Kozuna
The blare of our engine and the noise of rifles blasting rang through our ears. Leaning outside the doorway, I reflexively grabbed the edge of the buggy's roof with one hand and started shooting with the other.
I fired off a few warning shots to try and make the Bahsin back off. But they only sped up, trying to pincer us in between.
"They're coming from both sides! Kozuna, take that one out! Yvira, get the other!"
Yvira covered her face with her hands. "I can't! I don't like fighting!"
Oof. Nazun's about to find out how Yvira handles combat.
Nazun grabbed her shirt with one hand, and kept steering with the other. "Listen, lady, we're about to be killed! It's either us or them, and it ain't about to be us! Grab my rifle and USE IT!"
Well. He's getting physical.
Yvira slowly reached for the rifle but pulled her palms away and refused. I heard the beginnings of a one-sided argument in the background and exhaled in annoyance. Nazun swerved around in an attempt to avoid the shots being fired. But all he ended up doing was making it harder for me to aim. I wasted a lot of bullets missing my targets.
I ducked back into the buggy once again, smacking the side of Nazun's head. "Damn it, you fucking substitute teacher! Hold it steady! I can't aim right while you're busy zigzagging all over the fucking place!"
I hastily ejected the clip from my gun and reloaded. That time, I climbed up top and crouched, pushing my hand flat against the roof.
Forget trying to stay a bit safer. No risk, no reward!
With the wind rushing against my body and my hair blowing far back from my skull, the Bahsin were gaining on us. I had to become more precise in handling Nazun's erratic movements. It wasn't like I just had infinite ammunition lying around. My first target was the rear tire of the buggy on my left.
Following the closing of a single eye and the total concentration of what felt like every cell in my body, I let loose a single bullet that not only pierced the tire but also the wheel itself. Sparks flew at that moment, and throughout the few seconds I had been aiming in, I felt a strange surge of something within. Again, time seemed to slow down.
My left hand was twitching, despite having been pressed down against the roof the entire time.
Almost immediately, one buggy fell behind, but the other was nearly right beside us. And to top it off, the Bahsin vehicles were covered entirely with doors, windows, and a roof. I couldn't just swing in, kicking like hell.
It was only a matter of time before I realized their windows rolled down, and guns pointed at Nazun and me.
"Hold on tight!"
I quickly banged on the roof, leaving an indent with my fist. "Wait, you drillbit! There's nothing for me to hold on to!"
Nazun had apparently tugged a hidden lever under the driver's seat- like a little bitch- and our ride shot forward. The sudden force of the wind and the speed of the car nearly sent me flying. I flicked my gun back into the holster and ran one of my knives through the roof, gripping as tight as possible. The ignition went from the normal purring to an ear-piercing roar in seconds. Flames shot from the exhaust wildly, and we began dusting the Bahsin buggy.
The one that was just next to us didn't give up. Instead, the Bahsin used some OTHER form of turbo to catch up not even a minute later! I almost fell off the roof but managed to stand, despite everything happening. Crossing my arms in front of my face, more bullets zipped by me. But only one grazed my face, leaving blood dripping from my cheek.
And now I'm gonna have a scar. Lovely.
"Get close to them! I'm gonna hop on that buggy!"
Yvira peeked out of the buggy and met eyes with me. "Are you crazy? I know you're skilled Kozuna, but come on! How are you gonna change the world if you die? This isn't a movie! It's real life!"
"It'll take more than this to kill me! Also, Yvira! My life IS a movie!"
I tore my knuckle knife from the roof, twirling it around my index finger, readying myself to perform an entirely dumb idea. As Nazun slowed and the enemies rushed forward, I timed my leap from one vehicle to another. And momentarily, I had landed roughly on their roof.
Once again, I stabbed my knuckle knife through a roof, then started blasting at their front tires. In response, they tried shooting through the roof. Bullets whizzed past my arms as I popped their easy-to-hit rears- all while the driver failed to keep the buggy steady.
Like the previous buggy, they quickly lost control, unable to continue the chase. I promptly jerked the knife out of the roof and sheathed my weapons. Then, I took my grappling gun in hand and fired toward the side of Nazun's buggy.
I don't want to kill these people, but I can't have them trying to follow us. I need to hurry before they try to steal my shit.
I'd managed to get the hook to sink in. But just as I was about to click the trigger and fly back over, someone grabbed my ankle.
