A/N Hello everyone again. This chapter is a bit short from later week. Thank you for reading and feel free to comment
Chapter 7
1882, 3 years ago
Ren was breathing raggedly as his hand continues to press his bleeding side. Sojiro holsters his rifle and reaches for the young man.
"Come on, we need to get out of here," Sojiro said, lifting him up and placing his arm over his shoulder.
"...I'm…not done…yet. I gotta-" Ren tries to say.
"No! We are going back home. You're enough trouble as is."
Pleading his case, Ren removes himself from Boss using the last of his strength to stand on his own.
"Please….help me finish….this," Weakly pointing to the last unconscious guard. Ren tries to gather his breath. "That one is…still alive but…knocked out. He needs to be rem…oved before we blow…the train."
Grabbing the elder Amamiya sibling, he drags him outside and coaxes him to the horse helping him up.
"Wait!" he grunts on his way up to the saddle the blood more obvious on his dark clothes. Sojiro takes a cloth from the back of his horse and tightly bounds it around the wound.
"Wait here and don't move."
Boss walks back to the train car and drags the last guard away some distance. He then goes to finish what Ren was trying to do dumping most of the substance throughout the train floor. He follows the trail slightly outside the train before moving away from the impact zone. Hopping back on his horse safely, he aims at the end of the trail shooting at it to create a spark. Flames lick the powder back to the train car itself before it explodes.
"That's our cue to leave," Sojiro says. Kicking the horse into a run he looks back at his charge in the seat behind him. The young man was starting to look paler as his grip was loosening.
"Keep pressure on that wound kid, I'll get you looked at as soon as I can. Hang in there."
Ren attempts to nod his confirmation back but soon feels the ground rushing up to meet him.
The first thing he feels is warmth when he wakes up. Disoriented, he cracks his eye open to see he is in a bed covered up to his neck in a soft blanket. The walls surrounded him are fairly blank with no distinguishing features. He can feel his body ache all over from the bruises to his torso and face. His head feeling the worse. Ren then pats the side he remembers being shot at only to feel bandages there. Shocked, he jolts from his mindless daze and regrets it immediately. Agonizing pain erupts from the wound as he falls back down.
"Try not to undo my work if you can." Staring through his eyelids, he notices a woman sitting at a desk in the corner writing in a journal. Short dark hair cut right above her blouse, one that was tuck in a skirt that was a lot shorter than designed.
"It already took a while to make sure you wouldn't die from blood loss. It was a close call but you'll make it through," She said.
"Where am I?"
She gathers up a pitcher and pours an odd color content into a glass cup. "You're at my house. Drink this it's medicine."
Hesitantly taking the glass, he takes a few sips before gagging. The taste and smell were awful, "I thought you said it was medicine!?"
"It is. It's my own concoction. Finish it, it will help the body against infection. Ice and some good night's sleep should help that bump on your head."
"So you are some kind of Doctor?" He asked trying to ignore the cup's foul odor.
"My name is Tae Takemi. Didn't get your full story from Boss, but from what I heard so far seem like a wild ride."
The young man sighs, not looking forward to the lecture he would probably receive.
"How do you know Boss?"
"You can call him an acquaintance of mine. Helped me set up a shop a few years ago. It was awhile since I saw him until he dragged your half carcass in here."
He listens to her explanation as he downs the rest of the medicine forcing himself not to throw it back up. Ren vaguely remembers what happened the other night. That train car that was carrying that man goods were destroyed. And even though there were two survivors, they never saw his face to be identified.
He hands her back the glass that he regrets ever taking and asked how long he was out for.
"Almost two days kid." Boss had appeared behind her in the doorway, "Sorry if he was bothering you, Doctor, I got It from here."
"If you say so, I'll head into the kitchen and check on the Stew he'll need to eat soon as well."
Sojiro grunts his acknowledgment back to her. He grabs the chair by the desk Takemi was previously sitting in and moves it beside the bed. He opens his mouth looking for words, trying to find the right thing to say to the young man. Boss still looks disappointed at him. Ren can't help but really feel like a small child that got caught doing something they shouldn't.
"I'm sorry" Ren blurts out first, the silence between them was tense.
"You're sorry?! Do you understand how reckless you were the other day? What if I never found out where you were and you got killed. How would I explain that to Morgana! To Futuba!"
"I understand Sir. But….how did you find me?"
"Kid, if you're going to have an informant you need to find one that doesn't squeal at the first sign of intimidation." So Boss went through Mishima. That guy was good at information but seem so easily startled. They would need to work on that.
"I know it was dangerous, but something needed to be done. Do I just sit back waiting in fear for this Samael to hunt me down! I won't let him track me down. I need to go to him."
"And you thought the best idea was bringing more heat on you by destroying valuable cargo? Not only that but anyone investigating the train murders!"
Ren would admit not everything was thoughtfully planned out, but he had limited time to work with.
"Just because you've gotten stronger doesn't mean you can throw the consequences out the window, they will always follow you. While I wasn't excited about you doing bounty work, it was at least an honest living. But I refused to see you become some outlaw. You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"
"And you do!?"
