Bring Back the Guilty

[Kotone]

“You think you can take on a job like this? You seem a little young.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m a lot stronger than I seem.” Kotone flashed a smile at the man in front of her. She’d agreed to meet with this man when Lamia Scale had admitted that any mage they had who was qualified was a little busy, and that time was of the essence before the current information went stale.

“I’m sure you are. Look, kid-“

“I’m eighteen. Recently, but eighteen.”

“Whatever. Look, kid. There’s a man we wish to catch. He’s a traitor to C-Company, and hurt a lot of good men. We’re looking to pay a powerful wizard who can bring the traitor in. He’s a d*** fool, but he’s an old friend and I wish to have him brought in alive. Do yeh think you can handle that?” The man in front of her was grizzled and old enough that he still thought of Kotone as a naïve child, it seemed. It didn’t matter. Kotone had promised to help, and she could use the money.

“I think I’ll be back for my money before you can even get settled in.” Kotone leaned forward, slamming a fist onto the desk dramatically, mostly for fun. “Now, where is he located?”
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Kotone had made good time. She had made a full circle; she’d been spending a lot of time at her home in Hosenka town lately, and now she was back, where a man she was more than happy to keep away from her home was staying, apparently at the spa’s under his last name of “Hosk.” She’d even stopped to tell the authorities what she was up to so she wouldn’t get in trouble for causing a ruckus. She didn’t normally do that, but she figured she might as well. She did hate to cause trouble in Hosenka, of all towns.

Kotone closed her eyes, taking a breath before she stepped into the spa’s. Troy and his lackies had this particular spa to themselves, so she was less concerned at… well… literally catching them with their pants down. She could hear the idiots talking amongst themselves, laughing and talking loudly about something to do with money. She was only listening for key words. She didn’t really want to know what four men were talking about by themselves in hot springs.

“Hey, boys,” Kotone opened her eyes, looking down at the men in towels, her arms crossed and her katana at her back. “Crove says hi.”

At first the men looked stunned to see a young woman in the spa with them, standing there, mouths agape. But at the mention of Crove, they immediately broke into scowls. “So He thinks he can send a little girl to do his job, eh?!” Troy taunted, laughing off the dragon slayer’s words. “Why don’t you just get in here and join us for a good time. Lose the shirt though,” the three men laughed at his words.

A small blush crossed Kotone’s face, but she grinned, literally laughing off their words. “Sorry,” Kotone told them, her tone not even remotely indicating that she was sorry. “I’ve got better things to do than get undressed in front of four pigs. Like make money by turning Troy here in. The other three of you are free to grab your pants and leave.”

The others laughed again. Apparently they were being paid rather well. “Look, girl, if you aren’t going to have some fun with us, we got no use for you. Now… I’m going to count to three… and my friends here are going to shut you up if you don’t tuck your tail between your legs and run away like the little girl you are.”

Kotone sighed, looking down at the hot spring. Releasing her magic, With the intensity of the cold around her, steam started to form as she bent down quickly, placing a hand in the water. Quickly, she released her magic, causing the hot spring to freeze over, if only temporarily.

“One… two… Augh! What the heck girl?!” The four of them found themselves trapped in ice. Obviously they hadn’t expected that. “Get her!” The three lackies laughed, the air heating around them. They were fire wizards. Ah well, the hot spring wouldn’t have stayed frozen for more than another minute anyway.

Kotone stepped back, the ringing of steel in the air as her Katana left its scabbard. The three lackies jumped at her. This wasn’t going to be the easiest job ever, not if they were fire users. The three of the lackies started assaulting her with fire punch after fire punch, and Kotone blocked them with her Katana, preventing herself from being burned.

One of the men flanked her, and she only just barely ducked, letting the man punch his friend in the face. There was a quick apology, and then the three of them went back to attacking the young dragon slayer. Before long, Kotone’s katana was starting to heat up, and she didn’t want to damage it. Instead, she quickly re-sheathed it, continuing to try to duck. One punch found it’s mark, causing Kotone to let out a quick but muffled sound of pain. Burns weren’t fun. She hated the heat.

Another punch swung her way, but ice enveloped Kotone like armor, and the fire burned partially through before the melted ice put the fire out. With a grin, Kotone kicked the man in the face as an ice shard appeared over her shoulder, flying at the lackey on the right. It slammed into his shoulder, knocking him into a nearby wall. Kotone doubted it would cause lasting harm to the guy, even if she wouldn’t have been too torn up if a man like this had been hurt worse.

