An Empty Home, Empty no More
2012
Two hours later.
Driveway of Continental Tailor
Japan: Miyazaki prefecture.
"Miss Wick." The well-dressed taxi driver called as the yellow car came to a stop with a soft screech in front of an unassuming clothing store. "We have arrived."
Yoru groggily pushed herself off of the continental vehicle's window. The teen undid her seatbelt and breathed out a soft yawn.
"Thank you…" The violet-haired hitwoman muttered a thanks as she unlocked the door and swung her feet outside of the vehicle.
"Do you need me to wait here until you finish your business?" The chauffeur asked as the young assassin's black boots impacted the ground with a dull crunch. "It would be of no extra charge of course. After all, it's very late."
"It would be greatly appreciated." the well-dressed girl replied as she blinked away her grogginess. "Ordering a suit won't take more than half an hour. I'll tell you my address when I return."
The suit-wearing taxi driver nodded as he watched Yoru push open the glass door of the clothing store, the small door chimes hanging from the top jingled as the well-dressed hitwoman disappeared into the building.
______________________________________________
"Hello, welcome." An apron wearing woman greeted as the teenage hitwoman gently closed the glass door behind her. "How may I help you?"
"I'd like to put in an order, shopkeep." The suit-wearing assassin said as she walked closer to the shopkeeper reached into her left pocket and pulled out several gold coins and deposited them into the seamstress's awaiting palm.
"Is this a rush order?" Ayane asked as she motioned for the younger girl to follow her.
"No." Yoru answered with a shake of her head. "I'm just here for a replacement."
"Finally thinking of replacing your father's old suit?" The red haired shopkeeper inquired as she inserted a silver key and unlocked a door near the back of the shop with a sharp click.
"Yeah." The girl responded with a nod, walking toward the door when the continental tailor motioned for her to go inside.
The violet-eyed hitwoman pushed open the oak door to reveal an extravagant room that seemed out of place within the otherwise humble corner clothing store.
The room was furnished with expensive spruce drawers and two open closets filled to the brim with suits were situated on both sides of a large mirror. A glass cabinet filled with rolls of expensive fabric sat flush against the left wall. In the center of the room, there's a small coffee table with an antique tea set sitting on top.
Two clothing racks filled with suits line both sides of the entrance and the right side of the room housed a table behind a shooting range with a ballistic dummy clad in a three piece suit situated twenty feet away.
"Please, hang up your jacket here Miss Wick." The apron-wearing shopkeeper requested as she offered the suit-wearing teen a coat hanger from one of the closets. "We'll need to take some measurements. After all, it's been a while and you're a growing girl."
"I am legally an adult." the violet-haired assassin abashedly said as she unbuttoned her black suit jacket.
"Sixteen is a bit young to stop growing, no?" The older woman teasingly refuted as the assassin slipped the wooden coat hanger into her father's coat.
The suit-wearing assassin just unamusingly deadpanned at the continental tailor as she handed the seamstress her now secured suit jacket.
"Sorry Miss Wick, I'm just teasing." The redhead playfully apologized as she delicately hung the violet-eyed hitwoman's coat in one of the closets. "It's just that you're so different from most of my other customers. You're a rare breed you know?"
"Yeah…" The teenager blandly replied as she walked toward the mirror in the back of the secret room without being told, having done this several times prior.
"It's just rare seeing people in our business so young." Ayane continued as she fetched a roll of measuring tape, a clipboard, and a pen. "I could count the number of customers under the age eighteen I've personally served with one hand. The last one being… What's his name again? I believe he used to come in with you."
"Suzuko." Yoru answered as the continental tailor pinned one end of the tape measure to her left shoulder and extended the other end to her right. "Suzuko Hikaru. Blonde hair, cyan eyes, and always like his suits blue."
"Ahh, yes. Mr. Suzuko." The apron-wearing shopkeeper commented as she jotted down Yoru's shoulder width. "Haven't seen him in a while. Is he alright?"
