Chapter Three: Mild Combat for Perfection

 

            *The ring was wide, and his opponent was huge. Nothing he wasn’t used to. As his larger challenger began to circle him, grunting quietly, Hiiro simply stood tense and ready, eyes following him. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiiro could see the outside of the ring. On the sidelines were Shin with four more training masters, and the mysterious man who had asked him to fight in the first place. A few other uniformed boys surrounded the rest of the ring, cheering their friend on and yelling insults in Hiiro’s direction. From the shadows of the ring, Hiiro spotted another figure, much smaller than all the rest, shrouded completely in the blackness of the gloom.

His rival charged full force. As the bigger boy took a lower left hook at Hiiro, Hiiro stepped back from the punch and countered with a kick to the boy’s gut. He finished it with a hard elbow jab to the back of the boy’s neck. When the giant boy lay still on the mats, three of his friends entered the ring and checked him over for injuries.

“He’s out cold.” One yelled to the crowd.

“Very well.” Shin acknowledge. “Hiiro. You will now fight a stronger Specter.” Hiiro inwardly groaned. How many would he need to defeat before he was considered good enough for Shin? Shin went on: “ Karn, come forth to do battle.” A new boy stepped into the ring. This one looked as if he was in much better shape. He stretched, then yawned.

“Begin the fight!” Called one of Shin’s associates.

“I’m not as dumb as the big oaf you just knocked out, I’m stronger too.” The new boy chided Hiiro. Impassive as usual, Hiiro let the boy call the shots. “Don’t you talk at all new kid?” Hiiro grunted. This was annoying to him and cruel to let this boy suffer this way. Swiftly, with one smooth act, Hiiro brought his palm up and slammed it into the boy’s neck. He held the wriggling boy until he went was almost blue in the face and limp to the touch. The he dropped him and stepped back, allowing himself a smirk before returning to his stoic self.

“Good.” Shin nodded in a slightly grudging manner.

“I think we’ve seen enough.” The furtive man waved to Shin. “Hiiro Yui. You have the drive and potential all Specters need to prove before they are allowed in this training room. You have proven yourself amongst two of my best. You are worthy of wearing the Specter symbol. Does this please you?”

“Yes sir.”

“I am Darien, I am your father. These around in the black uniform, they are your brothers. Master Shin, your trainer, is your Uncle. Your cousins are the ones who are not yet worthy of the black uniform yet wear the Specter symbol. You are now one with us. Crooks.” Darien snapped his fingers and a scrawny punk stepped out of the crowd. JR had spoken of Crooks briefly, so Hiiro knew who he was by name at least.

“I’m going to show you around kid, follow me.” With that, Crooks turned and sauntered out of the room. Hiiro shrugged and followed.

“This is club Specter.” Crooks began.

“I know. I’ve been told.” Hiiro broke in. Being repetitively told about the rules would be a waste of time.

“You know the rules?” Crooks challenged.

“There are none.”

“Except for the trainees. All trainees must train for five hours a day. Other than that, it’s up to you what you do with your time.”

“Hnn.” Hiiro grunted. So there were a few rules. Still, five hours of what he had just been through seemed like a walk in the park from his normal training routine.

“Yes, well…” Crooks muttered. Stopping quickly, his hand shot out and grabbed Hiiro’s. Not expecting the quick move against him, Hiiro had to fight back the urge to pull his gun and shoot the guy. A small sizzle of pain barely registered in his brain, and he looked to his wrist to find he was now tattooed with the dragon and red sun, the Specter symbol.

            “Your room is here. I suggest you sleep. Training is harder than what you went through today.” Crooks laughed as he turned and exited down the long corridor, leaving Hiiro alone in hi new home.

            Entering the room, it seemed more like a prison cell than a boarding room. There was a small, plain bed and a small nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a solitary lamp. Across from the bed was a simple dresser, and on the other side was a collapsible card table with a rickety old chair. There was no window, no ventilation shaft, or anything of the sort. It was the basic room with less than the basic needs. He felt comfortable. Closing the door and flicking on the light, Hiiro opened his bag and brought out his laptop. After starting the computer up, he would be able to retrieve his mail and send the newest information to Dr. J. As he was about to open his first message, the a light knock fell upon his door. Standing and opening his door, he found no one.

            “Hiiro Yui. An unusual name. Not common.” A voice teased him through the dark. No matter how he looked, he saw no one. “You won’t be able to find me, so don’t bother looking. I just wanted a look at the boy who Darien was so impressed by, that’s all.”

            “Who are you?” Hiiro asked darkly.

“I am the Perfect Mercenary. We will be meeting again, Mr. Yui- I promise.” The voice held a spark of mirth and amusement within its hollow emptiness.

 Then, whatever presence had been in the hall was gone faster than he could tell it was there. Closing his door, he inwardly sighed. So now he was suspected. He was going to have to be extra careful in his actions from now on.

>>>)(<<<

            “What did you think of him?” Darien asked quietly. They were in the room above the main club, looking down over the teenagers as they partied wildly. Darien lounged on his sofa drinking a deep, red wine while his ‘guest’ stood looking down at the immoral acts the children were committing.

            “He’s good.” His guest responded blankly.

            “How good?” Darien narrowed his eyes slightly.

            “Good. Good enough to rival everyone here, including Shin.”

            “And me?”

            “Including you, Master.” Darien stood.

            “Well then. We’ll see where his loyalties lay. If he is indeed trustworthy, we’ll keep him. However, if Hiiro Yui begins to present a problem, terminate him with extreme prejudice.” Darien refilled his wine glass. “Join me for a drink?” He smiled darkly.

            “No Master, I have business to attend to.” The shadowy figure bowed in a sign of respect, then turned and disappeared into the throng of young people dancing sinfully.

            “One day. One day I will have you…” Darien smirked and held his glass up in a toast. “To you, my Perfect Mercenary, to you.”

            Weaving in and out of the crowds, the ‘Perfect Mercenary’ kept to the walls and in the dark cover of the shadows. Hating to be revealed more than necessary, time flew more quickly when there was a mission to complete. Now used to the dank and foul club of the Specters, the Mercenary’s eyes no longer stung when entering a room. The smell no longer sickened the stomach, and the rude and outlandish behavior of the club members no was no longer bothersome. No one need give the Mercenary directions on how to get anywhere for they were engraved within the mind by now.

Swiftly moving down the corridor, the figure spotted the target and slowed. Knocking gently, the individual dissolved into the obscurity of the infinite abyss known as the Shade. When Hiiro finally opened his door, the world took a whole knew set of rules: the undefined.

            What her haunted eyes had missed while she had watched him fighting in the ring earlier was his appearance. Hiiro Yui himself seemed to be one with the dim theme of the dejected home they lived in. Dark, russet locks hung in disarray, framing his pale and stoic face. He did not lack the build of a fighter- her eyes picked out well-defined muscles and tone shapes- yet he was short and almost thin, a danger to those who took fighting as seriously as she. A stubborn chin and dark, almost onyx blue eyes finished off the boyish creature, giving him the ambiance of a lost, cruel killer.

            Perhaps he was dangerous. No, not perhaps. This boy, she was sure, would be the downfall of the clan, the club, and her way of life. This mere child of the lost and unmerciful, her own brother of the clan, in namesake and father, would kill everything she had worked so hard to achieve, everything she had sacrificed for. And she still played her games with him. She still let him go on, undetected by Darien and Shin, unnoticed by all the rest. Why? His face- his eyes, his blank, lost and unforgiving eyes had compelled her that perhaps he was not all bad, only like her- trapped in all they knew, trapped in the safety net of hell.*