Chapter 10: The tenth step

Her house was humble, situated in the centre of the town it was brown with two floors with a Japanese roof, the front door was wooden with a big lock and so she had a big key it creaked open as she unlocked it and closed behind us.

She opened the SHOJI (it is a traditional Japanese door consisting of translucent paper put on a square frame) to the living room in which there were drawers and a table with a seiza mat in the middle.

"you may sit here whilst I get a change of clothes" Tomoe said

"ok" I replied as she opened the shoji to what I suspected her room, I sat down in SEIZA (It's the formal, polite way to sit on Japanese tatami floors which consist of you placing your knees on the floor and rest your buttock on the top of your feet) and waited for her to be done.

"what do you think?" I said "does she have bad intentions?" I asked Kitsune (who I found out could tell if one's soul was tainted with the blood of someone else or that they had done a bad action in their lifetime)

"not that I can see" he replied "we shall have to wait and see" he said and so we did.

After a bit she returned with a lacquered black box in her hand she sat down and placed it on the table and unlocked it, she then turned it around to me.

"open it" she said, so I did I opened it with ease and in it and a velvet cushion was a blade lacquered to with a brown handle and below it was a silver pendant which read "Bounty Hunter Silver rank: Katsuki inuyashi"

"it used to be my husband's she said "but after he died in bounty hunting mission it was given to me"

"I can't take this" I said as I closed the box pushed it to her, she put her hand on mine and stopped it.

"please" she said "it's only gathering dust and if my husband knew I was giving it to skilful young man with his whole life ahead of him he would be very pleased" she said with teary eyes "I only ask for one thing from you in return".

"what" I said

"that you take on the mission: kill tokomari saburo and his mokuton gang" she said in a sad tone "they killed my husband and I need them brought to justice" she continued "please…. I beg you".

"does she speak the truth" I asked Kitsune in my head "she does" he replied

"very well" I said as I opened the box and grabbed the pendant and blade "I shall kill him with this very blade and bring it back to you with his blood" I said as I stood up and put the blade in my belt.

"thank you" she said as she stood up and did a low bow to me "my husband would be happy if you did so" she said "and so I will"