Outside the view of Tina, Ezekiel quickly walked over to the woman approaching and he breathed a sigh.

“Finally, you're here. What kind of parent leaves her kid with a guy she's trying to beat up? You're lucky she doesn't have a broken rib.” He sarcastically remarked.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

“You won't hear me complaining if you give her one, two or even a few. That girl is strong enough to realise she can hurt most people but she doesn't realise “most people” are pretty weak. She could use some humbling from someone who isn't “most people” like you, especially involving a bit of pain.”

(“Phew, mother of the decade right here.”) He thought to himself before Ruby walked up and leaned against his back.

He bared it for a single moment before pushing her off. She scoffed at his deflection.

“Don't tell me you fell to her whims?” She said with a hand pressed on her head. “I can't believe she'd be such a hypocrite, but I suppose her blood would help nature take its course eventually.” She said with a hint of glee in her voice.

“You know, for a mother, you're, uh, how do I put this?” The playful smirk on Ruby's face soon faded as she listened to Ezekiel. “Aren't you supposed to be fighting tooth and nail to keep her chastity? I know you're an Amazon but are they usually this-”

Ruby wore a very unenthused expression on her face. Ezekiel could physically feel the annoyance radiating off her face but she quickly fixed her expression when she noticed his shock.

“Ahahah, sorry, she's just sigh…” There was a silence between the pair before Ruby prepared the right words. “She's not my daughter.”

“Huh?”

“Because we're both big and it's obvious she's related to me in everything except personality, I never usually make a big fuss whenever people come to that answer. But she isn't my daughter. In fact… actually, I'm getting off topic.”

“Hold on, she isn't? Then who is she, and why does she live with you? I mean, first of all, is it really okay for her to stay with me? Her parents aren't like you right, cause an Amazon and a man strong enough to give her a kid sounds like a terrible combo. She's kinda been hanging around here the last few days or so, so I honestly wouldn't mind if you took her back.”

“So I guess this is a bust then? Damn.”

Ruby's words left Ezekiel even more confused than he already was.

“B-bust?”

Ruby grabbed his hand and started walking.

“Woah, easy there Ruby, what are you do-”

“Tch, ease up, I just want to you in the shade. I used to think Amazons didn't have to worry about the sun until it left my skin looking as dark as tree bark one day.”

They both walked into a nearby tree and Ruby was the first to rest her behind on the grassy ground.

She tapped beside her and Ezekiel soon got down to the floor as well, sitting next to her.

They both watched as the branches of trees and grass of the surrounding area swayed back and forth due to the cool breeze blowing the area.

“Honestly, I was thinking of leaving her with you.”

Ezekiel shook his head and she continued staring at them. He could tell by her tone she wasn't joking around.

“That so? Is taking care of her expensive? She eats whatever I give her, so that doesn't seem like too much of a problem.”

“It has nothing to do with that. It's just… we just don't see eye to eye.”

“If that's such a problem why don't you send her back to her parents? Seems pretty out of the norm for you to accept being a babysitter. Did they want her to train to be an adventurer?”

Ruby rubbed her eyes and Ezekiel could tell something seemed to have pulled at her heartstrings by the time he finished his sentence.

“They're dead. Her parents died about two summers ago.” Ruby answered.

Only the sound of the wind blowing was audible.

“Oh, that's what happened,” Ezekiel answered. “Then you are her mother now.”

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at his comment. “I know you were adopted yourself Ezekiel but it's not that simple. She was thirteen when I got her, practically an adult at that point.”

“But you are taking care of her, right? It's understandable if she doesn't see you as a replacement for her parents, but there must be some closeness between you two, right?”

“Haha, oh man, I must have really screwed up then. I'm sorry to say but she fucking hates me.”

“Nonsense, why else would she return home then?”

“...what are you talking about?”

“She'd head back to your place after she comes by here, right? She wouldn't do that for no reason, would she?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ruby placed her hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder and turned to him, staring directly into his eyes.

“Zekkie, I haven't seen her in a month. The only reason I knew she was still alive, is because of you. If I didn't hear Mr. Bentley talk about how much you can't decide whether dote or complain about Tina, I'd have no idea where she is right now.”

“That bad, huh?” He simply answered.

“That bad. Honestly, I was hoping you could take care of her, the fact she's staying with you is sign enough she trusts you.”

“That still seems like a bit of a big step. I could find her a place but I'm not sure about living with me.”

“Listen Ezekiel… She hates me. I don't hate her, I'll never hate her, she's my sister's daughter…”

(“So that's the relation.”)

“But, it's not hard to tell staying with me isn't going to do her any good. She hates me, and honestly, I'm not sure how'd I face my sister if she ended up in some ditch somewhere because of that hatred for me. So…”

She got on her knees and tried to bow to Ezekiel. Ezekiel quickly grabbed her arm and responded.

