Big Trouble in Little Ekron

Ch. 4

A/N: That evil cat is still here… _ …_ ….I think it's plotting my demise, it already took the life of my oven mitt, and my bloved S3, what more does it want?

"Hey man, don't hog all the sake." Kanzaki sat on the veranda of his estate having a night cap of his own.

"Pft…don't drink like a little bitch and I'll let you have some."

"Hey you're in my house remember, so don't you be thinkin' you can disrespect me." Oga served himself yet another small cup of the rice wine and gulped it down with a satisfied smile.

"So where's the wife and the brat?"

Kanzaki looked a bit annoyed. "They're asleep in the kid's room, they like having slumber parties.

"Get you've been kicked to the curb."

"Shut up! So why you here in Krassmore anyway, you don't the castle unless you're on a mission."

"Yep, I'm supposed to look for some punk that's been beating the shit' out of the local officials."

"Man, that's embarrassing, if the locals are getting their asses handed to them but some punks then you know shits gone downhill." Kanzaki took another cup. "I wanna come with, while I'm here there aint no way imam let myself get stuck baby sitting, this'll give me a reason to run off for a bit, get in a fight for a change."

"No way, you got your duties here, isn't that why you took the time off?"

"Fine, then I suggest you go find lodgings at the local in."

"Man, why is everyone always so damn annoying."

"Well just think of it this way, with me you'll find the little shit head faster and the faster you're done, the faster you can go back to the castle and meet up with that blond bitch again."

Oga remained quiet.

"Oh come on, you didn't think she was a fine piece of ass?" Oga kept his silence. "Man, that's the only reason I lost the fight, I couldn't concentrate with how hot she was."

"Yeah, that's why." Oga scoffed.

"Fuck you!"

"Well you can always fight her fair and square again when you come back to the squad."

Kanzaki pondered this quickly and decided to just laugh off the challenge. The woman may be hot as a demon but she was just as dangerously tough.

"Nah, I'll let you challenge her, if you can beat her then I know I can beat her."

"Pft…wuss."

"You best look for a room elsewhere."

Hilda walked down the street late that night and counted the money in the envelope making sure she had been given the promised amount. It had only been hours since the overly happy tanned girl asked her to join her team of women fighters from the palace; much to the displeasure of that dog Oga Tatsumi. Hilda's whole body tingled with just the memory of the man, making her mentally reprimand herself at her lack of control; but still she could not forget the rough touch of his filthy hand roaming her body setting the skin he touched on fire. Again the blond scolded herself for allowing her mind to wonder to such a useless memory. She had been walking rather quickly and soon came to the edge of the town meaning she was not far from her destination. The moon was up high giving off enough light to see through the desolate town, it was late at night after all and no one respectable would be caught outside at this hour. In the distance she could hear the madam's tavern roaring with annoying men drunk with ale and making trouble for the poor lady. Hilda's stoic lips slightly curved up into an almost undetectable smile at the memory working in that disgusting place.

"Oy! …Hic…Blondie…" the worse part of walking through town was being seen at all, but Hilda by now had become an expert in ignoring these obscene men and walked on, just a little further down and she would be safe in the place she called home. "…heeeyy you …hic…bishhh…hic…I saaaidd cummere…." Hilda was just about ready to stop and give that drunken fool a piece of her wrath but a flash of pink stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hilda!" Hilda was greeted by a wide smile and cheeky eyes staring at her in the dark night.

"You shouldn't be out here Lamia." Hilda continued to walk and hid the view of her lips curling into a slight smile, happy that her friend had come to keep her company instead of those rowdy dogs.

"Aww come on you know I can handle myself!" The pink haired girl flexed her arm showing off the little muscle she had on her lanky arm. "Lil' ol' Lamia is no light weight you know?!" She walked proudly trying her best to display her tough exterior, unfortunately a rock in the road caused her to lose her balance and in the blink of an eye her face slammed into the floor.

Hilda rolled her eyes at the clumsiness of her friend and continued walking back to the doctor's house.

"HEY!" The girl dusted herself quickly and limped to catch up with Hilda again. "Why'd you leave me behind?" The blond simply smiled but said nothing to the huffing girl. "Family is supposed to look after each other you know!"

As soon as the words flew out of the pink girls mouth she turned beet red, even Hilda furrowed her brows at the girl's statement.

"Family?"

