AND THIS IS A LATE UPDATE! AND WHEN I SAY LATE, I'M TALKING TIME OF DAY, SINCE IT IS 23:11 (11:11PM) WHEN I POST THIS. MOTHERFUCKER I STAYED UP LATE! ANYWAYS, ENJOY THIS CHAPTER OF The Way Home! I DON'T OWN THE ANIME DOG DAYS, THOUGH I WISH IT GOT A FOURTH SEASON.
Chapter 5: Past Events
Jaxson woke up, seeing Éclair sleeping next to him on the floor, the blanket she had used wrapped awkwardly around her body, making it clear to Jaxson that she had tossed and turned a lot in her sleep. Sighing, Jaxson picked her up and laid her back in her bed. Jaxson grabbed a black tank top and black cargo shorts and slipped them on. He then took his blade sheath, and strapped it to his back, the blade at his waist. Next he grabbed his pistols and holsters, putting then right above his blade, covering them with his tank top. He grabbed some of the reward money from the war he partook in, which was a generous amount since he did make Leonmichelli surrender and took out a good amount of the other two armies, which put them on top. He quietly left, heading into town with the amount he had. He decided to at least get Éclair off his back about getting a new set of clothes and headed into a clothing store.
After a half hour, Jaxson came out with a new set of clothes and headed to the market place, picking up some ingredients for breakfast, including lettuce, fruit, meat, and other vegetables. He then headed back, and was wondering what he could make for breakfast. He shrugged it off, and decided to experiment with the food, which could be either good or bad. Once he got back, he saw Éclair starting to wake up, smiling at how cute it was.
"Good morning sleepy head," Jaxson greeted, putting the clothes he bought for himself in his bag. He headed to the kitchen, which was spot free, but had a noticeable layer of dust on it, indicating that it had never been used. He sighed, and quickly got to work removing all the dust, and took careful stock of his inventory, seeing that he had gotten some citrus type fruit with some apples, some raw cuts of steak, and some tomatoes, potatoes, and an ear of corn.
'What the fuck am I going to do with the ear of fucking corn? Why did I buy such a strange combination. At least I know what I'm going to do with two of the apples, meat, and potatoes. Everything else is just what I put together. The tomatoes I guess I can try that. Depending on the flavor of the citrus fruit will depend on how I prepare it,' Jaxson thought to himself.
"I'm going to go for a rather non-traditional steak breakfast. How do you like your meat?" Jaxson asked, that way he would know how long to cook Éclair's steak for.
"I think you called it medium rare?" Éclair answered, Jaxson nodding. He knew that Éclair wasn't all that used to cooking terminology that he had used before. He made sure to prepare the steak like he knew how and his personal favorite: grilling. He then cut open one of the citrus fruits, squeezing the juice into a small dish, taking a sip, his face instantly scrunching up from how sour it was.
'Lemonade it is. If she had any sugar. Make mental note to grab some sugar later today,' Jaxson told himself, suddenly getting an idea. He grabbed the other half, and removed the cover, squeezing some onto one of the cuts, closing it right after. He knew that sometimes when he experiments, it can go terribly wrong, and he didn't want to fuck up both, otherwise Éclair's breakfast was fucked. He had eaten some rather unpleasant ideas from himself, but was actually getting better. He just hoped this was a good idea.
He grabbed two of the apples, and washed them, making sure to remove any dirt that might have been on them. Once he finished washing them, he opened the grill, putting the two apples inside, his mouth watering at the thought of grilled apples. He also flipped the steaks over since he had it opened, and it had been about ten minutes.
/+/40 Minutes Later\-\
"Okay. Here we are," Jaxson smiled, placing a plate with a steak, some mashed potatoes, a grilled apple, and hash browns in front of Éclair. He had the same thing, but there was one difference with the meat: the added lemon juice he put on his He cut into his steak, and took a bite, making sure to taste it to see if it was odd. To his surprise, it tasted like a normal cut of steak. He then realized that he fucked up.
He looked up, seeing Éclair take a bite of her steak. 'I am officially dead if this doesn't taste good.' After she swallowed it, she smiled at Jaxson, making him feel relieved for the time being. They ate their breakfast in silence, Jaxson stealing glances at Éclair when she wasn't looking. Jaxson finished his breakfast first, and waited for Éclair, who finished soon after. Jaxson took both dishes, and washed them, striking up some kind of conversation.
"So, how did the food taste?" Jaxson asked, hoping that she wouldn't bring up the meat.
"The food was actually rather good. Better than the last time," Éclair informed, Jaxson sighing.
"I told you I like experimenting. Heck, Chase and I would sometimes try each other's experimental food and vomit after eating something terrible. If it tastes like crap, feel free to tell me," Jaxson smiled.
