Unwinding the Immortal Coil

The round-faced woman grinned as she looked back toward him. "It's simple. I deliver you to the judge of the afterlife, and we argue with him until he judges you and sends you off to what comes after. I think the only way we would fail in this is if there is a very, very important reason for your immortality," Kina nodded. Though she felt and acted confident, she did internally admit that she was functioning entirely off accepted theories, and a few recollections of those who had near-death experiences did not make facts. Still, she'd overheard enough of the boss's conversations to know she wasn't far off from the truth, if at all.

She could feel the acid of Drake's glare at the back of her head, but ignored him and instead let her eyes wander over the destruction left by the bombs. There'd been at least one other survivor. She'd been in contact with Drake before fleeing, if she'd not been spotted by the immortal. It smelled like... Heggala? Interesting.

Kina brushed a few stray hairs from her face and then absently felt the back of her head.

Not only was her red hair-covering still in place, but it hadn't been too damaged, either. She still had that important link to her past.
 
"The judge of the afterlife?" He asked skeptically just before his face turned into a pained grimace. The wound on his shoulder had started to heal incorrectly. It happened sometimes when there were still things in the wound. Must be a piece of metal that had buried its way into him without him noticing while getting that stick out of his abdomen. His bone was growing back around the sharp item and part of his muscles was doing the same. It probably wasn't big enough for it to be noticeable on the outside ones everything had grown out though, but even so it would be a pain to leave it in there. It might compromise movements in his shoulder for some time. He'd just have to get it out later once he had the tools for it, if he wasn't dead at that time.

"I assume.." He paused for a second as a sharp sting interrupted his train of thought. The healing process could be such a pain sometimes. "You've met this judge? Or at the very least have quite the credible source." He continued.

If all of this was true, and if this judge stated that his immortal soul was too important to lead out of this body, he'd just have to make sure to get rid of everything that could force his soul to stay on this plane of existence. Even if that meant to kill all of humanity, he'd do it. After all, if there were no more humans in this world, what purpose could the judge have for keeping him in a deserted world that couldn't possibly hold any purpose for him? Well, it was just one of the possible ideas if he got a no.

"You also mentioned that you would do it only if I could prove that it is the only thing that makes me happy. How am I supposed to prove such a thing? I doubt my words alone will cut it for you. Not with such a charming and yet so mischievous smile. It does tell me that you wouldn't want to make it that simple." This woman was clearly up to something. It wasn't just her own behavior that gave it away, but her companion seemed quite annoyed with her decision, which made him believe there was more to this than he would ever have thought.
 
"Yes, and as for proving it is the only thing that will make you happy, you can come with us. I'm sure Drake is already planning to take another mission, since this is done, and he'll come back because my way off is broken."

Drake wanted to strangle her. He really and truly did. Pale hands lifted as he stood behind the woman, and he made squeezing motions with his fingers.

He didn't want Kina with him, though she'd been very helpful in the mission. He had no reason to involve either of the pair in his suicidal urges. After a few moments, his arms dropped, and his expression fell neutral as he gave in, despite Kina's apparent lack of notice. "What difficulty level, Kina?"

"He's new, so we can start with level one. Find a local mission, if you can? Ask Lady Jade for one, I think." Kina's eyes, half-lidded with amusement, turned full attention toward the immortal. "If it is agreed, my name is Kina. My partner is Dlake—"

"Drake," he corrected with a half-hearted glare.
 
For some reason it felt like he was going into a trap, as if they would find any reason not to kill him rather than to let him die even if he was able to prove it. Oh well, a hundred years with these buffoons would go fast, if nothing happened within that time he'd just dump them somewhere along the way.

The man didn't seem as thrilled by the idea. Was it because she dragged an outsider into this without reason? Not that it mattered.

