Blood drips down from my head to the ground, but that's the least of my concerns. Her weapon, merely a milimeter away from my neck. A mere heavy breath can kill me.

I can't move. If I move, I'll get stabbed. The position that I am in now is fine as long as I am not injured. After all, it's a battle of endurance.

The same as her. If she moves, just a heavy breath, she'll get killed. One wrong move and I stab her.

My arm is outstretched, the arm that has a dagger stretched out to reach her neck. At the same time, hers is outstretched too. She can't use her other arm to take my dagger away since I broke it. And I can't use mine because the knife's in the opposite side, I couldn't reach it with my left hand.

We are completely in a stalemate.

And, as our lives depend on it, we can't afford to take risks.

I may be a professional killer, but if I so much take a major blow, if I go to school the next day or not go to school at all, I will be suspicious. On the other hand, Marie looks like she has been fighting for her life all this time. She really is desperate... If a mere dagger can kill her, all that she has done so far will be going to waste.

In a sudden turn of events, Marie suddenly threw her knife away while wearing a smirk. Shocked, I lowered my dagger too.

At that moment, both of us lay down on the grass, regardless of the dirt or insects that lurk within. The pants and heavy gasps we had held back for so long finally released as a sense of relief.

"Were you really the killer of my parents?" She asks in between her breathing.

"I told you I don't remember anyone I killed." I answer in a low voice, manually changing it.

"Johnson."

Ah! No way!

"You remember now? The two people that you killed with a knife." She faintly laughs. Her voice is growing soft and faint, despite the strong and bold meaning of those sentences.

"It wasn't a knife, was it?" I paused for a moment, trying to remember the memory of my first kill 4 years ago... "It was a gun."

"Hmph. So it really was you." Marie sighed in relief. "I can't believe my parents' killer is just a little girl."

"That's the reason why I was sloppy."

It was my first kill. A guy in his early 20s went to see me. A tall, thin, clean-shaven man, like someone in college. He's wearing a black hat, in a black trench coat, and his hair is messy. This guy is mostly hidden. Amidst the darkness, he decided to meet me as I was heading back from school. If not for my cautiousness, I might've not seen him.

"Johnson family." His voice sounded low and clear, like a deep ocean during the storm. It's calming, yet I can't help but feel pressured as he was saying it. "Kill them."

A truck passes by, distracting me for a second. After which, as I try to look back at the tall man, he disappeared, leaving only his black fedora swaying towards me in a lonely tune.

Who knew that even when I tried hard to ignite a fire, I left a bullet-- a solid evidence that it was a murder? Really, I was sloppy.

But this girl... she just has the same reason as I have. Her heart is blackened by vengeance and despair. I don't want either of us to die.

I stand in front of her with my remaining strength... Blood still dripping down from my head and mouth. Irritated, I wiped them all off.

"I'll let you live. In exchange, I want you to help me. Whenever you see me, whenever you hear my name, Zero, being called, I want you to come running to my aid, you hear?!" I shouted while holding a loaded gun to her head, only a   bullet is left in my poor small revolver. "From this day onward, every single breath you take is a gift from me!" I proclaim as I shot the ground near her head. She did not flinch, she didn't move. She was so tired to even think about resisting me anymore.

I threw my empty gun away, but near enough on her reach. Looking at her one last time, I then walked away. I didn't hear the gun's safety lock off, I didn't hear any trigger or any barrel getting opened, I didn't hear any shuffles from it even getting picked up!

...

"Boss," I called from my phone. "Today, I failed."