The Last Test [Sabin's Stealth Training]

Sabin sat in the office and stared down at the empty desk before him. A gusty sigh worked its way up to his throat and out of his mouth as he leaned back in his chair for a moment of relaxation. It's been eight hours of non-stop paperwork in regards to the theory of sleuthing and stealth, something akin to a "class" of some sort for bounty hunter prospects. The area and location itself were a secret as well, but Sabin just finished his final test and finally, he was done!

It was a rare moment for the stealth academy when a person managed to clear their desk of all required files and documents in under a month. Some would say that Sabin finished it all in record time. The whole academy was one big trap, being able to trigger a locked room at any moment and having to use your skills to find a way out. It was especially worse if you had to use the bathroom.

Sabin tended to collect information so quickly that he knew his hard-earned relief would last only an hour at most before someone else reported in with new intelligence to be added to the file that Sabin had to learn to master the practical and book skills needed to call himself an assassin. But at that moment it was a great pleasure to feel accomplished. He had done it. He was still efficient and no one could deny that.

The sunlight streamed in through the nearby window and Sabin felt the stale air stirring around her as she stood up. It was too musty in here after all of that wet ink and crinkled paper and Sabin approached the window to prop it open a few inches. The breeze wafted in like an excited guest and for a moment he stood there just basking in that cool brush of flowing air. It was so soft against her face and the rippling of his sleeves reminded Sabin of the ocean on a calm day when the swells were barely visible. He breathed in deeply, taking in the luscious scents of a nearby flowering tree from the garden outback. The outer field was a remarkable structure, so very peaceful and beautiful. Even when the main teachers were not around, he could still feel his presence in the layout of the building and the presence of that wonderful garden.
--
His mind began to float as Sabin took advantage of his lull inactivity. It had been a rush here or there for a few days now and he was happy to get the chance to just stand there with no demands on his time. Luckily things seemed to be going smoothly. Everyone was saying the same tune about the course about it being the quickest way to master the essential skills needed for a bounty hunter, anyone that was a bounty hunter wanted to take it. Orders that went out were swiftly seen to and he felt rather like a consummate leader when everything was going so well. It was still scary to be the one in charge of his class, even though Sabin relished the power it gave him. To make a mistake in this position could mean ruin or even death. But that was also rather exciting. He disliked his ability to turn that responsibility into a prideful game. That was a shining feather in his cap that could not be beaten and he knew it. The knowledge was insidious, sitting there and whispering sweet nothings in his head. In Sabin's own opinion, he was better than most, stronger and smarter. Regardless of how temporary it was, Sabin wanted to enjoy it as much as he could. He received enough practical experience of killing humans and beasts alike.

---

With his eyes closed and the warmth of the sun caressing his skin, Sabin was in a prime position to hear the shouting that was occurring just outside of the main field. He strained his ears and picked up a female's voice, but not one that he recognized. "Can someone help me!!! My and my convey need help and we are injured outside. I was hoping that someone would assist us, we came here by complete accident so please at least be willing to listen. "The desperation in their voice and body mannerisms as Sabin looked outside. At the moment in time, there were other class leaders and he had no idea what they would suggest or figure out what to do themselves. However, Sabin still wanted to take a look at the scene downstairs before passing any kind of judgment first.

777/2000

From Vivian's perspective, it was stupid, what she was doing. Stupid and sentimental, but of course, that was not about to stop her from doing it, now was it? She held back the sigh she felt coming on as she stared at the entrance to the bounty hunter academy that she was kicked out of, and felt like she was at the top of the class. It was sudden, but she like many others failed the counter torture technique portion and was unable to make it past 24 hours. She thought it was unfair, but since it had something to do with the integrity of not revealing the information or crucial details of the bounty, she was unable to satisfy that portion. It was for that reason she thought of the perfect revenge, she took a contract to steal the book on the bounty hunter's torture techniques and their counter torture techniques. Traveling with a band of merchants for a month to gain their trust and manipulating the map so that they passed a bandit camp to end up here all brought it to the climax of this assignment.

As Sabin folded his arms and looked about, the other class leaders showed up. Of course, nobody had weapons available to them, but they tried to make sure that the other party didn't know that. "What business do you have here?!" One of the bounty hunter prospects tensed up as they circled the merchants, but the scent of blood was apparent to Sabin. "Hold on a second, it looks like there are some merchants that are injured. There is a bandit camp not too known to non-natives, but they know better to mess with us. However, people like you are easy pickings, where do you come from.

