Shu noticed Yuki was a bit distracted. He wondered if it was about the encounter yesterday. No, it couldn't be, could it? She had seemingly gotten over it when he walked her home. Maybe it was something he didn't know about. He didn't want to pry. It could be something she feels she can't talk about.
Shu realized they were at the entrance to the small village.
"Well, now we just have to wait here about 10 minutes and the man should be here. In the meantime-" Kiyoshi cut off as he saw someone approaching.
"Hello. I take it you are from the village of wind?" The man looked like the only thing he did was exercise. He towered over all three of them.
"Oh wow. You sure don't look as if you'd need an escort. You look like you could win a fight with a bear," Kiyoshi joked.
"Ha! You're a spirited one aren't you. But physical strength can only get you so far. Against a group of awakened bandits, I wouldn't stand a chance," the man chuckled heartily.
The north was a brutal place. It was cold, densely forested, and served as a perfect place for bandits. Those with an ice awakening had resistance to the cold, which meant they weren't as weakened from the harsh conditions, as well as being able to force blizzards, which make it even more dangerous.
Because of that, this mission was rank A. Aiko and Ryu only assigned this mission to them because Kiyoshi recommended them for it, and because Kiyoshi was going with them.
Yuki had excellent control over her fire, and could make it hot enough to turn solid steel into liquid in seconds if she tried to. And her hand to hand combat was better than some specialists'. Her swordsmanship was precise as well, able to consistently hit vital spots.
Shu was able to create solid panels of water that could withstand the force of a falling tree with no problems whatsoever, and weren't able to be bypassed with either a blade or fire. All he needed was enough water. Shu's hand to hand skills were on par with Yuki's. Not quite as good, but really close. And he was really good with a sword. He wasn't the most precise, but could slice through a wall of earth created by a ranker.
And then there was Kiyoshi. Shu hardly knew anything about him. He appeared to have metal manipulation and the ability to see mana signatures. He was also the sixth ranker. And apparently he was good with swords from what Shu saw the other day.
Shu was sure that they wouldn't have too many problems even I'd they were ambushed. Besides. Yuki's fire could make it seem like a day in the midlands, the giant desert in the middle of the continent.
"Well then. Let's head north," Kiyoshi started heading north again.
The man talked with Kiyoshi a lot on the way to the north. Nothing of note. It was all random things about the man.
Shu felt a sudden cold breeze. It looks like they had made it to the border. It was odd. There was always snow in the area, and unless it was winter, the snow never went past a certain point. Shu decided it was best not to question how the world worked.
The dense forest lay ahead, the snow falling lightly.
"We must be careful from here. We could be attacked at any moment. I'll take the front. Yuki, you take the rear," Kiyoshi immediately made his way to the front.
Everyone was on high alert as they went through the forest.
Even though Shu was paying attention to his surroundings, his thoughts were still racing. If they were attacked, could he even do anything against long range attackers? All the water was frozen, and he had tried to use that before, but it didn't even start to work.
Right on cue, the snow thickened into a blinding blizzard. They were being ambushed.
Shu wished he had any power except for water right now. Then he could actually do something. Instead, he guarded the man they were escorting. He heard Kiyoshi get ready for a fight, and Yuki was summoning a good sized fire. When she hurled it, Shu felt a brief shower of rain.
It took a second for Shu to register what happened. There was water now. That meant he could actually make himself useful.
He quickly made a bubble around him and the man before the water could freeze again. With the combined forces of the bubble and the blizzard, shu couldn't see or hear anything going on outside. Just the occasional light of Yuki's fire.
After a while, the snow finally thinned and the fire stopped. Shu punched a hole in the bubble that was now frozen solid. He poked his head out and looked around. Yuki was standing there looking annoyed at the bandits. Once he saw that his side won, he shattered the whole bubble.
"That was easy enough," Yuki said dismissively. "I thought this was supposed to be dangerous."
"To be fair, not everyone had a fire awakening, and not everyone is as good as you are," Kiyoshi said with a smile.
"I guess that would give me the advantage against ice and snow. Now that that's over, let's keep going. The longer we wait, the more chance we have of being ambushed again."
Where had Yuki gone? She seemingly disappeared after they had arrived and gotten paid. Shu figured he might as well wait by the entrance so she could find him easier.
"Shu! There you are. Come on. Yuki's waiting," Kiyoshi came out of an alley.
Shu went and followed him. Shu didn't have the most fond opinion about alleys at the moment, but he though it would be fine since Kiyoshi and Yuki were there too. But Shu had a bad feeling once he had made it to a dead end and still hadn't seen or heard Yuki. Was Kiyoshi lying? Why would he lie about that? There was no reason to, was there?
"Well. I suppose I might as well get rid of you while your girlfriend isn't around. I'll deal with her the same way when I find her," Kiyoshi's voice rang out clearly. His tone was full of malice. "She might give me some trouble though since she can actually use her powers. I'll just emotionally break her so she's easier to kill."
What? She isn't my girlfriend...
When Shu whipped around, sword drawn, he saw the puppets. Things finally clicked in Shu's head. Kiyoshi was the Puppet Master.