[Episode] A Night Out

Flevance... Under the moonlight, the pale city glimmered like fresh snow. It resembled a painting depicting a dreamy scene from a fairy tale. Yet not everyone was a fan... At the docks, on the deck of a mighty steamboat, a dark silhouette stood against the starry night sky. Arms firmly folded and head held high, Yumiko watched the shadows of the White City. In her eyes, it all seemed... unreal. Unnatural. Too beautiful to be true. An occasional whisper of wind agreed with her. It carried scents from afar, revealing what eyes couldn’t see. She sniffed the air, coughed and quickly covered her nose. Eugh, there was that stench again... It reeked like a horde of bandits. The smell of crime and sin lingered in every city.

Meanwhile, the shadows stared back at the lone sentry. Beady eyes peered through cracked binoculars. A raspy, throaty voice cursed the woman quietly. “The broad still hasn’t moved. Roight. Plan B it is.” Behind the big shadow, smaller ones shifted nervously. One dared to voice a lisp-ful protest.  “Are you thure thith will work?” Thin eyes narrowed cautiously, as the humongous shape slowly turned around. “Shaddup, ya drongo. Shove the boy over here.” Right on command, the shadows spat out a small, quivering boy. A stray moonbeam revealed a white marine uniform, the sign of a cabin boy. Weakly he scampered onto his feet. A hand the size and shape of a shovel pushed an envelope into his hand. “Take that to the weird broad. And no funny business, or else.” He didn’t need to be told twice. Reminiscent of a little cockroach, he scurried into the pale light.

Yumiko’s ear twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her keen stare focused on the cabin boy tiptoeing up the walkway onto the ship. She moved to meet him, standing at attention in his way. “Hail, soldier. Where hast thou been?” Born from a motherly sisterly worry, the question came out sharper than she intended. Without a word, the cabin boy handed her the mysterious letter. Or shoved it into her lap more like. “For me?” Chalking up the youngster’s silence to nervousness -honestly, she got that a lot- she instead carefully opened the envelope. It contained a message labeled urgent with big, bold letters.

!!!URGET!!!
Deer important marin lady
Plees bring all pirsoners too bass imeditately. Scare bandeets r planneing suprize attack.    
Best retards,
Bass Kommander Big Shot

The samurai stared at the letter for a good while in stunned silence. This was... an important mission! Not a shadow of a doubt about it! She was ashamed of herself for briefly focusing on the presentation rather than the contents. Such rudeness on her part! Brave leaders were chosen based on their strength and valor, not their handwriting. Eyes twinkling like tiny stars, she pumped her fist and nodded. “I accept this mission!” ...Her words, however, were left echoing alone in the wind as the cabin boy had already fled. No doubt the young man was exhausted from having run all this way from the island base. She would have to thank him properly in the morning. Now, however, the important mission called her name!

Unfortunately, as soon as the initial excitement faded, the Commander found herself rather short-handed. The ship was practically empty, hence why she had chosen to stand at guard. No amount of eagerness would allow her to herd all the prisoners alone. She needed helping hands. Her gaze was drawn towards the city lights. Right. This was an emergency. Her allies would surely understand. She took a couple of tentative sniffs, before dropping on all fours and pressing her nose against the deck. Hm, yes, verily this was the scent of their boot polish. Snooping and sniffing feverishly, she tracked the faint trail across the docks and into the city. Bystanders stopped to stare as she crawled past them, too focused to pay them any mind.

Back at a certain bar, the constantly flowing booze was steadily loosening flapping tongues. One of the drunken marines slammed his empty pint down and complained loudly. “Speaking of Commander Yumiko... Know what I really can’t stand about her? That fucking snooty attitude. Like she’s better than everyone else. I told her she’d be a lot prettier if she smiled and she just-” The door opened. A chill wind crept across the air. Well, maybe that was just fear sending shivers... The laughter and merriment came to an awkward stop.

Yumiko stood right behind the mouthy marine, glaring him down with those icy eyes. “Please forgive this one for interrupting thy tale.” Her voice held all the warmth of a winter storm. “But thou art needed for an assignment.” She swept her focused, frigid gaze over the whole group. “All of thee.” She was silently counting their numbers, hoping it would be enough. Surely they would understand that she was requesting their help for a noble cause.

