It was early in the morning when this story began. In the streets of a castle town known as Oak two cloaked figures were walking side by side. One of them was a tall and muscular man, clad in a foreign armor and a bladed sword known as a katana sheathed on his belt. Yet despite the warrior-like look of this foreigner, his expression was calm and serene, like the undisturbed surface of a lake.

Skipping along the tiles beside him was a smaller figure, a teenager whose features were mostly concealed beneath her cloak, but judging from the soft feminine giggles that escaped her lips as she played a makeshift game it was clear that she was a female.

The man smiled briefly at her, yet his smile swiftly became replaced by a look of concern as he inquired about their current destination. "Are you sure about accepting this request?"

Yet in return to those words, she merely shook her head, as if to dismiss his concerns while she replied in a cheerful tone. "Don't be so nervous Nii-chan~ It's just a simple cleaning job."

Just calling it a cleaning job was an understatement, especially as they were greeted by Remy, their employer for this assignment. While it was true that they were supposed to be cleaning up a certain building, it was not trash that they were going to be dealing with. No, a few days ago a battle took part between two mafia families, and while their employer was victorious in the fight both sides suffered casualties, and as a result, they were now about to clean away the remains of those who had fallen.

"But Tsu-chan, what about a potential retaliation? What if the mafia family decides to attack when we're cleaning?"

It was natural for the samurai to be concerned about the safety of his little sister, but then she lifted that hood of her up a little and beamed at him a smile so pure and innocent that the words that followed were like magic to him. "Then you can protect me Nii-chan."

It was true, as the elder brother, it was his duty to keep Tsukiko from harm. He had already failed once, and he would not allow it to happen a second time! As they arrived at the outskirts of the town they arrived at a large building that looked like it was in the middle of being renovated when Remy started to explain the plan for this procedure.

"Notice the three that have this red bandana? They are part of the Martello family. Can you please carry them outside?"

Her brother obviously wouldn't allow her to do such menial work as carrying a corpse, so the man crouched next to one of the corpses, scooping it up and started to carry it toward the back of the building, leaving the lass alone with Remy for a bit, the man grabbing a nearby axe.

"What are you going to do with that?" she inquired with a hint of curiosity, leading the man to reply with a brief smile 'Chopping'.

WC: 517

Seemingly fascinated by the girl's lack of disgust at his words he started explaining further. "Although it is easier to chop up the bodies into smaller parts to make carrying and disposing of them easier, we obviously can't do that to our own."

A slight tilt of her head followed, making the man look at her as he noticed something quite interesting: hair as white as snow, and mysterious red markings pulsed along her neck and cheek. "Why not? Aren't they all dead?" In response to those words, the man laughed weakly and shook his head in response to her statement. "While you are quite correct in stating that they are all the same in the matter of being dead, the three of them that your companion is taking outside are part of our family. We want to allow their next in kin to be able to say goodbye and pay their proper respects. It's a matter of integrity."

A simple explanation, but it was one that she could understand easily enough. Still, as he chopped the corpses of the enemy mooks the man couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something wrong about the girl. "What is your name?"

In response to the question, the girl spun around, her cloak fluttering lightly as he could see a thick shadowy mist gathered beneath the cloak. "Tsukiko is Tsukiko~"

Tsukiko, a foreign name, perhaps Joya in nature? The man mused softly as he noticed how the markings on her skin pulsed lightly. Still, to think she was referring to herself in a third person manner. It was quite interesting to him

"Tsu-chan?"

A familiar voice called her as the samurai from before returned, his gaze sharpening slightly as he walked over toward her and lightly pulled her hood back over her head, crouching down to whisper worriedly. "Is that parasite acting up again?"

Yet before she could answer him Remy interrupted their conversation with a calm smile. "Don't worry master samurai, whatever circumstances might affect the young lady, I will not utter a word about them. In fact, I am quite fascinated by her. It's a magic unlike any I saw in Fiore."

Watching her brother warily look from Remy back to her he sighed deeply and picked up the final corpse to carry outside, making Tsukiko hum playfully after he was out of reach to hear her. "Nii-chan worries too much, then again it's not like his concerns are misplaced."

While Remy picked up the bag that contained the chopped up body parts and led Tsukiko to the back of the building he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Oh? What do you mean?"

An innocent childish giggle escaped the girl's lips as she walked beside the man and hummed playfully. "When Tsukiko is like this, Tsukiko might kill you if she finds it entertaining enough~"

As the two of them reached the back of the building Remy handed the girl a pouch full of jewels and thanked her for the job, yet as he watched the two of them leave he couldn't help but wonder: The girl called 'Tsukiko'... the way she talked, the way she sounded so playful when she mentioned wanting to kill him if it would had been fun.

There was no doubt about it...
That girl was not a normal person...

WC: 560
Total WC: 1077/1000