Surreal Vanilla

Chapter One: Home Invasion:

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Tsuzuki left for work at his usual time. Anna kissed him goodbye.

“See you tonight,” she said.

“Have a good day,” Tsuzuki said.

“Take care,” Anna said as he headed out the door. She hadn’t planned on during much that day. Her highlight would be looking for a job and daycare. Today was supposed to be a normal day.

Anna sat at her laptop on a job search site. Kirika-chan was asleep in her room at the moment. The woman typed away on her laptop. She was about to click “send” when she heard a door slamming shut. Anna turned her head.

“Hello?” she asked. A strange look came over her face when there was no answer. The woman frowned as she rose to her feet. Anna wandered to the front door. To her surprise, it was still closed and locked from the moment Tsuzuki left for work. Anna blinked as she tilted her head.

Am I going crazy?

The woman suddenly froze. “Who’s there?” Anna slowly turned around. A man stood inches away from her. His kimono and hair were whiter than snow. Only his were eyes were bright red. His rice hat obscured his face. Anna took a step back.

“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” she asked. The man glanced at her.

“Are you Tsuzuki-san?” he asked.

“Why?” Anna asked. The woman gritted her teeth. Her eyes moved down the hall.  The man held his gaze.

“Nothing personal,” he said. “Really.” The man drew out a long white dagger.

“Whoa there!” Anna said. She looked down the hall again. Her eyes darted around the room. The man rushed forward, but Anna jumped out of the way. She cursed herself under her breath.

“Do not make this difficult for yourself,” the man said. “Surrender now.”

“Like hell I will!” Anna said. Her phone sat across the room. She couldn’t leave her daughter behind. She had to think fast.

Damn it. Damn it!

The man lunged towards Anna rolled away. She panted as she looked around. So far, the baby was asleep. The woman bit her lower lip. He wasn’t going to quit, was he? Who was this man?

“Who sent you?” Anna asked. She couldn’t read his face. His blade screamed for blood. The woman couldn’t show fear. Both stood waiting. She had her eyes on the hall. He stared her down.

“I will not ask you again,” the man said. “You are delaying the inevitable.”

“Who sent you?!” Anna asked. She tried to think of a defensive spell. This wouldn’t end until she did something. Grab the phone or the kid. If Kirika-chan started crying now, would this man try and kill her too? Anna took a deep breath. I’ve got no choice.

Anna leapt to her feet and took off down the hall. She didn’t dare look behind her. Almost into the hall.

Wham!

He slammed her to the floor. Anna stared daze at the ceiling. The man stood over her. His victim saw his blade.

I… I can’t move.

Anna’s moved downwards. The man held the knife over her body.

“You going to kill me?” she asked. He looked her in the eye.

“No,” he said.

“What?” she asked. The man waved the tip in the air from her breasts to her stomach. Anna gasped and froze. Her eyes widened. Her brown shirt and purple bra fell open. Blood leaked from the skin. Her captor pushed open her wound. His face didn’t change. He saw his victim’s core.

“I see,” he said. The man reached down and touched the core. Anna’s body shivered.

“What… What are you doing?” she asked. Her attacker drew back his fingers. He ran them upwards, closing the wound and clothes. Anna still couldn’t move. By now, Kirika-chan started to cry. The man sheathed his dagger.

“Job is complete,” he said. He turned and walked away.

“Wait!” Anna shouted. “Where are you going?” The man vanished into thin air. Anna’s eyes trailed to the ceiling. Am I going to like this?

This single home invasion would lead to a chain of events that would speed the Eda-Kimoto clan towards their well-deserved end.