The ongoing Purine and Imperial war wasn't the only thing that was merciless. Nabias wasn't very far from a few select forests; thick barriers that seemingly hosted nothing but wildlife. The truth was that, over a handful of decades, more and more clans of ninjas had started cropping up inside those forests. While they mostly kept to themselves, the majority didn't hesitate to visit the neighboring towns that were close to those forests.
They didn't visit to kill or to steal from the villagers, but rather to get accustomed to the modern lifestyle that was slowly developing throughout the continents. They were now so common that the majority didn't bother to cover their faces when they visited, and some were even common visitors in town. Some shopkeepers had become friends with those ninjas, and it wasn't alarming, nor surprising, to see a ninja or two roaming around town.
"Daddy, how about this one?"The black-clad ninja grumbled when the girl asked her question in that little slow, high-pitched voice of hers. He ran a gloved hand through his short hair as he sighed.
"Stop pointing them out," he snapped at the child, his patience quickly running out.
"I'll know when we find a good hotel."Judging from his response, no one would probably guess that the two were father and daughter. Not only was he relatively uncaring and impatient towards the girl, but they shared very little resemblance apart from their emerald green eyes. Where he had short black hair, she had shoulder-length blonde hair; his black-and-green suit was a stark contrast to her white, beige and white suit. The resemblance stopped at the fact they were both dressed as ninjas.
The girl looked down when her father complained at her words, but she didn't voice her disappointment. It had been a few months since her life had been completely turned upside-down, with the untimely death of her mother and the discovery of her father. As a child born to a horrible mistake, she'd grown up with a mother who hadn't harbored a lot of love for her, and she was now in the care of a father who didn't even know that she'd been born at all. Despite his rough character, however, her father had been good enough to her. His words were sharp, but his actions sometimes contradicted the harsh words that he said. She did her best to stay in his good graces, since her mother was gone, along with her original ninja family. Whereas the Purines and the Imperials faced a war, the ninja families of the forests faced a war within themselves, with bigger, stronger families literally exterminating the smaller ones.
That was why they were looking for a hotel this late at night. Her father didn't live with a family: his own clan had forced him into self-imposed exile over a decade earlier. Living in the forest on their own didn't attract a lot of attention to them specifically, but a few ninjas wanted her father's head on a silver plater — for many good reasons. That being said, he could defend himself just fine: his family specialized in crafting poisons and dangerous tonics. The problem was in the child, who, being only eight years old, couldn't defend herself yet. Since the two offered to do jobs here and there in exchange for money, they could afford to stay the night over in hotels, where it was safer for both of them.
The problem was that it was getting increasingly difficult to find a nice room. If they didn't stop midday to hunt for a hotel, the chances of them finding a nice room for the night visibly decreased every minute. The war was going strong, and many civilians and soldiers alike took refuge in the hotels nearby.
The only hotels that were usually left at this time were the more high-end ones, where a night could cost a few hundreds of keystones. Yes, their overnight packages usually included free room service, access to the pool and the gym, including a few free movies and breakfast in the morning. The problem was that he didn't use nearly half of what they offered, and neither did the child. It felt like a waste to spend so much money for things he wouldn't even use.
An hour or two into their search, however, no good hotel had cropped up. The sky was already pitch-black, with just a few stars peeking through the thick rainclouds. At that rate, they'd get caught in the rain, and that was something he wanted to avoid. Admittedly, it sounded nice to get a bit of cold rain in this unbearable summer heat, but summer nights could be unforgiving. If they got drenched as the night rolled around, the colder nighttime weather might earn them a cold, if nothing worse.
As their search continued, the child became gradually exhausted. Being younger and smaller, her endurance wasn't exactly on par with that of her father, and the child slowly started to fall behind. Regardless of that, she didn't voice anything; she wasn't the type to complain, instead letting her mind wander off to think about other things. If she paid attention to other things and if she let her mind wander, she was bound to forget about her aching feet and her heavy body. That was the plan, anyway.
As they continued to search, the father did eventually start noticing that his daughter was gradually falling behind. There were times when he had to stop so she could catch up to him, and it became clear that they had to find a good hotel quickly.
He eventually settled for one of the fancier hotels. Although they cost more keystones, he could probably save a little by getting a room with a king or queen bed, where the one bed would be big enough for both him and the child. Getting breakfast in the morning was also something he could look forward to.
After finalizing the bill and everything with the receptionist at one of the fancier hotels, the two settled comfortably in their room for the night. It didn't take long for the child to fall asleep, exhausted from the day's work and the walking they'd done to find a good hotel. The father was tired, himself, having spent the majority of his day crafting tonics. Taking care of the child also did a number on his energy, and it didn't take long for him, too, to fall asleep. For now, they would enjoy a good night's rest in a comfortable bed; in the morning, they could enjoy some breakfast before going back to work.