The Pain of Team Legacy
By Unknown_Hero
"All right! All right! We’ll stop! We’ll stop!" The man sobbed lightly,
on his knees as he begged for mercy. The full moon shone down on the
small forest clearing, illuminating the unconscious bodies of the
man’s friend as he bowed before his opponent. "We won’t bother Mr.
Yamada anymore, we swear! We won’t even go near him, as long as you
spare our lives! Please, Slayer!" The man lowered his head to the
ground and sobbed even harder.
"Hmph!" The Slayer said, looking down
at the man. He spit on the ground next to him. "Please, save it! I’m
not an assassin, you know. Besides, you’re not even worth killing."
He narrowed his eyes at the man.
The Slayer stood over his opponent,
his left arm at his side and his right arm leisurely resting his HUGE
weapon across his shoulder. The Slayer didn’t seem like a very imposing
person, at first glance. He was pretty well-built for a boy of 17
years of age, but aside from that, he had the appearance of any normal
teenage kid. In the light of the moon, his long blue pants blew in
the breeze slightly, and his blue shirt was covered by the red leather
jacket the Slayer always wore, with the symbol of a Dragon embroidered
in black on the back of the jacket. The boy’s hands were wrapped in
white cloth, and a white headband could be seen on his forehead, below
his spiky brown hair. His green eyes, still fixated on the man, shone
lightly in the night, though the man on the ground didn’t dare gaze
into his eyes, rather summoning just enough courage to gaze at the
Slayer’s black boots, only the bottom of which could be seen as the
long blue pants covered most of the boots.
No, the MOST imposing thing
about the Slayer, what had made him a rumor told around the underground
of Lord Recluse’s Empire, was the HUGE Broadsword that was currently
resting on the Slayer’s shoulder, a sword he called the Dragon Slayer.
Even though the Dragon Slayer was EXTREMELY heavy, the Slayer easily
held it over his shoulder, supporting it with just ONE of his arms.
"If you’re going to stop harassing that man," The Slayer sighed, disappointment
spreading over his face. "Then my work here is done." The Slayer began
to turn, then looked back at the man who was still cowering on his
knees. "Pathetic guys like you aren’t even worth my time, anyway."
He added, and walked away.
Goddamn it... The Slayer thought, heading
to the Yamada residence to collect his pay. If I keep getting hired
to deal with common low-lives like these, it’ll take me a million
years to... Slayer’s thoughts wandered back for a moment, and he lowered
his head a bit. I WILL become stronger, no matter WHAT it takes. And
I’m sure I’ve increased my strength tremendously... The Slayer sighed.Maybe I’ve become TOO strong. He looked ahead. There has to be SOMEONE
in this cursed Empire that can fight on the same level as me!
The "Origins" Saga: The Painful Past of The Slayer
Ken and Daisy walked
down the old, destroyed road. The road sat on a cliff, and it overlooked
a wide forest area. A while ago, Lord Recluse had impounded all cars
in the Empire so he could use the scrap metal for weapons and ammunition
to continue the War of New Era in Europe, so cars were almost non-existent
in the Empire.
"Hey, Ken, where are we going exactly?" Daisy asked,
breathing heavily as she tried to keep up with Mach Blade.
Ken turned
to her. "Well, I was on my way to Recluse City when I bumped into
you, so I figured-"
"RECLUSE CITY?!" Daisy exclaimed, running up to
Mach Blade. "WHY ARE WE GOING TO THAT DUMP?!" She waved her arms in
protest.
Ken put up his hands defensively. "Well, Recluse City WOULD
have people that might know where Rose is."
Daisy looked at Ken in
confusion for a moment, then smiled mischievously. "Oh, you mean your
GIRLFRIEND!" She said, poking Mach Blade in the face. "So, her name’s
Rose, huh? That’s so CUTE!"
