They walked for what, to them, seemed like forever. The empty tracks they had been following leading nowhere, dust filling the air they breathed. Hiten coughed frequently, his lungs didn't seem able to handle the clouded air. His focus was straight ahead, occasionally glancing to the ground to make sure they were on key. Bankotsu, however, seemed to take in more of the scenery. He was curious, and when he got curious, he got anxious.
"Do you think we'll be there soon?" He muttered under his breath. He started kicking the sand up with the toe of his boot, stopping when the man, whose name he still didn't know, nudged him roughly and pointed to the tracks. He shrugged, that was his apology…sort of.
"Where?" Hiten asked in an annoyed tone, wiping the sweat from his hairline. Bankotsu shrugged again and he felt his eyebrow twitch. Getting stuck with someone he didn't know was bad enough, why did it have to be an idiot? He stretched his arms over his shoulders and looked to the sky for the first time since they started their walk. It had been a beaming blue color before, clear of all clouds, now it was a mesh of pink and orange, blending together as they neared the horizon. "It'll be dark soon."
"Yeah…" Bankotsu let out a yawn. He stopped a little short, cocking his head and causing Hiten to glance over at him. He stopped walking and rubbed both of his azure eyes, making sure his eyes weren't joining his mind in playing tricks.
"What is it?" Hiten demanded, his tone yet again impatient. Bankotsu pointed and he looked ahead, he began to pace forward. His speed increased as he got closer. He was running faster than he had in a while, panting as he reached the small cabin that was similar to his own. He grew worried, what if they had walked in a circle somehow? What if this was where they came from, had they wasted their daylight? He growled when the door didn't open, it was locked. He banged on the door viciously.
"Calm the fuck down." He looked over, realizing his exhaustion as Bankotsu squeezed his eyes shut and punched through a window on the side. He hissed as he slowly pulled his bloodied knuckles away, plucking the glass from his skin.
"What if it's…" Hiten stopped when Bankotsu took the opportunity to speak, the opportunity of Hiten stopping to catch his breath.
"There was only one window in our place…a small one, like we were in a basement…now sh." He climbed in and the skeptical man did the same. The room was similar, only there was a single bed here. The top sheet was wrinkled, just enough to show a figure had been lying on it, they both quietly stepped around.
"Anyone here?" Hiten called out, they waited. Nothing.
"Maybe nobody's here…maybe aliens moved me from this bed to your room in my sleep." Bankotsu waggled his fingers and Hiten whacked him over the head, hearing a grunt before searching the room, soon moving to the bathroom. He stopped and signaled for Bankotsu to come over. In response he scowled, though walked up behind the stranger.
A girl sat against the corner of the bathroom. She wore sandals, a short white skirt and a low-cut, black v-neck tank top. Her head bowed forward, just enough so her bangs covered her eyes. It seemed like she was cradling something. Bankotsu cautiously stepped toward her and Hiten watched; a little amazed at how silent the obnoxious man seemed to be when needed.
The girl groggily lifted her head and blinked. She saw a man in the doorway and one approaching her; her eyes widened as she pulled the object from her lap and pointed the nose of the gun at Bankotsu, who instantly froze. Her hand trembled uncontrollably and he saw the dried mascara that stained her cheeks. New tears seemed to replace the ones she had wiped away before their arrival. Hiten held his hands up and approached while Bankotsu remained frozen.
"Get away!" She shrieked, her voice cracking. They could see her fear, like them she woke up somewhere she hadn't seen before, but now it was two guys and her. Then it crossed Hiten's mind that this may have been a part of whatever game he was forced into. Bankotsu frowned to her, bothered by her fear, and Hiten remained unmoved, scowling with his hands lowered to his sides.
"Put that down." He demanded and her brows knotted together under her bangs as she supported the weapon with her other hand. "Where the fuck did you…get this?" He spat through his teeth as he snatched the cold gun from the palms of her hand. She yelped and crawled back, kicking at his legs until he roughly grabbed her ankle.
"Calm down, asshole." Bankotsu eyed him as he continued looking the frightened girl in the eye.
"Tell me. Where you found. This gun." He whispered and she held her unsteady arm out, point in the direction of her room. He threw her leg to the ground, dropped the gun, and shoved Bankotsu aside as he stormed into the room, ripping it apart.
"You ok?" Bankotsu approached her and she growled at him. She pushed his hand he held out to assist her away and began demanding to know where she was, who he was; all the questions he and the man in the other room had already fought out.
As Hiten flipped the mattresses and threw whatever he could, he found a small door in the corner of the room. He opened it and saw a black, leather case, slowly pulling it out. He opened it and saw three handguns; the girl must've not found these. He wondered if he left anything like this behind at the place he woke up in. He mentally slapped himself, how could he not check for something? What if he missed something big like this? He tucked one handgun in the back of his jeans, taking the other two in his hands. Bankotsu would get one, the other one was his as far as he was concerned.
"Her name is Yura." Bankotsu blinked as Hiten got to his feet, handing him a gun.
"Just these two…and hers. Now let's get some rest." He stretched and Bankotsu skeptically handled the gun, getting a feel to it.
"We're all leaving in the morning?" Yura poked her head out of the bathroom and both men looked over to her, nodding. "Alright…" She clutched the gun subconsciously; nothing was making sense to her.
"You find any personal belongings of yours beside your clothes?" Hiten asked and the girl meekly shook her head. "ID, photographs, jewelry, anything?"
"No." She stated more firmly and he rubbed the back of his neck. This was making less and less sense. He watched her crawl on the bed and Bankotsu sit on the end. "Get off." She quipped. Hiten rolled his eyes and made his way to a corner of the room, leaning his back against the wall, letting the two argue it out.
"I deserve this bed more than you…and don't worry…I'm not too frisky or anything." He winked and tensed when he was roughly shoved off the bed by her bony hands. It having been unexpected caused him to land flat on his face. She rolled over on the bed, facing her back to the two, before burying her cheek in the pillow. Bankotsu slowly crawled on the edge of the bed and latched onto the end of the mattress, preparing himself to be rolled off.
"Cant handle the floor, army boy?" Hiten scoffed and closed his eyes, resting the back of his head against the cornered wall. Bankotsu mocked him in a childish tone and took note that Hiten's gun lay flat in his hand, his finger on the trigger as he drifted to sleep.
"What's your name?" He whispered, hearing the girl beside him snore soundly. She must have been more exhausted than them, a girl alone in some desert. He dismissed her thoughts and watched Hiten glance to him.
"As far as I know, you could be behind all this. Maybe you already know my name, maybe you-"
"Look, I'm just as lost as you. I never even saw you before, and now I'm waking in some strange place and traveling with you. All we really have is each other, as stupid as that sounds. Gunna have to open up somewhere." He watched Hiten shift his weight so he wasn't facing him anymore.
"Maybe when I like or give two shits about you, I'll give you my little sob story. Until then, go eat shit you fucking psycho." He mumbled under his breath and Bankotsu sighed and looked out the small window.
If they did run into anyone else, he could only hope it wasn't an asshole stranger like this guy. He swore he'd seen the girl somewhere before, but where?