"Call me whatever you want, no living person remembers my true name any longer, and I stopped bothering giving myself new names ages ago." He replied. When was the last time someone had gotten the opportunity to name him? Two, three hundred years perhaps? He remembered one particular woman whom decided to give him a girl's name just to see if he would decide to choose something for himself instead. He didn't. And so he was called Emily for ten years. At the time he had still not gotten into this depressed state, and he had been quite entertained by her stubbornest of keeping calling him that even though she herself hadn't been able to take the name seriously.

"You don't have to bother going easy on me. It's not like I'll die if something bad happens. It's not the first time people drags me out to a battle field. Probably a bit rusty though, the 100 year war happened quite a while ago." It had been one of his first foolish attempts to suicide. Even so he did fight honorably, but even the best of the best died eventually if they stayed out there long enough, and so he did. Over and over again he died and came back, or maybe it was closer to fainting rather than actual dying. Actually he had no idea what happened when he blacked out because of a wound or drowning. Was he dead? Or was he just unconscious until he could heal enough to wake up? It was a mystery of his life. Once the war ended he realized that it might not have been the best idea, but he had been quite desperate at the time.
 
Drake sighed, then started to open his mouth to offer the man a name, though Kina beat him to it.

"Feldinand!" Her sing-song voice chirped, and Drake grabbed her by the back of her jacket.

"We're not calling him that. Be serious, would you?" Drake shook his head. "We'll call you Forrest Black. It at least doesn't sound like you were named by a racist stereotype, and since we met you in a forest..." He looked sharply to Kina. "Does this please you, Kina?"

"I applaud your eagerness to participate but he will not be bú xìng de!" She jabbed her elbow into Drake's ribs and pushed away from him, then huffed and looked toward the stranger. "I will call you Feng Hong."

"Nice word play."

Kina beamed, then looked to the newly-named Feng. "If you do not want easy, then Drake will pick a mission that is..." She clicked her tongue as for a rare moment, she spoke the Chinese because she felt uncertain with the English. "Màn shì kāi tóu nán mission."

Drake puzzled through the meaning, then dropped Kina and let her fall onto her rear. "You're mean, Kina." With that, he looked toward Feng. "I'll do a mission like that on my own rather than force it on another." He shook his head and withdrew the clip that held his portable portal.

He opened it and pulled the beaded yarn loop, then tossed it against a still-standing wall. It flew true and became elliptical, and the moment it pressed flat to the wall, a room became visible. A man who appeared Native American (and several similar-seeming young men) glanced up and smiled. "I'm glad to see you took a partner, Drake." His smooth voice sounded like perfectly-brewed tea, and the scent that emerged from the portal was not one type of tea or herb, but many.

Drake entered and hooked a finger through, then pulled the portal shut behind him until only his finger was visible, and then it was gone.

Kina, already back on her feet, beamed at Feng. "And now we are rid of him, so let's track the woman who was with him!" She reached for the man's wrist, eager to nose into Drake's business.
 
These two were quite.. Excited over their chance to name him it seemed. Usually he met two kinds of people, those who just threw a name out and those who took their time thinking about it for a few minutes, hours or even days before deciding on something they saw fitting. Never had he seen two people argue about which name to give him though. This one was certainly new.

The first one was probably the worst name anyone had given him so far, say what you want about giving him a female name, but at the very least Emily was a pretty name. Could the second one even be considered a name? Once upon a time it was normal for people to be named after things around them, but now a days most countries he visited seemed to have gone away from that formula.

Feng Hong. It was a passable name, and it actually sounded like a name as well. Now, while he had been through China quite a few times, he had never cared to stay there long enough to learn their language, so he probably missed out on some great meaning there.

Before Feng could get the chance to comment on anything that had been discussed so far, the man, Drake, tossed something against a wall and a room opened up in the air. Feng's eyes must have been as big as dinner plates at that point, this was definitely something he had never seen before. It was quite... Fascinating. He knew though that for every thing they showed him, there would be one less thing for him to be in awe and wonder for. Eventually there would be nothing new again and he would be back in his miserable routine again. Though at the very least he'd get a little big of entertainment from these two it seemed. Not that it would last long. It would only be a moment for him before everything had been seen. That's what happened when you lived for thousands of years. Time started rushing past too fast.

