Seated at Teuchi's, the Shikaru brigade were devouring their ramen after a long day's training. When it was time for everyone to go home, Takeshi stood in front of Tsukinoko to escort her home.

  - I know where I live, stupid," she says.

  - I meant... he blushed. I can go with you if you like.

  She shrugs. On the way, they pass a restaurant with beautiful bouquets of flowers on the front. Takeshi stops to pick a few.

  Tsukinoko was waiting for him with her arms folded, but he shyly stepped forward and held them out to her. She stared at him without moving, sure it was a trap, guilty as she was of his many teasing gestures. He loses his nerve, while she remains unmoved by his offering.

  - What for?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. Are you in love with me?

  - But no!" he panics, avoiding her gaze. I mean... I'm...

  - Is this another one of your stupid traps or are you in love?

  As he searched for words, offended, bursts of laughter could be heard from the bar across the street. A group of young Soldiers had been watching them all along, whom Takeshi seemed to know from the look on his face.

  - Hey Takeshi, how about introducing us to your girlfriend?

  - I'm not his girlfriend!" offended Tsukinoko.

  - Get out of my way, you idiot! And you're a tuna, anyway!

  Takeshi lands head-first in a flowerpot with his tongue hanging out, and the Soldiers have a good laugh. Tsukinoko picks up the fallen flowers before leaving.

  - Hey you wait! What's your name?

  The boy who had called out to her had brown eyes, short, spiky hair and wore the classic Soldier outfit with armband. He was accompanied by a girl with green eyes and long, slightly spiky blond hair, and other Soldiers including Ma?, who greeted Tsukinoko without her recognizing him.

  - It's you, isn't it..." he marvels after his introduction. Ren, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he says with a sneer.

  - Ren... Am I supposed to know you?" she asks, approaching.

  - I'm Sato Ren, the Chief's son. It's like you're my half-sister, now that my father has adopted you.

  - Jījī?! How old are you?!

  - Sixteen, why are you shouting?

  - I thought he was older than that! I thought you were an old adult too!" she shouts in amazement.

  Her shrill voice makes him wince, but he chuckles at her presumption.

  - So it's you he's always talking about," he says mockingly. How come I've never seen you?

  - I'm a young soldier, I go on missions a lot! she says proudly.

  - How old are you?

  - Thirteen years," she smiles again.

  - Really? he wonders. You do... less," he hesitates.

  She takes offense and frowns, but the girl suddenly exclaims.

  - You have beautiful eyes, you know! She's really cute, isn't she?! she laughs with her friends. Her hair is so long!

  - No wonder Takeshi's got a crush on her," sneers one of them with a needle in his mouth.

  They laughed again at his reaction and Ren decided to have some fun as the man concerned came back to them, finally out of the flowerpot.

  - I think so," he shrugs. Why, doesn't it suit you?

  - Berk dégueu!" she cries. All he does is complain all the time!

  Takeshi glared at him, vexed, but Tsukinoko saw this and exclaimed with a big smile that she didn't care, but he got even angrier and denied the whole thing.

  - Bah t'énerves pas idiot!" she shouts. You're weird with your flowers too! She insists, shaking them under her nose.

  - Well, I...

  He blushed again, unsure of what to say, and turned on his heels with a vexed expression. Ren walked on with Tsukinoko, curious to see who this little girl was, whom his father looked after and whom he had never heard of.

  The next day, Tsukinoko went to the training ground as usual, but nobody came. After an hour, annoyed, she made her way unashamedly to Shikaru's house. At the gates of the Betto clan quarter, a member of the clan greeted her and guided her to his master's residence. Dressed casually and with his hands in his pockets in front of his house, he raised an eyebrow at her expression.

  - You're all late!" she shouts in annoyance. I've been waiting an hour!

  - Running late? I told you yesterday we were taking a break today.

  - Really? I must have forgotten," she grimaces.

  - By the way, the Chief told me that you like hunting, don't you?

  - Yeah!" she smiled. I'm going with Yukihyō. Dad taught me, we used to go to the mountains a lot, but now... it relaxes me, she shrugs sadly. Walking alone in the forest helps me concentrate. But I don't catch animals like that, I'm careful! she reassures him.

  - Come on, I'll show you something, since you're here. On the other hand, silence rules here.

  Arriving in a huge, dense forest close to the neighborhood, Shikaru finally stopped in the middle of the woods, his hands still in his pockets. Two stags and a doe came out from behind a tree, and slowly advanced towards him. The stag had gigantic antlers, a strong neck and long hair protruding from its coat. Shikaru reached out to stroke the stag's chest, while Tsukinoko looked on in fascination.

