-- Night Raid Hideout --

 

A group of individuals sat outside in the brisk cold of the evening wind. Tonight, these seemingly harmless children and young adults were going to be officially inducted into a group called Night Raid, an assassination squad part of the Revolutionary Army. Everyone of these people were also told that they were going that certain "preparations" needed to be made in order for them to officially join. What these preparations were, nobody knew; the group was just told to wait outside Night Raid's hideout and wait for instructions. All of them had been waiting for at least ten minutes now...

 

One of these individuals, a young and well built man with tan skin, blue hair, and strangly, an old branding iron strapped to his back with a rope, was actually fine with the wait. He was very interested in joining Night Raid, of course, but just not impatient to join. He preferred to take things slowly anyway.

 

The boy, named Seelo, standing with his hands in his pockets and chewing on the straw in his mouth, looked around the area, eyeing the others that were with him. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, so he really did not have it in himself to start talking to them. Considering their strange wear and looks, Seelo could tell they probably never lived on a farm either, like he did.

 

Man... buncha of colorful characters that I'm hangin' 'round... I wonder what they're like... Seelo thought to himself, his country boy tone deep set in the words he spoke in his head. If anythang, they're probably pretty good at fightin', like I am, 'r else they wouldn't be here lookin' to be a killer for these Night Raid folks...

Edited February 10, 20169 yr by Firaga Sensei

Seelo / Mine

 

"We're not here to be tested one-on-one, little lady. 'Least that's not the impression Night Raid has given us. I mean shoot, they threw us into a shack together..." Seelo said, putting his own thoughts into the matter at hand. "But if I may be honest, I don't know what to expect. But considerin' how Miss Najenda put it yesterday, it's certainly not gonna be a walk in the sun..." Seelo said.

 

"You've got that right," said a voice coming from outside the group. Mine, the pink haired girl from the night before, came walking up to the Night Raid members-in-training, carrying a large rifle on her back.

 

"Alright, everybody, listen up! I'm in charge of putting you through today's training exercise. Everybody follow me!" She commanded, turning and leading the group into the forest that lead back to HQ.

Edited March 29, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

The teen followed along slowly with his hands behind his neck, admiring the girl in pink. Her attitude was prickly, but it could be part of her charm, Lucifer reasoned. For now, he was just curious about what training they would do.

"Well, I guess we're about to find out what it is..." Kotetsu said, and followed Mine. She's the one training us today...? Well, it beats food girl or that one perverted woman who showed us around the place. I still don't really know if I like this one, either, though... He thought to himself as he studied their teacher for the day.

The pink haired lady. She would be teaching them for today? Maybe. Hopefully. As she followed however, she was focused more on the rifle that she carried. It seemed heavy. "(That's one of those very special weapons, right? I'm sure I've read something somewhere...)" Elektra thought. "(There were originally forty eight created by the order of the first emperor. That's one...I feel like touching it.)" Elektra shook her head as she then cleared her throat. What was her name again? Oh this would take a while. "Um...miss...lady...Pinky? How long have you been part of the Night Raid?"

Mine / Seelo

 

Mine's temple throbbed at Elektra's comment. "Pipe down back there, and that goes to all of you!" She yelled, keeping her back turned and now crossing her arms in a huff.

 

"Uh, M-Miss Mine? Would you still mind tellin' us about our training session?" Seelo asked meekly, deciding to get the answers that everybody was clamoring for.

 

"I said pipe down. You'll find out soon enough," Mine said coldy.

 

Seelo's sweat dropped at Mine's cruelty, his expression falling into a mix of annoyance. "I got a bad feelin' about this..." Seelo said aloud, but quiet enough so that only everybody except Mine could hear.

 

Eventually, Mine lead the group to a clearing in the forest. "Alright, you lot, wait here. I need to go set up something up," Mine said, leaving the group and going back into the forest.

 

After a few moments of waiting and swishing his straw back and forth, Seelo started to get antsy. "Now, I'm usually the patient type, but I do have to say that the anticipation is gettin' to me... though, I'm not really anticpated. More like, uh... nervous-like..." Seelo quipped.

 

Suddenly, the ground near the group exploded, scaring Seelo out of his wits. "W-what in the sam hill was that?!" He cried. The ground continued to explode around them, various holes being put in the grass.

 

"Everyone, come on! We gotta git!" Seelo cried, immediately running towards the HQ.

"Wh-what the heck is going on?!" Kotetsu shouted. No one told me I'd have to avoid getting blown up day one! Kotetsu chased after Seelo, trying not to fall behind. "Hurry up, everyone! We need to get out of here fast!" He tried to look around, and find the source of these explosions. I'm not seeing any sort of sign of what's causing this... What the heck are they trying to make us do?!

