Leaving the Sandbox: Black Cats, Black Clothes, and Black Business (Again, Zorolo)

OoC: All right Zorolo, I rewrote the ENTIRE thing. It's not exactly as good as the original, but it's the best copy I could make from memory. I have only one request. Please, let's finish this thing once we start. I will be angry if an opening post that I had to write twice goes to waste. Oh, and don't forget to have fun. Let's do it.

BiC: Neko bit into a raw fish. As soon as Sukoshi had gotten back from retrieving her a rather large fish from the nearest cold river, she began to eat away at her meal, scales and all. The cat-girl had yet to eat a thing within the last day; perhaps the last day and a half, so the realistically unpleasant flavor the creature had didn‘t bother her in the least. To her, it was wonderful. Her left arm strained somewhat, holding up the hefty fish’s tail. She’d received an injury there, a shallow cut lined neatly across her bicep, not long before. It nagged at her. Her legs had been treated with equal prejudice, having received similar cuts on each, one on her left, one on her right. They were nagging at her, too, but not as fiercely. Of course, she had no reason to use her feet at the time.

From atop the boulder she used as something of a throne, the feline ninja continued to tear into the unlucky animal. Every once in a while, she would sink her teeth into a bone or piece of intestine, but she would merely spit it out into the pile that was slowly growing larger beside her. After she was finished, the poor fish was left nothing more than a skeleton, a head, and a tail. Done with her meal, she began cleaning the creature’s remains from her fingers. As she licked her fur, she picked up the smell of dust and sand that still clung to her. She much preferred the humid scent of the forest she was lounging around in. The grey skies and trees were not even in the same league as the searing sun and wastes she had come from. Once her fingers were clean, she moved on to her legs. Her cuts needed tending to.

While she was busy her injuries, Sukoshi curled up behind her. Though he was easily more exhausted than his young companion, he had no qualms about finding her something to eat. It wasn’t too much trouble for him. With his skill, it took hardly any effort at all to pluck a fish from the water and bring it back to her. He felt great sympathy toward her after the ordeal she had just been through. She deserved all he could give her. But she seemed satisfied with just the fish. The tiny cat rested, but he kept his ears up. He guessed she would lie backwards at any moment, landing herself right on top of him. For some reason he had yet to find out, she found him an appropriate thing to lie down on. However, he heard nothing besides the sound of tongue against fur. She was lost in thought cleaning her wounds.

Continuing to lick away at the cut on her left leg, Neko was reminded of how she received her injuries in the first place. It had all happened far to the west of the forest she was resting in. She was in the temperate side, the shadow, of a mountain that extended up past the clouds. The east side was covered in forest, but the land beyond the opposite face was a barren wasteland. She had spent the better part of the last day at the mountain’s peak, in the temple that stood at the top. She didn’t think anything could have been up there. That was when she was on the other side. Curry Mountain hadn’t been friendly to her. Thinking about it, the road to Curry Mountain hadn’t been friendly either. Among the stops on her path, a few stood out in her memory.

She had been walking through the desert for a long time before she found herself in the capital of the country that Curry Mountain presided within. Scratch that; it was more than a long time. She had been wandering through the desert for a week and a half before reaching the capital. The cat-girl hadn’t realized she was on the wrong track until about day seven. It dawned on her when she had yet to even see the forest that she was supposed to have hit at that point. She chalked it up to bad directions. Well, she wasn’t sure if someone pointing in a certain direction counted as directions, but she cast it that way regardless. It was good to finally be someplace other than endless wastes, but the place still left her uncomfortable. After Ijinken’s pyramid, desert cities of its size put her off just a bit.

But as soon as the feline ninja arrived at the capital, she felt a kind of relief that only people who had wandered the desert could understand. Not only could she find something to eat and not have to worry about rationing it, she could actually get a job to pay for something to eat. After months, finally, she could get her hands on a paying job. It was a big city, and the bigger the city, the bigger the assignments. It wouldn’t take long at all before a skilled ninja such as herself would find work. Plus, it was a capital, and going on secret missions for the government was what the kunoichi and shinobi had become famous for. Just like she thought, it didn’t take more than a couple hours, including a stop at a fountain. She found the capital building, announced her business, received audience with the premier, and learned her mission.

Hassam Guchi. Upwards of forty years previous, he had come to the country from the sandy northwest, the same direction Neko had come from. He arrived claiming that his native religion was no longer suitable for him to serve under. After living there for a short time, he discovered their regional religion, finding their disciples to be much more enlightened. He joined them, quickly rising through the ranks of what could only be translated as their “clergy.” From monk, to greater monk, to master, to grand master. Eventually, he became a famous spiritual leader, his popularity growing largely through word of mouth. Seven years previous, he became grand master of the Curry Mountain temple, where he was known throughout the country as “The Enlightened One.”

In a completely unrelated series of unfortunate events, a rebel uprising developed in a small town located roughly between the capital and the mountain’s base. In a very short time, government forces and special ops were able to successfully, and easily, drive the rebels from the town. They retreated many miles to a miniscule village that rested at the very base of the mountain. When forces went into the village in pursuit, the rebels retreated upwards to the Curry Mountain temple, behind a mystic barrier. When forces attempted to seize them, they were repulsed by the barrier, preventing any further action. Later intelligence would reveal that the barrier prevented anyone who wished harm to temple refugees from getting close to the temple. Local mercenaries proved unable to lend assistance.

Hassam Guchi. The source of the barrier’s power and target for assassination by the hands of Nekome Nagisa and Sukoshi the cat.

The people of the desert country were either unusually smart or rightly cynical. As any ninja who had no manager or village leader to guide them should have, the cat-girl asked for her payment up front or she wouldn’t give Hassam a second thought. They halfheartedly accepted her offer. Halfheartedly in the sense that they only gave her half of what they were offering to pay. Proof that he was dead would earn her the second half. Even so, it was one of the best deals she could have possibly made. It was a rewarding job, and not only that, it was easy. She was being paid heftily, even with the half she had, and the only thing she had to do was knock off one old man. Plus, she could possibly receive help, hearing of other foreigners skulking around the capital.

Rather than leave on her mission right away, she decided to hang around the city for a little while. The time would give her a chance to perhaps scout out some additional information on her target. If not that, then she could at least get some rest and relaxation while trying to blend in with the local population. The first thing she did was purchase a change of clothing. She bought a little red number that was thin and revealing, but also light and airy. It didn’t take though. She was still a sexy kitty version of what she was trying to look like. Her ability to epically fail at Hensojutsu never missed an opportunity. She faced similar results when she tried to perform reconnaissance. Every word was either distaste for the rebellion or admiration for the master. She would leave at dawn.

The desert was a terrible place. In every aspect of its existence, it seemed to reject any kind of hospitable suggestion that it could have held. The searing sun would beat down mercilessly on all that lay below it, burning everything without prejudice or discrimination. Expanses of sand, sizzling like the surface of a pan on the stove, spread in every direction, heated by the ferocious pulse of the sun. Fields of cacti and other thorn covered plants would expand over miles of land, acting as great spiked oceans that could not be crossed. The stinging wind would blow fiercely across the barren wastes, whipping and tearing into anything that stood upright. All manners of poisonous creatures roamed about, striking at anything that came near or that they simply wanted to strike at.

Neko, a girl who’s cat half was black, was the one who thought the desert was a terrible place. Surely they were terrible places, but not the kind of hell they were to her. She carried little more during travel than she normally did, but little was all she could handle. The sun was especially harsh on her black fur. Often times, she felt someone could cook a stir-fry on the back of her head. Hot stir-fry wasn’t something good to think about in the desert. Off track. Plants with spikes were not manageable for the cat, including the ones that could loosen their spikes into her fur. The wind blew sand and dust into her hair, which took her hours to clean out. Often not mindful of her feet, she was completely unaware of any creepy crawlies that may have been slinking around her shoeless toes. To say nothing of Sukoshi.

