Friendly Persuasion
Unexpected Shelter
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“The next time I see Tora, I’m going to corner him on a
cliff, hang him upside down, cut open his stomach, let the ravens and crows
fight over his eyes, and let the other carnivorous animals his his intestines!
sitting comfortably in a tree watching to make sure he doesn’t die before
everything’s, shall we say, out in the open.
and other such creatures over the years.
It was getting almost too dark for her to see.
branches of the trees. If only there
were something to occupy her mind other than her little fantasies of
annihilating Tora!
Sighing, Leota decided to take a little break.
about an hour and a half, and the damn mountains didn’t seem to be getting any
closer!
“If only Kouga were here…” Leota’s head snapped
up, “Whoa! Hey!
from?! I’m going insane!
But he was cute…
“Hey! Stop
that! Keep bringing that up, and
I’ll run into a trnd pnd put myself into a coma!”
“But all that will get you would be all the time to
dream about him as you want.” A sly
voice in her head spoke.
How she hated that voice.
This was a nightmare.
It had to be. Only in
nightmares did she ever find herself separated from Kagome and thinking about
some really cute guy.
“Quit that!”
“Oh but you love it; oops, no, him!
like Tora.
“All right, I have established that this is a
nightmare, which must mean that I am asleep.
Right, so all I have to do is wake up to find myself drenched in cold
sweat, shake my head, and lay back down.”
“There you are.” Came
a smooth voice from behind her.
“Wha…?” She began,
attempting to turn around.
But then her mind decided to be mean, for it shut down all of
her functions and she fell asleep.
Two days later…
She awoke to voices, and she prayed to anyone that was
listening that they weren’t in her head, for they were both male.
“Do you think she’s okay?”
“I don’t know, but… hey?
Did her eye just twitch?”
Opening her eyes, she saw two confused faces above her.
Which caused her to gasp and sit up too fast, thus resulting
in a headache.
“Whoa, take it easy!
You’ll give yourself a headache!”
Said one.
Leota groaned as she rolled her eyes.
“Too late.” Said the
other man next to the first.
When she felt she was able to speak, Leota asked, “So who are
you two?”
“I’m Ginta, and this is Hakkaku!” Said the first one to have spoken.
“All right… that really doesn’t help me.
studying the two carefully, “where am I?”
“This is our den!”
The one Ginta said happily.
“Your den?” Leota
repeated, sounding dumb even to her own ears.
“Yep! Our leader
Kouga brought you here and…”
“Whoa! Hold it!
forest heading towards our mountain.
Then, when he came up behind you, he said you just collapsed.
Kouga hasn’t even gone outside or talked about killing Naraku since you’ve been
here.”
“Really?” Leota asked, the wheels of her mind turning slower
than usual because of her headache, “And just why would Kouga even bring
me here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? To
keep you safe.” A new voice said,
walking into the small room-like cave Leota had been put into.
“Speak of thy angel and he hath come.”
the bed she sat on.
“You should really be laying down. You sprained your right ankle back there in the forest.”
“No I didn’t!”
“All right then, try to move it now.”
A determined look in her eyes, Leota did try to move her
ankle.
And almost screamed as she so. so.
“See? I told you so.”
Leota let out a growl, “All right Raven Hair, what’s with
you? You came to Kaede’s village, told me
later that Kagome was ‘your woman’, and then you’re sitting in between us
talking to me and saying that you liked my scent!
Kouga blinked, “‘Raven Hair’?”
“So, you can run like the wind, and yet you can’t keep up a
conversation?”
“I heard what you said, but why did you call me ‘Raven
Hair’?”
Leota rolled her eyes, “Have you never seen your
reflection? Your hair is black like the
raven’s wing, your skin is like that of tanned deer hide, and your eyes are as
blue as the calm ocean. There, that’s
what you look like.”
It took Kouga a moment before he realized he’d stopped
breathing and that Leota was looking at him as though she were about to hit
him.
“I know what I look like,” he said, then added quietly, “I’ve
just never heard myself described that way.”
“Is there something wrong with the way I described
you?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Good. Because that’s
how I describe most things. In relation
to nature,” Leota sighed, “would you mind telling me why you cheat?”
“What?” Kouga asked,
giving Leota his full attention.
“You’re cheating.”
“At what?”
“When you run, Kouga-dono, you cheat.
you cheat, you cannot run on the wind.
