Polly

"Can you just give up already? You can get your revenge or whatever after I get my money." Toena says.

"No."

Toena sighs, "Time to go for another round." She says, before putting the gag back in my mouth. She then lets go of the rope.

I feel the sensation of gravity take over, tugging at my leg as I swing away. As I cross the barrier I feel the force of the wind pick me up and fling me randomly around the sky. I was dangling on a rope by a single leg, my arms and other leg were bound up. Making me unable to move in any way. The vertigo and force was sickening, and random pieces of debris zipping through the air occasionally stung my body. However, I did not focus my anku to defend against them, hoping one of them was big enough to draw blood and penetrate my skin.

I inhale sharply as a jagged rock flies right into my head. I feel the wet sensation of blood running through my hair, I channel all the anku in my body to that area with as much speed as possible. However, it immediately hits a wall as it reaches my head. I continue trying to force it out of my body and into the blood, but it just wouldn't come through... I finally realize that the bleeding had stopped before I could do anything, despite that, I could still feel the pain as badly as before. My foot suddenly jerks forward as Toena reels me in for the 8th time.

"I'm not stupid. I know you want to bleed and anchor yourself to the ground, but unlucky for you, I know Sananku, and I’ve smeared some of my blood onto the rope. So give up. This will not end until you agree."

"Okay I agree, now let me go." I say immediately.

"Great! That's a good start, now all you have to do is say that without lying!" Toena stuffs my mouth once again and sends me back into the vortex.

"What do you even want me to do? You know that the second I get out of this rope I'm going to head directly for that masked boy. I've told you that I'll return and take on my role as the Agate, only after that boy dies." I say as I get dragged back in.

Toena sighs. "You know, I do my own research when I take up a job, but I just can't figure out what exactly happened to your brother and why you want to kill that stranger so much. He's from a different world you know. A world set apart from both sides of Rai, yet you seem to know him and want to kill him."

"Is that it? I'll tell you everything if you let me go; I'm not really trying to keep it a secret."

"Nah, I'm not all that interested in what happened. All I want to know is... " Toena squats down and pulls closer to my face. "What that boy's death is worth to you. I'm a mercenary you know? Money is the only thing that I'll move for."

The pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place.

"So this is what you were aiming for huh?" I was wondering why this woman kept on going, when it was obvious that there was no point in trying to make me forcefully comply. The second I'm let go; I could simply break my promise.

"Yes, in fact, I'm a little disappointed that I had to spell it out for you. I was hoping for you to offer me a deal yourself."

"Pull me up." I said, my tone of voice changed.

"Sorry, but no can do, in this business, can't take any risks."

"Then how about this. I'd like to hire you. If Taiga is dead by the next 3 days, I'll willingly return with you, and will double your reward."

"Now we're talkin."

Taiga

I stare intently at my mask, trying to recreate the phenomenon that happened a couple hours ago. I should not have gotten the mask on in time, but by a unknown power the mask teleported off my hand and onto my face saving my life.

"Ahh, how am I supposed to know what I did?" I was trying to recreate something I didn't understand at all, the only thing I know about it is that I can do it. However, just as I say that an idea pops into my head. I place my hand under my cheek and then put the mask on.

Using my nails I dig into the tip of my finger, drawing a drop of blood. I then smear the drop of blood onto my mask.

Alright, now move! The mask flies off my face propelled by my Anku... And falls to the ground, devoid of any anku after the mask falls off my face.

I shiver; I need to be careful of that, other people could hijack my mask and leave me powerless if they get their blood on my mask, or if they simply get their hands on it... Wait, if that's the case, Rudeus, Celestia, Polly, all three of them never went for my mask, even once. By all means, I should have fallen victim to this trick by now.

"Hey Rudeus, let's get back to work early today alright?"

"You sure? Your foot is still bad isn't it?"

I tried finding Torika, but she'd been busy treating another person who had wandered into this place, looking to get strong in pursuit of whatever goal he had. He'd been treated quite roughly by the storms, bleeding, bruised, a couple bones broken before he staggered through the barrier and collapsed.

"It'll be fine. the harder the challenge the more I absorb."

"There's a limit to that philosophy you know, only a fool would throw themselves at impossible challenges, thinking that they have the talent to eventually overcome it. There are no shortcuts."

"Then, I trust that you'll go easy on me." I take a quick step towards Rudeus on my bad foot. Pain spirals throughout the bottom of my foot, but I had prepared myself for it to hurt.

Rudeus is surprised by this maneuver and hastily switches his footing to try to match mine; however, I had already successfully caught him off guard and landed a solid back heel kick to his forearms, which he managed to bring up just in the nick of time. I try to push my advantage and land more decisive blow following that kick, but Rudeus takes his arms and pushes us apart.

"So I've been wondering." I start. "I've already fought 3 different people since coming here. Yet none of you have gone for the mask. It seems like it would be an obvious weak-point to try to take off my mask."

