Uneasy Alliance

[Bobbie]

Shinsei was feeling pretty confident, having made it on top of this mighty beast – that had to hold some metaphorical meaning as well. So confident, that he stupidly left himself completely open to an attack from Eric, as merely gripping his jaw was of course not enough to prevent the monstrous claws from ripping him to pieces if Eric so wished, but perhaps the red jokester failed to realise the severity of the situation, or perhaps he refused to accept it.

Eric’s grip came suddenly and felt like a mighty chomp on his arm. Taken by surprise as he was so sure Eric would call this scuffle to an end right there and then, something of a yelp escaped Shinsei’s throat. He let go of Eric's jaw, still seated upon him, and tried to pull his arm out of the wolf’s grasp, tugging against the dangerous claws wrapped around it in a weird mexican wave type of flail. The man’s grasp was too strong to release, however, and Shinsei’s body was just too tough to break, leaving the two fighters connected. While his skin was torn apart, his bones remained resilient.

All of Shinsei's focus was now on this attack, desperately trying to make Eric let go. So much so, that he didn’t even see Eric’s next assault coming.

A sudden force hit him in the neck, completely blocking his windpipe off to make it impossible to breathe. It all happened so fast. Before he knew it, the slimmer of the two men felt himself being launched into the air, only to be swung back downward into the deck again with a loud splintering crackle of the wooden planks that were beneath Shinsei’s head as he was thrown down so forcefully that his head broke through the floor. He’s hit his head before, but it never felt as skull-shattering as this, as the crash caused a loud ringing in his ears, and a shooting pain through his head that extended rapidly over his eyes as his vision blurred. It only took a short moment for the confusion and nausea to follow as nothing made sense to him during some three seconds that followed his hard landing.

His body lay there, completely still and silent, tilted at a slight decline as his head was now dipped into the hole that his impenetrably thick skull made, his shoulders threatening to slip down into the lower level beneath them. Any ordinary person would certainly be unconscious or even dead after a blow like that, but not this persistent demon.

The first sign of life came from him after Eric spoke to Andrew, his previous comment directed at Shinsei going unanswered. “I’m not your s u b o r d i n a t e.” Shinsei spoke slowly, his speech slightly slurred, and if anybody could look into the hole where his head was tucked away, one would see a stupid grin on the masochist’s face, though his eyes remained mostly closed. His hand was raised as he spoke although the rest of his body didn’t move an inch, waving it about in all directions until it fell back down onto the destroyed wooden floor as he seemed to fall unconscious again, motionless for a moment.

“Agnes?” he latched onto that word, a name, the name of such a beauty that Eric so graciously decided would be assessing the condition of Shinsei's battered body! The outcome seemed pretty good in his eyes and he had no objections to that. His body seemed to be slowly coming back to life now, his limbs beginning to move again. “Agneeees.” He groggily called out in his semi-conscious state as his mind was desperately trying to keep up with the significant trauma it had just been put through.

Squirm as he might, he simply couldn’t pull himself out of that hole.

“I need a smoke…” he exclaimed with a heavy groan as he gave up on trying to get his body to an upright position. 

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #9

Shinsei was very good in one thing. He was very good at failing to understand to how dangerous the situation he got himself into was. With head stuck in the deck he would be easy target for Eric or any of his subordinates for the matter, but his words now weren´t important as the Wolf King waited for Andrew and his decision. Decision, that wasn´t coming as the noble was overcame with fear and terror from what he just witnessed. Pale in face, his trembling he couldn´t get a single word out of himself, but in the end, he at leas managed to nod.

“Excellent.”
Eric muttered. Even this single word was tainted with disgust he felt towards his employer. These cowards who couldn´t handle even little brawl was people he hated the most.

“That means...”

The white-haired warrior grabbed Shinsei´s ankle and with swift motion pulled that man´s head out of the rubble. Whatever it was comfortable for him was none of his concerns.

“Shame...”

His lips spread into wolfish grin.

“Because Agnes can treat only my subordinates.”

With that he dropped that red menace on the ground and headed towards Andrew.

“Now lord Andrew we need to talk.”

Right at the moment the young lord looked like someone who would rather talk with hungry tiger than this man, but fear and despair stopped him from running away.

And while they were heading off to discus the terms of their deals, Agnes walked to Shinsei and offered reached to him with her hand.

