Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never have, never will.
Outside of the Dream
By: Starlight - x1
Chapter 1: Storm Clouds
The town of Tailon was awash in rumor. It flitted from one mouth to another, helped along by wide eyes and whispers of scandalized delight. It buzzed along the streets and livened up dull café conversations.
"Have you heard? He's here. That wanted man, Methuselah, is in our very own town. Yes, here in Tailon." The speaker would then sit back with a shiver of mixed delight and dread.
Nothing like this had ever happened in Tailon before. It was exciting.
Machika first heard the rumor on her way back from her grandfather's grave where she had encountered her own unusual circumstances. Someone had placed flowers by her grandfather's tombstone. In fact, the entire graveyard had been strewn with flowers, perfect red blossoms.
A young couple was passing, engaged in animated conversation. Machika caught one word. "Methuselah." Whirling she raced after the couple. "Hey wait a minute…" Reaching out she grabbed the man's sleeve to slow him down.
He turned, frowning darkly at her. "What do you want?" He shook her hand loose and brushed at his sleeve impatiently.
"Please excuse me." Machika panted slightly after her short run. "But I heard you mention Methuselah…"
At the name Methuselah the young man's countenance changed. "Haven't you heard?" He began in a somewhat patronizing tone. "The immortal wanted man is here in our town." He drew himself up with a proud look and placed a fist on his chest confidently. "I'm gonna catch him and collect the reward."
His girlfriend clasped her hands together and let out a long sigh. "Isn't it so exciting? " She cooed at Machika.
"Yeah, thrilling." Machika let them drift ahead. "Amateurs." She let out a snort. "Sorry, but I'm gonna catch Methuselah."
00000
Schroeder leaned back in his chair, booted feet propped on the table before him, thoughtfully picking his teeth. He had certainly landed a whopper of a bounty this time. The infamous Methuselah, with the reward being offered by none other then the Mayor of Tailon himself. For such a small guy the Mayor was certainly ambitious.
Schroeder flicked the toothpick away and lit a cigarette. Whatever the Mayor wanted with Methuselah he was offering a tidy sum of money to get him. Schroeder closed his eyes imaging what he would do with all that money once he got it. Yeah, this was what he'd wanted all these years. The good, lucrative jobs that had always gone to Zol He'd done good getting rid of that old man.
First things first, he had to confirm that Methuselah really was in Tailon. Schroeder frowned, exhaling a stream of smoke. Where to begin? How did one start looking for an immortal man with more descriptions then the blind men gave the elephant?
"Hey Schroeder!"
Schroeder let the front legs of his chair hit the ground with a thump as he stared at Ronnie, one of the guys he'd sent out to sift through the rumors flying about town.
"Yeah, did you find him?" Schroeder leaned forward, excitement straining every nerve in his body.
"Machika's snooping about town."
For a moment Schroeder stared blankly up at him. "So, why should I care what that little brat is doing? I sent you out to find Methuselah."
"Wait, that's not all. She's carrying Zol's scythe." Ronnie crossed his arms triumphantly.
Schroeder continued to stare blankly at him. Ronnie gave a sigh. "Who's the one bounty Zol never managed to capture?"
"Methuselah." Schroeder could feel the old familiar resentment rising in him at the mention of Zol's name.
"Yeah." Ronnie said. "And we know that Machika idolized that old man. Hell, she wanted to be just like him. So.." He looked expectantly at Schroeder.
Schroeder still wasn't getting any connection between Machika's actions and their current goal to capture Methuselah but Ronnie was staring at him expectantly so he attempted to put it all together. "She's gonna try and follow us?" He finally guessed.
"No." Ronnie shook his head. "Zol's the only guy who ever got close to capturing Methuselah. He probably told Machika all about it. Now she's got the description that her grandfather gave her and she's probably going out to find Methuselah herself. Kinda like a last gift to Grandad thing."
"Ohhhh," Schroeder's eyes lit up. "So all we've gotta do is follow her and she'll lead us right to where Methuselah is."
"Exactly." Ronnie nodded smugly.
"All right." Schroeder shot to his feet. "Get the group together, we're gonna hunt us an immortal."
00000
The wailing of a violin filled the air. The instrument, wielded by a tall, serious looking priest, let out another musical protest as the bow was drawn across the strings. The normally crowed street had emptied quickly, people hurrying past, eager to distance themselves from the somber man and his painful lack of talent. A few rude comments were thrown his way by some irritated pedestrians. The man ignored the comments and kept slowly sawing back and forth over the tortured violin's strings. His closed eyes and blissful expression told that he didn't hear the wailing of an out of tune instrument played by a novice musician. Instead he heard the soft sweet strains of a song echoed back through the years to him.
"I don't think I've ever heard a priest play that badly before."
Addressed so directly the man looked down at the pretty woman who knelt in front of him. Her dropped coin sat, a solitary visitor, in his opened violin case.
For the first time the man seemed somewhat nonplussed. Then he looked up at the overcast sky. "Look, it's starting to rain." Carefully he replaced the violin in its case, his fingers gently stroking the worn wood before snapping the case shut.
The woman rose quickly, giving her knees dainty swipes to remove any dirt. "Are you alone?" She asked coyly. "You'll get soaked just standing out here, Father. Why don't you come back to my place?" She grabbed his left arm with an almost proprietary air and tugged slightly.