"Umm…you know well…we do live in the same house you know…al..al…although you don't live with us anymore…and even so you help us out…but you live there….but you don't but…you and me…umm…we're like sisters…I mean I see you as an older sister…I mean…umm…" The poor girl fiddled with her fingernails the whole time looking down at the ground as if the dirt would somehow make all the gibberish she was spewing come together and make sense.

"What is family?" Was Hilda's only real question, in fact that question had been burning on her mind for some time now; ever since Madam had suggested to find a hus-band as she called it to make a family.

It was now Lamia's turn to be utterly confused, who on this planet had no definition of the word family? The girl thought this to be the more ridiculous question in the world, but the scientist in her rationalized that it must have been a loss in translation, surely there were family groups where ever she had come from. Lamia searched her brain for a way to explain the concept of family to her blond friend.

Hilda watched in even more wonder as the Pink haired girl's face contorted this way and that, for a moment, Hilda had thought the fall had given her some sort of spasm attack. The two girls remained silent the rest of the way back to the house, one was silently looking for the perfect way to explain an everyday concept and the other had forgotten all about the question and started wondering what she would be needing on her new trip. Before long the pair arrived at the threshold of the house of Dr. Forcas and casually stepped inside, Hilda looked to random areas of the house and noticed the little changes her wages had brought them, though in the dim moonlight it was hard to see the full renovation the small cottage had undergone and so decided that it would be best to look around in the morning. On her way to the bedroom she caught her first glimpse of the renovations, where once was a small pile of hey roughly stuffed in a make shift mattress and a tattered old sheet that the two girls had to share on the occasions that Hilda would come back to visit, there now were two comfortable single beds with lovely bed sheets; not only that but the room was now decorated with little knick knacks that no doubt meant a lot to the pink haired girl. Hilda stood between the two beds and wondered which one was designated to her.

"You can choose either one Hilda!" Lamia's cheerful voice ripped through the nighttime silence, she walked in holding a candle for light and already sporting a comfortable pajama set and a darling matching night cap with a cute teddy bear head charm hanging from the tip of the cap. It was endearing enough to make even Hilda shed her stoic mask for just a minute and giggle silently at the sight before her. "What's so funny?"

Hilda continued to giggle but replied through her fit. "Nothing it's just…that bear…"

"Wha?..." Lamia looked at the bear charm that hung over her shoulder and blushed a bit but decided it certainly was funny and giggled right alongside Hilda. Deciding it had still embarrassed her a bit revenge seemed to be the best option, so she looked over the room looking for some sort of way to even the score and besides, she still owed Hilda for leaving her after the fall.

Hilda had continued to giggle into a full fit of laughter and finally had to sit on a bed to clutch her stomach from the unfamiliar pain of laughter. Her mind still wondered how something that felt so good inside such as laughter could cause such a strong pain in her abdomen but then again there were many things in this life that she didn't understand apparently, she didn't have much time to dwell on her thoughts as a fluffy pillow collided with her face sending her backward on the bed. She sat up right away looking around at the intruder that would dare attack her when she was so comfortable and was stunned to realize the attacker was the non other than Lamia who still stood proudly armed with yet another fluffy pillow.

"What in the seven hells do you think you're doing?" Hilda cocked an eye brow at the clearly insane girl.

"Well the way I see it, I owe you two good hits! One for laughing and one for abandoning me when I fell earlier." The dim light of the candle on the night stand was bright enough to show the cheeky grin that adorned her face. "I already got you once so I owe you one more." Lamia gave a menacing step forward.

Hilda quickly assessed the situation, judging by her stance the idiot meant to attack, however being armed with a silly pillow hardly seemed like much of a threat, but seeing the amused look she deducted that this was nothing more than an attempt at play time. She decided to play as well and returned the sly smile and fished around behind her to arm herself as well.

"So, you've decided to foolishly challenge me," Hilda found ammunition in the form of stuffed bear. "And I won't let you get another hit in so easily." Her grin widened making the young girl frown slightly at the intense gaze Hilda gave her and was then powerless to dodge the bear that was crushed against her face sending to over the bed behind her to once again kiss the floor. Hilda stood to watch the girl twitching on the floor proud of her quick maneuver but then wondered if there was a possibility that she had hit the girl a bit too hard.

"You…think…that'll…stop me!" The girl jumped up on the bed and pointed a finger toward the blond opponent. "Prepare to die Hilda!" She crouched down and started grabbing everything within reach of her in a barrage of stuffed animals and pillows. Hilda dodged and moved swiftly either deflecting the projectiles or grabbing them in mid air and throwing them back at the assailant.

