The first shot inside the tavern never landed.
The hunter leader fired point-blank toward Ryu's chest, but the bullet never reached him. Steel flashed once—quick, controlled—and the round ricocheted off the flat of Ryu's knife into a wooden beam above.
Kenji sighed.
"…There goes lunch."
Then he moved.
His blade slid free in a smooth arc just as two hunters rushed from the right. Their coordination was immediate—one low, one high. Not amateurs.
Kenji grinned anyway.
"Finally," he muttered.
Steel clashed.
He parried the first strike and pivoted under the second, twisting his torso just enough to avoid aggravating the still-healing pull in his ribs. Pain sparked—but he rode it, turning the motion into a counter that slammed his elbow into one attacker's jaw. The man dropped instantly.
The second hunter came in fast with twin knives.
Kenji met him head-on.
---
Ryu stepped forward calmly as two more hunters closed from the front.
One carried a short axe.
The other a hooked blade.
They attacked together without hesitation.
Good.
Ryu preferred decisive opponents.
He shifted slightly left as the axe came down, guiding the strike past him while his free hand struck the wielder's wrist sharply. Bone cracked. The axe clattered. Before the man could even scream, Ryu's knee drove into his midsection and sent him collapsing backward across a table.
The second attacker lunged with the hooked blade.
Ryu's Observation brushed the movement before it fully formed. He leaned aside just enough for the weapon to pass his ribs, then struck once—clean and precise.
The man dropped.
Not dead.
Just done.
Ryu didn't waste motion.
He turned immediately toward the hunter leader again.
---
Aira ducked behind a table as a bullet tore through the air toward her shoulder. Wood splintered near her face. She rolled sideways and came up with her knife already in hand, eyes sharp.
One hunter charged straight at her, assuming she was the weakest.
Mistake.
She sidestepped his first swing and slashed across his forearm, forcing him to drop his weapon. He tried to grapple instead, but she drove her knee into his thigh and shoved him backward into a chair.
He went down hard.
She didn't chase.
She repositioned.
Watching.
Learning.
A faint flicker of awareness brushed her senses—
Movement behind her.
She pivoted instantly.
Another attacker lunged from her blind side, blade aimed low toward her ribs. She barely caught the motion in time, twisting away so the strike only grazed fabric instead of flesh.
Her eyes widened slightly.
She'd felt that a moment before it happened.
Observation.
Still faint.
But there.
She countered immediately, striking the attacker across the jaw and sending him stumbling into a table.
---
Throughout it all, Vale moved differently.
He didn't rush.
Didn't panic.
He simply stepped back once, raised his rifle, and fired.
The shot cracked like thunder inside the tavern.
One hunter dropped instantly, weapon falling from numb fingers where the bullet had struck a precise nerve cluster in his shoulder. Not lethal. Just disabling.
Vale shifted his stance and fired again.
Another shot.
Another perfect hit.
Two more attackers collapsed, weapons useless.
He didn't fire wildly.
Every shot was placed.
Every movement economical.
Kenji noticed mid-fight and grinned. "…Yeah. Definitely like him."
---
Within seconds, most of the attacking hunters were down or disarmed.
Only the leader remained standing.
He hadn't moved from his position near the doorway.
Hadn't panicked.
Hadn't rushed.
He lowered his revolver slowly and looked around at his fallen crew with mild irritation rather than shock.
"…I told you," he muttered to no one in particular, "don't rush people you don't understand."
Kenji rested his blade on his shoulder. "Good advice. Shame they didn't listen."
The man's eyes shifted to Vale.
"You're getting expensive to chase," he said.
Vale didn't respond.
Ryu stepped slightly forward.
"That enough?" he asked calmly.
The leader studied him for a moment.
Then chuckled softly.
"…For now."
He holstered his revolver without hurry.
"We're not dying for a bounty we can't claim," he said, glancing at his incapacitated crew. "We'll collect another day."
Kenji blinked. "You're just leaving?"
The man met his gaze evenly. "North Blue rule."
He gestured casually at the room.
"Know when you're outmatched."
With that, he turned and walked out of the tavern as calmly as he'd entered.
After a brief hesitation, the remaining conscious hunters scrambled after him, dragging their injured companions with them. Within seconds, the street outside swallowed them.
Silence returned.
Broken only by the creak of damaged furniture and the low murmur of stunned patrons.
Kenji sheathed one sword slowly. "…I expected a dramatic finish."
Aira exhaled. "I expected to finish eating."
Ryu wiped a small trace of blood from his sleeve and sat back down as if nothing unusual had happened. "We can still do that."
Vale lowered his rifle.
He studied them all quietly for a moment.
Then spoke.
"…You stepped in without knowing who I was."
Kenji shrugged and sat back in his chair. "They interrupted lunch."
Aira nodded. "Unforgivable."
Vale's gaze moved to Ryu.
"You deflected a bullet meant for me."
Ryu picked up his cup again. "It would've damaged the wall."
Vale stared at him.
Then—very faintly—his expression shifted.
Not quite a smile.
But close.
"…You're strange," he said.
Kenji laughed. "You have no idea."
Vale pulled out a chair and sat at their table without asking.
He rested his rifle carefully beside him.
"…Name's Soren Vale," he said calmly.
Aira blinked.
Kenji leaned forward immediately, interested.
Ryu met his gaze.
___