From her perch up above Machika watched as Methuselah gently disengaged his arm from the woman's grasp. She adjusted her goggles. "Grandfather." Hefting a hand-axe she let it fly and watched satisfied as it hit its target, the wall between Methuselah and the woman.
Machika leapt down, landing lightly on the ground just as the woman let out a terrified scream and ran away. It had begun to rain now in earnest "A man dressed as a priest, who plays the violin so badly the sky cries. You're just like Grandfather said." Machika took a step forward, her grandfather's scythe balanced on one shoulder. "I've found you Methuselah."
The small crowd that had gathered immediately started edging away with shocked gasps and mutters.
Methuselah stared down at Machika, his face blank. "And you are…?"
Machika let a satisfied grin ease itself onto her face. "Haven't you ever heard of the great assassin, Zol the grim reaper?" she asked smugly. Her satisfaction with herself grew as she continued. "Your luck's run out. There's no prey I can't kill. Prepare to die."
"I'm sorry." Methuselah shook his head, obviously unimpressed. "But the Zol I knew wasn't so short."
Short! Machika could feel her ears start to burn with the red of embarrassment and rage. He had dared to call her short. "Short!" She let out a growl. "How dare you! You're mine." She ran towards him and swung her scythe in what should've been a lethal blow. Her scythe seemed to glance off his chest, his clothing the only thing sustaining damage.
Machika stared in disbelief at the metal cross embedded in Methuselah's chest. She looked up at him. "What is that…"
The sound of an engine interrupted what she was going to say.
"Hey boys, we lucked out. There's our bounty standing right there!"
Machika whirled in time to see a rocket shooting straight towards them. The next instant Methuselah had lifted her by the back of her dress and flung her to the side as if she weighed nothing. She crashed into a pile of boxes. "Ow. He didn't have to throw me that hard." She glared at Methuselah who hadn't moved from where he was standing. "Huh?" She gave a gasp. "METHUSELAH!" She saw his head turn to look at her and then the rocket hit him. Machika automatically raised her arms to protect her face from the dust and debris stirred up by the explosion.
00000
Schroeder crouched next to the body of the priest. "Is he dead?" Idly he poked a forefinger at the man's arm.
"Nah, he's alive. See, he's breathing." Ronnie observed
"Damn." Schroeder sat back for a moment and shook his head. "It really is him." Slowly a grin spread over his face. "We really caught Methuselah." He stood up. "Come on, let's load him up and take him to the mayor."
"SCHROEDER!"
Schroeder turned to face an indignant Machika. "Hey, thanks for your help." He grinned mischievously. "I wouldn't have been able to catch him without you."
"No fair Schroeder. He was my target first and you know it. You can't just jump in and take him away from me." Machika stomped one foot on the ground.
Schroeder lifted an eyebrow. "I took him away from you? You must be mistaken. But I suppose you do deserve something for helping. Here." He bent down and picked up Methuselah's abandoned hat and dropped it on her head. It fell forward, covering her eyes.
"Hey," Machika spluttered, pushing the hat brim up, but she was interrupted by a shout from one of Schroeder's guys.
"Come on Schroeder, leave the brat. Let's go."
"Wait a minute." Machika was starting to look desperate. "You can't just leave. He's my bounty…"
"Go home. You're not cut out to be a bounty hunter." Schroeder pulled out a cigarette and casually lit it as he turned away from her. "Well, I gotta go. I've got a bounty to collect. See ya."
"JERK!"
Schroeder laughed as he heard Machika's parting reply. Then Ronnie gunned the accelerator and they drove off, leaving the girl behind in a cloud of dust. Twisting about in his seat, Schroeder looked down at Methuselah. "So you're an immortal. You sure don't look so different from an ordinary human, except for that cross on your chest. Still, you just made me my fortune." He touched his left hand to his forehead, tipping an invisible hat to the unconscious man. "And for that, I'm eternally grateful."
00000
Machika stared after the departing jeep. Reaching up she ripped the hat from her head and threw it to the ground. Lifting one foot she prepared to vent her irritation on the unfortunate headgear but paused, remembering something her grandfather had once told her.
"Listen Machika, a bounty hunter can't afford to get angry. Losing control of your emotions will only cause you to make decisions you'll regret later on. Staying calm and in control will help you look at a situation rationally and make the best decision you possibly can."
"You're right Grandfather." Machika picked up the hat and brushed it off. "Let's see, if Schroeder's taking him to the mayor then that means I've still got time. I can still get Methuselah back. Just watch Grandfather, I'll get him for you." She picked up her scythe and Methuselah's abandoned violin. "I won't give up. Not now, not ever."
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A/N: Um, hi ya'll. Well, here is my first attempt at a chapter fanfiction for Immortal Rain. As you've probably already seen I'm following the manga's story and timeline. I will try to keep the most important scenes in but I'll probably add some more of my own. Oh, yeah, the chapters are probably gonna be short. I don't have that much time to write and so I've been neglecting my fanfiction terribly. Hopefully short chapters will help me get the story out on a regular basis. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. If you do enjoy it and you've got the time, leave me a review. It's always nice to hear opinions from my readers. Well, see you in the next chapter!