Calm down, she’s not going to woo my heart, I comforted myself. Sure, swordsmanship is impressive, and I saw impressive videos on the internet in my previous life, but that shouldn’t be enough to sway my resolve.

It’s going to be Thousand Cuts who will be the one embarrassed after our wager. I would firstly get rid of her silly name, I nodded.

The woman took me to some courtyard with various loads of training equipment and targets.

Thousand Cuts placed a watermelon on the post far from me.

“You shall bear humility when you witness the might of my %1000 human potential. Beyond the scope of my limiter!” Thousand Cuts exclaimed.

“Does at least %100 of that human potential have anything to do with subtlety?” I retorted back.

“Ha! Speaking out of nervousness that I see?”

“I’m not nervous!”

“Your ears would say otherwise.”

Damn ears. I would press them, but that would hurt. I instead glared at her.

“If you repent now and sincerely accept me as your teacher, I can save you from embarrassment. You will never learn of that time your hubris underestimated Thousand Cuts.”

“It’s my own hubris now? As a gentleman, it would take more than a few fancy tricks to sway my heart. Especially if all that's done is cutting fruit.” I nodded to myself.

“Fool! For what this watermelon represents is more than just fruit!” She adjusted her posture to put on an act “It is a showcase of my overwhelming power! Watch how I subjugate this fruit with all my might” She poses in the nighttime air, this time it was out of confidence.

Is she being serious? The crazy woman was trying to be intense, but she failed on that accord. If I won, that all that mattered.

The wind stood still. Thousand Cuts smile faded away as she grabbed onto the sheath of her sword. She positions herself as if ready to strike, yet far from the watermelon.

No, there’s no way, I steered myself clear.

“Greed, sin, corruption, those are the folly of man. My heart has long adjusted to the shadows, yet my resolve is being tested. I will not submit, will not relent, I will remain when the world is overcome with darkness,” she whispered out her speech.

“Final Destination: Phantom Blade,” She whispered.

The world darkens as my eyes betrayed me. The aura coming out from the sword made my irises dilate. She drew out her sword to cut through the air. Light swirled outside of the blade. The steel has an eerie darkness.

The fruit laid bare on its post, nothing happened.

Okay, good, I was worrying for a sec…

I was mistaken, the watermelon split directly in the middle, yet she wasn’t near finished. She dashes toward the split melon suspended in air.

I was on my toes, my eyes never looked away.

It was like she vanished. Coming back, she did a flurry of cuts, each one a blur.

With a smirk, she stepped away from the incoming exploding. Bits of melon exploded into juice, not one drop getting on her clothes.

The woman looked at more before twirling her blade and putting it back into the sheath. Her narrow sword turned back into dull steel color.

My eyeballs were bursting out watching the spectacle. It was amazing, it was the reason I lost. My tail and ears were high up in the air, it was impossible to mistake the reaction for anything else.

“Ha! Mekiko I won! Have you seen how amazing I… Hey Mekiko, are you alright?” she asked.

“My life is over. Why does everything have to be a cruel joke?,” I got onto my knees with my head hung down.

“It’s okay Mekiko. I would be too devastated if my opponent is also Thousand Cuts,” she tried to comfort me.

“You’re not helping!”

— — —

Outside of the courtyard, we waited near a corner covered with a wall.

“Now that you’re my apprentice now, we can now start the initiation. You have much to learn before we can begin,” she said.

“Fine let’s get this over with,” I sighed.

“You don’t sound so enthusiastic. It’s not every night that one can learn from Thousand Cuts.”

“Excuse me if I lost a wager that cost me my peace of mind. The faster that I can get through your ‘initiation,’ the faster I can be done. And can you please stop referring yourself in third person,” I sighed

“Your heart has yet to adjust to your surroundings. Let’s begin with the first part of the test,” she deliberately ignored my question.

Thousand cuts stripes off her clothes.

“Wait, it’s not time for that! You shouldn’t be doing that or someone might call the news,” I waved my claws.

