This Town Aint Big Enough (Gunfrontier)

[SpookyBoi]

So I'm going, to be honest, the first time I ever heard of this anime, was on this forum when @spoider drew some artwork (HERE) for some of the characters, and after watching it I wasn't super impressed with it. It's a super old anime, that only got one season, set in the old west that is extremely inconsistent in its plot, making it hard to follow.

You must be wondering 'hey @Bisexualien1996 why are you writing for an anime that you don't particularly enjoy? That seems weird.' Which I would agree with but I'm one of those weird people that if I see something that has the potential to be good I want to make it better. While this anime, in my opinion, you don't have to agree with me isn't the best, I do see that it had an interesting idea that was just poorly executed. I also thought the character were interesting but could use a little more fleshing out. There were even some parts of it that I really enjoyed.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way here's the fic, no sneezing yet just kind of a prologue type of thing to set the mood. I hope it's good, and that it represents the characters in a good way.

~Thanks for listening

 

Tochiro and Harlock found themselves in a fix. Holed up behind two wooden barrels. Rounds whizzed past them as the gunslingers quickly realized that the situation was going south fast.

They’d really done themselves in this time. But hey, how were they supposed to know they’d taken out an influential fellow, with about fifty bodyguards traveling with him.

Having gotten into plenty of scrapes over the years, they were experts at getting out of them, but this one was looking particularly dangerous. Harlock wasn’t certain they’d come out unscathed this time.

Soon the men heard shots ring out, then the telltale wail of men in agony, and the heavy thump of dead bodies hitting the ground. The bullets slowed...then all at once they stopped. Harlock’s eye’s met Tochiro’s, both hesitant, neither daring to peek from their hiding place.

After a minute had passed, Harlock braced for whatever was on the other side of their wooden shelter, coming face to face with a field of limp, lifeless corpses.

Unsure of how they got that way, as neither had fired a single round from their pistols. Most likely meaning that there was a third party in the area. Whether they were friend or foe was still to be decided. “Stay sharp.” Harlock murmured to his partner, eyes roaming the area as they surfaced from their hiding place.

So far neither of them saw anyone, no one living at least. Most people had taken up shelter in nearby buildings to avoid the bloodshed. Still, someone had taken out all these men, and Harlock was determined to find out who.

He proceeded with caution, keeping his eyes peeled, the sound of something stirring nearby caught his ears, as he whirled around, aiming his gun. There stood a man, a couple heads shorter than he was, a bandana pulled up over their mouth, and a wide-brimmed hat pulled so low he could scarcely see their eyes.

Despite being unable to see most of their face, that didn’t stop them from taking on an arrogant posture,” Now is that any way to treat the man that just saved your lives?” The smug man proposed, voice muffled by the material.

“That depends, are you friend or foe?” Harlock replied gruffly, still leery of this person and their intentions. But the other man,  just laughed, not even breaking a sweat.

“Neither, just someone in the right place at the right time.” They responded vaguely,” Now I believe it’s time for me to take my leave.” Shooting their pistol at the ground to stir up the dust, so they could make their escape.

Harlock coughed, squinting his eyes,” Hey, I’m not done with you.” He growled, going after the man, but they’d already disappeared.

“Damn it.” He grumbled frustrated. Tochiro just snorted,” Give it up Harlock, there’s no point in going after them, anyway.” He told the taller man, ”Let’s get a drink.”

The gunslinger holstered his pistol,” Fine.” He grunted, following the smaller man to a nearby saloon for a drink. Not feeling satisfied and sure that this wasn’t the last time they’d meet up with that man.

He didn’t believe in coincidences.

~

Harlock sipped his liquor, a sour look on his face,” Cheer up Harlock, it’s not that big of a deal.” Tochiro said, downing his drink in one swig.

He sighed, knowing his shorter friend was right, and he should just forget about it,” I know, still something about the whole thing irritates me.” He grumbled, setting down his drink disinterested with it, it made his throat ache anyway.

Tochiro took it as free game downing his companions drink in one go,” Whatever, it’s not like we know who they are.” He stated.

A pretty girl that worked in the bar approached them, with a bottle of liquor,” You boys need a refill?” She asked them, smiling sweetly.

