Enemy of my enemy

Blaze had a puzzled look on her face. She wasn't prepared to fight another monster, certainly not at the moment. The man in front of her was more monster than human. He was human just a while ago, but it seems as if the enemy was just a little too much to handle. After all these years spent at Ravenhide killing monsters and running Kepp's errands, she hadn't come across anything as bizarre as that mutated siren or a person as interesting as the man standing in front of her.

She could barely stand after the fight; the thought that she had to fight him now tired her immensely until she heard him mumble something at her.

"Duck".

"Duck?"

The arrow flew at her face, and she only understood at the last second what he actually meant. She ducked as the arrow flew into the mouth of a stealthy siren that was about to strangle her from behind. This time, there was no explosion; the siren dropped dead behind her. GK's demonic arm was back to normal, the red flames finally dying out.

"Well, thanks for that, I thought I was going to have to fight you too," Blaze said while wiping her bloodied sword with a cloth.

"Were you following me?" he asked. He was grateful to her for saving him from the hypnotic singing, but this woman seemed suspicious, and he knew he had heard the name somewhere before. Before she could reply, he interjected

"You're the guild's top-ranked bounty hunter."

Yup, that's me, I'm glad you recognized me. I saw you take that bounty and was curious to…"

He drew his sword and lunged forward before she could finish, gaining momentum to land a quick blow, but the shoelaces on his right boot tangled with a stray thorny vine. He stumbled and lost his balance. She staggered back, surprised as he jumped and spun around in the air to regain balance, landing a few feet in front of her. She decided to finally fight back; this guy was unpredictable, and she thought that he could've been a huge help, but now she regretted her decision.

She unsheathed her sword and rushed forward towards him. Two blades swept over his head, almost trimming his hair as he ducked down. She was fast, and he couldn't see her movements clearly. He needed to predict her attacks. He managed to block her swift strikes, but they were becoming a little too overwhelming. He used a little extra force to push her away with his sword and readjust himself.

Blaze was amazed by what remaining energy she had left, she felt the adrenaline kick in just in time.

"You getting tired yet?" She asked, smirking.

"Maybe…," he replied. This time, he went on the offensive. Moving swiftly from side to side and confusing her before finally phasing behind her, bringing the blade to her neck. She blocked it and pushed his sword away with hers. She crouched and swept her feet in a half-circle, trying to hit his shins and trip him. He somersaulted backward with one hand on the ground, dodging her swipe.

"Guess I'm not the only fast one," she said, curling her lips into a half-smile. He unleashed his flames, eyes fiery and glowing. The blade of the golden sword reflected the image of the beautiful dancing yellow flames in his eyes. She felt the air around her change; a dangerous yet warm feeling surrounded her. He emitted some kind of weird energy, making the ground and everything around them vibrate.

He sprinted towards her left, his movements just a blur to her eyes. She tried to dodge his attack by moving a little to the right, but then she felt something scrape her left cheek, and half a braid fell to the ground. There was a shallow scratch on her cheek, and her waist-length, braided brown hair was now a few inches shorter and flowing freely, swaying wildly in the wind.

"You…you cut my hair!!" She sounded genuinely sad.

"You ain't half bad, that was fun," he complimented her.

A relieved smile spread across her face. She thought he was going to kill her, but it seemed as if the mysterious GK was only testing her.

"So tell me? Why were you following me?" he asked.

"That's because I need help, I don't trust anyone in this city, but you, there's something about you that I can't quite put my finger on. It's as if we've met before, but I'm not quite sure where or when." She replied.

"We should probably find someplace to rest first," he suggested.

"We'll meet at Kepps' at eight AM sharp tomorrow. I am going to need a huge break after today. There's something I want to show you as well." Blaze exclaimed with a sigh. As she turned around to leave, he spoke to her.

"Thanks for saving my life. I owe you big time."

She smiled and left without a word. They went their separate ways; she lived in a fancy apartment in the middle of town. No one dared to wander around at this time for fear of their lives but Blaze was rather undisturbed by it. She was confident in her skills but the creatures seemed to be getting stronger lately and she concluded that she was going to need help taking care of things. She took the elevator up to the eleventh floor and walked along the carpeted corridor to room number twelve. She unlocked the door, threw her beloved red jacket and twin swords on the couch, and walked to her comfy red bed. She was too exhausted to get cleaned up and dozed off almost instantly.