-The Fool

The six pairs of boots, all muddied and stained, belonged to three burly men who had ugly and crossed looks on their faces.

Seeing their jeers and ugly looks, Lia couldn't help but curse at herself for running into such people who she had no doubt would be looking for trouble.

And Cain did nothing but increase her worries.

'Lia, do not hit them, harm them, or anything along those lines. Play along, let the insults fly, but do not get mad.'

'And how am I supposed to do that?'

Lia yelled out in frustration, inside her head.

'There's just asking for trouble.'

'Then let that trouble just slip away. People will interfere if it gets too much but if you throw the first punch, you can just as easily be seen as the instigator of the fight.'

Lia thought about it for a moment, as she tried side stepping the group, only to be blocked once again by the third man.

'They seem like they won't wait for that.'

Lia said, inwardly preparing for a fight, flexing out her muscles, getting them ready to lash out.

'If you can't keep your cool, then you won't get farther than the door.'

Hearing this Lia reluctantly calmed down, knowing he was right.

If she threw the first punch, she would never make it past the door.

"So, what do we have here?"

Said the first man as he drew close to her face.

"Looks like we got ourselves a summoner."

Lia instinctively took a step back, only to find the second man behind her, as he gripped her shoulders.

"Now why would a summoner be here? You know what this palace is right?"

The first one's face got even closer, to the point that Lia could smell his alcoholic breath.

"This place isn't for the likes of you. We hunters come here to avoid arrogant brats like you who think they're so high and mighty."

Lia cringed at his smell and even more at the disgusting look on his face.

'Don't fight back. Don't fight back.'

Cain continued to warn Lia even as she reared her head to glare at the man before her.

He didn't like that very much.

Suddenly, Lia found his hand grabbing at her face from her chin.

His strength was surprising but Lia wasn't afraid. He was strong, but not strong enough. He was merely acting tough.

"Did you just glare at me? What, you got some type of problem with my face."

He brought her closer and closer to his face, and now his spit came flying at her face.

'Don't. Fight. Back.'

Lia was starting to get fed up with the three's actions, and Cain's constant warnings were not helping her.

Even then, Cain continued with his warnings, having not stressed enough the importance of keeping low.

'Lia, do not do anything. You can't fight them so just walk away-'

'Shut up.'

Lia was done. She was fed up with these three and their cliche punk attitude.

If they continued their little exchange, Lia would fight, and with everything she had.

Cain, sensing this, inwardly sighed.

'I tied…'

As Lia could not move, she thought of better ways of getting out of this bind.

Seeing as she could not escape, she used the man's grip to her advantage, pulling herself up, and leaning back, she was able to rip herself from the first man's grasp.

Using this time, she was now directly in line with the first man, who she kicked at with their two legs, knocking him back several feet.

In doing so, the man who was gripping her arms was thrown off balance, and as a result, lost his grip on LIa, who instantly distanced herself from the group.

The first man regained his composure, staring down at the boot prints that Lia had left on his dark green jacket.

"You little bitch."

The man glared at Lia, his face contorting into a disgusted hatred.

"Grab her!"

The two others who had formerly been shocked by the fact that Lia had openly pushed their friend, now rushed forward, attempting to grab Lia.

Lia however, thinking she could run, looked to the rest of the people - witnesses to the event. But instead she found nothing.

No one was looking at them, and no one bothered to stop them.

Lia then realized that she might have fooled them into believing she was one of them, a part of their back door guild, it didn't mean they were on good terms with her.

She was a summoner. And they had stopped this low to avoid people like her.

Why would they help her?

As Lia realized this, she felt four greasy and thick hands grab her shoulders and arms.

Even then, Lia could hear Cain's words clear as day.

'I told you.'

Lia was now bound by two pairs of hands that held her with a superhuman grip.

Now Lia knew what Cain meant when he said these people were a war torn race. A people who grew to fight in wars.

And if all the strong people were out by the borders fighting in endless border wars, like Cain said, how strong were they for these three to be considered 'too weak for the front lines?'

"I'll make you pay for that, bitch."

Snapping Lia out of her thoughts was the sound of the man's voice as he neared her.

-Tap -Tap -Tap

The sound of his footsteps as he menacingly walked closer and closer, rang out through the quiet room.

Not one person, whether they were sitting down, behind the counter, or near the bulletin board did anything or moved to show their objection.

Lia was alone.

'Your not alone Lia.'

