The boy ran toward the room. He had to present an essay about how he became what he is known as today: the top assassin in the Eastern Maywok Assassins Union, or EMAU. He came into the room.

"Sorry, I'm late," he said out of breath. He had an accent that resembled that of the people of the country of Britain. The teacher, a woman in her late 30's or so, looked at him, with a stare of mild disappointment with a hint of mild surprise, as she usually did with anyone who acted this way, which for this particular student was unusual. Her name, Ailsa McCracken. Any attempt to speak against her would be met with swift and severe discipline. 

"Just sit down, Soto," she stated at him. He moved to take his seat, but then she stopped him. "No. In fact, you go first." He walked up to the front of the room. No one moved as he cleared his throat slightly. He took a breath and he began to read his paper.

"Well, as you all may know, I am simply known as Soto," he started. "You know me, as I am the top assassin with a record of so many people assassinated that I, rather unfortunately, have lost track, so I am unable to provide you with an exact number. But, I will start with me from the beginning. I was born on July 29, of the year 1998. It was 6:04 in the morning. In my own house. I had a decent childhood, with fun and loving parents, until the day came when I was 10 years old. That day, my parents were killed by assassins from the Western Maywok Border. So, I was without parents, and the local court moved me to the local orphanage. There, I was ignored, beat, and made fun of. All of the other boys were mean to me, and none of the girls wanted to be friends with me. I was never picked to play a game, and I was always last to get food, so I starved the majority of my time there. When the times came for the kids to be adopted at the orphanage, no one wanted me. So I was taken here. They assigned me my first mission that day, as they saw a lot of potential in me. I was only at the tender age of 10 and a half by then, so naturally, I refused, but that's when I was introduced to the one called: "Motivation." You know him. After spending some time with Motivation, after I had finally decided that I have had enough torture and I accepted my mission. It was a simple drunk. A man who lived in a box in the center of the city. One who, that when dead, no one would bat an eye. So it was an easy first kill. No challenge. Next was a single mother. Feigning my being of a lost boy, she let me into her house where I swiftly and silently, "suicided her." It was easy. I began to accept one mission after the other, not stopping. Which brought me to where I am today: the top of the EMAU. Follow. Kill. Cover. Repeat. Thank you." He walked back to his seat where he sat back down. His seat was in the middle and no one dare sat within 10 feet of him. Not that anyone dared anyhow, because no one dared speak to him. His dark green eyes, said to kill themselves, should he merely stare at you. His blond and black hair rumored to seep poison, strong enough to kill a full man within seconds. No one applauded him. They say that any social interaction with him led you to your doom, and they only knew him by his last name. Soto. He never said his first name. A lot of other assassins had theories and guesses as to what his name might have actually been. Whether it was a common name or something drastically unique. But no one knew for sure. The only thing they all knew about him was this: do not mess with the Soto.

2: Mission I

The boy walked into the room. He gave the three people in the tall chairs the EMAU salute. A swift hand on over your heart and with the first two fingers, up to the right side of your head, on your right eyebrow, and up in an arc. He finished by bowing on one knee, like the salute was supposed to be. He mastered it swiftly shortly after he was recruited at the EMAU all those years ago.

"You requested my presence?" he asked the elderly people in the chairs. They were old and pale and sickly, but they had no hearts. They showed no mercy. No emotion. Nothing. Much like him, only he was worse.

"Soto," the man in the center addressed him, using his last name, because should they use his first name without the boys own consent, they would find themselves missing their heads. "We have a mission for you." The boy stood up.

"And what, dare I ask, is this mission?" Soto asked. He knew that his teacher, Ms. McCracken, could've told him his mission, but why would the "towers" as they were sometimes called, which meant that when they had a mission for you, it means that it's very important. What would they want him to do? The mayor of Western Maywok? His wife? His children? The supreme judge of the Western Maywok court? He was really wanting to know.

"Your record currently stands at 356 assassinations. The only one who has second highest number is a mere girl at WMAU. She has a current record of 129. Now, you should not worry. She has nothing on you."

"Yeah, yeah, get to the damn point!" Soto said, desperate to know who he was going to kill this time. The man in the center raised his right hand, silencing his desperation.

"Your mission is this: you have done enough." Soto stopped. His heart dropped. What the hell?! he thought.

"Excuse me!?" he stood up. The old people cringed in their chairs, but only just slightly. They knew of his abilities, but here, they reigned the authority.

"Please, let us explain ourselves further," the man on the left said.

"Yes," the man in the center continued, "We have decided that it is time for you to "blend in" with Eastern Maywok."

