I have to do something. But what can I do? I don't have the power to defend myself, or my parents. But it's my fault that Mama and Papa are injured. Why are they fighting so hard against the burglar, while I'm sitting in the corner of the room crying? It's not fair!

"The Akuma Crystal..." The burglar whispers while lying on the ground in front of me after Papa threw him to the floor. I look up and gaze into his eyes. His face is covered in blood and his eyes are glowing red, like a monster's. He puts his hand out in front of me. "Give me the Akuma Crystal!" he yells as I close my eyes and scream. Papa smashes a flower vase onto his head. The burglar drops to the floor again, but slowly stands up and turns around to look Papa in the eye. He punches him in the face over and over again until Papa falls to the floor. The walls are stained with splatters of nearly everyone's blood: Papa's, Mama's, and the burglar's - everyone except me.

What can I do? Mama has already been knocked out protecting me. The phone is on the other side of the room. If I call for help, I could get hurt. The neighbors don't seem to care, or they're too afraid to call the police. I'm all all alone. I clutch my snowflake pendant that my parents gave me yesterday for my tenth birthday.

"Run. Run away with the necklace of yours, okay? Don't let anyone have it," Papa instructs as I open my eyes and nod.

"Shut up, old man!" the burglar yells as he kicks Papa in the stomach.

I use that opportunity to run out of the room and across the hallway to the front door. Almost there. As I reach my hand out to open the door, the burglar grabs me by my long, black hair and yanks me. I stumble and fall on my bottom.

"Where ya going, little girl? You still haven't given me that necklace of yours," he says with a malicious grin.

"Let go of me!" I demand, struggling to break free in futility.

"Quiet, you nosy brat!" He bellows as he knocks me at the back of my head.

I loose all feeling in my body as I fall to the floor. Everything starts to fade. Am I really going to die here? Along with Mama and Papa? No. I can't die here. I need more power. Power to protect myself and my parents.

"Do you truly seek power?"

I suddenly find myself in a white room. Standing in front of me is a tall, blonde woman wearing a white tunic. She appears to to be glowing. She's like an angel without wings or a halo. But for some reason, I did not get a warm vibe from her.

"Did I die?" I ask her. She refuses to answer my question.

"Do you truly seek power?" she repeats.

I hesitate for a moment, but then respond,"Yes, I want power. Power to be able to protect me and the people precious to me."

"Even if you do gain this power, it will only bring you and the people around you despair. Knowing this, do you still seek power?" the woman confirms.

"As long as I can protect my my family and friends, I don't care what suffering or despair I'll encounter. Just give me the power," I demand.

"Very well. I will grant you the power you desire," she says as she put her hand out in front of my chest. My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light that envelops my entire body.

I close my eyes and awake back in the hallway of my house. The burglar slowly reaches out to grab my necklace. Before he does, a bolt of lightning strikes my body, but I don't feel any pain from it. It actually feel wonderful. I can feel the rush of power surging within me!

"I-impossible. This girl... She actually activated the power of the Akuma Crystal?" The burglar whimpers.

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"It's amazing!" I laugh. "This power- it's..." I start, but I'm cut off when my body starts to feel intense pain. Oh no. I can't hold it in much longer. It feels like it's going out of control! My body releases all of the power within me at once and a bright white light envelops the entire house.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" The burglar shrieks.

That's the last thing I hear before passing out after releasing all that energy.

When I awake much later, I nearly barf at this first thing that catches my eye. The corpse of the man who tried to steal my necklace. A pool of blood surrounds his body and his limbs are all over the place. The eyes and mouth are wide open, but his eyes are no longer glowing red.

"That's right! Mama, Papa!" I call out as I run through the hallway back into the living room. But the sight was the same as that man's. Their bodies lie face down on the floor in a sea of blood. "Ahhhhhh!" I scream. "Did I do this?" I cry as I fall to my knees and shut my eyes.

"Yes, that was all your doing."

I open my eyes to find myself in the same white room, with the woman standing in front of me. "You killed both the burglar and your parents," she says.

I gasp. "I'm supposed to protect others with this power. So why?" I sob.

"In order to protect something, something must be sacrificed," she explains.

"Then, take it back," I mutter. "Take back this stinking power and give me back my family!" I demand.

She giggles. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. Once the power is distributed, it can no longer be taken back."

"It can't be." The woman starts to fade away. "Hey! Come back here! Take it back! Take it back!" I yell.

"Wake up, it's time to wake up," a man's voice calls faintly.

I open my eyes to find myself in my bed in the Secret Murder of Sinners Headquarters. A man with spiky, silver hair and a black suit sits at the foot of my bed. "Master."

"Good, your awake. It seemed like you were having a nightmare," he smiles.

"It was nothing," I quietly respond.

"I see. Anyways, it's time to get ready. You have a mission this morning. Sorry to make you do this early in the morning today. After all, you do know what today is, right?"

I nod. "It's the anniversary of the day when I got my powers. 6 years ago on January 3rd, 2030. And it's the day you took me in as your assassin for the SMSO." That day, I wept at the corpses of my parents. Master came inside the house and saw me there. He explained to me about the Crystal. It's called the Akuma Crystal. It came from a meteor that fell to Earth thousands of years ago. It has a negative effect on humans who touch it. That's because they are said to be possessed by demons. Only a select few young girls are compatible with it and can utilize the power contained within them. He told me to use that power to become an assassin under the Secret Murder of Sinners Organization, which safely secures any found fragments of the Crystal and kills those who commit serious crimes to prevent incidents like that one. I accepted, and trained for several years to control my powers and to get where I am today.

"That's right. Anyways, get ready and come down to my office in five minutes for your next mission," he orders.

"I undertand," I reply as he leaves the room. I pause to think about that dream I just had. I slap my cheeks hard. "I'm no longer that scared little girl I was back then. I'm now 16 and a whole new person. I am Yuki Kira, the Lightning Assassin.