"He's fine." The violet-eyed assassin replied as the yellow measuring tape softly coiled around her neck. "He left a while ago and, last I heard, had become a police officer."
"It's rare someone ever gets to leave." The older woman remarked as she jotted down another measurement. "Or at least it was before what happened with you and your father. After what happened, it became much easier to leave."
The well-dressed hitwoman slightly stiffened at the mention of her father, and the elder redhead took notice.
"Sorry." The red-haired seamstress apologized as she wrapped the thin measuring tape around the younger girl's bust. "But police officer huh… It fits him. He always wanted to help people despite being in our trade. Mr. Suzuko and you are extremely alike in that aspect, Miss Wick."
The teenager silently nodded at the shopkeeper's remark and started to reminisce about her turquoise-eyed friend.
______________________________________________
2011
Three months after the death of John Wick.
Continental Bar
Japan
9:47 PM
"So… why are you here, Hirkaru?" A fourteen-year-old Yoru asked the blond sitting next to her. "You're only eighteen, you're not trained, you're not greedy, and you don't enjoy killing. I can't figure out why someone like you is in our business."
Hikaru turned his head and faced the younger girl as she sipped her glass of mango juice. After a few seconds, he turned his head around and stared at his own glass of apple juice: the bartender had given neither of them alcohol because they're both underage. Despite the continental serving hitmen and assassins on a daily basis, they refuse to allow their underage members to have any access to alcohol.
'Old enough to kill, but not old enough to drink.' The violet-eyed hitwoman mused as she set down her now empty glass. 'And, I couldn't even legally drive. I have to hitchhike with Hikaru and his motorcycle to get around.'
"It's… kind of stupid." the older hitman sheepishly replied as he clutched his glass of iced juice tighter. "It's nothing like yours. You became an assassin so you could help others and continue on your father's legendary legacy. My motivation couldn't hold a candle to that.."
"...I'll be the judge of that." The suit-wearing assassin firmly asserted as she slid another gold coin to the barkeeper for another serving of fresh mango juice.
"... It's because of money." The blond hitman finally answered after a long pause. "My brother in law… he died from a stroke and left my older sister as the only source of income in my household. Since she had to take care of me, my niece and my two nephews at the same time, money has always been super tight."
"But then, just a couple of months ago I found out she was having trouble paying back the loans she took out to put food on the table." The elder assassin continued, his cyan orbs periodically flickering to Yoru's face to gauge her reaction. "I decided to drop out of high school to help my sister pay off the loans. I took odd jobs until I met a blind man who effortlessly fended off several gunmen while working overseas; that's when I learned of the continental and got involved with the criminal underworld."
"How much did you have to pay off?" The violet-haired hitwoman asked as she took a sip of her drink, taking note of her taller friend's small smile when he mentioned the blind man.
"Just around six point seven million yen." Hikaru replied after taking a pause to do a bit of mental math. "I've already helped pay off around three-hundred thousand, but it's difficult to pay off the loans alongside my family's living expenses and the ridiculously high interest at the same time. I'm not skilled enough to take on the higher risk jobs because I wanted to survive to continue helping my niece and nephews.
You know, my niece wanted to be an idol. I want to support her dream and I feel terrible knowing I'm still not doing enough. My sister would always return home late just so she would get overtime pay, and I worry for her health."
'He's really stuck in between a rock and a hard place huh…' Yoru thought as her face softened at the blonde's troubled expression. 'He has talent, but his skills are unrefined, as expected of someone inexperienced. It's likely he was just trained for only a few months at most before diving straight into the underworld.
And the fact he wields the jian instead of a katana or wakizashi… I wonder if the blind man he mentioned is the same blind man I know…'
"Sorry if this is personal, but I have to ask," The violet-haired hitwoman inquired as she took a swig from her glass. "Who was the blind man that trained you? Most swordsmen here wield Japanese-style blades, but you use the jian, a sword that hailed from China."
