Opening Song: "Until The World Goes Cold" by: Trivium
"Where is the food, where is my snack? You call these groceries? At least I get a sack!" A faint voice sings.
The sound of claw tips tapping the wooden floor causes me to slowly gain consciousness. The night completely cloaks everything, and I can barely make out the shape of Octavian in the kitchen. The eerie whispers of singing subside as I yawn and sit up. The only light comes from Mr. K's room.
Right now, it's 21:26 (9:26 P.M). So I still have around thirty minutes before the mission starts. For some reason, I have a pink blanket, and a blue pillow with a dragon stitched into it. Hibari and Katsu probably came in here while I was asleep and tucked me in.
A small silhouette with a box shaped head walks through the light and vanishes back into the darkness. "Mryah!"
The cat meows and paw at my leg from below. My eyes finally adjust, and I see that he has a brown paper sack over his head. The cat jumps up onto my lap and lays down. I pull the sack off and run my hand down his sleek, tabby coat. He loudly purrs as my hand brushes against his mouth. Something sticky touches my index finger.
"What's with the bag Mojo? Did you pester Ayame and Hibari into giving you a midnight sna…"
My heart suddenly stops. The texture, the smell, it's the yoma Asuka killed earlier. The cat leaps back down and looks directly at me. The slits in his eyes grow in size and turn red, and a wicked looking smile sprouts across his face. The enamel on his jagged teeth are heavily stained black.
"My, my, for a little shinobi, Asuka sure knows how to cut up a yoma. So much better than you hunters. The meat was cut so clean that it just fell off the bone." The cat states.
I'm absolutely baffled at what I am witnessing. In all the things I've seen, not one has consisted of a talking cat.
"Don't worry about the girls. I only dine on yoma. Plus, the little pink haired one, and her red eyed friend have really grown on me since they took me. I know a lot about you. Alan."
"Is that so?"
"Oh yes. Kagura's scythe, the Spartan. A champion for both hunter and shinobi. In fact, you've outdone yourself. Did you know that tomorrow, you are going to have a visitor?"
"Oh really?"
"Absolutely, and I'll give you a hint. Sometimes round, sometimes tall, but it reflects the fairest of them all. Now, where is she from?"
"I don't know. Where?"
"I haven't the slightest idea!" The cat hysterically laughs and jumps up on a bookshelf. He makes sure his body is pushed all the way back to the wall and lays down, "well this was certainly beer and skittles, but someone is on the verge of waking up. Until next time… Alan."
What does he mean I'll be visited by someone tomorrow? He isn't serious about this is he? He can't be. It's just a cat that somehow has the ability to talk. He couldn't have been a cat before, because if it ate a yoma, it would have become a yoma the moment he hopped out of my lap. Not only that, I would have sensed him when Hibari was playing with him earlier, but what is it?
"Alan, is something wrong?" Yagyu asks.
Her presence catches me off guard and I immediately look in her direction out of the shock. Yagyu has transformed into her brown ballistic vest with her red checkered skirt. The patch she made out of her sister's teddy bear covers her right eye. However, she has her hair in a different style, and honestly, I think it looks really good. Instead of the white twin-tails she's always had, her hair is set back in a wild looking ponytail.
"You seem a little tense."
"I'm fine Yagyu. By the way, I like your hair. It's a good look for you."
I can tell through the darkness that comment made her blush. Yagyu clears her throat and shakes her head like she's trying to remain focused on the mission. It was just a complement. Plus, after a day like this, people around here are going to need all the support they can get.
"Well… I wouldn't say good…"
"Don't kid yourself Yagyu. Just go with it." I tease as I walk over to Octavian and rip the blanket off of him.
"Hey!" He yells as he tries to grab the blanket back.
"Just making sure your hands weren't in your pants! I don't think Yagyu's poor little virgin eyes could handle such a sight." I snicker.
"And like that, you go from a sweet gentleman to a pervert in under a minute." Yagyu scoffs.
"Force of habit." I smile.
She rolls her eyes as I fold the blanket up and lay it back down on the bed. Octavian checks to make sure he has his sword and I. while Yagyu cinches her armor and clothing up.
"How many I. you got Yagyu?" I ask as I do an ammo check.
