Meanwhile in Frambosta…
Opening Song: Days Gone by Succulents
Lawrence and Homura negotiate with the store keep as Hikage and I prowl through the movie aisle. It has been a couple hours since I seen Alan and Asuka. What's taking them so long? I know it's quite a distance, but if they were traveling by horse, Yuyaki should have spotted them by now.
The back door of the store opens up and Lawrence storms out with a small wad of cash. Nothing compared to the stacks he said they would be raking in from all the wealth they stole from Tenalbrum.
"What happened back there?" Hikage asks.
"Most of the cash was fake, and the only thing we were able to collect a full price on were the gemstones in the jewelry." Lawrence grinds his teeth in frustration.
"Hey, at least we walked away with something." I try and brighten the mood.
"But this isn't going to get us out of our bind." Lawrence clenches the wad of bills. He hands the money off to Hikage and wipes the trapped anger from his face.
"What were you able to sell?" Hikage's lips silently put the total amount around a million, and a half.
"A couple emeralds, three diamonds, a ruby, the gold, and those counterfeit bills."
"How the hell did you sell that fake money?" I ask.
"Spend five thousand and get five million. Just as long as you don't get caught." Homura answers.
"Most of the underground shinobi clans and hunter gangs around the country traffic some kind of fake currency. You know what a rolling cage is?" Hikage asks.
"Yeah. Roger and dad told me about them. It's like an illegal gambling den."
"The oblivious and desperate go in with real money and walk out with fake bills."
"That's if they win. Mind you." Homura adds onto Hikage's statement.
"So why don't the cops or shinobi council ever shut these types of things down?" I ask.
"Shut down? The only thing the shinobi council is missing is free untaxed money, but a couple missing stacks here and there is better than dealing with a den full of shinobi criminals and murder craving hunters. In the minds of the shinobi council, it's search warrants, legality and public image. Us? It's a matter of having enough bullets to leave no survivors." Lawrence answers.
"When we lived here with Alan and Lawrence, Haruka and I would tag along with Lawrence and Alan because it was easy money and no risk. Alan and Lawrence would do what they do best while Haruka and I made off with the money."
"Back when times were much simpler." Lawrence states.
Hikage folds the money up and tucks it in the cusp of her bra. Lawrence and Homura converse back and forth on what we should do next. They were expecting a big take, but that won't even get us a row boat out of the country. It would be nice if we could rob one of these rolling cages they speak of, but this place has changed.
The last time I visited here was when Alan, Lawrence, Hikage, Haruka, Roger, Thomas, Minori and her parents were living in an old mansion they fixed up. Back then, the city was rundown. Highway hunters, a lot of yoma patrolling the surrounding woods, and the insanely high rate of crime made it a haven for the country's most disgusting individuals. Hence why Alan and Lawrence chose to set up shop here. Very low property value, tons of money to steal from illicit rackets giving kickback to the shinobi council, plenty of hunters to put bullet holes in, and enough yoma blood to last any hunter a lifetime.
I remember when Roger first moved in with Alan and Lawrence, dad refused to let me set foot in the direction of this city. Once Hikage and Haruka joined them, the crime rate drastically dropped off. There are still some criminal activities such as fencers, but Lawrence and Alan left the ones that didn't hurt the citizens alive since they needed ways to bring in money for the town and themselves.
When we arrived, I didn't even recognize the city because it has grown immensely. What was ruins are now houses with thriving families. Downtown is decorated with Christmas lights and decorations, most of the rundown buildings are now stable businesses, and the city is still expanding.
We exit the heart of the town and move on through the suburbs where the old house is. I figure Lawrence and Hikage will want to stop by and see what it is now before we leave. This street used to be barren, but now there are houses that dot both sides of the road. A couple are still for sale, but the majority have someone living in them.
Lawrence and Hikage speed up and take the lead. The old brick wall that surrounded the house is shattered into pieces. Metal bars that formed the gate lie in a mangled pile of broken steel. The concrete driveway is eroded with holes, and the foundation of the mansion is cracked all the way through to the ground. Underneath the white blanket are black ashes soaked cold with winter. Charred remains of waterlogged 2x4s jut from the empty ground as the collapsing roof panels willow down in dreadful anguish.
Hikage and Lawrence approach what was the front door and crouch. Lawrence reaches out and touches a busted support beam as Hikage folds her hands and holds them over her heart. Neither say a word, and a feeling of sincere repentance radiates from the shattered house. Homura and I quietly stand back as the both of them reflect on the joy this place once brought them.
