Chapter Text
The sun set over Tokyo, and the job was behind the girl now, red in her stomach like the sky between the clouds.
This one had been easy. One quick bite to the neck and it was all over. That was how it usually went with older targets like this, old men with enemies; still, she always brought a weapon with her just in case. The knife was heavy in her pocket as she stared out the window of the train. She always worried that she hadn’t cleaned up enough, that someone would smell the blood on her. But that hadn’t happened. Not yet.
She hated the taste of that kill. Smokers and drinkers tasted the worst, and the target had owned a liquor collection that rivaled that of any bar the girl had been to — not that she often found herself at bars. They were good for stakeouts and not much else; drinking made her dizzy, unfocused. Sometimes the blood of an alcoholic would do the same. She’d had to fight back the feeling on the walk to the train station, that heaviness swimming through her limbs that threatened to give her away.
At least it was getting dark. She could take her hood off soon.
As the train rumbled on, she mentally ran over a list of things she had to do upon her arrival back. She’d have to present proof of the kill to her boss, of course; she had photos, Polaroids, stuffed in her pocket next to the knife. She could feel them there, like little miniscule papercuts. Once the proof was given, she’d accept her payment, then figure out what to do with it. It wasn’t like she could take the money and run, however badly she wanted to. Sometimes she thought the money was meant to tempt her into running away. But no. No. She had people to protect.
The train pulled into its next stop. The girl shifted where she stood. She had one more stop to go.
In the old days, when she’d just started, they would always send someone to shadow her, to watch her do her job, make sure she was doing it right. They hadn’t done that in a long while now, but sometimes she still glanced around and made sure she wasn’t being followed. There was no one familiar, just the usual evening rush; the crowd was easy to blend into, thank fuck. She wasn’t going to risk showing her face on the train — the hood and face mask took care of that — but she felt a bit more relaxed in crowds, more so than she did when the train was almost empty.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the stop arrived. The girl slid between the people in the crowd and slipped off the train, ready to disappear into the night.
It was dark out now. She pulled her hoodie off, revealing long brown hair pulled back into two sections to keep it away from her face; not practical, but it made her feel more like herself. She wasn’t allowed many personal touches, so she would take what she could get.
The knife was still in her pocket. The photos, too. Good.
She walked along the long, bustling road that turned into a quiet alleyway the further she went. Soon she would be back, and the routine would begin as usual when they had another contract for her. For now, though, the girl was fed. She could survive for a week or so on that meal. She could focus on taking good care of the kids.