Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4634256.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      Multi
  Fandom:
      OC_story_-_Fandom
  Character:
      Original_Characters
  Additional Tags:
      Assassination, Adventure, Dark, Mystery, Fluff
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-08-23 Chapters: 3/? Words: 6725
****** The Black Grimoire: Sisterhood of Shadows ******
by NightofClaws13
Summary
     After defending herself from a brutal attack, an adolescent girl
     named Shizu, falls unconscious, waking inside a place called The
     Black Cathedral, where she soon learns that the Cathedral is home to
     a notorious sisterhood of assassins. Taken ownership over by a
     strange, white-haired girl named Izaya (Pronounced Izz-aya), Shizu
     soon learns to live the life of the sisterhood, with all its
     oddities. Fighting from the ground up, she seeks to rise through the
     ranks, and become the 8th elite, but is there something else going on
     between her and Izaya? Or perhaps in the sisterhood? To change their
     way of life for good? Only time will tell.
***** White Hair Under Starlight *****
The Black Grimoire. They say the book was written by Death herself. Maybe
they’re right, maybe they’re not. I do know that as I stared at the gigantic
skin-wrapped black tome atop its pedestal, cast in sharp relief by the light of
the full moon, I felt an unearthly chill creep down my entire body. No
question, this thing was simply not meant to exist. I could feel the world and
reality revolting against the book’s presence, and the book liked it. It fed on
the fear, the hate, and something much darker and obscure.
I bowed my head in reverie and recited the customary incantation beneath my
breath, before departing from the book’s presence. My mind was collected, my
body calm, and my duty laid out before me like a newly scribed page.
Kill the killer. That was my contract. My target was the serial killer that had
been plaguing the streets of the relatively nearby capital, New Providence. The
said killer had been at large for a few months now, evading the authorities
with shrewd accuracy and precision. Despite their various attempts to apprehend
him, he had remained highly elusive. Finally, a local elite with… Let’s say
‘underground privileges’, contacted us with the contract and necessary payment
in tow. Naturally, my Matron had sent me to get the job done.
This will be child’s play, I thought. This killer, however uncanny, is
inexperienced and sloppy. Finding and eliminating him should be the easiest
part.
The forest yielded to my passage as it did every time, and I was soon treading
out of the ancient wood, and into a rural farmland. Eventually, the rural
farmlands gave in the the outskirts of an urban province. This was first
evident when the glow of the city appeared on the horizon, and then by the
decreasing farmlands.
My travel was greatly hastened by my personal Grimoire, which I called Kage,
meaning Shadow. One of Kage’s best features among the many it had, was that I
could perform certain rituals and enchantments that I recorded. One of these
was Niku E Kage, or Flesh to Shadow. It allowed me to literally melt into a
shadow and travel a great distance in a short time by ‘shadow jumping’. Soon,
using this ritual, I was soon well within the confines of New Providence.
It was like a whole different world in New Providence, in comparison with the
Black Cathedral. I couldn’t get over how large it was, as well as all the
lights, commotion, and hubbub. I always felt so out of my element here, and it
disturbed me. I materialized in a dark alleyway, and proceed to make a mistake
that I often made when venturing to a city. I walked out into the middle of the
street, and was saved by my own reaction timing from being pulverised into
roadkill by a speeding car.
Damn it, I always forget about the cars! I shook my head in disgust of my own
rookie mistake. After a moment of recuperation, I decided to take to the roofs.
Scaling a building was no problem, even a skyscraper, which is what I decided
to traverse. I traveled straight up the side as a shadow, and materialized
within moments, standing atop skyscraper. The cityscape was laid out before me,
all blaring lights, sounds, and confusion. At least, this all seemed like
unorderly confusion to me. Too bright, too many… cars. Too many people-
witnesses.
I perched on the edge of the skyscraper, wind billowing my cloak and whipping
my pail hair about me. I scanned the bustling streets, looking for some sign of
my target. Night was afoot, and the full moon was out. The perfect night for a
killer to prowl. Like myself. I snickered at my own joke. Two killers, two
targets. One killer is after a victim, while the other is after the first
killer.
