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A series of writing prompt one-shots featuring our very own team keyblade!

{from writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com
"You are an assassin. A little girl has just come up to you, handed you all her pocket money and asked you to kill her abusive relative."}

Chapter One: The True Assassin

“You’re doing that thing again,”
Esteban looked up from his untouched mug of coffee and towards his fiancée.“¿Que? What thing?”
Ki'lana sat beside him and threaded her fingers between his. “Where you think so hard about something that you get a blank look on your face and you don’t come back for hours.” She leaned her blonde head against his shoulder and sighed. “You’re starting to worry Cas and me, love.” Her grip tightened just a little. “Blade and Cian are wondering if you’re feeling okay since you’ve been doing it more often.”
He muttered an apology in Spanish and rested his head against hers, black locks mixing with blonde. “It’s nothing, cariña. Just taking a trip down memory lane I guess.”
The elf hummed in acknowledgment. “What memory were you thinking of?”
The assassin shifted his gaze away and sighed. “Nothing important….”
~three years ago~
“Ai, mijo, you’re going to destroy your lungs if you keep inhaling those damn cancer sticks!” Esteban’s father, Alberto, shouted at him from the open kitchen window. Said teenager just rolled his eyes and took another drag from his cigarette.
“Shut up, old man, I’m not a kid anymore!” He responded angrily, blowing the smoke in his father’s general direction.
“You are still fifteen years old, you still live under my roof, and so you will still do as I say, young man!” He heard the window shutters slam shut in anger. Grumbling, he threw the cigarette in the dirt and put it out under his boot. Not having anything else to do, he shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets and made his way to The Happy Bull, which was a bar where his sister worked.
His thoughts wandered as he walked the streets of Valencia, Spain. He cursed his mother, having never known her. He cursed his father, training him for something he didn’t even want. He cursed his town, keeping him trapped here. He cursed the little girl, trailing after him, calling his name-
Wait, what?
He was so deep in his thoughts, he didn’t even see the little girl (she couldn’t have been more than six), catching up to him and panting. She must’ve been chasing him for a while.
“What do you want, kid?” He grumped. He wasn’t in the mood for dealing with snot-nosed brats right now. (And yet, his inner voice told him, you stopped for her so she could catch up.)
“Please! I need your help, mister assassin!” She tugged at his pant leg in panic.
Esteban’s blood ran cold. How’d she find out he was an Assassin? He quickly glanced around and confirmed that no one was listening to their conversation before kneeling to her level. “Look, kid. I don’t know how you know what I am, but you need to turn around and forget you ever saw me, si?”
The girl’s light brown eyes welled up with unshed tears. “P-please… ” she reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a few pennies and a dime with some pocket lint, “…I have money! Just please kill my daddy!”
It was like someone threw a wrench in the gears of Esteban’s brain. She wanted him to do what? He had gotten jobs like this before, and they sometimes paid a pretty penny, but this was the first time something like this had happened to him.
“Mister…?” The girl’s small voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he got a good look at her; brown hair sheared short, dark circles under frightened brown eyes, darkly bruised limbs (he noted with horror the bruises were hand-shaped), the dress hanging off her thin - too thin - form.
He was suddenly angry. The girl must’ve seen his face contort into a rage because she started trembling in fear. He reached for her outstretched palms… And gently pushed them against her chest with what he hoped was a comforting grin.
“This one’s on the house, kid.” The girl rushed forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist in a hug, thanking him over and over.
He stood up told her to go ahead to The Happy Bull and ask for Carmen. “Tell her Esteban sent you. She’ll help you get a place to stay,” the girl nodded and rushed off in the direction he pointed in. As soon as she was out of sight, he pulled his Hood over his head and made his way to the address she had provided for him, a scowl etched on his face.
———
The house was a disaster, he concluded. The front lawn was overgrown with weeds, the rusted mailbox was stuffed to brimming with what he suspected was unpaid bills, the house itself looking like not even a paint job could spruce it up.
Using his Eagle Vision, he could see inside the house and see one shaded figure leaning over another, feminine one. The abuser in question. He suspected that the feminine one was the girl’s mother. He blinked and scanned the area for entry points. Spotting a broken window, he crouched beneath it, ready to make a move…
———
Carmen passed the little girl another glass of orange juice, who drank it down greedily. The waitress shook her head as she sent a piercing glare at the remaining customers staring at the little girl.
“So, what’s your name, sweetheart?” She asked softly, not wanting to startle the little girl. Said girl shifted her gaze to her shoes and whispered “Rosa”.
As Carmen started to pour Rosa another glass, the door to the bar opened to reveal her brother holding his hoodie behind his back, along with his gauntlet that housed his hidden blade.
“Hey, how about you go upstairs, Rosa.” Carmen gestured to the stairs behind her that led to the staff lounge, “I’ll be up there in a minute.” Rosa jumped down unquestioningly and ducked upstairs in time for Esteban to set his gauntlet and bloodstained hoodie on the bar before sitting where Rosa previously was.
The older sibling fixed him with a penetrating stare. “You have some explaining to do, hermanito. But first,” she tossed a wet rag in his face, “clean up your face. You look like you stepped out of a B-rated horror movie.”
“It was a messy job, not my fault,” he said before wiping his face haphazardly, wincing at the sting of his cuts. “The bastard smashed a wine bottle over my head, so I retaliated. But not before making sure the mother was safe outside though.”
Carmen sighed exasperatedly at her little brother. “Well, I’m glad that guy got what he deserved, but that’s not what I meant,” she leaned on the countertop, meeting Esteban’s eye level. “I meant, why did you have to go and do something as stupid and reckless as going on a job without telling anyone. Or without anyone else as backup? Papi’s gonna kill you when you get home.”
And for the first time in a long time… Esteban smiled. Like a genuine smile. “I dunno. But if it makes you feel any better, I finally know what dad was talking about when he made me an Assassin; to serve the light, we work in the dark. I was protecting that girl’s light by destroying the thing that made her dark.”
He reached for his cigarettes and was about to light one up… Before stopping midway. Before standing up and walking to the trash can nearby. Before tossing them in, along with his lighter.
He didn’t need them anymore, he realized, because he had found something better. Yes, his dad was still going to punish him for disobeying him earlier; yes, his body was going to feel like hell while he was overcoming the smoking addiction; yes, there were going to be consequences for his actions, but he didn’t care.
He was going to be fine.

