The Finale: Return of the Dark Days

Neoph stood at a table in the town hall, feverishly shuffling through job orders and signing them, placing them in half-assed piles by order of priority. Ever since he and his band saved the village from that incursion of Nobodies, all the village's problems fell on the shoulders of him and his. One job caught his attention though. So much so that he stopped and read it through twice. It was a bounty for a specific person. That was odd. He had never received a bounty for a person before. Sure, mankind committing crimes against each other has been more common as of late, but around here, it didn't happen very often and certainly not on the scale to where he would receive a bounty for them. He read through it once more.

"Suspicious character spotted at King's Island, five miles off the coast. This character is suspected as the source of the rapid increase in Heartless and Nobody activity. He must be taken alive for questioning. Beware, he is extremely dangerous.

Bounty: 7000 munny"

"Hey, mayor!" Neoph called out towards the mayor's office. Mayor Gald, a short, pudgy, balding man of 55, entered the room. He looked exhausted. Roland's Ford faced many problems lately and it seemed to be taking a toll on him. Neoph could understand that. It had been taking a toll on him too.

"Yes, Neoph?" Gald replied, pulling up a chair at the table and sitting down.

"Tell me more about this bounty." Neoph slid the paper over to him. Gald read the paper and let out a sigh.

"We have several witnesses saying that a mysterious figure in a black cloak has been summoning these monsters. The Durlag city guard was dispatched to deal with him and tracked him to King's Island, according to the survivor."

"The... survivor?" Neoph asked, eyeing the mayor.

"Yes, yes. A tragedy. Poor boy was badly shaken when they found him. He said that this mysterious figure decimated his entire squad with ease. The only reason he survived was because the man told him to return and tell everyone what happened." Gald began fidgeting nervously.

"That's strange. Doesn't seem like the ordinary brand of crazy." Neoph took the bounty back and looked it over, almost as if he was concentrating on it.

"Indeed. When your group meets this evening, I would recommend discussing it. If what that guard said is true, this man has some frightening power indeed." Neoph stood up.

"I'll make this a top priority, mayor. You have my word." Neoph gave Gald a salute.

"I'm sure, son. And again, thank you." Gald saluted back.

After his meeting with the mayor, Neoph decided to take a walk in the woods. It was a common stress-relieving activity of his. He would take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the wild and just forget about his problems for awhile. He wasn't too far out; only about an hour's walk from the village.

 

Ana stumbled, falling to her knees as her hands flew out in front of her defensively. She managed to keep from hitting her face, but only just. Her palms protested as the hard gravel of the road bit into her skin, causing her to groan in frustration and pain as she pushed herself back to her feet, brushing her hands together in an attempt to erase the tingling.

The only sound around her was the grass, swishing and swaying in the gentle breeze. It had been hours since she had started running, judging by the height of the sun in the sky. She had run until her lungs had ached and her legs trembled, and then she walked. She wouldn't stop walking either, because no matter how far she got, it wasn't far enough from those bastards. Her eye pulsed, as though the memory of her captors could bring back the injuries they caused, and she pressed her still tingling palm to her bruised eye, wishing that whatever god there was would give her just an ounce of pity.

Am I really asking too much? She asked, adjusting the leather strap that held her most prized possession. She had made sure the bandit who held it was paid in full for his theft before she left. Just one hot meal, just one night in a comfy bed with no fleas and no rats. Speaking of fleas....she scratched her scalp, more then sure that while she didn't have any parasites crawling on her skin, she had more then a few in her hair.

Or maybe just a bar of soap. She pleaded with the invisible force of the universe. Just one lovely, simple, lice killing bar of soap.

The leather bound cover of the book dug into her waist, held there by a rope that wrapped around her thin frame. It was the one thing she had actually stolen from the bandits; she smiled as she remembered the thin, fine pages, the elegant script, the words just begging to be read.

Soon. She promised herself as she started walking forward again, her footsteps heavy. Soon.
A few more hours, and then she would rest.

Maybe.

 

​

ooc: Where is Ana? Is she anywhere near Roland's Ford?

"You've overstepped your bounds again, Aello. Maybe you should head back to the village..."

Aello had nothing to do that afternoon and while she was aware heading out of the village for the soul purpose of looking for heartless was a terrible idea. But she wanted to, and that's why she was out. She knew she had quite the long time before she'd actually need to go for a meeting and this might just have been the best way to do it.

