Perfect School

I finished what I had on my plate before taking a long sip of the juice. Tucking that against my hip I picked up the parfait and spoon, digging into it greedily.

Jonah:

I watched her with a slight annoyance suspecting her choice of food was intentional. Though it hardly effected me, as I had lost my appetite any way.

A faint smirk touched my lips as I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. Standing I stretched before taking another bite of the treat I'd grabbed. "I wouldn't keep me waiting again." I remarked after a moment before kicking off my sandals and going barefoot out onto the porch.

Jonah:

“What, next time are you going to force feed me tomatoes?” I quipped, annoyed more by her words than her actions. “You didn't have to come back if you wee that displeased.” I said before standing up, leaving the juice she had gotten for me and everything else on the table. I went back to my bed to lay down as I had been before she came back. She wasn't really the cause for my mood, and ordinarily I would have laughed off what she had done.

His words made me pause, but I simply shrugged it off. He was showing why I had been taught that emotions were useless, that such things would hinder me. I used it as an example and slowly my feels faded away until they were safely locked behind an iron wall.

Jonah:

For much of the day I didn't seek Kira out like I usually would, instead I kept to myself. I went for a walk and found a secluded place to work out and train, clearing my thoughts as best I could. Much later in the afternoon I returned to the cabin, looking for Kira.

I was sitting on the porch swing, legs across the bench while a laptop was in my lap. Lazily I reached for a bowl on the ground to pluck from a collection of berries. I was checking the status of things throughout the world I knew. Marie's company, Zero, the current rankings among the assassin's as well as going rates for deeds. It had been a while since I'd checked up on such things.

Jonah:

I found her on the swing, carefully I moved her legs then sat down with them across my lap. “I never thanked you for bringing back lunch. I appreciate it, and I apologize for making you wait.” I said with a soft, apologetic smile.

I took a moment to adjust to this new position. "Distractions happen. You were distracted and I simply fulfilled my needs." I stated after I'd settled comfortably again.

Jonah:

“Don't you ever get distracted, Kira?” I asked her, looking over the edge of her lap top to her face. I put my hand on her leg casually, just above her ankle.

"Yes. It is unavoidable. I must eat, I must sleep, I must take time to care for my body and mind. I have distractions for I am human." I stated as my attention returned to my laptop. "People are another for of distraction, they require contact and upkeep lest they feel neglected. It's why I have come to rely on the Oracles. They do the upkeep for me."

Jonah:

I placed my other hand on her thigh, just above her knee. “You don't feel the need to be close to someone? There re other needs than rest, sustenance, and piece of mind.” I said conversationally.

I glanced at his touch, tensing slightly under it. Slowly though I dragged my attention back to the laptop in my lap. I didn't pay attention to the screen, instead pondering over what he'd said. "No. Being close places extra challenges. I am forced to attend to their needs more and more the closer I get to them."

Jonah:

“Ah, well that is true. But the closer you get to someone the closer they are to you. And when someone is close to you, they are more likely to do things for you. Be loyal to you.” I said, giving her leg a slight squeeze. “Emotions aren't always a weakness. And if you can command the emotions of others, it is an advantage. Everything has a price.”

"And this is loyalty?". I asked him softly with a shift of the leg he held.

Jonah:

“Yes, the commanding of emotions. You cant truly buy loyalty. If it can be bought with money, then someone can always pay a higher price for it. Whether it be fear, or love, or any in between.” I answered, looking off into the woods rather than her. “You're loyal too. To Marie. What emotions of yours do you think she commands?”

"Nothing. She owns me as I am nothing but something to be used. I was trained to not feel emotions -by- her. As such she commands no emotions of mine." I stated slowly turning my attention back to my laptop.

Jonah:


“I don't think so.” I murmured, giving no further explanation. Slowly but surely I was learning to understand her, even when she didn't know herself.

I raised a brow at him but with no further words from him I focused on my laptop entirely. Some rankings had changed, Marie was no longer the best but some columbian upstart. It was almost laughable, he'd be crushed in an instant I knew. Poisons were down but drive-by shootings were up in price.

Jonah:

I rocked us slowly in the swing. It was nice being out there with Kira like that, it calmed me. My earlier mood was erased by it, but my thoughts remained. “Kira, have you ever killed someone?” I asked her suddenly. The school didn't let us kill until we had gone through all of the necessary training. I thought it was likely that they knew it would effect the physiology of a child's mind as well, so waiting until we were older benefited them there too. Marie might not have cared about that. I truly didn't know about Kira, and I had never asked before.

"I don't know..." I stated after a long moment. "I have done terrible things to people, things that might have killed them but I was always pulled away or never told what happened to them in the end. I take that as it is. Humans are so fragile, it doesn't take much to end a life. When it comes down to it I will kill as I am ordered."

Jonah:

I looked over at her. “You've tortured people?” I asked. The idea of torture was not pleasing to me, but I understood it's uses.

"Once. Marie wanted to test my resolve. I don't know who he was or what he'd done. But I'd performed as ordered. It isn't pleasant." I told him looking up from the screen.

Jonah:

“Hm.” I moved my thumb back and forth over her leg absently. “What would you do if you weren't owned? If Marie and her entire organization was abolished, would you continue this path? Would you choose this life if it was completely up to you?” I looked into her green eyes as I asked it.

"I'd be out of a job and I'd have to try and make my own way then. This is all I know Jonah. It is not uncommon for Assassins to find work within other fields. But this is the field I know and am comfortable with doing. Do you think you could be just a regular guy working at a desk? Do you think I could be a housewife?" I asked him softly.