I woke up six hours later, feeling refreshed. I could barely hear the engines of the plane.

No wait, I actually couldn't hear them at all.

I jumped out of my seat.

« Sit down, we're only refueling. » Announced my mother. She was sitting down in front of me, watching a video on a tablet.

I could see two fighters hitting each other violently on the screen. One of them took a nasty roundhouse kick to the face and stayed down.

« What a ridiculous move. » Commented my mother. « He showed his whole back doing that kick, and this guy couldn't counter it, couldn't even dodge it! »

« He... » I paused. The sound of my voice wasn't something I was gonna get used to soon. I ignored my discomfort and continued. « He couldn't have shown his back more than a second, how is that ridiculous. »

She snorted.

« Plenty of time to step back and cut him open. »

« Are they armed with swords now ? »

« His enemy could be for all he knew, he didn't even look him up before the fight. »

« They are at the Olympics mom... »

« Bunch of pu.... »

She got cut off by Erik getting back inside.

« We're ready to leave. » He told us.

« Are you alright cousin ? You must've been flying for almost 24h straight now. » I was slightly worried about our only pilot going unconscious mid-air.

« Nah I got some sleep while Hailey was waiting for you at the airport, I'm fine. »

Not adding anything more, he entered the cockpit. The engines turned on quickly therafter.

Waiting ?

I made the math, and looked at my mother.

« You arrived way earlier than you said. » I stated.

« Mh, I wanted to prepare the terrain before your arrival. And the messages were being traced. » She answered me half-absently, still watching the taekwondo finals.

« Seriously ? »

« Yeah, your phone card apparently. »

« Wait what ? » I immediately took my phone out of my pocket. « Why didn't you tell me earlier ? »

« Cause I want Takeshi to know what our next move is. »

I looked at my phone disgusted.

« I'm bait ? »

That made my mother laugh. She looked up to me.

« You'll never be bait. You expected it right ? It's the only explanation why they could follow you so closely. »

I frowned.

« Yes, but satellite tracking is shit, nothing like in the movies, so I didn't believe it was the case. It takes time, you lose the signal all the time, grandfather never used it. It has to be something else, cause it's way too imperfect to explain everything that happened.»

My mother nodded.

« True, even with an army satellite, and I don't think even a man like Kakeshi can get his hands on this kind of tech. »

« So ? »

She didn't answer. She looked back at the screen.

« Mother. » I insisted.

She sighed.

« You're not gonna like it. »

« Oh fuck you're not gonna say he used my phone and some kind of voodoo bullshit right ? »

« Onmyôdô to be exact. »

The plane began to move on the tarmac.

I sat down, with an exasperated moan.

« It's like, uhm, exorcism or something I believe ? » Continued my mother.

« Yeah, I watched a few animes about it. » I answered numbly.

« So there you have it. »

« How the hell would you even know that. »

« He's actually quite public about it. Most people believe it a rich guy's eccentricities and nothing more. Luc's friend told us otherwise. I tend to believe him, he's trustworthy. »

« I don't question that. His sanity though... »

« Honestly so much doubt about magic coming from you. You and your crazy sixth sense. » My mom shook her head in disbelief.

« It's just my brain analyzing information before I can register it consciously. »

« Call it however you want. I only believe that, when you can foretell a car crashing into a store, and calmy explain to the shopkeeper why he should leave his counter before it happens, that that's called magic. »

« Something felt off about the traffic lights outside... »

« Yes Sias, you'll always find rationales to explain it. You and your dad always have been the champion of excuses. »

« Maybe It's better that, than actually never apologizing for anything. » I said, angrily.

My mom jumped out of her seat, and took me by the collar.

« I do apologize. But only for one thing. I shall always apologize for that. »

That calmed me down. Her eyes were filled with pain.

« Sorry. You know I forgave you about that. »

« I didn't. » She said. « Sit down and put your seatbelt on, we're taking off. »

 She still hadn't forgiven herself. I couldn't hide my pained expression, so I looked outside the porthole so my mother couldn't see it.

I didn't notice when the seatbelt notice went off.

I tried to go back to sleep, but I was fully awake at this point, and not tired at all.

My thoughts wandered a bit.

I thought of my old home. My parents lived not far away from the CERN institute, my father brought most of the money home now that mom only teached martial arts and didn't compete anymore.

Switzerland was a nice country, but way too neutral for my tastes. Their doubtful bank transactions and gun policies also bothered me.

But then I finally remembered what Erik had said, well sang actually before leaving Tokyo.

« Wait we're going to France ? Do we need to land in Paris ? Can't we get in Bern ? »

My mother looked exasperated.

« Oh could you shut your brain for a bit, I would like to watch this ! »

I stared. And I stared some more.

« Fine. » She finally admitted « We're going to the Jourdin's estate. I want Kakeshi to know. I send him a message, he will be coming there. The house is bait, we're the trappers. »

My mouth opened. I closed it. It opened again.