I lifted Kage into the air before me, and let it hover there. The Grimoire
floated of its own energy, suspended over empty air. I closed my eyes, and
placed my hand on its cover. As I opened my eyes, the symbol 影 appeared on
Kage’s cover in shimmering violet, and the Grimoire opened, and began to flip
through its pages. In a moment, it stopped at the page I wanted, and I quickly
perused it, before setting up my incantation. I closed my eyes once more and
focused, drawing forth my energy. Finally, I spoke the incantation, word per
word with care. In a moment, I opened my eyes, and found that everything had
been sharpened, and the lights, lessened. I rescanned the cityscape with my new
sharpened vision, and almost easily found my target. He was walking down a
sidestreet, hands in pockets, and a simple knife tucked in his back pocket.
I held up my hand to the sky, fingers outstretched, and whispered, “Come,
Ketsueki Toge.” There was a blair of purplish light, and I felt the shaft of my
weapon materialize in my grasp. I tightened my grip, and brought Ketsueki Toge
down in a shimmering arc, impaling its 3 and ½ foot blade into the metal
plating at my feet.
The killer was walking at a brisk pace now, and I knew what he had in plan.
About thirty feet up from his current position, was a teenage girl, yapping on
her phone and not paying attention to anything. I shook my head. Stupid bitch.
That kind of non-perception will get you killed easily. I was half-tempted to
walk away and leave the dumb girl to her fate, but I realized now was the
perfect opportunity. The killer was distracted, and certainly wouldn't be
expecting what was about to happen.
I turned back to Ketsueki Toge, sticking straight up in the metal like a
glorified lightning rod, and sighed. Here goes something. Certainly not
nothing. I slammed my palms together and closed my eyes. My body and and my
weapon melted into shadow once more.
After a moment, I stepped out of the shadow of a tree, directly opposite the
killer’s side of the street. He was now at least 15 feet from the girl, and
closing fast. His hand grasped the knife, now bared out in the open. The girl,
of course, took no notice whatsoever, and continued to talk into her cell.
I acted quickly, feeling Ketsueki Toge in my grasp, and bolted across the
street. No cars this time. I leveled Ketsueki Toge with the man’s sternum and
lunged with a sweeping stab from the side. The killer was caught completely by
surprise, and didn’t make a sound as the shimmering blade passed clear through
his sternum like a knife stabbing butter. Before any blood was spilt, I closed
my eyes, and I melted into the shadows, dragging the shish-kabobed killer along
with me.
I reappeared atop the earlier skyscraper, dangling the killer in empty air on
Ketsueki Toge’s blade. The killer finally made a gurgling sound, and blood
oozed from his mouth and chest. His eyes rolled around wildly, and he managed
to look back at me, fear in his gaze. I smiled, and shook my head, saying, “I
hate to break it to you, but you are a moron. Your killings? Easily traceable.
Your logic? Sound, but rookie. Your life?-” I twisted the blade around in his
chest, and then pulled it free with a spray of blood. “-Extinguished.” The
killer’s corpse began to fall, a red mist trailing from his wound and openings.
The corpse plummeted, growing smaller, and smaller, and smaller, as it sped
towards the ground. I began to turn away, but I pulled myself back for another
look, using my sharpened vision to see, just as the killer’s corpse splattered
on the pavement, limbs and gore flying everywhere.
I smiled to myself, and finally turned to walk away. I held out my hand in
front of me, and let Ketsueki Toge dissolve into violet mist. My Kage slipped
back into its holster on my side. Another contract to add to my Grimoire, and
to the Black Grimoire, and another pat on the back and kiss on the cheek from
my Matron.
***** Gunmetal Girl *****
I was on my way back, when something caught my senses. I heard a few murmured
words, then a gunshot, followed finally by a little girl's attempt at a scream.
I melted into the shadows. I appeared in the darkness, out of sight. I saw a
little girl, blood streaming from her neck. She laid on the ground motionless.
Three men were facing her, and the man in front had a smoking revolver. I heard
him speak.
“I don't know why we're getting paid this much for just this little girl, and
why it couldn't have just been one of us. That was too easy.” He laughed.
“Let's go guys. I want to get paid.”
I was about to leave, when I saw the young girl stir. Her eyes flashed open and
rose to her feet. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a piece of metal.