She reached a familiar clearing, a favorite spot usually for these creatures due to how shielded it was from the light. She took a few steps into the clearing and heard the familiar scratching. Holding out her hand she summoned out her Axe with a blast of air and light. She twirled her hands and began doing what might as well have been her leisurely activity or release, although she could tell immediately they were weaker ones, she did not mind it.

When all had been slashed back into the darkness, she looked around to see if there were any jumpers, and kept on edge because of it as she started to try and leave the clearing.

 

Ah another day, another chance to interact with the morons that are deciding to plague this village with their existence. What good was this world when it appeared only one sane and normal person was in it? Lance knew this all to well, for he was that one. Where was he you might ask? Just on the outskirts of the city, hunting some worthless creatures that were called Nobodies.

"I'd say your names are completely unfitting, but," He gave a slice at them and then they vanished, "It is just too fitting." He sheathed his sword and walked forward. "Damn today I have another meeting with all those people. Why must I be such a nice guy? I guess someone has to carry them."

Lance walked into the town again and just smiled. It felt good to be on top of the world. He saw a boy run past him who dropped his ice cream. The boy began to cry and Lance just stood next to him with the urge to laugh uncontrollably. "I see cream on the ground. I'd scream too. But you know is more worthy of screaming?" Lance whispered something into the boys ear and he stopped screaming only to pause for a second in terror. After walking away, the boy began to scream louder than even before.

"Good day indeed."

 

The sun was up and about and birds were chirping the morning song. All was well and the environments behavior had not shifted at all. On the outskirts of Roland Ford near the roadside, young Higure Yu sat under the shade of a tree with hat tilted forward as to shade sapphire eyes. Bandanna masked the lower portion of the boy's face like always. Legs spread out relaxed, and left arm lay flat on the soft texture of grass. A couple of birds had found their way to the boy's limp form, and taken a liking to perching themselves on his shoulders as well as hat. It had been a harsh week for mercenary work, and it seemed to have finally taken its toll on the young body as he would not even react to the small presence that accompanied him. No cause for alarm though, he was merely fast asleep, taking advantage of the peaceful morning. Red cape concealed right arm and weapon, no one but him to be unaware that in his hands he held his weapon at the ready just in case. The birds chirped the morning song along the boy's soft rhythm of breath in this fine beginning.

Serene nap time.

 

About twenty minutes walk outside of Roland's Ford, two figures stood next to an old, rundown house. This was the place Stefano Macellazione had called home for the last few years, and was generally where he took people he needed to bring in alive, though it wasn't all too uncommon for him to simply bury a corpse in the front yard; it was such a stupid place to hide a body that he doubted anyone would actually check there. The man that Hunter was standing before was a relatively short man, short and chubby. This guy wasn't a bounty just yet, but after Hunter had caught him stealing plenty of expensive items from one of the stores in town earlier he wouldn't be surprised if that changed relatively soon.

The man, of course, was grovelling and begging for survival. Hunter wasn't even giving him a response, he just had a fairly serious look on his face, one of disapproval. Truth be told, if the guy hadn't stolen the items then Hunter wouldn't have a job to do and for that he was thankful. Not thankful enough to keep the guy alive should a bounty request appear, but enough that he wasn't particularly pissed off at him; but where was the fun in letting him know that? Keep them good and scared, practically wetting themselves at a single word, that was how Hunter liked to do things. It was good for business, and good for a laugh later on when his target wouldn't be able to see him.

With another cry of forgiveness, the bounty hunter decided that he'd had enough begging for one day, it'd lost its humour quickly and now it was just plain irritating. "Alright chubs, lets get you inside" he said, before taking a step over towards the door to his home and holding it open. Gesturing for the man to walk past him, he seemed super hesitant. Stefano rolled his eyes. "Look, I ain't got time for this. Either squeeze through the door and sit down or I'll flip you onto your back and watch you squirm to get up like a turtle, laugh at you, and then kill you. It's your choice" he stated, irritation evident. With a squeal, the man rushed past him and into the house. As he passed him, Hunter tripped the guy over and watched him fall face first on the ground. Acting quickly, Hunter grabbed a long rope that was on the bench next to him and began tying the man up. "Reeelax, if I was gonna kill ya you'd be dead already. People are paranoid about everythin' these days. I'm just tying you up so you don't run away while I'm out. I'll be back in a few hours, see you later" the criminal said, finishing tying the guy up and then going to leave his house. As he got to the door, he turned and shot a ferocious glare at the man. "Touch any of my shit and I'll string you up by your innards and throw you out to the animals" he threatened, making his voice as deep and intimidating as he could manage. With a scream from the man, Hunter then turned and walked out, chuckling to himself as he did so.