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Scared silent by the intense gaze, the mouthy marines exchanged panicked glances. They never expected the Commander to actually come looking for them. Skipping out on guard duty didn’t seem like such a fun idea anymore... Their trembling hands were growing restless, eager to point at others, to lay blame on them for the plan. However, Ryoichi’s drunken display sparked the exact same idea in all of them. The bravest man piped up in agreement with the boxer. “Uh, yeah, we all have shore leave.” Like a relay race, another one took the lie from there. “That means we are off-duty tonight. Can’t take part in any assignments.” A third soul added eagerly. “Yep, can’t do it. Against the rules and all that.” All the rest nodded in agreement. Yep. That was totally it.

Yumiko, meanwhile, was most puzzled by the sight. She had never seen Sir Ryoichi in such a shameful state... Just one whiff of his breath answered all her questions. Her hand shot up to her nose, pinching it shut. “No, I am here to...” She trailed off, hesitating before the chorus of protests. Night... out...? Shore... leave...? She vaguely recalled seeing something like that in the sacred Marine handbook, but had never quite understood how it worked. Or rather, why anyone would want to leave their duties behind. Her hand balled up into a fist, before slowly relenting. “...No, nevermind.” Suddenly she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. “This one humbly apologizes for interrupting thy leisure night. Carry on!” As quickly as she had appeared, like a sudden gust of wind, she was gone. Only the door gently groaned as she left.

After a stunned pause, the drunken crew burst out laughing in unison. The mouthiest of them clutched his gut, struggling to get the words out. “Pffft hahahaha! Can you believe it? She actually bought all that crap!” His friends agreed with breathless snickers. “She probably doesn’t even know what shore leave means. What an idiot!” Of course, they couldn’t take all the credit for spinning such an effective lie. Their attention turned to the drunken boxer and several mugs were raised to celebrate the man of the moment. “Hey, nice one, Ryoichi! You saved our asses there! This next drink is on-” There was that chill again... Deeper and stronger... Like ice running through their veins. A familiar shadow loomed behind the men.

“Thou... lied to me...”

Yumiko’s words drifted across the air as an ominous whisper. She wasn’t angry... Just disappointed. Her sharp hearing had caught all of it, even if she wished otherwise. In hindsight, it was so obvious. The whole concept of this 'shore leave' seemed too strange to be true. The man closest to her raised his hands defensively. “Uhh, I can expla-” His attempt was cut short by a dramatic point aimed right between his eyes. “Bite thy tongue! No more will I hear of thy lies!” If they were so eager to see her as a harsh and humorless monster... Then so be it. She took a deep breath and let her voice echo through the bar. “All marines out! Single file! Form up!” It scared the nameless grunts into action and they fled outside.

The swordswoman swept her gaze across the bar. No more stragglers left, except... Her eyes narrowed when they stopped on the shirtless drunk. “Thou as well, Petty Officer.” What little warmth had been in her tone earlier was now gone. His indecent state of dress received a sharp protest as well. “And put thy clothes back on lest thou catch a death of cold!” In her mind, people, marines especially, should dress modestly and not run around baring themselves for all the world to see. Such behavior was most shameful.

Before the commander could follow her reluctant troops, the barkeep cleared his throat demandingly. “A-HEM, are you Commander Yumiko?” She spun to face him and nodded firmly. “Yes, ‘tis I, Commander Yumiko of the Guardian Knights. How can I help thee?” Her... unusual intensity was met with a quiet, awkward stare. “...Hrm, just checking.” The barkeep scribbled something down before waving her off. Someone was going to pay for all the booze guzzled tonight.

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The forcefully recruited marines assembled outside the bar in short order. Reluctantly they formed a line that was neither straight nor even. Bitter protests were slurred, some even fully justified. This had to be breaking some sort of regulations, right? Right. The Rear Admiral would hear about this injustice, yes sir, he would... Unfortunately, all of the mumbling went ignored because of certain bad apples in the bunch. Much like crabs in a bucket, the drunken dissenters were determined to drag the others down with them. If they had to suffer the weird woman’s whims, so would everyone else. Misery did love company after all.