"What do you mean, "blend in"? Explain yourselves now!" he yelled, clenching his fists so hard, they began to bleed. He did not cringe at the pain.

"You will learn how to live a normal life. It is time for you to start a normal life."

"You mean go to school?! Getting a job?! Having a girlfriend?!"

"These are traits that normal boys your age have, after all," they said. Soto laughed after a moment. They wanted him to live a normal life? Their age must have finally caught up with them. They must be suffering from dementia or some other problem that "normal" elderly people suffer from.

"Think of it as a mere vacation from all of the assassinations," the man on the right said. The boy laughed harder.

"Surely sirs, you will reconsider," Soto said in his laughter.

"No," they said flatly. Soto stopped laughing and he growled and walked out after they dismissed him. He walked toward his room. He opened the door and he let it slam shut behind him. He threw himself onto his bed. He was very enraged at what they had asked of him. He stood up and he began to pace back and forth.

"Send me to school, will they? I'll show them. I'm only bloody doing this because some "Westies" killed my Mum and Dad. Only to avenge my parents and the Soto name." He fell down onto his bed one final time and he fell asleep a moment later.

3: Mission II

The darkness was shattered with the sound of an annoying beeping. They boy rolled over in his bed, his hand reaching out for the cubic piece of plastic that was the source of the infernal noise. He groaned as his hand could not find what it was looking for. Then he remembered how that his alarm clock had wheels on it and it went around his room. This enraged him. Why on earth did he get that blasted alarm clock? The beeping was moving throughout the darkness. His hand found his lamp switch and he flicked it. Light replaced darkness and he groaned. The noise was still skittering around. His eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden brightness. He had not even put on his glasses yet, when he pulled a pistol from under his pillow and he fired a round toward the floor. Relievingly, there was the sound of something plastic shattering and the beeping abruptly cut off. He sighed contently and he wiped his eyes. He placed the pistol back underneath the pillow and he stood up and he stretched. He walked to his closet where a school uniform was waiting for him. A white, collared shirt with a black tie. the matching khakis were colored a flat, satin black. Not that he was a fan of style, but it just didn't look right. He sighed. He might as well face the day. He walked out of the EMAU building and down the road toward his new school. He looked at the piece of paper that was given to him. It was his schedule.

Zephyr Soto

Science: 7:05 - 8:05

Math: 8:10 - 9:10

Break: 9:15 - 9:25

English: 9:30 - 10:30

Language: 10:35 - 11:45

History: 11:50 - 12:50

Lunch: 12:55 - 1:10

Computer Programming: 1:15 - 2:15

Dismissal

It could be worse, but he knew that he would enjoy his computer programming class. He loved working with technology. He sighed and headed to his science class. He didn't like it, but it came easy to him. Next was math. He really hated math, and he could tell that everybody else did also. That was the only thing he would have in common with all the other students. He remained quiet through his first two classes and then break came. He stood outside the building, leaning against the wall. That's when a girl walked up to him. She had brown hair that fell to her shoulders and her blue eyes shone with happiness and friendliness.

"Hi," she said with a friendly wave. "I'm Vanessa." Her uniform matched his colourwise. She had a white collared shirt with a black tie and black skirt. She had black shoes with knee-high white socks.

"Soto," he said with an indifferent shrug. He never said his first name to anyone, unless that it was absolutely necessary.

"Are you new here, Soto?" she asked. She moved in front of him, taking up the majority of his peripheral vision. Her perkiness really annoyed him. He sighed.

"Look, is there something you want?" he asked with a mean tone. "You wanted to meet me. There, you're done. Now piss off and do something else!" Vanessa gasped and she shied away from him with a sad groan. She just wanted to meet the handsome new guy, and he was already being mean to her.

"Hey, I was just trying to be nice." She sniffled. "Y-you don't h-have t-to be s-so m-mean." She sniffled again and her shoulders started to shake up and down.

"Are you going to cry!?" he asked stepping toward her. She became very scared of him and she tried to step back from him, only to fall back onto the ground. "Are you?!" She sniffled and nodded.

"Why are you being so mean!?" she sobbed. He glared at her, his eyes the color of cold emeralds, piercing her soul. She broke into tears and she pulled herself up and she ran off. That's when Soto became known as the guy in school who made the happiest girl in the entire school cry. Then no one dare to approach him. He would always sit alone, and he did the same toward the teachers. When the day finally ended, he headed back to the EMAU. The leaders debriefed him about his day.

"It was boring," he told them. Although I practically rule the damn place with an iron fist already. 

