Post by Zaru on Jan 1, 2020 6:34:29 GMT -8
Zaru leaned forward on the back of a truck where he sat, his head covered by a rice hat and a poncho covering his loose black and white robes that he usually stuck to wearing. The young man huffed as the old vehicle shook underneath him, kicking up sand around its wheels as it travelled. To say that it had been a bumpy ride into the centre of the great desert would be an understatement; this thing's suspension had probably died back before old King Furry. The man reached into his robes, rummaging for a moment before he pulled out a picture, staring down at it intently. It was a picture of a young girl, wearing what was apparently typical garb for her tribe, who lived near the border between the desert and the rest of the Southlands. The girl must have been close to ten, something like that; way too young to have to worry about things like this, getting caught up into trouble.
There was some kind of bandit gang, connected with the Desert Wolves that had taken her. They were the crimson wolves, or red wolves, or something like that. It didn't really matter what name they put on the banner above their clubhouse - they'd kidnapped a little girl who had no stake in any of this. Usually, he'd ask for Zeni if he was going to head off and deal with a problem for someone, even if he enjoyed the opportunity to show guys like this how small they really were. In this case, he decided to make one exception - the old man had just been so insistent about his only child, and seeing her picture, he'd felt the guilt trip starting to overtake him. Better to just hurry up and do this than deal with more blubbering, right? Besides, anything to stay as far away as he could from the islands. Like he needed another lecture taken from an example of the geezer's life, about why he should sit around and just do nothing. He could do better than the mediocrity the rest of his family seemed so satisfied with.
Putting the picture away, Zaru sighed and leaned back in his not-so-comfy seat. The bandit leader supposedly had spiked up red hair and teeth that he'd sharpened to look like fangs, as part of his whole persona. He couldn't even imagine anything more lame than that. Dyeing his hair red was bad enough, but trying to sharpen his teeth like the fake fangs children would wear as part of monster costumes just made Zaru want to laugh at him. He would, but so far he was just in too much of a foul mood to do that before this guy was face-down in the sand. There was something inherently cowardly about what he'd done; something that Zaru just couldn't stomach. There were some members of his own family who had formed something of a clan up in the central lands and were basically just yakuza with a more famous name, but even those guys wouldn't stoop this low.
Finally, the truck stopped. There was a gas station that the driver had decided to make a quick stop at, and from what Zaru could tell, this was as close as he was going to get. There was a small settlement named Coran Town nearby - he was sure that if this red wolf was anywhere, it'd be there. He'd had the mind to look them up beforehand, to try and tell where they'd previously attacked. Everything had been centered around Coran Town, and there weren't any rock formations, caves or tunnels system nearby, so they couldn't be hiding out in there. Zaru hopped off the back of the truck and began walking down the road towards the town, the driver none the wiser that he had even been on the back. Zaru let out another sigh. The one problem with this, is that it meant he'd have to deal with the locals. He wasn't looking forward to it. He was the greatest martial artist living today and probably an astounding diplomat on top of that, but having to talk to a bunch of desert dwellers that were probably on the side of the gang wasn't going to be fun. With all the attacks that had happened from Coran Town, no way there wasn't someone who had come to visit over something similar; and had gotten nowhere.
Walking into Coran Town itself, it was immediately obvious to Zaru how much of a dump the place was. The buildings looked like they hadn't had maintenance at once, and people who were wandering around the streets looked at him with suspicion. He wasn't exactly dressed like a local, sure, but the people's hostile stares were more than just a bit unusual. Clearly, they weren't happy to have outsiders, but considering the state they'd left the town in, Zaru figured they could do with at least someone who knew the first thing about building maintenance. He decided he'd try the closest thing to a public area, and walked into the nearest bar, the sign barely hanging on by a few cables. The young man pulled his rice hat back so that it sat on his back rather than his head as he entered, though it didn't help with everyone immediately stopping what they were doing and staring at him as he entered. Still, he walked in without concerning himself too much, and stared at the bartender with a flat, emotionless expression that seemed to make him uncomfortable. Zaru pulled out the photograph again, showing it to him. "I'm looking for this girl. She's from the edge of the desert, up north. She was kidnapped and I think she's been taken here, to your town." He paused, letting it sink in. The bartender still stared at him in a confused way, mostly since he hadn't explained yet why he thought that.
