*** Guild Guard ***

  The kitsu ohe colr cpped around my . The etal sent a chill down my spine. I do a year for my life. If she gets me out of this job, I may even thank her for it. I was young and stupid when I first started my time in the guild. The only good thing it gave me ower and a family. Good things, but the job just keeps showing the unfortunate side. The guard positions always open up due to the previous guard dying. The shit hours, b work, and secrecy all make me miserable.

  "Dear? Iii I'm sorry. I..."

  "Strip," I and. I was asked to get closer to her; it's been a while since I've truly slept with her.

  "Dear. I'm s..."

  "Strip," I repeat, raising my voice a bit. Why doesn't she just let us be close? That's what she always asks for.

  "Yes, dear," her defeated voice fills my mind. The shuffling of cloth ends with the robe falling to the floor. "What do I do now?"

  "Get uhe covers." What is she thinking about?

  "My love, I..."

  "Get uhe covers!" I burst out, tired of repeating myself.

  The covers shuffle behind me, and I stand up and strip, turning the light off in the room. In the darkness I join my wife in bed, holdiight, trying to melt into one being. The dam breaks, and my tears start to fall as I hold my saviht. g myself to sleep, praying the kitsus me go free after this.

  *** Yuki ***

  Why do I keep messing these up? Sure, I'm out of practice, but these should be simple enough tasks to do. If I tinue like this, I'll end up dead.

  Sure, a guard helping us is a better oute than killing her, and the main attack should be much easier now. n around her schedule and have one guard that we don't have to worry about pared to the possibility of three, letting us miss the worst case of having the guard show up in the middle of the heist.

  The pn tinue, so it isn't a plete failure on my part. I just 't mess up the wo parts. Nakuma's been doing well, and the assassinatio o be as as this one was meant to be. Having her my sve for a while after this act could also be helpful, f her to help Mai and Alzi's Mother while Nakumi and I are out and about.

  I'm closer to my house than the brothel, so I head there, and I'll have Nakuma teleport me back. I journey back, making my way through the buildings. Slowly watch as they get cheaper, smaller, and less decorative as I leave the noble district.

  I walk straight into my house, hoping to find Nakuma waiting for me. The first room is empty so I go to che her own room a dark. A few knocks and I leave without getting an answer. Worried, I write a note for Nakuma in case I miss her on her way bad head out to her target's home.

  This time, I head back to the noble district, passing the buildings that slowly gain paint and size. Instead of looking at the buildings, I look for an illusion amongst the crowd. I see some specs of the mana, but none for a full body like Nakuma and I use. Making it all the way to the noble district, I don't find a single person who could be Nakuma.

  Ihe noble district I have to pete with the various ented items. Now, I o look at how they walk. The easiest tell is the gait a bunch of tails cause. Few women walk around with illusion mana swirling about, but I think they're just men trying to not be harassed. I'm just a few blocks away yet I still haven't seen a possible person. Maybe her target is stayioday, or she isn't getting to a private pce? Or she 't leave yet?

  Reag the target's house, I find nobody who could be Nakuma walking back. I don't want to ehe house and possibly spoil Nakuma's pn. The only option is to circle the manor and hope I find what is holding her up. A good thing about the city is the limited space for a yard lets me see inside much easier than the mansions and castles in the tryside.

  It looks normal inside. Maids walks around ing and shuffling furniture, and it seems like nothing strange has happened. A few wives sit around drinking, reading, or doing some art. One looks like they are trying for a kid in one of the bedrooms. Nothing I see inside makes it seem like an assassin was killed or found. I circle and circle, looking through each window, hoping to find something out of pce—a room te or small or curving in spaething to show her space magic being used.

  The only strahing was the aids leaving. Maybe I was too te, and most of the maids had already left; only the ones who lived with the family were still around. But I don't think I was.

