"You're not sure about this at all, are you?"

The lady turned toward him before making an indignant hmph as she crossed her arm. She had a stern and confident expression on her face, though that did not take away from the natural cute charm of her half-pout, half-frown. It would have made anyone else apologize and do as she asked without another question. However, the man was no mere human vulnerable to her guiles. Genji Shimada was a proud elf, one that had a goal in mind and no distraction that would deter him.

He sighed and gave the lady one last gaze as if to give her one last chance to back out. She wore a medium thickness cloth that revealed only her arms and modest parts of the legs. The gold pattern and hem were quite fitting for her appearance and personality, though it wasn't actually made out of gold.

"Just do it," came the soft voice of Mercy, the name she had insisted that he would use. It was laced with anticipation, trepidation, and uncertainty. However, he wasn't going to question her any further.

Genji simply went to it. With one swift motion, his sword was revealed from its sheath, making Mercy's eyes widen as she gazed up and down its length.

"Is it … always so big?"

Genji frowned over at the young woman. Was this really her first time seeing it? "Are you trying to imply something, Miss Mercy?"

"I just thought that elves … you know, they have smaller ones."

Genji let out a long sigh, though Mercy was far from finished with her thought, seeming to completely ignore him as she simply stared.

"Oh, and that you were really quick to finish. I did hear you were … quite skillful though. There's a lot of things you can do with magic and your sensitive senses lets you experience things differently than us humans."

Well, she wasn't exactly wrong but … "Can we have this discussion later? What you see is what you're getting from me at the moment. We can discuss specifics later."

A short silence came before Mercy glanced away, her expression recomposed. However, her voice still held a soft tone to it, though he had noticed that it was always like that. That's just how she was right? "Take it slow, please. I don't want to rush things too much."

Genji let out another soft sigh, though it was not exactly in annoyance. If anything, he was getting more worried about her getting so worried. "It's not the first time I have done this sort of thing, you know."

Mercy glared at him now, as if he had personally insulted her. "Neither is it mine! I just figured that … we should keep just a steady pace and let me get used to how we are together."

Genji searched her eyes, finding the truth of her words even though he hardly needed to look to know. She never did lie to him. That much he knew for sure. As such, he had no choice but nod at her honest and sincere request. "I'll keep that in mind. Shall we get started?"

Mercy thought about it before nodding, gulping gently as she gazed into the near distance for a moment before meeting his eyes once more. "Very well."

Mercy closed her eyes slowly and opened her lips, taking in a soft breath as she tried to calm her racing heart. Once she opened them again, Genji had already begun.

The elven ninja dashed toward the large beast. It stood at three times his height but not a single shred of fear could be seen in his eyes. Wind magic propelled his dash, bringing him into range for attacking despite having been 100 meters away just a moment before. Mercy blinked and frowned, having to move closer even as she began her own work.

A soft song came from her direction, a soft and soothing melody that filled the air in the large room. It simultaneous echoed in the room to amplify its effect, yet at the same time never interfering with the next part of the song. It was one beautiful and continuous melody, without any breaks or interruptions. He was sure that she needed to breathe. Or did her magic allow her to do that? It was most likely the latter.

Regardless, it increased the warmth he felt in his body. It was a healing warmth, the effect of potent healing magic. A slash across the body of the beast made it roar and stumble back, a loud sound that made the cobblestone shudder but did not faze any of the two people in the room.

Genji landed on his feet near Mercy, still watching the beast as it prepared itself for the next combat phase. He could attack but it was risky. It was best to watch it first.

Besides, he had something to say.

"Mercy, can you not sing that song? It's making me want to fall asleep."

Mercy frowned at him, "Genji it's for your own good. It boosts the healing power I have and passively increases your magic resilience against the beast's attack."

Genji sighed. That was fine and dandy in theory but … something told him that she had never participated in full combat before. "Yes, but have you seen me even come close to taking damage? Is it not tiring for you to be singing and channeling your healing aura?"