Ken blushed. "She’s not my-"
"Not your
girlfriend, right." Daisy said mockingly, walking leisurely ahead
of Ken. "Well, I suppose if you’re going to Recluse City, you’re going
to need money." Daisy lifted her arm and flexed her muscle. "I can
help you with that! With my brawn and your brains, we can get all
the money we need!" Daisy laughed.
Ken walked over and squeezed Daisy’s
muscle, which easily collapsed under his pressure. Daisy pulled her
arm away, and then slapped Ken across the face.
"Don’t take me so
lightly!" She said, her expression angry once more. "I’ll have you
know I was trained by one of the greatest Martial Art’s teachers of
all time!"
"Really?" Mach Blade said as nice as possible. "What’s
his name?"
"Oh, her name was..." She then punched Ken across the face.
"DON’T ASK ME THAT!"
This is going to be a pleasant trip... Ken thought
sarcastically as Daisy rushed ahead of him.
"Hey Mach Blade! Last
one there buys the food!" Daisy said teasingly as she ran ahead. Ken
smiled a bit.
But she reminds me so much of Rose... Ken thought.
Ken
looked up and saw that Daisy had stopped farther down the road, and
was looking out over the edge of the road into the forest clearing.
She turned and yelled back to Ken.
"Hey, there’s a small town right
here! Be prepared to pay up!" Daisy giggled and jumped down the rocky
cliff.
"Daisy!" Ken yelled, running with phenomenal speed to where
she had jumped, and looked down the cliff. Daisy was smiling up at
him as she easily bounded from jagged outcropping to jagged outcropping,
slowly making her way down the cliff. Looking across the horizon,
Mach Blade saw a small clearing that held several small buildings,
obviously a town of some sort.
"I’ll be waiting at the nearest restaurant!"
Daisy laughed as she landed on ground at the foot of the cliff. She
then bounded into the forest.
"She’s so reckless..." Mach Blade thought,
sighing as he easily ran down the face of the cliff. "Yet another
trait they share..."
"Wow, look at this place!" Daisy said, running
around to the various stores in the town. The town appeared to be
one large market, with small stores selling food, weapons, traveling
gear, and various trinkets. Though many people were walking around,
it was obvious that no one lived in this town, since there weren’t
any inns or houses.
"I guess it would be advantageous to place markets
in between cities like this..." Mach Blade commented as he eyed several
VERY expensive rifles in the windows of one store. "Since no one has
any cars anymore, I guess places like these could do very well business-wise."
"Hey, Ken..." Daisy said, thinking aloud. "Since this town is so far
away from the police stations and such, wouldn’t it be easy to-"
A
loud crash interrupted Daisy as she and Ken turned to see a jumping
out of one of the windows of a nearby store, crashing through the
window as he made his escape.
"STOP! THIEF!!!" The store owner yelled
as the man ran towards the woods rather quickly. Mach Blade was about
to take action when...
"Oof!" The man cried out as he was hit in the
abdomen by a boy who had just entered the market town. The hit caused
the man to crumble to the floor in pain.
"Man, I can’t stand thieves."
The boy sighed, looking up as he and Mach Blade saw what was obviously
the town’s police chief run up to the now-unconscious thief. He rolled
the thief’s body over and placed some cuffs on him while he looked
up at the boy. The officer’s eyes settled on the large sheathed sword
on the boy’s back.
"You’re that guy everyone calls the ‘Slayer’, aren’t
you?" The officer asked as two other officers showed up and took the
thief away. "I thank you for your help here. As you can see, this
town is pretty short-handed when it comes to law enforcement, and
we could-"
"If you’re asking me for a job, you can forget it." The
Slayer said bluntly as he started to walk past the police chief. "I’m
only here to eat and then move on."
"Oh, no, I wasn’t asking you to
become a police officer, of course..." The police chief said, still
facing away from the Slayer. "But I DO have an offer that you might
be interested in, considering your profession."
