2 Home is where Kindness is

Ten years ago

2002, Japan.

'How… How did all this happen?' A six-year-old Yoru thought as she laid motionlessly in the alleyway she landed in. 'It… It all happened so fast…'

The girl's ears rang with a shrill screech and beside searing pain emanating from her stomach, everything felt numb to the violet-haired girl. She felt dizzy and her vision spun, the tall apartment buildings that towered over the small child twisted and warped as the child's eye started to unfocus.

Her chest felt heavy, almost as if a large weight was pressed onto it. The six-year-old tried to breathe, but every breath she took was never enough. Her body craved oxygen, but the blood leaking from her stomach was depriving precious ozone from her system.

As the violet-eyed juvenile laid motionless on the bloodied ground, she heard rapid footsteps approaching from her right. The juvenile weakly turned her neck to look at the source of the noise.

Her eyes spied a tall, long-haired man wearing an all-black three piece suit sprinting full speed toward her. Yoru couldn't quite make out his face as her eyelids became heavier and heavier and the violet-haired girl found it more and more difficult to keep herself awake.

"Please…" The six-year-old begged in a weak whisper, unsure if someone was actually there or the man was an illusion her dying mind conjured to give her a semblance of hope. "Save me…"

After expending the rest of her energy begging the man to help her, Yoru closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

______________________________________________

John Wick was pissed; no, it was more accurate to say he's furious. While many things could incur the veteran hitman anger, it's rare for him to be so enraged. When he found the child bleeding out in that alleyway with a small fruit knife sticking out of her stomach, he immediately ran to her, his every instinct screamed at him to help the small juvenile despite a thought in the back of his mind saying it could be a trap.

But, the assassin couldn't leave the girl there. Not when she used up the remains of her energy to beg him to save her only moments before she blacked out from blood loss.

The soviet delicately scooped the girl's unconscious body into his arms and pressed his right palm on her stomach wound, applying pressure and minimizing further blood loss as he ran to the nearest back-alley doctor, Miyaki.

'Come on.' John thought to himself, his feet harshly pounding on the gray concrete sidewalk. 'Please, just hold on for a little longer, little girl. I will save you, and that's a promise.'

As the hitman dodged and weaved between civilians and cars, he reminisced about his early childhood as a homeless boy on the streets of El Sauzal, California. Back when he was a simple street urchin committing petty crimes instead of the internationally revered hitman and enforcer he is today.

John also remembered the day he developed a hatred for those who committed wanton destruction and disregarded innocent lives. He was only ten back then, a child much like the girl he's holding in his arms right now. While he was far from completely innocent, there was a certain naivety to him in his early adolescence. But that naivety was torn away from him the day he crossed the three bills.

It was a cool autumn day in 1974 when he stole a couple grand from the three caucasian assassins, and it was also a cool autumn day when he lost his first family. His agility was what saved his life twenty-six years ago; he was too quick and nimble for the three hitmen to catch. He was able to dodge and weave between the assassins' bullets and frustrated at their inability to kill a simple street rat, the three bills opened fire upon every civilian they could lay their eyes upon. John saw his friends and innocent civilians die from gunfire and the home he knew for all his life was blasted into smithereens from an RPG.

Seeing his home destroyed and his friends and family mowed down like cattle sparked a fire within the veteran hitman. From that day onward, he swore he wouldn't let a single civilian die under his watch and John would be damned if he broke his oath today.

As the assassin rounded a corner and a familiar street came into view, the veteran assassin sprinted faster toward the back alley clinic.

'304… 306…' The well-dressed man mentally counted as he ran across the alleyway. '308… 310… There!'

The soviet dug his heels into the concrete walkway and he rapidly came to a stop in front of an inconspicuous-looking house.

"DOC!" He yelled out, rapidly pounding on the metal door with the back of his hand after he ascended the steps two at a time.

The white blinds of the door parted and a glasses-wearing Japanese woman peeked through the window.

"Mr. Wick, what are you-" The woman started, only to cut herself off when she caught sight of the bloodied child in the hitman's arms.