One of the Bahsin marauders held on tight with one hand. "You don't get to run away, Ozukashi scum! You stole our water!"
Not the first to threaten me. I'm not impressed, but no mention of Jigen, huh?
I swapped my grappling gun to my left hand while trying to yank my leg free. It was apparent he wouldn't let go; the dude's entire body was damn near hanging out the window, while his other hand was holding onto something inside for dear life.
"Sorry in advance for this, but I'm in a rush."
In a hurry, I grabbed my knife and stabbed his hand, but he STILL wouldn't budge!
"GAH," he shrieked, saliva dripping from his lips as his eyelids briefly shut.
Seeing no other options, I twisted the blade around in his hand, causing that poor idiot to scream even more until his grip loosened. Then, I snatched the knife out of his hand-wound and kicked him in the head. His body flopped backward, and he fell out of the vehicle. I felt terrible for him, but there was no time to waste. I pulled the trigger and flew back to the hook, as well as Nazun's buggy.
When I eventually reached our ride, Yvira was still inside, covering her face in fear.
"You okay? Yvira?"
She looked at me silently, with a fearful look on her face.
"I think she's a bit shaken from the encounter. Did you at least take care of them? I can see why you were picked for that water mission, but not her."
"I didn't kill them. But their vehicles won't be able to easily follow us, and at least one of them is badly wounded. Also, don't talk about Yvira like that, you have no clue what she's capable of."
Nazun glared at me through his rearview. "Why didn't you kill them?! They're invading our territory, THEY'RE THE ENEMIES! How in the hell did you get picked for that mission either? You're just as useless if you kill them! Fucking children!"
My expression went from one of concern to anger, just as fast as his did. My left hand twitched again.
"Fuck is that supposed to mean? I can kill! I choose not to! People like you are just cold-hearted, bloodthirsty murderers with no sense of right and wrong! How do you think this shit makes me feel? A constant reminder that probably thousands of people are gonna die a slow, debilitating death of dehydration! And for what? So our clan of butchers can live another day? Isn't it enough that those people might die? You think I should lessen their sentence even MORE?"
Nazun sucked his teeth, and the buggy went silent in conversation. Yvira gazed at me, and her eyes flicked back and forth. From me to Nazun, over and over. I noticed her but didn't say a word. We weren't even officially on the mission, and I had already grown weary of our new substitute.
"If and when they return, kill them, Kozuna. Stop showing mercy to our enemies. Has no one told you before? In the fucked up world we live in, only the strong survive. You were lucky to be born into one of the strongest clans, but you're acting like the catalyst for our destruction. I've seen it before. If you continue to leave enemies alive, people that threaten your life, how do you think that will end up for you? They're gonna take revenge, and they'll do it when you least want them to! Just like what happened a few minutes ago!"
"And so what'll happen if I do kill them? Someone else comes to avenge their fallen comrade's death? What does killing them solve? I won't take the life of another human being, not if I have a choice!"
Yvira tried to calm us down, but no words came out of her mouth. She was acting unusual. Ever since I'd left her alone for a few minutes to handle the Bahsin.
"Well, we'll just see about that. If my life is put in danger by those same people, I'm holding you responsible, Kozuna."
"Yeah," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Cause that'll teach me."
This guy really pisses me off. Wonder how long it'll be until we end up duking it out.
"Putting aside the current issue, we need to make a slight detour. My buggy needs repairs, some of those bullets hit the fuel tank, and it's leaking fast. I can see a town in the distance, we'll have to head there."
"Fine. Try not to take too much time though."
***
Nazun took us to Sanzo, a little town to the northwest of Jigen. Sort of rest stop for scouts who traveled abroad. There were few buildings. The small town was walled off like a miniature fortress. Everything literally fit on one street. Repair stations for buggies were pretty common in areas like those. And along with that, a small hospital. Couldn't expect to find clues to our mission, though. Sanzo wasn't along the train route.
Since there would most likely be nothing of value to aid in our problem, I decided to take Yvira and try to calm her down. It was precisely the reason I didn't want to bring her because she always froze up in sticky situations, and I didn't have Nikai or Anari there to help.
By the time we were even headed for Sanzo, she was afraid to move even the slightest inch. Physically, she was unharmed. Mentally, however?
When we finally reached the town, the gas in Nazun's buggy had almost run dry. We were lucky enough to make it there without having to push the vehicle through sand or call for help.
