They arrived at a small town close to sunset, located at the foot of a tall mountain range. Tall mountains covered with trees till around halfway up, gravel and snow from there on, marked one side of the town, while other two sides faced a forest after some cleared land, and the last side touching on a river, a small dock built for small boats, most likely for fishing purposes, a larger dock for ships built further down the river near the river mouth.

There were a few inns dotted around the town, though it seemed mainly like a fishing town. The only people that stayed most likely planned on scaling or crossing the mountains, some being adventurers from far away lands who stopped here to rest.

After much walking around Kurai finally found the adventurer’s guild, the symbol being impossible to miss. The guild looked just like all the others, somewhat old and worn down on the outside, and perfectly new and well maintained on the inside. Adventurer’s guild kept this sort of structure on purpose, mainly since this represented how the greatest adventurers were. They looked tough and worn down on the outside, but were great people on the inside, though it is an undeniable fact that there are adventurers who are the exact opposite of that.

Wouldn’t it be surprising if someone just tried to pick on Kesshō because of her ears, sounds like a pretty common cliché, wouldn't be surprising if it actually happened, Kurai wondered as he walked to the receptionist.

As he reached the reception and the receptionist greeted him, he heard a loud footstep close to him, and a low yelp as Kesshō’s body pressed against his side. Never before have I felt so annoyed to have been right before, Kurai sighed.

“Do you not notice the filthy demi-human following you?” An adventurer in golden armor questioned.

His hair appeared to be blonde, his eyes emerald green looking at Kesshō in disgust, his hand near a scabbard safely tied in his belt. While he seemed very strong by adventurer standards, to Kurai he seemed nothing more than a small pebble, that could be easily kicked away, if he did not have something else in mind.

“Yes, I noticed that, what is your point?” Kurai questioned.

“Doesn’t has a collar, I am quite certain these are supposed to have collars on them," The adventurer pointed out.

“I don’t want her to have one, it’s her choice if she wants one or not, and I am quite certain she doesn’t." Kurai glared at the man out of the corner of his eyes.

“What you are committing is a sin, my friend, I am simply trying to set you on the right path, by any means necessary.” The adventurer pleaded, though it seemed more like a threat.

“This is none of your concern.” Kurai mumbled as he turned back to the reception. You are fast for a normal human, but for me, still very slow, Kurai thought as he glimpsed the adventurer unsheathing his sword and swinging it towards Kurai in the blink of an eye. Your intention is just to threaten me, I can tell, stopping the sword close to my neck to give me a scare, but she would still see it as an attack, and I can only wish for you to not lose your life to her.

As the sword got close to Kurai’s neck it clashed with something, stopping far from its destination. The blade, hilt and handguard of the katana that blocked the attack were mainly black. The blade possessed interweaving pink and blue flame patterns, stretching up to the tip from the handguard. The handguard showcased two black dragon heads carved into it, facing in a clockwise kind of direction, one with a pink eye, towards the bladed edge, and one with a blue eye, towards the blunt edge, the flame patterns of the blade starting from the jaws of the dragon heads. The hilt, also mainly black, possessed red marks on it going, onto the tip of the hilt, into the eyes of a dragon head engraved into the normal shape of the hilt, its left eye pink and right eye blue.

The katana was held by none other than Kesshō, in her right hand, a furious expression marking her face as she snarled at the adventurer. The adventurer glared in annoyance as Kurai simply gave a wry smile. Kesshō pushed the adventurer’s sword away, holding her own katana with just one hand. The adventurer simply glared at her from his position, having stepped back himself for the most part.

“Clashing your filthy sword with this relic bestowed to me by the gods, you won’t be left unpunished for doing such,” The adventurer spat.

That is a relic, yes, a lesser relic, Kurai thought. The weapon is extremely heavy and could only be lifted by one who has gained the favor of the god the sword belonged to. I can still easily lift that sword because of how light it is, but fighting against a heavy weapon would still be unfavorable for her.