"I found her in an alleyway." The assassin said, answering the continental affiliated doctor's unsaid inquiries. "She was… still conscious when I found her."

"Come in John." Miyaki said as she closed the blinds and unlocked the metal door. After the surgeon opened the door, the soviet assassin stepped into the back-alley clinic.

In place of items and furniture of a normal living room or even a foyer, hospital beds and refrigerators exist in their place. Cupboards and storage boxes of different medical supplies sat spruce tables flush against the wall. Miyaki's certificates and several diagrams of different organs and the human anatomy decorated the walls.

"Here, lay her down onto the bed right here." The asian doctor ordered as she motioned to one of the beds. "You've done well curbing further blood loss, and I have some O- blood packs in storage. I promise I'll do everything I can for her."

After the soviet hitman laid the unconscious girl onto the operation table, the female surgeon quickly grabbed a case of medical supplies and got to work. She started by carefully extracting the knife from the girl's stomach and then rolled the juvenile's blood soaked shirt up.

"Mr. Wick." Miyaki said as she carefully cleaned the wound with a bottle of water and a sanitized rag. "Grab an IV and an O- blood bag from the refrigerator please. The IV should be on the second rack and the O- blood should be in the rightmost row of the fourth."

John nodded and opened the gray fridge, grabbing the supplies the doctor requested. The veteran assassin could tell that the operation to save the girl is going to be a lengthy one, but no matter how long or arduous it will be, he will save the violet-haired child.

______________________________________________

A few hours later

"Alright, she's stable now." The continental surgeon announced as she stepped away from the bed. "She was banged up pretty badly, had you been a minute slower she wouldn't have made it."

Once the doctor stopped blocking the soviet's view of the hospital bed, John could see the unconscious girl. She was covered head to toe in bandages and both of her arms were suspended in slings. The asperity of the violet-haired juvenile's injuries were worse than the hitman originally assumed. She wasn't just stabbed in the stomach, she was likely pushed off a building right after she was stabbed.

After the veteran assassin finished inspecting the doctor's handiwork, he tried to get up from his chair but was stopped by the doctor placing her hand on the long-haired man's shoulder.

"Mr. Wick, please. Stay." Miyaki requested, knowing full well what the long-haired man was about to do. "She needs to see a familiar face when she wakes up."

"...I can't." The suit-wearing hitman answered with a shake of his head, once again trying to push himself off his chair. "I need-"

"John, please." The doctor begged, interrupting the soviet as she pushed her hand onto his shoulder more firmly as he tried to get up from his seat. "You were the last person she saw. She was gravely injured and would panic if she didn't see a familiar face when she wakes; the child needs you John."

John's eyes turned downcast as he heard the continental surgeon's words. Deep down, he knew Miyaki was right- the girl would panic if she suddenly awakened in an unfamiliar place, especially when she was just severely injured.

"...I'll stay Doc." The hitman relented after a few seconds of weighing the pros and cons and the doctor removed her hand from the assassin's shoulder. "But once she wakes… I'll find the people who did this to her."

'And make them pay' John thought, leaving the last part unsaid. Though, he could assume Miyaki could figure out what he was planning.

"I can't stop you from leaving the clinic Mr. Wick." The surgeon asserted, her eyes hardened as her expression became more grim. "But, you should inform your employer that you'll be unavailable for two months at the very least. I am unsure when she would wake, it could be a couple of hours, it could be months. Her bones need at least that much time to mend."

"...Yeah," The soviet hitman replied with a nod of his head. "...I will."

______________________________________________

Two months later

2:06 AM

When Yoru finally came to be and slowly opened her eyes, her vision was shrouded by a haze of blurriness and all she could hear was a dull ringing sound. But despite the haze obscuring most of her vision, the six-year-old could still make out a long-haired man wearing dark clothes sitting next to her.

As the six-year old blinked and the fog in her eyes cleared with every closing and opening of her eyelids, she could make out more of her surroundings.

Instead of being greeted with the light beige wallpaper of her shared bedroom, Yoru was met by sterile white walls. Now suddenly panicking because of her unfamiliar surroundings, the little girl briskly sat up from the bed she's laying on and a sharp pain blossomed from her right arm as something tall landed on the floor with a loud crash.