~present day~

He heard gentle snoring beside him coming from Ki'lana, the Night Elf having fallen asleep on his shoulder while he was thinking. He looked down at his lap and saw Caspian, in his cat form, taking a catnap on his lap contentedly.
He heard clattering dishes and cooking sounds from the kitchen, which meant Cian was probably making dinner. And, from the slight smell of smoke, Blade was trying (and failing, since the ex-princess couldn’t cook to save her life) to help him out.
The assassin couldn’t help but smile at his ragtag “family”. He gently pet the werecat on his lap and squeezed Ki’s hand gently while listening to the prince and keybearer bicker in the background.
Yes. He was going to be fine.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

A series of writing prompt one-shots featuring our very own team keyblade!

{from writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com
"You are an assassin. A little girl has just come up to you, handed you all her pocket money and asked you to kill her abusive relative."}

Chapter One: The True Assassin

“You’re doing that thing again,”
Esteban looked up from his untouched mug of coffee and towards his fiancée.“¿Que? What thing?”
Ki'lana sat beside him and threaded her fingers between his. “Where you think so hard about something that you get a blank look on your face and you don’t come back for hours.” She leaned her blonde head against his shoulder and sighed. “You’re starting to worry Cas and me, love.” Her grip tightened just a little. “Blade and Cian are wondering if you’re feeling okay since you’ve been doing it more often.”
He muttered an apology in Spanish and rested his head against hers, black locks mixing with blonde. “It’s nothing, cariña. Just taking a trip down memory lane I guess.”
The elf hummed in acknowledgment. “What memory were you thinking of?”
The assassin shifted his gaze away and sighed. “Nothing important….”
~three years ago~
“Ai, mijo, you’re going to destroy your lungs if you keep inhaling those damn cancer sticks!” Esteban’s father, Alberto, shouted at him from the open kitchen window. Said teenager just rolled his eyes and took another drag from his cigarette.
“Shut up, old man, I’m not a kid anymore!” He responded angrily, blowing the smoke in his father’s general direction.
“You are still fifteen years old, you still live under my roof, and so you will still do as I say, young man!” He heard the window shutters slam shut in anger. Grumbling, he threw the cigarette in the dirt and put it out under his boot. Not having anything else to do, he shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets and made his way to The Happy Bull, which was a bar where his sister worked.
His thoughts wandered as he walked the streets of Valencia, Spain. He cursed his mother, having never known her. He cursed his father, training him for something he didn’t even want. He cursed his town, keeping him trapped here. He cursed the little girl, trailing after him, calling his name-
Wait, what?
He was so deep in his thoughts, he didn’t even see the little girl (she couldn’t have been more than six), catching up to him and panting. She must’ve been chasing him for a while.
“What do you want, kid?” He grumped. He wasn’t in the mood for dealing with snot-nosed brats right now. (And yet, his inner voice told him, you stopped for her so she could catch up.)
“Please! I need your help, mister assassin!” She tugged at his pant leg in panic.
Esteban’s blood ran cold. How’d she find out he was an Assassin? He quickly glanced around and confirmed that no one was listening to their conversation before kneeling to her level. “Look, kid. I don’t know how you know what I am, but you need to turn around and forget you ever saw me, si?”
The girl’s light brown eyes welled up with unshed tears. “P-please… ” she reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a few pennies and a dime with some pocket lint, “…I have money! Just please kill my daddy!”
It was like someone threw a wrench in the gears of Esteban’s brain. She wanted him to do what? He had gotten jobs like this before, and they sometimes paid a pretty penny, but this was the first time something like this had happened to him.
“Mister…?” The girl’s small voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he got a good look at her; brown hair sheared short, dark circles under frightened brown eyes, darkly bruised limbs (he noted with horror the bruises were hand-shaped), the dress hanging off her thin - too thin - form.
