in a suit was talking on the phone. A bird fluttered in the distance. Life must be protected. Life must also be taken to protect the balance that lies evidently in all of nature. Life is full of blacks and whites which surprisingly compliment each other. As a blatant mockery of my being, my life is all black. Nothing good happens when you're a failure like me. This is why I am becoming an assassin. To serve my sentence to my Mom and Dad who would still be alive right now if not for my weakness. Their lives are on my hands and I will not make the same mistake twice. I am the death bearer, the embodiment of disgrace.
I walked along the highway. “Hey!” I looked back. Sty was running after me. I stopped and turned to him. “Yo man, you didn’t even give me enough time to eat breakfast and here you are already ahead of me. What the hell man, did you climb out a window?”
I shrugged and turned back around. “Well I sleep in my clothes sometimes and the window happened to be open. It seems like a waste of time to walk to the door.”
He laughed and rubbed my hair. “You know Rin, you are funny. I’m glad you're my best friend.” I started walking towards the academy. Here I am, seventeen years old, going to a school of murder.
“Yeah well life is funny, don’t you think Sty?” No answer. I turned around with only enough time to see Sty get pulled away by two large black men. I smiled at the men and waved. “I hope you don’t plan on stealing my best friend”. Fear is a common emotion in many humans. An advantage of not having fear is replacing fear with logical thinking. Not having fear is also a curse that puts you into a position of regret. The man looked around baffled, pulled out a pistol, and aimed it at my head. I paused. “What do you guys want? If you are looking for someone to steal from, you sure picked the worst two guys. I have nothing.” I smiled but burned on the inside. Life is precious. Life is scarce. Life cannot be treated with disrespect. I turned to him in one swift move and took the gun. I slammed the butt of the gun into his stomach and swept out his legs while pressing his body on the ground with the muzzle on his head. I stared at the other large man and smiled. “I know what you’re thinking. I am only what sixteen, seventeen? I’m sure you think you could take me out and still have time for brunch. I know I seem young, but I could still take out your ass any day so don’t get any ideas.” I looked into his eyes and with a last glance of disgust, turned on my heel, and walked away. Sty followed close behind me in silence. I kept walking and turned my body and stuck my tongue out at him while shoving the gun into his hands. I have never loved, nor liked anyone after my parents were killed. I turned from the world. I tried to shed tears for my parents, but they wouldn’t come. I tried to kill myself, but could not die. I cursed death for tricking me into becoming its pawn. I tried to embrace reality and with one stifling blow and all of my darkness slowly began to diminish. Life is not fair. I was born a disgrace. I was born to lose, to stumble in defeat. Life certainly is funny.
Aristocrats are simply demigods. They believe that all are below themselves and that everyone is inferior. I believe them to be idiots, but reality doesn’t care about my viewpoints. I seem to believe this ridiculous idea that life is worth something. This school allows anyone to get a legal killers identification where the government allows hired assassins from all over the world to track down and kill those the government deems deserving. This naturally attracts people like aristocrats who think life is a toy for their pleasure and amusement. I came from the slums. I came off of pure dedication and hard work. They have no right to deem me unworthy.
“Who are you boy?” I glanced up. A tall boy in a red suit with a rose emblem looked down at me.
I could tell this demigod was trouble. I played along to give him a chance for a second impression.“My name is Rin.”
He bent down. “My name is Henry. How old are you?”
Why must everyone ask me this? I'm not that short.
“I am seventeen years old.”
He looked around surprised. “Good luck, people that go to this school don’t play nice. You might want to go back to wherever you came from before you get hurt.”
I smiled and looked back up. “Play nice? I love games, want to play?”
He looked down at me and smirked. “Is this game even worth playing?”
I stared coldly into his eyes. “Want to find out?” As quickly as I said it, he grabbed my arm, swung me, and stuck out his leg, and as quickly as he had begun, it was over. “Listen to me, you little runt. I am your superior and you will treat me this way.”
I licked the blood around my lips and smiled. “Your highness, your eloquence astounds me. You are the very image of perfection. I doubt anyone could make more of a colossal asshole than you.” An important lesson: Any and every opportunity must be taken and seized. Although I must admit, this guy was far past the point of no retreat, some people like this need to be put in their place. I could tell he was confused and I took advantage of it. I swung my head backward and grabbed his hand, breaking his wrist. I continued to elbow him in the stomach and push his face into the dirt. “Damn, well now you just look like something I drew with my left hand.” I proceeded to bow and walk towards class. Important lesson number two: Assassination is an art of eloquence and most definitely solitude. Any confrontations must be handled with the utmost care as to not be noticed by others. I have made a detrimental error. Many others had seen the skirmish and glared at me. I was the outsider, not him. This was a school of demigods and I’m a human. I misjudged my surroundings. I have made enemies on the first day. Just another one of the curses of life, you can make mistakes accidentally and they will follow you until justice is given. I will be more aware in the future, but damn it felt good.
