"Gunslinger Girl" series property of Yu Aida
Original Characters property of Author "Person With Many Aliases"
A/N: I began writing this the day after Halloween Night was posted. One-Shots are deceptively addicting. ARGH. Anyways, try to find the hidden relationship. Family is so fun, after all.
It was supposed to be a quiet night. Just Mom, Dad, her sister and herself.
Then they just barged in, guns and knives in the air, ransacking their quiet home of anything of worth.
Money, valuables, happiness, innocence, their future, it was all up for grabs.
They shot Mom and Dad, hesitated slightly with her. They decided she was too young, so they shot her and went after her older sister.
She felt tears form in her dull eyes as she heard her sister scream at her body being mutilated and raped beside her family's chilling bodies.
I'm so sorry I'm such a useless little sister…
Are you here to save the world? You're too late.
Person With Many Aliases Presents:
"Artful Imitation"
A Gunslinger Girl Fanfiction
"Wapanese", "Japanophile" Those were words she figured could be indecently called. She didn't care, guilty as charged.
She just absolutely loved anime. The sheer ingenuity! The various boundaries those artists' imaginations stretched!
The weapons!
Every time she saw something new, she just pleaded to Vincent to get that model of gun for her. He didn't do it always, but usually when the supply re-stock time came, he would quietly ask a small package of the models to 'expand the inventory'. Vincent, you beauty! You genius!
Her desire to imitate the guns in real life got her in trouble some times. She remembered vividly what happened when they found her customizing her P90 with a new pistol grip so it would look like Jan Valentine's gun from Hellsing. Well, it was only right to do so. After all, she did make that cut-down M1 Garland rifle like Luke Valentine's. Family should stick together after all. The two guns rested on a stand in her room now, though the P90 definitely saw more use. Handsome Blue was after all, one of the "Amati Three", the units that compromised the Handsome Men's spearhead.
She sometimes worried how her sister was doing, all by herself in Italy. From what she was told, Sister thought she was the only one left in the family.
One day… one day they would be reunited… like…
She couldn't find a right analogy from her Anime knowledge. Most of the time, the family relationships there devolved into bloodthirsty rivalry. How sad.
"Danielle? What are you doing?" Vincent asked when he came through the door into her little project. He was a thin lean fellow with long brown hair, often seen a variety of strange articles. Hawaiian was the theme of his shirt today. It looked very Vincent-like to Danielle.
Danielle glanced down on the pile of revolver parts lying on her table. "Oh this? I'm trying to modify a Mateba so it'll look like an Angel Arm, like from Trigun!"
"It would be simpler just to import model guns from Japan."
"Yeah, but this is America! You can't even import those in! Besides, it's more fun to make a gun that actually works!"
Vicent gave a sheepish smile and felt a bead of sweat run down from his forehead, "I guess… but aren't you supposed to be off drilling now?"
"Really? Oh Vincent, can I use my special P90? Can I? Please?"
"I still don't see the point of you adding a pistol grip. I read that volume of Hellsing as well, you know. It's impossible to hold a gun of that size in each hand, even for someone of your body-"
"I knoooooww! But I just had to! Can I use it for today? Pleeeeease?"
"Ah well… alright."
"THANK YOU!" Vincent found himself nearly knocked over as Danielle buried her brown her into his stomach, before running back into her room to grab her Jan Gun.
Vincent watched from monitors in the room at the girls going through each room methodically inside the simulated building. Joseph was beside him at his request. The two of them had been watching for a while.
"Joseph…"
"Hmm?"
"…How is Jihad?"
"She's holding up well. How is your child?"
"As you can see. Spoiled, slightly bossy, but good hearted."
"She loves her sister doesn't she? The one with no name."
"Yeah. Thinks about her all the time. Joseph?"
"Yes?"
"How do you handle it?"
"Handle?"
"The fact your raising a girl who kills for you? Just before this, Danielle begged to me to let her bring her special gun, like it was her favorite toy. She pleads with me whenever she sees a guns she likes, that she wants to get it, like it something in a toy store… don't you just find it sick sometimes! That these girls will never have a normal life? That they don't realize they're not going to have a normal life? How do you… stand up to this?"
"It differs. Jihad was a child prostitute. I see my choosing her as my way of giving her a second chance in life. Now I guide her in her one-body vendetta."
