《Prohorovka Trovishka Revoir Demolitions》 -3 Intro Hello! Before i start working on everything, I would like to thank ChaoticProjectExe for sharing me this website where at least i could make my own story without bothering to draw :P and cheers for chaotic''s story too ^^ So, Everytime i space out, my mind takes over me as i stare into nothingness. which leads me into making my own "anime" story. And this is how The PTRD is formed. :P Prohorovka Trovishka Revoir Demolitions .... This name :\ It''s obviously poor made and without efforts with no amazing/cool meaning. But yet i still insist to make this their name. Originally, PTRD is a Soviet Anti-Tank Rifle back in WWII. It''s Long-ass rifle, making it''s appearance unique back in WWII, or so i would say .. I loved this gun because of how strong it is in one of my games. And back then i loved making a word to stand for on every abbreviation i could see. So i made one. At first i only got Prohorovka Trovishka Revoir. Prohorovka: A Word that i have mistaken, It''s supposedly Prokhorovka. it was too late before i knew it was Prokhorovka, with the K. But i was like meh whatever. Trovishka: A made-up russian word. by me myself of course. Revoir: A french word i have randomly picked up somewhere. I was thinking of another Russian word for the letter D, but made it up with Demolitions as for how powerful the rifle is. And Thus i have completed the PTRD. Now proudly looking at the words i have made for the PTRD, I thought about the "Demolition Team" and so i said myself "This name would be pretty good on some kind of a team or a company." And then later i added this name on my story. PTRD is a Russian High Technology Organization formed by our protagonist Shichiro Fujiwara. It consists of young russian-speaking japanese scientists recruited by Shichiro and his friends. They mainly researches and make high-tech military equipments and vehicles. Now this protagonists. I wanted to make his story first but due to making this on my own imagination, it''s story is severely chopped pieces by pieces because of snapping back to reality. But i still wanted to share it here so i guess i would just put up things in each gaps of the story then :\ And it would be a separate novel because this one is made for a spin-off or something. That''s all i guess ;) i hope i explained things understandable because im really horrible at explaining things. Oh and the cover, That''s not their actual icon. i just made it up because i wanted to. xD I will make their true icon in the next 25 centuries or so. So yeah, i just hope everything will turn out just as i imagined :) Thank you for reading this. TL;DR .. Well you should really read it. -2 Character Introduction Shichiro Fujiwara: Our main character, Male. Blue Hair, Blue Eyes, Half-Russian Half-Japanese, Always wear blue hooded jacket. Blessed with powers. Mark: A Foreigner, Male. Shichiro''s Neighbor and Best Friend. Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Speaks English and Japanese. Always speaks english whenever speaking to Shichiro alone. Maeru Shigawa: Shichiro''s Girlfriend (Present)/Best Friend (Middle Story)/Acquaintance "Boss" (Beginning of the Story) Chizuru Fujiwara: Shichiro''s Little Sister. A Tsundere. Black Waist-length Pony-Tails, Black Eyes. Dislikes Russian language and often complains loudly when Shichiro and his Father talks in Russian. Momo-chan: Shichiro''s Loli Dog Girl. Black Shoulder-length Hair, Yellow Eyes, Sharp Fang, Dog Ears and Tails. Given by Mark when she''s a little bit younger because Mark can''t raise her. -1 The Portal Sorry, content is lost, You ¡¯re reading Novel on Novelhall.COM, we will fix it as soon as possible, thank you 1 The Last Adventure It''s been a week since Shichiro has visited another world, living a normal life with his little sister and his parents. As usual, Shichiro is playing on his computer. "....." Shichiro quietly concentrates as he aims at the enemies head. "BAM!" Shichiro then loudly tapped the mouse. "Killed XXXXX 10 XP" "Headshot 50 XP" Displayed on the screen. "Heh" Feeling proud and laughing over his defeated enemy, He yelled: "§±§à§ê§Ö§Ý §ß§Ñ§ç§å§Û!" (Poshel nakhuy!) He kept yelling on his screen with Russian for a few minutes, until .. ONII-CHAN SHUT UP!!" A loud voice came from the next room. Shichiro''s about to scream back but just chose to sigh. "...." Few moments later, Now that the match is over, he quickly grew bored. "...." He stares at his soldier character and its progression, thinking whether to do another match or exit the game and do something else. "....." He decides to start another one...But just as he clicked the Find Match: "Shichiro! Maeru-chan''s here!" Shichiro heard his mother''s call. Moving away his mouse from Find Match before letting go of the click. He then looks behind him which is his doorway. waiting for Maeru to appear. Aaaand then Maeru appeared. "Shii~Chiro!" Maeru said with Bright Aura. But Shichiro wasn''t affected and just frowns a bit then faces back to his computer. Maeru then walks in and went behind Shichiro then rests both of her hands on His shoulders. "What are you up to today?" She asked. "Nothing" He replied. He then starts typing, presumably chatting with his friends at his game. "Really?" She replied. No response. Then she rests her chin on Shichiro''s head. "Are you not going to visit another world, just like you always do?" The sound of the tapping suddenly stopped. Shichiro turns to face Maeru, making her carry her head up again. They stare each other for a moment. (Oh looks like i gave him quite an idea) She thought to herself. "Well, i''ll go ask Mark about it" Shichiro spoke up. Maeru gave him a disappointed look for a second then quickly hugs him and smiles. "Come on, we don''t need him right?" She said while embracing Shichiro. "No" Shichiro replied "...." Maeru pouts and gave an annoyed look "Actually, i have an idea" Shichiro added. "Ahhhh" Maeru let go of Shichiro. She then crosses her arms. "You''re planning on causing trouble on another world again don''t you?" She angrily asked Shichiro. "Hm!.." He rolls his chair to face the computer, Ignoring Maeru. "Just how many worlds do i have to go to and save it from you and your damn people?!" Her voice started to get loud. "How many times are you going to do this?!" She added. Shichiro then angrily stood up from his chair and faced Maeru. "Why do you even care?! If you''re really my girlfriend you should be supporting ME! not THEM!" He shouted back to Maeru. "A-ah..." She stood speechless as he mentioned her being his girlfriend. "And im doing this just not for our satisfaction! Were doing this because WE need to improve our own organization!" He added "By going to through different worlds, defeating a village or an entire goddamn country and take their resources! Then, Hopefully a Brave hero''s going to stand up against us!" He kept ranting. "And-!" Before he could continue, Maeru speaks up. "And try to defeat that hero?" She asked. "Then you''ll lose in purpose and talk your way out, tell what do you really intended when you destroyed their country and get them on your side?" She added. "Yeah! I''m glad you understand, We also plan on getting more people on our side. Now please get lost if you don''t want to come along with us." Shichiro replied, then looks away. "No, Shichiro! Think about it." She said, making Shichiro to look back again. "Think about it! You''ll crush an entire country on another world, Meet a hero and lose on purpose because of your ''testing'' nonsense, get that hero to your side. and later visit another world and the cycle continues!" She angrily explained to Shichiro. "Yeah! That''s exactly it! What is your damn point?!" He shouted. "I don''t like it! I don''t want that to be the way you invite people to your-" Before Maeru could finish her sentence, a loud voice came from another room "SHUUUT UUUP!!!!!!!!!" "I TOLD YOU TO-" "No you Shut up there Chizuru! before i bash your skull to the wall!" Shichiro shouted at the top of his lungs, looking at the wall towards Chizuru''s room. ... Quite. "Good." Shichiro calmed down. Then after a few moments Maeru broke the silence. "J-just-" But before she could speak anything, Shichiro spoke up. "Look Maeru." Then he rests both his hands on Maeru''s shoulders, then looked directly to her eyes. "Just one more time okay?" Shichiro said with a calm and gentle voice. But Maeru just avoided his gaze with a sigh. "I promised we will change right after this one okay? And please be on our side this one last time. Maeru" Maeru then looks back at Shichiro''s eyes. "You promise you will change?" She asked. "Hm!" Shichiro happily nods. "*sigh* you''re so persistent are you? Fine i will go along with you this time." She smiled. "Thank you." Satisfied with Maeru''s answer, he continued. "I''m very glad you''ll be on our side this last time" Shichiro went to kiss Maeru''s forehead and she closed her eyes to feel the warmth of the kiss. -= LATER =- Shichiro and Maeru went over to Mark''s place to drag him along with them. As they reached Mark''s house, They stood outside the gate then Shichiro shouts and called him in English. "Hey mark! Get down here man i have something to tell you!" "Get down now this is going to be fun man!" Maeru looks so uncomfortable at his shouts. Probably because he''s speaking english? "Geez, not only you''re so loud but also speaking an out-of-the-world language!" She argued. Then Shichiro replied to her complain in Japanese. "Hey! That''s English you dumb devil! Don''t you try making any more names to our proud language!" Maeru quickly fought back. "But we are here in Japan! .. Japan! You''re supposed to speak the language of Japan!" But Shichiro just stares at her. "..." "....." "Hrm!" Maeru suddenly looks away. Shichiro sighs and shakes his head. Then looked back at the door to find that Mark is already standing there with a bored look on his face. Shichiro was surprised and quickly speaks in English. "Oh didn''t see you there man" Mark replies with the same language. "Yeah man, it definitely looks fun. Or at least i can tell that both of you are having fun." Shichiro cringed. "Uhh... No dude, We are going to use the portal! Off to another world!" "Really?! I''m going too?!" Mark quickly has changed his mood. "Yeah dude, go get yourself ready we are going through the portal once you''re done" Shichiro said. "And mind if we come in?" He added, then Mark quickly responds: "No, you guys stay there i will be quick!" Mark closed the door with a bang, mostly because he''s in a hurry. "*sigh* Seriously, You two know i''m here so you guys should speak Japanese" Maeru said "Why?" Shichiro replied in Japanese with sarcasm "Why? I can''t understand both of you! I don''t want to learn it either you know!" She replied. "Then it''s your fault" Shichiro said with a smug. "Tsk" Annoyed, Maeru crosses her arms and looks away. Then the door opened wildly. "Alright let''s go!" Mark energetically shouted in English. "So what exactly did you do?" Maeru asks a question. "Huh?" Mark''s puzzled by Maeru''s question "You didn''t change much at all, You''re still wearing the same clothes"Maeru added. "No, I ate a bread so i wont be hungry later" Mark said. "..." Maeru just looks away. "Why in the hell were you expecting him to change?" Shichiro asked while smiling. "Hrm." But Maeru just scoffs and started walking. The two followed shortly after. It''s not long before Mark spoke up. "What is wrong with Maeru today? Mark whispered to Shichiro in Japanese but loud enough for Maeru to hear from few feet away. "I don''t know" Shichiro replied in the same way. "I wonder what she ate today?" Mark continued. "Dunno, maybe a burnt food" Shichiro replied "What does a burned food do to her?" Mark questioned him. "Same as it''s color maybe, The nutrients it sent to her brain are also black" Shichiro answered. "Oh i see" Mark replied. The two of them remains serious despite the non sense for the sake of teasing Maeru even more. "No wonder she''s acting like that" Mark said with a worrying tone. "If this keep up, she''ll be a goner!" Mark became loud. "We have to do something Shichiro!" Mark continued. In the front, Maeru''s pissed off by hearing all this. "I-I-I don''t know what to do!" Shichiro replied, pretending to be panicking. "She''s your Girlfriend!" Mark suddenly shouts Making Maeru blush ears to ears and twitch a little. "So what?!" Shichiro replied almost to burst into laugher. "*SO WHAT?!?!*" Maeru suddenly froze by that statement. She then stopped walking to face the two with an annoyed look. Which makes the two of them shut it and looks elsewhere. Once they reach Maeru, They both looked at her, looking like nothing has happened. "What''s up?" "What''s wrong, Maeru?" The two of them asked. But Maeru just glares to Shichiro. "What!" Shichiro loudly questioned Maeru''s glaring. But Maeru just ignored him and just starts walking again. The two just smiled and shrug then also started to walk. ..... But not too long before Mark started again. "Hey man did you remember Akuzu-san no Zombie?" Mark asked to Shichiro. "Yeah, what about it?" Shichiro asked. "You remember the scene where Akuzu opened the head of his Rebellious daughter and cut something from her brains and when Akuzu''s done her daughter suddenly changed?" Mark explained a certain scene. "Yeah, it''s from the fifth episode Akuzu can''t take his annoying daughter anymore so he cut something on her brain and completely reversed her attitude" Shichiro replied. "Yes, in exchange her body rottens and started to look like one of those walkers from the american movies." Mark continued. "And the rest of the episodes are his struggle to find a way to get his daughter back to her living body, and of course without putting back whatever the hell he sliced something off from her brain" Mark nodded in agreement, then Shichiro asked a question. "So? Why did you bring that up?" "Well..." Mark looks at Maeru. presumably about to tease her again. "I just thought that.." Mark continued. "Maybe we should..." "You know, do the same thing but instead we slice off extra pa-" Before Mark could continue, Maeru suddenly disappear in front of them. Her body flickers with pink light and left pink petals that flew down on where she was. And before the two could react to this, Maeru''s already behind Mark and is very close, then she quickly said: "How about i slice your throat and open up your stomach and throw your guts out in front of Shichiro?" Mark visibly and loudly clears his throat and make a slow peek to Maeru. Which he saw that Maeru''s eyes are completely out of life, with emotionless face. Seeing this makes him even more nervous and makes a stuttering words: "N-no I-I''m....." But Shichiro quickly backs him up. "G-Geez Maeru he''s just messing with you.." Then Mark and Maeru looks at Shichiro. "I know..." Maeru replied and looked back at Mark. "But you might never know if he''s still even joking.." She looks back at Mark and He does the same. "He''s obviously kidding Maeru! I can tell! God..." Shichiro replied. "Plus why do you think he''s really going to do that?" He added,then Maeru looks at the ground. Mark also calms down, letting out a sigh of relief. "And if you did do that to Mark, I''ll do the same to you" Shichiro said to Maeru, which then Maeru looks at Shichiro with sorry face. "Remember that you taught me that personality of yours" Shichiro continued. "I won''t even hesitate" He added. Maeru remains silent, and started walking again. "Damn" Mark speaks in English. "I never thought she would go like that" He added. "Yeah, she hates it when she''s involved into something about hurting people" Shichiro replied also in English. "Why though? Is it because of she''s a ''Yandere'' just like in the animes?" Mark asked. "Yes, She was before but now she''s trying to change since i finally accepted her feelings" Shichiro answered. "And just now, you just helped her fail her goal you know.." Mark visibly gulps and remains silent. Then They spend the rest of the walk in silence. -= AT SHICHIRO''S HOUSE =- "I''m home!" Shichiro opened the door and did a greetings. "Sorry for intrusion" Mark said. Then loud running footsteps came from Shichiro''s room.. Growing louder then here comes Momo. "Welcome back!" Momo greeted cheerfully and jumps to hug Shichiro. which then Shichiro catches her then giggles with waggling tails. Shichiro let go of Momo then pats her head and smiles. "Looks like you three are going to different world again..." Momo quickly changed and sadly predicted them. "W-Well yeah, How did you know? And what''s with the long face?" Shichiro asked. "Well, What else''s the reason the three of you come here together at the same time?" Momo answered. "Why can''t you just stay here with me Shichiro?" She added. "Oi, that''s my line.." Maeru said in quite voice, almost like She thought this loudly. Mark heard it and looks at Maeru with questioned face, But Maeru didn''t look back to stay cool like she have said nothing at all. "This is the last of our trip, then maybe i''ll finally stay here and remove Mariyou-sama''s Age Repellant Me and Maeru casted on our world so we can finally live a normal life" Shichiro answered to Momo''s question. But Momo just pouts and makes a small noice which Shichiro respond with pinching her cheeks lightly. "Come on, we won''t take long" He tries to relief Momo. "You promise?" Momo asked. "Hm!" Shichiro nodded with a smile. "Okay....." Momo said, then Shichiro pats her head. "Good!" Then, The Four of them goes into Shichiro''s room. Beside Shichiro and Momo''s bed is the portal. Shichiro pressed a button and a swirling patterns started to come into view inside the portal with swirling noice. "So where does this go?" Maeru asked. "What, You''re expecting us to just jump into other world without even informing the whole group? Of course were going to our main base first" Shichiro replied and Maeru just sigh in annoyance. "Come on let''s go" Shichiro said, about to step into the portal, Momo cheerfully spoke up. "Have a good trip Shichiro!" then she went into bed and sits. "Yeah, take care of my room while i''m gone okay?" Shichiro replied. "And stop using my computer to watch Gores will you?" He added. "A-Ah...." Before she could answer, Shichiro already went ahead. Mark quickly followed. But Maeru did a wave to Momo first before stepping in. After a few seconds the portal went off. Then Momo looks at Shichiro''s computer, Which is left on with just the monitor turned off. -= AT PTRD''s MAIN BASE =- A portal in a certain large room went on and the three of them walked off from it. "Oh, Shichiro''s back" A Female Scientist with glasses whos copying something on her clipboard from a monitor saw their arrival. "Hey" Shichiro replied. "You even bought Maeru-san and Mark-san.... Let me guess.." The Scientist said, about to assume something. "Yeah, yeah you know what it is. Kindly tell Miguhara-san to form a usual counts of Scientists into a group then tell them to come here" Shichiro ordered to the Scientist. "Alright, just a second" The Scientist wrote a few notes then went for the door. Once the scientist is close enough to the door. The green light in the middle of the door blinks and the door opened by moving up and small metal sticks around the doorframe to ''hold'' the door up. Once the scientist left, the metals retracts back and the door went down again. "Damn, The way you guys designed your doors still never fails to amaze me" Mark tells to Shichiro. "You''ll never get used to it" He replied. Few moments later, A voice can be heard coming from loud speakers instructing something. Then later Scientists fills the room. Mark and Maeru stood in front of them while Shichiro opens up the Portal. Once done, Shichiro faced the crowd and said: "Everyone, You all know what are we up to right now" Whispers then can be heard for a few seconds before falling into silence again. "We are going to a different world and set up base. And that world''s gonna be epic because it''s medieval world!" Shichiro continued. The crowd happily talks before silence once again. "So yeah, that means they''re gonna be using swords, Spears and shield and other medieval weaponry and equipments you name it!" Shichiro continues. "And were using guns! It''ll be like a Myths come true for them. haha!" A Male scientist spoke up which leads the others to laugh along. "Heh exactly.. Well that''ll do, Come on to the portal now" The crowd formed a line and the Three stand beside the portal for the Scientist to go first. They then followed shortly. For a few seconds the portal went off. And A Huge Adventure awaits the PTRD. 2 World Code sZ34F85s The Three and the rest of the Scientist has finally sat foot on a completely different world. "Alright. You, Deploy that base right there" Shichiro ordered to a Scientist. Which the Scientist nods and took a palm-sized black cube with red linings out of his bag and put it on the ground. Then the Scientist pressed the circle on the surface, making it push down. Then, The whole crew steps back as the cube slowly turns into a small Depot. "So this is how you start huh?" Maeru spoke up. "Yes, We will then send a few people to an expedition to explore the surroundings" Shichiro replied. "Basically, The longer we stay in a place like this, the bigger our base gets" Shichiro explained to Maeru. "If you just had been on our side on the beginning, you would understand earlier" Shichiro added. "Hrm.." "I already know that" Maeru annoyingly tells Shichiro. "I saw many of your bases on every different world and they''re all as big as your main base" She added. Shichiro remains silent, then the Depot has finished it''s transformation. The Scientist went to the Depot, while the three remains outside. "Are we not going inside Shichiro?" Mark asked a question in English. "No, man They are just putting out things that is for later, For now they will handle and deploy temporary Supply Depots" Shichiro explained. "Temporary? Why is that?" The two of them continues to speak in English. "You wouldn''t want to throw all the weapons at that one single building won''t you dude?" Shichiro asked. "Right, but are you really going to store up much weapons, so much that building is not enough?" Mark asked once again. "Yeah, we are going to start early" Shichiro answered. "Damn you guys are wild" Mark reacted. "Then where are weapons coming from?" Mark asked AGAIN. "Of course from the portal, where else?" Shichiro answered. "Well i just thought that your weapons are going to be made by the same cubes" Mark stated. "No dude, We still haven''t researched about that kind of thing but were gonna try doing it on this world once we got bigger" Shichiro answered. "Oh, Then blah blah blah" blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah On the other hand, Maeru stood still, crossed-arms with tapping fingers, long and bored face. ''Patiently'' waiting for the both of them to finish. Then she heard the portal went on again which she looks at, The two also saw it but return to their conversation. (What''s this?) Maeru asked herself. A Quite-looking Female Scientist holding a rectangular crate step out of the portal. But the girl stopped right after stepping out of it to analyze the area. Which then a Male Scientist holding a normal crate went flying out of the portal, crashing to the girl who was standing in front of it and sending both crates flying. Maeru quickly peeks at Shichiro''s direction to see if he notices the ruckus, But the two of them''s still busy talking to each other and looking into somewhere far away. Maeru just frowns at this then looked back at the two Scientist from the portal. The once quite-looking Scientists now bursting with anger, looks like scolding the male scientist which he just scratches his head and grin at the Girl''s rage. After her outburst, the male Scientist just bows and quickly went for the Depot, The girl glares at the male Scientist until he''s inside the depot and out of her view, then let out a sigh. Maeru went close to the girl. "Um.." The girl looked at Maeru with a troubled face. "Maeru-san?" The girl spoke. "U-Uh.." Maeru''s taken aback that the girl knew her name. "F-First of all, how did you know my name?" Maeru asked. "Oh, you''re that annoying girl who always interferes and beat us and humiliate our names on every world we go" The girl calmly told to Maeru. Maeru felt bad at what the girl has said and thought back when She used to side with the enemies and defeat the whole PTRD and make Shichiro apologized to the mess he made. "Now why are you here? Why are you talking to me? Are you going to kill me?" Despite the dark assuming of the girl, she said this on rather emotionless way. "I bet you have called your friends already and on their way here" The Girl continued, She''s about to say another word but Maeru interrupts her. "N-No, you''re wrong.." The Girl ignored this and continues. "I Bet Shichiro-san was only forced to make you his girlfriend because you''re forcing your way too much into him" Maeru was very surprised about the sudden reasoning of the Girl about her relationship towards Shichiro. "No! That''s!-" Maeru shouted and stopped herself halfway. This made the two busy men looked at Maeru''s direction, The two girls also did the same, But Maeru''s wearing a worried face. after a few moments Shichiro told something to Mark then shouts to Maeru''s direction: "Maeru! Were going see the Supply Depots! Come if you want!" Maeru just waved and smiled, Then the two went on a Supply Depot which Maeru didn''t even noticed that it was already deployed by the side of the Main Depot. The girl looked back at Maeru, which Maeru did the same. "You see that?" The girl took a quick look at Shichiro''s direction, then looks back to Maeru again. "He''s all kind to you, but deep down he''s annoyed by your presence" The Girl continued, while Maeru stood in silence. "I know you''re going to betray us half-way the battle" The girl kept going. "I should have warn Shichiro about th-" "Nope!" The girl was surprised on Maeru''s interruption. "I actually made a promise with Shichiro" The girl relaxes. "That i would go along with him this time, and he was happy to hear it!" She proudly stated. "He even hugged me warm to show how much he''s thankful to hear me say that." Maeru continued. The girl smiled at her words. "I see". Which surprised Maeru by the sudden change of her aura. "He just wouldn''t do that out of the blue, doesn''t he?" The girl stated. "Plus he already told the whole organization about your promise" The girl continued. "H-Huh?! W-W-When?!" Maeru blushes deeply, making the girl giggle. "Secret" The girl answered while still giggling. "Hey now..." Maeru just sighs at this. Then the girl finally stopped and apologized: "Sorry about before, I was just making sure if you''re serious about your promise". Maeru quickly replied "No no, No worries at all ahaha!" shyly and scratches the back of her head. "Alright, I must go, Maeru-san" The girl went to pick up her crate and about to go. "Wait! What''s your name?" Maeru stopped her. "Oh im sorry!" The girl bows a bit. "The name''s Hikagi, Maruyama Hikagi" She introduced herself to Maeru. "Nice to meet you, Hikagi-san!" Maeru happily mentioned Hikagi''s name, which Hikagi nodded while smiling. Then gone to the Depot. Then Maeru suddenly notices that there''s already many scientist coming from and going back to the portal, The ones coming from the portal has crates on them while the ones going back are empty handed, So it was obvious that they have been delivering stuff for a while now. Maeru just watches the Scientists do their work until the last one goes back to the portal, Which for a few seconds the portal dies out. Knowing this, Maeru knew that''s the last and walked to the depot. Then in front of the depot was a large door. It''s white and has black linings and screws and some russian writing in yellow, obviously for cautions. There''s a huge line in the middle, making it obvious that it slides and open in center. And near the middle line, There''s a glass in both side and inside of the glasses are mechanical stuff, seemingly part of the lock of the door. And to the right side of the door just below the glass are a keypad, and below the keypad are the usual green and red lights. The red is lit this time. Maeru wanted to guess the passcode of the door, but before she could press a number, the green light quickly blinks 2 times and the mechanic on glass from the left side of the door pushes up and the right side pushes down, and then finally the door splits in half and opened. It was the detector that quickly opens the door without the passcode, Maeru knew about this when the door blinked green and was quickly disappointed that she didn''t got to guess the passcode. The cold from the AC of the depot greets Maeru. The Depot might looks small from the outside, but inside at least 50 people can fit without bumping into each other everytime. Maeru was amazed by this and looked around the surroundings, Which was interrupted by Shichiro and Mark and few Scientists(?) in different suits. Black uniform with red lines and a visible red star on left side of the arm, Mark''s also wearing the same. And they are all carrying guns, from Rifles,Sub-Machine guns to Machine guns. Maeru was surprised about seeing all the weapons. "W-Whoa! A-Are you going already?". "Yes, were not going to sit here all day" Shichiro answered, who''s holding two rifles. "But-" Before Maeru could continue, Shichiro handed her a rifle and said "Here". "Come on, we have the weapons for the scouting" Shichiro stated. "You call this scouting?!" Maeru complained. "And we have enough people to guard the camp while we are gone" Shichiro continued. Which Maeru looks outside and saw some Scientists still on their lab coats. Then she looked at the rifle she was gave to. While Shichiro and Mark and the Scientists walks pass her and went into a building. "A-Ah wait!" Maeru quickly follows the squad. The building they went into''s way, way bigger than the Center Depot. Actually it looks like a building for storing and deploying vehicles. As there''s already one Jet on the top of it. "W-Where did the Jet come from?!" Maeru thought they came from the Cubes, But She remembered Shichiro mentioning about the Cubes only able to deploy Small Temporary buildings. Then She quickly ran in front of the building, There the whole squad stood. Maeru looks inside the building, There''s a huge rectangular hole on the floor. But Maeru quickly knew that it''s an elevator floor. But she was bothered on how quickly the building gained a basement for vehicles. Then a loud mechanic started to noise from the bottom, After a while a familiar Soviet IS-3 tank on the elevator floor started to rise from the bottom. It''s color is Dark grey with red stars on both left and right side of the turret. The Fuel tanks are even more reinforced, Besides the fuel tanks there''s no more any visible changes to the tank. As the floor reached the top, Few scientists went to ride the IS-3 and starts up the engine. The squad went sides for the tank to get out of the building. The IS-3 drives out of the building quick. And the elevator floor started to went down again. "Huh.." Maeru look and observed the tank. Unlike the original Soviet IS-3, The Prohorovkan IS-3 have modified Engine and modernized cannon to match the modern tanks these days. The squad remains on the side while the elevator carry another tank. This time it''s a T-34-85. Of course, A Prohorovkan one, Grey paints and usual red stars and modified parts. Another group of people went to the T-34 and drive out. (This is going to take a while) Maeru thought to herself. The elevator kept giving various modified Soviet tanks until there are just few of them. "Maeru!" Shichiro called out to Maeru. "This one''s going to be the last tank, It''s ours" Shichiro stated. "Okay, where did those tanks come from?" Maeru asked. "I forgot to mention about Vehicle Cubes" Shichiro answered. "Oh then it is the same with the weapons?" Maeru asked another question. "I wish that is true, But if we fold the guns with same methods as how we make Building and Vehicle cubes, The cube for the guns would be very small, It''s stupid" Shichiro explained. "Later we will work on the Gun''s method that is, The method of folding is different so the cubes for it has the same sizes as the Buildings and Vehicle Cubes" Shichiro explained more, But Maeru didn''t bother thinking about it too much and just waits for their tank to appear. Few moments later, The noise of the elevator can now be heard from the bottom, and then a German Tiger I starts to appear in view. "This is the last tank?" Maeru asked. "Yes" Shichiro answered. "But how are we all going to fit there?" Maeru asked again. "Huh?" Shichiro gave Maeru a questioned look then Maeru looks at the remaining Scientists to give him a hint. "Oh, you stupid. There will be five of us inside the tank. The others will be riding from outside, And the rest will ride the Jets" Shichiro explained. "Let''s go" Shichiro went for the tank with Mark and two Scientists on his trail. Maeru followed last. Shichiro went for the hatch, The Commander. Mark went for the Hull MG, An Assistant Driver. Maeru waited for the two Scientists to take their roles. The two picked Loader and the Driver. Then Maeru went for the Gunner. Then few of the Scientists went on top of the tank. From engine to turret near the hatch. Maeru found a headsets beside her and wore it. Then she heard Shichiro''s voice: "Alright, can everyone hear me?". "What are these headsets? This doesn''t look like for war at all, did you stole these from gaming stores?" Maeru sarcastically asked Shichiro. "Shut up" Shichiro''s annoyed. "It''s better this way so your own tank won''t mess your ears" Shichiro explained. "And we have modified it so you can hear a bit from outside of your tank" Shichiro continued. "Yeah it''s really cool but You could have just taken a job from a call center you know?" Maeru teased Shichiro. "Shut the hell up already" Shichiro annoyingly scolded Maeru. "Driver, Let''s go" Shichiro ordered the Driver, Then the Engine starts up and revs up loudly. Then the tank drives out of the building. Then Maeru heard Shichiro speaking through the mic. "85, You''re on my left. IS-3, You''re on my right. The rest follow the formation" Shichiro ordered the whole group. "T-34-85, Roger" Maeru heard a respond with her headset. "IS-3, copy that!" A Cheerful Girl''s voice. (W-Was that an elemantary schooler?!) She asked herself. Then the rest of the tank also responded. == "Alright, On ward!" Shichiro shouted, Then the engines of the tanks roar. -= SOMEWHERE, LARGE PLAIN AREA =- Engines are roaring in a large quite plain, The radios and comms are quite. Then Maeru took the honors and spoke to her mic for the whole squad to hear. "So... Where exactly are we going, Shichiro?". "I don''t know either, We are exploring" Shichiro answered. Maeru understood this and became quite again. "Come on, get out of here" Shichiro told Maeru. "Huh?" Maeru''s questioned. "There''s a hatch on top of you". Shichiro mentioned the hatch for Maeru, Then Maeru looked over her head and opened the hatch and went through. Now both of them are on the turret. "Isn''t it beautiful here?" Maeru started a conversation. "Hm?" Shichiro looked at Maeru. "Such beautiful sight, The fresh winds, this Wide green fields" Maeru continued. "Yeah, No huge skycrapers, No Vehicle smokes, Nothing at all. Just the sights and the beauty of the nature" Shichiro replied. Then both of them fell silent to feel the wind. Just a second, Mark spoke up: "Wow how sweet, I wish i also had a girlfriend here to sit with me". "Eh?!" Maeru was surprised, however Shichiro was not: "It''s the environment were talking about, And you heard that?". "Yes, everyone heard it yeah?!" Mark asked to the comm. Then the whole group answered one by one: "IS-3 heard it!" "85, also heard it" "T-50 here, Us also" "SU-100 heard the sweetpeas" "KV-1 crews are jealous". "T-70 here, Shichiro-san is so romantic~" "Shut up, Mitsuki" Shichiro shouted at the lastrespond and the whole group laugh. -= LATER =- "Everyone, Halt!" Shichiro screams through his mic, Then the whole group stopped. "What''s wrong?" Commander of the KV-1 asked through comm. "It''s a civilization~" A cute voice of the commander of the IS-3 answered. "A what? Like a town or something?" KV-1 asked again. "You dummy, why don''t you get out of your hatch and look for yourself?~" IS-3 told to KV-1. Then the hatch of the KV-1 opens and a female commander pops and uses her binoculars. Few kilometers away, A Village can be seen. The village is pretty big, but not too huge. It''s surrounded by Big walls made of stone. "Hey Shichiro look, That''s our first gold" Commander of the T-34-85 spoke up. "Sure is" Shichiro replied. "Alright, Is everyone ready?" Then the whole group responded. "85, Your command?" "IS-3, Ready as always~" "SU-100, Awaiting your command" "KV-1 Stands ready" "T-50, Engine screaming" "T-70 will be always under your coommaand~" "Alright" Shichiro looked back at the tanks, then went back inside his hatch, Which Maeru quickly did the same. "Okay. everyone, Forwa-". "Wait!" Shichiro''s order was interrupted by Maeru''s shout. "The village looks nice, And this is the first time i have sided with Shichiro, so i wanted to walk around a village with Shichiro for atleast once" Maeru holds her mic close to her mic while looking at Shichiro. "Oh! A Date i see!" A girl voice speaks through the comm. "H-Hey! That is not a date! Who was that?!" Maeru panicked, And nobody answered. "Who was it!" Maeru shouted. "Now now Maeru, i agree. We should scout out the place first" Shichiro interrupts Maeru. "No, WALK the PLACE" Maeru corrected Shichiro. "Whatever" Shichiro responded. "Do everyone agree on this?" Shichiro asked the whole group, Then the commanders replied: "Yeah that is fine" "Fine by me" "That''s right, We should SCOUT first" "WALK." Maeru interrupts the answers. "SCOUT!" The commander started an arguement. "WALK!" Maeru holds her mic close to her mouth and shouts. "SCOUT!!" The commander shouts louder. "I know YOUR tank you little shit, Don''t make me go there!" Maeru threatened her rival. "Oh yeah? then wh-" The commander was interrupted by Maeru''s shout: "You''re that piece of shit T-50! I recognized your voice!". Then the comm became quite beside the whisper. ''jesus..'' "So uh.. We need someone to guard the tanks, I''m definitely not going to give my tanks to these lowlife guys" Shichiro tells the whole group. "No worries, T-50 alone should stay here" Maeru speaks in dead serious tone. "No! Kuji and his crews should stay here!" Commander from the T-50 whines. "Huh?! The KV-1 got more crews they should stay here!" Kuji(?) whines back. The argument continued for 3 minutes. In the end, The T-70 and the IS-3 crews volunteered to take command and let Shichiro,Mark and Maeru go. They drove a bit closer so the village is walking distance. -= BIG WOODEN GATE =- The village is secured with a big gate guarded by two men in armor, wielding a spear. The trio approached the guard which they quickly points their spear towards them. "Where are you from?!" A guard asked a question. "We are the scouts the Central has sent to expedition" Shichiro lied to the Guard. "Scouts? I never heard no Scouts!" The Guard threatened Shichiro by pointing his spear closer to his neck, But Shichiro stays still. "The Central has sent us secretly and-" Shichiro told to the guard then holds the spear and drag it even more close to his neck, looks directly at guard and continues his sentence: "And if you got me killed right now, You''d be on serious problem". Then the other guard puts his hand on his partner''s shoulder. "C''mon, They look serious enough. I''m letting them in" Then the guard relaxes and return to his guard posture. Then the guard went to the side of the door. Then went back to his position. A few second, The door made a loud noise and opened slowly, but only a bit for the trio to fit enough. Then the two guard step aside then the guard said: "Welcome back to Tsuchiya, Our loyal Scouts! "Then the other one continues "Please kindly go straight to the Central and report back to the King right now". "Yeah yeah we will do that" Shichiro responded to the greetings from the guards. Then the trio went inside and as the door closes back, the guard said to his partner: "Are they telling the truth? and they are wearing weird outfits too". Then his partner replied "You idiot, i thought you already understood. The king might let them wear different clothing so if there''s any chance they will be considered as Travellers from different villages, they could spy there and maybe take some treasures or new weaponry!". The worrying guard is still not quite convinced. "B-But don''t you think their clothes are a bit bizarre? Even the King never told us our village makes those kind of clothes?". "You heard the boy before, It''s SECRET. Maybe the creating of Scout''s clothes are also secret". The guard tries to reassure his worrying partner. "Besides, if they''re really spy, Wouldn''t the boy you threatened should be scared of your spear? You know, Afraid to die and fail his own village to get information from different villages". The Guard continues, Then his partner finally calm down and said: "Y-Yeah you''re right. Even his two companions didn''t even reacted to it". -= TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- When the trio got in, A sign with "Welcome to Tsuchiya Village!" embedded on it welcomes them. "Wow! This village is still beautiful despite the walls!". Maeru''s amazed at the view of the village. "Hah, wow. I was expecting like a dirty village with full of soldiers guarding every corner of the village, but guess what" Mark was also amazed. "Yeah, this is really wonderful" Shichiro joined the two. The village is so lively with people chattering, walking and kids chasing each others, workers taking a brake from their works, you call it. Though people started to look at them because of their clothings. "Come on let''s go!" Maeru hurriedly walks in front of the two. "Fine fine, you lead Maeru" Shichiro answered, then Maeru leads them. Maeru just started walking and she got to look eye-to-eye with a cute girl with orange shoulder-length hair. Maeru waves at her, and which the girl did the same, then continued on their walk. Maeru''s happily humming on their walk while the two follows her, looking around. Then Mark spoke up: "We need to find an Inn". Maeru heard this and looked back at Mark. "Seriously, We just started walking and you''re already tired? You should have stayed with the others, Shichiro and i should have come here alone. Right? Shichiro~". "Even if it''s just the two of us, I would be the one suggesting that" Shichiro answered, making Mark snicker. "Oh come on, you both are so boring" Maeru reacted and walks again. They walked around the village for a while. The trio is visibly having fun, specially Maeru, They even found the inn in the process. They kept exploring the village until the two grew tired. "Hey, let''s find a place to rest" Mark suggested. "Good idea" Shichiro supported Mark''s idea. "Eeeeh..." But Maeru whines. "You guys are so easy to fall.. I wanna go back to that Bakery and buy the bread" Maeru continues. "Seriously Maeru, That bread doesn''t even taste good" Mark trashes Maeru''s idea. "It''s because YOU doesn''t even know what it is!" Maeru fought back. "It taste good right, Shichiro?" Maeru looks at Shichiro, Which starled him because he was just listening to their arguement. "I-I don''t know, was that like, a bread from Hell? ''Cause i don''t know what it taste either" Shichiro answered. "Good grief... It''s a Banana bread you tiny brains, You were raised from the Surface and don''t even got the chance to know what is Banana bread?" Maeru insulted the two. "Well it''s better that way than losing your own world to you guys from Hell". Mark fought back, but Maeru didn''t react to this and stays silent, Even Shichiro''s quite and looks to the ground. Mark quickly became aware of the atmosphere and immediately said: "N-Nevermind" then looks at the ground. The trio stood quite for seconds, then Shichiro laughs. "Heheh, Look at you, Instant regret!" Shichiro pointed at Mark, making Maeru giggle. "Come on don''t feel so bad, we just had remembered our fierce battle. It''s not like a complicated stuff right, Maeru?" Shichiro told Mark then looks at Maeru. "Right" Maeruresponded. "Plus if i ever got defeated, They will never make it to the Surface because Mariyou-sama will kick their asses back half-way" Shichiro added. "Huh? We still haven''t met Surigawa-san that day right?" Maeru questioned Shichiro. "Yeah but i bet she was watching us that whole time" Shichiro predicted. Maeru was ataken back atwhat he said, then she stretched her arms up and said: "Alright fine". The two looks at Maeru. "Let''s go find a place to rest" Maeru continued. "No, Let''s just teleport back to the group and rest in the tanks" Mark suggested. "I''m NOT going to sleep inside the tank" Maeru complains. "I didn''t say anything about sleeping inside" Mark responded. "Yeah, you could sleep on top of the tanks, It''s even windy back there" Shichiro supported Mark. "Yeah yeah , fine fine let''s go already" Maeru said then they went into an alleyway, holds each other''s hands then suddenly their body blinks with dark blue light and disappears, leaving black leaves with blue outline flying down on the ground they were standing. -= LARGE PLAIN AREA, NEAR TSUCHIYA =- Back to where the group is waiting. In front of the Tiger I, Dark blue light blinks then the trio appears. There are people on top of the tanks and there are some sitting on the grass, they all saw the trio''s arrival. "Oh look, They are back~" The small and cute girl from the top of the IS-3 spoke up. "Were back" Shichiro replied. "How''s the ''scouting'' go?" The girl sitting in the gun of the T-34-85 asked the trio. "It all went good, we had a good time" Shichiro answered. "Good for you, we all just sit here and there and talk" The girl from T-34-85 continues. "Sorry about that" Shichiro apologized. "Shichiro, i will just take a nap inside alright?" Mark told Shichiro. "Yeah sure, i''ll wake you up when we''re about to move" Shichiro replied. With that, Mark went inside the Tiger I. "Alright Maeru, Step besi-" Shichiro looks at Maeru but She is staring at the girl from the IS-3. He also looked at the girl, to find that she is staring back to Maeru. Maeru notices Shichiro, but remains staring at her and asked: "Are you the commander of the IS-3?". "Yes, i am" The girl answered. "Your voice is soo cuute~.. What is your name?" Maeru asked again. "I''m Kurizawa Harumi, Is that all? Why do you have to stare at me like that?" Harumi complains at Maeru''s stare. Maeru puts her hand on back of her head and said: "Ahahah sorry sorry! I''m wondering if you''re still an elementary schooler". Harumi replied with a hmph: "Not telling you". Maeru was a bit disappointed by this. "Alright, Are you done Maeru? I''m going to announce the attack" Shichiro then went in front of the convoy, Maeru followed him and went behind him. "Everyone!" Shichiro shouts. Then the crews from the ground stood up, The ones from inside of tanks all looks at him. "We will attack the village 3 hours later" Then all the crew responds with a Yes and went inside their tanks.Then a male crew asked a question. "Oh uhh Shichiro-kun? What''s the current time here?" "I don''t know, maybe around 9:00?" Shichiro guessed the time. "Well, you''re half right, but it''s 9:30 right now!" A female crew pops out of the SU-100 and shows them a clock. Satisfied with the answer, the male crew went back to KV-1. Shichiro too went back to the Tiger I''s hatch. He then grabs his headset,wore it and said to the mic: "SU-100, You have the time, tell us when the time hits 12". "Roger that, Tiger I" SU-100 responded. Shichiro then hangs his headset back inside. "Are you going to sleep inside, Shichiro?" Maeru asked Shichiro. "No, The hype''s keeping me up" Shichiro answered. "Hm, fine. Do you have a blanket or something i could use for bed? i''m going to sleep on the ground" Maeru asked Shichiro. "Ask around, you can also ask of each commanders their name so you won''t call them by their tank" Shichiro suggested. "No, I want you to lie beside me and tell the names while looking at the sky with me" Maeru tells Shichiro almost daydreaming. "Nah" Shichiro quickly rejects Maeru''s idea, which leads to Maeru visibly pouting. Shichiro quickly saw it and said: "Hahah, fine fine i''ll lie down with you". Then Maeru''s pout turns into a smile. She then went and climbed up to the IS-3 and knocked to the hatch, then the hatch opens. "What is it?" The commander asked. "Oh do you guys have a blanket or something to place to the ground?". The commander shakes her head. "Oh i see, thanks" Maeru told the commander, then climbed down from the IS-3, the hatch closed right after she step to the ground. Maeru looked at the direction of the KV-1 and about to walk there. But Shichiro called her and shows her a blanket that is big enough for the two of them to fit. Maeru then went to Shichiro. "Where''d you get that?" Maeru asked Shichiro. "I had to check our tank again just to be sure" Shichiro replied then lays the blanket to the ground and lay down. Maeru did the same. Once she settled down, Maeru blushes deep. "So uhh... The names?" Maeru awkwardly asked Shichiro, who on the other side, totally relaxed and calmly looking at the skies. "Right, so first. The commander of the Tiger I is Fujiwara Shichiro". "I-I know that! Idiot" Maeru stuttered, then Shichiro quickly added: "Your boyfriend". Then looks at Maeru, Maeru shakily looked back, blush deep and a-bit teased face and shaky lips. They stare at each other for 3 seconds before Shichiro looks back to the skies. "Then there''s Kurizawa Harumi, She might be small and looking like a kid, but she has the eyes of the eagles, sharper than my blades. I handpickedher as my right hand when leading a tank division and she can handle the IS-3 just fine" Shichiro introduced the IS-3 commander to Maeru. "Yup! You already saw us talk right?" Maeru asked Shichiro, which he nods. "Then here''s Yamaguchi Seiko, She likes the ''85 and likes to hide and snipe from distances. You''ll never see her coming. She will destroy your guns first before shooting down everything else, She''s that girl sitting on the gun before" Shichiro introduced T-34-85''s. Maeru responds with "Oh". "Then Matsuzawa Kaede of the KV-1, Always wanted to protect the light tanks. Even if it costs her life, she will be always willing to give everything for her allies to win. Totally reliable and good person" Shichiro introduced the KV-1''s. "And Sakurasagi Minohara of the SU-100, also likes to snipe with her 100 mm Gun. Since both Yamaguchi-san and Sakurasagi-san likes the same idea, you can always see them together from far away, Though she got more kills because of her modified anti-tank gun, unlike the T-34-85''s modified 85 mm gun" Shichiro introduced SU-100''s. "Then Katsuragi Shizume of the T-50, She dislikes Heavy tanks and rather drive with a light. Well, She used to be a Driver of the KV-2 and one day on the battlefield, they got tricked into going to an open field and their engine instantly got shot and she panicked and was forced to take the shots from the ambushing enemy tanks. Luckily enough, Their communication''s still working and quickly asked for air support". "Air support? Don''t you think they should have called for a tow out of there?" Maeru asked. "The commander''s enraged by the trick so they were willing to fight back, So the commander asked for a little help" Shichiro answered, Maeru responded with "oh", then Shichiro continues: "After that battle, Shizume directly requested to me to change her assigned tank to light tank, But no one from light tank drivers wants to exchange with her, So i gave her a chance and made the T-50. She''s so happy about this. She had few battles as the driver of the T-50, then later got promoted into it''s commander" Shichiro finished introducing the T-50''s. "Last but not the least, Takuyama Mitsuki of the T-70. You might think she only uses her sweet voice to attract males, but she''s good at managing her crew''s fighting spirit by her effective inspire. She will be always on charge on keeping a person intact if there''s anything bad happens" Shichiro finished introducing the commanders. "So basically you''re the only male commander on this group?" Maeru asked. "Yes, don''t jump on conclusions yet. Remember that Miguhara is the one who set this group up" Shichiro answered. "I know! You Idiot!" Maeru responded. "So anything else you want to know?" Shichiro asked, but Maeru shakes her head. "Alright then, i''ll take a nap now". Shichiro said, then rolls to face Maeru. They both stare at each other for 3 seconds before Shichiro closed his eyes, she did the same after few seconds. -= 3 HOURS LATER =- Shichiro could hear a faint voice, Wondering who was it from. (The voice..... It''s calling me?). The voice keep getting clearer as it repeats, then "Hey! Shichiro! Wake up both of you!" Then Shichiro finally woke up and stood and realized that it was the female crew before. "Sorry we overslept, go back to your tank now" Shichiro ordered the crew. Then Maeru stood up and stretched her arms. "Come on Maeru, to the tank" Shichiro told Maeru, which she responded with rather sleepy: "Yees~" and lazily climbed up for the gunner''s hatch. "Alright, is everyone on their tank?" Shichiro asked with his mic, which all the commander responds with a Yes."Okay...Bomber squadrons, awaiting your reports". "Roger that, Tiger I. The Jets are prepped and ready to fly, Awaiting your commands" A Male voice responded through the headset. "W-Wait, Somebody else is on our range?" Maeru is surprised. "Yes, I hope you saw the Jets back at the Factory. They followed us and stayed back a few miles before this place" Shichiro replied. "Then why didn''t i heard any noise?" Maeru asked again. "You don''t want to attract any attention, won''t you Maeru? Unless you wanted to side with them again, i will kill you right now". Shichiro threatened Maeru. "I promised you already! I won''t side with them!" Maeru shouted. "Also aren''t the tanks are also loud?". Maeru continued. "Our Jet''s are not from any real jets from our real world, Those are our Prohorovkan made, And It has a very, very loud engine, Trust me. It''s because of it''s powerful engine" Shichiro explained. "We use it''s loud roaring engine to scare off our enemies too, instead of copying the Jericho Trumpets of the German Stukas back in World war". Shichiro explained further. "Aaaand you still haven''t answered my question, on how did not i heard any noise" Maeru repeats. "Cloak" Shichiro replied. "Cloak? Like Invisibility?". Maeru asked, then Shichiro responded with a nod. Shichiro then gets back at his mic. "Alright Bomber Squadron, You are clear to take off and engage the village" Shichiro commanded the squadron. "Roger that Tiger I, We are now taking off" The (assumably) leader of the squadron responded. "Alright, All Tanks. Once the Jets has flew by above us, We are moving" Shichiro talks to his group. "SU-100 and ''85, I know your preferences, You two stay here and shoot from here" Shichiro told the two tanks. "Yeah! You got it!" "Glad you knew!" The two Commanders happily responded. 2 Minutes later, Loud Jet engines started to pass by, Five Jets has flew by above them. Then Shichiro shouts at his mic: "Alright! Were moving!" Then the engines started to scream and the convoy started to move. Just a few seconds, Several explosions can be seen and heard from the village. The convoy kept moving closer to the village, then Shots from the distance can be heard and hitting the big gates, It was from the SU-100 and T-34-85. After the few shots, The gate blew open. "Yaay~ Thanks for the assist!~" Harumi shows her appreciation to the two tanks. "No problem! Want us to destroy the walls too?" Minohara answered. "No, don''t. The gate''s big enough for them to come in and the wall''s debris might just block them" Seiko refused the idea. "If you say so!" Minohara replied. The convoy are now getting closer to the village and the engines of the Jets still roaring by from above the village, flying away and coming back to bomb them again. Few moments later, The convoy now is close to the village. "Oh god, i can hear their screams from here" Maeru felt bad at the screams and panicking of the Tsuchiyan residence. "I know right, They must have no idea what is happening right now" The Driver responded. "And i bet the they have no idea what to call those Jets if it were an evolved dragons or a flying catapults" The Loader jokes and the whole crew laughs. Then the convoy forms a straight line to get inside the gate, as when the IS-3''s going in line. "Oh look! They''re shooting the Jets with arrows, Haha!!" Harumi laughs at Tsuchiyan Archers from the towers in the corner of the walls, Then ordered the convoy to stop for a moment. "IS-3, Where are the those guys?" Seiko asked Harumi through the comms. "They''re in each corner of the walls, can''t you see the hilarious arrows flying?" Harumi responded. "Roger that, Permission to Fire at will at those Towers, Tiger I". Seiko requested at Shichiro. "Go on, ''85. You two are free to fire at those guys". Shichiro allowed the two to fire at will. "Copy that, Firing at will" "Yeah! They''re going to taste a modern warfare!" The two commanders replied. Then later two shots came from the distance to the right Tower, destroying the walls and killing several Tsuchiyan soldiers. After a few seconds, Shots to the Left Tower this time and causing the same damage. Then the convoy continues. "Bomber squadron, We are going in. Continue the bombing runs until out of ammunition, then go back to the base for resupplies, then order one of your pilot to come down and tell them to send Reinforcement to our location" Shichiro speaks through the comm. "Roger that, Tiger I" The leader of the squadron replied. "Alright, All Tanks. Fire at will!" Shichiro changed their rule once all of them got into the village. Obeying the order, The tanks shoots people onsight, shooting the houses with people in it, not letting one survive. Except the Tiger I''s cannon. "What are you doing, Maeru?" Shichiro shouted at Maeru. "I-I Can''t..." Maeru stuttered. "Huh?!" Shichiro shouted again. "I-I mean i.... Tsk..." Maeru stuttered but quickly looked through the scope, rotates the turret and shoots at the second floor of a building. High-Explosive was loaded to the gun so the 2nd floor was totally destroyed. Then on the first floor, The main door wildly opens and a young girl, about 10 years old, with white hair, comes out of the door and fell to the ground, she was coughing from the smokes. Maeru quickly saw this and gasp. "Oh look, Maeru''s daughter''s here too!" Mark laughs at his own joke. Then Shichiro quickly opens the hatch and stood. "Shichiro?!" Maeru looked back at Shichiro, Then hurriedly look back at her scope. The young girl was still on ground and coughing, then few moments, The young girl slowly looks at their direction, then looks above them. The young girl''s eyes widen in horror, Maeru saw her face and quickly knew what''s going to happen. "Wait! Shichiro!". The young girl tries her best to stand up and turn away to run. But a loud gunshot came from Shichiro''s position and the young girl got shot from behind and fells to the ground, crying loud as she holds her stomach. Maeru remained quite through the scopes, shocked. "Oh damn! Maeru! your sibling got shot!" Mark shouted. "Shut it Mark. Driver, drive us on the side of the road. Tanks, go forward and make destruction, we got a business to take care of here". Shichiro ordered. "Roger that!" The Driver responded and drove to the side. "Alright! I''ll be your leader this time, everyone!