The Lost Cat [Mission]

[Chris]

A new day means a new mission. Chris is on his way back to their guild house located in Falcon City but before he could be on his home turf, he has to take a route around Mt. Three Head first in order to get to the closest transport station on a village not far from the base of the said mountain. Certainly, even though with all of the not so good rumors about the dangers and trouble surrounding the place, its still well traveled route especially by those who sell goods. All sort of merchants from the legal or the black market, they all take the said route along with any other travelers. Of course with extreme caution necessary, one does not simply have courage to travel alone. Since the military and the authorities had problems reaching the mountain's farthest area and that a dark guild has taken residence of the location, everyone daring to travel should stay vigilant... don't get lost for it will be difficult to return back alive.

So far, only few were traveling and among the few, one person seems to outstand the most. On a good way, the man seems to draw attention not only by the people walking but also by the very environment itself. Since the place is gloomy and dark, even if its just the base of the mountain, the man’s bright aura has been lighting up the very spot where he is. Its probably because of the light colored outfit he wears but as bright as his appearance seems to be, he’s quite having a trouble at the moment. Now that Chris had his attention, even for a bit, he noticed that the man seems to be stressed and troubled as if something was lost from his possession and not only that, he's having trouble carrying the loads of papers.

"Whoa... whoa... whoa!!!", the man shouts as he got off balance right after he got tripped over a rock.

Chris did not really care at all and just continued on his way and as he was just about to pass by the hassled man trying to pick up every sheet of the paper that scattered on the path. At first, Chris thought the man was pathetic, he really looks like one, but as he saw the contents of the paper, reading the word "Missing" first, he became curious. Still, he did not stop. The man continued to pick the papers up and the moment he took a glance towards Chris, he stopped.

"Hey! Mister, will you give me a hand?", the man told Chris without any hesitation. It was like he really need a help but before he could wait for Chris to answer him back, which is hundred percent certain a "No", he asked for another request. "Wait! No. I know! Are you for hire? I need your service!", the man adds. "Man... Ah! My name is Kisuke. Nice to meet you", he mutters but introduced himself while extending his arms tying to shake Chris' hands but to no good. "My cat wandered off towards that dark part of the forest. I can't get there and its been more than a day now! No one wants to go there... are you up?", the man asked Chris almost kneeling down but there's no need to. Chris accepts.

Spoiler:

[Chris]

"Alright. Kisuke, wait for me in the village. I won't take you with me on that woods. Its dangerous.", Chris accepts the on the spot job by his new client, Kisuke. It was like in any of his mission, he follow his own protocol aside from the standard mercenary rules. At that very moment, the two of them had agreed with the condition and the nature of the work. Kisuke told Chris that he lost his cat named Yuroichi. Chris did not waste his time and heads off afterwards. Of course, as much as Kisuke wants to tag along, he told Chris that he can't go further because he's scared. Its good since Chris won't allow him to come either.

Chris searched the part that Kisuke has pointed out where his cat, Yuroichi, might have wandered off. Its heading to the north part of the woods but since its now his objective to retrieve the cat, he'll do anything as much as he can in order to get there. The problem is that, just like what Kisuke said, it would be difficult since as the place get darker, it would be harder to find the black furred cat. Chris can go call out the cat by her name or by purring like a cat but he won't do that. He can't just picture out himself doing that.

Minutes have past and then it turned into hours. Its about to get 12 in the afternoon but the place is still dark with few illumination available. Chris has searched for over a mile in radius but he's not yet tired. Fortunately, as terrible as the rumor sounds, there's nothing such as danger or trouble that Chris won't be able to get over. He managed to cross several creeks, pits and quicksands, evaded little gremlins and large insects then aggressive ravens but still no sign of the cat. But not for long.

Chris happened to stumble across a large sinkhole. He fell but he was fine. He found himself several feet below and was in some kind of an old underground tunnel. Lots of ruined stones and decaying objects, Chris did not want to stay for long but as he heard a sound of a cat echoing from one of the tunnel, he paused. From one of the chambers, he heard a cat purring as if its calling for help. He did not waste any moment and followed the tunnel which then led him to a cave opening where he found the cat. It was trapped by a relatively large chunk of stone compared to its size. The cat was injured and since she does not know Chris, at first, it tried to claw Chris' arms. Either way, Chris did not faze by the scratches that the cat made as he lift the boulder itself and threw away. Yuroichi tried to run but its the end already. Chris took the injured cat back with him with care since even if its an animal, Chris does not treat them different. Now that his objective is almost done, his pace is rather faster and within just half an hour, he got back out of the mountain's woods.

Spoiler:

[Chris]

On his way back to the village, something strange happened with the cat that he had just found. Chris was carrying it with one arm by his side and as he walk, cluster of magical specs gathered around the wounded cat. It transformed into a woman. A gorgeous looking dark skill woman with a long purple hair. Chris was surprised and was about to release the woman down from his hold but as he see the same wound she shares with the cat, he just instinctively thought that she's probably the cat. Just transformed into her human form. "Ouch! Why are you so mean!", the woman complained as she struggles away from Chris' arm. She has a very strong personality and was looking mean towards Chris but its probably because she's not wearing anything and that only two of them were around. Its an awkward moment but Chris tried his best not to draw any inappropriate reaction.

"Cat... I mean, woman. How d...", Chris would ask but before he could finish whatever he was intending to ask the woman, he was cut short.

"Its Yuroichi! Dammit! And don't stare... but thanks!", she yelled like a very irritated teenager.

Chris already had the idea but that he's just making sure. Anyways, not trying to be rude or something, Chris used his magic to summon a shirt and a jeans for her to wear and since she's injured, Chris decided to carry her back to the village. He remained silent as he take the package back to his client and not long after, they met on the outskirts of the village with Kisuke wearing a relieved face.

"Yuroichi! I’m so worried! How are you? Are you hurt?", Kisuke welcomes Yuroichi first then Chris afterwards.“Mercenary! Thank you for your hard work! Thank you for your service.”, he showed his gratefulness to Chris as he try to reach for a handshake. Chris did so but as Kisuke simultaneously talk to both Chris and Yuroichi, Chris just felt a bit awkward and pulled back his hand. Either way, its mission accomplished.

Spoiler:

[Sponsored content]