World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  When order had been restored enough, the prize was given to Gon and he took the praise from the crowd for a long time. Catigernus was given his prize as well and told Gon he would like to see him again the next year. Gon didn’t know if he ever would come back and only said until next time they meet. When Gon was able to leave, he couldn’t wait to see his friends, who were waiting for him outside. They met up, and all hugged and congratulated Gon for the win. People were going crazy still, and for those that had won big today, the night began with many expensive drinks. Others from the private rooms were able to see Gon, and some were happy to have seen such a fight. Others were, of course, angry that they had lost money, but many must have bet on Gon as there were a lot of happy faces.

  Mr Pan invited them to his house, and since he was part owner, he could get out without any problem. For the next couple of hours, they partied through the night. But something else that had never happened to Gon also occurred this night. While he spoke to some of Mr Pan’s friends, Senji grabbed a hold of him and pulled him with her. Not sure what was going on and a little drunk, Gon could only follow. She headed off to a secluded part of the building and opened a door. She pulled him in and as he had his back to her in the room wondering why she had taken him inside, he could hear her drop something on the floor.

  When he turned back he instantly became sober. Senji was completely nude and told him she would not take no for an answer. Gon smiled and then swept his drink in one go. From outside, Jay was walking around looking for his friends and heard some noises from one of the rooms. Before he could figure out what they were, Bianca came rushing and told him he had no business there. He apologised and left quickly while Bianca stood smiling. It was her who told Senji that she could borrow one of the rooms and would make sure they were left alone. The night continued with Gon and Senji finally emerging. They were holding hands and Jay raised a glass to Gon for his victory. They were all tired and soon, the party had to finish.

  When they finally were able to get home, it was morning and they fell asleep right away. The following day was relaxed, and Gon sat quietly while he ate. Senji looked at him and said he would now be famous in the city. Gon said nothing but knew she was right. He had thought about it, and it would be hard then to stay without having attention directed towards him. He looked up and brought up the topic of leaving. Jay had already finished his job and had no interest in returning to the gambling rooms. He had fun, he said but he didn’t feel this was what he wanted to do or the city he wished to stay in. They had previously talked about going to the kingdom, and he raised his intention to join the guards at the castle.

  Senji said she was finished with Shetana and wished to leave as soon as possible. Gon looked up at them both and smiled. He stood up and proposed they leave right away and head towards the kingdom. Everyone was happy, and Senji hugged Gon and he spun her around. They packed whatever they thought would be useful and brought it down to the wagon. Jay had left for the old lady Rinea and told her he would leave. She was sad but happy for his victory in the fights. She said he was welcome anytime he wanted. Rinea walked with him to the house and said hello to his friends. When she saw the carriage, she asked if they really would go with the small carriage. Gon said it was small but good. Rinea told them one of the people in the gambling room was a carriage maker and made good money on it. Jay knew who she was talking about and wondered if maybe they could ask for a trade as it was true that the carriage was then low on room.

  Senji also said it couldn’t hurt to upgrade. So, they took the advice of the lady, and after giving her key back, they said good bye and thanked Rinea for her kindness. They arrived at the carriage makers who knew all about who they were. He shook Jay’s hand and congratulated Gon for the victory. He looked at the old carriage and agreed with Gon that it was a great carriage. He surprised them with not offering a new carriage but to extend the one they already had. It was not only cheaper, he said, but an easy thing to do. He told them he could be done before the evening and Gon was happy to accept the offer.

  When they later returned in the evening, the carriage maker showed them a bigger carriage with good protection from the elements. It was easy to see it was the same old wagon but an addition that looked strong. They paid the difference, and they agreed to let Senji drive the carriage out so the less people as possible in the city would recognise them. Senji drove the carriage well, and when they had left the entrance to the city, Gon and Jay came out, and they looked at the great city of Shetana that they could still hear. Much fun and experiences had been made during the visit, and there was some sadness for leaving. But more so as they looked at each other, they felt happy to be on another adventure.

