soundless exile

Chapter 16: Family, and a Mercenary

Pain. 

Pain, was all I could feel as I woke up, the bright lights blinding, forcing my eyes shut, an unrelenting pounding in my head in time with my heart. Reminding me of my hangovers I slowly sit up a stabbing pain in my back.

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I look up from the small stove. Hearing a groan from the couch, I turn to look to see Rousha. She was sitting up clutching her head in her hands. I frown some while finishing making the food then pouring it into a bowl, walking towards her, and setting it down in front of her. I tap her shoulder, she lifts her head some, her face red with small cuts from her faceplanting into the ground from the bomb.

"Eat", she looked down at the bowl, a look of recognition slowly filled her face as she slowly picked it up to eat. I watched her, mulling over how to approach her after this long. She set the bowl down, leaving it empty. She looked back up at me, making my heart hurt some from leaving her to fend for herself. I felt a tear run down my face as I looked at her before the wall came crumbling down.

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I watched the woman start to cry, I felt something urging me to stand up. Standing up I went to hug her. She freezes for a moment before wrapping her arms around me, crying into my fur and hair. I simply stood there, waiting for her to calm down, the pain in my back still screaming but I ignored it for now.

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Slowly I calmed back down lifting my head from her, gently I guided her head to look at me, her eyes flicked back and forth, noting my missing ear, "I lost it, when I lost you.", this seemed to cause a swarm of emotions to run through her face, confusion, rage, and hope, quickly returning to a collected calm. Her blue eyes though showed a different story.

Gently I stroked her head, and she leaned slightly into it, letting me embrace her again, "My little yuki no kitsune" (Snow fox), I let her rest against me, Rubbing her back some till I felt soft breathing slowly I lifted her off me setting her back on the couch.

"Sleep well my kit", I threw a blanket over her, glancing at a small closet in the room, I walked to it, holding my breath as I opened the door, inside were a few towels, some clothes, and a small wooden box, I gently grasped it. Removing it from the closet, I flicked the latch on it up and lifted the lid, A small glowing cube in it, a small crack visible, A look of melancholy forms on my face, and slowly I shut the box, "soon", I whispered reassuring myself, I placed the box back into the closet.

I put my cloak on grabbed hold of my rifle, and left walking into the forested area slowly coming up to a small cave. The sharp metallic smell of steel and iron cuts the air, and the thick acrid odor of oil soon follows, Walking into the cave a derelict steel structure fills the cavern that it connects to it. Once a proud ship, now left for nothing but scrap, hell not even scrap, it's past salvageable, I walked further into the cavern step by step, soon to come across a small book, with a gear engraved into it.

"Opifex, what do you have for me to do today?", the old leather-bound book opened, flicking to a blank page, ink rising to the surface word by word a message appears, "Hello, tosa today is simple, find and kill, her", Sighing seeing an image of a pale siren with a ponytail, and an excited expression. "Her again?, you know her regen is a pain", more ink shows up, "You know the consequences if you defect", Sighing more giving a nod. "fine I'll kill her again, wish I could break their damn cloning machine."

The book seemed to take a few seconds to respond, "You know just as well as I, your health would not permit that."

Shrugging at that I left the book, hearing it slam shut by itself. I continued without looking back, grabbing a few vials of a silver liquid and a small empty needle and pushing it into myself drawing blood. I held the blood and silver liquid, poured it into a small container, and shook it. The swirling mix of silver and crimson is poured out into a cast, the mix hardens and I slam the cast breaking them free, quicksilver bullets, taking small casings filling them with gunpowder, and pushing the bullet into the cartrage.

With a practiced motion I repeat the process,  going from the first 10 and quickly growing in number, 20, 30, pass by as I work, hitting the 60 mark I stop, taking the newly manufactured bullets I load them into clips, 6 rounds a clip, 10 clips.

"Each round a chance to kill a kansen in one shot, pierce the skin, and hit the cube, the same as a siren.", standing up after placing the clips on me, I made my way out of the cavern making another mark on the wall. A pointless gesture but one that marks change and marks every day I beat the odds.

A bone rattling cough racks my body as I walk, "years without repairs does that to a person", I say to myself,  I pull a small compass out, the gear stamped in its top again, flicking it open, it pointed towards the northeast, flicking the compass shut I continue. Soon to run into a small town, a fishing village presumably judging by the number of small vessels here, I see a blast of light from inside a building a hole being a result, and the pale bitch exiting the same hole, her clothes were caked in blood, a psychotic grin displayed in all its eerie glory, she seems to be relaxed.

I glared at her from my position, "Relaxed, means the fucker is doing this for fun", I muttered, unslinging my rifle, slowly laying down prone waiting for her to face towards me or away. she scanned the area her smile still present as ever, slowly she turned to look at her handiwork, laughing as she did so, I squeezed the trigger, and suddenly her laughing was replaced by the scream of pain of one's cube shattering.

Standing up from my spot I began to move towards the corpse, Flipping it over to see her grin still present, I sneered at it seeing nothing of use, I left, "What does this make this, 40, 50? I honestly lost count of how many times I killed that bitch" I muttered to myself, "at least it took less than normal, so that's good I should be able to save this ammo for later" muttering as I mulled over today's kill.

Entering the cave once again, I put the clips onto the workbench, to see something left on the book. I walked up to it it was blue and thin, a shard of something, taking it with a careful hand the book swung open, ink filling a page, "The final piece", I smiled at this information. "and I relieve you of duty", this made me start to cry, the tears makes it hard to see, I wipe them away, seeing a new message, "Teach her well", I nod, and left taking the shard with me.