The older hitman went silent at his younger friend's question and his lips thinned.
"It's alright if you don't answer." Yoru added as she drank the last of her mango juice. "I just wanted to know if we knew the same person."
"...He told me to keep it a secret." Hikaru finally replied, taking a sip of his apple juice. "My shifu's currently retired, and he wants it to stay that way."
"Alright, I have a proposal," the smaller assassin declared as she set her now-empty glass of mango juice on the spruce bartop after the blond answered. "I'll train you for half a year and you don't have to worry about making payments during that period. You have the bare essentials, but just essentials are often not enough."
"Half a year?" The cyan-eyed young man uttered in shock, his turquoise eyes now widened in shock as he stared at his friend. "That's… just above half a million yen, and that's just the interest rate alone! What would you get in return for doing this?"
"A… fifteen percent interest rate?" Yoru commented after taking a moment to do mental math, her eyes narrowed at the absurdly high number. "My father left me with everything he owned so money isn't an issue for me."
"And what would I get from this… nothing much." the younger teen continued, standing up and pushing her stool in. "Just helping a friend in need out. Good people like you are hard to find in our line of business, and good friends even more so. You don't have to answer right away, my offer will always be open for you."
"...Won't this be inconvenient for you?" The blond hitman asked, his eyes downcast as he heard the more experienced hitwoman's footsteps sounded further and further away. "You're dedicating three quarters of a year just helping me, someone you met just shy of one and a half months now."
"As an old friend of my father used to say, 'Friendship means little when it's convenient.'" The shorter assassin replied as she reached the bar's door. "If a slight inconvenience now would mean I would be able to see you again two, four, eight years later, then it would be worth it in the end. Night Hikaru."
Yoru walked out of the continental bar and the door chimes jingled as the door closed behind her, leaving her older friend alone to ponder over her words.
______________________________________________
2012
Continental Tailor
Japan: Miyazaki prefecture.
"Alright, all done." The continental tailor announced as she recorded the last of Yoru's measurements. "Thank you for your patience Miss Wick."
"No problem shopkeep," Yoru politely replied as she walked over to the closet her suit jacket resided in. "How long would it be until the new suit is ready?"
"Around a day and a half. You can come in to pick it up the day after tomorrow." The redhead answered as she walked over to the right side of the room. "I don't have any other orders I need to fulfill, so it could be done pretty soon. SInce you're here, would you like a demonstration of our new model of body armor?"
"Yeah, I can stay for that." The violet-haired assassin said as she slipped her left arm into her coat sleeve.
"Excellent." The seamstress replied as she unholsters a tan pistol from behind her apron.
The pistol the woman brought out was a FN Five-seveN, a semi-automatic pistol with a hidden hammer chambered for FN's armor piercing 5.7 x 28mm round. The pistol itself is made primarily of polymer, which made the pistol extremely lightweight, weighing only 1.6 pounds (744 grams) when fully loaded with its large 20 round magazine.
The model the shopkeeper carried has custom slide serrations, a flared mag well, finger grooves, and an extended magazine release. making the gun easy and comfortable to use. Picatinny rails located at the top of the slide and the bottom of its barrel allowed the pistol to be highly customizable with third party attachments.
The older woman deftly struck the magazine release located at the bottom right corner of the gun's square trigger guard with her right thumb and gently caught the falling steel magazine. Ayane placed the empty magazine on the table next to a box of the armor piercing ammunition.
One may think the shopkeeper only carried an empty gun on her, but Yoru knew that the continental tailor carried at least two more fully loaded magazines on herself at all times.
"WIth armor piercing ammunition becoming more and more commonplace within certain circles, us tailors had no choice but to innovate." The red-haired shopkeeper said as she loaded fresh cartridges into the empty magazine. "Our new model of body armor incorporates graphene into the design, which considerably improves the strength of our bullet-resistant suits while maintaining flexibility."