The mansion was fully rebuilt and beautiful at one time. Since Frambosta had been purged of all the hunters and criminals, it was safe enough for me, Yumi and her group to come by and introduce ourselves to Minori. Alan and Lawrence decided to throw Minori a party because of her acceptance into Gessen Academy. That was a night I'll never forget.
There wasn't supposed to be any kind of liquor involved, but Alan and Lawrence saw that rule as more of a guideline. So they made two bowls of punch. One for us, and one filled with half a gallon of vodka for them. To give them credit, they sipped and stayed sober until everyone went to bed. When we woke up that morning, Alan was talking to his reflection in a microwave and Lawrence was blacked out in the kitchen with the table flopped over on top of himself.
That memory alone is enough to make me laugh but seeing the pile of ash makes me sad. What exactly happened? I know when Alan and everyone else went to help dad and Sayuri with the Bolakna, nobody was ever the same. As battle hardened as my brother was, Roger refused to tell me anything about it in his letters. It was like everyone's soul died there.
Alan? I know he had some serious issues, and he just disappeared. Ryoki told me that he tried to kill himself, but she was able to talk him out of it, and they just went wherever the wind took them. Killing whatever and whoever needed killing and binge drinking when he could get hold of booze. I do know that whatever happened at the Bolakna drove a major wedge between Alan and Lawrence. It left their friendship fractured to the point that they locked blades against one another when the Hanzo and Hebijo girls had their conflict in that particular arc.
"Homura? Can I ask you something?" I whisper.
"Sure. What is it?"
I motion that we should leave the yard. Homura and I cross to the other side of the street while Hikage and Lawrence grieve on what they have lost.
"Homura. Do you feel comfortable talking about the conflict between Hebijo and Hanzo academy?"
"It's still a painful subject, but sure." She sighs.
"What was it that caused the division between Lawrence, Hikage, Haruka and Alan? They used to be inseparable."
"They still are." Homura replies.
"But what caused them to fight against one another? What is so devastating that it can destroy a bond between people who were essentially family?"
Homura dusts the snow off a nearby bench and sits down.
"I will tell you what I know. Lawrence lost his mom to the hands of the good shinobi, Hikage had to watch Thomas die alongside a group of shinobi caught in crossfire. When it was all over, Lawrence and Hikage felt nothing but hatred towards the good shinobi."
"A feeling I know all too well myself. Because Minori was going to Gessen, Alan took a much different path. He wasn't open about his hate and tried to protect people based on their nature instead of their title. Shinobi, hunters, and even the average everyday citizen. When Lawrence and I found out that he was staying with the Hanzo girls, we made it my job to try and antagonize him for that decision."
Disappointment forces Homura's lips to curl back as she looks up at the starlit sky, "That day I tried to kill Asuka, and Alan threatened to cut me down made me feel invincible. If it were the old Alan, I would have been ashes in an urn, and that idea alone made me feel so strong. Asuka's kind nature made him soft. Something I loved seeing because his hollow heart was in the hands of a girl I saw as inferior at the time."
"However, I learned really quick that Asuka's gentle spirit and hopeful outlook made Alan a lot stronger, because he wasn't afraid to draw out more power if Asuka was in danger. If it weren't for Hikage and Haruka's previous friendships with him, there's no doubt he would have completely let loose of his yoma blood and chased us off. It would have taken Lawrence to stop him, and that could have ended badly."
Homura scratches her head and giggles, "You know, a lot of stuff we did back then could have ended really badly, but we're still here, and all we can do is move on."
Lawrence and Hikage rise from the ground and make their way across the street. Homura drops the conversation and takes her place by Lawrence's side while I walk with Hikage. Nobody attempts to speak about anything as we all head to where Yuyaki is posted.
It was the war that tore all of them apart. Hikage and Lawrence saw what people are willing to do to their own side if it meant winning. The both of them lost people they held close. As harsh, strict and stern as she was, Lawrence's mom was a great woman that loved her son above all else.
Thomas was the youngest of them all, and the kindest. Even when Alan and Lawrence were adjusting from their cruel wasteland mentality, Thomas didn't let that get in the way of their friendship, and unlike many hunters, Thomas didn't see Alan as inferior for being half-blood. Nor did he favor Lawrence or Roger for being thirds.
