"Hey Mizu, how's she doing?" Raven asked, as she came to sit beside Mizu.
"Hmm. If master saw her, she would definitely want to take her back at all cost."
"That good? Seems we found a germ. But, do you think her brother will allow us take her in as one of us?" Raven asked, referring to Dustin.
"They are not related."
"Oh yeah, you said so."
"He already gave us permission to take her in as one of ours, so I don't see any problem with it. I also don't think he's going to come back for her."
"If that's so, then we have officially gained a new sister."
"Hmm."
"I'll take her for a while and supervise her training, we'll be back later." Raven said, as she stood up and headed towards Aria who was sitting in a lotus position some distance away.
With a gentle pat on Aria's head, Raven called her attention, and after talking to her for a bit, both of them left the camp area, heading into the forest.
They got to a stream, and with raven taking the initiative, they wasted no time and submerged themselves in it, after taking off their clothes. Maybe this was a bonding process for girls, Raven assisted Aria with washing herself, and they chatted through their bath. Raven also ceased the opportunity to give Aria some tips on her training, and because Raven and Mizu used two different methods, Aria would have to choose which one she wanted, or they would let her progress with the one that's most suited for her.
"Sister Raven..."
"Just call me sister." She intercepted.
"Sister."
"Yes, what is it." She answered in a solemn voice.
"Why aren't we sharing our food with the others, even though they are hungry? Shouldn't we be sharing our food with other and helping each other out?" Aria asked with an innocent voice.
'It's understandable, after all she is only a child. But we don't have time for your mental health Aria, you will have to mature fast.' Raven said in her mind. "If we share our food, then we won't have anything to eat ourselves, and if we all were to die, there would be no point, right?" Raven said, with a cool voice, not wanting to scare the little girl or anything. She didn't have any training in being a normal elder sister, so she could only try her best. As far as she knew, Aria was better off around her than Mizu, since Mizu was even worse.
"But if they die, wouldn't that be our fault?"
"No, think of it this way. If you died, would you blame your broth-I mean the boy who saved you?"
"..."
Aria's thoughts were in a bit of turmoil at that moment, as she didn't know what was right or wrong to do. Unfortunately for her, she had been left to be trained and brought up by assassins; two of the world's best no less. If after everything she could grow and become a saintess, then Jesus Christ might really have to come and die a second time.
Apart from this, Aria on her own was also putting all her efforts to adapt. She was young, but she wasn't naïve. She knew that if not for Dustin, she would be a dead body at the moment. She planned to become strong enough to assist Dustin in future and make her new sisters happy. Maybe these were just the thoughts and wishes of a child, but for now, this was her driving force.
"I know it must be hard for you to believe, so I'll show you something tonight. You are still young, but this world that we are in now doesn't discriminate against young or old. The strong will survive, and the weak will die. And being strong isn't only in strength, you have to strong also in your heart. Do you understand?" Raven said, her calm voice carrying a slight seriousness in its undertone.
"I understand." Aria said, almost sternly.
'Good girl. It's good she isn't one of those Cinderellas, this would have been a pain in the ass. Might have ended up killing her myself.'
"Good, let's go. Hop on my back and hold on tight." Raven said as she bent a little.
At this point, they had finished bathing and had already dressed up and eaten, and it was already night. Raven had noticed some people watching them a while ago, but she wasn't sure if this people were from their group or not, but it didn't matter in the end. 'Fucking pedophilic perverts. If they are from our group, then they are here for the food, then we might spare them.'
Earlier, just when they when they were about to move, Raven relayed to Aria the fact that they were being watched, and she also intended for this to be her first exercise.
'We basically grew up with master, so we started learning from a very young age. But this girl, she has only been practicing for some time now. Even though, it should be enough to face normal adults, she should be fine, besides, I'll be guiding her.' Raven thought.
"There are four of them, all male. Three to the right and one at the centre straight ahead. The one at the centre is also the weakest, that is your target. Eliminate him as quick as possible. I'll drop you behind him."
"Yes."
Swoof
A sound entered a man's ears seconds later as the target he was watching disappeared from his sight. He and his team had been suspecting the leaders for keeping their food to themselves and the little brat, so they followed one of the leaders as she took the brat out. They knew they were right to think that there was food being hidden, they had already seen two of their targets eating just a moment ago. Their goal after confirming that there indeed was food was to of course steal the food from their targets, as simple as that.
Out of the four, one of them just had to be unlucky, and be used as a test subject. Apart from the one left to Aria, the rest could be spared if they were from the same group as Raven and Aria, but that was of course, if Raven was willing to spare them.
"Who's there! I swear! We weren't spying, we were just passing by!" The man said, even before he turned. Their plan earlier was flawless. Block the ladies path, and demand they give them food. After they got the food, they could even quell their urges, perfect! It was only now his hunger had cleared from his eyes and he remembered how strong their leaders were, and why they even followed them to begin with.
"Ah, Uncle. It's you."
"Little Aria? Oh, it's just you, hehe. What are you doing here by this hour? It's dangerous, why don't we go back to the camp."
'Eh? I don't believe this is how this is supposed to go! But, I can't just kill him like that right? WH-Wait, what would Uncle Dustin do?' Aria had not stayed with Dustin enough to know what he would do in such a situation, so that question became useless pretty fast.
Just when she was about to follow the man back as he walked closer to her, a voice came from above the trees.
"That isn't part of the mission is it?" Raven asked, as she descended.
She wasn't planning to scold Aria, as she couldn't blame her. Aria had just received an order to kill someone without much of an explanation why, just that they were watching them and were after their food. 'Alas, she's still too young.'
"Watch." She said, as she got closer to Aria and the man. As she got closer and closer, walking a bit slow, she drew her sword. The man panicked and grabbed Aria, putting his hand around her neck and one hand on her scalp.
"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll snap her tiny neck and kill her!"
"Showing your true colours now, huh? Well, that should be reason enough, right? Threat to your own life. Don't hesitate." Raven said with the slightest grin, as she sheathed her sword.