"Is killing for the US Government more meaningful than being a whore… its all doing evil."
"At least I'm not taking advantage of her. But think of it. Most of these girls were picked up from the dregs of humanity, or from the jaws of death. Most of them already lost their normal lives when we picked them up."
"I see…"
"Don't worry, you'll get used it. You did know what you were getting into when you were offered this job?"
Vincent sighed, "Mostly. I guess I sort of realized what I was being told finally when I saw Danielle. I guess I chose her for the reasons you said. I wanted her to live. Some sick sense of mercy?"
Just then a man came in for Joseph and Vincent, "It's big! We found a big name!"
"What? Who did you find?"
"We found Crazy Horse!"
Mr. Superior threw out copied files around the table. "Jeremy Colt. High-level freelance enforcer, hit man, etcetera. Does the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs nobody else is willing to touch, and he works for the highest bidder. He's an expert gunfighter, and extremely dangerous. Most everybody wants him dead, but he seems to get his way around. kNIGHTS has him on their payroll now. As you can tell from his variety of aliases, he's gotten a pretty big name.
Vincent looked at the photo of the man's grim face and dull eyes that lost the light of life long ago. "Any previous affiliations?"
"None. Apparently he's self-trained, hard as it is to believe."
"Pretty crazy nicknames. '666-lives'? 'Crazy Horse'?"
"Heh, he sounds ready to audition himself into a cartoon." Leon quipped. That got a lot of laughs.
"Well, either way, Colt's high up on the list of people wanted dead. Getting himself into a big organization like kNIGHTS only makes him easier to track. From what we've gathered, he's apparently being lent to some terrorists to transport volatile bombs for them."
"You know where what he's being told to bomb?"
"We have strong suggestions he's going to bomb the New York subway system."
"Damn, that's a lot of tunneling to cover."
"The local authorities there already have set up, but we've been secretly ordered to take him out ourselves if he shows up. Uncle Sam's not taking any risks. The main attack unit is going to split up and patrol the subway cars until the situation is over. Understood?"
A chorus of 'Yes, sirs' replied back.
Danielle excitedly bounced in her seat in the subway, her personalized P90 concealed in an Amati case. On one side of her Vincent sat, on the other a woman cooed.
"Isn't she adorable? Is she your daughter?"
Vincent seemed reasonably shaken at the thought, "Er… more like a niece. Um… our two families live in different countries. Danielle here, is from Italy, and she's just visiting… it's her first time riding in the New York subway, though I don't know if that's really a good thing.
"It is! It's really cool!"
"What a dear." The woman awed, "Where are you going?"
"Uh… Coney Island?"
"Ah, I see. It is a nice place to visit. Oh, here is my stop. Nice to meet you two. Enjoy your stay here, Danielle."
"I will!"
As the woman walked out of the sliding doors, Vincent sighed and whispered to his charge, "I hope we don't have to do this every ride. We are riding every line end to end."
"But she was a nice lady!"
"I know, but trying out this cover story is very tiring. Calm down a little too, please."
"Okay!"
It wasn't too long after into the ride a man in a pitch-black duster over casual clothes and silver suitcase walked into the car. He slumped against the wall of the train for a while, while opening a bottle of aspirins to practically consume. Slicked back brown hair, and dull brown eyes that looked like they stopped seeing the beauty of life a long time ago.
That must be him. Vincent watched out of the corner of his eyes.
The man sat down across from Handsome Blue, slumped and hands in the pockets of his coat. The suitcase he kept between his legs.
The three of them rode like that for a while, every once in a while, the man who was probably Crazy Horse taking out another bottle of painkillers to swallow.
"Umm…" Vincent wondered.
The man gave him a scathing look. "What?"
"…Isn't taking so much unhealthy for you?"
"I have headaches. Piss off."
"Hey! Don't talk to Vincent like that!" Danielle argued, her grip on the handle of her Amati case tightening.
"I can do whatever I want. I'm old enough to have that right."
"Does that include bombing?" Vincent slyly slid in. Jeremy's eyes widened in shock, before reverting to a feigned amused.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you are Crazy Horse Jeremy Colt, hit man and lackey for kNIGHTS."
Colt apparently knew when the jig was up and spat. "So what does that make you? FBI or something?"
