The Bounty Hunter

September 7th 2089

“This is Irene, the automaton Kira and I have been working on these past few months.”  I said as I finished introducing Irene to the girls.  “Nice to meet you Irene.”  The girls responded politely.  Irene returned their greetings before giving them all a once over and letting loose an impressed whistle.  “Shit, Terra, are these three broads your harem?”  Irene asked.  I nodded, leading Irene to slapping me on the back “Nice fucking work!  As expected of the boss!”  Irene gave a grin to the startled girls, and then turned her attention to Rin.  “Who’s the furball?”  “I’m not a furball!  I’m Rin!”  “I call it like I see it, ya damn furball.”  Irene told Rin.  “Hmph, then you’re a boiler brain!”  Rin taunted back.

“Ahn?!?  You wanna repeat that?  I’ve been thinking of getting a fox skin scarf, ya damn furball!”  Irene was sounding completely like a mobster with her speech now.  Rin was unintimidated “Sorry, I didn’t hear anything but ‘pssh, pssh’.  Boiler brain!”  “Why you cheeky fuck!”  Irene glared at Rin, who chose to expand to a similar height to glare back.  The two butted heads and looked like they were about to get into it.  I sighed once and promptly flicked both of them on the forehead.  *Clang* *Whine* Both Irene and Rin, who transformed into her human form after the strike, backed away while holding their foreheads.  The other girls started giggling at their misfortune.

“Damnit, Boss!  Force calculations and damage assessment indicate that this shouldn’t be hurting this much!!  How the hell is this possible?!”  Irene complained while holding her forehead.  “Owwie!  Master, it hurts!”  Rin let out a fox-like whine as she looked at me with watery eyes.  Poor, poor Rin.  You should have learned by now that you shouldn’t look so cute while in proximity to Kira and Hikari.  *Glomp*  “MASTER, HELP!”  Rin cried out as Kira and Hikari were fighting over who got to hold her.  Veronica impassively watched them with amusement twinkling in her eyes, showing no inclination to go and save Rin from the others.

“Ha! Take that you damn furball!”  Irene cackled at Rin’s predicament.  I ignored her as I proceeded to talk “Alright, listen up everyone.  Irene will be staying here at the apartment in the spare bedroom.  She’ll be gone often since I asked her to assist me in hunting down Pandemonium.  Rin, you’ll be helping her.”  My statement was met with a collective “WHAT!?!”  from the girls, Irene, and even Rin.  “Master!  Why do I have to work with boiler brain?”  “Damnit, boss!  I don’t want to work with the furball!”  Faster than it took to blink, I flicked both Irene and Rin in the forehead again.  They wisely voiced no further objections as they nursed their injured foreheads.

I turned to look at Kira, Veronica, and Hikari, who were all glaring at me.  “What is your guys’ problem?”  The three of them gave me a pointed look.  Hikari was the first to speak “In this plan to go after Pandemonium, why are we not mentioned?”  Before I could say anything, Veronica cut me off “You better not say ‘it’s too dangerous’.”  Kira then added “Yeah, Terra.  We want to help!”

I looked at the three of them, who were looking at me rebelliously.  “Look, the truth is that it is going to be very dangerous.  I don’t want to risk losing any of you.”  Kira shouted back angrily at my words “Don’t be so selfish!  You’re not the only one who worries!  Did it ever occur to you that we don’t want to risk losing you?!?  Idiot!”  Veronica then quietly followed up “Terra, you’ve done so much for us, but we don’t want to be so dependent.  We want to support you as you have supported us.  That’s what a loving relationship is all about.”  Hikari nodded in agreement “We, I in particular, may not be as strong as you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve.  We want to help anyway we can, so help us become strong so we can stand by your side.”

A pair of amber, a pair of black, and a pair of violet eyes bore holes in me as they waited for my response.  I guess they’re right.  This must be what Dante was referring to when he beat me.  ‘True power is more than just the strength someone possesses on their own’  It’s kind of sad that a demon lord knew that better than I did.  I have been so used to trying to do everything alone that I don’t even know where to begin with this.  Having people that I rely on will be a first for me, but the girls deserve and have earned my trust.  “Fine.  But I’m going to train you all into the ground.  Especially you, Hikari, since you have a lot of catching up to do.”

There was a brief pause as my words sinked in, then I got tackle hugged by the three girls simultaneously.  I let them celebrate a little bit, before allowing an evil smile to show on my face.  “Alright, let’s start training!”  A flash of light occurred as I teleported everyone out of the apartment.  Hehe, this is going to be fun.

Hikari’s POV

It’s been only an hour since Minato teleported us for training, but Kira, Vera and I are already collapsed on the ground.  All three of us have no energy to stand or speak.  Rin and Irene are currently duking it out in the background.  It is strange seeing a massive 3-tailed fox trying to trample a girl with a baseball bat, but I guess this is normal around Minato.

Speaking of Minato, he’s standing over our prone forms carefreely.  “We’ll be doing this for an hour every morning from now on.  If it’s too much for you, let me know and we’ll stop.”  Ah, so that’s his plan.  I thought that he had caved a little too easily about letting us help him.  So, he wants to scare us off with harsh training.  Ha!  “…Don’t underestimate our determination, Minato!”  I gasped out at him.  His striking green eyes focused on me as he let out a sigh.  “I have to at least try, right?”  he gave a shrug as he passed out some water.  “As for you, Hikari, it’s time to go get your first kill.”  I nodded reluctantly to his words.  If I am to become someone who Minato relies on, I have to get stronger.