« It's still around ? The house? » I managed to ask.

« Yes. It's in the will, so it's atually been taken care of those last ten years. »

And I was certain Dad had played a part in all this, right?

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

« And what did you tell Kakeshi to be so sure he'll have to show up. »

« Oh simple. If he wants something in the will to still be standing, unburnt, he'd better show up. So, basically, I made a counteroffer. » She smiled.

The devil was in that expression.

I gulped.

When we landed at Charles-de-Gaulle, we left Erik with the plane.

« You sure you won't have a problem with your boss ? » My mother asked before leaving.

That made my cousin laugh.

« What ? No, she was fine with it, and I promised her a meal with you after all. »

« You didn't mention that to me. » She looked slightly annoyed at those news.

He shrugged.

« You didn't mention mafia bosses and a sex-changed cousin, am I complaining ? »

She sighed.

« Say hi to my brother to me. » She turned and walked to the terminal.

« Sure, take care aunty. » He turned his attention to me. « Sias, I have to say, you look hot. It's a bit weird as I can still recognize you behind that cutie face, but damn.»

I showed him my middle finger.

« See you around too. Coming at Christmas next year ? » He added, unfazed.

« You know what. » I answered « If I get through this assassin killer ninjas bullshit, sure, I'll come. Promise me no lobsters though. Just seeing them makes me sick. »

« No way, it's the best part. » He concluded with a smile.

That was how ended my reunion with my viking cousin.

My mom and I took a taxi and drove out of Paris.

The Jourdin estate was one hour away from the city. The trip in the car was silent, our driver fortunately was the non-talking type.

We got off in front of the large alley, beeches opening a way to us, a direct route towards my old nightmares.

We walked in, but as we arrived in front of the old renaissance castle, I had to stop.

« Sias ? » My mother asked.

The big house, Versailles style, only brought painful memories back. Even the ones of my grandmothers cakes were filled with a depressing nostalgia.

« It's almost like it has been frozen in time. »

« Yes, it definitely has been taken care of. »

« Shouldn't we be expecting company ? »

« Unlikely, they could not have arrived here before we did. »

With some effort, I moved again.

The front doors were closed. But the locks were still the same as ever.

I fiddled a bit with the handle.

« I'll try to find a way in back... » Began my mother.

The doors opened.

It was rare that I managed to surprise my mother.

« What the... ? »

« Special locks, you don't need the keys if you know how to open them. »

« That doesn't seem safe. »

I had a dry laugh.

« It took me more than a thousand tries to get it right the first time. It's safe I assure you. »

A painful expression passed in my mother's eyes.

« I never asked, I don't think I ever will. But whatever happened in this house , I'm sorry Sias. »

« I know you are, and as I already told you, It has been forgiven. You couldn't have known. »

This place was exactly as I remembered.

« There should be swords at the end of the corridor on the right. » I told my mother.

That brought a smile to her face, she stepped forwards... and stopped right in her tracks.

« I can smell perfume. »

I looked around, but saw no indications we weren't alone.

« Probably the caretaker. »

She nodded. « Stay on your guards anyway. »

« Yes sir. »

After exploring the house for an hour, we concluded we truly were alone in there. We took position in the training room. Strangely enough, the floors had been set with tatamis, which looked weird in the french aristocratic decor. Still, this was the way I had been trained. The mixture of martial arts required this kind of oriental set-up.

There were a lot of mirrors in here, and it was making me anxious. I was trying my best not to look at them.

« Should we just wait for the assassins to come ? »

That brought my mother out of her current action, which was the sharpening of her newfound toys.

« He won't send anyone, he'll come himself, well he'll have bodyguards, a secretary and all the other shit these men need in their empty lives. »

« What ? »

« We're here to discuss a deal, not a fight. »

« Wouldn't it be better in a public place then ? »

She laughed.

« How would I be able to kill them if the deal fails then ? You want your mother in prison ? »

I sighed.

« Can't you be serious for a second ? »

« I believe Miss Hailey is perfectly serious. » The voice of a man with a thick japanese accent echoed around us.

Me and my mother immediately got up.

We didn't hear him arrive, but he was already in the room.

What the...

We thought he would be surrounded by associates/underlings, but the well-dressed small middle-aged salaryman stood there alone with us.

« Takehiro-san I presume ? » Said my mother calmly. In truth, I knew she wasn't, she had been as surprised by his quiet arrival as I was.

« Miss Hailey » He moved towards her, holding his hand out. My mother shook it. « I insist, call me Kakeshi. »

« I believe, if my son teached me correctly, that that would be incredibly rude Takehiro-san. »

That made him look at me.

WRONG. RUN.

I had to stop myself from puking. That feeling, my instincts, they had never called to me as strongly before.