The hatred Lawrence and Hikage had seems justified for that time, but why did Alan turn out different? He would have experienced the same things Lawrence and Hikage did, but why did he go back a second time and fight for the people he fought years prior? I know it was for Asuka, and the Hanzo girls, but was there some other sense of conviction he felt that compelled him to endure that hell a second time?
The sound of a crow caws from above and perches itself on top of a hotel. A much different place than where Yuyaki set up an hour earlier. Lawrence leads the way into a nearby park and sits down. Homura sits next to him as Hikage and I watch the entrances, and the walls. Yuyaki uses the cover of night to scale down and rush across the street.
"Any sign of Alan and Asuka?" Lawrence asks.
"Their horse is roaming the outskirts of town, but I didn't see either of them." Yuyaki replies.
"Could they already be looking for us?" Homura states.
"Something isn't right. You don't think Gallowglass may have got them? Do you?" Hikage says.
"No. Alan knows almost every crack and crevice in the wasteland. In the time they could organize a search, Asuka and Alan would be in some submerged cave underneath a frozen lake, or a collapsed burrow in some undocumented chasm. They wouldn't just abandon their horse."
Lawrence looks at Homura and grins, "Hmm…a secluded place far from prying eyes. I remember me and you had to make a choice like that after a particular mission."
"Shut up Lawrence." Homura sighs.
"Well that is an explanation for why they aren't here."
"A stupid and immature one." Homura snaps back.
"Enough with the lemon quarrel you two! The point is Alan and Asuka are missing, and we need to figure out what happened." Yuyaki says.
"Fine then you prude. We'll start with asking the horse. After that, we'll try and come up with some kind of plan to find them." Lawrence answers.
"Shouldn't we head back and check on Gekko and Senko?" I ask.
"They'll be fine. They got food, water, and a fire to sit by. Besides, Gehrman and Ryoki won't hesitate to put lead in them since they're dead weight." Lawrence replies.
Yuyaki sends her crow back up into the air and takes the lead. We wait until she puts some distance between all of us and slowly follow her. The crow circles around the city within the sparkling black curtain above.
Lawrence and Homura converse back and forth to portray to the passing pedestrians they are some kind of couple. Hikage and I act like friends walking home after some midnight showing at the movie theater.
The late-night restaurant across the street catches my eye. The tv looks like it had an image of Asuka on it. That or it was a strong look alike. I take off running to the other side of the street and casually walk in. Hikage and everyone else chases after but waits outside.
The tagline from the news outlet flashes again, and a picture of Asuka is displayed in the top left corner of the tv. The words; Asuka Hanzo arrested for connection in terror attacks. Several other statements follow, but all are completely irrelevant or overexaggerated fear mongering. None of which state where she's being held as of now.
"I'm sorry. I saw the headline, and I had to see it to believe it. Get me some Takoyaki please. Ten please." I toss a couple bills on the counter to try and break up the awkward silence and behavior.
"I see. So you know who that girl is?" The clerk asks as she rings the total up.
"I met her one day when I was touring the different academies around the country. Nice girl, but it never occurred to me that she would do such a terrible thing."
"Yeah. I know people I grew up with that didn't look like they'd ever do terrible things. Sometimes it makes me wonder what actually goes through someone's head when they carry out those sorts of acts."
"No telling."
The girl hands me a paper bag with the food, "Thank you sir. Have a good night."
"Take it easy."
I exit the restaurant and distribute the food. Everyone takes a bite and continues walking down the street.
"Well…I guess you were right Hikage. Gallowglass got her." Lawrence whispers.
"Where do you think they took her?" I ask.
"I have an idea, and if it's true, then it's going to be a hell of a fight to get her out." Yuyaki answers.
"Then where is Alan? I sincerely doubt he got captured too." Homura's expression grows in anger.
"Regardless of the situation, it's safe to assume he's there with Asuka." Yuyaki adds.
"Hey Yuyaki, where do you think they took them?" Lawrence asks.
"There's a good chance they took them to this prison off the northern shore. The place was decommissioned a long time ago."
"Supposedly." Hikage takes a big bite from her Takoyaki, "I've never even heard about this place, and it's already pissing me off."
"Let me guess…a boat?"
"Unless you feel like swimming." Yuyaki replies.
Lawrence sighs. "Fine. I know a girl that owes me a couple favors, and she can get me a boat by sun up. It's not going to be completely sea worthy, but it can get us out to open waters. Octavian? I want you, Yuyaki and Hikage to go back and get Ryoki and Gehrman. Gekko and Senko? Let them go, put a bullet in them, sell them into slavery, I don't care. Homura and I are going to collect the boat. We'll meet back up at that one place in Tenalbrum tomorrow night."