With a flick of her wrist, that piece of metal flipped around to reveal a
balisong. She faced her assailants, and I caught a glimpse of the bullet wound.
It went clean through, and she was still standing. She ran towards the three
men, and they turned around to face her, fear and confusion rushed through
their eyes. The main man reached for his gun, but it was too late. His shirt
was sliced open, and a long red line began to appear, before blood sprayed from
the line. Before he fell to his knees, the girl was already on the second man.
With a quick motion, his head fell back, only attached by his spine, blood
spraying from the top of his torso. By the time this one hit the floor, the
first man's organs were splayed out across the alley. The third man was more
lucky than the previous two, and he managed to grab hold of this girl, and
restrained her. He screamed at her.
“You little bitch! You killed my friends! I'm going to make your death slow-”
he screamed in agony. I glanced down and saw that the little girl had kicked
him between the legs. She fell from his grasp, regained control of her knife,
and shoved it up under his chin.
She removed the knife, and swayed playfully over to the first man. She spoke in
a childish tone. “Aww, you thought you could kill me. Too bad. I'm still alive,
and your internals are spilled across the pavement. Oh how the tables have
turned!” Her voice was scratchy when she spoke loudly. She brought her hand
back. “Now, time for you to die.” Within a split second, the knife was embedded
into the man's temple with a spray of blood. She yanked the bloodied blade from
the new corpse, and took a few steps back. Her breathing was heavy, and I saw
that most of the blood strewn across her clothing was her own. Her skin was a
ghostly white from blood loss. She fell backwards, and hit the ground with a
plop. I walked over to her, and looked over her features. She had gunmetal
black hair that fell to her collar, freckles dotting her forearms, and her
still open eyes were a deep emerald green. Blood oozed from her neck and
stained the top half of her shirt.
I looked down at her, wondering just what to do with her now. She was bleeding
out, and I had seen her handle herself in combat. Eventually, I came to a
consensus. I scooped her up in my arms, and willed my magic forth, invoking
Kage. In a moment, I was shrouded in shadow, and quickly spirited away from the
scene, the unconscious girl in my arms. In a few minutes or so, I arrived back
in front of the black Cathedral, and knelt down, my cloak settling around me.
After a moment’s rest, and I got up, cradling the girl in my arms, and marched
through the great doors, which opened for me. I placed the girl down on a pew
near to The Black Grimoire, making sure her wounds were sealed shut with magic,
before going to find the healer, and to see what my Matron had to say about my
find.
 
The girl stirred, starting to come awake from her long sleep. When I had
brought her in, my Matron had ordered her put to death immediately, but as per
my reward for a contract, I insisted that she be left alive and given a chance
to thrive in our ranks. My Matron had liked that idea, after I had informed her
of the girl’s accomplishments. Three dead, and she had taken a bullet through
the neck prior to the fight. This one would definitely succeed, if only people
here were willing to nurture her talent, and make it grow to great prospects.
She awakened, sat up, and looked bleary-eyed at her surroundings. At once she
was livid with fear, eyes darting about the interior of the Great Black
Cathedral. I was sitting behind her, perched up on the bust of one of the
obsidian gargoyles that dotted not only outside, but inside the Cathedral. The
one I sat upon was my favorite, Nefermindias. I had named him myself, of
course.
The girl’s terrified expression was all too real. Thankfully for her, she was
resting on a pew, rather than the alter of the Black Grimoire. Sleeping on that
alter would certainly have made her never wake again. I hopped off of
Nefermindias, and strode over to her pew, silent as a panther. She hadn’t heard
me coming until I slammed my heel on the floor to get her attention. She spun
towards me, eyes wide and scared. I flashed her my best smile and held out a
finger. “So the sleeping girly wakes! Tell me, what’s your name?” I offered my
finger to her, encouraging her to grab hold. After a moment, she complied,
hesitant with each action. Her words came in a trembling whisper.
"Sh-Shizu. Shizu Kurokasai. W-where…”
I cut her off. “Shizu? That’s a pretty name! So tell me, what do you remember
from right before you awoke here?” I flashed her another brilliant smile.
Her eyes shot open in surprise, and her hands went to her neck, feeling around
where she had gotten shot. Once she realized that she had been healed from her
wound, she spoke again. "I remember getting shot in the neck, and then pulling
out my balisong. I… I remember killing a man… no… three men. Then I passed out.