"Ah, how can I say it." Rudeus slowly strides towards me, a little bit more cautious of my injured foot this time. "There's a strange suggestive force I feel every time I get close to that mask, I only found you in the first place because of that force actually."

"Wait what do you mean you found me because of that?"

"It's like wanting to return a possession back to it's owner, only magnified by a thousand times, to the point where it becomes impossible to resist."

How did Celestia take off my mask in our first encounter then? I wonder to myself. Is her willpower simply that strong?

Rudeus draws his sword. "You wanted it, so let's begin!" And so, the training continues.

Polly

"Hmm, it's no good. We'll have to wait to get em when they're separated. As it stands right now, that old fart can easily buy enough time for that boy to put on his mask." I concentrate the anku in my eyes, magnifying my vision. We watch from a faraway distance high up in a tree as the boy mock fights Rudeus.

"So? Let's just go two on two, that boy is pretty powerful, he's just a beginner when it comes to real fighting, I won't get caught off guard by him again."

"Don't be stupid; they beat Celestia two on one. You can't predict what tricks they might have up their sleeves, and Rudeus might act unassuming, but he's very intelligent, no doubt he's already considered the fact that we've started working together."

"Then what's your plan?" I ask.

"We have to kill Rudeus before we can kill Taiga, there's no other way. Maybe strike sometime while he’s sleeping, the both of us take him down before he has a chance to fight back."

"No, nobody else is dying other than that boy. They are not involved in my tirade." I immediately say.

"Huh? What are you now? Some sort of virtuous cornerstone? ... Actually I guess you are aren't you?"

"It is the duty of the Agate to be kind to everyone, this is no exception."

"But you're on a quest to kill a stranger who doesn't even know you, what kind of twisted logic is that?" Toena murmurs.

"Then how about this," Toena continues. "If you're fine with it, you go after Rudeus, he’s most likely much more skilled than you, but just slow him down before he can get to Taiga, and I will make sure to kill Taiga before he can get to us."

"That's fine, I don't need to be the one to deal the killing blow."

"Alright then it's settled. Let's continue watching them until we get an opening."

Taiga's POV

Rudeus suddenly pauses mid fight and stares at the ground. I take that opportunity to land a sharp jab to his solar plexus. However, Rudeus doesn't budge an inch, seemingly unaffected by what should have been a staggering blow.

"Hey, don't cheat and start using anku mid-fight." I complain.

"Sorry, just give me a minute."

"Hm?" I stare at him perplexed.

Rudeus suddenly rushes me and aims a wild punch straight for my head. I dodge it by a breath as Rudeus runs right past me, I feel a tap on my back, right where my mask was stored as we swap positions. I was now facing front while Rudeus was facing back.

"Ah, did I surprise you?" Rudeus said in a lighthearted tone, but his face was telling a different story. A very serious look had descended onto his face. Something is wrong, that face was trying to tell me.

"Why you!" I said in mock anger as I reached out and put my mask on. Rudeus awkwardly points to his ears, making sure his hands were hidden behind his body. I stare at his hands intently to let him know that I got the message as our anku driven fight begins.

"Then what's your plan." I frown as I begin overhearing a notably alarming conversation.

I dodge a horizontal sword stroke, then while crouching down, I let out an explosive series of kicks upwards, aimed towards Rudeus.

"I will make sure to kill Taiga before he can get to us."

Rudeus and I launch in a grapple battle, trying to overwhelm each other with brute strength. I eventually throw Rudeus to the ground but he rebounds off the ground like a ball, easily recovering before attacking back.

"Alright then it's settled. Let's continue watching them until we get an opening." The conversation ends and I stop diverting anku to my ears.

Well, this is troublesome.

Rudeus

We're in a bad position. From what I know about her, Toena wouldn't purposefully reveal her plans out loud like this, and I don't know if she figured out that we were listening in on their conversation anyways. However, Taiga does not understand our lettering system so I can't communicate my plans to him while Toena can with Polly. All I can do are subtle gestures, which makes it impossible to convey anything concrete. Should I continue to act dumb in order to keep the element of surprise?

No, no, no, no. That would be all a part of Toena's plan. If I act dumb, keeping an eye on them becomes much much harder. If I have to subtly watch them, then I wont be able to keep track of all their movements. They can move around freely, and I would miss some things. She has to know that we were listening.

But... purposefully revealing my hand like this just feels wrong. What can I do... If show them that I'm keeping an eye on them, I can force it to a fair two on two fight; however, I don't believe that Taiga and I are strong enough to take the two of those on and decisively win, plus there is the matter of Taiga's injuries, but if I don't do that we're at an even greater disadvantage and would for sure lose. There seems to be nothing that would turn the advantage to our side. Should I get Torika's help again?

In any case, there's only one right decision I can make right now.

"Taiga let's stop for a second." I hold my hand out signaling for him to stop.

I then turn around and stare at the tree those two were hiding in. Staring directly into Toena's eyes.

She stares back, a jagged smile on her face.