~" Harumi took command of the tanks, Then the tank commanders responds with a Yes and drives past the Tiger I and the young girl. "Alright, Crews get out of the tank" Shichiro ordered the crew to get out. Maeru heard this and gasps, then quickly went out of the tank. Maeru quickly ran to the young girl, worried, Shichiro went to the young girl too. The rest stays from the top of the tank. Maeru then looks at Shichiro. "What are you going to do?" Maeru asked. "I''m going to ask her something, step aside". Shichiro told Maeru, She did what she was told. Shichiro then rolls the young girl''s body with his feet to face him. Maeru is visibly uncomfortable by this. Then Shichiro forcefully held up the young girl by her dress, which the young girl holds his hands by her two small hands, crying even more. "Where are your parents?" Shichiro asked the young girl, Making her cry louder. "What? She still can''t speak a word?" The Loader watching from the tank insults the young girl. "I bet her parents abandoned her when the chaos sta-" Before the Loader could continue, A woman with long white hair, presumably the mother of the young girl, bursts out of the house and ran into the young girl, making Shichiro let go of the young girl. Then the woman hugs the young girl and looks at Shichiro, Crying and said: "Please don''t hurt my child". Then looks back at the face of the young girl, and looks down. "O.....Oh....Oh god..." The mother cried deeply. "Why? W-Why did you do this? We totally got nothing to do with you" The mother cries. Maeru is so sad about the situation. "W-We are sorry.. ah!" Maeru tried to apologize but Shichiro kicked the mother off the young girl and grabs the young girl again. "W-Wait!" The mother cried as she hurts from the kick. "This kid does not even speak!" Shichiro shouted at the Mother, making the Loader laugh from the tank. "She-She''s traumatized! She''s too young to understand all of these!" The mother shouted back at Shichiro. "Then we''ll MAKE her UNDERSTAND!!" Shichiro shouted louder and grabs a knife, Seitengewehr 98, from his pocket and stabs the wound from the shot of the gun, making the young girl scream loud and the mother hopelessly cry on the ground "Shi-Shichiro!" Maeru started to tears and covers her mouth in shock. "She''s still a child!" Maeru told Shichiro. "So what?" Shichiro looks back at Maeru with serious face, Maeru gasps at his face. Then Shichiro strongly removes the knife off the young girl''s wound, making her moan. The young girl''s no longer crying and just being attacked by frequent hiccups, her eye''s dead as the fish''s, just staring at the sky and no longer moving at all. Shichiro let of the young girl''s dress and gently grabs her by her two small shoulders and gently lay her down. Then slaps her faces: "Hey! Wake up you brat! You''re being killed and You are not even fighting back! Are you really giving up on life just like that?!". Shichiro''s scream makes the young girl snap back and slowly looks at Shichiro and cries. Shichiro suddenly gasp quietly. He felt like this happened before. Shichiro suddenly has flashbacks of the same scenario, but the one he''s carrying at that time was his little sister. both of them was crying but Shichiro was filled with anger. Then Shichiro suddenly felt bad at the young girl and his face falls into sadness. Before Shichiro could snap back, The young girl took a palm-sized stone from her pockets and smashed it on Shichiro''s face, but Shichiro quickly saw this and let go of the young girl to cover his face, then fell into the ground from the impact. Then the young girl crawls away from Shichiro, to the house. Then a girl with a familiar orange hair ran from the house. Then rans into the young girl to pick her up. once she got the young girl, she looks at the group. She saw Maeru and gasps, Maeru also gasp at her. They stare at each other, and then: "Hey! Shit! She''s taking the girl away!" The girl with the orange hair heard this and looks at the tank, then quickly ran back to the house. "Wait!" Maeru shouted. Then Shichiro stood up to chase the girl at the house, but stopped at the doorway. "Goddamn it!" Shichiro''s annoyed, then he ran back outside and looks at street. The mother is no longer in there. Shichiro just sigh. "Whatever, they will be bombed like the rest of them" Then Jets can be heard again flying by the village and explosions right after it, then a convoy of armored vehicles has entered from the gates including the SU-100 and the T-34-85 at the last. A male soldier from the leading vehicle went out to talk to Shichiro. "We are the reinforcement the Pilot of the Jet has called". "Great, Come on, Maeru. Let''s go back at the tank. You, Continue to the center of the village and try to capture their leader alive" Shichiro ordered the male soldier. Maeru quietly follows Shichiro back at their tank. Then the convoy started moving with the Tiger I leading the way. 3 The Fate of The Tsuchiyans My name is Hasegawa Chiho. I''m currently 16 years old. I live in a big peaceful village called Tsuchiya. The village is filled with good people, lively population, active workers and brave soldiers, It is the best village i have known. Though, It is surrounded by walls due to various village from around our region trying to capture our village and take away our buildings related to making military equipments and technologies. But they always fail because of their lack of modern equipments. The Tsuchiya has the best and modern equipments ever! Crossbows, Heavy catapults, Improved Gate Breacher, you name it! .. Then later, Our great leader has implemented Walls, To stop the soldiers from surrounding the village and making a single gate to filter out who''s coming in and out of the Village. Once the wall is constructed, The days of Wars is finally over. The leader of the villages has no way of even going inside the village anymore and admitted lost at Technology wars and surrendered. Though our great leader is a good person, He did not take any technologies to any of the villages that attacked the Tsuchiya. Because of that, An Alliance between the villages was formed. Ever since then the Tsuchiya Village lived a normal life. Then one day... HERE LIES THE SHORT MOMENTS OF HASEGAWA CHIHO JUST BEFORE THE PTRD HAS INVADED THE ONCE PEACEFUL VILLAGE . .. .... -= 4:30 AM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- It is early in the morning, Chiho is peacefully sleeping at her bed. But busy people is already walking on the streets, on their way on their work. -= 5:30 AM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- Even more people has started to fill the streets, lively chatters can now be heard. Yet Chiho is still sleeping. -= 6:00 AM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- The Village is now on it''s working time, Chatters are even more louder, Even Children are playing outside, making it hard for you to sleep with an open window. But Chiho got used to this and managed to ignore it, but before she could sleep back. "Onee-chan!" A small girl voice calling out her name from the outside. -= PERSPECTIVE OF HASEGAWA CHIHO =- "Onee-chan!" I kept hearing the familiar voice calling for me from outside, but i don''t want to wake up yet. Few seconds later i heard our door opens and the familiar voice started to talk with my mother. Then i can hear fast footstep coming from the stairs, Hey now, Running on the stairs is bad. Now the footstep has reached the floor, then the same voice "Onee-chan!" called out. But i didn''t move an inch, i want to sleep again. But the footstep came closer and now i can feel her presence. and then she screams again. "Onee-chan!". That one is so loud! But i refuse! Then the presence backs out, then I suddenly felt like it''s charging TOWARDS ME AND THEN JUMPS ON ME! HOLY SH- "Urgh!" I moan in both surprise and hurt, then i quickly stood up. Then in my side, A young girl with a white hair sitting with me, smiling at me. Oh yeah, it is Kirisaki Ayumi. How could i forget about the girl i have met since her birth?! I''m like her big sister now! I''m so horrible! "Ayu-chan? You don''t have to jump on me you know? Even if you''re light, you still make impact" I told Ayumi about her jump. "Sorry sorry! It''s because you won''t wake up!" She told me. "So i had to do that!" She added. She''s just too cute, i can''t handle it anymore. I pinched her cheeks hard and said: "You could have just shake me awake you know?" While she make noise by my pinching. "I know already, forgive meeeee!!" She pleaded for mercy. "*sigh* fine" I accepted her conditional defeat. We remain quiet for a while, then i asked her: "So why are you here?". Then like a light buib turns on, Ayumi''s eyes suddenly opened wide. Then she said: "I want you to eat our bread as lunch this day!". Bread? Ayumi''s bread? ... I quietly think hard ... Hmm ... Oh yeah! The Kirisaki Bakery is opening right now! "Oh yeah i forgot! Your mother is opening a new bakery! with new delicious bread with different taste!" I happily told her which she replied with a nod. Damn, i must have sleep so hard i forgot things worser than an amnesia could do. But actually .. Why did she said lunch? i could have just had it as breakfast. With that, i asked her right away: "Why lunch though? I can go there right now, you know". Then she crossed her arms and a pout. "You dummy! Mother is still preparing everything and she said she would be finish around lunch! And your mom is making a delicious breakfast too!" She told me about why i can''t go this morning. Then i replied: "Oh that''s why". Then i stood up to the ground, brushed my hair. Then Ayumi spoke up: "I wonder why everyone''s hair is different" She asked to either herself or to me, or both. Well i don''t know either, then she kept speaking: "Our neighbor has yellow hair". The fact that she still calls blondes like that made me giggle, She saw me giggle and tilts her head. Then i turn back at her and i told her: "It''s called Blondes, Ayumi". "Bu-Bu.....". She made me giggle again, ahh this damn innocent little evil! Everything she does is cute! Then i repeated the word for her: "Blonde" Which then she tried to speak it. "Bu-Burando?" Finally i burst out with laugher. "Ahaha! Close enough but you need to properly speak it! It''s a borrowed word anyway!" I told her about Blonde word. She then keeps whispering at herself, practicing the word. Which makes me giggle ONCE AGAIN. Then continue on brushing my hair. Then Ayumi spoke up again: "I still don''t get why our hair is different, I mean yours is Orange, Then mine is White, Then our neighbor is B-B...". "Blonde" I continued her word. "I-I know it! Jeez". But instead of appreciating it, she crossed her arms again and pouts once more. Now you think of it, She never ever appreciate everything i say at her, With that i asked her: "You little Ayumi, You never learn how to thank everyone don''t you?". Then she replied: "It''s because you keep thinking like im still a child!". It was hilarious to hear this from a little girl, then i answered: "But you really ARE a child!". Then she became even more annoyed: "No! I''m a big girl already! I can fight dragons thrice better than our soldiers!" She made proud of herself. I just giggled at how she''s so determined that she''s already an independent person. Well whatever, time to change clothes and go downstairs. Few moments later, i finished changing and invited Ayumi downstairs. Ayumi told me that she told her mother that she would be eating at our place so her mother won''t mind cooking a breakfast for her and keep working on the bakery. This had me worrying about her mother being lonely, but Ayumi smiled and guarantees that her mother totally agreed on this and was happy that Ayumi thinks of her mother and their bakery. -= 7:30 AM, OUTSIDE, FRONT OF CHIHO''S HOUSE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- After our breakfast, i borrowed a chair from my mom and place it in front of our house. As i sat there, many of my neighbors walk by and greets me. I just sat there, thinking what to do while feeling the gentle blow of the wind. Then few minutes later i saw Ayumi''s figure running towards my direction. Once she reached me, she told me that her Mother needs help at the bakery, and asked for my help to carry the flour bags from their house to the bakery with Ayumi. Of course, I agreed and went inside Ayumi''s house. There i saw like fifteen 20 kilogram of flours in sacks or so, i suddenly felt lazy. But i must do it for Ayumi and her mother''s sake! -= 8:26 AM, STREETS NEAR FROM THE ENTRANCE OF THE VILLAGE =- I went ahead to get back at Ayumi''s house for more Flour sacks because Ayumi''s mother has something to show to Ayumi. On my way back, i saw three people with totally different clothings. And one of them has white hair too! Oh my gosh is that Ayumi''s secret daughter?! oh my god! Then she caught me looking at her but i remain cool! i waved at her which she did the same. Then they went ahead and i went to the direction from where they came from, Our house is near the entrance after all. -= 10:30 AM, TSUCHIYA PARK, CENTER OF TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- Oh gosh, That felt like forever and those flour sacks! i even got mad a bit because Ayumi said Bags! not sacks! But of course i didn''t show her my vengeance. I fell into a bench, gasping for air. Then Ayumi shows me a sad face then said: "I''m sorry Onee-chan, I mean. You are the only one we could ask help with" Which literally made me jump and quickly speaks: "No no no! It''s actually fine don''t worry! it''s just tiring! That''s all!" I stuttered so hard just to make her stop feeling bad about it. Then she said: "Really?" Which i responded with a yes. Then we went back home. -= 10:44 AM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- "Huaaagh!!" I groan as i throw myself at my bed. "Maaan~ It''s so hard to be tough in a man''s world!" I mumbled to myself. Then i quickly fell asleep. -= 11:30 AM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- My mother is calling me from downstairs, She was telling me that Ayumi is waiting for me. I think hard again why is she there, Ahh! Goddamn it! A Dissociative Amnesia this time! The cause? Sleeping too HARD! I went downstairs and found Ayumi that isn''t mad, so i sigh in relief. We quickly left my house and went for the Bakery, Which is finally open! To taste Ayumi''s mother''s breads! -= 11:35 AM, PAST THE STREET NEAR THE ENTRANCE =- I remembered what happened before and told Ayumi about it, and jokes that she might be her secret daughter. Then she responded with "Oooh!" with sparkling eyes. -= 11:44 AM, THE KIRISAKI BAKERY, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- We finally reached the Bakery. Ayumi''s mother saw us and calls Ayumi, i went close too. Her mother said "Ayumi, actually it''s not the breads i only wanted to show you before, but here!" She then showsus four bags of coins, two in each hands. Me and Ayumi was surprised at this. Then Ayumi said: "W-Where did you get those quickly?!" Then her mother responded: "Actually, I made a temporary sells of the bread and it actually worked!" "And you know! I saw a girl with the same white hair as ours! Though She just took a look at the display and continued walking" She added.So that girl went by huh, I guess the three of them are new here and just actually exploring the area. With that, We started our Lunch -= 11:55 AM, THE KIRISAKI BAKERY, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- The breads was so delicious! Ayumi''s mother invented different taste of Breads! There''s Chocolate bread, which the bread''s color is brown! And then there''s Purple yam flavored bread, and it''s color is indeed purple! And lastly there''s a Banana bread! It''s not actually a Banana! I don''t know how Ayumi''s mother made these, but it has a hint of Banana''s taste, It''s color is normally brown, but the contents have weird colors, but still delicious! After our lunch, Ayumi''s mother said that she would close the bakery for now and start early tomorrow. So we closed the bakery and left. -= 12:05 PM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- We got home, Ayumi''s mother and Ayumi herself asked to stay in our house. Then my mother went to the market to shop. Yeah, she likes to do that at afternoon. -= 12:07 PM, HASEGAWA RESIDENCE, TSUCHIYA VILLAGE =- Me, Ayumi and Ayumi''s mother is having a long conversation. When suddenly we heard a strange loud noise went by from the skies, It was fast! and few seconds, An Explosion suddenly erupted, making our house shake! We went outside to look at the source of the explosion, But another loud noise is coming fast, and we ran back inside the house. The sound pass by again and made another explosion! Making everything shake again! We went out again and this time we saw our Archers throwing barrages of arrows at the skies. Then a loud noise is coming again, but this time we stayed near the door so we can see. Once the noise flew by, We didn''t catch what it looked like! It was so fast. Though i saw it shaped like a huge bird, but once it reached the center, it dropped something, making a huge explosion again! I was shocked at this! Then i quickly looked at Ayumi''s mother, who''s about to cry: "Oh my god! What are those things!" She said while holding Ayumi close to her. The birds kept coming back and dropping something, making explosions on every drops, Then suddenly i heard several noises afar from outside the walls, Then a distant noise roars and our gate got exploded but luckily just got bulges inside, the noise continues as the gate kept being shot at, until it finally looks like it''s about to give, the final shot sent the gates flying. After that, the several noises is starting to get close, The grounds was shaking, It''s like a Several Battalions charging together! After that, The Tower where the Archers are standing suddenly blows up, throwing debris everywhere! Not too long before the other side of the tower got blown up! Seeing our best defenses fall, I panicked "W-W-What the hell is happening!!" and Ayumi started crying. "Were being raided both by the monsters and the humans?!" Ayumi''s mother screams, This made me quickly thought why she mentions the humans, then quickly gets it, it''s because of the explosion. No monsters could do that huge explosions yet, we guarantee that. And it''s only one thing, A Technology. The heavy sounds has finally reached the entrance. After a few moment, We saw something huge going through the entrance, Then Ayumi''s mother held our wrists and runs back at house. Then she said: "We have to stay quite!" Then several explosions are roaring along with the falling debris of the houses and the screams of the people as the heavy noises comes near us. I suddenly realized my mother went to the Market and i suddenly shouts: "Mother!". Which Ayumi''s mother also realized: "Oh no! Your-" But before She could continue, A loud noise bangs and our whole house shakes, pieces of woods started to fall from our roof. We held each other but Ayumi''s mother fell to the ground and Ayumi let go of me and starts to run through the door. I was shocked, i wanted to chase her but the shakings made me stumble and instead screams at her "Ayumi! Wait!" Ayumi then slams the door open and went out. I tried to stand but the house shakes a bit and the corner part of the roof collapsed, making me fell again. After that i heard a loud noise from outside, and the heavy noises started to pass by. Then i worriedly said Ayumi''s name and ran through the door but i saw somebody''s still outside and immediately stops and peeks into the window. I saw first Ayumi on the ground, with bloods. Oh god Ayumi! I didn''t know what to do. I didn''t even bother looking at the enemies. But i peek again and saw that one of them is now forcefully holding Ayumi by her dress! Then the person said something, but i can barely hear it because of the distant explosion ".....Your parents". Then Ayumi''s mother managed to stand up and went beside me and asked me: "Where''s Ayumi?" Then i peek outside, Which she did the same then: "Oh god Ayumi!" She cried. Then bursts out of the house, I tried to stop her with a muffled "Stop!" but she goes on anyway. I just peek again as things go down. She went for Ayumi and begged the people i don''t want to look at. But the person just kicks Ayumi''s mother away and grabs Ayumi again. Then Ayumi''s mother screams at the person, but the person screams back and pulled out a knife and stabs Ayumi, Making her scream in pain. My eyes went wide as i get shocked at the horrible scene. Then the person forcefully pulled out the knife. Ayumi is now acting strange, The person let go of her dress and held her by her shoulders and lays her down. Then slaps her face, making Ayumi look at him. Suddenly the person went quiet and looks at the ground. I wonder why, but i saw Ayumi slowly reaching out for her pockets, then took out a stone and smashed it on the person''s face. Ayumi was then sent into the ground! Now is my chance to save her! "Ayumi!" I said on my mind. Once i got out, i quickly but carefully picked up Ayumi. Once i got her, i thought of knowing the enemies''s face, their monstrous looks. I tried to look at them and there i saw the familiar face with the same familiar white hair. We stared for brief moments then i heard somebody yells "Hey! Shit! She''s taking the girl away!" I quickly looked at where the voice came from and i quickly turns to the house, Ayumi''s mother saw me and quickly ran into the house next to ours that is luckily not destroyed. Then i went inside our house and ran to the back door. Then ran into somewhere, as fast as i could, not looking back, not even for Ayumi''s mother. 4 A Lost Wolf Everything happened quick. The Tsuchiyans nor the other villages didn''t know who''s army are they from. The Once-Great Leader of the Tsuchiya has tried to fled from the village, to report to the allied villages. But his convoy got bombed by the Jets before they can even set out of their Center. Luckily, The Great Leader survived the bomb, but his escorts are no more. The Great Leader went to the entrance by himself, But it was too late. Convoys of Armored Vehicles is already traversing through the gate. And The Great Leader got shelled by an High-Explosive shell. -= TSUCHIYA VILLAGE IN RUINS =- Chiho ran as fast as she could. She tried to get in touch with their army but a Jet surprised her and hid into a ruined house. "Damn it! She''s losing too much blood!" Chiho curses as she observe Ayumi''s wound. Chiho knew how deep Ayumi''s wound and she also knew that it''s too much for her age to bare such horrible wound, but she still tried. Chiho removed her clothes and tore the stomach-part of her clothes and wore it again. Then Chiho applied the torn cloth into Ayumi''s wound. "Ayumi? I''m sorry but this cloth won''t be enough, We have to get moving again" Chiho expected an answer by Ayumi because she has her eyes half-open and breathing fine, But Ayumi didn''t respond. "Please don''t leave me Ayumi...." Chiho breaks and cried. Then few moments Chiho stopped and wipes her eyes. "W...We have to keep going.." She said to herself, Then she checked Ayumi''s breath, It was somehow still normal. Then Chiho carried Ayumi again. As They are about to leave, Chiho heard someone running closer and ran back inside. Then Chiho saw a soldier with a gun runs past the house. Chiho sighs in relief and lay Ayumi to the side and said: "Wait here, Ayumi. I will look and see if there''s any enemies" Then she went for the door and slowly opened the door. Chiho peeks at the direction of where the soldier ran into. "Hey! You!" A male voice shouts behind Chiho, Which she gasps and quickly turn around and saw a male soldier with a handgun pointing at her. She quickly went back inside and hid Ayumi behind her. Then the soldier came running and kicks down the door. "Eeek!" The noise from the door made Ayumi scream. "Ayumi?!" Chiho turned back to look at Ayumi. "Hey hey hey... Who are you hiding there?" The soldier asked Chiho. "Stay away!" Chiho screamed at the soldier. "Heheheh.... I really wish Shichiro allowed us to molest when we are pillaging like this, You look really cute" The soldier creepily told Chiho. "Y-You monsters!.." Chiho was surprised at the soldier''s intent. "But hey, He never pays attention on these these ruins, so he won''t see us here" The soldier hinting at Chiho. "And our plan was to get to the center, so most of us will go far from this part of the village. So be a good partner and let''s do it here right now" The soldier threatens to molest Chiho. "I will never do such things with you! You monster!". Chiho screamed at the soldier. Then she felt something touch her legs, Then she quickly looked below her and saw Ayumi trying to get up. "A-Ayumi! Stay still!" Chiho warned Ayumi, Then the soldier saw Ayumi woke and said: "Oh, is that your daughter? Good, good. I''m not into children, but she can join the fun too.." The soldier creepily suggested. "You sick bastard!..." Chiho''s disgusted at what he said. "So come on, Don''t make it hard". The soldier speaks and slowly moves toward Chiho. "Stay back!" Chiho shouted at the soldier. "Keh! So you won''t come along huh?" The soldier pointed the handgun at Chiho''s head. Chiho''s frightened at the gunpoint. She didn''t know how the handgun works. Despite the gun pointed at Chiho, Ayumi stood and went behind Chiho. The soldier is getting closer, then Chiho shouted "Don''t come any closer!". Pissing off the soldier, He then shoots the gun above Chiho''s head, making her duck a bit. "The longer you resist, The harder i get to punish you!" The soldier shouted at Chiho. then walk closer. "Heh.." The soldier laughs, "Here you are..." The soldier pretends to reach for Chiho''s breast, then quickly raised his gun up in the air and smashes it into Chiho''s head. "Ah!" But Chiho quickly saw this and catches his arm. "What the-!" The soldier was surprised at how quick Chiho''s reaction. While holding the soldier''s arm, Chiho pulls his arm, making him gets close at Chiho, Then Chiho kicked his crotch, making him moan in pain. Then Chiho quickly holds his head low then kicks his face with her Knee. "Ouch!.." Chiho''s knees hurts from the kick. This sends the soldier flying back, and so the gun. The soldier covers his face and rolled to stand up, Chiho saw this and picked up the gun. Then she imitated the way how the soldier was holding the gun and points it at the soldier. As the soldier gets up, He saw that Chiho is now wielding the gun, and immediately hangs his arm in the air. "H-Hey now... That thing is dangerous, it could kill you!" The soldier tries to trick Chiho. But Chiho knew that the thing she was holding is just like the Crossbow she held with her Father. It shoots. "Heh.." Chiho made a smug. "Do you really think i don''t know how this work? We Tsuchiyans have WAY better weapons than you have here" Chiho lied to the Soldier. The Soldier quickly fell to her lies and surprised. "W-What do you mean?! Y-Y-You guys still had those stupid bows and arrows! It can''t be!" The soldier is visibly shaking. "Heh... I will show you" Chiho threatened the soldier. "H-Hey now.. Wait..." The soldier tries to plead. Chiho then points at his chest and started to lightly touch everywhere around the trigger. Once she notices that it''s the same as the Crossbows, She immediately pressed the trigger, The gun fires loudly, making Ayumi scream "Eeek!" and sending a bullet through the soldier''s chest, making him scream in pain. Though Chiho didn''t know how powerful the gun is and was surprised. The gun flew off from her hands. "Whoa.... A-Amazing" Chiho looked at gun on the ground and looks at the squirming soldier. Then she picks the gun again. "O-Onee-chan.." Ayumi called for Chiho, but Chiho just took a quick peek at her and went to the squirming soldier. She pointed the gun at the soldier''s head, This time she held the gun by both of her hands, both fingers on the trigger and said: "Which village are you from? Who are you? No, Actually, Where did you came from?" She asked the soldier on the ground. "Heheh..... We are YOUR Nightmare!" The soldier taunts. Chiho''s enraged by this and pointed the gun at his stomach and shoots, making a loud noise and making Ayumi scream "Eeek!". This time Chiho managed to withstand the force the gun gives, though it still surprised her. The soldier screams in pain and holds his stomach. "Tell me! Tell me who you guys are!" Chiho loudly asked the soldier. "S-Screw it, i''m going to die anyway.... You can call us Prohorovkans" The soldier gave away their identities. "Po-pro..." "Pro-Ho-Rov-Kan-s!" Chiho couldn''t pronounce the name so the soldier repeated the word carefully for her. "P-Proho..Rovkans?" Chiho''s terrified at the name because she never heard such foreign name. "Yes, That''s right... Actually.... Ahk!" The soldier tries to proceed to explain but was interrupted by his cough, with blood. "Argh...We are the Prohorovka Trovishka Revoir Demolitions...Or PTRD for short....Remember....Th....." The soldier couldn''t continue his words. "W-Wait!" Chiho lowers her gun. "...I''m still alive, Jesus.... Now you''re worried about me.... Heh...." The soldier was just fighting with the stingy pain from his wounds. "No i''m not.. If you die, It would be hard to get information again" Chiho explained to the wounded soldier. "Then why''d you have to shoot me?...." The soldier asked Chiho, which Chiho just remains silent as she can''t give an answer. "Heh..Whatever... I guess this will be reward for such brave girl like you...." The soldier compliments Chiho''s bravery, Which surprises her because of the sudden change of his attitude. Then the soldier took out a painkiller from his pockets. Chiho was alarmed by this and pointed the gun at the soldier again, but the soldier remained calm. "Don''t worry, This thing is called Painkillers" The soldier explained the medicine. Chiho lowered her gun and asked: "P-Painkillers?". "Yes, You inject these to wounded person so he or she could not feel the pain for an amount of time" The soldier stands to sit against the wall and injected a painkiller at himself and grunts. "Agh.... Here..." The soldier took one more painkillers from his pocket and hands it to Chiho. "A-ah..." Chiho don''t know what to do. "Come on... Give it your daughter, She looks wounded from all the blood from her dress" The soldier shakes the painkiller, a hint for Chiho to take it. "T-Thanks... A-And were not siblings.." Chiho took the painkiller and told him about Ayumi. "She''s my neighbor, but we''re pretty like siblings because of how close we are". "Well it''s the same, isn''t it? You might not be the same blood, but you two are close" The soldier smiled at Chiho, surprising her. Seeing the two talk in peaceful way, Ayumi went behind Chiho and looked at the soldier. The soldier saw Ayumi and said: "Hey there little fella... I gave your onee-chan a medicine for you...". "H-Huh?" Ayumi was surprised, and looked at Chiho, Which then Chiho shows Ayumi the painkiller. "Alright, How about you inject that to her before she die from that wound?" The soldier suggested to inject the painkillers right away. "O-Okay umm...." Chiho looked at the painkiller. "H-How do you use this again?" Chiho asked how to use the syringe. "Well, For the little fella, Her arm is just fine, you inject that tiny metal to her arm, just like how you stab your enemy with a spear, but without the strong force. And push the top" The soldier explains how to use the painkiller. "A-Alright... Ayumi-chan, Let me see your arm" Ayumi then shows her arm to Chiho, Which Chiho carefully chooses where to inject the painkillers. "You will just pierce the skin anywhere, Right?" Chiho made sure what to do. "Yes... By the way, Little fella. How did you get the wound?" The soldier asked Ayumi. "M-My name is Ayumi, Kirisaki Ayumi" Ayumi was a bit annoyed at how the soldier was calling her, *Little* Fella, So she introduced herself right away. "Oh There we go, My name is Keijuro, Kujima Keijuro". The soldier exchanged name with Ayumi. "Kujima Kei-chan?". Ayumi repeated his name. "A-Ah....." Keijuro was flattered at how she said Kei-chan, But quickly remains his cool. "A-Ahem....". Then Chiho also introduced herself. "Kujima-san, My name is Hasegawa Chiho, Nice to meet you". "A-Ah... Nice to meet you too, Chiho-san. Come on, you can call me with my first name too". The soldier responded to Chiho''s introduction. "T-Then, Keijuro-san.." Chiho said his name. "There we go... Now enough talk, Go inject that thing to her" Keijuro hurriedly suggested to Chiho. "R-Right" Chiho immediately backs on track, Then she carefully injected the painkiller into Ayumi''s arm. "Ouch!" Ayumi squirms and making the injection even hurt. "Y-You should stay still Ayumi-chan, It hurts but it''s good for you" Chiho reassures Ayumi. "B-But...How if it''s a poison?" Ayumi still didn''t quite trust the syringe. Chiho worriedly looks at Keijuro. Keijuro looked at her too. "If it were a poison, i should be struggling to breath right now" Keijuro told Chiho. Then Chiho looked back at Ayumi''s arm and pushed the piston of the syringe. Then finally Chiho pulled out the syringe out of Ayumi''s arm. Then asked Ayumi: "How do you feel?". Ayumi remains quiet as she tries to feel.. "I-I feel normal...Actually...Relaxed!" Ayumi suddenly brighten up. "I couldn''t feel the wound anymore!" Ayumi added. This made Chiho happy. "Oh yeah, This is our own painkiller, we made it, So that painkiller should take effect for 3 days. It temporarily covers the wound, you go take a look" Keijuro explained their own-made Painkillers. This made Chiho curious and she asked Ayumi to reveal her wounded part. Which Ayumi did and both Ayumi and Chiho got surprised, The wound is no longer there, just the circle mark. "A-Amazing....How...." Chiho''s speechless at what she witnessed. "It''s Magic. We used Shichi-...Our leader''s healing power and sealed it into these syringes with small hints of normal painkillers" Keijuro explained. Then Chiho looked at Keijuro with deadh serious face. "Y-Your leader....Who was it?" Chiho said in serious tone. "F-Fujiwara Shichiro... He''s our leader, He always wear blue jacket, you can''t miss him or mistake it with others" Keijuro was surprised at Chiho''s seriousness as he gave away Shichiro''s identity. This made Ayumi gasp and asked: "D-Does he have blue hair?". This made Chiho also remember something. "Yes, He have blue hair, you have seen him?" Keijuro asked, Then suddenly Ayumi tears and said: "Y-Yes...He''s....He''s the one who hurts me..." This made Chiho enraged and swears: "That damn bastard!". But Keijuro ignored her fury and said: "Now,now. Time to explain before we part ways". This made Chiho loses her anger and looked at Keijuro. "Alright listen here, both of you. First, We are the PTRD. We came here to this world by a portal. So that means we are from the other world" Keijuro started to explain, Making Chiho curious and asked: "P-Portal? From other world? " But Keijuro ignored her question and said: "Now''s not the time to ask a question, You can know a lot later because i know we will be here for long enough". Then Keijuro continued. "We went to this world to pillage villages like yours, for more resources". "And we have the modern...WAY more modern Equipments and weaponry than what you guys have here in this era" Keijuro added. "M-Modern...Era..?" Chiho curiously repeated the words, Which Keijuro nods at her. "Alright, tell me about your leader!" Chiho requested Keijuro. "Fine, You already know his name. First, He leads the PTRD. Which already makes it hard to fight with him in the beginning" Keijuro revealed his leader away to Chiho. "H-Hard?" Chiho questioned. "Yeah i told you already, We have modern shit that is way better than yours" Keijuro was a bit annoyed. "M-Modern...S-Shit..?" Chiho repeated the word. "Oh for god sake, This is why i hate this era... I meant the modern weaponry and stuff!" Keijuro explained in another way. "T-Then why did you called it shit? What is that word?" Chiho asked again. "J-Just shut the hell up.. God...Alright, Shichiro here have an enormous power, by that i mean the Magic" Keijuro explained further. "Now here''s Magic... What is ''Magic''?" Chiho asked. "W-Well....An extraordinary unphysical stuff that normal humans doesn''t bear? Damn, You''ll know it once you saw it" Keijuro hardly explains what is magic. "O-Okay?... Then give me one of his ''Magic''.." Chiho asked. "Alright. In battles, He always uses these types of blade. It comes out of his hands or wherever from his arm. It''s just like swords, but more dangerous and He can hide it and reveal it however he wants. He have the capability to turn it into burning blades, It can cut into everything and burns the damage he caused. Though, i called it burning but the appearance of the blades didn''t change much, it was just these radiating heats coming from it." Keijuro explained Shichiro''s blades. Then Keijuro stares at Chiho, as if trying to remember something. "W-What?" Chiho asked his staring. "Oh yeah!" Then Keijuro suddenly lit up as if finally remembered something. "He gave us those power just in case of intense struggles from the enemies, Wanna see it?" Keijuro told Chiho then turns to Ayumi and asked her. Ayumi gasps and instantly nod like a parent asked her if she likes the toy. "Alright, Here goes" Keijuro raised his right arm and releases a blade from his arm with a sound. "W-Whoa..." "Amazing....." Both girls were amazed at the scene. "These are blades i was talking about. Though i don''t know how to make it burn". Keijuro told the girls. "These blades are Shichiro''s main weapon, But he have other scary powers. So if you''re willing to fight him, that would be your biggest mistake, And not only that. He also have a friend... A Girlfriend who used to have powers that is equal to his'' too". This made Chiho remember the girl with white hair. "T-That girl! with White hair! Are you talking about her?!". Chiho furiously asked Keijuro. "Y-Yes.... Her name is Maeru, Shigawa Maeru. She''s a devil from Hell" Keijuro responded. Which made Chiho fall her spirits because of the new scary words she just heard again. "D-Devil...From Hell?...That c-cute face?". Chiho remembers Maeru''s face when they waved each other back at the streets. "Heh..She''s cute, yeah... But She have a dark secret she''s hiding behind that appearance. Not that she''s a Devil, No, No" Keijuro told Chiho. Which made her scared and curious, She remained quiet for Keijuro to continue. "That girl is crazy, She has this dark twisted personality where she loses control of herself and starts to kidnap people and tortures them, And throw their guts out and crazily compliments them how beautiful their insides is". Keijuro explained Maeru''s ''Yandere'' personality with disgusted face. Which the girls cover their mouths in disgust. "We, from the whole PTRD, and Shichiro call this personality ''Yandere''." Keijuro continued. "Y-Yandere?" Ayumi asked. "Yes, I think it means crazily falling in love on a certain person and is willing to do anything just so there''s nobody and nothing can go between the said person and herself" Keijuro explains the Yandere in his own words. "That''s...Awful..." Chiho reacted to his explanation. "Yes, And currently, Maeru''s in relationship with Shichiro and is fighting beside him" Keijuro told the girls, which made them afraid. "And if you kill Shichiro with Maeru still living, It will be your worse nightmare, And that nightmare will haunt you for eternity" Keijuro explained more. "So i suggest, if you''re somehow willing to fight against us, You go get rid of Maeru first before Shichiro himself. Because Shichiro has rules to himself, One of it was if the girl is not strong enough, or even brave, She cannot be his partner. So if Maeru falls to your hands, He will just fight you normally. It''s better that way than the other way around where Maeru chases you even at your own sleep" Keijuro suggested to Chiho. "Well, i guess i explained enough things for you to understand. It''s time for me to go" Keijuro stood up and walks to the door. "W-Wait!" Chiho stood up and tries to hold him by his shoulder, But Keijuro stopped and turned around "Don''t worry, I won''t report you nor fight you" Keijuro told Chiho, making her worry. "Go and find a way to obtain these powers and i''ll be one of the soldiers you''ll face before fighting either Shichiro or Maeru". Keijuro suggested to Chiho. "I-I will!" Chiho agreed, though she''s still confused why an enemy helped her. Then Keijuro turns to face the door. "Until then, I will see how well you are with the new powers you have" Keijuro turns to Chiho again with a smile, Which Chiho was flattered and blushes. Keijuro saw her blush and laughs and said: "Hahah, What are you blushing for? I just gave you an advice, I''m still your enemy. And that enemy that tries to molest you once" Chiho suddenly remembered their fight and sadly looked at the ground. "And whatever you said, I will fight with the PTRD against you until my last breath" Keijuro said. "Goodbye, Chiho-san... You too, Little fella" Keijuro turns away and opened the door. "My name is Ayumi!!" Ayumi screamed at Keijuro. "Right,right, See you around, Ayumi-chan" But Keijuro didn''t look back and exits the house. The girls stood silent. "W-What should we do?" Ayumi brokes the silence and looked at Chiho. "A-Ah....." Chiho didn''t know what to do either. "Why did an enemy help us? He even gave us a medicine" Ayumi''s also curious at the sudden turn of the situation. "I-I guess we should get going too" Chiho suggested to go, which Ayumi agrees and nods. Then they exit the house and looks at it as to remember their very first contact with their enemies. Then Chiho suddenly perks up as if remembered something important. "By that time, Ayumi-chan" "Huh?" Ayumi looked at Chiho. "By that time, How did you stood up with that wound?"Chiho asked Ayumi, which Ayumi rubs the part of the wound and said: "It really...really hurts, everytime i move a bit, It hurts even more.... But i still forced myself to stand with you" Ayumi explained, Which make Chiho cry and crouches to hug Ayumi. "I promise, i will protect you even if it cost my life" Chiho cried to Ayumi. "No, Onee-chan. You said it wrong!" Ayumi told Chiho, making her back up and look at Ayumi''s face, Ayumi was smiling. "I think you said I will protect you until the end!". Ayumi smiled brighter. "A-Ayumi-chan" Chiho then hugged her tightly.. They stayed like that despite the chaos happening in the village''s center. Then they let go each other and continues to walk to their beginning. 5 Invulnerable Fighting Spirits Several smokes from different spots can be seen rising up the sky as the two walks cautiously. Their goal was to reach their military outposts. Though they already knew the outposts were destroyed by now, yet still insist to go for they have no any other choice. The Center has already met it''s terrible fate. Their only real hope now is to find a standing Military Outposts. Few minutes later, they got out of the quiet sector of the village. The sounds of chaos now became louder. "O-Onee-chan..." Ayumi suddenly slows her pace, Which Chiho stops in surprise. "W-What''s wrong?!". Chiho nervously reaches for Ayumi''s shoulders, Which made Ayumi jumps in surprise. "A-Ah! N-Nothing..u-um.." Ayumi answered Chiho. This made Chiho relax and asked her again, Then Ayumi asked squirming. "A-Are we going to be safe?". Then Chiho brightly answered: "Of course! We''ll just have to avoid any attention, and walk without anyone noticing". Chiho has a bit of courage because of what her father taught her. "And i''ll protect you whatever happens, So don''t worry alright?" Chiho told Ayumi with bright smile, Making Ayumi smile back and nods. As they continued to walk cautiously, Explosions still continues to erupt as the bombers flew by above them. The two didn''t care about the bombers that might saw them, because of how they believe they cannot be seen by how fast the Jets are. They proceed. They''re finally close to the Center. The two reached a Roving bridge when suddenly Ayumi holds Chiho''s hands and stopped walking. "Onee-chan.. I don''t think we are safe to go near the center" Ayumi convinced Chiho to stop going further. "I-..I see.. I just thought we''ll still be able to see any survivors" Chiho placed her palm on the back of her head with sad face. "I...Don''t think there will be any survivors, The Center''s been exploding since the first flying thing went over it" Ayumi assumes the terrible outcome of the bombings. "Y-You never know... There might be at least who hid from their basement and-" "But the Center is too huge for just the two of us to save even one person! And look!". Before Chiho could continue, Ayumi interrupts her and points at the sky, A plane flew by and Prohorovkan troops falls from the plane and Parachutes. "That''s the third time i saw a plane since we left the house and lots of enemy fell from it and slowly falling to the Center". "There are tons of them on the Center right now.. Killing us..." Ayumi suddenly fell in despair. "A-Ayumi!" Chiho holds both Ayumi''s shoulders and shakes her a bit. "Y-You can''t say that!" Chiho scolds Ayumi. "B-But it''s true right? This is the fate of a loser in war" Ayumi looks directly at Chiho''s eyes with a rather pained smile, Then her face quickly changes into a serious mood. "We don''t even know which village they were from, what region they were in, What''s their flag looks like. And what''s more confusing is..." Ayumi looks away from Chiho, to look at the sky where they saw the parachuting Prohorovkan troops before. "What are those fast flying thing, Those small things they drop and cause an enormous explosion". Ayumi started to speak again but Chiho interrupts her.Making Ayumi look back at her. "You''re thinking too much, Ayumi... We can think these through again once we find help, alright?". Chiho convinced Ayumi to stop. "S-Sorry" Ayumi looked at the grounds. "Also, You''re too young to think these kinds of things, And same goes for me! So let''s not think about those and just rely on our soldiers alright?" Chiho tried to console Ayumi but Ayumi didn''t say anything. "Let''s go, Let''s keep going.. If there are any enemies, let''s quickly run back here.." Chiho walks forward and looked back at Ayumi, to signal that She should follow her now. Though, Ayumi still disagree going for the Center and just hopes they will be safe. The two proceeds forth as Ayumi''s fear grew as they get closer to their Center. Suddenly, A Heavy Armor wielding an Pollaxe. suddenly bolted out of a building, It was one of their soldier. "Eeek!!" The two screams bewildered at the sudden event, Ayumi quickly hides behind Chiho. "You there!" The Heavy armored soldier speaks, Then the soldier started speak in different language. "Are you two Tsuchiyans?" Chiho suddenly lit up, and so Ayumi peek at the soldier. "W-Was that... an Old Tsuchiyan....Lang..." Chiho can''t speak in excitement, holds both her palm and talks in the same language "Yes, We are Tsuchiyans! Please, Help!". Ayumi instantly recognized the language by Chiho''s talkings and went beside her, bows and greets in the same language. "N-Nice to meet you" Satisfied, The soldier rested his weapon at his side and started to speak their present language again "No enemies should never know of our old beautiful language for as they speak language that is not from any of the villages in our region. Shall they came from different regions, our old language spreads will never reach them. Come, Citizens! In the building!" The soldier instructed the two to enter the building. The two was still amazed by the soldier using their old Tsuchiyan language to see if they are Tsuchiyans. As the two entered the building with the heavy armored soldier on their tow, They were greeted by the four other soldiers in lighter armor''s gaze and the surviving Tsuchiyans sitting on the side. The interior is not on a good condition just like how it looks like from the outside, But can hold out for a few days, maybe. The two stood still by the door way, Then one of the soldiers speaks. "Hello there, Citizens. Please, Stay here for a while we still look for any surviving pe-" "No, These are all we could bring for now. We cannot risk bringing a larger group of survivors and ending up being detected by those flying things by our large presence. And specially running away from enemies who will somehow see us". The heavy armored soldier interrupts the other soldier. "Fine, Fair enough. Now you two, please?" The soldier laid his hand on the air on his left, gesturing that the two should go over there. "S-Sor..." Chiho tries to apologize while she hurriedly go to their side.but she was too pressured by the realization of keeping the heavy armor soldier waiting for them to get in. Ayumi silently follows Chiho. The Heavy armored soldier carefully closed the door and removed his helmet and faced the group. His face wears a monstrous look, like he''s been in hell countless times, slaying demons and coming back alive and so. Although disturbing, It is quite astonishing for the two that they have such brave soldiers among their military. "Alright, Citizens. We came from the hidden base west of our Center". Ayumi quickly recognized a bunker and suddenly lit up. "Kakuden is it?!". A Soldier noticed Ayumi''s brightful words and grins and crossed his arms. "Yes, little girl. The Kakure Kyuden. I see you''ve been sticking to your lessons eh!". This made the two look each other and smile. This also made the heavy armored soldier to smile a bit. "Yes. The Kakure Kyuden or Kakuden for short. A Fairly large underground bunker full of weaponry and equipment in case of sudden invasion or breakthrough of the enemies during wars. We do not know why do our great leader intends to hide the fact that we could keep medium-sized catapults inside the Kakuden by telling the whole citizen that, that is just a myth. But there you have it, We do can store catapults inside the Kakuden". "I-I knew it! I knew it wasn''t a myth! If it''s said large, then everything that is smaller than large can fit!" Ayumi clears her doubt with the heavy armored soldier''s words. The soldiers just smiles at Ayumi then returned to their usual faces. "Alright. We were tasked by the commander of the bunker to escort surviving Tsuchiyans to the bunker. Right now, There are four search parties around these place. Though, The commander let us think free of how are we going to do it so we don''t know if the other search parties are safe". The Heavy armored soldier explains the situation. Chiho was furious to his explanation. "Think..Free?! Is that even allowed?! Without clear orders, the soldiers are gonna-!" "The commander did it to test us, Those who are full of courage will be able to get back, Those who are not are free to die in the hands of the enemies. It''s a crazy rule, but it helps to sort out chickens out of the wolves pack" The Heavy armored soldier interrupts her to explain quickly. Though, The two didn''t understand the ''wolves pack'' part, they looked at each other and gave a confused look. "Now enough of that!" The Heavy armored soldier wore his helmet back and shouts, as to give the group an order. "We are now going for the bunker! Do your best to keep up with us. If there''s a trouble, Do not panic and just follow us! We''ll keep you safe!" Hearing the Heavy armored soldier, The survivors stood up. "Yuuto!" The heavy armored soldier calls out a soldier then gets out. The other three soldiers followed shortly. "Yes!" The obedient-looking soldier who appears to have a name of Yuuto, responded. "Alright, Citizens. I''ll be the one you''ll follow as the soldier with the pollaxe will guide us to the Kakuden.. Quick." Then Yuuto goes out with the survivors on his tail. The two follows them. he whole group silently walk through the abandoned buildings, Only the soldiers'' armor clanking as they walk can only be heard. And the two also silently follows them behind. As they reach an intersection. The heavy armored soldier stopped and puts his hands on the air, to signal the group to stop. Then he broke the silence. "Up ahead is the way to the Center. And for some reason, The enemies are all piled up in there and they only put small groups of soldiers to patrol the streets" The heavy armored soldier explained. "So small, we crushed them despite of what kind of a weapon they have. And whatever it is, I crushed it with my weapon" He continued. "W-What a waste isn''t it?! We should have-!" Before Chiho could continue, He looked back at Chiho. "...It''s not ours... The Great Leader has made a secret rules only for the military to know, that we should not take anything from any villages as our materials and chances to improve our weapons. We MUST improve them using OUR own ways and resources" He explained to Chiho. "Tsk" Followed by a grump, Chiho silently whispered to Ayumi: "I know we are the biggest village in the region and all, but we still need the other village''s technologies and inventions. We''ll take a good look on them and try to make a better one out of it" Though, Despite her determination on a better plan of modernizing technologies, Ayumi just looks back at her. Which made Chiho sigh. "Though it is small, If they have noticed that their patrols didn''t comeback, they will definitely look for them with larger patrols... Just follow me..We''ll go this way" The heavy armored soldier points his finger to the right. "Another way to the Kakuden lies here. Though, We do not know if the enemies have been in these parts so let''s be careful" He added. Then He went to the right way, and the group followed shortly. After walking for about 5 minutes from the intersection,They reached a part where there were no buildings on the right side of the road. Few seconds later,The group heard an incoming loud wailing from the sky. The survivors started to get worried and whispers words. "W-What is that noise?! A war horn?!" Chiho asked the heavy armored soldier. "No. It cannot be the war horns. We never heard such war horns sound like that, and also it''s coming way faster, It''s got to be one of those flying things again" He answered. As the loud noise come close, A Black Stuka came on sight with large visible red star on it''s sides and on each wings. "H-Hey! There! Look over there!" A soldier stopped walking and points at the sky. "It''s that thing making those weird noise!". The plane was flying to their direction. "It''s coming towards us! What do we do!?" As the soldiers panic, The group grew louder with whimpers. "S-Stay calm! Let''s stop walking and let it pass through!" The heavy armored soldier tried to focus. "No way! We have to run! Were going to die from it''s explosives!" A soldier opposes the heavy armored soldier''s attempt. "If we run, We''ll be seen! Look at it! It''s slower than the first one!" The heavy armored soldier rejected the soldier''s idea. "Let''s just go inside the houses then!". Another soldier gave an idea, Then the whole group looks at the houses on the left. All the visible houses are already destroyed and is impossible to get in, Then the noise started to get real loud as the plane''s image started to clear. "S-Shit!" A soldier cursed at the horrible situation. Then a female survivor, who looks as young as Chiho and with short green hair started to wear a terrified face and puts both of her hands on the top of her head. "H-Haahhh... No.....No..No....!!" The girl was visibly shaking. "C-Calm down!" Chiho tried to console the girl, but was quickly interrupted by the heavy armored soldier. "Quickly! Near the houses and duck!" As the plane''s about to come, The group quickly went close to the buildings and ducks down. As they get into the position, The plane started to lower it''s altitude, Then as it flies by above the group, It left a strong wind, attacking the group and a deafening loud siren and loud engine roar along with the survivor''s cries behind it. "Is it go-" A Soldier speaks but was quickly interrupted by an explosion, shaking the surface and the group losing their balance and falling on to ground. "Goddamn it!" A soldier reacted to the explosion. "T-That one is different.." Ayumi started to speak. "It has feet and slower than the first one" She continued. "I-I know right... It also sounds different" Chiho speaks. "Just what are these monsters?!" A soldier jolted up. "Yeah, They are monsters. Except that they are not really a ''monster''" The Heavy armored soldier answered the soldier''s whine. "What do you mean by that?" Chiho stood up to ask. "If you carefully observed it, They are not biological. That flying thing is made out of metals" The Heavy armored soldier started to explain. "M-Metals?! Like the blades from swords and spears?! H-How...." Chiho questioned about his explanation. The whole group was also puzzled by this. "Well, Believe it or not, I swore i have saw no scales or skins, It looks entirely different from skins or scales. Now we do not know yet how they fly" He continued his explanation. "H-How would you know?! It might just be a painted woods and have some kind of a flying animal carrying it?" Chiho questioned him again. "No. I saw reflections. Woods don''t reflect, But metals do" The heavy armored soldier responded. "Let''s think this again once we reached the Kakuden! Let''s proceed!" He ordered the group to continue walking again. Few minutes later, They heard the plane again and was alerted. But the plane just went back to the direction of where it came from. It took about fifteen minutes for them to reach another intersection. And again, They stopped. "Alright, Left of here is the way to the Ce-" Before the Heavy armored soldier could continue, They heard a familiar languages being spoken not far from them, and was coming from the street to the Center. The heavy armored soldier backs off, then told the group. "Quick! Find a place to hide!". The whole group then started to look at the surrounding buildings. "H-Here! Over here!" An Adult Male survivor calls out an attention and points to an almost-destroyed house. "Alright, to the building!" The heavy armored soldier ordered. The group went in first then the soldiers and the last was the Heavy armored soldier. After he got in, He carefully closed the door for the sake of the house staying intact. "W-Why are we hiding?!" A soldier asked to the Heavy armored soldier. "What?! You guys look for a place to hide without even knowing what''s to hide for?!" The Heavy armored soldier was surprised. "Well yeah, We were surprised. You just suddenly asked for a place to hide" The soldier responded. "Whatever. I heard people talking with a language i don''t recognize" The heavy armored soldier told them what happened. Then He peeked at the door slightly. "Here they come" He whispers. Two Prohorovkan troops started to appear from the street, both holding assault rifles. Then the Heavy armored soldier listened closely to their conversation. "Hey, Were both Japanese right? Come on, let''s speak Japanese, We don''t have to speak Russian right now yeah?" The male Prohorovkan now speaks in Japanese, Made the Heavy armored soldier surprised. He can fully understand what the soldier just said. "What the... They are now speaking our language... But, Japanese?.." He was left speechless. Then He started to listen again. "-oods, Right? I don''t know why Shichiro wants this kind of tactics. We should ha-" The female Prohorovkan was already speaking and the Heavy armored soldier didn''t catch the whole conversation as they disappear. "Damn it, I didn''t hear anything at all!" The Heavy armored soldier curses as their enemies walk away gone to the street going to the right. He then backed off from the door and faced the group. "How did it go?" A soldier asked a question. But He shakes his head. "Not much" He answered to the soldier. The whole group falls into disappointment. "But i heard that they also speak ''Japanese'' That is surprisingly the same with our language" He explained. "W-What do you mean?" Chiho asked. "They said to speak Japanese, when they did, I can still understand them. It sounds exactly like ours" He responded. "What the hell.." A soldier puts his his hands on his face. "S-So are you saying that the Japanese and Tsuchiyan is same?" Chiho asked again. "Most likely. Either they stole our language and named it themselves or just a horrible coincidence from other region''s country" The Heavy armored soldier assumed. "Coincidence?! Bullshit!" The soldier throws his hands away from his face. "We do not know yet! So, Silence!" The Heavy armored soldier scolded the soldier. Then he peeked outside again, then opens the door and said: "Let''s keep going". The group went outside and the survivors goes behind Yuuto. "Alright, They went this way. So let''s be careful" As the Heavy armored soldier told them, He''s about to walk but He was stopped by Yuuto. "Hey... Are you sure were going that way?" Yuuto asked. "Yeah, The Kakuden is nearby. We''ll just walk slowly then so we don''t catchup with them". Yuuto sigh and faced the survivors behind him. "Alright, Let''s go, Citizens! We are close!" The survivors happily whispers after hearing those words. "All good? Let''s go" The Heavy armored soldier started to walk with the group behind him. Once the group has entered the street, Chiho heard a dying engine sound. Her face slowly started to fill with horror as She saw an Enemy in an unfamiliar vehicle. It was an R37 Sidecar. It is a Motorcycle with an MG-34-mounted sidecar. There are two crews, The Driver and the Gunner. As She stare at the Driver, She noticed that their face was kind of confused. "Run....." Chiho spoke. "Huh?" Ayumi stopped walking and looks back at Chiho. But as soon as Ayumi looked "RUN!!" Chiho quickly turns back at Ayumi and grabs her wrist and started to run past the survivors. As Chiho reached the Heavy armored soldier, He quickly heard her footsteps and quickly looked over his shoulder. "Whoa hey now, Citizen!" Yuuto triesto grab Chiho, but Chiho avoided. "We..We have to run!" Chiho told the Heavy armored soldier, Panicking. Then He finally turn around to face Chiho. "What?" The Heavy armored soldier asked but before Chiho could answer, the survivors started to panic. This made Chiho and the soldiers look back at them. Then the survivors started running past Yuuto. "Hey wait!" The Heavy armored soldier chased the first survivor, Making the group lose it''s formation and all started running. Up ahead was a curved road. With buildings surrounding the streets, The enemies can no longer be seen as the group reached the curve. Then this time, Up ahead, Was a long road. Though, The two soldiers from before is still walking the path. But the survivors didn''t care about them and kept running. "C-Commander!" Yuuto calls out the Heavy armored soldier, visibly worried sick about being seen by the enemies ahead. But surprisingly, Despite the noises, The two soldiers still didn''t bother to look until the group was close. "Yuuto! Get the other one!" The Heavy armored soldier loudly gave an order to Yuuto. "Roger!" Yuuto responds with the same loud voice. Then Yuuto and the Heavy armored soldier runs faster than the survivors and charges towards the two enemy. "Huh?" The enemy male soldier looks behind "E-Enemy!". Then the other one got alerted and turns around as well. But it was too late for them to react. The Heavy armored soldier has his Pollaxe''s sharp head pointed at the male soldier''s stomach, the same with Yuuto''s spear towards the other one. Then their blades stabs the soldiers'' stomach and kept pushing the enemies with a shout for them to slow down from the charge then they gave a final push to get their blades off the enemies and drop them to the ground. Then the Heavy armored soldier holds his Pollaxe up in the air then throws it down with a shout to the enemy''s chest, Making a loud chop noise and blood splatter followed by the enemy''s screaming in pain. The soldier''s eyes grew wide as He struggled to breath and remove the axe off his chest, but the extreme pain from the Pollaxe''s stab makes him weak. Noticing the struggling soldier, The Heavy armored soldier pushed his Pollaxe even deeper into his chest. This made the soldier twitch and quickly die. Seeing that the soldier is dead, The Heavy armored soldier raised his Pollaxe with the body still stuck in it''s blade, Then placed his foot onto the body and pushes the body off the blade. Then He looked at Yuuto, Who have seemed to pierce the neck of the female soldier with his spear. "Good job" He compliments Yuuto. "Yeah.. The others went ahead to catch the running citizens" Yuuto responded. Then they both felt a presence from their back and turns around. Chiho and Ayumi was there. They can''t believe what they are looking at. Both are visibly shaking and terrified at the view. "Citizen. Try not to look too much, it''ll be bad for you" Yuuto convinced the two to stop looking at the bodies. "Let''s go, Everyone is up ahead" The Heavy armored soldier started walking. "Yeah, Let''s catch up with them" Yuuto agreed. The two soldier started to run. "A-Ayumi-chan... D-Don''t look at it.. L-Let''s just go" Even though Chiho said that to Ayumi, She herself can''t even look away. Even when they started walking. When they finally get pass by the bodies, They started to calm down. But not until they heard a loud engine revving up from the curved road. The two was surprised and immediately looked behind. It was the R37 before. The R37 gave a final rev and finally charges towards them with a loud engine sound. "T-They''re coming!" Ayumi shouts. "L..Let''s go!" Chiho started to run and shouted at Ayumi. Ayumi also ran, but She was being left because of how slow she is. "O-Onee-chan! Wait!". Chiho heard her call and gasp. "Hurry!" Chiho slowed down her pace. As Ayumi started to reach Chiho, The R37 is also starting to get close too. Chiho looked at the R37 then at Ayumi. "I''ll carry you!" "Eh?!" Chiho catched both Ayumi''s legs with efforts and carried her, surprising Ayumi. Then Chiho started to run faster. Chiho then saw the Heavy armored soldier and Yuuto wielding their weapons up ahead, looking at them. "Hurry, Citizen! This way!" The Heavy armored soldier shouts at Chiho. Then She looked ahead, There''s a road to the right and straight only. Chiho pushed herself to run even faster. "This way!" As Chiho reached the soldiers, Yuuto points to his left, Which Chiho did so. Once they finally turned left, Chiho immediately fell on her knees but gently put down Ayumi before stepping a few steps and throws herself to the ground, Chiho was panting so hard, trying to catch her breath. "Onee-chan! Are you okay?!" Ayumi quickly stood up and went by Chiho''s side. "Onee-chan!" Ayumi''s face was filled with horror as She flipped Chiho by her shoulders. "Haah...Haah.. Ayumi.." Chiho looked at the worried Ayumi and hardly calls her name, smiling. "Geez! You look like you''re going to die!" Ayumi pouts. "Here it comes!" The Heavy armored soldier shouts, Making the two gasp and quickly looked at the two soldiers still standing on the middle road. The sound of engine of the R37 got closer as the two soldier put up a stance. Until the R37 open fires. "S-Shit!" The Heavy armored soldier curses as they evade the bullets flying to their direction. They went to hide to Chiho''s direction but the Heavy armored soldier got hit twice, on the legs and waist. "Commander!" Yuuto on the other hand, survived. And looked back to the Heavy armored soldier. But despite his wounds, He still managed to walk towards them then falls into one knee. "C-Commander!" Yuuto shouted. Then the R37 appeared fast and hardly hits the brake. The gunner speaks in Russian and looks at Chiho''s direction. Then the R37 quickly reversed. Seeing this, The Heavy armored soldier tried to stand but the pain was too much to take He just fell. "Don''t stand!" Yuuto told him to stay put and faced the R37, whose is already about to turn to face them. "Goddamn it....!" Chiho looked at the wounded Heavy armored soldier and quickly stood up. "Onee-chan?!" Ayumi also stood up in surprise. Then Chiho runs to snatch the Pollaxe from the Heavy armored soldier. "Hey!" "Citizen!" The two shouted at her as She charges towards the R37. "ONEE-CHAN!!!" Ayumi shouted at the top of her lungs while bursting tears. "Stop her! Yuuto!" The Heavy armored soldier told Yuuto. But He panicked and froze on spot. "Yuuto!". The Heavy armored soldier screamed. Tears flies from Chiho''s eyes as She charges towards the R37. She held the Pollaxe with two hands and raised it on the air. The two enemies saw this and the gunner talks to the driver in russian, Which the driver nods and grins with evil intent, revs up the engine and drives toward the charging Chiho. "NOOOO....!!" Ayumi started to run but The Heavy armored soldier forcefully stood up and catches Ayumi, followed by his painful moan. "C-Commander!" Yuuto looks back at him. "C-Child... It''s too..Dangerous!" The Heavy armored soldier warns Ayumi. "But..!" Their conversation was cut by Chiho''s scream, Whose facing the R37 alone. As She''s about to close in against the R37, Chiho heard one thing She managed to hear from the Driver. "§ã§Õ§í§ç§Ñ?