Act.07: The Sirens

The two finally exit the desert and find themselves back in normal weather. They let the horses drink from a nearby pond while Haruka goes and changes. She comes back out in her normal attire and then places it in her bag.
Haruka: Nice to get the old stuff back on. Those clothes can ride up every once in a while.
Kasumi: I don’t doubt it.
Haruka: Still gonna hold on to both the outfits that I’ve used in recent days just in case I need ‘em again.
Kasumi: Do what you want.
Haruka: I still say you’d look good in the belly dancer outfit.
Kasumi: I wouldn’t wear that.
Haruka: Its not like its a big deal.
Kasumi: I wont wear clothing like that.
Haruka: Why is clothing like that so bad?
Kasumi: I just don’t like them that's all.
Haruka: You’re just so used to covering up, you’re just shy.
Kasumi: And? What if I am?
Haruka: Nothing wrong with modesty, but you should try to open up once in a while.
Kasumi: Why so people could see my disfigured arm?
Haruka: You could wear a sleeve over it.
Kasumi: I’ve gotten used to wearing clothing like this so.
Haruka: Change is good.
Kasumi: In some things yes but for things like that? No.
Haruka: I guess we agree to disagree on that.
Kasumi: Yes.
The two get back on to ride on their horses.
Haruka: But a time will come where you’ll have to change!
Kasumi: Hopefully it wont come soon.
The two soon come across a small drinking place. They stop and enter and find a nice table to sit at.
Haruka: Should be a good place to get some food.
Kasumi: Yea hopefully.
The two wait patiently and before long they get to order something to eat. The two quietly wait until three other girls come in. They sit at the bar area. Their presence is enough for Haruka to slump into her seat.
Kasumi: What’s wrong?
Haruka: (whispering) Remember when I told you about the Sirens?
Kasumi: So that's them then?
Haruka: (nods) Last thing we want to do is bother them.
Kasumi: Noted.
The three women wore matching outfits in different colors in blue, yellow, and red. The one in blue had blonde hair and green eyes, the one in yellow had orange-colored hair and brown eyes, and the one in red had black hair and blue eyes.
Haruka: Supposedly, the sirens are known for their power of singing. If you hear them while they’re singing, you’re hypnotized into doing their bidding. They’re classified as an S-class criminals.
Kasumi: Well that's a bit disturbing.
Haruka: No one knows how to break their spell or how to beat them.
Kasumi: Great so they are pseudo invincible.
Haruka: Potentially.
Kasumi: Well lets not do anything that could piss them off.
Haruka: Exactly.
Kasumi: Lets just hope they don't recognize us either.
One of them leans over and whispers something to another. The three stand up and begin to walk over to them.
Haruka: Too late.
Blue Girl: Well, pleasure to meet the two of you. You two must be the ones who have azure.
Yellow Girl: You two do know that fashion has evolved since you two were born.
Haruka keeps her silence.
Kasumi: Sorry but from where I’m from this is what was fashion for us.
Yellow Girl: So you just came out from under a rock then?
Kasumi: If that's what you want to call it then sure.
The girl in red raises her hand and the girl in blue and the girl in yellow fall silent.
Red Girl: I do apologize for both of my girls. We shouldn’t be criticizing the two of you. After all, the both of you do have azure.
Kasumi: It takes a lot more than that to insult me.
Red Girl: Sorry, we weren’t trying to insult you. Perhaps we could sing one of our trademark songs for you.
Kasumi: No need to do that now. Don’t worry about it.
Red Girl: Oh? You don’t want to hear us sing?
Kasumi: Not really. It is kind of you to offer though.
Red Girl: That’s too bad. We do love to have people enjoy our songs.
Kasumi: (smiles apologetically) I’m just surprised how fast you recognized us.
Blue Girl: How could we not? You two girls are the ‘hot new things’ on the bounty board.
Kasumi: Well apparently we’ve gotten popular then.
Yellow Girl: It doesn’t mean you two should feel like we aren’t watching the both of you.
Blue Girl: We’ll keep our bounty higher than you could ever hope to have.
Haruka: Be our guest.
Kasumi: (shrugs) I’m just surprised that we got a bounty that high in the first place.
Red Girl: At least, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Syn.
Blue Girl: They call me Lia.
Yellow Girl: I am Mio.
Haruka: Please to meet you all.
Red Girl: Won’t you introduce yourselves?
Kasumi: I’m Kasumi.
Haruka: Haruka.
Mio: Well its a pleasure to meet you all, but we should get going. You understand.
Lia: Places to go, people to sing to.
Syn: Treasures to obtain.
Kasumi: Have fun then.
Syn: Perhaps you’d like us to sing a song before we go?
Kasumi: You three seem very busy so we shouldn't keep you.
Syn: Very well, hope you’ll buy one of our CDs sometime in the near future.
With that, the three of them leave. Haruka takes a deep breath now that the tension in the room had vanished.
Kasumi: Well that was a lucky break.
Haruka: No kidding.
Kasumi: I don’t know how much longer I could have kept up that facade.
