Well, there was that and the fact that he didn't know what sort of weapon that he would need, so he had to get an idea of what he was facing before he actually tried to fight back.
At the same time, he didn't want to have to go through with it. He knew what it would take, and he certainly didn't want to have to go through his list of contacts. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that fate was playing fair, so that meant that he had to go to him.
"C'mon, let's get going," he sighed as he braced himself as the cab slammed to a stop.
Melfina gave him a slow nod, her gaze a little unfocused as she stumbled out of the cab with her owner. "Of course, Master."
"You remember, understand," the driver said with a wide smile. "If you need a ride, you remember me."
Eyes wide, she turned to face him, clearly wondering when she would want to take that sort of ride again.
"We'll keep that in mind," the pigtailed boy murmured as he handed over some bills.
"Good, good. I'll be there very fast," the driver replied, letting only dust signal his departure as his car zoomed off into the distance.
"Now, we have to go see a certain someone."
"Another one of your friends, Master?" Melfina asked, blinking as she hurried to keep up with him.
"Something like that. 'Course, I'm not sure that he's completely on anyone's side."
There was something about his words and tone of voice that had her wondering if she should be worried. Then again, she wasn't exactly comfortable in what she saw around her in the first place. As she glanced around, she caught sight of a lot of stares, some of which weren't exactly friendly. From the bald muscle-head glowering over his drink at her, to the group of young thugs grinning in an unfriendly way at her slender figure, she was pretty sure that she was not in a safe environment.
That meant that she wound up huddling close to her Master, feeling only secure when she was near him.
"Guess I don't have to yell you to stay close, huh?" Ranma murmured.
Reaching out to take a light hold on his shirt, she pressed her lips together. "Do they all want to... hurt us?"
"Some of them. Lot of them are mercenaries, but there's plenty who are involved in fights about stuff that most people don't know about. In fact, some are probably seeing you as possible trouble."
"Me? But I don't want to do anything to anyone...."
"Yeah, but try telling them that. Besides, you don't have to look to make problems."
"I know. It's just...."
"Trouble will find you," Ranma sighed, and pointed at a door. "Like here."
For a moment, she wondered about what he meant. After all, it didn't seem to be all that bad as she followed him in, as the bell over the door was the only noise when they went in. Not a single thing seemed to be out of place, from the neat areas around the seats, to the friendly looking man standing there with a smile. However, it also took only a little time looking at him to note that the shopkeeper seemed to be wearing a facade and didn't mind if people recognized that fact.
"Why little horse, how nice to see you," murmured the dusky skinned man. "Here for a visit?"
"Uh uh. Actually, I've got some problems," Ranma retorted.
"How awful. Would that be with your young lady there? I'd hate to think that you would be having trouble being involved with such a lovely woman."
"Sort of. You see, I've got some pirates after us. Bunch that uses magic and has lots of stooges in light armor working for them."
"Oh dear. Kei pirates? Sounds like you've been having some hectic times since I saw you last."
The pigtailed boy snorted. "Like I figured. You do know something. Mind telling me what that is?"
"Ah, certainly. But you know the price."
"Don't tell me." Ranma sent a flat glance at the chair before turning to give a disbelieving look at the older man. "You wanted to cut off my pigtail!"
"True, but you do realize that such actions are part of my job...."
"Not that far...."
"Yes, yes. I take it that you won't be wanting to use my services then."
"Alright, but don't touch my pigtail, Yusef," the teenager bit off as he stomped over to the chair.
The barber pulled out a pair of scissors and opened and closed them several times. "The customer is always right, and I always want to be able to chat about everything with my customers."
From her position, Melfina wondered if everything would be alright as she watched her Master apparently going for a haircut, while:
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(Posted Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:03)
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