I looked at the magnificent building, a school of elite assassins. Eight massive walls surrounded the school in the shape of a courthouse. I looked around. The entrances were being closed off. The school doors were being closed off. Seven large chain structures were closed and men could be seen glancing at the large metal cages. I observed my surroundings. A few students were in tactical positions. This is not an ordinary beginning to a day I must add. I prepared for the worst. A man in the left corner of the octagon took up a stick and pounded the ground. Many students looked around suspiciously. A few students took out weapons and found a spot against the wall. All of a sudden, sounds could not be heard and everything went pitch dark. A cloaking spell, probably for whatever was in the cages. Assassins cannot rely on their eyes or hearing. Movement must be sensed by a talent the god Ophthalmos gave assassins three thousand years ago. Assassins train this sense. Everything heightened around me. I could sense the doors being opened. I could sense everyone's tension and fear. I could sense Sty against a wall. I decided for the best that I should get against the wall. After two minutes of silence and pitch black, a subtle, but noticeable shaking filled the room. I sensed darkness inside whatever was filling the room. All of a sudden the lights turned on and I could hear everything all at once. It was overwhelming. Shrieking, sobbing, loud footsteps. At first, I thought that the people around me were terrified, but then a white skinny figure ran awkwardly out of the large gate. It was the one making the awful sound. Its eyes were pure black and its face was featureless. Its limbs were excessively long, white, and were dragging along the ground. Its feet were a mixture of white, smooth skin, and dried blood. The talons on its feet were long and red. It looked around frantically, it’s eyes wide open and pitch black, it’s mouth drooling. A loud announcement radiated off the walls of the arena.
“Welcome students to the academy! I’m so glad you are all here! The gods have certainly blessed us this year with a large group.” I looked at the woman speaking through the microphone. She didn’t fit in with the rest of the students at all. She wasn’t wearing an assigned school uniform, but rather a long dress. “After this quick introduction to the academy, a large introduction meeting will be held a week from today. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask any fourth-year students. I hope you all have fun at the reaping! May all of you have Azarieths wisdom.” All of a sudden the white creature shrieked and barreled at a girl about my age. She took up a fighting stance. I stared at her in dismay. She is going to die. Every instinct inside me said to ignore her. This is not my fight. I laughed and shook my head, this isn’t a good idea. I looked at the sky with resentment. Just my luck, the creature didn’t target a fourth year. Well, this is my job, I thought to myself. All of a sudden the world around me turned into a streak of confusion. I saw my dad being tortured while my mom was sobbing in the corner. I saw the man grin as he slit my dad's throat. I saw him laugh as he shot my mom in the head. Anger, fury, sadness, regret, love. All these emotions filled my head as I was overwhelmed. When I thought I could bear it no more, the vision stopped. I saw a terrified girl struggling to stand in the corner. I saw myself covered in blood, but it was not my blood. All I saw was bloody white pieces of something scattered across the ground. I was kneeling in a pool of blood. All emotions left me and I instantly felt light-headed.
“I have protected a life…” These were the only words I said before I proceeded to fall, unconscious, into a world of black. Last lesson, an assassin's job is not only to take lives but also to save them. This was my destiny. To die saving someone else. Life is precious and must be protected. I protected that life, but one life doesn’t atone for my sins. Whenever you are asleep it seems that time speeds up. I looked around me, I was on a long narrow path. Flowers bloomed all around me, tall oak trees stretched across the expanse of the sky, birds chirped a mesmerizing melody as they fluttered across the canopy. Everything was perfect. I thought I could stay here forever. I thought I could settle for a dream. A dream where I feel happiness, a dream where emotions are once again a part of me, but I was wrong. Everything around me was wrong. I did not belong here. In the distance, a lone man walked briskly towards me. He barely came into hearing distance before he was cut off with the sound of loud voices. Briefly, I saw shuffling across my vision. A man maybe? Or a woman? Light enveloped my senses as I was dragged away from my dream and into reality. Unbearable light. The stench of blood. I looked around. Everything was blurred red. Three men in white clothes were talking to me. I don’t want to listen. A third figure, a small girl in the corner. Was that the girl from the arena? Darkness surrounded me again and I was drawn back into my dream. A man walked closer, I could now make out his figures. It was my father. I stared as he started to run towards me. Closer he came, closer, and closer. He was in arms distance when a sudden scream pierced the air. I turned to the sound and saw my mom sobbing in the corner laying on the ground pointing at me. I turned back to my father and saw him not where he once was, but lying on the floor, his neck bleeding uncontrollably. Darkness surrounded me as blood rushed all around. Blood poured out of him and turned into a raging river. I was carried roughly through the putrid liquid until I came to a ledge. Swiftly I was tossed off the ledge and into the river below. The smell of blood clogged my senses, the taste of blood filled my mouth. I began to scream, but I could not breathe.
All I could hear is my father's voice saying “Rin! You cursed child, why did you abandon us! Abandon us! Abandon us! Why didn’t you save our lives! Lives! Lives!” A pulsating, dark feeling swept over me. Confusion, guilt, heartache filled my mind. I could not think, I could not speak, I could not move. All I could feel is the wretched feeling of death. I could not keep it in anymore. A tear trickled into the water and was quickly swept away by the blood. I swam to the bottom, all I could do is hope it would kill me. This is the life I deserve. I am an assassin, an instrument of death. Life despises me, my own father wishes me dead, and yet, I feel nothing. I am a wicked creature. All I want is to die.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