Vivian was quick to speak up, realizing that they trusted her with this. "We come from the plain, we travel all over. In exchange for help, we are willing to trade some goods with you. With the encounters of the bandits, we lost some medicine and we are unable to treat the wounds ourselves. "With Sabin nodding, he gathered the other class leaders.

"We should let them into the main square.."
"What? Are you mad Sabin?! The teachers would kill us!!!"
"You need to understand that we have to show some compassion. We aren't merely hired killers. We have to be able to do this much, and they will only stay in the main annex for no more than three days time. "

Sabin repeated what was discussed to the rest of them, who signed in relief.

"Three days, that's more than enough. Thank you for your kindness. "

With that being said, the main gate to the academy was open and the merchants were ushered inside. Even if the bandits felt like pursing, there was no point in going in this particular direction. Nobody wanted to mess with the bounty hunter group, not if they wanted a contract put out for them to be eliminated.

wc 1283/2000

Vivian wasn't sure why she had decided to come back here. During her earlier venture in life, the woman had explored all about and took on off-brand contracts to prepare her for her return. She felt that acknowledging herself as a bounty hunter was better for her to succeed instead of letting some sort of academy be the one to dictate that. It was currently night and she thought that using the first night to steal the item and depart while using the merchants as a foil if they ever found out that it was missing to slow them down was the best possible chance that they had. There was also the case that they could assume some other students borrowed the book

She knew the place well, not as much as one that lived here their entire life, but well enough to never need to ask for directions. Not like she ever followed them anyway. Under the cover of darkness, Vivian would just use the merchants in the main annex as bait. As cliche as it may have been, she saw it in a dream and replayed this moment many times over. It was going to go exactly like this, there was no way that she was going to mess this up.

---

Maybe it was due to Sabin's careful nature, or the fact that Sabin didn't trust them to begin with, but he found himself following Vivan about since the start of the night. Seeing her slip away, at first, Sabin thought she fancied one of the young men and maybe it would have progressed into something. However, the way that she moved when no one was looking was peculiar, it was a form of movement that he saw one of the trainers and his fellow students do.

"What the...."

Instead of raising everything to high alert, Sabin followed silently instead.  Sabin walked along the sidewalks of the stone blocks, constantly looking around him to find any new details to the environment and for something of importance. What stood out of value for a thief? What would something like Vivian want if she was here to steal? Pretty soon, he found his answer as soon as she made a sharp turn into the library and was searching for a few books. Picking up two, she put them in her backpack and started to stealthily move away.

Once ready, the Sabin made a mad dash over the roof, pressing off from the edges of one building to reach the top of the next in a continued mix of motions to keep top speeds. In little time as he followed Vivian, she reappeared in his vision, but it also seemed to be landing in an obscure area out of his direct site. She was away down from where he was, but the location was clear. He started to track the figure not far from their intended destination, which made the job easier and less likely for him to lose the trace, though it wasn't like he intended on slowing down at any time to end up in that situation.

As he got closer, he saw one of the shortcut paths she took from inside of the academy, which made Sabin realize for sure that she used to be here before. For some reason, Vivian left, but now she's stealing and causing trouble.  

Stopping at the rooftops just beside that passage, he took a moment to take in his surroundings and look out for anything out of the usual. Finding nothing from his current stance, he took a few steps across the rooftop, looking down until his eyes finally found not just one, but a large assortment of figures stationed around a facility. With a quick throw of a kunai projectile, Sabin triggered the off switch of the secret door and caught Vivian between the door, pretty much stuck.

She was surprised, even more in shock than being furious.

"What?! How?!!!"

Sabin then put his projectiles away.

"As skilled as you are, fighting to the finish is unwise if you know how this academy works. The projectiles we have are non-lethal, but I can still stop you from getting any more ground. Unfortunately, Vivian, this is the end. "

Sighting as she was in an uncomfortable position, Vivian resigned to her defeat.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I need you to tell me the name of the person who set up the contract for you. I have a bit of suspicion as to why the teachers have been gone for so long, but I think they aren't that far away. "

Believe it or not, the person who set up the bounty was the name of one of the new trainers themselves.

This was a test the entire time?

2000/2000 completed
gained assassin class.