"Bye, Reiko-chan," said a girl, as she waved to her friend. The girl addressed as Reiko turned around, her long ponytail swaying along with her. "Bye, Hikaru-chan, see ya tomorrow!" she answered, as she waved her hand in farewell. She smiled, her pearl white teeth shinning with sunlight. Her life was perfect. Just today, at school, they had delivered the scores of the last exam they had had, and Reiko had a round and perfect 100 percent on her school bag. And to make things better, today was her birthday. September the 10th, today she was 15 years old. Back at school, her locker was filled with still-to-be-opened packages, which she had received from her many friends. She knew nothing could make this day better, and smiled as she walked towards her house.

Not knowing why, she had taken a different path to her home. She thought it was because she wanted to be alone for awhile, and if she walked the same way she always did, she would have to do it with her best friend, Hikaru. She hummed a song, which she had heard this morning, and had kept running around her head for all day long. She looked around, and saw she was near the Tokyo Central Park. It had been a long time since she had come to this place, and it had some very good memories. She recalled the camping session she had made with Hikaru, and laughed quietly as she remembered it. 'We had a great time that day! We should do it more often' were her thoughts as she continued her walking.

Without even noticing it, she had reached the end of the park. The streets started again, and she sighed. She wanted to continue like this, between nature and peace, but she knew that she had to go home. Her mother was expecting her, so they could go together and do some shopping. The idea of going to the mall and to get the stuff she needed, lightened her day, and she smiled immediately. Whistling the same song, she walked out of the park, and into the streets. She was walking by some buildings now, two tall ones that were extremely close to each other. In between them only a very short alley stood. The buildings were so tall they blocked all the light out. It was like entering a tunnel. All the sunlight went off, and only shadows and silence surrounded her. It was dark, and a chill crossed her spine. I hate dark places, she thought, as she tried to hurry to get back to sunlight. But, she heard something.

At first, she thought it was her imagination, but she heard it again. It was a suffocated sound, as if someone was trying to scream, but his mouth was covered with cotton. Curiosity kicked in, and grabbing her school bag tightly, she walked back. Hearing carefully, she discovered the sound came from the alley. Me and my luck!. She was afraid, but her curiosity was bigger. She swallowed her fears, and dared to look. The scene displayed in front of her was so shocking, she couldn't stop herself from gasping. And *that* was her worse mistake.

In front of her, at the end of the alley, two men dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses were standing, with guns on their hands. Behind them, pinned on the wall, and slowly falling to the floor, the dead body of a man, who had a bloody small hole on his chest, clearly the cause of his decease. He had a panicked expression, and Reiko felt as if his lifeless eyes stared directly at her. As she gasped in horror, and just two seconds later, she screamed, the two men turned around, and without one sing of surprise, pointed their guns at her. On a flash of understanding, she saw as one of the pistols still had some smoke leaving its front part, and she knew they had killed that man. She tried to run, to dodge, to escape, but her legs were glued to the floor. She saw as the men brought their guns up, and looking down her chest, saw a little red dot firmly set right over her heart. The guns had a laser aim, and both were aimed to her. She started trembling, and her school bag made a low thud on the ground as it fell from her grasp.

No sound reached the alley, it seemed as if she had entered another dimension. Time passed as slowly as a snail, and Reiko's eyes were full with tears, and her forehead covered with cold sweat. She was going to die... it seemed so alien to her to think like that... but she was going to die, there was no doubt about that. She couldn't escape, and closed her eyes, waiting for her fate to reach her. Through a little crack on her eyes, she saw as both men's fingers were starting to pull the triggers, and she held her breath, waiting to hear the explosion, and then the sudden impact on her body... and then die. But, before they could fire, a police siren was heard in the distance. The men seemed to worry, 'cause they brought their guns down immediately, and looked at each other. Reiko sighed in relief. Her thoughts were chaotic, yet, she could calm herself. The police will save me. Now I'm safe. These men can't hurt me.

