UNDEAD ARISING

Chapter 10 - Scabbard

A long exasperated sigh escaped her lips after she had tied her hair up in a ponytail. Staring at herself in the mirror, Chaeyoung thought of her past. She could not seem to remember anything from before that particular point — that day she was having breakfast with her family. 

Her hand then unknowingly slides up to her neck, then to her nape where the tip of her fingers softly caresses those puncture scars that formed a triangular shape. 

She remembered how it hurt so badly that she couldn't move her head in any direction and sleeping at night was total torture. She remembered the sight of the nurses' expression whenever they cleaned her nape. And she remembered every boy and girl her age who'd ask what happened to it, recalling how she'd run out of words for which she really had no words to explain how she got it. Some kids even thought she was infected. 

Suddenly, a knock came upon her door before a familiar female voice called out, "Chaeyoung? The captain wants to see you in his office now." Joy called out. 

She quickly opened the door that revealed a sweetly smiling girl in uniform before this girl added, "I think he'll be issuing your weapons. What did you choose as your melee?"

"Uhm... katana. What's yours?" Chaeyoung asked as she grabbed her beret in haste.

"Since I am a marksman, my main weapon is the recurve bow, but for close-range..." Joy then reaches on her lower back, grabbing her daggers from behind and pulling them out, showing the younger her blades —  dual-wield daggers with black blades. 

The blades of her daggers shine as she pulled it out its sheath, they even sparkled a bit which had Cheyoung gasping, "The blades are pretty." 

"Yep, custom-made." Joy proudly stated. 

A smile grew on Chaeyoungs lips, thinking of designing her own weapon. However, she's more excited about receiving her own weapons and maybe someday, once she got enough money, she'll have her own unique katana. 

Aris opened the door for her as soon as he heard a knock and he was quick to leave it open for her while he returns to his desk. 

Like the first time she entered Aris's office in the main headquarters, her eyes quickly wandered around the room. There were not many differences between the offices but this one's more organized than the other. 

Her eyes were eventually pulled to Aris' wide shoulders as soon as he turned his back. Even at the back, his stature spoke of how good his uniform looks on him. He has that perfectly proportioned manly shoulders and his uniform accentuates his biceps as it hugged those muscles beautifully with every bend of his elbows. 

But as soon as he turns again to face her, standing behind his desk, Chaeyoung pulls her gaze off those beautiful cuts of his body. 

"You chose a Katana..." He stated, looking at her application form upon his desk. 

Chaeyoung then noticed the swords leaning against the table before the man grabbed it. 

It looked like the sword he lent her a couple of nights ago, but the length was shorter than what she held that night. The handle and the scabbard were all black just like his, only the Tsuba (hand guard) differed in color as the silver gleamed with any movement of the sword.

However, she noticed that it had the same design as the tsuba of her superior's blades.

"Since you did not specify which type of katana, I took the liberty of choosing the Chisa for you." He added which Chaeyoung quickly nods to in response as he hands over the blade while staring at the tsuba.

"They are perfect, captain. Thank you." 

Aris then issued her pistol, reminding her of his expectation for the said weapon as he does not want it to be used unless she really has to.