The adventurer leapt backwards and raised his sword above his shoulder. Kesshō stepped forward and away from Kurai, her eyes focused on her opponent. A golden light enveloped the sword as the adventurer dashed forward at blinding speed, though still far too slow as compared to Kesshō. She simply stood and allowed the hit to land, pinning her tails in the ground to ensure she doesn’t get knocked away.

The hit landed right at her torso and lifted her feet off the ground, even though her tails were holding her down, only for a brief moment however. Kesshō’s expression remained unchanged, and the sword failing to cause any damage to her, not even a mark visible as the adventurer withdrew his weapon.

The adventurer swung his sword again, a worried expression on his face as the sword curved in a horizontal arc towards Kesshō’s neck. She swiftly and easily ducked under it without any problem. The adventurer turned his sword after it passed over her, and swiping it back to the side to slice Kesshō in half, but she jumped over it. Kesshō axe-kicked the sword towards the ground, embedding it in the planks of the floor. Standing on the sword she glared right in the eyes of the adventurer as he looked back in horror.

“Really can’t understand why use a weapon so heavy," Kesshō sighed. She kicked the adventurer on his chest, causing him to stagger backwards, freeing his sword in the process.

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Kesshō landed back on the ground and continued to glare at him as she sheathed her katana. "It’s hard to control a heavy weapon, a weapon that is supposed to be sharp being that heavy makes it useless, that's what I think at least. A sword should be sharp and light so you can slice anything with ease without having to use much strength just for lifting it in the first place," Kesshō shrugged.

The adventurer swung his sword in a horizontal arc again in rage, and Kesshō ducked under it just as effortlessly. Gripping the hilt of her katana she drew in a deep breath, her eyes narrowed at the target in front of her.

"Tsuki Kenjutsu, san no kata: Moon rise," she mumbled.

Kesshō raised her katana in an upwards arc in the blink of an eye, slicing the adventurer’s sword in half, perfectly inflicting a slash on his chest along with it. He fell backwards in pain as his sword embedded itself in the wooden floor, blood spurting out of his wound. As he clutched his wound Kesshō pointed her sword at his face while fixing him with a glare. While she seemed to be intent on killing him, she did not do it, wondering whether to kill him or not, failing to find any particular reason to do so other than his attempt to attack Kurai. As she pondered over it Kurai gently tapped her on the head and nudged her slightly behind him.

“Don’t poke your nose in others’ business, it could lead to harmful results for you," Kurai warned the adventurer.

The adventurer gulped and looked to the floor, gritting his teeth as he glanced at Kesshō. Kurai turned back and walked to the reception, Kesshō clinging to his coat as he did. She wondered if she overdid it, and shouldn't have been so hard on the adventurer. Though she couldn't help but feel disappointed as well, the man looked very confident in his abilities, the reason she assumed he would be stronger and didn't hold back as much as she normally would have.

After finishing his work in the Adventurer's Guild, and taking a quest, Kurai made his way through the town, looking for the inn mentioned in the quest, an Assassin's Guild's inn based on the description, with Kesshō still clinging to his coat. Luckily for him, no one noticed Kesshō’s ears and caused any trouble from that point on. It didn’t take him very long to find the inn either, all of the Assassin's Guild’s inns looked the same after all,

He entered the inn and ascertained it to be an assassin’s guild, the hint being the reception area. Noticing him the girl behind the counter nodded and beckoned him forwards. He walked to the reception, briefly showing the assassin’s guild card from his pocket before retrieving five silver coins and dropping them on the counter. The girl dropped a small amount of water on the card before inspecting it, nodding and gesturing him to enter the bar right after.

After retrieving the card Kurai grabbed the door handle and thought for a moment before turning to Kesshō. “Things will be a little… chaotic, so please stick close to me, okay?"

Kesshō nodded and grabbed onto his coat again, more tightly than before. Kurai sighed and opened the door, not liking to do this but not having much of a choice either. The bar seemed just as Kurai expected it to be, filled with people, laughing, drinking, eating, and many fighting, all part of the usual.

I better not get involved till my work is done, he sighed.

