"What do you mean the mission is gone?!" Mari almost yells as she stares at the Mission master shocked.
"I mean what I said young woman. You got here late and a group came in just as the mission was back up." The Mission Master shakes his head. "There is nothing I can do, so do not bother to ask. Have a nice day."
Mari hits the ground on her knees and forces herself to stay composed. She knows that breaking down is the last thing she can do but the fact remains that she failed. The reason behind why they were late to arrive back in town was due exclusively to the gunner they needed in the first place. When they were on the train back to their home he lost the tickets and they got thrown off the train. Due to having to walk they arrived twenty minuets late and missed out on their time limit. Mari would have to face her team and tell them that their efforts were all for naught. That was a conversation she was not wanting to have. Milling all her strength and effort together she heads over to the group and tries her best too put on a smile.
"Guys," Mari says as she bites her lip. "I have some pretty bad news."
"No need too say a word." Merik says from the ground where she has a rather ticked Cain in a head lock. "We missed the mission because of this dweeb."
"LET ME GO YOU!" Cain snarls at the snarky fighter girl.
"Actually yes." Mari says as she blinks confused. "How did you know?"
"I was keeping track of how much time we had from the moment we left." Merik says as she does a back flip and dodges as Cain lunges at her. "When we got into town we were about half an hour late already. We also have that dork of a gunner to blame for this."
"Well pardon me." Cain says adjusting his clothes. "I do know a way to get us that mission. All I am going to need is a place to change and someone to distract the rest of their team." He says gesturing over his shoulder at a team that has a bright green dressed gunner. "I know they are the ones who took that mission."
"Alright then." Merik says as she looks at Cain only to grab him by his collar getting right in his face. "If this works you are off the hook. But if you mess this up I will personally see to your end. Understand?"
"Loud and clear." Cain says not even phased by Merik. "Now take me somewhere that I can change clothes." She nods and the two of them leave as Yuri smirks to Mari and Nathaniel.
"I suppose that leaves us to make the distractions." He stands and takes Nathaniel's hand. "Mari, for this to work, you have too be my wife alright? Nathaniel is our son. Is that okay with you Nate?"
"Sounds fun!" Nathaniel says with a giggle.
"Alright." Mari says shaking her head. "But if this hair ball plan does not work you owe be big."
"Understood." Yuri says as he picks Nathaniel up heading over to the other team with Mari in tow. When they arrive he taps the bright green dressed gunner on the shoulder. "Excuse me sir. Me and my family just moved in and we are a little confused about where everything is. I was wondering if you could tell us where the school is? I want to get my son here enrolled."
"Sure thing." The smiling gunner says as he pulls out a map. "See, you are here in the central plain." He points out a large round area on the city map. "Where you want to go is the darker region over here." He shows Yuri the place on the map in question.
"Thank you sir." Mari says smiling brightly as she tries not to gag.
"Not a problem mam." He says smiling back. "Happy to help."
"HEY YOU!" A loud accented voice says from across the clearing. Mari looks over and tries not to face palm as she sees Cain wearing a bright purple outfit. In that garb he looked like he was no higher than level fifty. Suddenly everything made sense to Mari. "In the green. I challenge you."
"Go grow up first kid. You are at least half my level." The other gunner says as he puts his map away.
"No. If I beat you then I will be sure to level up." The snake eyed cain smirks from behind his hat acting nothing like his normal self. He walks over and pulls his then uncharacteristically gun drops it ducking just in time to have the stray bullet only shoot through his bright purple hat.
"I am surprised you can even hold a gun by that display." The green gunner chuckles and pulls his gun spinning it then getting at the ready as Cain scrambles for his picking it up last second. "Ya know what, I take your challenge. What are your stakes kid?"
"If you win, I will renounce myself as a gunner and retire."
"A little pointless but okay. What if you win?"
"Then you hand your mission over to me and my group." Cain says as he dusts the grass off of his gun and re-holstering it. "You agree?"
