A dark, chilly night with only but a little movement from the wind. The trees were anxiously waiting for someone to come. It was beginning to unstabilize. No lights were lit in the Tohzu Mansion and everyone was seemingly asleep. The moonlight cast its light upon the mansion's nearby pond. Two shadows loomed over it, quietly scheming with one another.

Obi looked from the edge of the forest just east of the mansion. The two shadows carried on with their conversation. Obi knew he wasn't detected, yet. As those checkpoints told him, this confirmed his suspicions. Someone was visiting the Tohzu Mansion back and forth for the past few months. The Bergatts.

In all of his years in the underground, he knew that this was just too opportune to pass up.

Obi blinked as he noticed the shorter man started to leave. Obi could hear almost… nothing. The shadow's feet were so agile. He was the dirty worker. So, he gave chase. Obi's feet took to the tree branches to avoid any unnecessary sounds from any stray twigs or leaves. However, after only a few moments, Obi felt a pit in his stomach.

"He noticed me…!" he thought.

Obi swung off the branch to avoid two kunai's that just barely missed his head. Suddenly, he hears a thud from above him.

"Who are you?" demanded the unknown young man. He looked no older than Obi, possibly younger.

Wasting no time, Obi throws his kunai but it ricochets off the young man's unsheathed sword. Obi lightly clicked his tongue as the assassin jumped down. He's seen this a thousand times.

Obi tenses his ankles and leans his torso upwards, kicking him in the chest. The assassin was able to recover quickly however and hid in the shadows of the badly moonlit forest. The trees were still extremely silent but eager to be shaken by something. However, the assassin was just too good.

Obi couldn't find him at all. Then, he thought of Shirayuki's glowing necklace she gave him to use as a decoy. As he was to grab the necklace from his pouch, unbeknownst to him, the assassin already had his kunai aiming at the knight. The assassin's grin snuck on his face.

A distant whistle from behind Obi startled him out of the assassin's target. A feathered arrow flew past Obi and into the dark forest. A yelp was heard at the impact.

"Another one…?!" Obi whispered.

A nearby tree's leaves fell in the direction of the arrow. Footsteps were slowly coming toward Obi and rustling from the assassin. The moonlight finally decided to show itself, showing Obi the situation.

Coming towards him was a person with a long dark red cloak and dark clothing with a simple tassel. Their face was hidden and their bow was already drawn with another arrow loaded. Obi noticed that despite their location being so close, their direction was off of him.

As if you'd blink then you would miss it, the archer launched another arrow in the same direction as before. The assassin was pinned to the tree by the previous arrow, now with two arrows. The assassin whimpered in shock. He couldn't break the arrows or tear his clothes loose. This was no ordinary bow and arrow. This person was a professional.

"Forgive me. I'm afraid I saw him trying to aim for you as you were looking for your tools," the archer spoke. It was a gentle voice, like a woman's. But Obi wasn't about to lower his guard anytime soon.

"Who are you?" Obi growled. The archer may have helped, but their presence has been so well hidden until now. There was no way he could trust them.

The archer promptly put away their bow and lifted their hood up to reveal their face. The assassin recognized them.

"Y-you're,…" the assassin hesitated.

"Quiet, you," the archer snapped.

"Allow me to explain who I am and my intentions. I am Mireya Tohzu, the daughter of the traitor Viscount Tohzu. I am here to assist you in exposing the Bergatt's and my family's crimes. I pledge my allegiance to the Clarines Crown," she continued. The wind was waiting for this moment and announced the young lady's entrance.

Her slightly wavy raven hair was illuminated with a slight gray light from the moon. Her bright emerald eyes were straightforward and reflectant, but also mature enough to never allow herself to be fooled again. She developed a slight blush from the chilly wind, but her breath was steady.

Obi's once tense eyes then relax, "I'll deal with you later. You stay there."

Mireya nodded and stayed put, but not without keeping eyes on the assassin.

Obi stabbed a kunai next to the assassin's head, "Answer me. Who hired you?"

The assassin kept silent. Mireya's eyes tensed in frustration. Obi tried to set himself free from the arrows but struggled somewhat.

"You can't do it like that," Mireya called.

Obi sneaked a peek behind him, "Then, please, milady. By all means." Obi kept his grip on the assassin and left no opening.

Mireya walked to them. She then kneeled down, glaring at the assassin. After a few moments, she grabs the arrow and moves it in a circular motion. This releases the arrow from the tree, but rips the assassin's clothes, revealing a deadly broad arrow. Obi recognized this kind of arrow is for hunting big animals or even…assassinations.

"How did you get those…?" Obi asked cautiously.

"Please don't mistake me for an assassin just by my arrows. If I wanted to kill him, I would have by now," Mireya said unemotionally.

Obi blinks, twice.

Oh.

"Well,... that's true," Obi sighs.

"You help me turn him to nearby authorities and I'll let you meet my master."

Mireya's face showed some confusion, but she agreed.

Some time passes as they turn in the assassin to the nearby knights. Mireya keeps her identity a secret to them however as they would recognize her. She explained to Obi that does not want anyone to suspect her, especially any chance of her father finding out.

Obi signals him to follow. He leads her around the perimeter of the Sereg Knight Circle. As they were walking around the boulders and trees surrounding the military post, Obi occasionally looked behind him to see if she was struggling. She kept her distance, but she was doing fine.

"You're quite capable of leaping around in these conditions, milady," Obi teased.

"I am not a lady. If you may, you may just call me Mireya. My family's titles are nothing but empty words to me."

"Hmmm, so what exactly are you then? Your archery is quite good. Who was your teacher?"

"Myself."

"Eh?"

Mireya blinked, "And maybe some book editions of archery in the Tohzu estate library."

"Oh, well, you're pretty good."

"Thank you, Obi-dono."

"So, what crimes do you think your family is guilty of and you're somehow the only one innocent of?" Obi knew he was being strict, but he had to shake her as much as possible so that nothing would be left unseen.

"I do not know the specificities, but I do know that they are conspiring with the Bergatts against the Crown. They never agreed to Queen Dowager Haruto's jurisdiction. They didn't want to openly admit it, but they looked down on her because she was a woman. They also didn't like how power was being taken away from them. I, too, am an ignorant young woman because of this." Mireya slowly looked down.

"And then you secretly rebelled and decided to learn how to defend yourself so that you find the opportune moment to finally fight against your family…" Obi continued for her.

Mireya looked straight into his eyes with more emotion than she's ever had, "Yes!" she gasped.

Obi saw her resolve.

"Alrighty, then. Let's meet with my master. You can swear your allegiance, then." Obi put his hands behind his head and slowly walked downhill.

Noticing his now relaxed posture, Mireya smiled to herself and followed close behind him.