A Rumble in the Bar
While Mao Mao was getting his arm treated thousands of kilometers away, unbeknownst to him and his friends, something was gonna happen in a run down bar that would come to affect them soon enough.
The Low Key Bar was a place for mercenaries and bounty hunters to find a job to do, or a head to hunt. It was pretty run down, with dirty floors, grime stained windows, and the smell of alcohol so heavy you could practically see it.
The saloon style doors produced an deafening shriek, causing the denizens of the bar to take a look at the lady walking in. There wasn't a regular customer in the Low Key Bar who didn't know the lady who just made herself known.
Tanya Keyes, a tanuki lady that no one wanted to mess with. They knew who she was, they knew what she was capable of. The mountains of high reward bounties she brought in were proof of that much. As she sauntered over to her usual bar stool, all eyes tracked her across the room.
As she hopped up onto the stool, she cast a look towards the bartender. He was a big panda with a very noticeable beer belly. Tanya pulled a platinum coin from her coin pouch, she placed it on the counter and gently slid it across to the panda.
Taking the coin, the bartender placed a shot glass on the counter and filled it with one of his top shelf drinks. Tanya brought the glass to her lips and let it trickle down her throat.
"Aaah," said Tanya, happy to have finally slaked her thirst. "Nothing's better than a drink after a job. A round for the room, on me." The bar erupted in a rumble of cheers and hurrahs.
"How have ya been, Keyes?" Asked the bartender, a sly smile spread across his face. "That last guy wasn't too tough was he?" His voice was deep, and a bit rough, like he had smoked for several years straight.
Tanya laughed at his question, a tear almost coming to her eye. "That's a good one Biggs. But seriously, he wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Honestly though, the only thing hard about the job was imagining how a guy like that managed to get a bounty so large."
The panda had enjoyed watching Tanya over the years. He remembered when she left his bar to take on her first bounty, back then the bar had a different name. Biggs later changed the bar's name to better match his best customer and bounty hunter. For awhile, she would come in with a partner, a black cat dressed in a green cape, sash, and leg protectors, with brown gloves.
"Tanya, it has been an honor to know that THE Tanya Keyes, is a regular at MY bar." The panda stated in a elated response. "Say, now that I think about it, your coming up on your 1,000th bounty aren't ya?"
Holding her glass out for a refill, she took a moment to reminisce about the tons of outlaws she took down throughout the years. Biggs refilled her glass, excited to know he'll be someone to know the first bounty hunter to take in one thousand bounties without losing their life.
"I suppose your right, my bounty count is getting up there." Tanya said, downing another shot of alcohol. "Let's see, if I'm right, I should have about 23 more bounties to go."
Confused, Biggs felt the need to point something out. "I beg your pardon, Keyes, but I believe you need only 22 more bounties."
Taking a moment too think, Tanya saw where the confusion lied; Badgerclops, the one outlaw she let get away. "I got a bit... sidetracked on one of my jobs. Owed Mittens a favor. I'll figure something out."
Biggs brought his hand to his chin, thinking why that name was familiar. "Isn't "Mittens" your nickname for your old partner?" He asked.
"Yep," she said, running her finger along the rim of her shot glass. "I ran into him not too long ago on a job. You know he's a sheriff now?"
"That so?" Biggs asked, walking a few steps down the bar counter to attend to the other customers. "You know your friend always did seem to take the law a bit too seriously."
Tanya started to laugh, thinking about how Biggs couldn't be more right. "I know right? It's just too perfect for him!"
Walking back to Tanya, Biggs asked "What town's he sheriff of? Is it close by?"
"No, not really," Tanya replied with a smirk. "It's thousands of kilometers away, a place called Pure Heart Valley."
"Don't think I've heard of it."
"Yeah, it's one of those not-well-known-legends, but it has its charms."
Tanya went on to tell Biggs and the nearby denizens of the Low Key bar about her adventure to Pure Heart. From her breaking the law in front of the sheriff, to kidnapping his friend, and finally how Mao Mao broke the law by ignoring direct orders from the king to save his friend.
"-and so I just took off, abandoning them in the middle ocean!" She said, finishing the story. The people around her held their sides as they where wheezing from their abundant amounts of laughing.
"I *wheeze* can't believe *wheeze* that you did tha-ahahahaha-aaaat!" One of the denizens said, laughing themselves off of their bar stool, leaving Tanya to gaze down at the man.
"Huh, if anything I thought I'd have drunken someone under the table before I left. But laughing someone under the table is a first." Tanya said to Biggs as he poured her a third drink.
Tanya brought the alcohol to her lips, letting it make its way down her throat. When she brought the glass back down to the counter, an unfamiliar voice spoke out to her.
"Did I hear you say... Pure Heart?" They asked. When Tanya turned to see the new individual, she saw woman who wore a dull purple kimono with white trimming, a gray hakama, and a violet cloak. But these were inconsequential compared to the bright golden straw hat she wore, it was lowered down to cover her eyes. But for what Tanya could see, the woman was a black cat.
"Yes, I did," answered Tanya, greeting the new party. "Why? Do you know it?"
"Sort of," she said, voice was calm and as smooth as silk. "I know of it, my sources say that the person I'm looking for is there"
Tanya was intrigued, this woman's words could be interpreted as if she was a bounty hunter. However, the way she held herself was different. If anything, Tanya would've guessed she was more of a traveling warrior.