"Two."
I crank the lever and chamber a round while Octavian replaces the in-block clip in his hand-held rifle. It once belonged to Roger and is capable of being combined with the sword Jonathan gave Octavian.
"You two go ahead. I'll meet you at the train station. Train storage at Platform 5-S."
"Alright." Yagyu says as she activates the lever that leads to the surface.
The wall slides to the side and Octavian follows her through the doorway. I take my Kopis and wedge it long ways between the slide wall to prevent it from shutting all the way.
Now it's time to take back what's rightfully mine. I quietly tippy toe down the hallway and gently open Asuka's door. She's currently laying on her side and facing the other direction. Perfect. This shouldn't be difficult.
I examine the floor and carefully plan my route to the dresser where the stone is. One mess up, and I'll have to listen to Asuka's nagging while trying to escape with Oktitohbi. He's technically mine, but Asuka kept an eye on him while I was off at war. Not only that, I let her have him unless a situation arose where I needed him more than her. Now is one of those times.
I ease over to the stone and reach out for it. Asuka rolls over, and I stop dead in my tracks. My hand is only centimeters away from the stone. Her eyes burst open. Fire fills her pupils while I give her an uneasy smile and softly chuckle: "Um… I love you?"
I snatch the stone up and take off. Arms wrap around my waist and yank me back. I lose my balance and fall into the bed with Asuka. Any other time, I'd be excited this is happening, but for some reason, I don't think she's pulling me in for sex.
"What are you doing with Oktitohbi!?" Asuka whispers as she pins me down and tries to take the stone away from me.
"I need him for a job! I'll give him back when I'm done!" I reply as I throw her off balance. We both roll to our sides. Her hand is halfway into my balled-up fist. Her fingers pry at the stone, and I lose half my grip.
"No!"
"You know the deal Asuka!"
"Deal's off!"
"I didn't want to play this card, but you left me no choice."
I work up a huge wad of saliva into my mouth and coat my lips in it to the point I'm drooling. Asuka's either going to give me the stone, or face the alternative, and I know she hates the alternative because she does it to me all the time, and I hate it. Asuka refuses to let go.
My wet lips slap against her cheek. Asuka squeals from disgust and tries to get away. I pounce on top of her and give her ear a sloppy, playful bite. Asuka finally releases her grip on my hand and tries her best to get away. Just because I can, I give her one more kiss on the other cheek and jump out of the bed.
"Get back here Alan!"
I shut the door and take off to the living room. Her door flies open and she chases after me. As mad as she is, it's actually kind of cute seeing her like this. Yeah, she's got one legitimate reason to be pissed off at me, but this reason is just a lover's spat over something dumb, and it's somewhat entertaining.
The bookcase is still wedged open wide enough to where I can get through, but Asuka is right on my heels. There's no time to just slip through. I dive over my Kopis and tuck my head. With my other hand, I grab the handle of my Kopis and pull it out. Asuka backs off as the wall completely closes.
"Alan!" Asuka yells from the other side of the wall.
My legs fly over my rolling body, and I keep moving because all she has to do is reopen that door. That's enough harassment for one night. I run down the dim hallway and rush up the flight of stairs that lead to a hatch that can only be open from the inside.
The hatch bursts open, and a huge blast of snow hits. The pores on my face shrivel up as the hatch behind me completely closes. Trees sparsely populate the outside walls of the Academy and provide little to no windbreak.
The air glides through the leather of my armor and chills the metal plating. My whole body starts trying to compensate for the lack of heat by forcing me to shiver. A flask of whiskey would solve that. Even coffee would help a little to combat the cold, but unfortunately, I don't have either.
Snow crunches under my boots as I stick to the outside of the city wall. I know Gekko and Senko are still here in the city somewhere. Since they've seen my face and armor, I'll stick out like a sore thumb if I try to travel within the city.
Even if I try to blend in, there aren't many people armed with a Kopis. Although regular people like citizens can't see my weapons and armor, shinobi and hunters with trained eyes can, so sticking to the outskirts is the best course of action.
Speaking of which, Yumi comes to my mind. Is there any way I could actually trust her with this sensitive information regarding Gekko and Senko? No. At least not right now.
