Demon City Tokyo
Chapter 28
Demons, of course, were everywhere. The southern half of the globe had it worst, being near the portal in Antarctica, but they spread all over. Hunter teams were based in large cities, and covered a region around them...
"FUCK! Fuck fuck..." Revy cursed as she cut the attacking demon down.
"Hmm," Sawyer hummed as she swung her chainsaw, ripping into the other.
"You people are insane," Rock, their handler, sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. Where is that whimpy Rei, anyway?" Revy demanded.
"Here, miss," Rei V! Said, for some reason dressed as a goth-loli maid.
"Sawyer, could you stop dressing her up like some fucking barbie?" Revy scowled at Sawyer.
"No," Sawyer said tersely, cooing over how cute Rei was.
"Let's get back to base before something else happens," Rock offered.
"Fuck, yeah. I need a drink..." Revy agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
In addition to 'professional' hunters, there were various mercenary groups out there hunting demons too. The government paid bounties on monster bodies... it was hugely dangerous work, but people would do a lot for money.
"Priss! Take left!"
"Right," the woman in blue protective gear moved.
"Linna, right! This one has claws, look out for that!"
"Yes," the woman in matching green light armor moved.
The youma hissed angrily, lunging, but Linna dodged then punched with a armored gauntlet.
"Coming in!" Sylia barked in her mostly off white gear.
Priss and Linna kept a grip of the fighting demon as Sylia smoothly gutted it with her arm mounted swords.
"It's getting up," Priss yelped out a warning before Linna hammered it into the ground with a wet crunch.
"Never mind," Sylia finished it off.
"One of these days those arm blades are going to break your arm," Nene scolded as they bagged up the bits for NERV.
"I've reinforced the arm mounts enough," Sylia sniffed.
"Riiight," Linna teased.
(Ironically, Slyia WOULD later break an arm against a armored demon. Thankfully, her team rescued her.)
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Yomi Isayama and her partner Shizuru Imawano advanced through the abandoned temple, katanas at the ready.
(Unlike the NERV hunters who used long swords, they used the family katanas. There appeared to be no difference, in demon hunting...)
"Mistresses, please leave something for me to do," Rei noted mildly.
"Here comes one," Yomi warned. The tall, elegant looking black haired girl crouched slightly, ready to act..
"Hup!" the shorter, reddish brown haired Shizuru lunged forward and swung, the razor sharp blade tearing through the demon.
Almost as fast Yomi struck, finishing it off.
"Nothing for me to do," Rei sighed.
"You can feed," Shizuru smiled at her sweetly.
Rei nodded, "Yes Mistress."
Mei Isayama, their monitor for the Agency, said over the radio, "Is everyone all right?"
"We're fine, target slain," Yomi answered flatly. She and Mei did NOT get along, over a inheritance conflict.
"Good, be careful," Mei answered. "Reports are there's a second target."
Completely unaware of the tension between them Shizuru brightly said, "Will do!"
Yomi hid a sigh, gazing at her partner lovingly.
Rei just quietly wished she wasn't out with these idiots...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Monster Hunters, Inc, was a US based group, based out of the southwest, and right then they were in deep ship.
"It's a pack! Shit!" Owen Pitt yelled, falling back.
(Sometimes the demons liked to cluster, though why no one knew. They couldn't breed, it was thought, but maybe they gathered for comfort? Or just to hunt together.)
"Oof!" Earl Harbinger grunted, parrying claws with the short sword he usually carried.
"We need a gun that works on these things," Julie Shackleford complained.
Trip Jones cut a smaller one down, "Watch the flank!"
"Got it," Owen swung the huge claymore with surprising ease.
"Urk!" Heather Stark gasped as the creature yanked her down, claws tearing open her belly.
"NO!" Earl yelled as his trainee went down.
"FUCK 'EM UP!" Julie yelled as the rest of the team swept in.
They soon emerged from the cavers, splattered with gore but alive. Earl carried their only casualty out, then they called in NERV to deal with the demon carcasses.
"The money better be worth it," Owen sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Do you ever feel bad using mercenaries and bounty hunters? Especially considering the high casualty rates." Ritsuko asked.
"Not really," Yui admitted. "They know the risks, we put it in the application process they have to go through."
"They think they're immortal," Ritsuko noted.
"I do wonder why the government set up the program," Misato mused.
"It's cheaper than sending NERV teams," Yui noted.
"Seriously?" Misato blinked.
"Even with the high bounties," Ritsuko noted, "the government doesn't have to pay for training, equipment and so on."
"Oh," Misato nodded.
"No death benefits either," Yui added.
"That is SO cynical," Misato winced.
"Well, yes," Yui conceded.
Changing the subject Misato asked, "How's Mari?"
"Well, the swelling has gone down... I can confirm the cracked cheek bone and broken rib," Ritsuko admitted.
"Ugh. How long will she be laid up?" Misato checked.
"A few weeks," Ritsuko said, "though we';; try to shorten that. In an actual emergency, we could send her out..."
"I'd rather not risk her broken rib stabbing her in the lung," Yui noted dryly.
Misato gave her a odd look, considering how little she seemed to care for the poor bounty hunters. Still, it wasn't like they'd ever meet them.
"What?" Yui asked.
"Nothing," Misato waved it off. "So we're back to just Mayumi and Asuka, with Victoria as a backup/support?"
"Yes, unless we want to bring in a agent from another city, or promote a trainee," Yui agreed.
"Are any trainees ready?" Ritsuko asked Misato.
"Well, Mana Kirishima is nearly there...," Misato admitted.
To be continued...
Notes: Wanted to show various teams in different parts of the world. Was thinking of doing a group loosely based on Gunsmith Cats, but they're almost totally gun and bomb users. Might still do it, in a later chapter...
Crossover notes:
Revy, Sawyer and Rock are from Black Lagoon
Sylia, Priss, Linna and Nene are from Bubblegum Crisis
Yomi, Shizuru and Mei are from Ga Rei Zero
Owen Pitt, Earl Harbinger, Julie Shackleford , Trip Jones and Heather Stark are from the Monster Hunter International books.