The Man from Eden (2)

Waltz huddled himself against a small campfire, watching as the last fleeting embers of waning sunlight were consumed by the western sky's ravenous maw. the man's hands worked deftly, plunging a small needle deep into the flames only to pull it out mere moments later. the needle glowing with an orange hue, plunged itself into his flesh. a small wince was all the acknowledgment of pain the man made. sewing a small wound closed the man gasped with relief. in the glow of the fire--myriads of scars, small knicks, deep gashes, skin rending slices all depicted there on the mosaic of his flesh. Each of his new stripes were effortlessly sewed as if nothing ever happened. a limp toss and the needle was sent side winding into the sand--his eyes yet again turned to the fire. the mechanical arm he had used to carry his shackled saber, discarded--laying at his side. 
"Mu's gonna kill me" he surrendered. "fingers don't even bend anymore" a hushed expletive escaped the man's lips. "at least I'm alive" Waltz sighed--silently, he cried. the rifle lay propped against his knee, jostled around by his jerking. 
the Ichimonji Type 45 Military Rifle--a reliable beast, yet for Waltz the thing was more of an oversized paper weight--an accessory, however if asked the man himself would give a much different answer... 
kicking the rifle away he watched it tumble in the sand, before coming to a rather violent and abrupt stop after crashing against a rock. the two entities: Waltz Scion and his Rifle were alike in one way--both were heavily scarred and tonight the rifle earned another stripe. a gash appeared in the barrel, threatening the stability of the rifle in and of itself. Waltz stared, through his tears he stared. glaring at the discarded rifle as if it was his most hated enemy, his glare turned into a hysterical screaming match with an opponent who couldn't fight back. 
collapsing to his knees, the man sobbed, crying--hopelessly crying. 
a certain ring echoed from his pocket, the chime was like a signal to his brain and in an instant a switch was flipped. 
"The Soldier" had appeared and "The Human" vanished into an unemotive visage. a mask of detachment. pulling the screaming item from his pocket he held it to his ear. the drawl of a thousand southern kingdoms shot through his mind. a calm, kind sincere voice. 
"hey...how you holding up?"
"eh...as good as I can" 
"aye I hear that--" there was a sigh from the other end. "you broke your prosthetic again didn't you?" 
"O...Only the finger joints--"
"Bloody hell....if only I had the time. look...you have a new assingment...an important one. I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your birthday--" 
"just...just give me the details Mu" there was an audible sigh over the receiver. 
"look...Aits is worried about that new guy in Kaiz--word going around that he's the new consul or something" another sigh followed the synopsis. which in turn was followed by a string of whispered expletives. "An Operative is en route to accompany you to Kaiz. its not...like we want you to kill him--least I don't. just gather information on him. I know this is crazy and normally Aits doesn't care about this sort of thing" another string of swears this time louder than the last. "if it wasn't for that bloody Gunslinger and that letter--" he cut himself off, stopping before he could say anymore but not by choice as if instinctual. "Kruz should hopefully rendezvous with you in the Kaos capital... just be safe son...ok?" Mu's tone took on a more serious grim intonation than he had before. a loud click and that was that.  
                                                                                   ***
Apathetic waves pushed against the shoreline, the melting cinnabar sun slowly faded in the East. however the residents of Oshima weren't treated to a familiar soundscape they'd heard dozens if not millions of times over--there was an anomaly. a certain carnivorous sound that colonized the air space--the gentle jingling of spurs. it rang out through the air as if it belonged there. as if by instinct the people of the small coastal town averted their eyes, ushering themselves indoors and avoiding whoever was striding through their town. a pair of gloved hands, clamped betwixt the fingers was a small envelope, stamped, signed and dated. the letter's courier raised a hand, a small signal--and in a moment. the streets were filled to the brim with armed soldiers, decked head to toe in armors. 
"G'day Gentleman." the courier spoke. 
"Name, Occupation, and business for being in Oshima!?" barked the platoon. 
"Name's Kuro...I'm a courier of sorts and I've a letter for a man named Aits Ordanin. got his address and everything" 
"a courier of sorts?" 
"Yeah unlike your average courier: I'm a wee bit special. I drink, I smoke, I gamble. hell I keep a piece on me in case a bloke wanna try" 
"You're armed?" 
"Course I am...scary world it is--endless war and all" the platoon all exchanged careful nods with one another. 
"turn over your weapon and we will allow you passage" 
"Look...can I give ya a couple bucks and say I did...I kinda need my gun" Kuro let out a small chuckle. the platoon looked back and forth at one another, the commander of these troops stepped forward grabbing Kuro's arm. 
"for what purpose do you need your firearm?" 
"Look mate...I...I just need it. I already spoke with Aits himself. He knows I'm coming just get him on the horn and tell him I'm here" The commander grimaced, withdrawing the soldier snapped his fingers. there behind him a soldier saluted. 
"Comms! Now!" the commander shouted. the comms unit had one job...nothing too grand, nothing too special. just wear an oversized mechanical abomination of speakers, wires, and blinking buttons and be ready to press a single button at a moment's notice.  
"Yes sir!" the soldier once again saluted. with an almost religious levels of reverence the man pressed the button. it blinked red a couple times before finally becoming solid green. 
"This is Aits" came a voice from the abomination. 
"Aits sir!--" the commander saluted before continuing. he drew breath and went on to explain every minute detail down to the very grains of sand stuck to Kuro's pants. 
"Oh..he's here a lot earlier than I expected" a chuckle buzzed through the speaker static. "Yes, he already informed me he cannot part with his firearm. it'll be alright...bring him here" 
"but sir, he's--" 
"suspicious? yes...he said he apparently gets that a lot" 
"Understood sir" without missing a beat the courier snickered. 
"right? so...I'm free to go now?" 
"yes--but...don't cause mischief. in and out do you hear me" 
"aye, aye I hear ya...no need to bend my arm officer...I'm cooperating"