He turned towards Vera and Kira, who had miraculously already recovered from their exhaustion.  It’s incredible how physically superior the other world residents are.  “Go spar with Irene and Rin, it’ll be good practice.”  He then vanished, leaving me to wait for about 5 minutes before returning.  In his arms he had 3 adorable bunnies, which he trapped on the ground with a simple spell.  He then pulled out a katana from his item box and handed it to me.

The sheath was black, with gold trim on the edges.  I drew out the katana, which was the ideal weight and length for me, and saw a dark grey metal branded with a crimson pentagram right above the hilt.  “This is a sword I had made for myself in the other world once upon a time.  However, I never ended up using it.  I’ve altered it for you instead.”  Minato spoke as I admired the craftsmanship and balance of the blade.  “It can convert the kinetic energy from its movement into mana and then release it as a magical projectile.  It also can absorb and store kinetic energy from combat to power up the strength of the magical attack.  It has a very large capacity.”  “What’s its name?”  I asked, only to get a confused look from Minato.  “It doesn’t have one, none of the weapons I used had a name.”  “What!?  You have to name your weapons!  Especially when they have cool abilities like this!”  I exclaimed.  How did he never get that idea?  He hangs out with Reiji after all!

“Anyways, stop trying to change the subject.”  Minato pointed at the three adorable bunnies that were immobilized on the ground.  “Kill them.”  He commanded.  I looked at the three bunnies who were twitching their whiskers ever so cutely, and couldn’t help but hesitate.  Minato did not comment, and simply waited.  Eventually, I managed to make myself walk over to the bunnies with my unsheathed katana.  I lifted up the sword, trembling slightly as I aimed for their necks.

Breathe.  If you want to fight demons, you have to be able to kill.  This is something that Minato, Kira, and Vera have all done.  This is something they can do without hesitation, even to other intelligent beings.  Yet I’m still hesitating.  It’s not even a person and yet I’m still hesitating.  Is it really this hard to willfully kill?  I want to be able to protect three of the most important people in my life and I still can’t muster up the courage?

…I think I now see why Minato doesn’t really like talking about his job and the things he’s done in the other world.  Ha, my naivety must have looked so stupid to him as I pestered him about the monsters he slayed or the criminals he caught.  *Sniff*  I can feel some tears rolling down my face and I know that I must appear really pathetic to him right now, not even able to kill a couple of bunnies.  *Sniff* *Hic*  How can I even claim to love him when I don’t even understand him?  *Sniff* *Hic* *Sniff*

My rumination was interrupted when a pair of familiar arms gently took away the katana and wrapped around me.  “It’s okay.  It’s okay.  Don’t cry.”  Minato soothingly whispered as he pulled me into his embrace.  “It’s not supposed to be easy at first.  Killing is dirty and repulsive.  It’s only natural that someone still innocent like you would be so troubled.  This can break someone who is not ready for it, and it’s not something so easily fixed.”  His voice was so understanding and so kind, and he sounded far, far older than his actual age.  “It’s okay if you don’t do it.  It’s fine to keep that innocence, you know?”  he continued comforting me.  I could tell that he really meant it too.

He was broken, wasn’t he?  Kira told me about Hafor, and about how Minato couldn’t move past that for the longest time.  She told me how he had relived the event using magic in order to track the bandits, and how he never confided about it to anyone.  He carried the burden alone for such a long time before finally coming to terms with it.  I never mentioned it to Minato, waiting for the time to come when he would tell me himself.  But I don’t think he ever will.  I know it’s why that lovable goofball I played with as a child transformed into the cold, silent loner.  Is he ashamed of himself?  Does he feel tarnished by what he’s done?  Is that why he’s so accepting of my inability to kill?

“Kira told me about Hafor.”  I blurted out those words before I could stop myself.  Minato let loose a small sigh “Yeah, that messed me up a lot.  I’m over it, but the scars are still there and they won’t fade for a long time.  Kira and Veronica also have their own scars from the other world.  We all have been messed up.  That’s why it’s fine if you’re not like us.”  No, it’s not fine.  How can I call myself Kira and Vera’s friend and Minato’s fiancé if I can’t even make myself experience a simple sliver of the challenges they have overcome.

I extricated myself from Minato’s embrace, grabbed my katana from him, and immediately slashed downwards towards the animals.  A strange sensation seemed to flow into me from the blade, and the next thing I know a small blade of light emanated downwards from the steel.  The bunnies were chopped into clean pieces and a deep cut appeared on the ground.  I quivered a little bit from the shock of my first kills as the blood splattered across me, but my will held firm.  I’ll stand by those precious to me, no matter what.

I turned back to Minato, who had his adorable surprised face on, and smiled “I’ll be by your side no matter what.  Who cares if you’re messed up, I love you and that’s what counts.  Everything else is just details.”  I flashed a look towards Kira and Vera and added “That goes for you two as well!” For the first time in this relationship, I was the calm one while Minato, Kira and Vera were all surprised.  It was a rather refreshing feeling.  My new sword was still humming, although I’d like to think it was laughing along with me.  If it’s going to be my new partner, it deserves a good name… I think that “Dynamo” is a good fit.