Of course, since the wandering ninja was being paid for her trip through the desert, she could actually take steps to prepare. For a small fee, she rented a desert crawling creature, some strange thing she had never heard of called an ‘antlion,’ allowing her an effortless cross through the sandy expanse. A trivial amount more got her a tarp she could strap to the thing’s back to shield her from the sun. It was a smooth ride. The thing raced across the sands, hardly even slowing down to detour around the thorny seas. The wind was worse, but she found something of a solution for that. Her little red number made a superb mask once it was torn up and tied over her hair. It was a little flashy for her, but she looked cool with a red band flapping in the wind. Everything in the desert shied away from them.

Only a short time had passed when she reached the half way point on her way to Curry Mountain. There, she found herself in the hometown of the rebels she had been told about in her briefing. It wasn’t much of a place; a little town yes, but still a town. On the surface, it didn’t look like many people lived there. Though the day was less than half way over, and she had done little more than sit on her crawler’s back, she felt she had done enough to earn a break. It didn’t take her long to find a place to get a drink. She walked in to the local cantina, finding it to be barely populated by herself and the barkeep. Somehow, he had never heard of sake, so she ended up ordering an overly sweet fruit drink that made her feel ill. The desert was annoying like that. Of course, the desert wasn’t the only annoying thing.

OoC: Okay, well, I lost my post, so I'm just gonna kinda wing it. ^_^

BiC: The rip roar of the howling wind outside of the stone design that the dark haired man had hidden within. A heavy, sand colored cloak fit well over the rest of his attire, even his jacket, and the goggles and turban he wore protected his head from the intense sandstorms. A long, gray scarf fitted round the warrior's neck, covering the lower part of his face, made it all to hard to discern exactly what his purpose here was.

How he had gotten here was a long story, but it involved more sightings of people associated with the Aura Master's associates in the Alliance of Tasogare. At least two of them had been spotted somewhere nearby; however, when Monroe had arrived on the scene, he had learned that the rumor of their appearance there had been at least several months old. They were long gone, and he was trapped in this hell hole in the middle of nowhere.

As the sand buzzed and hissed through the air, eroding the rock structure the modern fencer had hidden in. The slow passage of time was ever annoying, and it didn't help the bounty hunter had nothing to do. Despite that fact, he had many tools he could easily put to good use now. After all, who else was likely to have a photon sword or exploding bullets?

The dark haired man rested his head against the rock formation and looked at its ceiling, pondering what exactly he could do. An annoying fact to any desert was that death stood between the enhanced human and the man he was hunting for. Come to think of it, where had the Monroe left from in order to get here?

That question actually answered where he had also gotten an easy answer. Somewhere along the lines of traveling with Tracey after the event at Mark's Mansion, the dark haired man had wound up following her to a strange place called the Dome, and after traveling around, he had received a note from some thing telling him to head out a specific door and go in search of a two of Zorlo's allies who had been spotted in a desert nearby. Well, that's how Monroe had wound up here, and now he was stuck.

Looking at the positive side, as the modern fencer laid his head back and closed his eyes, Tracey had found some place she seemed to be looking for. That was the positive, but the fact the dark clad man had yet to find the green haired fencer again made it complex for his search. Well, it mattered Not, since the former assassin was bound to find the fencer again. If for nothing else, then life would perhaps work out for him just this once.

The fencer opened his eyes after what seemed to only be a few minutes, and found that the sandstorm had ceased. Soon after, the dark haired man stood up and headed out of the cavern and moved towards the nearest town. He needed to get a bite to eat and something strong to drink, not that the alcohol would do anything. Whatever, it'd allow Monroe to at least relax a bit.

After walking for about an hour, the dark haired man headed towards the nearest pub. Without much of a care, the modern fencer pushed open the door and entered into the building, intent on getting something to eat. The door creaked open and the dark haired man entered.

He didn't really think about it at the time, but aside from being hungry, the dark clad man didn't have much money either. That made life very complex. Well, for now, he'd find something to pay for his meal, but first, he needed to get it. The modern fencer shuffled over towards the bar and sat down, ordering a drink and some food. Here, he'd wait for something to pass the time and maybe even make him a little money.

OoC: Also, just so you know, I've upgraded Monroe, so go read up on his new stuff if you want. ^_^

OoC: No problem. And may I say, you updated your character in a very mature way. It's refreshing.

BiC: Gaijin. Foreigners. Gaijin. First one, then another, and then some more. After about half an hour of nursing a repelling drink, Neko noticed them start to walk in. She hadn’t seen anything happen so naturally that seemed so staged. They came in within minutes of each other. At first, she just noticed them, but after the third, she started counting the minutes between their arrivals. Fifteen minutes, twelve minutes, FIVE minutes. They just walked in, one by one, like it was a natural kind of thing. One, two, three, four, five, six. They all came in, sat down at the bar, and ordered some food and drink. None of them went to sit at the tables, where the feline ninja was. She had a clear view of each of their backs. They, on the other hand, might have not even known she was there.

How could she tell they were gaijin? That was easy. It may not have been the most obvious thing, but it was easy for her. They might as well have had the characters stitched onto their cloaks or capes. Each and every one of them wore the exact same thing. A tan cloak, a matching headpiece, and a dark colored scarf or mask. Two had tan turbans, while the rest wore light skullcaps, obviously their solutions to the sandy hair problem. One of them wore a low headband, while the rest let goggles hang around their necks, a good idea the cat-girl regretted she hadn’t thought of herself. Half wore tight masks around their mouths, while the other half wore dark scarves. They looked like a traveling acting troupe, with all of their outfits being the same. Since the bar had only six seats, they were all lined up, looking spec-tacular.

Ah, but they got even stranger. Were it not for their like covers, they would perhaps look as foreign to the land as Neko. Underneath, they all wore some uniform that might as well have shouted out where they came from. When they first walked in, their cloaks would blow back behind their shoulders, giving her ample time to observe. She was sure one of them shared the same homeland as her, but he came in before she started keeping track. One looked like he was from the far northwest. He was wearing tights. One looked like he was from the far north. He was wearing something olive colored. A couple looked like they were from the far south. They had colorful, baggy clothing and very dark skin. The last one she couldn’t put her finger on. He looked northwestern, but seemed a bit more on the nomadic side.

“Weird gaijin,” she muttered, though they weren’t doing anything weird. She would have been more energetic about it, perhaps going over and introducing herself, but the desert had kept her in a constant bad mood. However, just as soon as she said anything, they did start doing something that would warrant her comment. One finished his meal, so the barkeep went through the usual motions. “I don’t have any money,” the man said, “but this man next to me has a price on his head. He should be more than enough.” Naturally, the man sitting next to him shot up from his seat in anger. They had a short dialogue -the normal cool guy versus proud criminal fare- before stepping into a very short battle. The one with the price on his head went down and the other returned to his seat.

It was a bloody scene. There weren’t more than two steps in the whole skirmish -a block by the victor and the winning blow- but there still managed to be a fair deal of blood. It was because of the victor’s unique weapons. It was a strange pair of claw like weapons, likely laced with poison considering how fast it ended the fight. The barkeep took one as collateral while the victor dragged the body off to the local authorities, where he could collect his reward. It was quiet after that, but not for very long. The EXACT same thing happened. “I don’t have any… Price on his head… More than enough…” The exact same thing. Sure, the one being accused referenced the last battle, but it didn’t change the outcome. One struck down the other in only two steps, left a weapon as collateral, and went off.

