Chapter 23 - It's Family Day : Part 1

Kiaran stood on top of a hidden building within the forest in silence. The wind fought with him, blowing his dark hair and black trench coat. A mask adorned half of his face as his sapphire eyes stared down at the dancing leaves below him.

The half-moon was on sight, watching the mercenary standing alone on top of a rooftop. It shined through the night, high up in the sky as the world went to sleep. It just stood there, stalking the humans with its beauty.

The mercenary looked up to the moon for a second, letting his blue eyes meet with the beautiful white light that it stole from the sun. When he diverted his gaze, the teen that often mistaken as an adult jogged his way to the edge of the rooftop.

He looked down at one of the windows and scanned it. A sideways smile tugged on his lips behind his black mask as he took out his rope gun. The mercenary took a few steps behind slowly before sprinting to the edge and jumping to the air.

He turned his back, spreading both of his hands that were holding a rope gun in one of them, and faced the moon once again as he let the gravity take control.

Just as he was about to crash onto the ground, he shot the rope gun to the window, letting the rope crash the glass and hook on the edge of the window. Kiaran brought himself up and landed inside gracefully.

He tucked away his gun and put his gloved hands inside his trench coat pockets. The teen casually strolled to the empty hallway, letting the back of his coat dance a little as he walked.

The mercenary stopped in front of a double door of iron with a danger warning sign. He kicked the door, making them wide open with a loud bang. He hummed around as he got inside the dim laboratory.

As he went further inside, a sight of a fancy yet messy laboratory was in sight. Though, no one was inside aside from the lab coat-wearing woman with a big transparent goggle adorning her eyes.

Her black pupils were focused on the arrow in her hand as she held some kind of a tool in her other hand, mangling with the dark arrow. She let her curtain bangs messy as she let loose her shag haircuts.

The woman in her late thirties looked as young as ever despite her age. People would mistake her for the twenties, not some middle-aged woman.

That said woman sighed as she kept her eyes locked on the dark arrow. "They said you're dead." She stated robotically.

"I've ascended and became a ghost to haunt you." The mercenary shrugged. He could see the woman roll her eyes at his answer.

He walked over to the table near the scientist. He jumped and sat on top of the table, feet were dangling around as he watched the woman with mild mischieve eyes.

"You did not tell me about the mirrors, old lady." He declared after a few beats of silence, blue eyes still locked on the woman.

The woman switched the tool in her hand with another tool that was sharper. "You and your names calling."

Kiaran's fingers were tapping on the table he was on as he raised one of his eyebrows. "You prefer a crazy scientist then?"

"That's actually better." The woman answered fast, clearly wanting the teen to disappear from her sight.

Kiaran jumped onto the floor with a soft thud. He brushed off the leftover window cracks on his black trench coat before walking closer to the scientist and standing beside her.

"How many times have I told you to not break in through the window? I have a door." Without even looking at the mercenary, she spoke at him with a tired irritation in her tone.

"You know you wouldn't let me in either way," Kiaran answered offhandedly.

"You're right, so please do me a favor and get out." The scientist retorted back and continued working with her work.

"I might already do a favor for you, actually." He darted, circling behind the woman, and stopped on the other side where he was standing before.

The mercenary grabbed the two black arrows that he kept inside his coat and waved them in front of the scientist's face. The woman finally looked up from her work, her face was full of contained emotions as she caught the sight of the two black arrows.

"You're an actual mad man, mercenary." Commented the woman as her black pupils kept staring at the arrows in his hand.

"That's what they call me." Unblinking blue eyes calculated the crazy scientist in front of him as he spoke.

The scientist was about to reach for the two black arrows but Kiaran jerked his hand back, making the woman sigh. "What do you want?"

Kiaran cracked his neck as the woman's black pupils met with his blue ones. "Now we're finally talking about business."

The scientist put down her tools in her hands as she clenched her jaws. "What? Do you want more money? Just give me the price."

"I want information, all kind of information you have about the black arrows, the black roots mirror, and the other side of the mirror." He demanded with a low voice echoing in the room.

The woman raised her eyebrows that were hidden between her curtain bangs. "That's it?"

