My Original Works

Obedient

Obedience.

Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority.

Working for elite assassins was a task that many seemed capable of doing, yet some didn't like the ruthlessness of the tasks assigned. Many a man would become one of the strongest killers in the village yet many backed out once aware of what the job entailed. You never knew when you would have to be forced to kill an old friend, slaughter a family that threatened the safety of your neighbors, or even go after your own family and have them repent for their crimes.

Ani was one such man. He was fairly young for one of the assassins, joining when he was only fifteen years old. He graduated top of his class when he was seven years of age, being deemed too strong for the school and the lessons it taught. He worked hard day in and day out, hardly accepting praise so he could work even harder to become stronger. His little brother was born around the same time Ani had graduated, which not only filled him with a sense of joy but also filled the young boy with a sense of duty. He had to protect his little brother.

That was why he had stopped being an assassin.

Ani took pride in being one of the elite, never home to see his family as he found his job for the good of everyone to be far too important. He would leave the village just as soon as he would return from a mission, placing his mask on his face as he set out to do the leader's bidding.

But what if he was forced to kill his brother?

Kenji was seven years younger than Ani, striving to be just as strong a man as his elder brother. He worked hard for the best grades, tried to get the same title his older brother had, and even asked for assistance even though he found it fairly difficult. He wanted to be a good man.

Their parents didn't feel the same way.

Kenji was mistreated, and that's putting it lightly. He had his mother's hotheadedness and was quick to retort when spoken to, often getting yelled at for no real reason because he "wasn't as good as Ani". Kenji waited day in and day out for the day he would receive just the smallest bit of praise, hoping and praying that he would be seen in the same light.

He wasn't.

Maybe that's why he ran away.

Maybe that's why became a criminal.

And Ani did not want to be the last thing the boy saw.

The older brother he hated with a burning passion.

Is it best to be obedient? Or is it better to have emotion?