Dark clouds, cold wind, and the lack of warmth expanded throughout the mountain's top. Looking in front was nothing but hills, with the snow becoming heavier. "He... He lost a lot of blood," Kyora confirmed. "There's nothing here that could help him, at least not around this area." Kyora toughened up, sharing an encouraging face.
She held his right arm, noticing wounds that couldn't possibly be caused by slicing. "His arm's already wounded so much, and he still climbed the wall?" she was speechless, incapable of understanding how he could climb the mount. "It's almost as though these are burn marks, not smaller ones either." She inhaled, gazing forward. "What should I do?" she thought to herself. "I'm no doctor, but maybe there's somebody who *can* help him." She moved in front of Tim, slowly lifting him on her back.
She looked at him calmly, hoping that he wouldn't pass out. "Just hang on, alright? You still want a navigator, don't you? Then keep breathing. I'll find somebody who can help." Kyora stated and began moving forward through the thick snow and horrible weather.
Her new focus after searching for Flare was to locate something or someone that could treat Tim's injuries. He simply needed to live, and Tim was in charge of taking care of that.
The city wasn't as vibrant as before, and the people slowly started to return to their homes.
Yumiko, followed by Kou and Alina, searched the entire Monmouth. "It's no use..." Claimed Yumiko, holding to her knees and gathering her breath, "We won't find that fire fox in the city... I think we need to search the outskirts and such."
Kou and Alina had nothing to debate over and agreed.
Found at the back of the city's gates, they had two things on their plate. They could either continue searching for Flare or go back to meet with Ayuka and Ralphie. "There must be something... like a lead to find that fox." Kou believed in his words, but pointless if there was nothing.
Alina received a eureka, coming up with a plan. "We're searching for the fox or that girl... maybe the girl you've met has relatives that could help us inside the town." Yumiko and Kou listened carefully but didn't want to plan ahead of them just yet. "But what if the girl's family isn't in this town and is someplace far in the outskirts?" Yumiko clarified for Kou to continue, "Or... what if she doesn't have a family, but that fox?"
Their statements were possible, and Alina didn't want to ignore them. She moved her fingers to her jaw and began thinking.
"Well... yeah, that's true. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask around. I'm sure there's somebody on this island who could give us some details involving the girl. If she *is* the fire fox's master, there's definitely at least one person who could share some notes with us. That fire fox is a popular species on this island, and with so many hunters hunting it down, it's almost impossible for nobody to know about its master."
Yumiko straightened, placing her palms on her hips. "Hey, do you... remember that guy we saw at the palace?" she waited for Kou and Alina to exchange looks with her. "Yeah, I do. You mean those bounty hunters, right?" Alina needed to be sure of her question.
"Yeah, those two. Both are hunters. Do you think they know something about the fox or its master? If we find them, we could ask them and see what they have to say. Of course, it could also be meaningless, but it's better than nothing." Alina tried to decide and see if Yumiko's suggestion would be worth their time. "You want to ask those bounty hunters who wreaked havoc in the restaurant? I'd say you're crazy to come up with that idea, but I can't deny that idea, but they could be helpful. Though it would be a risky move."
Yumiko and Kou waited silently to see what Alina's choice would be. "They are bounty hunters... if I remember, they are hunting down Silvio. My honest opinion on that suggestion would be a decline, but we can't *not* ask them." She looked at them with an encouraging nod. "Let's find them, but I don't expect them to still be inside the town. We should venture out into the wild area. I know my way around the island."
Yumiko and Kou smiled at her choice and simultaneously nodded. "Great! Let's go!"
With everyone else chasing down their tasks, Raoul and Dave remained in hand-to-hand combat, but without a blade, Raoul wasn't much of a fighter.
He was at a disadvantage.
Dave continued throwing a flurry of fist-like attacks that Raoul needed to dodge by moving back and throbbing his feet in the snow.
Each followed up punch that Dave cast was stronger. He often changed the pace of his movement to confuse Raoul, and many of those attacks landed. "Okay, calm down, big boy! You're rapid with those punches!" claimed Raoul, tilting his torso aside for Raoul to hit the invisible air behind.
"And I'm not letting you put a hand on Fuji!" Dave's intimidating voice rang through the snow field, and he followed up with a powerful punch that rammed his knuckles into Raoul's stomach.
It was heavier than those that came beforehand and much firmer to defend. It pummeled deep into Raoul's organs, hurling him back through the snow, which had overwhelming force enough to knock the snow piles on each side.
Raoul stopped at the slope's edge, kneeling and holding his stomach. "C-Crap..." he coughed, "you're not the one to hold back your strength when it comes to punching." Raoul needed to regather his breath. But with that brute in front, that wasn't much of an option.
"Whoever tries to hurt Fuji gets what they deserve." He slammed his fist in his palm, cracking his knuckles and neck. "That pendant she stole is the only thing that can help her. Whoever its holder was, I don't care. It probably doesn't belong in their clutches anyway."
Raoul smiled, wiping away saliva from his mouth. "I don't care about that pendant. To begin with, I only came here because of my partner. He was needy to get his claws on it, but don't ask me why. I just made a small deal with him, so that's why I'm following him around, doing whatever the hell he wants to." He explained, standing up. "But now that he's not here, I can do whatever I want, and he won't have any proof that it was me who slaughtered you." He finished and filed into a dash.
Dave prepared by becoming firmer on the ground and was ready to take in Raoul's tackle. His big hands were opened and ready to clutch him.
Raoul rammed him, wrapping his arms around Dave's muscular body, and began pushing him back while being held by the back of his body.
He might have been shorter and skinnier than Dave, but surprisingly he succeeded in ramming Dave through his hideout's door inside the bar. But that quickly turned the tables when Raoul felt Dave shifting his body and pulling him over the counter, finally tossing him into the shelves with glass bottles of wine on them.
Raoul lay in the shattered glass, and red wine spilled on the ground, clutching the back of his head. "Wow... that hurt more than I expected it to..." He claimed, noticing that Dave prepared to smash him deeper into the ground.
He spotted Dave punching down, aiming for his head, but he rolled to the side for him to miss. He picked up the nearest bottle that wasn't broken and swung it, smashing at the top of Dave's head to stun him momentarily.
He dropped the shattered bottle and rammed his sole into Dave's face, which practically did nothing. "You're kidding..." He claimed, feeling Dave's firm hands grabbing his ankles.
He was lifted, spun around, and then hurled through the mountainous wall that collapsed into fragments, creating a hole. It revealed the bar's interior.
Raoul needed to recover from the pain and sat up. He grabbed the back of his skull, surprised. "Well... there goes your hideout. I guess it's not as hidden anymore." Dave stepped out of the bar, furious.
"I'm screwed..." claimed Raoul.
To be continued...