Everyone finishes their food and breaks up into their appointed squads. So we're assaulting a decommissioned prison to hopefully find Alan and Asuka there? It never occurred to me that we'd be trying to escape the authorities only to turn around and attempt to break into the place they want to put us. That's if we live that long.
We leave the suburb and make our way to the last place where we last saw Alan's horse. Horseshoe prints from an animal pacing back and forth in extreme distress wrap around the trees and pad around the tiny streams.
"Horsey!" Lawrence whistles in particular ways to try and attract the creature's attention. "Here horsey!"
"We just want to talk! You can talk right?" Homura adds.
"Who are you?" An unfamiliar voice asks.
"Depends on who's asking." Lawrence spouts back.
"Then answer this for me, who who."
"Not you, you hooting son of a bitch!" Lawrence answers the cryptic joke.
The white horse slowly comes out of hiding and paces towards us. His whole body is trembling like he's hurt, but he doesn't have any kind of visible wounds. Nor is there any type of blood. The horse notices who Hikage is and takes off in a full sprint in our direction.
Lawrence holds his hand out and pats the white horse on his snout, "are you hurt?"
"Not physically…"
"Where's Alan?"
"I don't know. We got ambushed, I panicked and tossed Alan and Asuka off my back to try and get away."
"You coward..." Hikage scorns.
"Hikage please." Lawrence interjects. Homura eases over and pets the horse behind his ears to try and ease some of the stress. "What scared you to the point you would toss your masters off to get away?"
"One was definitely that woman named Fubuki, but she wasn't the one that spooked me. The guys escorting her were the ones that completely unnerved me. They were in suppressed states, and everything about them just oozed terror."
Hikage clenches her fists, "So that was justification enough to dump Alan and Asuka off?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Your masters are in some god forsaken prison right now because of you, and the best excuse you can make up is sorry!?"
"Hikage, you're not helping. Were these guys Gallowglass?" Lawrence snaps. Hikage storms off and sits down on a nearby boulder.
"Worse. Fubuki, and this other guy Alan was having a shootout with couldn't even compare to these guys. They kept mentioning something about harbingers and Morabis."
"Morabis? Was this guy wearing some kind of mask?"
"Yeah. It was like a deep emerald color."
A thought comes across Lawrence's mind and causes his posture to change. Almost like he has some kind of idea what is going on. The questions he was asking were oddly particular. He must have encountered those guys before.
Who exactly is this guy and Fubuki working with? Fubuki is probably the strongest out of all the shinobi girls, and that must mean these guys she's working with have to be more powerful than anything we've encountered up to this point. GGG rated individuals with strength that rivals my dad and Mr. Hanzo.
"We're in the process of getting a boat to spring Alan and Asuka from the clink. Can I trust you to take us to this destination without tossing me and Homura?" Lawrence asks.
"I lost my cool earlier, but yes. I just hope Alan and Asuka can find it in their hearts to forgive me when we save them."
"You got a name?" Homura asks.
"Oktitohbi."
"Homura."
Lawrence steps into the stirrup and makes sure he's balanced. He helps Homura take a seat up front. A strange caw trickles from the sky and slides through the arching tree branches. Yuyaki's crow swoops down and lands on her shoulder. She pulls out a blood-soaked cracker and gives it to the black bird as she unfolds a piece of paper with a coded message.
"We need to get going. Gallowglass is closing in from the north."
"Then there's no time in asking how they found us. How does Alan have you trained?" Lawrence asks as he takes hold of the reins.
"One spur to walk. Two delayed spurs is trot. Two rapid spurs are for galloping."
"Then it's settled. I'll go start trouble with Gallowglass to buy y'all some time." Lawrence says as he guides the bridle to lead the horse north. "I can't guarantee all of them will chase after us, so whatever you do with Gekko and Senko, make it quick."
"Can do. Be careful." I say.
Lawrence and Homura ride off into the night. Yuyaki makes sure her shotguns are loaded while Hikage checks her crossbow and Alan's rifle. My revolvers are primed and ready if something does happen.
Hikage stands up and glares off in the direction Oktitohbi left. She takes hold of her dagger's handle and crushes it with a death grip. Even though her eyes don't display any emotion, the anger she feels right now is real. From the stories I've heard, and the short amount of time I've been around her, Hikage hates showing any kind of emotion. Lawrence told me stories that there was a time she would actually smile and laugh every day.