The Slayer stopped
for a moment. "Tell you what. Treat me to my meal and I’ll listen
to what you have to say." He said, without turning to face the police
chief. "But I warn you, I’ve been pretty disappointed with the jobs
I’ve gotten lately. If this is another personal squabble involving
weaklings, you can count me out."
"Oh, I assure you..." The police
chief said, eyeing Mach Blade and Daisy as the two entered a nearby
restaurant. "There aren’t any weaklings involved in this."
"All right!
Look at all this food!" Daisy said, drooling slightly as she saw several
orders being prepared in the kitchen area of the restaurant. "And
I don’t have to pay a cent!" She said, grinning as she turned to Ken.
"Isn’t that right, Ken?"
Ken turned to her and blushed. "Well, I guess
I do owe you for your outfit..." He said as he led the two of them
to a table. "But I don’t... exactly..." He blushed even more. "I’m
kind of broke..."
Daisy punched Ken in the face. "You idiot! You still
have that money you stole from me, don’t you?!"
"Huh?" Ken looked
at her. "No, I gave that to a local charity right before we left the
city." He laughed lightly. "After all, it wouldn’t be right for us
to use stolen money for ourselves, now would it?"
Daisy’s face turned
to a crimson hue, and Ken could almost see the smoke come out of her
ears. "YOU MORON!!!" She yelled, causing everyone in the restaurant
to turn to them as she began to throw punches at Mach Blade (which
he easily blocked with his hand). "HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO STUPID?!
THAT WAS MY MONEY TOO, YOU BIG JERK!!!"
"Please, Daisy..." Ken said,
still blocking her punches. "You’re making a scene..."
"I CAN’T BELIEVE
YOU’D-" Daisy stopped as she saw several people on the floor, ignoring
them as they tossed dice on the ground. She smiled and stopped hitting
Ken.
"Uh, Daisy, what are you..." Ken asked, watching her leave the
table and join the men.
The men looked up as the saw the smiling girl
join them. "Hey guys!" Daisy said as high-pitched as possible, putting
on the best "young, innocent girl" routine she could. Ken looked puzzled
as he watched her from the table. "What are you doing here?" She asked
as she picked up one of the dice and looked it over.
The men smiled,
and one of them answered. "We’re playing a little game, baby." He
said, taking the dice from Daisy. "It’s called ‘Odds or Evens’. Pretty
simple. Guess right, and you get money. Guess wrong, and you lose
money. Wanna play?" He looked around, and his friends nodded, smiling
slyly.
"Well, I guess I’ll try it!" Daisy said, taking out a $10 Bill.
"This is all I have. How much will I get if I guess right?"
"You’d
double it, baby." The man said, still smiling. "Of course, you’d lose
it if you guess wrong. How about it?"
"Hmm..." Daisy pretended to
think it over as she reached into one of the pockets in her orange
outfit. "OK! I guess I can try one or two!" She placed the $10 in
front of her, and the man handed her the dice. "I’ll say... Evens!"
She shook the dice and tossed them on the floor. The dice landed:
one and one.
The man smiled. "Nice work! Here." He handed her a $10
Bill. "Why don’t you try again?"
Several minutes later...
"Wow! I
won again!" Daisy laughed as the dice landed: 3 and 4. The other men,
by this time, had their mouths open in shock. "Let’s see..." Daisy
thought. "320 times 2 equals 640! Wow, I guess I’m pretty good at
this!"
"Yeah, you are..." The man growled, and he and his friends
got up. "A little TOO-" He stopped short as he saw Mach Blade stare
at him from the table, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He swallowed
hard, then motioned to his friends. "Let’s cut our losses and go."
The others looked at him in confusion, but he was already at the door.
"NOW!" He yelled, and the group ran out of the restaurant.
Daisy giggled
slightly as she returned to the table with a new wad of cash. "Not
too bad!" She said, smiling as she took her seat. "I’m pretty lucky,
huh?"
