Kozuna
From the tunnel's darkness came a creature of a human-like build, with external features resembling that of a scorpion… A shiny black carapace, a tail bearing a poisonous tip, long claws that could probably skin us, humans, alive… Something of a literal bipedal scorpion, straight out of the imagination...
Nikai and I were caught COMPLETELY off guard as the monster charged out, its tiger-orange eyes leaving a short-lived trail of sparkles in the wind as it moved. It aimed for Anari, kicking her with such force that she went flying back, slamming into the brick wall and sliding into the sand.
Obviously, the two of us who remained standing glanced back wide-eyed, as the situation escalated in a matter of seconds.
The beast soon turned back, exchanging glances with Nikai and me...
Nikai grunted, yanking his rifle from his back.
"The hell IS THAT?"
"It's a man-beast!"
Agh. Damn…
Yvira's sudden burst of volume in our headsets left my ears ringing briefly, though I had to remain focused on what was happening right in front of my face. And that was because the wind grew fearsome momentarily, the man-beast howled as if it were trying to collapse the canyon on our heads... Nikai and I reflexively blocked our faces, but the very sound of the screech nearly left my eardrums bleeding... The wind itself seemed to move with the man-beast's voice...
That sound earlier… this thing was definitely the cause...
"Guys I've read about them! Don't get close to it! They can really pack a punch!"
The swipe of a claw whistled through the wind straight for my face, leaving me only the option to spring away from the man-beast.
"Yeah, no kidding!" I scoffed, watching as the man-beast changed targets.
In seconds, the creature we had no clue we'd be facing was bouncing between Nikai and me, taking on two opponents at once. And strangely enough… its attacks were gaining in power, and its body was letting off some odd silver glow, something that looked like steam rising from a kettle.
Firing off several bullets that had no effect, Nikai nearly cornered himself by taking too much of the beast's attention.
"How do we beat this thing? It's fast as hell! And it ain't taking a hit!"
"I-it depends on the type of man-beast! Uhhh..."
Anari groaned, finally speaking into the microphone.
So is she able to stand and help us now?
"How did these Bahsin people manage to keep it from attacking them? They weren't guarding the cave at all! Think they tamed it? Maybe there's something in that building they use."
"I don't think any of us have the slightest clue, CAPTAIN ANARI," I answered, firing my pistol into the man-beast's abdomen, knowing it wouldn't have much effect.
It had nearly put Nikai in a place where he wouldn't be able to defend himself, so I opted to take its attention for a while longer. And while I did that, Anari failed to stand back up.
"I could do without the sarcasm, Kozuna!"
"Yvira, try to come up with something fast!" I shot a glance at Nikai before ducking an incoming strike. "Nikai, we've gotta keep it busy!"
"Yeah! I know that!" responded Nikai in haste. "Hurry and think of a plan, one of you! Strategy isn't my thing!"
Upon my dodge, the man-beast switched targets and pounced at Nikai, crunching down into his arm and forcing blood to gush out. Apparently, changing targets on the fly was of no consequence to the creature.
Nikai yelped in pain and rage, his mouth gaping wide as his eyes flipped to the sky.
"AGH! SHIT! BITCH! FUCK! Get the hell off of me!"
He tried to open the man-beast's jaw with his one free hand, but Nikai was obviously struggling, no matter how strong he was.
Behind the man-beast, I hooked my finger through the zip cord on my glove and swung my garrote around its teeth, pulling up with all my might, allowing Nikai to slip his bite-mark-riddled arm free. Again, he tried to fire his rifle, but the bullets bounced off the carapace. No surprise there.
Slipping free of my wire, the creature screeched at us again, then lunged at me. And during those brief seconds, it felt like time slowed down. I knew I had to stop that thing, and killing it might've been the only way to do so... But at the time, not getting eaten was the top priority.
I dove to the side and rolled back to my feet, and at long last, Yvira once again spoke over the communicator. My sigh of relief still remained nonexistent, however.
"Guys, I think I got something! Try to restrain him! If bullets won't stop him, see if you can keep him from fighting back!"
"How do we do that?"
"Nikai, Kozuna has a grappling gun and that garrote! Try tying up his body and suffocating him!"