"There is no way in hell you are winning so yeah, I agree to those terms." The green gunner smirks and everyone backs away as he pulls his gun. A ninja appears as if out of thin air beside him holding a couple of apples. "The task will be to shoot these apples off a team member's head without causing harm to the team member. Jile, go stand over there with this." The ninja nods and takes the apple then vanishes. Jile reappears against the side of the mountain that lies in the central plain with the apple on his head. "I am ready. What about you kid?"
"Um." Cain looks at Merik who gives him a whatever expression.
"If you shoot me, I will kill you." Merik says as she takes the apple then joins Jile. "Understand you useless gunman?"
"Understood!" Cain says fumbling with his gun. "Just, uh, don't fidget. I don't want to mess up again."
"Yeah, my shoulder just only recovered from the last time you goofed up."
The rival gunner smirks thinking that he already has the contest in the bag due to the conversation between Merik and Cain. Getting a bit fancy he smirks and puts on a show of pulling his guns. He spins them about over his head then aims. He offers Merik a flirtatious smile then pulls the trigger. The bullet misses the apple and hits just to the side of it. This causes the apple to fall off Jile's head and land in the grass unharmed. The ninja bows then vanishes. The green gunner puts his weapons away then smirks. Cain rolls his eyes then pops his neck as he pulls his weapons. He puts no showmanship behind it because he sees showing off as a useless act. He raises his guns then shrugs as he fires them both at the same time. The bullets fly toward Merik striking only the apple causing it to explode into tiny bits. Cain turns to face a flabbergasted green gunner as he re-holsters his guns.
"The goal was to hit the apple." Cain says as he walks over to the other. "Not the rocks. Last I checked partner, that means I win."
"What the hell?!" The green gunner says as he looks at the unharmed apple he had aimed at then at the splattered remnants of the one Cain had shot to kingdom come. "How the hell did you pull that off? You are just level 50!"
"Listen here guy," Cain says as he tosses the bright purple hat at the clearly mad gunner. "You are the one who let what you saw deceive you. I am much higher in level than 50. Your ninja should have been able to guess that right off the back." He smirks at the other as his dark brown hair falls into his face. "Now then, I won the contest fair and square. I will be taking that mission now."
"Fine! Whatever!" The other says as he hands the mission slip to Cain. "Good luck getting killed by that bandit leader. Jile we are out of here!" He turns on his heel and leaves as the ninja bows then follows the gunner.
"Now that I fixed loosing us the mission by getting it back, shall we go and take this bandit gang taken care of?"
"But of course Cain." Yuri says as he takes the mission slip. "But first we are dropping by the house. I need a shower and by the looks of it, you are well past due for one."
"Just because I don't like smelling like a fru fru girl doesn't mean that I ain't clean girly boy!" Cain says as Merik grabs him to keep him from attacking the healer.
"I am not saying that. I am saying you stink. I am heading home. I will meet you there Mari." He picks up Nathaniel who yawns. "I say we set out tomorrow after a good meal and a good nights rest."
"That sounds like a good idea." Merik says as she holds back the struggling gunner. "I will keep this one from killing you and will see you at the house. Mari, you head home with him. We have to go and get Cain's real clothes anyway. See ya later."
"Alright sis. See you in a bit." Mari waves then chuckles as she heads home with Nathaniel and Yuri.
When the others are well out of sight Merik lets Cain go and he rolls his eyes looking down at her. She only smirks and turns to walk off. Shaking his head he grabs the hat he tossed earlier and pulls it back on. When he catches up with Merik he looks at her.
"So are you, Mari, and Nathaniel really family?" He asks as he pushes his hat back a bit.
"Well me and Mari blood relatives." She says stretching her arms above her head. "We adopted Nathaniel when we found him wandering around with a gang of prinnies. He was a bit of a shy one back then." She smiles and looks down at her hands. "He quickly forgot about being adopted pretty quick and settled right on in with the family."
"Ah. Cant say I know what that is like to be honest." He pulls his hat down as his eyes focus on his boots. "Lost tha' only family I ever had a long time ago."
He lapse into silence after that and Merik thinks it a better idea not to ask questions. When they arrive at the storage site she steps aside and lets him change back. As he pulls his bright red hat on and steps out from behind the walls of the old dilapidated storage building then gives a nod to Merik. She nods back and they set off to meet the others at the house.