A 'meh' chapter. =/ Though a pretty short one.
Syrus sat in the tavern, leaning back in his chair, slumped over so that his hand, the elbow of that same arm resting on the chair?s arm, was cupped over his mouth, though only touching his nose and his thumb on his cheek. While his other hand constantly flicked a small coin into the air and quickly snapped out to catch it. He had decided to sit in the corner of the tavern, a large fight seeming to have broken out in the middle of the place, the barkeep working hard to protect most of his merchandise, though his door had already been completely destroyed as well as some windows. And even if he had gone through the trouble of protecting them, they would have broken but seconds after.
Syrus watched the entire fight with a bored expression on his face. He could only think about one thing, the one failure in his entire career as a bounty hunter, and because of a mere child. Of course, it had been the Raikage who truly defeated him, but a failure was a failure, and in the world of a bounty hunter, failing was unacceptable. Since then, he had been going through countless jobs, all fluently and returning with the target?s head within days, at most, but none of them would suffice to fulfilling the emptiness in him from that one day. He had to find the boy; it was the only way to put the troubled man at ease. He was the bounty hunter. The one who could no longer surprise anyone with the stature of the criminal he caught. The only one in the tavern who would be able to bring in the head of an S-class ninja whom all before him failed to capture, and for all to believe he had done it single-handedly. Most considered him more of an assassin than a bounty hunter, due to the more elaborate traps that he often set, on a much more intellectual level than the usual hunter tricks such as a large hole concealed by leaves or a net that rose up and closed as you stepped on it. Syrus, instead, had a preference to traps that would force him to do the least amount of physical contact as possible until he finally caught his prey.
Of course, though, he had gravely underestimated Riku. He assumed that he would be able to take the child simply by a one-on-one fight, and though he likely would have won, it took him much longer than it should have for the battle to come close to checkmate.
Syrus looked back to the raging fight once more, saw that it was far from over and knew that there would be no fulfillment for him by watching the conclusion of it, and pushed himself away from the small table, catching the small coin once more, and walked towards the barkeep who was standing behind the long shelf-like table that held several drinks on it. He looked intently at the barkeep.
?Syrus,? he said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he could, ?What can I do ye for??
Syrus sat in a stool in front of the bar?s counter, putting both his forearms on the large counter as he stared intently at the barkeep, and the man immediately knew that the infamous hunter wasn?t here for food or drinks.
?Lookin? fer someone?? the barkeep said, his words slightly jumbled from a slight lack of teeth. Though, that was the price for someone in his line of work.
Syrus nodded slowly, ?You could say that.?
Syrus spun around on his stool, leaning back with his elbows on the counter. He looked towards the opposite side of the tavern that he was sitting on. He seemed as though he were still watching the brawl, which seemed to come to a conclusion, but on the other side of the tavern, he could see a man sitting there. He sat alone, and was young, no more than twenty, Syrus guessed. He seemed as though this wasn?t the place for him at all. Syrus had seen him sitting for a while, and noticed that he hadn?t asked for a single drink, and seemed more as though he were observing something, his hands in front of his face, so that nothing much below his nostrils could be seen, looking around the place carefully.
The young man finally pushed himself away from his table, getting up and walking out of the doorway, which was now more like a hole due to the large portion of the wall that was broken around where the door should have been. Syrus?s eyes stared daggers into the man as he walked, something about him grabbing Syrus?s attention. Standing up, Syrus walked out of the doorway as well, purposely walking through small groups of people, but never taking his eyes off of the man, who seemed to be trying to do the same, walking through small groups of people to avoid being followed apparently.
~
Raiden arrived at their small camp later on, ?I think we?d better move on tomorrow.?
Riku and Deirous, both sitting near a fire, looked towards Raiden, their facing questioning, ?And that would be because...?? Riku asked.
Raiden looked back towards the small village. It was more like houses along the road that they had been following, not so much of an actual village, but just a few houses near a tavern, there weren?t even any gates, just the road that kept stretching from either side of the village to the other, ?Let?s just say it?s not the friendliest place.?
?Alright,? Deirous said, and then let out a yawn, still seeming to yawn as he continued talking, ?Just let me get a bit of sleep.?
?But maybe we could just keep going until-? Raiden started, but before he could even finish Deirous?s head had fallen back, and then the rest of his body, down onto the ground, luckily backwards and not forwards which would have set his hair aflame.
Riku looked back towards Raiden and shrugged, ?We?ll leave in the morning.?
~
Syrus watched the group intently. A little while earlier, he saw another person come out of the forest and sit down with the other two, this one was a girl; a young woman would be a more suitable term. He decided that the other one must be asleep as well, and continued watching. From his vantage point and with his keen eyes, he could see all he needed to see: Riku. Their camp was set in between the edge of a forest and the edge of the small cluster of houses and the tavern. From the top of the tree, he watched patiently as Riku and the other two?he had been too far away to hear any of their names being spoken?talked and then dozed off into sleeping.
Carefully, he dropped down from the branch he was on and walked to their camp site. He looked around for something suitable that would force the children to stay long enough. Something told him that, based off of the boy alone having great battle prowess, he would not get away with fighting all of them at once, and by awaking Riku alone, that would almost definitely be the case. He looked around for longer, as his eyes fell upon the potential bait, the perfect bait. He saw Riku with it before and somehow knew there was no way he?d leave without it, and when he succeeded, of course, the item would be very valuable, either for battle or for profit.
Syrus left seconds after, Soul Eater comfortably in its dark brown scabbard, but hanging from the waist of a completely new wielder.
Hunter Avenue
Syrus sat in the tavern, leaning back in his chair, slumped over so that his hand, the elbow of that same arm resting on the chair?s arm, was cupped over his mouth, though only touching his nose and his thumb on his cheek. While his other hand constantly flicked a small coin into the air and quickly snapped out to catch it. He had decided to sit in the corner of the tavern, a large fight seeming to have broken out in the middle of the place, the barkeep working hard to protect most of his merchandise, though his door had already been completely destroyed as well as some windows. And even if he had gone through the trouble of protecting them, they would have broken but seconds after.
Syrus watched the entire fight with a bored expression on his face. He could only think about one thing, the one failure in his entire career as a bounty hunter, and because of a mere child. Of course, it had been the Raikage who truly defeated him, but a failure was a failure, and in the world of a bounty hunter, failing was unacceptable. Since then, he had been going through countless jobs, all fluently and returning with the target?s head within days, at most, but none of them would suffice to fulfilling the emptiness in him from that one day. He had to find the boy; it was the only way to put the troubled man at ease. He was the bounty hunter. The one who could no longer surprise anyone with the stature of the criminal he caught. The only one in the tavern who would be able to bring in the head of an S-class ninja whom all before him failed to capture, and for all to believe he had done it single-handedly. Most considered him more of an assassin than a bounty hunter, due to the more elaborate traps that he often set, on a much more intellectual level than the usual hunter tricks such as a large hole concealed by leaves or a net that rose up and closed as you stepped on it. Syrus, instead, had a preference to traps that would force him to do the least amount of physical contact as possible until he finally caught his prey.
Of course, though, he had gravely underestimated Riku. He assumed that he would be able to take the child simply by a one-on-one fight, and though he likely would have won, it took him much longer than it should have for the battle to come close to checkmate.
Syrus looked back to the raging fight once more, saw that it was far from over and knew that there would be no fulfillment for him by watching the conclusion of it, and pushed himself away from the small table, catching the small coin once more, and walked towards the barkeep who was standing behind the long shelf-like table that held several drinks on it. He looked intently at the barkeep.
?Syrus,? he said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he could, ?What can I do ye for??
Syrus sat in a stool in front of the bar?s counter, putting both his forearms on the large counter as he stared intently at the barkeep, and the man immediately knew that the infamous hunter wasn?t here for food or drinks.
?Lookin? fer someone?? the barkeep said, his words slightly jumbled from a slight lack of teeth. Though, that was the price for someone in his line of work.
Syrus nodded slowly, ?You could say that.?
Syrus spun around on his stool, leaning back with his elbows on the counter. He looked towards the opposite side of the tavern that he was sitting on. He seemed as though he were still watching the brawl, which seemed to come to a conclusion, but on the other side of the tavern, he could see a man sitting there. He sat alone, and was young, no more than twenty, Syrus guessed. He seemed as though this wasn?t the place for him at all. Syrus had seen him sitting for a while, and noticed that he hadn?t asked for a single drink, and seemed more as though he were observing something, his hands in front of his face, so that nothing much below his nostrils could be seen, looking around the place carefully.
The young man finally pushed himself away from his table, getting up and walking out of the doorway, which was now more like a hole due to the large portion of the wall that was broken around where the door should have been. Syrus?s eyes stared daggers into the man as he walked, something about him grabbing Syrus?s attention. Standing up, Syrus walked out of the doorway as well, purposely walking through small groups of people, but never taking his eyes off of the man, who seemed to be trying to do the same, walking through small groups of people to avoid being followed apparently.
~
Raiden arrived at their small camp later on, ?I think we?d better move on tomorrow.?
Riku and Deirous, both sitting near a fire, looked towards Raiden, their facing questioning, ?And that would be because...?? Riku asked.
Raiden looked back towards the small village. It was more like houses along the road that they had been following, not so much of an actual village, but just a few houses near a tavern, there weren?t even any gates, just the road that kept stretching from either side of the village to the other, ?Let?s just say it?s not the friendliest place.?
?Alright,? Deirous said, and then let out a yawn, still seeming to yawn as he continued talking, ?Just let me get a bit of sleep.?
?But maybe we could just keep going until-? Raiden started, but before he could even finish Deirous?s head had fallen back, and then the rest of his body, down onto the ground, luckily backwards and not forwards which would have set his hair aflame.
Riku looked back towards Raiden and shrugged, ?We?ll leave in the morning.?
~
Syrus watched the group intently. A little while earlier, he saw another person come out of the forest and sit down with the other two, this one was a girl; a young woman would be a more suitable term. He decided that the other one must be asleep as well, and continued watching. From his vantage point and with his keen eyes, he could see all he needed to see: Riku. Their camp was set in between the edge of a forest and the edge of the small cluster of houses and the tavern. From the top of the tree, he watched patiently as Riku and the other two?he had been too far away to hear any of their names being spoken?talked and then dozed off into sleeping.
Carefully, he dropped down from the branch he was on and walked to their camp site. He looked around for something suitable that would force the children to stay long enough. Something told him that, based off of the boy alone having great battle prowess, he would not get away with fighting all of them at once, and by awaking Riku alone, that would almost definitely be the case. He looked around for longer, as his eyes fell upon the potential bait, the perfect bait. He saw Riku with it before and somehow knew there was no way he?d leave without it, and when he succeeded, of course, the item would be very valuable, either for battle or for profit.
Syrus left seconds after, Soul Eater comfortably in its dark brown scabbard, but hanging from the waist of a completely new wielder.