Nikai and I met eyes with the beast, and soon after, Nikai charged in, guns blazing. He let out a raging battle cry, giving me instructions immediately.
"Kozuna, do SOMETHING when you see an opening!"
Duh.
So, as Nikai and our foe began bolting back and forth, I aimed and fired my grappling gun into the man-beast's jaw. The hook pierced the hard external carapace and dug in deep, letting off a cracking noise. None of that was a surprise, and neither was what happened after.
The man-beast turned his full, unbridled attention against me, beginning with a violent pounce.
I darted to the side in an attempt to tie him with the grappling gun while Nikai crouched and held tight to the man-beast's tail, struggling to keep him in place. Undoubtedly, inhibiting the beast's movement was impossible, but at least Nikai was slowing him down. I hastily looped around the man-beast several times until I was nearly out of wire. And finally, I ended the man-beast's sporadic movements by tying the last bit of my grappling wire. I passed the gun to Nikai; there was still more to be done.
The next step was using my garrote. And with the man-beast stuck in place, choking him out was a breeze. He let out gurgling sounds and resisted as much as possible, yet in a few minutes, he fell unconscious, tied and lying in the sand.
With that whole debacle out of the way, we rushed to check on Anari. Though, rush was a... strong word...
By then, Yvira was heading to the canyon's base, coming to provide medical care.
"Is she okay?"
Nikai groaned, grasping his still-bleeding arm.
"Yeah, I'm okay too... Thanks for asking."
Yvira chuckled through the headset, not giving him the time of day.
"Well, I knew you were, not like you were immobilized."
I laughed and checked Anari's pulse.
"She's okay, she-"
"I'M NOT DEAD YOU MONKEYFUCKERS! I took a direct hit to my spinal cord, moving even a little feels terrible..." Anari tried to get up but fell back down almost instantly. "Owww, fuck..."
What was that supposed to be? A demonstration?
I lightly pushed her back against the wall with the shake of my head.
"Just stay still for a while, we gotta check out the cave."
"Kozuna, take a look on your own. You're the only one who's not badly injured. And Nikai you should hang back too so I can check your wound."
Nikai coughed, trying to hide his growing pain.
"...oh, finally..."
In a couple of minutes, Yvira joined us and quickly wrapped up Nikai's arm, then briefly turned her attention to Anari.
"You'll be good to walk... in like a week... or a lot longer. Your body needs to heal up, you took a pretty serious hit."
"Even a week is too long! We have other missions to do!"
Nikai shrugged his shoulders incompetently.
"Well... someone else will have to take charge, but that's up to the commander, not us. Unless we don't get another mission for a while..."
Anari grunted, expressing her displeasure.
"Kozuna, get down there and confirm that there IS a water source so we can call in the capture team to secure this GODFORSAKEN pit... I better not have taken this big-ass hit for nothing..."
I spared no time to... cautiously venture into the darkness of the tunnel... And the sparkling sight I was greeted with seemed to stretch for miles into the cavern. I let out a deep breath, feeling some twisted semblance of satisfaction.
"Call the capture team... There's an... abundance of water."
An abundance we're depriving another clan of…
***
Several minutes passed after Anari called for the capture squad. That long wait for our extraction was the most annoying part of the day for me. Nearly dying- that wasn't weird at all. Even if it was my first time encountering a man-beast...
"So, Yvira... Where do these... people, come from?" Nikai asked, drinking a glass of water.
"Oh well, man-beasts are believed to be a mutation of humans that existed in ancient times... How they actually came about is unknown, and they were hunted by normal humans to near extinction... Those that survived fled and went into hiding." Yvira paused for a moment, getting noticeably excited. "Some people say there's an entire civilization of man-beasts! Could you believe it? In theory, if they've survived this long, they'd have access to water and maybe even real food! Imagine a discovery like that! All we'd need to do is locate-"
We heard a low growl and turned to see the present man-beast waking up and interrupting Yvira. His eyes opened, and his gaze furiously bolted from one person to another. He howled again and again like he was calling for help, but no one answered...
I took a few steps away and sat down, my hands twitching and gripping my pistol...
"This is painful to watch..."
