Chapter Text
Shadow Milk was a name to be feared. By those who knew it, at least. Those who didn't... probably thought it was the name of an emo milk production company.
But beneath the brightly coloured buildings and streets donned with festive banners in the Vanilla Kingdom (odd name for a city in Europe, but whatever), laid a darker reality most peacekeeping civilians never truly saw.
Criminals littered the streets, but they knew how to stay hidden. Law enforcement would've been on their asses 24/7 otherwise. Clotted Cream never rested in his quest to catch em all, though he never caught on to where exactly they lurked.
One of those at the top of the top was Shadow Milk, an assassin praised by those in his circle for his skills. There had never been one target who was able to successfully escape his wrath.
Each and every time, they had been tracked down and killed without mercy. A single shot, a simple slash to the throat, and it was lights out for them.
If Shadow Milk wanted them dead, they were dead. That's just how it was.
Currently, he was riddled with blood, having finished taking care of a man who flew too close to the sun and ended up getting burnt to a crisp. Dark Enchantress, his boss, hated when those who worked underneath her tried to cheat her or rise above her in the ranks.
Shadow Milk thought he was better than her, too; he just stayed in his own lane.
His phone rang as he was wiping blood off his face with his gloves, and he rolled his eyes when he recognized the number.
Awesome. Seriously, couldn't he have a single break?
"Yeeees?" He said in a obviously fake chipper tone.
"I take it everything went well..?" He heard Dark Enchantress say, her voice sounding rather pleased for once.
"Yeah, yeah, it's all good over here," He muttered, putting his phone to his ear and holding it with his shoulder. He needed both hands to carry the corpse. "Why are ya calling, exactly?"
"Good..." He heard her chuckle to herself, "Ah, yes... I have another target for you. This one's... high profile, but I'm sure you can handle it. I'd like him to be exterminated as quickly as possible."
Shadow Milk scowled. "Why can't you get someone else to do it?"
He heard her clear her throat. "...Are you telling me you won't?" Dark Enchantress' voice shifted to a lower, more serious tone. She hated when anyone refused her, finding them to be traitors who need to be taken out. She was warning him. Shadow Milk wasn't stupid.
"...How good's the pay?" He switched the subject, before smirking, "Y'know, I'm kinda in the middle of something here, enchanty! Working me to the bone like this... I'll definitely need a raise...~"
She must've heard the smugness through the phone, as her voice remained firm when she responds: "I promise you, you'll be heavily rewarded. Let's just say... you'll never need to take on a chore for cash again. Check the amount when I send you the offer. You won't believe me if I tell you here."
Now that caught his interest.
"Alright, alright, I'll do it," Shadow Milk replied, acting as though he had a choice in the first place, "Send it over."
With a beep, the call had ended and he shoved his phone back into his pocket. He'll look over the offer once he's finished dealing with this dead guy. He's already agreed, so there's no going back anyway.
If it really were as good as she claimed, then... perhaps it'd be his last job ever.
Now, Shadow Milk enjoyed being an assassin, one could say. It was much easier than getting a real job and suffering to deal with all the obnoxious assholes going out of their way to ruin everyone's day. And he enjoyed his lacke-- partners, Candy Apple & Black Sapphire...
But...
It was a lot of work. And contrary to popular belief, Shadow Milk wasn't the strongest beyond emotional manipulation. He usually focused on gaining the trust of his victims, not fighting them with brute force alone.
It'd be a relief to retire and live out the rest of his days in luxury. So this "high-profile" target better be worth it.
Or he'll curse Dark Enchantress in his head forever... as much respect as she deserved, she deserved twice as much hate, too.
It wasn't until Shadow Milk had finished disposing of the body and cleaning himself properly of all the blood, avoiding security cameras on his way, that he had decided to check what Dark Enchantress had sent him.
When he tapped on the message, the first thing he noticed was...
Wow, the guy she wanted him to kill was surprisingly attractive. Even more surprising, he had heard of him before.
Pure Vanilla, the philosophy teacher at the local high school. He'd met him one before, when Candy Apple was still only in high school and somehow had managed to get herself deep into the crime life to the point he was showing up to her Student-Teacher meetings posing as her father. Oh, how she had hated it. He still cackles thinking of it to this day.