"You are quite strange," Éclair informed.
"Tell me something I don't know. So, do you have anything planned today?" Jaxson asked, Éclair freezing up. Jaxson saw her do so out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "This isn't a date per se. I would just like to get to know my host a bit better. I hang out one on one with many people. It will only be awkward if you make it awkward."
"I-I see," Éclair spoke, Jaxson having a good idea of how nervous she was.
'I'll have to ask around to see why she's so strange,' Jaxson made a mental note.
"I'll be relying on you since I don't know many spots that would be good to be alone," Jaxson spoke, seeing Éclair turn red from what he said. He smirked, seeing that he can still use simple phrases to mess with Éclair. He put his hand on the top of Éclair's head, and ruffled her hair. "I'm going to change now."
Jaxson grabbed his bag and headed to a separate room, and stripped. He then took out his new top and put it on. It was a sleeveless black shirt with white trimmings (think Shinku Izumi's red and black shirt, but black and white), black pants, and his old boots, since he wanted to keep his defensive equipment on him. He grabbed his watch, putting it on, followed by his blade, which ran across his waist, his dual pistols right above the blade. He walked out, and tapped Éclair's shoulder.
"Consider this set of clothes my everyday outfit," Jaxson informed, Éclair smiling, since he had gotten something else, even if it had the same color scheme.
/+/1 Hour Later\-\
"Good day Princess," Jaxson bowed, then returning to his normal posture so he could get a good look at the princess. She had pink hair, two buns hidden by some white cloth and a red ribbon tied in her hair. Her purple eyes were gentle, but had some harshness which was unnoticeable to anyone with untrained eyes. She wore a mainly white dress that had pink, Jaxson not saying anything about the color scheme (he like gray scale for clothing). She had pink ears and tail, Jaxson noticing a pattern.
"Good day. Care to start with introductions?" she asked the former assassin.
"I am known as Echo, though my real name is Jaxson Amber. I was, and still consider myself an assassin," Jaxson informed casually, the princess taking a step back, which Jaxson easily noticed. "I won't kill in this world since everything seems to be rather peaceful. Almost a complete contrast from my world. And you are?"
"I am Millhiore Firianno Biscotti, but my friends call me Millihi," Millhiore introduced herself.
'That's one mouthful for a name. What is with this place and strange ass names for their rulers?' Jaxson thouht.
"Thank you for seeing me today. I believe that you wanted to know more about my world and what I did, no?" Jaxson assumed, since he had not explained anything last time he saw her, which was when they tried sending him back with no results.
"Thank you for understanding. So, what is it like where you live?" Millhiore asked.
"Treading lightly is always a good start. In one word, hectic. I get few brakes and sleep between assignments, but it keeps me off the streets. Training is rough, though I always train with my roommate Banshee. We aim to better our skills. Anything else you want to know?" Jaxson informed, silence following. He sighed, and knew what she was most likely going to ask.
"What did being an assassin in your world entail?" Millhiore asked.
"Taking out high value targets too dangerous to be left alive. However, I'm a special case," Jaxson explained.
"Special case?" Millhiore questioned.
"Yes. I'm not like traditional assassins. I would prefer not to kill, since it can hurt more than just the person," Jaxson explained turning his head. His eyes started to water, Jaxson wiping the tears before they fell. "And just so you know how horrible I really am, I have around three thousand confirmed kills, and over ten thousand if we count the ones I let bleed to death."
Jaxson heard a dish break, knowing that Millhiore dropped it at the amount of people he has killed. However, he continued.
"I only realized how my actions ruined entire families when I was in a military unit as back up, which was a few months before I came here. I was after a target. No. I was after a human…"
/-/Eleven Months Prior\-\
"Give me a sit rep!" Jaxson commanded, taking cover behind a wall.
"We've tracked the target to a nearby location. He's currently in a house that is accessible from an underground tunnel and the road. We can't push through!" a soldier informed, Jaxson quickly popping up and killed four men, the bullets hitting right between the eyes on all of them. Jaxson's pistols were not energy based yet, and were a different model. They were silenced Kel Tec PMR-30s. He dual carried pistols, and had a machete on his back.
"Okay! Follow my lead!" Jaxson ordered, grabbing an XM8 rifle off of one of his fallen comrades along with their ammunition. He let off quick bursts, quickly taking down each target. He made it to more cover further ahead, and saw a mounted gun a few meters ahead of him, someone using it to lay fire on Jaxson and his troops. He looked around his troops and saw one with a sniper rifle. Acting fast, he motioned for him to get up front. Following orders, he made his way over to Jaxson to await orders.
