Eroge? Bad Ends? Betrayal? I’m Just Here to Suplex Monsters through Buildings.

Suplexes are Supreme (4.1).

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Neo San Kyoto, Cathay Drive, 2AM PST.

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Interlude: Helena Horner

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I almost didn’t know what to think. After I washed off all the makeup and put on some pajamas, I had a light dinner and went to get my homework done while Kay stayed on the patio to keep eating.

My first class was at 10AM, so even with an hour of studying, I was going to get plenty of sleep before needing to go to class.

But that barely mattered.

I handed in five human heads, got paid in cash, and left.

In less time than most movies, Kay killed five people, we handed in their bounties, and I was back home studying for a general education class.

It was insane, and I couldn’t focus.

Before I knew it, the sliding door to the patio out of my studio opened.

“You’re feeling sick, huh? ” He wore a large and baggy sweater we picked up at a thrift store and pants. Both were several sizes too large and covered him up completely. The hood was deep enough that he didn’t need to obscure his face beneath it, but I knew he had a ski mask and goggles beneath as well. “You should take some sleeping pills and just get some rest. Maybe start looking for a psychiatrist.”

“What? You don’t have some sort of magic that can just make me less worried about getting people killed? ” I tried to be a smartass, but a part of me hoped that I could make some sort of bargain with Kay.

Instead, I got a shrug and a shake of the head.

“Besides telling you that those guys were scum and would have had their way with you before chopping you up for parts? No. I don’t.” Those words… helped a bit. I made my way to my little dining table, and he did the same and took a seat across from me. He was still cooking on the patio, so he smelled like grilled meat. The rest of the apartment was thankfully back to normal after almost a month spent with nearly every surface being used for cooking. “You’ll have enough money to afford therapy after everything is settled. Talk to a professional in that stuff. Not me.”

It almost felt unfair that he couldn’t just help me.

Some part of me wanted to blame him for some reason, but the debt was because of my parents, and Kay was the only reason why I wasn’t chopped up to pay for the rest of the debt.

Not to mention the fact he saved me from vestiges of my old life.

So, I moved forward.

It was the only thing I could do.

“I want more than that. More than just some person helping me through trauma and more than just a gun. I want… power. Strength. It was obvious that was the key difference between me and all the threats that I faced now. The reason why Kay was able to move and live. “Not enough for me to go out there and change anything. Just enough to ward most things off.”

I thought that he’d laugh at me.

Instead, Kay gave a single nod.

“I can teach you two seals. One that allows you to hide a projectile, and a seal for that projectile that’ll create a ball of vaporizing heat for a brief instant.” He rifled through his clothes and produced them. Simple sheets of thick paper cut into rectangles, which he painted with ink and blood. “These are Hiyo Clan explosive seals. One of the deadliest in the world. Most things hit with it die. They can be time-delayed for up to an hour.”

My mouth went dry.

I asked for power, and now I was being given the ability to manufacture explosives.

What did I expect?

For him to bite my neck and turn me into some half-lizard person?

“That’s… intense. What’s the other one? ”

“A seal that launches projectiles and stores them. Whatever is within has increased weight as a side effect. Once you undo the seal, it launches the projectile held within at speeds comparable to a small-caliber bullet. Fast enough that most things can’t dodge or catch it.” He gestured at his gloved hand, and I realized that on the black surface there were faint markings on each finger where a ring would go. He had a whole gauntlet of weapons on his hands. “Useful, right? Hidden launched explosives in an instant. Perfect for dealing with a threat. All you need is some ink, some paper, and your own energy.”

“And how many years of my life is this going to be taking? ”

“If you make one right now, probably all of it. But I’ll give you a push in the right direction. This usually happens in childhood.” He held out his hand towards mine, and I took it. He was distressingly warm, like holding my hand at an open oven. Suddenly, that warmth began to seep into me. I forced myself to stay calm. “You’re perfectly average, but on the healthy side. Young enough for everything to not have withered away, either. Maybe, if you were born into a clan, you’d have survived to graduate as a ninja.”

“But not now? ”

“No. You’ll need to make do with cunning, firepower, and preparation like most regular people who fall into this life by accident. Camouflage your scent, have holy water at the ready, make salt barriers, and use silver-tipped, sanctified bullets.” Kay offered me a shrug. “It’s a brutal life with low survival rates, but most of the time that’s because they’re going for revenge. If you lay low, you should be fine.”

“Should be fine” isn’t good enough. I want to be safe,” I told him honestly, and he went quiet. I didn’t like that silence one bit. After all my efforts to free myself from my parents and my fucked-up high school, I was still at risk? “Is that even possible? ”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve lived all my life seeing all its dangers, so my view may just be wrong. All I can tell you is that you should prepare, that you should be ready to run, or have something that can make sure that you go out on your own terms.” Kay’s answer just made me scowl and made my fists ball up. It was unfair. It was cruel. I didn’t want to go out on my own terms to spite other people. I just wanted to live with a roof over my head, not worry about food, and maybe get friends. Instead, I was involved in all of this, not because I saved someone’s life, but because my parents worked to drown me in their debt. “I’d say you can try funding a cabin and living on the outskirts of civilization, but that’ll just put you up against monsters people don’t hunt. Maybe you can join a corporation. If you’re a good enough asset, you’ll be protected.”

“But I’ll be an asset, which means I’ll be used until I’m worthless and thrown away.” I grumbled, and he gave a nod. Corporations had their own neighborhoods and stables of generational employees, too. Employees with great health, who could endure longer hours, and who could recover with less time thanks to even their food being drugged. I saw them walking in suits and in packs, with guards, looking at the rest of the city outside of their glass bubbles with fear. All men, too. They keep their women ‘secure.’ “Probably after they decide I’m not good enough to pump out kids.”