It felt strange to have a "personal" tie to a target for once. But whatever, it just meant it'd be easier for Shadow Milk to form a bond with the other man. A faster kill is always nice.
The second he saw the bounty, he was sold.
"Holy shit..!" He couldn't help but exclaim in his car, leaning further back in his seat in surprise. He'd never even seen an offer with reward money this high. Damn, the fuck did Pure Vanilla do to be wanted dead this bad? Did Dark Enchantress have personal beef with him?
"Don't disappoint me," Dark Enchantress' second message underneath the offer had said. He sent her back a thumbs up emoji.
There was no way in hell he could afford to lose this one. He'd be set for life.
When he pulled up to his house, which was on the smaller side but it was tall enough to make up for it, he noticed two shapes sitting on his porch.
Stepping out of his car, he groaned to himself before raising his voice.
"What the hell are you two doing here?" He frowned, watching as his two nuisances turned towards him with happy faces.
"We're not allowed to congratulate our boss on another successful mission?" Black Sapphire said, tilting his head to portray innocence, "We're oh so proud of you, master."
Shadow Milk's eye twitched, "Just say why you're really here. Also, don't call me that, you freak." He stepped past them and unlocked his front door, unable to slam it in their faces in time. The duo quickly snuck right past him,
"Okay, okay, fine!!" Candy Apple exclaimed, "We wanna help you on your next mission!! Can we, can we?!" Her eyes grew larger as she hopped up and down out of excitement.
How annoying...
"H-How do you even know about that??" Shadow Milk replied, shaking his head. So much for a secret "high-profile" job, Dark Enchantress... he should've known she would snitch to his two annoyances.
"Never mind that!" Black Sapphire smiled, his eyes gleaming, "Who's the target? We can be of great help to you, master."
"Well, whatever," Shadow Milk scoffed, plopping himself down onto his sofa and switching the television on. "I was going to tell you two anyway."
As much as he hates them, they do often pull through for him. Though they're really only needed when he's trying to spread rumours that will force his target closer to him.
"Yippeee!" Candy Apple cheered, hopping onto the cushion right next to him. Her following attempts to snuggle closer and wrap her arms around him were unsuccessful.
Ignoring her, Shadow Milk unlocked his phone and showed them the offer that had been sent to him. He watched both of their jaws drop as they took in the amount of money there was for the reward.
"Hey, wait a sec, isn't that my teacher??" Candy Apple pointed out, pausing for a moment before shrugging, "Oh well! With THAT amount of money, we'll be rich!! This could be our last jobs ever, master!"
Shadow Milk glanced at her. "Who said I'll be giving you a cut?"
"W-What?!" Candy Apple squeaked, and next to her Black Sapphire tutted, shaking his head.
"While we do love working for you... denying us of our own cut is just criminal," He replied.
"I am a criminal, dipshit," Shadow Milk answered, and was met with silence in return.
...
"Alright, fine," He relented. Shadow Milk actually needed their help for something. He'd came up with an idea, after all.
The perfect plan to be able to talk to this "Pure Vanilla" often, whenever he wanted, and grow close to him easily. In no time at all, he'd be rich, if everything worked out in his favour.
...Though it was a little embarrassing.
He cleared his throat, ignoring how both of his partners faces had lit up and were staring at him in excitement. "Okay, so... first things first, can you two get me a job?"
They both blinked back at him.
"What?" Candy Apple frowned, "...What's wrong with this job?? I swear, if you back out on a mission with that much money, I'll never fo--!"
"No, I mean, like a real job!" Shadow Milk cut her off, glaring at her to shut her up. He proceeded to explain himself, "At Blueberry Yogurt high school." He clarified.
"My academy!" Candy Apple smiled, before it quickly fell and she pouted. "Aw..! If only I was still attending..."
"Good idea, master," Black Sapphire praised him, clasping his hands together, "I think being a teacher is a splendid idea to get closer to this Pure Vanilla man. Your mind is as sharp as usual." Then he placed his hand to his chin. "Though, I don't think there are any open job listings there at the moment..."
"Well, looks like you've got work to do then! Make it so!" Shadow Milk grinned, patting his head in a condescending manner.
"Yes, master Shadow Milk..." Black Sapphire nodded, already typing away on his phone, presumably ready to make some calls. Who knows what he does.
"What about me?" Candy Apple pouted.
"You've interacted with the target before. Tell me everything you can about him."