That's the last thing I remember."
Suddenly, I moved forward and hugged her to my chest. She shuddered in surprise
and a contained reaction. I patted her back soothingly. “That’s just fine,
Shizu. It’s alright, everything's alright. Now, would you like to get some
rest?”
"Not particularly. I don't feel tired. But may I ask a question?"
I moved back and put my hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes,
another smile touching my face. “Of course. Ask anything you’d like.”
"What's your name? I'd like to thank you formally."
I nodded. “My name is Izaya! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and
more the pleasure to begin a developing friendship!” I ended with a smile and
cocked my head to the side.
"The pleasure is mine. Thank you, Izaya, for saving my life."
“Not a problem! More than happy to, anytime!” I slightly tightened my grasp on
her shoulders. “Now, I am sure this has been quite mind blowing for you, so why
don’t you take a rest? I’ll stay right here, so you can feel at ease.”
"Thank you again." The girl curled herself into a ball, and within a few
seconds she was asleep. After I was sure that she was completely asleep, I
stood and paced over to Nefermindias and resumed my perch upon his shoulder. I
placed an elbow on his bowed head and leaned my chin on my hand.
I muttered, “That’s that.” I cast my gaze at the girl. “Welcome to the
sisterhood. Maybe I’ll actually consider a friendship… If you survive.” I
chuckled to myself and resigned to my internal thoughts, letting the daydreams
come.
***** Play My Game *****
She awoke later that night. I watched as she blinked the sleep from her eyes
and yawned. After a quick look around, which did her little since the Cathedral
was shrouded in gloom, she wandered around a little and almost tripped over the
stairs at the foot of the great dias. She got to one knee on thee step from her
fall, and I smiled in the dark. There she was, kneeling before The Black
Grimoire.
I moved out of the shadows and glided up behind her, placing one hand on her
shoulder, and another over her mouth to stifle the noise of surprise. Her eyes
widened as she turned around, but grew soft again once she saw me. I gave her a
brilliant smile. “Hia, Shizu! I see you woke up! How did you sleep?”
"Like a rock. Where am I anyway?"
I shrugged with a nonchalant smile. “You could be here. You could be there. You
could be really anywhere!” I laughed good-naturedly.
Shizu chuckled quietly. "Thanks for the philosophy lesson, but in all
seriousness, where am I?"
I fained surprise. “Oh, you were being serious? Aw, I’m sorry…” I looked down
at my feet.
"No, no it's fine. I just want to see if I can get home from here."
I laughed. “Oh, well that’s just too funny! But, in any case, welcome warmly to
The Great Black Cathedral of the Grimoire!” My voice echoed about the enormous
stone walls and bounced off the vaulted ceilings.
"Great. I have no idea where that is, but, what's so funny?"
I turned to look at her sideways, and switched expressions to my infamous
‘black widow scrutinizes a butterfly’ expression. “The fact that you thought
you could leave, of course!”
Shizu rapidly patted down her pockets, and seemed worried. As I saw her frantic
movements, I plucked her balisong from my pocket and twirled it about expertly
in between my fingers.
I shook my finger at her with a smile. “Is this what you were looking for? It’s
a shame you can’t have it back though.”
Shizu stood up and spun around. "Give it back."
“Aw, is little Shizu being pouty? Tsk, tsk.” I gave the balisong another twirl.
She made a motion to snatch it from me. In a split second, I swung up on top of
Nefermindias’s head, and clucked my tongue again, still twirling the balisong.
"What do you want? If you wanted me dead, you would've left me to die, and
obviously you're good at what you do.”
I chuckled. “So, what is it you think I do, darling?”
"Judging from everything I've seen you do, you're either a glorified acrobat,
or an assassin."
I shrugged and smirked. “I could be one. I could be both. If you want to know,
let’s play a little game. If you win, I’ll answer any questions you have. If
not, well-” I smiled wide. “I’ll have no reason to explain anything to a
corpse.” Her eyes widened with surprise, but then narrowed.
"How do I play this game of yours?"