"Luck had nothing to do with it." Ken said, reaching across
the table and into one of her pockets. As Daisy protested, Ken pulled
out 6 dice, which landed on the table, each a different number. "It’s
not nice to use loaded dice in games of chance." Ken scolded.
"So,
what do you say, Slayer?" The police chief asked as Slayer took another
bite of his chicken. "Do we have a deal?"
The Slayer finished his
chicken leg and narrowed his eyes at the police chief. "Let me get
this straight: you want me to fight this guy, even though he hasn’t
done anything to you, and on top of that, you don’t care if he lives
or dies?" The Slayer’s tone became harsh. "You must be mistaking me
for an assassin or mercenary of some kind. And I’d be willing to bet
that you’re not just acting on your own behalf, either. But..." The
Slayer’s tone became somewhat softer. "The money seems good, and if
what you say is true, this could be a real test of my skill..." The
Slayer got up. "OK, I’ll do it. But I warn you, if this turns out
to be another waste of my time, my payment will be beating the crap
out of you instead of the money, understand?"
The police chief smiled
up at the Slayer. "You won’t be disappointed, Slayer. I guarantee
it."
"Oh, yeah!" Daisy said, leaning back in her seat. The empty plates
stretched out between her and Ken. "What a feast! It feels good to
be full after 3 whole days of nothing!"
"I’m still surprised you ate
so much!" Ken said, finishing his cup of tea. "How do you keep such
a good figure?"
"DON’T ASK A WOMAN THAT!" Daisy yelled, and Ken apologized.
The door to the restaurant opened, and a boy stepped in. Ken instantly
recognized him as the same one who had stopped the thief earlier that
day. He looked around the restaurant.
"I’m looking for the guy that
calls himself Mach Blade! Show yourself!" The man yelled across the
restaurant. Ken sighed and stood up, along with Daisy.
"I’m the one
you’re looking for..." Ken said, looking a bit puzzled as he observed
the boy.
"You. Me. Outside. RIGHT NOW!" The boy yelled, exiting the
restaurant.
Ken and Daisy followed the boy outside the restaurant.
By now, night had fallen, and the cool wind blew the dirt around the
boy as the full moon illuminated the market town.
"Why are you bothering
Ken like this?!" Daisy demanded, and the Slayer smiled.
"It’s my job,
little girl." The Slayer chuckled, and Ken held Daisy back as she
threw another fit. "I’m known as the Slayer, and I’ve been hired to
fight you, the one called Mach Blade! I was told I would be given
a good fight, so you’d better give me one! Otherwise..." The Slayer
reached over his shoulder and grabbed the hilt of his Dragon Slayer.
Withdrawing it slowly, the huge sword gleamed in the moonlight as
he brought the sword in front of him. "I’ll have no choice but to
kill you with all the power of my Dragon Slayer!"
Daisy gasped slightly,
but Ken narrowed his eyes and walked forward. Daisy began to follow
him, but stopped when Ken looked back at her, a serious expression
on his face that she had never seen before. Ken turned back to the
Slayer. "If you want to fight me, that’s fine." Ken said in a much
more serious tone then Daisy had ever heard. "But not here, in this
town. I will only fight you if we go someplace where no one else can
become involved. Is that OK with you?"
The Slayer smiled. "Heh, that’s
fine with me." He looked at Daisy. "Sword fights shouldn’t be witnessed
by little girls, anyway."
"WHY YOU-" Daisy began, but stopped as Ken
made a motion with his arm.
"Daisy, go back into the restaurant and
wait for me." He kept his eyes on the Slayer as he said this. "This
won’t take long."
Daisy, a bit surprised by all this, did as she was
told. The two warriors were soon facing each other in a small clearing
in the middle of the woods. Unknown to them, however, was the police
chief, who was watching them, wearing a pair of glasses. The glasses
were actually connected to Lord Recluse’s database, and the lenses
themselves were screens that allowed one wearing the glasses to see
things that couldn’t be seen without the glasses.