  First Encounter of the Bounty Hunter

  They were on the road surrounded by forest, and there had been five days since they left the great city. It had been slow since none of them were in a hurry. They had been stopping a lot and never stopped talking about everything that happened. The trophy won by Gon moved around in the back of the bigger carriage they now had. Jay’s trophy was not as big, but he got no less praise, and Gon could not have been prouder of his friend. They all found the remarkable turn of events that happened in the arena amazing. Senji got to see the girls she helped win the team battle and was so happy they asked her for help in the beginning of coming to Shetana. The portrait that was painted of the four girls was still packed in paper so it would keep well until they could put it up. She wondered how long it would be until they found somewhere nice to stay.

  The sunlight was slowly getting less, and they decided to stop before it became too dark to see. They all helped with setting up camp, and then they collected wood for the fire. ‘Collecting wood was easy in the forest, but what about food,’ said Gon. Maybe there were some berries or nuts. If they were lucky, they could find some smaller animal they might catch. Jay walked one way and Gon another. Jay searched around the camp with a knife he bought in the city on his side, but since there was nothing of interest, he walked a little further, but was still able to see the camp behind him.

  He walked further still, and soon, he couldn’t see the camp but he knew where it was. He had walked up to a road he found, but this one seemed to go another direction than what they were travelling. He thought to himself that he had to go back since there was nothing there. And besides, the sun was almost down so he better get back before it became so dark he could possibly trip. Even if the sun was no longer in the sky, the colour of the sky hadn’t yet turned black. Maybe Gon had more luck, he thought and started walking back. Suddenly, he heard something behind him on the road. The noise was coming closer, and Jay ducked down and hoped for it to be an animal that he could take down. He soon realised it was not a noise from some forest animal, but rather from a person, and then he saw him. The man that was running had a frightened look in his face, and he kept looking back as he ran as if something was chasing him. Jay couldn’t see anybody behind but looked curiously on.

  When the man was almost by him, he saw a shadow coming from almost nowhere got in front of the running man. The man stopped suddenly and fell backwards to breathe heavily. The wind had picked up, and there was a slight chill in the air. Jay saw the man raise himself up and draw his sword against the individual standing in front of him. The person in front had a robe with a hood and stood quietly. But the man was screaming at the hooded figure that showed no movement. The man started to wield his sword but there was still no movement from the other one. The man charged and when he was just upon him, the hooded person took a step to the side and lunged a kick from the side so hard the man fell to his knees and coughed. The hooded figure stood behind the man. The wind threw a strong puff and the hood was blown off.

  Jay, who had been watching it all, then looked upon a young woman with big green eyes, who looked to be in her early twenties. She had high boots that had sharp spines in the back. The wind flipped her black hair, and she looked like a sorceress and warrior in one. She walked behind the man and said
to him that he knew himself what he was guilty of and asked if he had any last words.

  The man spit on her shoe and said the Utame Brotherhood would finish her off so just get on with it. She took a stand back and released a powerful kick so hard that Jay could hear the neck snap off the man who fell to the ground. Jay knew not to meddle in other people’s business and tried to stay quiet. She walked around the man and looked at him. She then wiped the spit off from her shoes on his shirt. She, all of a sudden, spoke and said, ‘Come out then,’ and she knew he was there hiding amongst the bushes.

  Jay froze first and then tried to take a step back. But stepped on something that made a noise so he stayed still. She repeated that if he didn’t come out, she would come in and drag him out. Jay didn’t know what to do as he had left his sword at the camp. The young woman was obviously a skilled warrior, and she were bound to catch up if he ran away. The last thing he wanted was to endanger the others. He walked slowly out from the bushes but left the knife in the holster since he didn’t want to look like a threat. He then stood in front of her looking a little to the side towards the man who now lay dead.

