You or Someone Like You 2
Searching
I do not own the original characters of Outlaw Star.
"NGGGNNNAAAAARRRR!"
Jim felt something whisk by his right shoulder, cutting his sleeve and nicking his skin. When blood dripped from a scratch, he realized it was the bullet. The bullet went through the statue, making another hole for the water to fall out of. He became confused. His vision went hazy; his hearing muddled. He shook his head to clear his mind, try to bring something in. He hobbled around the statue and plunged his bitten hand in the water. Slowly, he could hear the sounds of growls, grunts, hisses and struggling.
"Huh?" He moved his head over. He had been saved! Aisha must've smelt his blood or the dogs, something or must've just been at the right place at the right time. "Aisha?"
She had clawed the pistol from Red Wing's hand and as Red Wing fussed over her hand; Aisha was facing off with Red Wing's dogs. "You imbecile!" Red Wing shouted. She looked around for her fallen pistol. "I'll teach you to get in my way!" She found it lying on the ground and bent to grab it. "Fool!"
"A-Aisha!" Jim warned groggily.
Just as she pulled the trigger, Aisha threw one of her dogs at Red Wing, making her shoot her own hound. It made a short, high yelp.
"No! Bane!" Red Wing cried and tried again for Aisha. This one got her and made her fall backward. Luckily, she was an immortal Ctarl Ctarl and she had just eaten so she was all right.
"Is that all you got?" Aisha demanded, rising to her feet.
"An immortal Ctarl Ctarl?" Red Wing gasped.
"That's right," Aisha said, "I suggest you beat it or you'll experience the full power of Lady Aisha!"
Red Wing however, did not budge. She smirked. "Well, let's just see how immortal you really are!"
"Aisha, no!" Jim shouted.
"Ha! My pleasure!"
But she didn't listen to him. She transformed to her beast form and lunged to Red Wing. Red Wing pulled out a device that looked somewhat like an electric razor with a fork. Just as the white tiger form of Aisha pounced on her, Red Wing shoved the device in her side, pressed a button and sent a massive electric current through the animal. It roared in pain and backed off.
"That was for Bane," she hissed and ran off and taking her other well dog with her, though he only looked half-alive. "This isn't over!" she shouted over her shoulder.
"Yeah, go ahead and run, coward," Aisha squeaked, turning back to her cat-girl form. "Man…what did she do to me?"
"No, wait, don't go!" Jim yelled but Red Wing was gone. It was like losing Hanmyo again.
"Jim, are you all right?" Aisha asked, holding her side.
"Think so."
She walked to him and started licking his face, "I'm so relieved! If I didn't come she would've killed you!"
"Hey-hey, you're licking me! Stop! You're licking me!"
She stopped licking his face and noticed his hand. "Your hand!" then she noticed his shoulder. "Your shoulder! You liar, you said you're all right, but you're hurt!"
"It's nothing," he insisted.
"Nothing?" she asked. "Hey, you're not an immortal like me so you can't say it's nothing!" She grabbed his healthy hand. "Let's get you back to the Outlaw Star and leave. We haven't found this Red Wing person yet."
"No, we can't leave yet!" he protested.
"Meowr?"
"That person you just saved me from was Red Wing!" he blurted.
"It was?" she asked. "Well, why didn't you tell me so?"
"We can't kill this bounty!" he cried.
"Are you crazy? This bounty alone will give us enough money to fix the Outlaw Star up and buy us dinner for a year!"
"But we can't kill her," he said softly. "We just can't. She's her…sister."
"Who?"
Jim collapsed and Aisha had to carry him to the Outlaw Star.
*****
"Red Wing did this?" Suzuka asked.
Aisha nodded.
"How did you know where he was?" Melfina questioned.
"I smelt Red Wing's hounds and Jim's blood," Aisha replied. "I wasn't too far away from them."
"How come you didn't finish her off?" Gene demanded.
"What? I didn't know she was Red Wing!" Aisha cried. "I was too busy trying to protect Jim!"
"Let's keep looking for her," Gene ordered, "if we're lucky, maybe she's still at the station somewhere."
"No," Jim grunted, sitting up.
"Jim!" Melfina gasped. "Are you okay?"
His hand and shoulder was bandaged. He looked at the bandages and sighed. "Red Wing is Hanmyo's sister."
"Who's Hanmyo?"
"The last time we came to Symka5 I met a friend," he explained, "her name was Hanmyo. We were going to meet each other again but she didn't show up. I have to find out what happened to her. That's what Red Wing is doing. She's searching for Hanmyo and I want to help her. Maybe if we work together, we'll find Hanmyo."
"Have you lost your mind?" Gene demanded, "She almost killed you!"
"Red Wing is just hurt! She misses Hanmyo and I do too!" Jim cried. "You just don't understand. This bounty is different than the others. All you care about is money!"
"Hey, you're the one who told me we have to keep the ship in good shape!"
"We'll get it another way," Jim said and turned around to put shoes on his feet and a shirt on his back.
"Jim, wait, save your strength," Melfina muttered.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Where are you going?" Aisha asked.
"To find Red Wing and try to help her."
"Hey! You can't be serious," Aisha said. If I didn't show up you'd be dead right now and I might not be there for you again!"
"It's okay, Aisha," Jim insisted. "I just need to talk to her. She's really not as dangerous as we all think."
Aisha raised an eyebrow, "oh, really?"
"Jim, if you want to do this, fine," Gene said, "but you're on your own. Don't expect any help."