Haruka: At least they’re gone, but we’re not ready to face them yet. If the rumors are true, they’ve made people do some scary stuff.
Kasumi: Yea I figured that.
Haruka: We’ll just try to avoid them as best as we can. But now you see why there are certain bounties I haven’t gone after.
Kasumi: Yea makes sense.
Haruka: Some of the easier bounties I have claimed. Do you remember the thief that made a living from selling off other people’s possessions?
Kasumi: Kind of…
Haruka: He wasn’t all that famous…
Kasumi: Remember I came from a pretty out there village.
Haruka: Its why I was checking to see if you had. Well, I claimed the bounty on him and I got him off the streets.
Kasumi: Well that's one less criminal that people will have to fear.
Haruka: But I’ve typically stayed away from S-class bounties and up for good reason. Most of them are really tough to defeat, and can be really scary.
Kasumi: It’s also common sense to stay away from people that nobody knows the real strength of.
Haruka: Right. People like the Sirens and the Azure Hunter are people we don’t want to mess with. We should go for lower bounties as necessary. But we should be good on money for now, I got a good amount of money from Prince Alikh, so we should be good to go. Not to mention all the trinkets that will fetch us some gear and such as well.
Kasumi: Sounds like a plan to me.
Haruka: I guess I should explain a couple of things about being a bounty hunter while we have some peace.
Kasumi: Alright then.
Haruka: Despite a lot of systems in place, bounty hunters are managed by the ‘Seven Great Hunters’. If Ragna the Bloodedge was still alive, he’d be offered the first seat, if you understand just how big they are.
Kasumi: Huh yea that makes sense considering how powerful he was.
Haruka: No one in my ‘family’ occupies a seat, but what they do is ‘allow’ you to become a bounty hunter. These seven dictate what is ‘acceptable behavior’ for a bounty hunter. These bounty hunters are among the wisest and strongest among us. Should a bounty hunter break the cardinal rule of the society, they are treated as a bounty to be claimed. The hunter who claims it raises his or her rank within this society.
Kasumi: So we just have to not screw up and break that rule then.
Haruka: Its a pretty hard rule to break, considering.
Kasumi: So what is this terrible rule then?
Haruka: All lives are sacred, except for the target. Whether unintentional or intentional, meaningless spilling of blood is not allowed. The last bounty hunter who broke this rule, found themselves to be made an example of.
Haruka takes a big gulp of her cold drink.
Kasumi: Huh… So kill only the target makes sense.
Haruka: (Nodding) Yes, some are exceptions. The only exception ever granted was to Ragna the Bloodedge, due to his war with the NOL and his azure. Not that they’d have ever let him know. Stuff like that was decided without his input. Most decisions are made without anyone’s outside input. Those who have personal connections to the case refrain themselves, as they cannot have a non-biased opinion according to the counsel.
Kasumi: Makes sense. Although they should have probably told him…
Haruka: If we never get dragged before them, we can only be so lucky.
Kasumi: Yea I don't think they would take to kindly to finding two people with different powers of the Azure. Not to mention the fact that we are wanted right now.
Haruka: Even then, you still have to undergo the process of becoming a bounty hunter.
Kasumi: Ugh wonderful.
Haruka: Otherwise, It’ll look bad if a ‘bounty hunter’ and their ‘bounty’ were traveling together, so there’s not much other choice.
Kasumi: (sighs) Why do I have the feeling that this will be a pain..
Haruka: Its not like a test you’d take in any other kind of school. One of the people sitting on the council has to attend, and at that point, they must defeat an opponent selected by them. If a bounty hunter is discovered to have held back during the test, it becomes null and void.
Kasumi: Great...this will be more difficult for me than anyone else...I’m not too great at 1 on 1 fights.
Haruka: Its only so the council member can determine whether or not you’re bounty hunder material, if they feel you can’t handle it, then there’s no chance of succeeding.
Kasumi: Wouldn’t they be a bit suspicious if I use my power? Considering that I’m currently a wanted person.
Haruka: Anyone can take the test. Many people have questionable backgrounds, its not like they’re going to turn anyone away. We would have to disguise how you actually use your power though. A way for it to make it look like you’re summoning fire instead of using azure. And I think we’ve already solved that problem.
Kasumi: With what, the gloves? But if my opponent hits my arms they could destroy my cover.
Haruka: You realize he ‘specially’ embroidered those gloves, to help us. Those gloves will make it look like you’re gloves are specially designed to create fire, much like I use my weapons as an excuse for creating ice. As for protecting your burnt arm, you’ll just have to take care not to let that arm get exposed.
Kasumi: So its up to luck then…
Haruka: Like most things.
Kasumi: Well lets hope everything goes well then...Or else I’ll most likely be dead.
Haruka: Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.
Kasumi: Alright I trust you.
Haruka: Either way, we’ve still got a couple of more days before we reach the ‘proving grounds’.
Kasumi: Well that gives me time to prepare I guess.
Haruka leaves some money on the counter and stands up.
Haruka: We should get going.
Kasumi: Ok lets head out then.
The two hop on their horses after exiting the establishment and soon ride off with a gallop.
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