This is the story about how I died, no, actually this is a really fun story. It's a story about my beginning, not my end. Truth be told, this isn't story isn't even mine, Yorou. Well, maybe just a little bit. It's about us, a boy named Hoshikawa, and it starts... with the star...
Great. Now they're targeting me. Just what the hell did I do to deserve this?
The cold night air stung my lungs with every ragged breath as I staggered through the rain-slick alleyways, clutching my side where the blood seeped through my clothes. Every step was agony, my knees threatening to buckle beneath me, but I forced myself forward. I had no choice.
Mid-thirties and still running missions that would kill most men half my age. Being the world's best assassin wasn't a blessing. It was a curse. A relentless grind that left me hollow, alone, and bleeding. No girlfriends, no family to come home to, just the endless dance with death.
The alleyway twisted and turned like a serpent. The neon glow of the city blurred through the sweat and rain. I forced my eyes to stay sharp despite the darkness creeping at the edges of my vision.
"Gear 149, status update!" My voice cracked, dry as sandpaper.
"Hostiles in pursuit, Master. Estimated arrival within seconds," the AI's calm voice whispered in my ear.
My heart slammed.
How the hell did they catch up so fast?
Before I could spin around, a white-hot stab of agony tore through my back. The cold blade sliced through flesh and bone. Pain exploded, stealing the breath from my lungs. I stumbled, knees buckling as I tasted blood—metallic and bitter—flooding my mouth.
Everything blurred.
The sounds of the city faded. The cold rain mixed with the warmth of my blood.
And then I saw her face.
"Sh… Shizu-chan?" My voice was a hoarse whisper, disbelief burning through the pain.
Her lips twisted into a cruel sneer, eyes sharp and merciless.
"Yes, Yorou-kun. It's me," she spat, venom lacing every word. "Silencing the bird that sings secrets."
Her laugh was hollow, a cruel echo in the cold night.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
I looked up at the stars—the only friends who never turned away.
I wished I could join them.
I wished for peace.
This is death.
Darkness. Cold. Silence.
But my story didn't start here.
I have a twin brother.
Just minutes younger than me.
He was the Crown Prince.
And I?
The ex-Crown Prince.
Flashback:
The palace gardens, bathed in golden sunlight. We were boys, just children chasing each other between cherry blossom trees. He laughed, bright and warm, his hand reaching for mine. We were brothers, inseparable.
But as we grew, shadows stretched between us.
At thirteen, everything changed.
Whispers followed me like a curse.
"Demon."
"Darkness."
"Unnatural."
My father's eyes, once proud, clouded with disappointment. The court turned away. I was no longer the heir. My brother's smile grew wider—the kingdom's golden hope.
I was left behind.
Banished in all but name.
Doors closed.
Whispers followed.
I was alone.
Except for the family I found in the shadows.
The Mafia.
Flashback:
The dimly lit room, smoke curling from cheap cigars. The Bosses looked at me—not as a prince, but as one of their own.
At sixteen, I took their name, their power, their legacy.
I became the Mafia Boss.
Under my cold reign, the family flourished.
I sent money home every year.
But success was a cage.
I disappeared into the night.
An assassin.
Back in the alley, pain sharpened every breath. I clenched the pendant around my neck—a relic of a life I tried to forget.
I thought of Otou-san and Okaa-san—the parents who raised me.
Who loved me when the stars turned their backs.
I whispered an apology.
Memories flooded.
The first time I held a blade.
The promise of control.
The countless nights sharpening skill.
The faces fading into silence.
And betrayal.
Shizu-chan.
My closest friend.
My executioner.
"Gear 149!" I gasped. "Who sent them? Why am I hunted?"
"Unknown. Multiple hostile signals. No known faction," came the cold reply.
A chill settled deep.
Someone wanted me dead.
But who?
I fought to stay alive, every breath a battle.
The cold seeped into my bones.
I thought of my brother—the golden prince.
Was he behind this?
Had the kingdom come to finish me?
I'm no stranger to betrayal.
But this cut deeper than any blade.
As darkness threatened, a fire ignited—a desperate will to survive.
I am Yorou.
Exiled prince.
Mafia Boss.
World's best assassin.
And I will not go quietly.
If I fall tonight, who will protect my family?
Who will watch the city I built?
Who will carry my name?
I reached beneath my coat.
My hidden blade.
Cold, sharp, a lifeline.
Blood poured down my arm.
Still breathing.
Still fighting.
Shizu lunged again.
Her eyes wild with hatred.
"You don't get to die first, Yorou-kun!"
Her blade arced in deadly grace.
I barely parried—steel rang against steel, sparks flying.
Pain exploded in my arm.
Adrenaline masked it.
I countered.
Drove my blade deep into her side.
She gasped, eyes wide.
Blood blossomed dark and hot.
Her body shuddered.
We stared—two broken souls torn by fate.
"Why?" I whispered, voice thick with pain.
Her bitter smile cut deeper than steel.
"I never wanted this," she rasped. "But you left me no choice."
She collapsed.
Rain washed away the blood.
But the pain would never fade.
I sank to my knees.
The alley silent but for my ragged breath.
This was the end.
My final breath.
My last stand.
I closed my eyes.
Thought of Otou-san and Okaa-san.
Thought of my brother.
Thought of the stars.
The darkness took me.
Cold. Endless.
But in that void—
A faint light.
A whisper of hope.
Because even in death,
The stars still shine.