Mercy opened her mouth to argue, only to pause and gazed at him. Genji met her eyes as he was met with silence, finding something in them that made him pause and lose track of where he was for a moment. Noticing their state, Mercy quickly look away, coughing lightly as Genji focused back upon the enemy in front of them.

"... Very well. I'll keep that in mind."

Genji nodded and dashed forward again, his blade swinging in a wide arc and cutting a large wound across the beast's chest. It was a bit unexpected, making Genji's eyes widen slightly. However, he knew that the power that was reverberating through all the nerves in his body did not come from simply adrenaline. Rather, it was not natural adrenaline.

A faster rhythm came from behind him, a song that energized the air and made Genji's body feel lighter and stronger than before. He smiled to himself, marveling at her ability. He knew that she could do this, of course, she told him herself. However, he didn't know it would feel *this* good.

It made all her earlier innuendos worth dealing with. Not that he would be so bold as to tell her that.

The air parted ways for him, his blade slicing through with ease and delivering deeps cuts to the beast. There was something off but he did not know quite what it was nor cared enough. He felt powerful with Mercy behind his back and he sure as hell wasn't about to break his tempo now.

That was when he was struck by the beast, its palm striking him and flinging him to create a new dent in the curved wall nearby. The song in the air stopped as Mercy gasped, looking toward the cloud of dirt that had been flung up in the near distance.

A roar brought her attention back to the beast charging her. Mercy gritted her teeth and brought her staff up, its end deploying a sharp blade. Her back glowed as Light magic poured out of her, creating a wing that allowed her to propel herself up into the air even as the beast charged past her. A deft landing on its back allowed her to strike twice to its neck before having to leap away, flying high again as the beast tried to grab her.

She took a moment to look over the cloud of dirt, not seeing anything still. Just how hard did he get thrown? Elves were not the most sturdy of races, much like the humans, and he might be unconscious. She hoped that was the worst of it. Should she start singing a song and channel her healing upon him? Her healing link should be able to reach him from where she was and should be able to stabilize his conditions in the time she had left with her wings.

She looked back just in time to widen her eyes and dodge the large boulder flying toward her. She had not paid attention. Genji would have been so angry at her for that. She also paid a price, as the edge of the boulder struck her across the stomach, knocking the breath out of her and grounding her as she lost control of her flight.

Mercy landed, blood on her lips after having bitten it during the impact, and tried to fly up again. This time, she let out a shout as her eyes filled with fear, the beast having grabbed her entire lower body with one hand as she could not get away fast enough.

That was when she gritted her teeth and willed herself not to cry. Genji was right. He had been right all along. She had not listened to him, of course. She was capable and more than ready to fight for herself. But willingness did not equal capability. Courage did not equate to skill. Confidence did not result in being untouchable. She was a fool to try to do this. She should never have run away from home. She should have never thought that she could do anything more than a healer for the royal knights. That was what she was born with. So why did she run away with a strange elf who hardly knew her and hardly cared for her?

Why did she even think she meant anything to this world?

However, until the very last second, she did not allow herself to shut her eyes. She would not allow herself to be struck down without knowing what the last blow was. She would not allow herself to cower in fear and despair in front of an enemy, no matter who or what it was. She had told herself that long ago, knowing that it would be difficult to do so in real life.

Yet, it was not the beast's black eyes with her golden reflection that she was looking at. She was not looking at the dark brown fur covered fist that made her lower body lose all feeling.

She was looking into the distance, where the cloud of dirt had finally started to settle. Beyond it was a dark shadow, the shape of fallen rubble but no body. She smiled to herself, even in the face of death, as she had one final thought.

"Thank you for believing in me, Genji. Please go on without me. And … I'm sorry I could never say it to you."

…

"Ryuu Gekiken!"

Mercy looked up as she felt the air fill with intense pressure from above. A large slash cut across the ground where the beast stood, cutting into the stone floor below even underneath the still standing body. Another completed the large-shape, and Genji appeared on the third as he seemed to combine the force of both as he slammed to the ground, the monster cut in half and practically exploding.

