Year : 771

A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game

17 didn't have to search very long. Just a few minutes after heading into the forest, he heard gunfire. "Well, well, it looks like I'm not here for nothing," he thought as he tried to locate the source of the noise.

After a few seconds, he distinguished a series of light flashes on his right. As he approached, he saw a large clearing, and in its center were many cars. There was no doubt that there were humans there, and the gunshots had to come from there. 17 accelerated and in a moment he was in the middle of the clearing.

There was no sound, however, and no humans in sight.

"Strange," he thought, "I'm sure the shots were coming from this place... ".

Bang!

A loud bang sounded right behind him. 17 easily stopped the bullet that was heading straight for him. To tell the truth, he didn't really have to think about it. His speed was far superior to anything mankind could produce, and his fighting reflexes were still intact, even though he hadn't fought in years. So it was with some kinf of surprise that he looked at the still smoking bullet in his right hand.

"We shoot in the back I see! "He said softly, turning back to the origin of the bullet, "that's a really bad idea".

17 was calm, because he knew he was perfectly safe, nevertheless he could not deny being slightly annoyed. He didn't like the idea of an attack coming to take him by surprise.

"The same feeling... "

Cell had attacked him just like this, unable to defeat 16 head on, he had chosen to attack him from behind. 17 had never been able to forget those few seconds, when he had noticed Cell's presence too late. A fatal mistake. So he was quite angry as he walked with a firm step towards the trees from where he thought the blow had come. He heard very clearly the footsteps of a human running away in the direction of the depths of the forest, and a sly smile appeared on his face.

"If you think you're going to escape from me human, you're really going to have to run a lot faster than that... "

But just as he was about to fly and catch the one who had fired, he heard a female voice.

"Wait! Wait, 17 ! "

Astonished to be called by name by someone whose voice was totally unknown to him, he immediatly stopped and turned around. In front of him stood a young woman. Her hair was in a ponytail, but you could see that were brown and very long. She was dressed very simply, in a black tank top and jeans. She was holding a gun in one hand, and waving at him with the other.

" 17 ! Come here, no need to run after him, that fool will come back with reinforcements, and then we'll catch them all at once ! ".

Without waiting, the young woman ran towards him.

"Pffffu you made me wait for sooooooo long ! Fortunately I know how to defend myself ! Well, it's not a big deal. Anyway, we are not dealing with geniuses, I noticed them so quickly, these idiots. They've been following me for HOURS, really discreet ! Well, it doesn't matter, we just have to wait for them quietly. We are going to settle down near the animals, it's the best place to be. We even have time to have a coffee I think, you want a coffee ? Oh, but you don't have any weapons with you ? You came unprepared ? It's not safe. Well, I'll see if I can find something for you ... But what are you waiting for? "

She had spoken these words so quickly that 17 was left completely bewildered. He had no idea what to say.

"What kind of human can say so much in such a short time ? "He wondered, absolutely stunned by the familiarity with which she spoke to him. He didn't have time to think too much about it because only a few seconds later...

" Helloooooo the Moon, here is the Earth, you receive me ? "

The young woman was standing in front of him, only a few centimeters away from his face, and she was staring at him so casually that 17 ended up doubting for a short moment.

- ….., excuse me but, do we know each other? he ended up asking her.

- Sort of.

- ...

- ...

- What do you mean, "sort of"?

- You are 17 right?

- ... yes?

- So you know who I am, right?

- ... Ruri?

She smiled at him and laughed, "You see, we know each other! Well then, shall we have that coffee or shall we pitch a tent here?"

17 was speechless. He was sure he had never met this woman before. So he couldn't help asking her how she knew who he was. She then began to smile again, and placing her index finger on her left temple, she replied with a laugh, "Because I used my brain! "

At 17's questioning silence, she resumed:

- Ryo had told me that he would send me backup, and that it would be a handsome brown man with blue eyes. And he also told me that I shouldn't be surprised if you suddenly showed up like a Christmas present so ... it wasn't hard to figure out who you actually were. All it takes is a little deduction!

- Handsome dark-haired man with blue eyes?

- Mmmmmmmmmm now that you mention it he just said you had black hair and blue eyes. The rest is just a statement," she replied, winking at him.

17 was not sure how to react. "That human is really weird," he thought, as he followed her to the cars parked further out in the clearing. Most people he'd met in the past few years were frightened by his power, his speed, or when they saw him fly away. This was a bit of an intended effect, as 17 didn't particularly want the sympathy of humans. The more they were afraid, the quieter he was, he thought. And even if the villagers were not really afraid of him anymore, they remained in the background and a little uncomfortable in his presence. But this young woman did not look impressed or frightened at all. He was certain, however, that she had seen him stop the bullet. Normally, this would have been enough to scare her.

When they arrived at the cars, 17 continued to observe her in silence. She seemed to be looking for something in the trunk of a large gray pickup. "Ha!" she suddenly exclaimed, "here it is! I was sure they had one! ". She held a rifle in her hand and tossed it to 17.

"Here, take this, it could be useful when they come back. "

17 grabbed it mechanically. There was no point in wasting time explaining to her why he didn't need it, "maybe she didn't see me after all", he thought. He was in a hurry to finish anyway. He advanced until he was at her height, and asked her:

- Well, if you tell me more about them. What do they want from you?

