[yaguro]

If there was anything Yaguro knew, it was weapons. Firearms, blunt objects, piercing weapons, projectiles; If it could kill, the vigilante had at the very least studied it. Despite hardly using anything other than his trust bat, shotgun, and sidearm, he liked to stay proficient in what he could; He kept a small arsenal hidden under the floorboards of his apartment, just in case he needed some different armaments.


The best place to practice with his ‘toys’, he’d found, was the isolated woods; Though isolation was getting more and more rare in Japan, Yaguro still had his ways. You have to go deep in the forest, deep enough to where the sounds of society are not even echoes, and only the small chatter of nature breached your ears.


This is where Yaguro was now. Setting down a large duffel bag, he unzipped it and laid out a weapon dealer’s wet dream on a tarp;

Six pistols, a shotgun, two compound bows with arrows, a set of ten hatchets, a giant pile of shuriken and throwing knives, a handful of homemade pipe bombs, two matching katanas, and a set of brass knuckles. But this bounty didn’t compare to the magnus opus that was slung over the punk’s shoulder; A rocket launcher, metal gloriously shimmering from the sun. He’d gotten it from a big time gang leader who had wanted him to use it on some rivals, but he’d never gotten the chance.


Pulling out a burner flip phone, Yaguro shot out a text message to Rayder, his vigilante ally.

“Rayder, can you get to these coordinates? I got some fun stuff to show you.”

Sending his map location, Yaguro hoped that Rayder would be down for this sort of thing.

[rayder]

A day to himself, at last. Rayder had been on the schedule constantly, it seemed. Day after day in the kitchen, followed at least weekly with his all nighters on the streets. It was draining the giant man, at this point. Not to mention the additional vigilante thorn in his side that he was trapped with taking much of his mind and worry. Still, today, it was time to forget about it all. The only people around him were the ones he loved the most; his family.

The Silent Cartographer was in his own home, relaxed enough to even have his prosthetic removed, deciding to have a moment to close his eyes, a book covering them. It was peaceful, quiet, and calming for a bit. Trevor, their large dalmatian laid on the carpet, seeming like a guard dog for his sleeping master. Even with his leg hanging over the edge of the couch, he felt himself being able to drift off. Yet, it seemed a tiny person didn’t understand the meaning of “peace” for too long as the book was pulled from his eyes, and a freckled face stared down at the tall man before the girl began signing to him.

“{Papa, it’s not time to sleep! You tell me when the sun is up, we are up! Please put your leg on! I want to go outside to play with you!}” Dory Ruth ran over to her father’s leg, attempting to pick up the heavy device, only able to knock it over and stared at Rayder with a slight look of guilt and eagerness in her cocoa brown eyes. He sat up a bit, adjusting himself with his eyebrows raised and trying to hold his laughter as the spotted dog got up, sniffing around and licking the little girl before going to Rayder.

“{Dory Ruth, love, papa has worked alot this week and is very tired. He has done alot of work recently to keep a beautiful smile on your and daddy’s faces. Remember how I promised this weekend I’d take the morning off for us to spend together?}” A slightly sad nod was returned to him. “{Well, papa needs to have all the rest he can to give you the best day we can then. But always know, papa loves his little lady, ok?}” All he got was a pouting nod before she came to him, hugging him. This sweet girl… the reason for everything he did… the reason to keep this world safe and teach the monsters festering in it a lesson… all for his two loves… He would never let anything ever happen to them, even if it cost him his own life… Rayder kissed her head, holding her tight as another set of footprints came into the small living room.

“What are you two doing in here? I know the sound of that damn heavy leg hitting the floor too well.” David’s hand touched Rayder’s shoulder before signing to his daughter. “{What’s my little gem doing to her papa?}” The little girl ran to him, wrapping herself around his legs as he laughed, followed by the big dog sitting near him and waiting for his attention. “I guess there’s no rest in here today for you, Ray?”

