The Sunken Place

Sin.

It was a country located far east of Fiore on the Ishgar Continent and could be described as being the "slums" of Ishgar as the country itself had a reputation of being a corrupted gathering of crooks and criminals. Those wishing to make a good and honest source of living avoided coming anywhere near a desolate place like this and only those who truly understood how things worked in the underground circuit could survive here.

Despite all of that however, a certain young guild master found the new change in scenery quite refreshing as he stood on top of an abandoned building and cast his gaze down at the city filled with lifeless and unmotivated people loitering the streets. The air reeked of the stench of blood and depression but that didn't seem to bother Tetsuya as his acute senses looked around the city, eyeing each and every corner like a hawk stalking its prey.

"Cursan better be right about this. He said he tracked her scent to this city but I haven't been able to spot anyone matching her description yet..."

The source of Tetsuya's frustration was the mysterious assassin who he had heard of from one of his contacts in Sin who had informed him of the terrifying shadow like woman who was becoming something akin to a boogie man to even the most brutal of mercenaries that lived in this country. Tales of her expertise had reached the curious dragon slayer's ears and it took little convincing for him to head out and search for her whereabouts.

The only issue was that this woman was a damn headache to track down. Having spent close to a full week going on nothing but rumors and untrustworthy leads and having produced no results, Tetsuya had almost given up his search, that is until the timely assistance from Cursan, the eccentric demon partnered with his good friend Sa'luk al-Tair, who had offered his help in exchange for some of Tetsuya's more "exotic" cuisines he saved for only special occasions. It was a tough decision but Tetsuya relented and accepted the deal, culminating in Cursan finding a faint but noticeable trail that led to this city being her current location, at least for the time being. As for how long she would be in the city, no one could tell but Tetsuya wasn't willing to give up as he continued to survey his surroundings.

Having grown up in this kind of environment as well, Tetsuya felt a bit nostalgic as he watched some kids steal food from an enraged vendor or watching a group of thugs mugging a defenseless young man that would inevitably lead to his own demise. Tetsuya was no martyr, he did not save or involve himself in the problems of others just out of the goodness of his own heart. He only chased individuals who caught his eye and the only person in this country that he knew of that he felt would leave a strong impression on him was this mysterious assassin.

Having waited for nearly three hours, Tetsuya yawned and planned to head back to an inn to try again tomorrow before something caught his eye. It was a figure moving in the stillness of the night, her black attire standing out as the moon shined above in the sky. Her movements were both graceful and masterful as she maneuvered through the crowd of people silently and without alerting any attention to herself.

"Hoh..." Tetsuya whistled as his eyes grew with interest. "Now there's something you don't see every day. Let's check it out"

Swiftly jumping from the building he was standing on, Tetsuya tailed the robbed figure as he jumped from building to building, unaware that his target had long since already discovered his presence.