- Oh, nothing special to me. They're poachers.

- They're what?

- ... mmmmmmm basically, this is a nature reserve. Do you know what it is?

- ...

- That's what I thought. Here you can find animals that nobody is allowed to hunt, you see. And in this particular area lives a very, very rare species of deer. The poachers are people who want to kill these protected animals.

- To eat them? asked 17. The young woman sighed slightly, and continued:

- No, not at all. For the money. Because these animals are rare, there are people who pay a lot of money to have their skins or antlers as trophies in their houses. And the poachers provide them.

17 remained silent. That's a stupid reason to kill an animal. What is the point of decorating a house with the skin of a dead animal? That's a completely stupid, human idea. "16 would hate that idea."

He gasped at the thought. Without really knowing why, he thought of 16 frequently. For months, maybe years, 17 had been wandering from place to place, and since he didn't really like being around people, he spent a lot of time in the wild. He had seen birds, squirrels, and all sorts of small animals. He enjoyed their quiet, soothing company, and as time went on, the memory of 16 came back to him. "That idiot with his little birds... ". The thought gave him a strange and very unpleasant sensation. His throat became dry, and his chest started to be painfull. He hated feeling this way, but could not identify what it was.

" 17 ? Still here? "

The young woman's voice pulled 17 from his thoughts.

"Yes," he answered. The strange feeling was beginning to fade.

- Do you want me to continue?

- Yes, go ahead.

- Ok. So, to put it simply, the local rangers...

- The what?

- The ones in charge of protecting the animals.

- Ah.

- Well, they actually called me a few days ago. A female deer seemed to be sick, and they don't know what's wrong with her. They wanted my opinion. I'm a zoology student, you know, so...

- Zoo what?

- ... Well, that's not going to be easy, talking with you ! Zoology is the study of animals to put it simply. I'm an animal specialist.

- Student, what does that mean?

- What does that mean?

- You said "zoology student".

- I'm ... still... in school.

- Why do they ask you then?

17's question seemed to offend the young woman.

- But because I am a genius ! I'm the best! I am quite well known among the rangers !

- Ah.

- To be short, she resumed, a few days ago I met the chief of the guards in a restaurant not far. We developed the plan...

- What plan?

- It is not so simple to approach a female of this species. She lives in a herd, surrounded by her sisters and protected by a very dangerous dominant male. It was therefore necessary to gather all the animals in a very precise place of the park so that I could examine the female. And all this discreetly so as not to attract the attention of the poachers of the region. Because, for them, all the herd in the same place, it is...

- The ideal way to kill them easily.

- PRECISELY! But now I'm sure that among the customers of the restaurant, bad luck, there must have been a poacher. Since then, I have been followed. I quickly realized that because they are not discreet. But we had no choice. We have to take care of the female. So I tried to lose them, no way. Moreover my car broke down. But, lucky for me, I met Ryo and he told me about you !

- Yes I know.

- So there you go, you know everything now.

- So you need me to help you eliminate the poachers?

- ... uh I'm not sure what you mean by eliminate?

- You want me to kill them?

- WHAT? No, no, no, no, not at all ! Keeping them away will be enough, you don't... kill... people like that! Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaa ! .

Ruri then burst out laughing, much to 17's surprise. He had no intention of killing those humans at all, but he had wanted to test her to see what her reaction would be if he let let her think he could.

"What's so funny?" he finally asked her.

The young woman took a few more seconds to calm her laughter, then answered "Hahaha Ryo had warned me that you were a bit creepy at times. Say, what a way to settle conflicts, really expeditious! "

17 didn't know what to say. She didn't seem to be afraid of him at all. "Really strange human... "

It was finally Ruri who broke the silence again.

- Well, shall we go?

- Where ?

- Where the deer are gathered.

- Didn't you want the poachers not to find the place?

- Anyway, we have to go there. And if we wait, they'll comb the whole area and eventually find them. Now that you're here, we might as well go straight there, right?

- ... I didn't say I would help you.

- You didn't say you wouldn't either, as far as I know.

- ...

- 2000 zenis, is that enough for you? I can offer it to you, the rangers will pay you anyway haha!

17 crossed his arms and took some time to think.

2,000 zenis was enough for him for a few months. And this job was not really complicated. He would be able to leave the village and finally be alone, far from humans. "I might as well accept, it will take a few minutes, and then I'll leave... "

Ruri waited patiently. She knew that 17 was not a great talker, Ryo had informed her well. In fact, she didn't let it show, but seeing 17 come down from the sky and stop a bullet shot from so close with only one hand had stunned her. She could never have imagined that someone so strong could exist. She could feel that he was clearly stronger than what she had seen. And that interested her enormously. Helping this herd was only one step, Ruri had a much more important goal. A goal that she could not achieve on her own. She was going to need the help of someone really powerful, because the expedition she wanted to undertake was deadly dangerous. Seeing what 17 was capable of had just given her hope, and she clearly didn't want to leave this place without him.

"Hihi, my dear 17, now don't think you can get rid of me easily" she thought...