Zaru took his time, mostly for dramatic effect, and he enjoyed leaving them in suspense, just a bit. There was something fun in keeping them on edge. "The man who took her had dyed red hair, and sharp teeth, like a wolf's fangs. Does that sound familiar to you?" Though he didn't move or look, he could feel some rumbling in the bar as he asked it. Everyone was still silent, not wanting to say a thing, but the way that just mentioning the man put them on edge gave him the distinct impression that they didn't have to say anything at all; whoever this man was, he scared them, for some reason. How they could be frightened of a man with ridiculous looking teeth and stupid hair was beyond him, but clearly he wasn't the kind of guy these cowards would pick on. No, they preferred to try and target little girls. Still, he was surprised at how long it was taking the bartender to answer. He was standing there for a couple of minutes as the bartender cleaned his glasses, but still said nothing. Instead, he cocked his head towards the door, as though indicating there was something to say. There stood another man, leaning against the wall, who cocked his head as well. Instead of to something to look at though, he was clearly indicating there was something outside. Zaru pulled his hat up onto his head again and didn't even bother giving a passing glance to the man as he went by, heading out into the empty street. At least, he had thought it empty.
Instead, standing down at one end of the dusty road was a group of angry looking bandits, with scars and wolf insignias across the clothes they were wearing. Most importantly, there was the man in the middle and standing in front of the others. He was there, with his spiked up red hair and razor-sharp teeth. Perhaps Zaru had underestimated his look just slightly; seeing him now, he could see how a regular guy might be a little intimidated by teeth like that, and a look like that in the man's eye. Still, Zaru just stood there, a blank expression still on his face. Some of the goons alongside the man had knives, others holding guns. "Who are you, moron? You think you can come into my town and just start asking for me without making an appointment, then accuse me of stuff? Huh?" Zaru really didn't have the patience for this. What was with guys like this? Did he think someone was going to come alone just out of stupid bravery, rather than being someone who knew what they were doing? Then again, he couldn't predict someone like him turning up, could he? He didn't know quite what an unlucky day he was having. "I don't really care. Just give the girl back, and I'm gone. I'd prefer this didn't take very long." He could see the snarl in the man's lips as the fury fill in his eyes; clearly he didn't take well to someone responding to him so indignantly. Did he expect to command respect as the leader of some no-name gang in a backwater town?
"Make an example out of this guy! I want bits of him in each corner of the desert!" The man's yelling was immediately obeyed by three of his subordinates, who came charging with their bladed weapons. The closer that Zaru looked, squinting slightly, he could see that they weren't knives now. Yeah, they were closer to something like machetes or other cutting tools. It didn't really matter, though. He didn't bother taking a real fighting stance yet - he wasn't particularly threatened by these three charging at him with hedge trimmers. Clearly, they had no idea what they were up against. The first bandit to reach him slashed downwards, but found only empty air where his target had been just a few moments prior. Zaru had simply moved to the side, his hand gently moving to the back of the man's neck and the other to his back as his leg moved in the way. Using the man's own momentum, he threw him, sending the bandit tumbling through the sand and dazed. The second bandit tried something different, leaping through the air as he came down with his slash, trying to go for the top of Zaru's head through his hat. The young man leaned back, taking a proper stance just for a moment as he suddenly thrust his leg out, landing a powerful kick in the man's sternum that seemed to drive all of the air out of him and force his eyes to roll back in his head. The bandit went flying back through the air, careening down and crashing intot the dust at the feet of his leader, who didn't move or seem startled, but was only getting more and more furious as his guys began to look like little more than punching bags. The third and final bandit was a bit craftier than his brethren, and tried faking a downward slash before instead bringing one from the side. Though it wasn't a bad idea, the feint had gotten no reaction from Zaru, and he made a point of simply lifting his arm to block the slash. Upon contact, the machete simply shattered against his wrist, as though it had been smashed into metal or solid rock.