While Harlock declined, not in the mood for more alcohol, Tochiro nodded eagerly enjoying the view, rarely coming into contact with a cute woman, excluding their traveling companion, Sinunora.

She was a young girl with short nicely styled dirty brown hair, and despite her charming exterior, the men had learned quickly that she was brighter than she led them on to believe. Harlock absentmindedly wondered, how a bright young lady like her, ended up working in a dingy bar like this.

Most girls her age were concerned with other things, such as getting married, not many took an interest in working. “My names Lily May.” She told them, as she filled both of their glasses smiling warmly, “You two don’t look like you’re from around here.” Lily added, “Where are ya from?”

“Nowhere in particular.” Harlock answered shortly, "Just a couple of drifters.”

“Ya don’t say.” Lily answered, cheerfully, “We don’t get many drifters round here, especially not ones that cause as much trouble as you two.” She answered backhandedly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He snapped, a bit defensively, but Tochiro hushed him, “Now Harlock don’t be rude, especially to such a cute face.” The young woman giggled, “Oh stop, I’m nobody special, anyhow I’ve bothered you boy’s enough, I’ll leave you two to enjoy your alcohol.” She answered, leaving them behind.

Harlock followed her, with his eyes warily,” Something seemed off about that woman, do you think she was trying to get information?” He asked suspiciously. Tochiro rolled his eyes,” I think the only thing wrong with that woman is her taste in men.” He teased making Harlock flush a little,” Sometimes you can be so oblivious.”

Harlock grumbled,” I don’t know she was probably just being polite.” He rationalized, not wanting to admit how terrible he actually was with women. He’d was already embarrassed about his missed chance with Sinunora.

“Just face it you and I are destined to be lonely men forever.”Tochiro said, finishing off another drink,” We might as well head out before we cause any more trouble in this town.” He stood up stretching.

Harlock sighed agreeing, knowing Sinunora would come to find them if they were missing too long, since the men had trouble going to seconds without getting strung up. “You boys stay safe.” Lily waved them out,” There’s a lot of dangerous people out there.” Harlock didn’t know why but something about this woman's demeanor sent a chill up his spine.

tbc

 

Edited January 27, 2019 by Bisexualien1996

[SpookyBoi]

 

More for this fic, this part has a couple of sneezes in it, not as much as I would have liked but I kind of want to give the idea of his illness building a little then completely taking him off guard with it getting back quicker than he would have liked it to. Hopefully, this is good and people enjoy it. Idk.

Thanks for reading

~

Sinunora greeted them back at their camp, having started up a fire cooking something in a pot, probably including some horse meat from their many fallen horses. She’d grown accustomed to roughing it with the two men, trading in her pink dress for a pair of pants and a button up shirt. Making it more difficult and tedious for men to strip her down so it worked in her favor. “Anything interesting happen, while you boys were out?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of the pot as she stirred the contents.

Tochiro shrugged,” Just the usual trouble.” He answered,” It looks like the lead we got is another dead end.” He sighed, trying not to sound too disappointed. “We did meet up with another gunslinger in town.” He grinned amused,” The guy looks like he could give Harlock a run for his money.” He taunted lightheartedly, earning a glare from the taller man. “That’s an impressive feat.” Sinunora answered, deciding her stew was done, dishing it out, handing each man a bowl.

Harlock quickly finished his meal in a matter of minutes, a little disappointed that it didn’t seem to soothe the ache in his throat from the alcohol earlier, it did leave him a bit sniffly, “He only got the drop on those guys because their attention was focused on us.” He griped, leaning against the wagon when he was finished, stretching his sore muscles, yawning.

She put a lid on the rest of the stew, cleaning up,” We should get some rest before tomorrow if we want to leave early.” She suggested, both men agreeing as they packed up for the night. Harlock stayed outside the wagon, offering to keep watch as they’d been running into a lot of trouble lately.

“You sure you’re up for this Harlock?” Tochiro asked, eyeing the other man suspiciously,” You haven’t been acting much like yourself today. Harlock just waved him off,” I’m fine.” He answered shortly, not wanting to get into it more than he already had, and the other man shrugged deciding to leave things alone.