How wrong she was... the men hid their guns quickly, and ran to her. She closed her eyes, waiting for them to leave, but they never did. Instead, she felt a sizzling pain on her neck, and then all was darkness...

Pain. Tears. Sleep. Pain... pain on all her body. She felt as if she was floating on a sea of cotton... everything was muffled, slow, heavy... she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't. Something was nudging her... trying to awake her. She felt all her laziness drifting away, as she felt her senses coming back to her... "Go away," she thought, unsuccessfully trying to go back to sleep. Her head felt so dizzy... she couldn't think straight. She knew she had to wake up, that something or someone was waiting for her when she opened her eyes... all she could think of was that if she did open her eyes, an unexpected danger was waiting, hovering around her like a prey-bird, waiting for her to look at it. She felt all the surroundings disappearing and desperately clung to them, not wanting to leave the dream world.

And then, that voice came. First it was a hum, which she mistook with her own breathing, but then it grew louder, until she could figure out what it was saying. "She's recovering quicker than I thought. No one has ever come back to consciousness in less than 30 minutes like she has. I wonder if--." The voice went away again. Reiko was awake. She groaned lightly. "Hmm. . . my head... hurts." The voice feel silent. "She's awake," she heard. Had she been completely aware of what was happening, she could've heard the closing of a door, and some movement around her. But all she could think of now, was to drink some liquid. Her throat was dry, and she felt thirsty. Her neck ached. Groaning again, she opened her eyes. She had to close them immediately, ripples of red pain crossing through her brain. A blinding light was set right over her eyes. She tried to back away, but something held her where she was. So, the only thing she could do, was turn her head sideways, trying not to feel the pain the light caused to her closed eyelids.

"Wa... water" she croaked. She was surprised when she heard her voice. It was dry and dizzy. Her throat ached when she talked, the air scratching her inner breathing system. She heard a noise, and her head turned towards it, but the light followed her there too. A sizzling sound was heard, as if a water pipe was being opened. Guessing from the noises she was hearing, a glass was being filled. Then, she felt a shadow creeping over her. She still couldn't open her eyes, but heard a manly voice saying: "Here. Drink." A hand cupped her chin, and held a cold glass to her lips. She felt humidity on them, and opened her mouth quickly, letting the liquid slid down her throat. It was cold and immediately returned her to her senses. She swallowed, and was instantly fully awake. Her eyes remained closed, but her other senses were scanning the room.

Her ears heard the sound of cars passing by, or better said, over them, and she knew they were underground. Her tact was useless though. She wriggled around a bit, and discovered she was hand and foot tied, to a wooden chair. The wood chips pierced her wrists, and she bit her lip. That's why she couldn't move.

Her concentration was broken as a voice said: "I know you can hear me. Don't try to deny it, or you'll regret it, understand?" She knew she was unable to move, so she nodded. The voice spoke again: "Good. Now, listen to me. What exactly did you see at the alley today?" Reiko was getting angry. How dare someone tie her up, blind her totally, and start asking her questions? She coughed, trying to clear her throat. "Off," she whispered, talking almost to herself. "What?" The voice was obviously surprised. "Off. Turn the lights off," she repeated. "And what makes you think you can ask for what you want?" She could feel a glint of amusement on his voice. "My friends... they know where I am. They'll call the police." It was a bluff, but her mind was still a bit foggy, and running at only half it's capacity. She couldn't think of another excuse. "That's not true. We checked, and you never told anyone where you were going." She smiled: "Maybe... and maybe not," she said, trying to sound as mysterious as one could be while being in that situation. She heard a laugh and the man said: "You're good, you know?" She smiled, and whispered: "Better than you think." The man laughed again, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Excellent, girl."

Then, she heard footsteps and the light was shut off. She blinked a couple of times. Her vision was blurry. Colors... a mass of colors was the only thing she could see. She blinked again, ignoring the pain on her eyelids. She groaned, and kicked the floor, angry because she couldn't reach her eyes to ruffle them. A chuckle was heard, and she felt the man walking behind her. She stiffened as she heard a click, which she recognized as the opening of a portable knife. But then, she relaxed again. If she was going to die, she would. Now she didn't have the strength to fight anyone, less death.