The mercenary spun the arrows in his hand as he leaned on the table. "Yes." He paused, stopping the arrows in his hand, eyes sharpened as he stared at the scientist with dangerous glint.

"Though you have to tell me your plan on what you're going to do with the arrows too."

The woman stiffened. He looked at him with mixed emotions and glowering eyes. There was silence as she thought about the deal. Though deep down, she knew she had no choice.

"Alright. But keep it between us or I'll kill you." She gritted her teeth as she finally looked away from the mercenary to her table again.

The mercenary took her hand and shook it happily. "It's a deal then, old lady!" He cheerfully exclaimed. Though the scientist caught the dark undertone behind his words.

As he let go of her hand, he put down the two black arrows in his other hand to the table and slide them to her. She quickly picked the arrows with her hand slowly, looking at them as some kind of gem.

The mercenary let the scientist fall into her own world for a moment. He was tapping his foot as seconds went by.

"I know where the last one is, I left it attached with the black roots mirrors in the government's building." The teen tilted his head to the wall beside him as he caught the sight of a black roots mirror, he finally spoke.

"I'm using it to frame two dead lovers, I'll retrieve the last one if you do one more thing for me." His blue eyes caught his reflection in the mirror, though deep down, he was trying to find out what's inside this crazy scientist's mirror.

The scientist gripped the edge of the table with her hand as looked up at the mercenary one more. Black pupils sharply waited for the criminal to say what he wanted.

An etched madness sprout on his face as he returned the stare. "Let me in your project."

The scientist furrowed her eyebrows, head pounded with tension as she did so. "Why?"

A crazy grin adorned his face as it was hidden behind his mask. The mercenary chuckled darkly and he went closer to the scientist with madness sparking in his eyes.

"I want to see the world burn."

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Axel groaned as he heard his blazing alarm in his ears. His left hand tried to reach the table where the alarm stood. After failing to stop the alarm a couple of times, he finally decided to stand up from his bed, stumbling as he shut down the alarm.

His fluffy hair was covering his eyes, making his bedroom blurry. He brushed the locks with his hand and blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust with the vague morning light from his window.

He had a really weird dream last night where he met the demon version of my family that had black wings and treated him with kindness as they helped him with-

Axel's tired blue eyes caught the sight of the clothes that he borrowed from the demon family yesterday, hanging behind his door and all tangled up with his other clothes.

Ah, it was not a dream then.

Oh shit, it was not a dream.

Axel looked over to the mirror so fast that he was sure his neck cracked. He brought his feet closer to it, stopping when his body reached his study table in front of the mirror.

He stared at the mirror with a skeptical look, wondering if the demons were watching him right now. Axel opened his mouth and closed it several times. Though, he did not know what to say to them.

"Uh, I-"

Something bumped into his window, causing the boy to choke on his word. He quickly diverted his gaze to it, walking slowly as he tried to see what caused it.

As he opened his curtain, letting the sun overwhelm his room, a rock went flying to his face at a fast speed and stopped at the window glass, making the boy jerk back a little.

Axel looked down to see the person who did it. He was not surprised when he saw his best friend down below.

The boy quickly opened the window to yell at Rune. Yet when he did open it, another rock was thrown and almost hit his face if he did not avoid it fast enough.

"Rune, what the hell?!"

The red-haired girl who was ready to throw another rock quickly retreat back at the sight of her best friend. "Holy shit, you're actually alive."

Axel sighed.

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"I can't find Kiaran anywhere, I wonder where he went off this morning," Axel wanly muttered, dropping his shoulders as he walked side by side with the red ponytail girl.

A sardonic smile bloomed on Rune's face as she looked over at Axel. "Oh, that's funny because you've been gone for two days! Two god damn days without being at home at all."

"I was... busy." Axel let out a roguish chuckle at her as they arrived in front of their classroom.

"Busy?! You make me think you're actually kidnapped by not answering my messages nor phone calls!" Rune opened the classroom door harshly as she continued yelling at the boy.

Axel took a step back and wildly gestured his hand to brush off Rune's statement. "What do you mean I got kidnapped? Me? Kidnapped, ha, no way, nope." Axel grimaced at his cracking voice.

