D1 - P1
[h2]Nanaya Saizou, Master of Assassin
Outside of Church Grounds[/h2]

[hr]

Saizou was no chef, but he could cook. Only children couldn't look after themselves, after all. It wasn't a skill, as much as it was a bare minimum requirement for adulthood, even in the Nanaya household. 

Maybe in another life, he could have become a chef.

[i]'Archer? How strange...'[/i] Saizou furrowed his brow as he walked, giving a passing couple a polite nod. [i]'I hear confidence, Assassin. I suppose your kind does desire to be used, ultimately,'
[/i]

How to proceed with this? How could he make this into a workable recipe?

Were he in Assassin's position, so close to the enemy and their throat, he would have struck. It was how he was raised to think-- the faster your quarry was disposed of, the better. His position, though, had granted him the ability to see beyond the instant before the killing. Utilizing Assassin now was not without its risk, due to certain parameters he was obliged to follow. Failure could result in the loss of Assassin, and the chance for failure was higher because of their restrictions.

But to simply retreat gave them nothing other than continued anonymity. Success gave them many advantages-- even more than whatever their foe hoped to gain by annexing neutral ground. And also...

[i]'Ah, this is selfish of me. Engage as you see fit, Assassin, but hold back on your Noble Phantasm-- not before you have seen theirs,'[/i] A simple restriction, but one which could mean death. [i]'If you could keep the Master alive, I would appreciate it. You would get your tithe of blood, should you wish it.'[/i]

Was this a necessary risk? He could not say in the moment. He had a mission, and the instructions were clear, but he hesitated in forcing restrictions onto Assassin-- or any of the individuals he worked with-- because of them. It seemed inane, really. Without restriction, they could best employ Assassin and the others from the get-go.

But orders were orders. 

[i]'I will see you safely out, should the situation become too dangerous and heated. Are you not fortunate that your partner is less stingy than a regular magus?'[/i] It was delivered flat, but once again, it was quite clearly in jest. Dry humour was his kind of humour, apparently.

[i]'Kill them, Assassin. Show me that my faith is not misplaced, and that our confidence is deserved.'[/i]

The image hit him hard. Standing above the bodies of the fallen in China, surrounded by a different kind of demon. It mattered not what sort of demon he was faced with, they would all die the same. These Germans were no different. 

There was a primal satisfaction to it all that he could not deny. Such was the curse of the Nanaya.  

[i]'Kill them, Stheno.'[/i]