Were I physically able, I would show you.”
“How do you mean ‘cheat’, though?”
Leota sighed again, this time in annoyance, “Those shards of
the Shikon Jewel in your legs! You
cheat by using them, and you will never be able to run on the wind if
you continue to use their power!”
Kouga was taken aback, “She can see them?
could see them? Who is this
girl?
“You have that ‘Who the hell are you?’ look on your
face. I’ve asked myself that question
probably a hundred times throughout the course of the past few days.
no matter what I try to do, I can find no answer to that question.”
Fearing she would burn him on the spot, Kouga was cautious in
asking his next question, “How did you become an assassin?”
Leota looked surprised, “You really want to know?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t mind that I’m the best Asia has to offer?”
“No. It only makes me
want to know how you became an assassin in the first place even more.”
Leota smiled then, a genuine smile, “You’ve sometimes just
gotta hate the wolf curiosity.”
“Heh, every-now-and-then, yes; however, now is noe ofe of
those times.”
“It all started when I was seven. I was just walking around, minding my own damn child business,
when I heard adult voices. So I figured
that if there were adults talking, there would be children bored out of their
minds because of nothing to do. That’s
how it worked for my family anyway.
So anyhow, I walk into this old building and there’re about
five guys in there. One of them is in
the shadows while the other four are in plain sight. Three of them, I lateund und out, were highly trained assassins,
ordered to kill anyone that even breathed inside the building.
was right in the middle.”
“Then what?” Ginta
asked, reminding Leota of Shippo when she had told him the same y.
“The guy in the shadows told the fourth guy to shut up.
me. The fourth guy, a minor drug lord,
ordered his three guys to kill me, but the guy in the shadows shot all four of
them instead. He came out of the
shadows and frowned at me. He asked
‘How the hell did you get in here unnoticed?’
I told him I didn’t know, and that I was just looking for someone to
play with.
Well, I wasn’t going to be doing any of that ever again.
then on, call him ‘Master’.”
Leota had to stop, her head still hurt and her mind was
throwing pictures in front of her eyes.
Pictures she’d thought to be locked away for good.
But they all came back to her as she continued.
Ten years ago…
“And so, Girl, you will address me as ‘Master’ from now
on. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“That will do.
You’re a shapely little thing, perhaps later on you will be of value and
be able to cause me other... pleasures.
But never mind that. You’re too
young yet. Now because of yI haI had to
kill four perfectly innocent men. You
will be taking their place.”
“Huh?”
“You are going to replace them, now don’t make me repeat
it.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“What is your name?”
“Leota, Sir.”
“Your full name.”
“Leota Ookamia Usuya, Sir.”
“Good, that is how you will always introduce yourself.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“How old are you?”
“Seven, Sir.”
“And where are your parents?”
Leota looked up and blinked at him, “They’re dead, Sir.”
He sighed, “Come now.
We have much work to do.”
And so, over the next few months, Leota was trained to
kill all those who rivaled her master’s drug business.
the best assassins in all of Japan… and also in high demand.
At age ten Leota’s Master, whom allowed her to call him
Xavier, called her to him.
“Sir?”
“Ah, Leota-chan,” he began in a friendly tone, “you are
now the number two assassin in all of Japan, yes?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Tell me, what have I always pushed you towards?”
“Becoming the number one assassin in Japan, Sir.”
“Very good, Leota-chan.
Tell me everything you know about the number one, would you, Chan-chan?”
“His name is Hakura, Takeda. He is fifty-four years old, stands 5’ 6”, and last weighed in at
one hundred eighty-three pounds. He
lives alone in an apartment complex, living off the money he earned as an
assassin. His social security number
is…”
“Stop.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Master Xavier poured himself a glass of wine, “Very good,
Leota-chan, you impress me. It is true
that if you defeated him in combat, you would become number one, yes?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Well then, your next assignment is to defeat Mr. Hakura,
take his title, and then I shall allow you to retire. After that, however, you will remain in my service, becoming my
pleasure slave instead. I do believe
those legs of yours will come in handy for you.”
Though not liking that idea, Leota bowed, “Yes, Sir.”
“Good, now what are you waiting for?
“Yes, Master Xavier!”
Leota bowed once more and walked out of his office, grabbing her sword
from the guard outside and then running to where Hakura, Takeda lived.