Shadow Milk liked changing his personality to match well with the target's. He was a master of manipulation, after all. Most people only regarded him for his deadly skills, but he really wasn't much of a fighter.
That's what separated him from the brainless brutes with the same job. No wonder Candy Apple and Black Sapphire chose to work under him. He gave them the best chance to grow in the ranks.
"Okay!" Candy Apple nodded, happy to help in any way she could, "He's reaaaally kind. He'd be super easy to trick. I lied to him all the time and he accepted it right away!" She snickered, "I think he tries too hard to see the good in people. He'll trust you instantly, because you're so talented, master!"
Shadow Milk smiled from her glazing, pleased. He sounded like an easy target. He basically already had this mission in the bag. Considering the fact he had prior history with the target already. He'd just have to keep playing the role as Candy Apple's father... who is also a teacher now.
"Ahem," Black Sapphire cleared his throat, catching their attention, "What do you think about... becoming a math teacher?
"A what?" Shadow Milk grimaced, thinking back to his own high school days. He failed math class simply because he never did it in the method his teacher at the time had liked. What a dick. He wished he could've killed that bastard. "...Can't you make me do something else?"
Black Sapphire sucked his teeth, shaking his head sadly, "Darn... that position just opened up. And wouldn't you know... the math classroom is right next door to our dear philosophy teacher's."
Shadow Milk's eye twitched. Fuck this guy. Not literally.
He forced a smile onto his face anyway. "How amazing..!" He said sarcastically, before considering the last bit Sapphire had said. "...Right next door, you say?"
Black Sapphire hummed, nodding. "Yep. Since we know Pure Vanilla is 'reaaaallly kind', thanks to Candy Apple here, if a certain new teacher was struggling... wouldn't he offer to lend a hand? I mean, if they're right next door?" He grinned, obviously pleased with himself.
Letting the smug attitude slide, Shadow Milk sighed. He had to give it to his annoying lackey here. That was ultimately a pretty smart move.
Rolling his eyes, he gave in. "...Alright, I'll do it. It's the best plan we've got. Thank you, Black Sapphire." He praised, half actually grateful, and half just wanting to see Black Sapphire's reaction.
Sure enough, Shadow Milk got the satisfying surprised look on his face (and the jealous whine from Candy Apple) before he recomposed himself and smiled genuinely.
"Ah, it was nothing, master. Too easy, actually." Black Sapphire replied, "The old math teacher was basically asking for it. Did you know he would spend his breaks in the bathroom sel--"
"Shut up, I don't care. Also, stop calling me master. Seriously. It's like... actually making me cringe. You're cringe." Shadow Milk said flatly, his tone entirely serious. After a beat, he continued, "Now, make sure I get that job. You're looking at Blueberry Yogurt's next math teacher, Sage... Milk!" He announced.
Candy Apple clapped. Black Sapphire was too busy sending the high school SM's fake resume to clap. But deep down, Shadow Milk knew he was clapping too.
"The money's as good as ours," He added, eyeing his new mission one last time.
"He'll never see it coming, ma-- Sir!" Candy Apple giggled, bouncing excitedly up and down on the couch.
"And... you've got the job. They'll see you on Monday," Black Sapphire pitched in, not bothering to look up from his phone. That was fast.
Opening the calender app, Shadow Milk realized with a jolt that was in two days. Not much time to prepare, but that just made everything all the more fun.
His mind racing with ideas, he decided to end their meeting for the day and wait for the school to email him any further information he needed to know. It was time to play his part.
"Pure Vanilla..." He grinned to himself, staring at the photo of the blond man in the message Dark Enchantress had sent to him. "...Heh. This is going to be the easiest task of my life!" He couldn't help himself, bursting into gleeful laughter.
He was rich! This guy appeared as though he couldn't hurt a fly, and the plan was going off without a hitch! What could possibly get in his way now?
When Monday came, he'd get close to Pure Vanilla. Bond with him over stressful classes and "teaching guidance". Let him think they've become good friends. Then invite him over, or maybe the other way around... and then take the chance to strike. Sure, it'd be easy to do it day 1... but Shadow Milk knew this would be his last ever job. Why not play with his food before he swallows it whole? Preying on the victims beforehand was the best part of it all!
...Yes, Pure Vanilla was a dead man. He was sure of it.