The bandit stared in confusion at his broken weapon as Zaru squatted slightly to control his breathing and energy, then thrust his fist up into the man's stomach. He was immediately unconscious, his body reflexively moving his arms to hold his abdomen as he quivered on the ground. Zaru idly kicked him aside, sending him flying off to the side and crashing into the wall of a building, leaving a man-sized hole in the old wood. The first man that had attacked him and that he had thrown was up now, however, and was rushing at Zaru from behind, determined to give it another try. The martial artist simply shoved his elbow out backwards, immediately colliding with the man's nose, which he could feel breaking from the sheer force of his blow. The bandit fell backward, lying unconscious on the sand. Zaru dusted off his hands, giving a sigh as he stared towards the red-haired man, who looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "Are you done now?"
The look on the bandit leader's face made it clear that he was far from done. He drew a revolver, firing once at Zaru. For him, the bullet seemed to travel so slowly. It was odd to see people still using guns in this day and age; martial arts had made such things inferior for a long time. There was crazy technology out there that may have been able to floor amateurs and maybe even some veteran fighters, but there was nothing available to anyone that could do real harm to him. He was far too beyond it now. Zaru actually began casually walking forward as his hand snapped up, easily catching the bullet. He even displayed it between his fingers before flicking it off to the side, hearing it hit a wooden porch and roll away. The bandit's leader looked confused and slightly frightened, yelling once again. "What are you idiots waiting for?! Fire! Open fire!" Hesitant at first, the bandits quickly obeyed as they aimed automatic weapons, firing them in a group at the single man approaching. The movements of his hands were clearly too fast for the regular eye to see, but he did notice that the leader's eyes seemed to be catching them, just now and again. He was hardly ever going to keep up with someone at his level, but there was the beginnings of a martial artist there, which was curious. Zaru finally stopped mere inches from the bandit leader as his men finally stopped firing, and he held his fists out before slowly opening them; every bullet that had been fired poured out of his hands onto the ground below, the other bandits beginning to cower away and back up, out of fear. The leader also backstepped somewhat, but not as much, his sharpened teeth still extended out in an enraged snarl. "I'm not interested in embarassing you anymore. Will you just give me the girl already? Her father wants her home."
The enraged leader seeemed to have a vein appear on the side of his head as he threw aside his shirt, revealing a torso covered in wolf tattoos and designs. "I don't care! You can have her! One of you, bring the girl! I'm gonna handle this guy the old fashioned away. If you live, she can carry what's left of you back!" The man took a stance, lazy and ill-prepared as it was. Zaru immediately recognised the martial arts of the Desert Wolves - the Wolf Fang Fist. It was a style that could be incredibly hard to predict and go up against, but this man seemed to have done only a little training. Zaru took a stance of his own; even if he was a very low-level amateur, he'd let him have this moment of believing he was being taken seriously. Perhaps it'd teach him his place. The leader grinned, and suddenly came charging forward, his hands prepared to cut wherever he could. His rush forward seemed to be accompanied by a wolf's howl, and he was moving faster than most could follow. As he reached Zaru though, he was stopped mere inches from his target. A single straight punch struck the man's face, then another, then strikes that attacked his stomach, chest and neck. Finally, another strike to the face sent him falling backwards, only for Zaru to grab his arms. He yanked the leader back towards him, lifting his knee far up enough to strike him in the face. No doubt the man had been rendered unconscious by the first blow, but Zaru was proving a point to him, and his men. Finally, he turned and threw the man, sending him twirling through the air for a moment before he landed face-first in the sand, just as the man who had been sent to bring the girl arrived. Zaru dropped his stance and lifted his hat slightly to see her, scared and confused as she was, and could tell that it was definitely her. She didn't look hurt or uncomfortable, so he would give that to the bandits, at least. That afforded them one way out. "The rest of you can go." The bandits scurried off, running for their lives into the desert and other parts of town as the young girl didn't seem to understand what was going on.