"I see," said Tanya. Without taking her eyes off the woman, Tanya scooted her shot glass back to Biggs for another drink. "And?"
The woman hesitated, as if trying to find the words she needed. "I would like to request your help in searching for Pure Heart."
After Biggs poured Tanya her fourth drink, she picked it up and just held it, holding off on drinking the amber liquid.
"Who is it that we'd be going to find?" Asked Tanya, as she lightly spun the glass, watching the drink as it dared to spill a drop.
"That's classified." She simply stated.
Tanya's interest was starting to peak. "In that case, how about my pay?" Tanya asked.
The woman reached into her kimono and pulled a pouch of coins and placed it down on the counter next to Tanya. Quickly drinking of her shot, Tanya went to inspect the pouch. Dark leather tied by a string, in near pristine condition.
Tanya gently pulled the string, she took a peek in the pouch. Her mouth fell agape, eyes widened, she set her sight on a several dozen diamond coins; with this amount of cash, she'd never have to work again.
"You drive a hard bargain." Tanya stated, she tied the pouch back up and handed it back to the woman. "But I don't take a job without knowing all the details."
The woman looked at pouch and simply stashed it back in her kimono. "I admire your work ethics, but your the only person I've met that's actually been to Pure Heart. So where do we go from here?"
The woman posed that question like a challenge; even through all that baggy clothing, Tanya could see her muscles tense up, a sign of her getting ready for a brawl.
"Well, I better get some answers if you want my help." Teased Tanya, she had an inkling of who this person was looking for. Tanya wasn't big on taking a gamble unless she was 100% certain.
"You're taking me there regardless." Said the woman, her tone getting a bit more heavy. Without even knowing the context of the situation, the surrounding denizens could feel the intense pressure hanging in the air.
Tanya hopped down from her stool and walked towards the back of the bar, the woman followed, close on her heels. In the back were three pool tables parallel to each other, and racks on the far wall holding pool cues. No pool balls were kept out because Biggs had them behind the counter with him.
It was still pretty early, so no one was in the back. Everyone was still up front having brunch, meaning if things got rough, they wouldn't have to worry about innocents.
Tanya and the woman stopped between the second and third table, they silently stared each other down while everyone in the front of the bar watched in silent awe.
In a single moment... everything went to hell. Tanya used her tanuki skills and turned a pair of leaves into swords, and the woman pulled twin swords from seemingly out of nowhere.
Sparks flew with every clash the swords made. Tanya jumped up onto one of the tables for the high ground advantage, the woman responded by ducking under the table and coming out the other end.
Tanya didn't see what the strategic advantage was to the woman's actions, that was until both her and the table were sent flying across the bar. Tanya crashed into the wall, her swords turning back into leaves, and the pool table -being as heavy as it was- landed just short of crashing into Tanya.
When Tanya looked over to the woman, she saw an aero-vehicle airbag where the pool table initially was located. First the swords, now this, where was she keeping these tools? The woman's clothes were baggy, but not that baggy. The woman picked up the airbag and stuck it up her straw hat.
Confused, Tanya was unsure to what she had just witnessed. The woman's hat, that must be where she pulled her swords out of. One thing's for certain, she needed to be careful, who knew what else the woman had in that hat of hers.
Tanya pulled out another pair of leaves and turned them into sais. Rushing the woman, she raised the sais to defend herself from any direct attacks.
The woman raised both swords overhead and brought them down upon Tanya. At the last possible fraction of a second, Tanya caught the swords between the prongs of the sais.
The two women were locked in this position, eyes gazing into each other. From here, Tanya got a look under the golden hat and got a clear look at the woman's face.
Ever since she laid eyes on this woman, a feeling of familiarity was lurking in the recess of her mind. Now she knew why, this woman had a surprisingly strong resemblance to her old partner. The only difference being that she had yellow eyes when Mittens had green eyes.
Quickly remembering where she was, she violently twisted the sais and snapped the woman's swords.
"Ha!" Exclaimed Tanya, she reared her arm back to strike the woman with the pommel of her sai. All Tanya saw next was the whole room spinning, and then an uncomfortably close look at the floor.
Tanya's arm was held in the woman's right hand, in a hand lock. Going off of simple guesswork, Tanya knew she had been thrown down onto the floor. Tanya's sais had transformed back into leaves when her concentration was broken, leaving her on the sticky floor of the bar, totally defenseless.
"Okay, okay," sighed Tanya, a small part of her figured she'd end up helping the woman regardless. "You win, I'll take you to Pure Heart."
The woman gave a gentle smile, and released Tanya from her hand lock. "Pleasure to be working for you. I don't believe I caught your name."
"Tanya Keyes." Tanya said holding out her hand, returning the smile. She was impressed with the woman and her skills, and she felt that this journey would be interesting to say the least.
The woman took Tanya's hand with her own. "Violet Mao."
Writer's Note:
Yo, I'm LunarWolf0. I just wanna let you know, that since the show Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart, only dropped two names, Brunhilde and Minori, I'll have to make up the other three until further notice. Here's what I was thinking.
Spear: Brunhilde
Bangles: Minori
Hat: Violet
Scarf: Hinata
Contacts: Ashaki
If anyone has a better name for a certain sister, I encourage you to comment it. Thanks for all the support.