Kurai made his way through the crowd, slowly to make sure he doesn’t bump into anyone. Kesshō followed him as she pretty much stuck to him, glancing around nervously. He sat down at a table close to the center of the room, placing Kesshō in his lap as she nervously looked around.

“Just what I expected from the best assassin," A voice complimented from the opposite side of the table.

“And not what I expected from a good client, this place is far too lively for a deal," Kurai sighed.

The man in question seemed to be dressed in a black suit, wearing a black face mask to conceal his face. While he seemed to be there all alone, Kurai felt quite certain at least six of the people from the crowd were his bodyguards, or working with him, and four more which he suspected but didn't feel certain of yet.

“Let’s get straight to the point then.” The man said as he rested both his hands on the table. “I want you to go travel up the path of the mountain range close to the town, and tonight, there is only one path so there is no chance of you getting lost. You are free to kill any and all that try to stop you from reaching the peak.”

“And what do I do after reaching the peak?” Kurai questioned, glancing from below his hat.

“You will find a bow there, retrieve me that bow,” The man ordered.

“Retrieving items is not the work of an assassin, I hope you are aware of that," Kurai pointed out. "It makes no sense why you would submit a request only someone from the Assassin's Guild would recognise in an Adventurer's Guild.

“Yes, but I doubt anyone except you can defeat the one guarding that bow, most people around here are sort of worthless, The man sighed. “Even so, don’t let your guard down, and maybe not take a little kid with you where she could get injured,” He suggested.

Kurai glanced at Kesshō who made herself comfortable on him and nearly fell asleep already. She faced to Kurai’s right with her legs hanging down, her head resting on his chest.

“There are higher chances of my death than hers. Still, thanks for your concern,” Kurai mumbled getting up, holding Kesshō in his arms. “I will be taking my leave then."

The man nodded as Kurai carried Kesshō and left the bar. Back at the reception, which seemed to be currently empty, even the receptionist gone, he stood Kesshō on her feet and shook her awake. She stumbled a couple steps around before violently shaking her head and rubbing her eyes.

“Be prepared, we have walked right into a trap.” Kurai sighed as he patted her on the head. As if on cue the door to the inn broke away from the hinges and flew straight at the two. Kurai knocked the door into the wall by a swing of his arm, sighing at the horrible attempt. "If you think that will be enough to hurt me then you are very wrong,” he chuckled.

Kesshō bared her fangs and hissed at the attackers, five men dressed in all white clothes, their faces covered by a white mask with a smile carved into it along with two holes for the eyes. Two of them carried swords while two carried bows, the last one holding a spear pointed straight towards Kurai.

“Remember, we only need her back alive," The one with the spear reminded the others.

"Tsuki Kenjutsu, roku no kata: Disturbed Reflection." Kesshō mumbled, her lips not moving in the slightest.

All the five people clutched their stomachs as blood spurt out of slashes that appeared out of nowhere in an instant. At that moment Kesshō disappeared from beside Kurai, appearing behind them, glancing back at the five out of the corner of her eye.

I am guessing what was beside me was just an afterimage. Her speed is much greater than even I expected. The names she comes up with for her attacks aren’t the best, but she likes them so not like I mind, Kurai shrugged.

Kesshō flicked the blood off her katana and sheathed it before turning back to Kurai and cheerfully walking to him.

Sometimes I really feel like something is wrong with her brain, Kurai sighed.

Kurai gently patted her on the head and headed out of the inn towards the mountain range, not wanting to be caught at the murder scene, granted that in this world murder wasn’t such a big crime. The inn wasn’t very far from the mountain range, allowing them to reach the foot of the mountains before long.

Just as the guy informed, there existed only one path that led up the mountains. It seemed to be bordered by trees on both sides, the risk of encountering monsters quite high. The path only appeared to be a simple dirt path, seldom used, guessing from the small patches of grass marking the ill-maintained road.

“Guess this is where we are headed,” Kurai mumbled as he walked ahead, Kesshō following right behind him.