Though now that he was leaning back against the wagon he wished he hadn’t offered. Exhaustion was creeping into his bones from the long day, and he was starting to think that the dry ache in his throat wasn’t due to the liquor earlier, but he wasn’t quite ready to admit that to himself. With a full belly and the little liquor he’d consumed, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and it wasn’t long before the sounds of the night lulled him into a deep sleep.

~

However not much time later he was awoken to the sensation of cold steel pressed to the side of his head, it took longer than he would have liked for him to realize someone was holding a gun to his head.

Just once in his life, he’d like to not wake up to someone threatening his life. “Don’t move.” A familiar voice told him,” You owe me a favor, and I suggest you hear me out before I put a

On Notify me of repliesbullet in you and your friend's skulls.” He recognized the voice from earlier belonging to the gunslinger. Harlock cursed himself for letting exhaustion get the better of him when he was supposed to be keeping watch,” Fine.” He answered, shocked to hear the gravelly quality of his voice.

The man grinned,” I knew you were a smart man when I met you.” They smiled, taking the gun away from his head,” Now let’s go.” They said hopping onto their horse, as Harlock got onto the other one, not having much of a choice, as it seems the other man was smart enough to disarm him while he was asleep.

If he were a little more coherent he probably would have realized it was a little odd that Tochiro, hadn’t fought back harder before getting caught, but his brain felt fuzzy at the moment like a thick fog was clouding his thoughts.

Most likely his friends were still fast asleep in the Covered Wagon. Even so, he didn’t call out to his friends, as he wasn’t interested in this person putting a bullet in him for trying to seek help. So he’d comply with their wishes for now.

Besides he was a little interested in seeing where this was going, deciding to tag along,“So what should I call my captor?” Harlock said, figuring he might as well strike up a conversation. They thought about it for a minute before answering,” Butch.”

“So, “Butch” why do you need my help?” Harlock questioned, clearing his throat trying to get rid of the irritation plaguing it, “You seem pretty capable on your own.” Honestly, he was a little curious as to why this person needed his help specifically. Butch chuckled,” I’m good, but I’m not stupid.” He answered,” Even I know when I’m outnumbered.”

“Besides I’ve heard about you.” He said rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly,” People say you’re good, and I need someone good to have my back. " Harlock was a little more interested hearing this,” What'd these guys do to get on your bad side?” He asked, figuring he might as well get to know his captor’s reasoning for picking a fight.

Butch was silent for some time, and Harlock wasn’t sure the man heard him,“Let’s just say I don’t take too kindly to being robbed blind and left for dead.”He answered, an almost sad quality coloring his voice but Harlock couldn’t be sure, and his head ached too much to ponder the thought.

Things were silent for the rest of the ride, and Harlock could already tell his condition was getting worst. His ears were completely clogged, making his head throb, and he could tell he was running a low-grade fever.

He wasn’t sure he’d be useful in a gunfight against a blind man let alone a group of armed men. Hopefully, he’d be useful enough to not get them both killed. Butch stopped his horse,” This is as far as we go on horseback.” now we travel on foot. He said dismounting his horse.

Harlock did the same, following the other man, only looking back once.” You sure it’s okay to leave them like this.” The other man just waved him off,” Sure it is, they’re loyal horses, they should be here when we get back.” He still seemed a bit unsure, but took Butch’s word for it, trailing after the man, panting a little despite not walking for very long, the illness already gripping him tightly.

If the other man noticed his struggle he sure wasn’t voicing it out loud, he seemed completely focused on what he was doing. If Harlock hadn’t been basically kidnapped he would have admired him for his determination, but mostly he was just irritated.

They quickly got to a small camp, where most of the people appeared to be sleeping. It was here Butch handing Harlock back his gun. It seemed he was only here for backup in case things got messy during the robbery, which irritated him even more as he stood there watching Butches back,” I thought you brought me here for a gunfight not a petty robbery.” He grumbled, watching the other’s back.