“It’s simple. All you have to do is run. Run as fast as you can. The doors of
the Cathedral will open, and if you can escape through them, you win. Now, my
task is simpler. I must catch you. You can think of this as a game of tag,
except-” I extended the balisong. “It’s tag with knives. This game is so much
fun, that people are just dying to get a copy of the rules.” I chuckled.
"When does it start?" Her tone was cold.
“Now. I’ll give you a one-minute head start!” I leaned against Nefermindias’s
wing lazily. I waved my hand. “Go on, shoo. I’ll come and catch you in a
minute.”
Shizu stumbled in her first few steps to the door, but gained a running pace.
She broke out into a full on run, and I watched in amusement as she tried to
weave her way through the pews and statuary. After a minute, she was nearing
the doors. I sighed and got to my feet, standing on Nefermindias’ back. At
once, I simply melted into the shadows.
Shizu made it full way to the great black doors, and was just about to reach
for the door handle, but I grabbed her wrist. She jumped from the shock and
turned towards me, eyes wavering in terror. I smiled my black widow smile. “Oh,
looks like you lose.”
In a quick motion, I reversed the balisong in my hand and slashed, lightning
fast. Shizu flinched, clenching her eyes shut, and then squeaked in pain as the
blade cut a little gash across her cheek. After a moment, she opened her eyes
again, shaking and terrified. I lifted the bloodied balisong to my lips and
gave it a good lick, running my tongue up the blade. I licked my lips and
smiled at her again.
Shizu took a hesitant step back. She whimpered, "Y-you said the doors would
open…"
“I did, but you never reached the handle.” I chuckled. “Silly you.”
Shizu started to tremble, eyes tearing up. "Izaya please, please don't kill
me."
I grinned and moved in close to whisper in her ear. “Beg.”
Tears started to stream down her face, as she fell to her knees. She repeated
herself over and over in a damaged voice, "Please, Izaya, don't kill me! I
don't want to die! Please spare me! I'll do anything! Please, please!"
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, patting her back as she sobbed.
“There, there, it’s alright.” She continued to sob. I continued, “It’s alright,
it’s alright.” Shizu's bawling slowed down as she buried her head into my
shoulder. After few minutes, her gasps became mere hiccups. I gave her one more
pat, and rubbed her hair, before grasping both sides of her head and bringing
her gaze up to meet mine. I grinned. “You said you’d do anything. Anything. You
will follow up on that, no?”
Her voice became a whisper. "I promise, anything."
“Ah, there we go.” I moved in incredibly close. “It’s alright.” I turned my
head to the side and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re mine now.”
"W-what does that mean?"
I smiled and looked her directly in the eyes. “It means that you’re mine. I own
you.”
She gulped. "L-like a slave?"
I tapped my finger on my chin and furrowed my brows. “No, no, not like a slave.
That’s far too nasty of a word. In fact, I will not call it by any word known,
for no such word can describe this, I think. So, you’re just mine now. That’s
all.”
"What would you have me do?"
I grew thoughtful. “Various things, I’d imagine. Depending on my mood. Other
than that, I fully expect you to follow my every direction.”
"To the letter, I promise."
“Good, good. That’s just great, actually!” I flipped the balisong in the air
and caught it. “Means I don’t have to ruin another pretty face.” I folded the
balisong in, and pocketed it. “But you aren’t getting this back, I think. Don’t
want you doing regrettable things with this, now.”
"I hope one day you can trust me enough to give it back."
I nodded. “I hope so too. But in the meantime, come with me. I’ll explain
things to you, even though you lost.” I took her by the hand and lead her down
the aisle. We walked past the gallery, and the altar, and then towards the
quarters stairs. When we reached the stairs, I put her in front of me, and led
her by the shoulders as we descended the steps. As we went down, I began to
explain. “So, as I said before, you are in The Great Black Cathedral of the
Grimoire. The Black Grimoire was the large book you may have seen on the alter.
Luckily for you, you haven’t been inducted into the sisterhood yet, so you
don’t have to say the incantation each time you pass before the alter. However,
that may soon change, so do be prepared. Passing before the Black Grimoire
without saying the proper incantation is a death sentence.” I peered over her
shoulder and looked in her eyes the best I could. “You understand, no?”
"I understand. I assume the Black Grimoire is your sisterhood's sacred book?"