"Spider-Man released a new trailer, so I messaged you about it but you didn't answer. Because it's weird, right? You are a die-hard fan of Spider-Man so I was like- 'oh, he is busy' and brushed off the kidnapping idea in my head." Rune explained, hazel eyes looking around as she did it.

"But then-" She paused, eyes locking on Axel's. "-you disappeared for two days."

Axel opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He tried to process everything as he sheepishly looked at Rune. "Spider-Man released a new trailer?!"

Rune looked at him in disbelief. "That's your concern right now?! Where the hell did you go for two days, man?! I was worried sick that I was this close-" Rune made a sign with her thumb and her index finger that almost touched with each other.

"-to send some of my dad's agents to search for you."

The black-haired boy blinked. "Wait, really?"

Rune crossed her hands over her chest. "Yes, really."

Axel was about to open his mouth again but quickly got shoved off from behind. The boy almost fell face-first to the floor if not for Rune to hold his hand and save him.

Axel looked back to see his one and only bully in a bad mood.

Oh no, it's a bad mood.

"You're in the way, loser." Aster spat as he bumped his shoulder onto Axel before walking to his seat. The two best friends looked at each other in cue before looking at the bully again.

"Man got some anger issue today," Rune commented as they continued watching the dirty blond hair boy.

Axel nodded in agreement. His blue eyes were locked on Aster's dirty shoes, he felt bad but at the same time thought that he deserved it when he sacrificed his bully's shoes. Just a little. Or maybe more.

"What are you looking at? Got any problem with my shoes?" Aster hissed at him as he caught Axel's stares.

"No- uh, no." Axel quickly dragged Rune to their seat so that he could avoid the bully.

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Aster dragged his feet lazily as he arrived home. He yawned when he opened the front door loudly, knowing that there was no one home.

Valerian had to take care of yesterday's problem where he got kidnapped. It really irritated him that when he managed to survive, he still had to sit down and get questioned by the authorities about what happened.

He was hungry and did not wear any shoes, of course, he was mad.

His parents were worried about Valerian more than him. That did not make any sense because he was the one who was kidnapped. It just added his anger even more.

He was worried about the mute murderer, which irritated him too. But he tried to think that he was alright. He's like the best criminal, he would be okay.

And now today, he was forced to go to school by his parents even though he just survived the dying and the killing thing he experienced. Valerian did try to defend him but somehow it just made him angrier. Because it just made his brother look like some kind of savior in front of their parent's eyes.

Fucking favorite.

So in the end he slammed the door and went to school despite Valerian's shouting.

That loser Axel always got on his nerves also, he really wanted to punch his 'nice' face or just throw him onto the mute murderer so he got killed or something.

The blond boy sighed as he opened his bedroom door. He threw away his school bag, making it land on the floor next to his bed. Aster changed his uniform onto a blue shirt and baggy jeans and tossed the uniform away to the corner of the room.

He looked up to his wardrobe, expecting a white cap that he put on top of it. Imagine how surprised he was when he found nothing.

Aster quickly looked around frantically, trying to find the mute murderer's belonging that he promised to himself that he would return it when he met him again, somehow.

Because he believed that the mute murderer was alive even though the mercenary was- was dead.

He believed that the mute murderer was alive because he was way stronger than the mercenary. He saw it himself the way he fought and saved him at the same time.

He needed to return the white cap, so the mute murderer must stay alive because he said so.

He thrashed around his room and made it even messier than before. He looked under his bed, inside the pile of his dirty clothes, and even behind the study table he owned.

Aster stopped his movement when he caught the sight of a pair of new branded shoes sitting on his table. He walked closer to the expensive shoe and examined it closely.

He looked over beside the shoe to find a note and frowned. Raising his eyebrows, he brought the printed words close to his face as he tried to read them.

"Thank you for keeping my hat. I hope you like this shoe," Aster mumbled while reading the note. His forest eyes moved over to the pair of shoes again. He stared at it for a while before smiling to himself.

"Murder boy has a style, damn."

Axel smirked as he adjusted his white cap. The mute murderer was standing beside Aster's window, hiding away from his bully.. He quietly left, jumping over the house's fence and disappearing within the street.