• SHINK. The cold steel pierced through the warrior’s chest. He gasped, blood spurting from his lips. He felt the blade twist inside him. His eyes widened as he felt death approach. He heard a soft whisper behind his left ear. “Nothing personal… just business…” The sword was pulled from his torso roughly, and he buckled in the high grass.

    “Well, that was unpleasant,” the teen mumbled as he stood up and wiped the blood from his steel. He paced about ten feet away, surveying the area. He could see no one. At least this time nobody had noticed. He scowled, lifted his hand up, and signed the letter S. There was a quiet rustling from a nearby tree, and a man suddenly dropped down onto a branch.

    “There ya go, Shizuki-kun! You’re getting better every time!” the shadowy man laughed and applauded. “I knew it was an excellent idea to take you in, eh?” The assassin dropped from the tree and strode over to his apprentice. Shizuki looked at him with a mix of amusement and disdain. “I suppose so. But what other choice did you have, sensei? Leave a poor defenseless child to die?”

    The assassin laughed, and put a hand on Shizuki’s shoulder. “You’re always so sarcastic, Shizu. And by the way, there’s no need to call me `sensei` all the time.” Shizuki smirked. “Yeah, I kind of keep forgetting that you actually have a name… Sousuke.” Sousuke brushed his long hair out of his eyes and smiled his devilish grin. He pulled his hood up and rolled the body over. Sousuke rummaged about in the dead man’s pocket for a moment, before pulling out a small pendant.

    “Alright Shizu, I found the amulet. Let’s get out of here before anyone comes along.” Shizuki took the small pendant from his master and stowed it in his hip pouch. He glanced over at his teacher, currently sitting under a tree. “Now we have to go back to Aizure, right? For our reward money?” Sousuke looked over and nodded. He slowly stood up, stretched, and began walking north. The student followed close behind, thoughts of food and money dominating his head.