Crying Night

Three: Assassination Target

I made my way to my target that night: the corrupted Kuuki Mugen. He was an influential rich man, no matter which world he appeared in. On the surface, he is viewed as your run-of-the-mill politician. In the black market, Mugen is well known for collecting and rare body parts. However, there is one more side of him nobody else knew.

Kuuki Mugen had a rumor swirling about him: he enslaved many women— famous and not— to fuel his sexual desires, and tortured them if they disobeyed. In worst cases, he raped and then killed them. The women he enslaved had never been heard of again. They all had "Missing" posters for them, some with a cash reward.

This rumor was reality. A girl he enslaved somehow escaped him, hanging on by the skin of her teeth. I found her one rainy day, crying her eyes out under an old tree. Her clothes appeared like they hadn't been changed in years, and it seemed she hadn't eaten for just as long. She looked devastated, so I approached her and put her under my umbrella. She grabbed onto me and sobbed. I took her to my house, gave her food and water, and listened to her story. I heard every word of it, but something else made me want to act. Her eyes looked just like mine: living only for revenge. I decided as soon as I saw her eyes I would kill him. Even if she hadn't asked for someone to give him justice, I couldn't ignore her pain. She told me she was only 12, and hadn't known "freedom." What I found out on my own was that she was also pregnant.

But, three days later, she passed away. She requested to be burned before she died, and to have her ashes spread on Mugen's dead body. As I promised her I would, relief spread on her face as her arm grew limp. I clenched her hand and shed some tears for her, which I hadn't done since Hoshi-onee-sama told me she loved me.

Her life ended two days before Taiyou hugged me, along with her story which she only told me, and 12 years of enslavement and pain.

Mugen held a party every week in an abandoned movie theater. Today was his party day. In his jubilee, I would assassinate him.

Not like it was a big deal. I was from a prestigious line of assassins.

But, none of that mattered as I approached the movie theater which captivated me. Vines grew on the building with no name, but it was still in good shape. Little white stars looked like specks on the black asphalt— just like a starry night sky. Big white stars lined the concrete to show the world the way to the movie theater. The movie showing boards held blank panels under the boarded wood, but the ticket booth lights were on. My heart fluttered at such history, but none of it showed on my face.

In order to pull off a successful assassination, I decided to go as a guest instead of with black clothes. There was sure to be guards on every corner of the building to keep people from killing him. So, I changed into a dress to cover my Assassin Mode clothes beforehand. I had no visible belongings besides some of the girl's ashes in my pocket. It wasn't enough to raise any alarm, so even if they patted me down, I would be OK. It also meant I had no visible weapon, but I was prepared for an assassination with my demon sword tattoo on my breast.

But as soon as I approached the building to go in, I was stopped.

"Miss, where is your invitation?" The guard who stopped me glared.

Shit! I didn't anticipate this—! As I thought I couldn't go on because of this mistake, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked backwards and almost lost my cool. However, he winked, so I knew he knew what I was doing.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to give her an invitation. She's my guest, Chikara Tsuki." He made an excuse to get me in.

"Sora Taiyou-sama! I'm very sorry for doubting your guest!" The guard immediately bowed as Taiyou led me in.

"Thanks." I said under my breath.

I still hadn't recovered from the disgrace of forgetting something.

Despite my believing he would smile at my gratitude, Taiyou asked in a whisper-scream, "What are you doing here! The guards could easily kill you with that dress!"

I sighed and started replying: "It was a request from someone I met. A girl who wished so deeply for revenge against—"

"Ah, Mugen-san!" Tayou interrupted me with the name I was going to mutter.

"Ah, Taiyou-dono," Mugen's voice was soft as he noticed Taiyou, "I still can't believe you accepted my invitation!" He suddenly laughed.

The man Taiyou called to was a true pig— in more ways than one. His expensive suit looked like it would burst from his body fat. His bald head had 3 little hairs on the top, and his facial features were smushed under his skin. And even without his body being so fat, the studded rings on his fingers, his small voice, his disgusting, wicked laugh— all of it just screamed money and corruption.

I couldn't believe this guy was such a hard target. How could he run with his round body?

"Oh! Who is this little lady?" Mugen asked Taiyou who then retorted.

"It'd be better to ask the person herself for her name, rather than the man who is next to her. Don't you know that this isn't the 1800s?" Taiyou squinted at this man.

"Ah, but women are so clearly under men. You obviously don't realize how superior men are! And besides, isn't this woman yours?" Kuuki laughed.

"If you truly believe that... you'll get the rug pulled from under you." I muttered.

I wasn't about to be turned into an object, but I wasn't going to openly provoke him quite yet. I thought that was the right course of action.

However, soon I would regret that inaction, and learn something even more consequential to my life than the request from that 12-year-old girl.