From the time's I've been around her, Hikage's always been this type of person that's barricaded everyone out of her heart, but when she met Alan, they were so focused on trying to outdo one another that they didn't have time to hate. It didn't matter how hard she tried, Alan would find a way to make Hikage laugh. Even if it pissed her off.
"You okay Hikage?"
"I'm fine." She answers me.
Yuyaki climbs down a ravine and heads in the direction of camp. Hikage scales down and I follow. Faint orange barely flickers past the boundaries of our hideout. The brim of a blunderbuss and three barrels of a shotgun take aim at us.
"It's just the lasses and the boy." Gehrman says as he welcomes us into the mouth of the sunken entrance of a huge well.
"Where's Lawrence and Homura?"
"There's been a change of plans. We got to go break Alan and Asuka out of prison." I say.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, but Lawrence and Homura are getting us a boat so we'll be leaving as soon as possible."
Gekko and Senko are sitting up against the wall at gunpoint as they huddle close to one another and snack on some rice cakes. Both of them are still naked and shaky at the sight of us, but they aren't too terribly shaken. It could be worse. They could still be back at Gessen. Tied to crosses naked, freezing to death in a secluded cell and waiting for someone to pick them up. That's if they survived that long.
"They give you any trouble while we were gone?" Yuyaki asks.
"Not at all." Gehrman answers.
"Good." Hikage states as she stares at them both with a lifeless gaze.
I sit by her and keep watch over the girls while Gehrman and Ryoki gather things up. Yuyaki posts up at the entrance of the well and scouts the surrounding area with a monocular. Gekko and Senko are both in a state of mind that seems completely disconnected with the world around them.
They look broken. Physically and emotionally. The death that lines their eyelids far exceed anything Hikage is able to portray. Senko always put on a tough act but now all of that is gone. Gekko on the other hand was always laughing and looking for ways to get her opponents to open up to her before a fight. Now I can barely tell them apart.
Ryoki comes back with a cardboard box, "Are we taking them with us?"
"No. They aren't worth feeding, and a bullet costs more than both of them combined. We will leave it up to the wasteland to decide their fate." I say.
Ryoki opens the box and throws some cheap clothing towards Gekko and Senko. Gehrman comes back with two pair of worn leather shoes and sits them down.
"Now get dressed and get out." I say.
Gekko and Senko pick up the clothing and leave the cave in total silence. They put the clothing on and take off walking in the direction of the ravine's steep slope. I stomp the fire out and scatter the charred wood amongst the blackened stones. Ryoki presses her hands together and focuses while Gerhman puts his hand on his forehead. Their souls emit a small burst of light as they transform into their kouklas.
I clip them to my belt and make sure the well is empty before leaving. Even if any of our pursuers were to come searching down here, the ashes look like they are hidden among the damp stones.
Hikage, Yuyaki, and I press out of the well with weapons drawn. Hikage and Yuyaki converse about how we are going to get back to Tenalbrum without being detected. Getting to the outskirts will be the easy part, but the trains coming in and out are going to be monitored more carefully, and all incoming traffic will be subject to searches. It's safe to assume trying to sail the coast isn't going to yield much progress either. There's only one way to that prison, and it's going to be paved in blood and bullets.
Gekko and Senko are nearly at the top of the ravine. Yuyaki stops in her tracks and looks up where the girls are about to exit. She shoves me and Hikage down behind a rock and readies her weapon. Senko reaches the top first and pulls herself up. She reaches out and grabs Gekko's hand.
A cloaked figure hovers over the clueless Senko as Gekko freezes in place. Gekko's display of strange behavior causes Senko to look over her shoulder. A boot tears through her jaw and causes her to spin out of control. Gekko loses her grip and both girls catch almost every rock on their way down to the bottom of the ravine.
Gekko spits out a mouthful of bloody gravel as Senko rubs her jaw. Several figures swoop down and circle around them as many others appear over the ravine's edge. Hikage hands me Alan's rifle as she keeps her crossbow ready. I pull the slide back and check for primer. The magazine is fully loaded, and it's chambered.
"Those little hoes are going to snitch on us!" Hikage whispers as she aims at Gekko.
"No! Even if they say anything, we can at least get a head start!" I answer.
A bunch more shinobi drop down and surround Gekko and Senko. The remainder of the massive army spread out among the ravine. The three of us shrivel together behind the rock to conceal ourselves. I carefully peek around the corner to determine when would be the appropriate time to run.
