[5] black & red

"Jia" Jericho called as she got up, "I advise that you don't take your fathers guidance for granted"

'Getting criticized for every mistake I make.. it's hard, regardless if it's for my own good. I guess I'll just need to prove myself.'

The girl looked down and away, "sure, Jer"

After the two bowed, Jia hurried past her fathers study and further down to their rooms.

Jericho and Hart lived in the two bedrooms across from hers—at times they would be overly loud.

'If they wake me up again I will light their rooms on fire.'

She walked to the middle of the hall and stared at her door, a wooden sign with her name hung from a nail, 'I hope father isn't too disappointed in me.'

She gripped the knob with her hand and twisted it open—she paused, looking back at her fathers study.

"Goodnight.. dad" she whispered.

—————————-////////———————

"Mooorniiing Jiaaaa~" Jinx sang as she slammed her door open.

Having already been awake due to her father sending a breakfast in bed, the girl waved as she finished the last of her toast.

"Oh" her best friend remarked, glancing at the silver tray, "he bribed you with the American-styled breakfast again huh"

"I wouldn't say that" she chuckled, "I think.. he's just trying to apologize"

Chian wasn't always affectionate, but as a child he made the girl understand his duty as a leader involved training her, even if it meant being less fatherly.

"I am not going to baby you" she remembered being told, "wipe your tears and get up, or you will not have what it takes to inherit your birthright"

Whenever she would cry, Kaien would give her a hug, but only after she learned to get back up on her feet.

Chian, on the other hand, would be caring when she needed it the most, and would praise her when she succeeded in her training.

It wasn't always what Jia wanted, though in small ways, her father would make up for his coldness.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night" Jinx shrugged. From behind her back, she held out two dresses in her right hand and subtly winked, "your day just got worse"

Jia pushed the food tray off her lap and cocked her head, "dresses?"

She raised an eyebrow, "you seem awfully happy for someone who shredded those with a butter knife when she was six"

"Welllllll" her best friend leaned on the door, "that's because you're going to be in one too, and as long as the dress matches my skin tone I can tolerate it"

The girl frowned, "who even picked these dresses?"

The first dress Jinx held was an ink-black sleeveless dress with a slit in the bottom of it, 'if I wore that it would expose my leg.. and I guess it would be useful since I could strap a pistol to my thigh.'

Jia didn't trust anyone outside of the Yen clan, and if she needed to, she could pull the trigger without hesitation.

"My dad" Jinx sighed, "who else?"

Jia turned her body and sat on the edge of her bed, "I want the black dress"

"Oh, well, you can have it" Jinx threw it to her, "the crimson one would look better on me anyway"

The girl picked up the dress and ran her fingers along the silky fabric, "where are the boys?"

"Helpin' with preparations, majority of the people in their ranks are on missions right now so they weren't busy" the brunette replied, "come downstairs once you're done changing"

Afterwards her door shut and she was left alone again.

'Well.. this can't possibly get any worse.. and the black dress is kind of nice.'

Jia sat down in front of her large mirror placed next to her desk—in it, she could see her entire body.

An event like this, she hadn't done in awhile, and though she disliked wearing something elegant, inside she was eager.

Whoever her father was curious about could attend, and that would be a chance to dispose of him like her father wanted—and perhaps have a fun fight, at least, she hoped it would be.

'My imagination is too unrealistic.. there couldn't possibly be someone who is on par with me', she thought with a pout.

Using the curling iron she had from her dresser, she curled her indigo hair, tied it into a low bun, and left two fringe pieces resting at the sides of her face.

'I suppose this'll do.'

Afterwards she put on the silky black dress.

It was then she noticed a large dragon pattern stitched onto the bottom part with black thread, 'Kaien definitely knows my tastes in clothing.'

She stared in awe at the slit in her dress, it exposed her thigh in a way that made her look appealing, "there's no way I'm not strapping a pistol on.." she whispered to herself.

She hated to admit it, but she looked stunning.

The dress was how she liked it, no frills, no poofy fabric, but silky and long towards the bottom.

This dress she recognized to be a type of traditional cheongsam dress, but modified.

"Hm.. perhaps I won't mind after all" she mumbled.

Realizing she could still see her tattoos, she brought out the only items of makeup she had.

The tattoo on her neck that stood out the most was the number "4" in Roman numerals tattooed with blood red ink.

A superstition in China and Japan is that 4 is an unlucky number that could mean death—Jia got it inked on permanently to prove that she could be feared by making others see her as someone who could bring death.

Eventually, it had worked, and the name "Red Reaper" was thrown around due to it.

Her second one was of her fathers only tattoo—a black dragon. Chian got it on his back, and she got it on her thigh; the slit in her dress exposed it slightly.

'At least it looks nice.'

Realizing the time, she put a vast amount of dark green eyeshadow on her tattoos and concealed them with a foundation that matched her skin tone overtop.

'The only reason why I have makeup.. otherwise I would never put this on.'

She put the blender down and admired her work, but did not feel quite like herself.

Sighing, she got up, put a pair of black heels on, and left her room.

Once she had went down the stairs, she turned and was met by a door in the middle of the two staircases.

Inside was the estate's event room.

'I hope they don't need me to prep.. I'm really tired'

She opened it, the first thing in her field of vision was Jinx in the crimson dress leaning on a table. The girl realized it was also a replication of a Cheongsam dress, though her dress had a slit and Jinx's did not. Her hair was in a high bun with two chopsticks holding it in place, and she wore blood red heels to pair with her outfit.

Jericho and Hart were standing in front of her talking.

As Jia walked in, she admired the sight in front of her.

Multiple tables were set up, wine glasses, plates, utensils, and napkins were sitting atop a silky red tablecloth.

The chairs tucked in had prior been red velvet fabric which matched the table cloth.

At the the very back of the room, was an elevated area with the same table decor, only it had two chairs and the tablecloth had a dragon pattern stitched onto it—father and Kaiens place.

"Oh, Ji!" Jinx excitedly walked up, her heels clacking on the tiled floor "guess what?"

She chuckled, noticing her best friend had covered up her tattoos—"you look almost as weird as I do" said she.

'Then again Jinx in a dress is even weirder.'

"Shut up" she lightly pushed her arm, "I think you'll be glad you woke up early"

Jia narrowed her eyes and cracked a half-smile, "with only four hours of sleep, are you sure?"

Her best friend shrugged and pulled the girl along by the arm, stopping once they joined the boys.

"It has been awhile, this should be fun to watch" Hart said to Jericho, who nodded in agreement.

The two were dressed in black waistcoats, pants and shoes, and underneath a white dress shirt pushed up to their elbows.

Jinx pointed a finger to Hart, "shut up" she snapped, "keep your traps shut"

'I guess this is something good', she thought.

"So" Jinx put her hands on Jia's shoulders, "someone wants to do their initiation today!" she squealed. "Since we have an hour before the celebration, your father said you're welcome to deal with it now if you want"

"Oh." The girl licked her lips and cracked her knuckles, "where are they?"