"No worries. I can take care of myself."
*****
"Please don't tell me she's left," Jim muttered as he walked around, searching for Red Wing. "I can't lose her too."
"Have you seen this girl?" a man held a picture of a very familiar girl with violet hair in Jim's face.
Jim gasped, "I have! Hanmyo! Then you're in Red Wing's group, right?"
The man looked surprised. "You've met Red Wing and you're still alive?"
"Listen, is she still here? I want to help."
"Just tell me when you've seen her."
"A long time ago," Jim explained, "when I was around eleven. I met her at a fountain at this station. Please, if you're in Red Wing's group, can you take me to her?"
He sighed. "Red Wing doesn't make deals with people."
"But I want to find Hanmyo too," he said. "I want to help Red Wing."
"Red Wing is the cause to what happened to your hand," he said. "I suppose your first meeting with her wasn't that pleasant. What makes you think your second one will be any different?"
"I understand how Red Wing feels," he said. "Please?"
He sighed and nodded, "fine, I'll take you to our ship. But you'd better not breathe a word of this to anyone."
"You have my word."
"I hope for your sake," he said, "your word's any good." He led Jim through ships that were lined in at a base. He took him to a black ship with a red wing at the tail of the ship, what looked a lot like Red Wing's tattoo. One of the wings of the ship was red and another was blue.
"The blue wing is supposed to represent Hanmyo," the man explained before Jim had to ask. "That's what Red Wing used to call her sister."
"Blue Wing. Red Wing." Jim thought for a moment. Did Hanmyo have a tattoo of a blue wing on her arm?
They entered the ship and found Red Wing tending to her injured dog. Her back was turned to them. She had acted cold, cruel and heartless but now, she looked very warm, kind and heartbroken.
"I lost Bane," she muttered to the associate assisting her "Duke got lucky."
"You say a Ctarl Ctarl did this?" asked her assistant.
"Yes." Duke whimpered and she cooed as she bandaged his leg. "Shh, Duke, you'll be all right."
Jim felt his chest tighten up. He was right. Red Wing did in fact have a soft side. However, she just seemed to show it to animals than to people.
"Red Wing, there is someone here to speak to you," said the man next to Jim.
"I'm busy, Brice." Red Wing muttered.
"He says he knows Hanmyo."
"My name's Jim Hawking," Jim said. "I didn't get a chance to tell you before."
Recognizing the voice, Red Wing spun around. "You!"
"You know this boy?" The associate next to her asked.
"He's who cost me Bane," she muttered. "What are you doing here?" she demanded Jim. "Brice, why did you bring him here?"
"I want to help you find Hanmyo," Jim said. "Maybe we'll find her quicker this way."
"I don't want or need your help," she growled, "because you and your Ctarl Ctarl friend I've lost my dog!"
"And I'm sorry about that."
"I won't let you stick around long enough for me to lose my other dog," she hissed, "now get out!"
"I need to know what happened to Hanmyo just as much as you do," Jim said. "I'm not leaving. Aisha will not come this time, I promise. I'm not going anywhere."
"You are one stubborn fool, aren't you?" she demanded.
"Almost as stubborn as you are," he said.
"Fine," she said. "Follow me. Brice, Otto, keep Duke comfortable. This way." She led him through a hall and into a room. The bed in there gave it away that it belonged to her. It didn't look quite cozy, however.
"Um, nice," he mumbled.
"Hey, if you--"
"I think it suits you."
She pulled out a clear box and went through it.
"What are you looking for?"
"A picture of Hanmyo's ship," she replied. "Have you seen it?"
"She hasn't showed me her ship," he said, "but I might have and never knew it. Red Wing isn't you real name, isn't it?"
Red Wing looked over her shoulder, "What?"
"Well, Brice explained to me why your ship has a red wing and a blue one. Blue Wing used to be Hanmyo's code or something?"
Red Wing half smiled, "Hanmyo's favorite color was blue. It just suited her."
"Did she have a tattoo like yours?"
"Don't be stupid," she said. "The last time I saw her we were four. Why would a little girl get a tattoo?"
"Yeah." He said, blushing. "Right."
"Hanmyo isn't like that anyway."
"I don't think you are either," Jim said.
"You don't know me at all," Red Wing muttered.
"I knew Hanmyo," Jim insisted. "You didn't that tattoo when you were her age either, were you? You were probably, what, how old? Fifteen, Sixteen?"
"I was ten," she corrected.
"Close."
"I got this tattoo, this code name, this ship, this team and we began our search for Hanmyo the year I turned ten."
"That's impressive," he said. "So what's you real name?"
"Hitomi," she replied.
"Hitomi," he whispered. "Pretty."
She filed through the box, "here it is." She handed Jim the photo. "This is Hanmyo's ship. Have you seen it?"
Jim gasped and his hand began shaking. "This was her ship?"
"Yes, the Torato," she said, a happy, excited smile appearing on her usual serious, cold face. "You mean, you've--" She moved closer and pointed to the photo, "you've seen Hanmyo's ship?"
Jim stared down at the photo. He felt his chest tighten and his lip tremble and his tear ducts get to work. How was he going to be able to explain to Red Wing--Hitomi--Hanmyo's sister, that Hanmyo was dead? And because of him?
TO Be Continued. Hahaha! Another cliffhanger! (dodges the tomatoes and paper balls as people demand to hurry up with the next chapter) Oooh, what happens next! Hahaha!
