The clouds were dark, threatening rain though none fell.
A man stood on top of a cliff under these clouds, woods about fifty feet behind him.
The man's features cannot be made out, for a hood shadowed his face.
As wind began to pick up, the man heard footsteps approaching.
A girl appeared from between the trees. She was grabbed in the usual attire of a trainer, and her entire outfit was light orange and red, except for part of her shirt and belt buckle, which were white, and her fingerless gloves, which were two shades of gray. Her hair was as dark as the blackest of night, and seemed to absorb light, and it reached to her ankles. A hat was perched on her head, and red earrings dangled from her ears. Her eyes were a darker orange than her clothes. Behind her, an Ariados followed, prepared to leap to its trainer's aid.
The girl paused facing the man. No sound was made.
The man chuckled. "So, you came."
"Do you think I wouldn't have followed up on this?" The girl responded. "I'm not stupid."
"No. None in your family are. But sadly," the man turned to face the girl, and the wind removed his hood. "The boss isn't here."
The girl sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "I figured. This is the tenth time I've been given a clue with a false reward."
The man smirked. "This however, will be the last time you will receive such a clue, for these," The man drew a sword from under his cloak "Are your last few minutes."
The Ariados was about to advance towards the man, but the orange eyed girl glanced towards the poison type, halting him. She looked back at the man and smirked. "Funny, the last nine men said the same thing."
She extended her right arm, and a light began to glow in her palm. The light began to change shape, until it took the form of a sword, and became solid as the girl closed her fingers around it.
Light began to spread from her hand, up her arm, transforming the girl's clothes as it went.
When the light finished spreading, the black haired girl was no longer wearing normal trainer clothes. Instead, she was wearing clothes fit for battle, and her hair was tied back in a braid.
"However," The girl pointed her sword at the man. "It turned out to be their last moments."
And with that, the battle started. Blow for blow, slash for slash, both appeared to be evenly matched.
Appeared.
The man slashed at the girl. However, instead of parrying or blocking, the girl dodged to the side, and rammed her elbow into his chest. He stumbled backwards, off balance.
And fell from the cliff.
The man flailed up with his non sword arm, grabbing the edge of the cliff. But before he could begin to pull himself up, the girl stepped on his hand, preventing him from falling.
"Tell me what you know." The girl demanded, pressing the tip of her blade against the man's throat.
"Forget it." He growled.
The girl applied more weight to the man's hand, causing him to bite back a cry of pain.
"Tell me what you know, and I'll let you live."
The man winced. Dropping his sword, he reached in his cloak, and pulled out a piece of paper folded into quarters.
"Here," He said, handing the paper to the girl. "This is all the information they gave me. I was told to destroy it, but I was worried I'd forget something…"
The black haired girl wasn't listening. She was reading what was written on the paper.
After a minute, the girl nodded. "This'll do."
"So?" The man asked. "Are you going to help be up or what?"
The black haired girl eyed the man, not changing expression, and beginning to refold the paper. She removed her foot from the man's hand.
"No."
And with that the girl kicked the man's hand, releasing his grip on the edge. She turned and walked away, the man's screams coming to an abrupt stop behind her.
"That was rather cold, my lady." The Ariados remarked as she approach the arachnid.
"Being cold is often necessary, Maxwell." The girl responded, her body glowing slightly and transforming back to her old outfit, and her sword turning back into light.
"Let's go. This just gave me another lead." The girl stated as she began to walk back the way they came.
As they walked, the girl reached into her pocket, pulling out a rather large heart shaped locket.
Clicking it open, the locket revealed a picture of a man, a woman, and a child no older than five.
I'll find you two, the girl thought, clicking the locket closed and putting it away.
I swear it.