“So...are you Eric´s subordinate or not?”

The smile on her face was more than enough for anyone to understand that she perfectly understood the situation and was enjoying it.

“Just don´t be so friendly with him.”

Martin grinned.

“He is just temporal member and Eric gets the idea you two are too close we will have to find another part-timer.”

The laughing that followed suggested he wouln´t mind I it ended like that.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei could hear every word uttered by Eric, but was just having a little rest-time after taking a beating that would leave most people crippled in pain or no longer conscious – perhaps not even alive. Despite hearing the man’s heavy footsteps approaching, it still came as a shock as his ankle was suddenly grabbed and his entire body yanked out of the broken debris of the ship’s deck.

He winced as his face got a fresh scrape from the splintered wood and he stared at Eric, not the least bit comfortable, but was now fully awake. The man clad in red watched Eric cautiously as his lips spread into a grin more wicked than Shinsei has ever seen before, as the man’s intentions truly were pure evil. “Well, you should have-“ he began his answer from his upside down position, still at the mercy of the wolf-man, but was interrupted when his ankle was released, causing him to fall back onto the polished floor away from the hole this time. He grumbled beneath his breath at the savagery that this man carried with him – no sense of etiquette whatsoever, and extremely disrespectful toward his elders.

Rubbing his head, Shinsei was in the process of picking himself up from the floor, but was soon met with a gracious hand extended to him, followed by the angelic voice of the woman who made his heart flutter – perhaps with very little ground to such a reaction, of course, considering that he does not know this woman. Pausing in his tracks, he looked at her hand, and then her pretty face. The smile that was on it sent a chill down his spine.

“Ohhh…” his own lips curled into a grin and out came a chuckle. “Clever beauty.” He continued, very well aware of what was going on here, but he reached out and took her hand anyway, pulling himself up to be very close to the woman’s body. “I can be whatever you want me to be, love.”

Shinsei, quite simply put, was an unusual man. He was full of contradictions and had an interesting past, to say the least, but very little about his current state revealed any of it. He’s the guy who would jump in front of a train, not to save a life but for the sheer thrill of it, regardless of his odds. This woman was one such train, a sleek and slender one with all the allure a train could have. No doubt dangerous and could certainly hold her own, especially threatening when considering the territory around her of Eric and his buddies, but that only made her more exciting.

The man has a death wish which he has never allowed to sit on the shelf.

Stepping away from Agnes out of decency, he took out his packet of cigarettes and his lighter, wasting no more time and lighting up as the cyborg’s body craved some of the fuel that he’d lost in that fight. He turned his head to blow the smoke away from her.

The jokester’s light-hearted nature seemed to be struggling to remain constant, his addiction making him more irritable than he was just a few moments ago before the fight to an almost uncharacteristic degree. He then looked past the woman with an intolerant expression on his face and stared right at Martin.

“We’ll see who needs replacing first.”

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #10

The Wolf King left his subordinates to their own devices and walked to the captain's cabin together with Andrew, who somehow found his lost nerves or at least parts of them.
"So, talk."
Eric growled as he sat down on a nearby chair, waiting for Lord Lockhart to prepare a map with his shaking hands. One that Eric was very familiar with as the Wolves often used Cinna Island as a temporal base when they didn't have any actual contracts.
"There."
Andrew pointed on an abandoned beach far away from the port city.
"The exchange is supposed to happen there."
Eric waited for a moment if Andrew gives him more information, but nothing happened.
"Alright"
He sighed.
"I need more. Who took her, what instruction did they give you and how…"
Andrew silently whined and sat down across the table.
"I...I don't know. She went to her aunt to invite her to our wedding, but on her way back, the ship was hit by some pirates or something and then that guy delivered me a letter, demanding 100 million Belli."
Eric whistled.
"That's a lot of money. Is she even worth it?"
Andrew started laughing hysterically.
"Is she even worth it? My family is old, we have lots of connections but my father left me with so many debts that even the ransom money is coming from her father! She is the only child, so I have to marry her otherwise I'll be stripped of my title and can you imagine me working? Can you?"
Just the mental image of it made it hard for Eric not to laugh.

