Ninjas, Mercenaries, and a Solitary Soldier
Crystalline Tears: Thanks a lot! I'll update whenever possible.
Gouki: I want to stick to at least 1500 words per chapter. Is that cool? ^_^ Also, you probably noticed that Chapter 9 was divided into three parts. Those three parts would have been three chapters instead, but I decided to put those three parts into one chapter.
Chapter 10: The Modern Day Ninja Clashes With His Traditional Counterpart
Kasumi was now facing me as I slowly walked towards her. I was clutching my Beretta, but I didn't point it at her. Plan A consisted of me being a pussy and actually being diplomatic, for once. I'll see if I can sweet talk my way out of this, and get my stuff back. It's a simple plan, and if it fails, I'll go with Plan B, which is…I'll get back to you on that later on. As I got closer, the light from the moon made my appearance much clearer, and she definitely recognized me with the look on her face.
"You!" The auburn-haired girl said.
"Hi there, Kasumi," I replied. She wiped the tears from her eyes and immediately picked up her weapon. Her clothing was stained with blood, as well as her face. She did not look like the frightened, naked girl I saw earlier. She was now confident, and ready to take me on. I'd better hurry this up.
"How did you…"
"I overheard the conversation between you and the ninjas."
"So, you know what my name is. How about telling me yours?"
"Why should I?" I replied. There's no point in telling my name. Besides, I don't have one, or I used to have one before the military took me in…
"Komaka (Fine). But I know who you are! You're with those men armed with guns, right?" She said to me accusingly.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I work alone," I replied. I won't press this issue on which side I am. It's just a waste of time.
"You're lying! I can tell from the look in your eyes that you want revenge for the death of your friends."
"You're way off. Revenge is not what I want anyway."
"Oh. I remember. You'll only have your sick way with me when I'm dead!" She spat.
"Look. You didn't let me finish. You know what I want?" I then pointed at my pack lying nearby. "I just want my backpack back. That is mine, for your information."
"I don't see your name on it," she said.
"Don't be a bitch! You see the pattern on that pack? It's the same as my uniform. They're both in Woodland pattern," I said, while tugging on my shirt. The look on her face said it all. She believed my explanation, but she wasn't willing to part with her discovered possession.
"Well, it's mine now. Plus, you have some, shall we say, 'interesting' things inside your pack."
When I heard her say the word "interesting", I immediately thought that I did bring some porn with me. I was way off.
"Guns, grenades, explosives, etc. What are you planning to do? Massacre people?" She said.
"Thanks for doing a quick inventory. Incase you didn't notice, there's a war going on right here, in these forests, right now," I replied. "Those are just my tools, OK? Look, here's the deal, if you give me my stuff back, I'll leave you alone."
"And if I don't agree?"
"Then I have to kick your ass," I smiled. "But I really don't want to do such a thing since your ass is sweet."
She then gave me the dirtiest glare that I have ever seen. Alright, enough of this crap. "Well, there is nothing more to discuss," I said, as I casually made my way to my pack. "I'll just grab my stuff and…owwww!"
I was about to reach for my pack, when a shuriken came flying by right next to my left hand. It tore through my glove and skin, and my left hand started to bleed. "Fuck, what did you do that for?"
"You didn't wait for my reply," She said while smiling.
"I think I can guess what your reply is…"
"I can't let you have your things back. I don't know what you and your friends are planning, but I don't think it's for everyone's benefit."
I looked at my bleeding hand. This was the first time I saw my own blood in this mission. Well, this won't be the last, that I'm sure. Right now, I'm very angry, and I have to resolve this conflict ASAP. Screw diplomacy. Plan B starts right now, which is to kick her ass without killing her. As to how I'm supposed to do that, I'll make it up as this shit goes along.
I held the Beretta with two hands and pointed it at her head. "Hands up! Do it! Get down on the ground," I yelled.
"What makes you think I'll listen to your commands?" she replied. Trying to act all tough on me, huh?
"Are you eight years old or what? Just do it!"
She didn't reply anymore, but she slowly walked towards me, her short sword in hand. Hopefully, she's not planning on chopping my dick off, or anything like that.
I moved the handgun a little bit to her right, and fired. The Beretta let out a miniscule sound, and the bullet hit the ground right next to her. She froze in her steps. I fired again, this time, much closer to her. "Ever heard of silencers?" I mockingly said.