§Ñ?§Ñ?§ä§î!!". Then She quickly looked at the Gunner, who had His gun fortunately pointing up instead of towards Chiho. Then Chiho quickly moves to the right, surprising both the soldiers. Then She screamed again and put the Pollaxe''s blades to her right and violently swung it forward with a timing to hit the Gunner, Who''s got hit by his neck. With the Pollaxe stucked at his neck, The soldier forcefully got out of sidecar, eyes wide and hardly screaming. Chiho then lays the Pollaxe in front of her with the soldier, who''s bleeding very bad from his neck. The Driver looked back at them without stopping the R37. "Hiroki!!" The Driver screamed. "Haaaaaah!!" The Driver heard the scream and looked at his front. To only see a spear pointed at his neck held by Yuuto''s left hands from the safe distance from the R37''s way. The Driver tried to stopped the R37 but It was way too fast for it to fully stop. "Haah!" Yuuto moves his left hand back then charges forth towards the Driver''s neck, stabbing it with a lot of force. Same as happened with the Gunner, The Driver was put out of the R37, leaving it still moving forward. Yuuto then moved his spear to make the Driver, Who''s now appeared died from the strong stab, To kneel. Then He grabbed the Driver''s head then pushed it at the same time He pulled his Spear away from the Driver''s neck. Lots of bloods burst out of neck as the Spear got removed. "Hiiih..!" Ayumi was terrified of the scene, She watched the neck drains out of blood. Then Yuuto let go of the head and the body drops forward. "Urgk!" Ayumi holds her mouth, to stop vomiting, but despite her efforts, She moved away from the Heavy armored soldier and pukes. Yuuto looked at Ayumi, but didn''t do anything. Ayumi then slowly turned back to look at them again. Then Yuuto turned to look at Chiho. "Ah!" He saw Chiho, Panting hard and still holding the Pollaxe stucked on the Gunner''s neck. "C-Citizen!" Yuuto called out Chiho but She furiously looked back at him with a raging look and looked back to the Gunner again. She forcefully removed the Pollaxe, making the Gunner''s body goes on air about a second and falls again. Then She raised it on the air and swung it down the Gunner''s neck with a shout, Beheading him. After that, She remained like that for a few moments, catching her breath. Yuuto, The Heavy armored soldier and Ayumi saw what she did. Their jaws drop, speechless of what she just did. Then Chiho carried the Pollaxe and looked at Yuuto, Then looked away and started walking towards them with shaking legs, using the Pollaxe to support her from falling. Yuuto and The Heavy armored soldier only watch her walk as they''re speechless. But Ayumi bursts into tears. "Onee-chan..!!" Then runs toward Chiho with open arms. Chiho saw her and stopped walking. But Ayumi jumps to hugs her, Chiho tried to catch Ayumi but She don''t have enough strength to support herself and She falls sitting. Ayumi hugs her tightly as She cries. Chiho hugged her lightly and rested her head by placing her cheeks on Ayumi''s head. Then She closed her eyes and tears started to flow. Yuuto and The Heavy armored soldier watch them embrace each other. "My, My... Look at that" The Heavy armored soldier speaks, making Yuuto look at him. "That girl do know how to wield a weapon....As Expected of the Daughter of Commander Yagano". "Eh?!" Yuuto was surprised about what He just said. "Commander...Y-Yagano..?" Then Yuuto looked back at Chiho. "Yeah... Commander Yagano once told me that He and his wife never told their Daughter a thing about him being a commander of an army. Or even being involved to the army. He only trains her some Self-Defense" Then Yuuto looked back at the Heavy armored soldier. "Heh.. I guess her training finally paid off" Then the Heavy armored soldier slowly raised his body to sit and moved to a building to lay his back. "Oh yeah Commander! You''re wounded!" Yuuto suddenly jolts and ran towards the Heavy armored soldier and kneels, heel down. "Hah you idiot.... You just remembered that now? If i were weaker i''d be dead by now" The Heavy armored soldier teased Yuuto, Which made him regret forgetting about his commander''s wounds. "Now don''t sweat it kid, I''ve been wounded several times and longer than this" The Heavy armored soldier relaxes Yuuto. "As expected of you, Commander" Yuuto replied with his hands on the back of his head. "But i still need help, I''m no god. We have to get to the Kakuden quick" The Heavy armored soldier added. "Right" Yuuto responded and stood up then looked at Chiho and Ayumi. "Citizens?" Yuuto called out for them. Then Chiho looked at him. Yuuto approached them and told them. "Let''s go, Hasegawa-san" This surprised Chiho, and so Ayumi whose suddenly turns her head to look at Yuuto. "H-How did you...." Chiho asked Yuuto. "Daughter of Hasegawa Yagano.... Commander....Yagano". "Commander?!" Chiho tensed up, surprising Ayumi. "Yes. Commander Yagano of the 1st Armored Battalion.. The Brave Commander of the very first Army formed. Ever since that day, He''s been fighting wars with his whole life". Chiho then started to tears again. "No way....." "Onee-chan...." Ayumi felt sad at Chiho. "Hey now, Yuuto" The Heavy armored soldier called out Yuuto. "No.. There''s no point of hiding that now" Yuuto looked over his shoulder, to the Heavy armored soldier, Then looked back at Chiho. "You just turned into a person your father doesn''t want you to be, Hasegawa Chiho-san. But losing our village to a war.. In times like these, Staying Angelic and Innocent person is meaningless. If you can do it, Do it. Do it for the sake of your Village, Your beloved ones and for your Freedom. If you can''t otherwise, Then you are to die like an animal". This made the two surprised and look at Yuuto. "I know your father doesn''t want you to fight. But i bet He''ll soon tell you all this if such times like these happened.. If he were still on your side". The Heavy armored soldier sigh as he removed his helmet and kept listening to Yuuto. Then Chiho asked Yuuto. "Father.... Where''s my father?" Chiho looked at Yuuto with teary eyes. "He..Died with honor." This made Chiho cry even more, Ayumi hugs her lightly. "Without him, We... Wouldn''t be here right now.." Yuuto looked over the Heavy armored soldier. Which He responded with a sad emotion. Then Yuuto looked back at Chiho. "We were your father''s left and right hands. And by the time this disaster happened, Your father and us two did our duty to protect the village. But a horrible situation led us a good lose of men and we are running out of options. The enemies'' technologies are way too incredible for us to handle.. They no longer use Swords,Spears or Axe. They killed our men from a distance. They have a weapon where you think you''re a god because you kill from afar.. Then suddenly, your father think of an unbelievable idea.. He told us to run while we still can, That He will distract the enemies away from us.. Of course i refused! I don''t want him to die like that!". Yuuto shouted, But The Heavy armored soldier shouted at him. "You idiot! If he hasn''t thought of that, We''ll all die! It was an honorable sacrifice! He saved our lives!". "Tch..." Yuuto averted his gaze to the right. There, He saw a T-62A with a load of soldiers sitting at it''s back, just turned to the road where they were staying. Yuuto''s eyes widen in shock. "E-Enemies!" This made the three look at him, Then Ayumi and Chiho looked at the direction of where the tank. "D..Damn it!". The tank stopped and aims it''s cannons to Yuuto."R-Run!" Yuuto shouted and quickly turns around and runs toward the Heavy armored soldier. The Tank fires it''s cannon as Yuuto moves, Missing it''s shot. Chiho and Ayumi felt the wind of the shell flying by them and hits a building. The two looked at the building it destroyed, The neighboring houses also fell. The two stare at the building, shocked of how much destruction can a tank do. "Hurry!" Yuuto shouted at the two. Making the two jolt and stand up quick. As they stand, The MG from the turret of the tank starts firing. Bullets fly as they run and luckily they didn''t get hit. "Shit! That was close! Why did you space out?!" Yuuto scolded the two. "S-Sorry!" Chiho quickly apologized. "Whatever, We can''t stay here! Commander! Any idea?!" Yuuto asked the Heavy armored soldier, who readies to stand up. "Whoa!" Yuuto quickly supported him stand. "That was loud! Was that a tank?" The Heavy armored soldier asked. "Yeah, It is! It even has Foot soldiers on its side! We are outnumbered!" Yuuto answered. "Damn it....." The Heavy armored soldier curses. Then looks at the abandoned R37. "You two... Go drive that thing" The Heavy armored told the two girls to drive the R37. "W-What?!" Chiho was surprised. Then the Heavy armored soldier looked at Chiho. "It''s just like i said.. Drive that thing and get out of this village from that hole" The Heavy armored soldier points at a destroyed wall, just straight of the road they are on. "B-But how about you?!" Chiho worriedly asked him. "No. Hasegawa Chiho... You are on the top of our priorities. After all Me and Yuuto have a promise to fulfill.. Now, Go!" The Heavy armored shouted at the two. "Let''s go, Ayumi" Chiho nodded to the Heavy armored soldier and held Ayumi''s hand then started to run towards the R37. Then Yuuto ran over the Driver''s body and took two painkillers and The Heavy armored soldier stood up and burst open a door of a building. Then Yuuto looked at the two. "Commander Yagano... We did our very best to guide your daughter. Though, We still don''t know if they''re going to make it, But please, Watch over them" Yuuto whispered to himself as He runs to enter the building. As the two reach the R37, Chiho quickly went into the Driver''s seat and Ayumi went for the sidecar. "H-How does this work?!" Chiho asked herself loudly. Ayumi couldn''t answer. Then just as She remembered, The Driver was holding onto the handlebars, which she also did. "How?!" As She meddle with the handles, She turned the throttle with forced, making the R37 moves forward with a force, shaking them both. "Oww!" Ayumi held her head. "Whoa...Amazing!" Knowing the controls She slowly turned the throttle and the R37 accelerates smoothly. "A-Amazing! You just turn this knob kind of thing and this whole thing go!" "Wow..." The two both were amazed but they are still in hurry. Then finally R37 reached it''s highest speed with it''s current gear and it''s engine started to sound louder. "O-Oh no!" Chiho quickly turn the throttle up to the fullest, wanting it to stop. "W-What happened?! Why did you let go?!" Ayumi panics. "I-I-It sounds like it''s going to explode!" Chiho looked at Ayumi with fear. "Go! They are behind us!" Ayumi''s about to look behind when She saw a mirror fixed on the sidecar. "H-Haahh... T-The Tank..." Ayumi saw the cannon pointed at them and began shaking in fear. "T-Tank?! What is Tank?!" Chiho shouted at Ayumi. "Just Drive!" Ayumi screamed at Chiho and covers her ears and lowers her head. Then Chiho accelerates the R37, This time it''s a lot faster. "W-Whoa... Did you think we are a lot fa-" Chiho''s sentence was cut short by the tank''s loud cannon shot and a shell flew by them. "Whoa!" "Aaaaahhh!!!" Chiho was surprised by the shell''s wind pass by, making her shake the handles and shaking Ayumi in sidecar. The Shell hit the right wall from the hole, filling the way of the hole with stones. "Ayumi! Were still alive!". Chiho told Ayumi with a bit of brightness. "H-Heeh...?" Ayumi slowly raised her head. "And we are going faster than before!" Chiho excitedly told Ayumi. "Y-Yeah.. I noticed!" The R37 reached its peak again and needed to upshift. "Take a look!" Chiho let go of the right handle and shakes her hand for Ayumi to see then holds the bar again. "You just had to-!" The tank fires again, cutting short of their conversation again. The two screamed in surprise. This time the shell hits the left wall, but only few stones blocks the way as most of them flew outside and making the hole a bit bigger, Though the way has a lot of stones piled up already. "T-They''re blocking our way out!" Ayumi noticed the intention of the tank. "A-Anyway! You just turn this back up and you can hear a clank underneath of what i''m sitting on! And now it goes faster!" Chiho excitedly explains to Ayumi. "W-What are you smiling at?!" Ayumi shouted at Chiho. Then Chiho looked forward. "H-Here goes!" Chiho turned the throttle to the fullest then gave a last upshift and turned the throttle to the full again. "O....Onee-chan! Don''t!" "Hold still!" The two closed their eyes as the R37 angles up and flew them outside of the wall. 6 Tsukosa Alliance In a Large Region called Ekigatamura. There are total of seven countries in it. The biggest one was the Tsuchiya. The second one was the Saiju, And the third one is the Kosunjin-yi. The rest was an ordinary countries. The Tsuchiya were on the corner part of their region. Then a bit of unoccupied lands then it''s the sea. The Saiju were on Northeastern of Tsuchiya. Then the Kosunjin-yi on the East of Tsuchiya. Then the rest of the countries were past the two countries that is surrounding Tsuchiya. The small countries are named: Soma, Yugara, Jima and Chu-Yuan The Saijuns, The Kosun and other countries within the region were jealous of the Tsuchiya''s rich economy. This is where their history started. The Saiju started by choosing to have a trade route with the Tsuchiya. The leader of the Tsuchiya agreed to this because they have a lot to spare and use it to gather whatever resources they currently don''t have. Once the trades has been going smoothly and the relationship between the countries have been on good condition. The leader of the Saiju gave the Kosun leader a call to have a secret alliance and together they shall take anything. or if possible, They shall destroy everything and take the lands of Tsuchiya. But the Kosun leader had a doubt on taking over the Tsuchiya. So the Kosun leader just sticks to the original plan. But the Saijun Leader didn''t quite like their ally''s decision so the Saijun leader plans to invade them by themselves. Then both countries started to send a spy after spy to the Tsuchiyans. The Spies couldn''t get anything useful and reports back horribly. Until the Saijun leader couldn''t wait any longer, The Saijun army entered the border of the Tsuchiya without the permission. Unfortunately for them, A Tsuchiyan trader with a horse carriage was on his way to the Saiju Village then he saw the army''s formation marching inside the border. At first, He thought it was just an army training or a mere visit. But he had a doubt as He heard no visitors and checked the amount of the marching foot soldiers. With that, He hurriedly turned back to his village and quickly went to their Center to report. The Tsuchiyan leader quickly responded to this and assign some guards to the direction of where they were coming from. Few minutes later, The guards saw the marching soldiers and quickly runs back to the Center to confirm the suspicions to be true. This time, The Tsuchiyan leader assigned their fresh new battalion to the said direction, To test out their strength. It was named The First Armored Battalion. It consists of Fairly armored soldiers,Cavaliers and Archers. The Saijun army were no match for this. Though, The soldiers at the battalion were uncomfortable with their commander. The commander was a young 17 years old boy with a name of Takamura Yagano. The Tsuchiyan people have no idea why the leader assigned such a young person as the leader of a new battalion. Then moments later, the people of Tsuchiya asked the leader about the young commander. He answered once: "I watched him grow up wielding and swinging swords. Then one day i went to his side as he collapse from fatigue. I picked up his sword and asked why is he wielding a sword. Then He stood up and looked straight to my eyes. His gaze was sharp and so determined. Then He answered: For my Family, For my siblings, For Tsuchiya. I will soon serve the army and swear my life to protect my beloved village until the end! .. I was astonished.. If there''s one thing i wish for our army to have, is to have that kind of Determination. This kid, will change our entire army''s determination to fight. He will inspire many to fight and protect their beloved ones. I believe on him". The leader''s answer stunned the Tsuchiyan people. Then some people put their trust on the young soldier with the leader''s words, But others still had doubt. But that doesn''t stop the young Yagano. The soldier leading and commanding the marching army saw the Tsuchiyan battalion waiting for them from the village. He observed the battalion, Yagano hid their Cavalries and Archers to trick the Saijun Army. Then He thought there will be a lot of loses to their sides because of the Tsuchiyan soldiers'' armor being more improved than theirs. Then He faced the army and inspired them. Then finally He let out a shout and raised his sword to the air, Then the whole army did the same and started charging towards the Tsuchiyan battalion. As planned, The Saijun Army went charging to their death. It was Yagano''s plan to trick them. This amazed the hiding soldiers, The Raiding Saijun Army was completely roped into battle, knowing the Tsuchiyans only have foot soldiers to send. This greatly proves the Ineffective Spying of the Saijuns and The silent people of Tsuchiya. Once every Saijun soldiers are fighting, Yagano leads the remaining soldiers with his horse, to come out of hiding and fight alongside the foot soldiers who was already fighting. Archers left the Cavalries as soon as they are on the range. Then Yagano and the Cavalries went ahead and broke through the enemies. Pushing the enemies to the ground and ending up being stabbed by the Foot soldiers whilst on the ground. The Cavalries'' entrance already made great lose to the Saijuns. Then Yagano ordered the Foot soldiers and Cavalries to fall back from the remaining enemies and ordered the Archers to rain them down with arrows. The Saijuns were shocked and retreated without the leading soldier telling them to do so. But even He wanted to retrear and also ran away with them. The archers advanced through and aims at the sky, wishing to finish them off. But Yagano stopped them, As the soldiers asked, Yagano said "That''ll be our message to the Saiju".The soldiers were impressed by how the young commander thinks and just watch the Saiju scurry away As they are about to return, A soldier on a horse arrived. "Yagano! Our Enemies have tricked us! Enemies have overrunned the Eastern part! We did our best to hold them off! But they are way too many! Please, Go in there!" Yagano agrees and asked the soldier to lead the way. The Cavalries and Yagano went first for as the Foot soldiers will run. When they have started to hear the chaos, Yagano raised his sword on the air and shouted. "Soldiers! We''ll drive these traitors out of our beloved country and village! We''ll show them the strength of Tsuchiyans!" Then he lowered his arm and raised it again with strength. "For Tsuchiya!!" He shouted and the whole Cavalries behind him shouts as a war cry and sped up their horses. Once they saw the enemies. Yanano shouts: "Ready!". Then the Cavalries held their spears with their right hands as they charge towards the enemies. Yagano being in the front, He get to face an enemy first. Yagano readies his sword. When he was close to the enemy, He turned his horse a little to the left and leans to the right and swings his sword, stabbing the enemy soldier. Yagano''s sword remains stuck at the soldier''s body, So He swings it forward to send the body flying. He got out of the village so He stopped his horse and turn back, then He saw the Cavalries follow him with bloods on them. "Again!" Yagano ordered them and quickly went back. The Cavalries followed him with a war cry. As they reach the village again, Yagano put his horse on the highest speed. When He''s about to face an enemy. He quickly put his feet to the back of the horse and jumps to an enemy soldier and stab him in his chest. The horse kept running, crashing into an enemy. The speed of the horse and the force from his jump combined together sent the enemy soldier to the ground and making the sword dig deeper to his chest, The enemy soldier quickly dies. Yagano was surprised, Aside from the first one, That was his first kill, Face to Face. He was about to space out then an enemy soldier screams and swings his sword at Yagano. But Yagano quickly moved to his left while still gripping on his sword, Then He bumps his body to the enemy then gathered strength to remove his sword fromthe body and swing it on the enemy''s neck. It hit. The enemy soldier drops his sword as blood spurt out of his neck with the sword stuck on it. Then Yagano pushed his sword deeper then placed his elbow to the enemy''s chest then uses it to push away the enemy and pull his sword from the neck. Once He felt that the sword was loosened, He stopped pushing with his elbow and pulled the sword with all his might, making the enemy kneel. As soon as He got his sword out, He quickly gather his strength and swings his sword back to the enemy''s neck. completely beheading him. Then He looked around to see the Cavalries also stepped out of their horses to fight on foot. Then His gaze stopped on a group of enemy soldier slowly approaching him. Then He slowly backs off. "Too many.." He whispers to himself. Then He realized backing off any further is pointless,So He stopped and held his sword with both hands in front of him, Tightens his grip to his sword. The enemy group keeps getting closer, Yagano steps his right foot back and readies. Then the enemy soldier in front of the group moves first and charges towards, then the rest followed. Yagano strengthen his stance as He saw the enemies charge. Then all of the sudden, Yagano heard a herd behind him, and so the enemies who have stop their charge to look at them. Yagano saw the faces of the enemy soldiers then looks behind him. It was the Foot soldiers from his battalion. As they get closer, All of them started screamind. Then Yagano looks back at the enemy soldier near him, The soldier froze to his position. Noticing Yagano''s gaze, He slowly looks back at Him. Then Yagano stepped back slowly as the Foot soldiers get even closer. The enemy soldier in the front relaxes and looked back to the group and told them to get ready and makes a stance. Then finally the Foot soldiers reached them, Yagano hid himself with the vast amount of the charging foot soldiers. Then the sounds of a battle, Clashing swords and the screams of the soldiers, can now be heard loudly. It was not long before the sounds stopped as they quickly finished off the group that was attacking Yagano, and pressed forward, And there the sounds of chaos continued. Yahano''s foot soldiers clashes with the remaining soldiers as He walks in and observe the chaos. As he stopped on the middle, One enemy soldier managed to slip away from the soldier He was facing and quickly runs towards Yagano and raised his sword on the air. But at the same time He landed his sword, Yagano quickly pushes himself towards the enemy, Stumbling him back and losing focus. With this, Yagano quickly stabbed the soldier to his stomach. Then Yagano forcefully pulled his sword off, Sending the enemy to the ground. Then He continued to observe the battlefield. Until the last enemy soldier dies. Everything went quiet. Then the remaining Tsuchiyan Foot soldiers screams and raised their swords on the air, Indicating a Victory. Then Yagano went on the middle of the soldiers. Noticing Yagano, The supposedly Cavalries and Foot soldiers gathers to encircle Yagano. Then Yagano speaks "Soldiers! Let''s promise... No.." Then Yagano points his sword at the sky then shouts loud: "Let''s swear our lives to protect what''s ours at all cost! We''ll slay every Tsuchiya''s enemy! We''ll destroy countries after countries if it means to do good for Tsuchiya!" Then the surrounding soldiers also raised their sword on the air and screams. "For Tsuchiya!" Yagano screams. "For Tsuchiya! For Commander Yagano!" The soldiers also screamed, and started to put trust on Yagano. Then the encirclement dispersed as the soldiers talk to each other. Yagano observed his soldiers having a friendly conversations. Then the Archers have arrived on foot. "Where were you?" Yagano walked to them and asked the Officer. "Commander, There were another attack coming from the North Eastern part of our village happened after the foot soldier left our previous location. We met up with a soldier on a horse and sent us there. Luckily there were few of them there.. How about here?" The Officer of the Archers answered and asked about the situation. "They were no match, We are far more armored and trained than them. There were no loses" Yagano proudly answered. "Hah! We didn''t even break a sweat!" A Foot soldier heard their conversation and butts in. Then few moments later, Yagano called the whole Battalion and they returned to the Capital. They were greeted by cheering crowds on the Center where most of people was evacuated there. The Saiju have faced a huge consequences and lost half of their military. Knowing the Defeat of the Saiju against the Tsuchiya, The Saijun leader pressured the Kosun to demand that the Tsuchiyan have killed the Saijuns who were suppose to be sparring with them, and use it to join the Saiju''s side against the Tsuchiya. Then asked to brainwash the other countries into getting them on their side. Of course, The Tsuchiya have a rich economy and it''s not just the Saiju nor The Kosuns wanted their treasures but all of the neighboring countries so they agreed to join the alliance. The Tsuchiyan felt like the world was against them, Which the most Tsuchiyan feared. But their military never showed any fear and are willing to die for their country. This was because of Yagano''s unbelievable faith towards their military strength. The Tsuchiyan leader, knowing that even if they have a way more advanced technologies, It''ll be impossible for them to face a whole region''s army, quickly thinks of defensive strategies. The Tsuchiya knows that they will definitely attack together, So He thought many defensive formations and plans for improving weapons and any other equipment. Then few days have passed, The Tsuchiyans were glad they were able to rebuild without any problem. But this also confirm the enemies'' intention, They were gathering storm. The leader used this opportunity to make improvements. Few more days, They have developed Catapult. Its bucket is large and they are wheeled. Then the leader asked the people outside of their village within their border to help the soldiers find projectiles for the Catapults, Mostly huge rocks or stones. Few Even more days, They produced enough Catapults and they''re only waiting for them to attack. While waiting, The leader thinks it will be good if they produce more Catapults as reserves while waiting for the enemies. Then Yagano came to suggest that the reserves should be hidden from ANY sight. The leader carefully thinks of an idea. Then finally came up with an underground base. The leader thinks of a place for the underground, Then chose to the nearest vacant and less populated area, West of the Center. The builders were fascinated by the idea of underground, But they had a hard time building it as it''s their first time making one. Another few days have passed, They finally finished making their first underground along with all the rebuilds of the village. The underground was big enough to fit exactly ten catapults, Then some small rooms for weapons,shields and armors. The leader asked Yagano to name the underground because it''s his idea and it''ll be their very place for emergencies. Yagano gave it a name ''Kakure Kyuden'' Which means ''Hidden Palace''. Then the leader officially named it ''Kakure Kyuden''. Yagano also suggested that they should add the Kakure Kyuden to their education but the contents of it remains a secret as the leader plan to share their educations to their neighboring countries once the war is over. Even by that, Yagano noticed that their leader still cares about their neighboring countries. Then finally one day, A Recon came back to their Center and reports a huge amount of soldiers heading towards their direction. The Village suddenly became busy. Soldiers running on the streets, Civilians getting their things from their houses and running, Hurrying Carriages, Soldier pushing carts full of weapons and equipment, Group of Soldiers pushing Catapults. Everyone''s busy in preparing for the invasion. Then later the whole village became quiet. The Catapults are placed around the village, There were also Soldiers stationed around the village. Yagano''s Battalion and another Battalion commanded by the name of Fukoda, were outside of the village, facing the direction of where the invading force. The two Commander were standing in front of their Battalions. The plan was to lessen the numbers of the enemies by raining them down with big stones that were collected by the soldiers, The big stones were sculpted to fit the buckets of the Catapults. They were fully stocked with the big sculpted stones and the enemies doesn''t even know they have a ballistic weapon that could kill several soldiers at a single fire. The Catapults were really their best ticket to win against the invading forces. Few moments later, Yagano and Fukoda finally heard and saw the enemies charging. Even though the enemies were just a load of Foot Soldiers, They were countless and can overwhelm Yagano and Fukoda''s Battalion in a second. The Two Commanders looked at each other and nods, Then faced their Battalion. Yagano speaks up. "Soldiers! The time has come! The enemies have finally shown themselves! Once the Catapults have made their part, We''ll do our duties and protect our beloved village! For Tsuchiya!!" Yagano raised his sword as he screamed the name of their village and the whole Battalion also did the same, including Fukoda himself. Then looked back at the invading enemies. At the time, The leader thought of an impressive defense, If only there''s something to guard whole the village everytime, If only there''s a way to hold off enemies from going in the village without losing manpower. What kind of things that swords and such weapons can''t harm? It''s got to be tougher than a human, What else could be tougher than humans and at the same time can withstand a sword''s sharp blades? It is the stones. Now what to do with the stones? I wanted to keep any intruders from entering the village from all direction.. So that means gathering stones around the village. No, Just simply putting stones around will do no good. I will make the stones stand as a thousand shields to hold off thousands of swords. I can make it .. We can make it! .. With a few moments, The leader had the implementation of the Wall on his mind and tasked their builders to build it right away. Few moments later, The enemy forces has reached the maximum range of the Catapults. The Catapults were commanded to wait for a few seconds, Then finally ordered to rain them down. The Catapults violently throws huge stones at the field. The whole Battalion watches the stones fly at the enemies'' direction. Seeing the flying stones, The enemies'' stopped charging for a brief moment at seeing the stones fly and began charging again. Blood splatters as the stones crushed many charging soldiers and are stuck on ground. Crews from the Catapults carried their own stones to their own Catapults and fires. The stones hits a lot of enemy soldiers again. As they get closer, Confused and Afraid voices can now be heard coming from the charging enemies. The Catapults threw their last barrage before signalling the Battalions. The Enemies were greatly decreased but they gave no care about it and continued to charge forth. Yagano and Fukoda let out an order on their own Battalions and all of them charges to the enemies. The Cavalries were on the front with Archers on their back. While getting closer, The Archers shot their arrows on the air to the enemies, killing a few of them. Then the Archers went down rolling from the Cavalries and divided themselves and quickly ran to the sides to make way for the Foot soldiers. The Cavalries went ahead and stabs the leading enemy soldiers and quickly turn back. There were enemy soldiers who threw their swords at the Cavalries in hope of stumbling the horses. The Cavalries also did the same as the Archers. Then once the two armies met, The Sound of Chaos began. Yagano and Fukoda slashing and stabbing enemies without mercy and pushing them back bit by bit, Archers raining down the enemies from a distance and Cavalries charging and stabbing enemies and charging forth to stumble enemy soldiers and turn back and do it again.After the Tsuchiyan Battalions pushed the enemies enough, The Catapults starts firing again. This was risky as it could hit their own allies but the soldiers didn''t disagree on this because they are willing to kill as many as they can and also said that they will be careful not to hit by them. The Leader then let them do what they wish. The Catapults were throwing stones and decreasing the enemy forces by large numbers. The Catapults'' stones were hitting the enemy forces that is away from the clashes between the two sides. Few moments later, The Tsuchiyan Battalions started to experience loses, Their counts started to fall. Fukoda noticed this quickly and told Yagano to retreat and let the Catapults rain them down as they retreat. Yagano agrees to this and shouted to retreat. Then the wounded Battalions retreated with their Commanders behind them. The Crews of the Catapults were surprised by the retreat. Then one of the crew of a Catapult speaks up first. "They are retreating?! Are they losing?!" Then the Leader spoke up. "No, Soldier" Then the crew of the Catapult were all surprised and quickly look behind them. "L-Leader?!" The whole crew mentioned their Leader. "Look at it. They were indeed losing counts. Soldiers from separate countries have separate tactics and will, which is really do unfair. But i know that those two Commanders weren''t retreating because they can''t fight anymore. They are retreating for you Catapults to fire at them" The Leader speaks as He observe the battlefield. "Y-Yeah, I think your right" A crew agrees and they looked back at the battlefield. Then later a crew spotted Yagano and pointed at him. Yagano was raising his hands while running, trying to signal the Catapults. "Look at him! He''s trying to tell something! Q-Quick! Ready the Catapults!" The Catapults suddenly worked up and readies to fire. Then in a call, The Catapults fired at the advancing enemy forces, killing several enemies again. After that fire, The enemies finally stopped charging. Fukoda noticed this and told the Battalions to stop, Then Yagano raised his hands again to signal the Catapults to hold fire. Then the whole Battalion slowly walks toward the enemy forces. The enemy forces were visibly gripping their swords very tight as they watch the Tsuchiyans walk towards them. The Battalions stopped walking from a safe distance from the enemies. "What are they doing?!" A Crew from a Catapults shouts. "Silence, Soldier" Leader calmly scolded the crew. Yagano walks forward a bit then talks to enemies. "Everyone! Let''s stop this meaningless war and stop the pointless deaths of our brave warriors!". Then the enemy soldiers started to whisper. Then one soldier, visibly wearing clothes with a symbol of the Soma Village, spoke up. "But you broke the pact between the three large countries and slain the Saijun soldiers!". Fukoda swings his sword to the side and shouted in rage. "They never told they were coming and went inside our border, That was a clear Tresspassing!". The Soman soldier fell silent and so the rest of his allies. Then Fukoda continues. "Yagano, THIS Commander! saw their faces as they charge! The War is written all over them!". The enemies is starting to doubt the lie against the Tsuchiya. "Then all of the sudden, There were reports that the other side is also under siege! And guess what?! Once my Battalion was quickly assigned to the area, I saw the Saijun soldier killing our people and destroying their homes!" Fukoda ranted more. "Do you REALLY think they wanted a fucking sparring?!". Fukoda stomps on the ground hard. Despite his rage, A soldier with a familiar Kosun design went to the front to face his group. "Don''t believe the Tsuchiyan lies!" Then He looked at Yagano and Fukoda. "They''re trying to hide the truth by some nonsense!" This enraged Fukoda even more, But Yagano pats his shoulder and indicates that He should calm down and He''ll handle the situation. Then Yagano faced the Kosun soldier and said: "Before you Kosun people point your finger and declare a war like an idiot. Do you even show these brave warriors and their countries a proof of what have they been fighting just now?" Yagano looked at the Kosun soldier''s eyes directly with a serious tone. This froze the Kosun soldier and the whole enemy group started to whisper. "Look at these warriors. They have saw their comrades getting crushed by our weapons and dying like an animal. And for what? For what exactly?" Then Yagano looked at the group behind the Kosun soldier, Then the whispers stopped. "Brave warriors of Tsuchiya''s neighbors!" This made the group gasp in surprise. "What exactly have you been fighting for just now?" Yagano asked and stayed quiet for a while for them to answer. But nobody answered. "Exactly. You are clueless! The Kosun and the Saiju lied to you! Us Tsuchiyans didn''t broke any pact and the Saijuns themselves are the one who broke everything! They are desperate to take our homes just for the resources we could trade with you! I even bet some of you agreed to join them because they said they''ll share the rewards. What a blackmail" This made the group even more surprised. Then He looked back at the Kosun soldier, who was sweating bullets. "Isn''t that right? .. Kosunjin-Yi..?" Yagano sharply stared at the Kosun soldier. "Y-You..... Don''t fuck with me you fucking brat!" The Kosun soldier unsheathed his sword, looked back at his group and shouted: "Everyone! Your brothers have something to fight for! and it is Valuable! Our leader promised to share the resources these traitors have! Imagine how your countries will be rich after this! Don''t believe this little brat''s bullshit! He even look too young to understand all of these!" Despite his attempt to inspire his allies, There were no single soldier that supported him. "U-Ugh....!" The Kosun soldier was visibly uncomfortable and getting out of control. "You little kid....!" The Kosun soldier grips his sword tight in anger. "You and your country is a traitor and shall be erased from existence!" The Kosun soldier shouted at Yagano and charges towards him, Surprising the enemy group. The Kosun soldier raised his sword on the air and swings it down at Yagano. But Yagano quickly moved to his left and avoided the sword. Then He grabbed the Kosun soldier''s body with his hands and pulled him closer and struck his right knee to the soldier''s stomach, making him lower his upper body and let out a grunt. Then He moved his right feet back and pushed it through both of the soldier''s feet. The force from Yagano''s kick removes the soldier''s feet from the ground and fell. Then Fukoda unsheathe his sword and points at the Kosun soldier''s head, preventing him to stand up. The enemy group gave no response at all and looked at Yagano instead. "If you keep obeying this person, More of you will die a meaningless death and your countries will just lose manpower and your countries would be very prone to invasions. specially if the Northern region invades us here at the South. Not even Tsuchiya could handle them" Yagano warned the enemy soldiers with their pointless invasion. "Heh... The Mortem Regio, Or the Death Region if memory serves well. You don''t want to mess with those crazy bastards will you?" Fukoda taps the Kosun soldier''s head and faced the enemy group. "They didn''t get to name their own region for nothing! They are known for their addictions to wars and their obsessions to Human Skull drawings and dark armors. We are lucky the alliance between our region and the Western region won against them and the Eastern regions on a whim from the Great war. Ever since then those bastards admits defeat and return everything they took and cut their relations with the Eastern region, Simply ending the war. But those bastards refused to connect with the world and isolated themselves. Because of this, the Western power went to visit them but were stopped by the soldiers guarding the region''s borders and threatens them. So they just let them be. After a few months the countries within the Northern region decided to name their region ''Mortem Regio'' Which i think it means ''Death Region'' in their language. And not for too long They named their soldiers ''Bellatores Mortis'' Which i forgot what it means. Then later, The names is slowly fitting them as they develop technologies ahead of the Western region. They even secretly destroyed the Eastern region for punishment. This was only revealed by an adventurer but the Western didn''t do anything" Fukoda tells a history, To even scare off the enemy soldiers "Yes. Long story short, These guys are not to be mess with anymore. If these guys went berserk again, no one knows who are going to be the target. But taking a hint from the Great war, It''s possible that it''ll be us this time" Yagano supported Fukoda''s words, scaring the enemy soldiers even more. "So, What it''s gonna be? Learning the truth and serve your countries with better reasons or Die like an animal and serve no purpose?" Yagano asked the soldiers as he observed them whisper. He saw some Kosun soldiers who were surprised and confused. Then Yagano unsheathe his sword and shouted: "If you choose to continue this nonsense, We''ll not stop you! We''ll respect your own choices! We''ll finish what we have done! We''ll do our own duties as a brave warriors! For our countries!" This made the enemy soldiers much noisier. Yagano waited for a moment, then turned his back to the enemy soldiers and started to walk away, But then. "We...We''ll not fight anymore!" A voice came out for Yagano, stopping the noise and making Yagano look back. "We''ll not fight the Tsuchiyan anymore!" A soldier with Yugara Village''s design speaks with Yagano. Then another Yugaran soldier catches his shoulder and said: "You idiot! What do you think you''re doing?! This is not the order!". The surrendering soldier grips his fists and replied: "No! I knew this is all wrong from the beginning..". This made the enemy soldiers whispers as they look at the him. Then his companion shakes his shoulder and shouted. "What are you talking about?!". Then He shouts back. "It''s as they said! We have no proof that they have broken their pact! They only said that and now were invading?!" Then He shakes his shoulder to get his companion''s hands off and went in front of Yagano and kneels. "Tsuchiya! We apologize for our selfishness! We didn''t think this through!" The kneeling Yugaran soldier begs for forgiveness. Then his companion shouted at him: "You idiot! Do you think this will be easy?! You''ll be killed for betra-!" His rant was interrupted by a Kosun soldier going up front, Few fellow Kosun soldier followed him and there were few remains from the group. "Everyone! Everything the Saijuns have told us is a lie! This is no longer manageable by Kosunjin-yi! This was all the Saijun''s plan! They told us Kosun to join their cause if they fail to overrun the Tsuchiya Village!" A high ranking-looking Kosun soldier revealed the truth. Making the group noisy with angry conversation. "Soldiers!" The high ranking Kosun soldier called out for his soldiers, Then lots of his soldier came rushing behind him and they all kneel at the same time. "Forgive our country, Tsuchiya! We were desperate for your resources and were only forced to this. On behalf of our people and our leader, May you forgive us!" The high ranking Kosun apologized. Seeing their leading country''s soldier kneel, All of the remaining enemy soldiers did the same. Ending their conflict. "Hah! Hey, look at them!" Fukoda taps the Kosun soldier who he was guarding before. Enraged by Fukoda''s attitude, The Kosun soldier fend off his sword and throws a punch to Fukoda, But Fukoda didn''t even flinch. "Heh.. You want a piece of me?" instead he scoffed. Then the Kosun soldier hurriedly picked up his sword and moved away. "You traitors! You''re betraying our own countries!" He shouted at his surrendering comrades. "Yeah, You''re kind of betraying your own country, Kosun?" Fukoda asked the high-ranking Kosun soldier. "No, It''s not" He replied, shocking the whole people. "The leader heavily relied on me on this one. If we were exposed, we will give up everything. Our leader knows what the Tsuchiyans have and is impossible to win. But if somehow we managed to win, we will continue. That''s what our leader told me" The high-ranking Kosun calmly explains. "No... You''re all a liar! You''re all betrayer of your kinds!" The resisting Kosun soldier snaps and charges towards his kneeling comrades. The High ranking Kosun soldier quickly stood up, stopping the resisting Kosun soldier from charging and instead went for him. The resisting Kosun soldier swings his sword violently, But the high-ranking Kosun found an opening and quickly pushed his body against him, both falling to the ground. The high ranking Kosun quickly recovered and stomps the resisting soldier''s hands to make him lose grip to his sword, Then held his head to the ground. "You have to calm down. Soldier!" The high ranked tries to calm the resisting soldier down. "Calm down?! Our leader never told us such things! You''re making stuffs just like those Tsuchiyan trash! Betrayer!" The whole people watch him squirm against the high ranking Kosun. "The leader only told me this to ensure there will be nothing else to happen!" The high ranked explains furiously. "Bullshit! You''re all betrayer!" The soldier resisted even more and the High ranked had enough, He quickly let go of the resisting soldier, took his sword out and flips the soldier and stabs his neck. "You''re the betrayer. You''re disobeying your higher ups AND your leader''s order! You wanna die for the Kosunjin-Yi''s sake?! Then Here! I grant you your wish!" Then He pushed his sword even deeper to his neck and quickly pulls it out. The High ranked Kosun relaxed himself and faced Yagano. "Tsuchiya. I hope you believe us. We were driven out of hope and wished to just steal everything from you, And it was all the Saijun''s influence. Our leader never wished for wars like these". The high ranking Kosun were sincere, making Fukoda become serious. "So you''re not as blind as the Saijuns eh? As expected of your weird country name, you were different" The high ranked Kosun quickly said: "It''s not a weird name". But Fukoda just shrugs off. "Yes, It''s not. Kosun. Now that you have gave up the war, What are you going to do with these soldiers from different countries?" Yagano asked the High ranking Kosun. "Oh, Yeah. The Saiju assigned us as the leader of our alliance so you know, To hide that we have a connection with them. Because of this, The other countries will have to obey our orders" He replied to Yagano. "So they will give it up too?" Fukoda asked while looking at the soldiers behind him. The high ranking Kosun took a peek behind him and looked at Fukoda. "Yes, They will go where ever side we''ll go. That was the promise" Then He faced the soldiers. "Stand!" The soldiers stood from their kneeling as ordered. "You are to return to your countries. Our ties with the Saijuns are over! Further resistance is pointless! Us Kosuns and Tsuchiya will surely destroy your countries along with the Saijuns!" The high ranking Kosun threatens them about going against their order and let them home. With that, The smaller countries'' soldiers walks away, The Kosun soldiers remained. "I''m glad that they are not like "I will not let my brothers die for nothing"". Fukoda mocks the walking soldiers. Yagano and The High ranked Kosun stared at him as he jokes around. "Jeez cut it out, Can you guys at least be happy?" Fukoda was visibly irritated by the gazes. "It''s too early to be ''happy'', Fukoda" Yagano crossed his arm. "Yeah, yeah. I know right" Fukoda agreed. "Excuse me, My name is Kanseiku Harugo. Please just call me Haru" The High ranked Kosun soldier introduced himself. "Christ. Here i am, i thought it was only your country''s name... Name''s Fukoda, Nishimura Fukoda. And i''m leading this.." Fukoda introduced and looks behind him. "Hey!" Fukoda shouted at the soldiers, Who were confused why did he shouted. "Well, Some of those soldiers are mine and some are for this commander here" Fukoda looked at Yagano. "Yes, That''s right. My name is Yagano, Takamura Yagano. Leader of the first Battalion ever formed by our country" Yagano introduced himself. "Yeah! That''s unfair! This kid gets to be the first commander!" Fukoda whined about their leader''s decisions. "So... You''re like, The commander of a second battalion then?" Haru asked. "Yeah, That''s right" Fukoda calms down and answered. "Well let''s not sit here for too long, Wanna come to our village?" Yagano welcomed Haru and his soldiers to their village. Yagano looked over Fukoda to see if he have any objections, Fukoda just shrugs. "What an invitation! I guess my soldiers can go but i''ll have to report back to our leader". Haru responded and the Kosun soldiers were delighted. "Oh, I see" Yagano was a bit disappointed. "But i promise i will come back. I bet the Saijuns are wondering why are we not reporting back to them, and i have to get rid of this pest away from your lands" Haru promised to come back and looked at the dead soldier. "A-Ah.. Yeah.. No problem" Yagano answered. "Well then! I''m off!" With that, Haru carried the body on his shoulders. "Soldiers, You have been invited to visit their village. Those who don''t want to, come follow me. I need two soldiers with me though" Haru told his soldiers about the invitation and walked away. After a few walks, Haru realized that nobody was following him and looks back at his soldiers and whispered: "This sons of bitches". Then He shouted: "Fine! You can all go! Don''t make any trouble!" Then walks away. The Kosun soldiers grew happy about what he said. "Brave warriors of the Kosunjin-Yi! We welcome you to our Village!" Yagano welcomed the Kosun soldiers warmly. Then Yagano and Fukoda moved to the side and both soldiers from each side had a friendly conversations. The two Commanders watch them as they talk each other in friendly terms. Then Yagano raised his hands and made a thumbs up. A crew of a Catapults suddenly gets worked up. "Ready the Cata-!" He was about to throw an order but the leader quickly shuts him off. "You idiot! They have stopped fighting!" The leader shouted at the crew. "S-Sorry!" and quickly apologized... Yagano lowered his hands and called for the soldiers. "Everyone! Let''s go inside!" and the soldiers became excited. With Yagano and Fukoda on the lead, The soldiers entered the village. A day have passed. It has been peaceful.. But not for the Saijuns. The Saijun leader hurriedly went for the Kosun village to meet up with their leader. Once they have met, The Saijun leader angrily questioned about the why the Tsuchiyans haven''t been devastated. The Kosun leader said: "We were reduced with great numbers. They have developed a new weapon that could kill numerous soldiers. Including their units with horses, bows and arrows, We couldn''t do it". The Saijun leader was mad about this and asked: "What are we going to do then?!". Then the Kosun leader simply said: "Let''s give it up. There''s no way we could face their weapons as of now". The Saijun leader was even became mad because of his answer. The Saijun leader points his finger at the Kosun leader and said: "No, I''m not surrendering. I''ll find a way.. WE! WE will find a way!". With that said, The Saijun leader hurriedly went off. The Kosun leader just sigh at the Saijun leader''s stubbornness. Then one of his guard asked: "Is it alright if we hide our surrender?" and He answered: "Yeah. Let them take actions" And the Kosunjin-Yi remained silent. Few days have passed. The Saijuns started to invade the Tsuchiya. despite losing, they keep coming back. The construction of the wall are always interrupted by the invading Saijuns, So the soldiers of Tsuchiya always guards the construction. There were even spies disguised as a Tsuchiyan citizen sent to the village by the Saijuns to know about the ongoing construction of the wall butIt was not long before the walls are done and completely enclosing their village. This surprised many soldier with a Saijun soldier and a girl with Saijun clothes on his tow arrived at the Center. Went for the leader, who was sitting in a chair, and explained. "Leader! These so-called Rebels have wished to speak with you". "Alright, You can go now. I''ll speak with them" The soldier nods at the Leader and walks away. The leader waits for them to speak. "Leader of the Tsuchiya! I am Hinorama Gentaro!" Gentaro bows after the leader. "And this is my little sister, Itsumi" Itsumi bows right after his brother introduced her. "My name is Itsumi, Nice to meet you". Then the leader smiles. "Hmm! What a nice young persons you are! What can i do for you then?" The leader asked brightly, surprising Itsumi a bit. Then Gentaro said: "We are leading a group of soldiers who didn''t went along with our leader''s plans and ran away from home, There are more waiting outside.. So..!" Gentaro stopped talking as He saw the leader in deep thought. "How old are you kid?" The leader asked. "Uh... I''m sixteen years old..." Gentaro answered then the leader turned to Itsumi. "I-I''m fifteen years old" Itsumi answered right away. "What the hell?! Why are kids starting to be a brave ones these days?!" The leader burst out, surprising the two. "Umm..! Our father was actually the leader of our group! But..." Itsumi spoke and suddenly became sad. "He... He died trying to fight off the loyal soldiers for us to run here at Tsuchiya.. He told us to seek help of getting rid of that corrupt leader and take the position" Gentaro explained. "You? Going to be a leader of the whole Country? That''s a tough choice, kid" The leader doubts Gentaro. "Yes! I''ll do anything for my Country!" Hearing Gentaro''s words, The leader sigh. "Good grief... Kids these days". "Why do you keep mentioning kids though?" Gentaro asked. "Ah.. A boy who happened to be one year old ahead of you became a Commander of the first Battalion we ever formed, He''s as determined as you are, kid" The two were surprised by this. "So, Back on track.. You want us to help you throw your leader out of position?" The leader asked the two, They nod in reply. "By how exactly?" The leader asked. "That.... By taking control of our Village" Gentaro gave an idea. "How exactly?" But the leader repeats the question, making the two uncomfortable. "You guys... will invade our village" Itsumi answered, looking at the grounds. "Don''t be ridiculous.." The leader laid his back at his chair. "Is.. It impossible?" Gentaro asked worriedly. "You''re simply telling us to hurt people like your soldiers did!" The leader became furious, scaring the two, But they still insisted. Gentaro raised his voice. "It can''t be helped