I want to believe she doesn't have a hand in this, but Gessen Academy has always had an unruly hatred towards the evil shinobi, and with Oliveria being a strong protector of Hebijo, there's no way Yumi couldn't have at least known about the theft, and with Octavian being forced to leave, this only confirms my suspicion.
I sprout my wings and launch myself up into the air and gently land on top of an incoming train. The weight of my body completely crushes the cold slush that coats the aluminum rooftop. Several signs zip by as my wings disappear, and I ride into the station undetected.
Octavian and Yagyu are both laying down on top of the platform's ticket booth. The way the black rests on top completely hides them. The only reason I can see their faint outlines is because of my yoma senses. Yagyu has her face covered up with a red checkered bandana while Octavian has a dark blue mask that covers the right half of his face.
Speaking of which, I need to protect my identity as well. I close my eyes and draw some power from my soul. Sin colored liquid solidifies into bone and forms my respirator mask.
The train comes to a complete stop, and the doors open up. I stick close to the cars and crawl to the front of the train. Yagyu and Octavian drop down behind the ticket booth and wait from the area to clear out of pedestrians. I drop down into the tracks and use the overcast shadow from the ledge to stay out of sight. The headlights of the train are preventing me from continuing though.
Yagyu and Octavian continue towards the storage where the train's waiting for departure are kept. I take my sword out and pry open one of the headlight covers. Since the train's brakes are constantly hissing and letting out air, no one is able to hear me pry the plastic off. I reach up and gently unscrew the lightbulb until it flickers and goes out.
Half of the light on the track disappears on the right side and provides a route to Yagyu and Octavian. I put the plastic cover back on to avoid raising too much suspicion. When the engineers and mechanics pull the train in for a closer examination, it will appear that the light just wiggled itself out of the wiring.
The patter of people's shoes dragging across the concrete click in my ears as I crawl down the train track and hop back onto the platform leading to storage shed. Yagyu and Octavian are waiting for me on the roof. I claw my way up the dark side of the shop and reach the top. Again, both of them are laying down to try and keep a low profile since they can't turn invisible.
"So what's the plan?" Octavian asks.
"What plan?" I reply.
"Alan doesn't ever have a plan." Yagyu sneers.
"Hey! That's not true! I had a plan that one time!"
"It was nothing more than scribbles on a chalkboard."
"It still worked!"
"Whatever you say." Yagyu sneers as she opens up the sun roof.
I wrap an arm around Yagyu and she grabs me with both hands. "Come on son. We're burning moonlight." I say as I hold out my hand to Octavian.
"What?"
"We're going down, now come on." Yagyu says.
Octavian is a little hesitant at first. Like he doesn't understand what's going on. He studies Yagyu and it finally hits him. I'm going to be the lift down since I can use my wings to hover. Octavian climbs into my other arm and grabs hold while I deploy my wings.
"You might want to hold on." Yagyu states.
"What?"
I jump off feet first and plummet towards the ground. Octavian gives a small squeal and hides his face in Yagyu's chest as I flap my wings in a rhythmic motion that prevents us from dropping at a rapid rate. Yagyu calmly holds on while Octavian crushes both of us. He has no idea that it's nothing more than an elevator ride. Either that or he was putting on a show so he could motorboat Yagyu's oversized chest. My boots finally hit the ground and Yagyu let's go.
"It's over Octavian. You can let go of us now." Yagyu snaps.
He slowly opens his eyes and realizes that he is now standing back on ground. Octavian let's go of us and collects himself, "I apologize."
"No need to." Yagyu says as she throws her umbrella over her shoulder. The three of us start searching for the train Lawrence was talking about.
"Well if this isn't a pleasant surprise!" I hear Gekko shout out from somewhere.
"I hate surprises." Senko adds.
"Senko! Where are you!?" Octavian yells.
Yagyu and Octavian get close to me and assume a defensive position as I try to locate where they are. Senko's wound has been cleaned and wrapped, but I can still smell the blood clotting up within her. Yagyu readies her umbrella and Octavian grabs his sword as I lead them through the dark shed.
"Now that wasn't very nice! Wouldn't you say Alan?" Gekko asks.