His gaze was deep, penetrating. Promises of death, pain, a final end.

My mom visibly tensed.

And then just like that, it stopped.

« Yes he is right. But we are not in Japan, we'll use french traditions in France. »

I put up a bravado to hide my trembling knees.

« You would need to kiss her cheeks if you wanted to do that then. »

He looked at me, then at my mother.

« Oh, it seems I am not as cultivated as I thought, I will definitely need to visit France again soon to remedy that. »

The small talk was visibly getting to my mother's nerves.

« Could we cut to the chase ? »

« Oh yes of course. You use legal means to get me the heritage without having to kill your son, and I obviously, stop trying to kill him. » He said rather simply.

That was the plan ? I was dumbfounded. Was that even possible ?

« Yes. » Just answered my mother.

« Can I ask how you would manage what my legal team couldn't ? I may be a harsh man, but I would not fall so low as to kill an innocent bystander if I could do so otherwise. »

Meaning he would kill anyone who stood in his way without a second thought, but he'd rather not because it costs a lot of money.

He was a textbook psychopath. Only the third time I met one.

You may believe I met them while studying psychology but you would be wrong. The first one was my grandfather, and the second was my dad's surgeon for his appendicitis. A great surgeon. The emotions were in the way of his job so he got rid of them.

Psychopaths were not necessarily killers, actually most of them are not.

Kakeshi Takehiro though, definitely was.

Everything in his demeanor, his false smiles, his way of speech, spoke of a shark. One that loved nothing more than fresh meat between it's numerous teeth.

But my mother didn't even flinch. Her answer an unmovable rock.

« No. »

He seemed to like that answer.

« Of course, as long as the result are there I would not care. »

Things seemed to be going well.

Oh no, I just raised a giant everything's going to go to hell flag by thinking that.

« Unfortunately, it seems I have been misled. »

My mother clenched the fencing sword in her right hand harder.

« How so ? » She asked.

« Well I am not really interested in all of this » He gestured the whole room, the whole estate.

« But Jourdin-san has had something of mine for awhile, and I would have truly liked to get it back. An artifact he won fairly from me. This contract was the way of getting it back fairly too. »

Oh no, I could smell some kind of bullshit magic thing miles away.

« You don't strike me as the kind of person to care about fairness. » I told him.

He watched me, thoughtful.

« No, you are right, truly terrifying how you could know that about me in such a short meeting. My family has been respected for it's honor for centuries, but I, as an individual, am not. In the case of this particular object though, fairness, is essential. »

« You're doing all this because of one object ? All those killers, those resources to find me, over one object ? »

He only answered me with a smile. He turned towards my mother.

« We will not be able to strike a deal. The object has been used already, and as such, I have no need to kill your son, or should I say soon to be daughter. As such I believe you will let me leave peacefully, yes, oh swordmaster of the North, murderer of Jourdins ? »

The title made my mother wince, but she nodded.

He began to leave, but turned around and questioned her again.

« Before I go can I ask how it feels to come back to the place where you singlehandedly destroyed one of the most powerful families of Europe ? »

I could almost hear the sword in her hands cry in pain from her tightened grip.

Her knuckles were sharp white from the pressure.

« Takehiro-san. » I tried to get his attention away from my mother. I also need to be sure of something.

He looked at me. Unease gripped my stomach again, but it was much more tolerable than before.

« Yes, Jourdin-kun ? »

« This object you talked about got used on me. What does it do ?»

He genuinely looked surprised.

« Impressive deduction young ma... erm... impressive ! »

« What does it do. » I repeated.

« Well it wouldn't be fun if I told you right ?» He began, but then like on a whim, he changed his mind and began aswering me. « In all honesty though I'm not sure. But I may say that it has nothing to do with your current state of... body. That was my fault, I trusted your grandfather to take revenge normally, but he apparently had something else in mind for you. If I may recommend something, do not try to change yourself back to a man, the drug's side effect would kick off in a rather unpleasant fashion. » He blinked, looking slightly confused for a few seconds, before stepping out of the room.

And with that ominous statement we were left alone in the house I hated the most in the world.

Hailey Skröskind was furious. I knew why. She knew why.

He had come alone. He had come to kill me. He wanted to « clear » the contract fairly, not strike another deal. Why ? I had no idea. In the end, he had no reason to do any of it, as by looking at me, he understood this object already got used on me. How he figured it out, I had no idea either. How I had known, well, I deduced it from an old conversation between my father and my grand-father.

It had been simple, really. He told us everything we wanted to know. With his words and his stares.

But this meeting had teached us one important, terrifying thing.

He had dared to come alone to face one of the greatest swordswoman in the world, maybe even the best.

And my mother was furious.

Because she would have lost that fight.

We had both felt it.

In the end all was good. I was safe. So I had only one thing left to do.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

And barely recognized the young woman looking back at me.