“Who are you?” shouted the thug.

“Leave this place. This is your last warning.” Keiko tightened her grip over her Katana.

The thug closest to Keiko charged toward her with his arm paraded out. Keiko only needs to slide her feet inside the stool and using only her leg, she swung it and it hit the raging man against his face. With that single move, the man stumbled down to the side and crashed into the wall. Keiko leg still up in the air, and with precise movement of her leg, one could tell that this woman was way out of this men’s league.

The other thug grabbed a table and flung it at Keiko. She stood still in front of the flying table and that was the thug’s plan all along using the table as a distraction. He ran toward the woman behind the flying table with his crude dagger readied. Keiko dropped her leg and took a step back before kicking through the table, splitting it into two pieces, and the same feet hit against the thug’s face behind it. Keiko twirled her other leg and kicked the man toward the wall beside the other thug. After the twirl, she landed gracefully as if she were light as a feather.

Nona looked at the crude danger lying on the floor, she rushed to it and grabbed it away.

The two thugs grunted and howled in pain as they pulled themselves out of the wall. Keiko made her way toward them, she then took her katana that was still sheathed and pressed the tip of the cover against one of the man’s throat.

“My Katana only has one rule. Do you want to find out what it is?”

“N-No..”

“Then leave.”

The thug lifted his partner up and ran away as quickly as they could. Victor remained upright in the same pose despite everything that had happened. Nona looked closely and shocked to find Victor’s eyes to be as white as a boiled egg. She gently touched his hand and there was no movement.

“Did he faint?” asked Nona.

“After all the grueling training I put him through and that fight he was in, must have pushed him over the edge. You, girl, he needs freshwater, clean cloth for his wound, and a place to lay down,” Keiko said as she wrapped her sword in the same fabric she had earlier.

“You can lay him upstairs in my bed, Nona. Afterward, go find us some freshwater and a bundle of clean cloth,” said Nona’s grandma as she raised herself from the floor, and gestured them to the stair behind the curtains door leading to an adjacent building.

Keiko walked to Victor and squatted down behind him. She then hit the back of his knee which caused him to lay himself on top of the woman’s shoulder. With Victor secured on her shoulder, Keiko brought him up the stairs and into the room on the second floor. She placed the boy on the bed and stepped away after clicking her tongue.

“You could have left them alone, and you wouldn’t get hurt. Why? Why did you go so far for people you don’t even know?”

“Mhmm...never give up, never back down,” mumbled Victor as he rustled on the bed. Keiko gently chopped his head with her hand and smiled. His eyebrows scrunched up together as he twitched his nose before moaning back to sleep.

It was dark. It was quiet. Victor felt nothing. Not the pain from the wounds he sustained or the anger he roared silently as he was beaten to death. It was empty and calm, and then somehow he was back; the glass dome above him and the frozen flakes on each of the glass panes, but despite the freezing cold outside, it was warm in there. A familiar warmth, one that could not forget.

Pure white, snow-like hairs draped down her back, pale porcelain skin, and eyes darker than obsidian. She stood there with a saddened expression.

“Muffin?” Victor called out.

Victor took one step forward and suddenly, a roar of a thousand soldiers surrounded them. An arrow flew past him and pierced through her heart. Once again Victor stood there, motionless. He tried reaching out, but his hand was trembling as his mind registered what had happened.

“No. No!”

Muffin bares a smile before she drops to the floor, lifeless. Victor tried to run toward her, but something was holding him back. No matter how much he tried, he still couldn’t reach her. In fact, his body was slowly being pulled backward, further from her, until a sudden force pulled him away from the dome and back to the land of the living.

“Muffin!” shouted Victor at the thatch ceiling above him. He heaved his heart out and found his hand was trying to reach nothing. He lowered his hand and tried to calm his breath.

The floor creaked beside him, Victor turned his head to the side and was surprised to find the double bun haired girl on the floor beside him. Her eyes were widened and her cheeks were beet red. When Victor looked down, he found out the reason was he had no clothes on. Keiko must have stripped him down to treat his injuries. After glancing around, he found his pants and quickly tuck and wore them under his blanket. Still, with no shirt on, Victor left his bed, but the girl was still frozen in place as she kept staring at him.

With a half-smile, Victor asked, “Can you help me find the rest of my clothes?”