One explosion. Two explosions. Three explosions. One of them just barely missed Elektra by a matter of a foot. She wouldn't be able to feel the pain of it, but she knew well enough that it wasn't something you would want to get caught on. "(Where are these coming from?! Are we under attack?! We have to warn the others!)" Elektra thought as she started to make a run for it right behind Seelo and Kotetsu. "I'm not arguing, let's go!" Elektra hissed as she started to run, quickly wanting to catch up. She could only hope that miss pinky didn't get caught in one of these. Most likely not. The pressure of the explosions made her knees tremble as she ran. If she didn't trip it'd be a miracle. Her fight or flight instincts just told her to run and attack anything that seemed out of place, or suspicious. "You don't think this was a trap to try to kill us, right?!"

Julia began to run along with the others. The explosions were definitely surprising, and there were more than enough of them to be an actual threat to their safety. But she still doubted this was a trap, or even someone attacking them. The timing of it all, and the fact that they still weren't dead was a testament to either their amazing luck, or the fact that this was a test. Of course, her logic didn't stop her from running away as fast as she could. If this was a test, then passing it would probably entail finding out what was causing the explosions and stopping it. But until she even had a clue of the cause of the threat, Julia thought that running would be a pretty good idea.

Lucifer grinned sharply, admiring the hands-on training. Such was to be expected from Night Raid. Sprinting along with the rest of the group, he barely avoided being grazed by debris. Glancing around cautiously, the source of the explosions seemed untraceable, but that could change at any moment.

Seelo

 

As the group ran through the forest, they came into another clearing. There, they found a large, wide river separating the ground between them and the area of the forest that led to the HQ building.

 

The ground around continued to be peppered by explosions, so there was no time to stall.

 

"Well, I guess we're going for a swim! Everybody jump in!" Seelo cried, diving into the cold water below and swimming for the other side.

"Well, if it keeps us safe..." Kotetsu sighed, and dove into the water. He began to swim to the other side. "We can't just keep running, though... We don't know how long this will go on. We need to figure out some way to get to cover." Kotetsu told the others, hoping they could come up with a plan quickly. The sooner he could stop the risk of being blown to bits, the better.

Elektra came to a complete stop at the very edge of the river. "(A river? OH NO.)" Elektra thought. She had never swam before. Ever. EVER. She had a bath but that wasn't a good replacement of a pool or a lake to practice while being locked up in a room for so many years. However the explosions were getting nearer, and they were taking off faster than she could prepare to for the next one. "(Looks like I've got no choice.)" Elektra gulped. Taking a deep breath she jumped right into the river, just as an explosion barely caught her. He held her breath as she opened her eyes under the water. The current wasn't that strong, which would mean she had at least a bit of a chance. She waved her arms and legs desperately, floating up to the surface with a large gasp, before flailing her arms and legs in an attempt to swim, which worked somewhat, as she crawled over onto the shore on the other end, coughing. "Where are they coming from though?!" Elektra asked as she turned back. They were either buried or being shot at. "Someone willing to become a target to figure it out?"

Seelo

 

"We don't have much of a choice, Kotetsu!" Seelo said to his fellow assassin as they swam. "We gotta keep moving, or else we're all gonna get blown to pieces!" Seelo said, fairly sure of his words and intuition.

 

Upon reaching shore, Seelo shook off the water particles stuck to his body before rechecking with the others. He saw Elektra next to him, who was coughing up water. He took a knee next to her.

 

"Nobody has to be a hero. We gotta survive. That's all that matters," Seelo said in response to Elektra's proposal. He then remembered Elekra's possible dire state.

 

"By the way, do you need help?" Seelo asked. "If ya do, say it now, 'cause we gotta scoot our boots," Seelo said briskly.

Kotetsu made it to the other side shortly after Seelo did. "Well... We can always come up with something while we move. We just need to figure out a way out of this, fast. I don't know about you two, but I like being kept in one piece." He said, then walked over to Seelo and Elektra. "Yeah, are you okay? We can't just leave you here, even if we're dealing with... Whatever's going on right now."

Elektra coughed and caught her breath. "I'm fine...just..." Elektra breathed and smiled. "That's the first time I ever swam before!" She admitted, before another explosion across the river brought her back to reality. "I'm not dead yet, let's go!" Elektra said as she started to run with them, looking back at the river and the explosions. There had to be something. "If the explosions are being shot from somewhere though..."Elektra said as she glanced back at the forest. "If we hide from sight and the explosions stop, that would mean we're being targeted." Elektra suggested, all possibilities coming to mind. The explosions couldn't have possibly been layed down in the same path that they took before...could they?

Seelo

 

"I don't know about that. From what I saw, they were spread out mighty clearing. Kinda feels random-like to be honest... even so, I'm still not so sure about staying in one place. That might give whoever's tryin' to cook our goose a better advantage," Seelo said.

 

The group grew closer to the HQ building, but they had another obstacle to cross first: a literal hill. More specifically, the gap between a hill, which they found they were standing on, and the rest of the forest.

 

"Aw, shoot! How are we getting across this?!" Seelo said, frustrated. He looked around and noticed there were vines hanging from the above trees. "Wow. That's convient." Seelo quipped. "Still, I ain't complain'! Kotetsu, Elektra, grab on!" He added, grasping one of the ropes in his hands, waiting for his teammates to do the same so they could take off.