It wasn’t a bloody scene. Exactly as last time, it was because of the victor’s unique weapon. This time it was a glowing green weapon; a sword that didn’t draw blood when it struck. It was probably a spirit weapon. Neko hadn’t seen one like it in a very long time. It was a little flashy for her tastes. Despite, that weapon and the one before it gave her an idea. She’d need one of them, but she couldn’t decide which one would be better. She whispered the idea to herself, directing her words at Sukoshi. He could decide for her. After jumping up from his chair onto the table, he stuck his tail straight up and wagged it from side to side. It made her own tail wiggle. He was signaling for her to pick the one with the spirit sword. Sukoshi was always so level headed, she trusted his judgment.

The desert was a bad place. Neko was in one, and was about to head into a territory that was full of radicals who wanted to overthrow the state. Her mother once said, “A smart person gets others to do their work for them, and a genius gets them to do it for free.” She also said, “Never be a foreigner and a woman.” Despite being a lazy, crazy person, she was right. If she could trick the sword wielding man into watching her back until she got close to Guchi, then her trip would be that much easier. And if she couldn’t, then it wasn’t a big deal. It was a sketchy idea in the first place. Still, when opportunity knocks…

The dark clad man headed out of the military station, money in hand, and began headed out of the town. Now that Monroe had money, he'd certainly be able to avoid having to head through the desert without a camel and some supplies. Even so, something still bothered the bounty hunter, and the dark clad man took a detour into the back streets, trying to shake what was bothering him. With a slight skit along the rooftop and the dropping of a stone, Monroe stopped. "You can come out now. I know you've been following me since I changed in that bounty."

A dark form landed on the ground a few feet from the dark clad man, wearing an attire most similar to a ninja uniform. The figure held a claw weapon in his hand, clenching down upon the weapon tightly, readying to make a move. "Yeah, you're the other bounty hunter that is in town. Well, one of em. There aren't many of us out here, so I'd suggest you leave before things get ugly."

"Not gonna happen. I'm only here to make money. I don't much care about your reasons, but," the modern fencer said, taking a step to the side as three small needles shot past him into a nearby wall, "you aren't gonna kill me because I'm here." Monroe's eyes glanced back slightly, seeing the wall melt away a bit. "Those needles are tipped with some kind of acid I see. And your claws with poison, right?" the modern man asked as he cocked the hammer of his revolver back and readied to fire.

"Yes," the ninja whispered as he leapt into the air, avoiding two quick draw and fired bullets from the dark clad man's revolver. Two small holes appeared through the thick wall they struck, but still, the target had avoided all of the intended damage. "What strange weapons you wield," the ninja warrior commented as he threw more needles.

With a slight movement and flick, the bounty hunter turned on his EMSG and watched as the needles were effortlessly displaced. "Well, technology does trump ancient secrets," Vossler mocked as he let lose another bullet at the ninja. With a quick move, the ninja narrowly evaded, rolling on the wall where he landed and leaping down, making ready to strike at Monroe.

Quickly, the dark clad man turned off his EMSG and holstered his gun. It appeared this ninja wanted to fight on a more level playing field now. Well, Monroe would keep that in mind. The ninja warrior lunged quickly, thrusting one of his claws, but as soon as he did, a green blade pushed right through the ninja's sternum and out his spine. With a quick jerk backwards, the ninja warrior fell to his knees, and then on the ground, slowly dying.

"You made two mistakes. The first was challenging me," the mercenary said as he turned off his photon sword, "and the second was thinking you could defeat me. So, what do you have to say for yourself?" the dark haired warrior asked as he placed his sword back where it belonged and began walking away.

However, something stopped the modern fencer. The echoes of clapping entered the air, and the fencer looked around the alleyway. "Whoever you are, you better show yourself. I'm about two seconds from being very upset, so get out here and tell me what you want. I don't have time for games!" the modern fencer yelled, trying to get the annoying clapping to stop.

OoC: Sorry if it isn't up to snuff. Final exams are here, so I've been primarily alternating between studying and writing.

BiC: The gaijin with the spirit sword stood at the center of a narrow street. He’d dug his feet into the sand after scratching his heels around trying to hear where an annoying sound was coming from. The man looked angry. The gaijin with the poison claws was lying right in front of him, not looking as dead as he was asleep. He had a hole through his cape, but it could have been mistaken for a worn spot. The one that was still standing was getting annoyed with the clapping that was reverberating between the closed in walls of the street. He was yelling almost at the top of his lungs. The man looked very angry. It may have been because of the thrill that was still left in his system. He and the one on the ground had been in a tense, albeit short, fight.

Neko decided to drop the tact. She stopped clapping. He looked annoyed enough without her driving him insane. With a small hand gesture, she motioned for Sukoshi to do his part. Giving a small nod, the little cat turned away and hopped from the edge of the roof they perched on. He landed in a shadow, seemingly going unnoticed by the gaijin with the spirit sword. Without trying to hide himself, he walked straight toward him. The man looked down at the little cat, one eyebrow cocked. Keeping lookout, the big cat had laid herself down and pulled her head to the roof’s edge. “Hey there, stranger,” she called out, using her most shrill voice, “That was a good kill.” The echoes against the walls made her sound like a disembodied entity, although it looked like the little cat was talking as far as someone on the ground could see.

Terrorizing her targets before she talked to them was something the feline ninja greatly enjoyed. She flipped herself onto her feet and jumped over to another roof. Looking down, she saw that the man was still distracted by Sukoshi. Showing a smile that could have glowed through her mask, she threw herself from the roof, landing only feet behind the gaijin with the spirit sword. It worried her, landing so close, but he didn’t look back. She stood herself up, purring with joy over flawlessly sneaking up on him. “Don’t think you’ve gotten the drop on me,” he said suddenly, “You’re humming too loudly.” At least he didn’t hear her jump down on him. He turned to her slowly. “Hey there, stranger,” she said using her regular voice, “That was a good kill. That guy looked like a high ninja, so you must be a pretty skilled fighter.”

Whenever someone saw the cat-girl for the first time, they were either puzzled or aroused. The man looked a mix of both. “Oh, and such and such a good looking man, too,” Neko purred, pulling on her mask. With one tug, she slid the red strip from her face, letting her hair fall freely. That got a more positive reaction than she expected. Keeping the cloth in hand, she waited for a response from the man. It took a second. “Right back at ya,” he said, obviously not as angry as he had been just a few moments before. Smooth, she thought, narrowing her pupils in embarrassment. The male never had a good comeback. “I saw you make quick work of that guy back in the cantina, too,” she continued, putting one hand on her hip, “You must be a highly ranked soldier.”

“Well, I’m not a soldier,” he replied, calmer than he was before the last thing he said, “I’m a mercenary. I freelance. I’m my own soldier.” Were he not so handsome in the feline ninja’s eyes, she would have laughed at his face. He was trying to look serious and impress her at the same time, and he would have been succeeding, had he perhaps seen her coming. She got an occupation out of him, though, so it was going smoothly. “Wow. Are you working right now? Or was that guy your target?” She wrapped her tail around her waist, letting the tip curve up her belly a little. “No, he wasn’t anything. And no, I’m between jobs…” He mumbled something. “…But money always comes along.” Another piece of information. She had him right where she wanted him.

“Then maybe you can help me,” the cat-girl continued, trying to sound more childlike, “You see, I’m a low ninja, and I have to reach the mountains to the east so I can meet up with my master.” She unraveled her tail and took the tip in her hand. “But to get there, I have to go through a town filled with a whole bunch of dangerous people. I don’t think I can make it by myself. If you would escort me I would be very grateful. I don’t have any money, but I’m sure I can find some way to repay you.” Half way through her last sentence, she began pumping her hand up and down the tip of her tail. “I have something that can get us there comfortably and quickly, so we wouldn’t have to walk through the hot sun.” She couldn’t tell if he was stunned or not, but, all the same, the seduction technique seemed to be working.