Once the soldiers were in... eh... formation, the Commander stepped out of the bar as well. Her frigid glare failed to rouse much anxiety in the inebriated anymore. They were either prepared for the worst or too sloshed to care. A long and heavy sigh escaped her lips. Disappointment lingered in her mind. She had ten men in total, not quite as many as she had been hoping to find. None of them were properly dressed, much less armed. Sadly, they were the only people she got right now. In the face of the urgent and important mission, she forced herself to overlook their shameful shortcomings. Just this once.

With a deep breath, the inexperienced leader gathered her composure and commanding voice. “Attention!” Most of the men just continued swaying in the breeze, much like Ryoichi. She could recall every command yelled at her with crystal clarity, but employing them properly was a whole new challenge. “Left face! Double time, march!” Some turned left, some right and some all the way around. A frustrated groan rumbled from her throat. This was going to be a long night... After enough yelling to wake up the whole block, she managed to get her brave troops to face the right direction. Towards the docks they went at a pace that barely resembled double time. It was closer to lazy jogging.

Against all odds, the ragtag group managed to reach the docks without casualties. Wheezing and vomiting did not count. Yumiko commanded the men to stop. She swept her gaze over the formation and weighed her choices. Eventually her eyes stopped on the last and perhaps the most drunken man, having run completely out of options. Maybe he was the only one she could trust right now. ...Not that the bar was very high at the moment. Stepping up to him, she gave him a direct order. “Petty Officer Ryoichi, take four men with thee, round up the prisoners and bring them outside.” She kept it as short and clear as she could. In the meantime, she would make sure that the remaining troops didn’t get any temptation to slip away.

Meanwhile, vaguely human-shaped shadows shifted at the edge of the docks, behind a convenient set of shipping crates. One squinted at the sorry sight. “Geez, them marines are looking like a roight sad bunch....” The shadow seemed to grow a second head, as another silhouette peered over its shoulder. “There’th no way thith will work... And when it won’t, I get to thay told you tho.” An irritated huff and a bonking sound silenced the doubter.

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Yumiko’s expectations... weren’t all that high, honestly. Not after witnessing the spectacle of the only person she dared to trust promptly embarrassing himself in his drunken stupor. Repeatedly. Her shoulders heaved with a heavy sigh. How shameful... She counted herself lucky that she merely blacked out when drunk and never did anything questionable. Ever. Brushing the distracting thoughts out of her mind, she turned her gaze onto the rest of the men and commanded them into a new formation. They spread out and formed the front half of a perimeter meant to herd the bandits in an orderly manner. She didn’t want to cut anyone down today, so that meant making escape attempts as inconvenient as possible.

Against all expectations, the Petty Officer completed the task successfully. Admittedly the Commander found herself relieved to see the prisoners huddled together. She met the status report with a salute. “Well done, Petty Officer. Now watch the rear.” Marching to the front of the formation, she turned her attention towards a quieter sideroad. Parading criminals through the city streets would have been an invitation for trouble, so... “Attention! Forward, march!” With that sharp command, the group headed down the shady path. Few actually bothered to march to any sort of rhythm, opting to rather just... you know... walk.

Meanwhile, the shadows got lively as well. While one of them still couldn’t believe this was actually working, the biggest silhouette clearly had a plan. “Roight, listen up, blokes. We’ll take a shortcut through the alleys and set up a roadblock roight outside the town. Got it? Good. Get moving.” Reminiscent of cockroaches avoiding light, a dozen shadows scurried across the quiet docks and into the murky alleyways of the town.

When the prisoner escort, eventually, reached the other edge of the town, they were met with a troubling surprise. Several huge boulders were blocking the path. The local Marine base was in sight, but out of reach. Yumiko raised a hand, commanding the group to a stop. She then brought her hand to her sword... But stopped to hesitate. Could she even cut through them and clear the path? Or would it be smarter to find a different route? Increasingly suspicious questions started swirling inside her head. What if this was a trap?

And it wasn’t paranoia when she was right.