She sighed, and closed her eyes. But, the final blow never came. Instead, she felt a tug on the ropes that tied her hands, and then they were free. Her arms fell to her sides, but she didn't move. Then, the man moved, and her feet were set free too. "That's a bonus," she heard, right into her ear. Her vision was getting better now. Slowly she reached her left wrist with her right hand, and massaged it a bit. They were sore, but not as hurt as she thought they would be. Blinking, she turned around, and for the first time, faced her captor. "So," he said, "happy now?" Reiko flinched, as she squeezed her wrist too tightly. He was a man. That's the only way she could describe him. Blond hair, blue eyes, not a face she could remember easily later on. "Who... who are you?" she asked, tapping her foot on the floor to see if she could stand up. "That isn't important. Now, tell me, what did you see at the alley today?" Reiko swallowed, and answered: "Nothing." A hint of irony flashed through the man's eyes.

"Nothing? Are you sure?" The man's eyes were drilling in hers, trying to make her tell the truth. "I'm telling you, I saw nothing." Her voice quivered a little, as she showed all the fear she was feeling. They stood like that for a couple of moments, eye-to-eye, trying to read on the other's soul. But, time passed, and although Reiko was shaking now, the chair she was sitting on muffled every movement, so that passed almost unnoticed to the man in front of her. "Very well then," said the man, breaking their eye-battle, and walking towards the table, "if you don't wanna tell us, I'll have to make you forget it." Reiko followed his every movement carefully. The man had reached the table, and opened a drawer. From inside he took two things: a glass container, filled with what looked like water, and a syringe. Reiko's head moved to the side, as she tried her hardest to see what the label on the container said.

The man noticed this, and said, a grin on his face: "It's hydrogen peroxide. Happy now?" Reiko blushed as she was caught so easily. But, not caring about the red on her cheeks, she remained looking at him. She saw as he opened the container, put the needle inside, and pulled the plug to him. The medical instrument was filled with the liquid, in which many bubbles floated. Then, he pointed it up, and pressed the plug. A bit of peroxide fell to the floor, making a splashing sound, than echoed through the room. When he was sure the syringe was full, he walked towards her. "What are you doing?" asked Reiko, her voice low in fear. She was beginning to understand what intentions did this man had. "I'm gonna make you forget with this," he answered, as simply as if he was saying he was going to chop the grass. "But... you CAN'T! It'll KILL ME!" Reiko's voice was starting to sound like a shriek. "Yes. Pity that's an inevitable side effect. But you'll forget, won't you?"

Terror grabbed hold of Reiko's body, and made her jump backwards, somehow avoiding to stumble on the chair she was sitting on, and landing safely some distance away. "You... you can't! I swear I didn't see anything! PLEASE! Believe me!" She tried to look at the man, but her eyes were filled with tears now. Never had she felt before this fear, this terror, the certainty that she was going to die in a few moments was strange to her, yet it triggered her instincts. She brushed her eyes fiercely, deciding not to let the man see she was crying. As she did, she noticed a strange look on his eyes. She could swear she heard him whisper to himself: "Hmm, good reflexes, quick, fast healing, young... maybe this is what we need."

She backed away more, but something hard pressed against her back. Turning around, she saw with spine-tingling terror that she had reached the wall. She had nowhere to escape now, but she wasn't going down without a fight. But, as she looked to the man again, she saw he had put the syringe on the table, and was just staring at her with a thoughtful expression. Silence settled on the room, only Reiko's ragged breathing breaking it. Then, the man spoke: "Tell me, Suiseki-san, if I gave you another choice, would you take it?" She almost fainted right there and then; there was a way to survive after all. "Indeed," she said, sounding as hopeful as any teenager. "Listen. What I am going to tell you is a very well kept secret, so if you decide not to take my offer, the only other way you have is death, understood?" She nodded her head, feeling that what was to come was going to change her life completely.

