Promises to be fulfilled

Niel had heard the news about the people that were saved from the Harada Family's supposed toy factory. When he saw in one of the shots the silhouette of his wife and child, Niel's eyes widened as he started running.

...

It took him half an hour to get to the factory and there were already a bunch of ambulances as well as police officers in the area. He started looking around trying to find his wife.

"Madoka! Where are you Madoka! Lily, papa's here!" Niel shouted from within the sea of people. Many relatives of the kidnapped individuals had come running to the place as well, so there were a ton of people and the police were doing their best to control the situation.

As he continued to scream at the top of his lungs, Niel heard something. It was the voice of the one he has been missing for all this time.

"NIEL!"

"PAPA!"

It was the voices of his beloved wife and daughter. Niel started to shout even louder in his excitement.

"Madoka! Lily! Where are you two?!" Niel started running towards the sounds of their voices and then as he sprinted away he saw them. The clothes they were wearing were tattered and their bodies were full of bruises but they were alive and right in front of him. When Niel saw his wife and child, alive, his legs failed him and he knelt. He could no longer hold it in as tears fell down his face.

Madoka and Lily who were running towards him stopped for a brief moment as they saw Niel crying. This was the first time Lily has ever seen her tough and strong dad actually cry. Even Madoka hasn't seen Niel cry for such a long time and was stunned.

Yet after the initial shock, Lily started running towards Niel and hugged him. "Papa!" Lily started crying as well as she hugged her dad. Madoka also ran towards her husband and hugged him, the family of three were now crying amidst the chaos.

Niel stretched his arms and hugged his family. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for being alive. I'm so glad." As Niel continued to hug his wife and child, he noticed someone standing on the branch of a tree. He was just standing there, but it felt like no one had noticed him except for Niel. That person was none other than, Fade. Upon seeing the assassin Niel immediately closed his eyes.

'Please not now, just give me a bit more time and I will fulfill my end of the bargain.' Niel then slowly opened his eyes and Fade was no longer there.

...

After the incident with the Harada Family the deaths of Harada Kenji his wife and child made waves on the city, as many of their past misdeeds were revealed. The former Police Commissioner had admitted to doing many things for the Harada Kenji and showed proof of many of their misdeeds.

Though it wasn't publicly announced who had killed the members of the Harada Family, many people had an idea of who it was.

Many of the victims of the incident that were saved, had reported a man wearing a white mask and an all-black attire came to rescue them. Even the captured henchmen of the Harada's gave a similar description. When the people heard this description they could only think of the assassin named Fade.

Still, no one could prove if it was truly him since, despite the eyewitness reports, only a few actually saw him, and due to the situation at hand, they weren't even sure if that was what they saw, making their statements unreliable.

Not to mention that despite there being a lot of security cameras inside the factory, not one was able to capture Fade's silhouette, as most of them had erased footage. Because of all these factors, many conspiracy theorists claimed that the police destroyed the evidence of Fade's existence from this incident so that they could take all the credit for bringing down the Harada Family.

Still, though there wasn't any definite proof of his existence, Fade's fame was growing more and more each day. Despite his name no longer being mentioned in mainstream media, his fame on the net continued to spread.

...

It has been a few days since that event, and Niel's life with his family has finally returned to its normal routine. Niel felt how lucky he was to be able to return to the time before everything became complicated.

He kissed his wife good morning as she made him breakfast, his daughter rushes towards him with a smile on her face. "Papa!" He lifts her up and she kisses him on the cheeks.

Despite being happy, there was something deep inside that weighed upon him. Each passing day the fear that these happy days would come to an end, grew more and more.

'Just one more day, just one more day of being with them. I just need one more day, I promise tomorrow I will fulfill my end of the bargain.'

As he continued to think about that each day, a week had already passed. It was at the time, as he was in his study the person he didn't want to meet came before him.

"I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. I have killed the Harada Family and have saved your own. I even allowed you to be with them, for a few days. So it's time for you to pay up..."

"I see... I hoped that you would somehow forget about me and leave me be. I guess I can't go on like this. I'm truly grateful for what you have done, but-" Niel was about to reach for his gun hidden in his drawer, but before he could open the drawer Fade spoke to him.

"Do not bother to do that. I'm sure by now you should know pistols don't really work on me... Niel, I know that you want to forget your sins, and the bad things that happened to you and your family, but... No matter how you try to forget, the sins you have committed will be there until you atone for them. I had done my part of the deal, now it is time for you to honor yours. If you do not pay up then, I will be forced to get another form of payment."

When Niel heard Fade's statement he turned his back on him and gnashed his teeth as a tear fell from his face.

"I guess this was all just a dream. Of course, you need to wake up at some point, right?" Niel turned around and saw that Fade had disappeared. As he was stunned by the disappearing act, he suddenly heard Fade's voice whisper in his ear.

"I'll give you one more day." The window behind him which was closed had opened as a cool breeze entered his room.

"For an assassin, you're too kindhearted." Niel smiled as he mumbled to himself.

...

The following day Niel and his family had an outing and did various activities. From going to an amusement park to eating in the park while Lily played. As the day was ending, Niel told his wife about the price he needed to pay.

At first, Madoka wanted to find another way to pay Fade, but after talking to her a bit more Niel was able to somehow convince her. They then both told their daughter Lily, that her dad needed to leave for a working trip for a long time.

"Alright, don't worry papa. Lily will be a good girl and wait for papa. While papa's gone Lily will be the one to protect mama."

When Niel and Madoka heard what their five-year-old daughter said, they could not help but cry.