  She was a little taller than Jay but not by much. She told him to look at her. His eyes went up to her face, and he was a little nervous. She asked why he was there with a strong stare in her eyes. Jay said he was hunting for food and happened to stumble upon them. She asked Jay if he knew who she was but Jay said no and shook his head. ‘Good,’ she said to him and Jay didn’t really know what to do but said sorry. She smiled and grabbed the chin on Jay and asked his name. Jay introduced himself and the young woman kept smiling. She said he looked cute and let go of him. She went back to the body and reached down to get something that was around the then dead man’s neck. She needed something that could identify him, she said and cut it off to put inside of a small pouch.

  As she started to walk away, she said that the man was not nice and was wanted for rape and murders so he had no need to feel sorry for him. Jay watched her disappear and returned to the camp to tell his friends what just happened. When he came back, Gon had made food and had found a wild pig. They wondered what took so long and Jay told them what happened. They talked and wondered who she was. Perhaps the man had a bounty on him, Senji said and wondered if there were many female bounty hunters. While they talked, they enjoyed the food and spent much of the night talking about the many things that happened during their time in Shetana.

  Owe a Life

  The three friends were on the way to the great kingdom, and they had stopped at a nearby village. Another two days were needed to reach the kingdom. Jay and Gon sat outside a small café eating waffles while Senji was walking around in the village. They talked about the road ahead and they might have a new life starting. Gon said if Jay could not get a job with the guard then he could work as a grater in his restaurant since he needed a handsome person, and they both laughed. Jay looked around and saw a sign of a tailor that worked outside the village in a neighbouring village. He thought to himself that perhaps it would be a good idea to pick up some new clothes before coming to the kingdom, and with the prize money, he could afford to look good and make a good impression. Jay shared his idea and Gon agreed, but the tailor was on the other road leading away from the kingdom. Jay suggested that he travel alone and would try to catch up with them later or meet them in the city of the Grasoll kingdom.

  So close to the kingdom, it was bound to be a safer place for people to be walking alone, and Gon said it was up to Jay. Senji joined again and got informed on what was the plan. She hesitated and wanted them to go with Jay, and rather add an extra day but Jay insisted on them to not waste a day. He promised to be careful and would catch up to them later. Senji finally said okay and when they finished eating. Jay got ready and started walking to the other small village. Out on the road, Jay had then been walking for a couple of hours, and he had spotted the village in the valley below. He walked down the road to it and got some nice clothes that look made for him and thanked the tailor for his services. He felt the luck continue because he didn’t have to wait to have his clothes made. Because he was just the right size for some clothes the tailor already possessed, he could just pick them up right away.

  Jay had almost walked the whole way up back on the road when he heard some noise coming from one of the houses on the hill. The noises sounded angry, and Jay took cover behind a tree. It was none of his business, he thought but what if he could help. Or perhaps, the female bounty hunter was there again. He hoped not as he didn’t want her to think he was following her. A young man in his own age ran out, and he looked scared. He had rope tied around him which was an immediate cause for concern. Another man came behind him and laughed as he was chasing after. He said he won’t get away and the scared young man fell down as he looked behind him. The chasing man held a sword and was aiming it at his target that was able to speak finally after his mouth piece came off when he fell.

  He asked the man to leave him alone, and he demanded to know why he wanted to kill him. He heard him laugh and say he was only doing this because he wanted to and raised his sword. Jay came out and told him to stop what he was doing. Both of them looked at Jay, and the man smiled then said it must be his lucky day since he got to kill two people this day. He was about to strike the young man on the ground and told Jay to wait there for his turn, but Jay would not stand still. He threw a rock that hit the attacker on the head so he dropped down the sword to his side while holding his other hand over his bruise. The blood was coming out under his hand and the young man on the ground was able to get up and ran behind a tree located behind Jay.

