4. Burn With Me.

"Say it."

"No."

"Come on dear, say it."

"Okay. I love you too."

My mother laughed when I said those words to her.

"See? It's okay to say it. Never be ashamed of caring for your family. Be proud of them instead, because they'll be your only failsafe if things ever go up in flames."

It's like I can still feel her warmth around me. She was the only real family I ever had, I can boldly admit that now. Her lessons were the single reason I endured my family's cruelty for years.

But now, they've pulled their last stunt.

I slid open my father's room door with a shallow expression. Silence greeted me.

It's possible they might've heard the screams and ran, but not without searching for its cause. At least not father.

"Father." I called out, but no one answered.

Few steps into his room, and the shelf of swords displayed by the right wall caught my attention, it was a beautiful sight. My father used to be a slayer too, in fact, every man in my entire bloodline was.

Even though women were now allowed, my family still kept it an 'only man's' job.

My Ancestors, they caused all these, if only they'd allowed my mother to become a slayer, then she wouldn't have had me. But they preferred their altar of swords to be from the men alone. Cowards.

"Who left this door open?" A female voice hummed behind me.

"Oh, young master Sora." The four eyed maid mumbled as I turned towards her.

"Have you seen my father?" I asked.

"Last I saw him, he was headed for the bath. Is something wrong?" She asked while she fitted her glasses properly.

"Thank you." I replied, and gave her a glance to move along.

"Ye-yes. I will leave you now." She said when her eyes finally darted towards my left hand.

Damn, I really hoped she wouldn't look down.

Her brows furrowed as she watched the sword I gripped with a confused look spreading across her face.

"Young master, isn't that Master Harugi's sword?" She asked with a finger innocently pointing at the weapon I tried to hide behind me.

Then her eyes widened, she must've seen the blood. Damn, how did she even know it was his? She has impeccable eyesight for someone with glasses.

Anyway, I'll just have to silence her.

"Co-"

"Aaaarrrgh!!!!" A deafening shriek filled the halls. From what I could define, it came from the same direction of the room I was to die in.

The maid immediately rushed out of my view before I could regain myself, I think she was running towards the scream.

Wasn't that Jinoke's voice?

A smile tugged at my lips. Finally got her.

I ran after the maid, but heard a lot of other screams before I reached them.

"Who did this?!" Jinoke's voice reached me again, but my route into the room was obstructed by all the gathered maids.

"Leave us." I ordered from behind, not with my abilities, but with my position in the family. And they left, after delivering questionable glares obviously.

I forced my feet through the door and slid it close behind me. Watching her cry, I had to admit I felt something, after all I hadn't seen her without a smile in years.

She crawled over to the stranger, Musashi's corpse, but I didn't understand why.

Suddenly, she gripped the handle of the already drawn sword that laid beside Musashi's burnt corpse and her wails stopped immediately.

"Sora, what happened here?" Her cracked voice had managed to get darker.

She's my sister, I just can't stand anything being done to her. I don't know why?

"Sora, talk." She said again.

"They tried to kill me." I replied.

"So why are you not dead? Why is the useless one still breathing big brother? How did he do it, how did he manage to do this to you?!" She started with me, but ended up throwing questions at Harugi's corpse instead.

My heart was torn to shreds as depression overwhelmed me, I just can't stand her crying.

She kept on weeping, and I lowered my guard without knowing what was coming next.

In the blink of an eye, she turned round and swung Musashi's sword at me, taking out both my eyes in one slash.

"Aarrgh!!" I screamed in agony, I couldn't see, I couldn't think as I hit the hard floor. Jinoke had taken out my eyes!

"Die, I need you to die right now!" She yelled at me, her heavy footsteps stomping closer.

How could she? How could she?!

My anger came back.

Is it so easy for everyone in this family to take another person's life?!!

"How could you?! Aargh!"

"Die a painful death, you trash!" She yelled again as she repeatedly kicked my ribs.

"........"

That's enough!

"My eyes are healed!" I yelled too, and my vision came back almost immediately.

"Stand." I ordered and my body floated to its feet.

Jinoke stumbled back a few steps, trying to understand what I just did.

"Both your arms are broken." I said and the snapping of her arm bones soothed me.

The katana she used to blind me dropped to the floor with a zing sound while she screamed. Both hands hung lifelessly from her shoulders.

"You also have a heart of stone. You deserve to burn too."

"Wait, brother." She begged a wall of hate that I had become.

"Sleep." I said and she landed on the floor, silent, and eyes shut.

I crouched beside her and used my right hand to brush her hair back.

"You'll dream of Harugi killing you, sixteen times. The first with a slash to your throat, next a slash to your back."

A smile crept upon me.

"The rest, you can create yourself."

I grabbed Harugi's still sheathed sword from the ground beside me, then straightened back up, then I made my way to the door.

Sliding it open, a frown formed on my face.

"Each cut would appear on your physical body one by one, till you die."

This is what a peaceful death meant to me. She should be grateful.

Now, to find Father...

"Master Sora." The four eyed maid's voice caused me to jolt and stop sliding the door to the room shut.

Why is she everywhere? I'm trying my best to keep my anger contained. I don't want to kill the servants too.

"What do you wa—" I paused after seeing the sheathed Katana in her left hand, it was unlike anything I'd seen before. It looked- royal.

Where did she get that?

I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth, until a sharp pain caressed my neck. Placing my right palm over it, I felt a thick liquid as the pungent smell of blood tickled my nose.

My throat, my throat has been...

I collapsed on the floor, pushing the door back open as I lay halfway inside the room.

She slit my throat. Why?

"That should be the end of your little rampage. That's all I'll allow." The maid, in such a squeaky voice, declared as she stood over me.

"My mission is complete, your entire family is dead." She relayed without as much as a blink and my eyes widened.

Soon I started making screeching sounds in my desperate attempt to speak.

"I thought killing your elder brother would be a hassle, but thanks to you, I'm in the clear." She smiled at me.

An assassin, in our home?

And a speed technique user at that!

Her eyes slanted, "I read your little rules, you can't do anything without speaking can you?"

"But don't worry, I made sure to kill your father in the worst possible way I could. Y'know, I'm not as natural as you in these things." She jokingly shook her head while looking round the room. And for the second time today, my vision began fading.

What about Yuta, where is he?

Part of me wanted to know he was safe, the other part was mad I didn't get to kill him. But as my life slowly drained from me, I couldn't help but reconsider my actions. Or not.

"Yuta has value to the Shogun, Precise technique users are hard to come by these days. He'll be coming with me. That little orphan will be a crucial part in the Shogun's army." She announced, waiting for me to bleed to death.

The Shogun, I played directly into his hands!

I have wasted the opportunity of the century.

And for what?

Revenge?

Mother— I'm so sorry.

Tears rolled down my ears as I clung onto Harugi's sword, which I intended to kill Father with. Maybe my death was for the best.

"Please input your final words into the system. Thoughts are also allowed." The eerie voice of this so-called system disturbed me.

Final words from my thoughts. Can I make one last command?

"Yes."...

It said.

Well then, four eyed maid—

I can't correct what I've done, but at least, I can give Yuta a fighting chance to spend his life doing what he wants. After all, he's still family.

No one kills my family but me.

I gasped, my last attempt to breathe.

Four eyed maid, please burn with me.