Elektra cursed under her breath. "I'm starting to think this is intentional..." Elektra muttered. So many obstacles. Either that or they just had very bad luck. Seeing Seelo suggest the vines, Elektra quickly grabbed onto the closest one she found, gripping it tightly. It felt like it was strong,but at the same time could snap at any moment. If that wasn't nervebreaking, she didn't know what. "A-Alright, I'm ready!"

Kotetsu found another vine, and grabbed on to it. This is nothing... I-I think. He looked slightly terrified. Now probably wouldn't be the best time to mention I really don't like heights... He sighed. "I'm ready to go. Hopefully we won't get blown out of the sky..." He gazed at the HQ, which seemed far away. I hope I can make it...

Seelo

 

The explosions crept up behind the three, growing dangerously close.

 

"Alright. Let's go!" Seelo commanded, the three jumping off the hill and swinging themselves to the other side of the forest.

 

Seelo landed with a thud, rolling to a stop. "O-ow... that felt worse than getting kicked off Ol' Reliable..." Seelo said, referring to a Danger Beast he tamed. "Hey, uh, are you two okay?" He asked his comrades around him.

Edited April 4, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

Kotetsu hit the ground hard, but was somehow able to stand back up. "Yeah... I can tell I'll be feeling sore later, though..." He stretched, his back now in pain from his bad landing. "Anyway... We've got to get moving. How much longer until we reach the base?" He asked, trying to figure out where exactly the Night Raid HQ was.

Swinging off just in time, Elektra didn't exactly land gracefully. She tried landing on her feet, but failing miserably as she fell forward and rolled down and eventually came to a stop as she grasped against the dirt. The muscles in her body knew that this would cause some hardship, but Elektra would know none of it. She carefully stood up, dusting dirt off her dress as she looked back at the other side of the forest and then back at the two. "I think the explosions ended." Elektra muttered with a sigh. Was this part of the plan? If it was they were pretty harsh about it. What if one of them died? Then again this was an assassin squad wasn't it? "I just hope the moment we enter the HQ there won't be another explosion! I'm starting to get paranoid!"

Seelo / Mine

 

"You and me both," Seelo answered Elekra. "Anyways, it shouldn't be too far. We should just be-" Seelo turned around as he spoke, and the first thing he saw after averting his gaze forward was the HQ building itself.

 

"Well dag gum! We're already here! Whew." Seelo said in relief.

 

"Took you guys long enough," said a voice coming from the side, revealing itself to be Mine.

 

"O-oh, Miss Mine, there you are! Where did you go?" Seelo asked.

 

"I just gave you your first exercise. Those "explosions" hitting the ground were courtesy of me and my Pumpkin," Mine said, referring to the large rifle she had in her hands.

 

"Wait, really? You know, you could have given us a heads-up or somethin'," Seelo said. 

 

"Oh please. You three made it out alright. Well, barely, but still," Mine said in a huff.

Elektra stared awestruck. It was her all along?! She felt just about to complain, yell, say something, but hesitated and stopped before she could. Not because she was that angry, but because she was impressed. Her aim was practically flawless. She didn’t want to ask if Mine was intending on killing them for sure from the beginning or was going easy on them, however. “Impressive…you could’ve killed us if you wanted to.” Elektra muttered, before adding one more thing. “Who knew you could be so evasive from sight too! I would’ve guessed since you’re pink from head to toe you’d be easier to spot!”

"That was... a training exercise?" Kotetsu looked surprised, but also somewhat relieved. "That means... we passed the first test, right?" He looked excited. He was happy that he'd managed to do well so far. After what he'd heard about Night Raid's training methods the previous day, he'd become worried. Having passed the first test made him feel like he could do anything they threw at him.

Mine / Seelo

 

"What is with you and the way I dress, you little weirdo?!" Mine yelled, referring to Elektra's comment.

 

She then calmed down and explained: "Yes, that was your first exercise, and it was the first of many. Don't get too excited though. What you just finished was just a warm-up. It only gets tougher from here."

 

"Figures as much. But I guess there's nothing else to expect..." Seelo said to himself, half-relieved and ready for more and half-already wanting to take a breather from the entire program. "Um, by the way miss: what kind of gun are ya using there? I've never seen one like it."

 

"You mean Pumpkin?" Mine said, holding out her rifle. "Hmm... I guess its okay to tell you. After all, you'll be getting one eventually... that is... if you don't all croak first," she darkly joked.

 

"This is called an Imperial Arms. It's a highly powerful relic that is only used by the strongest of people. There are only so many in existence, and once you finish your training... if you're strong enough... you'll be getting one too."

 

"Really?! Come to think of it, I think I might have heard something like that in the city. Well anyways, that sounds like a better deal than having two steaks with a side of taters!" Seelo said excitedly. "And if its a big test o' strength... then I'll be sure to pass and get one of them Imperial Arms for m'self."

Edited April 13, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei