Zodiac Girls

The Shooter

Somewhere in the woods, one small figure ran, weaving through the many trees, jumping over logs, even ducking under some tree branches. The figure's cat ears twitched upon hearing something approach from behind her, and did her best to speed up. Sadly, the other figure behind her already caught up, as they practically flew past her and made it out of the woods before she did.

"And with that, Conny the Rabbit has completed the course~!" Conny exclaimed, as Clara joined her out the woods, plopping down on her butt in exhaustion.

"That's... no fair..." she breathed out.

"Huh? How come? I even gave you the advantage to complete the run once while I do it five times. And I even gave you a good head start. If anything, it's more unfair for me."

Clara pouted at Conny’s words. “Conny, you’re so mean!”

The rabbit beastie was taken aback by the claim. “‘Mean’?! I was being nice!”

“Conny, you meanie bunny!”

“I am not! Also, I’m a rabbit! Age aside, it can’t be helped that I’m faster than you to start with! Rabbits are meant to be fast. If not, how can we ever be there for the people important to us?”

Clara pouted at the question. "But I want to be fast, too..."

Conny's expression softened at those words. She knew as well as everyone how much Clara wanted to be strong in any way. It was only obvious how much she desired strength, especially considering who her mother was.

A small grin formed on the rabbit beastie's face, as she knelt down at the child. "Hey. Just because you're not strong now doesn't mean you won't ever be strong," she told her. "Strength doesn't just come to you overnight. Just as your mother. Even she was a fragile kitten when she was your age, and look at her now. One day for sure, you will be as strong- if not, even stronger than that cat."

As kind as the gesture was, as comforting as it should be, there was one thing about what she said that did not sit well with Clara, who pouted at the rabbit, much to her confusion. "Don't call mommy a cat! Meanie Bunny!"

"Again with name calling?! Also, I was trying to cheer you up!"

******

A yawn escaped Rain's lips, as the girl rubbed her eyes sleepily.

“That sure is some yawn there,” Sherry said to Rain.

“Yeah… I couldn't sleep well last night,” the Passing Ace explained.

“That’s not good. We need you in tip top shape. Be glad we don’t have our game today.”

“Yeah, I hear you. We’re going to be doing some more practice matches today, right?”

“Captain did believe it was better training for us if we have practice matches, especially for reserve members. Not only that, but it’s also a good day out. And I’m pretty sure it’s going to get warmer later today.”

Rain smiled at that, knowing quite well what that meant for their team later today.

******

After school that day, rather than being on the field, the soccer team were all in swimsuits, running across the sand at their academy's private beach.

“Come on, girls! Pick up the pace! You’re lagging here!” their coach shouted, running along with them, also in a swimsuit, and showed no sign of exhaustion, unlike most of the teens. 

Rain and Sherry were two of the very few players who were not having much trouble with the course, the former in a teal swimsuit with shorts, and the latter in a white frilly swimsuit. Sherry aside, Rain had been on the run for most of her life, thus built up much stamina over time. A job on the beach was nothing for her.

After a good jog, most of the girls were on their knees, quite tired out from the run.

“That was really tiring…” one panted.

“I missed it when a good day is supposed to just be a good day…” another spoke.

“Don’t go complaining on us, you two,” the captain spoke, who like their coach, Rain, and Sherry, was far from tired from the exercise. “This may be tiring, but it goes to show how effective and necessary this training is.”

“As Yuriel said. Compared to normal jogging and practice, here on the beach, you can build up a lot more stamina. You'll be needing this training for our upcoming game tomorrow! We can't keep relying on our Passing and Sprinting Ace to score goals. Now come on! In five minutes, it's back to training! Take the time to cool down!"

"Yes, ma'am..." the exhausted girls responded.

At the response, the coach then turned to Rain and Sherry and requested, "Can one of you two get the soccer balls from the shed? And the other... maybe get some water or ice cream from the cafeteria? I heard a large shipment of those was delivered today."

"I got the ice cream!" Sherry called, already rushing back to the academy.

"Guess I'm getting the soccer balls, then," Rain spoke, heading straight for the shed, not far from the beach.

******

Once Rain got to the hut, she was about to go in to get the soccer balls, when she sensed something nearby and stopped in her tracks. The girl turned to the woods, the source of the feeling she was getting, and cautiously walked over. She really hoped it was just her imagination, like last time, and that she did not sense anyone from that organization nearby. On the off chance, however, that it was one of them...

'I'll worry about it if it is them,' Rain decided, not wanting to think about what will happen after.

As she approached a bush, something jumped out of it, causing her to jump back as well in surprise. That 'something' was none other than a little white and grey kitten. The sight of it set the girl at ease.

"What... It was just a kitten," she sighed in relief. "You really gave me a-"

Before she could finish that sentence, however, something else came and struck the kitten, causing it to collapse. No... something did not just hit the animal, nor did it just collapse... as a small hole was made on its head, and blood was seeping out of it. 

Rain widened her eyes at this and hastily ran back to the shed. She rushed behind it, trying to calm her fast-beating heart, and reassess the situation at hand. Clearly 'those people' found her, only instead of trying to take her... Had it not been for that kitten, Rain would've been...

Her ears caught the sound of something flying past her, as she looked to her side and saw a small hole in the wall... right next to her head. Instantly knowing she was not safe hiding behind the shed, Rain ducked and ran, heading straight into a different part of the woods.

's**t, s**t, s**t! You have to be kidding me!' she thought, tears forming and flying out of her eyes, as she ran with all her strength, away from her soon-to-be killer. 'All this time it took for them to find me again, and they decide to just kill me when they do?! Is it really that bad for me to live like a human I was?! I... I never asked for this in the first place! I just want to be a normal girl!'

Just then, she tripped on a tree root and fell to the ground. As she hastily got back up, she shook upon seeing another bullet hole just a few feet ahead of her. Looking around, Rain had thought about hiding behind a tree, when she recalled what happened back at the shed, and thus instead opted to keep running.

Unfortunately, she decided too late, as Rain felt unbearable pain in her leg, and fell once more. Looking down, she became even more horrified to see a bullet hole on her leg. She turned to the source, barely making out a glint at a distance in the woods. 

'No... This can't be happening...' she thought. 'Why did things end up this way...? What did I do to deserve this? I... All I want is to live normally, as I had once before...' Many more questions flooded Rain's mind, as she tried to process what may as well be her very last moments. Eventually enough, seeing as she had no other options in the matter, no place to safely hide behind, no way to escape from this assassin, all Rain could do... was simply close her teary eyes, and accept her fate.

Or so she had thought, at least, when she was suddenly picked up and felt a rush of air blowing. When she opened her eyes, Rain was surprised to find herself on a tree branch. The leaves from the tree completely concealing her.

'I... I'm saved?'