Okay, so maybe in doing so she caused far more pain and death than would’ve originally happened... But it was for the best! The good of the many out-weight the needs of the few!
Even when the few are somehow the vast majority...
“Break apart, break apart, break apart...” Setsuna continued to growl as she glared at the boy and his sword and her Princess’s crystal.
As she stared, she saw the sword start to glow... And then Ranma stared RIGHT in her direction.
“SHIT!” Setsuna cursed and closed the Time Gates quickly, breaking the connection she had. She should’ve realized that could happen. The Gates, the Three Artifacts, and the Ginzuisho were all linked, all made by the same nameless creator whom wanted his true nature and presence lost to the ages. So of COURSE the Silver Crystal would react to any scrying from the gates!
There was only one thing to do.
“I NEED MIDOL!”
(------)
Leaning forward and looking at the man whom had sent word out for anyone to help, the Japanese youth stared into the man’s eyes with a cold, dark gaze, a blue so warped, it felt to the bartender as if he were about to be frozen and cracked within a shell of ice that matched the color of those dark yet pale, sparkling pupils.
Then Ranma spoke, his voice strong and serious, as if daring the man to challenge him.
“I. Am. No. Normal. Dark. Hunter.”
Tallman nodded his head slowly. “I can... See that...” He went for eyeing the bundle that Saotome had behind him. That long wrapped item possibly could be what rumors suggested, but he wasn’t going to push seeing it if it seemed to piss off this killer of the dark ones.
It was then Joshua was treated to a sight of the long wrapped item resonate somewhat, a soft hue of gray coming off from it. The pigtailed mercenary was looking about a little spooked, as if someone had stepped over his grave. Even when the cloth bundle stopped letting off a miasma, Ranma was still looking around with a cautious gaze.
Still, the bar-owner couldn’t just waste time when there were Dark Ones that needed a killing! “White Tiger?”
Hearing the man call him by his title of ‘White Tiger’, Ranma nodded his head before he sat back in the chair by the table. Whatever he and his sword felt, it was gone now... And it was time to change tactics with this guy. “Sorry about that... So what can you tell me about this Kuei?”
“Not much more to tell you that hasn’t been said...” Joshua admitted. “What we can tell you is we don’t know how many of them there are... But there’s probably at least four of those ghouls. Of the people that survived, we’ve received four very different descriptions that fit a theme amongst the dozens.”
“What do they look like?” Ranma asked, intrigued. “A normal Kuei isn’t that much of a danger to travelers. They’re little more than walking corpses...”
Joshua nodded his head. “You and I both know that... And the travelers said the same thing except...”
“Except?” The D-Ranked Mercenary inquired.
“These things seem to be faster... And stronger than the norm... And act weirdly. Like you usually here one moaning, long before you see it. These Ghouls just snuck up before attacking. And the damages… The damages were like nothing I’ve seen from an attack by a Ghoul before. I saw what they’d done to one of the trucks just last week; got its remains from the border of the city, along with a few supplies which were intact which my boys managed to salvage from the wreck... These things got some wicked claws or something! Tore right through three inches of steel!”
Considering that for a moment, Ranma told his possible employer. “Doesn’t sound like the work of any Kuei. They’re dangerous in packs, but their strength and ability is comparable to a human’s, only marginally stronger. This is something different. And it’ll cost you more.”
“But the survivors swear it’s only Ku-” Joshua shook his head. This Japanese Mercenary had him saying it now. “The survivors swear they only saw Ghouls and mentioned that they were stronger and faster than normal...”
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, “And did the survivors see any claws or fangs on them?”
The owner of the majority of the town shook his head. “Well, no, but-”
“Then it’s not the Kuei you should be worried about,” The white-haired monster hunter said seriously. “Kuei are the weakest and simplest breed of the Dark Ones, so easy to put down, I’m sure any caravan with a few guns could have handled them with little difficulty. Animated rotting corpses that were formerly human are not enough to take down large groups of traders and travelers, nor tear through steel!” Ranma practically shouted the last part to make his point. “There’s something else out there people aren’t seeing even as it kills them...” He told Tallman in a rather cryptic tone of voice.
“...Possibly...” Tallman allowed, feeling rather nervous as this boy got him thinking. “But if it is something worse... We don’t know what it is. All the survivors... Which are just around twelve out of nearly two hundred people... They all said the same thing. They saw a Ku-Ghoul or Two and then the things were upon them, blood splattering and the monsters eating people, somehow guns missing or having no effect!”
“So they saw the Ghouls hit?” Ranma asked.
Shaking his head, Tallman said, “They shot in their direction, but the damn things didn’t act like they got hit.”
The White Tiger snorted in annoyance. “Then that’s just bad marksmanship on their part,” Ranma said in a tone that spoke volumes of how his interest was waning. “Now back to something I was asking earlier. What can you afford to pay?”
“We’re still pretty well-stocked,” The Caucasian told Ranma. “While we don’t have credits, we can still supply you with food and plenty of wet to drink.”
Nodding his head to that, Ranma said, “If it’s just Kuei as you’re trying to tell me... It’ll do. But if there’s more than that, and I bring back its remains for proof...” He thumbed over his shoulder. “You’re also going to have someone work on my bike out from. I need new breaks and a tune-up. And you’ll fill the gas-tank, free of charge to me.”
“Fair enough,” Tallman said seriously. He held out his hand to shake... And withdrew it after a bit when Ranma just stared at his hand as if it were an insult. “Well, I guess I should mention that you might not be the only one after these Ghouls. There could be competition.”
Raising an eyebrow, Ranma asked, “Competition?”
With a nod of his head, Tallman told Ranma, “There has been word of another Mercenary heading this way...”
(------)
“I don’t like this...”
“What? That we may have some competition? I think it’ll be good for the boy. It’s not often he has to work as hard as he could to earn his pay.”
“Not that... I’m referring to earlier. Didn’t you feel it?”
“Of course I felt it. So did Ranma. Something was watching us... A power familiar to me, but different somehow.”
“You took the words right out of my mouth, Raz.”
“RAZIEL! BY KAIN, WOMAN, GET MY NAME RIGHT!”
“...Fine, Raziel. But I’m trying to say that I have to agree with you, for once. It did seem familiar. TOO familiar...”
“Hmm? What’s this? Actually showing some interest in something OUTSIDE of getting laid?”
“...I’ll ignore THAT little comment. But yeah. This... Whatever it was, I KNOW what was watching... I just can’t remember...”
“Like your last boyfriend’s face?”
“HEY! I’m being serious here! And it’s not my fault I have trouble remembering some things of my past! I was in a hurry with casting some spells at the end of my civilization to save everyone that... Well... I didn’t fuck things up completely, but I guess cutting corners did have its own price to pay.”
“And you wonder WHY I worry about sharing real estate with you...”
“Oh, well screw you, you dickless hippy!”
“Now that’s what I’m saying, all you concentrate on is SEX!”
“Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch! Is that all you do, Raz?”
“RAZIEL! RAZIEL! MY NAME IS RAZIEL, DAMN IT!!!”
“WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP!? I’M TRYING TO TALK TO THIS GUY!”
“Sorry boss...”
“Sorry Ranma...”
(------)
“Hey, White Tiger?” Joshua asked as he waved a hand in front of his face. “That’s a nasty eye-tick you’ve got there. You feeling all right?”
“...I’m fine...” Ranma said, his left eye still twitching in irritation. “Now what were you telling me?”
“Well...”
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(Posted Mon, 16 Jan 2006 18:12)
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