She didn't reply, but she watched the handgun much more closely. I didn't like this. I fired again at the same spot, but this time, she deflected the bullet with her sword. "Ping!" was the sound I heard when the bullet touched the blade.
"What the hell?"
"Odoroku (Surprised)?" She said.
That was impossible! How could she…
"It's easy, really. All I have to do is watch where the gun is pointed at. I can pretty much guess where the bullet will land. I can read you like an open book."
"Bullshit!" I fired again, and again. She deflected all the bullets with ease. I discharged my final six shots, this time all of them aiming for her torso, but she easily deflected them as well.
"Damn," I said, as the Beretta's slides locked up half-way through, just to remind me that the pistol had no more ammo left. I then took out the empty mag, placed it back into my magazine pouch, and took out a fresh one, but before I could slap the new mag into my handgun, she charged towards me. I managed to jump back as she took a swing at me. I heard the sound of clothing being torn just before I landed. I quickly slapped the fresh mag into my handgun, and touched my chest to see if she got a piece of me. Thank goodness, there was no bleeding, but there was a small cut on my uniform.
"Ooi (Hey)! Don't mess up my uniform!"
"Doushite (Why)? You don't want to die naked?" she laughed.
I then pointed my Beretta at her, but she jumped high up into the darkness. "I remember this trick from before."
She did this earlier while fighting the ninjas who were after her. I walked towards where she was, still holding the gun at the ready. I took out my combat knife with my left hand, and even with the knife, I held on to the Beretta with both hands. I drew out the knife so I can match up to her with her short sword, and perhaps deflect her attacks more easily.
While walking, I stumbled upon my hiding spot from before. There was Leggy, still there, blood heavily concentrated all over her head. I remembered how Kasumi landed on top of her, and shoved her sword towards her skull downwards. It was cool to see that, but now, it didn't look cool at all, and the same thing could happen to…
"SHIT!!!" I yelled inside my head. I didn't think anymore after that. I immediately jumped backwards, and I was right. Kasumi came from above, and attempted to do the same thing that she did earlier. Only this time, she missed. Well, she missed me, but she was able to hit something else.
Just before she landed, she was able to swing her sword at me. It hit the silencer on my Beretta instead, and she was able to saw the thing in half.
"Fuck!" I yelled, looking at my handgun. Yep. The silencer was cut in half. How she was able to do that, I didn't give a shit at this point. It was useless now. I immediately unscrewed it, and discarded the remaining useless part. That fucking bitch, now my handgun isn't suppressed anymore. She might cost me my mission on this.
I then saw her took cover in the darkness, but I didn't see her jump, so she might be hiding behind a tree or bushes or just hiding in the dark. Take your pick. I did the same stance that I did earlier, and started my hunt for her. Or maybe it's the other way around. I just had the feeling that she knew where I was, and that she's waiting for an opportunity to strike. I was thinking about using my torch mounted on my Beretta to look for her hiding spot, when I stumbled into something.
Suddenly, I felt something, possibly some rope, latch onto my legs, and I was launched into the air. "AAAHHHHH!" I yelled. Yup. I managed to stumble into a trap. I didn't think Kasumi made this, since she wouldn't have enough time anyway. Now, I'm high up in the air, legs on top, with my head at the bottom. I still had my weapons in my hands, and I could easily cut the rope with my knife, but because of my current situation, this could be the best thing that could have happened to me. Now, I was high up in the air, but it was still dark, so I was literally invisible. As I looked down, I could see the area, albeit with some difficulty. Because of my shout, I might have attracted her to my location. Then when she's right at the bottom, I'll cut the rope and land on top of her. That should teach her a lesson!
**********
How long has it been? Twenty, maybe thirty minutes? I've been hanging up here for quite some time, and that bitch hasn't shown up yet. I was about to fall asleep, when I heard something. I looked down, and saw some movement. "Oh God. What took you so long?" I thought.
I then saw Kasumi appear right below me, short sword in hand, scanning her surroundings. I waited, and waited, until she was exactly where I want her to be. I then used my upper body to move closer to the rope latched on to me, then I swung my knife at it. I immediately fell, and just before I landed on the ground, I pistol-whipped Kasumi, and hit her just above her right shoulder. Normally, people would be knocked unconscious by the intensity of that attack; instead, Kasumi whimpered away, clutching on to her wound. Fuck, this girl is made of stern stuff, alright.