“Call the news for what?” she asked innocently. Underneath her armor was a white t-shirt. The same of what I’ve been wearing, although mine is much smaller in size.

“It’s nothing. I was expecting… uh, why did you even take off your armor?” Of course she had something under that armor. I stuttered too for no reason. Why did I think she was naked?

“We are going to sneak out of IMPERIAL Barracks,” she said.

“Sneak out, you know how many guards there are watching for us?” I was incredulous to hear her going crazier by the minute.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“That what makes it the perfect time to be sneaking out,” The woman hid her duster under a hollowed out rock. “There has recently been a huge shift in guard structure. Some of the more incompetent guards were outright fired, but most were sent to beastkin sensitivity training. All that's left is a skeleton crew to keep order here.”

I have a sense that it was me who caused such a shift in the guards. It was so disheartening that this all started because of an onion mishap. I did not have the heart to tell her. Hold on, why should I care about what Thousand Cuts thinks?

“Come on white shroud, darkness waits for no one.”

“We are now giving out affectionate pet names?” I asked, but she made no comment. She motions me to stay close to her, I followed.

— — —

The flowers were beautiful this time of night. The white roses caught my attention as we passed by the pedals. We were located inside a garden. Thousand Cuts interrupted my sightseeing when I bumped into her. She motioned me to stay quiet, we crouched down. For me to gotten a better sense, I pivot my ears.

A guard passed by, he had his gun unholstered while making the usual rounds around the buildings. Unaware of us, the guard went past us..

Thousand Cuts and I beelined towards the tree in the garden. She climbed the tree and I tagged behind. She dropped over the wall through the concrete landing. I steered my breath before making the jump as well. I made a landing as I rolled down to make a safe landing.

“I have to say, you are a natural at this,” she said.

“I don’t need your approval,” I said.

“Your tail and ears would say otherwise.”

Not again, those damn traitors!

“See these buildings over there?” She ignored my sulking, “To be in the shadows is to be unseen, like a shroud under moonlight. We are going to be hidden in the dark corners of civilization, starting with that roof at the top,” she pointed at one of the roofs.

“This sounds like a fancy way of doing parkour.”

“That too,” she nodded.

“Where are we going to anyway?” I inquired

“It’s a secret.”

“Is it a secret? So, you can be subtle if you want to.”

“Subtlety is only for the blade,” she said.

“Can you at least tell me where we are passing through.”

“The recesses of human civilization, The Iron Graveyard,” she smirked as if I knew.”

“Don’t know what that is.”

“...Pordan, I have yet to be forthcoming about your amnesia,” she cleared her throat. “The Iron Graveyard is a section of Newcity abandoned after The Last War. Not even vagrants would come over there since the area is overrun by monsters and malfunctioning machinery after the war.”

“Doesn't that sound dangerous?”

“We are only be passing through the outermost area. Anything that gets to you, I know that I can take them on. Mind the debris though.”

She scales up a building. I use my claws to get a slight boost while leveraging buildings. We leapt from building to building. Being a Nayancan made traversing the cityscape much easier, although I am lagging behind Thousand Cuts.

Although the buildings appeared old, they look habitable and some were well maintained, an odd beauty. The Iron Graveyard although I knew what It was when I saw it. A habitation of what once was; enclosed spaces, huge industrialization sections. It was nothing more than a jungle of collapsed concrete.

We navigated ourselves to an overpass, it looked cleaner, at least compared to the rest of Iron Graveyard.

“White Shroud, we are here,” Thousand Cuts bathed under the full moon.

“*Huff* — we made it? you had me worried for a sec,” I panted.

“White Shroud, are you… are you alright?”

“Yeah *Huff* just give me a minute,” I leaned on the rusted railing.

“The opportune time to strike is not right. You’re correct, we should rest,” she looked up into the stars.

The stars were ever so brilliant. Back in my previous life, they never had the luster to what I’m gazing at now.

“Hey, Thousand Cuts you never really told me why you wanted me to come here,” I sat on the ground beside her.