The young juvenile let out a sharp hiss at the pain as she clutched at her dominant arm. She looked down from the now beeping hospital bed and noticed a long metal stand laying on the floor with a clear IV bag slowly dripping clear saline fluid onto the wooden floorboards from a needle at the end of a thin, long tube.

"Hey." A mature voice called out from behind the six-year-old. "...Let me see that."

Yoru whirled around to see the suit-wearing man now standing beside her bed. Now with a full view of his face, the violet-haired child began to analyze his features.

The man appears to be in his late thirties if the wrinkles on his face were anything to go by. His long black locks weren't well combed and gelled, yet weren't messy at the same time. His beard also looked to be extremely well maintained- not that the violet-eyed girl had any experience with beards, this foreigner was the first person she's seen with a beard- and his black collared long sleeve dress shirt- while sporting some wrinkles- was also well-kept.

"Were…" The six-year-old hesitantly asked, her eyes flicking to and from the older man's face and her now bleeding arm. "Were you the one who saved me?"

"...Yes." The man replied with a stiff nod and, the child realized, with worry evident in his eyes. "...What's your name, little girl?"

…

"Hoshino." Yoru answered after a brief pause to contemplate whether or not she should answer the foreigner's inquiry. "Hoshino Yoru. What's your name sir?"

"...Wick." The bearded man revealed. "Wick John. Now, can I?"

The violet-haired juvenile nodded and held out her right arm for the man, Mr. Wick, to examine. The well-dressed foreigner gently held the six-year-old's forearm and lightly prodded around the wound, always stopping when the child slightly winced from pain.

Once Mr. Wick was finished inspecting the wound, the long-haired foreigner fished a roll of bandages, some gauze, rubbing alcohol, and a cotton ball from within a red metal box.

"It's two in the morning right now, so Doc is asleep." The well-dressed man informed Yoru as he sanitized her wound with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. "You've been… asleep for around two weeks now; doc was sure you're going to wake up at any moment for the past two days."

"So… you stayed here waiting for me to wake up?" The young girl deduced as Mr. Wick firmly pressed the wad of gauze against the source of bleeding.

The long-haired man nodded at the girl's inquiry as he tightly wrapped bandages around her injury.

"You're kind Mr. Wick." Yoru said with a smile as she inspected her now bandaged forearm. "You feel cold, yet also warm at the same time. Unlike mom…"

Upon her mention of her own mother, the violet-eyed child suddenly trailed off and froze. Yoru started hyperventilating and her hands clutched at her head as flashes of what happened two weeks ago suddenly assaulted her underdeveloped brain.

"Mom, what you're doing to Ai is wrong."

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*Shunk*

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'It hurts it hurts it hurts'

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'... Am I falling?'

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*thud*

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"Please… Save me…"

*Rustle*

"Hah?" The six-year-old breathed out as she was jolted out of her flashbacks by a hug.

"...It's alright." The long-haired man consoled, whispering into the violet-haired girl's ear as he gently held her in his arms. "Breathe… She can't hurt you anymore. Not when I'm here."

Yoru returned Mr. Wick's hug as she sunk her face into the well-dressed foreigner's shoulder, quietly crying herself to sleep within the hitman's arms.

______________________________________________

Four hours later: 6:04 AM

"Good morning Mister Wick." Dr. Miyaki greeted as she unlocked and opened the door to her clinic. "Have you slept well?"

"...No." The soviet stiffly replied as he shook his head. "The girl, Yoru… she woke up last night."

The continental doctor blinked as she processed what the hitman said before briskly walking over to the bed he was sitting near.

"How was she?" The continental doctor asked as she pulled out a plastic chair and sat next to the well-dressed hitman.

"...Her mother." John answered, his right hand clenching into a fist as he recalled the violet-haired girl's panic attack from last night. "Yoru had a panic attack when she mentioned her mother."

"What kind of a parent does that to their child…" The doctor muttered as her eyes scanned the unconscious juvenile, realizing the implications of the hitman's words. "Did she injure herself last night?"