Mercy yelped as she fell, falling on her feet but stumbling and falling as her broken leg failed to support her, spraining her ankle in the process. The blood all over her and on the ground, though not Genji. The blood on him seemed to be his own, though it was not too terribly life-threatening. Even so, the two met each other's gaze as if they were seeing each other for the first time on that fateful evening in the green field. Though, their positions were reversed then.

Genji sheathed his blade with a calm exhale, walking over to offer her a hand. Mercy simply opted to sit down, letting out a shaky breath as she calmed herself and willed her magic to heal her. Her wounds began to mend and her broken bones were set right again, albeit painfully enough to make her squeeze her eyes shut for a moment without a single sound.

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked Genji over, "Are you hurt? Let me heal you."

Genji calmly grabbed the hand she held out to touch him with, gently placing his other one over it. He did not know why, other than to stop her from worrying so much. For the first time since they met, he allowed himself to smile at her. It was a small smile that came from someone who hardly knew happiness, but for now, it was enough to convey his sincerity at their survival.

"I'm fine. It'll take more than a throw to the wall to keep me down. If the bastard had been less hungry for the healer's blood, then it might have been more worrisome but … I'm glad I got up fast enough."

Mercy's lips tightened into a line as she pulled her hand back, casting her gaze to the ground much to Genji's confusion. "I … I'm sorry. You're right. I'm not ready for the world beyond the city walls, much less a monster like this. If it weren't for you, I would have gotten myself killed long ago. I should not have dragged you into this …"

Genji paused for a moment, seeing a moment of weakness and doubt that he had not expected to see in her. At last, he let out a soft sigh, causing her to look up at him as he looked away, as if ashamed of himself.

"I told you, I'm not a good man like the knights in your city. I was ready to abandon you. I'm no hero, Mercy." Before she could interrupt, he fixed his gaze upon her again, "but … your eyes were not those of a helpless girl accepting death. Your actions were not those of a weak young healer who depended on others. As much as I hate to say it, you have a dream. Dreams are … terrible things. They betray you, they let others betray you, and worst of all, they make you betray yourself."

"However, you never backed down. You never stopped believing that you did the right thing and still wanted to achieve your dream. I can't fathom why you wanted this amulet with no market value but … it was what you wanted and so here you have it."

Mercy found herself catching an amulet in the palm of her hands, gazing down at it before smiling up at Genji. "Thank you. Thank you for saying those things. And for believing in me. I thought … I would never get to tell you that."

The tall ninja was taken aback, silenced for a moment as he struggled to not fall backward or say something out of character. At last, he simply coughed softly, unable to meet her eyes as she gazed curiously at him.

"I hardly did any of that. You did it all on your own. Especially with that flying neck strike. That was … wonderful, to watch at least. Even if it didn't kill it. Oh. And your song. It was great too. Except for the latter one. It felt great but … the speed threw me off my combat rhythm. It made me slow down too much and well … literally got be thrown. You remember that."

Mercy couldn't help but giggle at the rambling young man. He gave her a frown as she did so but did not do anything to stop her. How could he, when he couldn't help but smile himself. Perhaps it was the stress of the battle wearing them down. Perhaps it was the relief from having been victorious. Perhaps she just couldn't help but be amused by the strange behavior he was exhibiting in her presence, even if she did not realize that she may be the reason for it.

When the laughter finally subsided, Mercy still had a smile on her face as she spoke. "Very well then Mister Shimada. How I should properly thank you next time then?"

"Well, we're even now that we've saved each other's lives once each. There is no need to thank me for anything."

Mercy's smile dwindled a bit, "Does that mean you will leave me then?"

Genji gazed at her expression before raising an eyebrow at her as she found the strength to look at him once more. "What would you want me to do in this situation?"

A blink later, her smile was back once more, a sly and confident one that had convinced Genji to go on such a strange adventure with such a strange young woman. "Well, how does setting up camp in the forest and discussing all my terrible mistakes sound?"

Genji chuckled as he shook his head. Well, he couldn't expect anything different he supposed. Their moment had passed and so did the threat on their lives. Now, she was back to being the confident and charming leader and he was simply her elven companion. But, that did not stop him from offering his hand to her, one that she took gently in hers as she got up.

"As you wish."