Her mind that had been filled with the subtle hints of sadness at these thoughts, was now filled with warmth at the sound of Cain's voice.

He was comforting her, in her time of fear.

'Focus Lia. You can still get out of this.'

The sound of Cain's words brought the fire back in Lia's resolve as her confidence was regained.

'You just need to get free and then -'

-Smack

A burning sensation stung against Lia's cheek as her head was thrown to the side.

It took a few moments, but Lia was able to put together the pieces and realize that she had been slapped. And hard.

A red palm print, while not clear to her, was visible to almost anyone who dared to look.

The man, seemingly satisfied with his damage, and at the shock on Lia's face, he reached down, and plucked the papers from her grasp.

"The Silver Tail Spider. It's got quite the bounty on its head. 3 gold per body. That ain't too shabby."

The man turned over the paper, glancing at Lia to witness her reaction.

"This beast deserves to be hunted by a professional, little girl. Why don't you let us deal with it for you?"

The man grew closer to her face, holding out the paper in front of her, plain to see.

He was mocking her.

It angered Lia just looking at the man's face, but even more so, when he was mocking her with such a smug attitude.

And apparently, she wasn't the only one, as she could feel Cain's anger rising.

It was vivid to her, since they were now connected via a summons contract, but Lia could also feel a fire rising in her, mimicking his anger.

She wanted to fight, and so did Cain.

Throughout this, she couldn't help but think to herself.

'Does this mean our emotions are connected?'

While, if this was the case, it could prove to be a useful skill that would help her in calming her emotions. But on the other hand, it could raise her anger like it was doing now.

"Aw, what's the matter?"

The man who could catch subtle hints at Lia's rising anger, pushed on and continued to mock her.

"I'm just trying to help you. Why? Do you think your summons are too powerful for the likes of us?"

Lia felt a sharp pain in her stomach as she bent forward, only to see an arm and a fist had connected with her stomach.

Lia tired and almost failed to control herself from gagging or coughing out the blood she could easily feel rising like a bile in her throat.

"What's the matter?"

He punched again, this time aiming at her side.

The pain was so great that Lia could instantly tell he had broken a rib or two.

Yet even in her gasp of pain, he continued.

"You think you're too good for us?"

Another punch, this one directed at her knee, and with it, came the sound of bone snapping.

-Snap

-Waaaah

This time, Lia could not stop herself as she cried out in pain.

Her knee was now bent in an odd direction, and the pain was greater than anything she had felt for a long time.

But just as quickly as the sharpening stab of pain had entered her system, it left, replaced by a sudden warmth in he leg.

Already she could tell that Cain's magic was working to heal her. And with that warming feeling growing in her legs, she felt a burning rage fill her chest.

Cain was angry, and so was she.

As the man reared for another punch, Lia could feel Cain's magic course through her body, preparing for an attack.

'Get ready.'

Said Cain, who merely confirmed and fueled the rage growing within Lia's heart.

The man faltered for a moment, his eyes locked onto Lia's which were burning with an undying rage, that momentarily sent a chill down his spine, bringing his fist to a halt in mid air.

"W-what? You plan on releasing your summons on me girl?"

At the sound of his words, Lia took notice of the people around the room, those who had not yet left because of the fighting, placed their hands on their blades.

While others could not bear to see Lia beaten, these few had stayed, confident that she would try something just like this.

Instantly, upon seeing this, Lia's rage calmed down, knowing full well that if she attacked with Cain at her side, she would never be allowed to step foot in here again.

And for that matter, would be forced to undergo even more questionable means to earn her place in this land's underworld.

However, her firing rage was suddenly sparked once again, as Cain's voice filled her head.

'Ignore them.'

Lia was taken aback by the harshness of Cain's voice, which hid no form of mercy within it.

'Screw that 'don't fight' bullshit.'

'Cain?'

'Kill him.'

The anger rose again, this time a more powerful flame than Lia had expected. She had difficulty controlling it, though Cain didn't seem to like that.

'Cain. The people.'

Lia's eyes danced from one person to the other, all of whom she could see had some type or wryness in their eyes.

Weather that was displayed by their instinct to draw out their blades, or the look in their eyes. Lia didn't know, all she did know was that they would either kill her, or be killed.

And from the feeling she was getting from Cain, she had already guessed what the result would be..

But…

She didn't need to.

Just as the man was about to attack again, she felt a hand grab her shoulder and tug her hard.