"I did what I thought I had to do, and those I loved paid the price!" Boss yells back at him. He can see the sadness in his eyes frame by the spectacles. "I know what its like cause I was once a wanted man. I was young and cocky and I was good at what I did. But even among outlaws, I still had a set of rules I followed: Killing only those that needed to be killed, steal only things that need to be stolen, protect those that need protecting. I could barely follow my own advice. Because of my actions, I couldn't protect the people important to me."
Ren was shocked at seeing this side of him. He and Morgana always thought he was a humble bar owner. Whenever they asked why he had a good shot he would just say he was an avid hunter. But thinking back a few years ago with the Bounty Hunter, a reaction like that isn't typical to an avid hunter. The anticipation of other human moves, Boss was calm because he has done something like that before.
"I..I didn't know Boss."
"Of course you wouldn't know cause I….I never really told anyone. It's my fault why Futuba's mother is no longer here. Things were going south with a rival gang I stole from, and there was a shootout….." Sojiro takes a pause as he gathers himself. "I knew Doctor Takemi around that time, but the bullet had hit a vital organ. There wasn't much she could've done. After that I took Futuba and left, trying to start a new life. Hanging up my guns, I vowed to provide the best life I can for my daughter. Then you two dropped in my life."
The young man absorbs the information given to him. It was odd knowing Boss had a completely different life. He helped people but also hurt others. And from his actions, those sidelined paid the ultimate price. If Ren was going to continue his chance for revenge, he would have to step outside the lines of the law. The men he would be going against wouldn't be playing fair. Actions have consequences. The big wigs up North will be upset their product and profit got ruined but they'll just make more. More people would come after him. Would they target his brother next? Futaba? Boss?
Slowing easing himself to sit up this time around, the elder Amamiya sibling looks back at his caretaker.
"I know what I did was reckless and should've been more planned out. I wanted to hurt him in the only way I could and was angry. But….I want to help others too if I can. There will be those out there that will prey on the weak. Those that don't have a voice, almost like I did."
Sighing, Sojiro gets up and walks around the room. The kid was trying to be like him when he was younger. A savior for the people, one who stood up against the unjust, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor tales.
"You know it's not going to be easy kid."
"I know"
"You're going to face a lot of hardships and need to be ready for it."
"I know."
"You need to be careful about who to trust. That guy won't be a small-town criminal. Eyes will be everywhere for you."
"Yes, sir."
"And don't lose heart. No matter how many times you are knocked down. You must be a thief in the shadows and harness your patience. Anger will only send you six feet below. You must also understand that sometimes good deeds will go unnoticed if you wish to follow through. This life isn't for fame, you understand this?"
"I understand."
"Alright. Now I gotta figure out how to explain this to your brother when we go home."
Present Day, 1885
"It was the first taste of being a Phantom Thief. Opportunities came and went but it never felt like I was getting anywhere closer till Mishima told me about Kamoshida. I was hoping he would be closer in his inner circle…"
"It didn't turn out bad though Ren," His brother offer positively, "We still helped."
"I never did get to thank you, Mr. Morgana. You played just as an important part in our rescue," Ann said. Morgana tried to shuffle away to hide the red on his face.
".…You can just call me Morgana…Miss Ann." He swore he never saw a more beautiful woman in his life.
Chuckling at his younger brother, Ren laid back against a small mattress, "Well I think I've talked enough tonight. I'm going to hit the hay, we'll look for a town in the morning. Morgana, you got first shift."
"Goodnight brother." Morgana preferred to be later to stay up. He continues to stroke the fire as the women went to sleep wrapped up in blankets the brothers had stored on their horse. Ryuji offering to stay up as well to keep company.
He knows they have gotten off on the wrong foot. Ryuji was more honestly amazed the kid held his composure during the shootout. Killing so young has to take a toll, but here he is silently sitting in front of the fire.
"So what's your stake in this short stack?"
Glaring back at the blonde-haired man, Morgana ponders if throwing a flaming stick would be a good idea.
"I want to help clear my brother's name. He was falsely accused and almost hanged. He's….he's the only blood family I got left. You got family?"
Stretching his back out, he shakes his head no. He looks back at the two women dozed into a peaceful slumber. "I guess those two have become my new family. I started with a silly conversation we had one day really. But if there are others out there suffering like Ann and Shiho, I do wanna help stop it. And I know my leg may slow you all down but I'm good with a gun and hunting."
"If you already wanted to stay you can stay. Ren already agrees with you."
"Yeah, " He says laying down.
Next Day, 1885
Ren was the first to get up after Morgana went back to sleep. Their fellow new members were rising as well. With limited horses, the girls had to share the saddle between men as they rode South for their next destination.
"Where are we going now, brother?"
"A port town South of here if the map is correct, we need to gather supplies first"
"If you say so, Ren." South meant ports, which meant more swamps and water. Morgana hated water.
Oakwood Harbor, Same Day
A lovely couple sat on a nearby bench watching the rhythm of the waves, the feel of soft sea breeze on their face. The young man moves his arm on the park bench as he attempts to get closer to his companion.
"Don't move the arm! You two need to stay still if I am to capture your essence on this canvas!"
Turning behind them they are surprised to see a disheveled young man sitting partially blocked by a bush. Faded paint on his clothes, a journal in one hand and a pencil in the other.
"What an odd man?"
A/N A familiar face has appeared. Next week's chapter should pick up and be longer. Thank you.
Update: Fixed some grammatical errors.