There was some kind of bandit gang, connected with the Desert Wolves that had taken her. They were the crimson wolves, or red wolves, or something like that. It didn't really matter what name they put on the banner above their clubhouse - they'd kidnapped a little girl who had no stake in any of this. Usually, he'd ask for Zeni if he was going to head off and deal with a problem for someone, even if he enjoyed the opportunity to show guys like this how small they really were. In this case, he decided to make one exception - the old man had just been so insistent about his only child, and seeing her picture, he'd felt the guilt trip starting to overtake him. Better to just hurry up and do this than deal with more blubbering, right? Besides, anything to stay as far away as he could from the islands. Like he needed another lecture taken from an example of the geezer's life, about why he should sit around and just do nothing. He could do better than the mediocrity the rest of his family seemed so satisfied with.
Putting the picture away, Zaru sighed and leaned back in his not-so-comfy seat. The bandit leader supposedly had spiked up red hair and teeth that he'd sharpened to look like fangs, as part of his whole persona. He couldn't even imagine anything more lame than that. Dyeing his hair red was bad enough, but trying to sharpen his teeth like the fake fangs children would wear as part of monster costumes just made Zaru want to laugh at him. He would, but so far he was just in too much of a foul mood to do that before this guy was face-down in the sand. There was something inherently cowardly about what he'd done; something that Zaru just couldn't stomach. There were some members of his own family who had formed something of a clan up in the central lands and were basically just yakuza with a more famous name, but even those guys wouldn't stoop this low.
Finally, the truck stopped. There was a gas station that the driver had decided to make a quick stop at, and from what Zaru could tell, this was as close as he was going to get. There was a small settlement named Coran Town nearby - he was sure that if this red wolf was anywhere, it'd be there. He'd had the mind to look them up beforehand, to try and tell where they'd previously attacked. Everything had been centered around Coran Town, and there weren't any rock formations, caves or tunnels system nearby, so they couldn't be hiding out in there. Zaru hopped off the back of the truck and began walking down the road towards the town, the driver none the wiser that he had even been on the back. Zaru let out another sigh. The one problem with this, is that it meant he'd have to deal with the locals. He wasn't looking forward to it. He was the greatest martial artist living today and probably an astounding diplomat on top of that, but having to talk to a bunch of desert dwellers that were probably on the side of the gang wasn't going to be fun. With all the attacks that had happened from Coran Town, no way there wasn't someone who had come to visit over something similar; and had gotten nowhere.
Walking into Coran Town itself, it was immediately obvious to Zaru how much of a dump the place was. The buildings looked like they hadn't had maintenance at once, and people who were wandering around the streets looked at him with suspicion. He wasn't exactly dressed like a local, sure, but the people's hostile stares were more than just a bit unusual. Clearly, they weren't happy to have outsiders, but considering the state they'd left the town in, Zaru figured they could do with at least someone who knew the first thing about building maintenance. He decided he'd try the closest thing to a public area, and walked into the nearest bar, the sign barely hanging on by a few cables. The young man pulled his rice hat back so that it sat on his back rather than his head as he entered, though it didn't help with everyone immediately stopping what they were doing and staring at him as he entered. Still, he walked in without concerning himself too much, and stared at the bartender with a flat, emotionless expression that seemed to make him uncomfortable. Zaru pulled out the photograph again, showing it to him. "I'm looking for this girl. She's from the edge of the desert, up north. She was kidnapped and I think she's been taken here, to your town." He paused, letting it sink in. The bartender still stared at him in a confused way, mostly since he hadn't explained yet why he thought that.
