Hunters

The joyful laughs of children echoed throughout the tiny village. Villagers spoke among themselves about the latest gossip. The scent of freshly baked pies drifted through the air as woodsmen returned from their daily grind. There was an air of peace which blew through the village, such a calming breeze that every mind it touched felt at ease.

Then in an instant, it all came to an explosive end.

A shriek of horror tore through the air, followed by the cackling of a madman. Villagers ran to their homes for dear life, barricading their doors to protect themselves from the madness outside. Bandits paraded throughout the village, looting and destroying everything they got their hands on.  They managed to round up most of the villagers in the town square.

A man easily twice the size and bulk of the other bandits approached the frightened villagers. His thunderous steps kicked up clouds of dust, his blood-red hair seemed to slither in the wind, and his bright yellow eyes were colder than the void.  He hoisted the oldest man with one hand around his shirt and pulled the elderly gent close. The overpowering stench of whisky from the brute almost knocked out the poor grandfather.

“Alright, old man,” he spoke gruffly. “Give us all yer valuables and maybe we’ll leave what’s left of yer town alone.”

“Y-you monsters!” The elder choked out.

“Monster, huh?” The bandit leader grinned maliciously. “I don’t take likely to insults. Boys!” The leader snapped his fingers. His fellow bandits began to chuckle darkly as they drew their weapons.

 “This old fart needs to learn some manners! So-”  turning back to the elder, he flashed an evil grin “- let’s teach ‘im.”

The bandits cheered loudly as they turned to attack the helpless villagers. But before a single blade could cut a hair on any of the townsfolk's heads, a blue blur passed by. Seconds later, over half of the bandits fell unconscious.

“What!?” The leader cried in confusion. “Who dares!?"

“That would be me.” A voice called from behind the leader. Swiftly, he turned to face his opposition. The second his eyes fell upon the source of the voice, almost immediately, the color drained from his face.

“I-it’s you!” The leader said with a trembling tone. The rest of his men recoiled in horror at the sight of their foe.   The villagers all basked in the heavenly glow of their savior, showering him with various ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs.'  The elder was so enraptured by the fearless hero he could only offer him a bow.

“We didn’t think you of all Hunters would come to our aid!”

The noble hero merely shook his head, stretching out a glove-covered hand. “No need for such words, dear citizen! It is my duty as a Hunter to help all people who cry out for a hero!”

The bandit leader bit  down hard on his bottom lip. Blast! We never thought he of all people would be nearby!

Another bandit slowly stepped towards the leader, a look of confusion on his face.  “Uh, boss?  Who is that guy?”

“You fool! Don’t you know anything?!” a different bandit hollered. “That’s the greatest Hunter in the world! The Blue Hero of Justice himself! Flash Sentry!”

Flashing a confident smile, the brave warrior stepped forward. “You dare harm these innocent villagers! Clearly you all need a lesson in proper etiquette! “ The Hunter said boisterously.

Growling , the bandit leader gestured to the Hunter. “Get him!”  The bandits shouted fiercely as the charged the azure haired Hunter. Flash simply chuckled. Pulling his arm backwards,  he thrust it forward, creating a powerful gust of wind that blasted the bandits and their leader right into a conveniently placed jail cell.

“Curses! And I would have gotten away with it too, if not for that blasted Flash Sentry!” The leader moaned.

Flash walked up to the captured bandits, shaking his head. “You foolish bandits. Don’t you realize evil is bad? You’ll never win so long as the forces of good exist!”

The bandits let out a collective gasp, taken aback by the noble Hunter’s pure words.  “Oh You are right, Mighty Flash Sentry. My men and I are giving up evil forever.”

The village exploded into cheers as the elder stepped forward. “Oh Mighty Flash Sentry, you have saved our village. We are forever in your debt.”

Flash shook his head. “No thanks necessary, citizen. It’s my duty to protect and serve!”  The blue haired Hunter gave a salute before a voice called out to him. Turning he saw a beautiful purple-haired girl running towards him.

“Oh Flash!”  She called.

“My love!”  He said as a huge grin spread out on his lips.  The girl ran into his embrace as he spun her around.