right?! That leader started this! He even lied to you and forced you to kill innocent people for no valid reasons at all! They were all tricked!" The leader fell silent, and let him speak. "You had every rights to fight back! The Tsuchiya will not be stained as a betrayer of the neighboring countries even if you destroy our village! Though we only ask for help to de-throne our corrupt leader! That''s all we asked for!" Gentaro screamed at the last words, Tears flows down to his cheeks. "N..Nii-chan!" Itsumi hugged her brother. The leader completely lost his cool at the scene. "Are you crying kid?" He asked despite the obvious. "I''m not!" Gentaro shouted and throws Itsumi off him and wipes his eyes with his arms. "If you can''t help us... We''ll do it ourselves" Gentaro looked straight at the leader''s eyes. "W-Wait..!" Itsumi worriedly looked at the leader. "I haven''t even said we can''t!" The leader speaks with rising voice, The two gasp at his answer. "Look, It''s not as simple as you think..." "Listen..". Just as the leader speaks, Gentaro interrupted him. "You want to end all this right? Then You only have to help us.. You don''t need to kill.." Gentaro continued and the leader sighs. "Fine. I''ll lend you our strength" The leader chosed to end quickly. He knows that everything, A kid leading a rebellious group, Asking them a help to throw off their leader, the kid himself taking the position, happened so fast He couldn''t think it through and just believed on Gentaro''s words. The leader''s answer made the two surprised. "Just make sure you also let the Kosunjin-Yi know about this!" The leader gave a condition. The two became energetic and answered yes with a nod. Then Gentaro held both of her little sister''s hands. "Itsumi! Our people will no longer suffer from that person!" Gentaro excitedly speaks as Itsumi nods with teary eyes. "Once you have made it to the Kosun, Come back here again. The soldiers i lent you will be ready to go by then" The leader told them the plan. The two bows and thanked the leader and made their way out of the Tsuchiya to the Kosunjin-Yi. Gentaro''s group didn''t need any further assistants to guide them to the leader as they are Saijuns. So They went to the leader by themselves. As usual, The soldiers waited outside while the two did the talking. Gentaro and Itsumi told the Kosun leader that they made their way to Tsuchiya and were sent to him to tell about their plan. Hearing that the Tsuchiya was involved, The Kosun leader agreed in an instant and lend them a group of soldiers. It was Haru''s. Once Haru''s soldiers are done preparing, They quickly went back to Tsuchiya. Once they have sat foot on Tsuchiya''s borders, They quickly saw the group of soldiers already waiting outside. Both Haru and his soldiers, Gentaro and his soldiers were happy to see them. As they walk closer, "Oh? Isn''t it Yagano-san and Fukoda-san?!" Haru closely observe the group and waves his hands as he shouted. On the other hand, "Oh? Ain''t this a bitch? It''s the guy before!" Fukoda grins as He waved back. Yagano did the same. "It was Haru, Right?" "Yeah.." Yagano asked to make sure and Fukoda nods. Once the two sides have met, The soldiers from the Kosun and the Tsuchiya quickly greets each other. "So..." Fukoda initiates a conversation between them commanders and looked at Gentaro. "Are you this Gentaro kid? Aren''t you too young to lead a damn country?" Fukoda observed Gentaro. "I''ll do my best" Gentaro simply replied, Making Fukoda sigh. Then Yagano spoke: "Hinorama Gentaro, Is it? My name is Yagano, Takamura Yagano". Gentaro quickly turned to Yagano and also introduced: "Yes! I am Gentaro! And this is my little sister, Itsumi" Gentaro looked at her little sister as He introduce her. "I''m Itsumi, Nice to meet you" Itsumi bowed as She speaks. "So.. What are we going to do now?" Fukoda asked Gentaro. "Let''s go to our village right now!" Itsumi replied and Gentaro nods in agreement. "Got it.." Fukoda agreed and turns to his and Yagano''s soldiers. "Soldiers! We are now going for the bastards'' village! Though i also wanted to skin them alive! But you should be defensive! You only kill if an enemy is coming for you! Otherwise, You''re not permitted to kill! Breaking this agreement will be punished! You got that?!" Fukoda demanded an order and the soldiers responded with a Yes at the same time. "That goes the same for you, Haru. Unless you want them Saiju to have another lies to spread" Fukoda faced Haru to include him. "You got it, Fukoda-san.. You all heard that?! You got to stick!" Haru agreed on Fukoda and faced his soldiers to warn them, and they responded the same. "How about your soldiers, Gentaro?" Yagano asked Gentaro about his soldiers. "Yes! We are ready since the beginning! Right guys?!" Gentaro asked his soldiers and they responded cheerfully. "That''s good to know" Yagano responded. "Alright, Yagano. I did my part" Fukoda told Yagano. "I''ll lead you there!" Gentaro suddenly spoke, making the two Commanders look at him. "Alright, I guess.. Lead us there, Gentaro" Fukoda let Gentaro and his soldiers lead the way. Then They started to walk towards the Saiju. They kind of expected some guards to the Saijun borders, But there were nothing waiting for them at the borders as they stepped in. "These Saijuns only know how to put up lies, Can''t even fuckin'' put a single guard on their borders" Fukoda insults the Saijuns for their lack of securities. "It was not all of the Saijun.. It was the leader''s stubbornness. He refused every suggestions of the people and only do things of what he thinks" Gentaro responded to Fukoda''s insult while looking straight to their village. This made the two commanders and Itsumi looked at him. "There.." Then Gentaro stopped walking and pointed his finger forward. "There''s our village.." The three looked forward. "Huh..There she is.." Fukoda examined the Saiju Village. "Your houses looks shit" Fukoda straight-out insults the village. "Yes, I''m afraid i must agree.. This is also part of the leader''s fault" Itsumi responded to Fukoda''s insult. "Huh... Do your leader even loves you?" Fukoda asked a question Gentaro and Itsumi can hardly answer. "Were... We don''t know" Gentaro responded. "Oh christ, i wouldn''t hesitate to run away here and run for another country to live in.." Fukoda reacted to Gentaro''s answer. "Let''s end this quickly, Everyone" Yagano suggested that they should move. "Whoa, When did you become hasty, Yagano? Did that angers you?" Fukoda asked Yagano. "Yes, It is. That leader is cruel, I can''t bear to see them like this" Yagano responded. "Well, I am too can''t bear it anymore. Let''s get moving!" Fukoda faced Gentaro to tell him to move on. "Yeah, right! Everyone! To the leader''s place!" Gentaro unsheathes his sword and raised it on the air, His soldier''s did the same and they went charging towards the village. "Whoa, They''re charging!" Yagano was surprised by their sudden charge. "Hahah! Another chaos! Let''s follow them Yagano! My soldiers! Follow me!" Fukoda also took his sword out and started running, His soldiers started to follow shortly. "Commander Yagano, We should also go!" A soldier suggested Yagano, Which he nods and unsheathes his sword. "Soldiers! Do not forget the rules! Only kill if necessary!" Yagano reminded his soldiers, Which they answered Yes loudly. "Then! Let''s go!" Yagano shouted at the last words and they started charging forth loudly. An Enemy Saijun soldier who was about to go out of their village with a woman noticed the charging rebel soldiers. He was alarmed and quickly asked the woman to run away and He made his way to their Leader''s place to report. The Saijun leader was shocked to hear that Gentaro and Itsumi''s Rebellious group came back with Tsuchiyan and Kosun troops on their tow. The Saijun leader quickly assigned all of his soldiers to the direction of the invasion. "K-Kill these traitors! My loyal soldiers! Slay them all!" The Saijun leader shouted as He assign units after units to guard the area of Invasion. On the other hand, Gentaro saw their own army guards the village. "Everyone! Let''s push those soldiers off and quickly get the leader!" Gentaro gave an order to his soldiers, which they responded loudly. "Itsumi! Stay close to me!" Gentaro told his little sister to stay near. "Yes! Nii-chan!" Itsumi, Who''s now also wielding a sword, agreed on his brother''s words. As the two Saijuns met, Gentaro and his soldiers quickly pushed off the enemy Saijuns before they could swing their swords and made their way inside, But there were still soldiers waiting for them inside and turns into a chaos. It was not long before Fukoda and Yagano along with their soldiers reached the village, They joined the fight. There were still some civilians running away as the clashing sounds gets louder. Then few moments later, Yagano stabbed an enemy soldier to the stomach, Then an enemy got closer to his right. Seeing this, He pushed his body against the incoming soldier before he could swing his sword, making him stumble back. Then another incoming enemy soldiers from his left, He quickly pushed his sword that was stuck on a soldier to the incoming enemies, stopping them. This made Yagano''s sword gets unstuck as He push and the soldier got thrown away by the force and bumping into the enemy soldiers, making them fall to ground. As He watch them fall, He felt another attack from behind him and quickly held his sword horizontal to block the attack. The attack was strong and He was pushed and stepped back. He met Gentaro as He stepped back. "Gentaro! Let us and your soldiers handle this conflict! Go with your little sister there and get him! That should quickly end this conflict!" Yagano shouted against the loud noise of battles. "G-Got it! Itsumi!" Gentaro quickly agreed and looked over Itsumi, Who had blocked an attack and pushed the enemy soldier away, Then She quickly nodded and follows him. There were still some soldiers left on the way there, but the two managed to push them off and get faced by the Tsuchiyan soldiers. Seeing the Tsuchiyans facing the enemies who have they pushed off, The two hurriedly went for the leader''s place that is somewhat unguarded. The place was just up ahead, on the high grounds and can be accessible by the narrow stairs on it''s side, Once you got up, There will be a door to the right, leading to the Leader''s room. Otherwise, It''s just large roofed balcony. As they reached the leader''s room and met with leader himself, Itsumi waited outside of the room to guard while Gentaro went in. The Saijun leader jolted. "W-What the hell?! Soldiers! Protect me!" He hopelessly shouted. "Huh.. Quite expected of you to throw everything just to stop an invasion, You can''t even put one single soldier to protect you?" Gentaro looked directly at his leader''s eyes. The leader was visibly sweating bullets as Gentaro talks to him. "Even at the times of war, You''re really not suited to be a leader and should be thrown like a garbage" Gentaro helds his fists as to hold back himself from further anger. "D-Don''t mess with me! Hinorama!" The Saijun leader jumps with his hands forward to reach for Gentaro''s neck, But Gentaro moved to his side to avoid him. The Saijun leader fell facing the ground. Then Gentaro quickly pinned him down. "You don''t even know how to fight back...!" Gentaro was disgusted about his leader''s abilities, He holds his leader''s head up and slams it to the ground, making his leader moan in pain. Then this time, He pulled his head with a lot of force, making a snapping bones sounds along with pained moan. Then He gathered strength to his arm and slams his leader''s head again to the ground with all his might. Bloods marked the floor of where He slammed his leader''s head, Then He flipped his leader''s body to face him and rested himself atop of his leader and started to punch him. Bloods splatter as Gentaro kept punching him and eventually breaking his nose. Gentaro stopped for a while, Then as He''s about to start throwing punches again, Itsumi shouted outside. "Stay Back!" Gentaro also heard some voices and footsteps coming from the stairs. So He stopped and grabbed his leader outside of the room for the enemy soldiers to their leader''s broken face. The soldier on the front got enraged and charges towards Itsumi. But Itsumi lowered her upper body and pushed her arms straight and stabs the soldier, Then She charges to push back the soldier into the stairs where there''s many enemy soldiers waiting. Itsumi stopped and pulled her sword as soon as the enemy soldier loses balance and fell into the group of soldiers on the stairs, They all fell back down. After seeing them fall, Itsumi looked back at Gentaro to be surprised at the scene, She covered her mouth in surprise. But Gentaro gave no reaction and placed his leader to lay on the balcony. "Itsumi, How can we get their attention?" Gentaro looked at and asked Itsumi, Which She hurriedly thinks and looks around. Then She pointed at a war horn laying on the ground on Gentaro''s right side. Gentaro looked over to his right and looked back at Itsumi. "Alright, Go make that thing loud, I''ll have to give them a beautiful sight" Gentaro told Itsumi to get the horn. Then She sheathes her swords and took the horn. Then She went by Gentaro''s side and used the horn. It made a loud sound, that the clashing soldiers stopped fighting and looked to them. "Hah! Look at them!" Fukoda proudly shouted and bumps his fist to the enemy soldier in front of him. "Looks like they made it" Yagano spoke as He throws off the sword of the enemy soldier who was supposed to attack him, Then both of them looked at the two. The enemy soldiers on the stairs gained their balance back and went running up the stairs, But they were stopped by the silence once they reached the top. This surprised Itsumi and placed her hands on the hilt of her sword. Gentaro didn''t react. "Everyone! The time has finally come!" Gentaro held his leader to stand away from the balcony. "Our people would be free of this leader''s filth!" Gentaro shouted as He shake the leader. Then the civilians started to show up and cheer. "Hinorama!" All of the soldiers looked around them as the civilians pour and shouting Hinorama. "He''s no fit for the leader''s position! He only thinks what he thinks is best and never listened to his people!" Gentaro shouted and the civilians cheered in return. "He even lied that the Tsuchiyan wanting to start a war! He''s a liar! Do you want the world to call us Saijuns a liar?!" Gentaro shouted angrily and the civilians responded: "No way!" "We don''t want that!" "Were no liars!". Hearing the answers of the people of Saiju, Gentaro took his sword. "Then let''s change the Saiju! Were going to have a better and peaceful! We''ll ask for the Tsuchiya to help us improve! We''ll be rich! We''ll reach the top this leader can''t grasp!! For Saiju!" Gentaro shouted, Then the civilians also shouted the same. "For Saiju!". Then Gentaro visibly gulps and looked at Itsumi. "This is it, Itsumi.." Gentaro nervously said, Which Itsumi nods. "Father''s...No... Every Saijun''s wish.. Will be fulfilled right here, right now!" Gentaro raised his sword back, tightens his grip, shouted and pushed the sword against his leader''s back. The civilians cheers as the sword cuts through their dying leader''s chest. Gentaro waited for a second before pulling his sword out and pushing the body off the balcony. The whole people watch his body fall to the ground, The moment the body hits the ground, The civilians cheered even louder than before. After they stopped, Gentaro gathered all of his courage, and said: "With this... The Saijun conflict against the Tsuchiyan will end... There will be no wars again.. The world will become peaceful again as for I! Hinorama Gentaro! Will be the Saiju''s leader!" Gentaro raised his sword as He speak, And the Kosuns, Tsuchiyans, The rebel soldiers and the civilians all together raised their hands and shouted to support Gentaro''s words. "Yeah! You fuckers heard that?! He''s the leader now! I bet that kid loves his country more than your stupid former leader!" Fukoda pushed the supposedly-enemy Saijun soldier a bit and looked back to the other Saijun soldiers who''s now clueless of what to do. Yagano just smiles at Gentaro''s successful takeover and faced his soldiers "Well? We have supported Gentaro on his mission, Did you avoid casualities?" Yagano asked his soldiers, Which they answered Yes, and the soldier near him answered "You bet!". Satisfied, Yagano laughs and replied "I see". Then Gentaro speaks again, stopping the cheering crowds. "Of course.. We couldn''t achieve this without the help of the Tsuchiya!" Gentaro thanked the Tsuchiyan along with cheering civilians. "Yeah! Even if we only did nothing but keep them busy!" Fukoda then quickly looked at the Saijun soldier near him, Making the soldier look back at him and step back. "Of course we wouldn''t forget about the Kosuns, We appreciate that somehow you accepted to help even if it''s just holding the enemies off" Hearing him mention their name, Haru and his soldiers cheered along with the civilians. Finally, Ekigatamura has found its peace. As promised, Tsuchiya gave trades to all their neighboring countries, Giving them a sweet chance of modernizing their country. Then one day, The Saiju people demanded to replace the pact between each countries with a Reformed Alliance of all the countries of the Ekigatamura from the previous war, And the Tsuchiyan would be their leader of said Alliance. The Tsuchiyan leader were happy to agree to this and was called The Great Leader. The name of their alliance was suggested by the smaller countries and it would be the three countries'' first name together. Few months has passed, The Tsuchiyans had their walls removed for an expansion of their village. Their village is now larger than before and reconstructed the walls around the village again. The Tsuchiyan leader had their Battalions disassembled to form a group of guards to watch their wall and the borders. The Commanders still remained a Commander of a group. Then one normal day, Yagano and Fukoda was on their way to the Eastern wall. Fukoda bumps his elbow to Yagano''s arms. "Hey kid, How old are you again?" Fukoda asked as Yagano looked back at him. "I''m seventeen years old... Why did you ask?" Yagano told him his age. "Seventeen huh?" Fukoda thinks deeply and crossed his arm. Then rested his arm on Yagano''s shoulders. "Tell ''ya kid.. Have you ever thought of having a wife?" Fukoda asked, making Yagano stop from walking. "Eh?!" Yagano was surprised by the sudden topic and quickly looked at Fukoda. "Oh! T''heck you surprised for? Kids your age supposed to be looking for a woman!" Fukoda shouted, Making Yagano blush a bit. "Now your blushing!" Fukoda pushed off Yagano a bit. "Now seriously, Have you?" Fukoda then became serious and asked the same question as they walk normal again. "Not really... I never gave it a thought actually.." Yagano replied. "Huh.. You''re a boring person eh?" Fukoda teased. "Excuse me?" Yagano asked with straight face. "Now, Now let''s not be like that.. Kids like you are supposed to have fun and enjoy your childhood but here you are, already a fuckin'' wolf" Fukoda was a bit whining about him being in the military in his age, This made Yagano look at the grounds. "Well how about this?" Fukoda placed his hands on Yagano''s chest as to stop their walk. "We''ll look for a nice girl!" Fukoda suggested with a thumbs up. "W-What do you mean?!" Yagano''s eyes widen. "Exactly what i said, We''ll find a girl!" With that, Fukoda started walking again. Yagano was left confused at his words.. Later, They made it to the Eastern wall. As they are about to go on the top of the walls, A Commander speaks with them. "Yagano-san and Fukoda-san, Is it?" The Commander politely called their names, and the two nods. "I''m sorry that you have walked all the way here from the Southern wall, But.. The Leader assigned us here and asked me to tell you that you two and your soldiers should take it easy for now and wait for orders" The Commander told the two. "W-What? We just got the order and-" "Well isn''t it good Yagano?! We''ll be able to find a girl right now!" Yagano was surprised by the sudden change but Fukoda quickly wraps his arms on Yagano and pushed him closer. "Girl?" The Commander asked. "A-Ah! Understood! Then good luck and we should get going! Let''s go, Fukoda!" Yagano quickly bowed to the Commander and walked away with pushing Fukoda. "The fuck''s wrong with you kid? Why are you so dense about girls?" Fukoda asked confused. "It''s not that!" Yagano blushed. "Then what?" Fukoda responded. "It''s embarrassing that you''re telling someone that we are looking for girls to date with!" Yagano responded shouting. "What''s embarrassing about that?" Fukoda asked. "You idiot!" Yagano looked away blushing deep. Fukoda just sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Well whatever kid, I''m still serious about finding you a girl though" Fukoda reminded Yagano of his intentions, Yagano didn''t respond and looked away. "Hehe.. I bet you''re excited.." Fukoda smugs and placed his hands on Yagano''s shoulder, Which Yagano removes it with his hands. "Just shut up.." Fukoda insisted that they should go to the Market since it''s always filled with people. As soon as they reached the market, Yagano became visibly uncomfortable while Fukoda''s enjoying darting his eyes everywhere in look for a girl. "Hey, What do you like about girls? Sexy?" Fukoda asked to Yagano. "Why does she really have to be sexy?" Yagano asked back. "What? You want a grandma or something? I''m guessing your preferences.." Fukoda replied. "Well... I guess She needs to be cute.." Yagano shyly gave an idea. "Cute, huh..?" Fukoda then started to look around. "How about that bitch over there?" Fukoda points his finger. "B-Bitch..?" Yagano was surprised at his ways of naming and looked at the direction of where his finger is pointing at. Yagano saw a girl standing, eating an apple. She has neck-length black hair and wearing the standard Tsuchiyan clothes. Nothing special actually, except She looks ''cute'' for Fukoda. Yagano observed the girl as Fukoda lowered his finger and faced Yagano to ask about the girl. "Hm.. I don''t like her.." Yagano outright denied the girl. "Are you sure? She might be good.... Oh look.." Fukoda was making sure of Yagano''s choice then suddenly a young man approached the girl and She threw the apple on the young man''s chest and walked away. This stunned Fukoda, then looked at Yagano. "Well.. I bet She would have agreed if it was you.. Truly a bitch huh?" Fukoda then looked at the direction of where the girl walked away to. Yagano just shrugged. "Alright, Let''s move on" Fukoda suggested that they should go on. After walking a bit, Fukoda found another one and pointed his finger. This time it''s an energetic girl helping out his father on their stand, selling various foods. She has much shorter hair and it is cream white colored and has a mole under her eyes, which has a matching color with her hair. "Hmm.." Yagano observed the girl as She started to call out for costumers. Then suddenly She catches the two Commander''s gaze and started to call them near. "Oh no..." Fukoda scratched the back of his head.. "Were supposed to be a Reconnaissance.." Fukoda added. "W-What do you mean?" Yagano scratched his cheeks. "By the way, Let''s go. Let''s not turn her down.." Yagano suggested. "Damn kid, You''re getting excited or something?" Fukoda teased Yagano as they walk, though Yagano ignored him. As they reached the stand, The girl energetically tell the two their sells then stopped as surprised. Then the Girl looked closely to their faces as to trying to remember something. The two stands uncomfortable as She get closer to their faces. Her father was worried that her daughter might be doing rude to the two Commanders, specially that the two were wearing their armors that looks like for a higher-up soldiers. "Maki, Please stop that, you''re being rude" His father worriedly scolded her daughter. Then her daughter ''Maki'' jolted as of remembered something incredible. "You''re the youngest commander Takamura Yagano, Right?! And Nishimura Fukoda?!" Maki mentioned their full names, like trying to impress them by remembering their names. "U-Uh.. Yeah that''s us" Fukoda was taken aback by her. "Please, Forgive my daughter. She really likes things like Military and Wars" The Father excuses his daughter for her attitude. "That''s really fine! Were actually glad there were kids who likes ''em instead of fearing ''em!" Fukoda pats Maki''s head, making her giggle. "O-Oh, Is that so.." Maki''s father responded. Then Fukoda looked at Yagano, who was curious why, Then looked at Maki. "What''s your name, kid?" Fukoda asked for her name. "I''m Kurisaga Maki!" Maki introduced herself to the two. "I''m Kurisaga Hideto, I''m her father" Maki''s father also introduced himself after her daughter. "Nice to meet you two, Well i know you already know our names so...." Fukoda greets them and started looking at their products. "Now what do we got here? Yagano, What do you want?" Fukoda called for Yagano to look what he wants from the stand. Then once they got what they want, The two told their goodbyes and walked away from the stand. Once they walked deeper into the Market, Fukoda spoke. "Well? Kurisaga Maki.. Do you like her?". Yagano was surprised that He forgot that that''s the reason they were in the Markets. "Well... Too much energy for me.." Yagano replied with his hands on the back of his head. "Ah yes.. I guess energetic types are not for you, considering that you''re a quiet person.. or not that really kind of energetic person like that girl.." Fukoda responded. As they walk, Fukoda kept finding girls and ending up Yagano not liking them. Then later Yagano sighed. "Let''s just give this up, Fukoda" Yagano surrendered at their search. "Hmm.. I kinda agree for now because i''m tired. But whatever you say, I''ll find you a girl" Fukoda responded, making Yagano shrug. "Alright, screw it let''s find an inn to rest at.. I know there''s an inn just near this place.." Fukoda finally gave up on their search and started to walk out of the Market. As they are walking out of the Market. A person, visibly a girl by her skirt, slippers with feathers and her white skin, Were hugging a large basket full of potatoes that is blocking her view and running towards Yagano. Though Yagano only saw her when she''s close. "A-Ah!" "Whoa..!" The two cries out as they bumps each other, falling to the ground and throwing all the potatoes on the ground, This surprised Yagano and Fukoda. "Oi, Don''t push me Yagano!" Fukoda scolded Yagano. "No, Fukoda. A girl bumped into me" Yagano then looked at the girl, who was already collecting the potatoes back to the basket and rapidly apologizing. "H-Hey it''s alright, Let me help you.." Yagano helped the girl to collect the potatoes for her as She insist to do it by herself. Fukoda analyzed the girl. The girl looks younger than the girls they have found, and a bit younger than Yagano. She have a shoulder length orange-brown hair and her eyes are the same colors. And judging by her facial reaction on the accident, She''s an incredibly shy one and the one who would blush deep on every situation. Her face is cute too, not too bitchy, not too energetic, not seem too quiet.. It''s a fine girl to be honest. As Fukoda nods at his inspection, The two finished gathering the potatoes to the basket. Yagano saw a last potato on the ground to his right, Then He went to grab it but at the same time the girl also reached for it, making their hands bump. The girl quickly pulled her hands away and made eye contact with Yagano, blushing so deep and slowly looked at the ground. Yagano picked up the potato and puts it on the basket. "T-Thank you.." The girl shyly looked at Yagano, still blushing, thanked him for helping. With that, Yagano stood up and gave her a hand. "No problem. Here, Stand up please". Yagano smiled as He offer help. "E..Eeh..?!" The girl twitches a bit as her face burns hot blushing. "Jeez girl, Your face burns red a lot" Fukoda suddenly spoke behind Yagano, making Yagano look back. "Eek!" The girl flinched and forcefully took Yagano''s hands to stand up. "W-Whoa!" Yagano was taken aback by her sudden movements. The girl took the large basket and hid her face. "H-Hey Fukoda, You scared her!" Yagano angrily told Fukoda. "W-What? What did i do? And why are you so defensive?" Fukoda curiously responded. "Wait... Don''t tell me you liked her?!" Fukoda suddenly shouted, Making Yagano quickly look at him and the girl made a noise and hugs the basket tighter. "G-Give it a rest, Fukoda" Yagano blushed for the first time and Fukoda quickly noticed this, But He remained calm and taps Yagano''s shoulder. "My.. Yagano.. When the fuck did you blush! I can''t believe what i''m seeing!" Fukoda grins and laugh as He pushed Yagano off hard. "O-Oww.. Give it a break" Yagano was surprised by Fukoda''s force Then Fukoda became serious, though still determined. "Yagano... Have you finally found what we have looking for this entire time?" Fukoda whispers. Yagano didn''t resist anymore and just sighs and looked at the girl. "Goddamn it kid, You have no idea how happy i am for you right now" Fukoda taps Yagano''s shoulders and grins. "Good grief..." Yagano sighs and shakes his head. "Well? Let''s ask her name, I''ll do the talking, like a father!" Fukoda grins once more before moving to the girl, who was still standing there and still hugging her basket. "Hey kid, What''s your name?" Fukoda asked the girl, In which the girl lowered the basket to look at Fukoda and raised it again to hide her face. "Hasegawa... Katsuko.." The girl responded but were muffled by the basket. "Huh?" Fukoda didn''t quite heard it, and so Yagano who was waiting to hear her name. "I''m Hasegawa Katsuko!" Katsuko screamed through the basket. The two were still not be able her though. This pissed off Fukoda a bit, Then He grabbed the basket away from Katsuko, revealing her blushing face. "A-aaah..!" Katsuko tried to get the basket back with open arms but Fukoda moves back. "Now you can talk.." Fukoda told her but She covered her eyes with her hands, pissing Fukoda off even more. "H-Hey kid, You don''t have to do that.. Tell us your name again" Fukoda scratched the back of his head. "I-I''m Katsuko... Hasegawa Katsuko" Katsuko slowly lowered her hands to her sides and looks to the ground. "K-Katsuko.. Is it?" Yagano called her by her first name, making Katsuko look at him shyly. "E-Eh?" Katsuko was taken aback as Yagano took both of her hands and raised it between them. "M-My name is Takamura Yagano.. And umm.." Yagano introduced and looked at his side as to think something to say, but He saw Fukoda grinning at them like there''s no tomorrow, Making Yagano uncomfortable and He looked back at Katsuko and gathers his courage to speak. "W-Will you go out with me..?" Yagano blushed looking straight at Katsuko''s eyes. Katsuko can''t believe at what he just said and her gaze was shaking towards Yagano. Then Fukoda wents in. "Katsuko-chan.. You better not waste this such opportunity.." This made the two look at him. "Yagano here is a fearless Commander of the first Tsuchiyan battalion and never ever thought of having a girl by his side. I just kind of forced him to do it.. And guess what, He finally got interested on a girl.. Being by his side since the day my Battalion got formed, I''m kind of happy for him" Fukoda gave a quite nostalgic words. "J-Jeez Fukoda.." Yagano felt a little happy about his words and smiles a bit. "I see.." Katsuko spoke up, making Yagano look back at her. Katsuko lowered her head and spoke. "Yagano-san.. You see.. I was there when the people gathers to ask the leader about the young man being the commander of the very first Battalion ever formed. I was impressed on the leader''s words about you. Ever since you were little, You''ve been saying that you will protect your country. I can''t imagine a child having that kind of thoughts.. Then when i finally got to see you.. I.. kind of got interested on you. I wished for you.. But i thought.. I''m no special person. I thought that you will never be interested on a normal civilians like me.. I thought that you''ll be interested on girls who''s on par with your skills.. Then the first Saijun invasion happened, And knowing your Battalion will be the one fighting them.. I can''t stop thinking about you.. Even though i believed on my stubbornness, i still just can''t get you away from my thoughts.. On that day, Me and my family got evacuated to the Center. There i thought that i really have to give up on you.. Then later your Battalion showed up with you leading them back to the Center. People were so happy about the returning soldiers. Then i quickly observed you if you''re hurt or anything.. But you were smiling.. Like it was just a play.. Thinking that you have an ability to lead an enormous amount of soldiers to fight.. I even fell for you.. But the thought of you not getting interested on me still haunts me that day.. But i learned to fight it off... Then one day, Peace have finally came.. Living a normal life again.. Then here i am bumping on the person i wished more than anything else.. And quickly confessed his feelings even though we just met... The horrible thoughts i had back then had completely shattered and was replaced with every feelings i had felt for you back then.." Katsuko shakes as Yagano held her hands still. "Well, Here i am, Katsuko.. Sorry for the wait.." Yagano smiled at her and tightens his hands on her. Then Katsuko raised her head, She was crying and looked at Yagano with teary eyes. She holds Yagano''s hands tighter in return and nods. "Of course i''ll go out with you.." Katsuko smiled back. "I''m glad.. I''m very glad" Yagano was very happy to hear her answer. Then Katsuko let go of his hands to hug him. "Thank you, Yagano-san.. I love you..!" With that, Katsuko were finally be able to tell her feelings towards Yagano. Yagano returned the hug and embraced Her. "I love you too, Katsuko" Yagano were so happy to say that. Fukoda on the other hand, was also crying. "I''m so fucking happy for you two.." Fukoda told the two as He wipes his tears. "Imagine that, Yagano! You had a secret admirer back then! And it happens to be a cute girl! And yet you give no shit about girls! You were a lucky bastard!" Fukoda shouted at Yagano. "I-I didn''t know.." Yagano responded. Then Katsuko let go of him and held his hands. "We''ll be together from now on, Right?" Katsuko asked Yagano. "Right" Yagano nod and responded, making Katsuko blush and giggle. Later, Katsuko waved the two Commanders a goodbye and made her way to her destination with the potatoes. "Alright kid, We have achieved our goal. And damn kid you two just met and you quickly confessed. It happened quickly, But that''s fine, She loved you back" Fukoda told Yagano. Then Fukoda yawns and puts his hands near his mouth. "Ah.. She literally made me shred tears.. And also tired" Fukoda told Yagano. "I''m also tired.. Let''s hurry to the inn" Yagano went along with Fukoda''s words. "Right, let''s hurry" Fukoda responded. Since then, Yagano and Katsuko hangs out when Yagano''s free from duties. Up until they grew up along with their Village. The two got married and later had a female child. Katsuko suggested that Yagano should be the one who''ll name her. Then Yagano named the child ''Chiho''. Yagano remained at the military for the rest of his life. When his daughter grew up to the point that She can speak and think, Yagano would come and teach her how to fight everytime He comes home. Though Katsuko told Yagano that She should never know how to kill. So Yagano limits his teachings and only trains her self-defense. Then Chiho grew up learning how to protect herself. 7 Strangers and their sNewfounds Technologies As the R37 fly, Chiho closed her eyes and lowers her head and Ayumi sat back and held the sides of the sidecar to embrace for impact. The R37 is pointed at the ground when it hits the ground, resulting it to violently roll and bounce loudly away. Luckily enough, They were thrown from their seats when the R37 first hits the groundand avoided being involve to the violent crash though They still had bruises from falling to ground. The R37 stopped a few miles as the two tries to stand. Chiho made to stand first and quickly looked at Ayumi, who had a bruise on her right knee and can hardly stand. "A-Ayumi!" Chiho called for her name as She went on her side to support. "Are you alright?!" Chiho asked Ayumi but quickly realized the obvious. "My knee hurts but i think i can walk.." Ayumi lightly pushed Chiho and slowly stood on her own and looked at Chiho. "We''re still near our village, It''s dangerous if we stay here, Onee-chan. That tank will surely get us" Ayumi suggested to keep moving. "O-One thing though, What is tank?" Chiho asked Ayumi as She stood. "D-Didn''t you heard the soldier? He called that monster a tank" Ayumi responded as they run for the flipped R37, Front wheels still steering from the crash. The two flipped back the R37, making a large thud and sounds of the MG''s ammo. They quickly ride the R37. Chiho tried to accelerate but the gear was on the highest and it''s barely moving. "What happened? Is it broken?" Ayumi asked. "I-I don''t know.." Chiho responded while trying to roll the throttle forward but nothing was happening. "What should we do?!" Chiho started to panic as She looks at her front trying to find the problem. Ayumi looked atChiho was holding. Then Her eyes was set to the engine under Chiho''s seat. Ayumi quickly looked for something. "Onee-chan! How about you push that thing with your foot?" Ayumi pointed at the footpeg. "W-Where?" Chiho looked at Ayumi then looked at where she was pointing. Then She placed her foot on the footpeg and pushed it. "It''s hard!" Chiho kept pushing it. "Hurry!" Ayumi shouted, making Chiho panic. Having enough, Chiho kicked the footpeg, surprising Ayumi as it shakes the R37 a bit. "Damn it!" Chiho cursed as She looked at the other side. There She found another footpeg but the shift pedal caught her eyes. Chiho placed her right foot at the shift pedal and pushed. As it was pushed down, it made a click sound and downshifted the R37. Chiho gasp. "W-What is it?" Ayumi saw her face and asked. Chiho didn''t bother answering and keeps pushing the pedal until it''s no longer making a sound. Hearing the sound stopped from pushing the pedal, Chiho looked at the right handgrip and rolled it down. The R37 started off faster than how it was before. "Yes!" Chiho cheered as She learned how the R37 works, Ayumi was also glad. As the R37 reached the max speed of it''s gear, Chiho already knew what to do and rolled the throttle forward to upshift. She was kind of proud of herself for it. As they are making their way out, Ayumi asked. "Onee-chan? Where are we going?". This made Chiho look at her worryingly and look forward again. "I don''t know... Maybe to the Saiju? or to the Kosun.. I don''t even know where''re we right now.." Chiho suddenly became more worried. "Well.. We were heading for the Kakuden last time right? And it is located to the West of our village.. So that means we made our way out of the Western wall, We''re currently heading for the sea, i guess.." Ayumi thinks back. "Y-Yeah, You''re right.. So if we turn this way, we will be able to go to the Saiju" Chiho looked to the right and Ayumi nods. "Alright, Let''s head for there!" Chiho turned the R37 to the right and headed towards the direction of the Saiju. Once they are near the border, They saw a few Saijun soldier on their horses waiting just outside of the Tsuchiyan borders. Ayumi''s gasps and points at the soldiers. "Onee-chan! It''s the Saijuns!" Ayumi spoke as Chiho sigh of relief. "Yeah.." Chiho softly responded as She observe the soldiers and slows their R37 as they get closer to them. Chiho stopped the R37 in front of the waiting soldiers and waited for them to speak, leading to a soldier doing so. "Hasegawa Chiho-san.. Is it? We''re from Saiju, My name is Nishitani Hiro and we''re told to get you out of the village" The soldier looked like a higher-up due to his different presence and armor, He asked Chiho and She nodded in response. "Yes, It is me.. How did you know?" Chiho asked. "For now, Let''s get out of here. It''s no longer safe to be around your village" Hiro stared at the falling Tsuchiya Village, then looked back at Chiho. "You''ll have to stay on our village for now. Let''s go" Hiro turned his horse back and made it walk forth, The other soldiers followed shortly except the one on the last. He looked at the two and to the R37. "What a nice ride you got there! ''Wonder if it can beat my horse?" The soldier laughingly asked the two as He started following the group. Chiho then accelerates the R37,But They got ahead of the group so Chiho stopped the R37. Once the group catch up, Hiro called for Chiho and held his left hand up like holding the grips, He slightly turned his hand and said: "You can make it run slow and match our speed by turning it slightly and holding it to that level to stay at that speed. You don''t have to turn it all the way". This surprised Chiho and looked at back at her left hand. She did what She was told and the R37 accelerates slow. "Y-You''re right!" Chiho gasp and looked at Hiro "How did you know about this?" Chiho asked as the group started walking again. "Before We heard anything from your village, Three of the same ride went to our borders without permission and headed to our gates. But They said They are no harm and there to share their ''newfound'' technologies and stuff, They even held their hands up so we let them in. They politely asked for a guide to go to where our Inventors are but They were accompanied by few soldiers heading for Itsumi-sama, Our leader''s Assistant. The strangers explained their intentions and went for the leader''s place. Knowing the-" Hiro''s explanation were cut off by the loud explosion from the village that surprised them and stopped from moving and looked back. Then They started to move again. "Well... Long story short, Gentarou-sama called the whole army to see how the visitors'' rides work" Hiro looks at the R37. "If i recall correctly, That is called an R37 Sidecar, or just R37" Hiro told the two its name. "R37..huh" Chiho observed the R37 as She tries to remember the name. "What a weird name, It has numbers on it" Ayumi complains at the R37''s name. "We also think the same, We asked why is that but They also don''t know and said ''It''s just that''." Hiro explained to Ayumi. "Then how about the ''Sidecar''?" Ayumi asked. "It is where you are sitting right now" "oh?" Ayumi looked down as She heard it was the sidecar. "Supposedly, It is a two-wheeled vehicle and is twice faster. They attached that Sidecar to increase the seat passenger, and attach a gun to make it a military vehicle, Just like yours now" Hiro explained. "Also, How do you change the gears?" Hiro asked. "Huh? Gears?" Chiho curiously repeated the name. "Gears. You change gears to make it run faster" Hiro explained. "It is called Gears, huh.." Chiho looked at the right handgrip as She remembers everything. "Well.. You just roll this handles, like this" Chiho rolled the Throttle, making the R37 rev up. "I see" Hiro responded as Chiho shift back to the previous gear. "That R37 you got there is a modified one. There is two R37 they showed us, One is the ''original'' and the other one is their ''modified'' R37. The original one have something they called ''clutch'' which you have to press or something to change gears, otherwise the engine will fail and die" Hiro explained about the R37 as the two were quietly fascinated, Then Ayumi spoke. "The engine will be destroyed? so we''ll never get it to run anymore? It''s like, one use only? How inconvenient!". Chiho were also curious, Hiro laughs at her and explained. "No, not like that. By them, The engine will die means the engine will shut down, So that means you can start it again". "Sh-Shut down? Then what are you going to do when the engine shuts down?" Chiho asked. Hiro nods and pointed out. "There''s an ignition in the middle, since it''s a modified one, There''ll be a bit of metal sticking out of there that is currently flipped horizontally". Chiho looked down and saw the ignition. "You''re right!" Chiho were surprised as Ayumi stood a little to look at where Chiho was looking. "Though, it looks a little big than what you have said" Chiho pointed at ignition key. "W-Well..." Hiro puts his hand on the back of his head. "How about you try and turn it left?" Hiro suggested to Chiho, In which She did with her left hand. Its engine sound cuts off and they began to slow down. "W-Wait!" Chiho was repeatedly rolling the throttle. Hiro and his group continues to move as She shouts. "Just turn it back to how it was!" Chiho quickly turns the ignition key to the right and the engine started with a loud noise, Then Chiho quickly caught up with the group. Chiho matches their speed with the group''s, Then Hiro speaks. "Their vehicles are the finest, isn''t it?". The two girls looked at him as He speak. "It''s purely made out of technology. They don''t have to come through taming a horse or any animals. And unlike horses, Your ride will be still rolling on even when there''s a conflict". Hiro lays his amazement on their enemies'' technology. "I know right, Just now, A Tank were shooting the only hole that we can escape from the village, It was very loud and i hear weird ringing noise in my ears, I thought i''m going to be deaf!" Ayumi tells them what happened. "If we were using horses, they would just run away by their own and leaves us there!" Ayumi pouts. "Yes, That''s what i''m talking about.. And how did you know their ''tanks''?" Hiro asked Ayumi. "Eh? Ah, I heard it from our soldiers. They call it tanks" Ayumi answered. "So that''s what you call that loud thing" Chiho acknowledged. "I told you before, right?" Ayumi were a bit annoyed. "Huh? When?" Chiho curiously asked. "Whatever.." But Ayumi let go of her question. "Indeed they are called tanks. But they told us they use the name ''Panzer'' very often, Though it''s a word not from their language". "Panza.." The two girls repeats the name. "Panzer" The two girls looked at Hiro as He repeated the name for them to say it again. "Pan...zaaa..." Chiho paused at the middle of the name and went low on the last part. The other soldiers snicker, Which made her look at them. "It can''t be helped right! It''s a name i never heard!" Chiho shouted at them. Then Hiro laughs. "Worry not, We''ve been in this kind of situation, we saw the strangers hold their smiles and laugh as we repeat the words" "Language... Yeah, Their language! Did they told you their language?!" Chiho looked directly at Hiro''s eyes. "Yes, They use two language" Hiro answered and Chiho quickly spoke. "One of them is ''Japanese'' right?!". Hiro nods and explained. "We were surprised when they called it with a different name when we actually understand them". "Then.. What''s the other one? I hear them speak with those, and it sounds weird" Chiho thinks deeply. "Oh? Can you recall one?" Hiro asked to repeat a word She have heard. "Um.. Like.. S-S-Sudikatto!" All of them looked at Chiho in surprise as She shouted a word. She blushed and averted her eyes. "S-Something like that..". And Hiro responded. "I-I see.. Did you have to scream?" Hiro asked calmly. "W-Well.. They were screaming at that time when i heard it.. I wonder what it means" Chiho were very curious on the word. "Hm... When did they shouted that?" Hiro asked, as an attempt to guess the word. "W-Well..." Before Chiho could answer, They heard a plane up high coming from Tsuchiya''s direction. It was a Yak-9."Everyone! Halt!" Hiro shouted his command and the soldiers forcibly stopped their horses from moving. Chiho quickly looks at Hiro and then to the soldiers and then finally hits the brakes quickly. But the enemy plane wasn''t convinced and started to point the nose towards them. "It''s... It''s coming towards us!" Ayumi''s face were flushed with fear as the engine of the enemy plane roars louder as it closes its distance. "Damn it! Disperse!" Hiro shouted as He look back at his soldiers. The horses started running and separate each other. "Chiho-san! Use your speed to evade the enemy! We are dispersing!" He shouted as his horse neighs and ran away. "You damn Prohorovkans!" Chiho curses their enemy''s name as She accelerates the R37 to the fullest. Since they have separated each other, The enemy plane had a hard time to choose a target. But it chose to go for the soldiers, It pointed it''s nose to their direction. "It''s pointed at them!" Ayumi looks back at the plane. Chiho looked back to see the plane firing its guns from the nose along with a loud noise. Ayumi then lowers her head and covered her ears. "Please, Survive!" Chiho then concentrates to their way and accelerates the R37 even more. Once the enemy plane almost reached the ground, It pointed its nose to the sky as to regain altitude. "It''s in front of us!" Chiho shouted, making Ayumi raise her head and gasp. Chiho were worried that it would finally go after them, and as her assume was right, after it gained altitude and was in front of them, It finally pointed its nose to dive at them. Though, Instead of fearing it, Ayumi had an idea. "Onee-chan, Just go straight!" Ayumi shouted as She holds the MG34 by it''s gunstock, "Eh?!" Chiho was surprised at the sudden command from Ayumi, She made a quick look at Ayumi then focuses on the enemy plane. Ayumi then looked under the gun and saw the trigger, in which She held with both hands to point it at the enemy plane. Chiho noticed the MG moved and asked. "A-Ayumi?! Are you going to use that?!". Ayumi quickly responded with a Yes. Then Ayumi closed her eyes and pulled the trigger, The few shots from the MG already made the two grit their teeths from the loud noise. Ayumi noticed how much the MG shakes when it shoots so She used her left hands to hold the MG by its stock and pointed it again at the enemy plane. Not too long before Ayumi started shooting again and this time, She lowered her head while still holding the MG. Chiho looked at the enemy plane while also lowering her head and saw that most of the shots are hitting the plane and were being disrupted from its steady dive. Then finally Ayumi managed to shot both the propeller and its engine, causing a very loud noise and intense smoke from the engine, which made Chiho gasp. Even if it''s still not close to the R37, The enemy plane desperately dropped its bomb in the hope for hitting them, once it dropped its bomb, the plane averted its nose from the ground and tried to glide to an open area, The bomb hits the ground few meters away from them, Which made Ayumi raised her head and quickly looked at the enemy plane. "You!" Ayumi shouted and quickly points at the enemy plane while still holding the trigger. She managed to shoot below from the nose to the tails of the plane before it flies past above them. Ayumi let go of the trigger and looked back at the plane losing its control. Chiho also looked back. "You hit them many times!" Chiho smiles as They both watch the plane crash to the ground and explodes, Then the two sigh in relief. Ayumi dropped her arms from the MG and lays her back. Then Ayumi started to breathe heavy as to catch her breath. "I....I actually destroyed one.... Can''t... Believed it..." Ayumi speaks while panting. "Yeah! You did it, Ayumi-chan! I couldn''t believe you actually managed to use that! If you can use that, Then maybe i can too!" Chiho excitedly speaks and can''t wait to try out the MG. Then Ayumi made a final exhale and speaks. "It was actually hard to use! It''s so heavy and it shakes too much!". Chiho looks atAyumi while She slow down the R37. "It''s hard to press this too!" Ayumi held the MG again like how She held it before and taps the trigger. "It took all my energy just to press this one single thing!" Ayumi were likely shouting at the MG instead to Chiho. This made Chiho giggle. "Still, You, being that small, but still be able to use that scary thing amazed me, You saved both of our lives, You did a great job!" Chiho raised her left hand to make a thumbs up. Ayumi looked at Chiho for a second then quickly looked away. "T-Thank you..." Ayumi shyly appreciates her gratitude. And then They proceed forth. 8 Saiju and their Honors After a few seconds of silence, Chiho realized something. "Oh right.. We''re separated from the Saijun soldiers" As soon as Chiho started to look for them, They heard Hiro''s voice. "Chiho-san! Are you alright?!" The two girls looked at the direction of the voice and saw the the group still in one piece. "Everyone.... Hey! We''re alright!" Chiho raised her left hand to wave at the soldiers coming to regroup with them. Ayumi also tried to wave but Chiho were blocking the sight, So She instead asked Chiho. "Did someone died?".Chiho then stopped waving and returned her hands to the grips and responded with a smile. "Nope, They''re all still alive!". Ayumi sighs in relief. "I''m glad". Once the group has finally merged, A soldier speaks. "Holy shit, We saw your gun fires and the plane were shot down to fuck!", Then another soldier spoke. "Yeah, You kid is a fucking savage!". The two girls were surprised at the soldiers'' words, Then Hiro spoke. "You are talking to a kid and a teenage! Watch your language!", Which startled the two soldiers and quickly apologized. "So, The kid used the gun?" Hiro asked Chiho just to be sure. "Yes! I did!" Ayumi stood up a bit and raised her hand before Chiho could answer. Hiro nods. "You did a great job there, How did you know how it works?" Hiro asked Ayumi. "Well... I get to hold a crossbow then i see some soldiers press something below and it shoots arrow" Ayumi responded. "But this one shoots something else and it''s fast! It shakes so much and so loud!" Ayumi proceeded with a little rant. "But, That flying thing and the tank''s are way louder!". Hiro agrees. "I know right? They haven''t fired with a tank with us before, but we already have heard of the smaller guns" Chiho looked at Hiro as He told them. Hiro looked back at Chiho then realized something, and looked forward again. "Oh, by the way, Have i already told you about the guns?" Hiro asked. "Gun is what you call that firing thing" Hiro explained about the armaments. "Guns.. You said.." Chiho looked at the MG34. "Yes, You have seen them using it, don''t you?" Hiro asked. "No, I only see them carrying it, This gun from this vehicle is the very first weapon i have ever saw fire" Chiho responded but quickly remembers something. "No, I have seen and held one before! It was smaller than what we have here, but it''s also loud and powerful!" Chiho remembered their first encounter with the enemies. Chiho then reached for her left pocket and took the handgun She got from the enemy soldier before, She raised the gun for the whole group to see. The Saijun soldiers were surprised and one soldier asked. "Hey, Where did you get that?". Chiho looked at the soldier asking a question and lowers the gun. "We met an enemy, and i stole... or maybe.. He never mentioned the gun after i took it, and i forgot to give it to him either". Hiro looked at Chiho with rather interest on listening to this story. "Is that so? How did you meet this person?" Hiro asked. "We were in a building but He saw us hiding and tried to assault me, but i managed to fight him thanks to my father''s self defense training" Chiho tells the scene. "Hm.. Well i''m glad your training finally paid off, Your mother would always fight Commander Yagano everytime She see you having a hard time during those trainings". Hiro said a few memories back. Chiho looked at Hiro for a second then looked back at the road. "Hey Chiho-san, Do you know the history of your father?" Hiro asked while looking forward still. "Eh?" Chiho immediately looked at Hiro as She heard her father. "Have you ever wonder how could He train you such moves to defend yourself?" Hiro then finally looked back at Chiho with a serious face, Which worries her a lot. Chiho hid her handgun back to her pocket as the topic about it fades. "Well? Do you?" Hiro asked again since Chiho didn''t answer. "Y-Yes, A soldier of ours told me about him. That He''s the Commander of our first Battalion ever formed" Chiho responded. "I see." Hiro''s words made Chiho look at him again. "You see, Chiho-san, Your father is the very history of our region. He''s the reason why our region is at peace and the Tsukosa happened" Hiro started to reveal her Father''s past life. "S-So that man on the story, Was your father?" Ayumi asked Chiho, Which made Chiho worryingly look back at her and then looks back down. "I can''t believe it... First, being a commander of a battalion, then now He''s that famous person from the stories of our school?". A soldier from the back speaks up. "Yeah, The name of the man in the stories is fake as hell! The man''sreal name was Yagano! Takamura Yagano!" Chiho looked at the soldiers, Then another soldier speaks. "In other words, Your Father! Your Father was the brave savior of our region! Without your Father, The Saiju will still be living in hell of corrupted governance and there won''t be an alliance between the three big villages!" Tears started to flow from Chiho''s eyes and started to wipe it off with her left hands. "Are you crying?" Hiro asked. "N-No... I''m actually happy about my father.." Chiho responded with sobs. "Even though He hid it from you?" Hiro asked once more. "Yes...Hid... The reason why He hid all this was to make sure i won''t grew up to be like him right?" Chiho responded and asked a question. "Yes, It was a request from your mother, Katsuko-san. She said that You don''t need to know much about the wars and instead raise you as a fine person, That''s why your Mother requested that Commander Yagano would hide his past from you and just train you self defense without much violence as possible" Hiro explained, Her mother''s care about her made her giggle. "Mother''s a very kind person isn''t She? She don''t want me to fight people, but yet here we are" Chiho responded with a sad smile. "Commander Yagano made a condition to that request that He or somebody should tell you everything once the time is right, and we''re doing that right now" Hiro explained, in which Chiho nods with a smile. "Your Father have killed a lot of people for the sake of peace, Chiho-san. How would you feel about it?" Hiro asked. "It''s.. Fine i guess.. If that''s for the goodness'' sake, I think it''s fine" Chiho responded with a smile. "Oh? Killing a person is a very bad thing you know? How could you say that it''s for good thing?" Hiro asked her again. "I mean.. There are bad people right? As long as They are alive, There won''t be peace right? So if we really want a place for good people to live, We have no choice but to fight those bad people right?" Chiho responded in which Hiro chuckles. "I see you have that kind of way of thinking, Your mother would be sad if She hears what you have just said right now.." Hiro was a bit sad for Katsuko''s side. "Talking about your mother, Where is She now?" Hiro asked about her mother, But Chiho''s smile suddenly disappear. "D-Did She..?" Hiro sadly predicts. "My mother was out to the market at the time of the first explosion, and the sound came from the direction of the Center, and when i went out to see for myself, A huge black smoke is already coming off from the Central.." Chiho sadly tells the moment. "I know what happened to my mother, and i don''t want to think about it anymore" Chiho lowers her head even more. "How would you know? She might have survived" Hiro''s words made Chiho regret that She didn''t checked her mother''s situation. "The explosion were very strong, and the smoke were very big... Even if She did.... I would have saw her when we were escaping" Chiho sadly continued. "Goddamn it, Your village is huge, She could be anywhere!" Hiro is visibly mad about her. "Don''t worry, We''re sure your father saved your mother" Hiro mentioned her father, But Chiho didn''t gave any reaction. "No, That''s not true" Chiho responded, The negative answer surprised Hiro. "What do you mean?" Hiro nervously asked. "When i asked one of the soldiers back in the village, They said that He died.. With.. With Honor" Chiho sadly explained. "No way.." Hiro grips tightly. "I''m not going to stay and think He''s dead... When we get back to Saiju, I''ll prepare a search expedition" Hiro spoke without hesitation. "But it''s too dangerous! The entrance are swarming with enemies and They have those flying things!" Chiho was worried about Hiro''s ideas. "You said something like a hole right? We''ll find that hole and blast it open, Then We''ll start from there" Then the two looked at each other, Then Hiro smiled and spoke in a calm manner. "Don''t worry, Your father is a tough one, I''m pretty sure He''s still out there somewhere. I promise you that We''ll get him back alive" Chiho was struck by happiness by his words. "I.. I don''t know, but.. Thank you" Chiho gently smiled, Then Hiro looked forth. "Don''t mention it, Your father owes us a lot, and looking out for him is the only way We can repay him" Hiro continued with a smile. After that, Another silence has erupted between them aside the distant explosions and the horses'' stomps and the gentle sound of the cruising R37. Then Chiho looked at Ayumi. Who''s quiet most of the time. Then Chiho strikes a conversation. "Ayumi-chan? You seem so quiet". Then Ayumi looked at her, Then She pouts. "You started talking seriously, I can''t understand anything at all.." Ayumi answered. "I guess so, I''m sorry" Chiho realized that Ayumi can''t process all of what they have said. "I''m not mad.." Ayumi responded with low voice, Which made Chiho giggle. The silence continued until the distant explosions'' noises lessen as They get closer to the Saiju Ayumi suddenly brighten up. "Ah! I can see it!" Ayumi pointed her hands at the village in sight. "Yes, We are close to our village" Hiro sighs as the relief of coming home unscratched overwhelms them. "So, That is Saiju" Chiho happily observes the village. "It''s not as big as your village, but We''re all happily living in peace here" Hiro smiled as He compliments his village. "To think that Father have been here.." Chiho remembered the stories. "Yes, Saiju was way smaller than before. After the war, The Tsukosa Alliance has been on endless trades of resources and foods and weapons between villages and villages on the whole Ekigatamura. Our region became peaceful no one have ever expected" Hiro proudly talked about their once peaceful region. Then They spent the rest of the time in silence until They reach the entrance. As the same as the Tsuchiyan gates, Two soldiers were guarding the gates. The group stopped after the gate as the two guards steps aside, Then the guard on the left speaks up. "It''s good to see you in one piece, Hiro-san". Hiro nods at the guard with a smile as the gate loudly and slowly opens. After a few seconds, The gate made a final loud noise and have stopped moving. A guard from the right speaks up. "Hasegawa Chiho-sama, We welcome you to our Village". Chiho quickly looked at the guard and thanked him. The lively chatter of the people greets the group as the two girls look around them, fascinated by the difference between their own village to the Saijun Village. "Welcome to Saiju, Chiho-san. I hope you''ll like your stay here at Saiju. We have an inn for you two to stay, But Gentarou-sama wants to have a conversation with you, Chiho-san" Hiro greets the two as He gets down from his horse the other soldiers leads the horses to somewhere. Then Hiro signals the girls to follow him. "Um.. Where could i leave this vehicle?" Chiho asked. "Oh" Hiro noticed and called a soldier to drive the R37 somewhere safe. Then the three of them started walking. "Your leader, you mean?" Chiho asked as They follow Hiro. "Yes, Hinorama Gentaro-sama. He''s one of the rebels of the Saiju, His father led the rebel group, but unfortunately, The corrupted leader expected that the rebels will seek help from the Tsuchiya on that day and started to close down every way of getting out of the village and started a hunt groups. The rebels had no choice but to break out of the village" Hiro tells the story as they continue to walk. "I know what happened next!" Ayumi then speaks and raised her right hand, Chiho and Hiro looked at her with a smile. "The members of the rebels held off the soldiers and told their leader, along with his two children, that they should go to Tsuchiya, right?" Ayumi continued the story. "Right!" Hiro were impressed. "And then! There''s this one group of soldier that blocked the leader''s way! Then the Leader did the same and let his two children go for Tsuchiya!" Ayumi were visibly proud of herself. "That''s right! I can''t believe a kid like you would even care for the history, You did a great job on your educations!" Hiro slows his pace for Ayumi to catch up with him and pats her head, Which made her giggle. Chiho smiles as She watch the two. "Well well well, Look what we have here!" A voice came out in front of them. It made the three stop from walking and look at them. In front of them was the Leader of the Saiju, Hinorama Gentaro, beside him was his sister, Hinorama Itsumi. "Gentaro-sama! Itsumi-sama! Good day!" Hiro greets the two and bows. "My, We saw that you are already close to Yagano-san''s daughters" Itsumi teased Hiro a bit, Which made him put his hands on the back of his head. "A-Ah.. No.. Ahaha..." Hiro shyly laughs while He scratches his head. "If Yagano-san knew that his daughters is being touched by some person, He wouldn''t be forgiving, you know?" Itsumi teased him even more. "I-I''m not doing anything suspicious at all! T-The kid pays attention to her studies and i am impressed, That''s all!" Hiro nervously responded with stutters. Gentaro just laughs at the scene, then started to speak. "Jokes aside... Hasegawa Chiho.. And you are?" Gentaro looked at Chiho and calls her name, then looks at Ayumi. "Nice to meet you, I''m Kirisaki Ayumi. I''m not Onee-chan''s little sister" Ayumi introduced herself and told them that She''s not Chiho''s sister. "Oh, I see. My bad, Ayumi-chan" Gentaro apologized for mistaking her as Chiho''s sister. "No problem!" Ayumi answered with bright smile. "My, Aren''t you a cute one? I want you to go with me later, We''ll explore our garden!" Itsumi invited Ayumi to go along with her. "Really! Yay! Thank you!" Ayumi were visibly excited. Gentaro smiled at the scene. "It''s nice to see you well, Chiho. It''s a miracle you survived the attack" Gentaro greets Chiho. "Yes! It was close, But We managed to escape somehow!" Chiho responded with a bow. "We were at pinch! If that tank chose to shoot us instead, We''re already done for!" Ayumi also responds with a bit of fear. "Tank..." Gentaro suddenly turned serious, The others noticed this. "We really do have a lot to talk about, Chiho" Gentaro looked directly at Chiho. "I''m pretty sure you have at least saw how they look like and what kind of weapons they used right? I''m so eager to listen" Gentaro claps and held close his hands. "Let''s not stand here for long, Let''s proceed to our Center, Shall we?" Gentaro invites them to come, They agreed to join them. "Gentaro-sama! I wish to make a request to you, If that''s fine?" Hiro stood straight as He asked his leader. "Sure! Come with us at the Center, I''ll hear you out there then" Gentaro accepts his request. "Thank you" Hiro deeply bows, Chiho gave Hiro a worrying look. "A-Are you really serious about that?" Chiho asked. "Heh, Don''t worry, kid. I will make sure to come back as fine" Hiro gave her a thumbs up, which made her smile. "Well, What are we waiting for? Let''s go" Gentaro proceeds to walk as He signals them to come along. The group started to follow shortly. "Ayumi-chan" Itsumi signaled Ayumi to come near her, In which Ayumi did catch up with her. "Let us hold hands, Ayumi-chan. I feel like Hiro here would like to do the same" Itsumi and Ayumi looked at Hiro as they hold hands. "Aren''t you thinking too much, Itsumi-sama?" Hiro gave her a shy smile. Gentaro chuckles at speaks to Itsumi. "Come on, Give Hiro a break. He went all the way near the battlefield with a small group to save them" Gentaro told Itsumi, She giggles in response. "I know, I''m happy that Hiro did a good job, I was just trying to throw his horrors from the battlefield away" Itsumi explained, Which made Hiro scratch his head. "Well, That sure did throw my horrors away" Hiro gives a defeated smile. Then They proceeded forth while having a chatter about the village. 