"Uhh, Kuro. Can you explain what that is?"
My client points to the little girl beside me.
"Well, it's a kid."
I answer in a "matter-of-fact" manner.
"I'm not dumb, my man. But what I asked you is to kill someone, not kidnap someone."
"But I killed the guy."
"And took his daughter?!"
He stands up from his chair.
"Ah, no. I just found her walking around the mansion of the target. Seems that she slipped in there."
"What do you mean slipped in?!"
"Slipped in, y'know, she's not from there. She just happened to be there."
"So why the hell did you take her with you?!"
He face palms so hard I can see hand prints on his face and even his forehead. Tension fills the room of the client I work for.
What work, you ask? Simple, I take out the trash. I like to call myself a sanitary engineer, but other people call me a hitman. Trained since I was a little kid, I learned the best ways of decapitating someone and ending their lives most painlessly. I can also do it vice versa and use torture to squeeze out the information I need.
But there's one thing that I will always treasure.
My emotions.
"Look at me, Kuro."
He shakes my shoulders, almost tearing the suit I'm wearing.
"This is not part of the deal!"
I look him dead straight in his eyes.
"I know. This is something I did on my own."
"But you weren't like this before! You did everything smoothly! Kill and get out! You were very efficient, and now you bring back a little kid?!"
"Can you stop yelling and shaking me?"
I take his hands off of me.
"Look, I'll take responsibility for this."
"How?"
"I'm gonna take care of her."
I point to the little kid who gives me a confused reaction.
"You're gonna what?!"
"Take care of her."
He looks at me like I'm insane.
"Take care of her?! Do you even know how to take care of yourself?!"
I stood up and whispered.
"You'd better shut up now before I take care of you."
He quickly disengages and falls to the ground in fear.
"Hey, you. Quickly. We're out of here."
I leave the building with the kid and hail a cab.
"Oh? Taking your daughter out for dinner?"
The driver says, smirking.
"I guess. Take us to your recommended resto."
"Aight'o!"
As the taxi starts moving, I contemplate my decision. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret it at all. I found her in a very sorry state. Truth be told, she didn't slip in. She just got involved. I found her deep in the mansion, waiting to be sacrificed or some shit. I didn't expect the target to be some cult fanatic.
There were a bunch of dead people in the basement. From my assessment, they've been stabbed to death. Some of the bodies were even skinned, and some were drained of blood. It's like a torture chamber in there, it's a nightmare. She was the only one alive when I got there. This messy, sack wearing kid has seen some shit, that's for sure.
"Hey."
I called her. Her eyes widened and body stiffened.
"How old are you?"
"I'm n-nine years old."
It's the first time I hear her voice and it felt like an angelic choir blessing my ears. Fragile but beautiful.
"Okay, nine year old. What's your name?"
Her hands started shaking. Noticing this, I held her hand tightly.
"I'm sorry, let's take it slow, okay?"
I smile warmly.
"O-okay.."
She said shyly.
The taxi drops us at a nearby restaurant swarming with people who had just gotten out of work. I hold her hand and enter the restaurant.
The receptionist, seeing us, greeted us warmly.
"Hello, sir. In a date with your daughter?"
"I guess you can say that."
"Please follow me, I have just the seat for you."
She stretches her hands and leads us to our seats.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, just ring the bell here and a waiter will come over and take your order."
She put a small bell beside me, smiled, and left.
I grab the menu at the table and ask her what she wants.
"I-I'll take what you're having."
"Alright, Hamburg Steak it is."
Her face lights up, and an aura of excitement can be felt.
Seems that she liked that.
I ring the bell, and a waiter immediately makes his way towards us. I relay the order to him and within 30 minutes, the food is right in front of us. I see her face light up for the second time. I think it will never get old.
She pondered upon the utensils beside her plate, her face almost saying "what are those?"
"Never seen them?"
"Never."
Just what the hell happened down there?
"Those are called utensils. You use them to eat food."
She tilts her head.
"What about just the hands?"
"Hmm."
I put my elbows on the table and intertwine my fingers.
"You also use those. But usually we use utensils to prevent our hands and our food from getting dirty."
"Ohhh."
Her eyes widen in wonder. I bet she's thinking that these utensils-thing are amazing.
"Well, you hold them like this."
I hold my knife and fork and show them to her. She copies it and nods.
"And use them like this."
I pierce a piece of steak with my fork and use my knife to slice it. She copies my every move and seems to be getting the hang of it. After a little bit of repetition, she eventually learns how to use it. What bothers me is the fact that she's already nine years old and it seems that it's the first time she saw eating utensils. I can't shake that off of my head, again, just what the hell happened in that mansion?
After finishing our food, I called for a waiter to give us the check. I pay, and we leave the restaurant. Outside once more, I hail a taxi. This time, the destination is my house. A humble apartment home in one of the most expensive places you can afford. The ride isn't long, but the little girl falls asleep anyway. It must've been tiring for her as she's seen everyone she knew get killed, the mansion she called her 'home' get burnt, get taken by a 21 year old strange man, and essentially get adopted by the said strange man, all in just a day.
It must've taken a lot from her. It would from me, it's a pretty messed up situation.
The taxi drops us in front of a huge building housing a lot of large apartments. Getting a unit here wasn't an easy job, you need to be recommended by someone who previously stayed in it. Good thing I have ties with the gangs and mobs that I've worked with and they put in a good word for me. The rent on the other hand, is not really a problem, as one of my previous clients offered to pay for all of my expenses here. So that's that.
I enter the elevator, still carrying the sleeping beauty, and press the 4th floor. The doors close, and in just a bit, a "ding" sound plays, and the doors open once more. Each floor has about 5-6 rooms, considering their size, it's a pretty nice number. I stopped in front of my unit: 402. I dug my pockets for my key card and opened the door.
"Home sweet home."
That's right. It is home sweet home. My unit consists of a living room, a kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms, and a comfort room. More than enough for the two of us. I lay the girl on the sofa in the living room and go to my room to get changed.
I toss my suits to the laundry basket near my computer and quickly grab a new set of clothes.
Comfy.
I go out to check the girl to see if she's still asleep, but it appears that she's already awake and sitting upright on the sofa facing the 55 inch TV I bought just a week ago.
"W-where am I?"
She looks at me, still rubbing the sleepiness away from her eyes.
"We're at home."
"Home?"
"Yup. Our home."
I hand her a glass of water.
"Thank you."
She receives it but doesn't drink, placing it between her legs.
"O-Oh... Uh, Sir-"
"Just call me Kuro."
"K-Kuro?"
"Yup, that's my name."
"M-my name is Haruhi."
"Haruhi, huh."
Haruhi. Spring day. Maybe an indication of our future?
"Yup!"
She smiles.
"Nice to meet you, Haruhi. And from now on, we're family."
I smile back.