The other two had recovered by now, with the man who was going to have a black eye after being kicked in the face attacking first. Kotone parried the flame punch with one arm and clocked him in the head with the other, dodging to the side as a small bit of her ponytail was singed. “that’s it.” Kotone growled. She might need a trim, but a barbeque wasn’t the way she planned to tidy up her hairstyle. Pulling out the Katana again, she slammed the blunt side into the man who hadn’t been hit as hard yet, straight in the stomach. He let out a gasp for air, possibly trying to say something. “What was that?” the eighteen year old asked as he fell to his knees. She kicked him in the side of the head. “I didn’t hear you.”

That left the other two. Kotone was getting tired of this game. Simple fire mages like these, even if they were talented, were no match for a dragon slayer of her caliber. Slamming her palm into the ground again, Kotone caused ice shards to seemingly erupt from under the men’s feet, sending them off balance and pummeling them. She could have easily made them spiked… but she wasn’t looking to kill anyone. She had standards.

The two men fell to the ground in a heap, practically on top of each other and not about to make another move that would get them hurt. Not with the way they were groaning.

Kotone looked up, glaring at the man who had slowly been getting dressed while his lackies fought. “You know, they might have stood a chance if you had stood with them,” she scolded, flicking her sword around and sheathing it again despite the fact that the man now had a sword of his own.

“You assume I need them.”

“I assume you have a shred of humanity for Crove to want to give you a chance.”

“You beating them means I don’t owe them a cent for failing their job. It’s just business, dirty or not.”

“You’re despicable.”

“I’m tired of being pushed around and told what to do. I’m just ensuring that I can have a life of my own. WITHOUT BEING TOLD HOW TO LIVE IT!” With that, Troy was on the offensive, slicing down at Kotone with an… ice based magical sword.

Kotone caught the blade with her hand, a grin crossing her face. “Ah,” she taunted back. “That’s unfortunate for you. This is nothing but a sharp toy if you’re going to use it against me.” It was too bad she couldn’t eat it. She was working up quite the appetite.

Suddenly, another Troy appeared behind her, Kotone’s eyes widening. She didn’t have time to-… She blinked. She’d let go of the real Troy’s sword, but the one behind her had been an illusion. This man had strong illusion magic if she couldn’t tell the difference. And now there were two troys. Three. Four. Crap.

Four Troys started attacking Kotone. She couldn’t tell which one she was actually parrying, good as his illusions were. They all seemed real. She was going to have to do something about them. “Stop with the illusions already!” Kotone growled, jumping back and yelling “Ice Dragon Roar!” Her roar tore through the illusions, which couldn’t actually take a hit. Troy got hit as well, stumbling back as he shivered.

“D-dragon slayer…” he gasped, realization dawning on his face. The pair were actually halfway decently matched, but Kotone had the upper hand between his ice sword and her ability to screw with his illusions with a single blast.

“Dragon slayer,” she repeated, raising her sword and swinging it to catch his sword, pulling it from his grasp as it landed on the ground a good ten feet away. She put the sword up to his neck. “Now, an old friend of yours just seems to want to talk. Maybe you should come with the dragon slayer you tried to proposition a few minutes ago, before she decides she’ll take the lower pay to see you dead.”
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A little while later, a man cuffed in ice handcuffs arrived back at the meeting place alongside the eighteen year old who was, apparently, a lot more powerful than she looked. It was amazing the way people judged wizards, of all people, by their looks. Kotone might never get used to it.

“I got him. Was that quick enough?” She’d even stopped for a snack on the way back.

“That was a fine job, Miss. I apologize for doubting you. I should know better than to underestimate someone recommended by Lamia Scale,” Niles admitted, shaking her hand. “Now, Troy, I want to have a word with you. Excuse me while I attend to the girl first.”

“It’s Kotone,” Kotone insisted as she handed over the ice sword. “I’ll take my pay in large bills,” she chuckled, in a good mood now that she was about to get paid. Who didn’t like having a little spending money?

“Miss Kotone,” Niles nodded, combing his fingers through his blond hair. “I apologize for my earlier grumpiness. He’s an old friend, as I said, and I didn’t want him going and ruining his life for his ambitions. He’s been letting the money get in the way of the real reason we started C Company. I intend to reeducate him.”

“That sounds like a deal, Mister Niles,” Kotone returned, an eyebrow still raised after being called ‘Miss Kotone.’ Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad after all.
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Half an hour later, Kotone was walking back to Lamia Scale to report her mission complete. She had to give them their cut, of course, and figured Ren might want to know she was alive after announcing she was going to go on a job at their Guild Master’s request. She had a burn wound, but it was already wrapped up and wasn’t so bad. She supposed it was time for a trim though, once she turned things in. She felt like her ponytail was a bit lopsided after having the tip burnt a bit by those idiots. “Another job well done,” she chuckled to herself. “Time for Kotone to show she’s grown up in more ways than one.”

Word Count: 2015/2000