"Eh? Woman?" He said surprised. There had been no woman before the explosion, and Kina had been healing a good distance away from her friend, so how could she have seen a woman with him? Feng hadn't been able to see any sign of life among the rubble. "Are you sure there was a woman here? Didn't look like anyone survived." He commented, slightly wondering if she might have hit her head, though he did follow her either way.
 
Kina grinned and pointed to her nose. "I can smell her. She was here." Her eyes narrowed with excitement, and she licked her lips. "She was very, very here."

Holding his wrist with a lazy grip, Kina led the way towards where Feng discovered Drake, then looked around, as smiley as ever.

"She was here." Kina released Feng's wrist and clasped her hands behind her back. "Do you have a guess what happened?" Her eyes shone bright with curiosity as she bounced closer to the pile of rubble Feng found Drake alongside.
 
"What are you, a bloodhound?" Feng mumbled. This woman was quite strange. And why was she holding him like a little kid? Did she think he would disappear in the forest if she didn't keep a close eye on him? It was he who was asking them for their services to begin with, so it wouldn't make much sense for him to just run off now.

"You're asking me even though I have no idea who she is, or what relation any of you have with her." He pointed out. "If I had some context I might be able to make some guesses, but I have no idea if this is even a friend or foe. As far as I know she could have raped the guy and then ran off. Makes as much sense as anything else when you don't know who you're talking about." He wasn't going to play a guessing game without getting a single clue. If he had been a mind reader, maybe he would have taken a shot at it.
 
A bloodhound? She liked that. It suited her well.

Thankfully, rather than make it awkward with silence or a shrug, he began to speak. The man was clearly both imaginative and seemed to want to avoid that tendency.

She released his hand as she turned her head toward him. "I am, and so far I have the context here that her presence shocked him, and she was like Dlake and I." She stuffed her hands into her pockets, hips tilted forward as she tilted her head side to side whimsically.

"She didn't hurt him, or we would have known. Based on the blood smear and the dust, she pulled him from underneath that rubble." She continued to bop head and hips, almost like dancing to a silent tune, before she looked toward him. "What do you see?" As ever, her beaming face offered only her excitement and joy.
 
Feng raised an eyebrow. "Quite frankly I don't understand why you don't just ask him about it." He said with a sigh. "You're friends right?" It wasn't like they were trying to figure out something about enemies that would never talk. But whatever. He was used to entertain the young, even though most of that entertainment was other things than mindless brain exercises.

"So she pulled him out of the rubble, which made it easier for any comrade of his to find him or for him to heal and then walk away, but she did not stay to help him further or to alert anyone of his whereabouts, which means there's a possibility she didn't wish to be seen by anyone." He speculated. A person just passing by was quite out of the question, there was no reason for a stranger to help someone in the rubble and then just run off. On top of that, she had mentioned that the woman had shocked Drake. How she knew that was anyone's guess. "If it was shocking for him, it might be a former friend, or more likely a lover or family member. Someone he hasn't seen for a long time." Now he had a few pieces of the puzzle, but it wasn't nearly enough to put anything together.

"If I were to guess from what I have right here, I would say they knew each other long ago, had a fallout for whatever reason and now are on different ends of a conflict, which is why he was shocked to see her helping him. That conflict probably has something to do with you as well, considering she did not wish to be seen by anyone close to him. She helped him because of their past but had no intentions of fixing what was broken between them, so she left." When speaking in such broad terms, it was no wonder that some was correct.

Humans often followed a certain pattern. Whether it was siblings or lovers or friends, something could easily tear them apart, but that did not mean feelings disappeared between them. When you saw the same patterns repeat themselves with different people over the decades, it wasn't that hard to guess them. Of course he had no idea how big that conflict actually was. He could imagine that they had a lot of enemies, it wasn't necessary that she was with those who tried to destroy the universe, and quite frankly he didn't expect it to be on that level of fallout.