9 In Search of the great Commander After a few minutes of walking, They finally reached the Center. The Center of Saijun Village were surprisingly as large as the Tsuchiyan Center. And at the north of the Center lies a steel gates with bushes surrounding the very building of the leader. Inside the gate was a long narrow way accompanied by the beauty of the blooming flowers by each side. A fountain in the middle before reaching the building. A few more minutes and the group has arrived at the gate. "Here we are, Past this gate is our Palace, This is where Itsumi and I resides" Hiro sparked a conversation. "It''s so huge! Even with these hiding the place, You can still see the upper part!" Ayumi observed the building up to the top. Then Hiro went first and opened the gate and gave them a way. "Eh? Don''t you have a guard on your gates?" Chiho noticed that there were no soldiers guarding the gate, and Hiro''s the one who opened the gates. "Ever since the war finished, Our village''s crimes dramatically dropped. When we noticed that, We started to reduce the security inside the village and instead, strengthen the securities on borders" Gentaro explained as they walk through the narrow path. Ayumi was stunned by the flowers on the side and had her jaws dropped. Hiro closed the gates after them and ran to catch up with them. As they reached the end of the narrow path and the fountain, Chiho and Ayumi stopped in front of the building to look at it. "It''s beautiful, isn''t it?" Chiho speaks as She observe every corner of the building. "I know right!" Ayumi nods in agreement. Gentaro opened the entrance and faced the girls. "Well, Come in!" Gentaro invited the two, in which they Ayumi ran while Chiho just walked. The two girls were blinded by the bright white interior. There are two hallways at each side and in the middle, A Large insignia of the Saiju is embedded in the middle of the wall, and on the right, There''s a stairs leading to a small balcony supported by brown finished wooden balcony fence. In the balcony, There''s a door, leading to a room. As the two girls admires the interior, Itsumi called for Ayumi. "Ayumi-chan, Chiho-san and nii-san are going to have a talk, How about we waste time to the gardens until they''re done?". Ayumi remembers about visiting their garden. "Yay! Onee-chan, Can i go with her now?" Ayumi asked Chiho. "Yeah, You can. Itsumi-san, Please take care of Ayumi" Chiho bows. "My, You don''t need to do that. And I''ll make sure She''ll enjoy everything" Itsumi mentioned that Chiho shouldn''t be all formal around them. "Itsumi''s right, you know. You should drop the formalities, We are all friends here" Gentaro supported her sister''s words as He approach the stairs. "Well then, Ayumi-chan?" Itsumi called for Ayumi and they started walking to the right hallway. "My office is right up here, Come with me, you two" Gentaro started to ascend the stairs. Hiro steps forward. "Well?" Hiro signaled Chiho to go first. "Ah, Yes" Chiho hurriedly climbs the stairs. Once they reached the balcony, Gentaro faced the fence and started talking. "This is where i made my speech when we got rid of the corrupted leader" Gentaro started to chuckle as He remembers his memories, Chiho were fascinated, to think that here''s where He stood to change the Saiju. "It was not really a speech, or i don''t know. But i stood here and listened to my heart. I shouted everything i wanted to say about our falling village. And i was surprised people actually wanted change, They were all cheering in front of me, The scene of people happily cheering made me and Itsumi very happy" Gentaro continued. "I was there too! I was a little brat back then" Hiro told Chiho, Which She looked behind her by her shoulder and gave a shy laugh. "Alright, Let''s not waste time" Gentaro faced the door and took a key from his pockets. The room were expanded to make more space and more room to be accessed, Of course, The leader''s table is in the middle, Gentaro walked there and took a seat. Chiho, With Hiro on her tail, Goes in. "Please, Take a seat" There are comfortable long sofa in each side of the wall. Chiho quietly went for the left sofa and Hiro sits on the right sofa. "I want you hear you out first, Hiro" Gentaro started with Hiro. "Gentaro-sama.. Um.. I would like to have a search party formed up with me as its leader" Hiro speaks his request. Chiho gave him a nervous yet determined look, Hiro saw her and just nods at her. Gentaro, Thinking about it, looks at the roof. "Who are you trying to look for?" Gentaro asked. "It is Commander Yagano!" Hiro''s answer made Gentaro look at him. "Chiho" Gentaro called for Chiho then switched his eyes to Chiho. "When was the last time you were with your father?" Gentaro asked Chiho but Hiro answered. "She believes that her Father is dead, But i wanted to go against it, I know he''s still in there!" Hiro was about to shout. "Hmm.." Gentaro thinks deeply, then looked at Chiho. "Are you sure your father''s gone?" He asked directly. "I-I''m..Not sure... But the soldiers who guided us told us so.." Chiho nervously answered. "Goddamn it! They don''t know that! Commander Yagano or even your mother is still out there!" Hiro finally shouted at her, Which She looks at him with worried expression, Then Hiro looked at Gentaro directly. "Gentaro-sama, I beg you! Give me a chance! I''ll not stay here and think They''re dead without knowing it myself!" Hiro begged. "I will accept your request" Gentaro firmly accepts his request. "Gentaro-sama!" Hiro happily smiled. "But the risk of losing our people there worries me, Hiro" Gentaro lays his worryings. "D-Don''t worry! I''ll make sure to avoid any problems as possible!" Hiro tried to reassure Gentaro. Which made him chuckle in return. "Easy for you say that, You know that we don''t know where the enemies came from, If i guess right, Maybe it''s the same people as those who went to us" Gentaro wasn''t still convinced. "It is them" Chiho proves his words. Gentaro gave her a worried nod. "Did Hiro told you about people who went to visit us?" Gentaro asked and Chiho answers with a nod. "If you would like, Hiro. I want you to wait for us to talk about them, I had to make sure what kind of people those are, and their incredible technologies" Gentaro suggested to Hiro. "But the clock''s ticking! If we don''t move soon, It might be too late!" Though, Hiro refused it right away. "I''m sorry, Hiro. It worries me that you will just harm yourselves, and to think they have way advanced technologies than what we have now, I don''t think you''ll even last long fighting them" Gentaro was really sorry. Hiro quickly noticed and responded right away. "N-No, Please don''t apologize. I know you''re worried about losing your men. But, It''s Commander Yagano that we''re saving here" Hiro mentioned Yagano. Which made Chiho and Gentaro looks at him at the same time. "If fighting them is impossible, Then we''ll avoid any fights at all cost" Hiro suggested a rule. "Avoid a fight.." Gentaro sighs. "You can say everything here, Hiro. Still, I don''t have any choice but to permit you, since you''re trying to save Yagano-san here". Gentaro states the obvious. "I..I guess so" Hiro leaned his back on the sofa. "Then, I allow you to pick up any soldier and as much as you feel like. Save Yagano-san and come back here alive, Hiro" Gentaro accepted his request for real this time. Hiro quickly stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Gentaro-sama! I shall make my promise and save Commander Yagano and come back here!" Then He faced Chiho. "Then, Chiho-san, I''ll be on my way" He said his goodbyes on Chiho, She nodded as a response. "Please be careful out there". Hiro also nodded in response and stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. "Then Chiho-san. I''m pretty sure you have a lot to talk about" Gentaro eagerly suggested that She should start now. "R-Right.. Where do i start?" Chiho wonders where should She say first. "Hmm... We might have already talked about it, But for one last time. Hiro told you about the people visited us right? Do they really match the description of the invading enemies on your village?" Gentaro asked one more time. "Yes, There''s no mistaking it. They have those loud and flashing weapons that could kill even from afar, And they have a vehicle called...." Chiho tried to recall the name of the R37. "It has numbers on it" Chiho gave a hint, Gentaro quickly knew the answer. "The R37?". Chiho perks up. "Yes! That''s it! They also have that flashing weapon from the side seat!" Chiho describes the R37. "It''s called Sidecar, And those flashing weapons are called Guns" Gentaro told her the names. "Y-Yeah! Hiro-san actually told me about them, I easily forgot the names" Chiho shyly scratched her head. "It can''t be helped, right? They are indeed hard to remember. I too never heard such names like these" Gentaro lays his frustration on the names. "Names aside, I have met one of their soldier" Chiho started to talk about her first encounter and this interests Gentaro even more. "Go on" Gentaro let her to continue. "It was a very close one, But i managed to fend him off and steal.. or get his gun" Chiho took out the handgun for him to see. "I see, Can i take a look at that gun?" Gentaro asked. Chiho answered Yes and stood up, She held the gun with both of her hands and hand it out to Gentaro. He took the gun and observed it. "This.. This looks different from what the people have shown us before" Gentaro lays the gun on his table. "I-Is that so?" Chiho looked at the gun. "Oh actually..." Gentaro reached under his table and took another gun and set it aside Chiho''s handgun. The gun Gentaro took out was a Luger. "They looked for me, The leader of the village, and gave me and Itsumi both of this gun" Gentaro taps the Luger. "They called it The Luger" Gentaro introduced the gun as Chiho quietly observed the Luger. "C-Can i touch it?" Chiho asked for a permission. "Of course, Go on" Gentaro let her hold the gun. Chiho picked up the handgun and held it with both of her hands. "T-They''re heavy, isn''t it?" Chiho tried to hold the gun with one hand. Gentaro nods in agreement. "They have these things called Magazine inside that thing" Gentaro mentioned the magazine. "Eh?" Chiho wonders about the magazine. "Do you see that circle thing on the left side near the trigger?" Gentaro locates the magazine ejector. Chiho flips the Luger so She can see where He was pointing. "Yes, I see it" Chiho confirmed. "Press it" Gentaro asked her. "O-Okay.." Chiho held the gun with both of her hands and used her right thumb. She slowly pressed, followed by the click noise and the magazine fell to the floor. "Ah!" The sudden fall of the magazine. "I-Is this..?" Chiho looked at the magazine. "Yes, This is where the bullets are stored for the gun to shoot. Bullets, Are what you call those little things inside that magazine" Gentaro explained. Chiho picks up the magazine with her left hand and observed it. "You see the yellow things inside it? Those are its bullets. They are ejected from the gun at high speed and that''s how it kills" Gentaro explained further. "Amazing..." Chiho stared at the Luger. "It''s the deadliest weapon we have ever discovered. And to think all of them are carrying these deadly weapons" Gentaro nervously picked up Chiho''s handgun. "I know right, There''s even those flying things. They do the same, They emit loud noise and shoots too" Chiho remembered the plane Ayumi took down on the way to the village. "They fly and shoot? They haven''t told us that yet.. But that one''s even more dangerous" Gentaro laid Chiho''s handgun down. Chiho looked under the handle of the Luger and inserts the magazine back. Then She whispers "Amazing". Then She looked at Gentaro. "That''s not all, They also have these monsters called Tanks" Chiho have saw a tank before but She was at an intense moment and never had a clear description of it. But She remembers a bit how the T-62A looked like. "It''s a big loud moving thing andThey have a long barrel sticking out of it and the.." Chiho forgot what its called, She looked underneath the Luger. "Bullets?" Gentaro said the name. "Ah.. Yes.." Chiho shyly answered. "The bullet that came out of it is so big, Bigger than a person" Chiho explained. "The tank was shooting the walls to block our way, The walls are completely nothing to the Tank, The wall gets easily collapse as that tank''s bullets hits it hard" Gentaro sighs at her words. Chiho noticed him and went sad, She looked at the luger as She speak. "Just who are these people? Where did they come from.. Who''s the one leading...." Chiho remembered something. "Their Leader.. The enemy soldier revealed their leader!" Chiho looked directly at Gentaro, Which surprised him at her sudden energy. "His name is Shichiro, Fujiwara Shichiro.. Does it sound familiar?" Chiho asked but Gentaro shakes his head. "Sadly, No" Gentaro responded. "He has blue hair and always wear a blue.. uh... J-Jacket?" Chiho describes Shichiro. "Blue hair and wears a... Blue jacket? How does it look like?" Gentaro asked. "That''s what i forgot to ask, but i will know how it looks like when i see it again, I have seen that man for once" Chiho tries to remember his face but to no avail. She clenched her left fist in anger. "That man stabbed Ayumi without mercy" Chiho speaked in an angry manner. This shocked Gentaro. "I..I''ll do anything to make him pay" Chiho suddenly made a new idea. "Chiho-san? What did you just say?" Gentaro nervously asked. "I''ll train more, Steal more of their guns and use it on our own.. I''ll not let him just stomp over us.. The Tsuchiya... Will fight back!" Chiro suddenly shouted and clenched her left fist. Then She looked directly at Gentaro, That surprised him. "Gentaro-san, Please help the Tsuchiya to fight the enemies! I''ll be the first one to fight them! I''ll lead every Tsuchiyan to reclaim our village!" Chiho looked at the roof as to promise something. "C-Chiho-san? What are you even saying? Why did you..." Gentaro asked her but Chiho immediately answered. "I''m pretty sure Father would do the same if He makes it out alive!" Chiho smiled at Gentaro, Which surprised him even more. "Your father, huh.." Gentaro looked at Chiho''s handgun on his table. Then He chuckled. "Heh.. To think you would suddenly come up with that idea... Do you wish to be the same as your father? Chiho-san?" Gentaro asked "Yes! I made up my mind.. I''ll help Father fight them!" Chiho answered with strong determination. "But what if your father doesn''t allow you?" Gentaro asked. "I don''t care" Chiho quickly answered, Which surprised Gentaro at her quick answer. "Like the others said, Being an innocent person is pointless at times of war.." She remembered what the soldiers have told her. "So, you mean even the civilians should be fighting the war?" Gentaro asked. "If..If they have to fight, They will fight instead of backing off.. I guess that what it means" Chiho barely answered back. "I see" Gentaro had enough of his questions. "I.. Actually beheaded one enemy out of rage.. I think that was a good start" Chiho stared at the ground trying to remember the scene. "Y-You did?" Gentaro were very surprised at her suddenly bringing that up. "Yes, I went without thinking. But i managed it" Chiho saved it by saying She managed. Then She looked at the Luger and laid it to the table. Gentaro didn''t speak anymore and just sigh. "We just hope your mother will understand" Gentaro looked at Chiho. "Yes, I know She will.. Our village is at dire, after all" Chiho picked up her handgun and puts it back to her pocket. "I would let you rest for the day now, But i''m wondering if there''s something else you forgot to say" Gentaro asked. Then Chiho thinks deeply, Then She remembered some other things. "They have these things where you have to burrow it under your skin and your wound will heal instantly, They called it Painkiller" Chiho remembered about the Painkillers. "Too bad i forgot to take one" Chiho added. "Another very convenient equipment from them" Gentaro taps his foot on the ground. "And i think, That Shichiro guy have two friends helping him lead his people, One of them is a girl with white hair" Chiho remembered where She first saw Maeru together with Shichiro and another guy. Gentaro quietly grunts as She revealed that there''s more than one leading the PTRD. "They went to our village first, maybe pretending to be adventurers. That was when my eyes caught hers" Chiho clenched her fists. "So.. These guys like, Infiltrated your village first?" Gentaro asked, But Chiho were too focused on thinking of Maeru. "That girl looked so kind, I remembered her sweet smile when we both waved at each other.. How can she be with that Shichiro guy?" Chiho were really curious. "Maybe they are a couple?" Gentaro gave out a guess. Chiho looked at him, then looked down the ground. "That might be right, But still.. Why go out with him?" Chiho wasn''t convinced enough. "Then There''s only one meaning" Gentaro answered, Chiho looked at him to wait for what He''ll say next. "She''s just the same as that Shichiro, She was just hiding under that ''sweet smile'', but inside her was just as horrible as that guy" Gentaro continued, Chiho became afraid. "She''s... also pretending to be a good person?" Chiho were about to reject the idea until She remembered something as the topic goes on. "Sh-Shigawa..." Chiho speaks low. "What is it?" Gentaro heard her and asked. Then Chiho looked at him directly. "Shigawa Maeru, That''s her name! And I was also told that She is a Devil... From hell and hides under that appearance" Chiho completely got a hold of everything Keijuro, The soldier She met, have told her about Maeru. "D-Devil from Hell?" Gentaro were shocked at the words. Chiho nods. "I was also told that She abducts people and tortures them" Chiho continued. "What a horrible person.." Gentaro stared at his table in loss of words, Then He looked at Chiho. "Wait, Is it the same guy who you stole the gun from? What''s his name?" Gentaro asked. Chiho realized that She haven''t introduced the soldier yet. "Y-Yes, And His name is Keijuro" Chiho then quickly turned back into the topic. "He also told me what They call her personality, But i forgot" Chiho tried to remember but to no avail. "What? Torturer? Devil?" Gentaro gives a few hints. "No, It''s far from those names" But Chiho still doesn''t remember. Gentaro leaned his back on his chair. "There are lots of things to be aware of them, This one is going to be tough" Gentaro looked at the roof as to process everything. "We don''t even know where they came from.." Gentaro spoke with a defeated tone. Then Chiho remembered something again. "By Portal.. Yes! By portal!" Chiho''s energy surged, Which surprised Gentaro a bit. "Portal?" Gentaro asked. "Yes.. He also said that they came from different worlds!" Chiho were hyped about remembering that. "Oh no..." Gentaro looked back at the roof. "Another unbelievable thing" Gentaro was so tired of hearing such things. "How if He just made that up?" Gentaro hopelessly asked. "I don''t know, But i think i''m going to believe that one" Chiho believed the fact. "How can you be sure?" Gentaro asked. "Their equipment, Vehicle and those flying things.. Even the other regions don''t have those" Chiho responded. Gentaro nodded and finished the conversation. "I think i''ve heard enough. It''s time for you to go, Chiho-san". Chiho bowed on response. "I''m kind of going to be busy on my table, But if you want, I can find someone who can lead you to the Inn we''ve prepared" Gentaro asked but Chiho refused right away. "No, We''re going to be fine. Just tell me where it is". Gentaro told her the location. "At least, Call Itsumi to walk you there" Gentaro still insisted, Chiho just agreed on him. "Then, I''ll be on my way" Chiho bowed once more before going out of the room. Chiho went down the stairs and stopped at the middle, She looked to her left where Itsumi and Ayumi headed. "Where did they go?" The hallway is long and only the windows is the source of light.By the end of the hallway, Pink flowers can be seen, Which is the one giving out a hint that, that is the way to the garden. "Onee-chan!" Chiho were planning on walking to the garden but Ayumi called her behind her. Chiho turned around and saw Ayumi running towards her. Then She stopped in front of her. "We went around the place! It''s so beautiful!" Ayumi told her little tour to Chiho. "Did you enjoy it?" Chiho giggled. "Absolutely!" Ayumi answered full of energy. Then Itsumi finally appeared. "She ran all over the place, making sure She don''t miss a spot, She''s quite a lively child" Itsumi speaked with a smile. "They even have grapes on their garden! Itsumi-nee-chan allowed me to pick some!" Ayumi took out a pouch and opened it and showed it to Chiho. It has some grapes on it. "Whoa!" Chiho took one and ate it. "So Sweet!". Then She faced Itsumi and bowed. "Thank you for letting us have some". Chiho thanked her for the grapes. "Don''t mention it, You can get some anytime" Itsumi responded. Then Ayumi looked at Itsumi. "Anytime.. Does that mean it grows fast?" Ayumi asked, But Itsumi just smiled. "A-Ayumi-chan, You must be tired, Gentaro-san told me where the Inn is, Let''s go there" Chiho filled up the silence. "O-Okay.." Ayumi let go of her question and walked on Chiho''s side. "Are you sure you know the way? Do you want me to take you there?" Itsumi asked. "N-No, We bothered you enough, We will be on our own!" Chiho kindly refused her. "Alright then, Be safe, You two, okay?" Itsumi pats the girls'' head. They both answered Yes and said their goodbyes and went out of the building. They reached the gate and stopped there, Chiho speaks up. "There''s really no guard here" She said as She looks around. Then Ayumi opened the gate and went outside, She held the gate open. "Geez, Do you really want someone to open it for you? Here!" Ayumi pouts. "T-That''s not what i mean" Chiho responded as She walked out. Then Ayumi closed the gates. "Alright, I still remember the way, Let''s go" The two started walking to the same path as They were going for Gentaro''s place. As the Two leaves the Center, Things around them became quieter as it turns into residential. They keep walking until They saw the entrance again. "Alright, Here''s the Entrance. Gentaro-san said it''s just near and east of the entrance" Chiho repeated the direction. As they are about to turn left, They heard a faint noise and a shadow flew by them. The two looked up to the sky at the same time and saw a Stuka. This one has a blue camouflage and Its red star is darker compared to the first Stuka on the Tsuchiya and it has yellow outline. "I-It''s those things! But quieter!" Ayumi were terrified how quiet the Stuka passed by. "What are they doing here?!" Chiho complained as They watch the Stuka gaining its altitude by pointing the nose up to the sky. As it gained enough altitude, The Stuka flies straight again and flies away. But before it disappear from the girls'' view, They heard a gunshot near the entrance and a very fast orange light hits the Stuka and bright multiple circular orange lights burst out from the spot and fades away after a second. "W-What was that?!" Ayumi shouted as the guards from the gate also panicked. "Someone was trying to take it down!" Chiho looked at the gate, planning on going outside. Then looked at the Stuka again. Someone fired a shot again but missed this time, The two watched the bullet fly past the Stuka. Then finally It changed its course to the direction of where the shot was coming from. As it points its nose to the ground, It started to emit the wailing siren. Ayumi covered her eyes as They watched it do a dive bomb. It started to shoot with its guns from its wings as It gets closer to the ground. Then It quickly disappeared from the walls covering the village. The area around them started to get noisy from the worried chatters. "Ayumi! Hurry!" Chiho took Ayumi by her left hand and started running towards the gate. "A-Are we going there?!" Ayumi tried to break away from Chiho, But She can''t focus since they''re running. They stopped in front of the gates with the guards looking at them. "The vehicle!" Chiho looked around and saw the R37 parked beside a building with a soldier who is also curious of the noises. "Let''s go, Ayumi-chan!" Chiho ran towards the R37. "Thank you for keeping the vehicle safe!" Chiho shouted at the guard as They both ride the R37. "Chiho-san?!" The guard nervously called for Chiho. "Don''t worry, We''ll be right back!" Chiho responded as She tried to accelerate without starting the engine, She quickly realized this and flipped the ignition. The R37 loudly started its engine and Chiho drove in front of the gate. The guards were surprised. "Let us through!" Chiho asked the guards. "There''s something happening outside right now, It''s the best not to-!" Before the guard on the left continue its word, Chiho interrupts him. "This is an order from Gentaro!" Chiho lied to them. "G-Gentaro-sama?!" "When did he..?!" both guards didn''t know what to do. "Hurry!" Chiho''s shout made them look at her, Then They looked at each other and nods. Then the guard on left looked up the wall. "Open the gates!" He shouted a command and the gate slowly opens. She pressed the brakes and accelerates the R37 at the same time, Revving up the engine loud. As the gate has fully opened. Chiho let go of the brakes and the last wheel screeched loudly and finally took off. "Be careful!" a guard shouted at them, Chiho raised her left hand to signal a response and accelerates the R37 to the fullest. A minute of driving has passed before they saw the Stuka from far away, Perfectly landed on a straight field. "That''s the thing!" Ayumi pointed at the Stuka. "Hm!" Chiho nodded with a smile, Ayumi looked at her. "W-Why are you happy?" Ayumi was frightened when She saw it, But Chiho became excited. "Look at it! It still haven''t exploded yet! It looks as fine as it was on the air!" Chiho pointed at the Stuka. "Well.. Except for the burn mark from the shot" Chiho noticed the large burn mark just below its cockpit. "Heeh..?" Ayumi puts up a smug in Which Chiho quickly noticed. "Well!" Chiho spoke up and quickly accelerates the R37. When they get closer, Chiho noticed two people on near the Stuka and told Ayumi about it. Then Chiho drove to a nearby tree to hide, Then They left the R37. "We need to walk from here, I don''t want them to hear us" Then They started walking towards the Stuka cautiously. After a few walks, They''re now close. The Two were frightened about how big the Stuka is, But Chiho quickly caught someone on the side. Chiho called for Ayumi to look at them. The Two girls saw a girl with long purple hair visibly tying a sitting person in front of her. The person being tied was visibly struggling then it screamed. "§°§ä§á§å§ã§ä§Ú§ä§Ö §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ!" It''s a young woman''s voice but They didn''t understand. "It''s that language again!" Ayumi whispered to Chiho. "So that girl was a Prohorovkan?" Chiho observed the girl being tied up. The captured Prohorovkan pilot is a girl with short brown hair and wearing the same uniform as the land troops, except that Pilots have goggles and gloves on. She have been grazed on her left arm and a big wound on her stomach that the two girls have yet to noticed. The girl with purple hair responded. "No one can understand you, Idiot". Hearing the voice of the girl with purple hair, Chiho knew that the girl was only a bit older than herself. Then the captured girl struggled hard. "Hey! Stay still! Goddamn it! I will kill you!" The purple-haired girl''s voice suddenly became violent as She threatened her captured enemy. Then She moved behind her to focus on tying her. The girl struggled even if She was threatened. "You..! I told you to stay sti-!" The purple-haired girl had enough and took out an axe and were about to hit her, But the girl saw the two girls. "§´§í!" She shouted at Chiho. Then the purple-haired girl looked at where She was looking, and also found the two girls. Ayumi quickly hid behind Chiho. "§±§à§Þ§à§Ô§Ú§ä§Ö! §±§à§Ø§Ñ§Ý§å§Û§ã§ä§Ñ!" The girl continued to shout as Chiho and the purple-haired girl stared at each other, Loss of words. Then Ayumi peeked behind Chiho, Which caught the purple-haired girl''s eyes. This led her to ask Chiho. "Are you one of them?" She asked. Then Chiho quickly answered no, Which made her sigh in relief. Then all of the sudden, She turned a bit shy. "Which village are you from then?" She asked. Then Chiho step aside so Ayumi can be seen. "We are from Tsuchiya, And you are?" Chiho answered. "T..Tsu..?!" The purple-haired girl were taken aback at her answer, Then She switched to being sad and looked away from Chiho. Then They heard the struggling girl again. "§·§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ú§ä §ã §ß§Ö§Û §â§Ñ§Ù§Ô§à§Ó§Ñ§â§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ä§î!" The captured girl shouted at Chiho. "Shut up!" Then the once shy, and sad girl turned back to being violent. "I told you no one can understand you!" She started kicking the captured girl. "§¹§Ö§â§ä §á§à§Ò§Ö§â§Ú! §¢§à§Ý§î§ß§à!" She kept shouting her language as the purple-haired girl proceeds on kicking her. "T-There''s no point of shouting at her like that if you could not understand each other, right?" Ayumi walked forward a bit and tells her to stop. Which She actually stopped in realization. Then the captured girl looked at Ayumi. "§Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§Ñ§ñ §Õ§Ö§Ó§å§ê§Ü§Ñ.. §±§à§Þ§à§Ô§Ú§ä§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§â§ê§Ö§Û §ã§Ö§ã§ä§â§Ö, §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä§Ö §Ý§Ú §Ó§í?" She sounded like She was trying to convince Ayumi to set her free. "I''m sorry, I can''t understand you" Ayumi crouched and gave her a sad look when She responded. The captured girl were affected and also became sad. Then Chiho walked forward with a determined face. The three looked at her. Then She pointed her finger at the captured girl and shouted. "Sudikatto!" The three stared at her silently in confusion. 10 A Risky Promise Chiho shouted at the girl with her first Russian word despite not know what it means, She did it to know how the girl will react on it. "S-Sdykhat''? (c§Õ§í§ç§Ñ§ä§î?)" The girl gave a confused look while the purple-haired girl was quite surprised. "You can speak their language?!" She asked. "No, Actually.. I just happened to remember one when we faced them" Chiho responded. "Oh.. Is that so... by the way, My name''s Mariko Sakitama, And i''m from the Jima Village" The purple-haired girl introduced herself. Ayumi stood up at her words. "I''m Chiho Hasegawa, And this child is-" Chiho also did the same but Ayumi cuts her to introduce herself. "My name is Ayumi Kirisaki" Chiho and Mariko looked at her at her interruption. Then Mariko bent low and rests both of her palms at her knees. "Hello, Ayumi-chan? Are you also from Tsuchiya?" Mariko suddenly looked like an actual kind person. Then Ayumi puts her hands on her hips, visible angry from something. "Why are you posing like that? Geez!" Ayumi pouts and looked straight at Mariko. "Wh.." Mariko checked her stance just in case. "What''s wrong?" Mariko curiously asked. "How rude! It means that i''m too small for you to normally look at!" Ayumi angrily responded, Which left Mariko with no words. Then Chiho spoke up instead. "Ayumi-chan? It''s normal for older people to do that when talking to a child, you know?". Ayumi then crossed her arms. "Hmph!" Then She pouted and looked away. Her attitude made Mariko giggle. "She''s a funny child, isn''t She?" Mariko looked at Chiho. "I know right?" Chiho also agreed and pats Ayumi''s head. Then She looked at the huge plane, then to the captured girl. "Do you have any idea where She came from?" Chiho asked to Mariko. "Hm?" Mariko almost forgot about the girl, Who was watching them the entire time in silence. "Hey. Where did you come from?" Mariko''s voice suddenly turned scary, Chiho and Ayumi noticed this but chose to ignore it. The girl just looked at Mariko, not giving an answer, But They noticed that the girl finally calmed down. "Why are you so quiet all of the sudden?" Mariko gave a curious question. But She didn''t respond again. Mariko just sighs at her lack of answer and just went through her pockets. Mariko made sure to touch every corner of each of her pockets. Then She unbuttoned her dress and touched her waist to make sure there are no weapons inside. Then as She reached her sides. The girl twitched and made a noise. In surprise, Mariko stepped away and puts her right hand at her axe on her waist. "What?!" Mariko shouted. The girl made a very pained face but She quickly looked away for them to notice. "You have something on you, Don''t you?!" Mariko asked once more. Chiho and Ayumi watched the scene while holding their laugh. Giving another silent response, Mariko forced herself to open her dress widely, She gasped in the horrible view. Her undershirt is soaking with her own blood, Then Mariko looked at her hands, with the girl''s blood on them. "This... That weapon hits you that hard?" Mariko then looked at the PTRD-41 lying on the ground just below the Stuka''s left wing. Then the girl loudly throws her back at the ground and exhaled loud. Then She started to breath heavily. "H-Hey!" Mariko quickly went near the girl, And so the two girls who just regretted the thought that the girl was just ticklish, They now gathered around her worryingly. "Get it together!" Chiho worryingly shouted at her. The girl is now sweating hard. Ayumi just looked at the girl, worried. They all quickly knew the girl was trying to hide her wound at her best efforts. "Why did you stay silent about this?" Mariko angrily asked the girl. "..Or at least make an expression of getting hurt" Mariko continued even though She knows that talking to her is pointless. "D-Do you have like, That thing you inject?" Chiho asked the girl. Then She slowly looked to Chiho, Then She looked at Mariko. The girl''s situation left her no choice. "Save me..." The girl finally spoke Japanese, This really surprised the three. "Radio..". The girl continued. "What?!" Ignoring the fact that She can speak ''Their language'' . Mariko asked for clear words. The girl closed her eyes and slowly reached for her left pocket of her skirt and took out a radio. Then She looked at Mariko. "Destroy it.." She asked Mariko to destroy the radio. "O..Okay!" Mariko didn''t know what''s going on but She did what She was told and She took the radio away from her hands and puts it on the ground far from her, Then She took her axe and swings it, with strong force, to the radio, Making a crunchy noise. It only took one swing to turn the radio completely unusable. Watching Mariko finished off the radio, Chiho and Ayumi looked at the girl again. "Painkiller... In the plane.. Climb on its wings.." The girl told the two to find them on the Stuka. "Plane?!" Chiho asked. "It''s that big flying thing!" Ayumi quickly knew the name as it sounds new to them. Chiho looked at her then to the Stuka, Then She looked back to the girl to make sure. The girl slowly nods. "Okay!" Chiho responded and They both ran to the Stuka. "Careful, You two!" Mariko shouted at them. But the two didn''t heard her as They have a little bit of excitement of finally seeing the Stuka, aside from the panic. The two stopped behind the left wing, Then Chiho looked at the large black spot from the side near the cockpit. Then She jumped up to the wing. Ayumi was about to do the same, But She saw the PTRD under the wing which sparkled her eyes. Instead of going up the wing, She went for the gun. While Chiho observes the cockpit of the Stuka. "Amazing.." Chiho first saw the numbers of gauges and the control stick, before the broken windows, glass shards on the blood soaked seat and to the floor. "Oh no.." Chiho really feels bad at her, despite being an enemy. As She was looking further, She saw a bit of the painkiller hiding beside the seat. "There you are!" Chiho inserts her left arm through the broken window while She puts her other arm to the canopy. She can''t reach it from there, But She tried to bend her arm more. But with such force, She forcibly slides the canopy open, losing her a bit of balance. "So this is how it opens..." Chiho looked at the canopy as She regained her balance. "Hm?" Chiho looked around to look for Ayumi, She saw her observing the long gun. "Ayumi-chan? Be careful not to shoot with that thing, okay?" Chiho warned Ayumi. "Yes, I know" She responded, But doesn''t seem like She mean it, She''s touching every part and keeps trying to carry it. "Ayumi.." Chiho sighs. "Hey you two! This girl''s dying! You can look at the plane later!" Mariko shouted at them. "Y-Yeah! I got it!" Chiho responded and hurriedly took the painkiller and jumped down from the wing and ran to the girl. "Okay.. Where do you inject this?" Chiho shows the girl the painkiller. The girl looked at Mariko and flips herself to point her tied hands to Mariko. Then She looked at Mariko over her shoulders. "Do you mind?" She slightly shakes her hand. Mariko didn''t know what to say. "Come on... I won''t do anything" The girl convinced Mariko to untie her. "Damn it, Fine!" Mariko untied the girl. Once done, The girl stood up and removed her dress. The bottom part of the undershirt She was wearing was soaked with her blood. The view disgusts Chiho and Ayumi, While Mariko didn''t gave any reaction. "Heh.. I was trying to bleed out, but..." The girl talked as She raise her shirt enough for them see her wounds. The wounds were deep and blood are still flowing slowly from them. "Look at that.. How could you remain all quiet about this?" Mariko can''t believe of what She''s seeing. "Is it because of the gun?" Mariko asked. "Yes, You did a nice shot at me. I was surprised" The girl responded. Mariko was about to say something, but the girl called Chiho to inject the painkiller on her arm. Chiho then injected the painkiller and applied it on her arm. The girl lowered her shirt as the medicine took effect immediately. The girl did a relieved sigh and took the clothes again. "Are you.. Fine now?" Chiho asked as She puts away the painkiller. "Yes, Thank you" The girl smiled at Chiho. "Everything''s good? Alright, I have a lot of questions to ask you" Mariko spoke up. The girl looked at her. "B-But first, How did that help?" Mariko held her question so She can ask about the painkiller. "It''s a medicine, It heals your wounds completely" The girl responded. "C-Completely?" Mariko was surprised. "I got one from an enemy soldier before, And it really healed Ayumi''s wounds" Chiho agreed. Then Ayumi walked near Mariko and raised her dress. "I was stabbed on my belly, Then it went away when Onee-chan used that medicine" Ayumi told Mariko while showing her belly. "Y-You were stabbed? Can''t believed you survived! Most people die right after the stabs!" Mariko looked closely at her belly. Then Ayumi pointed at where her wounds at before. "N-Not even a scratch anymore?" Mariko reached for her belly to feel any scratch. Ayumi giggled and twitched a little bit. "Y-You''re a ticklish one, aren''t you?" Mariko looked at her and stopped. Ayumi smiled at her, Blushing. Then She stood up and looked at the girl. "Poor child" The girl looked at Ayumi. "Yeah, It''s because of your people!" Mariko shouted at the girl, Which made her look away. "Also.." Mariko sits beside her. The girl looked back at her. "You could speak our language, Why bother talking like that before? You made me look like an idiot!" Mariko''s annoyed. "It''s our rule" The girl responded, making the three of them look at her. "We were told to speak Ru.. Our language all the times" The girl explained. "You were about to say something!" Chiho spoke. The girl sighs. "Russian.. It''s our language" She responded on Chiho. "Russian?" The three thinks about the word. "Never heard that before" Mariko shakes her head. "Me neither" It was also something new to Ayumi. "I think i heard that before" Chiho thinks deep. "Really?" Ayumi looked at Chiho. She looked back at her. "Nevermind" Chiho instantly denied her guess, Ayumi frowns in disappointment. "It''s a surprise We can understand each other with my Japanese" The girl said. "Japanese?" Mariko asked. "Yes, The language i''m using now" The girl answered. The whole group fell silent as to process things, Then the girl spoke up first. "Don''t tell me, That it''s the same language but different name?". The girl guessed it. "I-I guess..?" Mariko is still unsure but nods anyways. "Well.. We call it Japanese. Surprisingly, It''s the same as yours but with different name... What''s the name?" The girl asked. "Our whole region speaks in Tsuchiyan language, Chiho-san''s village''s language" Mariko looked at Chiho, Then Chiho nods. "Tsuchiya? That''s the village we are assaulting" The girl recalls the name. "Yeah, If you please, Can you ask your people to stop?" Mariko jokingly(?) asked. "That''ll be ridiculous" The girl gave a straight answer. "Just why are you doing this?" Ayumi looked straight at the girl. She also looked back. Chiho thinks if She ever asked the same with the soldier They met before. "Resources and Recruitment" The girl responded. "Now THAT is ridiculous! Why can''t you just make a trade or something? You could have just asked nicely!" Mariko angrily shouted at her. "We never wanted to do that at all. Our boss'' the one who wants it that way and We just obey him" The girl responded. "Bullshit! If you really don''t want to make a war, You''re supposed to be, like, rebelling on him right now!" Mariko continued to shout. "Even if that''s how things are right now, You just messed it all up by shooting my plane. You showed that your side is a threat to the ''rebels''. Which would likely result us joining back to their side against you, again" The girl told Mariko''s mistake if somehow her group is rebel, Leaving her with no words, But not too long before She comes up. "I.. I could tell you.. Like right now, if you were against them, i would.. You know, Apologize?" Mariko shyly responded. "No. Apologizing for damaging a property and putting a unit on near-death situation is very absurd. Words like those will never ever fix such problems" The girl explained. "Tsk." Mariko crossed her arms. "Just what kind of people are you.. I bet the villages within your region must be begging you to stop.. This could lead to another world war instead of a conflict between the two villages.. Specially when the civilizations started to make an alliance in post great war" Mariko continued. "Village? Region? We came from another world" The girl states that They''re not from any region on their world. "Huh?!" Mariko shouted in surprise. "What are you saying here now?" Mariko asked. Before the girl could answer, Chiho responded instead. "That''s right.. I was also told that They came from another world.. It''s hard to believe, But Their scary technologies might be the evidence". Mariko and the girl looked at Chiho. "I-It could be from another region. The Northern region... O-Or the Westerns?" Mariko desperately trying to deny Chiho''s words, Chiho shakes her head. "Believe it or not, Us Tsuchiya have deployed scouts and adventurers all over the world, And We never heard such languages as Russian, Nor like those technologies being researched" Chiho responded. "Maybe your people just suck at doing their job" Mariko whispered. She made Chiho look at her, She looked away. "Excuse me?" Ayumi spoke, making Mariko look at her. "Like your village has better people to do the job! I bet you don''t even know how it is to go around the world and know what they''re up to! You can''t just come up to their faces and ask them if they are making another technologies, you know!" Ayumi furiously fought back, Mariko was discomforted. "H-Hey now kid, You''re a sharp one, ain''t you? What''s your name again?" Mariko asked for her name. "It''s Ayumi Kirisaki!" Ayumi puts her hands on her hips, looking proud of herself. This made Chiho giggle and backs her up. "Don''t be fooled by Ayumi-chan''s age, She was so already eager to learn about the village, and specially, about the hero.. Or my Father''s history". Ayumi proudly nods, But Mariko quickly looked at Chiho, surprised. "Say what?!" Mariko asked, breaking Ayumi''s proud stance. Then Chiho started to explain. "The man''s real name on the stories was Yagano Takamura, He then later married to a girl, Which is the real name is Katsuko Hasegawa.. Then later the two had a child" Chiho stopped there. "And that kid is... You?" Mariko asked, shaking. Chiho didn''t answer but instead smiled at her. Mariko backed off a little bit "Hell no.. No way.. How could you say that those names are the real ones?.. Are you saying their names on the stories were fake?" Mariko asked. "Yes" Chiho gave a quick answer. Mariko took a second before speaking again. "And your name is..?" Mariko asked. "Chiho Hasegawa! Nice to meet you, again. Mariko-san" Chiho introduced again. "A-Ah.. Likewise, Chiho-san... But why again?" Mariko asked. "We already introduced ourselves but you forgot our names!" Chiho answered. "I-I see.. Sorry about that" Mariko scratched her head. "Geez! You both have problems on your head! You forget things so easy!" Ayumi teased them. "What do you mean both?! It''s the first time i forget things! Because of these crazy things happening!" Chiho angrily responded. "No! You just happened to know how to use your head before! Now things go crazy and so your head!" Ayumi responded, Chiho couldn''t think of an answer anymore and just angrily grunts at her. Mariko just scratched her head at the scene. "You slipped from the topic again and now you guys talk like i''m not here" The girl spoke, Reminding the three of her presence, But Mariko teased her. "Oh sorry, It''s because you''re an outsider!". The girl chuckled. "It doesn''t matter. I''m an enemy, that''s what matters". The girl responded. "You''re trying to say that our own people could be the enemy too! Aren''t you?! We''ll never betray each other in this region, you know!" Mariko shouted back. "Said by the person who also broke the pact and joined in the Saiju to destroy us" Ayumi covered her mouth, to tease Mariko. "S-Shut it, kid! Just how much do you know?! You''re starting to be irritating!" Mariko was once again discomforted about her words. "It''s the truth, though. It just doesn''t feel right for you to say something like that" Ayumi responded. "I wasn''t even there yet when that happened! So i can say whatever i want!" Mariko shouted back, Then the girl stopped their chatter. "Alright, That''s enough!" She shouted, Her words made the three look at her. "So, I''m pretty sure i couldn''t run away from you people, So i guess i will be your first prisoner" The girl stated. "E-Eh? Y-You''re surrendering that quick?" Mariko asked. "Yes. You see, Not all of us in the PTRD are willing to just kill tons of innocent people. I''m one of them, And you''re very lucky i''m the one you caught" The girl told them. "And Why is that?" Mariko asked. "Those units who wanted chaos are the most dangerous on our organization, There are some girls who also likes to do some killings. So you''re very lucky to have me here instead of those" The girl responded. "Even girls? How awful" Ayumi describes the girls who''s onto chaos. "Yes, Most of them are loyal to our boss and Will do anything the boss ask for, And..." The girl''s eye suddenly opened wide. "S-Shit.." Then She slowly looked down, Then to the three. "O-Okay! Y''all better listen to me, okay?! If not, I''ll kill you three right here, right now!" The girl suddenly stood up, alarming the three girls. "W-What happened all of the sudden?! Also, You think you can kill us three?!" Mariko also stood up and approached the girl. Before Mariko could touch her, The girl pointed her right closed fist to Mariko''s neck and a blade loudly came out of her sleeve on her wrist, Which made Mariko stop and rests her hand on her axe. The two also stood up in surprise. "Alright, I''m sorry, I panicked.. Just listen to me okay?" The girl''s blade loudly retracts back to her sleeve, also calming down the three girls. "Geez, What the hell?" Mariko moved her hands away from her axe. The girl sits down, Then the three followed shortly. The girl exhaled. "Alright... You!" She pointed her finger to Chiho, surprising her. "You''re from that village We''re assaulting right?" The girl asked, Chiho answered and nods. Then the girl pointed at the star painted on the Stuka. "I bet you saw some of the plane with stars but different than what i have here, yes?" She asked Chiho. Chiho looked and observed the star. Compared to the first plane They saw, The star on the Stuka parked near them has yellow outline and the red star inside of it was a bit darker. The first star She saw from their village was only red star, and is lighter color than what the Stuka has. "I-I guess so, It''s also a star but different" Chiho responded. "Yes. That means There''s a faction within the PTRD" The girl revealed a faction. "Wait, hold on! Another group of people in a group of people?! Isn''t that going to cause, like a mess between the people in the faction and to the actual group?!" Mariko asked, surprised. "No, Believe it or not. We have the perfect Stability and There''s no conflicts on us ever.. Enough of that!" The girl cuts the topic. "Back on track!.. So, There''s only one faction that have ever formed in our organization. And that is the Red Mosin" The girl revealed a name. "Red Mosin?" Chiho repeated the name. "Yes, The name is not that scary, But that faction is consisted of the best sharpshooters of the PTRD, A certain girl who happened to be the our top notch sniper, Has gave a request to our boss to make a faction for her handpicked snipers" The girl explained. "Snipers?!" Mariko asked, The two was also curious. "Snipers, They use a powerful gun that can shoot from far away while perfectly concealed" The girl gave a quick answer before continuing. "It was supposedly group for snipers only, But the top notch girl thought They could have an air support just in case. So She requested for assignments of few squadrons of planes to their faction. Of course, Shichiro.. Ah!" The girl forgot to say boss in a hurry. "Shichiro?" Mariko asked. "Yes, Yes! It''s our leader''s name, Shichiro Fujiwara, Blue hair whatever!" The girl revealed Shichiro to them. "W-Wow you gave him away that easy" Mariko responded and the girl continued. "Then There! Shichiro approved it and even made it so the top notch girl gets to fully control the squadrons on her own will, And That''s where i come in! My squadron was one of the assigned squadrons on that faction, So simply, I''m one of them now!" The girl were really panicking, but despite that, Mariko keeps asking her question in calm manner, To tease her to be relaxed while She panics alone. "Squadron? What is that?" Mariko asked. "God damn it! It''s just a group of that!" The girl angrily pointed at the Stuka. "Alright, Last question i promise, Just what is the name of this ''top notch'' girl?" Mariko asked her final question. The girl calmed down a little bit. "She''s... I''m sorry, I was told by herself not to tell her name to her enemies" She told them. "At least how She looks?!" Mariko asked more. "Her looks, on the other hand, Well... She have a patch on her left eye, Her patch have the same star on my plane, But unlike on the plane, It has two drawings of a gun, making an X form just below the star. She wears the same uniform as i have right now, But Hers have more red color. She''s just as tall as you are, Chiho-san" The girl looked at Chiho. "M-Me..?" Chiho gulped. "Yes, She has scary face, But.. She can be cute sometimes" The girl stopped there, making a moment of silence. "A-Ahem.. So, She have zero tolerance towards deserters, And i must ask you to convince them that i was captured and forced to work on your side, okay?!" The girl asked them to hide her from her faction. "And why do you think we''ll agree on that?" Mariko asked. "Because..!" The girl froze. "Hm?" Mariko''s still waiting for an answer. "O-Okay then.. Here''s a deal, If one person from the PTRD ever ask you about my situation, You tell them i was captured and was forced to work on your side. In exchange, I will teach you how this thing works!" The girl pointed at the Stuka. "Whoa! Now that''s a fair deal!" Mariko''s excited about knowing the plane. "R-Really?! You''ll teach us about that flying thing?!" Ayumi asked her out of excitement. The girl bent low to see her close and answered. "Yes, As long we agree on the deal" The girl smiled, But Ayumi pouted on return. "Straight Body!" Ayumi shouted, Confusing the girl. "What''s your name though? You haven''t introduced since You started speaking our language, And How the hell do you think I''ll expose you to them? That girl with black hair on the plane with the same star as you have in your patch?" Mariko asked her name. "Geez, Alright. I''m Takumi Saito" The girl introduced. "Takumi-san, is it?" Chiho repeats her name, Takumi nods in response. "I''m Chiho Hasegawa, Nice to meet you!" Chiho introduced herself. "I already know your names, to be honest" Takumi told them. "Chiho-san, Ayumi-chan and Mariko" Takumi repeated their names, Chiho and Ayumi was surprised, But not Mariko. "Only Mariko?!" Mariko complained. "What? You want your surname?" Takumi asked. "No! Where''s the honorifics? You gave Chiho-san here but where''s mine?!" Mariko asked. "Geez, Are you that desperate to have people call you with honorifics?" Takumi asked and Mariko answered with a loud Yes. "Well, I''m not giving you one, not a chance. You''ve been rude to me" Takumi responded. "What do you expect an enemy''s attitude towards you?" Mariko asked. "Fair enough, But still no honorifics for you" Takumi responded. "Whatever" Mariko dropped the topic. Chiho asked a question. "So, Takumi-san? Why are you siding with us again?" She asked Takumi. "Like i said, I have no intention of harming everyone. Sure, I might have bomb some people. But when i get contact with them, i just don''t want to hurt them anymore" Takumi answered. "So, They have to talk to you so you won''t hurt them? What a weird logic you have. If you really can''t kill a person, You shouldn''t have joined them" Mariko clarifies her words. "Whatever, That''s why i joined the air force, So i wouldn''t see my victims.. It''s a long story of why i''m still on their organization" Takumi responded. "Hmph... You guys are weird" Mariko crossed her arms. "It''s the best you call me Kind, You have yet to see the PTRD''s ruthless soldiers" Takumi responded. "Nah, You''re all weird" Mariko looked away and Takumi just shrugged. There was another silence around them. Ayumi is the one who broke the silence. "So what are we going to do now?". She asked, Takumi looked at her. Then suddenly, They heard the running footsteps of the horses coming near them. Takumi got alarmed a little bit and was about to stand up. Then as it gets closer, Gentaro and Itsumi on a horse went into view along with the other cavalries behind them. "Chiho-san!" Gentaro and Itsumi called for Chiho. "Y-Yes?!" Chiho immediately stood up. "You had us worrying about you! Why did you lie on your way here?!" Gentaro shouted at her, Not that He''s angry, More than He''s worried.Chiho noticed this. "I-I''m really sorry, If i didn''t do that, They would not let me out" Chiho answered. Gentaro sighs out of frustration. "I don''t know what to say to your Father if you were put into danger" Gentaro thinks of her father. "I''m sorry" Chiho bowed. "Hey, Who are these guys?" Mariko taps Chiho''s shoulder and asked. "They''re the Saijun leader" Chiho looked over her shoulders. "O-Oh, Wow.. You made their leader run for you outside?!" Mariko couldn''t believe it. Then Gentaro went down from his horse and approached them. "Chiho-san here is the daughter of the hero from the stories, kid. And We are responsible for her safety" Gentaro straightly told Mariko. "W-What the hell.. It''s true" Mariko gasps and stepped away from Chiho. "W-What''s the matter?" Chiho asked. "W-Well.. To think.. You''re that very daughter from the stories.. It''s.." Mariko''s lost of words. "D-Does that mean you still haven''t believed me before?" Chiho tilted her head. "Y-Yeah, There''s no way that They will just go out of their village like that, You know" Mariko answered. "Well.. Believe it or not, I''m here right now" Chiho gestures that She''s in front of her. Mariko couldn''t answer. As Gentaro watched them, His eyes landed on Takumi and instantly recognized her uniform. "O-Oh! Aren''t you one of them? You wear the same dress as the people who visited us!" Gentaro talked to her. Takumi stood up to answer. "Yes, I do remember some of our people visiting a nearby village to side with us". Gentaro was surprised to her words. "W-What do you mean, Side with you?" Gentaro asked. "What? Didn''t those people told you that They will share technologies in exchange of being allied against Tsuchiya?" Takumi responded. "N-No! They just told us they would share! They didn''t say anything about siding with you!". Hearing Gentaro''s worried words, Itsumi went down from her horse to come near. "Nii-san? What''s wrong?" Itsumi looked at and asked Gentaro. "I guess They are willing to come back and influence you more before inviting you to our side, That was too early for me to say" Takumi speaked, They all looked at her. "But What''s the hesitation? Why are you worried about joining us?" Takumi walked in front of Gentaro. He can''t answer. "I heard from these three that There''s an alliance between each village in every region. Perhaps your village has an alliance with Tsuchiya?" Takumi looked straight at Gentaro. Both Him and Itsumi were visibly uncomfortable at being exposed. Gentaro tried to answer, But Takumi spoke first. "You could have told those people instead of tricking us, you know?". In lack of answer from the leader, Chiho angrily shouted at Takumi. "Y-You''re not going to turn away from us, Right?!". Her shout made the three to look back at her. "Of course not" Takumi let go of the tension She just gave to the leader. "Y-You''re not going to tell them about us?" Gentaro made sure of her words. "Yes, As long as these three keeps my promise" Takumi answered, Gentaro looked at Chiho, Then She nodded and looked at Takumi. "I''ll keep your promise!" She said. "Hmph.." Takumi didn''t answer and sits down. "W..Well, I don''t know what''s your promises, but We can''t stay here any longer" Gentaro spoke. "What''s your name, miss?" He asked Takumi. ".. I''m Takumi.." She responded. "Then, Takumi-san? What are you going to do now? Wanna stay at our village?" Gentaro asked. "Unless you have a large place for her, I won''t go with you" Takumi pointed at the Stuka. They all looked at it. "W-Well, I''m afraid We don''t have a space that big" Gentaro observed the Stuka, He couldn''t believe at what he''s looking at. "But the sun is falling, Are you planning on staying here at night?" Gentaro asked. "No, I will fly back to our base" Takumi answered. "Hey! Are you nuts?!" Mariko shouted at her. "We still do have the promise" Takumi told Mariko, Then She looked at Chiho and called for her. "Chiho-san, It seems like you''re the only one i could ask something" Takumi told Chiho. "Y-Yes? What is it?" Chiho asked. "I have to go back to base, But We still have our promise. I promise I''ll come back here at this location. Can you trust me?" Takumi looked directly at Chiho''s eyes, Waiting for her respond. Chiho thinks hard for an answer. "C-Chiho-san! We can''t!" Mariko shouted at Chiho. "I''ll definitely keep the promise, I''ll try my best to go on this location again tomorrow, I have to repair my plane and report back" Takumi ignored Mariko and convinced Chiho more. "Report back?" Chiho asked. "Yes, I have to make a report of my flight, But I promise I''ll never tell them about you" Takumi responded. "We can''t trust you!" Mariko shouted at her, Takumi looked at her for a second before looking back again at Chiho. "I can''t stay here any longer, Chiho-san. They will be suspicious if i took long enough to return" Takumi said. Then Chiho finally spoke. "You promise You won''t tell us?". Then Takumi quickly answered. "Yes! I promise!" She smiled at Chiho, Which relieves her a bit. "Chiho-san!" Mariko couldn''t accept it. "L-Leader?!" Mariko looked at Gentaro. "I don''t know what happened, So i can''t join in, I''m afraid We''ll have to rely on Chiho-san this time" Gentaro told Mariko. "D-Damn it.. Fine" Mariko calmed down and went near Takumi to tap her shoulder. "You better come back or I''ll find you again, You understand?" Mariko speaked with a defeated tone. "Yes! I''ll come back, Thank you, Mariko-san!" Takumi answered with a smile, Mariko blushed a little bit. "Then!" Takumi stood up. "I have to get going now! Meet me here at twelve tomorrow, okay?" Takumi made an arrangement. "Twelve? Okay" Chiho answered. "Well then! I''ll see you tomorrow!" Takumi waved and ran back to the Stuka. The group went near the Stuka to watch her get in. "Hey! Teach me how to use that tomorrow, alright?!" Mariko shouted at Takumi, Who''s about to close the canopy. Takumi nodded at her before sliding close the canopy. A few seconds, Smokes loudly came out of the exhaust on the front before making a very loud noise of the engine starting and the propellers starts. The group were closely watching the Stuka starts, Astonished. Then Takumi puts her hands out of the canopy to wave at them and the Stuka slowly accelerates away from them until it gained enough speed to fly up. "Amazing..!" Mariko speaks as She watch the Stuka fly up. Then It turns back to their direction and flew above them, deafening the group. Mariko laughs loudly as it flies away. "Amazing! To think I''ll be able to use that thing tomorrow!" Mariko held her fists close in excitement. Chiho and Ayumi were excited to see how it works too, Even though Ayumi knows Takumi wouldn''t let her use it anyway, so She just teased Mariko. "But What if She doesn''t come back? You''ll not be able to use it and things will be horrible instead" She said, But it doesn''t seem to worry Mariko anymore. "Nah, I trust her now. She''ll come back and teach us!" Mariko smiled while still looking at the Stuka, Who''s far away now. "Well, That''s that. Let''s return to the village. Hey there, miss? Do you want to come with us?" Gentaro asked Mariko. "The name''s Mariko, And i guess I''ll have to come with you, I have a lot to things to ask about Chiho-san" Mariko answered and looked at Chiho, But She looked away when Chiho did the same. "I don''t really get you, If you''re shy or a scary one" Chiho scratched her head, leaving no answer of Mariko. "Alright, Then. You can ride at our horses back to the village" Gentaro told them. Then They all rode the horses, Itsumi called for Ayumi to ride at her horse, And Gentaro asked for Mariko to ride with him. So Chiho went to another soldier''s horse and they proceeded to go back. On the way there, Gentaro asked Mariko. "Mariko-san, Is it? You looks like you came from the Northern region" Gentaro guessed. "I-Is it because of what i''m wearing? Does that really gives it away?