  Tired of running in circles, I make my way to the servarand pn how to ehe door won't open for me; I'll need some mao get in. I don't have the hour it'll take to break in, and every mihat passes makes it less likely a maid will e around to let me in. The other doors will have the same security and even less of a ce for someoo just let me in. I could go looking for an unlocked window I could push open. But there are too many to check them all with just a hope to get in.

  I'll check a few. I start on the far side, hoping a maid doing the undry wanted a bit of fresh air.

  "Yuki?"

  I spin on my heels immediately and find a normal-looking maid staring at what should be empty space. I quickly look at her mana and find the illusion mana around her.

  "Yes," I say timidly. Is this Nakuma or a maid with an item hoping to find the assassin's partner?

  "Good, e on, sorry for taking so long. She took forever to get here." Giving me a shimmer of her true self.

  I give her a hug, and we walk back, holding hands to let me calm down. It seems I'm still the only one who failed these missions.

  Baside my house, I lead Nakuma to my room, our tails unc from the illusions we drew up. I push her onto the bed and her up in a hug; my head, by plete happenstance, finds itself resting on her soft breasts.

  "Did something g, Yuki?" she asks. Putting one hand on my ass, the other stroking my head.

  "Yes, a pregnant wife was resting in her bedroom and noticed me ing in. I couldn't e up with a good pn besides bluffing my way into ensving the guard. Luckily, she seemed to care a bit about her wife or at least the child, giving me enough leverage. I've got her for a year per reement," I expin.

  "Hmm, well, that's different. I thought you may have failed or something with how lovey-dovey you were ing back. I mean handholding from the princess before marriage! Now you're using my breasts as a pillow, letting my hand on your ass. I thiing me fuck you would be less lewd."

  "Stop teasing me! I got caught, didn't poisoarget, and then failed to do anything to help you when you took lohan expected. I'm not doing well right now."

  "Yuki, you just earned us a guard. We kill two out of the three easily. We should even be able to time this so we don't he sed round of poison or the st atta the branch to get what we want. Use the guard to pack for when my target is on duty with your sve, and we just o kill a single guard and theo the vaults. More time to seard less risk. Sure, this isn't the pn, but these never go as pnned. I may look like I have a better track record, but the first attack was a joke. The sed was such a rge handicap for you that it's hardly fair to call it a failure. Then, these assassinations are happening on such a short time scale that these small details easily g. You found a way out that improves our position and lowers the risk and as we o take. Not everything goes as pnned."

  "I know, but I've never had pns go this far off script."

  "Well, I like this new script. I get my Yuki in bed and a lower risk of her getting hurt. So now we call off the raid and assassinations. We just focus on killing the st guard, get the tracts, a out."

  "Yay, I'll find a way to tact my sve tomorrow and find the schedule out. However, based on the weirdness of it, they may not have a schedule. Pig when to switch out with some vague guidelines."

  "That would expirange behavior. Then, we should do the st two assassinations and leave out the raid. I think we'll stir up the oo much with that attack. Let them think we are lig our wounds wheack with half their guards out of ission."

  "Ok, send me over to the brothel. I'll gh the massage with Alzi, then you send me back here, and we sleep together. Your hands only go for my ass and tits if we do this."

  "Deal!" is the st word as I get sent to my room. I o find a way to have Alzi fuck me without a risk nancy before she leaves. At this rate, I'm going to end up fug that crazy girl before I have Alzi fuck me properly.

  I charge downstairs to avoid being te for Alzi. Bursting through the door, I find Alzi staring at the door, fiapping her bugling belly with a small shake. As quickly as the pregnant woman , she pulls me into a hug.

  "Sorry there were some plications, but they worked out in our favor this time, so we won't have to do the extra raid. Now Alzi, you fuck me without getting me pregnant?" I dare to ask.

  "Let me check." a bit of mana swirling towards my virgin womb. "I should be able to. You aren't ovuting and shouldn't be in the week."

  "Ok, let's bath then have a bit of fun. You aren't allowed to use your mana when we have sex."

  "Yes, Ma'am!" she calls out, using mana to strip me and then pullio the small bath, not willing to waste a sed.