"We are a secret organization that works under anyone who's wealthy enough to pay us. We spy, kill, deceive and work undercover. Yes, in some sort of way, we are like that Englishman, James Bond. But, our job is far more demanding and difficult. Only the strong survive in here, the weak die in less than a week. What I am asking you is: join us and save yourself from a premature death." Reiko choked a bit. This man was asking her to be a secret spy? Her? Her mind was a whirlwind of things she couldn't quite understand. She needed time to think, and things looking as they were that was the thing she didn't have. "What if I accept? How will it affect my life?" "Completely. You'll disappear. If you accept, your identity as Suiseki Reiko will be erased from existence. You'll only be one of us now. You'll sleep where we tell you, wear what we tell you, talk to whom we tell you. Your friends, family, everything you know as life now shall be forgotten. Now that I think of it, the both choices I'm offering you are death."

The impact of his words hit her directly. Tear welled up on her eyes again, and this time, she let them go freely. "But... my parents... what about them?" She couldn't bare thinking how could she survive without her mother's support, or her father's advice. "They are no more. We'll make something up. Generally, in this cases, we make a fake car accident, so that the body is unrecognizable, except for some clues that will make them believe it was you. So, I see you haven't decided yet. I'll give you three minutes, no more." The man sat on the chair Reiko had been in just some minutes ago, and closed his eyes. But, she knew better than to try anything with him.

She let herself fall to the floor, sliding down the wall. Tears and more tears were coming out of her eyes, but she couldn't sob. She was too shocked. What can I do? As he said, the two choices he gave me mean death. One, the physical and the other social. Yet both scare me the same. Can I be able to live a new life, forget abut everything, just start all over again?. A faint smile reached her lips, as she realized that if she had gone with Hikaru, none of this would've happened... she would be safe with her mom, at the mall,... not inside some God-knows-where place, pondering on such a difficult decision... If she had followed her routine, she would have continued living as she had, no surprises, no emotion, no unexpected... so many 'what if's that she knew were pointless, but she couldn't help thinking on them.

What if that was what wrong? Her life was too boring... was it? Her day consisted in getting up, going to school, going back home, doing homework, watching TV or going out with friends... and so on and on, everyday the sane than the one before, and before and before... she needed action, and she knew it. Maybe this was her chance. But, keep on living without her family, just like that? Fifteen was the age when people need their parents the most, as radical changes such as puberty appear... but on the other hand, she had already gone through that period... she was a woman capable of taking her own decisions; she had always been a precocious girl, everyone told her that... but again, her mom and dad... she imaged how they would react to her 'death'... the teary and sad face of her mom, the firm but destroyed stance of her dad... it was so painful... No, there's no way I can do that... I rely too much on my family... I need them too much... maybe that's what's wrong... I must learn how to live without them, 'cause one day they'll leave me... maybe the choice is already taken... all I have to do is accept it now... I'll start again, with a new identity... my choice is made!

Just as this thought crossed her mind, she felt movement in the room. Looking up, she saw that the man had stood up, and was looking at her intently. "So, have you made your decision?" he asked. Reiko took a deep breath, and stood up. Supporting herself on the wall, she closed her eyes. Not listening to the pain on her soul that accepting the reality meant, she nodded. "Good. And it is?" the man continued, appearing not to care about her feelings. "I... I... I've decided to... join you," she said, feeling as tears returned to her eyes. A sizzling pain run from her heart to every part of her body, as she accepted the fact that her life as she knew it was no more. "Alright then. You understand that by accepting this, you accept to quit every contact with your previous life, every relationships you may have had, every memories of what you did, were doing and were going to do?"

Reiko felt as if a cold knife had stabbed her right in her heart and the man was now twisting it mercilessly. It hurt so much, and more because she knew that what that man was saying was the truth. They appeared to be too organized to just let her escape, and he didn't even have to say it for her to know that if she did try to run away, her family would be endangered. She closed her eyes, and let her tears go freely. They got away of the protector cover of her eyelids, and went down slowly, leaving a wet trail of pain behind. "Yes, I do," she answered, her voice so low it was almost a whisper. She thought that if she said it louder, her soul would break on the pain she was feeling. "All set then. I'll call your tutor. He'll be your partner until we assign you another one."

