Mika

How They Met

“Mission complete. Great work gathering intel, son.”

“You did the hard work, Pa. All I did is to gather intel; that’s all there’s to it.”

I am Xyare Zeal, the son of one of the most infamous assassins out there. My father’s name is Logan Zeal, the one known as the [Sicarius]. Possessing stern eyes dyed blue, slick black hair, and a body build meant for professional martial artists that don’t skip training; he swiftly kills any target like an unimposing breeze.

As to why I’m accompanying my father in this bloody profession, it is to track and hunt down the six individuals who betrayed my mother, killing her in the process. I have a decent build as I am trained by my father. Unfortunately, I can’t surpass my father’s motor skills and always lose if we were to engage in a combat exercise. To fill the hole of my incompetency, I also devoted my life to intel gathering and became my father’s exclusive informant. My father doesn’t want to rely on others anymore, not after that tragedy that struck him deep.

“You’re too modest, son. Without your intel, we couldn’t possibly track this scoundrel. Prepare the vehicle; we’re done here.”

“Yes, Pa.”

I did as requested.

Moments later, the van’s sliding door opened, and my father went inside. The van is a bit spacious despite being loaded with various firearms, some bags packed with ammunition, and a bunch of monitors hanging on the other side. He changed his clothes and started the engine as soon as he sat on the driver’s seat. The lights were opened, and it illuminated the woods in front of it. The vehicle is situated in the woodlands, approximately five hundred meters from the target’s home.

The target is one of the six proprietors of my mother’s death.

Five more to go.

“Xyare, without you we could never avenge your mother.”

“They’re the ones who robbed us out of our light, and for that, they shall perish.”

“…”

“Pa? What’s wrong?”

My father stopped the van, got out of the vehicle, and slid the door to grab a silenced pistol.

“Pa?”

“I saw some human-shaped figures in the forest beside us. Two people at most. If my eyes didn’t play tricks on me, I’m certain that they’re doing nasty. Wait here. Grab a silenced pistol to protect yourself, just in case.”

“Yes.”

I waited for quite some time before I heard some heavy footsteps. Based on each thud of it, he’s carrying something.

…though in this case, it’s someone.

“Pa – who’s that?”

“She’s been…defiled by those men. I shot them to the head. Get that spare jacket of mine and cover her with it. Do the same thing as what those guys did, and you’ll suffer the consequence.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Very well.”

Father grabbed the shovel and proceeds to bury the maniacs under the snow. He came back, and put the shovel in place, and started the engine once more. We drove off, but it’s at a faster pace.

“How is her condition?”

“Her pulse is weak, and her body’s too cold, possibly from the cold weather.”

“I see; hypothermia, huh? As soon as we return home, I’ll tend to her. Proceed with boiling water for her to drink some warm milk as soon as she’s conscious.”

"I could make something warm for her to eat, like a vegetable soup."

Our house is a four-hour trip from our initial point. It is situated on top of a plateau, isolated from the bustling city below.

As soon as we arrived, my father carried the girl, who’s more or less the same age as mine, and went inside. I, on the other hand, have gone to the attic and grabbed as many blankets as I could carry, and hurriedly went to the living room where my father waited for me. I spread one of the blankets to the ground and my father put her on it and covered her exposed body. We then covered her with more blankets.

“Prepare our meal, Xyare. We’ll help this girl, so prepare for one more person, preferably easy to digest. I’ll go to the nearest clothing store to buy some clothes for her.”

I nodded in silence as my father used a different vehicle – an SUV – and drove off.

I’m left alone with this girl.

I pity her current state. I wonder what she had gone through.

I stood up and went straight to the kitchen and started preparing our dinner. I guess I’ll go with Katsu Pork Cutlet since I got the ingredients and all.

I set the oven’s gas mark to eight. I then beat two large eggs in a bowl and mixed some bread crumbs and two tablespoons of olive oil in the other bowl. I grabbed some pork cutlet I prepared beforehand and dipped it in the bowl with eggs in it, and then dipped it into the bread crumbs and olive oil mixture. After that, I transferred it to a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkled a pinch of salt, and shall roast it for twenty-three minutes.

“While waiting for that, I’ll prepare some for her.”

I heat another oven to gas mark six. I put two slices of bread with one tablespoon of olive oil and bake it for seven minutes. While waiting for that, I heat another tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. I then added the celery, garlic, potato, broccoli stalks, ¾ tablespoon salt, and ¼ tablespoon pepper, and stirred it for a while before covering it.

“That should do it for now. I’ll stir it once more but first, I must check that girl’s condition.”

I went to the living room and saw that the person in question is now awake, still shaking from the cold, but…those eyes are…showing no signs of life.

“I see…your cerebral state is in tatters. That’s a given; she’s been molested, not to mention that she might have more distressing experiences.”

She keeps staring at me with eyes that passively ask for death to end her misery.

It would be wise if I won’t approach her for now.

I returned to the kitchen to finish the dishes. But before that, I put on a Bluetooth earpiece on my left ear and contacted my father.

“…Hello? Why did you call?”

“The girl is up.”

“How’s her condition?”

“I can’t examine her closely for now.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like her psychological state is unstable as of now.”

