“Can you tell us more stories about Akane?”

“Please? I’m sure nii-chan won’t mind! Right, nii-chan?”

The toddler turned to her left, an innocent pout resembling a puppy making its way to her face. Akane groaned, shifting uncomfortably behind the marble kitchen counter.

 “Whatever. Not like my opinion matters anyway,” she grumbled, stirring the soup boiling over the stove.

Her grandfather chuckled, ushering the children into the living room. He sat on her red armchair, opening an old, tattered cover. It looked like it was from Minamoto era. Akane cringed from behind the counter, as the rustic smell of its pages reached her nostrils. In truth, it stank like rotting meat on an August morning.

Those old legends were supposedly passed down from her ancestors. Not that it mattered, they were just stories to entertain children with. Akane remembered sitting on her grandfather’s lap and hanging off his every word as he told her those ridiculous tales. But, she had to admit, whoever came up with them, was genius. Her heart went out to the poor protagonist of the story, nothing to live for but killing.

“That’s so sad,” a little girl whined, clinging to her stuffed animal. “Did she have to kill him?”

Akane was pulled from her thoughts at her question. Of course she had to, it’s not like she had another option. But, if she was put into the same situation with her best friend, she wouldn’t be so sure.

“She had to—“

“But he told her he loved her! It’s not fair!” she sniffled. “Nii-chan, if you were in that situation, you wouldn’t kill Changmin-kun, right?”

Akane stopped stirring her soup, blinking in confusion.

“We would never be in that situation in the first place, Kimi-chan,” she sighed. “Grandpa, I think it’s time to send the kids home.”

She glanced at the white wrist watch Changmin had given her for her tenth birthday; it still fit her like a charm.

“But, nii-chan,” they whined.

“Uh uh, your mothers are probably worried. Now hurry home.”

Once the little rascals had been successfully sent home, she turned her attention to her grandfather, lazing around on the couch. Akane prodded him with the wooden spoon she’d been stirring the soup with but he didn’t budge.

“Oi, grandpa, shouldn’t you be working on those documents?” she nagged, pointing him towards a large portrait of her grandmother adorning the back wall.

“Akane-chan, help your grandpa out. I’m getting old . . . “

“No,” she snapped, flinging a glass vase at his lying figure.

The old man got up surprisingly fast for someone his age and quickly kicked the pottery before it hit his skull. He landed gracefully on his two feet, sighing in defeat.

“See, you’re as fit as a teenager. No more excuses!”

“You can’t throw family heirlooms like that!” he complained, stalking to the portrait. “Don’t you need to go find that damn rat that’s been sneaking through our computer files?”

“He’s good, but our trackers have found his team’s base. We’re going to head over as soon as—“

The lights blinked red, an annoying beeping noise sounding through the entire household.

“—I get the signal,” she finished.

She threw her apron over the counter, making her way to the portrait as well. She lifted the hem of her grandmother’s silk kimono revealing a complicated looking keyboard and scanner. The device scanned her finger prints, a few seconds later, Access Granted, appeared in bold letters on the monitor.

“I’m heading down first, when I get home those documents better be done, old man.”

The portrait swung open, Akane stepping through the doorway and waving.

“That girl has no respect,” he mumbled, crossing his arms. “I guess that’s why she’ll be a good candidate for inheriting the family business.”

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 “Agent 001, your presence is requested down in the lab,” a scientist said, scurrying down the same hall, Akane was headed in.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Akane’s heels clicked against the tile floor, turning into a strong clack as soon as they touched the new metal flooring. The walls surrounding the deserted hallway slid open, gadgets and weapons of every kind hanging in their respective areas. She reached for her signature black-fitted armor with the white insignia of a hawk, gripping it under her arm as she plodded around for her other equipment. She discarded her house clothes into a nearby rubbish bin and slipped on her tight-fitting work attire. She pulled on her black gloves, re-opening the doors and casually making her way towards her partner.

“Hey, are you ready, Minho?”

“Hell, yeah! We’ve been tailing this dude for months. Now we’ve got him,” he chuckled.

“So are we going heavy or light?”

“Light,” he muttered, studying the intricate hologram of their enemy’s base. “We’re coming in through the roof. It’s sad, I didn’t think they’d be this close to us.”

“What?” Akane murmured, studying the map. “Close?”

“Yeah, it says they’re right here in Tokyo.”

“That’s rich, two of the world’s most powerful agencies in the same damned city,“ she grunted, strapping her arm protectors on. “At least tell me if it’s their main head quarters.”

“No, just a smaller unit, but still, I hear Max is in there.”

Akane’s eyes flashed with anger at the mention of his name. The corners of her lips tilted to a satisfied smirk.

“Then I guess, this is the last time we’ll have to face each other,” she smiled. “I am so tired of him interrupting our business! I haven’t caught a criminal in weeks because of him.”

“Okay, put these on, I wired them to show you the quickest way to the core of the building,” he said.

Minho placed her black mask over her face, pressing a button to activate the shield for her eyes and  to reveal coordinates. He smiled, satisfied with his work and led her back to the weapon’s hall.

“Take this,” he muttered, tossing a head set in her direction, “and these.”

He loaded two small hand guns, noting the pout on Akane’s face.

“What?”

“Why are they so small? Why can’t I have that one?” she asked pointing to a large rifle.

Minho rolled his eyes, at her childishness. She was supposed to be the best assassin in the business, if only their enemies saw her now. . .

“You’re supposed to pack light. Besides,” he entered another security code before a metal box slid out from the wall. “Don’t you want to take this?”

He carefully pried the cover off, taking out a custom designed blade made specifically for her. He unsheathed the katana from the black and red scabbard, admiring it. He stopped short at the guard, raising an eyebrow.

“You have chibi Dong Bang Shin Ki charms on your katana? That’s so—“

Akane yanked her prized possession away cuddling the blade and poking at the charms.

“So what? I couldn’t resist they were too adorable. Look at Xiah,” she cooed, rubbing the figure between her fingers.

“Are you really an assassin and one of our best undercover agents? Geez, let’s just go.”

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Date Started: 08/31/10

Date Ended: --/--/--