I nodded. “Correct. However, I would hardly call it sacred, or holy, or any of
those vulgar words. No, our Grimoire is…” I paused for effect. “Unworldly.” I
paused once more to let that sink in before continuing. “In any case, abide by
the rules, and you’ll do just fine. I really don’t want you to die, seeing as
now I have you as my own. Now, if you must know, I am not the only person
living here. It is a sisterhood, after all.”
"So, where are the others?"
“They’re all down here, probably. Some are probably away on assignments. You
never really know.” We alighted the bottom of the stairs and came to a two-way
intersection. I steered Shizu right, and we continued down the dark stone
corridor. I could feel Shizu’s cold sweat beneath my hands as she grew more and
more nervous.
I continued my explanation. “So, indeed we are assassins, of a type. We kill
for anyone who has the proper calling card, proper amount, and proper reward.
If they don’t have one of these, they usually end up dead themselves. Now, let
me show you something.” I traced a quick circle in the air and said, “Kage,
come.” In an instant, my Grimoire floated up from its holster and alighted in
the air before us. Shizu gasped in surprise, and jumped back into my arms.
I folded my arms around her and put my chin on her shoulder. Pointing with one
finger, I made little motions, and Kage’s pages turned in sync. Shizu sighed,
seeming to accept the abnormalities of our normal days. I leaned my head into
hers and chortled, “This is Kage! She’s a personal Grimoire. Now, she has
feelings, and can be quite temperamental at times. You might get your own, but
if you don’t treat her right, she’ll treat you just the same. So, that’s pretty
much it, actually. The rest you will learn as times progress, and in that
manner, you’ll learn it better than I can tell you. Anyway…” I steered her down
a side passage, and finally came to a thick door at the end of the hall.
Shizu cocked her head. “What's this?”
“My room. Now also yours.” I took her hand and placed it on the doorknob. “Go
ahead, I want you to open it.”
"Wait, are we sharing the room?"
I nodded. “Of course, you’re mine. Is there a problem with that arrangement?”
"No, not at all. I was just wondering." She slowly turned the knob, and opened
the door slowly.
Inside, faint light shone from the hallway into the dark interior. With a quick
motion, I hustled Shizu through the door and shut it, making sure that the
interior lock was secure. This left us in complete darkness, and I lead Shizu
through the room until I could feel the rug beneath my feet. I pushed down on
her shoulders and lead her to the ground. I whispered in her ear, “Just sit
tight for a second.”
I walked over to where I knew my light was, and switched it on. The shaded lamp
buzzed and flickered, but finally came on, illuminating my room. My room was
pretty large, in comparison with most of the other rooms, and had lots of space
for everything. Over in the right corner, there was a large, plush canopied
bed, overflowing with pillows. In the corner opposite, was my wardrobe setup,
consisting of two armours and two tall closets. They were made of my favorite
cherry blossom wood, and inlaid with brass. The floor was mostly covered in
three or four furry rugs, one of them a bit furrier than the rest, being that
it was a full pelt of something I’d killed. The head of said creature hung on
the wall on the left side, a few ornaments hanging from its black curving
horns.
On the nightstand beside my bed, stood another shaded lamp, as well as my
favorite hairbrush. The stone walls were mostly covered with draperies of
different colors, most of them a warm, cozy, red. The room itself was
relatively cool, so it never overheated.
I spun a full circle and plopped down on my bed. I held out my hands to Shizu
in excitement. “This is the room! Like it?”
She laughed nervously. "Yeah, it feels just like home."
I lowered my eyebrows, concerned. Standing, I walked over to her and crouched
by her, wrapping my arms around her again. “Aw, that’s… Unfortunate. But, don’t
get sad about this, it’s just that… You won’t be seeing your other home again.
I can almost guarantee you that.”
"Yeah I assumed as such. But is there any chance you and I could stop by so I
could grab a few things? I'm definitely going to need some clothing, and there
are some items I don't wish to part with."
I thought for a moment, then squeezed her harder and nodded. “Alright. We’ll
stop by when I get the chance. Which is probably soon. So, in the meantime-” I
dragged her up onto her feet. “Why don’t you tell me all about yourself? Let’s
have a seat on my bed.” Without waiting for an answer, I lead her over and we
sat.