He was suddenly angry. The girl must’ve seen his face contort into a rage because she started trembling in fear. He reached for her outstretched palms… And gently pushed them against her chest with what he hoped was a comforting grin.
“This one’s on the house, kid.” The girl rushed forward and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist in a hug, thanking him over and over.
He stood up told her to go ahead to The Happy Bull and ask for Carmen. “Tell her Esteban sent you. She’ll help you get a place to stay,” the girl nodded and rushed off in the direction he pointed in. As soon as she was out of sight, he pulled his Hood over his head and made his way to the address she had provided for him, a scowl etched on his face.
———
The house was a disaster, he concluded. The front lawn was overgrown with weeds, the rusted mailbox was stuffed to brimming with what he suspected was unpaid bills, the house itself looking like not even a paint job could spruce it up.
Using his Eagle Vision, he could see inside the house and see one shaded figure leaning over another, feminine one. The abuser in question. He suspected that the feminine one was the girl’s mother. He blinked and scanned the area for entry points. Spotting a broken window, he crouched beneath it, ready to make a move…
———
Carmen passed the little girl another glass of orange juice, who drank it down greedily. The waitress shook her head as she sent a piercing glare at the remaining customers staring at the little girl.
“So, what’s your name, sweetheart?” She asked softly, not wanting to startle the little girl. Said girl shifted her gaze to her shoes and whispered “Rosa”.
As Carmen started to pour Rosa another glass, the door to the bar opened to reveal her brother holding his hoodie behind his back, along with his gauntlet that housed his hidden blade.
“Hey, how about you go upstairs, Rosa.” Carmen gestured to the stairs behind her that led to the staff lounge, “I’ll be up there in a minute.” Rosa jumped down unquestioningly and ducked upstairs in time for Esteban to set his gauntlet and bloodstained hoodie on the bar before sitting where Rosa previously was.
The older sibling fixed him with a penetrating stare. “You have some explaining to do, hermanito. But first,” she tossed a wet rag in his face, “clean up your face. You look like you stepped out of a B-rated horror movie.”
“It was a messy job, not my fault,” he said before wiping his face haphazardly, wincing at the sting of his cuts. “The bastard smashed a wine bottle over my head, so I retaliated. But not before making sure the mother was safe outside though.”
Carmen sighed exasperatedly at her little brother. “Well, I’m glad that guy got what he deserved, but that’s not what I meant,” she leaned on the countertop, meeting Esteban’s eye level. “I meant, why did you have to go and do something as stupid and reckless as going on a job without telling anyone. Or without anyone else as backup? Papi’s gonna kill you when you get home.”
And for the first time in a long time… Esteban smiled. Like a genuine smile. “I dunno. But if it makes you feel any better, I finally know what dad was talking about when he made me an Assassin; to serve the light, we work in the dark. I was protecting that girl’s light by destroying the thing that made her dark.”
He reached for his cigarettes and was about to light one up… Before stopping midway. Before standing up and walking to the trash can nearby. Before tossing them in, along with his lighter.
He didn’t need them anymore, he realized, because he had found something better. Yes, his dad was still going to punish him for disobeying him earlier; yes, his body was going to feel like hell while he was overcoming the smoking addiction; yes, there were going to be consequences for his actions, but he didn’t care.
He was going to be fine.

~present day~

He heard gentle snoring beside him coming from Ki'lana, the Night Elf having fallen asleep on his shoulder while he was thinking. He looked down at his lap and saw Caspian, in his cat form, taking a catnap on his lap contentedly.
He heard clattering dishes and cooking sounds from the kitchen, which meant Cian was probably making dinner. And, from the slight smell of smoke, Blade was trying (and failing, since the ex-princess couldn’t cook to save her life) to help him out.
The assassin couldn’t help but smile at his ragtag “family”. He gently pet the werecat on his lap and squeezed Ki’s hand gently while listening to the prince and keybearer bicker in the background.
Yes. He was going to be fine.