“You saved the village! You’re a hero!” She exclaimed joyfully.

“And you’re my everything.” He replied warmly.

“Oh Flash.” The girl said dreamily,  leaning in close. Flash copied her motions.

They drew closer, lips mere centimeters from each other. He could feel her breath on his cheeks as the smell of old books, strawberry shampoo, and pine trees wafted from her to tickle his nose.

Before something hit his forehead.

A young man laid on top of a tree. He squinted his eyes open, the sapphire twins staring at a rather large pinecone.

“Right at the best part!” He moaned.  With a low growl he grasped the reason his dream had ended early, quickly chucking it far above the treetops and deeper into the woods. He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, before pulling absently at the orange edges of his fingerless grey gloves. His free hand swept through his full, spiky blue hair. The man let out another long yawn, then sat up.

After giving his neck a brief workout, his gaze shifted to the target below.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked out loud. “Chasing down a freaking pig? Yovita, this mission sucks.”

Suddenly a familiar voice filled his mind, and he pressed his index and middle fingers together as he put them to his right temple.

Partner?

Finally! Why weren’t you responding before?

Er… I kind of… fell asleep for a bit.

Flash!

I know! Sorry. Doesn’t matter anyway; I found the target!

Good. Stay put until I get there.

Sorry, not happening. I’m gonna bag this pig!

Oh No, you are not! First you run off half-cocked without any sort of plan, then you fall asleep. Now you want to catch it alone?! Not happening! Don’t move until-

Sorry partner, can’t hear you.

Flash jumped down from his hiding spot and removed his auburn-shafted spear from its holster.

Slowly he crept towards the large, chestnut-brown boar fiend, who was sleeping soundly. Its loud snores covered the sound of Flash’s feet swishing through the short grass.

“Okay, big guy,” Flash began. “I need you to come with me.”  The boar snored its reply. Flash’s brows furrowed. Seriously? Is bacon bits here really ignoring me?

“Hey, piggy! Get up! Your owner is worried about you!” he yelled while inching closer to his target. The boar yawned and flashed its yellow teeth, then turned away to sleep on its side. Flash groaned. This pig is working my last nerve.

Flash’s eyes wandered to his trusted spear. It was a weapon that had served him well in the past. Maybe it would do so again. His eyes drifted back to the boar and his blood boiled; he would not be ignored. He jabbed it swiftly with his mighty weapon. The boar reacted by… twitching its left leg.

Flash grinned. “Just a bit more.” He once more plunged his spear into the boar’s side, this time with even greater force. It did offer a different result this time, but not the one the man was hoping for. This time its right leg jerked.

His grin grew wider; he brought his arm back again. “Okay… now get up!” He stabbed the boar with an even stronger thrust.

Suddenly the sleeping eyes of the boar shot open. A furious roar few from its yellow-toothed maw.

Flash stared in awe at the enraged beast. Its large tusks looked powerful enough to tear through bone, and its immense size dwarfed Flash. It let out a monstrous howl. Flash glanced at its enormous, razor-sharp teeth. They looked like they could crush even the most durable armor with ease.

“Okay, now let’s get back to…” Flash came to a sudden realization, as several beads of sweat formed on his brow.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?” The boar snorted steam into his face. “Yeah… you’re mad.”

Flash slowly backed away from the beast. In a fit of desperation he decided that he had only one choice – to run. Fast.

The boar followed closely behind him, its size belying its speed.

Luckily for Flash he had a head-start on the beast. He brought himself to stop and ducked behind a few trees, hoping to catch his breath while hiding from the swine.

The sound of the beast’s hooves and breathing could be heard. Flash knew this meant he had little time. He had to act fast. Still breathing hard, he ran through different options in his head.

“I’ve got no choice,” he finally said, holstering his weapon. “I’ve gotta use it. I promised myself I wouldn’t use it unless 100% necessary.” A surprising grin broke out on his face.

Realizing he needed to put some distance between himself and the monster, Flash pulled a small spherical object out of his vest and cradled it carefully. Dropping it was the last thing he wanted until he got that distance.

