Chapter 10

An absolute silence. Something Hayami hasn't experienced ever. Being surrounded by warriors means screaming and shouting profanities like never before. This small experience made her feel vague inside.

Hayami was slightly sceptical because she was initially inside her targets house and didn't know what to expect. She was on the lookout for the target. "You can wait, I'll make you some tea," The little girl said. Hayami realised what she said. "Oh no, it's fine. I should be on my way anyway" Hayami said. "Oh no, I insist. You saved my life" She said and scurried off into the kitchen. Hayami sighed and decided to take a look around since she knew the girl may not leave her for a while.

Hayami noticed some photos on the wall and she decided to take a look. The photo had a small girl, a lady who seemed to be her mother and a tall man who was looking at his side and not even at the camera. The little girl and her mother had a huge smile plastered on their faces but the man was unbothered. They seemed to be at a carnival and there was a balloon which said 'birthday girl' on it. So they went to the carnival for her birthday.

Hayami admired the photo and walked ahead. Her legs were starting to ache so she decided to sit down. She opened the door to one of the rooms and noticed a figure lying in the middle. She panicked at first and was about to take out her weapon when she realised this must be her mother. She relaxed herself a little and slowly started walking towards the corpse. The figure seemed to be in bad condition. She was pale and her cheekbones were clearly visible. Her shoulders were also frail and looked like it could break.

Hayami was confused on why her condition was like this, what was the reason. She walked right walked near her and placed herself right next to her. She examined her face and try to find out the reason why she looked like that. After closely examining for some time, Hayami realised she was murmuring something. "They won't help you, Riya. Abyss is bad. Bad people" Her mother kept repeating these words like a mantra. Hayami couldn't deny that. They were known to be bad people around. Riya walked in through the door holding a tray in her hand with tea and some biscuits. Hayami looked in her direction while at the same time Riya noticed Hayami sitting there. She gave a precious smile at her and placed the tray on the table in front of Hayami.

Riya realised Hayami was observing her mother and her smile immediately faltered. She closed her hands into fists and took them near her chest. "Don't....please don't take her away" Riya whimpered. Hayami was slightly confused at first but she caught on. "Don't worry, I won't" Hayami said, turning her head and having sympathetic eyes for her mother. Riya sat down on the other side and looked at her mother with sad eyes. "It's not her fault," Riya said, barely having any volume. Hayami looked at her, waiting for more of an explanation. Riya looked at her, tears brimming the corner of her eyes. "It's not my mother's fault for whatever you're after her" Riya said, sniffing.

"My mother and father got into a fight when mother refused to give him any money. In the rage, he stomped out of the house. In the middle of the night, he came back and took the money in her purse and ran off somewhere. He was nowhere to be seen for the next few days but a week later, he showed himself. My mother told me to hide and I ran away but I was in enough distance to see what was happening. They were arguing and my father just got angry by the time. Once he reached his limit he pulled my mom by her hair and made her sniff some powder on the table" Riya explained, her head looking down the whole time.

Hayami's eyes widened at her. 'Some powder?' Hayami thought. She retracted her mind in search of some particular memory. Abyss, Mazi's agency, was supplying drugs. And they're not just any drugs, they're demon powder. By sniffing them, the person unconsciously activates their negative energy in extremely high levels and there's a rare chance they can survive through it and turn out normal.

"Akio had sniffed the powder?" Hayami asked Riya. Riya looked up noticing Hayami's discomfort. "Yes, but there was a glass of water nearby which spilt. She sipped a very little amount and she's been in this condition till now" Riya said, running her hand on her mother's forehead. Hayami was finally a little relieved but not completely. "But where did that man get the powder from? How did he pay for it? Where did he go after? And why is Abyss behind your mother when your father is the pure culprit?" Hayami said, her blood boiling with questions. Mazi promised Hayami, he wouldn't do this business anymore because the casualty number was very high but he went behind her back and did it anyway.

"You're from Abyss?" Riya asked, convincing herself Hayami was nice. Hayami looked at the little girl, she wants to lie to her and make her feel safe and not alarmed. But Hayami cant. "Yes," Hayami said, her volume low. Riya gripped the sheets and balled her hand. "But please, believe me. I'm not bad, I want to help you. I want to fix this" Hayami said, sounding slightly desperate. Riya was a little afraid of her but she wants to believe her. And she did. "My father got the drug from some man on the street and paid him the money he stole from my mother. He told my mom's name instead of his own and after doing this to her, he fled. The last I heard about him was that he died due to wild animals cornering him in the forest while he was running away" Riya said. Hayami nodded, taking in the information.

"Can you fix my mom?" Riya asked, having the smallest hope in her voice. Hayami looked at her, wanting to give this child her wish. "I can try. Demon powder is hard to recover from. Water is the only way you can completely stop its spread through your body but the water should be drunk within 5 minutes of the intake of the powder. The only other people who can stop its spread are Alpha's" Hayami said to the little girl, scooting closer to the mother. "Can you bring an Alpha?" Riya asked. Hayami looked at her, giving her a small smile.

"I am one"