Right on cue, a massive silhouette hoisted itself effortlessly onto one of the boulders. A raspy voice greeted the marines with surprising chipperness. “G’day, mates~!” The moonlight revealed the rotund figure of a lightly dressed bandit. Only a pair of shorts and a ripped combat vest covered his hair and muscular body. He easily towered over most men, with legs like tree trunks and arms like chiseled stone. His shaggy hair and rough stubble had clearly never seen scissors or a razor, only the business end of a bowie knife. With his rugged looks and attire, he could’ve passed for an adventurer or a treasure hunter, a misconception which he immediately set straight. “I’m Handsome Bruce, the local bandit leader. Ya ‘ave probably heard of me.” He tipped his wide-brimmed hat mockingly.

The bandit leader, Bruce as he insisted, jumped down from his perch with a thud that cracked the ground at his feet. He marched up to the Marine Commander with the cocky stride of a rooster. “Ya drongos got some of my boys all chained up there.” Stopping before her, he reached for his back. His weapon of choice was a long, thick piece of wood resembling a club. Yet it had a distinct hole going all the way through it. “Now release them prisoners and shove off, or else!” Of course, his direct approach with all the proud posturing was just a bait, a big, loud distraction while his trusty right-hand man alongside his minions would sneak up from behind and conk the Marines cold. The bushes lining the dirt road rustled softly...

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Yumiko’s ears twitched at a series of thuds coming from behind her. She spun around to face the assailant, while silently berating herself for not noticing earlier. Compared to the two buff foes, she might as well have been just a little girl. However, she stood her ground, unflinching and focused. A chill wind blew through the road. Her glare grew colder. “Vile villain, thou would strike thy foe from behind? Cowardice is the rust on a dishonest blade. Have thou no honor?” Steel shone in the moonlight as she drew her blade. Her eyes widened. Accompanying her voice, a tiny burst of power she didn’t quite understand washed over the area like a shockwave.

“For shame!”

An awkward pause was left lingering in the air, until the bandit leader finally broke it. “Crikey! Lookit sheila jabbering all iffy.” His big bison buddy nodded in agreement. “Yeah and thhe altho talkth funny.” The furry fighter rolled his shoulders and stepped closer. “Want me to knock her out too?” However, the leader was quick to wave him off. “Nah, mate. I got this one. Ya go and help the blokes with them chains.” He pointed at the prisoners. A couple of lackeys dressed in odd rags had appeared from the bushes and were now trying to free their friends with little success. “They, uh, could use a hand...” No arguments there. With a confident snort, the bison went to show his small friends how a real pro picked locks.

Yumiko didn’t get a chance to stop the escape in progress. When she drew her blade, Bruce brandished his odd-looking club. “Come on then! Let’s ‘ave a go, ya mug!” She blinked at his wording. “Uh... what...?” The question just slipped out, much to the foe’s visible annoyance. “It means bring it on, ya drongo.” Even the clarification was met with a blank stare. “Ugh... Let’s fight.” Finally the culture shock passed and the puzzled woman managed to get out a quiet mutter. “Oh.” She was still rather confused why the man spoke so strangely.

The bandit leader brought the strange weapon up... to his lips? Only now it occurred to the Marine that it looked kind of like a hunting horn, except the inside resembled a beehive with its many, tiny holes. His chest swelled with an impossibly deep breath. The sound that followed could have been described as the deepest toot most had ever heard. It reverberated along the ground. She clapped her hands over her sensitive ears with a pained grunt. The awful noise, however, was only a distraction. A swarm of sharp, little darts shot from the weapon. Several of them nailed her painfully, drawing crimson dots on her clothing.

Once the attack subsided, the swordswoman nearly slumped over. She barely caught herself, recoiling from the pain. Defense had never been her strong point... Yet her eyes burned with determination. “So... be it...” Dust started dancing in the air as small whirlwinds whipped up around her. She rushed forward, closing the gap with a single leap. A quick, light slash caught the foe off-guard, cutting far deeper than it would normally. The initial strike chained into a wild flurry of attacks, reminiscent of a frantic dance. It almost looked like phantom blades trailed behind her sword with each motion.