He took a deep breath with the object still clasped tightly in his hand; he had to be careful, act smart. He couldn’t afford any mistakes. Steeling himself, he came out of his hiding spot.

“Hey!” he yelled. The boar locked its eyes on him. Flash gave it a big grin as it readied to charge and loosened his grip on the sphere.

The swine made a mad dash for the young man. His grin grew wider; the plan was going perfectly.

 “Oh no you don’t!” He threw the object at the boar. The sphere hit the charging beast and a thick mist erupted from it, one so thick even the boar could not see through it.

The swine began to thrash about wildly, kicking and howling within the mist. It placed its massive nose on the ground and sniffed.

 “Secret Sentry family technique: Smoke Bomb Dash!” Flash yelled as he ran away from the boar. He looked ahead to see a small hill in the distance. Behind him he heard an angry roar, followed by the sound of hooves stomping hard against the ground.

 The teen smirked as he ran. Touchia, it’s following me. Plan’s working! As Flash jumped down the small hill, he took in his surroundings – a large open field with a few trees scattered about. This will work fine.

Another roar broke his train of thought. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw the boar had jumped down into the clearing. Flash felt the ground shake as it stomped its hoof, howling angrily.

 Flash cracked his knuckles and jumped in front of the boar, while pulling his spear out and twirling it in front of him. The boar seemed unimpressed. Flash shrugged and jammed the weapon head into the ground beside him. Extending his arms outwardly, he whistled to the beast. It turned to face him.

“Bring it,” he said confidently.

The fiend roared as it charged at him. He dug his feet into the ground and gritted his teeth.   Flash was thrown back when the collided, but he did an opportunity to grab hold of its tusks.

“I bet you didn’t count on me being this strong, did you, piggy?” Flash gave a wolfish grin as he struggled with the boar. This is starting to get fun! The hulking beast snorted, steam escaping its massive nostrils.

Flash pushed hard against the boar and was rewarded with the sight of its hooves tearing into the ground. The muscles in the boar’s front legs tensed up and released as it gave him a more powerful shove back, but he pushed back with just as much force.

The boar groaned as more steam fired from its nostrils.

“Ha! Getting angry? Well, it’s your own fault! You should have been a good ‘lil pig and come with me peacefully.”

 A thunderous roar escaped the jaws of the swine. Its nostrils flared, and a bit of bestial fury glinted in its eyes. As it planted itself firmly on the ground, its body became coated in a faint, dark purple aura. With a raised eyebrow, Flash stared at the now glowing beast.

The aura coating fully enveloped the boar and it began to grow, its coat changing from a chestnut-brown to a dark olive. Its tusks nearly doubled in size, and Flash lost his grip. Its once yellow eyes were now a burning crimson red. By the time the transformation was complete, the boar appeared much more fiendish than before.

Flash let his jaw hang open, shocked by the sudden transformation.

 “Oh,” he squeaked. “I screwed up…” As if to confirm his statement, the immense swine released a bellowing howl. Slowly, Flash let go of its massive tusks and slowly backed away.

The hulking beast charged at him. Before he could react he was stuck. In his final seconds before impact only a single word came to him.

  “Tein.”

He flew through the air. The worst part was yet to come, he knew. He had been flung into the air before. The being hit part was easy; the part that came next was far more painful. His eyes closed in an unreasonable hope that that would somehow lighten the crash. It didn’t.

 His body hit the ground hard enough for a shockwave to erupt from it. Flash was pretty sure it’d scared off some of the inhabitants.

He coughed. He was right, it was the crash that had hurt more. As usual.

As pain shot through his entire body, Flash groaned and rolled onto his back. The thunderous sound of hooves brought him back to his senses for a moment. Though pain stabbed at his neck, Flash moved his head to look upward. The swine fiend was running towards him, it’s black hooves almost a blur.

Flash groaned painfully while trying to climb to his feet.

“Ugh… crap. I think you cracked a few of my ribs, piggy.” He coughed again. The enraged boar let out a bellowing howl, getting ever closer to the young man. He closed his eyes in expectation of pain.

Without warning, several vines burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the rampaging animal. The action caught Flash by surprise. Someone saved him?