“Easy, I'll do it. I just thought it'd be better for you two to sort things out but if you like this then I guess that ship has sailed.”

“I swear, there's not an ounce of drive in you. Most men would love it if a woman like me got on their hands and knees for them. You didn't even let me offer my body yet.”

“W-were you really?” He stuttered.

“So there was a chance!”

“What, no, I just, surprised you know, it had nothing to do with s- s-”

She leaned into his ear and whispered a single word. “Sex?”

After feeling her warm breath assault his outer ear, he gently pushed her off.

“But did her mother also have pink hair?”

The smile on Ruby's face was immediately wiped away and her her eyes slanted. She soon leaned against the tree, staring off into the distance.

Ezekiel couldn't help but tense up and brought a hand closer to his side, trying to calm down and not let his shaky hands show. He knew he likely had her beat in a fight but he couldn't stop himself from being intimidated from how abruptly the mood shifted.

“You've heard about it, haven't you?” She coldly asked.

He blinked blankly before responding. “Yeah, I heard about an Amazon with pink being lured into a forest and killed a few years ago. Sounded like she needed a whole army to be taken out.”

“Yeah.” She simply responded. She picked herself up and gave Ezekiel a peck on the forehead. “I'll be heading home now, take of care of Tina for me.”

For words with such a warm intent, her delivery of them was painfully cold. She soon walked off, without another word said.

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And here lies the reason the image of a crying Tina, brought Ezekiel back this time.

“I knew it.” He said to himself as he leaned against a nearby tree. “I knew she looked familiar!” He shouted.

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In all his time as an Assassin, Ezekiel never had many problems with getting the job done. It was almost boring how much good money you could make by killing a bunch of bums no one has heard of. It was almost too easy for him that he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be challenged during a job.

And he decided to take a risk. There was an opening for a job that was far too little for the higher-ups to earn but more than manageable for them. But incredibly lucrative and near suicidal for the rest.

He had gotten on the job a bit late but he couldn't help but want to experience a challenge.

“Midnight Hunter aka Ezekiel Prescott, correct?”

Two men sat in a tent with Ezekiel being one of them.

“Correct.” He answered.

“Sample of blood and index fingerprint please?”

The man handed him a needle and he pricked himself before pressing his finger onto a piece of paper on the table.

“That should be that. Please meet with the group outside.”

He nodded his head and left the tent soon after.

There were nearly one hundred men outside the tent, preparing themselves whether by sharpening their weapons or getting a last few minutes of sparring to get the blood flowing.

As Ezekiel walked to the gathering, a dark-skinned man, an inch or so taller than him, approached. He had straight, short-cut hair that looked like it had been recently cut due to some leftover hair on his shoulder.

“It is you, Ezekiel.” The man said.

“Ey, it's my main man, Caster!” He said as he grabbed the tall man's cheeks and tried his best to form it in a smile.

“(I knew I shouldn't have called to him.) You work for me, we're not friends.”

“Oh come on man, just cause I report my work to you doesn't mean we can't be-”

The pair instantly froze up and quickly turned around. They pushed off each other and a body flew between them at an incomprehensible speed.

“Where is he, you bastards?” The woman asked.

She had short-cut pink hair and a litany of small and medium-sized scars across her body. Her body had no defined muscles so she wasn't going to be winning Mr. Olympias anytime soon but the sheer size of her muscles told them what they needed to know about her strength. Her hands were coated in blood and it was fresh enough it was still dripping.

A man walked out from the collective as Ezekiel's caster watched and performed a simple action.

He threw a corpse to her feet and ran towards her. He swung his sword down and she quickly grabbed his throat while he was still in the air.

A crackling sound emanated from his body, electricity running through him before his charred corpse fell to the ground.

She didn't say a single word but as tears ran down her face, her appearance mimicked an angered beast. No, comparing her to a beast was too kind, she was a monster with no comparison. Everyone gathered together knew one fact, as she quickly approached.

Their death was now imminent.

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Corpses covered the forest. The trees, grass and even some dirt were now covered in bloodshed. The forest stank of blood and its inhabitants were not shy in taking a bite or two of the various viscera scattered about.

“Where is his body?” The woman asked. She lost an arm and had a sword lodged in his skull. Her eyes were gouged out and her clothing was nothing more than tattered rags that couldn't even hide her chest anymore, yet, Ezekiel felt as though the pressure alone was going to kill him.

“You probably turned his body into mulch in our battle.” Ezekiel tiredly answered. Of the nearly hundred that started this battle, only six remained. But of the six only Ezekiel was foolish enough to approach her.

“...”

Her body stopped moving then and there. He didn't even witness her final breath.

He fell to his back and looked up to the sky.

(“It’s over.”)

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("Did she cry just like she is now after her mother died?") Ezekiel wondered on the wooden floor.