Hunter began his journey to the town. There were meetings every so often, and he rarely ever attended them, but well what else did he have to do? Sure, he could mess around with his victim some more, but if he went to the meeting maybe he'd get lucky and score with some fine young lady. Or even better, he might score with two fine young ladies. Yeah, meetings had their appeal. He continued this train of thought as he made his way into town, intending to find something, or someone, to do while he waited for the meeting time to arrive.​

 

OOC: Everyone else seems to be focused around Roland's Ford, and in keeping with the old saying, "safety in numbers", Ana will be doing the same. Somehow.

Sh*t. Sh*t Sh*t and sh*t again. The hard bark of the tree trunk pressed into her back as she looked up into the green foliage of the tree above her. She had only been able to walk maybe half an hour more, when her legs had decided to rebel. Rather then wait in the middle of the road, she crawled towards the nearest shade available, a tree on the outskirts of what appeared to be a forest.

All that's left is for the monsters to appear. That would be consistent with the luck I've had.
"Hear that, you worthless excuse for a universe?" She yelled up at the tree leaves, her tangled hair rubbing against the trunk.
"Just put some monsters right over there!" She pointed towards the edge of the trees, where the shadows pooled on the ground like spilled ink from a well.
"All ya gotta do!" She let her hand drop and ran the other over her face, the stub of her missing finger aching. It did that sometimes, a ghost pain that would cause her to hesitate, thinking the finger had magically been reconnected.
If that was her answer, then the universe could stick it where the sun didn't shine.

Back to her current problem. If the universe, or whatever it was, did see fit to send the creatures from the dark, she would be near defenseless. It would be a quick battle, and sure, she would put up a fight, but her body was exhausted, and her mind numb to everything but the cruel joke of her situation. Where do the hearts go? She wondered to herself as her eyelids closed, her face tilted back up to catch the little spots of sunlight that drifted down.

Do they just disappear? Is it painful? She was no stranger to pain, but if there was one wish that could be granted, she would want her death to be quick and clean. Can you do that for me? She asked mentally as she swallowed, her parched throat aching with the desire for water. Not even the pain of dehydration, nor the want for food could make her body desire to move.

Well Mom, I did my best. A strange sound, and as though they had been called by her challenge, the strange creatures rose from the shadows, forming into small bodies that shivered and clanked as they moved.

The Unpredictables, she had always called them. Their official name? She didn't know. Education in her small village had been, at best, knowing how to read.

With a sigh and a grimace, she stood up, letting the leather bound book drop to the ground. It wouldn't do her any good now. She felt a twinge of regret in not being able to read it before she died. Or, whatever it is that happened when the Heartless got you. Grabbing the scythe's pole just under the blade, she pulled it out of its sling, letting it slide towards the ground through her fingers until she got a good grip. If you could call trembling hands a good grip.

Would the scythe even work on them?

One of the Heartless twisted, its armored face staring at her for a single moment before twisting. And here we go. She swung, feeling the blade connect just as the claws of the monster scratched her skin. The wound burned as she grunted, using the force of her swing to carry the Heartless through the air and away. It landed a little further from its fellows, motionless. Hopefully dead.

Yay for me. She pressed one hand to her wound, the burning intensifying as blood began to drip from the ripped skin. The other Heartless hesitated, and she backed up a step. Perhaps, just perhaps, they would leave her be.

She paid dearly for that thought as they twisted, as one, and shot towards her, small bodies flying through the air in a terrifyingly accurate manner.
This is going to hurt.

 

No sooner had Hunter neared the town than he had received a gift from the universe itself just outside of a nearby forest. A lone stranger, fighting off quite a few heartless. The universe had given him the gift of murder, and what an awesome gift that was. If that wasn't enough motivation, the person fighting them off was. She wasn't much to look at, cute in some ways but not so much in others, but she was just his type; a female with a pulse.