“Hey, you’re just here in case things go wrong.” The other man whispered back, not taking any lip from the taller man. Harlock huffed but didn’t say anything else, he wasn’t really up fight anyway. Everything was running smoothly when Harlock felt a tickle creep into his sinuses, knowing he really shouldn’t have tempted fate as looked like he’d might just get his gun fight tonight.

He knuckled his nose roughly trying to get rid of the prickle, but his breath was already starting to hitch out of control. The sneeze was inevitable, he just hoped he could hold it off long enough for the heist to be done and over with,” Hih,’ih’hah’” But with a breathy build up escaping his lips it didn’t look like there was much hope for him.

Butch was too busy robbing these men to notice at the moment but after a couple more hitches he paused looking up at the other man in horror,” Don’t even think about it.” He hissed. But it was already too late, he was already poor at holding off sneezes, and this one had reached a critical point,” Hih’hah’h’gKKSHhtt, Ah’hah’asSHIGSshiew” He was able to partially stifle the first sneeze but he wasn’t so lucky with the second on. It was loud, bursting out of his nose and mouth with an impressive spray.

Waking the men, who were already going for their guns, grumbling thing like,” What the hell?” and,” Who’s that?” In half asleep, groggy and dazed tones. Butch cursed,” There now look what you’ve done.” He griped,” You’ve gone and woke up the whole camp, with those cannon blasts.”He sighed,” And I was so hoping for no trouble, oh well.”

These men obviously weren’t any match for the skill gunmen, dropping like flies. Still one managed to get the drop on Harlock, bashing him in the back of his head with his gun. Harlocks head exploded with pain, as he dropped to the ground looking up at the man black spots creeping into the edges of his vision. He tried to get his gun clumsily feeling the ground for it, but the man just kicked him in the stomach knocking the wind out him.

He coughed violently as saliva filled his mouth nearly upchucking what little food he'd eaten, and the man took this opportunity to aim his gun. With a swift bang, the man fell to the ground, and Harlock looked back seeing Butch with his gun drawn, panting heavily.

Once he was sure they were safe Butch leaned next to Harlock, concern coloring his green eyes. He was saying something and Harlock strained his ears but it was no use they were still ringing. Harlock felt faint like he was dipping in and out of consciousness, but it wasn’t long before his vision had gone completely black.

~

Lily cursed, tugged her bandana off of her mouth, dropping the tough guy act. She hadn’t intended for things to go this badly, they were just supposed to be in and out that's all. Then they’d part ways. She’d disappear from his life and he’d never know the truth “Butch”.

She chewed on her lip nervously,” I’ll just leave him here.” Lily muttered to herself,” If the law doesn’t find him first then I sure his friends will.” She was completely ready to let Harlock take the blame for this mess.

Turning on her heels she started walking in the direction of the horses, when she heard the man groan sending a chill up her spine as she spun around, worried he was coming to. But he just coughed wet rattling cough, that seemed to go on for ages, before tapering off. The sound pulled at her heartstrings, it was obvious the man was ill and it was kind of her fault he was out here in the first place. She should just leave him here but…,” God damn it.” She muttered, running her fingers through her short brown hair, ”Stay here I’ll be back.” Lily told him as if he were conscious and listening.

Lily walked quickly wanting to get out of here before anyone rode by to witness the crime. Hopping onto her horse she rode back to the camp. She struggled to hall the taller man onto the back of one of the horse, feeling the heat come off of him in waves and hot rasp of his breath in her ear,” Why are you so tall?” She grumbled. Thankfully she managed to get him onto the back, sighing chewing her lip. She’d just get him back to his camp and that would be the end of it...At least that’s what she hoped.

tbc?

[doggo]

Ohhhhhhhh Harlock I remember seeing this anime a long time ago and enjoying it immensely just for the pure weirdness of it.

I really hope you continue, poor man is so sick ❤️

[SpookyBoi]

8 hours ago, doggo said:

Ohhhhhhhh Harlock I remember seeing this anime a long time ago and enjoying it immensely just for the pure weirdness of it.

I really hope you continue, poor man is so sick ❤️

Ahhh I'm so glad you like it, and I intend to continue it. I agree that's actually one of the things liked about the anime, were the fun quirky character and just the personalities they had.

I've actually started on the next part.