“{Never expect to with this little tornado running and our spotted trail about, but I don’t mind our girl.}” Rayder silently chuckled, trying to sneak his signs to his husband without Dory Ruth seeing. This made David laugh more, picking up the curly haired girl and holding her close.

“I’m going to make some lunch, and I’ll take this one with me. Why don’t you go into the bedroom and rest. Want the crutch like the doctor said or are you going to hop like a damn pogo stick as always?” A humorous scowl spread on Rayder’s face as he gestured to Dory Ruth to cover her eyes, the little girl obliging before the giant flipped his husband off, David walking away laughing and Rayder staring after them with a bright smile across his face.

“God, you’ve ALWAYS been sickeningly sweet with your love, Stringbean! Even with me, you were like that!” Blaze had been sitting on the loveseat near Rayder the whole time, a smirk on his face. Rayder smirked back, flipping him off, as well. “Awwww, I get the finger, too? You do love me!” The two laughed, Rayder hearing his own voice with Blaze’s before he got up on his one leg, grabbing his phone. His smile and joy slowly faded away as an unknown number messaged him. Opening it up, the Cartographer nearly threw his phone across the room when he saw the message.

“What? Let me see.” Blaze ran and peaked at the message. “... that FUCKING DICK! You already know who this is, don’t you?!”


“Oh, gee, I WONDER! I can’t BELIEVE he picked today to do whatever the hell he is doing!” There was no time to waste, at this point. He quickly messages back to Yaguro.

“If you even DARE message something like that again, you know I won’t hold back on beating your ass. You’re making it sound like something COMPLETELY different. Don’t ever DARE try to say something like that to jeopardise my relationship! I gave you instructions before how to message me. I will delete this message chain again because of this. I will head there, but this better be important.” Sending the message before deleting the whole thread, Rayder grabbed his leg, attaching it before walking into his bedroom, quietly lifting the floorboards under the dog's bed, grabbing a couple weapons from it and putting them into his regular bag he always took with him before hiding the safe again. Then he quickly went into the kitchen and nodded to his husband as he grabbed his car keys.

“... Ray, what’s wrong? Where are you going? I thought you were going to rest.”

“{David, I’m so sorry… remember that guy that asked me for sign language lessons?}”

“Yeah, the one who you said is kinda… well, not all there and a bit slow?”

“{He has free time, and he said that he won’t be off of his job for a bit, so… I promised I would help him… I’m so sorry, David… I PROMISE I won’t be back too late, and I’ll make sure we have a good night together. Ok}?” Kissing his head, David nodded to him as Rayder kissed Dory Ruth’s head before running out. Once again… out the door… David straightened his face for his daughter, who had an equally saddened look as Rayder was gone once again…


The drive was quite long, leading Rayder to a large area of forest. He had stopped before to put his suit on underneath his clothes in case this was an actual emergency instead of Yaguro just dicking around. However, whatever that bastard was planning, it was meant to be out of reach of anyone. Kind of reminded the giant man of his time training with his father and grandfather, only instead of being with trained mercenaries, he would be accompanied by an idiot ex-con. Either way, it had some nostalgia out here.

Rayder went to the trunk of his car, grabbing his bag and pulling out a pistol, blade, and a cigarette, lighting it and heading further to the coordinates, a trail of smoke following the giant from the . What he came upon could only be described as a poorly made artillery range, and the other vigilante looking nothing but proud at his creation. The cigarette nearly dropped from his mouth in confusion and anger. He turned to the other man, the confusion clear on his face as he just shrugged his hands, his whole body speaking louder than words and asking “What the fuck is this?!” Meanwhile, Blaze’s face had a hint of eagerness on it as they were surrounded by these weapons.

[yaguro]

Looking at the message from Rayder, Yaguro briefly wondered what his partner could mean by misinterpreting his message.
Then he burst out laughing, quickly remembering the man’s personal life, and how his message could’ve been interpreted. Oh well, more fuel to his affair excuse, should it come to that.
The punk just sent a quick thumbs up as a reply and reached into his bag once again, rusting around before finding a shaky bottle, eager to be used…

Upon Rayder’s arrival, it was clear the giant was confused. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot last time; That was on me. So…This is my way of trying to make up for it.”

