7 Saya

The moment Yiyi walked in, all of the family rushed over. They had all come home early and had been waiting. They were all visibly worried.

'Where were you?' Yiyi's mother asked. 'You're late.'

'Library,' Yiyi answered, digging up her best smile to assure everyone. 'Had some reading to do.'

'Of course you did,' her elder brother said, nodding slowly. 'Are you okay?'

Yiyi nodded. She was smiling, even though she wasn't able to keep her eyes fully dry. Her father started to say something.

Celia could see their lips moving, but she heard none of their voices. Her ears were filled with a silence from somewhere else. It was a familiar silence, and in that silence, she could distinctly hear the faint and laboured breathing. She felt a tug in her chest, and closed her eyes to Yiyi's home, opening them to a dark night in a dingy corner of a back alley. It was raining, and the shadows seemed brighter than the night. Even though it was raining, there was no thunder or lightning. The raindrops were black as the night, falling to the ground soundlessly, and onto her in a chilly cold, sliding off of her without leaving behind a trace. The familiarity of the entire scene surprised Celia. But before she could entertain the questions of doubt, she heard the breathing behind her. She turned around toward the small woman crouching on the dirty ground, leaning against the rough wall.

'Who're you?' The woman asked, her voice soft and sweet.

'Not an enemy,' Celia answered, looking at the woman's wounds.

'I know that,' the woman answered, paying no attention to the cuts and bruises all over her, both shallow and deep. The blood gushing out was washed away by the rain and that seemed to be numbing the pain. But despite the brave face she was putting on, she couldn't keep the pain from showing in her laboured breathing and underneath the shadows of her eyes.

'I'm Celia.'

The woman nodded, and introduced herself. 'I'm Shadow of night.'

'Saya,' Celia repeated knowingly.

Saya was astonished. Her expression fell, and knowing that she felt an indescribable feeling clutch her.

'How?' Saya asked.

Celia ignored the question. Leaning over, she looked closely at the wound on Saya's chest that was the most severe. She recognised the round wound as an entry wound of a small calibre bullet. It was a special bullet that had a long range, was shot through a modified gun that fired the bullet with a greater than normal force, making the bullet travel at a greater than normal velocity. It was the kind of gun that was designed especially for fighting off assassins.

'You were careless,' Celia commented drily.

Saya clicked her tongue in frustration, but remained silent otherwise. It was the undeniable truth. Yes, the information she had been provided was incomplete, and plain false. Yes, the payment offered for the job was nowhere enough for a job so difficult. All of them were only excuses. She should have been prepared for every possibility. The thing was, even now she wasn't sure where she went wrong.

'It was a trap,' Celia explained, as she ripped off the torn sleeves of Saya's shirt and began bandaging the deeper wounds. 'They were waiting ready.'

'Why do you know so much?' Saya asked.

Only then did Celia realise it herself. Why did she know so much?

'Does that matter?' Sara asked suddenly.

Saya was lost in thought a moment, before nodding in agreement. She wasn't surprised at Sara's sudden appearance, probably owing to Celia's actions.

'I don't know,' Celia answered uncertainly.

'Do a proper job,' Sara said, pointing at the strips of black cloth in Celia's hands. 'And quickly. I can hear them.'

Celia and Saya were unconcerned. Wasn't as if they hadn't heard them. Celia finished bandaging.

'How bad are you?' Celia asked.

'I don't think these few would be a problem,' Saya answered.

'What if there are more?' Celia asked. 'Hiding. What if they are good enough to be undetected unless they get close, and by when it might be too late to escape? How bad are you for such a fight?'

Saya shook her head. Celia looked grim.

'It's simple, isn't it,' Sara said with a wide smile. 'When we're not ready for a fight, we run.'

The three nodded. Saya led the escape, down dark and narrow alleys, under the rain that was hiding their presence. Sara and Celia followed closely behind.