"You focus on getting that thing repaired. I'm gonna try to help Yvira out a bit."
Nazun nodded slowly and turned away. "Yeah, just take it easy with her."
Nazun instantly took his keys and went to find a mechanic while I went around the other side and held my hand out to Yvira. She didn't budge. Yvira stayed in the seat with an uneasy expression written on her face. She didn't even verbally answer. She just stared out the front with her eyes wide.
I lightly tugged her several times. "Earth to Yvira. Come on, let's go take a walk."
She tried and tried to make herself talk but couldn't. Eventually, I firmly gripped her hand but gently pulled her from the seat and to her feet.
"Yvira, talk to me. If something's the matter, you can tell me. We've been friends for a while, there's nothing that could ever change that."
Before I knew it, tears began rolling down Yvira's face. She flung her face into my chest and started crying, holding onto me like I was her protector. Still, I had no clue what she was feeling. All I could do was wrap my arms around her and hold tight, without saying a word. There was definitely more to it than just the firefight, though.
At some point, I loosened my grip and tried letting go of her. But Yvira opened her eyes and held on tighter.
"Yvira, let's go somewhere and talk. Just tell me what's bothering you." At last, Yvira let go of my body and took a few steps past me, walking into the town. As Yvira went further in, I jogged to her side and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, we-"
My heart throbbed intensely out of nowhere. The sensation of a bullet entering my body stopped my words instantly, and my hand started tingling. Yvira turned around to see some of the Bahsin hooking up Nazun's buggy to theirs and slapping a sheet of paper on the town gates. I fell to the ground next to Yvira, groaning in pain, vision blurring, and bleeding out fast.
Are those the same Bahsin? How'd they fix their buggies so fast?
And while I was breathing hard, lurching on the ground at the gate, Yvira froze up. Again.
A large group of people ran over to see the commotion, all gasping in shock at the sight of a man drenched in blood. A couple of people came over to help. Several nearby citizens called for assistance, and another man even wrapped his shirt around the bullet wound.
"Call for a doctor!"
"We need help over here! This man's been shot!"
My moaning and groaning grew louder as the shirt was tied tightly around the bullet hole. And right on schedule, Nazun and his repairman showed up.
"Yvira, what the hell happened? Where's my buggy? How did the kid get shot?"
She attempted to speak, but once again, nothing came out of her mouth. Nazun pulled Yvira up to her feet by her shirt and slapped her twice.
"Get a fucking hold of yourself! Tell me what happened!"
What a mess.
Tears rolled down her face yet again, but Nazun just dropped her back to the ground with a grunt of pure frustration. Multiple bystanders looked at him in disgust, and some were yelling. But others carried me to the hospital, choosing not to wait for medical personnel. At least a few people had some degree of competence.
Yvira nervously lifted her shaking arm and pointed at the paper they left. Nazun hurried over and snatched it off the wall. His eyes scanned the document, reading aloud what it said.
"The Ozukashi stole what was ours. Now, we will take what's yours. We'll begin with your buggy, but soon we'll take lives. He who was shot was just a warning. Want your buggy back, and no more deaths? Come to the north gate of Jigen with your clan leader, and peacefully give us back our water source. You've got three days."
Nazun crumpled up the paper and violently stuffed it in his pocket. Arms crossed, Nazun turned his attention right back to blaming Yvira.
"Yvira, why didn't you stop them? You do realize, this will hinder our investigation, right?" Nazun groaned loudly and angrily, clenching his fists in the growing distance. "Much as I hate to say it, I wish that damn bullet hit you and not the other kid. At least he knows how to fight."
My eyes widened at what he said; Nazun was still loud enough to hear even while I was being carried away. Hard to ignore, with the particular brand of bullshit he brought to the table.
"I might hate that Kozuna, but he can hold his own. You're just so fucking useless!"
She's not useless. She'll prove it to you, fucking loser.
Nazun turned from the gate and began stomping away. "I'll have to call for backup. Such a fucking piece of shit, good for nothing squad. A leader who can't get up after an injury, a girl who can't fight, a kid who won't kill, and some other rambunctious idiot without an intelligent thought in his brain."
Nazun was almost out of sight in minutes. I didn't know where he was going, but I was losing concern for it. With my vision fading out, I saw Yvira dragging her feet in my direction.
This mission. Can't wait to see how much worse it gets.