“What do you say?”

Monroe watched her pump her tail, pushing the image out of his mind as he turned to the cat a few feet from him and placed his hand on Sukoshi's head, rubbing the smaller cat's head gently. I can't tell exactly what she wants. She's either extremely sexually driven, or she's trying to get enough of a rise out of me that I'll do whatever she asks. Strange demihuman. Either way, it isn't like I'm doing anything right now anyway. Maybe I could help this woman out.

The bounty hunter laid down his photon sword and removed his revolver, opening the chamber and sliding out the dispensed cartridges. Quickly removing three new bullets, the dark clad man reloaded his gun and twirled it around his finger before holstering the firearm. The modern fencer picked up his photon sword and stood up, resting his weapon hand slightly. He half looked back at the woman, smiling slightly and then looking back at the cat.

"You made a good entrance, almost totally surprising to me. Also, you have a very good offer," the enhanced human stated as he looked back at her again, "but sexual favors don't put food on my plate, or place me in a bed. The dark clad warrior turned around and started walking towards her, the cat woman's hand resting on his chest before he past her.

"I'm sure we must be able to arrange... something," she whispered.

Monroe smiled slightly and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure we already have. I've got my money now, so I'll help you. However, try to betray me, and I'll cut off both your tail and your head," the mercenary told her. Sukoshi hissed at the dark clad man, but he disregarded it. "Now then, when can I expect my payment, where are we going, and exactly what kind of people are we dealing with?" Vossler asked, keeping a very professional appearance. After all, any bounty hunter knew that was the best way to get jobs.

OoC: I finally posted. ^_^

BiC: It was almost enough to make her hair stand on end. It was almost enough to make her his and growl at him. He was being so stuck up, it was almost enough to make her turn around and throw an old fashioned eye-closer right in his face. If she were not so sure that he would attack her the moment she looked like she was doing something aggressive, she would have let him have it. But he was dangerous, to say the least, so she put on a fake smile and kept it together. Ichi, ni, san… she counted in her head, …hachi, kyuu, juu. With that, she took in a breath and she was back to normal.

“Oh my, so direct,” she said, getting back into character. If he wanted to play a serious role, then Neko would let him. It was a risk, though. She must have started to look suspicious by then. What could she do? She wasn‘t used to the seduction technique failing. “Well, if money’s all you’re after, then I’m sure my master could take care of that. She’d be ever so grateful to you for helping me.” By then, she’d let her tail start wagging normally. It normally helped to ease the air, but with him she couldn’t tell. “And we wouldn’t be traveling very far. At least, not with the kind of transport I have. C’mon, I’ll show you.”

Everything was going smoothly. At the least, she knew what she was offering now was a little more economic. Just about anyone would have a hard time turning her down at that point. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to put out just a little sensual energy. As she passed him by -what with him silent and not moving- she stuck out a finger and ran it along his side. She continued walking, and, thankfully, he followed at her side, keeping pace just a single step behind. Sukoshi kept himself a few steps back. He could tell that one wrong move would land them in something messy.

“Ah, I don’t think I ever caught your name,” the cat-girl went on. Giving someone a nickname was a good way to break the tension. “It’s Vossler,” the man said, managing to move nothing above his neck other than his jaw, “Monroe Vossler.” That one would be tough. All the same. “How do you do, Mono. Folks call me Neko, the word for ‘cat’ where I come from. Hitotsu Yoroshiku.” After that, there was a short pause. “It’s Vossler,” the man reiterated, “Monroe Vossler.” It was almost enough to make her fall flat on her face. I wonder if this guy has any balls at all, she thought, just barely managing to keep her smile.

Monroe didn’t seem at all amused. “I’ll ask again,” he said, keeping his head straight and his eyes on her, “What kind of guys am I going to be dealing with.” It was ironic, because Neko wasn’t at all amused either. “To tell the truth,” she said, her tail wagging slowly narrowing, “I’m not sure. All I know is that they’re extremist radicals who’re wanted by the government.” She knew how to bait the hook. State criminals were always high on the list of heads mercenaries chased after. Dropping a hint about one was always good when it came to recruiting a merc.

They walked. A short distance took them to the town’s edge. A short distance more would take them to where the feline ninja had docked up her ride. “You see that mountain range, there?” she asked, pointing off into the distance. From where they were, one could see where she was trying to get to. “That’s where my master is.” Where, exactly, her target was on the mountain, she didn’t know. She hoped that the temple the old man was supposed to be in wasn’t anywhere hard to reach, like the top. It didn’t matter. It would still be too much work even if it was at the bottom. At least she had help.

"Mountains... great..." Monroe said enthusiastically. There were several things in the world the dark haired man didn't like, and one of them was traveling through mountains. Something about the fact that death seemed only too normal there was unnerving, even to the enhanced human. His eyes cast back at the woman as she continued her ploy, well hell, he couldn't tell anyway.

"Is something the matter with mountains?" Neko asked sweetly, and Monroe shook his head.

"Nothing wrong with them." Vossler pondered what she had said moments before. Government radicals. That was a joke. They weren't anything like the radicals from where Monroe was from, who were really violent. The mercenary had heard stories of these guys and knew they were nothing more then a religious cult. Still, it'd be a good use of the modern fencer's photon sword and its body splitting powers.

"So... Neko, was it, what are you doing way out here?" Monroe asked, trying to make small talk and relaxing a bit as they began to walk. "I mean, you're heading off to see your Master, but what were you doing before that?" the enhanced human asked, walking with a nearly silent step.

"I'd prefer not discuss that." Whatever had happened didn't sound pleasant, but the dark clad man wasn't about to push for information. Especially information that didn't help him at all. He was trying to be friendly, but that wasn't something he was use to. Social skills were never high in the mercenary's list of skills.

At least I'm trying. I've never been very good with women. The dark haired man merely walked next to the cat woman. He couldn't lie, she was a bit pretty, but definitely unlike anything he'd ever seen. Something about her fangs and eyes made him feel a bit strange staring at her, but still, he could use someone to talk to. Even if that person was a strange cat dressed in ninja garbs.

As the two continued to walk, Monroe uttered up again. He held his hand out, looking around. "Someone is watching us, I think," the bounty hunter said. "Anyway, I'll try to make small talk more once we know what's going on here and it is dealt with. For now," Monroe whispered as he slid his photon sword out from his jacket and readied it for combat, "get ready."

OoC: Great, now you've got me doing it.

BiC:It was rapid. There was thumping coming from not too far away. It was a dull sound; a flat surface pounding against sand. They were footsteps, and whoever was making them was running. Neko’s ears were able to pick them up, no problem, but she knew her senses were a cut above an average human’s. And yet, Monroe was able to pick up on the footfalls before she was. All of a sudden, he became something more than just a gaijin with a spirit sword. How he was able to do it, she didn’t know, but there wasn’t time to wonder. There were villains afoot.

She heard them easily enough, and could tell right where they were. There were two, no, three waiting in ambush. One was behind the corner of the building in front of them, one was behind the corner of the building in back of them, and the last one was hiding somewhere at the end of the alleyway directly to the side of them. It took her a second, but she knew what they were doing. The one doing the sneaking always waited to come out until the one being followed announced that they knew they were there. That time gave her ample room to think. When she could hear them before they thought she could, she had that advantage.

“You can come out now,” Vossler exclaimed, taking out and turning on his weapon. The cat-girl, at that point, was facing away from him, ready to take the one coming from the other direction, so she missed her chance at seeing the weapon up close. Hearing the dark clad man’s call, two of the three stepped out into the open. Oh yes, she recognized them. They were the last two guys from the bar that were still standing. All of the foreigners had finally come together in one big mess. There was just one problem. The third person. There were only six gaijin. Three were dead, two were right there, and one was with her.

