Mastermind | Chuuya Nakahara.

ONE.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER ONE:
the gravity manipulator.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Clawing oneself out of darkness was never an easy task. It drew blood, left bruises on the skin and left a metallic taste in the mouth. Metaphorically, and literally, the women who had dug her way out of Hell itself felt like absolute shit. Her entire body ached, cuts and bruises littering her porcelain doll-like skin. She had been running for her life—fighting for it too. Even with a special ability, it bad been excruciating escaping from the depths below. No amount of power could have aided her. Her physical powers hadn't been enough against the emotional turmoil inside of her. Breaking out of the Underworld was as terrifying as being there—because it had been all she had ever known.

When a person was shown nothing but darkness and hostility, it was something they became used to—a safe place inside of a danger zone. And it was no different for Akira Kitagawa. She had spent her entire life in the mud, slipping deeper and deeper, dirt and blood stuck under her fingernails. But there was a comfort to that, which made it all the harder to escape the life she had known. She had wanted to, she wanted to escape with her very being, but there were bonds around every inch of her body, tying her to a life of bloodlust and death.

When the opportunity had presented itself, she didn't think the idea of fleeing over. Her body simply moved at its own will, fighting to escape the bonds that held her tightly with the organisation known as the Assassin Agency—or Double A, as they were more commonly known. They were a secret organisation, created to kill. Normal children and children with Gifted abilities were stolen or bought, and then trained to be lethal killers under the rule of their leader, Katsu Tanaka. Akira had been a slave to to that man since she were nine-years-old. That was twelve years ago. But finally, she was free.

She had been running for what felt like days—years, even, but it had only been hours. Despite her high stamina and workout regime, her entire body was aching. She had fought her way out of that building—clawed her way out, using her fists and her ability to escape. Her body was feeling the exhaustion.

When her legs gave way, she tripped, tumbling into a dumpster in the alleyway she had taken refuge in. She fell onto the cold metal, bracing herself during the impact. A whisper of swears left her lips, hanging her head, dark cascades of hair falling in her face. The smell of the dumpster was wafting through her nose, through the black mask she wore on the bottom half of her face, making her crinkle it in disgust. She gave the dumpster a kick with her bare foot, cursing it out.

She took a few steps forward, the bare soles of her feet sinking into the puddles from the drizzly rain pouring from the Heaven's above. It almost felt as if the rain itself was trying to cleanse her of her sins—but it would take more than rainwater to wash away the blood on her hands, the blood in her soul and in her heart. If Aki was anything, it was a killer. No amount of Gods could change that.

She had only took at least five steps before she brought herself to a halt, her shoulders sagging, head dipped towards her feet as she watched the raindrops ripple in the puddles. She had felt an overbearing presence step into the alleyway and it made her question if God was there to punish her—not strip her of her sins. The presence was overbearing, she could feel it in the cement beneath her feet, in the air between her bruised fingers. Whoever had stepped into the alley was otherworldly, and just like her; a killer.

Bringing her head up, a tired and blank stare on her features, her amber eyes landed on the figure that stood at the end of the alley, where a little sunlight was pouring from, despite the grey sky. It made the person look as though they were nothing but a shadow with light burning around them. Was it a God? Had he come to avenge the lives she had took? Aki wanted to laugh her head off at the notion.