---

Meanwhile, Agnes was watching Shinsei with amusement reflecting in her eyes. Andrew's distressed voice could be heard all the way there, but she was ignoring him.
"What's this supposed to mean?"
She asked playfully when Shinsei turned away with his cigarette.
"You think a woman can not smoke? Or are you afraid that I would ask you for one?"
However, before she could provoke him any further, Martin and Shinsei started provoking each other again.
"Who, me?"
The heavily muscular man in a suit asked, barely containing his laughter.
"And there I thought you understood the lesson Eric taught you, but guess you are a slow learner."
Cracking his knuckles he stepped towards the Red man.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei was trying to split his attention – three things demanded it.

Firstly, he wanted to hear what was going on between Eric and Andrew. He didn’t quite trust Eric not to leave out any details if that suited him, and it seemed quite clear that this was an ‘every man for himself’ kind of situation. At least it would be if Shinsei did anything to anger the big scary wolf man again, which … realistically, was bound to happen at some point. That aside, the lord’s whimpering and whining was difficult to ignore, it was like the very pitch that he spoke in could pierce anybody’s eardrum like the cries of a wailing child.

Secondly, Agnes grasped his attention and there was no denying it. How could he not acknowledge that beautiful reflection of amusement in her eyes, or the playfulness in her tone? It was one of the most endearing characteristics in a woman, she seemed to have eyes that could smile even when her lips didn’t.

Lastly, there was the arrogant not-so-little rat across the deck who wouldn’t shut up, and now seemed to be making a step toward him.

First things first – Andrew was being taken care of, and Agnes obviously ranks far higher in his priority list, so with a twitch of his eye, he decided to ignore Martin for the time being and focus on her. Turning back to her, he chuckled, “Not at all. I see that you don’t spend much time around real gentlemen if a little gesture like blowing smoke away from you comes across that way.” He spoke loud enough for Martin to hear, hitting two birds with one stone. The skewed smirk on his face clearly communicated his pride in that comment, as the cigarette was held securely in one corner of his mouth while the other end curled freely.

He then glanced at Martin and took another deep puff to see himself through this frustrating predicament and calm his nerves, before he brought out his lighter. What he wanted to do with it was burn the man’s lips closed, put an end to that jarring laugh that Shinsei found unbearably irritating at the moment. He was perfectly fine with starting another fight there and then, but had the common sense to see that it wouldn’t be wise – rather than for his own sake, it was for the sake of the job.

He flicked the spark wheel to ignite the device, but then moved the open flame up to his cheek where the two gashes were made by Eric's first attack. With a subtle grunt, he’d let the fire glide over the cut a few times, the nicotine that had seeped out of the wound caught fire and quickly spread along the cuts until it soon snuffed out. The fluid that had dripped down along his face simply burnt away into nothing but a grey marking that could be dusted off, while the wound itself seared shut as the synthetic material of his skin melted enough for the torn edges to seamlessly seal themselves again, returning the man’s face back to its previous state of looking young and fresh.

Ignoring muscle-man-2 seemed to be the best course of action, and so his attention went back to Agnes. Lighter still in hand, he took out his packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his waistcoat and held them out in her direction.

“Shall I light you up?” he grinned at the deliberate double meaning in his offer.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #11

The Wolf King was disgusted as he saw in Andrew everything he hated and despised. That person was a weak, cowardly, dependant, pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone a man. And the wolf was this close to simply break his neck and take the money anyway. The only thing that was keeping that varmint alive was Eric's professional honor and the fact that he had more than enough problems of his own, so he didn't want to turn local nobility against them as well. But that didn't mean he was going to obey his rules like some dog.
"Alright, alright I got it, you need her father's money, but why do you want to throw 100 million out of the window, when you can hire my crew for a fraction of that? I know that island pretty well, so we can simply…"
The young lord didn't let him finish.
"No, no, that is out of the question. I...I don't wish for any violence, I can not risk…"
Eric growled in annoyance.
"Hmmm, whatever, be it your way. How much time do we have?"
Andrew sighed.
"Four days, we are supposed to meet them on the beach at the sunset."
"Hmmm"
Eric said nothing, but his military mind already analyzed the possible advantages and risks, including the possibility, it was just a trap and the kidnappers wanted to use the cover darkness to attack them. Maybe it wasn't so bad he took his people with himself after all.