Pointing out some of the trees, Rayder would be able to see that many of them were marked with targets, hastily spray painted on.
“Now, before you just call me an idiot and leave, just give this a shot. You wouldn’t believe how much of a stress reliever it is. Just try out a few of the weapons here, and if you don’t like it, you can go.”
Gazing over his arsenal, Yaguro picked out a hatchet he’d had his eye on; The urge to throw it had been overwhelming, but he had managed to restrain himself from having fun before his partner arrived.
Picking the hatchet up, he took aim at a tree, and gave it a toss, hitting the edge of the self made target.
“I come out here a lot to get practice in, and just relax.” He stated, letting another axe fly, this one hitting a little closer to the center.
“It’s a hell of a time.” Grabbing one more hatchet, Yaguro threw it, this time hitting his target dead on.
“You wanna throw three, see if you can beat my ‘score’?” He asked nonchalantly, already thinking about what weapon to try next.

He'd never been part of a team before, and hardly ever in partnerships, so teambuilding was new to him; The only thing he could think to do was share his favorite activity, and hope they would bond over it.

[rayder]

The anger inside Rayder was intense, him being dragged out to the middle of nowhere to play with some damn weapons on his day off. However… it didn’t project on his face much, mainly due to the fact that his eternal companion looked like a damn kid in a candy store.


“... Rayder, if you leave without blowing something up, or at the VERY least lighting something on fire, I won’t let you sleep for days.”


“Blaze, you can’t be serious! This is COMPLETELY ridiculous! Besides, you HATE the dick already! I know you’re a fucking psycho, you vandal, but look who we’re with!”

“But we haven’t messed around with any sort of weapon without boundaries or rules since before I died, and that was only with my knife and lighter on the school dumpster! Your granddad didn’t even let us just screw around! It was full training! I want to light some stuff up!!!” The excitement Blaze was showing caused Rayder to pinch his brow. It would look like the giant man was concentrating on something or showing more annoyance towards Yaguro.


“... It’s no wonder your pyromaniac ass went to juvie, Andrew, and a bigger wonder how I was able to avoid it being around you… FINE! I’ll do this to entertain you! But you better not say I don’t do things for you.” The redheaded man was giddy, causing Rayder to roll his eyes as he went to the axe. Simple target practice. Something Rayder could do with his eyes closed, and had to do many times. He backed up, a bit further than his fellow vigilante was and lazily threw the first axe, hitting it straight on the bullseye his first try. Walking back to the tree, he pulled the axe, walking further than the first throw, this time and with another one handed throw, hit it in almost the exact same place. Another bullseye. Before walking over, Rayder decided to put a smirk on. He walked further back, now holding the axe sideways before using alot more strength, throwing the axe. It wasn't aimed for the target, rather it flying forward at a sideways angle and severing the hilt of the axe just below the blade, the handle falling to the ground and the blade remaining in the wood above the thrown axe.


“That’s the cocky bastard I know!” Blaze said, already looking like he was having a blast. He looked with a confident look towards the smaller man, about to sign with confidence before remember Yaguro wouldn’t understand and pulling out his phone to message him.


“Can’t tell you how many months non-stop, morning to night I’ve spent on target practice. Probably one of my earliest training before I was allowed to proceed with more complicated tasks. It’s ingrained in my soul by now. Still, I’ve had to hide my skill alot, unless I’d gain some suspicion.” He wouldn’t admit it… but it felt good to do this kind of stuff again without any restrictions. Taking a puff of his cigarette, Rayde cracked his neck before going to the thrown axe, pulling the blades from the tree, dropping them, and grabbing the severed handle. He tossed it into the air, catching it and holding his phone in the other hand. “I’ll replace this.” He said before tossing it near Yaguro’s feet before observing the tarp, looking for a short while and picking up a few of the weapons before sending a message again.