Leaping into the fray, Hunter tossed a throwing knife at one of the heartless to distract them, nailing it right between the eyes before running the creature through with his sword. The heartless vanished into a cloud of black vapour, causing the throwing knife to fall to the ground, which Hunter quickly picked up and put away. He then glanced to his right to see one of the armoured heartless unleashing a spinning kick straight at him. Thinking quickly, Stefano did the most strategic thing he had ever done in his life, and he stepped ever so slightly to his right, causing the creature to go flying past him and fall over onto the ground. Hopping over, he thrust the sword straight through the back of the heartless, killing it and causing a slight splash of dark blood to go onto his face. With that done, there were only a couple more, but he had time to spare.

And so, he turned to look at the woman. "If I finish the other two off too, what do you say we go and do the dirty in a local hotel room?" he asked. Smooth, real smooth. Damn he was good. ​

 

Neoph was in the middle of his walk when he heard it; the sounds of battle. "Duty calls." He mumbled and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the noise. He came out at a small clearing. There was Stefano, someone he recognized, as well as a woman who appeared to be in pretty bad shape. He didn't recognize her, however. He drew his sword and ran to Stefano's side. He thought about engaging the Heartless, but there were only two of them. Stefano would be more than a match for them. He looked back at the woman. She REALLY didn't look good. The sooner he could get her out of harm's way and maybe get her some medical attention, the better. "Hey." Neoph looked back at Stefano. "I'll bring our friend here back home. Think you can handle these two?" The question was rhetorical of course. With a sly smile to Stefano, he answered his own question. "Of course you can." He pat him on the shoulder and approached Ana. "Can you walk?"

 

She had blinked, and it was there. Moving faster then her eyes could follow, with the grace and deadly intent of a cat. At first, she thought this was some new kind of Heartless, come to prey on its weaker brethren. The sword in the ground turned that thought to dust. She was leaning heavily on the pole, exhaustion causing her legs to tremble. She would rather not fall, if she could help it. To show such weakness in the face of such a capable person would be to invite pain.

It's a guy. She realized, her mind momentarily stopping to feed on this information as he turned, face splattered with blood, towards her. Her eyes scanned the features that were visible quickly. Had she seen him before? No. But he was clearly dangerous.

And then he spoke. And she felt her mouth drop open. "If I finish the other two off too, what do you say we go and do the dirty in a local hotel room?" he asked. A self satisfied smirk seemed barely held at bay as he waited for her response.

Half of her was tempted to tell him where he could shove his dirty thoughts. The other half cautioned her. If this man wanted to harm her, he would have no problem.

Oh well. She told herself. If he makes a move I'll just impale myself and let that be done. Since it didn't look like she would die by Heartless, at least not today, she straightened her back, offered the man a twisted smile, and said,

"Go fu-"

"Hey."

A second man was approaching. As he continued to speak, it became clear he knew the first man. Small world, it seems. Ana thought to herself, blinking the sweat out of her eyes. Wait, why am I sweating?

Focus. She turned her attention back to the two strangers just as the second man asked, "Can you walk?"

He sounded concerned. Sounded. Those bandits sounded pretty concerned, right up until they decided you needed freedom like a third eye.

"Yeah, I'm great." She let the smile stay on her face, and tried to keep her tone light. "Just fine. Just taking a break, here." Her head swam, and she brushed it off. If she collapsed her, if she let herself go down, so help her she was cutting off all her hair and going bald.

That fearful thought suppressed the second wave of dizziness, and she focused again on the strangers.

"I'll just be on my way." She didn't want to be left with the two Heartless. No matter what front she tried to put on, a bird could fly down and peck her, and she would drop.

I"m such a pessimist. She took one step in the direction of the road, and then another. The third somehow missed the earth, and her knees collided with the solid ground, the scythe dropping from her hands to clatter against the gravel.

"Dad would kill me." She whispered, reaching for the scythe and using it to pull herself back to her feet. Just a few more steps. She lied to herself. Just get away from them. Where was a winged horse when you needed it?

 

((Realized Neoph came off as kind of condescending in my last post. xD Wasn't intended, but there ya go.))