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, They wear the same clothes as you have here. What brings a Northern person here?" Gentaro asked. "I''m.. I was told that I was born from the Northern region and was thrown here at the South as a baby" Mariko answered. "Is that so? Which village do you live into now?" Gentaro asked. "Jima Village" Mariko answered. "Jima, Huh. Indeed, That village has tolerance towards Northern visitors despite the how scary the Northern people are." Gentaro thinks of the Jima. "Why are ''we'' scary though?" Mariko asked. "Don''t you know? The North is the one who started the great war, They were all ruthless and hungry for blood and pillages" Gentaro explained, Mariko were surprised a little bit. Chiho heard their conversation and called for Mariko. "So you have a Northern blood on you?" She asked. "Well, If it''s true that i was born at that place then, Yeah i guess" Mariko looked at her. "Then That means You are strong!" Chiho thinks of an idea. "R-Really?" Mariko blushed a little bit. "Can you train me at fighting?!" Chiho excitedly asked Mariko. "H-Huh? Why is that?" Mariko shyly asked. "It''s.. Because I''m planning on fighting back the PTRD! My Father''s trainings weren''t enough, So a help from a Northern person will be a great help!" Chiho answered. Then Gentaro looked at her. "Chiho-san, You were really serious about what you''ve said, huh?" He was worried. "Yes! I''ll be the one who''ll drive them off our village!" Hearing her words, All of them looked at her. Itsumi giggled. "Strong willed, just like your Father". Mariko heard her and looked at her. Then She looked back at Chiho. "Daughter of the..." Mariko whispered while looking at her. "You.. You still haven''t believed me yet?" Chiho shyly asked Mariko, She didn''t answer and quickly looked away. Leaving Gentaro with a laugher. "It''s so fun to see a person who couldn''t believe they''re seeing the real thing!" He said, The soldiers chuckled at his words. Then They proceeded in silence. 11 Friendship is as Hard as a Shell! Once the group has reached the entrance, The guards greeted them and proceeded to open the door. "Have you ever been in our village, Mariko-san?" Gentaro asked. "No, Not yet. Not that i would bother anyway" Mariko looked away. "And Why is that?" Gentaro looked over his shoulder. Mariko looked at one of the guards. "People treat me like shit" Mariko cursed, surprising everyone. "W-What do you mean exactly?" Gentaro was very curious. "When i got old enough to think, I had a dream of visiting all the villages, Study their cultures, Get to know lots of friends from different villages, You know, Adventure. But that dream was easily shattered when i made my very, Very first trip outside" Mariko became sad and looked at the ground. Everyone was quiet and was so eager to listen. The gate made a loud noise, indicating that they''re free to go inside. "The first village that i visited was the Soma Village" Mariko clenched her fists once She said the name. They went inside and left their horses, Gentaro ordered the guards to take care of the horses, Then They began to walk on the way to the Center. "When i reached their gates, I was so excited. My first visit to my neighboring villages. I even greet the guards with a big smile. Of course, They were affected and smiled back. But as soon as i told them that i came from the Jima village. Their smile suddenly fade, And of course, So is mine, I wondered why.." Mariko shook her head and sigh. The group was starting to get worried, They remained silent as to let her proceed. "Then They asked if i''m somehow, came from the North. The guards knew that the Jima has Northern people inside their village, So They asked for some reason. As soon as I told them that i am, They looked at each other, They seem lost of what to do, Then one of them asked me to wait while He talks to the other guards. And i swear, I caught his pal one time giving me a look that i can''t bear to stay cool. He looked at me like i''m some pest begging to have residence on their village" Mariko sighs, Then She continued. "It became even worse when i finally got in. People were looking at me, Like, They''re seeing a ghost or something. The people in front me are moving away like i''m some enemy who''ll kill someone who stands in my way. When i talk to a person, They will bow and apologize then run away. I don''t feel so welcome!" Mariko was interrupted by the lively chatter on their arrival on the Center. "So noisy" She complained. "Well, I''m pretty sure our people here have no problem with you" Gentaro convinced her to calm down. "Oh yeah?" As they''re walking, Mariko fasten her pace to catch a person. "Hey, Where do you buy some foods here?" Mariko tried asking the person, As She predicted, The person didn''t answer and looked so uncomfortable. "Fine, You can go" Mariko sigh and the person walked away. She waited the group to catch up with her. "See? Your people doesn''t differ" Mariko told Gentaro. "How about we change your clothes? Don''t forget about that" Itsumi told Mariko. "I told you, I''m comfortable with what i''m wearing" Mariko responded as They stopped in the spot. "That''s why people don''t talk to you! You look like you just left a cave! And with that scary face of yours, You look like you''re always looking for trouble!" Ayumi rather teased her than actually meant to say it, Mariko looked at her body. She was wearing enough cloths to cover her breast and her lower body. Then Mariko looked back at Ayumi while touching her cheeks. "Do my face really that scary?" Mariko asked Ayumi seriously. Ayumi stumbled on her words as She was expecting her to shut her up instead. "U-Um.. Yeah, I guess so.. When the first time i saw you, I thought you''re going to hu..hurt us" Ayumi were fidgeting her fingers as She talked. Mariko just sighed and looked into people. "B-But! Actually! You''re not a bad person at all! I think!" Ayumi tries to reassure Mariko. She looked at Ayumi. "Of course, I''m not a bad person" Mariko weakly smiled. "Yes! You''re not a bad person! Those people just don''t know who you really are! So it''s natural they act that way! But if you let them see that you''re actually a good person, They might change!" Ayumi cheered her up, Mariko looked at her, surprised, She can''t respond to those words. Itsumi giggled and patted Ayumi''s head. Gentaro just chuckled at the scene. "Ayumi-chan is right. Since your preference on clothing is just like the Northern people, People here at South will normally fear you for your appearance. But, It''s no problem for as long as you try your best to look kind and make them think of the opposite of how they think of you. Or rather, Make them think not all of the Northern are bad people" Itsumi told Mariko. "So, In short, Just act so kind? Then They will gradually become friendly towards me?" Mariko asked, Itsumi responded with a nod. Gentaro laughs loudly and brings himself to the conversation, They all looked at him. "Don''t worry! Chiho-san here is asking you to train her, right? If everyone see you together with her, I bet They will think again before avoiding you again!" Gentaro lively spoke. Mariko was surprised and looked at Chiho. "I guess that would work..?" Chiho shyly talked to Mariko. "All of the Saijun people already know who Chiho are! She''s the daughter of Commander Yagano! Or that hero from the stories whatsoever! If people see you hanging out with her, They''ll be surprised!" Gentaro told Mariko with a big smile. "Y-You really are the real thing, huh?" Mariko turned to Chiho. "Y-Yes.. No matter how many times you ask, I''ll be the only one" Chiho were irritated and forced a smile. "You''re the daughter of Akihiro... No wait, What was his real name again?" Mariko turned to Gentaro. "Yagano! It is Commander Yagano!" Gentaro smiled widely. "Yagano, huh.." Mariko looked back to Chiho, Then She reached for both of her hands and raised it between them. Mariko smiled brightly as She holds Chiho''s hands, They both looked at each other''s eyes. "It''s settled then! If i have to do it, Then i''ll do it!" Mariko grins. "Mariko-san!" Chiho suddenly thinks of her training with her Father, She tried to remember everything so It can be useful during her training with Mariko. "I''ll believe on you!" Mariko told Chiho. "Yes! I''ll do my best!". Chiho responded with a bright smile. "Huh?" Mariko''s smile fades as She fell into confusion. "Eh?" Chiho were also confused at her reaction. "I..I believe on you that You''re the real deal!" Mariko regained her smile, But Chiho couldn''t make it to smile again. Gentaro loudly laughs at them. "Nii-san.." Itsumi looked over Gentaro. "Oh, You foolish kids! You didn''t understood each other!" Gentaro laughs loudly again. "Nii-san, You''re awfully loud right now" Itsumi told Gentaro, He coughs and smiled at Itsumi. "Sorry, This is my first time seeing an amusing Northern kid!" Gentaro responded. "But Chiho-san, I bet Mariko-san also wants to believe on you that you''ll do your best at your training" Gentaro told Chiho, Who was disappointed. Mariko quickly realized and tightens her grip on Chiho''s hands. "O-Of course! I will do my best to teach you on combat too! I will teach you everything!" Mariko desperately tried to make her happy, Chiho noticed her attempts so She smiled. "Yes, I''ll be counting on you!" Chiho nodded. Mariko let go of her hands and rests her hand on her axe. "It might not be much, But i can only make you get used to swing an axe" Mariko looked at her axe. "That''s fine!" Chiho told her. "Heh, I thought you like swords and such. And I don''t know why but i prefer axe than swords" Mariko preferred Axe more than swords. "Is it because You''re born from the North? They do use axe and longer ones as their main weapons" Ayumi asked. "Welll, I guess so" Mariko responded. "Now, Now, Let''s not just stand here, Sun''s hiding, You get some rest" Gentaro went ahead, Then the rest of them followed. "Speaking of rest" Gentaro stopped, and so the others. He turned to Chiho. "I guess you haven''t visited the inn?" He asked to Chiho. "Y-Yes.. You know why.." Chiho shyly responded. "You got me all worried there, Specially that an enemy went near and you went into them. Something could have happen" Gentaro continued to walk as He tells his worries. "Right, I''m sorry" Chiho apologized. "You shouldn''t be that reckless, You know" Gentaro said his last words before He walks in silence. Then Ayumi suddenly shouted. "Yeah! I don''t know what she was thinking! She suddenly pulled me along with her! And When we get there, That''s where we met Mariko-san! With the girl who speaked Rus-what so ever language!". "Russian, It is Russian, Ayumi" Mariko corrects her. "I didn''t know that girl speak a different language, She straight up spoke with me with our language" Gentaro were surprised to know. "Yeah, That idiot could speak the same as we do, Though in their case, They call it Japanese" Mariko recalls the name. "Japanese?" Gentaro repeated the name. "Never heard such language, And you say that it''s the same way as ours?" Gentaro asked. Mariko responded with a nod. "Weird" Gentaro didn''t know what to say. "That idiot even hid the fact that She can speak the same way as ours, She spoke her language even though no one can really understand her. Bitch had no choice in the end, She finally spoke our language when we noticed her wounds" Mariko laughs. "Um, You keep saying bad words even though you have a kid around you? How rude!" Ayumi talked about her cursing. "You''re a kid but you don''t talk like one" Mariko responded, Giving no answer for Ayumi. Then Mariko looked over Ayumi. "I know some REAL kids back on my village, They are far different than you are, They''re more playful, More.. I don''t know, Fun to hang with?" Mariko mentioned the kids back from her village. "Yeah, Definitely fun to play with. Unlike you, You''re so irritating. You know how to talk back on arguments!" Mariko gave an annoyed look to Ayumi. She didn''t respond and just looked away, pouting. "Damn, Chiho-san? Did this kid had an education about Philosopy or something?" Mariko looked at Chiho. "H-Huh? I..." Chiho couldn''t answer, Mariko just sighed. "Whatever.." Then They proceeded to walk in silence. After a minute, Mariko broke the silence. "Hey, Where is this.. Inn you talked about? I''m tired" She asked Chiho. "It''s near the entrance" Chiho responded. "Huh?! Then Where are we going?! Hey, Leader!" Mariko turned to Gentaro to ask. "I''m bringing you to our finest dressmaker! I''ll give you free dress!" Gentaro responded. "Huh?! You made us walk this far for that?! I even told you i''m fine with what i have?!" Mariko were pissed. "Oh? Is that so? Then You can go to the inn now!" Gentaro responded with a smile. "You damn old fart! Walk us there so we''re even!" Mariko shouted at Gentaro while pointing her finger on him. "Old? But i''m only-" "No one cares!" Gentaro tried to answer back but Mariko cuts him off and stomped on the ground. Then Gentaro suddenly became serious. "Fine, Fine. Sorry for bringing you all the way here, I really thought a new dress will make you more comfortable. Do you want a carriage on the way back? I''ll call one" Gentaro looked around to look for a soldier. Mariko were surprised. "H-Huh?! W..Wait.." She just watched him talk to a soldier. The soldier nods and went somewhere. "Alright, A carriage should arrive here, Just tell them that you''re with me so they wouldn''t charge you some money. Then We shall get going" Gentaro waved at the three and walked away. Itsumi, Who''s quiet the whole time, said her goodbyes and waved, Then jogs to catch up with Gentaro. The three was left standing on that spot. Then They stepped aside. "Great, You made a leader call horses for us to go to the inn, FOR FREE! Even!" Ayumi looked at Mariko. "See? You just won''t shut up! I said walk with us! not bring us a carriage!". They started to argue. "You didn''t say it but you made him feel like you''re asking for a ride!" Ayumi shouted. "Hell it''s just what you think! What if He really just feel sorry?! You always making me look bad!" Mariko shouted. "Well i''m sorry but you already look bad, I''m just letting you know!" Ayumi shouted. "Nah i bet you looked worse when you get stabbed!" Mariko shouted, Ayumi suddenly stopped as She remembers the scene. The two noticed her stop. "I.. Look, I''m sorry.. Didn''t mean it" Mariko calmed down and regrets saying it. "You''re finished?" Chiho spoke, Who are so done with the two shouting at each other. Chiho sigh. "Look, Ayumi. I''m sure She didn''t mean it" Chiho pats Ayumi''s head. "I know! I just... It''s scary". Ayumi stands closer to Chiho. "I''m truly sorry, Ayumi" Mariko apologized again. She looked up to Mariko. "No.. It''s my fault for picking on you too much" Ayumi responded. "Look, kid. You have to get that attitude off you. It''s not right for a child like you to be that way" Mariko were truly irritated at how She behaves. "But, In.." Ayumi started to tears. "Ayumi-chan?" Chiho crouched and held her by her arms. "Back from our village, The soldier said...." Ayumi recalls the scene at their village, Chiho became even more worried. Ayumi looked straight at Chiho. "In this time of war? If you''re not tough.." Chiho gasps and shook Ayumi. "Ayumi!" Chiho shouted her name, Ayumi then cried loud. "That''s not something you need to understand! You''re too young!" Chiho shouted, She''s about to broke into tears, But She held it. "But..! If i don''t, I''ll end up getting harmed again!" Ayumi spoke between her hiccups. "That''s why i''m here! I''ll protect you no matter what!" Chiho hugged her and Ayumi keeps crying. "Look, kid. You looked like an idiot brat more than a tough one. You shouldn''t think about things like that for now and enjoy what you currently are right now". Mariko crossed her arms and sadly looked at the walking people. Chiho looked up at her worryingly. "Specially that a war is erupting. You have to cherish your childhood. When there''s war, Even at Chiho-san''s age are being recruited by the army to help defend their village. So enjoy your freedom right now before that happens" Mariko sadly looked at Chiho. "Because once your country asked for your strength, There''ll be no coming back. And once you vowed to protect your village, Death will always be your companion at war" Mariko proceeded. "Mariko-san?" Chiho called her. "Please, Enough" Chiho shook her head. "I''m sorry... Just.. Don''t let her change again" Mariko apologized. Ayumi stopped crying, let go of Chiho and wiped her tears. "No... I think, I can already do it" Ayumi looked straight at Chiho. "What do you mean?" Chiho asked. "I know i''m too young to think these stuff.. But i already seen enough, I even saw you cut a man''s head" Ayumi told Chiho. "I''m.. Sorry you have to see that" Chiho apologized. "But that doesn''t mean-!" "No!". Chiho were interrupted by her. "I.. I promise I''ll be a good girl again, But i also wanted to be strong... No, To fight along side with you!" Ayumi spoke with determination, Chiho couldn''t believe at her words. "What a bad big sister you are, Chiho-san" Mariko spoked. They both looked at her. "Ayumi saw you decapitate someone? Heck if i knew that already, I wouldn''t be giving some shitty life advice or something" She smugged. "And If She''s that strong spirited and so serious about that, Then there''s nothing you can do. You''ll just hurt her even more if you try to force her to change back" Mariko told Chiho. Then Chiho turned to Ayumi. "She''s... Right, you know. You''re like, forcing me against my will" Ayumi weakly smiled. "Don''t worry, I know what i''m doing. I told you i''m not a little kid anymore you know?" Ayumi remained her smile. "Oh, Ayumi.. I don''t know" Chiho hugged her tight. "Just why is this happening, This is just so cruel! Everything was just fine! Yet, Why! I don''t want this!" Chiho started to cry loudly.Ayumi couldn''t hold back anymore and also broke into tears. It was the first time She heard Chiho cry that much. "Onee-chan! I''m sorry! Please don''t cry! I don''t want you to be like this!" Ayumi hugged her tight. "Tsk. Goddamn it, Those people" Mariko cursed their enemy as She walks near Chiho and pats her shoulder. This stopped her from crying further. "Don''t worry, Chiho-san. We''ll beat their ass back to wherever they came from!" Mariko grips Chiho''s shoulder and encouraged her. Once Chiho looked at her, Mariko gave a wide smile. Making Chiho giggle. "Y-Yeah, I''ll make sure they''ll pay for what they have done.. You damn Prohorovkans" Chiho suddenly remembered the name and burns it into her mind. "There we go!" Mariko punched Chiho''s shoulder, Surprising both of them. "Nothing will happen if you cry, Best save those tears when you hear the people calling out your name as you beat every single of the enemy!" Mariko smiled widely again. The two looked at her and turned back to each other and laughs. Then They stood up. "W-Whoa! Since when?!" They saw people looking at them. Mariko noticed that the crowd were smiling at them before they started to walk again. Then She heard an old man. "Chiho-chan really have good friends on her side isn''t she? As expected of the Daughter of Commander Yagano". Mariko were surprised at the old man''s words. Then She heard a younger man. "And that friend of hers looks beautiful too, aside from her clothings" Mariko crossed her arms. "Just what''s wrong with how i dress? At least, I''m not like those idiots with full black dress and those large red stars on them" Mariko compared herself to the Prohorovkans, Or rather, Only to Takumi. Then the Three heard a stumbling noise coming near. It was the carriage that they''re supposed to ride on. It stopped in front of them. "Apologies! I am late!" The soldier apologized. "Eh, Took you long enough! The inn is closed!" Mariko shouted at him. "Don''t expect a pay!" She continued. "Of course not. We ran out of available coachmen so i was hurriedly assigned to be your ride" The soldier explained. "Hah, No wonder you''re lightly armored. I can''t believed you stopped in front of us and said you were late. I thought you''re going to fight outside" Mariko said her final sentence before riding the carriage. The two followed quietly. "So, I''ll take you to the inn?" The soldier asked. "No, Take us back to Tsuchiya you dumb fuck. Didn''t you hear what they said to you? I thought you were assigned? The leader himself even told you to give us a ride back to the Inn!" Mariko took down the soldier. "Alright, Alright. I understand" The soldier scratched his head and made the horses move. On the way there, Mariko sigh and spoke. "Can''t believe i was the one who cheered you up, Chiho-san. I should be the one who''s supposed to be treated that way, You being the daughter of a brave knight and all" Mariko puts both of her hand behind her head and let her head rest on her palm."Sorry, I lost my cool at that moment, I couldn''t process things anymore and broke" Chiho shyly smiled at Mariko. "Yeah, That''s pretty natural i guess.. In war, Many people tends to lose their minds" Mariko looked up. "Hey, Chiho-san?" Mariko called Chiho. "Yes?" Chiho responded. "Do you think, Those guys will eventually come this village too?" Mariko asked. "That''s... I''m not sure, But that''s definitely possible.. They might have visited here with friendly faces, But i think they will know about the Tsukosa eventually and come after every village here at Ekigatamura.. I wish that doesn''t happen" Chiho predicted the escalation of the invading enemies, while looking both sad and nervous. "Specially if that girl we met before turn against us" Ayumi mentioned Takumi. "Yeah. That idiot.. If She doesn''t show up tomorrow, I''ll find her and give her some beating" Mariko dropped her arms on her side. Thinking of something, She remembered about the Takumi''s promise, She got excited on the inside just thinking about being able to fly and see the world from the skies. She tried her best to hide her giggles, But the two noticed her anyway. After the silence since their conversation died. Their carriage stopped and the soldier spoke. "We''re here at the Inn. Also, Gentaro-sama said that you should also tell the innkeeper that He asked for them to let you stay for free. Don''t forget about that if you don''t want to pay" The soldier reminded. "Yeah, Thanks for that, old man" Mariko answered as She left the carriage. "H-Huh..." The soldier worryingly looked behind him. Chiho noticed him and She lightly bowed. "T-Thanks for the ride" Chiho thanked the soldier. He forced a smile. "Y-Yeah, Don''t mention it. You girls have a nice rest" The soldier waved while the two left the carriage, Then went away. "Alright, Time to rest!" Mariko stretched her arms up. Then She saw a name above the door. "Hirashiko? The hell''s with that name?" She complained. "We should have walked here, That ride made me sleepy, Let''s just get in" Ayumi told them to get in while looking at the bright window. "Alright then" Mariko reached for the door and opened it. The chatter of people and bright lights greets them. "Wow, It sounded so quiet from the outside, What the hell" Mariko looked around. The place is fairly big enough, The place was designed with white walls with elegant flower patterns with them. The lightnings are bright white, hanging in both the ceiling and the walls. The one in the walls are small, But it has design. The big ones are on the ceiling with much bigger design. The floor was just default brown but with patterns, Which somehow made Mariko disappointed. The bar was on the right side accompanied by tall seats, It was also occupied by people. To left side, There are tables along with barrel seats with them, They are also full. And surprisingly, In the end of the room lies the ''Reception'' area, There''s literally a name on the wall above it. It has table surrounding a small spot. "Wow, This is so far different from what we have from Jima" Mariko observed the people and looked at Chiho. "Astonished?" She saw the two looking around, choosing something to land their eyes on. "Heh, I''m just as surprised as you are" Mariko smirked. Then She saw the woman, Most likely the bartender, looking at them. The girl has shoulder-length blond hair and her blue eyes caught Mariko, She looked a little bit older than the three. The Woman then looked at the ''Reception'' area and shouted. "Hey, Suzuka! We have three girls here!". The two also heard the shout and made them look at the bar. Then suddenly, They saw a girlwith green hair popped out in the reception with a loud bump. "M-My! Welcome to Hirashiko!" The girl, Who had the name of Suzuka, hurriedly pulled up the wooden door and moved out, She closed it back down and She jogs to the girls and bowed. "W-Welcome to Hirashiko, My name is Suzuka Hirashiko and i''m currently running the Inn". She greeted them again. Mariko observed her. Her light green hair is actually long and braided, and is hanging in front of her right shoulder. Though She looked older than them, She still looked shy and clumsy for Mariko. Once Suzuka pulled her heads up, She immediately saw Chiho. "My! Chiho-san! Gentaro-sama told us you''re staying here from now on! Please! Come!" Suzuka invited them to come near the ''Reception'' area. "Yeah, I guess We''ll stay here for now" Chiho responded. Suzuka happily jogged to her area. "That lady looked so happy" Mariko whispered to Chiho. "I know right.. Maybe because of me?" Chiho shyly whispered back. Mariko chuckled. "Heh, Yeah". They went in front of the desk and waited for Suzuka, She was looking for something underneath the desk. "There you are!" Suzuka found it and laid to the desk, It was a book. She opened it and looked for a page that''s a little bit empty, Then She rotated it for the three to see, Then She brought out a quill. "Write your name here please!" Suzuka happily told them. Mariko and Ayumi let Chiho to do it. Then Mariko looked at Suzuka. "No pay, Right?" She asked. "Yes! Even if Gentaro-sama didn''t told us about it, I wouldn''t even charge Chiho-san for it! I would let her stay for free!" Suzuka responded. Then She noticed how Mariko was dressed and looked at her, worried. "Um, Miss? Why are you on your underwear tonight?" She kindly asked. "Huh?!" Mariko shouted. surprising everyone near her. "What do you mean, Underwear?!" She asked loudly. "U-Um.. I mean.. Why are you not wearing any dress? The men are lo..looking at you" Suzuka lowered her head while closing her eyes. Mariko quickly turned around, She saw in slight second that some of the men are gazing behind her, They averted their eyes without even moving their head. She blatantly threatened them. "Listen here!" Mariko took her axe and pointed at them. "M-Mariko-san!" Chiho were surprised, along with Suzuka and Ayumi. "You''re lusting into a wrong woman here! I am a Northern person and I LUST! For Blood!" She shouted, Making a silence on the room. The other men, most likely younger ones and some girls, including the bartender, looked at her while the ones who were guilty didn''t. She moved the axe across the room. "If i saw any more of you fucks staring at me another time, It''ll be your last moment!" She shouted further. Then She sighed and puts her axe back. Then She slowly turned back to Suzuka, Who was completely shocked. She immediately bowed, Her head even hits the desk with a loud thud. "I..I''m sorry for asking!" She apologized. Mariko gasps as She quickly realized She just sets herself loose. She turned to Chiho, Who were scared, shakingly holding the quill and Ayumi peeking behind her. She had nothing to do but apologize. "N-No, It''s not your fault.. I-I''m sorry..." Mariko scratched and lowered her head. Suzuka pulled up her head on her apologies. Her forehead had a red spot, from hitting the desk. "L-Look, you even hurt yourself" Mariko softly spoke. "O-Oh, Please don''t worry about it!" Suzuka touched her forehead. Mariko looked over Chiho, Who were still looking at her. Then Her eyes landed on the book. She already wrote their names, But on the lastest, It only has Mariko. "M..My last name is Sakitama" Mariko told Chiho. "A-Ah, Yeah..!" Chiho quickly snapped back and wrote her last name. Chiho finished writing their names and handed the quill to Suzuka. They talked about the rooms, while Mariko dived down to deep thoughts. She brought out attention and even threatened the people, She felt awful afterwards, But the thought of She was being stared at left her angry and couldn''t hold herself. She didn''t mean to burst out like that, It was those men''s fault. Mariko quietly looked down as Suzuka and Chiho talks. Ayumi peeked at Mariko one more time to see her looks sad. Ayumi thought of something. "Your room is just upstairs, It''s the fourth room. You can go there now" Suzuka laid a key on the desk, Chiho picked it up. "Later, I''ll come up there to put your name beside your door" Suzuka told her. "Alright, Thank you" Chiho bowed and called for the two to come with her upstairs. Facing the reception, There''s a hall in their right, Two doors facing each other before the stairs on the left on the end of the hall. Mariko silently followed Chiho towards the stairs. Ayumi pretended to follow behind but She went near the desk''s door. "Um.. Suzuka..san?" Ayumi called for Suzuka. "E-Eh?" Suzuka were surprised to hear her, Ayumi''s body can be seen under the door so Suzuka opened it up. "Ayumi-chan, Is it? What do you need?" Suzuka looked at Ayumi. "Um.. About Mariko-san" Ayumi looked down the ground. Suzuka gave her a worried look. "Yes? What about her? I-It''s not like, I don''t have a problem with her" Suzuka immediately told her that She''s not bothered by her. "Um.. Actually, Mariko-san is a good person". Suzuka was surprised at what Ayumi said. "Onee-chan and Mariko-san are actually good friends now. She even worried about me even though She just met me, And i guess She didn''t mean to do that, So please don''t think of her as a bad person" Ayumi asked Suzuka. She was touched by her words. "Don''t worry, I knew She was not actually a bad one when She became quiet the whole time after her shouting. She looked like She deeply regrets her act and looked so down!" Suzuka smiled at her. "Y-Yeah, I saw her too.. It''s just.. Maybe her Northern blood is the reason She can be violent at some time, But please, Still think of her as a good person!" Ayumi asked one more time. "Of course! I will make sure to tell everyone about it!" Suzuka nodded with a smile and rubbed her head. Then Ayumi smiled wide and bowed. "Thank you!" She happily appreciated her kindness. Suzuka nodded one more time. "Alright, It''s getting late. I think you should go up there now, I bet they''re wondering where did you go"She patted her head one more time before letting her go. "Alright! I''ll get going now!" They waved at each other and She ran upstairs. Suzuka closed down her door and saw the bartender coming. The bartender placed her right arm to the desk. "Hey, That girl with purple hair before... She couldn''t be.." She whispered to Suzuka. But Suzuka smiled at her. "Ah! About Mariko-san?" The bartender was surprised that She was smiling. Ayumi counted the door as She reached the floor, She remembered their room being the fourth one. She easily found it because the door was slightly opened. She opened the door and went inside. She saw the two sitting on beds. There were two beds on the room, The first one near the door was for Two people, And the last one next to it is for only one person. The two looked up to Ayumi. "Where have you been? Bathroom?" Chiho asked. "N-No..! I.. Ah, Yeah, I went for a pee.." Ayumi lied and closed the door behind her. "Geez, I''m about to be worried at a second there" Chiho stood up and took out the gun to place it on a desk. Ayumi went near to look at it. Then Mariko spoke. "H-Hey, Chiho-san?" Mariko called Chiho. "Yes?" Chiho turned to look at her, She became worried when She saw her down. "I''m.. Sorry, I didn''t mean to burst out like that" Mariko apologized. Chiho quickly looks for a word to stop her from being sad. "N-No! It''s alright! I-I kinda know the feel of being started at!" Chiho walked near her. Ayumi remained on where She was standing. Mariko looked up to Chiho. "I-It''s fine, really! You don''t have to.." Chiho stopped as She saw that Mariko was still not convinced. Chiho sighed and sits beside her. "Look.. I kind of expected that violent side of yours, Given that you''re from the North. And i know you were so mad that you didn''t get a hold of yourself back there but you didn''t mean to shout and point your weapon to them, So it''s fine! Please don''t be sad!" Chiho consoled her. "Just.. Just why are you so kind to me?" Mariko looked at Chiho, surprising her. "I just happened to be with you because that leader asked to, And i don''t have anything else in my life to do so i went to your side.." Mariko looked straight at Chiho, Waiting for her answer. "It''s because..." Chiho giggled at her, Surprising Mariko. Chiho stood up and looked at her. "Because! I think of you now as a precious friend!" Chiho gave her a bright smile. Mariko couldn''t speak. Ayumi also went on Chiho''s side and smiled. "That''s right, Mariko-san! You are our friend now! Whatever happens, We''ll always be together!" She told Mariko. "Y-You two.." Mariko couldn''t believed at what they have said. "Of all people, Why me" Tears started to flow out from Mariko''s eyes but She''s wiping them off. She was crying, But She giggled anyway. "The Hero? The brave knight? I couldn''t believe i would met his daughter and act so kind to someone like me" She proceeded to giggle while still wiping her tears. "Mariko-san.." Chiho felt happy and nodded. "Chiho-san.. Can.. Can i..?" Mariko stood up and asked something to Chiho. "Yes? What is it?" Then She slowly approached Chiho and wrapped her arms around her. Mariko hugged Chiho. "Yes! Of course! It''s okay now.." Chiho hugged her back. Ayumi noticed just now how tall Mariko is compared to Chiho, So It looked a little bit weird for her. "Geez, I wanna hug you too!" The two separated each other to look at Ayumi. "Of course" Mariko sat down to the bed. Ayumi ran towards her and throws herself to Mariko. Ayumi giggled as She hugged her. Mariko laughs. "It''s weird the three of us cried on this day" Mariko told them, laughing. "Yeah, I know right.. The situation those Prohorovkan gave to us, really hits us hard.. I''ll make sure They''ll pay for this" Chiho clenched her fists when She said the name. Mariko nodded. "Yeah, We''ll beat their asses hard!" Mariko responded. Then They did what they needed to do before preparing to sleep, The Inn got clothes for them to change and sleep with. "I guess i should sleep here" Mariko sat on a one-person bed. "No! I want to you to sleep with Ayumi-chan!" Chiho told Mariko. "Huh? Come on, I''m fine" Mariko were about to lie down, But Chiho ran to her and moved her away from the bed. "Come on! You should sleep with Ayumi-chan!" Chiho smiled as She stole her bed. "W-Why though? I don''t want to-" Ayumi slumped herself into two-person bed. "What do you mean, you don''t want to?" Ayumi slaps the bed beside her, GesturingMariko to sleep with her. "You might be chaotic when you sleep" Mariko told Ayumi. "C-Chaotic?" Ayumi held her laugh. "Y-Yeah, Like.. You move a lot.. I wouldn''t be able to sleep so.." Mariko scratched her head. "Don''t worry! I don''t move much!" Ayumi laid her head on her pillow. Mariko just sighed. "Fine.." She looked at Chiho, Who''s already lying down on the bed, Watching them. "You sure you''re fine there?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, I used to sleep alone so i''m fine!" Chiho smiled. "Heh, I also used to sleep alone so that was a bad excuse" She responded as She lie down next to Ayumi. She sighed in relief to be able to finally rest. Then Ayumi moved closer to her and giggled. "H-Hey!" Mariko raised her voice. "Even right now, You''re buggering me!" She shouted to Ayumi. "Huh~? What did you expect from a child?" Ayumi hugged her by resting her one arm on top of her and closed her eyes. "C-Chiho-san?!" Mariko tried to move Ayumi away while looking at Chiho. But Chiho already turned away from them and Ayumi''s resisting to remain close to her. "Goddamn it!" She whispered to herself, Thinking of a restless night. But not too long ago before She felt sleepy and eventually fall asleep. A faint footstep came from the door. Then a few second, someone spoke. "There!" And walked away. 12 Ryadovoy Saito Takumi Mariko were the first one to wake up, And it is too early. She woke up at four, It was still dark outside. Mariko raised herself up. She looked at Ayumi, She''s still asleep. She turned to Chiho, She was also still sleeping. "Huh.." Mariko wondered what''s the time, She looked at a window, It was still dark. "What the hell.. Did i woke up at the wrong time?" Mariko whispered and She was led to a yawn. Then She slowly moved away from the bed, stood up and reached for the door. She slowly opened it to be quiet. She went out and closed the door behind her. As She stand on the hall, She noticed how quiet it is right now unlike last night. Then She walked downstairs. There, She saw Suzuka writing on something on her desk. Suzuka heard her and looked over her. "My! Good morning, Mariko-san" Suzuka greeted her. Mariko stopped by the spot just before entering the hall. "G-Good morning.." She greets back. They are the only people on the room right now. "It''s pretty early, Did you get some good sleep?" Suzuka asked. "Yeah, I did" Mariko responded. "I see, That''s good" Suzuka nodded and continued what she was doing. "Hey, What time is it?" Mariko came near and asked, Suzuka raised her head and about to answer, But someone else did. "It''s four in the morning, Champ". Mariko realized somebody else was there, She looked over the bar where She heard the voice. It was the female bartender. "A-Ah.. I always wake up around that time, I don''t know why, But i can''t sleep anymore once i wake up at that time" Mariko scratched her head. "As expected of a Northern!" The bartender speaks as She leave her bar. Mariko were curious about what She just said. The bartender rests her back on the desk and looked at Mariko. "Hey, Who are you going to kill this time?" The bartender jokingly asked. "Haru!" Suzuka angrily called her. "I''m kidding! I''m kidding!" The bartender, which Suzuka called Haru. Laughs at Mariko, Who couldn''t process what She just asked. "Um.. Why would i kill somebody?" Mariko''s curious. "Come on, That was a joke. Let''s go take a seat! I would like to ask you some things!". Haru grabbed Mariko by her wrist, Surprising her. "Haru..." Suzuka was somewhat worried, But Haru just gave her a playful smile. "Don''t worry!~" Then She went into an empty table near a window while pulling Mariko and asked Mariko to take seat. Haru sat beside her. "Alright! First thing''s first! My name is Haruki Suenaga! As you can see, I''m the one running the bar while Suzuka here does the rooms!" Haruki introduced herself to Mariko. "I..I''m Mariko Sakitama, Nice to meet you.." Mariko did the same. "Likewise, Mariko-san!" Haruki quickly reached Mariko''s both hands and raised it. Mariko was surprised. Haruki then looked at her hands and moved it so She can see her palms. Then She suddenly got disappointed. She gave Mariko an observing look. "Are you sure you''re from the North?" She asked. "I-I was born from there, But i grew up on this region, In Jima village" Mariko responded. "Aww.." Haruki was even more disappointed. "I thought you came all the way here from the North! But you were just born there and grew up here at South, How boring.." Haruki pouted and looked away to the mirror. Mariko ignored her complain. "H-Hey, Why did you say that i''ll kill someone before?" Mariko asked, But Haruki didn''t answer. Mariko just chose to drop that one. "A-At least I''m carrying their blood" Mariko went into her topic. Haruki happily turned back to her. "Yes, Yes! Blood! Your blood is pure.. umm..Belatorisemortisems!" Haruki couldn''t remember the name so She just quickly spoke what She could remember. Mariko then remembered something. "Bellatores Mortis?" She asked. "Y-Yes! Amazing!" Haruki happily claps. "Warriors of the Death, That is the nickname for our warriors" Mariko explained the word. "Yes! I know that!" Haruki was so eager to listen more. "To be honest, That''s the only thing i could remember about my real home. Back when i was younger, The old woman back in the Jima who used to take care of me once told me about my real identity. She revealed that i was not from the Jima, And that i came from a certain village from the North called Dives" Mariko revealed a village from the North. "Dives? I never heard such village!" Haruki happily remembered the name. "Di-Ve-Su! Not Di-Be-Su!" Mariko corrected her pronunciation. "Di..B-Be..Su" Haruki tried. "Not Be! Ve!" Mariko corrected her again. "H-How..." Haruki thinks deeply. "Look at me, Look how i say it" Mariko asked her to watch, Haruki watched her mouth closely as She pronounce the word. Not too long ago before She could finally say Ve perfectly. "Dives! Dives!" Haruki happily repeated the name. "There we go" Mariko smiled at her. "So? Is there something on the Dives to know about?" Haruki stopped to ask a question. "Nothing, I guess that''s our capital, or the biggest village on the North" Mariko responded. "Then How did you end up here?" Haruki asked. "She said there was a conflict between my parents and our neighbor. Then few days has pass, The village chief had enough of the neighbor''s complains and thrown us both out of the Region. Then between the border of the South and the North, She met my parents carrying me. They asked her to take care of me while they do their ''Job''. The old woman was kind enough to accept me. She even told me about how they tried to hide their anger, And the job they meant was to hunt down the neighbor who was thrown into somewhere. And before they go, My mother said something to her, That i still had no name at that time, and She would like the old woman to make a name for me, A Southern name, That is" Mariko tells Haruki her past. "Then, The old woman waited and waited for them to return. She even carry me with her sometimes to go to the place where they''ve met. The last time we returned there was when i turned 7 years of age. There at that certain spot, She faced and told me "Mariko, I''m sorry to say this, But i don''t think your parents would show up anymore" She gave me a sad look and felt my cheeks" Mariko became sad at remembering the scene. "I-I''m sorry for bringing that up.." Haruki noticed her and quickly apologized. Mariko laughed. "It''s fine! I was just telling how i grew up after all! It just happened to be sad!" Mariko waved her hands. "I guess so..." Haruki looked at window. Silence built between them but not too long before They saw Suzuka coming near. "Geez, Haru.. You''ve asked too much question!" Suzuka gave Haruki an annoyed look while She sat on the chair in front of them. Then They switched their topic to something else and let the time pass. The sun has risen and the Inn was gradually getting filled with people. Suzuka and Haruki were already on their station and Mariko remained on the table, sipping her last drop of her coffee she asked when the two started to work. "Alright, Time for that flying thing" Despite all of what happened, She still had the plane on the back of her mind. She stood up from the table, leading to a person who just came in to ask if she''s done with the table. She responded and planned to wake up the two due to her excitement. On the way to the hallway leading to the stairs, Suzuka noticed her and raised her head. "Going back to sleep? It''s six in the morning" She asked to Mariko, making her stop by. "Nope, I''m going to wake my friends up" Mariko responded. "Ah, Is that so? Isn''t that going to be a little bit rude?" Suzuka asked. "Nah, We have something to do and they''re staying at the bed for too long" Mariko responded. "Ah! So You''re busy! Want to get something to drink on your way? Haru and I can give something!" Suzuka offered. "Thanks, That would be great" Mariko nodded. "Great! Now, Go wake them up now, I''ll give it to you once you three got down here" Suzuka clapped as Mariko accepted her drinks. Then Mariko gestured that She should get going and went upstairs. This time, She opened the door loudly, On the split second, She saw Chiho on the bed twitched. She covered her mouth to hold her laughter and went between the beds. "Alright.." She looked at both, They are still sleeping, Though, She knew Chiho heard the door but slept back anyway. At that thought, She chose to wake up Chiho first. "Hey! You heard the door! Wake the hell up!" She shouted near her ears, leading her to cover her ears. "I''m still sleepy~!" Chiho took her pillow and puts it on her head. "You''re a tough one, Eh?" Mariko stood up and went to the table Chiho placed her gun. Then She went to the side where Chiho was facing and threw away the pillow. "Hey look" Mariko pointed the gun at the ground while She shook Chiho awake. Chiho first saw the gun once She opened her eyes. Then Mariko stomped hard to the ground, loud enough to imitate a gunshot. Effectively, Chiho bolted up and looked at Mariko. "Good fucking Morning, Princess. How''s your sleep?" Mariko grins. Chiho gave her an irritated look and whimpered. Then She let herself fall back. "No, No, No!" But Mariko quickly caught her and Chiho started to whine. "I''m still so sleepy! Marikoo~!!" She struggled from her hands. "Goddamn it! Stop acting like a kid!" Mariko was trying to hold her still. "But I AM a kid! Let me act like one~!" She struggled hard. "No! You''re not!" Mariko shouted. Then Chiho finally stopped. She scratched her eyes and looked at Mariko. "You don''t look like you just woke up, When did you woke up?" Chiho asked. "One or Two hours ago, I think" Mariko responded. "That''s way too early~!" Chiho thought of waking up at that time and throws her back on the bed again. Mariko sighed and scratched her head. Then She went over Ayumi. "Hey wake up, We got something to do" She gently shook Ayumi, But It didn''t work. "Hey, Kid! Wake up! We got something to do!" She increased her strength and shook her again. Didn''t wake up. Mariko waited for a second before shaking her again. "It''s morning now, Wake up" Mariko continued to shake her. Then finally She had enough. "Wake up! Goddamn it! You two are such a heavy sleeper!" Mariko stood up and pointed at Ayumi and to Chiho, Upon pointing her finger at Chiho, She saw her with her eyes closed again. "Chiho!!" Mariko was defeated, She gritted her teeth to feel her anger. She picked up Chiho''s pillow and threw it hard on her face and walked out of the room, slamming close the door loudly. She stepped hard to the stairs, making her footstep so loud. Suzuka heard her and turned to her direction. Mariko saw two big bottles with purple liquid in it. The other bottle is half of the two''s size. This one has orange content in it. "Here are your drinks! Where are they, Though?" Suzuka moved the bottles a little bit. "Thanks, They''re still sleeping, But i gave them enough bothering so they should be going down now" Mariko stopped by the desk and observed the drinks. "Here, You and Chiho have Grape-flavored drinks! And the small one is for Ayumi-chan! An Orange-flavored drink! The fruits came fresh from Gentaro-sama and Itsumi-sama''s Garden earlier!" Suzuka described the drinks to her. "Whoa! They are just newly made? And earlier?" Mariko asked. "Yes, An Hour ago before you woke up!" Suzuka smiled. "W-Whoa.. An hour ago.. At Three on the morning?! That''s insane!" Mariko raised her eyebrows at the thought. "Yes! Me and Haru are used to wake up at that time so We could prepare to open the Inn earlier for those early customers like you. You were the newest earliest customer to come down! The former earliest customer to come down is.. Five minutes before the time turns Five" Suzuka responded. "Heh, Looks like i managed to unintentionally bought someone down" Mariko and Suzuka laughed. "So you wake up at that time, Who gets the fruits? Do someone delivers it here?" Mariko asked. "Nope! Haru and I go out alternatively. She gets to pick them up now, And when we can take another again, I''ll be the one who''ll go out this time!" Suzuka responded. "Huh..." Mariko dropped her elbow on the desk and rested her chin on her palm. She held the bottle of grapes by the lid and rotates it so She can watch the fluid shake. Then They heard a running footsteps coming from the stairs, They looked at the hallway to see Ayumi running towards them. "Mariko-saaan!! I thought you left us!" Ayumi thrown herself to Mariko and hugged. "Why would i leave you?" Mariko smiled and patted her head. Then She saw Chiho coming. "You damn sleepy heads! How did you wake up each other?" Mariko turned to Chiho and asked. "The moment you left, I wondered where you''re going, So i forced myself up and i shook Ayumi until She woke up" Chiho responded. "Huh.. Thought you went back to sleep?" Mariko asked. "No, I was just resting my eyes". Mariko took a second to think about what She said. "You just had a sleep, And you''re resting already? Just how much energy did you need to wake up?" Mariko asked. Chiho ignored her and looked at the drinks. "Suzuka-san bought us something to carry with while we head outside. She said the fruits were from the Leader''s garden" Mariko told her about the drinks. "Huwaa! So that means those two purple bottles are grapes?! But.. Why is there an orange one?" Her eyes caught the only orange drink. "It''s for you, Apparently" Mariko handed over the bottle. Ayumi looked at the bottle and pouted. "Why is mine orange? I want grapes too!" Ayumi complaint. "We can exchange" "I can get you a grape one instead!" Chiho and Suzuka spoke at the same time, surprising Ayumi. "N-Nevermind, I also wanted to.. taste their orange" Ayumi hugged the bottle. "Is that so? Alright" Suzuka were about to step out. "So? When are you going to leave?" Suzuka asked. "Oh yeah.. Where should we go? We have nothing to do.." Chiho thinks, Then looked at Mariko. "Mariko-san?" She called her. "W-What?" Mariko woke the two because She was excited to meet Takumi again, Even though She knows the time when She''s going back. "You said We have something to do? What was it?" Chiho asked. "A-Ah..! That.. You know, About that idiot from the enemy organization?" Mariko reminded of Takumi''s promised arrival. "Oh yeah, That... Didn''t She say to meet her at Twelve? I don''t think it''s currently Twelve right now" Chiho looked at Suzuka. "It''s still Six" Suzuka told them the time. "It''s too early! That girl is probably still sleeping too!" Chiho frowned at Mariko, Who averted her eyes. Chiho irritatingly scratched her head. "Come on, Waking up so late is bad" Mariko looked back at her. "Late?! It''s six in the morning! I usually wake up at Seven!" Chiho shouted. "S-Seven?! That''s way too late! It''s only even 1 hour apart so stop complaining!" Mariko couldn''t think of waking up at that time. "I could have much better sleep if i had slept for another hour!" Chiho responded back. "Whatever, Let''s go" Mariko grabbed one bottle and were about to walk out, But Suzuka stopped her. "Mariko-san? You''re still wearing our clothes" She told her. "A-Ah, Sorry" Mariko stopped and walked back to drop back the bottle. "Not that you can''t bring it outside, But i guess that you''ll go outside the village soon and there''s a chance that your dress will be damaged or something. We ran out of spare to replace your clothes, so.." Suzuka told them. "It''s alright, We will..." Mariko looked at the two, Who got changed already. "I guess i''m the only one then" Mariko looked at Chiho. "Keys?" Mariko asked. "Ah.. Here" Chiho took their key and hands it over Mariko. "I''ll be right back quick" Mariko went upstairs again and went inside their room. Once She was done, She locked the door and came down. "Alright, Let''s go" Mariko said as She walks near. She saw Ayumi holding her laugh. "What?" Mariko asked. "You.. You didn''t really change, Did you? You just stripped yourself" Ayumi responded, Chiho looked away and Suzuka buried her face to the desk. Mariko blushed hard. "W-What do you mean? I changed!". Ayumi couldn''t hold back her laughter and bursts out. While Chiho was surprised and looked at Mariko. "Y-You really did change?! You..You have nothing inside when you wore the clothes?!" Chiho shouted. "Yeah!" Mariko shouted back. Making Ayumi laugh even more. "Y-You can still wear those inside while you wear the other one. You know" Chiho told her. "Oh, Is that so.." Mariko looked at herself. "Ayumi! Be quiet!" Chiho scolded Ayumi. She slowly stops laughing. "Here at South, We call that kind of clothing as underwear.. We wear those under our clothes" Chiho explained. "I see.. Isn''t that too hot?" Mariko asked. "No" Chiho quickly answered, Ayumi giggled. "I can already feel how hot it is for my body" Mariko took a bottle. "Come on, Let''s go" Mariko then walked towards the door. "Please, Take care!" Suzuka said her goodbye. Chiho grabbed hers. "We''ll get going now" Chiho lightly bowed at Suzuka, She waved back at her. Then Ayumi followed her to walk outside. As Ayumi close the door behind her, Mariko inhaled and exhaled at her best. "Hah... Alright, Let''s get going" Mariko looked back at the Inn, To see that It has no neighboring buildings near it. "Whoa.. Didn''t noticed this at all" Mariko speaks, The two also looked back. "Must be because we were so tired yesterday, We had thought nothing but rest when we got here" Chiho talked back while looking around. "Alright, Let''s walk.. This is the way we came from, right?" Mariko walked a little bit to her right and points. "I guess, I mean.. We were facing this way when we got here, right?" Chiho turned herself to the left. "Y-Yeah, I thought so" Mariko looked over her, Then proceeded to walk right. The two followed behind her. "Hey, What are we gong to do this early?" Ayumi asked Mariko. "Dunno.. Let''s take a stroll to the Capital?" Mariko suggests. "To the Center?" Chiho asked. "You call it Center?" Mariko looked behind her. Chiho nodded and Mariko looked back ahead."Then let''s go to the Center". As They walk in silence, Mariko saw two soldiers looking at their way and whispering to each other. Mariko watched them closely as they get closer. Then the soldiers moved to their way and stopped, The girls stood in front of them. "Are you miss Mariko Sakitama? Someone. A girl, is looking for you outside, She wears a black uniform, probably from the enemies'' side" The soldier on the right asked Mariko. Her heart skipped a beat once She heard black uniform. "Y-Yes! I am Mariko! Where is she right now?!" Mariko leaned closer to the soldier. "J-Just outside the gate, She was using a plane on the way here by the way" The soldier asked. "Alriiight! I''ll get there right now!" Mariko ran past the soldiers, surprising them. "M-Mariko-san?! Wait!" Chiho called her, She looked at Ayumi then They ran to catch up with her. "S-So fast!" Chiho watched Mariko run as the distance between them keeps increasing. Later, Mariko reached the gate and grabbed a guard. "Where is she?!" Mariko asked. The guard got surprised at her sudden grab. "A-Are you Mariko? Someone is looking for you, She''s just outside" The guard responded. "Then open the goddamn door or whatever!" Mariko shook the guard. "Alright! Alright!" The guard struggled, She let go of him. "Mariko is here, Open the gates!" The guard shouted and the gate slowly opened. She peeked through the small hole while the gate''s still opening, She saw a familiar face through the gap. "Hey!" Mariko shouted and She forced herself out from the gap and ran towards Takumi. The guards were surprised at her, And so Takumi. "Y-You didn''t wait until it opens wide, huh..? That''s dangerous.." Takumi crossed her arms as Mariko stares at her while She catch her breath. "You''re that idiot before right? I just want to make sure" Mariko asked. "Yeah, And stop calling me that" Takumi gave her a bad look. "I just told you these guards your name, I could have tell them a crazy woman wielding an axe, with purple hair and on her cave dress. They will probably remember you" Takumi insulted her. But Mariko didn''t got mad. "Fine, Fine.. Takumi, Right?" Mariko asked, She nodded. Then They heard Chiho and Ayumi running to them., They both looked at them. "Oh.. Shit" Mariko realized She just ran away from them. The two girls stopped in front of Mariko, Ayumi quickly sits into the ground as they do. Both of them are catching their breath loudly. "Geez... Mariko-san.." Chiho spoke between her huff. "I-I''m sorry" Mariko apologized. "I feel like my heart is going to burst!" Ayumi shouted. "You made them run like that? Were you that excited to see me?" Takumi looked over the two and to Mariko. "Y-Yeah! Kinda.. It''s because you said you would teach me how to use that thing today!" Mariko pointed at her left behind Takumi. The same Stuka she saw yesterday was park just behind Takumi. "I expected that from a medieval person" Takumi sighed. "A what person?" Mariko asked, but Takumi ignored her. "Fine, Let''s go.. I''ll remind you, Flying that beast is no easy job" Takumi told her before walking towards the Stuka. "Yeah! I will do anything!" Mariko grins and followed her with Chiho and Ayumi on her tail. On the way there, Chiho walks fast to stay beside Mariko. She saw how She was gritting her teeth and smiling in excitement. Then She looked at Takumi. "Hey, Takumi-san? I thought you were going down here at twelve?" Chiho asked. Takumi looked over her shoulder then looked back ahead. "Ah.. yeah, I was assigned to do some patrol to the surrounding of your village early this morning" Takumi responded. "Ah, I see.." Chiho looked at the Stuka. "Since i was doing patrol, They gave me another plane to fly with, But i insisted to fly with this one" Takumi told them as She climb up the left wing. Then She looked at the sky as to think of something. Then suddenly She looked troubled. She loudly sat on the wing. They look at her as they stop in front of her. "Hey, Do you guys have any idea about flights?" Takumi looked at Chiho. "N-No idea.." Chiho shyly smiled at her. "How about you?" Takumi looked at Mariko. "No. That''s why you''re going to teach me right?" Mariko asked. Takumi sighed at their lack of knowledge about flying. "This is going to hard" Takumi sighed once more. "Is it really that hard?