__________ POV Narration __________

"T-teacher..."

The young woman's meek voice emerged from behind her mask, her blonde hair, now cut short, swaying slightly as she fixed her gaze on the man who had initiated it all.

Even if she was a 22-year-old woman by that point, she reverted to a child in front of her master.

The man who had shown her what she was capable of. The man who had opened her eyes to the world around her.

The very ancestor of the macabre art that she now practically worshipped...

When Yue's gaze settled on her teacher, her tone became much more subservient. The arrogance she had displayed earlier when interacting with the bandits, seemed to have vanished from her.

There was nothing that could match the confidence and power he emanated just with his presence.

That was how the Red Dot had always been. A beacon of strength and stability for all members of the Dark Brotherhood.

But that power, which had instilled a sense of safety in Yue before, now instilled nothing but fear.

His lack of a mask, coupled with the sheer disappointment etched on his features, was enough to make her wish for death.

"Yue... Your actions were really unwise, but you are also fortunate. Had you killed anyone during your little stunt, you'd already be dead."

The Assassin's voice echoed into that hall, a tinge of regret could be heard in his tone. And why wouldn't there be? He now spoke to the girl who was once among his favourite students.

But she could no longer be counted among her students. Worst of all, she was a runaway, a thief and a criminal that he had to deal with.

"W-what other options did I have?!? What options did you give me?!" Yue's voice was raised in anger, as her feelings surged forward due to the sheer stress put on her by her master's presence.

"Options? Well, you could have honestly apologized to Mifune for your actions back then. That man acted like a grandfather to you for most of your life, damn near raised you..."

Taking a single step, Ken was already right behind Yue, speaking directly into her ear with a highly scrutinizing tone.

The woman was petrified, her muscles all becoming almost paralyzed as she felt her master's cold breath on her neck.

It may as well have been a blade, and she likely would end up preferring that compared to hearing Ken's next words...

"But of course, that was not all, was it? You also had the option of just having a proper honest discussion with me.

Instead, you continued trying to bullshit me at every turn with fake niceties and useless flattery.

Why would I ever let you out in the field when you can't even comprehend what is wrong with your mindset?!"

The Blind Monster's voice had moved on from scrutinizing to downright anger as he listed the girl her 'options' as he called them.

Those would have both been good courses of action for honest people. For normal people. But Yue was not normal, and it seemed that in his busy life, Ken had forgotten that.

Rather, for most of his life, he had assumed that Yue was like him in his past life.

But that was a mistake on his part.

He had been an orphan, living in poverty for most of his life and even during the beginning of his killing spree until he started using his skills to earn some cash.

He had to, after all, how else was he going to be able to continue his spree?

That had been all on his mind at the time, but even then, he was more considerate of his surroundings compared to someone like Yue.

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His background granted him that mindset. But Yue had been at the top of the world from birth.

Very few could even hope to match the standing of her father and the privileges his title brought Yue had great effects on her view of the world.

"You are entitled, arrogant, bratty... Worst of all, you've not changed over the years."

Ken shook his head before walking around Yue and right in front of her, allowing her to stare directly into his lack of eyes.

Yue's face trembled, as a thought finally reached her mind when seeing her master's cold and callous features.

'There was no window to teacher's soul... I... Do I even know the person I call 'Teacher'?'

With every other person in her life, Yue always felt as if she could 'read' them.

From watching their reaction she always thought of and said the words that would always cause the reaction she wanted.

It was something she had perfected through her childhood.

But she never tried to properly 'learn' about Ken.

She initially believed him to be merely a kind father figure to every one of the kids, teaching them skills essential to their survival in their grim world. His best efforts were always directed toward ensuring their safety and well-being.

But, Yue had come to understand something over the years.

Ken was neither benevolent nor kind.

He was the type of man who would use people like tools, and treat others like less than human while propping up only those he cared about.

In a sense, Yue and Ken were similar in that aspect. It was just that Ken appeared to care about more people than just himself.

But even then, she couldn't bring herself to call him out on it, because he had also taken actions to actively better the world.

The peace he had created allowed the entire world some respite from constant conflict. Children were able to live, even if briefly, in a world with as little bloodshed as possible.

And Ken was the main person to thank for that.

It was a fully selfless act. At that point, the Blind Monster already had enough power to just live as he wanted. Yet he still chose to do something that benefited others.

While at the same time, his actions caused the deaths of countless shinobi during wars. He was just as bad as the people he fought against in many ways.

He was a confusing and conflicting individual to Yue. But that made him all the more interesting... and hard to understand.

So, at the end of the day, Yue couldn't even begin to find the words to criticize her Teacher. Because she hardly understood him as an individual.

But she still had one thing on her mind...

And that was resentment.

The grudge she had towards her teacher remained the same.

But now she also resented something else... And that was her own way of thinking.

She couldn't refute Ken, because she knew that he was right to some extent.

The ideals he had tried to instil in all of the Brotherhood's children were the same. And it was pretty much set in stone that one could not survive in the world without a certain amount of carefulness.

She lacked tact, she was too bratty, she was entitled.

She knew all of that.

She didn't like to think about it, certainly didn't like admitting it, but she knew that Ken's words were correct.

"Why... Why didn't you tell me before?!" She spoke out, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she clenched her hands into fists.

"You've been told... All of the materials that I was making you read, were all about repentance, about making right by those wronged in the past.

I was not even being subtle with the reading materials chosen... But it seems that you never bothered reading them, did you?"

The Blind Assassin's words made the young girl immediately turn her head back to the ground, a slight bit of shame welling up inside her.

"Figures... You got Naomi, that poor girl, to write those summaries for you instead.

Meanwhile, you pretended to write on blank pages, taking advantage of the times I was away focusing on training or missions to swap them out."

Yue seemed to start sweating slightly, feeling like a small child being scolded by the tutor her father hired.

"S-sorry..."

She couldn't say anything else besides that.

"Don't say that to me. I don't care to hear it."

But Ken's tone was not becoming any warmer, even as her eyes welled up with tears and she apologized to him directly.

It was the most honest apology Ken had ever heard from the girl, which was a rather impressive feat.

But Ken felt that it was misguided.

"I am not the one you should be apologizing to."

The Blind Monster placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her eyes to widen as she felt a contract seal appear on her shoulder.

But she didn't fight it.

"You'll go back to the Brotherhood now, and Tosho's response to your apology is going to determine whether or not you remain in the Brotherhood and continue your training."

The Blind Monster clasped his hands together, bringing out a small bat from his sleeve to which he showed a hand sign to.

The bat then nodded and disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

"I will come back soon as well," Ken said as he turned towards the doors, where people were already trying to knock on the door and get to their boss.

They must have realized something had happened because they could no longer hear his loud and brash voice...

Yue didn't have the time to mutter out any farewell, as she also disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ken's forced contract seal had connected Yue to Saburo, who had been awaiting the order to summon her back.

This was only possible because the Blind Assassin had used the Second Blade's chakra when creating the seal, pulling it from the Chakra Gathering seals on his body.

As soon as Yue disappeared. The other bandits also rushed into the room, their eyes filling with shock and fear as they saw their boss nailed to a pillar, and a strange man sitting in the middle of their ritual circle.

'I guess I should also deal with the Green Forest situation since I am here...'

The Blind Assassin slowly took out his mask from his sleeve, putting it on before finally turning around to face the other bandits.

"I want to meet your boss."