Neoph tried to catch Ana as she fell, but failed. "Oh. Well, you're obviously not okay. Come on. I don't live far from here. Maybe we can get you something for those scrapes and get you a bath." He fanned under his nose. She smelled a little rank. He kept a close eye on the Heartless. They seemed preoccupied with Stefano. He did kill half their number after all. Still, Neoph didn't know how long that would last. He gave Ana a comforting smile. "You do realize i'm honor-bound to help you whether you want me to or not."

It was true. The whole reason he started this band was because he made an oath to always help those in need. And while sometimes it caused him a lot of trouble, he was happy with himself and in the end, that's what was really important.

 

The sound of feet dragging resonated from behind the tree Higure rested on. It was most likely another traveler taking a pit stop to merely get away from the sun before continuing going on their merry way. Higure did nothing to budge, not even tilt his head up just a little to have visual on the surroundings. Body remained at ease, except eye lids had now parted to reveal those gems he called eyes. The birds remained calm as well, roosting and chirping among themselves on Higure's form.

The person on the other side of the tree began to to talk to speak. It didn't take a genius to realize it was a woman's voice, and that she was alone as implied through her dialogue. The young boy remained still, listening in on her call for distress. Only a person who had nothing to lose would be saying such things; that or someone with some serious issues.

She wants to...fade into the darkness?

The person's wish was granted as the clanking of armor spontaneously emanated from the other side where the woman resided. The birds that had perched themselves on Higure suddenly flew off, away from the area. In that moment, Higure's head titled, causing rim of hat to tilt up to reveal sapphire eyes. The Yellow Eyes. Right hand tightened around the guns handle, index finger arching over the trigger finger. Body remained still, wanting to wait for the opportune moment. If it was possible, he'd rather not meddle unless the situation was dire.

Ears tuned in to the scenery behind the tree, acting as his eyes. Metal clashed against metal, and feral claws scraped against something soft. Skin? It was still too soon to jump into the fray. Just as he heard metal clash against metal once more, another footstep joined the fray. This was a bit heavier, and was very swift. Soldiers were quickly fended off, and just for another presence to emerge into the fray.

Guess I wasn't needed after all. Right index finger eased on the trigger, it no longer required to be pulled. Body lay against the tree trunk, the desire to sleep now underwhelming him. Two males were on scene, and from the sound of their voice, they meant well to aid this woman; despite one of them coming off a bit...strong in confidence. With a heavy sigh, he lifted himself off the grass and walked deeper into the forest, heading towards one of the other passages way on the other side that led into Roland's Ford. Anything the three were saying slowly faded away as the shadows became vivid in the increasing amount of shade.

The darkness wasn't as strong in the day as they were in the night, which gave the boy comfort. However...

Off in the distance, a sliver white figure swam through the air like a serpent atop the trees just beneath the treeline. Higure stopped, cape swaying gently at the pause. Eyes narrowed in on the figure, watching it closely as it swam off to the right and deeper into the forest, away from Rolands Ford's direction. Gun remained in hand, trigger finger hovering over the the guns firing mechanism once more. With caution, the boy continued to stroll on. Wherever there was one of those creatures, you could bet there was a pack nearby.

 

Well damn, Neoph had stolen Hunter's woman. She wasn't into him yet, but she would come around. They always did. There was nothing women liked more in a man than the ability to commit cold blooded murder and traumatize everyone, right? Either way, Neoph had clearly not heard of the saying bros before hoes. What an asshat. "Alright alright, take her if you want, but if I see any male nudity at the meeting tonight because of you two, I'm going to chop it off" the man said with a sly grin. Some people would probably assume he was kidding around, like it was just friendly banter, but anyone who knew Hunter would undoubtedly know that he was in fact not joking. Female nudity he enjoyed, in fact he heavily encouraged it, but male nudity that wasn't himself bored him.

Shrugging off the comments, he casually strolled towards one of the heartless. "Alright, you guys really picked the wrong ****** to mess with" he said, commenting to nobody in particular. With one swift swing, he cleaved the first heartless clean in two, but as he went to attack the second one it nimbly rolled out of the way. With a grunt, Hunter swung the blade at the heartless once more, but it again avoided the strike. Again and again he attacked, until he realized how pointless it was. Once again, that sly grin made its way onto the murderer's face. "I like you. I'm going to call you Paul. Heartless Paul, the huge asshole. Has an interesting ring to it" the man said, swinging once more and once again failing.