The seamstress then reinserted the now loaded magazine and racked the slide, chambering in the first round. She then took aim and fired three shots into the suit-wearing dummy before holstering her belgian pistol. The redhead then walked toward the dummy, reached into the suit and pulled out a thin cloth-like material with several flattened bullets loosely sticking to it.
"With graphene, we could easily make suits rated for higher power calibers," The older woman said as she shook off the flattened lead pieces. "However, graphene is extremely expensive to obtain in bulk. So, we only have suits rated for pistol ammunition available right now.
But despite that, the thin layers of graphene in it does allow for more impact absorption. Now instead of it feeling like you just got punched in the shoulder, it now feels like someone tried to harshly shove you."
"Sounds… a lot better than 'quite painful I'm afraid.'" Yoru flatly commented, and the elder shopkeeper mirthfully shrugged at the younger girl's attempt at a joke. After all, she was quite familiar with the mannerisms of the man she trained under.
"And, can you answer just a few last-minute answers before you go?" The apron-wearing seamstress requested as she picked up the clipboard again. "You don't have to, but it would help me in making your new suit."
"Fabulous," The older tailor said with a smile as the violet-haired assassin nodded her head. "First, is this for a formal event or a social one?"
"Social."
"Is this going to be for day, or night?"
"Dusk."
The tailor nodded at the younger hitwoman's unusual response and continued onward.
"In what style?"
"Italian."
"How many buttons?"
"Three."
"Trousers?"
"Tapered."
"How about the lining?"
"...Tactical." The teenager replied, a sad smiling blooming on her face as she answered.
______________________________________________
"Hope I didn't keep you for too long." Yoru said to the chauffeur as she got into the taxi.
"It is no problem Miss Wick." the continental taxi driver answered as he shifted the car to first gear. "Now, to your home I suppose?"
"Yeah, the address is █▇█▇█▇█." The violet-haired assassin replied as she buckled her seatbelt.
The well-dressed chauffeur nodded and the car drove out to the empty road.
______________________________________________
Half an hour later
"Thank you again for your services." Yoru thanked the taxi driver as she gave him three continental coins instead of the usual one for his troubles.
"No problem Miss Wick, you're always welcome to use our services." The cabman said as he drove off.
Yoru reached into her pocket and pulled out her house keys. After unlocking her front door, she stepped inside her dark and vacant home. Well, vacant may be the incorrect word to describe the medium sized home.
"Woof woof!" A black pitbull ran toward the violet-haired assassin as she flicked the lights on.
"Hey buddy." Yoru whispered as she gently knelt down and affectionately pet the canine. "You hungry?"
The dog let out eager pants and trotted over to where his food bowl was, his tail excitedly wagging the entire way.
The hitwoman followed the pooch to where his stainless steel food and water dishes lay and started filling his food bowl with brown kibble.
"Wait here until I get you some new water, okay?" The violet-haired teen gently ordered her four-legged companion as she lifted off the other bowl from the ground.
The pitbull patiently watched as his teenage owner disappeared into the kitchen with the bowl in hand. Yoru flicked open the lights in the kitchen and walked over to the sink, pulling the lever of the faucet and letting a stream of cool water fill the steel bowl after she poured the old water out.
Once the girl was satisfied with the volume of water held within the water dish, she shut off the faucet and returned to where her dog was patiently waiting for her.
"Hey, come on. Eat up." The violet-eyed assassin said as she gently scratched behind her canine companion's ears. "I didn't wake you did I?"
The pitbull gave a happy bark in response and eagerly dug into his meal. Yoru let her pooch be and went upstairs to her bedroom, grabbing a pair of gray pajamas and change of underwear before going into the bathroom to take a shower.
