The "Mono"

Have you ever carved your name in a tree? 

If you haven't, then you probably didn't want to hurt the tree. That's good.

*****

I let that boy go home for the day. I didn't tell him anything then, but I promised I'd explain it in the morning.

That morning was soon to come, yet I didn't get to sleep even a wink. As soon as I got home, I tried to contact the headquarters and tell them about the mistaken mission displayed on my watch.

I opened up every database I had access to, but there was no news regarding the king who ruled over the world. His exact location had been constantly changing ever since he'd finished his conquest, and I had no way of tracking down the most important person in the entire world.

If there was one good thing in all of this, it was that I had finally managed to forget about her. For one of the top assassins of this hidden Japanese underworld to fall for his victim, it would have been blasphemous.

Finally, as my mind started to drift off, my laptop's screen lit up, and a familiar face stood there, peering into my soul through the screen.

"Shino, what is it?"

Well, to say her face was familiar would be an overstatement. After all, she always had it covered by a dark mask, letting only her eyes be seen. She kept saying that it served to remind us of our shinobi origins, but those days had passed long ago, and everyone around knew well enough that she was into cosplaying.

"Akira Shino, looking to report on the new mission," I said, keeping up the formalities as always.

"Report? What's there to report?"

Keeping a firm gaze as the first ray of light entered my room, I spoke slowly and clearly. My goal was not to let anyone know of my lack of sleep, as any discussion on that topic risked bringing about my latest failure.

"The mission details—it tells me to..."

I lowered my voice just for extra precaution.

"... It tells me to assassinate Tyrant."

"...so?..."

My operator had clearly heard what I said, but she gave no answer.

"...so..." I replied, unaware whether she wanted me to continue.

"What's the mistake here? You are to kill Tyrant. Good luck."

The screen went dark, and no other sound came out of the speakers. My operator had closed the conversation, refusing to elaborate.

"Wh... Wait!" I shouted at the dark screen, then I picked the laptop up, moving it around the room as if by doing that I would be able to catch sight of her. Of course, that didn't work, and a knock on the door snapped me out of my morning struggle.

"Mister! It's me! Okada Mimoru!"

*****

Only later did I receive the mission debriefing on my phone, but it didn't make the situation much more favorable.

Tyrant, as the world had come to call him, was to come to Japan—specifically, to this very Tokyo—to visit the current emperor. It was a colloquial visit, as the emperor held little political power. He was, however, a highly respected individual within the country.

I was to "find a way to infiltrate when Tyrant is least protected and take his life by any means." That was it. No specifics, no help, and no words of encouragement. I had to figure everything out myself, as the pro assassin I was.

At the very least, having the emperor there put my mind at ease. We were, after all, working under him. Even if sovereignty had become a foreign concept in this world, I still had the rightful ruler of Japan by my side.

I took a deep breath and straightened my thoughts. For too long had I permitted myself to show weakness. In this line of work, the ones who feel, fail. I had no desire to fail, so I erased any lingering trace of emotion from those past couple of eventful days.

"Akira-sama, are you okay?"

Or at least I was going to erase everything, but hearing the boy sitting next to me on the train use honorifics for no reason ruined all of my hard work.

With annoyed eyes, I gazed at the shy boy. From what he'd told me. He only slept for a couple of hours himself and left home before his parents got to wake up.

He at least got to change his clothes, but he forgot to leave back home the flower he'd found. No, he didn't forget about it. From the way Mimoru was holding on to it, there was no doubt that he cared for that flower.

I peeked at it one more time. Clearly, something was off about that plant. It felt alive, like no other flower does. I read once in a book that plants had once been alive, but that hasn't been the case for a long time. I couldn't remember what the rest of the book said, for it had been ripped out of my hands as I was reading it, and I was held with my head under water until I passed out so the orphanage would make sure that I remembered nothing.

As if I was going to take it away, Mimoru casually hid the flower growing in a plastic pot. I sighed and let him be.

"So... about that—"

Before the boy could say anything stupid, I placed my finger over my lips. He caught on to the sign and lowered his head.

"Don't worry," I told the boy.

"It's my fault, so I'll protect you."

In truth, I had no reason to stick with the boy. Headquarters told me nothing. I was under no pledge. I had no orders to protect him. The only reason I chose to keep this kid safe was because it was my own mistake that had put him in danger.

For most, I was a villain, but at the very least, I was no monster.

"And how are you going to do that?"

It was his question that put me in a tough spot. I called him out today to talk to him and tell him what to do and what not to do, but that was far from enough. Worst case scenario, I probably had to stay around him for a long time—no, there was no way I could have risked missions for a child. Worst case scenario, I had to teach him to fend for himself.

We were close to Shinagawa when my first chance to protect couldn't wait anymore and made its presence known with a scream.

"A mono!" somebody in the train shouted, and everyone looked up at the tower rising high from the Shinagawa station.

*****

A "mono" referred to the unfortunate—or maybe fortunate—case when somebody couldn't even lose their humanity right. It was a monster that couldn't drain on the power of the curses. Yet it got pumped up by it and was now as large as a car.

Those monsters were drawn to the tall towers rising from every major station around Tokyo, as those towers were what Tyrant had used to spread the curse.

I stood atop that tower with my face covered, ready to face the beast.

Dragging its white body the size of a sedan up the iron bars that held the tower together, the mono made no sound. That alone made those creatures all the more terrifying, for they had been cut away from the three rules, being left blind, deaf, and with no mouth to scream their agony.

All that remained was its four spider-like legs and a white clump of something that formed its body. Inside, nothing but a wish to reach the tower and regain its connection to the world. It was a sorry sight, but one of the happier cases, for at least this one hadn't hurt people—yet.

I took a deep breath, spread my arms to my sides, closed my eyes, and called out to the one who would lend me its power—the unmentioned one.

"Sezaru..."

With this, I let myself fall. As I fell, I caught a glance of the boy I promised to keep safe. He was looking at me, still holding that plant to his chest.

Why did I choose to protect that boy? Does an assassin need to clean their conscience every now and then? I did not know.

All I knew was that the fight would serve to take my mind off things.