"That would at least be my guess for a normal human being based on this evidence. You guys aren't exactly normal though, so maybe I'm projecting a bit much." Funny coming from him. As if he hadn't gone through the same patterns at least a few times during his life. "There's of course the possibility of him being in a conspiracy with the enemy. But it makes such a short and boring theory."
 
Kina grinned, then clapped happily. "Oh, good! Good, good. Can you tell which way she went?" The woman's smile told a tale of already knowing.

As if to explain herself, she rolled her shoulders in a lazy shrug. "I want to see what talents you have, since Drake is secretive."

To the sensitive nose, the direction was obvious: into the trees not far away. The less sensitive nose could smell burnt meat. The sensitive eyes could see the breaks in undergrowth that marked the path the woman took from Drake and into the woods. Those with merely average vision would likely struggle until they approached the disturbed area. Granted, from her position, Kina could see the edge of a boot-print.

Hearing like a Hunter's could pinpoint a place ahead that was too silent, but a regular person? Unlikely.

Kina swayed absently, almost snake-like as she let her eyes rest on Feng. "Let me see, yes? If you are coming with, we must give Drake no reasons to object outside of his own asocial habits."
 
This woman... She was definitely just testing him. As if he had any special talent to show off. Except for his inability to die, he was completely normal. Maybe a bit wiser than the average person, though that could be contributed by his old age, but there really wasn't anything that stood out about him. Depending on how active he had been, he could be skilled at different things, but when he didn't use that thing for a long time, his muscle memory faded. Once he had been a great sword fighter, but now he hadn't touched a sword for hundreds of years. If he picked one up now he would be a bit better than the average person after a few practice moves but not nearly as good as an expert, and it would take him half a lifetime to get his former skills back.

"The only talent I have is that of survival, unfortunately. Just because I have lived a long life doesn't mean I'm talented. I'm no more talented than any other human I've met." Feng told her, even though he was clearly keeping an eye out for something that didn't fit into the picture. He even took some steps in his search. He had a hard time rejecting a puzzle.

"Footprint." He noted. "The size would be rather small for a man, but average for a woman." If he was actually speaking to Kina or just talked to himself was anyone's guess. He took a few steps forward, following the direction of the footprint. "The vegetation is slightly disturb from here to there. She must have entered the forest over there then. Considering the density of it, it shouldn't be too hard to track her. You can't help but break off small twigs, rip small parts of your clothes on larger ones or leave markings on the ground." Clearly this wasn't the first time he had been tracking someone or something. It had been a long time since last, but the vegetation made this quite a good mission to start with.... Not that he wanted to start tracking people again, he was just entertaining this crazy woman for a bit so she could lead him into death. That was all there was to it.

"A tip to cure asocial behavior. Lock him up for a couple of hundred years in complete isolation. After that, he won't want to be alone for a single day for the next hundred years. Might come out slightly mad at first, but that period passes eventually." It was probably hard for people to tell if Feng was serious or just joking, it wasn't like his voice changed much.
 
Kina ignored his assertions that survival was his only talent, especially how he said such things while looking for clues. Even without supernatural senses, he spotted the footprint, identified it, then began to follow after. Kina's eyes narrowed with pleasure.

Her smile faded slightly at the suggestion for dealing with Drake's asocial behavior. "Oh, that might not work," she murmured with a wave of her hand. "He feels like that all the time: isolated, I mean. I had to bully him into letting me come along." She huffed.

"I shouldn't be sharing secrets, but among Hunters, we sometimes find people who are... fated for us. These people are usually fellow immortals." Her lips curled into a smile. "Once we find them, there is no going back. Our hearts are linked. No break-ups, no avoidance, the love is written by the universe itself. It is inevitable, and even death will not stop the meeting for long."

She left the conclusions for Feng to draw and changed the subject. "Let's follow that trail, yes? I can think of very few reasons she might be here, if you are correct in your assumption that they knew each other."

And oh, he was.
 