"I suppose so." I reply as I finally locate Gekko.
She's sitting on top of the train Lawrence was talking about while Senko stands behind her with both hands on Gekko's shoulders. She's got her visor pulled over her eyes while Gekko is still wearing her gold dress. The way the moon light shines off of it causes it to sparkle like polished citrine. Her hand rests underneath her chin as she looks at us.
"First the Hanzo kitten! Now eyepatch there! Are the rest of the girls in Hanzo Academy part of the Spartan's harem as well? If so, how would one consider becoming a member?" Gekko teases as she crosses her legs.
"Who in the right mind would want a harem? The Hanzo Kitten is more than enough trouble as it is! Do you really think I'd have the patience for Squid Girl here!?" I point to Yagyu. "No offense."
"Screw you."
"Boy Alan, you sure are a handful. Taking you down is going to be a real challenge." Gekko states as she makes a gesture with her hand.
"You aren't taking anyone down!" Yagyu yells as she pulls the sword out of her umbrella and points it at Gekko. A huge grin grows across her face as Senko picks up a radio and softly says, "now."
"Oh, we'll see about that, but for now, we have a train to catch! Until next time!"
Air jets out from underneath the train Gekko and Senko are on and starts moving onto the track. Senko drops down into the train through a top hatch while Gekko remains sitting on the edge of the train. She uncrosses her legs and kicks them back and forth in a playful manner.
"Hey! Gessen hoes are making a run for it!" Octavian yells as he takes off after the train.
Yagyu and I follow right behind him. He jumps on the back carriage of the car and opens the door. A massive thunderclap erupts within the car, and a flash quickly lights up the interior. Senko is holding something long and shaped like an old shotgun. Octavian barely dodges the barrage of lead pellets soaked in quicksilver.
"Senko has a blunderbuss!" Octavian yells as he swings his sword at her. She blocks it with the blunderbuss and weaves to the side and tries to hit him. He brings his sword up and the both of them lock up.
"Be careful Octavian! Weapons like that deal old damage, and there isn't any way to counteract something like that!"
Gekko pulls something round out of her pocket, "Now how would a guy who's a shinobi for fun know anything about old damage?"
She pulls a wire out and kicks it with the tip of her foot. "Shit!" I grab Yagyu, and the both of us bail off the side of the platform. A huge wall of blue flame bursts from the ball and shards of hardened mercury erupt from the wooden object. A shard slices clean through my armor and sticks in my left hand. A moderate pain eats at my palm, but it's nothing serious. We both fly over the city walls and land in the wasteland.
"Yagyu! Are you alright!?" I ask as I rip the piece of dissolving metal out of my hand and regenerate.
"Yeah! I'm fine!" Yagyu gasps.
I look her body over for any bleeding or dissolving metal. All the armor is still intact. The only thing that happened to Yagyu is getting the air knocked out of her lungs. The train starts to accelerate as it turns the corner.
"Follow that train!" I yell as I pull Oktitohbi out of my pocket and throw him in front of me.
He suddenly takes form and runs at a pace we can catch up. I place my foot in the stirrup and climb up. Yagyu grabs my hand and climbs up behind me as I take the reins and spur Oktitohbi. He throws his head forward and hits full gallop.
Gekko is now inside the train and harassing Octavian while he tries to fight with Senko. Gekko grabs Octavian from behind and holds him still while Senko delivers several punches to his gut that slowly increase in power.
Octavian kicks one of Senko's punches back at her. It knocks her off balance and she trips over a table. He throws his head back and busts Gekko in the lip. She lets him go and backs off. Octavian tries to slash at Gekko but Senko grabs his sword and pulls him back. Octavian loses his balance and falls flat on his back. Gekko pins both of his arms down while Senko jumps on top of him.
"Get me closer Alan!" Yagyu yells as she prepares to board.
Oktitohbi catches up to the side of the train and remains at a constant speed. Yagyu places her hands on my shoulders and sits up on her knees. She carefully stands and balances herself. Yagyu jumps through the back and charges directly after Gekko.
"Back for more?" Gekko laughs as she dodges all of Yagyu's attacks.