Taiga looks at me with a confused expression, but soon gives me an understanding look.

"Hey Taiga, hold out your injured foot. I'm not the best at it, but I am somewhat knowledgable when it comes to using Sananku."

"What are you planning?"

"Something that requires you to be at your best condition right now."

To be honest I didn't have much of a plan, I just wanted to rush them before Toena had time to come up with a plan of her own, that would put us at a disadvantage.

I even my breathing, every breath ebbing and flowing the Anku running through my body, it begins to gradually circulate around my body, matching the beat of my heart. This consistent motion is what turns Anku into Sananku, capable of manipulating the flesh of all living beings. I place my hand on the injured area closing my eyes, letting my flow connect with his, invading his body. Remembering my lessons on the puncture wounds, I reconnect blood vessels, sharply accelerating cell division of the torn muscles and broken skin.

I open my eyes and check out my handiwork.

...

"Alright, let's get going. We're going to strike first before they have the chance to set anything up." I said, running towards the tree where the two were standing. "And uhh, don't rely on that foot too much."

Toena

"They're coming already." I said curtly, as I hopped down from the tree.

"So much for your plan." Polly said throwing away the note I scrabbled her, as she followed me down the tree. I had hoped that they would overhear our conversation and act dumb about it in an attempt to get the jump on us. However, that didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

"We can at least set up the battlefield." I said, taking a small metal box, I open the lid and then roll up my blade proof arm guard. I take small knife to cut a precise gash through my wrist. Blood comes drizzling out soaking dozens of tiny razor blades contained inside the box no bigger than a coin with my anku. I then swing container around the air, spreading the blades all over the ground, obscured by the grass.

"We also do have an advantage. Isn't that boy's foot injured? Rudeus also isn't the greatest in head to head direct fights like these, he works much better with a plan." But I was in the same boat as him. We were both used to fighting with an advantage; however, he was somewhat better than me at fighting when the matchups were equal.

"This might be one of my more difficult jobs." I murmur to myself.

"Do you have a history with him or something?" Polly asked.

"This isn't our first time being on opposites sides of a rope." I wrapped my wrist with gauze and covered my arm back with the gauntlet.

I take out another bottle, bring it to my mouth, and take a swig of the liquid inside. A strong burning sensation immediately fills my mouth. I pay it no mind and store the liquid in my cheeks, letting it burn. Polly stares at the bottle curiously but doesn't ask anything. Anything I say right now could easily be heard by Rudeus, they've long gone past our range of sight, but the with the rustling of the leaves and forest I could sense that they were still approaching us.

"Hey Rudeus." I began. "Remember what happened the last time we went up against each other?"

"I remember like it was yesterday, and I thought you really changed for the better too, but it turns out you're still just as much of a scumbag as before." He replies to me from thousands of meters away.

"Yea." I sigh, I talked to Rudeus with the goal of putting him in a sour mood before the fight, but it put me into a sour mood as well. I immediately clear my mind however. The next opponent is tough, there is no time to be thinking about troublesome things.

Taiga

As I run through the forest I scour for useful items to bring along with me. I pick up some large pebbles and sand, but the array of items here was much more limited in comparison to the city. Despite that, pebbles and sand usually did the job for most of my heists, but… I then hesitate and drop the pebbles. No, these tiny pebbles won’t work. I’m not fighting regular people anymore. I’m fighting people who are just as strong, if not stronger than me. The only thing I can hope is to blind my opponent with sand.

An idea suddenly sprouts in my head. If I can get these grain into their eyes, and if they have blood on them… I quickly soak them in blood, and stuff them into my pocket.

“Hey Rudeus, is it possible to anchor onto another human?”

“Do you want to try it?”

“Yea, it might get us out of some sticky situations.” And with that I smear some blood on Rudeus’ wrist

“That’s definitely not going to be enough blood to stick.” Rudeus immediately said.

With that I responded by lifting off the ground, and flying towards Rudeus like a magnet, grabbing onto Rudeus’ wrist.

“Ah, my bad. Forgot how tightly packed you could make anku.”

And with that we made our way to the battlefield, Toena and Polly were in viewing distance now, even using my regular sight. They stood there, Toena with her arms crossed, Polly rapidly building up speed on her sling. Rudeus and I immediately move in separate directions as a massive eruption of dirt blew up in the area we were just in. I eye the crater that formed from the tiny sling. Damn I survived two of thing things? Good job Taiga!

I eye Polly as Rudeus and I circle around the clearing that they were standing in. Alright. I mentally prepare myself. I cannot afford to lose this battle. Polly knows something about me. This will be my first major clue to finding out more than just my first name. I don’t care if I need to beat it out of her; I have to win no matter what.

Polly

Brother, this will be my final battle, after this whether I live or die. Everything will be over. So come, Dundee. This time, I’m willing to sacrifice everything for your defeat. I put one more shot into my sling and ready my swords as Taiga, his mask in the spitting image of Dundee, jumps out at me.