"Thanks. So, about myself… I'm twelve years old, but my childhood was taken
when I was 9. My parents were murdered, but not before they taught me a few
things about self defense. It seemed like they knew they were going to die, and
they had to get me ready for the 'real' world. My parents were hunters, and
fairly good ones. When we head back, I plan on grabbing their weapons, with
your permission, of course. I've learned the ropes of shooting a rifle, but my
father never let me use his pistol, because I wasn't big enough for it. I've
been living in the house alone. I had one friend who probably thinks I'm dead.
It was pretty quiet up until you found me. I have no idea why they came to kill
me, all I know is that they were sloppy and disorganized. I'd be dead right
now, if it wasn't for you."
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. So, in regard to me, oh I don’t know, saving
your life… Can you at least give me a tiny* hug?”
Shizu quickly turned towards me, wrapped her arms around me, and squeezed
tight. "Thank you again." She didn't seem to want to let go.
I, as it happened, was currently just fine with that arrangement. As a side
note, I then remembered something pretty important. “Oh, yes that’s right. So,
in regards to where you’ll be sleeping, you can have some of my pillows, and
spare blanket, and the plush carpet as a bed, or…" I paused before this one, as
I wasn’t sure how to approach it. “You can… Sleep in my bed. With me.”
She smiled. "I think I'll take the floor for now. No offense to you intended,
but I'm not comfortable enough to do that yet. I might take up that offer
later, if it still exists."
I nodded in understanding, and fell silent. Shizu stumbled over her words. "U-
unless you w-want me to, of course." She started to blush slightly.
I felt my own face grow heated, which had never happened before. “Well… Um, you
see… You don’t have to, but… I’d like it.” I stopped for a moment, and then
quickly continued. “Because, I mean, your back might cramp if you sleep on the
floor, and my bed is comfy, and the floor is cold even with the rugs, and the
floor is at the perfect angle so the head on the wall looks like it’s looking
at you every single second.” I took a breath. “But, I’ll leave that up to you.”
Shizu looked up at the beast's mounted head, and grimaced. "Yeah, you're right.
That is creepy. I'll take option two. The bed seems so much better in
comparison."
My eyes lit up, and my face flushed again. “Wait, you’re actually going to?
How… That’s… I didn’t expect that, I’ll admit.”
"Well, you made the floor so unappealing, so yeah. I am going to."
I reassigned my mental checklist and smoothed over my poker face. “Excellent.
No back cramps on my watch.”
"Thanks for looking out for me." She squeezed me a bit more, before finally
letting go of me.
It was hard to keep my poker face, but I managed. “You’re welcome. I mean,
after all, it wouldn’t do for you to fall into disrepair. You're mine now, so I
don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
She smiled at that. "So, you've heard my story. What about yours?"
I waved a hand. “You wouldn’t want to hear it. Maybe someday, not today.”
"So, other than my possessions, I don't have much back home, as you probably
figured out. So, I have a question. Does the sisterhood have a school, or a
relatively normal curriculum?"
I laughed. “Oh heck no! General school is corrupt in a hundred different ways,
not to mention the expense. Therefor, new members are usually taken through the
normal training course, but in your case, that’s different. If I decided to
train you, then it will be me training you. You’re really lucky. I’m the third
most powerful here.” I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder. “Except for my
Matron, of course.”
"How old are you, anyway? You couldn't be more than fourteen at most."
I flushed a little. “Um, actually, I’m thirteen.”
Her mouth gaped open. "Third most powerful here, and you're thirteen? Wow.
Wasn't expecting that. So, who's this Matron you keep regarding so highly?"
“She’s the head of our sisterhood. She is the only one allowed to scribe in the
Black Grimoire, as well as the only one allowed to approve new members. In case
you hadn’t guessed, you’ve been approved.”
"Well, I'm glad she approved. I know it's either join or die, but I think I'd
want to join even if it wasn't for that. It seems nice here. Apart from the
feeling of pure terror, of course."
I grinned. “Oh yeah, this place is ancient. There are so many secrets and
unknowns about this place, that we don’t even know half of them, I’d wager. I
mean, when I first moved into this room, I went about searching for secret
passages or the like, and guess what? There was a loose stone on the wall, and
when I pulled it out, there was a little niche that had a skull with sapphires
for eyes inside.”