"...Yeah." The long-haired soviet answered with a nod. "I was woken up by the stand crashing into the ground. The kid had ripped the IV right out of her arm when she tried to sit up."

"You've bandaged it quite nicely." The back-alley surgeon complemented as she inspected John's handiwork. "Though, now that the girl has awakened, what are you going to do now?"

The veteran hitman remained silent as he mulled over the doctor's words. Despite his wrath demanding otherwise, John couldn't let himself lose control and murder a civilian in cold blood. Regardless of what the violet-haired girl's mother did to her, neither of them are a part of the criminal underworld. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, the best way to address the situation was to simply get the girl away from her mother. However, the soviet couldn't just leave the violet-eyed girl in an orphanage somewhere, the six-year-old had already gotten too attached to him.

"How about adoption?" The soviet suggested as he turned to the Japanese doctor.

______________________________________________

Two weeks later

"...Are you ready?" John asked the small child standing to the right of him as the pair stood outside of a luxury hotel.

Yoru reached for and firmly gripped onto the older foreigner's calloused right hand before looking up at him and nodding. It has been two weeks since the violet-eyed girl woke up and during that time, the girl spent most of her days in physical therapy due to her muscles having greatly atrophied during her two month long coma. The man had been a constant during her road to recovery, always being close by when the doctor- Dr. Miyaki Yoru believed- went through many days of exercises with her. The juvenile was discharged from Miyaki's clinic just a few hours ago and John asked the small child of her future plans.

"...Now that you're healed," The long-haired man disclosed as the pair walked outside of Miyaki's back-alley hospital, the blinded door gently closing behind them. "Where do you want to go? You can't go back after what happened."

The violet-haired girl's head tilted downward and her eyes focused on the sidewalk just in front of her as she mulled over the foreigner's words, focusing on the individual lines in the old concrete. After a couple of seconds, Yoru tilted her head upward and faced the much taller foreigner.

"I want to come with you." The girl declared as she looked into the soviet's eyes.

At that moment, John could've sworn he saw two radiant supernovas flare up inside of Yoru's violet orbs as she made her proclamation.

'Mr. Wick is a strange man.' The girl thought as the pair entered the lobby of the hotel. 'Everytime he speaks, there's a pause. He doesn't sound sure of himself whenever he says anything, like that's not what he's used to. But that's okay… because I know I'll be alright around him.'

"Welcome to the continental hotel, how may I help you, sir?" A kimono-wearing receptionist greeted with a bow as the pair made their way to the front desk. The receptionist was quite tall for a Japanese woman, the tall front desk only made it up to her upper hip while being at chest level for her coworkers.

"...I have an appointment with the manager." The well-dressed man answered as he let go of Yoru's hand and walked toward the front desk. Despite the receptionist being much taller than the average Japanese woman, John still towered over her.

"He's been waiting for you Mr. Wick." The Japanese woman replied with a nod.

"Same place?" The foreigner asked as he reached into his pockets.

"Same place." The receptionist affirmed with a smile.

John nodded at the receptionist's confirmation and slid a gold coin across the desk before motioning for the violet-haired juvenile to follow him.

"Is that your daughter Mr. Wick?" The receptionist asked when she spied Yoru walking toward the bearded foreigner.

"...She's the reason I'm seeing the manager." John replied cryptically as he and the small child ascended up the stairs.

______________________________________________

"Hello John." An aged Japanese man greeted the veteran hitman and the violet-eyed girl opened the door to the rooftop of the hotel. "I was told you brought a guest with you."

The Japanese man looked to be around the same age as the soviet, and was dressed just as sharply. Instead of just a suit and tie, the man wore a haori over his already formal attire. Unlike most Japanese men, he wasn't clean shaven; instead, he sported a full beard with a bushy mustache present on his upper lip. The man sat at a dark table with a teapot and three teacups. Clearly, this is the manager John mentioned he's meeting.

"...Hello Koji." The long-haired man greeted as he pulled out a chair for the small girl beside him. Only after the girl was seated, did the assassin pull out a chair for himself.