"Yeah, sure. But it's a hell of a lot more painful to get bitten by that monster, bro. We should wait for the capture team to arrive so we can let it be their problem, and not ours."
Yvira nodded with a smile.
"I wonder if we can extract intel about the location of a possible man-beast society from him... I thought man-beasts could speak like regular humans... this one just seems like a feral monster..."
Anari shook her head.
"Doubtful. He wouldn't willingly tell us anything that would jeopardize his people, he's no different than us. Just a monster in another shape. Besides, who knows if he can even talk."
"Do you have to be so depressing?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm taking Kozuna's job, aren't I?"
I rubbed my forehead and just let out a long... labored sigh… Apparently, Anari had jokes. For once.
***
After about an hour, the capture team arrived. And by then, I had done a sweep of the area and building, concluding that there were no more Bahsin nearby.
The capture team flew in with several helicopters, at least five people per vehicle, and landed most of the helicopters near the watchtowers above ground, deciding to claim the land in the name of the Ozukashi. One helicopter carefully hovered over the canyon and let down several ropes for us to take hold of. Some soldiers slid down into the ravine to act as guards, while others brought a carrier down for Anari.
Of course, we informed them of the painfully apparent man-beast problem, and one of the team members stabbed him with a potent tranquilizer. The man-beast went to sleep almost instantly and snored like a child, allowing me leeway to finally untie my grappling gun.
"This mission was complete shit. My back is fucked up, Yvira almost died because Nikai is an idiot, and Kozuna doesn't know how to take orders correctly. Ughhh, surrounded by nothing but dimwits."
Nikai turned over to her with a smug look.
"Yeah, we're right here y'know."
"Yes. That's the point."
I let out a loud, deep breath as I laid back into the helicopter seat.
Yvira grabbed my arm, tugging it gently.
"So... Kozuna, when we get back to The Primary, you should let me thank you properly for saving my life and all..."
I shot a glance her way, not fully turning my head.
"Thank me properly? What scheme are you gonna pull on me?"
"Eh-heh. Ummmm, no scheming. Just me, thanking you, yeah..."
"You already did."
Flustered, Yvira began sounding very different.
"LOOK. We're gonna go out somewhere, relax a little bit, and you will be thanked PROPERLY. That's final!"
Anari, Nikai, and I all looked at Yvira with surprised faces.
"What? Did I say something inappropriate?"
Anari gave Yvira a confused look.
"The fuck are you so demanding for all of a sudden? Where is all this energy when we're stuck in fights? Normally all you're interested in is books and ancient nature. If you wanna ask him on a date just fucking do it. Damn."
Nikai burst out laughing at Anari's response.
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
I soon stopped paying attention to the pointless conversation happening around me as we were coming above ground at last.
"Are we being dropped off by helicopter, or are we taking our buggy?"
"By law, I'm the only one allowed to drive it since I'm a squad leader. However... since my condition is... well, shit, that won't be happening. When I called the capture force, I asked for an evac chopper and for them to pick up our buggy as well. So, ugh... we'll be flying back home."
With no choice but to watch as someone else drove our buggy out of the newly captured camp, the four of us relaxed in the helicopter. With the mayhem finished, all that remained was to go home and report to the commander of our success. But, as we were flying, Anari decided to weigh in on her decision regarding my... misbehavior earlier...
"Kozuna. Just so you know... this one time, I'm not going to tell the commander of your insubordination. Only because you were instrumental to our success today and nothing else, but I will not be merciful again. You better not think of disobeying my orders and risking all of our lives for your silly beliefs ever again..."
I refused to look Anari in the eyes, opting to stare out the window...
"...understood..."
We had secured a new water source for the Ozukashi Clan, at the cost of the Bahsin Clan... And to no surprise, I was left with thoughts of negativity regarding the events that took place...
This was one of our most harrowing missions in a while... I hope the next one isn't so bad…
***
After a long flight, the city was directly below, and our helicopter was already descending carefully. We had… somewhat safely... returned from quite possibly our most important mission ever.
When our pilot finally landed, several armed soldiers were on the landing pad waiting for us. Yvira stepped out of the helicopter first, with Nikai and I following and carrying Anari. One of the people waiting for us was the Vice Commander, Helix.
