Tina sat down next to the floored Ezekiel, her head looking downwards to his face.

“C-could you not stare at me like that Tina? I'm not even sure the muscles in my neck can even move.” He said as he was forced to stare at her.

“So it is true…” she softly remarked before wiping her eyes and shaking her head soon after. She looked like she had more to say but her eyes quickly became glassy.

“Come on ya big oaf, are you really crying over some dead assholes you don't even know about? I thought you were tougher than that.” He cockily stated.

She could only bring herself to sigh as she held her hands to her face. Ezekiel could feel the tears hit his face as she tried to muffle her cries.

(“What are you waiting for, get angry at me or something! I'm right here, you can throw a punch without me fighting back!”)

…

…

…

(“Is this… punishment?”) He contemplated as he watched her. He couldn't help but curse his own weakness as he watched her cry. This wouldn't have happened if he killed Tib…

(“What the hell am I thinking? Reasoning like that is the reason I'm watching her cry in the first place.”) He scoffed to himself as he watched.

He saw this as a far worse fate than any torture any being on this planet could deliver.

He closed his eyes, but the wetness of her tears and the soft sounds of her cries had him cursing his own existence.

It was a uniquely bitter experience that left him at a loss. Other than Mr. Bentley, this girl and the two others were the ones closest to him. There was never a time he'd seen her cry in all the time he knew her. The fact he was the reason for the first time he'd seen tears come out of her eyes made him wish he could move his hands to his throat and end himself here.

As he watched her cry his mind couldn't help but wonder back to the reason she was even living with him in the first place.

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It was around five years after Mr. Bentley became branch manager and Ezekiel decided to help him out, in his own way. He stood outside the adventurer's branch building and looked somewhat tired. He leaned against the wall of the building.

(“When's the old man gonna finish up? I thought he said he'd finish early today.”) He thought as he watched the street. It was a Sunday evening and the dirt streets of the town were especially empty. He couldn't even distract himself with some people watching to bide his time.

He could feel himself drifting off and his eyes soon closed. Before he could use the building’s wall as his own bed, he heard the footsteps of an approaching person but paid it no mind. When they grabbed his shirt, he decided they were worth attention.

He jerked awake and looked at the person in front of him. He instinctively backed into the wall with a look of disbelief followed by relief.

“(Holy shi-) Phew… Kid, what's your deal?” Ezekiel said as he caught his breath. It seemed she caught him off guard.

It was a young girl in the clothing of a man. Now, how could I instantly tell she was a woman? She had a modest chest, long hair and a soft face.

And that soft face was currently scowling at him. Based on what he was seeing, he was almost in disbelief. She couldn't be more than 15 or 16 yet… she was huge. She was taller than half the guys he knew. He felt somewhat relieved by his own height or else he might have been looked down upon by this overgrown child. Or maybe she just had a baby face?

He tried to take her hand off his shirt but she wouldn't let go.

She had long bubblegum pink hair, divided into twin tails. And she looked really pissed off about something. Did she get dumped by her boyfriend or something?

“You're Ezekiel, right?” She asked in a husky tone. Was she trying to deepen her voice? It'd be cute if this wasn't going where Ezekiel thought it was going.

“Yeah, that'd be me. Have a problem? Listen I'm sorry if I let your sheep get away but those bastards can get going quicker than you'd think, honest.” He said with an awkward laugh following.

He said as he grabbed her hand. He tried to push her back but, he was amazed by her strength.

He was pushing her back but he really had to put some power into it.

(“Hoh, isn't this something? The old man said he wanted strong adventurers right, I wonder-”)

“Aren't you ashamed of yourself? What are you, fucking dreaming? What kind of adventurer talks about watching sheep!?” She said before pulling her hand back, pulling him towards her.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

They bumped chests, and Ezekiel was very impressed she was still standing on her feet after bumping into her. He looked down into her face, with a small smirk.

“Well, there's no work here kiddo. Hones- Hmm?” He looked into her face and noticed a small bruise on her cheek.

“Hehe, I see. Have your parents been setting you straight? Listen kid taking your anger out on me won't sol-”

He ducked a punch and tried to pull her pants down.

(“Maybe this will send her on her way.”) He thought as he grabbed her pants’ waist. While it wasn't the most moral thing to do, it'd teach her a good lesson. She should thank whatever God she worships, that today's relatively empty or else the colour and design of her underwear would be the talk of the town. But what if she isn't wearing any?

……Eh, he was already crouched down, he might as well commit to it.