"Do not challenge our authority, Soto. For you must learn to balance your schoolwork, with your assassinations. It will be very hard." They dismissed him with a wave of their old hands. He walked out of the room. He headed back to his room and he decided to call it a night and he slept.

4: Mission III

"Wake up!" a stern voice said. The boy threw himself awake, just as the voice has commanded. It was his teacher, Ms. McCracken. What was she doing in his room? He looked at his new alarm clock. 3:31 a.m. What was she doing up at this early in the morning? "The leaders have another mission for you."

"Get out of here, and let me get dressed first," he told her. She left and the boy put his assassin clothes on. A heavy jacket with the insides holding massive amounts of guns and ammunition. He walked into the hallway, where for some strange reason, Mrs. McCracken, his teacher, was no where in sight. What the hell? He walked to the towers and began his routine salute.

"Someone knows about us in Eastern Maywok. Kill them!" The seemed very distressed at this news. Soto nodded and he left the building. Outside, he saw some suspicious looking figures croaching around outside the complex, suddenly they bolted. The boy followed them without hesitation. They ran into a house. He silently and skillfully made his way to the roof. He heard them talking. One of the voices frantic, the other trying to keep a level head.

"Look, they are training kids to be killers!" one said.

"Shut up, you dumbass!" the other said.

"We have to tell Maywok!"

"How?"

"I have some friends on the west side. Stan and Bern. They know that there's an organization on the west side that is doing the exact same thing. We're all going to die!"

"Zip it! We are not going to die!" The boy on the roof made his move. He grabbed the gutter above the window and he swung down through the open window into the room, pulling out two guns and firing a silenced round hitting both of the men right between the eyes, before the boys feet touched the floor, without sound. He put the gun by one of the men. They killed themselves, he thought. Suicidal morons. Quick, and clean. He walked out of the building, and back into in the dark shadows. He walked back toward EMAU when he passed by the river than ran through the center of Maywok. It was also the border between the east and west sides. That's when he saw her. A girl, about his age. She jumped over the railing and she hit the water with a splash. He ran to the railing. He looked down into the river. In the moon light, he could see her, floating toward the bottom. He wanted to watch her die, but there was something about her that seemed off. Then he knew. Her outfit, the design, the colors. She was an assassin from the west. He thought for a moment.

"I could take her to the leaders, and we can get her to spill her secrets of the WMAU," he said to himself. And with that, he dove in after her. Praying she wasn't dead.

5: Mission IV

The boy picked up the girl and he carried her to a shallow part of the river. He felt her pulse pick up and he knew that she was regaining her consciousness, and he put her in a choke hold. He heard her gasp and she gagged from his strong grip. He didn't even see her pull out a hidden blade until he felt the pain as she stabbed him in the arm. He cried out in pain and she got out of his grasp and she pinned him and forced his head under the surface of the water. She pulled him out and she threw him onto the ground and she sat on top of him, both knocking the wind out of him and holding him on the ground. No one had ever bested him like that before. Even though she was killing him, he did have respect for her.

"Who are you? ANSWER ME!" she yelled at him. Her voice just ever so slightly muffled from her mask. Her hands were wrapped around his neck, and the boy became pale and she loosened her grip slightly. At least she showed a little bit of mercy. "Just tell me who the hell you are!"

"I-I'm no-not y-y-our ene-m-my," he coughed in between each word trying to regain his breath. She looked at him for a moment and her grip tightened.

"You're from the Eastern side. Don't think I'm stupid! You ARE my enemy! Your side killed my family! ALL OF THEM!" The boy pulled out a hidden blade of his own, even though he preferred using guns, with such an immense speed, that she didn't have time to react as he stabbed her in the side. She threw herself off of him as blood seeped from her cut and she coughed up blood. The boy coughed scratchily as he regained his breath. The girl, was also out of breath. "Y-you son of a bitch!" she cried. He felt more pain as she punched him back onto the ground. The color of the river was turning from its normal blue to a deep crimson colour. She stood over him and the boy took this opportunity to kick her legs out from under her. Ha, he thought, classic mistake. He stood up quickly and he grabbed her hair before she hit the ground. He grabbed her mask that assassins from the WMAU wear, and he pulled it off. His eyes widened as he recognized her face.

"Whoa," he muttered. Her eyes became wet with tears. She tried to punch him but she was weak and he caught her fist in his other hand. He smirked.

"What's so funny?! Do you know who you're dealing with?" she threatened. The boy smirked again.

"I should be asking the same question," he answered back. "Do YOU know who you're messing with?" She winced in pain and her eyelids fluttered.