"So... heh... what happened to y'all's short little squad leader?"
Anari fiercely gazed at him with a grunt.
"I'm okay! Fucking jackass... All you lanky-ass motherfuckers need to mind your own goddamn business."
"Hah! You don't look so good! Blondie probably can't even stand on her own legs, amirite? Nikai?"
Nikai chuckled quietly while Anari growled.
"I'm just playin' witcha. Don't getcha' panties in a bunch." Anari groaned in an upset tone while Helix motioned for us to follow him. "Come on. Y'all need to report to the commander."
Helix turned and opened a door leading downstairs, beneath the roof we stood upon. Before heading further, however, Helix had his escort fetch a wheelchair for Anari from a nearby closet, lending Nikai the handles to drive her around. Reluctantly, Anari took her seat, keeping her arms folded like an irate child the entire time. The vice commander then led us through the busy street, a few buildings down to our destination.
The joint office of the commanders was a place built to support the efforts of the Ozukashi military scouts and soldiers, people like my four-man squad. Citizens could sign up to become a scout at the front desk, and it was also where the current ones went to report back after missions. Lastly, the office was where squads were given assignments.
Of course, since we had just completed a mission, we would have at least two days before another. In between each assignment, squads were given breaks to recuperate, even longer if there were any injuries.
"So did y'all find the water source?"
"Yes sir! It was amazing, plenty of water for years to come, at least. We also ran into a man-beast and-"
"Yeah. I just asked if you four found the water, Yvira. I don't care about all the extra shit. Anyway, we're almost at the office. Behave yourselves in front of the commander..." Helix swiftly glared at me. "That means YOU redhead. You're the worst of the bunch... I know all y'all are relatively young, but still..."
"Yeah, yeah... I always behave myself..."
Anari poked her head forward while giving me a mean scowl, which I returned right back to her.
The office was several stories tall, one of the highest reaching structures in The Primary. The commander and vice commander's offices were on the top floor, and to get up there, we had to take an elevator. But despite the... good reputation held by the office and its prime leader, the outside was nothing but a tall, poorly welded together structure. Ugly to look at. Like everything else in the city.
Inside was nothing special. It was basically a big metal box with few defining characteristics. Just a couple windows, here and there. The elevator was by far the greatest attraction to the shitty several-story tall tower. It had a vertical window on the outside, allowing passengers to view the city, spanning from the base to the top.
By that time of day, the sun had set completely, the city was lit with electricity from lights. That was one of the few beautiful sights and one that Yvira couldn't help but stare at.
"The lights are dancing!"
It was likely nothing more than headlights from cars, but her… unique outlook on life brightened up our squad quite a... bit... Even so, beyond the city, was nothing but a visible wasteland stretching for miles. And I could see no reason why that'd be beautiful.
Upon exiting the elevator, we entered the top floor- a circular space with the vice commander's office to our left and the commander's dead ahead. Helix walked to the door in front of us and swiped a key card, opening the commander's office for entry.
"Commander Kaiten. Anari's squad completed their assignment, and are here to report."
The commander was facing outside beyond a large window. His head turned slightly, showing the side of his face that still bore its eye.
"Welcome. Are you all in good shape? How did the mission go?"
Been a while since we've seen Commander Kaiten in person. He's usually so busy… unlike that annoying bitch Helix...
Nikai wheeled Anari in front, since the squad leader was the one who would give the report, and took his time stepping back.
"We're... mostly okay, physically. But the mission was a success, and the information we received from the spy was... mostly reliable. However, they neglected to mention the presence of a man-beast. This lack of knowledge gravely injured me, as you can plainly see. And, as much as I hate to admit it, it makes me unable to complete assignments for... a while..."
Kaiten folded both hands behind his back and walked around his desk. "I see. That's very unfortunate. However, you're scouts, you should be used to handling the unknown. For now, I will take you from our mission list, Anari, but the remainder of your team will be assigned a substitute for the next upcoming mission. And good job securing the new source of water, our clan will live longer thanks to the amazing work you four did today."
Yvira crept next to Anari, asking, "Soooo, what's our next mission going to be anyway?"
Kaiten's gaze shifted as one of his arms grabbed the sword at his waist, gripping it while vibrating.