---

Meanwhile, on a different part of the ship, Agnes was checking out Shinsei's wounds. For someone, who got such a beating from Eric, he was in surprisingly good shape.
"Gentlemen? I would die from boredom with these. I prefer more…adventurous types."
She smiled, squeezing his arm a little, while Martin was murdering him with his gaze.
"It's not broken, but being you, I wouldn't be trying any heavy lifting or punching with it for a few weeks. As for these…"
She pointed to the wounds on his face and back.
"they need some stitches and I am out of painkillers, do you can light me up one after I'll finish."
She reached to her bag, but before pulling out the necessary equipment, Martin walked next to them, with a vicious grin on his face.
"I don't think a few stitches will make any difference after I'll be finished with him."
His hand swiftly grabbed Shinsei's shirt and pulled the red cyborg close.
"Still gonna act so smug?"

[Bobbie]

Shinsei continued to divide his attention, eavesdropping on the conversation going on between Eric and Andrew while also paying attention to the beautiful Agnes, and the trigger-happy Martin. Although, he had to admit, it was a bit of a struggle – there was a lot going on.

That jerk is still trying to talk Mr Rich Fancy-Pants out of hiring me… the eye-twitch in Martin’s direction could easily have been intended for Eric. This was truly an infuriating bunch, the whole lot of them – except for Agnes. They could already be on their way right now if the wolf-man wasn’t so sensitive over a silly comment passed as a joke and this dude right here wasn’t so quick to leap to an opportunity to instigate!

Sure, if you folks lose out on some payment, you'd be fine with your whole crew and an entire ship for shelter. If I miss out on any of my payment, I’d be lucky to have anything to rent a room for a week once my smoking expenses - he stopped his angry rant there, knowing it wasn't worth the risk of missing crucial information.

“Oh? Adventurous types, huh? What kind of adventures would you be looking for?” he asked, his eyes fixed on Agnes yet again as his smile only grew. Her gentle touch on his arm as her fingers squeezed his muscle was enough to make the cyborg's insides bubble and it was becoming increasingly clear that he enjoyed the attention he was getting from her.

Four days… the beach at sunset. He silently repeated those words to burrow them into his memory.

He reluctantly let his gaze drift away from her to glance at Martin just in time to see the murderous look he was getting from the angry man, which only made this more amusing.

“Not broken, good… but no punching? You might want to pass on the word to your buddies, I can name at least two of them who seem pretty intent on forcing my hand to do just that.” The redhead leaned down closer to Agnes to mumble that in a quieter tone for Martin not to hear it and at the same time to get him that little bit closer to the woman.

“No worries about the painkillers, I don’t-“ Shinsei could barely get his full sentence out before Martin interrupted him. The man seemed to make his way over to them faster than Shinsei anticipated and wasn't expecting to suddenly be yanked closer by his shirt.

With the sudden and unexpected jolt, the devious jokester staggered forward and the next thing he knew, his cigarette fell to the deck. He stared down at it as he turned his head the little he could to watch it burn, wasted. He struggled to maintain a light-hearted attitude, especially when the one thing that he sincerely couldn’t live without, and, on top of that, was incredibly pricey, had just been discarded onto the floor. It was barely gone past half way.

“I wasn’t done with that.” He mumbled, before he turned to face Martin again, pushing through the discomfort of being so close to the man who looked ready to tear him to pieces if he even breathed the wrong way. Taking a deep breath was all he could do to keep himself calm, which felt like the best survival strategy in this predicament – and then the jokes continued. “You must be really desperate for my attention.” He chuckled, “Look, in case you haven't realised, I’d rather be this close to the pretty lady standing over there than to you, so… please, get out of my face.”

His blood boiled, itching for another fight whether that meant he’d win or lose, but on the other hand, his arm was throbbing. He would clearly be at even more of a disadvantage in a fight now than he was before, and wildly throwing punches would not be the best approach.

Both arms hanging down as least threateningly as possible, Shinsei’s current mentality was simple: don’t throw the first punch.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #12

The Wolf King was sitting silently across the table, thinking about the information Andrew gave him. Overall, it sounded like an easy and quite straightforward job. Easy money, that would be even easier, if he could take his own crew instead of that cheeky nuisance named Shinsei. Sure, there was the risk of ambush, but going through all the possible scenarios he could think of, Eric deemed it very improbable.

"Alright, in that case, we have a deal."

The white-haired veteran nodded and went back up on his feet.