"Let me go..." she cried softly, "please..." His grip on her only tightened.

"I wouldn't mess with me, I'm the top assassin in all of Maywok. Do not take me lightly, or I will have your head." She glared at him.

"I'm the top assassin of th-" he put a finger over her lips silencing her. Her cheeks became red. He thought it made her look cute.

"I already know who you are, you must be the person below me in assassinations, Mary Grey if I'm right?" he asked. Her eyes widened in surprise, answering his question.

"Who the hell are you?!" she demanded. He gripped her hair even more, then he started to stroke it.

"None of your business, you are coming with me to EMAU, no questions, no buts, and if you try to resist, I will kill you on the spot." Mary gasped and pointed off at nothing. He fell for this old trick and turned. Idiot! he instantly told himself. Mary instantly hit him and the blow knocked him out on the ground. She ran off. The blood in the river rippled while Mary ran through the water. She then stopped as she heard him get up and she walked back to his body. She kicked him hard in the ribs and heard a crack in the bones. He winced at the pain of his ribs braking. She smirked and walked back to WMAU. The boy stood up slowly. He looked off toward the direction that Mary walked off. He smiled.

"Mary Grey," he said to himself. He spat some blood into the river. "Count yourself lucky. I saved your sweet ass." He turned and walked back toward the EMAU. He arrived and he saluted the heads. "Targets are eliminated and confirmed." They wrote two more tallies next to his name. They looked at him.

"Get yourself down to the medics," they said to him. He growled in defiance. "Now, Soto."

"Fine," he muttered. He left the room and he headed down to the medical bay. The doctor there sewed up his cut in his arm and she checked out his ribs.

"You're lucky that the broken pieces of your ribs didn't puncture any of your organs," she said to him. "You..." she paused as she recognized him. "They moved you to school, didn't they?"

"Aye," he said indifferently with a painful shrug.

"Well, you're going to have to take it easy for a few days until your bones heal. Luckily for you the medtech just came up with a serum that heals your bones four times as fast as your body can." She injected a clear fluid into his chest. "You're in for a painful night," she warned. "Fixing your bones is a nasty business."

"Shut. Up," he said angrily at her. She backed away from him. He hopped off the bed. "I can take pain." He walked back toward his room. He threw off his uniform and he sat down on his bed. Just as he fell asleep, he remembered that he hadn't finished his homework for his English class.

6: Mission V

Beeping and skittering broke through the darkness. Soto sat up and he fired a shot at his alarm clock, hitting it and disintegrating it. Ha. Two for two. he thought. His gun skills were exemplary. He could shoot a target more than a mile away. He put his school uniform on and he left the building. He walked to the school. He passed through his first two classes and then at break, he stood outside where he did last time. This location would become where he would stand during break every single day. He was standing there, looking off toward the west, thinking about that assassin girl, Mary Grey, when his vision was filled with the face of an angry Vanessa.

"You're new, so I'll give you one last chance," she said with anger. She sighed and she forced somewhat of a fake smile. "So, Soto, tell me. Are you new here?" He stared at her. She grew angry and she punched him in the chest. Right on his still healing ribcage. The pain filled his body. He groaned and he fell to his knees, covering his chest with his arm. "See what ya get when ya act like that? It gets ya hurt. Now answer my question, dammit." Soto glared at her from his lower position. She kicked him, not as hard as Mary did last night, in the ribs this time. He groaned again. Students gathered around, as Vanessa, the happiest girl in the school, was beating the crap out of the cruelest guy in school. The boy spit blood onto the side walk. He stood up and quickly his hand found her neck and the next thing Vanessa knew was that she was a whole foot off the ground. The other students decided that they had seen enough. They dispersed, mainly out of fear. Now, there was no one around to save Vanessa.

"Enough!" he yelled at her. He pulled her close to his face. He stared at her, his cold emerald eyes cutting into her scared eyes. "Do you even know who you are dealing with, girl?" Vanessa was frozen with fear. "Do you?!" she shook her head as quickly as she could. Soto knew that he couldn't tell her about what he really did when he wasn't as school, as telling anything, or merely implying about the EMAU, would get you assassinated yourself. He whirled her around and with one hand, he held her close to him and he moved his other hand over her mouth. "Let me tell you," he whispered to her in her ear.

"Mm?" she asked fearfully. Her voice cut from his hand being over her mouth.

"I could kill you right now. I can make it quick and painless, or I can do I can do slowly... and make it absolute hell." She gasped and tears fell from her eyes. "Now, do you want that to happen to you?" She cried out into his hand and she shook her head quickly. "If you value your very pathetic existence, you better stay the hell away from me. Got it?"