She pointed at the bag leaned against the drawer. Victor smiled and nodded his head before making his way there.

“Aren’t you hurt?”

“Yes, I am. Good observation.”

“But, how could you still move?”

“Pure willpower?” said Victor as he chuckled a small laugh while rummaging through the bag and grabbed a shirt.

“Are you sure that you’re fine walking around?” asked Nona as she put the bucket of water aside.

“Y-Yeah. Why not.” As Victor made his way to the door, his legs became jelly and he almost dropped to the floor, but Nona held him in place before that happened. The young man’s stomach growled out of hunger and caused him to scratch his nose in embarrassment.

“We have chicken noodle downstairs if you still want some?”

“Oh! Can I?”

Nona never saw someone so excited at a chicken noodle before that she accidentally giggled her answer out, “Of course you can, but can you still walk?”

“I might need a little help with that.”

The girl escorted the boy downstairs, and toward one of the tables that weren’t broken in the stall and gently helped him take a seat on the stool. Victor examined the damage from the fight, almost half of the tableware, seatings, and tables were broken. He felt bad for picking a fight inside the establishment, instead of bringing it outside. He looked for Keiko and couldn’t find her anyway, Victor started to wonder whether she had left him behind. He did disobey her wishes.

“I will be right back.” Nona headed to the kitchen while Victor kept tapping his fingers on the table still excited for his food.

Nona came back with a bowl of noodles, she served it, and Victor was pleasantly surprised. Thick strings drowned in thick chicken stock, vibrant green vegetables littered on top of it, and a half of a boiled egg floated above all of it. This was a heartwarming meal, easy to digest, enough to quench the thirst and hunger. However, it felt familiar as if it was a meal made from home.

“What are these string thingys made of?”

“It was made from flour.”

“Wheat flours?”

“No. No. Rice flours.”

“Oh, good to know.”

Victor couldn’t hold back but ravaged the meal down to the last drop.

“It’s very good,” said Victor, but no matter how much he tried to fake it, there’s an underlying sadness in his gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Nona leaned in closer.

“Did she say anything before she left?”

“Who?”

“The woman I was with. She must have left me behind. I did go against her wishes earlier by picking a fight with those thugs.”

“I think you might have mistaken something. That woman you’re talking about is in the kitchen right now.”

“She’s here?!” Victor stood up abruptly against his pains.

He rushed to the curtains door and swiped it open. Trembled lips and soaked eyes began to plague him. His heart was flooded with relief and joy. Keiko stood near the stove with an apron on and a bandana over her head. Beside her was the grandma from earlier, aged by time, and experience helped with seasoning the stock. Keiko casually stirred the chicken stock with a ladle, still unaware of her apprentice in the doorway.

“You’re still here? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Keiko turned to Victor with a raised eyebrow, “What are you mumbling about?”

“Keiko!”

Still as grumpy as he remembered it, Victor heaved in his breath and rushed to embrace the woman. She was surprised, the young man snot and tears soaked her side. The floodgate broke, Victor sobs furiously as he hugged the woman tighter and tighter. No matter how much pain he felt right now, he couldn’t let her go for some reason. Maybe he was relieved that she was still here, maybe he did something right for once, but no matter what the reason was, he wanted to embrace her as much as he could.

“You’re getting your snot all over me. Stop it!”

“I *Hiccup* I *Hiccup* I thought you left me!”

“For what?”

“For disobeying you.”

“Why did you think that?”

“I don’t know!” cried Victor in a high-pitched shriek.

“I thought I had issues.” Keiko rolled her eyes while awkwardly patting the young man’s head.

“I knew it, you do like me after all.”

“No.”

“What…?” Victor was about to sob furiously again when the woman changed her mind.

“Fine. I do like you, a bit. Now, stop crying.”

Nona looked on from the side, she wiped the single tear off her cheek as she watched the heartwarming scene unfolded before her. However, no matter how much heartwarming this situation was, Nona had to escort him out of the kitchen before he could ruin the chicken stock with his snot and tears. She rested him outside of the shop where he could compose himself once more and washed the tears away. Victor took one last breath in to calm himself and then stood up abruptly again. Twice Nona’s body jerked from Victor’s sudden burst of emotion.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am. Also, I’m ready to work!” Victor took the broom near the door and rushed back inside and started sweeping the wooden debris out.

Nona looked on with a gap between her lips, she tilted her head to the side and wondered if this teenager even knew the feeling of fatigue. She shook her head and burst out a quick laugh.

“You both are the weirdest pair I have ever seen.”

“Is that bad?” asked Victor with a smile.

“Not really… Let me get another broom so we could finish cleaning before dinner.”

Before night came, they had cleared the broken wooden seatings and table by stacking them in the back so they could use it as fuel for the stove later. They even had a few customers come in. With both of the young ones helping out the front along with two older women preparing food in the back. It was easy as pie for them to serve the customers. However, it was still quite a taxing day, but joyful nevertheless.

Soon, the sun began to set and the shop was preparing to close. Victor carried the outer seating and table back inside while Nona swept the dirt out from the front door. Victor let out a breath of relief before collapsing on the floor, he snored loudly. Nona saw the tired’s teen and bopped him in the nose; Victor’s eyelids flew open.

“We still have work to do, but we need to set up the hot bath first.”

“But I’m so tired…”

“Oh, now you want to rest. Come on, don’t be lazy.” Nona dragged the teen toward the back door.

“I’m not lazy. Grandma...Nona is bullying me!”

“She’s not your grandma.” They both disappeared into the back.

Keiko shook her head in disappointment, but the old woman only giggled as she swept the floor. As the kid was out of earshot, the grandma stopped sweeping the floor and took a seat on a nearby stool.

“Thank you for giving us a place to rest,” Keiko nodded her head at the old woman.

“It’s not a big deal. That kid is one of a kind. I do wonder what life he had lived before he met you.”

“I try not to wonder. Everyone deserves their own secrets.”

“Speaking of secrets, it’s rare to see your folk out here, Jigoku no Senshi.”

Keiko suddenly froze before continuing her cleaning, “How did you know?”

“The ink on your body, the raging sea of the east, and the man-eater Katana. Usually, you people served under The Empress unconditionally. It is quite rare to see one of your kind stray from it.”

“I didn’t serve The Empress, but I did serve The Late Emperor. Though nowadays, I’m mostly just a wanderer. Still, knowing about one of us is pretty common, but knowing what our ink means is even rarer. Only the upper echelon of the government had that kind of information.” Keiko leaned the broom against the cabinet and turned her head slightly.

“Are you here for my head? Just like your people did for Nona’s parents?”

“Now I see… I should warn you though if you want to bear that hidden dagger in your sleeve at me. You better make sure that you make it quick because I’m not one to hold back.”

The old woman took out the crude dagger slowly, her hands were trembling. However, she stopped midway when the room darkened despite being lit from the oil lamps. There was something growing from that woman. A monstrous shadow behind her encasing the entire kitchen until the old woman started to feel numb and lost her sense of hearing.

“Do you know that my Katana only has one rule? The moment I unsheath it, a life must be taken, either my own or my enemy.”

The shadow glared at the old woman with red sapphire eyes, in her mind, every kind of move she took, she could see the horrible end waiting for her. The slightest movement of her body will cause her to be decapitated in an instant. No matter how unpredictable she wanted to be, the woman before her had anticipated all of it and showed every counter she had planned loudly.

At that moment, the grandma finally realizes, the woman in front of her wasn’t a woman after all. She was a Demon dressed in human skin and flesh. The grandma feared for her life and her granddaughter's safety, she knew if this woman started to hunt, she wouldn’t stop until every last of her bloodline was erased from existence. This fate was truly much worse than thugs earlier.

“Please… at least, let my granddaughter go. She got nothing to do with this,” pleaded the old woman with a shaken voice.

“Why?” said Keiko as if the feeling of empathy was a foreign concept to her.

“Have you left no sense of mercy?”

“Mercy? You said that after you try to bear your dagger at me?” asked Keiko as she pointed the dagger.

“Take what you want… just leave us be.”

“To your information, I'm the type to finish what I started, but that boy doesn’t understand it. The only way to stop it is to exterminate. Like a poison, it’s better to cut your hand off than risk the poison spreading into your entire body. Now tell me, are you willing to cut your hand off?”

The Grandma looked down to her hands with horror, she slowly took the dagger and was about to run it against her wrist when Victor stepped into the room. Widened eyes of horror, Nona ran to her grandma stopping the old woman from cutting her hand clean.

“Keiko?” called Victor.