Zaru took his time, mostly for dramatic effect, and he enjoyed leaving them in suspense, just a bit. There was something fun in keeping them on edge. "The man who took her had dyed red hair, and sharp teeth, like a wolf's fangs. Does that sound familiar to you?" Though he didn't move or look, he could feel some rumbling in the bar as he asked it. Everyone was still silent, not wanting to say a thing, but the way that just mentioning the man put them on edge gave him the distinct impression that they didn't have to say anything at all; whoever this man was, he scared them, for some reason. How they could be frightened of a man with ridiculous looking teeth and stupid hair was beyond him, but clearly he wasn't the kind of guy these cowards would pick on. No, they preferred to try and target little girls. Still, he was surprised at how long it was taking the bartender to answer. He was standing there for a couple of minutes as the bartender cleaned his glasses, but still said nothing. Instead, he cocked his head towards the door, as though indicating there was something to say. There stood another man, leaning against the wall, who cocked his head as well. Instead of to something to look at though, he was clearly indicating there was something outside. Zaru pulled his hat up onto his head again and didn't even bother giving a passing glance to the man as he went by, heading out into the empty street. At least, he had thought it empty.
Instead, standing down at one end of the dusty road was a group of angry looking bandits, with scars and wolf insignias across the clothes they were wearing. Most importantly, there was the man in the middle and standing in front of the others. He was there, with his spiked up red hair and razor-sharp teeth. Perhaps Zaru had underestimated his look just slightly; seeing him now, he could see how a regular guy might be a little intimidated by teeth like that, and a look like that in the man's eye. Still, Zaru just stood there, a blank expression still on his face. Some of the goons alongside the man had knives, others holding guns. "Who are you, moron? You think you can come into my town and just start asking for me without making an appointment, then accuse me of stuff? Huh?" Zaru really didn't have the patience for this. What was with guys like this? Did he think someone was going to come alone just out of stupid bravery, rather than being someone who knew what they were doing? Then again, he couldn't predict someone like him turning up, could he? He didn't know quite what an unlucky day he was having. "I don't really care. Just give the girl back, and I'm gone. I'd prefer this didn't take very long." He could see the snarl in the man's lips as the fury fill in his eyes; clearly he didn't take well to someone responding to him so indignantly. Did he expect to command respect as the leader of some no-name gang in a backwater town?
"Make an example out of this guy! I want bits of him in each corner of the desert!" The man's yelling was immediately obeyed by three of his subordinates, who came charging with their bladed weapons. The closer that Zaru looked, squinting slightly, he could see that they weren't knives now. Yeah, they were closer to something like machetes or other cutting tools. It didn't really matter, though. He didn't bother taking a real fighting stance yet - he wasn't particularly threatened by these three charging at him with hedge trimmers. Clearly, they had no idea what they were up against. The first bandit to reach him slashed downwards, but found only empty air where his target had been just a few moments prior. Zaru had simply moved to the side, his hand gently moving to the back of the man's neck and the other to his back as his leg moved in the way. Using the man's own momentum, he threw him, sending the bandit tumbling through the sand and dazed. The second bandit tried something different, leaping through the air as he came down with his slash, trying to go for the top of Zaru's head through his hat. The young man leaned back, taking a proper stance just for a moment as he suddenly thrust his leg out, landing a powerful kick in the man's sternum that seemed to drive all of the air out of him and force his eyes to roll back in his head. The bandit went flying back through the air, careening down and crashing intot the dust at the feet of his leader, who didn't move or seem startled, but was only getting more and more furious as his guys began to look like little more than punching bags. The third and final bandit was a bit craftier than his brethren, and tried faking a downward slash before instead bringing one from the side. Though it wasn't a bad idea, the feint had gotten no reaction from Zaru, and he made a point of simply lifting his arm to block the slash. Upon contact, the machete simply shattered against his wrist, as though it had been smashed into metal or solid rock.