Surprises were never safe. Neko needed a distraction. Before anything else happened, she signaled for Sukoshi. Always at the ready, he followed her sign and hurried down the alleyway. He’d make sure the third guy was distracted long enough for the incident to stay two on two. “We know you’ve been following us,” Monroe continued. Did he notice the third person? As long as the little cat could keep his hand up, it didn’t matter. The cat-girl got into one of her lower, more feline, stances. The more she played it like a cat, the more she confused people who were seeing her for the first time.

“You killed those two back there,” the one facing Monroe said, taking out his weapon. It looked like a dagger at first, but, with one motion of his fingers, it popped up to the length of a spear. “You must be very skilled. A high reward must be on your head,” the one facing Neko said, taking out his weapon. It was as simple a weapon as a handheld sickle. “So now we’re going to kill you.”

“And your stray cat, too.”

“We’ll get as much glory as we can get.”

“And we’ll get the reward, too.”

Monroe cast his glance at the cat-girl and then back a little bit. These guys weren't going to be very tough, and the dark clad man knew this. "You can go help your kitty if you want. I'm more the capable of handling these guys. Anyway, I think your cat could use some help." The bounty hunter looked at the two warriors and looked at his blade. "It might sound strange, but I really don't need help to beat the likes of them."

"But... are you sure?" Neko asked nervously, not entirely sure of what to do. Her eyes glanced at Monroe, who was unshaken by the thought of fighting two foes. "I mean... there are two of them, and it is just you."

The bounty hunter cast the woman a glance at her with a slight look of insanity. "This is what I live for, and what you are paying me for, isn't it?" the mercenary asked her, holding his blade ready as the two other warriors shuffled from one place to another, getting ready to strike. "Don't worry, I'll be all right. You go help your friend the cat."

"But... all right," the feline ninja said as she admitted defeat and rushed back to help her cat. Monroe couldn't help but turn his head and stare at her as she left.

"That's not a bad view," he told himself as she scurried off on all fours. Vossler shook his head. Later. His eyes glanced at the two warriors and smiled as he tightened his grip upon his sword. Monroe turned back to the other bounty hunters and smiling. "Well, I feel bad for you two. I'm not worth anything, since I'm a bounty hunter, but you can avenge that guy, I suppose."

The two looked at him in shock for a second. "So, you killed that fool first? Dammit, what kind of monster are you?" the man holding the spear asked as he charged with everything he had.

"It isn't like I didn't like that pansy, but it's just good business. When someone tries to kill you, you make sure they're dead first. I thought you'd know that," the enhanced human asked as he grabbed the shaft of the spear and slashed his blade clear through the hunter, slicing him in half at about six inches below the shoulder level. A few seconds later, the man's body slid forward, and slid apart. No blood, only a cauterized cut caused by the photon sword.

"That wasn't very hard." Monroe looked a the other bounty hunter, and it looked like his heart had stopped in its place. Dropping his weapon, the man bolted off, trying to get away. However, before he got anywhere close to getting away, the dark clad man stood in front of him. "Flash Step," the dark haired man said as he thrust his right fist into the other bounty hunter's chest. The winded man fell to his knees, gasping for air. "Hopefully Neko captures that other guy, because I can't let these guys live. You bore me," Monroe whispered to the man, quickly stabbing his sword through the man's head.

It hadn't been a very rewarding battle, but it had been slightly enjoyable for a few seconds. Monroe turned off his photon sword and looked to where Neko had gotten to. "Might as well go see if she needs help. I doubt it, but I also kinda want to see her fighting style. I've never seen a ninja up close." With that, Monroe placed his hands into the pockets of his coat and walked towards where his new companion had gotten off to.

It was refreshing to run on all fours again. Since coming to the desert, there wasn’t much call for it. There was either nowhere to go, or no one to go to, nowhere to sneak, or no one to sneak up on. The sand was either to hot, or the distance wasn’t worth pawing across. But now she was down on the ground, doing her father good. Going at it like a true cat put her in fresh spirits. It made a clean feeling rush through her veins, a cleansing kind of red blood that made her strangely excited. Having the ground below each one of her paws was the way half of her always wanted it.

But the time she let her cat side take over was brief. It didn’t take her more than a moment to come upon a small commotion. Moving up to the end of the alleyway, she peeked around the corner to see how her little companion was faring. Standing not a few feet from her was a was a man up in a heave. He was facing away from her, shouting obscenities down the road. At least, that’s what she thought he was yelling. He was facing away from her, shouting something in an indistinct language down the road. Oh, and his smell. He gave off an odor that made Neko regret her feline sense of smell.

The man did seem occupied. Besides yelling angrily, he was working on his aim. With a slingshot as his weapon, he shot little pellets at a quickly moving target. Sukoshi was easily avoiding the terribly placed shots with very little effort. If she didn’t know better, she would say he was having fun. But she knew the little cat wasn’t big on fun. He wouldn’t have been doing anything had she not asked him to. She did know, however, that he got a lot of satisfaction out of doing something well. Considering he was sent back as a distraction, he was doing damn well.

She had a task, though. Neko didn’t want him to do all of the work, even though she did enjoy seeing him doing his job. As casually as she would have sat down to a meal, she got up behind the angry man and took out her kiseru. Right where the skull met with the spinal collumn. Without much effort, she pulled back her arm and smacked him across the back of the head, knocking him out cold with just the one blow. Smooth ass smooth. He fell down like a pack full of potatoes, creating an outline of his body as he hit the sand. She felt herself smiling. “You weren’t being very professional,” she mocked.

Sukoshi rushed right over to her side. “Good job, partner,” she said with some enthusiasm. Crouching down, she gave him a little pat on the shoulder. He wasn’t as excited. Like always, he took the little accomplishment with quiet dignity. It was one of the little things that attracted her to him. Whether it was the end of a big mission, or securing a small victory, always took it in peaceful stride. He set an example for his companion. Turning back to the road, she stood back up and smiled. Ah, what pleasures good, old fashioned, ninja work could bring to a person.

“I missed it,” she heard a voice say. It wasn’t intended for her to hear, but it wasn’t something that could have been kept from her. “You don’t need to hide,” she said, still in good humor. Running like a cat, a smooth knockout, bonding with Sukoshi, they all put her in good spirits. Perhaps the desert wasn’t so bad after all. “You’re not the only one who can sense these things,” she continued, her tail by then wagging uncontrollably, “It’s all in the ears.” Turning around, she watched Monroe walk from the alleyway. “For me, at least. Maybe not for you.”

It was fully true, after all. Monroe didn't have any kind of strange powers or anything insane like some of the things he'd seen some warriors use. No, instead, he had shear strength and technology on his side, which was a useful thing to have in order to overcome people and their strange powers. In the time that Monroe had spent traveling, he had seen powers that he couldn't explain, and only shrugged it off as something that was formed out of some kind of genetic trait, like some people had ESP and whatnot.

"Well," the modern fencer began as he rested his hand on the handle of his photon sword on his belt, "you did well to capture him. Now maybe we can interrogate this guy, but first," the dark clad man said as he stood over the man and put his hands together, binding them with a kind of plastic handcuffs. With a quick pull, the handcuffs were tightly around the man's hands, making sure that the cuffs didn't cut in. With a slight tug, the dark clad man threw their captive over his shoulder and started walking.

"So, how did the dealing with the other two go? You don't seem too hurt," Neko noted as she looked at the fact that the enhanced human didn't seem hurt in the least. "I'm guessing it went well," she said as she walked, hands behind her back and Sukoshi not far behind her.

