I wasn't sure what I was expecting her to pull out of her robe, but it wasn't a piece of paper. She unfurled the wrapped-up paper and showed it to me. On it was a large map. It showed a large part of the Drestor forest. There was a blue dot on the map that seemed to fade in and out while still being fully visible. On the right side, it had a circle but in 3D, and underneath at the top it showed a person walking with the same blue dot next to it.

  I looked at her. She looked back at me. Her smile never faded as she rolled the map back up and held it out to me. "Consider it a gift for the future savior of our world," she said happily.

  I considered just smacking it away for a moment, but that was way too helpful to willingly pass up. But that didn't mean I had to be nice about it. "Nya! Tama accepts your gift for her ninja graduation! But Tama would have figured it out on her own!" I said defiantly. Manna just laughed, and I felt my cheeks go red. The blue box popped up, but I ignored it as I glared at Manna.

  Silence filled the branch for a long moment before Manna coughed and said, "Be safe, little ninja, though I don't really need to worry." And with that, she flapped her massive wings once. There was a burst of wind, and she was gone just like that. I opened the map and looked at it. The blue dot was definitely me.

  Below there was a green dot, and when I searched for it, I saw it moving really fast off the edge of the map and vanishing.

  The green dot vanished from the list as well. This map was weird. I saw another blue dot inside the forest clearing behind me and smiled. There was also a single orange dot that I frowned at.

  I also noticed just barely on the map to the far left, in the opposite direction I was going, were green dots. Unlike the first green dot, most likely Manna, these dots were dark green and looked weird.

  I would normally go check them out, but Sensei had been clear about my quest. Besides, Sensei was Sensei, and he could handle himself. I silently thanked Manna without speaking her name and jumped from the tree.

  I turned and began walking towards Drestor, occasionally pulling open the map to check if I was still going the right way. It didn't take long, and after only a day of straight travel, I reached the forest's edge and saw Drestor in the distance.

  As I neared the town, my cat ears picked up lots of sounds of people talking all at once. But one particular conversation caused my ears to perk up and a frown to deepen on my face.

  "Come on, little girly. The boss said he would pay for you, but I think you can pay us in other ways instead!" The voice sounded deep, a bit like Sensei's, but more like this voice was chewing on dirt while they spoke.

  "Oh please, valiant men, I assure you that if you were to help me in my quest, there are many things I would happily do for you." That voice was much softer, and as I listened, it seemed to have a tinge to it.. it felt like magic almost, like the person was talking underwater.

  "He he, you hear that, boys?" The first voice spoke up again. "Looks like the young lady wants to pay us with her body!" My frown deepened, and I reached for Serenity.

  "Oh my!" said the softer voice. "I am not opposed to such... actions." Her voice seemed to take on an almost enjoyable tone, like she was interested in what they were saying. "But first, I require you to help with my quest. Payment of that... variety should come after. What do you think?"

  At this point, I had reached the area they were at. It was around the corner of the town, on the outside of the wall. A small girl around 5'1" stood against the city wall.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She wore a glittery red robe with a cut that went up to her thigh; when it moved, you could clearly see her underwear. She had long blonde hair that ended in red tips. The design matched her tail, same colors and setup.

  Her chest was larger than mine, and I frowned looking at my own. I wasn't sure why, but that bugged me immensely. Her skin was pale white like she hadn't seen the sun... ever. The fox girl didn't seem to have any weapon at all on her, though I had a feeling she was dangerous even without one. The blue box popped up, but I quickly closed it. FOCUS.

  I paused as I realized I was looking the Foxkin up and down like an object and blushed slightly. I reasoned I was just doing reconnaissance. Speaking of… the men, all six of them, were staring between her chest and her thighs.

  I idly wondered if maybe they were more important than I thought. My hand went to my own chest for the briefest moment. I snapped myself back to attention by lashing my tail and forcing my hand to Serenity.

  They all had weapons at their waists, the men did at least. There were two Foxkin, two Nekojin, one human, and the leader appeared to be an elf. This was all based on descriptions Sensei had given me.

  He had said, “Elves are the ones with pointy ears. There are full elves, half elves, blood elves, wood elves. There are just a lot of elves, okay?” The Nekojin were easy. I was a Nekojin after all! The humans had rounded ears and no animal features. They were similar to Sensei in that way. The Foxkin was pretty easy too. He was clearly a man with a fox tail and ears, like me being a Nekojin who had a cat tail and ears. Super simple!

  Looking at one of the male Nekojin and the way he looked at the Foxkin caused me to feel anger. I wanted to be looked at like that! “How about instead, you take off your clothes and give us what we want?” The human man nearest to her said, causing the others to chuckle. “And maybe when we’re done with you, we will consider helping you on your little quest.”

  The girl didn’t seem upset at the man. Instead, she actually stepped toward him. Her voice sounded like it was underwater for a moment as she spoke: “Now why would you do that when you can just help me instead!”

  I mean, that made sense to me! As a ninja, it was my job to help people! Why would anyone want to do anything else? My eyes glanced back at the slightly chubby Nekojin. I missed Jiggle.

  The man froze, his face turning to one of puzzlement. “I… yeah, why would we do that?” he said, his voice going neutral and drone-like. “Exactly!” the fox girl said as she reached out to touch the man. “After all, once we are done…” Her voice seemed to switch underwater again. “You will all get what you deserve.”

  I nodded profusely at this. Being a heroic ninja and saving the day had its rewards all right! The best reward ever! Lots of happy people that liked you and new friends!

  “She is using charm. Get her!” The elf guy said. They all drew their weapons. I was shocked and horrified. They were going to kill her for stating a fact?! Rage bubbled in me, and I looked at the Nekojin man again. He had his weapon out too. He looked angry.

  I stepped forward before the situation got worse. I wasn’t the best with words, but I needed to know what was happening before I attacked. “Nya! What is going on here!”

  A long moment of silence covered the area as every man who had been looking at the fox girl shifted their gazes to me. I held my ground. My tail lashed stiffly behind me, betraying my tension. “What are you, some low-level adventurer?” one of the men snickered as they turned around. “I don’t know what yer problem is. We and the fine lady were in the middle of making a deal. I’m gonna ask ya kindly to leave before you become a part of that deal.”

  I quietly wondered if I was doing something wrong…

  The Nekojin man spoke up: “But Reg, that’s one of my kind, you know how gross they are to me.” I winced at them, and my anger grew.

  One of the Foxkin spoke as he stepped toward me. He was drooling. “What does it matter? She definitely looks to be my type. Look at that frail little body. Maybe I can break it!” His eyes lit up, and his grin widened. At that moment, I knew whatever he wanted to do to me, I didn’t want.

  I had heard enough. I activated my wind element and vanished, appearing moments later behind the drooling Foxkin. Serenity sliced cleanly, and I vanished again, reappearing next to the fox girl. I held up my blade, my ears twitched forward defiantly as I snapped my fingers. The Foxkin’s body bisected, and his top fell off his bottom. “Still think you can win against the mighty Tama?!” I said with bravado I didn’t feel.

  My eyes shot over to the male Nekojin, and I idly hoped he would take my side. Maybe we could hang out together and go hunting… He was looking at me in wide-eyed horror. I winced internally but didn’t move. The other men were also silent. I turned to the fox girl. She actually looked like a porcelain doll my Sensei kept in our house to ward off evil spirits or something. She just stared at me with wide eyes. She was clearly shocked to see me. I smiled at her. “Tama is here to help!” She didn’t respond. She looked perplexed and a bit scared.