Back To Bounty Hunting (p, Mission)

Spoiler:

There weren't many types of people Roku hated, but murderers were one of them. Sometimes, the boy wondered if that meant he hated himself... but that'd be impossible. He always had reason for his killings, did he not? He always did... Of course I do... I always do. He still shuddered. He wondered if he should have let his parents talk him into this. Perhaps it was a mistake. Perhaps he should have done something else. Become a carpenter. A doctor. A scribe, a... anything. But now, instead of getting a medical license, he had a license to kill. And kill he would.

Because people deserved it, did they not? People who needlessly ended people's lives simply deserved to die. I deserve... shut up Roku. You're losing it. You're better than they are, you have to believe that! But was he?

It was a strange world when a man escapes prison twice. The first time, Roku caught him himself. This time, Roku thought only about how he wanted to kill Shinto. And how he knew he could not, for if he did… his world would collapse. I’m on the edge… one inch from tipping over. The thought terrified Roku and exhilarated him at the same time. If he went bad… he was not sure how many people there were in the world who could stop him. And the people who could definitely were not on the same side. They would be fighting wars on two fronts and there was almost no way they’d be able to focus on him alone. So it’s settled… he lives. The fact that Roku decided to spare Shinto’s life relieved even himself, for he was not sure what he would want to do. And still he wasn’t. But he had made a decision, and he would stick to it.

This time, catching Shinto was surely going to be more difficult. Roku traveled to the area of the prison he had broke out of to question the guards. As Roku arrived at the prison, he was told to halt multiple times. He ignored it. They fired. He was not hurt. Roku simply walked up to the front door, and when a terrified and concerned man answered the door, Roku spoke.

“I am Roku Enzoka. I’m here because you idiots let Shinto escape yet again, after I caught him the first time. What do you know of his current whereabouts?”

The man stuttered over his answer for a long while. After about seven seconds, he finally managed to speak. “He was last seen near a small village to the south of here.”

“Thanks.” And Roku left.

After leaving the prison, Roku took the path that pointed most directly to the south. It was a cool afternoon, but nothing that required more than a sleeved shirt. It was beautiful. The area seemed rich in deer, as they scurried about, almost as plentiful as squirrels. Roku could not help but to stop and pet one who was astoundingly calm and friendly. He wondered how nature produced such vile beings as Shinto. But he had to move on.

Roku made his way through the trees, walking on the progressively more narrow path, until it was not much more than a game trail. Soon, however, he arrived. It did not take long, as it was only a two hour hike from the prison. When Roku arrived, the village was rather small, with only a few buildings. One seemed obviously for food storage, another was a farmhouse, and another was what appeared to be the shack to a lumber mill. Other than that, there was simply a few huts dotted around and bad crops growing in odd places.

As Roku entered the village, he noticed how quiet it was. Nothing talked. Nothing moved. Roku scanned around. No children, no people. He stood between two of the larger buildings, one that stored food, and the mill. He looked around, at the huts. In one, he saw a very small amount of movement. Almost as if someone had been peaking out the window but then hid when Roku looked in their direction. He was a master of detecting details, however, and their attempt at discretion failed. Miserably.

Roku walked to the door and banged on it. No response. “Open the door or I’ll just come in!” There was a pause and a shuffle.

“Take what you want, and leave us alone!” This response caused Roku to pause. Who were they afraid of?

“I just want to know what happened! Maybe I can help.” Roku said this as genuinely as he could muster. An elderly man opened the door and motioned for Roku to come inside. Roku obliged. “Now. What happened?”

Fear was as obvious in the man’s eyes as Roku had ever seen. By now, a small crowd had gathered outside the man’s home. Roku ignored them, focused on this man. “You have to tell me what happened. I cannot help if you don’t.”

“The man. The man that escaped from that prison. He came through, and demanded we give him what we had. We offered him food, like we always do to travelers, but he wanted more. Said it wouldn’t be enough, and that he didn’t have time. That he had to keep running.”

“This man.” Roku said, “What did he look like?”

As the elder described the man, Roku dug through his pockets to reveal the sketch of Shinto. “Is this the man?” When the elder confirmed this, Roku spoke again. “Where can I find him?”

“One of our hunters followed him and found him deep in the woods south of here, far off the trail. He returned and said so, but then when he went out… he hasn’t come back since. You have to save him!”

A solemn expression took Roku’s face. “I will.”

Roku knew the place the elderly man was talking about. He had passed through there a few times on his travels. Roku went directly there; he did not pass go, he did not collect 200 dollars. This man had to pay. As Roku sprinted through the woods, he made a plan. He would strike with Tamashikami, and reveal nothing else, just as he had last time he fought Shinto. Shinto was definitely no match for him. Just outside Shinto's camp, there were a set of bear traps and some other crude explosive traps. Roku took a few steps back, and with a running jump, leaped overtop all of the traps, landing in the middle of the clearing. At the sound of his landing, Shinto emerged from his tent, but as Roku begun to strike at him, he threw his hands in the air. "No no! I surrender! Don't take me back to prison, just kill me! Kill me, please!"

"Fine." Roku said. He walked up to Shinto with Naegling. He feigned a strike at the man's throat, but simply hit him in the back of the head with the flat of the blade. The man was out cold. Roku carried him back to the prison to collect his reward.

The member 'Roku' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'10 face' : 6, 9, 5, 6, 3, 10