𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨/ 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘗𝘛𝘚𝘋

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

She begged, pleaded on her knees for me not to kill her. Blood trickled down my hand as my grip on my knife got tighter. "Please don't! I have a daughter!" The woman begged. The sound of fire crackled around us, police sirens echoed in the atmosphere as they made their way closer to us. The hot flames slowly engulfed us, making the cold winter night feel like a hot summer day. "If you kill me, then please spare my daughter! Please, I'm begging you!" The woman screamed, pleading to me. Time was almost up, the police and firefighters were almost here.

For a moment, even a second, my mind flashed back to my son. He's only a few years older than this woman's daughter. How could I kill her and her daughter knowing this? If I kill her, then I'd have to take her daughter, and raise her as my own. It's only right. Either way, my orders were to kill this woman. Mrs. Shin. I sighed, giving into her request.

"I will spare your daughter. But I cannot spare you," I said loudly, making sure my voice was heard over the sound of sirens and fire. The woman- Mrs. Shin- stopped crying. Instead, she smiled at my words.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you! I will die knowing she will be okay!" Mrs. Shin spoke for the last time. The flames grew closer, her skin started to char and burn from the heat of it. Soon she began to cough loudly, also as if she were hacking up her lungs. Her coughs were almost inaudible due to the noise. It only took seconds until the sound of her coughing ceased. I smirked. At least I got my job done.

Loud banging erupted from the front door. Frantically, I ran upstairs as quickly as possible. The fire-fighters were trying to get in. My only mission now is to grab the daughter from her room and get out. She's only two years old, she won't remember anything that happens anyways. The front door busted down just as I swooped the baby up in my arms. To my surprise, she wasn't crying. In fact, she wasn't even phased. She just laid there with her eyes closed, peacefully asleep. "Is she dead?" I thought as I checked her pulse. My eyes widened like plates when my fingers felt the small heart beat from her wrist, rhythmically beating as if she had not a care in the world. I smiled. She's strong, she'll fit right in with the family.

"Search the area!" Muffled voices of men shouted from downstairs.

"They're coming, I must hurry,"  I continued to think to myself as I picked up what appeared to be a duck-shaped paper weight and chucked it at the window. The glass shattered obnoxiously, causing me to roll my eyes as I shielded the baby's face with my hand. Men from downstairs questioned the sound loudly, seconds later their pounding footsteps came up the stairs. Without any more hesitation, I ran and jumped out the window. Landing on my feet somehow, I managed to run a few yards to where my get-away car was waiting. I guess years of training and killing paid off.

I couldn't help but look at the baby peacefully sleeping in my arms as we drove away. Her skin was pale and flawless like the moonlight. And she seemed kind, with big doe-light eyes full of innocence. I think I'll name you... Yuna.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈17 Years Later┈┈┈

Y/N made his way to the training center. Although he was already 21, his father only believed that he was incompetent and incapable of being a good assassin. "I wish you were more like your sister," he'd say. "Why can't you live up to your legacy?" The truth was, Y/N is an amazingly skilled fighter. However, he always hesitated to kill the opponent.

"Ugh! I'm sick of doing the same thing over and over again!" Y/N complained as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"This is why you'll never compare to your sister. She's younger than you and already in the lead. She's out completing missions, yet you're here complaining about training." The mentor said, his voice clear as ever, although he was old and smoked at least one pack of cigarettes everyday. If it weren't for this gig, he'd have no money to pay for cigarettes. He would've quit a long time ago.

"I'm sick of that too! You always compare me to her, even when it comes down to small things. You nitpick everything I say and do! I might as well quit at this rate if you love her so much." Y/N snapped bitterly.

Instead of yelling back and hitting him over the head, the mentor sat down next to Y/N. This caused Y/N to flinch, putting his hands up in defense at the unusual reaction from his mentor. "Y/N. You are a member of the Ryu family. You can't just give up  because you're tired. You must use all your energy to achieve your goal before you can even come close  to saying you're tired."

Y/N looked away as he tried his best to form a response. "I know but- I just... never mind. I'll keep training."

A smile formed on the mentor's face. "Atta boy!" He praised Y/N as he got up from his seat. The young man sighed. "I don't want to do this anymore."  He thought to himself as he stood up as well. His whole life was preparing for this, but he still stuck to his morals. He didn't believe this was the life meant for him, he believed that he was meant for more than this.

"Can we pick up on this tomorrow? I'm tired, I need to rest." Y/N excused himself, leaving the training center in a swiftly manner; so quick that the mentor was left in his place. The old man stared at the exit, dumbstruck.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Yuna paced back and forth in an act that felt vexatious for everyone around her. Her furrowed eyebrows only moved closer together the more time passed by. No one knew how long she had been waiting there, pacing back and forth. All people knew was that she stood there for hours on end, waiting for a particular someone to show up. However, no one knew who.