"Woah. This place is full of surprises."
I batted a hand at her sarcastically. “Oh wait until you see the midden. But
don’t even get me started on the catacombs.”
"This place has catacombs? It's big enough to have catacombs?"
I shook my head. “Bigger still. I’ve heard that almost ¾ of the catacombs are
blocked off for some reason, but no one knows where the entrance to the blocked
off section is. But, I mean, the catacombs are huge as is. I’d wager we haven’t
even explored half the section we know about.”
"Woah. I kinda want to find that entrance, if that's even allowed."
I shook my head in earnest this time. “I asked my Matron once, and she said it
was strictly forbidden. On pain of death, unsurprisingly. But, speaking about
stuff that’s found down there, I want you to have something.” I got to my feet
and walked over to my end table, opened the top drawer, and began to rifle
through the contents. Finally, I exclaimed, “Aha!”, and pulled out a necklace,
decorated with little ivory beads, and a little jade skull hanging from the
centre. I walked back over and held it out to her with a smile. “Yours. It’s a
gift.”
She took the necklace cautiously, and eyed it. She mumbled to herself, "Such
precision, such beauty, and it matches my eyes!" She looked up at me. "Thank
you! It's perfect!" She placed the necklace around her neck, and smiled
brightly. "How do I look? Apart from the blood on my shirt, of course." I
didn't expect how happy she would be from a gift so small.
I clasped my hands and grinned. “It looks just beautiful on you! It really
accents your eyes and skin! The moment I saw you, I knew I had to give you this
necklace. I found it in the catacombs.”
"Now why would something like this be buried down there?"
I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think? I found it on a dead guy. Or girl. Not
sure which. Just that they were ‘dead, dead, dead, any questions?’ type of
dead. But don’t worry, the necklace isn’t cursed or anything like that.”
"Okay, good. It still looks absolutely stunning." She smiled warmly, still
admiring the jewelry.
“That’s great! So, since it’s almost-” I looked over at the large grandfather
clock in the corner. “-Almost 10:00, would you like to… Get to bed?” I didn’t
notice that I was tapping my two index fingers together in embarrassment.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything else to talk about, sure. Do you have
anything I can sleep in? I don't want to sleep in these bloodstained clothes."
I scratched my head in thought. “Well, if you don’t mind the style, then I have
another night gown! Another spare, considering one’s mine, of course. Well,
they’re both mine, but…” I trailed off when I realized I was blathering.
"Yeah, a night gown would work just fine." Shizu stood up, and discarded with
her light jacket.
I turned my head and walked over to the wardrobes, keeping my eyes fixed on the
floor. I opened the second to bottom drawer on the nearest wardrobe, and pulled
out my black nightgown, and then a red one for Shizu. I didn’t turn around, but
instead held out the gown behind me. “Here.”
She gingerly took the gown from me, and after a few seconds I could hear her
slightly struggle, but within a minute she spoke, "Finished. Now, I'll let you
have your privacy."
I turned around to see her clad in the crimson gown, her bloodstained clothing
discarded in what she assumed correctly was my hamper. I nodded to her, and she
turned her back as I unclipped my long black cloak and hung it on the wardrobe
door. Next went the vest, then the white blazer. After that, my red skirt and
leggings. To finish it off, I removed my arm strap and headband, placing each
in its respective place. I then fished my arms inside the gown and pulled it
over my head and down. After a quick smoothing over, I said, “Okay, I’m good.”
"Alright, I'll let you get comfortable first." She seemed to keep her gaze on
the ground, stealing occasional glances at me. "This gown is really
comfortable, by the way. Thanks."
“Eh, you’re welcome.” I walked slowly over to the bed, trying also not to look
at her, but letting my gaze dart once every few seconds. I plopped down, and
immediately burrowed into the heap of pillows. A second later, I surfaced at
the inside of the bed, next to the wall. I peered out from between the pillows.
“Now you get the outside.”
She did as she was told, and plopped down on the outside of the bed, quickly
making herself comfortable, seeming to naturally prefer being able to see the
door. "Goodnight, Izaya."
Surprisingly, I was suddenly almost half-asleep. “Nyaaaa… Goodnight…"
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