  - We're here in the sacred forest of the Betto Clan," he says softly. This is a unique forest in the Land of the Sun, where deer live. We look after them and use their antlers for medicines, and there are also patches of medicinal herbs hidden in a clearing. We don't allow anyone except clan members into the forest without permission. I thought you might like to have permission to come here.

  - Thank you... she murmurs. But I'm not going to hunt your deer!

  - You'd think so," he sneers. This forest is almost immaculate, you'll feel right at home here. Some of these deer would be hundreds of years old," he smiles, "like this one my grandfather already knew

  Tsukinoko smiled shyly, impressed. She slowly approached the deer that had wandered off. The deer raised its head, at a distance with the hinds behind it, then came to sniff Tsukinoko's hand. A powerful breath escapes from its moist nostrils, fogging Tsukinoko's face. She holds her breath, then the stag grazes peacefully with the hinds, right in front of her.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The new mission assigned to Shikaru's C-rank brigade was to track down and arrest a group of brigands who had been robbing several towns in the north of the country. Thanks to Pansā, she managed to track them down, but Shikaru had a bad feeling. And the masks quickly came off. The brigands, current deserters from the hidden village in Cascade country, recognizable by the symbol torn from their armbands as a sign of decay, had no intention of letting poor young soldiers blow their cover.

  Shikaru reacted immediately and took cover with the children. With his register in hand, he unfortunately found photos of the suspects, and the stakes for their capture were relatively high, equivalent to their level. Shikaru then entrusted Pansā with a message for Hanamaru's help. He then ordered the children to remain hidden, and emerged from the gloom to try to abort the fight, alone against five.

  He did his best to stand up to the deserters, but they soon got the better of him. The children watched in terror from behind a bush. Tsukinoko could no longer bear to stand idly by, and her parents' terrified faces flashed across her mind. It was impossible to make the same mistake.

  Gathering her courage, she crabbed through the bushes, despite Mikio and Takeshi trying to hold her back. Shikaru had caught two of the men with his shadows, and she now faced the other three behind, fists clenched. Behind her back, Shikaru caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and ordered her to run, but these words were not in the young soldier's vocabulary.

  - Look at that, isn't it cute?" laughs one of the three. What are you going to do about it, eh? You think a kid like you is going to save his poor little teacher?

  They continued to taunt, and Tsukinoko frowned, anger fueling her fear as the tension grew inside her. She suddenly drew her sabers and went back on guard, despite her knees trembling under her skirt.

  - We'll finish up with your teacher and come and take care of you three. We're not going to waste our time with a bunch of kids," he says, stepping around her. You-

  He doesn't have time to finish his sentence before a wild beast jumps at his neck. The thud of a body falling to the ground attracts attention, and the four of them look away, along with a distraught Shikaru, to discover Tsukinoko with their comrade's decapitated head in hand, her face closed. By the time they'd turned their backs, the quick, dexterous girl had slaughtered one of their own.

  Petrified, one of the two facing her launched a water attack to get rid of her. Without batting an eyelid, Tsukinoko unlocks her aura and charges with Lightning. Guided by the water, the current unloads on the man and strikes him on the spot. Taking advantage of his two prey's lack of concentration, Shikaru finally attempts his ultimate attack before engaging the two again after his failure.

  Enraged, Tsukinoko turns and pounces on the last man with incredible speed. They exchanged several blows, the man at his wits' end over the bodies of his comrades, whom he was desperately trying not to trample under Tsukinoko's relentlessness. Two chains sprang from Tsukinoko's sharpened sabres to grip the deserter's arms and legs, pinning him to the ground.

  - What-what the hell?! he yells.

  Menacingly, Tsukinoko stood over him without uttering a single word. Eyes wide with adrenaline, only her panting breath interrupted the sound of clashing weapons behind her. The terror-stricken little face of before had been transformed into a demon towering over his opponent in the half-light.

  She blinked frantically, her chakra condensing, compressing the man's arms and legs. With his hands clasped against her belly, he watched her sign a series of incantations so fast that his breath caught. His ordeal came to an end as she abruptly spread her hands, ripping off all four limbs in one swift movement. He barely had time to absorb the pain before his heart was nailed to the floor by two blades as sharp as Tsukinoko's reflexes

  Meanwhile, Shikaru had managed to defeat one of his opponents and knocked out the last one. Ready to fight to rescue his pupil, he stood mute in front of the piles of flesh lying on the ground behind him.

  - Shikaru! Are you all right?! she shouted, running to him. Are you? So much the better," she murmured, taking him in her arms.

  Blood dripped from her sabres as she ran off to find her comrades. With every drop that soaked into the earth, Shikaru glanced at every bit of enemy around him.

  Stunned. Terrified. Relieved. horrified. He didn't know anymore.

  Once Tsukinoko had forcibly dragged his team-mates back by the hand, he ordered them to return immediately to the inn for safety.