One guy in particular sticks out though. He's not a shinobi, but a mercenary. He's completely dressed in armor. The emblem on his coat proves a theory we were hoping would be wrong. The three of us are really hoping it was Gekko and Senko he was hunting. However, it's very unlikely they would send an army for two kids.
The Gallowglass merc takes the hammer that's mounted on his hip out and gives it a couple practice swings. Some hunters force Gekko and Senko up on their knees as the Gallowglass guy remains silent. He pulls his gauntlets off and picks a sizable rock up in his bare hands. Gekko and Senko try and stifle the fear, but they aren't doing a very good job.
The man clenches his fist. Dust and rock splatter into Gekko and Senko's face. They look like they're about to pass out from trying to hold their breaths. He takes out a throwing star coated in some of drizzling liquid. The guy crushes it in his other hand as if it were a piece of paper. Both girls exhale violently as reality sits in. The crumbled steel drizzling with arsenic falls to the ground as he shows his unphased palms.
"Please…We don't know anything…they intentionally left us in the dark…" Senko whimpers.
"That's what they all say." His fingers wrap around the front of Gekko's skull, "Don't think because you are a middle schooler that I won't put you in the ground. Where are they?"
"Fubuki. That's all I know. She left us to die at Tenalbrum."
"And how did you get from Gessen Academy to here so fast?"
"Alan! He let us go!" Senko answers.
"And where is he?"
"We don't know! Let Gekko go please!" Senko sobs.
"I'm not buying that. We just collected the bounty on the girl Asuka. Now where is he? More importantly, where is Lawrence?"
"You rang?" An amplified voice from up on the ravine.
The blundering noise from Lawrence's unique voice snags everyone's attention. The guy let's Gekko's face go and walks towards the verbal callout. All of the shinobi and hunters take up arms and form rank to begin a pursuit.
"Greetings shinobi hoes and cunter hunters! Nice night for a midnight stroll!" Lawrence bellows through a traffic cone.
The Gallowglass guy points to Gekko and Senko, "Are these two yours?"
"I never really dabbled in lolicon. I like my women like Homura. Big breasts and astronomical ass."
Homura rears back and slaps Lawrence across the face as hard as she possibly can. He drops the traffic cone and staggers as Homura scolds him for his poor choice of words. Lawrence laughs it off and picks the traffic cone back up.
"Well what Ange has told me is true. You're just as stupid and immature as Alan is."
"Now that's not true Mr. Victor! I have you know Alan and I are quite the problem solvers!"
"Problem solvers!? Like massacring an entire squad of shinobi for nothing!?" The man named Victor shouts back.
"Foolish hearsay! I would have never done that! That is just a reprehensible act! It's nothing like charging a hunter integrated shinobi village with unforgivable sin of thought crime!" Lawrence shouts back.
Yuyaki snickers at the escalating argument between Lawrence and Victor. I stick low to the ground and carefully crawl out from behind the rock. Hikage and Yuyaki spread out as all of us move away from the conflict. A feeling comes over me and I look back.
The guys restraining Gekko and Senko pull out daggers and press it into the girls' necks. The both of them close their eyes and hold their breaths to try and keep their throats from pressing into the guarding blades. Hikage and Yuyaki climb out of the ravine and take off running towards the woods. Neither of them look back, and now I'm sitting here all alone. Are we really going to let Gekko and Senko die?
The memory of that day Gekko, Senko and Fubuki beat the living Christ out of me drives me to the brink of absolute hatred. Screw those two little middle school hoes, and their discount store Selene. They kicked me while I was down, they hurt my guardian, and now it's time to get even. I unholster my revolvers and pull the hammers back. Two guns. One for each of them.
The snow turns to rain as fire launches two rounds in Gekko and Senko's direction. Both of them slump to the ground in a lifeless state as all the attention shifts to me. The motionless hunters pin Gekko and Senko to the ground as they try to determine why they're still alive.
"If anyone is going to kill those little Gessen hoes, it's going to be me!" I yell as I unload the rest of the remaining rounds towards the massive group.
"Goddamnit kid!" Lawrence shouts as he pulls his guns out and opens fire.
Victor dodges the incoming bullets from my gun as he tries to determine to pursue me or Lawrence. Everyone hops behind cover and returns fire in several directions. Hellshot and quicksilver flashes tear the ravine to shreds. I snap my revolvers in half and eject the smoldering shells.