Gekko brings her leg back and kicks. Yagyu deploys her umbrella. The force knocks her back, and the shockwave caused from the impact flies directly over her. Yagyu skids back a couple feet but retaliates. Gekko grabs Yagyu's wrist and slams her up against the wall closest to me and Oktitohbi.
"Ready to lose the other eye?" Gekko taunts as she pulls up some kind of device with saw like teeth. She flicks her wrist, and the thing transforms into an oversized blade wrapped in old bandages.
Wait a second… Blunderbusses, quicksilver bombs, oversized brush cutters… The weapons that were stolen from Oliveria are on this train! That must mean the stone is here as well! No wonder these girls are overpowering everyone!
Asuka was in her transformed state when I found her earlier, Gekko and Senko were relatively easy to handle because I can't do the shinobi whatever it's called, and Yagyu is in her transformed state so Gekko and Senko must be receiving the buffs mentioned in the documents regarding the thing called the Talilbasha! Why didn't I think of it sooner?
Gekko raises the massive cleaver like thing and swings down. Yagyu pulls her sword out of the umbrella's handle and blocks the incoming attack. Sparks splash Yagyu in the face and temporarily stuns her. Gekko raises the weapon again.
"Hands off the girl moonraker!" I shout as I pull up my pistol and fire. The bullet strikes the middle of Gekko's weapon, and it flies out of her hand. I spin the pistol around by its lever and fire again. Gekko flips backwards and dodges my incoming rounds.
"Oktitohbi, get me directly behind the train!"
"You got it!"
Oktitohbi slows down and gets back on the tracks. I holster my pistol and slowly get into a kneeling position so I can jump to the train. The strength of Oktitohbi's gallop combined with the snow and wind makes this even more difficult than I thought. I hear Yagyu cry out from Gekko inflicting another blow.
"Hang in there squid girl! Jesus Christ this is hard!" I state as I get in a position where I'm finally balanced, "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, here I go!" With all the power built up in my legs, I leap towards the train.
"Got it!"
The moment I say that, someone steps onto the back of the car. It isn't Gekko, or Senko. No, this is someone way more sinister looking and intimidating. Just the presence of this menacing looking woman looks like I'm staring into the eyes of one of Dracula's brides.
She reaches behind her and pulls out an object. The thing expands into a spear with saw teeth. Like a baseball flying towards the batter, I have no time to dodge.
"No I don't!" I shout as she swings.
The shaft of the spear smacks me across the face. Intense pain causes the affected area of my skin to burn like someone stuck me with a hot piece of metal. I fly back and slam into Oktitohbi's front legs. He violently neighs, and the both of us get tangled up and roll. His massive body tramples over me and squeezes all the air out of my lungs.
I gasp for breath as I check to make sure nothing is broken. Everything is fine. Oktitohbi gets back up, but he's trying to keep weight off the front left leg I collided with.
"You alright Oktitohbi!?"
"Yeah! How about you Alan!?"
"I'm good!"
Oktitohbi tries to take a step, but he can't use his left front leg. Fuck. He's either got a sprain or fracture. Probably both. If that's the case, he won't be running anytime soon. Even though he is a spirit animal, and they heal quickly, he won't be running until tomorrow.
"Oktitohbi! You rest! I'll take it from here!"
"No! I can still run!"
I hold up his stone and he quickly vanishes, "I admire your perseverance Oktitohbi, but you need to rest. I'll take it from here."
"Fine then. If you say so. Now go make that vampire bitch pay for crippling my leg!"
"Oh, trust me, I will."
I take off running down the tracks and pick up speed. My wings sprout from my back, and I take flight. The train isn't too far ahead despite Oktitohbi and I being down for a couple moments. The train must be moving around thirty miles an hour. Good. Then catching up isn't going to be difficult.
I gain some altitude and grab my Kopis. Since there's no way through the back, then maybe the top will work. I hover in mid air for a couple moments and draw enough power to let me see through the exterior of the train. Right now, Senko and Octavian are at each other's throats while Gekko, and the white woman are both beating up on Yagyu.
I rotate the crank on the side of my pistol four times, retract my wings and freefall. My stomach feels like it's at my feet as I glide through the air at a ridiculous speed. I deploy my wings again to slow my decent as I flip forward. My boots slam into the roof and caves the metal in as I land right in front of the woman that hit me in the face a couple minutes ago.
