An Arm for a Gun

Braith yanked Yumie sideways. She stumbled, nearly toppling if not for his grip on her arm. She yelped, but he didn’t have time to whisper an apology. Cover was scarce, and as he dragged her behind a digital ticketing stand, she finally lost her balance and crashed into him.

He hit the ground hard, the polished floor unrelenting. Something in his shoulder popped. A sharp sting tore through him. Yumie landed on top of him with another yelp, but at least they were now out of direct sight of the armed attackers.

Yumie’s voice came as a soft whimper.
“Ouch… did you hurt yourself?”

He grimaced through the pulsing pain.
“Yeah…”

She shuddered.
“I can feel it…”

Then, still lying on top of him, she wrapped her arms around him. Before he could speak, she whispered urgently:
“Think about healing… think about there being no pain… about everything being right…”

His mind lagged behind the situation.
“W-what?”

“Just do it,” she hissed, her voice fragile, trembling at the edges.

He hated hearing her like that, so he obeyed. He filled his mind with a single thought - no pain, no injury, normal, whole.

Heat bloomed around him. Wisps of green light drifted off Yumie’s body. The pain vanished - instantly.

He stared up at her in disbelief.
“What just happened?”

She didn’t release him.
“You healed yourself.”

“But I didn’t-”

She lifted her head and smiled toward his voice.
“That’s how magic works. You think about what you want. And your Mahotona does it.”

His eyes widened. It was that easy?

Screams echoed through the terminal. Footsteps pounded closer. His breath hitched.

“Then if I think about stopping those armed guys,” he whispered, “can you do it?”

She shook her head.
“No. I can’t see the target.”

“But you just healed me?”

“I knew where you were,” she said gently.

A gunshot cracked across the hall. Braith felt the vibrations in his bones.
“What if I told you where the enemy was?”

She shrugged.
“It could work.”

A panicked group of civilians sprinted past their hiding place - then another shot rang out and one of them collapsed, crumpling in a widening pool of red. Braith clenched his teeth and pushed himself upright. Yumie didn’t climb off; she ended up sitting on his lap as he steadied her.

“What do I need to do?” he asked.

Shouts swelled closer. Their hiding spot wouldn’t last much longer.

Yumie tilted her head.
“Show me where to attack. Then think about attacking.”

He grabbed her arm instinctively, making her jump.
“What if I… aim for you?”

She hesitated. Then nodded.
“Yeah. That could work.”

“Then let’s try it.”

Footsteps thundered toward them.

Yumie stayed perched on his lap as he guided her arm, pointing it toward the spot where he knew a gunman would appear. His heart hammered wildly - so hard he was sure Yumie could feel each beat against her spine.

The shouting intensified. Louder. Closer-

A masked man rushed into view, handgun raised. He nearly passed them, but Yumie’s bright tail caught his eye. He slowed, beginning to turn-

Braith jerked Yumie’s arm toward the man’s chest. He thought hard, desperate, scrambling through every magic trope he knew. Lightning bolt. Fireball. Icicle.

Nothing.

The man raised his gun. Time seemed to slow.

Boulder. Light ray. Shadow strike. Wind-

The muzzle pointed straight at them.

Water jet. Summon. Explosion. Shoot-

With the last thought, the air cracked.

A neat, impossible hole burst open in the man’s chest accompanied by a sharp whipcrack. He staggered, stunned, swayed - and collapsed face-first on the polished floor. His gun skittered away.

A thin wisp of grey smoke curled from Yumie’s outstretched hand.

Braith breathed in short, startled gasps. Yumie stared at him, wide-eyed.
“What was that?”

He swallowed hard, trying to steady his voice.
“I think… I think you shot him. With a bullet…”

She looked terrified.
“That’s what happened? The command to use fireball and all the other ones didn’t work?”

He shook his head. She felt the movement. Her lips quivered.
“I can’t use normal offensive magic… but I can shoot people?”

He exhaled heavily and nodded.
“Yeah…”

Tears gathered in her eyes.
“But I don’t want to be a weapon-”

Another attacker rounded the corner. Braith didn’t think - he aimed Yumie’s arm and fired. The man collapsed instantly, blood spurting from a fresh wound in his neck.

Yumie let out a small, trembling cry.
“Don’t… stop… I don’t want to be a weapon…”

Braith grit his teeth as the footsteps of the remaining gunmen thundered closer.
“It’s us or them.”

Yumie sobbed but nodded as two more men rushed into view. Both fell almost instantly. The air rang with sharp cracks as smoke curled from her shaking hand.

Then - silence. The last man saw the bodies, froze, and bolted in the opposite direction.

Fueled by adrenaline, Braith surged to his feet, dragging Yumie with him. He stepped out from cover. Yumie collided with his back as he raised her arm toward the final fleeing attacker.

But then-
A hand touched his shoulder. Clumsy, trembling. It slid up to his cheek and rested there.

He turned. Yumie looked up at him, tears streaking her cheeks, eyes pleading.

“Yumie?”

She whispered, her palm warm against his face:
“Don’t. Don’t kill unnecessarily. Please.”

He looked toward the last attacker - now across the hall, slipping through the fire exit without glancing back.

Braith lowered her arm.
“Okay,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

Yumie gave him a watery smile.

He surveyed the aftermath - the sprawled bodies, the blood, the horrified faces peeking from behind benches and kiosks. A cold, exposed feeling crawled into his gut.

He slid his arm through hers; she immediately latched onto him in return.
“Let’s go,” he whispered.

“Okay…”

They walked as if nothing had happened - Yumie red-eyed and trembling, Braith pale and shaking - ignoring the stares that followed them.

Then a loud voice called from behind:
“BRAITH! Was this your doing?”

They turned. Standing among the bodies was Nagata.

Braith nodded nervously.
“It was.”

Nagata grinned wide.
“You’ve already learned to use offensive magic. And your Mahotona can fire bullets. You’re a real blessing.”

Braith blinked.
“What?”

Nagata strode closer, gesturing at the sprawled attackers.
“These guys are what we call ‘runners.’ People who came here for the ritual and got saddled with weak or useless magic. They can’t leave the country without a permit, so they pull stunts like this.”

He sighed.
“You have no idea how many hostage situations I’ve dealt with before begging to be transferred here.”

Braith swallowed.
“And we’re a… blessing? How?”

Nagata flashed a grin.
“If you two can counter a raid like that, you’d be a massive help to our overworked police force.”

He winked.
“They’re always open to volunteers.”

Braith opened his mouth, but Nagata had already moved on.

“Anyway, head to that address. We’ll clean up here. We’ll try to keep this under wraps, but…”

He glanced around at the many faces starting to emerge, whispering feverishly.
“Word gets out. We can stop photos, but not mouths.”

He clapped Braith on the shoulder.
“But don’t worry. It was bound to happen eventually.”

Braith nodded, though his mind spun. Nagata gave him no time to process.

“Go on. Before the higher-ups get here and drown you in questions. Grab a taxi. If anyone asks anything, show them this.”

He handed Braith a slim black card - like an ID, but bearing only a single phrase in white kanji:
マホトナ組織

Nothing else.

Another firm pat.
“Off you go.”

Braith hesitated, but Nagata shoved him forward with another nudge.

Arms linked, Yumie clutching him tightly, they walked through the airport with eyes fixed straight ahead. Braith felt the weight of invisible gears turning around him - machinery far larger than he could comprehend. He was becoming yet another cog, pulled into something he couldn’t escape.

All he could do now was protect his Mahotona - his Yumie.

His face flushed at the thought.