  The man said he would kill Jay first and deal with the other one later. Jay looked at him and drew his sword. The man walked towards him and swung his blade towards Jay. They exchanged blows, but there was no doubt that Jay had the control and proceeded to cut his opponent over the leg so he went down on one knee. He screamed in pain but was soon up on the leg again. It was bleeding, but he continued like it was nothing. A couple of strikes, and Jay cut him in the arm so he lost his sword. He pulled a knife with the other hand and tried to stab Jay as he came close but with little effort, Jay struck him on the side of the body. He was then bleeding from multiple places, and it truly hurt then. The man’s voice changed and became more like a mix of words and it was clear the man was losing a lot of blood. He still did not give up and tried to charge at Jay but walked very slowly then. The injured man stopped and instead walked to his intended target which was still hiding and managed to get out a single word which was kill. Jay walked easily up to the man and cut him behind the knee. With this strike, the man fell to the ground. He still crawled towards the tied up young man that was then on his feet and had been able to get loose but was forced to duck as the man threw the knife at him.

  The bleeding man lay down and told Jay he would kill him. He grabbed a rock but when he raised his arm, the young man stabbed the knife he got thrown at him in the back of the head of the attacker. He was dead, and Jay was looking at the one he just saved who was feeling his heart pump very hard. Jay wondered if he needed medical help, but he answered no. He introduced himself as Kane, and that he was heading to the castle to enlist in the guards. The man lying dead tried to rob him before, but he managed to run away. However, it seemed like he must had followed him home. He had been on the road an hour before he was attacked. Because he didn’t want to meet the man again, he had gone home and waited for the next day. His family was attending a wedding so he was alone and probably the man thought he could kill him without anyone knowing. He thanked Jay for coming to help, and they moved the dead body further out on the road where then another couple of people had stopped.

  They said they would send word to the kingdom watch patrol that was not too far off. Jay and Kane were cleaning up inside of the house, and Kane offered Jay some food. They sat outside when a guard came up and asked about the man and told them after that he was wanted for several killings around the kingdom. The guard also sai
d there was a bounty set out for him, and if they wanted, they could receive the payment for it. Jay nodded and said he could probably need some more money, but he was not really in the bounty hunting business. When the guard heard about the plans to enlist in the castle, he said, they would be a great asset to the forces. ‘If you managed to take down those that hurt others then you would do great,’ he said, then rode back to the other guards.

  Kane and Jay decided to join each other and walked to the kingdom together. Well on the road, Jay told about the tournament and his friends. Kane was impressed and said he would like to meet them. They walked until midnight and they both went to sleep under the stars. It was warm during night in the summer and a fire was not needed. They could sleep the whole night and continue on in the morning. They passed a last small village before the kingdom, and when standing up on the highest point of the road, they were able to see the great Grasoll kingdom that looked even majestic in the night fall. They still had a long way to go and decided to stay at Kane’s cousin that had a house close by. They talked and celebrated. They were close, and when they had gone to bed, Jay looked outside from the window that was next to his bed and looked upon the majestic kingdom that would house him for a long time, he hoped.

  In the morning, they started walking after having been treated with a breakfast that was made by the wife of the house and was very nice, Jay thought. As they walked down, Kane said in a serious tone that he really appreciated that Jay came to help and without him he would be dead, and not on the way to the kingdom. Jay said it was no problem but Kane said he would, before he died, pay back Jay for saving him. Jay said he did not need to pay him back, but Kane said he had no say in the matter, and they laughed together.

  They arrived at the gates, and Jay, who had not been to the kingdom before, looked like a kid in a candy store, and Kane told him it looked even better inside. They ran in, and Kane told Jay where the sign in for the guards were and pointed to a direction of the city inside the walls surrounding it. Jay said he would need to find his friends first, and Kane told Jay that if Gon wanted to open a restaurant, he would have to go to the judge’s office which was in a house further down the road. They agreed to see each other at the guard house later, and Jay took off to the office where permits were given.