"TAKE THIS!" Lamia threw a large rag doll that attached itself on Hilda's face muffling whatever rant Hilda had tried to fire back. Hilda grabbed a frilly furry long pillow and tossed it hitting the girl in the stomach and wrapping around enough to trip her balance. The two were about to start the second round of pillow attacks but were interrupted when someone cleared their throat rather loudly getting their attention. Both girls looked to the doorway to see a small blue gooey figure standing in his own night cap with a little skull charm hanging off the tip.

"Oh I hope I didn't disturb your sleep in the middle of the night." The doctor walked in and picked up a couple of hazardous items that had been tossed on the floor and put them back on the desk in the corner, he looked from one girl to another and then motioned to Lamia to come closer. When the girl did as she was told he gave her a good smack on the head. "Well good night, and I do mean good night." And with that he walked out and slammed the door behind him.

The two girls quickly settled down and got into the bed they had been standing on, still giggling at random when they locked eyes.

"This is what family is."

Hilda mulled that in her head for a bit but was puzzled as to why it was said.

"You asked what family was."

This was still a puzzle to Hilda. "So family is fighting with plush toys and being yelled at?"

"Yep." Hilda laughed quietly. "And much more! Being happy together, sharing moments, being comfortable with each other."

"So we are sisters?" Hilda still processed the new information and with the night being so dark she missed the slight blush on the girl.

"Yep, two girls from the same family, sisters."

And so for the rest of the night Hilda had something new to think about, sleep didn't come easy but she still had to get up early and head for the castle for her new job venture with the Red Tails.

It was bright and early in the morning and Oga was already roaming the streets looking for the one that had beaten the local authorities. He had already had a long conversation with the little piss ants that had first sent the report to the palace. In Oga's opinion they looked weak enough to be taken by the local village elder, no wonder a small time kid was busting their balls. The injuries did look pretty frightening though, no doubt the kid had some background in fighting. Oga's muscles twitched in anticipation for a good fight, the local weren't able to take such a beating but he was no beginner and with every hour that passed Oga craved a good fight more and more.

"Oye, Oga, Did you talk to the authorities?" Kanzaki caught up with him after all and true to his word was gonna stick close for a chance to fight.

"'Yeah, said it was tough blond; aint you got somewhere to be with your fiancée?"

"She's hanging out with the kid, so you have nothing to fear, I'll protect your sorry ass." Kanzaki gave him a smug smile making Oga smirk with anger.

"Well just don't get in my way, no way I'm getting you down from anything a second time."

"Shut up!"

"You gonna make me?" Kanzaki took his hands out of his pocket and took a swing at Oga's face but Oga being the seasoned fighter dodged it effortlessly and turned back to punch him right in the gut. "Man, being home is making you weak."

"Fuck you!" Kanzaki recovered quickly and took another swing at Oga while he laughed maniacly this time he was too quick for Oga to dodge and got him right in the nose. "Huh, I made and improvement."

Oga didn't retort except with a swift punch to his rival's chin; Kanzaki kicked the demon fighter getting him right on his side, Oga grabbed his leg and twisted it making Kanzaki twirl in the air while being tossed aside to roll on the ground.

"I'm going enjoy improving your face." Oga grabbed Kanzaki by the skull and drove his face through the window of the local tavern.

"What the hell's going on here!" Madam ran out screaming like banshee assessing the damages to her establishment. "Who the fuck are you two pin heads?"

Oga ignored the woman and started to walk away sure that he had won the fight, but an air born stool crashing into his back told him otherwise.

"Oye! You're not leaving so soon are you?" Kanzaki stood in the window sporting fresh blood all over his face from the last move.

"Hmph, should've stayed down." Kanzaki jumped out the window also ignoring the plump woman screaming at the both of them for ruining her tavern so early in the morning. The two fought, gaining the attention of many locals who gathered around placing bets to Madam who had now started screaming for takers on bets. Even the local guards were putting in their bets, astonished at the level of brute force the King's guardsmen had. The two men looked equally matched and equally worn down, lips were cut eyebrows bloody, eyes almost swollen shut and more than likely broken bones in a few places. Kanzaki kicked Oga with such force to send him flying through the wall of the local bakery and into the glass display case.

"Had enough cream puff?" Kanzaki huffed while Oga got back on his feet.

"We're just getting started." Oga wiped some custard that had spilled on his head when a loud whistle got the attention of everyone around.

"What the hell are you two idiots doing here?"

Kanzaki and Oga both had a look of disbelief when before then stood none other than Hilda. "I go home for a night and the sewer rats destroy everything."