The bandit stared in confusion at his broken weapon as Zaru squatted slightly to control his breathing and energy, then thrust his fist up into the man's stomach. He was immediately unconscious, his body reflexively moving his arms to hold his abdomen as he quivered on the ground. Zaru idly kicked him aside, sending him flying off to the side and crashing into the wall of a building, leaving a man-sized hole in the old wood. The first man that had attacked him and that he had thrown was up now, however, and was rushing at Zaru from behind, determined to give it another try. The martial artist simply shoved his elbow out backwards, immediately colliding with the man's nose, which he could feel breaking from the sheer force of his blow. The bandit fell backward, lying unconscious on the sand. Zaru dusted off his hands, giving a sigh as he stared towards the red-haired man, who looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "Are you done now?"
The look on the bandit leader's face made it clear that he was far from done. He drew a revolver, firing once at Zaru. For him, the bullet seemed to travel so slowly. It was odd to see people still using guns in this day and age; martial arts had made such things inferior for a long time. There was crazy technology out there that may have been able to floor amateurs and maybe even some veteran fighters, but there was nothing available to anyone that could do real harm to him. He was far too beyond it now. Zaru actually began casually walking forward as his hand snapped up, easily catching the bullet. He even displayed it between his fingers before flicking it off to the side, hearing it hit a wooden porch and roll away. The bandit's leader looked confused and slightly frightened, yelling once again. "What are you idiots waiting for?! Fire! Open fire!" Hesitant at first, the bandits quickly obeyed as they aimed automatic weapons, firing them in a group at the single man approaching. The movements of his hands were clearly too fast for the regular eye to see, but he did notice that the leader's eyes seemed to be catching them, just now and again. He was hardly ever going to keep up with someone at his level, but there was the beginnings of a martial artist there, which was curious. Zaru finally stopped mere inches from the bandit leader as his men finally stopped firing, and he held his fists out before slowly opening them; every bullet that had been fired poured out of his hands onto the ground below, the other bandits beginning to cower away and back up, out of fear. The leader also backstepped somewhat, but not as much, his sharpened teeth still extended out in an enraged snarl. "I'm not interested in embarassing you anymore. Will you just give me the girl already? Her father wants her home."
The enraged leader seeemed to have a vein appear on the side of his head as he threw aside his shirt, revealing a torso covered in wolf tattoos and designs. "I don't care! You can have her! One of you, bring the girl! I'm gonna handle this guy the old fashioned away. If you live, she can carry what's left of you back!" The man took a stance, lazy and ill-prepared as it was. Zaru immediately recognised the martial arts of the Desert Wolves - the Wolf Fang Fist. It was a style that could be incredibly hard to predict and go up against, but this man seemed to have done only a little training. Zaru took a stance of his own; even if he was a very low-level amateur, he'd let him have this moment of believing he was being taken seriously. Perhaps it'd teach him his place. The leader grinned, and suddenly came charging forward, his hands prepared to cut wherever he could. His rush forward seemed to be accompanied by a wolf's howl, and he was moving faster than most could follow. As he reached Zaru though, he was stopped mere inches from his target. A single straight punch struck the man's face, then another, then strikes that attacked his stomach, chest and neck. Finally, another strike to the face sent him falling backwards, only for Zaru to grab his arms. He yanked the leader back towards him, lifting his knee far up enough to strike him in the face. No doubt the man had been rendered unconscious by the first blow, but Zaru was proving a point to him, and his men. Finally, he turned and threw the man, sending him twirling through the air for a moment before he landed face-first in the sand, just as the man who had been sent to bring the girl arrived. Zaru dropped his stance and lifted his hat slightly to see her, scared and confused as she was, and could tell that it was definitely her. She didn't look hurt or uncomfortable, so he would give that to the bandits, at least. That afforded them one way out. "The rest of you can go." The bandits scurried off, running for their lives into the desert and other parts of town as the young girl didn't seem to understand what was going on.
Now, it was just the walk back.
WC: 2,806