“I see. She did experience that thing. Very well. I’m on my way now. See you then.”

“Yes, Pa.”

The call ended, and I resumed my cooking. Everything went smoothly, and I started preparing the utensils needed when I heard a dull thud from the living room. Concerned, I went back to the living room and saw that the girl is holding a pistol in her right hand.

Shit! That’s the pistol I left on the table to focus on covering her with blankets!

“Louise…is gone…my parents…they left me all alone…there’s no need to live in this world bearing this pain…”

She then pointed the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

“The safety lock is not yet removed, that’s why the trigger didn’t budge.” Though I don’t want to, I grabbed her wrist and was about to twist it to get the firearm when the girl screamed in pain.

It’s just a grab…I think the trauma she’s having is worse than I initially thought. Or is it that her skin is now too sensitive? It could be either of them or both.

I immediately released my grip and saw her slumped on the floor.

I’m not a psychologist and therefore can’t treat her.

“I’m home. Wait, why are you holding a pistol?”

I didn’t notice that my father already come. I’m too focused on this girl.

“I shall explain, Pa.”

I told him what happened so far, and looked at the girl with pity. He then shook his head and took the pistol from my hand and pointed it at her.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Killing her is kindness. If we were to take care of her, she’ll hinder our plans for revenge.”

“…venge…”

Our little feisty conversation stopped when we heard her talk. There’s one thing that I noticed as soon as my eyes stared at hers. The dead eyes she showed me before vanished and were replaced with a newfound conviction.

“Revenge…”

“Revenge what, girl?”

“I want to…make those people who did me wrong suffer! Please…teach me…you’re plotting revenge right…? Let me learn how…!”

Is this some sort of adrenaline rush? She just stood up and stood face to face with my father, not blinking her eyes.

“No. I won’t.” Pa flatly refuses the girl.

“…but…why?”

“You’re way too weak and scrawny this time. If you want to do such a thing, you must become someone capable of doing it. Are you prepared? I won’t pull my punches, even to a girl.”

“…I’m prepared…for the sake of revenge…I shall be in…your care…”

I found it a little strange. Why did my father suddenly switch gears?

“Xyare, is the food ready?”

“O-oh, yes, Pa.”

“Let’s have some dinner. You, come and eat with us. By the way, what is your name?”

“Mika. Just…Mika.”

“Very well. Mika, I shall train you for three months. If you made it through and gain good results, I’ll continue training you for a year. But if ever you falter, I shall kill you with my own hands for wasting my time.”

This is the moment when our home houses one more individual – a trainee with an unknown origin.

Day 1. Under my father’s strict guidance, she undergo a rigorous schedule that would even make anyone cry blood. With her current weak body, she couldn’t muster any strength and would always faint from time to time.

Day 29. She’s starting to show signs of growth. She’s rather fond of tasers. She could also use a pistol with ease for she’s gaining some weight, a good change when compared to her stick-like figure when we first met her.

Day 46. Mika could now perform close-quarter combat much better than mine. She often performs something peculiar to surprise my father, like doing lots of feints. She’s quite studious as well and is studying books about traps.

Day 73. This is the day that Mika killed a person. He’s one of the most notorious wealthy men in the underground society, and we were stunned to know her way of doing things; making someone’s house the most dangerous place by installing traps.

Day 88. Mika did an impossible feat; making my father drop his knee to the ground. She was defeated though, but it’s something noteworthy. She keeps on training for herself as well in the day when my father was away.

Day 90. We completely acknowledge Mika’s prowess. My father trained her to create a mental switch to avoid problems like instantaneously killing. She understood and continued to hone her skills.

The three-month assessment has finally ended. I congratulated Mika and praised her for her efforts. Pa then excused himself for he’ll be out for years and didn’t give any specific date of his return. This often happened before so I’m not that surprised. I didn’t get any other clues about the whereabouts of the other traitors, but I promise him to send a message if I get a clue or two.

“I have nothing left to teach you. You can now execute your revenge plan or take some time to hone your skills. Either way, you’ll be fine.” He then patted her on the head, from which she smiled.

“Thank you, Mr. Logan. I shall train for another year, and help Xyare in some quests.”

“I’m counting on that. Take care, you two.”

“Yes, Mr. Logan.”

“Yes, Pa.”

***

“Sheesh, that wicked woman…”

I looked around and see a lot of people fainted (or killed), possibly after being hit with her taser. She always loves tasers, especially ones that have replaceable batteries. She hates rechargeable ones since if the battery’s dead, she could no longer use it, and she said that it’s tedious to bring a lot of tasers, so it’s better to have a couple of tasers and a bunch of batteries at her disposal.

The house is already laid with traps, and I’m just here waiting for her to come out.

“Oh? The player is now awake. I guess it’s worthwhile to hear her scream.”

I could hear everything even from a distance. The night is deafening; of course, a single scream and a loud proclamation of “I’LL KILL YOU”, no matter how faint it may be to my ears, is audible. I called her via the earpiece, and she immediately picked it up.

“…Yes?”

“You’re starting the game right now?”

“Of course! You heard her scream right? Isn’t that a lovely melody?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Her twisted persona is just like my mother’s.