He walked to the opposite wall on which she was standing, and pressed a button. In the distance, a low ring was heard. As soon as it sounded, the man started talking to what looked like an intercom. "Please, send in Hiroshi. Yes, room 4, thank you." When he finished, he turned around, and said: "Now all we have to do is wait. It can't take him long to be here so--." He was interrupted by a knock in the door. "Come in," he said. The door opened, to reveal a handsome young man in his 20's who walked into the room. "You called?" he said, his voice somehow bringing a bit of serenity to Reiko's heart. "Yes Hiroshi. I'll go straight to the point. I need you to train this girl." As he spoke, the man had moved his hand, and was now signaling the trembling girl on the corner of the room. For the first time, the man addressed as Hiroshi seemed to see her. His eyes fell upon her. Reiko was shaking, but didn't miss the gaze. She looked back, with all the little strength she still had, and noticed how cute his eyes were... green, as the forest in summer.

Hiroshi literally scanned her up and down, and Reiko couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks. My God, she thought, what is he doing to me? How can I feel so embarrassed yet so comfortable when he looks at me like that? The young man turned to the older one, and whispered, but loud enough so she could hear: "How can I train her? She's just a kid. She'll die at the training room! I can't do it!" "Hiroshi, if you don't accept her, I'll have to kill her. I can't tell anyone else to do it, they're all too harsh to take it easily. But, believe me, this girl has a lot of inner strength, all you need to do is find a way to make it come out." "Still, I refuse to train her. I don't want to be responsible for the death of an innocent, and besides, I'm too--"

"I can do it," came the voice from the corner. They both turned around, stunned that she had been able to hear them. "I can survive," she repeated, a glint of determination on her voice, though her eyes kept being glassy with tears. As she talked, she was standing up, but still supporting herself on the wall. Hiroshi turned to face her, and said, a bit too harshly for his taste: "You don't know what you're getting yourself into. You'll last no more than a day." Reiko sniffled, and her mouth formed a straight line on her face. "You'll never know if you don't try," she said. The answer hit Hiroshi hard. His eyes flared a bit, and looked directly into the girl's ones. They stood like that for a while, looking at each other, the smaller ones of Reiko full with tears, yet the plea they were sending to Hiroshi was so obvious and desperate, he should've been an ice cube to ignore it.

He sighed, and huffed. "Alright," he said, defeated. Immediately, Reiko's face lighted up in joy, and she had to hold herself to not run to him, jump and hug him fiercely. "But don't think I'm gonna be an easy teacher, Ok?" he said, trying to hide to himself the fact that his heart had felt so relieved when the girl had smiled. Reiko nodded, and brushed all her tears away. Somehow, the appearance of this man had made her load lighter, and she no longer felt so bad for having to leave her family. No, don't misunderstand her feelings, it's just that ever since Hiroshi had looked at her, she had felt a warm feeling spread over her, as if he had healed a bit of the big crack her heart had experienced.

The older man had watched the scene in front of him in silence. But now, he spoke: "So. Hiroshi-san, these is some info you'll need." He picked up a folder from over the table, and opened it. "Her name is Suiseki Reiko. She's 15 years old, her birthday is today. She's got excellent marks at school, her healing is very quick, her reflexes are the best. She's smart, and quick thinking. I think she can be one of the best in this business," he finished, closing the folder and crossing his arms, "if you teach her well." Hiroshi nodded, and looked to Reiko. "C'mon on girl. I'll show you were you're going to live from now on." He motioned to her with his right hand, and turned around to walk to the door.

Reiko stood up quickly, and cleaned her clothes a bit. She still could feel a deep pain on her chest, but things were moving, and for now at least she didn't have time to weep. Not even looking back, she followed her sensei into the hallway the door connected to, and entered a whole new world, the world of international espionage...