  The three of them had barely taken a few steps when the stunned man came to his senses. Without hesitation, Tsukinoko had sent her chakra in the extension of his arm to wring his neck. The man begged for his life, but the sound of his voice was distorted by his crushed bones, before giving way to a morbid silence. His head hung on the back of his neck and Tsukinoko evaporated his aura.

  Proud of herself for having found courage, she smiled with all her teeth out. The boys trembled behind Shikaru, who protected them from his own pupil with an indecisive hand.

  At the inn, Shikaru explained the situation to his students and tried to reassure them, but a feeling of unease persisted at the table. Everyone stood up, but Tsukinoko suggested a game of cards. Three Colony Agents were chatting in the corridor with Shikaru, and she didn't want to be alone. The boys shunned her with their eyes and went out backwards, pretending to be tired.

  Tsukinoko remained sheepishly alone in the living room. Shikaru returned a few minutes later, wooden box in hand, to play with her. Shikaru had reminded her of the rules as he prepared the Shogi game board, his favorite, which he could play for hours. In imperturbable silence, Shikaru had won the first few games while searching for his words, then finally launched into the game.

  - Tsukinoko, you've done nothing wrong," he reassures her. You were right to listen to your instincts, because I doubt I could have dealt with them on my own - they were tenacious. But you have to be careful not to rush in without thinking, because the situation could turn against you, or your brigade. Also, you shouldn't attack your opponents in this way. If your mission isn't to kill them, which it never is, you should be content with neutralizing them. You have to control your impulses. The Chief was clear about that.

  - Okay... she murmurs shamefully.

  He wins the game again and she grumbles, banging her fist on the table, before making a guilty pout.

  - Do you like this game?

  - I'm going to win, you'll see!" she shouts, brandishing her fist.

  Less frightened by his pupil as he got to know her better, Shikaru had learned to talk to her, and above all to listen to her. Although Tsukinoko never talked about herself, her behavior spoke volumes. Like her outbursts of anger, which bore witness to a childhood in which her feelings had been crushed and humiliated, not knowing how to express them today. Her insistence and loud voice, which must have been the only way she could finally get attention. Her unfailing loyalty and instinctive courage, developed to survive. The love and confidence that emanated from her whenever she was shown any semblance of gentleness.

  The next morning, the Shikaru brigade was escorted to Hanamaru by the Colony Agents. The children had been sent straight home, and Shikaru reported back to the chief, accompanied by the special services.

  - Maybe you saw wrong?" a Colony agent asks Shikaru again.

  - You made them disappear yourself, you saw the state they were in. And it wasn't me who did it. She's always been like that," said Shikaru, raising his arms. She's... special.

  He had hesitated to say these words in front of the Chief, who had trained her himself.

  - She's gifted and clever," said Shikaru gently. But she has this kind of barbarity... No one knows where it comes from. Anyway, she got carried away like that because she saw us in danger, she's brave," he laughs.

  - So be it," exclaims Haruo. It's true that Tsukinoko has unique abilities. But she needs to be channeled, Shikaru, because she doesn't realize what she's doing when she gets carried away," he says seriously. I entrusted you with this brigade for a good reason. A young soldier can't end up murdering her opponents. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty, and I have no doubt that this has happened before, despite this...

  - It could save a lot of drama," says Colonie. She'd be a big hit in my unit, anyway," he sneers. We could really use some spunky youngsters like that!

  The Chief had taken a pensive look at his words, but the Colony was trying to change his mind, before Shikaru finally answered.

  - Say, Chief-sama, have you thought of registering him for the senior soldier exam?

  They turn to him in surprise.

  - Just to see what happens," he says. She's shown her physical and mental capacity despite the tragedy, and she's a team player. They've already completed the eight regulatory missions. I think they could make the grade with a bit of practice. But to answer your question, I can't do it anymore. The difference in levels is becoming too great in the team, and I can't push it any further at the risk of leaving the others behind.

  He pauses and suddenly laughs nervously.

  - And I think she's definitely traumatized them. Even Takeshi doesn't dare talk to her anymore.

  - All right, then. The next exam is in three months, we can still try. I'll be taking over his training personally to make sure this kind of incident doesn't happen again. We'll have weekly updates.

  - Suit yourself. It's a shame," he sighed, "I'd only just found a new shogi partner.

  The men thanked, and the Chief rose from his chair, a pensive look on his face as the sun set. He'd never imagined that his disciple would become so strong, so quickly. Pupils entered the Academy at around six and left at twelve, before passing the senior soldier exam at least a year later. Tsukinoko should have finished by the time she was sixteen. But four months after her first day of training, she was already approaching the rank of Senior Soldier. Meditating on the passage of time, he wondered if she would remain in the village once her debt was paid. This great strength of hers intrigued him every day.