Gekko and Senko crawl out from under the bodies of their dead captives and vanish. The sides of the ravine are becoming a lot more crowded now that shots have been fired. What started out as a sizable group led by a member of Gallowglass is quickly growing into an army. Even the plus eight rule the shinobi use when estimating how many enemies there are isn't doing any good because there is way more than eight uncounted foes.
"Kid! Get out of here! This is getting out of hand!" Homura yells as she hops up on Oktitohbi.
Lawrence slides up on the horse and blocks an incoming round directed towards Homura. "Oww you Asshole! You shot me in the asshole!" Lawrence yells as blood squirts from the seat of his pants.
I stick low to the ground and use the boulders and dead vines to block shots. The shoulder clasp on my armor sparks and throws a beam of sudden light into my face. I lose my balance and fall back. Rounds pelt me all over the body as I spiral out of control. The melting snow, dust from exploding rock and blood rolling down the side of my face forms a sticky layer of gunk that obstructs the ability to see.
"Fuck!" Lawrence yells. "Homura, get out of here!"
"No! We're getting the kid together!" She spits back.
The huge round of gunfire suppresses their voices. I hoist up Alan's rifle and wipe the slime from my eyes. Hikage and Yuyaki are up on the ridge firing back while Homura and Lawrence try and figure out a way to get down to me. The man named Victor reaches around and grabs hold of the massive hammer that's on his back. I lean out far enough to fire back at my pursuers but move back at a steady pace.
Victor pulls a lever mounted on the hammer. Snow and oxygen from the area funnels into the weapon's flat face. A bolt from Hikage's crossbow hits him directly in the forehead, but he snaps the fletching off and yanks the silver shaft out. The wound on his head closes itself as he twirls the shaft around his fingers and flicks it.
My feet lift off the ground as the image of an encroaching army turns into the sky in the blink of my eyes. The silver shaft wedges into the middle of my chest, and a weak red stream seeps out of the hole in the armor. I want to yank it out but now's not the time for first aid.
His army gets back as he swings the hammer around and slams the supercharged orange face into the ground. Liquid blue fire seeps out of the massive crevice that slices a crooked rut into the earth. My body flings itself into the ravine's face. The silver shaft pierces all the way through the armor and juts out the other side of my body. Scorching heat sears through the armor and boils within me. Every breath gets heavier to the point that if feels like I'm holding my breath.
Something grabs hold of me and yanks my body out of the way. A hammer bouncing off glass echoes through the soundless stone walls. There is a slight pull where the silver shaft once was. Agony laces my gasp for air, but I take in an entire breath free from struggle.
"If anyone's going to kill you, it's going to be us." Senko states as she grabs hold of my wrist and leads me through the ravine.
The massive mirror shield Gekko is wielding collides with Victor's incoming blow. The force sends her in our direction. She throws her legs over her head and returns to her feet. Bullets bounce off her mirror shield and back at our pursuers. Lawrence rides along the ravine and fires at the small army.
Homura reloads Lawrence's second revolver with a new cylinder and trades him guns the moment he fires his last shot. Gekko bats Victor's hammer attacks away with all her strength, but his posture remains unbroken. Bullets and silver crossbow bolts pelt the man all over but Gekko is still the center of his undivided attention.
Senko and I make it to the opposite side of the ravine away from Lawrence, and the others. Victor charges at Gekko and drives his shoulder into the mirror. The force sends Gekko flying through the air. She spins around the shield and balances on top. Senko reaches out and catches Gekko by the neck of her ragged shirt. I put a couple rounds down into the ravine and take off running beside the girls. Lawrence and Homura draw most of the attention and take off in the opposite direction while Hikage and Yuyaki disappear into the wasteland. We have a couple pursuers, but we have a sizable lead on them.
"Are you okay boy? You took quite the beating." Gehrman states.
"Probably the worst beating I've taken, but it's nothing I can't endure."
The three of us make our way into the wasteland and hide among a patch of snarling roots from overlapping trees. We use the bristling briars stripped of life to conceal ourselves as we press further into the ravaged white hellscape. Recent bodies from humans and yoma are half buried by the undertaking snow. Red flowers with colorless stems sprout from bone devoid of flesh as fruiting bodies of spiderlike blossoms grow along what was probably bloodstains a long time ago.
"I think it's clear." Senko whispers.
"Good, and this is where we go our separate ways." I reply as I look around.
