@risa_ai: I am finally here with an update!
I'm not really sure why this took so long for me to finish, other than I guess my focus is more on Rockstar at the moment. I'm likely to only update this sporadically until I finish the other, but no worries, I definitely haven't forgotten it. ^^ Enjoy.
Chapter One<<Two days later, near the outskirts of Barrier City #2002...>>Five hours. That's how long they'd been crouching there beside the rocks, all but camouflaged in their dull grey armored suits. The sun was merciless this day, and the eldest of the trio kept fidgeting as her suit got uncomfortable, baking her in unpleasant heat. The larger female next to her gave her a quick jab with an elbow, metal clanking against metal.
"Will you knock it off?!" Came the admonition hissed angrily through the helmet's receiver, "You'll scare everything away and then we'll have been out here all day for nothing..."
"But Maa-chan, it burns, and besides, I've got sweat in my eyes--which also burns, by the way--"
"Both of you shut up. We'll move on if nothing shows up within the next ten minutes." The final member of the trio silenced her companions with a calm and firm tone, her focus never leaving the line of gnarled trees in the distance. Though the youngest of the group, they easily deferred to her as leader, her strength and reliability keeping them a step above the other hunting parties in the guild. Because of Miyabi, they had a place to stay and food on the table every night, and that was more than most people in the city could say for themselves.
The eldest moved again, skin itching beneath the relentless heat and joints screaming for a break from the position they were in. She needed to stretch, badly, legs on the verge of cramping up, but the girl beside her gave her another sharp nudge.
"Chinami, I swear, I'll put your head right through this boulder..."
"I really think me moving is gonna get less attention than if I get a leg cramp and start screaming!"
"Guys... Look..."
Miyabi's quiet voice cut through their bickering, and the two slowly turned their heads to follow the leader's line of sight. She was focused on a pale figure emerging from behind the trees, its gait tentative as it checked all around for signs of danger. It was a deer, and a buck at that, an impressive and massive set of horns jutting out from either side of his head. Miyabi knew that the nearest available source of water for him lay some 20 yards beyond where they were hiding; it was the opportunity she'd been counting on--he would definitely have to pass them to get to it. And if all went according to plan, he wouldn't notice them until he was well within range--much too late.
"Maasa..."
"No worries, boss," The leader heard the muffled click that she registered as a bolt being loaded into a crossbow, "I've got this." Out of the corner of her eye, Miyabi watched as the team's marksman took aim and then stayed statue-still, waiting for the signal.
The buck continued to inch forward, obviously wary. Though she knew he couldn't see them, the leader thought it was strange that the beast was
that nervous. Experience told her that watching prey was just as important as catching it, and she narrowed her eyes, instantly alert.
Suddenly, the buck fled, sprinting as fast as it could to the left and out of sight, causing all three girls to let out gasps of surprise and frustration. Maasa scrambled to her feet and let the bolt fly after the animal, but it was a futile effort; he was gone.
"Damnit!"
Miyabi sighed, and beside her, Chinami slowly rose to a standing position, groaning. At another time, it might have been amusing that the joints of her suit squeaked so badly, but just now they'd lost both the day's meal... and paycheck. The leader stood to join her teammates, moving towards Maasa. The tall girl hadn't moved since her missed shot and was still staring off in the direction the buck had fled. Miyabi placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Why do you think it took off like that? There's no way it heard us all the way over here..."
"Perhaps today was just his lucky day," the leader reassured her, her way of telling Maasa that it wasn't her fault. But she wondered the real reason herself. She had noticed the animal's trepidation, but could gather no cause for it. At least, not until a low rumble sounded nearby, all three slowly hunters turning to see what had made the noise.
An enormous bear was lumbering towards them, flecks of blood and saliva flinging from its open jaws as it let out a guttural roar. It was already in a half charge, rapidly gaining speed while it thundered in their direction, and Miyabi realized then what the buck had noticed moments earlier. The stench was powerful, almost enough to send her reeling, and she watched her subordinates stagger as it hit them as well.