The more I spoke with him, the more I felt like bounty hunting was my last choice, until he chimed in.

“You could try and work for a ninja clan. The Hiyo and all the others are the ones keeping the monsters at bay. They look for a lot of auxiliary help. You’ll be subordinate, you’ll need to work hard, but you can be staff at a manufacturing facility or something. We have entire logistics chains.” Kay made a proposal, but I could hear a grimace in his voice, like there was a caveat with the choice that he was unwilling to share. “But that’s all you’ll be. You’ll have food, shelter, and a stipend, but you’ll be a servant. All that they give you is all that you’ll have, and if you decide to leave, you’ll be targeted by their enemies.”

I thought about it; maybe some part of me still hoped that there was another way, but eventually I nodded.

“Maybe I’ll be fine with that, then. I’ll go see if I can wrangle a decent degree in manufacturing, since you guys need technical help.”

Kay gave a nod at that, and I got up to get some rest.

There was still a lot to do tomorrow, after all.

…

Once Helena went to sleep, the person keeping watch decided to leap up to the pavilion and raised a hand in greeting.

“Sup. Came over here after I heard some boys got their shit rocked at my favorite bar. Thought a man-eater was around… but you’re not one.” She had the apartment scoped in with a giant anti-material rifle from a mile away shortly after we returned. She had short red hair and wore a leather jacket and chaps along with heeled boots. Naturally, beneath that she had a sheer bodysuit with a black bikini to give her some modesty. Because, of course, a Lupercal bounty hunter was narratively important enough to get an erotic character body portrait. “So, you’re just pretending to be a man-eating monster? Guess you don’t want to be found or something? ”

“Or something,” I agreed and motioned for her to take a seat. The small patio chair almost buckled beneath her. The bounty hunter was almost three times my height. Probably eight feet tall. If she transformed, she’d probably be twelve feet. I had Helena’s apartment covered in a few seals to protect her. Some happened to also make sure that talking outside on her patio wouldn’t disturb her. “Helena saved my life, so I’m willing to take the risk. I’ll take on a million or so of bounties, give her half, and skip town and return to my old identity. Just need time to heal.”

“Smart. Especially since you took the middle of the pile. The idiots running around in groups trying for paydirt avoid them, and anyone who wants big payouts only goes for the top ten.” I handed her over a patty of ground meat and a bun. There were plenty of condiments in the cooler along with liter bottles of soda. I was still burning through calories like crazy. I weighed myself every day and barely gained any weight. By my estimate, I needed almost a hundred thousand calories a day just to sleep contently. “So, how long will you be around? ”

“If there are enough bounties, four months at most.” The half-pound burger patty got slathered in some cheese sauce, mustard, relish, and ketchup… and the bounty hunter chopped it down in two bites like a slider. Her mouth was full of fangs. “Did I hit one of your people? ”

“In that shithole? No. But I’ve got a few friends in these parts that I work with. Good girls who are down on their luck and trying to get by.” She already felt comfortable enough to eat food that I gave her, so I listened. Despite her state of dress and size, she offered to trust me first after watching me. The least I could do was listen. “I figured that I’d deal with a monster instead of them to be nice… and they’ve got problems with man-eaters. If they heard about one, they’d go after it.”

“So, you need assurance that I’m not, because they’ll hear eventually,” I stated, and she gave a nod. Her two tall wolf ears flopped forward on her short red hair when she nodded. Her ears had the same red fur as her long tail. “Fine, here.”

I only had a few kunai left, but this was worth losing one.

She let loose a whistle.

“Damn, you’re a big shot.” Kunai were manufactured in massive numbers but limited only to ninja clans. They were darkened to prevent glints of light, but they were composed of a carefully manufactured alloy that allowed them to be effective against most supernatural threats. They went through troll skin with ease, while also debilitating regeneration. Vampires could be harmed by them. Barriers can be pierced or carved through with enough energy channeled through them. It was a silver bullet that even had proven efficacy against eldritch monsters. I held it in hand and gave it to her, while she gave a low whistle. “Is there something going on in town? I’m suddenly feeling a bit of wanderlust.”

“It’s been dealt with. You’re better off not knowing the specifics. I was a casualty, but I made strong enemies that I need to deal with before returning to my allies,” I told the Lupercal bounty hunter, and she gave a nod in understanding. Since she was accepting of my reasoning and had offered her trust first, I decided to take a gamble. “Give me a month, and if you’re willing, I’ll work with you and your friends on a big bounty. I’ll take a quarter and not half.”

Taking on a big bounty with some support would speed up my timeline.

Not to mention, I could take on a stronger opponent with more confidence with someone watching my back.

My suggestion had the bounty hunter’s brow furrow and her nose scrunch up while she considered my proposal.

She ate another full burger like a slider and shrugged down a whole liter of cola before replying with a nod.

“The name’s Kine.” She got up and offered her hand to me, and I rose to shake it. The moon bore down upon us both, and she could easily transform into a giant rage monster, but didn’t. She let go of my hand after a single, firm shake. “I want to accept, but I want to keep an eye on you first. See how you operate. If you’re strong enough, we won’t have to bring my friends into this. We can tag and bag a big bounty and cut it in half.”

I considered her offer before nodding.

This time I extended my hand towards her.

“A month with you watching, then we take on a big bounty. Sounds good.”

“Good.”

I liked Kine.

How could I not?

She had me zeroed with her anti-material rifle multiple blocks away before deciding to give me a chance.

And, while we were talking, she had an oversized shotgun at the hip, ready to blow my face off.

I appreciate a woman who had the sense to keep a gun trained on a man while they spoke.

In this world, it was perfectly sensible.