Suddenly, she found herself flying out of the grasp of the two men, who seemed just as shocked that Lia had been ripped from their hands as she was.

At first, her mind rushed to Cain, even before she regained her footing, though difficult.

But as she raised her head, her hood falling down to her shoulders, she could see someone smaller, shooter, and less bulky than the Cain she knew.

'Lia…'

Cain's voice resonated in her ears- her mind- confirming her doubts that the man before her, who now stood between her and the group of men, was Cain.

The three seemed angry that this man had interfered with them, but soon their faces changed to shock and fear.

The man turned to glance back at Lia, who could see the young, innocent face of a boy, no more than seventeen years old.

"Are you alright?"

He asked, stunning Lia that someone would step in like that, when no one else would.

"Y..Yes."

Lia said sternly.

"I'm fine."

The boy's browns turned into a frown, but it quickly disappeared, as he turned back to the group of three men.

"I don't think it's too nice of you to attack a fellow Hunter. Don't you remember the Code?"

At the mention of this infamous 'Code' to the three, Lia could see all of them vividly flinch at the sound of that word.

The first to gain their confidence back was the leader.

"She..She doesn't belong to the Code. The Code only applies to Hunters, not summoners."

The boy was quick to bite back, instantly silencing the three.

"A summoner is still a Hunter, whether your arrogance allows it or not."

The leader gritted his teeth, but held his tongue. Clearly he was afraid of something, but Lia didn't know what.

"If you three are done here, I'll kindly ask for that paper back and we can be on our way."

The boy pointed at the leader's crunched up fist, where a wrinkled paper had been the victim of his anger.

"No trouble."

The boy held out his palm waiting for the paper.

The leader made no move to get it, or to hand it to him. He just stayed silent with his head bowed.

Lia could sense the other people in the room turn back to what they were doing, clearly interested in how this would turn out.

'Careful.'

Cain's voice served as a stern warning to her, and instinctively she prepared herself for the worst of cases.

Lia had guessed that the leader's harsh actions against her, and the injuries she sustained, were some type of adrenaline spike that he had gotten from seeing the people in the guild silently back him.

An ego that now led him to ruin.

As Lia was preparing to jump to the boy's defense, she could subtly see the man's hand reach towards his thigh, where she had no doubt a dagger laid in waiting.

'Embarrassment can do a lot of things, but to the arrogant few, it's a death sentence.'

As Cain spoke, Lia tensed her calves, her knee now healed by Cain's magic.

'So why care what happens anymore?'

Even as the first of her blows was thrown she could barely see how narrowly the dagger had missed the boy's eyes, as the knife slashed against the air, meaninglessly.

There was only one, but the blow Lia threw had the force of Cain's anger behind it.

Of course he had made sure to dampen the effects of his strength, but he could only guess that it broke a few bones at least.

-Crash

The leader was sent flying back against the wall, thunderous crashes resonated throughout the guild lobby as every guild member that was present shot up and drew their blades.

Lia had taken the leader's place where he once stood, her fist coated in a red and purplish hue.

The knife the leader had drawn fell to the floor with a small but loud twing.

-Twing.

The two other goons, marveled in fear at Lia's strength as they had just witnessed their friend and comrade fly across the room with one punch.

"Y-You hit him."

One of the two stuttered, his shaking finger pointed directly at Lia.

"That dishonors the Code!"

The third and final had drawn his blade, anger and rage glazed over his face.

Lia could feel the stares of other guild members, the receptionist and a man in black leather clothing who stood behind the front desk.

'Lia, if you want to get out of this, repeat after me.'

Lia didn't hesitate to respond.

'Alright.'

"This bitch needs to pay for breaking the Code."

The second goon, seeing the third's actions, moved to draw his own blade. A long and rusted machete, stained with blood.

But before any of the two could move, or the guild members could begin to judge Lia for her actions, they heard her voice loud and clear as she spoke.

"'To harm another Hunter shall never be tolerated, unless given to thee in teachings, duels, or nay say vengeance.'"

Shocked by her words, many of the guild member's eyes widened in shock. Clearly they weren't expecting her to know a part of the Code.

Lia held out her hand, which was now red from her attack, in plain view of the two goons and the people present.

Her palm was red, and clearly throbbing.

"You see…"

She said, causing many present to widen their eyes at the sound of her next words.

"I only slapped him like he did me."

And plastered on her face, was a look that sent chills down their spines.

A wicked grin and a sinister smile.