Little Russia

[YOLF]

Justice

Punishment slowed down to a mere walk, and Justice bade it to stop as they approached. The rider merely stood still, silently watching the exchange. His figure tended to be rather more unnerving than one like Suerte, and he had no desire to ruin whatever she had in mind approaching this young woman.

Something was transparently off, and Suerte had honed into it like a magnet.

[yinsukin]

Suerte

While Justice's faith was well placed, at least in the eyes of Suerte, the young cowgirl had no idea what she was doing.  In fact, she was not entirely cognizant of the strange shift in mood.  She was as close as a human could be to acting without thought.  All she was doing was saying the first thing that came to mind, taking notes along the way.  The moment she landed was the first time in the brief seconds of interaction that she noticed something was strange.

"I reckon you need a bounty hunter," she said, poking the tip of her hat up with her finger and flashing the purple haired girl a big stupid grin.  "Maybe two.... and a cute horse?"

She gave a little flourish, turning her body so that Sakura could see the impossibly built, fierce glare of the hell like spawn that was punishment.  It really was a cute horse to her though, a strong cute horse.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura

Sakura nodded in response.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for!" she said, obviously desperate. "My husband has been kidnapped and I need help to find and rescue him."

[YOLF]

Justice

He dismounted, taking a step forward but making no further moment to approach, merely making the silver glare of his eyes focused on her. Kidnappings under broad daylight... he'd seen at least one other so far, shortly after arriving, but there was a feeling under his tongue that this one was different.

"Who kidnapped him, and how? Was it just now?" Justice asked. Not the first questions you'd usually ask. If she didn't know either of those things, then it was going to be troublesome, but the young woman spoke with certainty that seemed to tell of a first-hand experience.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura

Sakura frowned at the question, wondering how to answer it.

"Yes, it was not long ago. Another, much stronger version of, erm..., me kidnapped him", she said, uncertainly. "She attacked us out of nowhere, beat him up and used her magic to teleport herself away with him."

[yinsukin]

Suerte

Suerte zipped in between the two, her face alight with facination.  She grabbed Sakura's hands as if she were a gentleman expressing being smitten by a fair maiden.  "A stronger version of yourself?  Is that even possible here?"

[YOLF]

Justice

He'd so far seen an angel who wasn't supposed to exist, a squirrelgirl stronger than werewolf ancients, and half a dozen other things that had no business being in the thousands of years that he'd been doing this for. Alternate versions of people, torn from eras that had never been, weren't the most unsettling possibility.

Something cold coiled in his gut at the thought of finding a different side of the brothers he knew, or a Justice who'd walked a wholly different path.

"If she was you, and knew your husband, then you must have some idea of what she wants," the Rider rumbled. He pulled his hand over the cloth covering his mouth and whistled for something neither of the women could see.

Phantasmal eyes shone to life in the nearby alleys, translucent rats coming into being with faint ghostly flashes, and scattering at his unheard command.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura

As the man spoke, Sakura felt a sudden spike of magical energy, presumably enacted by the man. However, she was too focussed on dealing with the current situation to ask him for more information. Instead, she simply responded to the questions she had been asked.

"She wants my husband", Sakura said in response to the man. "What exactly she's going to do with him I'm not sure, but he means a lot to me, and he has for a long time. I'm sure her version of my husband meant a lot to her, too."

Then she turned to the girl.

"There's no reason it shouldn't be possible", she said. "She's an alternate version of me from a different timeline, who presumably fell into the Nexus just as I did. Why she's stronger than me I'm not sure, though. Possibly she just has a larger mana supply. Although, she did seem to be using some of my husband's magic along with her own."

[SINIB]

Tsumiko

In the forest, everything has eyes. The birds chirped at each other, discussing the battle that had just happened. A slow hum buzzed around, and one couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched by the trees themselves.

Tsumiko's bugs sat in the shadows, emitting not even a smidgen of mana. Her familars watched Sakura and her alarming new friends, keeping an eye on how the mess her little sister had caused was evolving.

[yinsukin]

Suerte

Suerte's entire body deflated.  When she gave that hypothesis, it made it sound like a typical job.  The cowgirl placed one finger on her cheek, striking a thinking pose.  "I guess that means we can just gather information on you and infer what this woman's weaknesses are," she said, her voice deflating with every word.  "That is kind of a disappointment.  So what do you want us to do, capture, assassinate, rescue?"

She was happy Justice was coming along for this job.  Even if a bounty hunter is strong, it always helps to have someone keep their personality in check.  Even with her luck, a single mistake could mean death.  Still, it felt like overkill, helping a mage get their husband back.  That seemed like the kind of job where the most excitement comes from a five-minute skirmish with some psycho.

[YOLF]

Justice

Little, etheral mice shifted in the shadows. They had instincts, but they did not hunger, and so they did not find any interest in bugs or smaller animals. Small as they were, however, something about the perfecty still, silent insects in the vicinity could not escape their notice when they passed by. A pair of them stopped and sniffed, but then crawled away as they were.

"What kind of magic? What are you and your husband's skills that you saw her use?" Justice asked. With the cowgirl and the anxious wife, his eyes refocused as he kept them on track.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura

"I just want my husband back. I don't really care what happens to his kidnapper, but I am sure my husband would not want us to kill her if we can avoid it. He's a very kind and forgiving person", Sakura replied, smiling briefly at the thought of her beloved's kind nature.

Then, she turned to the man.

"Well, my husband has the ability to create copies of almost any sword that he has ever seen, and he can turn them into exploding arrows and shoot them at people. He's really amazing", she said, again briefly smiling before switching to a wistful look.

"As for my magic, well, it'll probably be easier if I just show you, really. Everything I can do, she can do, only better."

[yinsukin]

Suerte

Suerte perked up a little bit, but her eyes narrowed at the girl as she went on her gushy rant.  The girl sounded like a teenager who just started dating her crush after years of pining.  It stirred a jealous fire in her belly that quickly twisted into a headache-inducing annoyance.  The idea of fighting someone with exploding arrows sounded like a fun spectacle at least.

"Can he create copies of any weapon or just swords?" she asked, putting a hand on the holster at her hip.  It would be a problem if he could copy her guns.  Maybe it would be smart to use the sniper rifle for this job.  "More importantly, are you willing to pay extra for non lethal force?  Bounty huntin is especially tough without lethal force."

She looked at Justice as if to say, do you want to spar with her, or should I?

[YOLF]

Justice

Almost any sword. Justice grumbled, the idea of having Absolution turned against him or detonated like a bomb in his face, a bitterly amusing one. But he turned to Suerte and nodded placidly. She could handle this.

He turned his gaze away and into his shades, running through and scanning the shadows.

[Cherry Lover]

Sakura

Sakura sighed.

"You seem to be misunderstanding. The bounty would be for the return of my husband, alive and unharmed. I would not ask you to put yourself in extra danger to spare her, but nor do I have any particular desire to see that bitch dead", Sakura replied. "But, you should be warned, my husband is a very kind and forgiving person, if you attempt to kill her unnecessarily he is likely to try to stop you. So, I would not advise attempting to harm her once you have rescued him."

"As for his magic, well, he can create copies of most kinds of weapons, but not explosives, or anything highly complicated like a gun", she added.