"This way!" Miyabi called, taking off towards the stream, Chinami and Maasa scrambling to keep up. Moments later, she heard another loud roar, and the sound of the ground being torn from the earth as the bear ripped into it with massive paws in an attempt to stop its momentum and change direction.
"You don't actually think we can outrun him, do you?!" Chinami shrieked as she ducked suddenly, just barely avoiding a passing branch. She was moving slower than the other two, legs still sore, and when Miyabi noticed this, she quickly formulated a plan.
"No, I don't, but I think you can for a while, right Chii-chan?"
"What?!"
A tree splintered behind them, and Maasa jerked Miyabi towards her as the trunk slammed into the ground, flattening the area she'd been in just seconds before and effectively separating the two from Chinami. The bear chose to follow their separated comrade, and Miyabi winced slightly as she heard the girl screech into her headset. She had little choice but to be the bait now...
We're coming, don't worry...As Maasa instinctively began to run after their friend, Miyabi grabbed her arm and pulled her in a different direction.
"No. This way. Trust me."
And the taller girl did, wordlessly stumbling after her leader.
"The rocks sort of circle around the stream up ahead. That's why I had us waiting where we were, just in case," Miyabi explained quickly, vaulting her body over the fallen trunk and willing her tired legs to move faster, "Chinami will hit a dead end and have to circle back this way, and when she does we'll be ready."
Maasa simply grunted an affirmative, but the way her breathing shook told the leader the girl was absolutely terrified for her friend. They came upon the water soon, Miyabi sliding to her knees at the edge of it, hands going to work scraping out a shallow pit in the dirt there.
"Harpoon gun." She commanded, and Maasa lifted one of the two massive weapons she'd been hauling around on her back, passing it down to her leader. Miyabi's plan was becoming clearer, and she moved several yards off to mimic the girl's actions, balancing her gun in the pit for better aim. And then she paused, quickly dragging her weapon over to the leader and swapping it for its twin.
Miyabi looked up at her, and Maasa knew the girl was raising an eyebrow somewhere beneath that helmet.
"This one misfires a lot... It's tricky, I want that responsibility." She explained gravely, and Miyabi simply nodded her head as the girl returned to her station.
But it won't come to that... The leader crouched in anticipation, eyes set where she predicted Chinami to emerge. Her intuition had been right once today... She desperately hoped for a second chance. And then, through the brush ahead, a grey figure hurtled towards them, her screaming now back in range, the massive bear tearing its way around the forest behind her. It roared angrily, crimson eyes flashing, and Chinami dove to the ground as she caught sight of the guns, giving her companions a clear shot when the beast reared up on its hind legs.
Miyabi fired first, harpoon whistling as it sailed through the air and sunk deep into the bear's shoulder, a wild howl bubbling from its throat in response. It turned immediately towards her, and the leader reached for the knife on her belt, knowing that it would hardly be effective if the creature bore down on her.
Maasa was frantically dealing with the faulty gun; of
course it would lock up at a time like this. Chinami had scrambled towards her in the confusion and was trying to help, trembling, exhausted fingers scraping against the safety bolt that she knew instinctively her companion had left on.
"Any second now, guys!!" Miyabi shouted, her composure cracking as the bear reared up a second time, and Maasa kicked at the gun, causing it to fire. The second harpoon slammed into the side of the bear's head, burrowing its way into the beast's skull with a sickening crack.
The creature made no sound, other than a strange half-snarl that forced its way out involuntarily as it came crashing back down onto the ground. The giant mass of fur lay still, life ebbing away in a crimson pool beneath its head.
Miyabi slumped, the tension in her body fading while the nerves remained, and she looked over to see her teammates doing the same. She breathed out a weary sigh, the sound of Chinami's nervous laughter fluttering through the speakers in her helmet. Conspicuously absent was the sound of Maasa doing, well, anything, until the girl uttered a quiet sentence that made her blood run cold.
"Tanaka-san... is gonna kill us for breaking her gun."