The two guards that had been placing bets ran to her and tried their best not to show the fear they obviously felt for her.

"You better watch your tone bitch!" Hilda just looked at the two that been fighting and ignored the weak little soldiers.

"Yeah, these are the King's guards and they really won't go easy on you like we did."

Kanzaki and Oga looked to each other, to the blond woman, and to the soldiers. Finally after a few seconds it was Kanzaki that finally made the connection and spoke up.

"Wait, was this the punk kid that was terrorizing the village?"

The soldiers instantly flustered and were too embarrassed to really answer; luckily the towns folks were there to clarify for them.

The baker walked out of his ruined shop and glared at all the guards. "Those two good for nothing soldiers just walk about this place like they own everything and don't' do shit, it's that there maiden that's been keeping these two in line for us town folks."

"Yep, the maiden kicked their asses all over this town and I'd pay to see that again." Madam puffed out her chest going to stand next to the beautiful Hilda. "And if you two King's guards are gonna come and defend these two sorry limp dicks then I'm sure Hilda here will teach both of you a good lesson too!"

Oga had just been observing from his spot by the bakery eating a croquette that had been liberated from the broken display case. After carefully analyzing the situation he finally came to a conclusion.

"Wait, so you two trained soldiers wrote to the king about a blond menacing kid that had taken you guys by surprise and nearly killed you guys?"

Again the soldiers were beyond embarrassed to admit to them that they had indeed been bested by a mere woman. One of the soldiers slowly nodded his head in agreement to Oga's statement but kept his eyes glued to the floor in shame.

Oga and Kanzaki looked to each other again and suddenly laughed. The whole crowd all looked at each other as well as the guards wondering what was so damn funny about the whole situation. Even Hilda grew just a bit worried they may have hit each other hard enough to cause damage to their no doubt pea sized brains.

"Umm…sir…do you need to…" The soldier with the least damage came closer to the two laughing soldiers wondering if they'd gone mad but he was caught off with his hand.

"We believe you…" He continued laughing but eventually when trying to stand up a bone caused his laughter to subside into a fit of pain. "Soldier, go back to training and we'll send you two fresh cadets to relieve you for the time being.

"But sir…"

Oga grabbed another couple of croquettes keeping a firm gaze on the woman. Kanzaki told the townspeople to get back to their miserable daily lives and ordered the other soldier to return to his post till the replacement arrived.

"Sir, you're still going to replace us?" The soldier looked absolutely terrified of the whole situation.

"You little shit head, you gotten beaten by a woman all over town, lost the respect of your entire town and from the looks of it you can't even stand on your own." Kanzaki picked at his ear with a very bored expression.

"But sir the woman…she's…."

"The newest member of the Red Tails." The soldier froze in place at Kanzaki's last words. "Hey Oga, don't forget she's the one you have to take back to the castle and explain it all to Saotome, I'll be back for the challenge soon."

Oga had been quietly assessing the whole situation from a distance, his mind racing with simple minded thoughts, but still never breaking eye contact with the woman. Hilda returned the look with equal ferocity not even noticing that Madam had been talking her ear off the entire time.

"Oh my deary, you're going to have a tough road ahead of you in the Red Tail's squad." Madam finally got through to Hilda snapping her out of her thoughts. "Watch out for that lecherous King alright." She gave Hilda a wink and gave her a strong slap on the ass to get her moving toward Oga.

"I'll visit again Madam." Hilda was still bewildered by the slap on her rear and found nothing else suitable to say to the woman but took the hint and walked up to Oga. Standing so close to him she could see how beaten up he was, small wounds covering his fists and face; his lip had been cut and small drops of blood ran down his chin; she just couldn't get her heart to stop beating so fast. "Get moving sewer rat."

Oga scoffed still not breaking eye contact with the woman, his blood began to boil when he noticed her closing the distance between them. "And why do you think I'd waste my time taking you anywhere?"

Hilda narrowed her eyes and gave him a wicked grin; her small hand grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him down to be close enough to feel each other's breath. Hilda slowly closed her eyes as she leaned in further to slowly lick the trickle of blood from his chin up to his lips and then released him to make her way out of town.

"That's why."

A/N: So there you go another chapter, again I apologize for the long wait but writer's block + work + school work + health of Mr. Burns = one very tired author. I'll try and update as fast as possible, I know many of you are waiting for this to really start heating up and I will deliver ….in due time…. ;) Good bye for now and please review.