"Fate huh." Feng mumbled. "I've already met and lost my fated one, and as far as I know, fate only give you one." He told her. It was definitely a statement that whatever she was thinking was not going to happen. There was no way he would become linked with anyone ever again. Without answering her, he just followed the trail. As he thought, there was many clues to her direction in the dense forest. The only problem for him was that it was a bit dark since the tree crowns blocked out the sun.

"Though technically, she has been reborn at least six times, so I guess fate has given me a few after all." As always, he continued the after thoughts and conversations one usually had in their head, outside of his head. He didn't even seem to notice that he had spoken that part out loud. Maybe she had been reborn again at this point. Who knew. She had a tendency to find him even though she didn't even know him in her new reincarnation. That was how he knew she was back in this world, she appeared out of nowhere in a new body, forced herself back into his life and then died.

It was always the same story. A never ending cycle. Would she finally get to rest if he was gone? If he died? Maybe. Maybe not. At the very least she didn't remember her other lives. She didn't remember how long she had lived. He was forced to remember everything for thousands of years before they started to fade. He was quite jealous over that.

"So I'm guessing your buddy hasn't found his fated one yet? Or is he just rejecting the universe's decision?" He asked, not the least surprised if it were to be the latter. Heck, if Feng truly had met his fated one, he was actively rejecting her at this point. He was far too tired of their 'tragic romance' to care about it anymore. At this point, if she found him, he just got rid of her immediately before she could hurt him again. That was what happened last time. He ripped her heart out without a second thought. It certainly hurt, but not as much as it would if he spent fifty years with her, watching her slowly pass away in his arms.
 
He didn't quite catch on, it seemed. Too wrapped in his own tragedy, though she couldn't blame him. Often, a Hunter's spirit died with their mate, only to revive after they realized that the mate was reborn.

"Hm. The simple solution to that problem is to stop her from aging," Kina hummed absently as she let him lead the way through the forest. "But, if you must know, Drake's mate died. He was very close to realizing he'd met her, but she was either eaten alive or crushed by the earthquake when we were freed from our old masters." She closed her eyes.

"I have reason to believe she was reborn, but he's not realized yet because she's currently underage. Don't tell him, though: knowing when the mate is too young can lead to bad things." She shook her head and frowned. "Drake is not nearly so jaded as you that he truly wants his death, he just doesn't know what to do with himself. It's easy to see, after you've watched people for ages with special attention to the ones that do stupid things."

Her smile, completely faded now as she walked behind Feng, started to creep back. "But enough of heartbreak, fate does as it does, and resistance is useless. I am of the opinion that it is best to accept and take advantage of what is offered, because a positive attitude breeds good effort and great success—" she cut off suddenly and grabbed Feng by the shoulders and pushed herself forward until her chest rested against his back. "Shh."

Up ahead, Kina's sensitive ears heard pacing. "Move quietly," she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath against Feng's ear.
 
Stop her from aging? He could never give her such a fate. Why force her into the life he did not desire himself? With or without her, he was not interested in living. Even if she did not die, everyone else would. The world was crumbling around him and all he could do was watch. What was the point?

Before he could argue against her, Kina interrupted herself and pulled him down. He didn't see anyone, nor did he hear anything. How could she tell that they were so close they needed to keep quiet? Oh, whatever.

"What are you planning to do?" It was more a motion of the lips rather than actual sounds. Was she thinking about just grabbing the girl, throw her on the ground and force her to talk once they found her? Guess that was a plan, though maybe not the most decent one.
 
Kina tilted her head, then shrugged and whispered back, barely audible against his ear. "I dunno, didn't think she'd actually be nearby. She's been very elusive. Wait here for thirty seconds while I snare her? Then you can come be nosy, if you want." As the words faded to silence, so too did her presence an touch.

For a brief instant, a flash of seven eyes moved past him: the briefest blur, and possibly nothing more than bugs zipping by his periphery.

Kina arrived in a clearing ahead at a casual walk, and Hegga whipped around to stare at her.

"Oh, cunts," Hegga swore, dark skin going pale as she turned. One foot dug into the soft earth, but caught. Her shin-length braid flew up into the air as her face slammed into the moss below.

Leisurely, Kina approached the prone woman, and she pressed her boot against the back of Hegga's neck. She placed her weight down, and though Hegga struggled, her body refused to lift.

The Chinese woman reached down and wound Hegga's braid into a bun, then secured it with a chopstick.

"If you're going to keep your hair long, a braid is a dangerous handle to offer. Someone less kind would use it as a leash," Kina scolded. From below, Hegga grunted, but remained still.

Silence reigned, and the last of the thirty second head-start passed. Kina watched the edge of the clearing, waiting for Feng so he wouldn't miss out. She didn't intend for a show, but he was observant, and an observant person might catch cues she missed, though missed signs were rare for the second intelligence officer to the Hunters. Rare didn't mean entirely absent.
 
Noisy? What did she think he was, a child? Feng started to count the seconds. Thirty seconds was nothing. Once he had counted to 1576800000 seconds while waiting to be let out. After that he stopped counting and just waited. Thirty seconds was barely a breath short. And so the time was up.

"I didn't take you for the type to randomly abuse women. But then again, I have only known you for five minutes, so I guess I shouldn't assume things." The scene he arrived to wasn't what he had expected. In his mind, finding out what two people had done together rarely involved pushing someone down to the ground and holding a foot to their neck.

"I'm guessing she's not much of a stranger to you considering the treatment." He pointed out. Had this woman known all along who she was chasing? Or had she just realized it once she saw the girl? If it had been a stranger, most people would ask first and kick down later. But then again, he had no clue how this woman operated.
 
"Don't worry, she's fine. She's just bigger than me, so I'm pinning her," Kina's broad smile lacked entirely any sign of anger or aggression, while below her, chin against the soft ground, Hegga reached in vain to try and grab at Kina's legs. The Chinese woman responded only by shifting her feet, though she didn't look down.

"Hey, ngh, gimmie a hand?," Hegga begged after a few moments as she tried again to grab at one of Kina's ankles. "Maybe distract her a little?" She grunted as her grasping found air, but tried again.

Kina huffed, then sat on Hegga, knees rested against the muscular woman's upper arms. She lifted Hegga's head and turned it so Hegga was at least not wholly face down, nor forced to speak between clenched teeth.

Slanted eyes turned toward Feng, and Kina beamed. "You were right, she is a friend who went astray, but she went very far astray, but I am not mad."

The dark-skinned woman went suddenly still. A glance back at her captor revealed fear in her eyes.
 
Feng raised an eyebrow. "A hand?" He asked the girl. "What would be in it for me? I doubt you can give me anything I would be interested in. I only help those who can give me what I want. I haven't done charities for centuries." Not that he had been around people enough to find people in need.

"For some reason I don't really believe you right now." Feng replied to Kina. It wasn't so much Kina's expression that gave it away, but the girl who looked horrified as the words left the Asian woman's mouth. "Aah, this situation reminds me of when I was captured in Babylon. I also had a woman sitting on top of me at the time. When they realized I healed extremely fast, they started to cut off my fingers, small pieces at a time, like when you cut up meat for soup. Then when there were no fingers left, they let them grow out and started over. It's a very painful process, especially when they figure out your exact healing speed. But having a beautiful woman on top of you does make up for the pain, doesn't it." Anyone who had been around Feng for a longer time would know that suddenly talking about ancient memories was normal for him, no matter how gruesome, but someone who didn't know him would probably take this as an intimidation technique. There was certainly some truth to that as well, he might have wanted to intimidate her to make her talk faster, but he wasn't really thinking of doing anything. He'd leave it all to the woman claiming she could kill him.

"So, what are you going to do? Just sit on top of her for a few days until she talks, or did you actually have a plan?" He asked, getting out of his reminiscing moment.
 
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