"Yuna Sunbaenim," a young child of one of the assassins said. He grabbed her sleeve to get her to stop pacing, and it worked. Yuna stood there now, staring down at the young boy. A tiny smile spread on her face as she bent down, adjusting her height for the child. Now they were eye to eye.

"Sunbaenim?" She asked, questioning the young kid. He nodded enthusiastically. "So you wish to follow in your father's footsteps?" She continued. The little boy smiled brightly at her.

"No! I want to be just like you!"  Yuna's smile disappeared at the sound of the child's words. Her eyes began to grow wide as she recalled her past memories. Fire burning around her, people screaming, glass breaking, and the blood-covered man who held her in his arms. She couldn't dare blink, for if she did it would wake her from the nightmare she had lived as a child. That one fateful day changed everything for her.

"No," she murmured. The boy seemed confused, but it was for the best. Yuna couldn't let that boy live a life like that of her own. It wouldn't be right. Images of her past flashed before her eyes as she fell to the ground, her breath racing heavily.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall as a young man walked past, quickening his pace at the sight of Yuna collapsed on the floor. These flashbacks weren't new, they had been happening ever since she was younger. Only one person could calm her down when she had her episodes: Ryu Y/N.

"Yuna!" He shouted as he fell on his knees in front of her, hastily wrapping his arms around her. The little boy, now scared, dashed away. Y/N caressed Yuna's hair gently, wiping away her tears. "Shhh, look at me. It's fine, it's okay," he said in a shushed voice, trying to calm her down.

"Y/N Oppa- I can't b-breathe..." She stuttered as she struggled to form words. "W-Why am I h-here!? I-I just want to g-go home....." Y/N looked at her, disoriented by the words that came from her.

"What do you mean...?"

"I-I still remember the f-flames.. f-fire... Appa didn't rescue me. H-He killed them!"

Y/N stared blankly at the young assassin now. He still remembered the day his dad had brought her home. The two became fast friends, mostly because they had only each other from a very young age. As time passed, they got older. But with age, came hormones. Naturally, the two grew to like each other, yet never expressed it in fear of ruining their relationship. Y/N hate to see Yuna broken like this. He knew well that his father was responsible for the reason his first love was an orphan. However, he didn't say anything about it.

"Shh, no no! It's alright, it's okay! You're safe now, that's all that matters," Y/N said as he pulled the crying assassin closer. She buried her face in his chest, hiding her ugly tears she viewed as 'weakness' away from the world. Gently, Y/N stroked her hair, his embrace firm but comforting.

It took a few minutes until she pushed away, taking a few breaths to calm down before wiping away the evidence of sorrow. PTSD, Y/N was sure of it. However, everyone in the family as well as the organization knew best not to speak of it. Yuna led a new life now. One that was far from ordinary.

A sudden and rather unexpected question was blurted from Yuna's mouth, throwing Y/N off guard. "Why do you care so much for me?" She had asked him. "Why do you care to know?" Y/N wished to ask her back. Though, it wasn't that easy.

"Should I tell her because we're friends, siblings (more less), or because she's my first love?"  He thought once more. His arms which were still wrapped around the young assassin slowly drew back in discomfort at the infliction of his thoughts. His eyes, which were zoned out and focused on the floor now moved back up to look Yuna in the eyes.

The truth.

Now wasn't the right time. But there was never going to be a 'right time'  if he never confessed. This was it, his only now or never timing he had procrastinated all these years. A heavily, unprepared breath left the mouth of Y/N. After a minute of gathering up the courage, he said the words he had dreaded to utter since the day he first laid eyes on her.

"I love you, Yuna,"

She flinched. Her thoughts began to race quicker than a cheetah, yet with the emotion of a train crashing in slow motion. Yuna's cheeks turned from pale to crimson red in a flushed, embarrassed manner within seconds of Y/N's words.

"I-I-" She tried to form the right words, except she couldn't. Not when Y/N's lips crashed against hers recklessly. He grabbed her by her waist tightly, his kiss passionate with the emotions that he spent years holding back. Yuna smiled against his kiss, reciprocating all his feelings right back to him.

"Who cares anymore?"  Yuna thought to herself. Upholding the 'perfect child' standard was enough for her, Y/N had always been her escape. For the first time in forever, she didn't need her escape anymore. Why, you ask?

Because she had found her safe place.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜! 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦! 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘑𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺! 

𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘺! 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦! 

𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵! 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦!!

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2013  𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