I was about to put her into a choke hold, when she ducked, and thrust her foot backwards, hitting me directly, uh, down there. "AAAAHHH! FUUCKKKK!" I yelled in a high-pitched voice. I dropped my Beretta and knife, and clutched on to my crotch with both hands. I fell to the ground, rolling around, trying to ease the pain.
She didn't let me have some time to recover. She immediately went towards me, and took a stab at me. I was able to roll away, so her blade only imbedded itself in dirt. I then ran away as fast as I could, still holding on to my balls. The pain was fading fast, but the embarrassment was still there. The fucking bitch will get it, now. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
I stopped running, and felt my balls. "Nope. It's not broken," I muttered wearily. Well, that's one good news, so far.
I then took out my AK. I had a new plan: tire her out. She'll lose energy quickly if she kept on dodging or deflecting my bullets. With that, I started firing in the general direction that I thought she was in.
"RAT-A-TAT-TAT!"
I lit up my surroundings, and emptied an entire 30-round mag all over the place. I then lowered the rifle to see my results. I was greeted with something reflecting the moonlight, coming straight at me.
I took cover behind a tree, as the shurikens whizzed right past me. I took out the empty mag, and replaced a new one back into my rifle. I chambered a round into the AK, tossed the empty mag towards the spot I was in before, and quickly moved in the shadows while keeping a close lookout at that spot. Sure enough, Kasumi appeared nearby, looking at the place where she last heard a noise.
"Eat this!" I yelled, and opened fire. She was able to deflect the first two or three shots, then she started running towards my left, a steady stream of bullets following her. She then ran up a tree, and launched herself towards me. By then, I had run out of ammo. Before I could reload, she delivered a powerful kick to my chest, and sent my ass hurtling backwards several feet.
"Oooff," I grunted, as my back hit a tree. I was now sitting on the ground, my back resting on the tree's trunk. The AK was nowhere in sight, and I was weaponless, except for the grenades, which I had no use for right now. I looked to my left, and saw my savior.
It was a snake, but it wasn't moving or hissing or anything. It had its eyes open, staring straight at me. Quick fact: snakes always have their eyes open, whether they're awake or not. This one was probably still sleeping. I'll need his "services" shortly.
I then heard footsteps, coming closer and closer. I could make an outline of a person in the dark. This was it. Kasumi was coming in for the kill.
"Hey. That was quite a workout!" I said casually. Geez, I'm about to die here! No time for jokes! "Do you mind if you let me rest for a short while?"
"Don't worry, you'll be getting your rest…permanently," she replied, devoid of any emotion. "I'm sorry…" She then raised her short sword, and was definitely about to stab me, but I quickly grabbed the snake with my left hand and yelled "BOO!" while tossing the reptile at her.
"HIISSS!" The snake added, apparently surprised at the disturbance.
"EEEKK!" She yelled, as the reptile hit her, and landed right in front of her. "Sune-ku (Snake)!"
She suddenly shifted her attention to the groggy reptile, as she started staring at it with wide-open eyes. Well, girls and snakes don't go well together, I think.
The snake just stared back at her, probably thinking "Wow! A hot chick! This must be a dream! There are no hot chicks in forests!"
During this distraction, she didn't notice me sneaking up on her. The snake definitely got her full attention if she didn't even notice me moving from my spot, which was right in front of her. I then grabbed her in a chokehold by placing my right arm right under her own right arm, and then ending it by wrapping my left arm around her neck. She gasped, and started struggling, but her left hand, her only free hand, was uselessly dangling around. She still held on to her weapon with her right hand, but she couldn't swing at me no matter how hard she tried. With all the commotion between Kasumi and me, the snake slid away, probably to look for a much quieter place to sleep.
"Give it up," I said, and then tightened the pressure on her neck. "Make it easy on yourself."
"No, masa…ka (never)," she replied.
I kept my hold on her for several minutes, making it tighter and tighter per minute. Finally, she dropped her weapon, and she stopped struggling.
"Time to hear that snap…NO! I'm not supposed to kill her!" I thought. I then slowly lessened my grip on her, as we both went down to the ground. I was now sitting down on the ground, with Kasumi on top of my lap. The sun suddenly started rising. It was now early morning. This must have been the toughest fight I have ever encountered, and it didn't end with someone dying, for once. As I thought of what to do next, all I could do was stare at the beauty I was holding on to. "Maybe I should…hehehe."
End of Chapter 10
Author's note: Woot! Another long chapter! I'm on a roll!