"No. We're the Punishing Rangers: The Handsome Men."
"Very funny. I assume you know what's in this suitcase."
"We have a fairly accurate idea."
Jeremy stood up then, silver case in hand. "Trains make better crashes when you blow up the front. Kill me, if you can."
Colt then walked off towards the front. Vincent nodded to Danielle, who quickly jumped to her feet in the middle of the car, opening up her Amati case to reveal her gun inside.
If the crowd around them didn't pick up what was up in the conversation, they sure did at the sight of Danielle's P90, and Jeremy's own Strayer-Voigt Infinity 1911 that was being pulled out of the recess of his duster.
Screams and gunfire echoed around the inner recesses of the subway train. Colt didn't let either member of Handsome Blue get up from their cover. The extended clip allowed him to unload for a long time, while he carefully backed away towards the front of the car. The number of people escaping from the firefight to the back of the car made it even more impossible, but somehow along the way, some one had pressed the emergency brakes, letting the doors open, so that everyone escaped into the tunnels.
Only three people stayed in the train.
"So you still plan to blow stuff up, Colt!" Vincent shouted down the metal hall. "Nobody left to blow up!"
"It's fine. I'll just leave and find another train to blow up. Just a question."
"If I'm amiable."
"Curious. She's one of those Gunslinger Girls I hear about in the circles these days, right? Like those programs in Israel and Italy."
"Maybe."
"Tch." Colt snorted, before rushing towards one of the open doorways. Danielle's P90 tagged him across the back before he could do so, though, throwing him to the ground.
Danielle grinned, "Got him!" She was more than sure the shot was enough to take care of him. Got to get the gun and bomb away from him, though.
She rushed forwards.
"Danielle, wait-"
She stopped at the sight of Jeremy Colt sitting up suddenly, gun pointed at her chest.
He sneered while a trail of blood ran down his chin. "666 Lives, bitch." With that, he fired several times, knocking her personal weapon out of her grasp and setting her to the floor as well with a bloody chest.
"DAN!"
Vincent fired as well. The shot went deep between Colt's collar and shoulder. The terrorist gritted his teeth, but still his aim was mostly true, as a bullet of his own knocked Vincent down.
Colt and Danielle both got up. Colt was tired, Danielle was in one hell of a fury.
"YOU HURT HIM! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Colt jumped behind some seat as Danielle drew her sidearm Jericho 941 'the baby eagle', and fired several times. Each step taking her closing to the man that dared destroy all she stood for.
When the gun hit empty, she simply rushed up to him and laid a clothesline into his face, launching him across the train car and smashing his back against the door to the control cabin. The Mechanical Body rushed in, eager to drive a fist into Colt's face and out the other end, but was abruptly stopped when the man lashed out with one of his long legs, stamping it into her face. As she staggered back, he took the opportunity to use his useable arm to punch her face as he could.
The metal cheek broke his hand. She blacked out.
"Fuck! That hurt!" Colt hissed as he brought his bloody fist to his lips while looking down at the unconscious girl.
Fuck the bomb. He needed to get out of here now. And if he was going to fight more of these Gunslinger Girls, he would need something that would hold bigger bullets. They were right; nine-millimeter was for pussies after all.
Crazy Horse rushed out into the darkness, still untamed.
"Danielle, it's alright. He just got my arm."
"I let him hurt you! I failed our job!" She continued to bawl.
She may have had a Mechanical Body, but this was obviously one of the times she was still an adolescent child.
"Don't worry. We'll get him next time", Vincent soothed, while he pressed his face over the top of her shivering brown hair.
"W-what would, s-sister, s-say?" Danielle hiccupped. "I w-went bese-serk."
"I forgive you. And she would to, I'm sure."
"You think?"
"I'm sure somewhere out there, she went berserk as well…"
Tsuzuku
Artful Imitation: End
A/N: Colt's my Mary Sue, ha ha. Just kidding. But Colt's age goes as far as two hundred something, canonically. That allows him to expand across a variety of time periods and animes. Right now, he's only about 80 or so, which makes him still pretty embittered, but not yet figured out his philosophy. For readers of my defunct Guilty Gear fics, you can also see he hasn't picked up his favored articles as well.
And have you people figured out Danielle's secret relationship yet? It's a real shocker.