“Hmm, homemade explosives, two binary cam compound bows, two H&K SFP9-M semi-automatic pistols, a Sig Sauer P320 9mm, two Beretta M9s, a Zastava CZ99 semi-automatic pistol, one stainless steel katana and one carbon steel katana,” He bent down lifting up the missile launcher and looking it over before finishing his message. “And one B-300 reusable anti-tank rocket launcher. A good collection of weaponry from a large number of countries. Though, with the brass knuckles, you might want to invest in a good pair of sap gloves. It’s what’s a part of my costume. Easier Much more accessible and easily concealed. Also, are your explosives using true C4, poor man’s c4, flash powders, Armstrong’s mix, or another explosive?”


“... Rayder, shut your nerd ass up and let’s get to DESTRUCTION!” Blaze stood over the missile launcher, nearly reaching for it himself out of urge, even if it wouldn’t do anything.


“Either way, a good set up. Must’ve hollowed out most of your floorboards to fit this collection. Ever curious about possibly modifying any of them? I’ll let you know it’s damn worth it..” He turned to Yaguro, putting his phone back in his pocket and cracking his back.

[yaguro]

Yaguro was flabbergasted at Rayder’s incredible aim; Part of him was impressed, but a larger part of him was frustrated.
“Show off.” He scoffed out, watching as the taller man examined his weapon collection. Hearing his phone buzz, he checked it to see a text from Rayder perfectly describing each weapon, before sending another message where he correctly guessed Yaguro’s method of storage.

“I have done weapon mods.” Reaching down, he grabbed his shotgun. “Sawed this one off for portability and accuracy.”
Wanting to both demonstrate and show off, he pointed the weapon behind himself and fired, most of the shells hitting directly on a marked tree.

The kickback from holding the gun wrong hurt a bit, but it was worth it. “As you can see, its effective.”
Thinking on Rayder’s other question, Yaguro realized he hadn’t put much thought into making his explosives. “I dunno what goes into those bombs. I buy kits from a guy, put them together, and they work.”
Emptying the shells from his shotgun, he tossed it back on the pile, and grabbed a P320 handgun. Loading it with a clip, he was about to grab the other to toss to Rayder when a devious thought crossed his mind. Lifting up one of the compound bows with his foot, he kicked it to his partner.
“You’re probably good enough to hit the same targets as me with a handicap, right?” He taunted. Aiming down his sights, Yaguro quickly and effectively unloaded a single bullet into five different trees, hitting a bullseye each time; All five targets a fair distance away. If Rayder wanted to hit each with a bow, he’d need insane accuracy.
Also, the fact that Yaguro was planning to prank the giant by shooting his final arrow out of midair, should he hit each of his other targets.

[rayder]

The giant man couldn’t help but smirk at Yaguro’s reaction to his accuracy. It gave him confidence that the time he spent training was worth it, going from school straight to training everyday for years. He listened to all the answers he gave, nodding as he let the man explain before responding. Blaze, on the other hand, looked like he was in agony from boredom, having to sit and listen to the technical part of this instead of getting to the actual fun. Rayder just ignored it, finally pulling out his phone to reply.

“The variation of modifications expands past a sawed off shotgun. Some of it does take a knowledge of engineering or someone with that knowledge to assist. For example, this knife.” Rayder reached into his bag, throwing a knife into the air and catching it before continuing his messages. “This is a regular blade that I modified into a wasp injector knife. Originally used for scuba divers in case of shark attacks, it works well against an overconfident assailant, as well. It’s meant for a last resort, since the damage from it is catastrophic.” Walking over to one of the watermelons that Yaguro had there, Rayder quickly stabbed into it, hitting a button in the blade’s hilt and shooting air into the fruit, causing it to explode. He then quickly and intricately sheathed the blade again, turning to the fellow vigilante and beginning to message again. “Even parts of us can be modified. Hell, I’m able to do everything I do because of modifications.” He tapped on his prosthetic. “The technology located in it is not seen even on the black market. One of a kind. After a bit, I’ll show some of it off.” His confident smirk was clear across his face as he stepped back, seeing the bow kicked over to him.