There is a small body of water but due to the water underneath being black, it is unable to produce some kind of reflection right here. I brush the snow out of the way and follow the flow of water. A tiny segment the size of a coin has a patch of clear water, but the bloody bark and flowers that have taken over the area prevent the reflection from being clean and precise.
"What are you doing?" Gekko asks.
"Looking for a way out, but I need a clear reflection. Hey, you got a mirror. Let me see it."
"No. I don't think I will." She spits back.
"Then I guess I'll have to take it from you."
"Even if you did kill me, there's no way you'd be able to use."
"And why's that?"
"Because it's locked behind an incantation. One I don't have to say aloud."
"Ryoki? Gehrman? You wouldn't happen to have a mirror, would you?"
"No." They both answer.
"Damnit."
"I don't know what the plan is, but we need to get moving." Senko says as she drops down from a treetop.
"I'll let you use the mirror in exchange you take us with you. Once we get somewhere we can sustain ourselves, we can say fuck off and go our separate ways." Gekko states.
"Fine, but I'll have to make two trips."
Gekko presses her hands together and makes some kind of signal. She stretches her arms out and the mirror shield from earlier appears. I reach out and take hold of Senko's shoulder. The stone on Makaria's ring glows with power and generates a clear image of the train I took to Tenalbrum.
"Don't let go until we are on the other side." I reach out and touch the moving image.
Reality fades for a brief moment, and the sounds of train wheels scraping against metal rails fill my ears. Senko looks around in disbelief that we are now in a different part of the country. The both of us are in a private first-class bathroom. I don't know if the cart is occupied, but it shouldn't be since it's late. I crack the door open and peek out.
"Alright. I'm going back for Gekko."
I reach out and touch the mirror hanging over the sink. The grinding of the train reverts back to snow crunching under my boots as I land in front of Gekko's mirror.
"Do I have to be in front of it?"
"No. You just have to hold onto me."
She grabs my leg and tries to squeeze in as close as possible. I touch the mirror, and we're cast back into the train. Gekko's startled reaction from the sudden transition has her speechless as she stands up and looks around the bathroom.
"Alright. This is where we say fuck off." I open the door and make my way to the back of the train.
"Wait!" Senko shouts.
I open the back door of the final carriage and hop the railing. Gekko and Senko jump off the train and follow after me. Almost like they have nothing better to do. They have ability to run away and start over or seek spiritual meaning by finding God or Buddha. Whoever is really God. I don't know, but it seems like being a menace to me is the only purpose of their existence.
I point behind me and try to shuck them off, "Freedom's that way ladies."
"Are you trying to stop Fubuki and her subordinates?" Gekko asks.
"Need to know basis."
"Hey! We're offering help!" Senko shouts.
"I don't need your help! Even if I did, I wouldn't take it because you'd just sell me out!"
"Hey! Fubuki left us to die, and do you really think we'd run back to her after what she put us through!?"
"Yes I do! It's a stereotypical trope in every story! I let you in, you earn my trust, you pretend to care, but when crunch time comes, you'll forsake me and run back! Your type always does!" I yell back.
"Even after we saved one another's lives!?"
"I told you the only person that's going to kill you two is me, but right now, there is something much more precious at stake than our fight!"
"Like what!?"
"Alan and Asuka, and if I can't save them, then I've failed in becoming a worthy successor of my father's title, and a protector of my people!"
"Even if you say no, we're still coming because we've got nothing left but these ruffled rags that barely pass as clothing!" Gekko states as she flaunts the massive rip that reveals untouched virgin skin with flawless detail.
"I don't even have a chest in mine!" Senko uncrosses her arms and reveals a handful of faded pink scars scattered all over her abused stomach and breasts.
"Besides, you just can't travel anywhere you want too without me anyway!" Gekko points to the magic summoning sigil forming on her palm.
"Fine, but once we get to Tenalbrum, you're on your own!"
Both girls stay out of swinging distance as I keep Alan's rifle ready and follow the train tracks leading to Tenalbrum. The kilometer marker unmasks the looming city in the near distance. Ten kilometers, and we are there. Yet what to do with the girls?
Gekko does have that mirror so traveling undetected and avoiding those pesky mercenaries will be easy. Granted if she lets me use it, and Senko seems to have a really good eye for spotting. They serve somewhat of a purpose for now, but we're both at a stalemate. The fact I don't have a true advantage over Gekko and Senko pisses me off…
Ending Song: Yamiyo Wa Otome o Hana Ni Suru BGM version by Ruka Kawada