"They were easy pickings. Unlike the guy before, they weren't much in the line of warriors. After all, that first guy had some dangerous training, those guys were just skilled with weapons," the dark clad man muttered as his trench coat fluttered in the wind behind him as he walked along. This would be a little bit of a walk, but the bounty hunter didn't mind, since, after all, this place smelled rather good... or it might have been Neko, he wasn't sure which, but simply kept his path in mind. A long way to go, after all.

As the group walked on, the dark clad man moved with effective swiftness, matched by the cat-girl's quick and light feet moving light and easily. "So, why do you think they attacked us?" she asked, looking ahead as they passed the rather unpleasant sight of the fallen bodies. Well, the mercenary said he had defeated them, he just hadn't told her to what lengths.

"It could be any number of things," Monroe replied as he continued carrying the third attacker. "For one, this guy could have hired them to try to take us out is one possibility. Another was that they saw me kill that guy with the claws and needles and decided they needed to take vengeance for him. Lastly, they could have mistaken one of us for a bounty or a criminal or something. One never knows," the dark clad man said with a slight shrug.

Back to the desert. From their, the mountains, and all of that. Monroe knew that this kind of travel would be interesting, mostly since the hot setting. What an annoying thing in dark clothing.

OoC: *Puts finger bullet in head* I swear, this place I'm staying...

BiC: Everything was running smoothly again. No one popped out of the shadows, no one hid on the next street, no one was following them on the rooftops. There was only one thing Neko could see that was holding her up. She was still in a good humor, but it was something she couldn’t help but notice. Monroe had taken a prisoner. He really took a prisoner. Perhaps it was important to HIM to find out why he was trying to kill him, but it didn’t help her at all. It was a nuisance. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of laughs they could get out of him. When prisoners were a nuisance, they were at least fun to mess with.

It was then she realized she hadn’t said anything for some time. Things would get awkward if she were quiet for too long, and she didn’t want any more of that. It had to sound natural. “Jeez, this guy stinks, eh?” she said, making a fanning motion. It wasn’t an odd thing to say. He really did stink. But she could tell he wasn‘t paying attention when he had to take a big whiff of the air around him to see if she was right. He had a surprised look on his face for a second, but he choked it back. “I didn’t notice,” he replied, shifting their prisoner further over his shoulder, “There was another smell.”

She wasn’t sure what that meant, but decided not to press the issue. If the male wanted to say something odd, that was okay by her. Moving on. “What do you think this guy was going to try to do when we got to him, anyways?” she asked, trying to sound inquisitive. She really had no interest whatsoever in what their prisoner was going to say. Conversation lightened the mood, though, and she was getting used to his forwardness. “All he was holding was a slingshot,” she finished. “That’s one of the things we’ll have to ask him when he wakes up,” Monroe replied, shifting the man’s weight again.

It took much of Neko’s willpower not to simply suggest a search of his person. A middle ninja might have said that, but the Genin she was pretending to be wouldn’t have. This man she had joined herself with came off to her as one of those mad-dog killer types. He seemed like someone who didn’t deal with people too often, unless he was killing them, of course. The kind that attacked first, didn’t ask any questions, and hoped that the dead could talk. No balls at all. From the ninja perspective anyways. A wise ninja knew how to use deceptive negotiation to avoid violence

After a little more talking and a little more walking, they were finally able to reach the place where she had tied up her sand crawling creature. It had been patiently sitting there, although it appeared to have eaten part of a nearby wall. Vossler seemed unimpressed. He simply threw their prisoner up against a post and then leaned himself up against the partially chewed wall. As he did all that, the cat-girl prepared to leave. Taking out her makeshift mask, she put up her hair and tied the thing around her face. She must have looked very different, she thought.

Not long passed before she realized that he was waiting for their prisoner to wake up on his own. Not long passed before she realized that she wasn’t that patient. She would have to take the initiative. “Alright, let’s start the interrogation,” she said suddenly as she approached the unconscious man. If he had to be awake, then he would be woken up. Raising her hand up, she prepared to drag him back to the waking world. With one heavy motion, the back of her hand came down on his cheek in a ferocious slap. The man came to immediately. As soon as he started moaning in pain, that man Neko had joined herself with came over.

“Tank de Brahman, I’m still alive,” the prisoner said, once he got his marbles back in order. It was easy enough to tell he‘d lived in the country all his life. “My good deeds save me again.” Without missing a beat, he jumped right into… Something. Pleading, maybe. “Tank you for sparing my life. I mean you no harm, my friends. Dose two men, dough, dey do. I hope you have killed dem. Dey are very bad men. I did not want to help dem. Dey offered me so much, dough, I could do noting but tank dem and do as dey told. Look in my vest pocket. You will see a round of sleep bombs.”

Without waiting for him to stop, Neko reached into the man’s vest and pulled out a small paper bag. Inside, a fair amount of wrapped spheres. “Dey told me to trow dem on anyone who came by,” the prisoner went on, obviously scared to death that they would hurt him if he stopped talking, “I was going to do it, but den an animal attacked me. I tried to scare it away, but it didn’t work. Den I was here. Please, dat’s all I know, and notting less. I swear on my eternal Karma. May I be reborn as a cockroach if I am telling a lie to you, right now.”

Well, that prisoner, at least in the eyes of Monroe Vossler, had been completely useless. So they had scared this guy into working for them and throwing sleeping bombs at people that were passing by. Oh, that's some catch of any kind of remote use at all. At this point, they might as well feed and shelter this guy too, knowing just how much useful information he has. Possibly put him through college well the two were at it.

Yeah right! Right now, the only thing the bounty hunter wanted to do was kick this guy from whatever this animal was and get the hell going to where they were off to next. First, however, the dark clad man had to resist the growing urge to drive his foot into this guy's face and watch him fall off of the beast. Deep breaths, deep breaths, Monroe kept telling himself, trying not to get mad. After a few breaths, and a few strange glances from the man and the woman on the strange animal, the modern fencer finally spoke again.

"Okay, so they forced you to help them. Fine, we'll let you go, but only because you really wanted no part in this. So, go on, get out of here!" Monroe ordered as he slid his knife from under his jacket and moved towards the man. The person in question cowered in terror at the dark clad man with a bladed instrument in his hand. Monroe placed the blade behind the man and cut his hands free, then moved back and sheathed his knife under his jacket.

The man looked at his free hands and tears began to form in his eyes. He couldn't believe the fact he was free, it seemed. "Oh thank ya', si-" he got half way through saying when...

POW!

Monroe had, almost as a reflex, kicked the man, lightly however, in the chin, sending him nearly falling off of the creature. Still, Monroe had no intentions of killing this man, just startling him enough to make him shut up. The mercenary's hand moved quickly, grabbing the man's vest and pulling him back up. Monroe, very calmly, told the man something that would save his life. "No talking. Now then, get going!" The man nodded and removed himself from the beast, running back into the town it seemed.

Neko looked between the fleeing man and her associate a few times before actually saying something to the dark clad man. "Well... that was... nice of you," she said, probably second guessing just how nice Monroe had actually been.

"He's just a kid. He didn't know what he was doing. Anyway, shall we get going? I do charge by the hour you know," Monroe joked to her, laughing a little at his own joke. He was sure she'd find it less funny, but hell, it'd made him laugh, and that was all that mattered at this moment.

The crawler moved quickly. Very quickly. What would have been a bland, endless, and unchanging desert background was animated, moving up and down, dune after dune. To say it was like the sea would be a bit farfetched, but there were similarities. They both had waves. At the speed they were moving, the orange dunes might as well have been white caps. They both held a sunset well. By the time they were moving, it was getting later, and the sun was setting. The black in shadow and orange in sun went nicely together. Were Neko one to wax poetic, she would have even called it a beautiful scene.