"There is a mounted gun a few meters up. You'll need to take them out before we can move forward. Make sure you kill anyone who tries to replace him as well," Jaxson spoke in a low voice, the man nodding. It was about two minutes later that a loud shot was heard, Jaxson looking quickly to see that the heavy gunner had been taken down. "Move up!"
Jaxson reloaded, and pushed the enemy back more until he was at a well guarded fort, his men still with him. So far he had not lost anyone, and didn't plan to. He ran into a house that was now void of people and any personal belongings. Getting to the second floor, he made hi way to a window, seeing just how guarded the place was on the inside. Ten people with RPGs were on the balcony, in windows, and two towers. Everyone else, Jaxson estimating around seventy troops, had various weapons, all fully automatic. Jaxson swore silently, and made his way back to his men.
"There is no way in hell that we can take them right now. There are at least eighty men, ten who can easily wipe us all out. Soldier, you mentioned an underground tunnel. Where is it?" Jaxson spoke.
"No one knows. We do know there is one though," he replied.
"Okay. Does anyone have any tear gas, flash bangs, and or lethals?" Jaxson spoke, a few men handing him various equipment. "Okay, ten flash bangs, two tear gas canisters, four frag grenades, and three sickies. I think I can make something with this. Okay. Here's the plan. There are two towers that have one man each, both with an RPG. Two of you will take them out. Once they are down, I'll throw the tear gas and flash bangs over the wall, along with two frags. The sickies will be put on the gate to blow it open. Head in, and open fire. Some of you will need to aim at the balcony and windows to take out the rest of the RPGs," Jaxson ordered, handing the closest person the three stickies. "You'll help blow the gates open."
Two men went to the windows, and took aim. A quick burst of shots entered the two, and Jaxson moved with the other person to the side of the gate. Jaxson tossed five tear gas canisters an the two flash bangs, moving once he heard yelling. He placed one of the stickies on the middle, and placed the other on the hinge, the person placing it in the same place. A second passed and the stickies went off, blowing the gate in, Jaxson leading the attack by shooting into the affected area, not phased by the tear gas. He charged forward, his men shooting at the balcony and windows.
He saw a trapdoor, and entered it, closing it after he was in the hole. He landed in water, and a foul odor hit his nose. He recoiled, nearly vomiting from the stench alone. He Pulled his skull mask over his lower face, and held his XM8 close, ready for any kind of contact. Remembering that it wasn't silenced, he let it rest on his back on top of the machete, and took out his dual Kel Tec pistols, ready for anything. Checking his corners, he made his way to a door, seeing it was steel door. Finding the lock, he shot it, and pushed the door open. He entered a cellar, and made his way up the stairs. Once at the top, he saw his men pushing forwards towards his location, knowing he was in the right place. He climbed the stairs, and kicked a door in, seeing the man holding his daughter and wife. Jaxson just looked at what he was seeing, everything changing in his eyes. He no longer saw his target, but a parent trying to support his family.
/+/Present\-\
"What did you do?" Millhiore asked.
"I led them out through the sewers. I lied to my superior and told him that they had escaped. When I got back to my place, I laid down physical ammo for good, switching to energy so that I wouldn't have to kill, but it would hurt like a real bullet. Even should I shoot someone in the head, they would live, but they would be immobile so that I can question them and then take them in. I can't, no, I won't kill anyone ever again. I even took a different pistol design so I wouldn't be reminded of the thousands I killed," Jaxson spoke, sounding empty. "I can still kill, but I try not to unless there is no other option."
"What about demons?" Millhiore asked.
"As long as they aren't human," Jaxson answered. "I'm guessing you have a demon problem here?"
"Not as bad as one would think. While there are demons, they don't show up all that much. And even when they do, we have a team of people who take care of them."
"What are their names?" Jaxson asked.
"The wars we have keeps us in shape for the demon attacks. One of them you've already met," Millhiore answered.
"Okay. Just one more question and then I'll be on my way," Jaxson started. "Might I borrow Ricotta Elmar for a while? I want to learn about the tech here so I can get in contact with my side without having to always drag that machine with me to the summoning spot."
"She should be doing some research in the library," Millhiore answered, Jaxson standing.
"It was a pleasure meeting you. I'll take my leave now," Jaxson spoke, leaving the balcony, heading inside.
AND DROP THE FUCKING BOMBSHELL THERE! I HAD TO DO SOME RESEARCH, SINCE DUAL PISTOLS ARE AWESOME, I WANTED BOTH HIGHLY LETHAL AND LARGE CAPACITY. 30 RIFLE ROUNDS IN A PISTOL SEEMED TO DO IT. ANYWAYS, SPECTRES OF THE RAIL IS LIVE, AND I NEED THAT DAKRA PRIME BLADE! UNTIL NEXT TIME!