She's aiming some kind of chrome colored, double barreled flintlock pistol at Yagyu. At the last second, I stab my Kopis into her weapon and direct it towards the wall. Two massive holes open up the side of the train as the gun goes off. There is no sense of surprise in her eyes. Not even a facial expression, but she does tilt her head to one side like she wasn't expecting this.
"Now give me back Oliveria's hedge trimers!" I pull the trigger and she holds up her hand. All four bullets hit some kind of black and white feather fan and completely mushroom out. This isn't going to work. I drive my kopis into her fan.
A huge disk of red pulses and veins of black become visible on the forcefield. That was a little more effect than shooting at her. She staggers back as I slam it into the fan again repeatedly. Each hit causes it to crack more and more. Trapped energy hisses as she desperately clings to what she protection she has left. I put my pistol away and break my kopis apart.
The demon steel scars the fractured red circle as both swords slice deeper and deeper. I do a small leap towards her and thrust both swords into the middle of her shield. The object shatters, and the woman flies backwards and lands on her back. However, she uses that momentum to roll back and return to her feet instantly.
"Not bad. Not many people know what to do when I throw that up." The woman says in a monotone voice as she observes my wings. Gekko and Senko get behind her while Octavian and Yagyu stand behind me.
The woman has long onyx hair with two white lotus flowers on each side of her head. She's dressed in a unique looking, one-piece girdle that has various belts of dull gold stitched into the fabric. It's almost as dull as her personality, but I'll keep that comment to myself.
Old fashioned sandals like the Roman's wore cover her feet and black straps of leather criss-cross one another up to her knees. The most striking feature about this woman is her eyes though. They're lifeless like a shark's. Then there's her skin.
It's whiter than snow and even glows when standing directly under a light bulb. As creepy as she appears, the woman is remarkably beautiful. Her girdle doesn't even come with a skirt. Just a piece of fabric that dangles in front of her.
"I've seen that weapon before. You must be the one they call The Spartan."
"It's rude to make assumptions before giving your name."
"I don't know why it would matter. You won't live long enough to remember." The woman says as she pulls her saw spear from behind her back.
"Oh-ho! I've certainly heard that one before! Right before the undertaker put six feet of dirt on them!"
"Fine then, may I ask you your name?" The woman states.
"Only if you give yours first nosferatu."
"I'll give you the courtesy since you shinobi scum don't have any. The name is Fubuki."
"Alan."
"Hellwalker?"
"The one and only."
For the first time, I see some surprise come to this crazy woman's eyes. She doesn't smile, nor does she even grin. All she does is tilt her head to one side and breathe. What's with this woman? She's got absolutely no emotion or feeling. Even Hikage isn't this depressing.
"Yes. I know exactly who you are, but more importantly, I know what you are. Shinobi mala venator convertit (Evil shinobi turned hunter)."
"Quorum certe aliquis fecerit opus est (At least someone has been doing their homework). You know, you seem like someone who needs a hug. Why don't you come over here and let me put a smile on that face?" I state as we start walking towards one another. Yagyu and Octavian jump on top of the tables along with Gekko and Senko.
Fubuki pulls out a blunderbuss from underneath her dress and brings the hammer back. I rush forward and bait her into swinging the spear. She jabs it at me and I sidestep and counter with a quick swing, but she blocks it with the blunderbuss and stabs at me with that spear. Although it misses me, I can still feel the old damage radiating its way through my armor.
Fubuki takes aim with the blunderbuss, but I wedge one of my blades into the wooden frame and manipulate it to where she can't aim it at me. The sword tip punches all the way through to the other side of the weapon and offsets the barrel.
She slams me up against the wall and drives my head through a window. A piece of glass gets stuck in the back of my skull and blood rushes down the back of my neck.
With my free hand, I use the bend of the kopis to catch the spear and throw it off course. The spear stabs all the way though the train and gets stuck. The both of us get the same idea and fight over the blunderbuss. Because both of us have a firm grip on the weapon, it's going in no one's favor.