No, no, the feline ninja didn’t find the scenery all to appealing. Admiring the same black and orange sand wave was enough to keep her busy for the first half hour of travel, but it lost it’s appeal a short while after that. For the most part, she had given into the boredom. She tried to close her eyes and sleep on the creature’s back, but the near constant undulating and shuddering it did as it moved kept her awake. What else could she do? She couldn’t talk to either of her companions, unless she wanted to yell above the wind. It was too much trouble.

They had been riding for about an hour, silently. Or about as silently as the roaring wind would allow. The rest of the trip would still be about five hours or more, depending on how smooth their path was. Considering it normally took days to cover the distance, it was a short trip. Still, so many hours were always going to be so many hours. To kill perhaps five minutes, Neko decided to take down the sun tarp. It was going to be night soon, so it wasn’t that useful. She hadn’t thought to take it down when they weren’t moving. It was an idle thing.

Although she only intended to take the tarp down, she got hit by a bit of inspiration before she could complete the task. The sun tarp was a simple thing, no more than a hide and an apparatus used to hold it up. She could work something new out of that. Using less energy than she thought it would take, she pulled the tarp down and clamped it firmly under part of the creature’s carapace. Then she hooked the other end to where the top of the tarp was normally strapped down. It was simple, and it would slow them down a bit, but it would keep the wind from blowing on them. She could have a real conversation.

Neko was about to engage the man and his dry, dry personality. However, she got the feeling it wouldn’t be so easy. Before going down that road, she slipped out her kiseru and took a little something out of her vest. The something was a small packet of catnip, her last one. Catnip could make conversation with a rock entertaining, so it could probably make him a blast. She’d come down in a couple hours, so there was not any risk. The only thing she would have to worry about was falling off. After opening the packet up, she carefully slid the stuff into her pipe. A little Life Energy, and it was burning.

With a hearty breath, she sucked in some of the calming smoke. After holding it in for a second or two, she let it go, blowing it out in a thin line. Peace. Peeeeeeaaaaaaace. It worked quickly enough. She wouldn’t fly too high with the amount she was using, but it always worked quickly. A quick flash of memory. “Eh, Sukoshi,” she said, leaning toward the little cat, “You know what chu gotta do.” It was a reminder for him. If she ever got too close to revealing something about herself that she had lied about, then he was supposed to claw her in the back. It was to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid.

Ah, she was finally ready. “Eh, Mono,” she said, very casual, very relaxed, “Why don’t cha take a seat, right here.” She slapped her hand down on a spot close by. “Come on, right next to me.” He gave her one of his blank glances. It looked happy to her, though. “I’ll stand, thank you,” he said, tapping his foot down on the creature’s shell. He’d been standing the whole time, except for the few instances when he leaned against the sun tarp apparatus. “Come on,” Neko continued, “Sit down. You’re not a tree are you? It’s, like, a seven hour ride. You can’t stand the whole time.”

With what would have looked like reluctance, he sat down and crossed his legs right across from her. She smiled one of those mischievous cat smiles. “So, my friend, where’re you from?”

A strange scent filled the modern fencer's nose, and his mind began to get to work, figuring out what the hell she had just smoked. Well, it wasn't like there were many things it could have been, but this one was a bit different. Hashish? Not likely. Ganja? Probably not. Chronic? No, Monroe knew that smell too well. Hmm... something special then. Probably something having to do with this cat girl's nature.

Cat girl... that was it! Catnip! She'd just gotten high in hopes of forcing a useable conversation from him. Well, as unorthodox and rude as it may have seemed, the modern fencer didn't mind. He had his own peyote if he really needed it. That was the main thing he had been stocking up on in this desert anyway. Actually, that might be fun. After all, Monroe's trips only lasted for a few minutes, and less the more he used something.

He was almost totally immune to alcohol, and his liver had completely revived itself. Marijuana was losing its flavor and the highs lasted for mere seconds now. Peyote seemed to be the only thing that would work, even if it only worked for two minutes at a time now. Still, it remained working for the modern man, even after a good deal of abuse. Still, Monroe didn't use as often as he had before. He'd been find ways to be happy now. Even if only for short periods of time.

Still, one small pill of Monroe's special peyote would do for a couple of minutes. The dark clad man popped the pill into his mouth and the world became spectral and colorful. The world settled in with a purple sky, and green sand. The cat girl seemed to be laughing, and massive waves moved towards Monroe, which made him laugh as he reached out to touch them. Suddenly, his hand touched something, and he began to rub.

Purring? He heard purring now. The hell was that coming from? Seconds ticked away, seeming to be hours as something began to rub up against the dark clad man. A smile crossed his face and he rested his head back. He closed his eyes for a second, and when they opened, the world was back to normal. Those had been some interesting two minutes. Vossler looked at the cat girl, that had snuggled under his right arm, smiling at him.

Well, that explain what I was touching. Well, she's not too strange, at least. Might as well answe- "OW!" Monroe yelled as he felt claws dig into his leg. Neko began to laugh as she saw Sukoshi stabbing the mercenary with his claws. "The hell was that for!" the enhanced human yelled as he swatted the cat away. "Now then, to answer your question, I'm from Washington D.C., and am a former member of the CIA. Since you're stoned, you won't recall much of this anyway," Monroe told her, smiling at her.

Neko laughed and moved away slightly. "That is... that's not true!" she muttered as she smiled at him. "I'll recall everything... I think," she told him, smiling at the dark clad man.

"Anyway, what are you really going to see in this mountain you're off to, and who are you going to see?" Monroe asked. "I'll give you anything you want for these answers," he told her, smiling. After all, it would be good to know what you're really doing before heading into danger.

She thought catty thoughts and she grinned a catty grin. She felt herself scoot up a little closer to Monroe. This question would be fun to answer. “I don’t have to tell you nothing,” she said, creating a little whirl of smoke with her still lit kiseru, “I don’t want him to get mad at me.” Without thinking, she let her tail pat Sukoshi on the head. He moved out of the way. “But what I can tell you is,” she went on after taking a small hit from her pipe, “That I don’t expect chu to do anything I haven’t already said you’re gonna do. And chu can take my word on that one.”

He responded with little more than a distant hum. Of course, to Neko, it seemed more like the dramatic sigh of someone who wanted to forget the past and move on. If he wasn’t already a handsome man, then the catnip made him plain stunning. And he was so warm, too. The cool of the night had started to roll in, and the wind didn’t help. But she wasn’t going to be cold. Not with someone she could snuggle up against. It was in her feline side to curl up against a warm body, but it wasn’t just that half that was enjoying his warmth. She put an arm around his waist and took a hit from her pipe with the other.

“You know, when I first met chu, it didn’t seem like you had anything in your pants,” she announced. There must have been more in her pipe than she thought. She was flying a bit higher than originally anticipated. “What?” answered a confused Vossler. She could only snicker. “Chu know. Like one of those guys who don’t got nothing down there any more,” she went on, “But then… The way you scratched behind my ears.” Taking a hit, she thought back to the minute long ear massage he had given her. Granted, she was in an easily meltable state, but she melted when he touched her. It was good enough to get her under his arm.

She could only think of one thing to say. “Do it again,” she purred, using her tail to try and tickle his side. He seemed hesitant. And why not? A stoned Cat-girl was asking him to scratch her behind the ears. “Come on,. Please,” she whispered, “Like you did before.” It took a second, but she soon felt a pair of fingers on the back of her ear. Her purring grew louder. He began to rub. “Oh, that’s right,” she said, tilting her head so his fingers would scratch the right place, “That’s the spot, right there.” He had just the kind of stroke she liked.

It was a magical feeling. Of course, it would have been less so without the aid of her catnip, but that didn’t change the magic sparkle. It was a kind of pleasure that someone without the ears of a cat could understand. Ah, but all good things have their end. He paused for just a second, and she pulled her head back. She was purring loudly, but that didn’t stop her from putting her pipe to her lips and inhaling a large breath of the calming smoke. After holding it in for a second, she craned her head back and blew the stuff out. Letting the smoke drift away, she turned her kiseru down and tapped the ash out. All gone.