“Oh, hell yeah! Back to weapons, Stringbean!” Blaze stood next to his companion as he picked up the bow. Archery was one of the rare skills his mother taught him. All the same, he made sure to master it like any other skill. The man quickly and swiftly drew the bow, shooting the arrow and getting a perfect bullseye. Rayder walked to the next one, getting another perfect shot. This repeated a couple more times until he made it to the final target, his back completely turned to the other vigilante. Blaze was watching intently, but then saw something concerning… Yaguro raising the gun and preparing to aim again.

“RAYDER! HE’S GOT THE GUN AGAIN!” The redhead screamed, Rayder not wasting a moment, turning his heel and twisting his body 180 degrees, his drawn bow now aimed straight for the other man and an intense and angered stare aimed right for him. What the hell was this man trying to pull? He slowly stalked toward him, arrow still at the ready in case the smaller man tried anything. Finally, when he was close, Rayder quickly relaxed the bow and snatched the pistol, tossing it. He kept his eye on him for another second before quickly twisting, shooting the last arrow dead in the middle and chucking the bow at Yaguro.

“... Goddamn, that was hot, Stringbean.” Rayder threw a glance towards Blaze. “Hey, like it or now, and I KNOW you liked it, we were together.” Shaking his head, Rayder pulled out the phone.

“I don’t know what in your head thought it was a good idea to pull a pistol on me, but you better get some fucking brains before they end up splattered. Joke or not, it’s a goddamn stupid move.” It was clear it was some sort of dumb prank, but it was a stupid one when someone’s trained to be ready at a second's notice to stop any danger. 

[yaguro]

The punk was just a bit impressed at first with the build of the knife his friend pulled out, but that turned to pure awe as he saw what it could do.
“Ok, you’re making one of those for me.” He stated bluntly as he looked at the shattered watermelon remains and wondered how well it would work on a human.


As Yaguro had expected, Rayder was a savant with all types of weapons, the bow included. Just as he lined up his sights to hit the giant’s arrow, something unexpected happened; Somehow, Rayder saw his gun drawn, like he had eyes in the back of his head. Before he could react, Yaguro was on the ground, and needing to explain himself.
“Hey, look, look, you really think I’d shoot you? Was just going to shoot your arrow out of midair, ok? It would’ve looked cool.” As a show of good faith, he flipped the gun over, holding it for Rayder to take.

Whether or not he took it was up to him. In any case, Yaguro picked himself up, and moseyed back to the weaponry. “Come on….You want to see if the stuff I got off the black market is good or not?” He asked, trying to sound casual as he picked an armful of pipe bombs off the ground.
“I saved some good stuff to use it on…” Walking over to a patch of shrubbery while trying to keep his bundle of bombs from falling, he moved aside some staged greenery to reveal a few old washing machines. Walking to a safe distance away and motioning for Rayder to follow, he kicked another hiding spot, causing more foliage to fall and reveal a couple rusty, beaten up dryers.
“Whaddya say? Want to blow some shit up?” He asked, already lighting a pipe bomb. Picking his target, he threw the ignited grenade at a dryer with its lid open; It circled around the rim a bit, before finally sliding in with a CLANG. After about a second, fireworks. The front of the dryer was blown clean off, smoke coming out the inside.
“Your turn.” Yaguro smirked, holding a pipe bomb out for Rayder. “If you miss this, you get an H.” He was referring to the game of H-O-R-S-E, but didn’t know or care if his partner got that.

[rayder]

The confidence that this little man was giving Rayde was immense. From his skill to his arsenal, it put an actual genuine smile on his face, easing the tension between the two. He grabbed his phone, messaging.

