"Good for you, Phina." Jack said as he walked down the streets of Exar city. "You have a solid chance to enter the Enforcers' Exodia."
"I don't understand it." Phina looked to the ground, dejected.
"What don't you understand?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "Your talent is beyond impressive and your instinct are scarier than Royal Beast."
"Not that...Kara." Phina sighed. "Why can't she just be happy for me? She made such a big deal...she even kicked me out saying she won't let me back in until I burn the Recommendation Letter."
"Forget her, she'll calm down eventually." Jack said, his voice then turned into a whisper, "Shit, I hope."
"I guess I'll go to Will and ask for a place to stay." Phina ignored Jack's whisper. Her senses picked up on the littlest detail, but her encounter with the assassins made her think that maybe making it known that she heard was not ideal.
"Why don't you live with me?" Jack asked, somewhat offended that she'd consider going to William before him.
"Doesn't Fardo, like, hate me with all his guts?" Phina asked with a deadpan expression.
"Relax." Jack chuckled. "Fardo isn't even home most of the time, and when he is, he's only in the house for a few minutes to pick something up."
"What a dick..." Phina whispered underneath her breathe.
"Excuse me?" Jack was taken aback.
"That guy." Phina pointed to an alleyway where a man was robbing another. "He's not only stealing from him, but he's also humiliating him."
"How the hell did you pick that up?" Jack looked towards the very dimly lit alley a few dozen meters away. "Well...do you wanna help?"
"Yeah, but I don't have a weapon with me...he has a knife." Phina looked to the side.
"Here." Jack held out his sword to Phina as he examined her. 'She obviously wants to help...why is she not helping?'
"Y-You know what?" Phina looked to the sword apprehensively. "I'd just rather use my hands."
She then started running into the alley.
"Huh?" the mud covered man holding a knife turned around to look at Phina rushing at him. The man smirked as he said aloud, "Oooo, did Leo get me dessert?"
Thud!
The man hit the ground as Phina broke his nose with a punch. He lost his consciousness immediately.
"Wow. What a day." the man on the ground being robbed said. He wore very fancy clothing, shame they were covered in mud and a little blood. "Stabbed, humiliated and saved by a beauty...all in one day too."
"A-Are you okay?" Phina asked with worry as looked towards the blood on the man's shoulder. The man himself had messy brown hair that reached his ears. His eyes looked like they were glowing in the dark alley as Phina saw a faint golden glow within his hazel eyes. His blue dirtied suit contrasted his beautiful eyes drastically.
"I'm fine, His Eternal Majesty prophesied that we will live without fear of being killed." the man smiled. "Though...you did help me, and I'm not one to turn away a beauty! If you ever find yourself in Milco, do not hesitate to say that you're acquainted with Mark!"
Mark didn't wait for Phina to respond as he walked out of the alley laughing loudly, barely caring for his wound. Phina was still worried, "I really hope he didn't hit his head..."
"Where'd the guy go?" Jack said as he walked into the alley. He purposefully lagged behind to give Phina the chance to decided what to do on her own. He then looked to the thief with a sneer, "So, do you want to kill him?"
"What?!" Phina looked at the sword Jack offered her.
Jack sighed. "It would be a quick one, a slit across the throat. If you can't kill one bandit, you'll never survive the Enforcers' missions. You better kill him now, or go back to Kara and burn that Recommendation Letter."
Although Jack's words were cruel, they were true. Enforcers had to kill many on their missions. Some deserved it, some didn't and some were up to the person's moral code. If Phina couldn't kill someone who took pleasure in robbery and possibly murder as well, she'd never be able to finish her missions when she joined the Exodia.
"I..." Phina hesitated. She saw the man as she rushed him. He had pointed the knife to her throat. If not for the man's speed being many levels below Phina's, she'd be a dead woman by now. "I-I guess...give me the sword."
Jack looked to Phina's trembling left hand. He glared at Phina and said, "The other hand. Now."
Phina reached for the sword with her right hand, trembling even more now. She took a couple of deep breathes to calm herself, yet to no avail. Her lip quivered as her shaking sword neared the unconscious man's neck. Tears filled her eyes as her vision went blurry. Her mind raced with possibilities. 'Maybe his family is hungry and he needs the money? He never really fatally injured anyone. He could've killed that man, but he just hurt him. Am I really going to rob a family of their father because of an assumption? What if I was wrong? Would my father agree if I did this? What the hell am I talking about? I don't even know my father. FUCK!! I can't breath!! Someone...help me!!'
Swish!
Phina instinctively swung her sword towards Jack as he put his hand on her shoulder. He easily dodged as Phina's swing lacked the basics of swordsmanship. While her movements were incredibly fluid with a dagger, she was currently using a longer weapon and she was also not using her Ender State.
"Calm down." Jack said in a hushed tone. "You don't have to do it. I'm sorry I pushed you."
Phina's tears fell down her face. She was scared...scared she was wrong. Now that she had the perfect excuse to not slit the man's throat, she immediately took it.
"At least cut off one of his fingers. If he doesn't learn his lesson, he'll just keep hurting people. You can't guarantee that he won't kill someone eventually." Jack knew very clearly what was going through Phina's mind, after all, he was in her place too. He knew the thoughts a person would have before killing someone. He knew she was looking for any justification, no matter how small, to let the man live. He still had such thoughts, he was human too after all. "I am essentially the only person who cares about you while also giving you your freedom. Fardo cares because you'd be his in with the Enforcers. Kara wants you next to her because you're her only friend. I want what's good for you, so please show me that you can survive in the Enforcers'. Show me that I wouldn't have to worry about you."
"That's reasonable...I guess." Phina sighed. Her hand still trembled, yet it trembled far less.
Spurt!
Blood gushed out of the finger as the man awoke screaming. He looked with horror towards his finger, a deep hatred was in his eyes as he saw the blood dripping off of the sword in Phina's hand.
"L-Let this be y-your lesson." Phina stuttered. Her fake confidence was not convincing at all.
"Move along if you don't want to lose another one." Jack stepped on the man's other hand, causing him to shout in agony.
"You'll fucking regret this!!" he said through tears as he ran away.
Jack then turned to Phina with a smile. "See, no one was dead. Step by step, you'll learn how to use force to stop someone, not necessarily killing them."
"Y-Yeah." Phina smiled nervously. "I'll learn how to kill...eventually."