ASSASSIN, Chapter One

~*~
4 years later

     “Kori, will you play blocks with me?” the 4 year old Usagi 
Serenity 
Tsukino asked her older brother.

     The cold hearted 9 year old looked up from the papers he had been 
given 
to study and glared at the small blonde in front of him, “No, I’m 
studying 
and I’m too old too play with 4 year olds and blocks now get out of 
my 
room,” he spat and pushed his sister away.

     Tears welled up in Usagi’s big blue eyes and she ran out of the 
room, 
leaving her brother to his studies and he didn’t feel the least bit 
sorry.

~*~

     “Mommy?”

     Queen Serenity looked down to see her daughter with tears running 
down 
her slightly chubby cheeks, “Aww, what’s wrong, Usa?”

     Usagi started sobbing and Serenity kneeled down, bringing her into 
her 
arms, “What’s wrong, huh? Tell me, Sweetie. Did someone hurt 
you?”

     “Why does Kori hate me?” she asked, choking on her sobs.

     Serenity hugged the small girl tighter and stroked her long, curly 
blonde hair, “Oh, Usagi, he doesn’t hate you--”

     “Yes he does! He hates me! And I don’t know why! I was being 
nice to 
him and he pushed me! He hates me and I hate him! I *hate* him!!” 
Usagi 
yelled and ran from her mother, up to her room and slammed the huge 
door that 
she could barely open.

     Serenity stared after her daughter with saddened eyes then anger 
flared 
inside her and she started on her way down the hall.

     Serenity came to a door and tried to open but it was locked. A key 
appeared in her hand and she unlocked it, walking inside to see Kori 
laying 
on his bed, tossing a small mangled bird from one hand to the other. 
Serenity 
made a disgusted face, snatching the poor, half dead animal from him 
and 
healed it in her hands then let it out the window.

     “Do you know that your sister is in her room crying her eyes out 
because 
of you?! She thinks you hate her!”

     “That’s because I do,” Kori said calmly, closing his eyes 
and folding 
his arms behind his head.

     “Why?! What did she ever do to you?! What makes you hate her so 
much?!” 
a tear rolled down her cheek as she added in a whisper, “Why do you 
hate *me* 
so much?”

     “Usagi because she was born, you because you bore me, I never 
asked to 
be born.”

     “What? How could--? Why are you… like you are? What happened?? 
I 
understand! Why?!” the queen dropped to her knees, crying.

     Kori smirked down at his mother and left the room, leaving her to 
her 
tears.

~*~

     Serenity lay next to her husband in their king size bed, staring 
up into 
the darkness of their room, thinking of her son.

     “Henry?”

     “Humm?” Henry mumbled sleepily.

     “What do we do about Kori?”

     “What do you mean?” he asked, turning over onto his side to 
face his 
wife though the only thing he could see of her was her long silver 
hair.

     “He’s truly evil, Henry. He can’t be king, I won’t allow 
it, he’d 
destroy everything. Do you see what he does to animals?”

     There was a long moment of silence and Serenity spoke again, “Do 
you 
know… he made both Usagi and I cry today. He hates us……”

     “No, Serenity, don’t say that,” he pulled her into his 
embrace and 
gently ran his hands through hair as he felt her start to cry.

     “It’s true. He told me. He said he hated me because I bore him 
and he 
hates Usagi because she was born. He told me, Henry, he really does 
hate me,” 
her voice breaking at the last words as she cried harder.

     Henry pulled her closer and whispered, “Shh… don’t worry, 
Love, it’ll 
all be ok. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, but now you need to 
sleep,” he 
gently kissed the top of her head, “sshhh……”

~*~

     “Kori?” Henry asked, his wife standing next to him as he tried 
to get 
his son’s attention.

     Kori acted as though he hadn’t heard him and kept trying to 
capture a 
grasshopper. He finally got his hands over and picked it up, he was 
going to 
yank off one of its back legs.

     “Yamete (Stop it),” Serenity snapped and sent a wave of energy 
toward 
him, knocking the bug out of his hands and he glared up at her. She 
glared 
back, but then remembered why they had come and sighed, her expression 
changing to one that clearly showed caring, “What must we do to make 
you stop 
hating us? How can we make you… happy?”

     Kori looked amused by the question and smirked, holding up his 
hand, 
“Die,” he said and with an amazing amount of energy for a 9 year 
old he shot 
an icicle out at his mother.

     Shocked, Serenity didn’t move an inch but just as the large 
shard of ice 
was about to hit Henry jumped infront of her, taking it in the stomach. 
He 
doubled over in pain, falling to the ground.

     “Henry!!”

     “Papa!!!” Usagi’s voice was heard a short distance away as 
she dropped 
a bunch of flowers that she had been holding, running over to the 
fallen 
king, “iie!! Papa!”

     “Oh, Usa,” he reached up and cupped her small cheek, 
“aishiteru.”

     “Papa… iie. Ikanaide (You can’t go).”

     “Gomenne Usa,” he looked over to his wife and smiled sadly, 
“Serenity,” trying to reach up to touch her, but his hand fell limp 
to the 
ground next to him, “ai…shite…” and he stopped breathing.

     Serenity stared at her husband’s limp form as she shook her 
head, not 
believing what had just happened. She tore her eyes away from him and 
looked 
up, looking around for Kori, but he was gone, “KORI!! DAIKILAI!! 
DAIKILAI, 
ONI!!! (I HATE YOU, DEMON).”

-------------------
End Chapter One.
September 7, 2000
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