Kenzo waited expectantly as he saw the stranger swiftly flash her peculiar dagger towards him. The man stood motionless, not even as much flinching as the three bladed weapon came into his range. Instead, the blue-haired man tilted his head amusedly at this display, his lips curling into a confident smirk that could be interpreted as an invitation to slash his throat. Kenzo hated getting double booked, it was one of the worst things an employer could do in his eyes; especially since this meant they’d given Kenzo double the work now. Deal with the request, and deal with his competition. Luckily for him, it appeared that this time the extra work might be worth the trouble.

The mercenary’s eyes were drawn instantly to the elf’s ethereal gaze. As she tossed her snow-white hair over her shoulder, Kenzo couldn’t help but marvel at how “at” place she looked inside these icy halls. Yet, it was her sun kissed skin that perfectly contrasted against the halls that made her stand out even more, drawing his attention like a magnet. Her slender, toned figure complimented perfectly her sultry tone. Her accent was familiar to him, bringing back memories of Mzuma the Stellan whom Kenzo had fought with back once in Bosco.

It was evident from just this first impression that the woman herself was far more dangerous on appearance alone than the sharp blade she brandished.

”Keh-“ Kenzo snickered, caught off guard by her comment. Trying not to burst into an amused chuckle, he quickly regained his composure before teasing her back.

”I’m afraid if you wore any less clothes we’d have to find a way to warm you up quickly, lest anything too serious happens” The male rose an eyebrow with a satisfied smile, the sharp fangs of his external jaw glistened in the light reflected by the ice halls.

”Believe me when I say I’m as disappointed as you are… I’ve never enjoyed having to split quest rewards in half. Seems like they played a quick one on both of us.”

Kenzo shrugged as he crossed both arms above his chest, his tone evidently pissed at the current situation. And yet, it was always in situations like these when opportunity struck. His instincts flared for an instant as a realization came to him. While Kenzo couldn’t have known that the woman was as accomplished as he was, owning to his lack of knowledge of recent affairs in Fiore, something about her made him believe they could pull it off together. The spark of greed lit his aquamarine eyes. If all went well, the two of them would earn even more money than either could’ve hoped for.

”What do you say we get back at them? It seems like the monster won’t go back to sleep unless we deliver its teddy bear of a relic or something. I’m sure they won’t have a need for such an old artifact if the draugr is no longer around to need to be appeased.” The implication in his proposal was risky, but he liked few things more than a fun gamble. A mischievous smile appeared on his visage unconsciously.

For a member of a light guild like Blue Pegasus, Kenzo had spent dubious amounts of time dealing in the more shady sides of business. If the rumors he’d heard were true, the relic they were set to deliver to the draugr promised to fetch an unbelievable price that’d far eclipse the quest’s reward. It was now all a matter of whether the stranger would accept his proposal.

Kenzo couldn’t help but grin with amusement as he heard the woman lump him with those kind of people. It was something the mercenary had grown accustomed to, considering his merry-go-lucky demeanor and general penchant for being overconfident, it was easy to cast such a judgement of character about him on a first impression. In a sense, he couldn’t quite deny that she was right though, considering he had always been first and foremost a mercenary out for a quick coin. For that reason, he found no offense in her words; on the contrary, they were nothing but an invitation. A challenge, some might say. The kind the warrior enjoyed the most.

With an audible chuckle, the male placed both hands behind his head at her words, painting the sight of the overconfident, arrogant person she surely thought him to be. Casting a challenging smile, the amused warrior examined the young woman once again before answering.

”Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, you see.” The man’s voice was followed with a playful confidence and a single step that put him closer into her unsheathed blade. “I’ve left those days behind so long ago.” Kenzo’s tone softened, driving home his words as he made his defense. ”Some might even say I’m part of the good ones now.” The man waited for a second as the girl finally put her blade away, satisfied with her agreeance.

”Besides.” Kenzo finished as he lowered his arms. ”I’m sure you’ve never met someone like me before” The man flashed a cheeky grin as he extended his arm towards her, signaling the beginning of their temporary partnership.


”I’ll make sure you don’t regret it.”

With their introduction now out of the way, it was now a simple matter of dealing with the draugr and finding the relic. The man didn’t mind the company, considering the kind of place they found themselves in. Kenzo was confident he could deal with anything that threatened their lives. However, the fact that he couldn’t cast any magic was always a handicap when it came to magical places such as this. Tombs in particular had a habit of being full of magical traps and other assorted trickery after all.

Moving alongside his new companion, the two of them began making their way down the corridor, resuming their search. They hadn’t even taken a couple of steps when the girl posed a tricky question. The warrior tilted his head to a side, taking a pause as he wondered how to answer. It wasn’t an easy one of course, considering it’d been a long time since he’d last stepped foot in Fiore and didn’t know if people still remembered him. There were multiple things the woman could have recognized him from though, given the reputation he’d garnered throughout the time he was active in the country.

Perhaps she’d seen him win at the Grand Magic Games all those years ago? Or maybe she knew of his exploits as Advent World’s Guild Master? Maybe she knew him from his time in Blue Pegasus? Heck… he’d even had the biggest bounty in the country at one point too. The swordsman didn’t know the woman’s affiliation, so the metaphorical game of minesweeper could jeopardize their newborn and uneasy alliance if he unwittingly stepped on a bomb.

”Hmm…” He finally hummed as he shrugged his shoulders.

”I honestly doubt it… It’s been far too long since I left the country” He opted to answer nonchalantly, giving away a vague reply with no trace of any other emotion behind, deciding it was better this way for now.

”As you command boss” Kenzo playfully continued at her final remarks, trying to avoid any follow up to the previous topic. The mercenary trailed behind her as she took the lead, implicitly designing herself as the leader of the expedition. Kenzo was all too happy to oblige. Even if they walked side by side, he preferred not giving his back to strangers if he could help it, physically and metaphorically speaking.

Following along, the male stood silent for a second as he saw her take them towards a corridor he’d already explored. He’d spent a while here after all, and thanks to the power of his eye he had thoroughly discarded any hidden passages in that general direction. As they crossed the point of no return, Kenzo finally decided to speak his mind, reasoning that she’d yet to come to the same realization as him.

”Erm… I’m sure you definitely know boss, but there’s a dead end at the end of this corridor.” Kenzo spoke as he pointed out in front of them, a sly smile crossed his lips before he continued. ”I’d hate to see you get lost out there after all…”