Ranma 1/2
Easy Target 2; Dirty Shot
Part 11
Rugar walked into the open of the open of the belltower. The still massive within it easily towered him, as it glistened in the afternoon sun, but hid the rest of the light behind its gargantuan mass. The hitman looked around grimly, knowing that he presently wasn't in any danger from a snipe hit; the man that invited him here wanted something more than just his death. Boldly, Dan cricked his neck from side to side, and then folded his arms, "Northrop."
"You know? One shot, all it would have taken..." the man with salt and pepper hair slide off the bell, and landed on the ground with his rifle still aimed at his life's bane. With a disgusted snort, he tossed the weapon away with distain, "No, but I'm not gonna make it that easy for you."
Dan looked unimpressed, "So, you want to finish this? I was wondering when you'd show up in my life again, I was beginning to feel pretty lonely without you."
Northrop gave a slight chuckle that didn't seem to come from the mouth of his mirthless facade, "You know, that day, she said something along that line..."
Dan's almost disinterested expression dropped, as his arms unfolded, "What's this all about, anyway? You've been dogging me..."
"She said I wasn't paying much attention to her, that she was beginning to feel pretty lonely without me," Northrop sniffed, and turned to look at the bell behind him, "I promised her that, after work, *sigh*, I promised her, that we'd do something special. Her, me, and Chancey..."
"I don't care for whimsical anicdotes, you have something to tell me, then say it."
"Mr. Rugar..." the assassin turned to regard his nemesis sharply, "shut up. Now, as I was saying, I was going to meet them, in not more than an hour I think, and I... I..." With concentrated anger, he punched the bell in a blow that should have shattered his hand. The resulting ring reverberated throught the tower, scaring the pigeons and other birds that were resting in it away. "There was a bombing that day in London..."
Rugar's eyes went wide, and he staggared back a step. The bomb that almost took out Ranma if it weren't for the fact his partner was so damn resiliant, the inferred trip sensor with the familiar set signal, "That bomb you used the other day..."
"Got it in one," Northrop replied with a strained smirk, "Pretty good design, reliable in fact. Same design that KILLED MY WIFE AND CHILD."
At that, Dan's blood ran cold, as an immense feeling of guilt washed over him, "I... I..."
"You're sorry?" the assassin started in a low whisper, "YOU'RE SORRY?!?" He broke out into a cracked laughter that seemed even louder than the bell had been, "Well, your damn 'sorriness' doesn't cut it."
"So, this is all about revenge?" Dan attempted to recover some of his lost bravado, "It was a mistake, one I've regretted since that day. I never meant..."
"Well, we don't mean a lot of shit in our lives," Northrop turned an intensely cold glare towards Dan, "Shoulda... coulda... woulda... I believe the American phrase is. Why don't we ask our audience?"
"Audience?" Rugar replied in question. His answer came, as a ponytailed young man seemed to melt from the shadows, with a solidly grim expression that seemed to hold back the shock he truly felt.
"Is... is this true?" Ranma asked in a low, emotionless whisper.
"Ranma... kid... I..."
"Want to offer more excuses and condolences! Completely worthless apologies from Dan Rugar! Collect them all! Trade them with friends!" Northrop cut in, throwing his hands up in the air in disgust.
"Ranma... how did you get here...?"
"You think I didn't know about the second house you own? You're not *that* fast, you know?" Ranma turned his head away, "What's this all about, killing innocents?"
"Oh? He never told you, huh? I guess that would be just like him, probably denying his past ever happened," Northrop was turned away, and unsheathed his sword, "but, I think it's time for our paths to diverge; me into the future, you back to the past." Dan pulled out his dagger guns, and went into a simple stance that Ranma could tell lacked any heart or determination, "What you mean?" To both the other men, the question was only weak, and showed a slight cowardice.
"What I mean is, for the ghost of my family to rest, I'll have your life."
"Ranma, stay out of this."