How he thought he could convince her to become an adventurer after doing something like this was an enigma that'd remain in his mind and his mind alone.

She noticed where he grabbed her and quickly tried to knee him. He pulled her pants to the side and had the knee just gently graze his cheek.

She kneeled down as he began pulling on his pants and headbutted on the top of his head.

The two now crouched stepped back both rubbing their heads from the collision.

“I knew the adventurers in this parish were worthless but you're the worst of the worse!” She shouted as she rubbed her head.

“Last I remember I'm number one here, so I'm actually the creme de la creme.” He said with a wag of his finger. He was already back to his feet and brought his face close to the girl's. She tried to stand up but Ezekiel had a foot on her hair that was now touching the ground. It jerked her head before she pulled her hair out from under his leg and backed away.

She held her arms up and looked at him with disgust. “Once I beat you, I'm going to tear that old bitch a new one.”

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. Sounds like she really did get whooped by a parent. Given her strength and appearance though, especially with her tanned skin standing out, who could it-

“Wait, does Ruby have a kid?” He said aloud.

She scoffed before throwing herself at him. (“She does!? I mean I know she had a lot of boyfriends, but I thought those Amazon ladies could-”)

He dodged a kick aimed at his head and entertained the young woman for the next few minutes.

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After sending her to dreamland and adding a few noticeable bruises to her face, he slung her over his shoulder and began walking around town. It didn't take long for him to find his person of interest.

He saw her walking in a nearby building and shouted to her. She quickly came down.

She was wearing nothing but an open vest and a pair of shorts that lived up to their namesake. She had yellow eyes and noticeably messy hair.

“My, so that's where she went. And here I thought I wasn't your type, you should have just told me you liked them younger, Zekkie.” She said as she walked up to him and gave the girl on his shoulder a gentle tap on the bum.

“Eh, bit much, Ruby. So I'm guessing she's yours.” He soon tossed her body towards the woman comfortably taller than him.

Ruby grabbed her with one hand and held her like she was a bag. “Something like that. What do you think of her? Apparently, she went on a spree beating up a few adventurers before she came across you. I counted two before I found you.”

“Really? Ugh, are you telling me the guys here can't even beat a little… medium… Actually, she's a pretty big girl, but she's still a girl!”

“So it was easy for you? Ah, I remembered the first time a guy managed to overpower me, you better stay low for a while or if you want I can take it before she tries to.”

“...what are you talking about?”

Ruby tried to put her hand against his chest and Ezekiel backed with his eyes practically spelling out “DANGER!!!”

“I wouldn't say it was easy but she's definitely filled with energy but uh, I have something to do or something else anyway bye!” The words came out of his mouth like a machine gun and he began running as quickly as he could.

Ruby chuckled and noticed the groaning of Tina who was slowly regaining consciousness.

“Heh, how does a man his age end up being so meek?”

She said as she turned around and headed home.

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It was a lovely day. His last job had given an especially big payday, and for the first week in a while, his hands were blood-free. The sun was out but the heat was far from unbearable. It was surprisingly pleasant.

The day was so lovely in fact, he found a nice patch of grass and laid himself down. He put his hands to the back of his head and closed his eyes. Being an assassin was surprisingly exhausting, so having a rest whenever he could get them didn't hurt.

A foot came down towards his head and he quickly pushed it out of the way.

“You know, if you were wearing a skirt, I'd be seeing something a lot more pleasant right now,” Ezekiel stated as he stared in between the legs of his attacker. “(Shit maybe I shouldn't have said that, if she's anything like Ruby she might take that as an invitation.) By the way, I'm a married man, so if you're looking for anything like that, you can crawl back home and make do with your hand.”

He heard her tongue click and rolled away when she tried to stomp him again.

“I swear, why are all the men in this parish bastards!? Hey you!”

“Hmm?”

“If I kick your ass, then I'm the strongest in the parish right? You can even give that old whore a bad time right?”

“(Where's this coming from?) I suppose? We haven't really fought seriously but I guess I could take her down if it came to it.”

“What the fuck kinda answer is that? Are you really the strongest adventurer in the parish, Dirty Dreads? A real man would say he can beat that bitch any day of the week and anyone else that steps to him, are you a pussy or something?”

“Dirty Drea- screw you, I probably wash my hair more than you do.” He complained while shaking his fist at her. It seemed this comment really touched a nerve.

She shook her head. “I can't believe a man thinks saying that isn't embarrassing. What's next, gonna talk about how you love getting pedicures, maybe even gush about a massage? Forget it, I was tired out last time, this time I'll show you how the strong are supposed to act.”