Then the heartless pulled a totally dick move and leaped into a portal, vanishing. With a cry of outburst Hunter dove for the portal and went straight into it, popping out on the other side just outside of one of the stores in the center of town. He saw Paul racing away from him, running as fast as its tiny legs could carry it, before finding a white haired male and hiding behind him, as though the male were going to protect it. Hunter had no problem killing innocent people, but if he did it in a public place it would cause a lot of trouble, and so he needed the male to give up the protection of the heartless. "Hey! You! **** I forgot your name..uh...hey arrogant ******, give me back that heartless! I claimed the kill on that one" the bounty hunter demanded.​

 

They really don't think much of women. Ana groaned with frustration as she struggled to hold onto her pole. Maybe they'll think more of me if I get blood on my face.
As much as the idea amused her, the scratch on her arm warned her away.

First the friendly one wanted to give her a bath, then the second one handed her over to the friendly one. She must have missed the memo that she had become property. Again.

With another smart comment and a flash of movement, the strange one was gone. Leaving her alone with the friendly one. Well, at least the odds were a bit better now. The question was; how to deal with him? He insisted he was friendly, but she had heard that tune before. Many times before. You could only rip a muscle so many times before it stopped mending.

"How do I know you're trustworthy?" She asked wearily, letting her forehead test against her arm. It was only a matter of time before she actually did pass out, and since running wasn't an option, talking her way out was the only feasible option.

Unless she stabbed herself. That was still on the table too.

Well, sh*t. She let herself slide to the ground, the scythe leaning closer to the ground until she pulled it across her lap, crossing her legs. At least she wouldn't fall very far.
Always the song and dance about honor, and respectability. Always the same words.

"Never mind that." She waved her hand, as if erasing the question from the air.
"What can I do to get you to leave?" She pointed the way she had come. "Bad people over there, you understand? Doubtless they'll be very upset with me when they discover I'm gone. So you could do a girl a favor and go take care of that, or you can point me in the direction of the absolute middle of nowhere."

Because I refuse to be anyone's possession ever again.

 

The silver white creatures were not ones to be trifled with. Although they may lack the same set of eyes like the yellow eyes; or any form of physical optical, these things were cunning like wolves. Smart and ruthless, these things could actually think, unlike their yellow eyed counterparts. Enough information had been gathered to understand this much; at least if the sources were correct. Many people had fallen prey to these Silver Jumpsuits of various shape and size. There was a story he heard from one of many travelers he'd encountered on his mercenary journeys, about a man who's younger brother had been taken by these things. The man had become so distraught, and angry, that he just ventured off to save his brother with merely a sword and shield. When the man had arrived, the younger brother had been held hostage by a three of them. They danced and danced in a circle around him, like a cage. The younger brother cried out from within the circle for his brother to run away, but it was too late. Like serpents the jumpsuits slithered through the air with ease from above, commencing their assault. It had been a trap. The older brother managed to fend them off, long enough to set his young brother free and to cry out for the young man to leave.

Hesitantly, the young one ran off as all he heard was the terrifying scream of his older brother. The young brother did not look back, but just kept running until he reached the village. He took no time in asking for people's help in searching for his brother. A few volunteered, all armed and ready within the hour. However, by the time they reached the area, the older brother had been long gone. All that was left of him were his sword and shield, laying on the ground like some landmark.

-------

Higure paused as the grass unsettled up ahead, shuffling as someone approached. Head titled down slightly, allowing for the hats rim to hide eyes. The light sky blue bandanna cowl wrapped around his neck concealed his lower face, and the red cape swayed a little, but not enough to reveal his readied gun.

It was a masked white haired man, age unable to be identified. Rowel spurs clinked in a shift in body weight. Higure stayed silent as the masked man held a hand to the pommel on the sword sheathed to his hips. Taking a small breath, the young boy gestured with a small nod to his right. It would be obvious to the masked swordsman what Higure was referring to once he looked in the implied direction. Up above beneath the treeline, a silver jumpsuit slithered on, every once in a while making its way back while maintaining a distance of 20 feet away from Higure. It had been watching the young boy this whole time, most likely before it was spotted a few meters back.

