Rose Hunter Chapter 11

Rose Hunter Chapter 11

Yuki tossed and turned restlessly on his bed, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fall asleep. This place was driving him insane! His prison may have been a mansion, but no matter how spacious it was, it couldn't hide the fact he was unable to leave. It seemed like ages since he had been outside, felt the wind in his hair, or seen the soft glow of the moon.

Yuki sat up. Surly no one would mind if he went outside for a bit. It wasn't like he was planning on running away, not that he hadn't contemplated it once or twice of course. He did vaguely remember Jasmine mentioning a garden while on their tour. Surely he was allowed to be there, seeing as he was still on the mansion's grounds.  

Picking up his boots from the side of the bed he quickly slid them on, tying the laces with the speed and proficiency of one who had been doing it for years, then quietly slipped out of his 'cell' and down the hallway.

Three minutes was all it took for Yuki to finally admit to himself that he had no idea where he was going. The place was built like a maze and he had a sneaking suspicion that Kamijo built it like that on purpose, just to mess with people. It definitely seemed like his style, heck the pictures that lined the walls probably had eyeholes from which he would watch and laugh as his guests got hopelessly frustrated and confused.

Yuki sighed and continued walking. He could always turn around and attempt to find his 'cell' again, but since he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, there was just no point. He was better off just walking around and hoping he could find the garden by chance, if anything it gave him something to do to calm his restless body. Staring at the many random portraits on the wall and numerous chandeliers his mind began to wonder.

Dinner the past few days had been awkward to say the least. Despite being escorted to diner by Kamijo and Hizaki the first night, he had managed to get lost on the way to the dining room during the second and had shown up late, just to find three pairs of eyes staring him from the overly large wooden table. Jasmine hadn't calmed down since he had asked to escort Hizaki to dinner the night before either, and was glaring daggers at him almost constantly.

The only conversation seemed to originate from Hizaki, and all of it directed at Kamijo. Even if he had wanted to, it would have been hard to get a word in edge wise. Jasmine would also speak only to Kamijo, although Yuki amounted that to the fact she was still upset. Something he noticed was that the two always seemed to be fighting over Kamijo's attention, the minute he looked away from one, the other would send a death glare. How Kamijo couldn't see, let alone feel the tension, he would never know.

Something that struck Yuki as odd was that they never actually seemed to eat. They would move the food around on their plates and make to move it to their mouths, just to be suddenly distracted by some unseen force or by conversation. The girls he could understand not eating, but even Kamijo didn't seem to touch his food; although he was always sipping on a glass of wine.

Yuki sighed. He really didn't know how much more he could take of this place; yet he refused to tell Kamijo about his past. Not only was it not the man's business, but it was a very painful topic that Yuki rarely thought about himself unless he had a strong drink nearby. It also showed a side of him that he showed no one, especially not an enemy; his weak and vulnerable side.

The sweet smell of grass teasing his nostrils jerked him out of his thoughts. Looking up he noticed a slightly ajar door, and opening it all the way he couldn't help but let out a small joyful smile.

The garden was beautiful. White marble steps led down to a white stone pathway that circled around a beautiful water fountain. Large green hedges encircled the whole perimeter creating a barrier between the garden and the rest of the outside world. Many trees and flowers covered the area, the most prominent of which were the most beautiful red roses he had ever seen. To make the sight even better, everything was bathed in light from the full moon. There wasn't even a cloud to block the view of a single star.

Taking a deep breath of the cool, fresh, night air, Yuki felt his body relax as all the tension and stress of the past few days slipped away, leaving him feeling blissfully peaceful. Walking over to one of the more private areas of the garden, hidden mostly from view due to bushes, he sat down and leaned his back against a tree, closing his eyes and enjoying the sound of crickets.

"It's a beautiful night, is it not?"

Yuki's eyes flew open, his relaxed state of mind slowly slipping away and a more guarded one taking its place.

"It was," he shot back in more of an irritated mumble.

"Oh come now, there's no need to put your guard up, I'm not going to attack you or anything. Violence doesn't suit a night like this."

"What do you want Kamijo? You don't expect me to believe you came out here just for the fresh air?"

"Why not? I was out here first I'll have you know. Nights like this make it impossible for me to stay indoors."

"If you were out here before then why didn't you say anything?!"

"I wanted to see what you would do. It would be quite easy to jump these hedges and disappear."

Yuki scoffed, "I'm not going to run away, like I told you before I pay back my debts." Looking up he saw Kamijo staring at him, the question written clearly on his face.

"Forget it; I'm not going to tell you!"

"Ah, but that was part of the agreement!" Kamijo stated matter of factly.

"No, the agreement was that I stay here until I pay back my debt!"

"And tell me about your past," added Kamijo.

"That doesn't mean I have to tell you any time soon," replied Yuki crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides I don't make a habit of telling my past to complete strangers, let alone my targets."

"Well then, what about a trade?" Kamijo asked, lowing himself onto the grass.

"What?"

"What if I tell you some of my past in exchange for you telling me about yours?" Kamijo responded.

"No thanks, it's bad for business." replied Yuki closing his eyes, hoping the man would leave him alone.

"Why? Would make it harder for you to pull the trigger?" He could practically hear the smirk in Kamijo's question.

