Chapter 1 Shadows of the Wind

2008. 01. 01. 1:15AM.

She looked around her, her beautiful round eyes were wide and filled with confusion and fear at the sight of their mansion. It was a big and lively 3-storey Victorian mansion, with many rooms and lots of expensive furniture. Just before she went to bed, her mother even kissed her on the forehead, and told her to have a sweet dream on that New Year's eve.

She was exhausted from dancing and playing with her friends, who were children of her parent's friends, and they were all approximately have the same age with her. So, when her mother put her to bed a few minutes past midnight, she fell asleep straight away.

She began dreaming about a blue-eyed prince who rescued her from a flamed castle. She was being carried in the strong arms of the prince, and with her half-lidded eyes, she tried to touch him. But then, he vanished in thin air.

When she fully opened her eyes, she was lying on the grass. She stood up and looked around, and there. She saw their big house, surrounded by a large cloud of smoke and a raging mixture of red and blue flames.

She screamed, but no voice came out of her throat.

Her mother, her father, her dear brother! Everybody, where are they?

She walked towards the burning house, and she felt a sharp pain on her legs. She noticed that her left foot was bleeding. She became frightened at the sight of the blood, and began screaming for help.

"Help!"

----

2018. 10.15. 8:45PM

Kana woke up when she felt a sharp sting on her cheeks. "Ouch!"

She opened her eyes and found that Ken has just slapped her slightly, so as to awaken her.

She touched her cheeks, and looked at him sharply.

"You could have slapped me a little lighter, " she accused, still feeling the impact of his palm on her.

Ken looked at her indifferently, while he was tying his shoe lace.

"I did, several times. But it was only the last that was able to wake you up." He answered, and continued with what he was doing.

Kana eyed him, then she sat up.

How could she even fall asleep in this condition?

They were camped in a tent, in the middle of some forest in the Kumamoto prefecture. She and Ken have been on this assignment for more than a month, and tonight is when they will do the final verdict.

They have collected enough evidence that one of the government's official was using his position to embezzle the natural gold in the country. It was a hard task for them, because he was as careful as a rat. He had many decoys, and was never personally involved in any transaction.

However, he has one weakness.

Woman.

Kana used her feminine charms to get near him and obtain the proper information. Within two weeks of her providing him company and appropriate entertainment, he finally spilled all his secrets. She caught everything on the small recorder that was hidden inside her underwear.

When she delivered it to No. 1, their order was released. The man has to be executed, and his accomplices should be put in jail, by having the police learn about their illegal actions. The Shadows' boss did not believe that the official will change upon being sent to the prison, so his punishment is death.

The two of them shall deliver his sentence, in a manner that would look like a suicide.

"Get ready, " she glanced at him as he stood up, all ready for the battle up ahead. With the all-black attire and only his eyes were seen against the enveloping darkness of the night, Ken looked like an emissary of death.

A mouth-watering gorgeous God of death, for the record.

Kana shook her head to clear her mind of unnecessary thoughts at the moment. Yes, only at the moment.

For once this duty is over, she would go back again to plundering his image in her head, as she usually does on her spare time. Without a doubt, Kana is crazy in love with Ken.

She has made it known to him for countless of times in this previous year, but he had remained uninterested with her advances. His heart was like stone-cold, solid as rock and cold as an iceberg.

But she knew that it was just his facade.

She has watched him cry for a woman, so she knew that he has a proper heart that could feel pain and longing, and love.

And she has made it her sole purpose, aside from being a Shadow, to make him feel again.

Feel a woman's warmth and feel a woman's love, again.

Kana inhaled and exhaled, and once she firmly secured that she is fully covered and equipped with everything that she needs, she nodded towards Ken. He nodded back, and with a motion of his finger, they dashed out from the tent.

----

Mayor Shouta Yamaguchi was checking all his bank accounts to make sure that all the money from the latest transactions have been deposited. A wide grin formed on his mouth as he sat on the couch with a satisfied look on his face.

He is a man with good physical traits, because he believes that a good man does not only train his mind, but also his body. That is why he has learned kickboxing, and could play many kinds of indoor and outdoor sports. It was not only for his body, but those kinds of 'good' hobbies made him a role government official.

His good looks and good character were his charms that made him win in the election again for his second term. Nobody but him, and his very close allies, knew about his illegal activities. He even kept his activities a secret from his own family.

His wife believes that he is a good man, and his two children believe that he is a good father.

That is why he can continue doing his dark deeds without arousing suspicion from his family.

Ignorance is bliss, as they say.

With a contented look on his face, he asked for a cup of tea from the family's staff. Within seconds, the tea was brought to him. He took the tea and drank it readily. He then noticed that he began to feel dizzy, and when he realized what just happened, two shadows appeared in front of his eyes, towering over him like dark creatures.

He forced his eyes open.

"W-who the hell are you?" He stammered, and tried to stand on his own two feet.

Alas, something on the tea made him dizzy. But for some reason, it wasn't enough to make him unconscious.

"We are Shadows of the Wind, Mayor Yamaguchi."

The man spoke, and the mayor inched backwards. His eyes frantically searched for some weapons that he can use to defend himself.

Shadows of the Wind? He had heard that there are still some groups of paid assassins roaming around the country, but he never thought that he would be a target. He was always careful to cover all his tracks!

Then, he saw the baseball bat on one corner and made a run for it.

However, he stumbled on the tatami floor as his feet were kicked by the smaller person.

"D-damn it!" he hissed, and tried to get up.

The taller shadow stepped closer to him, and he backed away until he reached the corner of the room.

He began to sweat profusely.

"D-don't kill me. You don't have any proof that I'm doing something wrong." He said, for he knew that these organizations were paid to punish the corrupt government officials.

The taller man stopped on his tracks, and looked at the smaller person. The smaller person showed him an exquisitely-designed hairpin. His eyes widened in realization, and then it turned bloody red with hate.

He started to scream vile words, but surprisingly, he could not hear his own words. He shouted more and more, and noticed that the two were just standing there, towering over him and watching him with cold, murderous eyes.

It was the tea!

He started not to feel his own hands, then his feet. He looked at them with frightened eyes, as he tried his hardest to plead for his life. His carefully earned life.

However, he could not even feel his tongue.

The taller man walked towards him, and as he looked up to meet this gaze, he spotted for the first time that his eyes were surprisingly blue.

He would be killed by a damn foreigner?

Then, a sharp sting on his neck made him lose his consciousness.

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