At Mr. Hakura’s apartment, Leota sat on the fire escape
right outside his window. He looked up
from his desk.
“I know you’re there, so you might as well come in and
have a cup of tea.” He said.
Startled to say the least, Leota climbed carefully through
the window into Mr. Hakura’s apartment.
“How did you know I was there?”
He chuckled, “My dear, I am still the number one assassin,
naturally other assassins have come to take my title. It is by instinct I know e the they are.”
“Then of course you know that I came not for a cup of
tea.”
“No, of course not,” he said, turning to look at her, “my,
my, they get younger every time.”
“Pardon me, Sir, but I am ten years of age, and perfectly
capable of fighting you.”
“It is good you did not say ‘capable of defeating you’,
for many an assassin have claimed such and, well, they no longer breathe.”
“I can assure you, Hakura-dono, that shall not be the case
this night.”
“Are you so sure?”
“Yes, in fact, I am.”
Leota said, smiling as she jumped into the air and drew her sword.
Despite his age, Takeda Hakura was as fast as he had been
at age twenty. And still sane, as
well. Leota managed to fatally wound
him, but he had managed to scratch her left shoulder with a dagger.
It was the first mark she had ever gotten.
“You must be a very good marksman to have escaped all of
your assignments unscathed.”
“Either that or just lucky.”
“Heheh, believe me, there is no such thing as luck when it
comes to assassination, Leota-dono.”
Once again, Leota was rendered speechless.
occasion when ‘Leota-san’ would be used.
But never a title as respectful as this.
“Tell me, Leota-dono, who do you serve?”
“I serve the Master Xavier.”
Mr. Hakura frowned, “You should not be with him.
dead. When you return to your base,
kill your ‘Master’ and instead work for the police. Track down all of those who would do wrong and kill them
instead.”
Leota was surprised at his words, but even more surprised
by his next actions. Mr. Hakura took
the same dagger that had wounded her and stabbed himself in the heart.
Rushing to his side, Leota’s eyes softened as he slipped
farther and farther into death, “Fare thee well, Hakura-dono.
“And then?” Hakkaku
asked.
head, went to an abandoned apartment building, and stayed there for a
year. At age twelve, I joined the
police and began assassinating for them.
Since I had a bad reputation with the rest of the world, the police
caught me by saying they would erase those three years of my life if I would
aid them.
I readily agreed, what other choice did I have?
that I’m working for them. The public
still think I’m on the other side. The
police even help with spreading that around.
They never tell the news reporters that the people I kill are drug
dealers. They said they’d do that
later, once most of them have been caught.
They want the dealers to think that I’m still on their side.
assassin of all Asia.”
Kouga, Hakkaku, and even Ginta were silent.
“The things she went through...”
Without even thinking, Kouga gently pulled a surprised Leota
into his arms for a comforting hug.
When he released her, his eyes were full of an emotion she had never
seen in the eyes of another. He somehow
got her to lie down and then kissed her forehead lightly.
“Rest now. I’ll be in
to check on you later.” He said,
getting up to lea/p>
/p>
Nodding to her, both Ginta and Hakkaku got up to leave as
well.
Sighing, it dawned on Leota that she was alone… something she
hated with a passion.
“Why do I feel safe here?” She asked herself, “I’ve
never felt safe anywhere.
So... I don’t know.”
She lifted her right hand to her face to look at the ‘x’ burn
mark.
“Someday, I’ll be able to look at this and not be haunted
by all the innocents that suffered under my blade.”
Leota was pulled out of her thoughts by something that
resembled a whine. If you want me to make
’em leave...”
“No, they’re all right.
I love wolves, they’re such beautiful creatures,” Leota said, “of
course, there’s a certain raven-haired one that’s certainly caught a
little more than just your attention.”
“Are you sure, Leota-san?”
Ginta asked.
“It’s Ota-chan, and yes, it’s all right for them to stay.”
One of the wolves nuzzled her hand and she patted the ground
beside her. All four immediately lay
down around her, making her feel very warm... and loved.
You should get some sleep or else Kouga-sama will get worried.
“Okay, one of you four, I’m sure you’re adorable and all, but
do you think you could not put your paw there?”
Surprisingly, the wolf moved its paw and licked her hand.
“Somehow, this whole ‘abduction from the forest’ thing
might not be so bad after all.”
A/N: phew! So whaddya think? Like it,
hate it? What?!