Sliding away from him just a little bit, Neko patted him on the back. “Chu know,” she said, continuing to try and tickle him with her tail, “You’re not such a bad guy. You’re just really weird. I can see me, myself, getting to know you better.” She paused, looking thoughtfully toward the sunset. “Which is why I hit the pipe in the first place. You’re trying to distract me.”

Well, above all else, Monroe knew two things at this moment: one, he was risking challenging the small voice in the back of his head telling him to stop touching this woman before she got too out of hand; secondly, that this woman was totally out of her mind. I need a drink... he thought silently as he pondered just how much alcohol it would take to get him drunk even for a short period of time. It'd take a long God damn while, but he could do it if he truly tried. Even then, it wouldn't last all that long. What kind of ****ed up life was it where a man couldn't even get piss drunk and blame stuff he did on that?

Well, the dark clad man tried not to think of that, lest he'd risk becoming more depressed then he already denied himself as being. The only thing that really comforted him was... well, that was something he tried not to think about. It'd been almost a month now, and he wasn't even sure how he had gotten from there to where he was. This, however, the modern fencer could ponder, actually. As the time passed, and the woman continued to speak to him, questioning just how much of a man he was, the enhanced human let his mind kinda wander slightly. After all, the night sky was a good thing to look at to think.

It's so interesting. When I left home as a renegade, I had never seen the night sky filled with stars. Now, in the past few weeks, I've seen it many times. I may be a drifter from time to time, but still, that doesn't mean anything, since I'm at least happy. Why wouldn't I be, right?

The question haunted Monroe. Clearly, he was lying to himself. He wasn't happy at all. He hated just about everyone and everything he met, and found only relief from his hatred and anger and sorrow in two ways: fighting and thinking of that person. The one he had met in that strange nation. The young woman that he had aided.

He wasn't sure why, since she seemed to be a work-o-holic, and he was clearly a drifter, yet he couldn't help but feel something connecting him to her. Maybe it was the fact he'd defended her, or maybe that she had such a big heart. Still, it didn't matter, she'd never know. After all, Monroe never admitted anything to anyone. Not even himself.

"You're trying to distract me," he heard her say after again placing an insult upon him about how getting high was the only way she could enjoy a conversation with him.

Vossler laughed. Only a little at first, but eventually it burst into an uncontrollable torrent of laughter that overwhelmed him completely. "Oh, that's funny!" the former assassin said as he fell over, and noticed she was looking at him odd. He did his best to hold back his laughter, snickering a little from time to time and replying. "No... I'm not. I'm just trying to get in your pants!" he joked, falling over and rolling onto his side, laughing harder. He wasn't serious at all, but who could tell for her. After all, he'd, in his moment of utter stupidity, had forgotten she was high.

Monroe finally stopped laughing and sat up, looking at her. "So, what now?"

This person was fun. Neko watched as he flopped down and laughed. At first, she was confused. Who wouldn’t be? He just suddenly flopped down and started laughing. Then he started saying things. She couldn’t stop herself from giggling stupidly as she watched him try to squeeze out a few excited phrases between bouts of laughter. Maybe he was loosening up again. She could only hope. Then she wouldn’t have to beg to get him to scratch her ears again. She continued to giggle as Monroe’s laugh sputtered away until it didn’t look like he had anymore in him. Then he plainly asked, “So, what now?”

She could only giggle harder at his bizarre mood-swing. “Mono, you’re crazy,” she said in a rather dumb sounding manner, “What the hell was that? All of a sudden, you fall apart.” Without skipping a second, he came back with a reply. “You said something funny,” he responded, in his dry, dry tone. It made her giggle harder. “Cripes. What was in that pill you popped?” she went on, “Are you looking down on me from the top of the sky? Do I look like an ant from so high up?” Without warning, she leaned forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Can you even understand me?” She began to shake him.

After taking his hand off of the futuristic weapon he had grabbed when the cat-girl pounced on him, he pried her hands away by the wrists. She could feel the power he was using, even though she wasn’t putting up a struggle. “Seems normal to me,” she remarked, once she was back in sitting position, “Man, you’re direct. Not even a ‘please get off,’ right, Sukoshi?” A meow came back. “That’s what’s good about you, though. You’re a straight shooter. If something has to be done, you’re the one who does it. That’s good. You’re like a boring version of this friend I got.”

She chuckled as she thought back on her days of training back home. There was a boy who looked at her as something of a rival. Ironically, he went by the name Inuji, or Inu for short. Although immeasurably more enthusiastic, he too was a straight shooter. If there was one person who didn’t play games in life, it was him. Still, being serious and loud at the same time was always funny. Good times.

“You know what you need to work on?” Neko continued as she returned to the present, “Relaxation. You have to take some time to relax. You’re the most tightly wound person I’ve ever met. Just loosen up a bit, and everything gets a bit easier.” With quite a bit of gusto, she slapped her hand down on the space next to her. “Come on, do a Seishin-teki Kyoyo exercise with me.” He was less than enthusiastic about what she was implying. “I’m fine how I am,” he replied. It was hardly enough to convince her in the state she was in. “Those eight hours have to pass somehow,” she countered, “and your thoughts must be so comforting.”

With what would have looked like reluctance, he slid himself over to the spot right next to her. She smiled a catty smile. Catnip or no, she was still a good kunoichi. “Alright, first, you have to cross your legs,” she began, following her own instructions, “Then, you put one hand on the other and touch your thumbs together. Put that in your lap. That’s your belly Chakra, right in there. Then, you close your eyes and think of something that makes you feel sleepy.” At that point, she couldn’t tell if he was following along or not. “Breathe in, and then breathe out. Breathe in, and then breathe…”

She trailed off. In the state she was in, it didn’t take long for her to really get into the meditation. The Juhakkei of spiritual refinement was one that expanded the mind. Though they lent nothing to long term growth, drugs often helped speed the process up. She sat, and she focused. Her aura was red, then it became orange, then it became yellow. The meditation reached it’s peak there. She held the state as long as she could. Before long, she couldn’t hold herself up anymore, and she fell onto her back. She had gone from a state of meditation to a state of sleep. Speedy start, unfulfilling end.

Monroe had done just about everything, and was now still performing the breathing, which helped him to relax slightly. Slowly, a vague image filled his head. The image of a young woman that he knew, and a slight smile crossed his face. Her face slowly turned to him and smiled, and the dark clad man couldn't help but blush something. As his mental image of himself took a step forwards, he was disrupted by something: the sound of snoring.

Loud, slightly annoying snoring entered the modern fencer's ears, and he opened his eyes, turning his head to the side to see that Neko had fallen asleep. "Well, at least she got something out of it," the former assassin muttered as he watched Sukoshi walk over and plop himself down next to Neko. The enhanced human reached his hand out and rested it on the cat's head, only to watch the small cat pull back slightly. Monroe sighed and slid himself backwards, against the tarp. "Well... this is... annoyingly slow," the dark clad man told himself as the cat's paws marched towards him.

The modern fencer cast a glance over at the cat and raised an inquiring eyebrow, pondering what in the world the cat could want. "Meow," spoke Sukoshi as the cat laid down next to Monroe. "Meow!" spoke up the cat as he laid down and yawned. It was probably the fact that the former assassin had never seen a cat yawn before, but the dark clad man felt, aside from slightly surprised, tired.

The lights of the stars shined down upon the desert crawler thing and made the modern fencer feel even more tired. His body wavered a bit, and suddenly fell over. Sleep sounded nice. He'd feel better afterwards, he hoped.

OoC: Short, but hey, it keeps stuff going, right? ^_^