“It’s a secret, I can’t tell you if I could,” she places a finger on her mouth. “Let’s just say that I’ve long prepared for this. Uh, for the initiation that is.”

“Hmm, by the way I’ve seen you prepared, I’d say that you long planned this. I would go far to say that this is more than some spontaneous spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.”

“You are correct with your assumption, I have long since planned this. This is why I decided to not speak with the guards before leaving.”

“We could have just asked if we wanted to get out? You had me worrying my head off for nothing!” I sounded dubious.

“They wouldn’t understand, they never do. This initiation is what we’re doing, it means more than the world to me, more important than others opinions.”

“It sounds like you have a lot of unanswered hostilities towards Imperial,” I said.

“No, I don’t have any impure thoughts about IMPERIAL.” She paused, “I wouldn’t have changed it for any career choice in the world. I only wish that my teammates would be more supportive in my choice to go out alone. This is what makes the night significant.”

“Here I thought that you would be a more brooding type,” I stared up into the stars.

A rumbling resounded above the overpass. The ground that we’re on shakes.

“It arrives,” Thousand Cuts interrupts the somber atmosphere.

*Squeak*

The rumbling of wheels on tracks sound out. The hum of an engine resounds with the warning blasts of the horn. A train goes by the underpass with a blistering speed.

“We went here to see a train?” I screamed over the noise from the train.

“It’s our destination,” she yelled back.

“What do you mean destination?”

“Heads up, you’re up first.”

Her hand pushed me down, I went falling down towards the train. Midair, I adjust my body to a more natural position. It felt like my beastkin instincts were crying out to me.

The legs bulked under the pressure when I landed on the train. My legs give way for my arm to fully stabilize me. Thousand Cuts landed beside me.

Wind blew on my face, body, and animal-like ears. The breeze assaulted my sensitive ears. It was as if hundreds of hands were pushing past my ears. The sensation made it unbearable to go further, yet pushed on.

The wind stopped me from speaking, the pressure on my ears made it impossible to think. I covered the breeze with my arm as we went. Thousand Cuts opened the door towards the train, I jumped in.

She closed the door, the pressure had ceased. What I saw was a train housing seats similar to that of a subway. The grab rails overhead swung from the speed that the train was pushing. Not a soul was here besides us, probably for how late it was outside.

I sat down on one of the seats with my head hung down. Time passed as I stared into the empty seats.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

“Mekiko, are you alright?” she used my real name to ask.

I look up at Thousand Cuts. Droplets of water fell onto my pants which confused me. My fingers brushed around my eyes, they were watery. Am I crying?

The shock came to the woman quicker, “Mekiko, I didn't mean it to be like this.”

“No, I understand perfectly. I ignored all the red flags, and let you lead me near a cliff,” I seethed.

“Mekiko, I…”

“I don’t want to hear it. I have given you my full trust, and you trampled all over it. This is beyond acceptable. My ears hurt ‘Thousand Cuts,’ you know damn well how sensitive beastkin ears are,” I paused. “You betrayed me when I was in your care.”

We stand in abject silence. Thousand Cuts avoided eye contact.

“I understand,” she shakily said. “We should return home, I won’t cause you any more trouble.”

I sighed, “No, we should keep going. I have set out to be with you, and I am going to see it through.”

“But I’m nothing but a troublesome burden.”

“If you make one promise, then I will forgive you,” I decided for myself.

“...”

“Can you promise me that when you go with your next spearheaded plan, that you would tell me ahead of time? And that you will protect me when I’m feeling the lowest of lows?” Then I remembered, “With absolutely no ear touching. Can you guarantee me that?”

“Yes,” she nodded, “To the bottom of my heart, I wholeheartedly agree. I will keep the promise to my grave. I will keep my word, I am Thousand Cuts”

“You really know how to ruin a moment. Nevermind, it’s fine, we will move on,” I said.

“Yes, let's.”

We got settled down, I wiped my eyes with my hands. My finger is damp with droplets.

Damn, I’m still crying.