Shinobi From Hell

"Is it about your pay? If money is needed then I can…"

Klautz shook his head, cutting her off. Money was indeed important but...

"That's not it. It isn't a matter of money anymore. Money would not be able to buy you victory here."

Hell was a world where savage beasts moved around feasting on humans. Wealth was no longer the all encompassing power that it once used to be back on earth. Money was indeed important but it couldn't buy you everything. And Klautz believed that Shizu should be the one to understand it better than anyone else.

And truth to his thoughts her words got stuck in her throat with nothing coming to her mind. The only card she had to negotiate was useless after all. She looked down as she didn't know why Klautz would quit being the acting general.

"Then why?" she asked seemingly holding back her sobs.

"You might be aware of this already but this is not a battle of brute force alone. The hunt requires us to collect as many horns of dreadtaur as we can. And of course the highest number would win," Klautz continued, "In such a race the achievements of an individual could very much be overwritten by that of an entire group. Numbers do matter here at least in this scenario and we somehow have fewer numbers than the others and there is not anything to make up for it. We already have a handicap to work out with."

Klautz didn't blame anyone. All he provided was an objective measure of the situation since even for him victory was important even though his purpose was completely different from Shizu.

But Shizu can't help but recall that it was all her fault.

'Having less numbers would be easier to manage wouldn't it?' That's what she had thought at that time as she misused her power. But now, she couldn't help but regret it.

"I am sorry…"

Clenching onto the helm of the dress she looked down away from the only bright source of light in the room endowing her face in a brisk darkness.

"Let bygones be bygones. Your lamenting won't be changing our results anyway. But because of this my participation or absence won't be able to add much of any worth to the team. Rather there is something that I need to do, without which we probably would have no chance of winning. I do intend to take a small group along with me but that's it. The rest is on your shoulders."

It was never made clear what exactly Klautz aimed to do but Shizu didn't enquire further.

Shizu clenched her fists. Klautz was doing so much for her. She had seen him shed blood and sweat for her selfish request. Not to mention that all of this began for her selfishness in the first place. It was true that she was the only one to blame here. But she wanted to fix the things that she had messed up.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I- I will do it!" she screamed on top of her voice enough to make the neighbours flinch in horror.

She at least had to make her resolve and make it clear to herself what she wanted to achieve here. She put her everything in the force of her voice.

But Klautz shook his head. It seemed that he was not yet convinced.

'It feels like I am dealing with children here.'

*sigh*

"Do you know what I hate the most?" Klautz tilted his head.

But Shizu could only shake her head lightly as her earlier outburst disappeared into thin air.

"I hate uncontrolled variables in my plans. I hate them to the bone. They annoy me everyday and come back to haunt me even in my nightmares. I can't seem to be at peace as long as they exist," Klautz continued. "And through all of this hunting event, you are the biggest variable that I have encountered. A person endowed with mystery and unusuality. You are but a thorn in my eyes that I can't bear to see."

Klautz words might be rude but he meant it. In the end wasn't all of this hassle caused because Klautz didn't have enough information on the Yukiho family? And Shizu was certainly not a good source for information. She had her secrets and Klautz couldn't even resort to torturing her to get them out in the watch of Gozoto.

And this fact wouldn't change even during the competition. She being the true leader would have heavy influence on the forces and her whimperings could lead to the whole force to oblivion.

'No matter how great she shows her resolve to be, I can't bring myself to trust her. After all that would be equivalent to leaving things on chance and I can't let a varibla like this to exist.'

Klautz interlocked his finger in front of his chin as he rested his elbows on the table.

"I…"

Her eyes turned moist. In the normal scenario she might have lashed back but she knew that Klautz meant no harm.

"I am sorry. But please help me."

Klautz sighed.

"Don't mistake my intentions. I have no business in scolding you. Your circumstances are not necessarily your fault. I am but making my intentions clear." 

Klautz himself had accomplished the most heinous of deeds possible. He was ashamed, accused, and hated. And yet how many of those cusses were brought about by his own willful deeds? He was always being controlled and he couldn't do anything about his circumstances either. 

Klautz continued "It is true that you are a thorn in my eyes. But that is the very reason why I don't leave a thorn unattended. I would pluck every thorn and every obstacle that lies in my way."

***

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