Yagyu and Gekko are on one end of the train while Octavian and Senko are on the other. Right now, Gekko has Yagyu on the defensive while Octavian stands his ground against Senko. He isn't losing, but it's clear Senko has the upper hand.
Fubuki and I struggle to point the gun at each other without giving the other total control. As of now, we are locked in a stalemate. Fubuki is straining to the point her pale face is starting to turn red while I try and break the gun. She loses control, and I am able to twist the blade. Before it can break the gun in half, Fubuki's hand slides down the side of it.
A monstrous boom erupts from the oversized barrel, and a bright flash of light turns the entire car white for a split second. Yagyu and Gekko let out an exclaimed yelp of pain and both of them hit the floor. Horror grips my mind as I watch Yagyu grab her side and gasps for air.
"I'm okay…" Both girls whimper as they stand up.
The entire side of Yagyu's armor has been blown out, and fragments of the mercury that's still lodged in her ballistic fiber is dissolving. She's trying to keep her chest inside the shredded fabric of her white bra, but because her boobs are so big, she's having a hard time in doing so. Gekko is sitting on her knees with both arms completely covering her chest.
"You shot squid girl in her overly abundant oppai, you boobie hating bitch!"
A piece of the broken iron from the blunderbuss clubs me across the face and sends me to the ground in a daze, "Idiot." Fubuki states as she walks off.
Stars fill my eyes and my head feels oddly misshaped. Oh… I grab the metal that's wrapped around my skull and pull. The grit of the rough metal digs into my cheeks as I pry the bent iron away from my face and toss it out the window.
A swift blow hits the back of my head and knocks me back down. The glass from earlier digs deeper into my skull that I can feel it stabbing into my brain. Blood hemorrhages out the back of my head, and my vision shuts completely off as I try to pull the glass out. "I hope that hurt!" Gekko taunts.
"I guess I deserved that one." I mumble as I feel around.
The shard has broken off into my head, and I can't grab it. A massive migraine rips my head in half. It's like someone is repeatedly hitting me with a hammer that's increasing in power.
I focus and push it out far enough where it can be grabbed. The feeling of having four band-aids ripped off at once tear through the back of my head and echoes all throughout my body. My sight comes back in an instant, the headache goes away, and the hole in my head seals itself shut. Yoma blood washes over the puncture in my brain and restores it to normal. "OWIE!" I violently rub the sticky back of my head.
"You'll live!" Yagyu yells as she throws the glass shard down and helps me up.
Octavian sees that Gekko and Fubuki are coming, but he tries to remain focused on Senko. Suddenly, Senko backs off and Octavian swings backwards at Fubuki. She catches his sword with her bare hand and grabs Octavian by the collar of his armor.
"Foolish boy!"
"Put him down Morticia Addams!" I shout as I pull out my pistol and shoot.
Senko jumps in front of Fubuki and bats the incoming round out of the way with her fist and sends it out a side window. Fubuki punches Octavian right in the cheek and his body caves in an overturned table as he hits the ground. Octavian gasps in pain as he tries to stand back up.
Fubuki, Gekko and Senko all cross over to the next car and slam the door shut. Octavian finally gets up on his own and staggers over to the locked car door. I slide up beside him and try to pry it open.
Octavian draws his revolvers and fires. Multiple rounds slam into the window pane and force white veins of crackling glass to form. Senko looks directly at Octavian and gives a smug look.
"No hard feelings, but I believe we are all even now. Soon, neither you, Alan or the female shinobi will feel anything." Senko grins as she arrogantly points down at the connector below. A bright blue light is radiating from the metal below. Oh shit.
The metal squelches as thermite eats through the molten steel. I can already feel that this one car is growing unstable. The car Senko is in starts to head down hill, but unlike us, they have automatic brakes. Our car hits the back of theirs. A huge tremor rocks our car and throws us into the floor. The lights above flicker, and a couple tables with lanterns fall over from the impact.
Yagyu sticks her head out a side window, "Alan! Bend! NOW!"
The wheels of our car slide off the rail and it slowly turns sideways. I grab Octavian and run over to Yagyu.
"Come here Yagyu!" I shout.