"Just find some suitable accommodations for my people and tell your people to not meddle in our affairs. If I have to work with that stranger we have to train a lot before I can guarantee your safety."

Hard to say what scared Andrew more. If the vision of nine Wolves living on his ship, or the prospect of violence accompanying Eric's and Shinsei's training. Either way, when the young lord joined him, his face was white as fresh snow. And what he saw, when they made their way back to the main deck, didn't really help him in this regard.

Disregarding the fact, he was accepted as a temporary help by Eric just a few moments ago, Martin moved against Shinsei, grabbing him by his shirt, while the red man couldn't but provoke him further.

"Now, that's what I call adventurous."

Agnes gently laughed.

"So, you want me to get out of your face?"

The musclebound mercenary grinned at the same time, bending slightly backward in his hips.

"How about NO!

He yelled, bringing down a surprisingly fast and powerful headbutt aimed at Shinsei's nose.

Seeing that, Lord Lockhart screamed in horror

" We...we need to stop them!"

But Eric didn't move a muscle.

"Why? They are just bonding."

He grinned, noting for himself, that if Martin'll manage to take him down permanently, he had to buy him a drink.

[Bobbie]

At this point, it had become completely impossible for Shinsei to continue following what was going on between Eric and Mr Lockhart. While all of his attention was demanded by Martin, a bit of it remained on Agnes, who had just passed her little comment about being adventurous.

Is she talking about me?

The man’s heart melted in his chest, figuratively, as it worked harder to pump the hot fluids through his body. All it took was one gentle laugh from the woman, and holy smokes was his body on fire!

The very welcome distraction, however, took his attention off Martin for a while until a sharp blow hit him right in the face. He let out a groan as he could hear the bridge of his nose make a sickening crackling sound at the mercy of this man’s very thick and very hard skull, but Shinsei was as quick as ever to react – after taking the initial brute force of Martin’s attack. Better late than never, he’d always say.

Martin’s forehead came down on his nose hard, throwing Shinsei’s head back. Making use of that momentum, the red-head let the rest of his body continue into a backward motion as he grabbed onto Martin’s shirt and, in a burst of adrenaline, pulled the muscular man down on top of him, and then used his own legs to fling him over in one swift motion, rolling on his back.

His arm was sore enough from the attack from Eric, having to pull a man of Martin’s weight and stature was nothing if not a huge strain, causing that throbbing sensation to come back and pulse through his shoulder and entire arm. Standing up, he glared at Martin to see what condition he was currently in after the throw – will there be a second attack incoming? How much time did he have to prepare for it?

“What the hell is your problem!?” he snapped at Martin, sputtering through the nicotine that now poured out of his nostrils over his lips. He reached up to pinch it closed and attempt to stop the flow, but it continued to seep through in between his fingers.

Lowering his soaked hand from his face, he now walked toward Martin, the flammable fluid dripping off his fingertips and onto the deck.

“You really make the worst possible wingman in the history of all wingmen. I honestly pity any young man who has you to rely on.” He growled beneath his breath as Eric and Mr Lockhart went unnoticed. He didn't entirely intend for his words to be heard, but he didn’t care either way – all he wanted to do was impress a beautiful lady and this muscle machine was getting in the way, just when he was about to get some wonderful medical attention from this graciously gorgeous practitioner. What more could he ever want?

Well, apart from the actual mission he had come here to do, but the hope of actually completing that successfully was looking bleak.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #13

The Wolf King watched, as Shinsei once again failed to react appropriately on thread, because of Agnes. Honestly, how could he live so long, when a single smile from girl he met just a half an hour ago could destroy his focus like that?

Martin forehead crashed straight into his nose, possibly breaking few bones, before the red guy faked falling and threw his second in command over himself. Really impressive feat given how big Martin was, but simple crash landing onto wooden deck was hardly something that would keep this tank of man down.

“My problem?”
He asked, as he jumped straight back on his feet, without showing a single sign of injury.

“Your lack of proper manners would be the first one. And who the **** are you calling your wingman?!”

He asked aggressively, charging against Shinsei as a raging bull. Keeping his center of mass low, his intend was to tackle the smoking cyborg, tearing him to the ground and put some beating on him with some old fashioned ground and pound.

