Covered in cuts and bruises, two spear-wielding warriors approached the gates of the village Kochi. One clad in green walked with a number of familiar fox-eared warriors, while the one clad in red seemed to be socializing with a new group of people wielding glimmering silver weaponry and donning black cloaks and steely under-armors. As they drew closer to the village walls, the other things they had in tow revealed themselves.
From the shade of the trees, wolves the size of cars, bearing fur of unnatural white and eyes of red, marked with the mixed blood of a chimera staining their pelts in the form of crimson streaks and brands, walked alongside the black-clad warriors. They hauled the carcasses of smaller, more pure chimera that had been mutilated by the combined hunting squadron. These were the nomadic Bounty Hunters, of a guild with no differing title. Beside them were the Nowhere Generation's own Inoshishi and Hattori, and the Shikoku Beast-Swords of the Merchant Company.
As the gates to the village swung open, the black-clad Bounty Hunters Guild led their wolves into a building which had stables built into the first floor, and as the Merchant Company Swords made for their marketplace, Inoshishi and Hattori looked to their new brothers and sisters in arms. A woman with black hair, blue eyes, a ball piercing on the left of her upper lip approached, and the signature headband of their guild approached with a smile on her face. "You two boys can put in some work... normally when those fox-ears show up, we take them out to hunt, but we wouldn't mind either of you in our ranks." Holding out her hand, Inoshishi gave it a brief shake.
This woman had introduced herself to them earlier. Dove, that was what she called herself. For a moment, Inoshishi locked eyes with her, then he gave a nice smile and nodded. "Hey, we're just glad to help. Not to mention the cool dogs you folks got."
Looking back, he was about to offer their assistance once again, but Hattori had already wandered off after the fox-eared warriors. Promptly swiveling back on his toes, the man sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Me and my bro are just looking to get some work in, you feel me? I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you put us up to something else..." He chuckled awkwardly, and Dove offered a slight smile and a raise of her brow.
"Well, if you're looking for solo work too..." She trailed off.
Running to catch up to the Swords of the Merchant Company, Hattori came skidding to a halt as the fox-eared warriors looked over at him, smiles on their faces. It was the pink-robed Cherry-Fang who first greeted the young man with a smile and a bow before her wide hat nearly fell clean off her head. Catching it, she stood up, and the Swords all got a good laugh out of her clumsy mistake. "Yo, Hattori!" Red-Claws said, waving his sharp-nailed hand.
"Hey Red, Cherry, everyone!" Hattori panted. "Sorry... had to catch up, big bro is hanging back with the Bounty Hunters for now!"
Long-Ear sat on Sharp-Eye's shoulder, looking down at Hattori with an understanding nod. The Bounty Hunters had a reputation as wanderers, hunters, and especially effective killers, though they were also rather friendly to the Merchant Company when they met. "They're real tough... I can see why big bro would want to pick something up from them." He said, kicking his feet out as Sharp-Eye kept walking.
Her gun-blade tucked comfortably in its sheath at her side, Sharp-Eye smiled as she remembered some time back, when she first hunted with the Bounty Hunters Guild. She flapped her foxy ears atop her head and nodded in agreement. "I remember my first hunt with them... they're the ones who let me keep my weapon I got now. Heard they were gettin' paid to deal with those bandits too."
Hattori thought about Inoshishi and what he could be getting from the Bounty Hunters, then he paused, allowing the Swords to get a little bit ahead of him before they stopped too. He cleared his throat, then turned back to look at his new friends. "Chimera hunters getting paid to deal with criminals? Those wolf guys must be a big deal then, huh..." He paused, then looked to the stables which the Bounty Hunters were still stood in front of. "I'll catch up with you all later... see you 'round Swords! I'm gonna' check these guys out too!"
Of the four swords, it was Cherry-Fang who gave the largest goodbye, waving with both her hands and a look on her face. Of course, all of them were surprised to see Hattori go to some degree, but they also expected it. The bond between the brothers was unbreakable, and they wouldn't have wanted to see it any other way...
As the sight of Dove and her Hunters grew closer, so did Hattori's view of Inoshishi. He smiled as his brother turned to wave, then offered a thumbs-up in his direction. Skidding to a halt once again, his spear clattered in its sheath on his back, and Hattori nodded and waved to the respect-commanding Dove. "Yo, big bro! What's the news?" Hattori called out before slamming right into his sibling.
Inoshishi caught Hattori, laughing as he stood him up straight once again, and a smile got stuck on his face. Dipping his head, the more fiery older brother looked almost mischievous as he locked eyes with little brother. "Would ya' believe it if I told you we were headed out of town again?" His smile became a smirk as Hattori raised his eyebrow.
"Eh? What are you talking about? You mean we got more work to do?" Hattori got a quizzical look to him, and Dove couldn't help but laugh at the two young men a slight bit, their energy simply infectious.
Inoshishi nodded, and two of Dove's Bounty Hunters stepped up to offer a smile, both bearing headbands which had the marks of their guilds. Dove herself dipped her head, then reached atop her head to grab at her own headband. Untying it, the woman offered it to Inoshishi, who shifted his attention from his brother. "You'll both be members of my Bounty Hunters starting today... even if it's only in name. I don't expect either of you nomads to stick around, but I like your style." As Inoshishi took the headband, she gave them a look. "Bring me the leader of the Inu Clan bandits... you can keep up with us, so I expect this should be no sweat for either of you!"
Hattori seemed as though he was about to ask a question as Inoshishi wrapped his head in the band, the metal place on the front of it a little lopsided as it bore the Bounty Hunters mark. Sighing, Dove watched as the two spare Bounty Hunters made for the gate. "Don't worry, even if I can't come with you, I'll leave my fighters with you. I would like to see you both back in one piece..." She giggled a slight bit, something they hadn't seen yet, and Inoshishi nodded with a look of determination on his face.
That same day, even with the scratches and cuts of their Chimera hunt, the newly formed Bounty Hunter party set out.
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CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD
Action- BOUND THE WORLD - After falling from the sky in a blaze of glory, without so much as a memory to his name, and cleaving a path through the whole of the Tokyo Dead Zone with the discovery of his nature as a half-human half-Chimera, a monster from a...