No, not someone. He knew exactly who had come to his aid.

“There you are, Flash,” a smooth voice stated plainly.

Flash looked up and saw a pair of light yellow boots. “Hey, Twilight.” He gave a weak chuckle.

The figure standing before him was a thin, young female. She had long, purple hair and a darker complexion than his own. Both of her hands were clad in light purple gloves. She gazed at him with her violet eyes, visibly annoyed.

“Hey yourself, partner. So, -” she glanced over at the now restrained boar “- what did you do to make him this angry?”

 “I… may have jabbed him while he was asleep. Repeatedly.” He grinned sheepishly.

 Twilight rolled her eyes. I should've known better than to let him run off on his own. “How long will it take for you to heal from that?”

“A minute or two,” the azure-haired teen answered as he sat up.  Twilight gave a nod to Flash before she slowly walked up to the bound swine.

As she walked, a circle of purple energy formed around her and she started muttering something. The boar growled at her. Twilight raised her glowing right hand, and, without further ceremony, shoved it in his face.

 “Passive!” she declared powerfully.

The boar swayed back and forth. Its eyes began to flutter and turn back from red to yellow, and its expression slowly changed to one of serenity. Its coat regained its normal colouring, the transformation capping off with the fiend’s normal size returning.

 “There,” Twilight sighed, lightly petting the beast. “Feel better now?”

 “Much better, thanks,” Flash chimed in, walking over to his partner.

Twilight sighed and narrowed her eyes. “I was talking to Clementine.”

Flash nodded. “Right, of course, the… wait. Its name is Clementine?”

The duo walked out of the clearing, the now sleeping boar being carried on Flash’s right shoulder. A sigh of relief and annoyance left Flash’s mouth.

“This pig,” he said with a growl. “I hate this pig so much.”

“Well, you provoked him first. It would only make sense for him to retaliate.” Flash’s eyebrow twitched. Though he wouldn’t admit it, she was right. Had he not struck first, the boar… er, Clementine, would have never attacked. They continued walking for a few minutes until they came upon a fairly large house where a tall, slender, blue-haired, woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties was standing. Once she caught sight of the duo she shrieked with joy, running over to them.

“OH, CLEMENTINE! MAMA MISSED YOU SO MUCH! Thank you both for finding him!” she cried joyfully as she hugged the monster boar. Clementine gave a pleased snort in response. “Thanks a ton fer gettin' my baby back! Hope he didn’t give you much trouble.”

 “Oh, no! No problem at all!” Twilight chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.

“If by ‘no problem’ you mean he almost killed me,” Flash muttered. Twilight lightly elbowed him in the side as the woman turned towards him.

 “Hm? You say something, slim?” she asked bluntly.

 “Uh, nope! Didn’t say a thing.” He smiled.

The woman continued staring at him for a few moments before she shrugged it off and turned towards Twilight. She dug through her bag for a few seconds, until, with a bright smile, she found a piece of paper. She handed it to the two.

“Here’s your payment for a job well done!” the woman gave the duo a wide grin.

Twilight took the check from the client before bowing in response. “Thank you for your patronage, miss.”

 “Whew! Glad that mission is over!” Flash stretched his arms as he and Twilight walked out of the small village. Twilight nodded in agreement.

 “I must admit it was not a particularly fun or short mission. Which reminds me…” Without warning, she grabbed Flash’s ear and harshly tugged on it. “Why didn’t you wait for me?!”

“Ow!” Flash yelped. He tried in vain to wrestle his ear from the steel grip of his colleague. “Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I’m impatient! Please let go!” he pleaded.

Twilight rolled her eyes, giving Flash's ear a final, sharp pinch before releasing him.

 “Does searching for and returning a lost pet really qualify as a C-rank mission?” He asked while trying not to wince from the stinging in his ear.

 “Of course. They wouldn’t let something like this be any less than a C,”

 Flash sighed frustrated. “I just hope we can get a better mission. A mission that has nothing to do with pigs!”

 “He was a boar.”

Flash moaned at his partner. “Same thing!”

After today, I am never eating bacon again.