Octavian and Yagyu kneel with me. I sprout my wings and wrap both of them up. The bones within scrape against one another, and my feathers are trying to interlock from the amount of pressure I'm giving off. Yagyu and Octavian hold onto me with everything they have as I use my head to completely cover the gap.
The car finally hits the bend but instead of making the turn, it completely runs off course. I throw myself forward onto the ground and use my body to protect Octavian and Yagyu from the impact. Several lanterns that were used to light the place fall over and spill flaming oil onto the carpet and interior.
My body is tossed around the train. Broken glass and wood pelt me from all directions, but I keep my wings shut as tightly as I can. Trees snap under the impact of the car, and branches scrape and tear side paneling off with the deafening noise of metal being maliciously shredded. Snow, broken tree branches, and debris flood in from all direction including the roof.
The train stops rolling and comes to a complete stop. Half of the car is on fire while the other half is blocked off by broken wood, debris from within the car and mountains of snow. I can hear the sound of brakes bringing the train from above to a grinding halt.
"Yagyu! Octavian! Are you okay!?" I ask as I lift my head and look down into the capsule.
"Yeah! I'm good! Yagyu replies.
"Me too!"
I seal them back up within my wings and wait. The fire rapidly spreads from one side of the car, but I simply sit in it. Since I'm a pyromancer, this isn't going to hurt me. As long as I keep Yagyu and Octavian safe from the outside, they will be okay.
Flames kiss the sole of my boots, and the feathers of my wings ignite. The fire travels up to my face and completely engulfs me in a sea of orange. I can't hear what Fubuki and the others are saying from above, but a massive burst of air releases the brakes, and the train rolls off.
I carefully stand up and make my way through the raging inferno that consumes the wreckage. Octavian and Yagyu are both clinging to me as tightly as they can. I slightly open up my wings and look down. Both Yagyu and Octavian are okay, just startled. I kick a broken door off of its hinges and carry them both out into the wasteland.
"Why did you do that!? We could have burned alive inside that car!" Yagyu snaps as I let her and Octavian out of my wings.
"Oh, calm down. I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you. Plus, Fubuki and the other two are under the impression we're dead." I reply as I walk to the edge of a nearby cliff and look down. Below isn't anything special. Just a barren land of endless white.
The good news is we aren't very far from the city. The bad news is, it's the wasteland. Neither Yagyu or Octavian have any experience out here, so as of now, it's going to fall on me to get us back home.
"Listen to me, Oktitohbi has an injury, and he's not going to be able to take us back, so we are going to have to walk. Now I usually give you free will to do what you want when you're on an assignment with me, but this time is different. This is the wasteland, and even though it's winter, it's still dangerous, so I need you to stick close. Understand?"
Yagyu and Octavian shake their heads in compliance and line up behind me. I could grab hold of Yagyu and Octavian and use my talisman to warp us outside the city gates, but I don't have a soul big enough to get us there. At least not yet.
Most of the yoma out here are blood starved and extremely aggressive. Due to the lack of humans, the yoma tend to eat one another and this leads to some pretty unique creatures. One of their souls should be more than enough if we encounter one.
I toss Oktitohbi's stone down and bring him back. Yagyu is desperately trying to stay warm, but the fact her breasts are dangling out of her armor isn't helping. That's if you could call it armor anymore.
It's nothing but tattered strings of cloth with dangling ballistic fiber now that the liquid quicksilver is done eating through it. From the right side of Yagyu's chest to her hip are bruises from where each individual pellet hit, and parts are irritated and red from where the quicksilver touched her, but it wasn't enough break a rib or collapse a lung. She was out of the blunderbuss' lethal range, but it still packed enough punch to injure her.
I dig through one of Oktitohbi's saddlebag and pull out a grey fur jacket Asuka bought me for when we went on rides up into the mountains.
"Come here."
Yagyu uses one arm to keep her chest covered while she slides one arm in. I let go, and she zips it up, "Thank you Alan."
"That's not armored, so you really are naked out here."
"I know. I'll be careful." Yagyu replies.
Oktitohbi returns to his seal, and I put him back in my side satchel.
"We're ready." Yagyu and Octavian reply.
"Alright. Then let's get to it…"
Ending Song: "Sleeping Dogs" by: Zack Wylde ft. Corey Taylor