Chapter Text
Desperate people, that is what humans are. Spending and wasting their lives away to find a purpose in them. To make them seem less insignificant. Most people are doomed to mediocrity, and very few lives fulfill the search for significance, leave a legacy behind, and forever mark their name in the history books. In truth, when one can accept their insignificance, the search for a purpose becomes less daunting, and more meaningful. However when one reluctantly accepts that their life has no special purpose, it loses its meaning and chance of significance. In many ways, it further proves the desperation of human lives to belong, find value, make their short existence in this universe important, until they await their inevitable death.
The little girl pondered everyday, why she was here. The enclosed corridors of the facility and many walls surrounding it, was her world; for the young girl did not know what lay beyond the bars of her glorified prison. With wide curious eyes she read books, many of them, where characters found their belonging, and fulfilled their purpose. She relished in the ideas and fantasies it gave her, and started looking around for her purpose, to follow in the lead of the others she so admired. Could she find her purpose within the four white walls of her room, or within the people that walked in, in those white lab coats bringing her food three times a day. The girl’s room consisted of a bed, a small desk, and a drawer housing books that she was brought, and she looked around the pieces of furniture, hoping to find value in them next. She had many questions, but the employees who brought her food never answered her. As she grew older, the four walls around her suddenly became tighter, and her world became a little duller.
The sound of distant chattering faded into the background as I held my phone up to my ear, wincing at the harsher than normal tone of my stoic boss’s voice.
“Yes sir, I assure you it will go without a hitch.”
“Good, I want this done before the expected deadline. Understand? There are more cases I need you to take care of so get back in one piece and after you can work immediately (L/N).”
“Understood.”
As those words left my lips, the call abruptly ended, and I continued my way down the streets of Yokohama, towards the ominous building that towers over it, as if it was a dragon observing his captive princess, calculating every move she makes.
The wind blew softly in my hair, and I closed my eyes. I would rather feel as if I was striding along the beach, a peaceful scene, but it was cold outside, not yet snowing, and the chill of the air snapped me out of my pleasant daydream. The daydreams I used to escape my dull, mundane daily life, consisting of the constant violence, and witness to the thirst for power in the men around me. I put my phone into the pockets of my beige coat, black shades resting on the bridge of my nose. I had a mission, like any other, and I had to complete it well, just as my superior had said.
Too soon I had arrived and stood at the steps leading toward the front of the building that houses the night owls of this city, breathing in the crisp morning air. Sharp night owls, that snuff out their prey and grab at it with ferocious claws. Narrowing my eyes to map out doors, guards, and the general area, as I always did, I didn't move a muscle to continue to my destination. Instead recalling the words my superior had said to me before I left headquarters, it being something along the lines of the port mafia is a force to be reckoned with.
I wasn't a fool to think I, as a single individual, could stand my ground against the group of mafiosos. No, I was capable enough to understand the strength my opponent held over me; It just did not matter. My disregard for my safety and reassurance that I will complete my mission unscathed was either a flaw to fix, or exploit. It had stemmed from my lack of fear and hunger for adrenaline. There was something so exhilarating to me, about being able to escape death by a moment, that I couldn't help myself but indulge situations where that plays out.
I wasn't brave by any means. No, I ran away from many problems and cowardly took easier solutions. Only special people could truly be called brave. Bravery is meant for those who face their problems head on, as they are brave enough to believe they can overpower it. Bravery is meant for those who wear their emotions on their sleeves, and do not hide themselves to mask their vulnerability, or trick their enemies. I would never assess myself as brave. However my crave for adrenaline simply dominated any fears that arised, and pushed them down into a pit, hiding somewhere quietly in me. I understood that one day, when I no longer suffocated my vulnerabilities under work and the rush of narrowly escaping death, they would certainly resurface and pour out. Nevertheless, I could only do what needed to be done and evade it until it gets too much to bear, as I said, I am not brave.
Stuffing my gloved hands into my pockets, I walked towards the door of the luminous building, not acknowledging anything or anyone around me, but staying highly alert. Assessing my surroundings is a lesson I'd done well to learn, and the scars lingering on my skin serve as a reminder should I ever forget. I kept my head high and strutted down the long hall I was instructed to go towards since the mafia accepted me as a private investigator.
The hallway was dim, with a high ceiling and thick walls. As I kept furthering along an uneasy feeling arose in me, but nevertheless, I kept walking. Only the sound of my muffled steps could be heard on the carpet that rolls down the middle of the halls, and as I glanced around, I realized there was no one else to be seen near. The eyes though, are one of the most inaccurate ways to view something.
But as a single shiver creeped down my spine, it prompted me to cease my action of walking, and turn my head around. I looked to find nothing. An odd feeling I thought, it felt like a gaze upon me. I turned around again facing towards my destination, still paused.
Whether or not someone was watching me, it would not, and should not matter much for now, and that if it was important it would come up later.
I laughed at myself for thinking the mafia would let me into down their halls unattended. I continued walking down the long corridor and finally into the elevator. This was my first time working with the rumored brutal Port Mafia, but the stories tell me of the ride up to his office, where the embodiment of manipulation and malice awaits you.
Back in the headquarters of the white facility that kept the little girl prisoner. The man in the white button up put the phone down on his desk, he sighs and runs his fingers up his hair, hair that is slowly growing greyer by the minute. He turns to the woman sitting next to him, looking up at the screen in front of them, displaying the information and goals of the girl's mission.
“Nora.”
She elegantly turns her face around, giving him her full attention. Despite having aged quite a bit throughout this job, the woman never lost elegance in her face, only compassion in her heart.
“I want to pull her out. Getting her involved in this operation was careless of us. These aren't some street thugs y’know, the kid is going to the Port Mafia,” The man proclaims to the woman, who gives him an irritated look.
“No. I can already feel your anxieties from here, but I'm not complying. We have to take the risks, I doubt any other agent would be able to successfully pull this off quickly. And we need it done fast and accurately, it's crucial. So stop giving me that damned look.” She replied coldly.
“But we never delved into the risks. If she wants out, or starts questioning us again….” He stares right into her eyes, trying to get his point across. “I didn't want her to get so directly involved in others-”
He gets cut off as Nora wants to shut down the conversation.”If she becomes a liability, we get rid of her.”
The man is highly startled by her statement, but tries not to let it show, save for the widening of his eyes, but he diverts them downwards. He understands that Nora’s word on this matter is final, and gets up to go into his office, hoping that the young girl does get too involved with this mission, and come back with her brain as blank and devoid of life as she left.