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Shining steel clashed against hardened wood. For a brief moment, the two fighters stared each other down, stuck in a deadlock. Yumiko had trouble believing her eyes. Her blade failed to cut the strange instrument. It felt like striking solid stone... Even as she gritted her teeth and strained against it, the foe and his odd weapon wouldn’t budge an inch. Almost like an unseen force was keeping her back. She had heard tales of this back home, of the mysterious power known as Ryuo. But... That was supposed to be an ability of great swordsmen... While she was willing to admit she may have misjudged her foe based on his shameless outfit, she absolutely refused to consider this... horn... any manner of sword.

Handsome Bruce was the first to break the tie. His chiseled muscles bulged with raw power. “Oi, piss off!” Like a living catapult, he snapped his thick arms upwards and launched the enemy high into the air. While it may have not done any damage, the real point was disorientating his target. Flashing a cheeky grin, he took aim at the falling woman. “Have more a’ this, ya wanka!” Another mighty toot reverberated across the air. It too carried a storm of darts, like a blast from an unwieldy shotgun. They filled the air with pointy death. There was nowhere to run.

However, even in midair, Yumiko was far from helpless. She started spinning wildly. Her whole body blurred, until she resembled a huge buzzsaw, with the sword forming the sharp blade. The darts were deflected by the steel and scattered by the whirling winds. Only a couple made it through her unusual defense, drawing drops of blood. Carrying the momentum into a counter-attack, she launched a swift blade of wind right back at the foe. Unfortunately, her head was still very much spinning and the attack went a little wide. It narrowly missed, nearly giving the foe a much needed haircut.

As the swordswoman landed, she paused for a moment. Her hand clapped over her mouth. A hint of green painted her skin. Urp... This was why she didn’t like using this drastic defensive maneuver... It always threatened to fetch her last meal back from her stomach. Her hesitation didn’t go unnoticed by the foe either. Ever the opportunist, he grasped the horn like a bat and took a swing. She barely ducked beneath it and retaliated with a swing of her own. The blade cut a clean line across his torso, eliciting a pained grunt. Before he could try anything else, she bounced backwards. A violent gust of wind blasted him into the harsh stone with a painful thud.

Both fighters were left reeling, one a little worse for the wear than the other...


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With one more deep breath, Yumiko composed herself and took her stance again. A slow exhale crept past her lips as she focused. Her keen gaze narrowed. Having witnessed the foe’s abilities, she had come to understand, nay, respect his power. He had both reach and coverage at his side, not to mention his impressive bulk. Most of her foes would have fallen by now... She shook the thought out of her head. That kind of thinking was exactly why many foes had beaten her. She would not repeat her mistakes.

Reminiscent of a twisted mirror image, Handsome Bruce did much of the same. He straightened his back, powering through the pain. Numerous cuts across his body trickled red lines onto his skin. Yet his confidence remained unwavering in spite of his ragged breaths. “Roight, enough mucking around.” He unsheathed a blade of fearsome proportions, a menacing chunk of steel carried by people who liked to say ‘That’s not a knife... This is a knife’ with an unnerving smile. “Here’s one for the road!” He charged. For a man of that size, he was deceptively quick. The bowie knife was like the tip of a spear as it thrust towards its target.

Yumiko vanished. Within the same heartbeat, her blurry form reappeared behind the charging man. All the action simply stopped. It felt like time stretched during those few, precious seconds. She slowly sheathed her blade, letting the steel whisper gently as it slid against the cover. A dark red splotch appeared on her kimono. The ruined cloth fell slightly aside as a splatter of crimson painted the ground at her feet. She faltered, almost keeling over. Almost... Yet she kept sliding the sword, completing the careful, practiced motion with a quiet...

Click.

Behind the swordswoman, the bandit leader grinned his usual, cheeky smile. His blade dripped with a wet layer of red. “Heh... Good... on ya...” With that last gasp, he collapsed. A massive wound opened across his chest with a burst of blood. Yet even still, ragged breaths kept scratching against his throat. He remained barely alive, but alive nonetheless. It was no accident either, nothing to do with luck. The cut was just shallow enough to spare him a fate far more gruesome than a mere prison visit.

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