Prologue:

He held the razor three millimeters from her flesh. He had warned her. He had warned them all. Now they were going to see. Now they were going to pay.

“I told you to stay away.” The girl shivered. “I told you not to get involved.” A tear. “I told you what would happen.” He drew the blade closer to her, its cold metallic surface almost touching her flesh now, a single millimeter away.

“Why didn’t you listen?” He pushed the blade ever so slightly into her warm,sweaty skin. Holding her at full arms birth, so as not to dirty his uniform, he sliced into her neck. Not a lethal cut, just enough to leave a long, thin scar, slowly trickling blood down her neck and onto her starched white blouse.

He drew back the blade and cleansed it solemnly, while the girl crumpled into a little ball of sobs on the floor of the janitorial closet. Why hadn’t she listened? He had warned them not to get involved with him. He had told them what would happen. And still Yumiko persisted. She just had to be taught was all. Still, a part of him wasn’t sure this was the right way to go about teaching her. But this was how he had been taught to do. He had been raised by a violent and ruthless man – his master, Duiju - designed to kill and cleanse therace of their imperfections. But was he wrong? Was it possible that Master Duiju could he been wrong about such situations? No. He was letting that girl’s emotions fool with his head. He was raised to be a cold-blooded killer. He would not let his master down now.