The young boy remained still, instinct telling him that something was on the verge of happening. With tension rising, head titled to reveal sapphire eyes as he looked past the swordsman. Something was swimming in the ground, phasing through it like some phantom shark having spotted prey. Up above, three more silver jumpsuits were slithering through the air by the tree lines in a V formation. The phantom swimming through the ground dove, and disappeared from sight.

Great.

Right hand gripped the gun tighter than before, and index finger coiled over the trigger at the ready. Four total, he had counted. Hopefully that was all.

 

As Aedion left, Hunter felt a pang of disappointment. What was the point of insulting someone if they didn't care? He'd just walked off, like what kind of ass did that? A colossal one, that's who. Turning to look at Paul, he walked over to the heartless and kneeled down in front of it. "See? Arrogant ******bag, ignoring an insult and then just leaving. Paul, this town sucks. Nothing happens, nobody wants to murder, and nobody causes much trouble. Except for you guys, you heartless thingoes. You cause fear, death, and hell I've seen you take a dump on someone's lawn just because they pissed you off. Don't give me that look, If you hadn't done it I would've, I'm not judgin' ya" Hunter stated.

With a loud sigh, Hunter looked around at the store, forgetting about the determination to murder Paul for the moment. What a boring store, there was almost nothing of interest, what had Aedion been doing there? Apparently looking for the trick to literally dying of boredom, and if Hunter didn't get out of there quick he would soon start believing he had found it. He needed something to spice up the day and keep everything humourous and highly entertaining until the meeting. Unfortunately, his local dealer had run out of magic paopu fruit leaves, so that was out of the question. In less than a minute, the ginger male had an idea. Grabbing the heartless by its clawed arm, Stefano began dragging it away. "Come on Paul, we're going drinkin'" he announced, beginning to make his way towards the local pub.

Once he had arrived, he slapped a small pouch of munny on the bar. The bartender wasn't looking at Hunter though, his attention fixated solely on the heartless accompanying him. "Hey, hey!" the bounty hunter said, snapping his fingers in front of the bartender to get his attention. "Little guy's harmless. And if that changes I'll run him through, so less worrying and more bartenderering, aight? If you don't hurry up and ya choose to speak instead, I'll rip out your throat and record the noises and sell it as a new Justin Bieber song." Hunter threatened. The bartender looked confused at first due to not knowing who the hell justin bieber was, but the name sounded absolutely terrifying; like the name of a pre-pubescent female who brought great shame to their nation and great fear to everyone else whenever they announced that they were going to sing, and so he began pouring the drinks and serving them to Hunter and Paul, not daring to ask how or why Hunter had managed to bring a non-threatening heartless into a tavern. ​

 

Higure took the ring from the swordsman, a little surprised at the symbol embedded on it. It belonged to a prestigious family, one that a traveler such as himself would have heard of. Left hand held the ring between index and thumb in admiration at such craftsmanship. The masked swordsman began to instruct Higure in escaping while the enemy was fended off. It was quite noble for such a noble. Not bothering to play hero, the young boy grasped the ring onto his palm and gave a silent nod before parting ways with the noble warrior. Gun was placed into hidden holster, and he was off, backtracking to where the woman and two men were when he was resting soundly.

He COULD have stayed and helped, but his body was by far too exhausted. Magic, even with the use of a medium, can be a burden on ones mana after extensive use. As of now, his mana was nearly drained as It was in the passing days that he had been off hunting for an honest living. The jumpsuits and yellow eyes, they were all any mercenary fought these days for quick munny. The forest and roadsides were his hunting grounds, doing the best he was capable of to keep the area safe. The work had finally taken its toll on him, hence why he was resting under the shade of trees.

Rowel spurs clinked wildly as he sped through past trees. It took a few minutes for Higure to reach the edge of the forest; the roadside now visible. Hopefully those warriors that had saved the woman earlier were still there. Not that the noble probably couldn't handle it himself, but jumpsuits weren't stupid. They were very, VERY organized, which is what makes them far dangerous from the yellow eyed brutes. Any help the swordsman could get would be for safety measures. It was always good to have a safety net.

If he caught sight of any of the three, he'd end up showing them the ring and pointing in the direction he came from. It'd be pretty easy to get the idea once they noticed the emblem on the ring.