The Ponytailed man sniffed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to get involved with your past..." Ranma stepped back so that he could observe the upcoming fight without any potential interferance.
"Now, I'll see you dead," Northrop ran at Dan with the edge of his sword upward, and the tip aimed for its target's heart.
"Bring it on," Dan growled, using his right dagger gun to stab forward, and parry the thrust to his right. As the redheaded man stabbed towards Northrop's ungarded flank with his left weapon, the assassin stepped back with his right foot, and spun around the attack, countering with a verticle overhead slash. Dan swung his right dagger against the blade, causing it to pass just barely past his left shoulder. He then thrust his right elbow forward into Northrop's face, causing him to stagger back. Before the assassin could recover, Dan slid his right dagger against the katana, causing sparks to fly from their friction, and slashed upward and across Northrop's face. Northrop staggered, managing to turn his head to the side to catch the slash on his left cheek, and delivered a left thrust kick to Dan's stomach, almost knocking the wind out of him.
Northrop fingered the bloody but shallow cut that started from the bottom left of his left cheek, and almost went up to his nose, while Dan shook off the effects of his opponent's counter attack. "First blood's yours, or should I say, first, second, or third?"
"Shut up," Dan growled, going back into stance again.
"Feh, I guess innocent blood doesn't count for you then, does it?" Northrop restarted the battle, swinging his blade tightly against him from his top right to his bottom left. Dan tilted to his left to evade the swing, and stabbed towards his opponent's open right ribs. Northrop quickly stepped his leading right foot out towards Dan's right, and then his back foot to swing in a nine o'clock position, bringing him to Dan's right side. As Dan's dagger missed his ribs, Northrop retaliated with a swing towards the right of Dan's neck. just before it could end the fight with a beheading, Dan slid his right dagger just between his neck and the sword, managing to slice his own right cheek a bit.
Spinning with the momentum, Rugar ducked down and committed a reverse sweep with his right leg. Northrop stomped his right leg down, causing the sweep to become ineffective against Northrop's brace . The assassin then swung downwards towards Rugar's right shoulder, which Dan brought both his dagger guns to parry. From his prone position, Dan raised his right leg, and kicked it against the inside of Northrop's knee, and then shot his left foot back behind his opponent's braced left leg, and used his heel to hook back and trip him.
Ranma observed the fight with a passive, yet critical eye. They were both showing a good deal of skill; while Northrop looked like he was using a very rough and probably self taught style, as Dan used a very militaristic form without much flare or style; just the essentials. Ranma noticed something else, Northrop's cheek had already completely healed...
Dan rolled back to gain some ground, as Northrop fell. Barely before he hit the ground, Northrop kicked himself back to standing, and then somersaulted in a tight single spin towards his nemesis, and landed kneeling on his right knee with a downward slash that chipped the concret floor and cause sparks to fly. Dan had barely managed to roll to the left to evade the strike, and brought himself to standing. Both men leapt at each other at once, and Northrop saw the opening in Dan's left side. As the sword swing headed towards it, the redheaded man smirked, and spun on his right heel to his right. As he did so, he brought both his weapons to parry the sword blow, while bracing his left foot back. He pushed off with his back foot's toe, slid his right foot forward to aggress, and delivered a Muay Thai right slashing elbow into Northrop's jaw, sending him falling back.
Northrop tried to bring up his blade, but found Dan's boot stepping on his right arm. "Game's over," Dan stated emotionlessly.
"NO!" Northrop shouted, "I WILL NOT BE DENIED!" Dan only blinked, as Northrop brought his left arm up, in his sleeve on the inside of his wrist, was the muzzle of a gun.
::FUUUT!::
"DAN!" Ranma shouted, rushing towards his staggering partner. Northrop rolled away, and rushed towards one of the open sides of the tower, and leapt out in a dive. Ranma quickly checked Dan's status, finding a dart deeply piercing into Dan's chest; it was more than likely also poisoned. Quickly, the pony tailed young man pulled out his cell phone, and called their agency's private emergency line...