______________________________________________
Twenty minutes later
The teenager left the bathroom with her 'work clothes' tucked under her arm as she dried her now clean purple mane. The assassin went downstairs dressed in her gray sleep-wear and tossed her bloodied clothing into a laundry basket located in front of her couch. While she was upstairs cleaning herself, the pitbull had finished his meal and now was curled up on his dog bed.
The young girl smiled at the sight of her furry companion sleeping and made her way into the kitchen to change her bandages.
The teenage hitwoman opened a drawer and grabbed a roll of medical salve and bandages alongside a pair of kitchen scissors. She set the two rolls on a table and began cutting the now-soaked bandages wrapped around her clavicle after she sat down.
*snip*
*snip*
*snip*
*snip*
The razor sharp blades of the shears effortlessly glided through the soaked white strips of cloth and ribbons of white fabric fell to the ground, revealing the blood soaked gauze. The assassin gently peeled off the now soiled gauze from her shoulder area and revealed the bullet hole near her collarbone.
The teen then unrolled the strip of fresh gauze before she snipped and folded the segment of fabric to the proper size. She pressed the bundled piece of cloth to her injury and held it there with her chin as she awkwardly unraveled the roll of fabric. The violet-haired girl slipped the end underneath her chin and pinned the bandage to her wound as she started redressing her wound.
After a couple minutes of wrapping, the violet-eyed assassin finished and repeated the process for the injury on her calf, this time taking way less time due to the wound being easier to reach for the teenage hitwoman.
Yoru put the kitchen shears and the two rolls away and gathered the dirty bandages that fell to the floor. The violet-eyed teenager balled up the rolls of bandages and gauze and threw them into the trash bin before going up the stairs.
______________________________________________
*ptu*
Yoru spat out the glob of foam collected in her mouth as she finished brushing her teeth. The teenager opened the faucet and ran her cyan toothbrush under the running water, clearing the bristles of the leftover toothpaste. After placing the slender toothbrush into a mug, the violet-haired assassin cupped her hands under the sink and splashed cold water onto her face.
"Hahh." The hitwoman breathed out as cold water dribbled down her chin. She turned off the bathroom faucet and retreated to her bedroom after shutting off all the lights in the house in a practiced motion.
Yoru's room is extremely spartan; apart from the photograph featuring her with her adoptive parents from her youth, the room was devoid of any decorations. The girl saw no reason to personalize her room more than necessary and only furnished it with the bare necessities. In fact, the whole house- while tidy and mostly dust free- was also like this.
The teenager lifted the blankets of her queen sized bed and climbed under the thin quilts. After some twisting and turning on the mattress, the assassin felt her eyelids become heavy and she drifted off to sleep.
______________________________________________
Ten years ago
John's home.
NYC: New York
A month after Yoru's adoption.
7:14 AM
"Yoru?" John called as he knocked on the door of his adoptive daughter's room. "It's time to wake up."
"Hmm…"
The young child groggily opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. Yoru stretched and took a few moments to blink away the sleepiness. After a few seconds of blinking and rubbing her eyes, the Japanese girl threw off her covers and hopped off the mattress.
After briskly making her bed and changing out of her pajamas, the violet-haired juvenile opened the door of her bedroom and walked to the bathroom.
Grabbing a stepstool her adoptive father purchased for her, the child stepped on the step chair and turned on the faucet. The young girl squeezed a pea sized blob of toothpaste onto her toothbrush and ran it under the running stream of water.
'Forty brushes on the left, forty brushes on the right, fourty on the center.' the violet-eyed child thought as she inserted her purple brush into her mouth after turning off the faucet. 'Repeat for the top and bottom.'
After around four minutes of brushing, Yoru spat out all the toothpaste foam formed and rinsed her mouth with water. The small girl went to the kitchen after washing and neatly setting her brush and cup next to her father's.
"...Hello, Yoru." John greeted as he spied the new member of the household walking down the stairs. "...I've made some scrambled eggs and pancakes."