"You'll be investigating an attack on a town in our territory. The people there were wiped out completely in one night. Since there were no survivors, you'll have to canvas around for clues. We believe that another clan may be at work."
I placed both hands at my hips while Anari twisted her scrunched-up face toward me.
"Was this before, or after we took the water source of another clan?"
"Before. It happened two days ago."
"Then why did you wait so long to launch an investigation? How much do we even know about the situation?"
Kaiten turned and stared back out of the window, his restless expression visible in the reflection.
"I waited because there were no survivors. I chose to tighten security around every other location so we wouldn't have any more slaughters. Problem is, we don't know who or what attacked the people living there... Not one body was left at the scene, just a few bloodstains and destroyed homes."
Yvira cleared her throat obnoxiously.
"Sooooo... Which town was attacked?"
"Jigen. A manufacturing town to the northeast. It's about a twenty-minute drive from The Primary, but they were well defended... which puzzles me."
I pondered silently for a moment, thinking about what could have caused innocents to be killed or captured. The obvious assumption would be that another clan has attacked ours, but none of them would give up the chance to stake their flag down at the capture site. Furthermore, why would an enemy clan attack a town so close to The Primary? Several possible aggressors crossed my mind about who could have been the assailant...
Enemy clans, traitors, exiles, man-beasts, terrorists... The list just doesn't end...
I shook my head, briefly shutting my eyelids before reopening them.
"When do we start?"
"You guys will have two days to rest since your upcoming mission will most likely take multiple days. Nikai, Yvira, and Kozuna, you three will be called back to my office along with your substitute squad leader. Anari, you are to take it easy, stay at the hospital, and focus on getting better." Kaiten waved us off with the back of his hand. "That is all... Dismissed. You four always do good work, and I appreciate it."
Helix followed us out of the room, opening his office door and cutting contact with us as soon as he could. He wasn't very fond of us, though we'd never given him a reason to hate us.
"First things first, I'm gonna take Anari to the hospital. Yvira, I'll give you some alone time to... properly thank Kozuna." Nikai winked and hastily dragged a moaning and groaning Anari into the elevator, winking at us even more as the doors shut.
Oh, goody...
Yvira grew nervous the moment we were officially alone.
"So... What can I do to, um, properly thank you? Kozuna?"
I rapidly pressed the elevator button, knowing full well that I'd have to wait. All I could do was entertain Yvira for the time, but that meant I was doing it my way...
"How much do you know about Jigen, Yvira?"
"Jigen? Why do you ask? And you never answered my question!"
"If you want to properly thank me, give me the information I need. I don't plan to sit around waiting for another place to get attacked... I'm gonna go and begin investigating immediately... so... if you know anything about the town, tell me."
Yvira was immediately unenthusiastic about giving me information, but she cooperated.
"Well... like the commander stated, it's a manufacturing town. Their main export is weapons... You can guess, because of that, it's supposed to be well defended. They're one of the three supply lines for the Ozukashi. That's about all I know."
I nodded in response as the two of us entered the elevator when the door finally opened. We didn't speak as the elevator car carried us down to ground level, though I soon broke the silence, getting out of my thoughts.
"Level with me... if someone were to attack a weapons manufacturing plant, what do you think would be the best way?"
"Well, logically speaking... From the inside, right? I mean, if I were going to attack a place that creates weapons, trying to break in would be a disaster."
"That's what I was thinking. It needs to be someone from the inside... I hate to even suggest it, but... an Ozukashi."
Yvira, catching on quickly, gasped like she was a bad actor in a movie.
"...you think there's a traitor in our clan?"
The elevator soon reached our destination floor, and the door slid open, prompting our exit.
"It's just a... hunch. I have a feeling that whoever this person or people are, they have fire superiority. It's not just some regular guns, they'd bleed out a lot more. There's no guessing what special weapon they have to massacre an entire town without a single body being left behind."
"Alright, you've convinced me. I'm coming along, but first... you're gonna get some sleep and a meal in your stomach, okay?"
"Fine. Whatever. Let's get back to the barracks..."
After one night's rest... an annoyingly quick shower... and some stale food... I'll get this mystery sorted out...