"Oh? Who's this John?" Koji inquired while his longtime friend took a seat.

"Hoshino…" Yoru answered after John motioned for her to introduce herself. "Hoshino Yoru sir."

"So polite." The well-dressed Japanese native remarked with a soft smile, complimenting the small girl's mannerisms. "What brought you here to my humble hotel my friend?"

"...I found her in an alleyway two months ago." The bearded foreigner replied, "...I brought her to Miyaki and her mother fled and took Yoru's twin when I investigated."

"I see…" Koji commented as he stroked his bearded chin, his expression darkening at the implications behind his friend's words. "So, I assume you have good reason to believe her family was responsible for her… ailment back then?"

"...Yeah," The assassin replied with a nod. "I don't kill civilians and can't ask you to do anything too direct."

"So, you wanted me to use my influence to make sure she never sees the light of day again with her next slip up." The yakuza boss surmised as he poured out three cups of tea, the clear orange fluid emitting a faint cloud of steam as it pooled in the small wooden teacups. "And I assume that that's not the only reason you came to see me."

"...Yeah." The hitman affirmed. "...I want to take her in."

"What do you think about that little one?" The bearded Japanese native queried, turning to the small child sitting beside his longtime friend after he set the teapot down. "How do you feel about going with him?"

"I was the one who asked." The violet-haired girl replied. "He had shown me more kindness than my mother ever did."

"And I…" Yoru paused as she searched for the right word to use. "Trust… Trust him enough to make sure Ai is okay. If he trusts you Mr…"

"Shimazu." The manager replied, a faint smile gracing his lips once again. "Shimazu Koji. That is my name."

"Thank you. If Mr. Wick trusts you Mr. Shimazu, then I'll trust you too." The girl finished.

"Alright, I'll help you John." The yakuza boss asserted as he listened to the violet-eyed juvenile's words. "International adoption is extremely difficult to obtain under official channels, but I can pull some strings and make it effortless for you my friend."

"...Thank you Koji." The soviet thanked with a small nod.

"That's what friends are for John." The Japanese native said as he pushed forward two tea cups, one to his longtime friend and the other to the juvenile. "Though, having a family is extremely dangerous in our line of work, but I believe you'll be able to handle it."

"Well, it is strange isn't it?" The manager said after he mirthfully breathed out of his nose. "First it was me, then it was Caine, and now it's you. We all ended up gaining a daughter in some way or another. It kind of seems like fate for the three of us.

Forgive my ramblings, have some ginger tea before you go, my friend. It'll help cleanse your body of impurities."

The hitman and the violet-haired girl accepted their respective teacups with both hands and jointly brought the steaming beverage to their lips. Once their cups were empty, the pair set their cups in unison and bowed to the Yakuza boss in thanks.

______________________________________________

Two days later

NYC: New York

7:43 PM

A gray 2006 Lexus RX 400h pulled up into the driveway of a secluded house situated near a lake; the house itself was irregularly shaped, yet also very simple. Large glass windows line the house, lighting up the interior quite nicely despite it being evening.

"…We're here." The veteran hitman announced as he turned his keys and killed the engine of his car.

Yoru nodded and pulled on the door hinge to her new adoptive father's Japanese vehicle, stepping out of the now silent car and her feet landed on the driveway to her new home. 

The bearded man removed his car keys from the ignition lock and stepped outside of his SUV. He turned his head to see his newly adopted daughter stare at his house in awe, taking in the sight of her new home.

'I should take her to Manhattan.' John thought as he ascended up the steps of his white residence. 'And I have to teach her English too. She'll need it when she goes to school.'

The long-haired assassin reached into his pocket and picked out his house key from the few that reside on his key loop. 

"…Come in." John called out to the violet-haired child as he opened the door to his home. "…It's getting late."

Yoru nodded and followed the suit-wearing man inside of his-no, it's hers now as well- home. As the glass door closed behind her, so did the chapter of her life as Hoshino Yoru. Now, she's Yoru Wick, adoptive daughter of her savior John Wick. 

May the future be kinder to the violet-haired girl than the past was.