Judging by his previous experiences with Sinsei and his skills, Eric expected him to be able to defend himself from such straightforward attack. Assumption he corrected right at the moment, when Agnes send him a kiss shouting.

“Come on! Don´t let him beat you! Otherwise I will have to spend whole day treating your wounds!”

That was truly wicked, but nothing too surprising given how she loved playing with people, especially men who fell for her.

“This...this is too much!”
Andrew cried out, shocked by the amount of violence.

“You have to stop them, that´s an order!”
Eric frowned, turning his eyes on the weak nobleman.

“Careful boy...”

He growled, despite being couple of years younger.

“you are paying us, but that doesn´t make me into your lap dog. It was you who tried to s**** with us by inviting third party. I was you who insisted on me accepting him into my team, so don´t you dare to intervene now, because if you don ´t want to see him die, he have to earn their respect, and learn his place.”

[Bobbie]

Shinsei was quite taken aback by how quickly Martin recovered from that throw. Sure, he clearly had a lot of muscle and Shinsei was no competitor, but he really put a lot of effort into that and the man simply sprung back up onto his feet like he had just gone for a spin on a kiddy ride! His questions were quickly answered: will there be a second attack coming? Definitely. How much time did he have to prepare for it? Pretty much none.

As Martin charged at him like a bull, Shinsei had to think fast – should he dodge or take the force head on? With his arm injured, he wasn’t sure if he could actually fend him off this time, so dodging might be the better option, but on the other hand, his opponent could have some other trick up their sleeve to counter a dodge and then catch Shinsei by surprise, which would be much worse. Turning to keep the arm that was at its strongest forward, he braced himself for the brute’s attack.

Then Agnes smacked her lips to blow him a kiss and her voice rang in the air.

Rather stupidly, his entire guard was down for just a moment, but just a moment was enough. He turned his head to glance at the woman who had put forward an interesting implication and sent him a kiss that could clearly make the cyborg’s knees weak. A whole day being treated by that goddess? In response, he offered a playful wink to Agnes, before finally turning back to his foe, only to find that the gap that previously existed between them had been completely closed, as Martin reached him while he was busy flirting with the assailant’s female companion.

“Well... sh**.” he muttered, and took a quick step back to dig his heels into the wooden deck – this was not going to be fun. Raising his hands, his ring now burning hot and the liquid nicotine still wet on his palm, he got as ready as one could when facing a rampaging beast making a beeline for them.

Martin rammed into him hard and a second hole in the deck was created as Shinsei’s foot went right through the planks with the force of Martin’s attack. His tactic served its purpose – if that was to throw both of them off balance and sprain an ankle. As Shinsei’s foot got wedged in between the splinters, it really did nothing else other than twist his ankle badly before it scraped along the sharp edges and got yanked out by the unstoppable force that was Martin. Successfully tackled, the pair would be forced into a bit of a tumbling due to Shinsei’s foot interfering with Martin’s momentum and causing an abrupt break in the smooth transition of a tackle.

Crashing to the ship’s floor under the colossal weight of a man who could only be compared to an angry bovine beast, Shinsei gritted his teeth to suppress a cry of pain, his arm sending pain signals throughout his entire body and his spine feeling as if it had been stabbed with a thousand needles.

Next came the relentless beating, a barrage that brutally rained down on him to splatter hot nicotine from Shinsei’s wounds all over the place and especially on Martin’s knuckles that did most of the savage work. It was at this point that Shinsei’s expression began to change from one of pain and resignation to an amused but determined one. With the third punch thrown at him, the cyborg reached up in a swift movement to grab his fist. He was nowhere near strong enough in his current state to actually bring Martin’s fist to a halt, but he could redirect it to have it slam into the deck beside his face instead, his own hand trapped beneath it. The quick motion, however, as well as the collision with the waxed boards created enough friction for his ring to burst into a flame which quickly ignited the nicotine that had spilled from Shinsei’s body.

The fire spread quickly from Shinsei’s own hand and onto all the flammable liquid that was close enough for it to reach and, most importantly, onto Martin’s knuckles and rapidly up along the sleeve of his suit. If he didn't act fast, the flames threatened to engulf the entirety of the man.

All he needed was to cause enough of a shock to get this metric-tonne weight off him so that he could at least get up and create some distance to catch his breath. Once he was off him, Shinsei scrambled to his feet, panting, and began to pace to readjust the joint of his ankle. "Woot! This was fun! I'd really like a time-out now though..." he paused in his tracks and leaned forward, his hands on his knees as he was clearly exhausted. "Just a little minute..."