"Mm-hm," she nodded. He started to stroke her hair. Her face turned red slightly.

"Good." He was about to let her go, but he grabbed her hair and he pulled her around to face her directly. She cried out in pain. He covered her mouth again. "But, if you tell anyone about what I said to you, consider yourself dead now." He dropped her onto the concrete. She landed with a cry. He walked away and the bell rang to mark the end of break. Vanessa slowly wrapped her arms around her legs and she lay there on the ground crying. The boy went through his next two classes overhearing students saying that for some reason, Vanessa hadn't shown up at her classes. He shrugged it off and he figured that she either was still outside bawling her eyes out or she ran away. He went through the rest of the day, not thinking about her. The boy came back outside. He walked back toward the EMAU building. He walked along side the river, not that he needed to, but because he simply wanted to. He looked off over the river and onto the western side and he saw her again. Mary. She was doing the same thing, walking along side the river, not because she had to, but because she simply wanted to. She was wearing a school uniform and was carrying some textbooks, but he recognized her fully by her hair, and the fact that by the time their eyes did meet, she was staring at him with a glare of rage. He smiled. She yelled out in rage and she threw her textbooks onto the ground. He crossed his arms and frowned.

"Why so angry?" he asked, loud enough to make sure that she could hear. He saw her snap in anger. She bolted across the river at an insane speed. But this time, Soto was ready for her. She reeled back to punch him and he caught her fist. He spun her around and held her close to his body, like he had with Vanessa earlier, but she had managed to push herself out of his grasp. She glared at him.

"I will finish you off dammit!" she yelled. She rushed toward him, blades unsheathed. He swiftly stepped to the side, avoiding all of her attacks. She threw another thrust with her blade and he caught her hand.

"Now, now... no need to be so harsh," he said in a scolding manner. "Pretty." She hesitated.

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me. NOWHERE YOU HEAR ME?!" she yelled. She kicked him in the groin. He groaned and he fell to his knees. As his hand left her arm she ran back across the river. Back toward the WMAU. He slowly stood up after a few moments. Looking off in the direction she ran.

"Bloody hell, Mary," he said to himself. "You are one tough lady." He turned and he walked back toward the EMAU. "And a pretty one, too."

7: Mission VI

Soto walked into the room. He bowed to the heads.

"Soto, you're late," they said.

"I am?" Soto asked, standing up. "Didn't know that I had to be punctual."

"No. It is just that you usually return at the same time. Now... what has held you up?" It was her. Mary. He couldn't tell them that he was in a bit of a "relationship" if you could call it that, with an assassin from the WMAU. It would be way to humiliating and shameful. He would be the laughing stock of all the EMAU. Of all Maywok, even.

"Oh, I was just walking around."

"Around where?"

"Just East Maywok." There was a very uncomfortable pause in the air. The man in the middle chair leaned forward.

"He lies!" a voice said. Soto turned around and stared at the one who spoke. It was another assassin. A boy. The boy that came in walked up next to Soto and he saluted the men.

"Speak your mind, Otto," the man in the chair said. Oh yeah, Soto thought. Otto Luca. God, this kid's an idiot. Otto Luca was a month younger than he. He had black hair and eyes. His skills were, shall we say, undeveloped. In other words, he sucked. His total was a mere 7.

"I was out on a mission, in which the target had regrettably escaped. And I saw him," he said pointing at Soto, "wearing an EMHS uniform. He was fighting a girl from the western side. She was wearing an WMHS uniform. If memory serves me correctly, she beat him." Soto stared at Otto. Rage building up inside him. Otto gave Soto a wry smirk with an expression that read, "You're in trouble."

"Soto, what happened between you and the western girl?" the men asked. Soto looked at them.

"Nothing. Some kids at school simply dared me to say something to her. It obviously made her mad, and she beat me up."

"That does not sound like nothing."

"But nothing happened. Nothing of any importance, anyway."

"For your sake, we advise that no more of these interactions occur."