"Good morning, Mr. Wick." The young girl greeted back as she retrieved a pair of chopsticks, a fork, and an empty glass. "Thank you for making breakfast."
The soviet turned off the stove and skillfully flipped the last pancake onto a plate. After depositing the frying pan into the sink, the taller man grabbed the two plates of food and set them down at the kitchen table- one in front of Yoru's seat and one in front of his own.
"...You could call me John." The hitman softly intoned as he reached into the fridge for a half-gallon milk carton.
"Yeah… but it's weird calling an adult by their first name." the violet-eyed child replied as her adoptive father filled her glass with milk. "We're parent and… kid but it doesn't feel right to call you something so intimate.
I dunno who my real dad is and my mom… I don't think she ever loved me. I know you… care about me Mr. Wick, but calling you 'John' doesn't feel right."
"...It's alright." John voiced as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "You can start small and get more used to saying it."
"...John…" The violet-eyed child muttered as she picked up a bite of scrambled eggs, her savior's name leaving a foreign feeling on her tongue. After all, the young girl had no experience calling adults by their given name.
The veteran smiled and nodded at his adoptive daughter's effort and the well-dressed man took a bite of his own breakfast. Yoru noticed her guardian's body language and a small smile crept into her face as well. After living with him for a month, the small girl became used to his lack of expression and she'd become more adept at noticing the small changes in his expression.
When she had first moved in with him, the house felt empty. Though the veteran kept the home very neat, there was always an underlying cold feeling to it.
But, that cold feeling slowly ebbed when she moved in. The small step stools situated in all the sinks and the added cyan child's toothbrush and cup somehow made the house more lively, the added accommodations for the new member of the household seemed to light up the otherwise dull house.
"Can I ask you something, Mr Wick?" Yoru requested after taking a sip of her glass of milk.
John looked up at his adoptive daughter as he chewed on a bite of pancakes and nodded.
"Do… Do you think I can become an… assassin like you?" The violet-haired juvenile queried as she put down her chopsticks.
The hitman paused his chewing for a moment before quickly resuming.
"...Why?" He gently pressed after swallowing. The soviet had informed the violet-haired juvenile of his profession very early on in their relationship; after all, he was bound to be discovered sooner or later and the well-dressed assassin would prefer she find out on his terms.
John had little to no experience with children, but even he knew that children won't take people keeping things from them as well as adults could. His adoptive daughter needs stability and honesty, and being truthful about his profession was the best option.
"It's because… I don't want other people to go through what I went through." Yoru answered honestly as she looked into her adoptive father's eyes. "I survived because you were there… I want to be that person, I want to be just like you."
The hitman stared at his adoptive daughter in silence as she anxiously awaited his answer. He took a deep breath and raised his steaming cup of black coffee to his lips.
"...Have… Have I ever told you why I became an assassin?" The soviet asked after he took a swig from his mug.
The violet-eyed juvenile shook her head, seeing as she couldn't recall the well-dressed man ever talking about his past.
"...It happened when I was just ten." The veteran assassin started, placing his fork down beside his plate of unfinished food. "I was an orphan, but I had a family- a family made of other orphans. But, that was taken away from me.
I joined the criminal underworld for vengeance, to find and kill the people who took away my family- helping innocents was something that came after they're dead.
I could see the same fire in your eyes I had in mine back then. Even if I try to stop you, I know you'll find a way."
"Is… Is that a yes?" Yoru tentatively guessed as her guardian finished talking.
"...Yeah." John confirmed with a nod as he picked up his fork. "I can start training you, but school comes first."
"School starts in September, right?" the violet-eyed juvenile queried as she too, picked up her pair of chopsticks and continued with her meal. "It's August right now, so that means I start in a month."
"... Your English is improving." the soviet complimented, seeing as most of their conversation was in the germanic language. "Lunch is in the fridge."
With a thanks from his adoptive daughter, the pair finished their breakfast in relative silence. Just another morning in the Wick household before John goes to work.