It wasn't until this point that he realised Andrew and Eric were also present, just in time to hear the rich man being told off by the Wolf King. "Yeah, you tell him, big man!" he cheered, removing his left hand from his knee to sway it at them, before promptly placing it on his knee again.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #14

With a victorious roar, Martin tackled Shinsei and started beating him furiously, only for his roar to change into one of pain and frustration, when he noticed that his arm was on fire.
With a terrible curse, the heavily muscular man grabbed his sleeve near the shoulder and tore it off, throwing it away like a flaming fireball.
And he cursed again, when he noticed, that his prey used the confusion to escape.
"You little…"
The mercenary leaned forward, to spring straight against him even from his kneeling position, however, was stopped by Andrew screaming
"Enough! That's enough, you are completely mad, all of you! I...I...get out! Get out of my ship, I don't need help from a bunch of...of primitives that do nothing but beat each other out! This is insane, you all are insane and I am insane for even associating with the likes of you! Get out, do you hear me? Get out!"
Eric listened to the whole scene completely silent, almost as if it didn't concern him at all. Only after the young noble was out of breath, pointing towards their ship he tilted his head to the side and grinned.
"You forget something young lord."
He growled and despite the words used being completely neutral, his tone made them into death thread.
"I...I...did?"
Andrew stuttered, his anger gone and with it even his bravery.
"Yeah, our advanced payment."
He spread the finger on his hands into claws to make sure his point will be understood.
"I...I...someone bring them the money!"
The pale nobleman cried.
It took some time, but in the end, the ship belonging to wolves was loaded with their money and the members were leaving, all of them in a surprisingly good mood for a bunch of mercenaries who had just been fired by their employer.
"Now you look like a real man!"
Agnes smiled at Shinsei as she was leaving.
"Too bad that you probably wouldn't survive the trip with us, would be nice to have someone new to spend my time with."
She waved him and blow him another kiss.
"Goodbye Shinsei-chan!"
With that, she climbed down on their boat and the remaining Wolves started preparing it for leave.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei heard Martin’s frustrated cursing and he shifted his attention back to the man. Still out of breath and physically exhausted, his heart sank when he saw that the man was about to charge at him again, as he knew that he couldn’t take much more of this. Taking a deep breath, he staggered backward and nearly lost his balance in the process. "Here we go again..." he muttered as he tried to get into a position to defend himself. Then Andrew spoke.

Andrew’s voice had never sounded sweeter.

The redhead let out a sigh of relief as their employer finally lost it and brought the fight to an end. Finally, a break. His arm throbbed and he couldn’t lift it higher than his waist, his ankle had been badly twisted, his nose cracked, and the wounds on his back from Eric’s attack stung horribly. It wasn’t until he relaxed and brought his pack of cigarettes out to light one that he realised how badly his hands were shaking – losing so much nicotine from his system was causing severe withdrawal effects and a craving for it. He eyed Martin as he inhaled deeply and blew out a thick puff of smoke into the space between them, before taking another.

Next, Eric’s voice rang through the air with talk of advanced payment. “Advanced payment? Nobody told me of any advanced payment.” He frowned, his attention now fixed on both Eric and Andrew. He silently cursed at himself for being too humble. He was never any good at business or making use of any kind of leverage, and this was often the result. Had he been greedier or more demanding, he could have been rewarded with more money.

His gaze followed the payment that was loaded onto the ship of those wild mongrels and he growled beneath his breath, “So where's mine? Hell no… Hey, pipsqueak!” he snapped as he marched his way over to Andrew. “I’d like to take my payment separately – in case it wasn’t obvious, these people and I are actually not buddies, and don't you even dare try to tell me that these guys get a pre-payment and I don't!” He explained, no longer having any obligation to be polite, now that Andrew Lockhart was not his employer anymore. He looked away from Mr Lockhart for a moment before turning back to him. “Did you just load MY payment onto THEIR ship?” The shift in Shinsei's mood was impossible to miss as the adrenaline of the fight had now disappeared and he was left with a deep hunger for cigarettes that he would not be able to afford if he wasn't paid. He spun on his heel to watch as the last crate was dropped off on the ship. “This has to be a joke…” he muttered to himself in disbelief that a simple mission had gone so incredibly wrong.