"Yes, sirs," he said sarcastically, and he left. Later that night, Soto made sure that Otto "overdosed" on medications. Soto stood over the fellow assassins body. That'll teach you to spy on me, you prick. Soto walked out of the room and back to his own room. He sat down on his bed, his lamp on. He drew a sketch of Mary. Her pretty face, framed by her pristine, soft hair. After his art was done, he looked at it. "Mary Grey," he whispered the name to himself. It tasted sweet. He thought to himself for a few moments. "Mary Soto," he said, trying the name out. He liked the way it rolled off of his tongue. He smirked. He erased the angry expression on her face and he drew a smile. He stopped. He stared at the picture. Her smile, not from the enjoyment of misery, but a legitimate smile, of friendship, or maybe, something more than friendship, he liked the way it made her look. If he could just see her smile, in reality. He put the drawing in a box and he slid the box under his bed. He leaned back on his pillows. He could not fall asleep. A voice in his head kept saying the same thing: "Go to her. Tell her how you feel." He climbed out of his bed. He walked to his closet. He looked at all of his jackets that had weapons in them. He shook his head and he grabbed his his black trench coat. He also grabbed his black fedora hat. He jumped out of his window soundlessly. He landed making no noise and he put his hat on, covering his face with darkness. He made his way to the river. He looked along the rooftops of the buildings on the western side. He thought he saw her up there, only it was just western built chimneys. They looked way different than eastern built chimneys. He shrugged slightly and he continued to walk along the river. Up on the house top where he looked up to, the girl was hiding behind the chimney. She exhaled a sigh of relief. He hadn't seen her. It was Mary. She wanted to know why this boy from the EMAU was stalking her.

8: Mission VII

Soto crossed the river soundlessly. He knew that she was over there. He then remembered that he had packed no weapon. His foot then felt the hard western ground. He hesitated just ever so slightly. This was his first time on the western side of Maywok. He noiselessly climbed up to the roof of the first house and he stopped at the peak. He looked about the rooftops in the full moon light. He slowly turned his head to the side as he surveyed the roof of western Maywok. That's when he heard the sounds of a struggle on the breeze. He made his way from roof to roof until he came to an alleyway between two houses. He looked down upon the scene. It was two WMAU assassins fighting each other, both of them girls. He began to smirk as he enjoyed the dysfunction within the west but then one of them pull out a blade. He saw the blade sheen in the moonlight and she stabbed the other assassin. His eyes widened as he recognized that very move, the same one that gave him a scar on his own arm. It was Mary Grey. Why was she fighting with another assassin from her side? What is she doing? he thought.

"You bitch! Hold still! It will be less painful if you just stay STILL!" the assassin that wasn't Mary yelled out, and he saw her hold the blade close to Marys face. Soto did not recognize her voice but he did not care, for his Mary was being attacked. He made his way down to the street below. His eyes widened as he saw the girl stab a knife through Marys hand and into the ground. He decided now was the time to make his move. He grabbed Marys attacker and he threw her against the wall. He began to punch her, one hit after another.

"Run, Mary! RUN!" he told his love. He looked back momentarily to see her pull the knife out from the ground and she bolted out of the alley. He watched her run off, but he shouldn't have. A half-second later, he then felt immense pain in his stomach. He looked down and he saw a dagger in his gut. The girl wrenched the blade out and he let out a loud cry of pain. He fell to the concrete and the cold, grey ground began to turn a deep red as a lake of blood seeped out from him. He vision failing, he saw Mary run back into the alley. She began to throw knives at the other girl. She missed every time. Mary was, however, able to land a punch on her directly in the face, making the girl fall onto the ground. Soto put his hand over his bleeding gut and he pulled himself up, just as Mary was about to stab the girl with another knife. He grabbed Marys arm and he held her back. Mary gasped and looked at him.

"Let me kill her dammit!" she yelled at him. She tried to stab the other girl, only every time she attempted, Soto held her back with more of his dwindling strength. The other girl pushed herself up and she kicked Mary in the chest before running off into the shadows of night. She recovered from the final attack and she growled. "You made me lose her! You stupid idi-" he stopped her by planting his lips on hers. He stopped and he looked at her in her beautiful eyes.

"You moron," he hissed, "just shut up. We might get caught." She stared at him.

"Who are you?" she asked softly, her voice shaking from shock. He smiled weakly, but sweetly at her.

"Just call me Soto. That's all you need to know." He let go of her and he retreated back into the shadows. Out of her sight, he made his way back to the east side and back to the EMAU. He arrived at the medical bay. The doctor looked at him and she gasped. He was so pale, and he was seeping blood from a massive cut on his stomach.

"Good, God!" she yelled, "what the hell happen-?"

"Shut... u-up," he said weakly. He fell to one knee. The woman helped him to a room where she began to stitch up the massive cut on him while another doctor began to search the blood bank records for some extra blood, because he had lost nearly too much. After a few intense moments, he was sewn back up and he had more blood circulating in his veins. The doctor held a touchscreen tablet in front of him. It was the leaders, calling from their chamber.

