A Master Seeing His Student

Inside the top floor of the mansion, in an office, the white walls and tiles were painted red with blood. Bodies of guards littered the floor, and on the chair where the "boss" of the mansion sat a headless corpse wearing a white suit. Takeda stood next to the boss' desk, reading through various papers.

"Damnit, this is useless to me!" Takeda threw the papers in the air before searching another drawer. "...A letter from the Royal Army?"

Picking up a letter with a blue wax seal, bearing the insignia of the Royal Army, Takeda opened the letter, raising an eyebrow at the contents.

"So they wanted you to investigate some new cult, huh?" Takeda said, looking at the headless boss. "Hmm, could be useful to keep this." 

He pocketed the letter before continuing to search the office, finding two hidden switches under the desk. Flicking one at random, the wall behind him began to rumble before opening, revealing a hidden room.

Readying his sword, Takeda entered the room, which was small but brightly lit, featuring only a pedestal in the middle that had a note on top. Takeda picked it up and read it before angrily crumpling it and tossing it away.

"Borrowed!? Now I gotta go find some dungeon just to find one of the fragments!" 

Takeda left the room, closing the hidden room before pulling out one of his kaikens and cutting off the switch, leaving only one remaining. He was about to try the second switch when he saw a skull carved into the wood next to it.

"Trap switch."

Sighing, Takeda sheathed his swords and made to leave the room before pausing. He pulled out the letter from the Royal Army and read through it once more before glancing at the corpses behind him. Nodding he pocketed the letter while grabbing a cloth off a dead guard, dipping it in a puddle of blood.

"Might as well cover my tracks."

******

"Headmaster, you called for me?"

Vincent entered the office, seeing the familiar middle-aged man sitting at the desk. The Headmaster had dark hair and a goatee that made him look younger than he actually was, but the tiredness Vincent saw on his face betrayed his true age.

"...What happened?"

"You remember that criminal that ran a town closer to the eastern side of the kingdom? The one with a lot of connections? Smart Nash?" 

Vincent nodded.

"I had sent him a letter asking him to investigate the Blood of Syne, since they've been leaving their signature message on the wall at every place they tear up, mostly just small military outposts or Children of Namek hideouts." The Headmaster sighed. "I sent that letter a week ago. Two days ago, the townspeople found Smart Nash headless in his office, all his guards dead, with you know-what written on the wall."

"Blood of Syne." Vincent pursed his lips. 

"Indeed. Anyway, considering the scene needs to be investigated, and the specific circumstances regarding the killings…" 

Vincent quickly turned to give the Headmaster a serious look. "You can't be serious. You want to send my squad out there?"

"They need a mission, do they not? I thought that was the reason you were pushing them so hard in their training for the past month? Do not forget the fact that the Blood of Syne is classified intel. Who else can I send? Cynthia?" 

"Oh yeah? What about the military? Those two Captains that came round when it all started, where are they now?" Vincent stepped closer to the Headmaster, unusually emotional.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to call the Royal Army about a criminal contact? Or to make it easier to understand - MY criminal contact?" The Headmaster shook his head. "This is the best way. You will be there to protect them as well." 

Vincent only scoffed. 

"You're sending out one of my students to be bait! For a cult that's actively targeting him!" He was nearly shouting. "And don't give me that shit about protecting them. I can barely chase off that damned Deathrider whenever it wishes to appear, and you think I can handle the whole cult?!" 

At his outburst, the Headmaster frowned. "Frankly, Vincent, I'm surprised you care this much, especially considering who his parents were. I thought you would be eager to send him out into potential danger, considering your childhood." 

"I care because he's trying to be better than that! Because he's trying to show that he's not what people like you think he is!" Vincent fiercely pointed a finger at the Headmaster. "I was there when Leo interviewed him, I was there when those fucking Captains were trying to any reason to arrest him with that truth serum! I was there every single time the Deathrider was stalking him during our training! I SEE him!"

Vincent paused, pressing his palms into his face. He took deep breaths as the Headmaster's gaze softened. Vincent shakily spoke again.

"I can see the fear in his expression every time the Deathrider appears. I see his hesitation whenever he has to interact with another human being, including me. I see the rage that he bottles up whenever someone discriminates against him. I look at Zane Syne, and I see a boy that doesn't understand what's going on but still wants to change his life. I see a boy who puts on a polite mask to hide his scars. I… I see myself in him…" 

"So that's what it was." The Headmaster whispered, the tension in the room now gone. 

Vincent leaned against the wall, breathing out as memories ran through his head. Memories of being a child shunned from the rest after surviving a terror attack on his village by Dark Mages. Memories of pushing himself to his limits everyday so he could escape being weak and alone, of doing his best to change his life…

Luckily, it had turned out well for Vincent, but Zane's situation was on a whole different level. A level that Vincent wanted to do his best as a master to help him with. He cared for Lisa and Lanius as they were still his students, but they had the advantage of being talented, while Zane had nothing but disadvantages. 

After a few minutes of silence, Vincent had calmed down, and was once more stone-faced, but a slight tremble of his lip every few seconds gave him away.

"I'm truly sorry, Vincent, but short of going over there myself, there's nothing else I can do. I'm sure you understand why I must stay here, and why it can't be ignored either." The Headmaster looked down at his desk. "You are free to go and investigate it by yourself, but I do think it would be more beneficial to bring your squad. Better than leaving them on their own." 

Vincent looked into the distance, a hand over his mouth, before simply nodding. 

"...I understand, Headmaster. We will leave to investigate tomorrow."

With that, Vincent left the office, shutting the door behind him. Alone, the Headmaster leaned back in his chair. He might just be getting too old for the hot-blooded arguments of young people.

"Good Grief."