Snapping his eyes open, he turned to glare at Kamijo, stormy green eyes clashing with cool white. Strangely enough after a few moments of glaring Yuki found himself unable to look away from those eyes, in fact he could feel his body actually relaxing.

"Come now, surely a little chat won't hurt anything." Kamijo's voice sounded soothing and almost hypnotic as he spoke. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him.

Maybe a little chat wouldn't hurt after all…

"It's a beautiful mansion don't you think?" Asked Kamijo, as though commenting on the weather; his eyes breaking away and looking at the tall stone structure.

"Yes," answered Yuki politely, still feeling extremely calm and relaxed, though unsure of the reason. "It must have taken years to build."
"Yes, well it was faster to build the second time." Yuki turned to look at Kamijo questioningly.

"The original mansion burned down to the ground years ago…my parents were still inside." Kamijo answered so softly that Yuki just barely heard.

"I'm sorry," responded Yuki quietly, then asked confused. "How did it catch fire?"
Kamijo chuckled darkly, "Not without great effort, and certainly not on its own. Stating it simply, my family had certain ideas that did not sit well with other aristocrats. Coupled with the fact that we were one of the largest and wealthiest families brought much greed, jealousy, and hatred into the mix."

Yuki nodded his head in understanding, but stayed silent; obviously there was more to the story.

"I was five when it happened, I was woken up by someone roughly pulling me out of bed and dragging me down the hallway. I remember smelling oil everywhere. They shoved me into a room with my parents then locked the door. The smell of oil was strong in the room as well. My dad kept trying to break down the door, but of course it did no good. It wasn't until smoke started drifting in from under the door that my parents started to panic."

Kamijo's voice sounded strained, as though he was having trouble making the words come out.

"I remember my mom hugging me tightly, my dad patting me on the head, before lifting me up and forcing me through a small window near the ceiling. I tried crawling back in, but my parents were yelling at me to run. The room was already starting to be engulfed in orange."

Kamijo turned to look at him, "I have little doubt that you were hired by the same people responsible for my parents' deaths. They've been trying to get rid of me for years."

"Obviously you picked up quite a few skills along the way, if you've been able to survive for so long," stated Yuki.

"You could say that," Kamijo responded with a small dark sounding chuckle before his voice took a soothing tone once again. "Now, quid pro quo, I've told you a little about me, let's hear your history."

Yuki looked away, eyebrows furrowing in discomfort.

"Come now, you can tell me," If it were possible, Kamijo's voice took on an even more relaxed and soothing tone than before. Yuki felt his building distress fade away. Of course I can tell him.

"I was about 13. However, unlike you, my family was dirt poor. We were lucky that we were able to get by as well as we did. One day I had gotten in a fight with an older kid, what it was about I don't remember. I do remember that it shouldn't have been possible for me to win the fight, but much to everyone's surprise, I did."

Yuki continued, "My fight had caught the attention of some fancy guys in suits. They approached me, asking if wanted to put my skills to use, that they would train me and pay me to help them. The only catch was that I couldn't tell my parents. Of course I jumped at the idea of making money; God knows we needed it, so I went with them. They taught me most of the skills I have today, though at the time I still didn't know what I was going to be using them for."

"I didn't ask any questions though, they paid me well and that's all the mattered. One day they handed me a gun and a photograph. They told me they would pay me once I made the man in the photo disappear. So I went to the spot they told me he would be, and waited."

"The minute I pulled the trigger I instantly regretted it. Not a few seconds after I shot him dead in the street did his wife and children rush out, they were screaming and crying. When I got back to the organization and told them I completed the job they congratulated me, told me that I should leave my family and stay with them and that they would make sure family would be paid well. I handed them their gun back and told them with a few choice words what they could do with that offer."

"I didn't hear from them again until a little after I turned 15. To make this long story short, I went out for a late night walk. When I came back my family was dead. My mom was shot point blank in the head, and my dad was stabbed three times in the chest."

"I'm sorry," he heard Kamijo say.

"The worst part was that it was the Organization that set it up. They showed up a little while after it happened, giving me a photo of a man named Reynold Gerard. They told me he was related to the man I had shot years before, and that was responsible for the deaths of my parents."

"Needless to say I killed him, but when I found out who was really behind the whole thing…I went a little crazy." Yuki looked firmly into Kamijo's eyes. "I killed everyone there; I didn't even hesitate when they started begging for their lives. Once it was done however, I couldn't seem to put down the gun. Honestly, I didn't really know any other way to survive, so I kept offering my services to those who wanted them. Of course I got the final say on whether or not I would actually take the job."

"So is there any special reason behind making your targets wear roses?" Kamijo asked curiously.

"Not in particularly, just makes them easier to spot. Not too many people wear roses on their person all the time like you do."

He heard Kamijo let out a laugh, "Jasmine is going to be so crushed to hear that. She was racking her brain trying to figure out what kind of secret meaning it had all this time."

Yuki smiled and leaned his head tiredly against the tree. "You guys really shouldn't get too close to me. I'm a monster."

Kamijo chuckled darkly. "Aren't we all?"

Yuki sighed opening his tired eyes, unintentionally locking them on Kamijo's, "So what now?"

Kamijo's voice took on a hypnotic tone as he spoke. "Now you get some sleep."

Nodding softly Yuki let his now unbearably heavy eyelids drift shut. It really was a nice night.