"Soto. We heard that you have sustained life-threatening injuries. What happened?" He could not tell them the truth.

"I was merely out for a midnight walk when I was attacked by an assassin from the west," he said weakly.

"Where were you at?"

"Just... by the river." He breathed slowly.

"How did you escape?"

"I beat h-" he hesitated, "I beat the boy up. I sent him home crying." He gave them a tired smirk.

"Did you have any weapons? How did they do so much damage to you if you had-"

"I didn't bring any weapons with me," he said. He was so weak and tired. There was a pause in the air.

"How could you be so foolish?!" they demanded. Soto opened his mouth to say something. "You must have weapons on you at all times!"

"I'm... sorry... sirs." He was about to fall asleep. But, before he let sleep take him, the leaders muttered one last thing.

"You deserve what you've gotten." As Soto heard this, sleep took over him. In his conscious, he vowed that the heads would pay for that.

The next day, he had school. After a deep sleep, and another scolding from the leaders, he had school. He walked into the school building and he noticed that people were averting his gaze. No one was whispering things about him behind his back, no one was pointing to him as he walked through the halls, and none of the teachers who noticed his injuries asked him about them. By the time break came, he stood in his spot, thinking about Mary. The rest of the boring day went by. He walked by the river. He saw Mary, and when she glanced over, she walked faster. He let her go, this time, but never again. The next day, he walked up to the doors of the school. The bell rang, but he did not step inside. He just turned around and he left the grounds. No one questioned it, as no one saw him leaving. He walked to the river. He saw Mary sitting by the river on her side. She stood up and she reached out for something, but he didn't see anything there. Suddenly, she broke down, and began to cry. Usually, he enjoyed it when girls cried, but because he loved her, he felt different. He walked along the water line until he was directly across the river from her.

"What's wrong, Mary?" he called out to her. He walked through the water over to her. She was on her knees, crying into her hands. He sat down on his knees in front of her. She looked up and gasped quietly, her hand over her heart. She looked at him, her eyes still wet with tears.

"Soto..." she whispered softly. He smiled sweetly and brought his finger up and he wiped a tear off of her cheek. Her cheeks then went red. His hand slowly found hers.

"I'm not your enemy," he said softly. His cheeks became slightly red as well. "Nor do I want to be." He wrapped his hands over her shoulders, her face turning redder. He brought her in and he kissed her on the lips. He pulled back and he looked into her eyes. "I love you, Mary."

"Soto..." she whispered softly. "I..." before she could finish her sentence, someone yelled out.

"Don't do it, Soto!" Mary gasped and Soto looked behind him. He saw Vanessa standing by the river. She was wide-eyed with horror. Soto looked back at Mary.

"Tomorrow, my dear." He gave her one last kiss. It was a quick one. He stood up and walked back to where Vanessa was standing. He rushed at her and before she could get away he grabbed her by the neck. She scratched at his hands in a meek attempt to break loose. He held her close to his face. "You will speak of this to no one. Understand?" Vanessa quickly nodded several times. He let go of her neck and she fell onto the ground. She crawled away from him before she found her strength to push herself up and she ran. Away from him. He looked back across the river. Mary had gone. He sighed sadly and he walked back to the EMAU.

9: Mission VIII

Soto walked to his room. He lay on his bed. All he could think about was Mary. He lay there, thinking about her, when suddenly he sat up and he walked to his closet to change. Then he walked out of his room. He headed down the EMAU building to the basement, where they kept all of the records of all of the assassinations. He walked over to the computer and he did a keyword search on victims with the last name "Grey." A lot of results. He narrowed his search to those who lived in West Maywok. Less than half the original number. He narrowed it down to those who were parents. Even less. Then he narrowed it down by those who were killed 6 years ago. Two results. Aaron and Angela Grey. Marys parents. He then looked at the name of the person who assassinated them: Savette Kosovitch. She was now a senior assassin. But Soto knew her, and where her room was. That's when he got the idea. He could show his love for Mary by presenting her with the one who killed her parents. He grinned as he formulated a plan in his head. He then walked back to his room where after he changed again, he walked back outside. He headed over to the west side. He crossed the river and he walked up to the building that he knew was the WMAU. He was careful not to trigger the alarms. He climbed up to a window and he looked inside. No one was there, but he knew whose room that was. He climbed back down and he headed back into the streets of West Maywok. He made his way to the top of an apartment building. He looked around, the rooftops hard to see in the half moon light.

