Anya
Location: Abandoned Storage Yard
Date: Beginning of the End - Day 1 (Friday Afternoon)
“A-ah, yes, tea!”
Somewhat awkwardly, the man sat down and pulled his own cup in front of himself, all the while pretending that he did not even notice that the third cup with the blood was there in the first place.
It was hard to tell whether he found the motion of his boss inviting him for tea, or the act of drinking tea more awkward, but it was obvious that he did not want to refuse, and in the end, it was still not that unpleasant of an experience.
“Doesn’t look familiar,” he spoke up again once Anya restarted the message, “Seems kind of powerful though. Or perhaps someone very cocky.”
That was a conclusion Anya could reach on her own as well. Though, it made sense that neither of them would really know her. The City was a big place, with countless syndicates and shady individuals, and even the more well known ones didn’t go around deliberately advertising their members. Knowing her would have been half a coincidence, even if they had a more extensive network of connections.
“I can’t say that I like the risk this option comes with though.”
His hand was still shaking slightly from the underlying anger as he lifted his cup to his mouth to take a big gulp of his hot tea. Then, he let out a small sigh as he put it back down.
“But Iori told me to use my brain many times before. And if I do that, then it doesn’t necessarily sound like a trap. So…Even if we are strong, maybe it’s better not to pick a fight with everyone. It’s not just how it was back in the streets, where I could just bash anyone’s head in without a care.”
A surprising character development for a simpleminded brute, even if he still had a very, very long way to go.
“Still, I will make sure that everyone is ready then, so that we can do whatever you wish once you return.”
The way he said it, there was no doubt that he would do just that, and as best as he could.
Yet, as that seemed to be the end of the discussion regarding the matter, the man drank the rest of his tea, and took the tracker that Anya handed over to him. And looked at it very intently for a few moments.
Only so that he would then push a button - more or less the only one - on the small device, making it immediately come to life. Then, with a satisfied look, he handed it back over to Anya.
A rather simple device altogether, it seemed. Even its actual function seemed to be nothing more than a direction and distance indicator.
Something that was simple enough even for her to follow, and as she did just that, eventually…
She reached a seemingly abandoned storage yard. It was quite some distance away from their hideout, so while it was nothing that she couldn’t handle, dusk was already starting to fall by the time she got there.
The place that the tracker seemed to be pointing towards.
Not exactly the kind of location one would likely expect, but still…
As she took a better look around from the outside, she could spot two things at least. Namely, a small table in the middle of the yard, illuminated by a lamp next to it, with a device similar to what she got earlier with the recording on it, and a person she couldn’t quite recognize leaning against one of the large container piles some distance away from there.
Nana Senri
Location: A Desert in the Outskirts
Date: Beginning of the End - Day 1 (Friday Afternoon)
Round 1, Turn 2: Soldiers of Sand!
As someone who has faced countless of criminals and syndicate members by now, and has ended the life of most, Nana wasn’t particularly fazed by the situation, and just a fraction of a second after the remains of the tracker hit the ground she was already dashing towards the hill behind which she sensed the presence of her assailants.
Something that didn’t take more than a moment or two either, and once reached the top of the dune, she could easily spot the two men, dressed completely in sand coloured camo clothes, trying to make their apparent escape as they were sliding down the other side of the hill.
By far not quickly enough to escape Nana, however, and as the forcewave she sent out with a rapid slash of her sword made a long, clean cut in the sand right next to their feet, their plan to run away was clearly cut in half as well. A fact that forced them to face Nana, and along with her, her rapidly growing anger and murderous intent as well.
A fearsome aura that took a lot by surprise and scared even more, but…
These people likely knew what they signed up for when they set up this trap for her in the first place, so even if it incited fear in their hearts, and even if it threatened to shake their confidence, they were not going to give up so easily.
“As if.”
Two simple words, as one of the men pulled their handgun out and aimed it at Nana with the same motion.
Made it clear enough that they were certainly not going to surrender, or go down without a fight.
Which is why he didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger either, once, twice, and then a third time, in rapid succession.
Perhaps the man was just lucky. Perhaps Nana just underestimated them, and the quick retaliation took her by surprise, but before she could even react, she could feel the painful sensation of two of the bullets burying themselves into her flesh, with at least the third passing by her and disappearing into the sand.
Not a pleasant start to the fight, by any means.
Though…
To her surprise, it didn’t hurt quite as much as what she was used to. It wasn’t the first time she got shot over the years, and she already knew what it felt like to have a bullet penetrate straight through her body or lodge itself deep inside her. And yet, this time, it seemed that the bullets just lost much of their force the moment they pierced her skin and reached her flesh, although…
It was also a lot more unpleasant in a different sense, as she got the uncanny feeling that something was still moving around briefly inside the wound, despite it being clear that the bullets were no longer in motion…
She didn’t have much time to pay attention to that, however, as she anticipated that the other man would pull their gun as well, but just as she readied her weapon and body to evade…
The other man instead seemed to hesitate for a moment, and instead reached into his bag to pull out a device of sorts, something that he activated with just a press of a button. Then, as a single red light blinked atop it, he pushed it against the ground, only for it to send out a weak shockwave of shorts.
A thumper?
But what for?
It didn’t have any effect on Nana at least, and the only reason she could realize what it seemed to do in the first place was because she noticed the sand rippling around it the moment it let out that sort of quiet, dull sound…
Well, whatever it was, it meant that they gave up on their opportunity to strike Nana at least.
Round 2, Turn 1: Nana Senri!
Chomper (Gun, Light) attacks against Nana Senri:
1: Hit (71)! Damage inflicted: 3(Piercing) - 0 = 3 damage! ??? Status effect inflicted!
2: Miss (29)!
3: Hit (84)! Damage inflicted: 3(Piercing) - 0 = 3 damage! ??? Status effect inflicted, increased to two stacks!