“I’ll put it on the schedule. But remember, this thing is a last resort. I don’t want there to be news reports of petty criminals found dead with their heads or any parts of their bodies burst open.” Even after the little stunt that Yaguro pulled, however, he wanted to make this all a game. He clearly played dirty no matter the circumstance, and this rubbed the giant the wrong way. “Playing dirty while in our line is a dangerous thing. Pull that shit with the wrong person, your final resting place might become an alley from someone less level headed than me, and that’s saying something.” He watched the other vigilante go and move some shrubs away, revealing a few old dryers. Blaze’s excitement grew even more.

“FINALLY! FREE FOR ALL!” He was ready to watch things blow up in a frenzy of scattering shrapnel. One grenade was tossed into the dryer, getting it in before it exploded in all its glory, it smoking. “HELL YEAH! DO IT,S STRINGBEAN!” The other man yelled towards him. Rayder grabbed two of the pipe bombs, looking at them. This silly game would probably end the same as the others. Rayder smirked though, ready to give into Blaze’s eagerness. It was filling his head, at this point. Rayder pulled out his phone, messaging.

“Why should we just do games? Why don’t we just do what you really got me out here to do; blow shit up. I’m ready for a free for all.” Rayder reached into his own bag, pulling out a FAMAS F1, seeming like an older version, yet in immaculate condition. An heirloom from his grandfather. “Didn’t know what crap I was in for today, so I brought some fire power." A mischievous smile was spread across the giant’s face as he lit the pipebomb, lit a cigarette, and quickly and seamlessly loaded his weapon, bomb still in hand. The fuse was burning as Rayder waited for the perfect second.

“... OK, idiot, throw the fucking bombs!”

“One more second…” Rayder threw both bombs towards two of the dryers, them flying directly into the holes and immediately exploding before the man got into position, shooting the everliving hell out of the smoking remnants over and over again until it was riddled with bullet holes. Both dryers looked like they went through an absolute warzone when the large man was done.

“THIS IS WHAT I WANTED! FUCK YEAH!!! MORE!!!” Blaze was giddy with excitement and adrenaline. All of this was done before the cigarette ash even fell, the man standing and tapping it before quickly reloading, staring at it for a second before tossing it over to the other man before pulling out his phone.

“Weapon of the French military, I worked on it alot and made it more efficient and powerful. Still have some tinkering to do since I’m aiming to lessen the sound. Try it. Though, if you want this little 'game' to continue, I guess I covered two turns. I'd rather keep destroying all this crap.” He stepped back, arms crossed and smirking a large smirk. He hated to admit it, but this was fucking exciting! He got to be an absolute show off for once.

[yaguro]

“Playing dirty in our line of work is justified.” Yaguro reasoned, completely sure of himself. “We don’t have the luxury of the law on our side; If you have to go for a cheap shot, I say do it. Who’s gonna get mad, the criminals?”
To him, at least, it was a sturdy line of thought. Who the hell cared about fighting honorably, so long as you won?
“Yeah, the only reason you don’t want to play the game is because you’ll lose.” Yaguro stated, crossing his arms as the giant started to show off.

Though, watching how skillfully Rayder tossed the bombs, he started to think maybe if they were to play a game, it’d be his loss.
Catching the French firepower in his arms, the vigilante looked over the weapon; It wasn’t often he got to wield a gun of this caliber, usually having to stick with smaller firearms. Checking his phone quickly, he flicked off the weapon’s safety.
“I guess I’m fine just shooting stuff, especially since I get to use your shiny toys.” Lining up his sights, Yaguro unloaded on one of the washing machines, riddling it with bullets, each one landing with a THUNK on the side of the discarded machine.
“Ok now THAT felt good.” After the round was emptied, the punk took a minute to inhale the smoke from the barrel of the gun; Pure satisfaction.

“I got to play with your stuff, so I guess its fair I let you play with some of my best.” Walking over to the weapons, he motioned to the rocket launcher.
“Go ahead, try it out; I know a guy I can get more ammo from.”