“Hold up!” he called as he approached the ship, attempting to follow them on board. His demeanour shifted once more as he had no interest in another fight, so he made himself as least confrontational as he possibly could, trying his very best to contain himself. “First of all, I believe the beautiful lady promised some medical attention – or any attention from her would do, really - and, secondly, you also have something of mine there.” he gestured toward the money, then turned to Agnes, the woman who had the power to melt his heart and make his knees go weak with one gorgeous smile.

“Sweet cake, nothing sounds more desirable than a trip with you, whether it be my last or not – but we can settle this in a civilised way. Just give me what’s mine, a gentle helping hand, and we can all be on our way.” Shinsei wanted nothing more than to part ways with these animals, but he needed the money. He removed the burnt out cigarette from his lips and discarded it, pure disappointment on his face as he saw how quickly it reached the end of its life - so he proceeded to light another.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #15

Everything went according to the plan. Plan, appeared in Eric's head as he was listening to Andrew talking about the details of their now former job and that reached its final phase when he found out that Martin couldn't control himself and started another fight with Shinsei. Now, they only had to…
The white-haired warrior paused when he noticed an annoying presence near the ladder leading to their ship. Surprisingly he wasn't cocky as before, possibly because of the beatdown he got from Eric and later from Martin, but that didn't change a thing about what the Wolf King thought about him.
"Everything on this ship belongs to the Wolves."
He growled, before turning at Martin.
"If he tries to get on board, shoot him."
The muscular fighter smiled and pulled a pistol from a holster hidden under his now destroyed coat.
"With pleasure."
He responded with a wide smile that was taunting Shinsei to try it.
"Eric…"
Agnes's playful voice stopped the white-haired fighter in his tracks.
"Yes?"
He asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I thought we are not killing our own."
Eric frowned.
"I took him in as a temporary replacement for a job we didn't get. So he isn't one of us."
Agnes's face brightened with a sweet smile.
"Sometimes I think you are forgetting that I know you for a very long time brother."
Eric silently cursed.
"Fine, if he wants to go with us, he can, but if he wants some money, he has to earn it. If he touches anything from the advancement payment, he is dead meat."
Martin cursed, hiding his pistol again, while Agnes playfully kissed Eric on his cheek.
"Thank you, big bro…"
With that, she turned to Shinsei with a charming smile and a pack of cigarettes in her hand.
"Come here Shinsei, Agnes has medicine for you."
She called like if he was a small child or rather a little puppy.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei frowned and glared at Eric for a moment, “Oh, everything, huh? So if something of mine is-“ he could barely finish that hypothetical situation before Eric gave the command to Martin to shoot him on the spot if he made any attempt to board the ship, even though it was only to go after what he believed should be his.

Turning his attention to Martin, he rolled his eyes, but didn’t dare move. This man clearly didn’t need any more of a reason to shoot him, the grin on his face was enough to make it obvious that Martin was dying for Shinsei to try it.

“Awesome. You guys are great.” He grumbled, but simply didn’t have the energy left in him to fight anymore.

When Agnes spoke, the voice of an angel caught his ear and he turned his head to look at her, taking his cigarette out of his mouth. He listened to every word that she said, and then what Eric said, and a smirk slowly grew on his face. It was no secret that the woman was manipulative, but it was quite impressive to see that even the mighty wolf King was wrapped around her little finger. For different reasons, he was sure- “Did you just call him brother?” he asked, his jaw dropping as any hint of a smile vanished.

“Okay, now it kind of makes sense…” he muttered and stuck the cigarette back in his mouth to enjoy a bit more of it before it would also burn out. “Just for the record – some of that advanced payment should rightfully be mine…” he spoke quietly in fear of Eric taking his offer back if he was heard, and promptly went down the ladder and onto their ship. He glanced at Martin with a grin and raised his eyebrows, before turning once more to Agnes. Demeaning or not, he didn’t care at that point. She was offering everything that he wanted: medical attention, at the hands of a gorgeous woman, and his fuel.

“Oh, yes please…” he sighed and began to walk over to her, exhausted by this entire ordeal, and for that moment, everything around him simply ceased to exist, except for the beautiful Agnes.

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Shinsei: #ba0303