Easy Target 2; Dirty Shot
Part 11
Rugar walked into the open of the open of the belltower. The still massive within it easily towered him, as it glistened in the afternoon sun, but hid the rest of the light behind its gargantuan mass. The hitman looked around grimly, knowing that he presently wasn't in any danger from a snipe hit; the man that invited him here wanted something more than just his death. Boldly, Dan cricked his neck from side to side, and then folded his arms, "Northrop."
"You know? One shot, all it would have taken..." the man with salt and pepper hair slide off the bell, and landed on the ground with his rifle still aimed at his life's bane. With a disgusted snort, he tossed the weapon away with distain, "No, but I'm not gonna make it that easy for you."
Dan looked unimpressed, "So, you want to finish this? I was wondering when you'd show up in my life again, I was beginning to feel pretty lonely without you."
Northrop gave a slight chuckle that didn't seem to come from the mouth of his mirthless facade, "You know, that day, she said something along that line..."
Dan's almost disinterested expression dropped, as his arms unfolded, "What's this all about, anyway? You've been dogging me..."
"She said I wasn't paying much attention to her, that she was beginning to feel pretty lonely without me," Northrop sniffed, and turned to look at the bell behind him, "I promised her that, after work, *sigh*, I promised her, that we'd do something special. Her, me, and Chancey..."
"I don't care for whimsical anicdotes, you have something to tell me, then say it."
"Mr. Rugar..." the assassin turned to regard his nemesis sharply, "shut up. Now, as I was saying, I was going to meet them, in not more than an hour I think, and I... I..." With concentrated anger, he punched the bell in a blow that should have shattered his hand. The resulting ring reverberated throught the tower, scaring the pigeons and other birds that were resting in it away. "There was a bombing that day in London..."
Rugar's eyes went wide, and he staggared back a step. The bomb that almost took out Ranma if it weren't for the fact his partner was so damn resiliant, the inferred trip sensor with the familiar set signal, "That bomb you used the other day..."
"Got it in one," Northrop replied with a strained smirk, "Pretty good design, reliable in fact. Same design that KILLED MY WIFE AND CHILD."
At that, Dan's blood ran cold, as an immense feeling of guilt washed over him, "I... I..."
"You're sorry?" the assassin started in a low whisper, "YOU'RE SORRY?!?" He broke out into a cracked laughter that seemed even louder than the bell had been, "Well, your damn 'sorriness' doesn't cut it."
"So, this is all about revenge?" Dan attempted to recover some of his lost bravado, "It was a mistake, one I've regretted since that day. I never meant..."
"Well, we don't mean a lot of shit in our lives," Northrop turned an intensely cold glare towards Dan, "Shoulda... coulda... woulda... I believe the American phrase is. Why don't we ask our audience?"
"Audience?" Rugar replied in question. His answer came, as a ponytailed young man seemed to melt from the shadows, with a solidly grim expression that seemed to hold back the shock he truly felt.
"Is... is this true?" Ranma asked in a low, emotionless whisper.
"Ranma... kid... I..."
"Want to offer more excuses and condolences! Completely worthless apologies from Dan Rugar! Collect them all! Trade them with friends!" Northrop cut in, throwing his hands up in the air in disgust.
"Ranma... how did you get here...?"
"You think I didn't know about the second house you own? You're not *that* fast, you know?" Ranma turned his head away, "What's this all about, killing innocents?"
"Oh? He never told you, huh? I guess that would be just like him, probably denying his past ever happened," Northrop was turned away, and unsheathed his sword, "but, I think it's time for our paths to diverge; me into the future, you back to the past." Dan pulled out his dagger guns, and went into a simple stance that Ranma could tell lacked any heart or determination, "What you mean?" To both the other men, the question was only weak, and showed a slight cowardice.
"What I mean is, for the ghost of my family to rest, I'll have your life."
"Ranma, stay out of this."
The Ponytailed man sniffed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to get involved with your past..." Ranma stepped back so that he could observe the upcoming fight without any potential interferance.
"Now, I'll see you dead," Northrop ran at Dan with the edge of his sword upward, and the tip aimed for its target's heart.
"Bring it on," Dan growled, using his right dagger gun to stab forward, and parry the thrust to his right. As the redheaded man stabbed towards Northrop's ungarded flank with his left weapon, the assassin stepped back with his right foot, and spun around the attack, countering with a verticle overhead slash. Dan swung his right dagger against the blade, causing it to pass just barely past his left shoulder. He then thrust his right elbow forward into Northrop's face, causing him to stagger back. Before the assassin could recover, Dan slid his right dagger against the katana, causing sparks to fly from their friction, and slashed upward and across Northrop's face. Northrop staggered, managing to turn his head to the side to catch the slash on his left cheek, and delivered a left thrust kick to Dan's stomach, almost knocking the wind out of him.
Northrop fingered the bloody but shallow cut that started from the bottom left of his left cheek, and almost went up to his nose, while Dan shook off the effects of his opponent's counter attack. "First blood's yours, or should I say, first, second, or third?"
"Shut up," Dan growled, going back into stance again.
"Feh, I guess innocent blood doesn't count for you then, does it?" Northrop restarted the battle, swinging his blade tightly against him from his top right to his bottom left. Dan tilted to his left to evade the swing, and stabbed towards his opponent's open right ribs. Northrop quickly stepped his leading right foot out towards Dan's right, and then his back foot to swing in a nine o'clock position, bringing him to Dan's right side. As Dan's dagger missed his ribs, Northrop retaliated with a swing towards the right of Dan's neck. just before it could end the fight with a beheading, Dan slid his right dagger just between his neck and the sword, managing to slice his own right cheek a bit.
Spinning with the momentum, Rugar ducked down and committed a reverse sweep with his right leg. Northrop stomped his right leg down, causing the sweep to become ineffective against Northrop's brace . The assassin then swung downwards towards Rugar's right shoulder, which Dan brought both his dagger guns to parry. From his prone position, Dan raised his right leg, and kicked it against the inside of Northrop's knee, and then shot his left foot back behind his opponent's braced left leg, and used his heel to hook back and trip him.
Ranma observed the fight with a passive, yet critical eye. They were both showing a good deal of skill; while Northrop looked like he was using a very rough and probably self taught style, as Dan used a very militaristic form without much flare or style; just the essentials. Ranma noticed something else, Northrop's cheek had already completely healed...
Dan rolled back to gain some ground, as Northrop fell. Barely before he hit the ground, Northrop kicked himself back to standing, and then somersaulted in a tight single spin towards his nemesis, and landed kneeling on his right knee with a downward slash that chipped the concret floor and cause sparks to fly. Dan had barely managed to roll to the left to evade the strike, and brought himself to standing. Both men leapt at each other at once, and Northrop saw the opening in Dan's left side. As the sword swing headed towards it, the redheaded man smirked, and spun on his right heel to his right. As he did so, he brought both his weapons to parry the sword blow, while bracing his left foot back. He pushed off with his back foot's toe, slid his right foot forward to aggress, and delivered a Muay Thai right slashing elbow into Northrop's jaw, sending him falling back.
Northrop tried to bring up his blade, but found Dan's boot stepping on his right arm. "Game's over," Dan stated emotionlessly.
"NO!" Northrop shouted, "I WILL NOT BE DENIED!" Dan only blinked, as Northrop brought his left arm up, in his sleeve on the inside of his wrist, was the muzzle of a gun.
::FUUUT!::
"DAN!" Ranma shouted, rushing towards his staggering partner. Northrop rolled away, and rushed towards one of the open sides of the tower, and leapt out in a dive. Ranma quickly checked Dan's status, finding a dart deeply piercing into Dan's chest; it was more than likely also poisoned. Quickly, the pony tailed young man pulled out his cell phone, and called their agency's private emergency line...