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, Definitely! Do you know Gliding?" Takumi asked. "Yeah, kinda.. I read some stories about dragons, They use their wings to glide in the air" Mariko responded. "Good, At least you know about dragons" Takumi shrugged lightly and stood up. She slid opened the canopy. "Alright, You can all climb up here, It''s no worries" Takumi invited them go up. "Yeah!" Mariko excitedly climbed up. After her, Chiho carried Ayumi up to the wings. "H-Hey! I can climb on my own!" She complained while standing on the wing. They moved a little bit so Chiho could climb. "Up we go.." Chiho whispered to herself as She climbs up. "Alright.." Takumi looked at them, Then She stopped at Ayumi. "I hope you know you can''t use this" Takumi told her. "It''s fine! I will just watch!" Ayumi responded with a smile. "Okay" Takumi did the same. "That being said, You told us to tell them you were uh.. captured.. But why did you come back there?" Mariko asked. "If i were caught hanging out with you, That''s when you''re going to do that.. I also plan to stay at your side but there''s no space for her to hide" Takumi said. "Why not hide it beside the wall?" Mariko asked. "There''s too much risk i would put into her if i did that. First, The risk of getting damaged or for worse case, Dragged away by unknown group of people. Second, My comrades will notice and investigate. This will bring their attention towards that village, Which i know you guys will not like at all. Third, The risk of my life being over! I told you about my faction''s leader! She will be quickly suspicious of me! Which probably will also cause an attention to that village! And maybe eventually leading to that village joining the war!" Takumi counts up to three with her fingers. "If that''s so, Isn''t telling you that you were captured will also leads to your ''comrades'' to fight with the Saijuns?" Mariko asked. "Then tell them They were from Tsuchiya. not from.. Saijun or whatever" Takumi answered. "Alright, Alright! Enough of that, Let''s start now!" Mariko taps Takumi''s arms, telling her to stop the talking and begin. Takumi sighs. "I''m not even a great instructor" Takumi looked back at Mariko. "Alright, Get in" Takumi told her to get inside. "Can i?! Ha~ah! Chiho!" Mariko got excited and looked at Chiho. "Y-You can go, We''ll watch from here" Chiho smiled. "Alright!" Mariko shouted and slowly made her way to the seat. "Al~right!" Mariko spoke as She took a seat. She leaned her back to the seat and held the Stick. "Amazing! What is this?!" Mariko excitedly shakes the control stick. "That''s called Control Stick. Obviously, That''s what you use to control this whole beast when you''re flying" Takumi explained. "Oh! So this is how this thing rotates and fly up and down?! Amazing!" Mariko observed the stick, Then looked at Takumi, She saw Chiho and Ayumi peeking inside on her side. "One thing, though.. Why do you refer this plane the way you refer girls? You even call it beast" Mariko asked. "It''s obviously a beast!" Ayumi answered first. "Just like she said, It''s a beast in the skies. Medieval people like you would be so terrified of this" Takumi responded. "I know right.. The sound this thing makes is so scary, And it kills people and even destroy a whole village" Chiho looked at Takumi. "Yeah, You people at this era won''t last long against these" Takumi also looked at her, Then back to Mariko. "Why are you calling us Medieval?" Mariko asked. "It''s your era right now. I bet you people call it modern era right now, But We''re far more modern back to our world" Takumi responded. "No wonder y''all have these scary flying things!" Ayumi faced Takumi. "Yeah, Flying things.. It''s called Plane. I''ve been using that name, come on.. Remember it" Takumi told them to remember it. "Plane, plane..." Ayumi whispered loudly, To remember the name. "Alright, That thing aside!" Mariko looked back inside. "These circle things is blinding me!" Mariko pointed at one of the gauge. "They are called Gauge. It tells you the plane''s statistic individually" Takumi explained. "Ooh!" Mariko looked at each gauges. "For example, Here''s the Fuel Gauge" Takumi leaned and pointed on the first yellow gauge on the left, on the lower part of the middle gauges. "This tells you how much fuel you have left on your plane... Do you know what is a fuel?" Takumi asked. "Yeah, You can use those to burn something and spread the fire" Mariko responded. "Well, Not this time. Fuel is the very important thing to every moving vehicles we have, This plane too, Needs Fuel to fly" Takumi explained. "So.. You put fuel on these?" Mariko asked. "Yes, See this white thing? Those are the Needles, And that''s actually the one who tells you things.. And right now it''s on the middle, That means i have the fuel tank half filled" Takumi explained, Mariko observed the fuel gauge. "As you fly in the air, Your plane will consume the fuel, And when it does, This needle will slowly move to the left, Once it reaches zero, That''s when you run out of fuel, The engine will stop and you''ll be gliding on the air, If you''re an experienced pilot or at least quick enough, You''ll find a large empty field where you can land your plane safely" Takumi explained. "Ooh! What is a pilot? The one who drives these?" Mariko asked. "Yes, We are called pilots, Who drives planes" Takumi responded. "Oh yeah, One thing.. You are lucky enough that you''re not using the original type of this plane, We made some modifications on our vehicles so it''s easy to use" Takumi said. "Original?" Mariko asked. "Yes. The designs of this plane here is actually not ours. Back in our world, It is used by a foreign country during a world war. This is one of the planes Shichiro took and bought it to his organization for modification of it, Repainted it with our usual insignia, Red star.. It''s used to be something else, A Cross one, But that shouldn''t matter right now" Takumi explained. "Alright, I bet you''re clenching your ass right now to start the engine" Takumi placed her hand near a long red button, supported by a silver metal inserted into the engine. "Here''s what you''ll press hard when you want to start the engine" Takumi told her. "Can i start it now?!" Mariko asked. "Not yet, You see that silver thing below it?" Takumi pointed below the button. "Yeah, I see it" Mariko touched the key with a tiny ring inserted on the key''s hole. "Turn it to the left" Takumi ordered. "To the left?" Mariko turned the key to the left, Followed by a loud dying whine of the engine. "Ooh! What happened?!" Mariko asked. "Basically, It disabled everything for the engine to start, Press the button" Takumi asked her to press the long button. "Okay..." Mariko gulped and pushed the button, It was quickly pushed inside and nothing happened. "I don''t know why you were nervous on that.. That is how we avoid mistakes on accidentally starting the engine, We dumped our own ignition on every vehicles we have, Each drivers and pilots are given with a key to their respective vehicles" Takumi explained. "So, Do i have to turn this back?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, Before you do that, Make sure to pull the button again or the key won''t turn at all" Takumi responded and Mariko pulled the button and turned back the ignition to the right. "Alright, Now you''ve done it, The engine will now start once you press this again. Takumi told her. "Can i, now?" Mariko asked as She rests her palm on the button. Takumi turned to the two girls. "I''ll let Mariko start the engine now, It''ll be noisy and watch for the smokes from those holes" Takumi warned them and pointed to the exhaust. "We already know how loud these things are" Chiho responded, Almost saying that ''I''m used to its noise, It''s fine''. Takumi looked back at Mariko. "Last thing, You need these two" Takumi rests her palm on a lever. "There''s more?" Mariko moved her hand away from the button and looked at the lever Takumi was holding. "This little fella here is the RPM Control. There''s a lot of things to explain, but just keep it this way.. Now this one" Takumi switched to a bigger lever. "This one is the Throttle, This is how you control your speed, The further you move it, The strongest the engine will work. For starting, You''ll just have to move it a little bit" Takumi moved the throttle forward by inch. "Now, You''re set to go" Takumi stood straight to watch her. "Press it now" Takumi let her start the engine. Mariko reached for the button, The second She applied pressure to the button, It was pushed a little bit inside before it became hard to press, Together with the loud engine shout, The propellers spun and smokes came out of the exhaust. But only lasted for a second and died out quickly. The three was embraced by the warm smokes and the two were coughing. "Amazing!" Mariko on the other hand, stopped as soon as the plane reacted to the button. "Well? Why did you stop?" Takumi asked. "Huh? Didn''t it start already?" Mariko asked. "No, You have to press it further until you can''t anymore" Takumi responded. "Oh, Okay.." Mariko reached for the button again, The engine reacted once again as She pushed it. "Press further.." Mariko felt the button was hard to press, But She increased her pressure and the button is slowly pushing back inside. As it does, The engine keeps roaring loud, Propellers loudly spinning and smokes from the exhaust. All of these are shaking the cockpit wildly. As Mariko finally pushed it enough. The engine gave a final shout along with the last burst of smokes before it calms down and become idle. The engine became a lot quieter now as it remained idle, But still loud enough for them to not to be able to hear each other. "Haha! I did it!" Mariko shouted along with the engine sound. Mariko then saw Takumi talking to her. "What?!" Mariko shouted, Then Takumi reached for the button and pulled it back. The engine was quickly cut off, removing all the noise in an instance except the propeller''s slowly stopping. "Aw! Why did you do that?" Mariko asked. "What? I''m not letting you fly! I only said i''ll teach you!" Takumi shouted at her. "Eh?! That''s unfair! You had me ready it to fly! Let me at least do it!" Mariko whined. "No! Not when i''m on duty!" Takumi responded. "You''re so un... Oh, what''s this?" Mariko were about to kick, But She felt her feet press into something. "Those are called Rudder pedals, You use that for taxiing a plane, And to yaw the plane.. Or steer the plane vertically" Takumi explained the pedals. "And I didn''t told you this because i have no plan of letting you fly!" Takumi added. Mariko crossed her arms. "Hmph... What is Taxiing by the way?" Mariko asked. Takumi scratched her head. "Basically, You move your plane into a runway, or just wherever you can to take-off safely" She explained. "Oh.." Mariko remembered what she said. Takumi loudly sighed. "I''ll tell you, It feels so nice to teach someone your knowledge.. I guess i can tell you much more next time, But for now, I have to go" Takumi smiled at her. "Really?! Yeah!" Mariko stood up to hug Takumi. "Whoa! Hey!" Takumi held into the canopy to hold herself from falling. "What''s with you all of the sudden?! I almost pushed Chiho-san and Ayumi-chan here!" Takumi complains as She held Mariko and walked back to take her out of the cockpit. "Hehe, Sorry!" Mariko sticks her tongue out. "Christ, Don''t do that" Takumi looked away. "E..Everything was so cool and scary!" Ayumi suddenly shouted. "Hah! I know right! I was scared too! Everything went loud as fuck and the whole thing shook so hard!" Mariko grinned. Ayumi giggled at her words. "It''s so scary, But i think it''s also amazing" Chiho smiled at Takumi. "I know right? Once you get used to it, It''ll be fun to ride it and fly into the vast clouds" Takumi smiled back. "Are you going back now?" Chiho asked. "U-Uh.. Yeah.. I only came down here because of our agreement after all" Takumi scratched her head. Then She went near the cockpit. There she heard a voice, It was coming from the right side of the seat. Takumi''s eyes opened wide as She realized She forgot the new radio She was carrying. It was turned on the whole time. "Sh-Shit.." Takumi visibly shakes. "Huh? What''s wrong?" The three heard her and looked at her. Takumi reached for the radio beside the seat. She nervously held it in front of her. A girl''s voice spoke through the radio. "§²§ñ§Õ§à§Ó§à?§Û Saito (§³§Ñ§Ú§ä§à)" Takumi gasped at the voice. The three heard the voice called for her name after a certain word. "W-Who''s..?" Chiho whispered. And Takumi nervously looked at them. 13 A Person from the North Takumi sighed and focused on how to respond to the radio. "komandir.. (§Ü§à§Þ§Ñ§ß§Õ§Ú§â..) " Takumi draws the radio closer to her. Then the person on the radio and Takumi started to talk in their language, Chiho tried to listen to them but couldn''t catch up due to their long conversation, She just watched her. "Hey Chiho, Do you understand them?" Mariko whispered close. "No" Chiho shook her head. Takumi looked at them while speaking, then looked away. "It''s the best to stay quiet until she''s done" Chiho whispered. "Do you think we should get out of here?" Ayumi tugged on Chiho. She looked at Ayumi and shook her head. "I keep hearing Da.. What do you think?" Mariko asked. "I''m not sure.." Chiho listened to them. A few moments, Takumi pressed the radio, making a beep sound. She sighed and looked at Mariko. "I..It was the faction''s leader" Takumi puts her hands on her forehead and sighed again. "Look.. She heard us this whole time.. And now She''s suspicious of your voices" Takumi looked at the three. "W-What are you going to do?" Mariko asked. "I told her you''re a new recruit" Takumi responded. "Huh?! I''m not joining you!" Mariko leaned closer. "It''s just a lie, She said She''ll come down here in five mikes" Takumi looked far behind them. "Mikes?" Mariko asked. "Minutes.. Five minutes" Takumi sighed. "Look, Chiho-san, Ayumi-chan.. Mariko will have to stay here, You should go or we''ll get caught" Takumi told them to get away. "H-Hey! Why am i staying?!" Mariko shouted. "I told you that i lied, Now just stay here and I''ll do my best to get out of this situation" Takumi responded. Mariko visibly gulped and looked at Chiho. "Look, I''ll not put you on danger, Just stay quiet... Chiho, Mariko''s going to be fine, Just go" Takumi told them. Then Mariko suddenly toughens up. "Fine, Fine! I''m going to face her! Chiho, Get yourselves out of here" Mariko shouted at them. "A-Are you sure?" Chiho looked at her. "Yeah, I guess there''s no other way.. I''m going to pretend i wanted to join them.. I''ll.. I guess I''ll be fine" Mariko smiled. "Hurry up" Takumi crossed her arms. "A-Alright, Be safe, Mariko-san" Chiho said as She jumps down from the wing. "Don''t do anything stupid, Okay?" Ayumi gave Mariko a worried look. "Don''t worry! If Takumi here fails me, I''ll beat her in front of her boss!" Mariko grinned, making Ayumi giggles as She jumps down. The two looked back at her. Mariko nods at them and They proceed back to the village. "Alright.." Takumi moved to her side a bit. "Go back inside, Pretend that you''re learning" Takumi asked her to go inside. "Alright.." Mariko went back to the cockpit. As She sat on the cockpit, She looked up to Takumi. "You said Five minutes, right? She''ll take a while, So why don''t you tell me more?" Mariko asked. "Just take a look at something.. I might look calm, but i''m actually nervous as hell" Takumi gave her an irritated look. "Why are you nervous? I''m not even nervous!" Mariko laughed at her. Takumi ignored her and stayed quiet. "Fine.." Mariko instead, looked at the gauges. She used her fingers to feel the glasses covering them. Once She''s done, She leaned back and looked at Takumi. "Hey.. Is this the same plane before? When i shot you down?" Mariko asked and quickly realized she forgot the gun she used. "Shit! The gun! I forgot about it! It was on the ground!" Mariko looked at right to look for it on the ground. Takumi giggled. "I took it with me back to the base" Takumi said. "Huh... I didn''t even saw you pick it up" Mariko looked back to her. "I don''t want you carrying that everywhere, Just where the hell did you get that?" Takumi opened the canopy behind the cockpit. "I got it from..W-Whoa! There''s another one there?!" Mariko looked behind her, She saw an MG mounted on the end. Takumi went in and took the seat. "Hey! What can you do over there?! Hello!" Mariko looked at her and smiled. "Uh.. It''s a rear gunner, Nothing special.. Just to protect yourselves from enemies behind you" Takumi explained and leaned her back. "But why not just fight back?" Mariko asked. "Alright, Listen. We have two types of planes, Fighters and Bombers.. This one you''re riding is a Bomber.. Bomber planes are.. well, for bombing places and stuff.. The bombers are not agile as the Fighters, Specially when they are carrying bombs with them. The purpose of their cannons on their wings are to rain down the enemies on the ground. So the only hopes for the bombers to defend themselves are the rear gunners." Takumi explained. Mariko stayed silent to think about it. "But that''s where the Fighters come in, They carry the stronger guns and ammunition for destroying planes, They are the escorts. When bombers are sent to a mission, There will be always some squadrons of fighter planes assigned to protect the bombers. They''ll engage the enemies while the bombers remain still on their course. Of course they are still going to use their rear guns to support the fighters" Takumi explained further. "Damn, You could have just told me that it''s used to defend" Mariko scratched her head. Takumi laughed quietly. Then silence between them has started. This led Mariko to think deep, Then She asked a question. "Hey... Tell me more about your organization" Mariko looked at the skies. "My organization.. huh.." Takumi closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Of course, You''re no ordinary military, That is made to protect a certain country" Takumi stayed silent to let her continue. "I mean.. Look at you, You easily chose to side with us, Like.. You can do whatever you want.. You were scared that your boss will kill you if She knew you''re on a friendly terms with your enemies, Yet you still chose to keep your ties with us and hide it from her, or them.. No ordinary soldiers would do such things like that, you know?" Mariko''s very curious. Takumi giggled and crossed her arms. "I don''t know for your world here, But in our world, Those things are not uncommon.. The way i see it, There are no perfect countries, There''ll be always some people who are willing to oppose their own government to put their own ideals to power" Takumi gave her thoughts. "I don''t know.. That''s my opinion at least.. I''m too young to think about those, to be honest" Takumi sighed. "What a world you''re in.. I''m glad that it''s not always like that here. The only rebellion happened was when we were at war. But once there''s peace again, Nothing like those happened again" Mariko thought of Takumi''s side. "Heh.. Peace formed after a war doesn''t always guarantee a peaceful world, Doesn''t always change people''s mind. Sooner or later, Something bad will happen again" Takumi responded. Mariko remained silent. "But, talking about my organization" Takumi fixed herself and sat properly. "Shichiro, The leader of the whole organization, The PTRD. have a crazy toleration for traitors when visiting other worlds like yours" Takumi started to explain. "Say what now? He tolerates traitors? What the hell.." Mariko became even more confused. "Yes, He have reasons behind that.. Most of the worlds we visit are on medieval eras, And He kinda wants those medieval people to get to know of modern technologies. So He lets some of his own troops to turn against him so those medieval people get to taste of the modern techs.. Basically, Showing off our modern techs to medieval people, disguised as a rebellion.. Get it?" Takumi asked. "Wait... Medieval is what you call the era where there''s no crazy technologies like these, right? So you come to a medieval world, That Shichiro guy let his soldiers turn themselves against him, So He can show off..? Just why not try showing them without violence?" Mariko asked. "It''s obviously technologies for war! How are they going to test it without an enemy? We also wanted to show them how dangerous they are too! Like, Really show them!" Takumi shouted. "A-Ah, I guess so.." Mariko just agreed. "Like i said before, Most of the one to fight against us are the one who''s kind enough, like me" Takumi said. Mariko laughed at her. "Are you saying you are a kind person?". Takumi let go of her posture and slides down a bit on her seat. "I wouldn''t be talking to you here right now if i''m not a good person" Takumi responded. "Hah, What a joke.. In the end, You''re still one of them, No matter what you say" Mariko laughed. "I bet you still don''t know the exact reason for us to go each world" Takumi sees if She knows. "For resources and for recruitment, right? You said so yourself!" Mariko responded. "Heh, Alright...Actually, There''s one more reason of why he goes to war, to find who''s going to be the hero of that world" Takumi giggled at her response. "What now?" Mariko asked, already tired of more things. "He''ll make a war on a world, Then He''ll see who''s going to be the one going to stand up and fight. Then Once He saw one, He''ll try his best to make a challenge out of that person by using his organization to take that person down. If that person managed to survive, He''ll then face that person to test them himself" Takumi explained. "And if that person won?" Mariko asked. "Then Shichiro will bring back the peace that world once had and will try to invite that person to his organization" Takumi responded. "Hah! What an asshole! There''s a proper way to recruit a person without spilling blood! He''s just an idiot! People are losing their minds because of his bullshit!" Mariko shouted. "Yes, It''s all like a game to him.." Takumi whispered on her own, But Mariko heard her but pretended that she didn''t. "He said that We''ll never know if that person is the real deal until We saw him in an actual war" Takumi said. "And That, Will most likely happen right now, in this world" Takumi looked at the skies. "Heh, I''ll beat his ass and refuse him right away" Mariko joked with a laugh. Takumi giggled. "Are you going to be the main character of this world?" Takumi asked. "H-Huh? Main what?" Mariko looked behind her, Takumi giggled even more at her lack of response. "Nevermind, Something else you wanna know? This is the only opportunity you might have right now" Takumi was willing to tell her everything. "W-Well.. How if that person lose against him?" Mariko asked. "If the hero lost? Then He''ll proceed to kill that person because they were too weak, If no one ever fought back again, He''ll officially build a huge-ass base on that world and will assume control of that whole world" Takumi explained. "That''s cruel... How if that hero won against him but still wanted to kill him?" Mariko asked. "If the hero won his challenge and yet still wants to kill him? Then the way He see that person will fade and will kill them for real this time" Takumi responded. "But what if that person, or that hero became like that because they can''t accept his bullshit?" Mariko asked. "Shichiro doesn''t give a damn, If that hero really wants him dead, Whether It''s because They can''t accept it or Just, REALLY wants him dead, Shichiro will just kill them either way.." Takumi responded. "How cruel..." Mariko thinks of something. "Was there a hero who lost to his ''challenge''?" Mariko asked. "MOST of them! Since most of them failed, He made another way.. He and his girlfriend went to many more worlds and just invited some young people in exchange of keeping their family safe" Takumi responded. "There! He have found a way! Why is he still doing the other one?!" Mariko asked loudly. "He hates it, He doesn''t know what those young people''s capable of... Actually, I''m one of those young people.. But it was his girlfriend who got me.. She invited me to their organization. If i joined, They''ll keep my family safe, No need for paying, just join.. And Here i am!" Takumi answered her question. "Did they keep their promise though?" Mariko asked with a smug. "Yeah, When i asked them if i can see my family, They allowed me to come back to my world, And my parents and my little brother is doing fine.. Even more, They are contented" Takumi responded, Her response led Mariko to scratch her head. "Now i really don''t know if you''re all bad people or not" Mariko complains, Takumi just giggled at her. "I guess I''ll just call y''all an idiot" Mariko made a choice of calling them idiots. Takumi snickered on that one. "I wonder what''s going to happen this time? Will you be the one going to put up a fight?" Takumi asked. "Yeah, I''ll fight y''all back to your world, But i think Chiho will do most of the thing" Mariko responded. "Chiho-san?" Takumi recalled the name. "Yeah, She''s actually a daughter of a famous hero who ended the great war. She might not look like one, But i think She''ll be the one who''ll rise up, She also plans on fighting y''all, She even asked me to train her. So i guess She''ll be the one who y''all wants, I''ll just be on her side" Mariko thinks of Chiho. "Chiho-san, huh.. We''ll see.." Takumi also thinks of Chiho. Another minute has passed once a silence built between them. Then not too long ago when they heard an incoming vehicle. "Ah.. Hell, I became too comfortable" Takumi jolts up. Mariko looked behind her to see. "What the hell?" Mariko saw a vehicle coming towards them. "Best to maintain attitude, Mariko-san.. Don''t do anything stupid" Takumi glanced at her. "I-I know.." Mariko gulped as She move her head outside the cockpit. She saw a jeep, A Gaz-67, approaching them. "Alright.." Takumi exhaled and left the rear gun. She stood on the wing to wait for them stop. "S-Should i stay here?" Mariko asked. "No, You''ll have to come with me" Takumi responded. Then They waited until the jeep stopped near them. "Alright, Let''s go" Takumi jumped down from the wing. "W-Wait!" Mariko hurriedly stood up and went out from the cockpit, Then She quickly jumped down and followed Takumi behind her. As Takumi stopped, Mariko moved to her side to see who''s in the jeep. "She''s the faction leader, on the left side" Takumi whispered. Mariko observed the one on the front passenger seat. It was as She remembers, An Eye patch with a star symbols and guns forming an X. She didn''t remember Takumi telling them that She has long red hair. "Is..That her..?" Mariko tried to guess her age since Chiho looked older than her. She even saw her staring at her face. "Shit.." Mariko silently cursed as She stares back. The girl wears an emotionless look, Which makes Mariko even more terrified. "Why the hell am i getting scared of a kid..?" Mariko whispered to herself. "She might be a kid, But She''s dangerous" Takumi whispered to her as the people on the jeep gets out. The two silently watched them walk closer. The other soldiers stopped on half-way and the eye-patched girl walks and stopped in front of them. She stared at Mariko, She gave her a dead serious look and Mariko was so uncomfortable. Then Takumi lessens the tense. "k-komandir.. (§Ü-§Ü§à§Þ§Ñ§ß§Õ§Ú§â..) .." Mariko looked at her as She talks to the girl. Then the girl responded, Once She was done, Takumi looked at Mariko. "She said you should kneel down.." Takumi asked her to kneel. "K-Kneel?!" Mariko slips and asked loudly. "J-Just do it!" Takumi shouted, almost stomping to the ground. "F-Fine, Fine!" Mariko kneeled before the girl. Then suddenly she took a revolver out and quickly points it at her forehead. Mariko gasped as her face flushed with terror. The girl asked something to her, But She didn''t understand and was surprised at her soft voice. "W-What?" Mariko asked without actually meaning to ask. The girl poked Mariko on her forehead with the barrel of her revolver. "§¬§Ñ§Ü .. §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ.. §Ù§à§Ó§å§ä? (Kak .. tebya .. zovut?)" The girl slowly repeats her question. Then Takumi translated it for her. "S-She''s asking your name..". Mariko looked at the corner of her eyes and looked back to the girl. "It''s.. It''s Mariko.. Sakitama.." Mariko shakes as She told her name to the girl. "Mariko... Sakitama" The girl repeated her name. She slightly pressed the trigger, Mariko clearly saw it and visibly gulped. "§Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§à§Ö.. §Ú§Þ§ñ (krasivoye.. imya)" The girl gently smiled and spoke slowly as to make her words clear for Mariko, Given the chance, Mariko burns the words onto her mind. "§´§í.. §Ü §ß§Ñ§Þ.. §á§â§Ú§ã§à§Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§Ú§ê§î§ã§ñ? (Ty.. K''nam...)" Mariko didn''t quite caught the last part, She then thinks of something. "§´-T§í.. §Ü §ß§Ñ§Þ..?" Mariko repeated the words while giving the girl a curious look. The girl smiled even more and Mariko saw her lessen her grip on the gun. "§´§í §Ü §ß§Ñ§Þ.. §á§â§Ú§ã§à§Ö..§Õ§Ú§ß§Ú§ê§î§ã§ñ. (Ty k''nam.. prisoye..dinish''sya)" The girl repeated the last part slowly, Mariko tried again. "§á§â§Ú§ã§à§Ö..§Õ§Ú§ß§Ú§ê§î§ã§ñ" Mariko managed to say it, making the girl nod with a smile on her face. She moved the revolver away from Mariko. She quickly let go of the tension and breathes heavily while remaining on her knees. "S-She''s asking you if you''re joining us.." Takumi translates for her. "T-Takumi!" Mariko looked up at her. But Takumi just silently stared at her. Then Mariko tried her best to stay cool and thinks of something. "H-Hey, Tell her that i''m not sure of my decision and i''m afraid!" Mariko asked Takumi to say it to her. Takumi nods and talked to the girl. She immediately gave Mariko a serious look, Throwing some pressure towards her. The girl then asked Takumi, Then Takumi looked back at Mariko. "She''s asking why are you afraid" Takumi asked. "J-Just tell her that i''m still going to think about it" Mariko answered. "...Make sure you know what you''re saying.. " Takumi said something before turning back to the girl to translate her answer. The girl responded to Takumi''s translation and walked away, Then Takumi looked back at Mariko. "You better not disappoint, She said.." She translated the girl''s response. Mariko just watched them get in the jeep, Her eyes stopped at the girl who stood first to face them. She said something to Takumi. "§´§Ñ§Ü §ä§à§é§ß§à (Tak tochno)" Takumi responded before the girl gets in the jeep. After that, The jeep accelerates to turn back to where they came from, The two watched the jeep gets far, then Mariko finally stood up. "Ow... What did she say before she was gone?" She asked to Takumi. "Oh, She wants me to come back immediately" Takumi looked at the Stuka. "I just remembered something, You said your leader.. Or your boss hates deserters right? Does that mean she disagree to your Shichiro''s stupid idea?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, She talked to him about it, and as usual, He let her do what she wants with her own troops" Takumi responded. "Oh... Oh yeah, You''ll kill each other right? When they ''rebel''? How is He going to replace them?" Mariko asked. "When we die on the world we visited, We will be bought back to life back to the base where we were" Takumi walked towards the Stuka. "W-What?!" Mariko shouted, Takumi giggled. "I''ll tell you more when we meet again" She said before climbing up to the cockpit. "Bought back to life, What the hell..." Mariko whispered as She listen to the starting engine. She saw the canopy slides open a little bit and Takumi puts out her hand to wave at Mariko before taking off. Mariko just watched the Stuka flies away. "Crazy..." Mariko started walking back to the village. On the gate, It was open due to a carriage going out, Mariko was a little bit happy to have the gate already opened. Upon entering, She looked around if the two is nearby. They are not there. "Maybe in the inn.." She didn''t have any places to go so She just chose to go to the inn. As She reached the inn, She opened the door and was greeted by the chatter of the people inside. "Welcome! My, Welcome back, Mariko-san!" Suzuka was on her usual spot and greeted Mariko. "Hey! Mariko!" Haruki waved at her. Mariko waved back at them, Then She walked towards Suzuka. "Hey, Is Chiho here?" She asked. "No, She''s not here, nor Ayumi.. I thought you were with them?" Suzuka asked. "Yeah, Something happened and we were separated. Now i don''t know where they went" Mariko responded. "I see.. Well, Want to go to your room? We have a spare key here if you want" Suzuka asked. "No, No.. I will look for them outside, Thanks" Mariko refused. "I see.. Well, See you later" Suzuka nodded and Mariko went outside. "Now, Where the hell are they?" She whispered as She closed the door behind her. "I hate going to their Capital.. So much people.." The last thing She can think of is going to the Center, Which she hated. "I rather lie down.." Mariko were about to open the door, But stopped once She held the knob. "Tsk... Fine" Mariko then walked to the Center. On the way to the Center, Her eyes are looking all around the places. "Come to think of it, I never noticed how beautiful it is here.." Mariko remembered her first time visit while looking everywhere. Her eyes stopped at a small alley, A man has pinned a woman on the corner. The woman looks so scared and Mariko can hear her begging. "Ah.. Someone''s in trouble" Mariko whispered. Then She walked closer to hear them. "C''mon! Just give me the money! You Saijuns are all rich, right?!" The man shouted at the woman, It was a robbery. "I told you! I''m not carrying any money!" The woman whined. "Don''t mess with me!" The thief shouted and Mariko saw him going through the woman''s dress. The woman started to tears as the thief search her for money. After a few seconds, He stopped. "What the hell! You are not really carrying a money! Not even a coin!" The thief shouted at the woman. "I told you!" The woman cries. "Fine! Bring me where your money is! .. But!" The thief took out a knife. "Don''t do anything stupid, honey. I will not hesitate to end your life in the middle of the crowd, So it''s pointless to scream" He threatened the woman. "Fine! Fine! Just don''t kill me!" She cried, Then He took her by her wrist and about to go out, until He saw Mariko standing on their way. "The hell? You listening on the whole thing?" He asked to Mariko. "A-Ah, no.." Mariko isn''t actually bothered with the poor woman, But she thought of being recognized by the people. "Maybe.. This is my chance" Mariko whispered to herself. "Huh?! You said something?" He shouted at Mariko while he points his knife towards her. "Look, kid. Before i change my mind.. How about you step out of our way and we can forget about this, huh?!" He convinced Mariko. "Pointing that thing at me... Are you asking for a knife fight?" Mariko asked. "Yeah! If you are going to save this girl here! I''ll have no choice but to cut you into pieces!" He shouted. "Well, Too bad.. I wanted to save her.. Am i going to be ''cut in pieces'' now?" Mariko teasingly asked. "Yeah! I''ll save your organs to sell them!" The thief laughed. The woman behind him moved forward a bit. "Please, Save me!" She begged Mariko. She was surprised, It was the first time someone has ever asked for her help. Then everything everyone has said to her is all coming in her mind, making her laugh a bit. "Huh?! The hell are you laughing at?! I''m serious!" He shouted as He swings his knife. Mariko then looked at him directly at his eyes. "Hey... This will be your worse day" She said as She walks forward. "Worse day?! Stand back!" He swung his knife again. "It will be YOUR worse day, kid! You''re going to regret this!" He shouted, Then Mariko stopped. "I hope you know of the risk of robbing someone... But.." She slowly took out her axe and held it beside her. "I hope you also know that you can die doing this..." She coldly stared at the thief, He gasped at her look. "The....The hell are you kid?!" He started to shake and grips his knife hard. "You..You don''t know who i am! I moved from village to village to rob every rich people! No one gets to even touch me!" He shouted, His voice is also shaking. "Well, Not this time, No.. No..." Mariko responded without breaking her stare. "As soon as you threatened me, I already got a hold of your life..." She smiled at the thief, Who was lost of words. "You are crazy!" He shouted out of choice. "I bet no one even loved you..." Mariko showed him a sad look. "T-The fuck you know about me?!" He shouted, But this time He was pissed off. "If you die here right now, You die here alone.. If you die here right now, No one would care... If you die here right now, No one will ever mourn for you... If you die here right now... No one will remember you... If you die here right now... It''ll be the most pointless death ever.." Mariko smiled again as She talks, The man didn''t respond. "It''s the worse right? Worse death ever to be fated on you.. You''ll be butchered..butcher... Your face will be carved out, out of recognition!" Mariko shouted. "I''m sick of talking, Let''s just do it.." She said softly. Then the thief laughed. "Heh... You might have scared me, But you''ll never make me back off!" He shouted as He charges towards Mariko. "There we go!" Mariko became even excited. The thief saw her reaction at the second He applied strength to his arm to swing the knife to her neck. Mariko evaded by moving her head back a bit, She smiled as the knife missed her neck, The thief gasped. "Come on.. Is that all you can do?" Mariko asked. "Don''t mess with me!" This time, He aims for a stab towards her stomach, He lunges, But Mariko swiftly moved to his side and quickly grabbed his arm wielding the knife. She kicked his stomach with the support of pulling his arm, He lost his balance and is only hanging on her knees. Mariko swung her axe at his nape. But She held back, Only wounding his nape a little bit, If it were a full swing, She could easily penetrated his spine.. Completely shocked, The thief can''t struggle out of her. She then pushed him into the wall and swung her axe into the wall near his neck, The thief whimpers as He thought it''s going to hit him. Her axe got stuck on the wall, Then She held his head and pushed it into the axe''s blade. But She held back again and He only got wounded a little bit. But it was enough to make him choke. She pulled his head away back and took out the axe easily. Then She pushed him towards the woman''s direction, He had no balance and was thrown into the ground instead. Mariko walked near him and picked up his head and gave a horrifying look. "If you were really my enemy, I could have finished you off in the first swing" She said at him, His arrogant look completely changed into fear, Mariko smiled."I have killed tons of bandits outside of my village, to protect myself... They are more tougher than a low-life thief like you.." She scared the thief, then sighed. "It wasn''t fun, But i didn''t come here to have fun.." Mariko looked over the woman, Who was so frightened. "I will not hand you over the soldiers, I will let you go..." Mariko made his fate, Which surprised him. "But if i ever saw you doing this again, I''ll not hold back anymore, Got it?" Mariko asked. "Y-You got it! I''ll never show my face around here!" He desperately agreed. "Good, You better keep your words" Mariko let go of his head with a throw, Then She faced the woman. "Miss.. Let''s get out of here" She said to her. "O-Okay.." The woman quietly responded and they walked out of the alley. They stopped once they got out, They faced each other and Mariko spoke first. "Do you know who that man is?" She asked. "Yes, He''s a notorious thief who goes around village to village. What amazes me is how he can get in without getting recognized" The woman responded. "So, He''s famous or something?" Mariko asked. "Yes, He''s known to target rich families with a higher standing on the government... " The woman responded. "T-Then you''re a...!" Mariko observed the woman, She indeed looked rich. "Yes, My name is Haruna Akuzawa, of the Akuzawa Family. My family is the closest to the leader, Gentaro-sama... I thank you for saving me from that man.." The woman who have a name of Haruna bowed to her. Mariko couldn''t respond. "May i know your name?" She asked. "I.. My name is Mariko Sakitama, Nice to meet you.." Mariko also bowed. "Oh my.. You are so different now!" Haruna smiled. "Eh?" Mariko raised her head, curious. Then They saw the thief ran away from the alley. "I thought you were a crazy person before, Now you look so different!" Haruna looked below Mariko. "Now i''m starting to think that you''re actually not a northern person, Just a battle crazed girl.." She thinks while looking at how she was dressed, As soon as Mariko heard the northern word, She immediately spoke. "I''m actually a Northern!" She said with a smile. "O-Oh, is that so?" Haruna became worried, Mariko noticed her and also wore a worried look. "A-Are you..." Mariko''s about to ask something. "No! Actually.. To think a Northern is willing to save a person from a rich family surprises me.." Haruna smiled. "D-Do we hate Rich people that much?" Mariko asked. "Yes, Northern hates the rich people, They think that the rich are all so arrogant and thinks that we hate the poor ones.. That''s not true.." Haruna sighed. "That''s..a bit true, to be honest.." Mariko shyly and lightly scratched her cheeks. "Huh..?" Her words made Haruna immediately looked at her. "I mean... I got to face a son of a rich family once, He treated me like a worthless person.. Ever since that day, I learned that rich people hates the poor ones.." Mariko told Haruna her bits of story. "Well, Not all rich families are like that.." Haruna rests her palm on Mariko''s head. "There are some that really only thinks of themselves and their power. But I''m pretty sure there are some rich families that is kind enough" Haruna smiled, Mariko couldn''t answer. "By the way, Let''s not stand here too long.. How about you visit our home? That''s the least i can do for you..." Haruna invited her to their home. "Uh..." This is that one thing Mariko thought of when saving someone, Being invited to their place as their gratitude. "N-No.. I guess being kind towards me is enough!" Mariko instead smiled brightly, Haruna was surprised and smiled as She does. "A-Are you sure? We have a lot to offer you.." Haruna insisted. "It''s fine, Really!" Mariko shakes her hand. "And i was looking for my friends and i just happened to walk by" Mariko pointed behind her using her thumb. "Oh, Is that so? Can you tell me how your friend looks like? I might have seen them.." Haruna asked. "Oh.." Mariko remembered that Chiho was popular, So She gave her her name instead. "She''s... Her name is Chiho Hasegawa.. You know.." Mariko responded. Haruna gasped upon hearing the name. "Chiho-san? Like, The daughter of Yagano-san?!" She asked covering her mouth. "Y-Yes.. Orange hair? She''s always with a kid with a white hair" Mariko puts her hand on her side to resemble Ayumi''s height. "My, To think Chiho-san have a Northern friend!" Haruna thought of having a good friend from a dangerous region. "U-Uh.. Yeah.." Mariko was curious that she can''t believe it. "What a coincidence! To Think i would be able to talk to one of her friends!" Haruna smiled. "W-Wait.. You haven''t talked to her yet?" Mariko asked. "Yes.. I wanted to talk to her since i heard from Gentaro-sama that She''s staying here at Saiju.." Haruna looked at the sky. "Well, Right now, She''s somewhere in this village.. I can''t believe you still haven''t bumped into her.." Mariko looked around, Then Haruna jolted. "Oh no! I''m getting late!" She said. "Say Hi for me to Chiho-san, Alright?" Haruna waved and started to ran away, Mariko waved back. She just noticed that people are all looking at them, She thought it was because of Haruna, But on the second thought, It was that She''s still carrying an axe with bloods on it. "Goddamn it.." She whispered as She hid her axe. "Now.. Where to.." Mariko looked around, choosing a way to go. "That happened, So now i''m tired as hell.." She thought of walking back to the inn. "Just where the hell did they go?" She whispered to herself as She walked back to the inn. On the way there, She saw the two also heading to the same direction. "Chiho! Ayumi" Mariko shouted as She ran towards them. The two looked back and saw Mariko running. "Mariko-san!" "Mariko!" They both called her. "Man! I have a lot to tell you!" Mariko smiled at them as She reacher them. "Did they hurt you?!" Ayumi asked. "Wha... Who..? A-Ah.. No, They didn''t" Mariko thinks back at meeting Takumi''s leader. "You met their leader, right?! How did she looks like?" Ayumi asked. "Sh-She''s just a kid.. She''s older than you, Ayumi" Mariko describes the girl before. "O-Oh.." Ayumi looked to the ground. "But younger than you, Chiho" Mariko looked at her. "R-Really?" Chiho asked. "And It''s just like that Takumi idiot said, She wears a patch.. Even though she looked like a kid, She have this strong presence i couldn''t handle.. I was literally shaking!" Mariko thinks of the girl''s face again. "If she''s no older than Onee-chan, I will beat her up!" Ayumi raised her fist, making the two giggle. "I don''t think you can, Ayumi.. She is wielding a gun.." Mariko touched her forehead. "That''s why you''ll train us right?!" Ayumi shouted. "Y-Yeah.. But i don''t think you can use my skills to avoid a very fast thing like their guns.." Mariko scratched her head. "It''s fine! I trust you!" Ayumi clenched her fists. "Ahaha...." Mariko weakly laughed. "Okay then, How about we head back to our room in the inn.. I really have a lot to talk about.." Mariko walked in front of them. "Yes! Let''s go!" Ayumi walked beside Mariko, Chiho did the same. "This will be interesting.." Chiho smiled. "I bet it is!" Mariko winked at her. Once they got into the Inn, As Usual, Suzuka and Haruki greeted them. The three walked towards Suzuka''s usual spot. "Mariko-san was looking for you two" Suzuka told Chiho. "Y-Yeah, We just found her on our way here.." Chiho responded and Suzuka nodded. "Are you going back to your room?" She asked. "Yeah, I have something amazing to tell them" Mariko answered. "Is that so.. See you later then" Suzuka waved, Then They went up to their room. They closed the door behind them. Ayumi threw herself into the two-person bed, While Mariko slowly laid down. Chiho went into her bed and also laid down. Then Ayumi excitedly faced Mariko. "Now! Now! Tell me everything happened!" Ayumi asked her to tell them while swaying both of her legs. "Hmm.. Where would i start..?" Mariko thinks where to begin. 14 Chained Sickle and Axes! Mariko first wanted to tell them about the words she remembered. "You know! I actually managed to get some of the words they have said!" She proudly told them. "Really?! Go on, Then!" Ayumi became even more excited, Chiho couldn''t also wait. "§¬§Ñ§Ü §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §Ù§à§Ó§å§ä! (Kak tebya zovut!)" Mariko said the first thing she remembered. "It means ''What is your name''!" Mariko translated the word in excitement. "Ooh! How did you know the meaning?!" Ayumi asked. "Takumi translated for me" Mariko looked at her to answer. The two repeated the word, Mariko didn''t like how they pronounce the ''zovut'' but She let it go. "Then we have.. §´§í §Ü §ß§Ñ§Þ §á§â§Ú§ã§à§Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§Ú§ê§î§ã§ñ.. (Ty k''nam prisoyedinish''sya.. I think this one is about asking to join with you, to your team or something..." Mariko didn''t got the full translation of the word at that time, She only remembered Takumi translating it. "Amazing... How can you remember all these?" Chiho asked in amazement, Mariko laughed, proud of herself. "I''m good at remembering things! It''s like, My special ability, you know?" Mariko thought of more words while she talked. "Let''s see... T-There''s one more that Takumi didn''t translate for me.. It''s §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ó§à§Ö.. §Ú..