"Where are you?" he whispered into the night. There was no response, but he wasn't surprised as he didn't expect one. He moved along the roof and he worked his way from building to building until he came to the river. He saw her leaning on the railing that ran along the top of the river bank. It was Mary. He jumped onto the ground and he walked over to her. "Hello there," he said suddenly. She gasped and she instinctively had a blade at his neck. She gasped and she lowered it when she saw who it was who had walked up behind her.

"Soto?" she asked. Soto nodded.

"Hello, Mary," he said with a smile. "I've been looking for you."

"You... you have?" she asked. He knew well that she loved him too, only she seemed unsure as to whether or not she should admit it. "Oh! About earlier, Soto... I wanted to say that-" Soto brought his finger up to her lip again. She went red in the face. He thought she looked cute when she did that.

"Tell me later," he whispered to her. "For now, I have someone who you should meet." Soto noticed that Mary seemed a bit skeptical about this.

"Who?" she asked. Soto smiled at her.

"Just come with me," he said. He turned and walked back toward the river to the east side.

"Damn trickster," Mary muttered. Soto looked behind him.

"What was that?" he asked as he did not hear what she had said exactly.

"Nothing," Mary said quickly, her cheeks red still. She followed him to the river. "Wait!" she said to him. Soto stopped and he looked at her.

"Mary, what is it?" he asked her.

"Could you tell me your first name?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow. "Please, I mean, if... you know... you...want to." He lowered his eyebrow and he looked at her directly in the eyes.

"I am the breeze, I am the relief on a summer day, I am the western wind. I am Zephyr Alpha Soto." He crossed the river. Mary hesitated, but she then followed. 

Soto led Mary to an abandoned warehouse by Eastern Maywok harbor. She followed him, keeping an eye behind them. He walked old, locked up office space on the far side of the disused building. He opened the door and he motioned for her to come in. She walked in and he shut the door behind her. "It's okay," he whispered to her. He flicked on the light. Light from a meager bulb filled the old office space. There was a person tied to a chair in the corner of the room. A woman. She was tied to the chair, her mouth gagged. She was about 20 years old. She had long black hair and a tan complexion. Soto slapped her awake. He removed the gag from her mouth. "Mary, this is Savette Kosovitch," he whispered to Mary. "She's the one who killed your parents. Mary gasped and she looked at Soto. Soto gave her a photocopy of the records. Mary looked at them and she became angry. Mary walked to the woman and she grabbed her chin and she stared at her in the eyes. They were a cold, dark blue.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked her.

"No," Savette spat. Mary growled and she pulled out a blade and she pressed it up against the womans neck. Savette started to become afraid.

"Think harder," Mary said.

"I-I don't know!" Savette cried.

"Surely they're down there somewhere. Think bitch!"

"I don't know!"

"Dammit! Think you damn cunt!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are!" Mary pressed on the blade and Savettes neck turned dark crimson.

"My name is Mary Grey! I was 10 years old!" Savette gasped.

"Stop, stop!" she yelled. "I remember now!" Soto held Mary back from pressing the knife any further. Mary was breathing heavily.

"November 12th, 2008. Sound familiar?"

"Y...yes," Savette said. "I had a mission. To kill the couple-"

"MY PARENTS!" Mary yelled.

"Yes... your parents. They... were assassins." Mary gasped. Sotos eyes widened as he stood there, watching this whole scene. "Angela Grey was native to West Maywok. Aaron was not."

"Wh...what?"

"His name was Aaron Grey. He was from East Maywok. Two different Grey families."

"If they were assassins, why did you kill them?" Mary pressed her finger in the hole on Savettes neck, making it bleed faster. Savette screamed. "Answer me, damn you!" Soto pulled her away from Savette.

"She was from the WMAU. He was from the EMAU." Mary gasped and she dropped her knife. She fell onto her hands and knees.

"No," she said, her eyes raining tears. "No. No." She began to cry loudly. Soto looked at Savette.

"Why did you spare her?"

"O-orders," Savette coughed. Soto looked down at Mary.

"Mary?" he asked. Mary looked up, her tear covered eyes, burning with rage. Soto helped her stand up and with a sudden and violent yell, before Soto could stop her, she took her knife and she plunged it through Savettes heart. Mary watched as the light of life left the womans eyes and blood seeped from her mouth. Mary was breathing heavily again. "Mary?" Soto inquired again. Mary looked at him, her lip beginning to tremble. The next moment, she broke down crying again and she fell to the floor. "Mary, what's wrong?" Soto asked her. He knelt by her. She looked up at him.

"Soto..." she said, "I... I... I don't want to kill another person again."