White-Black Cat

Chapter 2

Kuro stepped outside and inhaled deeply. The air hanging around the village of Rho smelled of alcohol from the several bars, monster blood from various bounty sites, and herbs from superstitious people warding away hidden spirits.

He took a step towards the end of town, and tripped. Looking up, he noticed a woman looking down at him.

Her stark-white fur shone in the darkness of the night, her chilly blue eyes staring at him with a look that said 'You are beneath me.' Her outfit was similar to his; a sky-blue scarf matted with monster blood, a vest, shoulder pads. However, instead of one sword sheathed, she had two, as well as a small brown bag, possibly full of coins. She dragged a Summerskin Eel, which was probably what he'd tripped over.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," she said.

"Well, to be fair, you're dragging that Eel," Kuro responded, standing up.

"Because that's what you're supposed to do with them. The soil will absorb the poisons from its scales. Did you not know?"

He remained silent. He'd never caught one himself; he'd only eaten it as a boy, and only recently discovered it was classified as a monster.

"As someone who looks like they're a monster hunter like myself, you really don't know too much about the creatures you kill, do you?"

Before he realized what he was doing, he shook his head slowly. Something about this woman made him rethink exactly how much he knew about monsters.

"Listen, uh..."

"The name's Aiya Shiro," she responded, heading to Mako's bar. "One of the most skilled monster hunters on the East Side."

The East Side, holy shit, Kuro thought as he followed her. The East was full of the most dangerous creatures. He'd never been there, but had always dreamed.

Wait, what was she doing here, then?

"Hey, why are you over here then?" he asked as Shiro showed her Eel to Mako. "Surely, the East has got some bounty sites in it."

"Because I followed this Eel to a river not too far from here. I had to kill it."

"Why not let someone else take it?"

"Because it made off with this."

She pulled out something shiny from her bag. Upon closer inspection, Kuro saw that it was an Aquamarine.

"Aquamarines have water magic," she said, taking her money from Mako and pocketing it. "I was hoping I could collect a bunch of other jewels to create the ultimate weapon. Then, I'll kill the Mother Dragon with it."

"Hey, hey, hold on. I've already decided I was going to kill that thing. I don't need a...a woman to do it for me!"

"You're saying a woman can't have dreams? Or do what men can?"

"Well...I just...You can't steal my dream!"

"Hey, Kaito," Mako said. "I've got an idea; why don't you kill the Mother Dragon together?"

"I work alone, you stupid dog."

"I think some help would do wonders for you. If you try taking on that dragon yourself, you won't come back as anything but a crispy cat."

Kuro thought about it. He didn't want or need a teammate...but something about Shiro gave him a feeling deep down. He couldn't quite place it, but he swore he'd felt it before. A long time ago. Way before any of this.

"All right," he grumbled. "We team up to collect your jewels, kill the Mother Dragon, then that's it. We're through afterwards."

"I think that'll be fine, I could use the extra help," Shiro said, turning to leave. "And someone to be the bait."