Chloe looked at me for a second.

[ W-what do you mean? ] ( Chloe )

Her voice became quieter when she responded. To me, it sounded like she was trying to hide something she didn't want to tell.

But that's what I wanted to know.

What are her true colors?

[ Don't pretend you don't know. Stealth skills, assassin skills? You think I wouldn't notice those? ] ( Hatsuko )

I said to her as I had the blade of my katana near her throat.

She bit the lower part of her lip as she looked away from me.

And after taking a deep breath she looked at me once again.

[ I... I was born and raised in a family of assassins! ] ( Chloe )

She looked straight into my eyes.

[ Even though I didn't want to kill people, my father kept ordering me to learn his fighting skills.

At first, I found those skills fun to learn but, my father became stricter.

He didn't want me to have fun nor did he want me to become emotionally soft. ] ( Chloe )

She started telling her story with a calm face, even though she had a blade near her throat.

Even in this kind of situation, she didn't show any concern about being killed.

I slowly removed the katana away from her throat.

[ But I didn't change as my father wanted me to, because I had my mother on my side.

She taught me about love and the warmth of being together with someone.

Every night, she would tell me stories about a couple who were in love with each other, but after going through their hardships, the boy died and the girl was left alone with a broken heart.

It's a sad story but those kinds of stories made me feel stronger, and the soft voice of my mother gave me the courage to become stronger!

But then... the day when I became 16 years old... I had to take the final test!

The test of being a professional assassin!

And that's when everything changed! ] ( Chloe )

As I was listening to her story she continued talking.

[ My father brought a young girl tied with a rope around her hands. She was the same age as me.

Her legs were trembling and tears were coming out of her eyes as she was looking around her with a confused look.

"Kill her!" Those were the words that my father told me with a cold voice.

I wasn't sure what to do! I didn't want to kill anyone! I couldn't do it!

As I was looking at my trembling hands I looked at my father's cold eyes. He couldn't care less about the life of an innocent girl.

I was scared... that's why I decided to run towards my mother.

But at those moments, the ground started shaking, buildings were collapsing and I was trapped under my house.

When the earthquake stopped, I gained back my consciousness and looked around. I wasn't injured thanks to a furniture that had covered me from the walls and any sharp objects.

I barely managed to get away from that place. My house was mostly made out of wood so it wasn't that dangerous, but after I took a look at every other building...

Everything was destroyed!

People were getting attacked by deformed animals.

As I was staring at everything around, I saw a small dog eating its own owner as brutally as possible.

I rushed back to my destroyed house and tried to find my parents. I found my father dead, and next to him was my mother holding two daggers stained with blood.

"Chloe! There is no time to explain! Get this and go to our secret basement!" She told me as her voice was shaking.

I was so confused about what was happening.

But I wasn't scared.

I grabbed the key my mother had given to me with her bloody hands. But her reaction was calm and her eyes had a gentle feeling directed at me.

"Now go and don't look back!" She told me.

I did as she told me.

But in the next second, I heard the sound of something slashing.

And when I turned around, my mother had cut her own throat...

That was the first time I cried. It was so painful, it hurt so much!

I didn't want to feel that way.

I wanted at least to bury my parents, but the monsters around me had found the scent of blood.

I ran away from there and decided to go to the secret basement my mother told me about before,

The basement was a bit far and really hard to be noticed. But what was inside it shocked me even more... ] ( Chloe )

She suddenly became quieter.

[ What did you find inside the basement? ] ( Hatsuko )

I asked her.

She clenched her fists.

[ I found a lot of young girls and one boy. Their arms, legs, and mouth was tied with rope really tight so they wouldn't be able to move nor scream for help... ] ( Chloe )

She told me her story.

I finally understood how she got here and how she managed to find all those kids alive.

From what I could understand, her family's organization had kidnapped a lot of people, mostly young kids.

I can understand that, but one thing is still unclear to me...

The reason why I can not see her status!

Is it because of her assassin skills? That's also a possibility.

[ Is this enough to have you trust me a little more? ] ( Chloe )

She leaned forward as she asked me that. Her chest was hanging from what she did.

Did she do that on purpose?

But at that moment, I noticed something shining between her chest.

[ Is something wrong Hatsuko? ] ( Chloe )

She showed me a smile as she said that.

[ What is that? ] ( Hatsuko )

I asked her as I kept staring between her chest.

Chloe slightly blushed the moment I asked.

[ Y-you mean my b-- ] ( Chloe )

She noticed the glowing thing between her chest.

[ --Oh, right you mean my necklace! ] ( Chloe )

She let out a sigh as she realized what I meant.

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