§Ú§Þ§ñ? (krasivoye.. i..imya?) Takumi didn''t even react to it.." She tried to make some guess on her thoughts. "When did they say that?" Chiho asked. "Um... When i told her my name, She answered with that.." Mariko answered. "Maybe that''s her name?" Ayumi guessed. "I don''t know.. But it sounds odd to be a name, to be honest.." Mariko thought of being called by it. "It''s sounds weird.." She disagree that it''s a name. "What do you know about them? They might have names that is different than ours!" Ayumi looked at the ceiling. "Since they talk in different language, They might have different naming style too!" She said. "Well, That''s possible.." Mariko spoke as She thinks. "Still.. It sounds weird.." She still hates it. "Their leader is a girl, right? Imya.. Imya sounds girlish for me!" Ayumi raised her body and looked at Mariko. "Imya? No, it''s not.. It doesn''t sound a person.." Mariko objected. "It is! Imya-chan!" Ayumi said with a smile, Making Chiho giggle on her bed. "Damn, I''m telling you, it sounds awful.. But if it''s really her name, Then her parents must have hate her" Mariko really dislikes the thought. "You''re so mean!" Ayumi laughed at her words. "W-What''s so funny? I really mean it.." Mariko asked but Ayumi just continued laughing. She remained quiet until Ayumi calmed down. "I don''t know why you laughed at that, But i''m not just going to call her that, if it''s not her real name i would just look dumb.." Mariko shrugged lightly. "If it''s not a name, Then it might be..." Chiho guessed. "Yeah, you know it.. It''s a sentence, whether about how She disliked or liked my name, Or If She has the same name or her parents''.." Mariko''s certain about her guess. "Who would have a name like yours?" Ayumi asked. "Was that a compliment?" Mariko looked at her. "No, An Insult, Dummy.." Ayumi whispered, Mariko sighed. "Alright, What else.. Ah!" She thought of something else, then She got something. "Takumi told me a shit ton of information about them, They''re crazy!" Mariko can''t wait to tell them. "About those Prohorovkans?" Chiho asked with a serious tone. "Y-Yeah, i guess.. Is that how they''re called again? I''m surprised you remembered such a long name.." Mariko thought of the name. "They are called the PTRD, Or Prohorovka To..Trovishka Revoir.... Demolition.. It''s the name of their organization, They call themselves Prohovkans..." Despite Chiho''s mistake at saying the name, She remained serious. "Prohorovka, huh.. Trovishka.. Revoir? Demolition.. or PTRD.. What the fuck are those names..?" Mariko got a mixed feeling of confusion and terrify. "Damn Prohorovkans.." Chiho whispered, The two looked over to her to see her mad. "Yeah! Those Pro-whatever is going to have it!" Ayumi clenched her right fist and raised it up. "We''ll bring back Tsuchiya! Our proud village! We''ll fight ''till our last breath! For our country, for our lands and people! We''ll stand!" She acted like a patriot. "Damn, Ayumi.. That''s something everyone would like to hear from their soldiers, Even i was encouraged by those words!" Mariko laughed. "Well, I AM a soldier! You''ll make me, right?" Ayumi asked. "H-Huh? What do you mean.." Mariko asked but She saw Ayumi''s face gradually turn emotionless. "Y-Yeah, I''ll train you or something, Geez.. Chiho, You heard her, She really likes it.." Mariko looked over to her, But Chiho remained silent. "Don''t be sad, Onee-chan! We have a village to protect!" Ayumi still talked with the same patriotic way, Which cracked Chiho''s silence and giggled. "Geez.... I really don''t know what to say, I''m just still worried.." She weakly smiled while looking at the ceiling. "And it''s too late for you to change my mind! You showed me how you chop off that man''s head! Right, Mariko-san?" Ayumi looked at Mariko, She caught her staring at Chiho. "A-Ah? O-Oh.. Yeah, i guess.." She was staring too much that she didn''t got to react quick, Ayumi pouted as she knows that she didn''t hear her question properly. "L-Let''s not turn ourselves down with this particular topic.. I have more to tell, to be honest" Mariko thinks as the two remained quiet, waiting for her to say something. "So.. I bet you know that they are ''not'' from this world, right?" Mariko asked. "Hm! Hm!" Ayumi nods twice, excited to listen. "Alright... First time that came into my mind is, When they get killed on this world, They''ll be bought back to their.. Base, i guess.. Back to their world" Mariko told them about the reviving part. "N-Necromancy?! Scary!" Ayumi gave Mariko a terrified look. "I-I don''t think that''s a certain Necromancy, given that they have these weird-ass tech-o-nology!" Mariko disagreed on Ayumi''s thought. "S-So they can even bring back the death? And it''s a technology, not a sorcery?" Chiho thought of the possibilities. "Hey, I''m not saying that it''s really their techno, alright? I''m just predicting too.." Mariko made clear of herself. "Wait.. If they can bring back their fallen allies, Then they''ll just keep coming back at us!" Mariko thinks of the hopeless war. "They''ll just-!" Mariko''s about to continue but She saw how Ayumi was terrified. "B-But we''ll still kick them hard asses, right?" She asked but Ayumi didn''t say anything, making her scratch her head. "aside from being bought back to life.. Takumi-idiot also mentioned that..." Mariko was about to tell them about the intentional desertion part, But She thought it''ll be cool if she play along and don''t tell them about it. "Mentioned what?" Ayumi asked. "That.. um.. " Mariko thinks of something else. "U-Um.. " Mariko also wanted to play along with the ''looking for the hero'' part so She didn''t told them that. "Um.. I will really train you hard, Chiho!" She said, surprising the two at the sudden change of topic. "S-She told me that them Proharovkyans really have a strong intention of conquering the world! So, We must help our soldiers to fight, right? Ayumi-chan?!" Mariko''s swift words effectively moved them to that topic. "Yeah! Pfft.." Ayumi nodded and snickered. "Proharov..KYAN!" She shouted. "H-Hey.. I can''t remember the name properly, so i made up some letters.." Mariko looked at her. "Fuhehe..." Ayumi giggled. "I don''t get what''s so funny about what i''m saying.." Mariko sighed. "I think Ayumi-chan thinks you are joking sometimes. I, Too, also thinks you do.. Like when you said that, that Prohorovkan girl wasn''t loved by her parents and was given an ugly name.." Chiho explained, There was a hint of giggling when she mentioned what she had said. "It''s not a joke if i didn''t laugh.." Mariko seems irritated. "Whatever.. Let''s move on.." She thought of something. "Alright-" A knock from the door interrupted her, Chiho moved towards the door and opened it a bit. "Yes?" Chiho peeked through the gap and asked the soldier standing on the other side. "Chiho-san, Gentaro-sama wished to say to you that you should always be aware of your things, That''s all" The soldier didn''t gave a time for Chiho to even react and quickly turned to leave. She remained there for two second to think before closing the door. "What happened? You missed something?" Mariko heard the soldier and asked Chiho about it. "I don''t know, I have everything with me.." Chiho looked worried. "It''s not my gun..." Then She suddenly froze. "H-Hey, What now?" Mariko raised her body. "Ayumi! The vehicle we used to go outside!" Chiho shouted. "Waah! I also forgot!" Ayumi quickly stood up from the bed. "Hey, care to explain?" Mariko looked at them both. "When we met you! We used a vehicle on our way there!" Ayumi shouted at her. "And now you forgot it?" Mariko asked, Ayumi nods twice. "Of all things, why would you forget your ride?" She asked again. "I-I guess i parked it far enough for me to remember" Chiho held her cheeks. "Anyway, i have to go to Gentaro-san!" Chiho ran outside. "Wait!" Ayumi also ran to go with her. "Geez, those two.." Mariko slowly stood up from the bed, went outside and closed the door without locking it. She slowly walked downstairs. On the first floor, Mariko stopped by Suzuka''s spot. "It seems like the two is in hurry" Suzuka said while looking at the door. "A soldier asked for your room, He said Gentaro-sama has a word for Chiho-san" She looked at Mariko. "Yeah, that made them running" Mariko nodded. "Are you going with them?" Suzuka asked. "Yeah, can''t find anything else to do.." Mariko sighed. " Then, Take care" Suzuka responded as Mariko walked to the door and goes out. She looked to the left. "Though, I ain''t running, screw that" She took a deep breath and started walking. Upon reaching the Center, The vast amount of people and the noisy atmosphere she hated greets her. She just sighed and walked with her heads down. Few seconds, Mariko saw an old man looking at her. "Hey, kid. Getting inside this village, no easy job. So let''s do business fair, yes?" He smiled at Mariko. She stopped to observe him, She can already tell the man by his hood that he is one of those mysterious dealers selling weird or sometimes illegal stuff. He also had the aura of one. "I see you before, Violent girl, Blood on axes, is scary.. That''s why!" The old man took out a pair of new-looking butterfly sword. "I sell you, This! .. Is very reliable! Easy swing! made from stolen Chuyuan resources! Everyone wants it! For Two fifty gold!" He proudly grips the swords. "Looks shit.. This shit is stolen? What a crap to steal.. And it even cost two fucking fifty gold? I can buy ton shit of foods that cost few silvers!" Mariko didn''t liked the sword. "Hey, no! Is good stuff! Use two sword against one, you know?" The man became upset that he didn''t get her liking. "Nah, You wouldn''t need two if you know how to swing with just one" Mariko crossed her arms. "Hmm.. Okay, i see.. I come back again, bring you one sword only, You''ll like.." The man hid back the swords. "No, don''t come back" She said. "Ho! You see other stuff! I come back again and you''ll like for sure!" The man laughed as He walked away. "... What a weirdo, Hope he get caught right away" Mariko started walking again, But it didn''t take long before she saw Chiho driving a motorcycle with Ayumi on its sidecar. "Whoa, shit! You forgot that thing?!" Seeing the R37 got her blood running. "Hey, Chiho!" She called out. Chiho heard her and drove closer and stopped. "Goddamn! This is the thing you forgot?! The fuck you doing?!" She asked while circling on the R37, looking at every details. She stopped to look at Chiho. "Can i drive?!" She excitedly asked. "Sure, But let''s move away from here, there''s a lot of people here.." Chiho weakly answered. Mariko hops in behind Chiho and they proceed to move out of the Center. On the way out, "Hey, Why do you look so down?" Mariko asked. "I really hate myself.." Chiho used her left hand to scratch her head. "I could have lost this beautiful thing.." She said. "It''s your fault! You always forget!" Ayumi shouted from the sidecar. "Shut up!" Chiho revved up the engine and wildly shook the steerings, Shaking Ayumi on her seat. "W-Waah!" Mariko grinned as she watched Ayumi scream and held into the sidecar tightly. "You also forgot about it! Don''t be a big talk!" Chiho shouted. "Still! It''s you who''s driving it!" Ayumi fought back. "So, It''s both your fault?" Mariko butts in. "Shut up!" The two shouted at the same time. "E-Eh..." Mariko was surprised at their chorus. Once they got out of the Center, People became less, Chiho stopped the R37 and stepped out. "Alright, You can drive now" She told Mariko. "Oh shit.." Mariko slides herself forward and Chiho took her seat. She explained everything to Mariko, And She slowly managed to get used on driving it. "Damn! This feels so good!" Mariko shouted. "Unlike that flying thing, This one is smooth!" She laughed as she build up speed. "We''re nearly there, So don''t go any faster.." Chiho said. "Aww.." Mariko then decreased their speed. "Hey, Where did you get this?" She asked as she looked at the mounted MG. "We got it from our village, we used this to get out from the walls" Chiho explained. "Talking about your village.. Why isn''t these Saijuns are taking action on your village?" Mariko asked. "Are they not helping?" Ayumi asked from the sidecar. "Well, I''m not hearing a single word about it.." Mariko answered. "I know right, We get to talk to Gentaro-san, but we didn''t hear a single word about retaking our village.." Chiho thinks deep. "Isn''t that weird? I thought you, these Saijuns and the Kosun had an alliance?" Mariko said. "Maybe the Kosun are helping us right now?" Ayumi guessed. "That can be possible, We just don''t get any words, i guess.." Mariko agreed. "I think it''s because the enemies is far stronger than us? I think Gentaro-san is just preparing, He asked me to tell him everything i know about them anyway..." Chiho assumed. "Huh, Make sense, i guess.." Driving slow, Mariko thought of something to ask again. "Oh yeah.. How about your parents? Where''s your father?" She asked. "F-Father?!" Chiho remembered that a certain soldier came for her father back to their village. "I-I''m not sure.." She weakly answered. "A-Ah, Sorry for as-" "No! Someone is going there to see for themselves! We are not sure yet!" Mariko was about to apologize but Chiho interrupted her. "Is that so? That''s good, i guess.." Mariko had enough and decided to stop asking. "Hey, Onee-chan.. Now that we know that your father is that hero, What are you going to going to do when you meet him now?" Ayumi asked. Chiho couldn''t respond for a second, looking for the right answer. "I don''t know... It''s not like i''m going to be mad, though..." Chiho really wants to give an answer. "I guess.. I.. I will just talk to him, just the two of us.." Chiho answered with low voice. "What? You ain''t going to, like, ask him if it''s true?" Mariko looked over her shoulder. "That''s what i mean, I have many things to talk about with him..." Chiho looked up to the sky. Then They became silent, though they quickly arrived in the inn and went up to their room. As always, They laid down to their beds. Instead of Ayumi, Mariko threw herself down to the bed this time. "Alright, Where were we?" Mariko took a deep breath and start thinking. "Oh, by the way, Chiho.." She looked at Chiho. "Yes?" Chiho looked back. "Um.. Try not to be so forgetful starting tomorrow, will you? You might have problems on your training" Mariko said, Her words made Chiho blush hard. "I-I will! .. By the way, You keep telling us about training.. But you haven''t even started yet.." Chiho thinks. "Oh.. Yeah, We can start tomorrow.. So try to be attentive and aware at all times from now on.." Mariko promised them a training tomorrow. "I AM always attentive! It''s Gentaro-san''s fault for asking us to have a ride back..." Chiho looked away. "Hey, That''s not good.. Blaming someone who''s just being kind, when you''re actually inattentive.." Mariko said. "I am attentive...." Chiho spoke with low voice and pouts. Seeing her pout, Ayumi giggled. "Onee-chan can be so childish sometimes.." She said. "Heh, Yeah.. You still wants some information? I think i still have something to tell you..." Mariko changed the topic, Ayumi turned to her to give that she''s interested again. "About them Pros... " Mariko hid all of the important things she know about PTRD, So she can''t think of anything else. "Uh... I-I guess i told you everything.." She sighed. "What?! I thought you told us that Takumi-san told you a sh-!" "Yeah, Yeah! Fine!" Mariko raised her voice higher to interrupt Ayumi''s whine. She thought of giving away something, with a little lie. "Takumi said that i should keep this secret, But They''re looking for someone who will become strong and fight them.." Mariko told them, This bought Chiho''s attention. "I guess they wanted a little challenge for themselves, That''s why i''m going to train you hard Chiho!" She continued. "I will give them everything i got.. I will destroy them.. Damn Prohorovkans.." Chiho whispered. Mariko smiled upon hearing her. "Your strong desire to fight them will be so goddamn useful on your training.." She said, The two looked at her. "Unlike those common fresh soldiers, They think nothing but to worry about dying in the battlefield, without even thinking of killing their enemies" She continued. "You lose your composure as you overthink, You''re not calm... If you''re not thinking properly, You''re hugging your own death... Imagine being calm and was able to read your foe''s mind without even trying, Being calm have a huge advantage" She continued further. "Wait, You''re talking about a duel! How about a large scale battle, like, On an open field?! Where there is just too many enemies!" Ayumi asked. "What? It''s the same! You keep calm and hit your enemies! Remember that there are many enemies in front of you, so you have to focus on your targets and don''t let your mind waver!" Mariko answered. "Also remember that you have allies in your side, so being reckless and swinging your weapon without using your head can lead to you killing your own team" She continued. "Yeah! Okay! I understand! I will be careful!" Ayumi nods with determination, Though Mariko was confused. "Isn''t that Chiho''s line? Why is the daughter of the hero is so quiet on the corner?" She looked at Chiho. "I''m not as noisy as Ayumi-chan... I know everything you said, you know.." Chiho answered. "Y-Yeah.. That''s what i thought.." Mariko looked away, scratching her head. "Oh, yeah!" Mariko suddenly stood up from the bed, surprising the two. "How are we going to train tomorrow without a proper amount of weapons? Let''s go buy some, right now!" Despite Mariko''s cheerful suggestion, The two didn''t give any reaction. "But we left our money back in our village. They''re probably burnt right now.." Ayumi answered. "Y-Yeah, i didn''t think about that.." Mariko was about to lie down again but Chiho also stood up. "Maybe we can borrow from Gentaro-san?" She guessed. "Oh? The leader? That might work.." Mariko thought of Gentaro''s words about Chiho. "He can lend us some weapons!" Chiho suddenly gets excited. "Yeah! Come on, Let''s go!" They all became excited in the second and quickly locked their room on their way out. "My! Going out again?" Suzuka saw them walking towards her from the hall. "You sure are busy, huh?" She rests her right palm to her cheeks. "Yeah.. There''s a war going on, we can''t just relax here.." Mariko gave a direct answer. "Y-Yeah, that''s right.." Suzuka watched them walked out. "Must be a tough job for Chiho-san to be moving all day.." Suzuka said to herself. "But She have Mariko-san with her! I''m sure she''ll bring her northern charm with Chiho!" Haruki went out of her bar with two glasses of beer on both of her hands. "Geez, Haru.. When did you get so obsessed about the north?" Suzuka tried to think of ever talking about the north with Her. The three rides the R37 parked by the side of the Inn. Mariko wanted to be the driver but Chiho didn''t allowed her. "Hmph! You selfish.." Mariko pouted on the back seat. "We are going to the Center, I don''t want any trouble.." Chiho said as She starts the R37. The engine''s sound hyped Mariko even more. "Hey, At least let me drive until before reaching the Centra-..Center!" She lightly shook Chiho. "No. I don''t want to stop again to change seat" Chiho still didn''t allowed her. "Fine.. Ayumi, let''s change seat" Mariko gave up on driving, She looked down to Ayumi. "No!" Ayumi kicked and looked away. "Hey! Come on! You''ve sat there before! Let me sit there too!" Mariko insisted. "I might fall from there!" Ayumi whined. "Yeah, She might fall from here" Chiho backed her up. "Goddamn it.. Fine.." Mariko had enough and crossed her arms, Then They proceeded to the Center with their R37. On the Center.. "Oh, Yeah.. By the way.. An old man offered me a sword from Chuyuan, cost two fifty golds!" Mariko mentioned the dealer. "Whoa! Expensive!" Ayumi looked up to Mariko. "That''s very expensive.. Did it look good or something?" Chiho asked. "Well.. I''m going to admit, it looks good but it''s short and i don''t feel like using those at all.." Mariko laid her disliking. "I could change my mind a little bit if it''s longer.. Such wasted design for short-ass blade.." She continued. "T-There are people who''s great at wielding short swords!" Chiho said. "I don''t care.. I can swing my axes down to them before they can reach me with their swords.." .. They argue about short sword wielder against longer swords wielder on the rest of their trip. If they see some weapons, They will come and see it. But after some hours, They couldn''t get a proper one. In the end, It was Mariko''s taste that the two followed instead of their own, so they really had a hard time picking one. Luckily, when they got to talk with Gentaro, He was able to lend them some weapons that Mariko liked. It was already about to turn evening, around five, to be exact. Finally got their preferred weapons for them to use, They now head back to the Inn. On the way there, Ayumi checked the weapons they got, it''s on the sidecar. She''s holding the long axes up while a chain sickle rests on the floor of the sidecar. "What''s mine?! What''s mine?!" She excitedly asked. "I think i should use the one with the chains, It looks very dangerous.." Chiho answered. "Nah, I don''t think she can throw a strike with that long-ass axes.. She should use the chained one" Mariko looked at the chained sickle. As the name says, It is a chained sickle, A chain is attached on a sickle with a spiked ball on the other end. It was long enough to hit an enemy from safe range. After observing the chained sickle, She looked at the long axes. The long axes was, indeed, longer axes.. Longer than Mariko''s. "That long axe''s beautiful, Chiho.. I really wanted to see you someday rocking with that weapon, busting some Pro''s asses.." Mariko smiled at the thought. "You really love axes'', don''t you Mariko-san?" Chiho looked at the long axes Ayumi was carrying. "Yeah, I think they deal the heaviest hit on enemies. You can even behead an enemy on the run!" Mariko laughed. "Also, i found out a very nice move that i liked. It''s hard to pull the trick. You throw the blade on your foes'' shoulder, Make sure you hit their bone so you can use them to pull them closer to you, then you can perform any awesome close-ranged moves you got!" She happily mentioned her ''favorite move''. "I will teach you some tomorrow" She tapped Chiho''s back. "Yeah, I can''t wait!" Chiho cheerfully answered. "Hey! How about mine?! It''s one of those farmer tools! So unfair!" Ayumi whined while looking at the sickle. "Hey, I saw many of the farmers'' sickles and that one is the sharpest so far" Mariko looked at the sickle. "Look at that! It''s even shorter than a normal sickle!" She gestured to Ayumi to take it to her, Ayumi did picked it up by the sickle, once Mariko got it, She held the chains up for Mariko to take it as well. "This one looks sick! This is the first time i ever hold one!" Mariko held it by the chains and spun the sickle up in the air. The whirling noise and the chains made Chiho look back. "Mariko-san!" She quickly lowered her head in a second she saw her spinning the sickle. "Stop that!" She panicked. "Calm down~!" Mariko stopped it by catching the sickle. "Don''t ever do that again here!" Chiho scolded Mariko. "Yeees~" She answered, Then She looked to Ayumi. "Well? How''s that? Can you handle this one?" Mariko asked her, Ayumi was staring at her for a second before gasping hard. "No way!" Her answer made Mariko giggle. "Chiho will use the long axe, my axes is mine, so it''s yours.. You can do it!" Mariko encouraged her then throws the chained sickle to the ground of the sidecar. "Hey!" Ayumi moved her feet away from the chained sickle. "What? It''s far away from you!" Mariko laughed. Ayumi fought with Mariko with the rest of their trip. Once they reached the inn, Chiho parked their R37 in the side again and left it there. They carried their weapons inside the inn, The chains make noises as Ayumi walks, getting the attention of the people inside. "Welcome back.. Make sure to keep those weapons safe" As usual, Suzuka greets them. "Yeah, Sorry for these! We had to get them since we''ll be doing training tomorrow.. We got these from Gentaro-san, by the way" Mariko used Gentaro''s name to ease her up. Suzuka nodded on them and they proceeded to their room. Once they settled down for some rest, They laid on their beds. "Hey, Hey! How are you going to train us tomorrow?" Ayumi happily asked. "Oh.. Come to think of it.. You.. just kinda have to practice to throw your weapons.." Mariko looked at the ceiling. "Throw?" Ayumi asked. "I mean.. use them against enemies.. I''m not a good instructor.." Mariko scratched her head. "Well.. You''re going to watch us use our weapons, then you tell us if we''re doing it wrong so we can do better.." Chiho suggested. "Then! When we are used to them, I want you to a sparring with me!" Chiho happily continued. "Sparring, you said?! Hell yeah! Let''s do it!" Mariko''s excitement kind of scared the two a little bit. "J-Just be easy on us.. By the way, Have you killed someone?" Chiho curiously asked. "Yeah, tons of ''em.. Mostly bandits, those stupid fucks who doesn''t live inside a village or a country.." Mariko answered. "I..I see.. Please go easy on us.." Chiho curled up on her bed. "Don''t worry~! I know how to hold back!" Mariko eased them up. "Plus, If Ayumi-chan gets to used to throw the chained sickle, She will have a great advantage against me.. So do your best okay?" Despite Ayumi''s size, Mariko still wanted her to learn to use the chained sickle, She patted her head. "Yes! I will!" Ayumi happily nodded. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Ayumi-chan" Chiho called her with soft voice, Ayumi looked at her. "I... Just be careful when you''re using those okay?" Chiho was still worried. Seeing her, Mariko also laid her worries. "I know right.. You can hurt yourself if you''re not careful.." She said. Ayumi were about to be down but she resisted. "Don''t worry! I will be careful! I will also do my best!" Ayumi smiled with determination. "Hah.. We''ll be the one to witness the very first chained sickle-wielding kid!" Mariko laughed, Chiho brushed off her worries a bit and giggled. After that, they stayed silent. But Ayumi quickly raised herself. "W-We''re sleeping now?! It''s still early!" She whined, Chiho also noticed this. "Well.. I want you to wake up the same time as i do" Mariko said. "Why!" Ayumi asked. "Because! I want you to get used to throwing some hits with your weapons, Then! When the sun rises, We''ll be doing sparring!" Mariko excitedly answered. "No..." Ayumi gave a defeated tone and let her back fall to the bed. "Come on! You''ll finally be able to fight!" Mariko lightly punched Ayumi''s arm. "Ow!" Despite the tease-like punches, It still hurts for her. "Damn, I''m not even punching you for real.. How if a real enemy punched you in the face? You''ll be sleeping in no time.." Mariko mocked her weakness. "No! I just said that! It''s not like it hurts at all!" Ayumi lied. "Heh, You say that.. It''s completely normal for a kid to get hurt easily.." Mariko giggled. "No! I will get used to being hurt! You''ll see!" Ayumi turned her back against Mariko, Then She saw Chiho smiling at her, resulting her to grin. "Heh.. You better be.. I will be giving you hell tomorrow, since you have the long range weapon.." Mariko then closed her eyes. The two said their good nights, Ayumi was also about to turn to Mariko, but She was already sleeping. Then They slept earlier in preparation for tomorrow. 16 Did everyone survived from the Tsuchiya?! As Chiho''s thoughts are all over the place, She quickly looked up to Yagano. "W-Where''s mother?!" She asked. Yagano and Hiro looked at each other. "No...." She shook him. "If..If the other one can get out of the village safe, I think we''ll still be able to save her.." Yagano spoke with a little bit of hope. "She..She made it?" Chiho asked. "Yes... On our way to the Kakuden, We were caught by one of them and He fired this.." Yagano took out a PPSH-41, with a drum magazine, and showed it to the three. "Your mother got hit three times... When I saw him took this out.." Yagano slaps the magazine. "I kind of guessed that he was reloading, So I took the risk.. or rather the opportunity to charge towards him.. But to my surprise, He threw this into the ground and pulled off blades from his hands.." Yagano examined the gun as he tells what happened. "B-Blade from his hands? The same thing that Takumi-idiot showed us before.." Mariko recalled the scene where Takumi panicked and showed them her blades. "Yeah! I remember that!" Ayumi, who looked horrible after crying, became energetic again. "It''s scary! You thought they have nothing else to fight with, Then those things will just come out of their dress!" She continued. "Takumi? Who''s that? Have you met one of them?" Yagano asked. "Y-Yes, sir... I-I managed to hit one of their flying things and there was somebody inside.." Mariko shyly responded, looking at the floor. "Then She became friendly towards us.. There was a ton shi... T-There was a lot of reason she told me why.." She continued. "I see... " Yagano nodded. "What happened next?!" Ayumi asked Yagano. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Hm... After that, We finally got into the Kakuden, She was bleeding fast but we managed to remove whatever was stuck in her wounds and applied some bandages to her and she survived.. We were stuck there, The enemies haven''t found us but they are swarming outside.. But later that time, They finally disappeared, Then Hiro''s group finally came.. Heck I thought it was the enemy, But then i heard my name and Chiho''s then Saiju.. We didn''t waste much time in there, We made a plan for getting out of the village, We waited until there are no enemies around and we moved out of the Kakuden.. Thank goodness, We made it out safely and got into two carriages waiting just outside.. We thought we''re finally be able to escape to Saiju.. But.." The three saw Yagano clenches his fists. "On the way here, Those flying pests found us and fired at us... That''s where everything gets crazy, The horses on your mother''s carriage went out of control.. And we were separated.." "W-Why are you not in the same carriage?!" Chiho angrily asked. "W-We were hurrying too, there was no choice.." Yagano calmly answered. "You''re annoying!" Chiho buried her face on Yagano''s chest and lightly hits him. "The soldier who''s handling the carriage knows how to handle them horses! I''m sure they managed to outrun that stupid pest!" Hiro tried to positive. "Chiho-san! Don''t you underestimate the Saijun soldiers! Most of us have jobs and skills before being a soldier!" Hiro pointed at her, Ayumi and Mariko giggled at him. "Come on, Chiho-san.. We are sure they survived!" Hiro smiled, Chiho appreciated his words but was still worried. "It''s bad for her to have such a rough ride.." She whispered. "W-We can use that vehicle to go back!" Mariko shouted. "That vehicle... You mean the R37?" Hiro asked. "Yagano-san, Hiro-san. We''re here.." Guro stopped the carriage and called for them. "We-We''re here?!" Mariko looked outside. "Hiro Nishitani''s Expedition party, To Tsuchiya.. We found Commander Yagano" Guro talked to the two guards, Then They walked to look at the carriage, the one on the left quickly saw Yagano, making him gasp. "C-Commander..!". The other one heard him and also saw Yagano. "C-Commander Yagano! Shit... Hey! Open the gates!" The guard on the right quickly shouted an order and the gates slowly opened. "Commander Yagano! It is good to see you alive!" The guard on the left bowed. "Hey! I''m Here, In case you''re wondering" Hiro called the guard. "Hurry!" The other guard shouted. "Yes, Hiro-san.. But I remembered that you went out with one more carriage?" He looked behind them. "Yeah, they were delayed, they said they''re saving more.. Pretty stubborn but I let them.." Hiro quickly lied to him. "Is that so? Isn''t it a rule to obey the party''s leader all the time? They can be punished about this.." The guard answered. "No, No.. It''s fine, I''ll talk to Gentaro-sama.. I''m sure he''ll understand" Hiro shook his hands. "Alright.." The guards stepped away as the gate made a loud noise. "Commander Yagano! Welcome to Saiju!" "Gentaro-sama.. No, Everyone would be very happy to see you" As the guards made their greetings, The right guard spoke. "Gentaro, huh.. It''s been a while.." Yagano observed everything as they make their way inside. They stopped in front of the gate for a few seconds before Hiro spoke. "I know you wanted to meet Gentaro-sama right away, But don''t you think you should rest first? I''m sure Gentaro-sama would understand" Hiro suggested to rest first. "No, I wanted to meet him right away.. Also, Where should I rest from here?" Yagano asked. "We are staying in an Inn!" Ayumi cheerfully answered. "Oh? Did Gentaro lent you an inn?" Yagano asked. "Yes! He even let us stay for free!" She answered. "Huh.. Gentaro''s so kind isn''t he?" Yagano looked at a distance. "Yes! Everything for you and your family, Yagano-san!" Hiro lays his full support towards him. "Then.. Should we get going? Are you sure you''re not going to rest first?" Hiro asked to make sure. "Yes, I wanted to meet him right now, I want to have some small talks with him". Yagano nodded. "Alright! Guro!" "Right!" Making sure of Yagano''s wish, Hiro shouted and they proceeded. "W-Wait! Let me drop from here! I will take our vehicle back to the Inn!" Mariko panicked. "No, You''ll stay here with us, miss" Hiro smiled at her. "Mariko-san? I would like you to accompany Chiho while I talk to Gentaro, If that''s alright with you?" Yagano asked. Mariko blushed at his request. "I..It''s no problem.. Fine, I will go with you.." She shyly answered and looked away. "Hey, Hey! Yaa-chan! Don''t be deceived by her! She might look like all shy and kind! But She''s actually scary! She''s from the North! Death Warriors!" Ayumi shouted. "H-Huh?!" Confusion about how she calls him and her embarrassment got her. "A Northern?" Yagano observed Mariko as she uncomfortably squirms. "No wonder you dress up like that.. I thought you were one of the voluntary women who helps cut down trees.." Yagano peeked at her axe. "W-Well.." Mariko shyly rests her hand on the axe. "So, How did a Northern got here and befriend you, Chiho?" Yagano asked and Mariko looked at her, waiting for her answer. "We got to meet her when a plane went down near the gate here in Saiju.. When we went to the place where it crashed, She was there with that Takumi she has been mentioning" Chiho answered. "Y-Yeah! Plane! Those flying pests are planes!" Mariko supported her. "Yes, Hiro told me about those ''planes''.. Those are real pests in the air.." Yagano looked up to the sky. "And Believe it or not, We get to see inside! And Mariko-san got to make it go roar and smoky!" Ayumi happily mentioned the scene before. "Oh? How does it feel to ride that thing, then, Mariko-san?" Yagano looked at Mariko. "I-It was fucking amazing..." She didn''t get to hold herself from cursing as she remembers everything about the Stuka. "Whoa.. Don''t say those cruel words!" Yagano was surprised and scolded her. "Yeah! She''s always like that! Fuck those! Fuck that! Those fucking things! That fucking thing! Fu-!" "S-Shut it, Ayumi!" Ayumi shouted and Mariko quickly covered her mouth to stop her. Yagano laughed at them. "I guess it can''t be helped, but don''t you think you should do some restraint when a kid is around?" Yagano asked. "W-Well! She keeps saying that she''s not a kid anymore so... Ow!" Ayumi bit Mariko''s finger, moving her hand away from Ayumi. "Also! She is teaching us how to fight now!" Ayumi told him about their training. "How to fight? Including you?" Yagano simply asked, not what the two expected to be his reaction. "Yes! I get to use the farmer tool with chains!" Ayumi looked around and remembered that their weapons were on the R37. "A Chained Sickle.." Mariko said the name. "Oh? Isn''t that hard to use?" Yagano made an image of the chained sickle with his mind. "Yeah, Believe it or not, She was able to throw it and with style.. Heck, they yet still call her a kid.." Mariko sighed, making Yagano laugh. "Ayumi''s a strong girl, huh?!" Yagano shakingly rubbed Ayumi''s head. "Father? Why are you not surprised? You should be worried about her, you know?" Chiho gave her a curious look, but he still laughed. "Well, I''m not his father in the first place!" He said. "Jeez, Her wanting to carry a weapon made me cry, you know.." Chiho sadly smiled, making Yagano sigh. "Yeah, That worried me too, I tried not to be all sad about it. It also reminded me of myself as a kid, I was not focusing much on my education and just wanted to wield the sword I picked up just from the south of our village. I would hide it somewhere and come back to it once I got nothing to do. I remembered inventing my own way of swinging the sword..." Yagano looked up. "Maybe Ayumi-chan wants to become like me?" He smiled. "Yes! I wanted to become strong like you! If there are no women in the army, I and Onee-chan will make it happen!" Ayumi nodded. "No one can stop me from doing it, no matter what they say.. So, I think that goes the same for..." He slowly looked to Ayumi, She giggled. "Yes!" And nodded. Chiho just sighed. Then They just realized that every people were looking at them. "W-Wow.. I can feel all of them staring at us.." Mariko was uncomfortable. "Yeah, I don''t know why I became a ''hero''.. The only thing I ever did was to assist them.." Yagano spoke as if no Saijuns were listening to him, Thus quickly realizing it. "You ended that stupid war made by the previous leader, Your help completely changed Saiju ever since then! We were so grateful!" Hiro sounded like a little bit of disappointed. "So? The Kosuns are there too! And Fukoda and his soldiers!" Yagano looked back at him. "We also heard that you were the youngest in the army! So that kinda makes you unique!" Hiro answered. "Huh.." Yagano couldn''t answer. "Of course we appreciated the others'' help too, but most of the people noticed you, so.." Hiro''s word was the last as they fall into silence. But they weren''t bothered since they have arrived after a minute. "We''re here" Guro told them and they stepped out of the carriage. "Then, Hiro-san, I''ll leave you here" Guro left with the carriage. "Alright! Let''s go in, shall we?" Hiro said as he opened the gate leading inside Gentaro''s place. "Hm.. I remember reaching this place as soon as getting in from the entrance.. This village has grown so big" Yagano observed everything around as they walk in. "I know right? The village used to be so small. Now we''ve grown so well under Gentaro-sama''s leadership. It was tough for them to lead a country that age, But they made sure to listen to the people and process them slowly" Hiro closed the gate and jogged towards them. "Huh... Good thing nobody kicked them out of the position" Mariko thinks. "Yes, Even the criminals before wanted the Hinorama to be in power. Everyone was so glad to have him on the position that no one else wanted to be in power" Hiro looked at the building. "Huh, No one else wanted to be in power.. That''s crazy, Everyone always wanted to be the leader of a country, mostly because people will think of you so highly and you''re actually going to be wealthy and all... You Saijuns must have really suffered under that previous leader, huh?" Mariko looked back at him. "Yes" Hiro nodded. They got past through the fountain and finally to the building. There, They saw Itsumi on the way to Gentaro''s room. "Hey, Itsumi-sama! Look who I found!" Hiro shouted. "Hiro-san?" Itsumi got surprised to hear a familiar voice, She turned around in surprise. "And.. Yagano-san?!" She quickly saw Yagano and didn''t know what to do. "Hey there, Itsumi.." Yagano raised his right hand. "Yagano-san! Oh my!" Itsumi happily shouted as she ran towards them. She stopped in front of them and bowed. "It''s good to see you get out of there alive! I couldn''t believe it!" She looked up. "Yeah, Thanks to your efforts, I was able to get out alive" Yagano smiled at her. "Actually, It was Hiro''s request. He insisted that you were still alive" She looked at Hiro. "Oh?" Yagano also looked at him. "So it was only Hiro''s idea? I thought it was Gentaro himself that sent a group after me, That makes me sad, Itsumi" Yagano gave Itsumi a sad look. "I-I''m sorry.." Itsumi bowed. "Just kidding. After all, It was your choice whether to send him there or not. You still believed" Yagano rests his left hand on her shoulder. "I''m guessing that Gentaro is up there?" He looked up to the room. "Yes, I was on my way there to see him. How about we visit him together?" Itsumi looked at the group, And she saw Mariko. "My! You''re that woman before. I guess I remember that your name is Mariko, Yes? Mariko Sakitama?" She asked, Mariko was surprised. "Y-Yes, My name is Mariko Sakitama, H-How did you know my name?" Mariko remembers only telling her first name. "We heard from the Akuzawa Family about you, You saved Haruna-san, Their only daughter" Itsumi smiled warmly. "A-Ah, About that.." Mariko remembered the scene. "They were very grateful, Mariko-san. They are very willing to invite you and Chiho-san to their home and give you a feast" Itsumi says. "A-Ah, Of course. I still don''t want to go" Mariko rejected their offer still. "Unless..?" She looked at Chiho. "I think I will pass" But She didn''t want to go either. "Nor do I! I want some more training!" Ayumi also didn''t want to. "I-I see.. Then I will tell them you are very busy" Itsumi was saddened about their refusals. "Hey, Mariko-san? Don''t you think you should go? Akuzawa Family is the richest family within our village, It''s a rare chance that you would be able to go and have a feast with them!" Hiro urged them. "Plus, Don''t you want the foods? They are way more delicious than what you eat outside! Akuzawa is the best, you know?! Don''t let them down!" He continued. "I don''t want to. How many times should I say that?" Mariko''s tone changed and was starting to get pissed off. "B-By the way! Where was Gentaro-san?" Chiho quickly cuts off the topic. "H-He''s upstairs" Itsumi answered. "Right, Before our Northern friend gets mad, Let''s get going" Yagano pats Mariko''s shoulder, making her twitch and blush. "Oh? Speak of the devil.." Yagano saw Gentaro walked out of the room. "Y-Yagano-san?!" He quickly saw Yagano and ran downstairs. "Yagano-san! You''re alright!" Gentaro laughed in relief. "Hah, Yeah. I''m still fightin'' them" Yagano also laughed. "Haha! Oh, So good to see you, Yagano-san" Gentaro bowed. "Yeah, Likewise, Gentaro" Yagano pats his shoulder. "Also, By the way" Gentaro slowly raised his head. "Chiho has been a bad girl, She hasn''t stayed here for long and she already made some bad things" He looked at Chiho. "Hm? What''s the meaning of this, Chiho?" Yagano looked at her. "First thing that I didn''t like at all, was when she used my name to get past through the gates, Without actually telling me" Gentaro says. "Chiho?" Yagano looked angry, Chiho averted her gaze. "Second, She left her own vehicle outside the village. I couldn''t say it was my fault, I thought they left walking, so we offered them a ride back in horses" Gentaro continued. "H-Her own vehicle? R37?" Yagano was surprised. "The one they were riding before, Yagano-san. You remember?" Hiro asked. "Y-Yeah, Kind of.." Yagano nodded. "Yes, It was called R37. Chiho and Ayumi here came to this village with that vehicle. It was stolen from the enemies and we might get in trouble if they see one of their vehicles parked within our borders" Gentaro shook his head. "If you have stolen a property, You shouldn''t be leaving it somewhere" He continued. "That''s fair enough. Chiho, There''s a lot of things I wanted to talk to you later at the Inn" Yagano thought of how she got out of the village despite the enemies'' unknown technologies. "Of course..." Chiho answered. "Well! As soon as we''re fine, I will let that slide! Yagano-san, I would like to talk to you, just the two of us up in my room!" Gentaro invited him. "Of course, That''s why I came here" Yagano agreed. "Then, Mariko-san. I''ll leave Chiho to you for now" Yagano raised his left hand and he walked upstairs with Gentaro. "My, I should get going too. See you later!" Itsumi waved at them and walked away. "Alright, Girls. I''m also busy, so see ya later.." Hiro walked out of the building, All was left is the three of them. "Wow, That sucks" Mariko placed her right hand to her hips. "Finally being able to see your father, then quickly disappearing to talk to his buddy" She complained. "I''d agree with you if you haven''t been blushing the whole time" Chiho shrugged. "I-I was embarrassed, But I''m telling you, second time, I''ll be normal!" She shouted. "Right, Right... So what do we do now?" Chiho looked around. "They left us here hanging, The hell.." Mariko angrily looked at the door upstairs. "Well, Let''s just get out of here" Chiho turned around to walk out of the building, Ayumi followed her. "Huh.." Mariko looked around first before going after them. As they got out of the gate, they saw two soldiers running to their direction. As they get closer, they noticed that Hiro was the other soldier. "Chiho! Go to the Market right now! Your mother''s carriage just arrived and at the Center! They stopped there to seek medicines!" Hiro''s shout panicked them. "Mother?!" Chiho shouted. "Yeah! Go there right now! I''ll call Yagano-san and Gentaro-sama there!" He shouted as they get into the gate. "G-Got it!" Chiho quickly ran, The two followed her. "Mother!" The two heard Chiho whispered between her pantings. A few moments later, they noticed that there were people gathered in one spot. "They are there!" Chiho ran towards the crowd. "Shit.. Hey! Out of the damn way!" Mariko saw her ran and shouted at the people. It worked and some of them looked behind and made a way, Then they all noticed and made a way so they could get in. Once they got past through the crowd, They saw some soldiers near the carriage. "Mother!" Chiho looked inside the carriage, A wounded woman sits there and was being treated by the soldiers with some medicines. She weakly looked up to Chiho, then her eyes suddenly widen in surprise. "Chiho?" She softly called her. "Mother!" Chiho called her again. "You''re okay..." Her mother started to cry. "You two are okay.." She continued. "You''re gonna be alright. Thankfully, The bandages were able to stop your bleeding" The soldier who was treating her smiled. "Thank you.." Katsuko weakly thanked him. "You''re welcome..." The soldier moved away from the carriage. "Move along people!" He shouted at the crowd and they all started to walk again. "Chiho, dear.." Katsuko looked at her. "Mother..." Chiho called back. "And... Ayumi-chan" Katsuko giggled. "Ka-chan! You''re gonna be alright!" Ayumi smiled. "Of course" Her smile made her happy. "Katsuko!" They heard Yagano''s voice. They looked at the direction of where his voice came from. "Ah..." Katsuko saw him running. Yagano, along with Hiro, Gentaro and the other soldier, reached them. "Katsuko! Are you alright?!" Yagano looked very worried. "Of course, Honey... The soldiers said I''m gonna be fine, I have stopped bleeding" Katsuko answered with a smile. "I-Is that so..." His worries gradually fade. "Commander Yagano, She also needs to rest. How about we visit the inn right now?" A soldier approached and asked Yagano. "Of course..." He nodded and looked at Gentaro. "I will go with you" Gentaro also nodded. "But there''s only one horse, The hell happened, Jin?!" Hiro looked at the only horse with the carriage. "Other one''s untrusty, unlike my Yuki-chan!" A soldier responded and slapped the body of the horse. "Whoa.. They''re naming horses now?" Mariko thought to herself. "But! Even though she''s the only remaining, She managed to get us out of trouble! We didn''t need that useless horse" The soldier, Who had the name of Jin, laughed loudly. "Yeah, yeah. Get going now, Jin. Don''t let Gentaro-sama wait!" The soldier who approached Yagano spoke, almost like a command. "Damn, Yamaki-san. Why do you have to be all so grumpy today?" Jin asked as he rides the carriage. "Screw you, Jin. We just got out of a dangerous situation that could end our life swiftly!" The soldier who approached Yagano, Who has the name of Yamaki, Angrily shouted at him. "But we made it out, aren''t you happy?" Jin looked back. But Yamaki didn''t answer and gets into the carriage quietly. "Then, Let''s go, Commander Yagano" Jin looked at the group. "Right" Yagano first went in and sat beside Katsuko, then the rest gets in, including the soldiers around. They were silent the whole trip, but it was short anyway. Upon reaching the inn. "See? Yuki-chan can handle all of you with no problem!" Jin laughed, proud of his own horse. "Such wasted name.. should have used it to her daughter" Mariko thought to herself. "Alright, Thanks Jin!" Hiro first went down. "Everytime, Hiro!" Jin salutes with his two fingers. "Gentaro-sama?" He called Gentaro, Who was about to leave. "Huh?" Gentaro looked at him. "How about a raise?" Jin smiled, making Gentaro laugh. "Tell that to your command" He answered and stepped out of the carriage. "Hiro, convince that bitch-command for a raise for me, will you?" Jin looked at Hiro. "I will ask him for a promotion" Hiro winked. "Hah! Now we''re talking!" They both laughed. Yagano, Chiho and Ayumi stayed to support Katsuko on her way out. "Can you stand?" Yagano asked Katsuko. "Of course, Let me just...Urgh..!" She moved and she instantly felt pain. She can see everyone''s worried look. "Don''t worry, I might have done something wrong. The carriage was moving the whole time and it didn''t hurt at all" She raised herself slowly, The three of them helped her to step out of the carriage. "Okay... Let me stand on my own.." Katsuko says. They slowly let go of her. "See? No problem!" She smiled as if she has nothing to worry about. "Katsuko-san, It might not hurt now, but it will later. You got hit three times, That''s not something to take so lightly" Hiro looked worried, but her smile didn''t disappear. "I know!" She answered. They heard Jin laughed. "No such silly small wounds can bring down the Hasegawa family! Even I survived a sword stab bigger than those!" He shouted. "That''s right!" Katsuko happily nodded. Hiro just scratched his head, laughing a bit. "I don''t know, But alright..." He says. Then one of the soldiers called out with the PPSH-41 on his hand. "Commander Yagano, You forgot this!" He extends his arm to hand the gun. "Oh, Thanks. Almost forgot about that" Yagano took the gun. "I''m going to test this out later!" He said as he looked at the gun, There was a slight excitement in his voice. "Yes! Let''s try that later! Onee-chan, You have the other one, right?!" Ayumi excitedly asked. "U-Uh, Yeah.." Chiho pulled out her handgun. "Whoa, You had a fucking gun the whole time?" Mariko was surprised. "Y-Yeah? Haven''t I told you yet?" Chiho asked. "No" Mariko shook her head. "Alright, Everything good? We''re outta here!" Jin made sure the group is out before starting to move out. All was left was the group. "Alright, Let''s get in" Gentaro approached and opened the door to the inn. The usual chatter greets them. "Welcome... My! Gentaro-sama! What brings you here!" Suzuka was visibly happy. "Hey, Suzuka-chan" Gentaro raised his right hand as they walk in. "E-Even Commander Yagano?!" Haruki shouted from the bar. "Hey.." Yagano was surprised at her energy. "I have something to talk about" Gentaro looked all serious, that it looked like it was something serious. "Eh?!" Suzuka''s smile fades. "I wanted a room for Yagano-san and Katsuko-san" He says. "C-Can''t we just stay on Chiho''s room?" Katsuko asked. "No, I don''t think we''ll fit there" Chiho answered. "Ah, I see..." Katsuko looked a little bit sad. "H-Hey, I can move to the other room so you can be with your mother" Mariko tapped Chiho''s shoulder. "So you can stay with Ya-chan?" Ayumi spoke with a silly face. "Sh-Shut up! I''m just being kind!" Mariko blushed. "How can you say that when his wife is around?!" She shouted. "Ho... A lot of young women wanted to be with Yagano, So that''s not surprising" Katsuko answered. "Eh..?" Mariko looked at her. "That''s why I have to look after him" Katsuko smiled at Yagano. "You''re my only love, Katsuko" Yagano says, making her giggle. "A-Alright then. Thankfully, The room next to Chiho-san''s is still vacant. You can take it" Suzuka says as she took out the key and placed it into the desk. "Thanks, Suzuka-chan. I''ll make sure to make up the pay" Gentaro lightly bowed. "I-It''s fine! You don''t have to worry about it!" Suzuka shook her hand. Gentaro picked up the key and hands it to Yagano. "You lead them, Chiho-san. We''ll stay here" Gentaro says. "Okay, Our room is upstairs" Chiho walked to the hall, They followed her upstairs. Up there, they stopped in front of their door. "This is ours, I''m guessing this is the other one?" Chiho looked at the next door. "Yeah, Let me see" Yagano walked near the door and inserted the key, He unlocked the door. "Yeah, This is it" He opened the door to see inside, It was similar to Chiho''s room. They all walked inside. "Wow, It looks just like what we have" Mariko looked everywhere. "I guess all of the rooms are the same?" Ayumi says. "Yeah, I guess so..." Mariko answered. Katsuko slowly lied down on the two-person bed. Then she looked at Mariko. "Don''t worry, you can stay with Chiho. We''ll be fine here" She said. "A-Alright" Mariko answered. "Are you disappointed?" Katsuko asked with a smile. "W-What are you saying?" Mariko blushed. "Come on, enough of that. I also wanted to lie down for a bit" Yagano walked to lay down beside Katsuko. "Then we''ll be on our way" Chiho nodded and they walked out of the room. "O-Oh... By the way, there are some clothes for you to change" Mariko looked back to tell them. "Ah, I see. That''s good" Yagano stood up. "Then, I''m out" Mariko closed the door and proceeded to their room. She stopped at the doorway. "Hey! The fuck you lying down for?! We still have some training to do!" She shouted at two, who was also lying down to their bed. "Hey! Show that attitude of yours to Ya-chan!" Ayumi was annoyed by her shout. "I can''t! Move yourselves away from bed!" Mariko shouted still. "Well, Whatever" Ayumi stood up, Chiho did the same and they walked out of the room and went downstairs. They saw Gentaro and Suzuka having a conversation. "Hey. Leader-san. We''ll be outside again for training, Will you let us?" Mariko asked to Gentaro. "Ah, Your training. Yeah, Go on" Gentaro looked so busy talking with her. "Right, Thanks" Mariko thanked him. "Good luck on your trainings!" Suzuka waved at them, Ayumi waved back before running to catch up with the two. They looked beside the Inn to see the R37. It was parked neatly there. "I will be the driver!" Mariko ran to the R37 to be the one to drive it. "Don''t bump into the guards, alright?" Chiho says. "Yeah" Mariko took it seriously, making Ayumi giggle. Then they proceeded to the gate, told the guards their reason and went out to their spot and continued their training. 17 A Horrible Mistake "Haa..!" Five in the afternoon. On a certain spot within the Saijun borders, The loud clashing of the real weapons and the girls'' shouts are echoing in the air. The three girls have been training the whole day, taking breaks by going inside the village to buy something to eat and go back to their usual place to eat them while sitting on the green field. Until the sun started to fall, they started to lessen their activities. "Last one!" Mariko was still energetic unlike the two. "This is the last one... I wanted to go home" Chiho pants heavily, after that she made her stance. "Alright, Come!" She shouted at Mariko. "Then..!" Mariko charges towards her. Even though She was jumping at every start, Chiho still watches her carefully. "Hrah..!" This last time, Mariko didn''t jump and started with a default swing. She swung her axe diagonally towards Chiho. Her attack was slow and predictable that Chiho could easily read her. Chiho aimed to catch the axe by under its blade, She raised her long axe at the right time and caught it. Chiho grunts as she led Mariko''s axe to the ground, Then she used her axe''s knob to hit Mariko''s stomach. "Urgh..!" Mariko was audibly hurt as she got pushed back. "You''re done!" Chiho shouted, surprising Mariko. Chiho rotates her axe, then swings it on Mariko''s feet. "Whoa..!" It was strong enough to send her feet away from the ground. She fell down with a loud thud. "That was amazing!" Ayumi shouted. Chiho sat down then lie down with a loud exhale. "I''m so tired" Chiho closed her eyes. "That''s so unfair, though.." Ayumi sat beside her. "What''s unfair? You couldn''t get to fight with me?" Mariko raised herself to sit. "Yeah, I wish I could fight you" Ayumi looked at the chains of her weapon. "Yeah, I wish that aswell. But it''s too dangerous, I might get hit for real... There''s no other way to use that, right? You throw it at the enemy, not the axe, but the enemy themself" Mariko looked up to the sky. "It''s getting dark, isn''t it? Let''s go back to the inn" Mariko stood up. "Yeah, Let''s" Chiho lazily stood up. "You''re driving us back, Mariko.. I''m too tired to drive" Chiho said as they walk to the R37. "Leave it to me!" Mariko''s energy made Chiho even more tired. Once they got into the R37, Mariko started the engine and started moving. A Chilling wind blows at them as Chiho and Ayumi started to get sleepy. Chiho tried to fight off her drowsiness, but she keeps failing as her eyes are closing on their own and her head keeps falling. Seeing no other choices, Chiho moved up her right leg to the other side, like how the driver seats. Then without a second thought, She wrapped her arms around Mariko''s waist and rests her head on her back. "W-Whoa! Hey!" Mariko blushed as she tried to look back. "The hell are you doing?" She looked at Chiho''s hands, There was no visible strength so she knew Chiho was resting on her. "Geez, Don''t do that, Or I might fall asleep too..." She spoke, But no one even reacted. She looked over to Ayumi, to see her sleeping too. "Goddamn..." Mariko slowed down the R37 as to not accidentally wake them up. Due to her slowing down, The intensity of the engine lessens. Other than that, It was a total silence. She even tried to listen closely for any explosion in the direction of Tsuchiya... Not even an explosion. "Haa..." She sighed. She felt Chiho''s head becoming heavier and heavier as time passes by. She looked back to see her orange hair waves as the wind hits them at their speed. "We did nothing this day but to pretend to be enemies, huh?" She laughed a bit. After a few minutes, they arrived at the gates. "Welcome back, Mariko-san" The guard on the left peeked at Chiho resting on Mariko. "A Tiresome day, huh?" The guard smiled. "Hah, Yeah.." Mariko laughed a bit. After a few seconds, The gate stopped moving. "You can go now" The guard said. "Oh, Thanks" Mariko thought it will fully open, but it was just enough for them to fit through. They went in and reached the inn. "Hey, you two" Mariko woke them up, She shook her body to awake Chiho. The two silently stepped out of the R37 as Mariko watch them. "Even if I am tired, I won''t be looking like that" Mariko scratched her head. The two followed Mariko behind inside the Inn. The people inside were few so the inn isn''t causing too much noise. "Welcome! My! Those two look so sleepy!" Suzuka welcomed them with a smile. The two walked ahead of Mariko as she closes the door. "Hey, Suzuka-san. Yeah, These two slept on a short trip, interrupting their rest quickly" Mariko laughed a bit. As the two walked past Suzuka, A girl with short white hair came out of the kitchen. "Oh? Who''s this?" Mariko saw that she was wearing a brown apron, so her first thought was she is their staff. "I''m Alice Turner, Nice to meet you" The girl introduced. "W-Whoa! A different accent and a complete western-y name!" Mariko shouted in surprise "Yes! Ali-chan immigrated from the West! The Village of Wealth, to be exact! She came here because of her mother! Her mother is a Saijun!" Suzuka happily told Mariko about Alice. Then Mariko observed Alice again. She noticed she doesn''t show much expression for, About as tall as Chiho... nothing really special... Maybe her white hair. "When I hear westerns, I think of yellow hairs. Why don''t you have one?" She asked Alice. "Not all of us have blonde parents" She replied. "Oh? Blonde, was it? That''s how you call those yellow hairs?" Mariko remembered the word, Alice nodded. "I see... Well, I have to go. See ya" Mariko raised her left hand as she turns to the hall and walked. "Sleeping already? Good night!" Suzuka looked at her to say good night. Upon reaching the doorknob of their door, It was locked. "The hell?" She looked down and the lights were on. "Those goddamn sleepy heads" Mariko scratched her head, then she saw the door next to them open and heard a conversation on the next door. "I..I guess I can sleep there..." She didn''t want to disturb the two anymore so she chose to sleep next door. "Um.. Excuse me..?" She slowly opened the door, She saw Yagano and Katsuko talking to each other while on the same bed. "Oh? Mariko-san? What do you need?" The two looked at her and Yagano asked. "Um... Chiho and Ayumi locked me out, maybe because they''re half asleep... And I don''t want to disturb them anymore, Can I sleep here?" She shyly asked. "Of course, no one is sleeping on that bed" Katsuko pointed at the other bed. "Thank you..." Mariko walked in and locked the door. She sighed, It was loud enough for the two to hear her. "A heck of a training, I guess?" Yagano smiled at her. "Yes, I didn''t know Chiho could fight back like a proper soldier... It tires me every time she blocks off my attacks and counters me" Mariko sighed as she dropped her axe on top of a drawer. Then She took the last clothes and wore them without removing her usual clothing. "I thought I will have to get out" Yagano laughed. Making Mariko blush. "W-Well... I was supposed to remove them, But Chiho told me about u-underwear and stuff" She shyly said. "Is that so... Yeah, To us Southern people, Most of the Northern always looked like on their underwear at all times" Yagano laughed a bit. "Well, That''s where you''re wrong" Mariko looked a little bit teased as she lied down to her bed. "Sleeping already? How about we take our supper down the bar? I heard they are also cooking" Yagano suggested. "Honey, She''s tired, let her rest" Katsuko worries about her. "W-Well, I''m not really that tired..." Mariko answered. "See? It''ll take ten mountains to tire out a northern! Then, let''s get going!" Yagano stood up while Katsuko slowly stands up. Mariko stood up with a grunt. "Ah... Wonder what to eat.." Yagano looked up as to think of something. "I got to try their omelette rice, It was really delicious. You might want to try that" Mariko suggested the omulette rice. "Omelette rice?" Yagano and Katsuko looked at her. "Yes, An egg-filled rice, Wait.. A rice-filled egg.. rice inside an egg... It''s good" Mariko stumbled with her words. "I like eggs, I''ll try that one" Katsuko made her choice. "Then, I will have the same! How about you, Mariko-san?" Yagano asked. "Well, I''ll have to ask what else they cook" She answered. "Alright, then! Let''s go!" They went out of the room and went downstairs. "Good Evening, Comma...Yagano-san! Katsuko-san, Mariko-san" Suzuka greeted them as she saw them approaching. "Hey, Suzuka-san. Can we eat tonight?" Yagano asked, Suzuka visibly became happy. "Of course! Please take a seat on the bar and Haru will take care of you!" Suzuka lays her hand towards the bar. "Thanks" Yagano thanked her and they went to take a seat to the bar, Haruki was there, arms crossed and looking somewhat proud. The three watch her stand there while they fix their seat. "What can a great cook do for you?" She said. "We would like two rice omelette please" Yagano ordered two. "Aye! So you''re trying out our special dish already, huh? You''re lucky to get it for free!" Haruki looked so happy. "Special? The hell kind of great cook would specialize egg and rice?" Mariko teased her with a serious look. "Shut up, Northern! The omelette had the most customer, It''s the best selling yet in our menu!" Haruki puffs her chest. "Right... Can I see what else you cook?" Mariko asked. "The menu? Here... It''s called menu, I just mentioned it" Haruki handed over a single paper. "This is the menu? It''s a paper" Mariko observed the menu. "As long as it contains the list of food available, It is a menu. We just opened the kitchen so we still don''t have a proper one" Haruki answered. "Riiight...." Mariko speaks as her eyes scan the menu. She spotted the word ''rare''. "Medium rare steak?" She reads the name. "Hey, I would like this rare one" She took the steak. The word ''rare'' interests her. "Oh? Willing to taste western food? Then I will have Ali-chan cook for you!" Haruki went out with a glass of beer and went to an occupied table then proceeds to the kitchen. The three talks while they wait for their food. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Hey, Mariko-san. What do you think of Chiho?" Yagano asked as he looks at her. "Chiho, huh?" Mariko imagined Chiho. "I don''t know, Childish?" Her answer made the two laugh. "Yes, Chiho is childish at some time" Katsuko said. "Hm..." Yagano thinks. "Especially when it comes to waking her up, That''s the first time I ever have saw that side of her. Sometimes she acts like one when something doesn''t agree with her... But besides that, She''s... Kinda into getting strong, you know why" Mariko remembered Chiho''s face while they''re training, She was so focused on every move Mariko does. "I gotta tell, I can feel the experience of your training within her. She''s not used on holding a long axe, But she knows how to defend herself" Mariko scratched her head, remembering her failed attacks. "Yes, the first thing I taught her was reaction. With her quick response to the enemy''s attack, She can avoid the attack completely and disarm them... I wonder if she''s going to be alright with an axe? I prefer swords, to be honest" Yagano liked the swords more. "Well, We just borrowed them from Leader-san. So we had no choice" Mariko answered. "Hmph... Gentaro is getting interested with northern stuff now?" Yagano crossed his arms. "We fought nothing but swords, Why does he have an axe with him?" He continued. "D-Does it matter? Was using a sword is part of your culture or something?" Mariko saw him and asked. "Well, kinda... I mean, No one here at south has ever used an axe as a weapon. Nor do the West and East" Yagano answered. "I thought the East also used axe as their weapons?" Mariko asked. "Not when the North punished them for losing the great war. They avoided everything that resembles the norths, they started to make their own weapons like that long wood with a curved blade. You saw one?" Yagano asked. "Curved... Yeah, kinda..." Mariko taps the table as she thinks of the weapon. "Well, that aside... Don''t worry about the axes, I have no problems with it" Yagano grinned. "How about Ayumi-chan? I also heard she was taking part in your training... Isn''t she too young for that? I mean, She''s not Yagano" Katsuko looked at Yagano. "What?" He looked back. "Well, She handled a chained weapon better than I do. So that kinda makes her not so young" Mariko was a little bit jealous. "Hm... Chained sickle, is it?" Yagano nodded and rubs his chin. "Hmm... I only know one who can handle a chained sickle, But he''s not used to it. How well did Ayumi use it?" Yagano asked. "Well, Without telling her how, She managed to recover the sickle after throwing it from a distance... Even how she did it amazes me. But I''m pretty sure that''s in the training only... She would panic when it''s the actual battle" Mariko chuckles. "Nah, I bet you five golds, She will be excited to use it without holding back" Yagano pointed a finger to Mariko. "Huh, You might be right..." Mariko looked to the ground. "Then, Ten golds! She will hit most of her allies!" She shouted. "Twenty-five golds, the Saijun army will be wiped out!" Yagano shouted. "Hundred golds! she''ll be joining the enemy due to multiple friendly hits!" Mariko shouted. "Thousands of golds! She''ll be quitting the battle and join a neutral country because of how bad she is!" Yagano shouted. "Fuck tons of golds, The country she''s in will have a huge conflict between people whether to let her stay!" Mariko shouted. "All of the world''s natural gold ores, Everyone will be declaring war on her due to no matter where she goes, she hits her friends!" Seeing the two jokingly betting, Katsuko just smiled at them and before they knew it, They just became buddies. After a few minutes, Their dishes finally arrived. Haruki was carrying the two omelette with Alice carrying Mariko''s steak. "Damn, That took too long for an egg" Mariko scratched her head. "We wanted to serve it together with your steak" Alice answered as she placed the plate in front of Mariko. "T-The hell?! Isn''t this raw?! It''s pink!" Mariko saw the slices. "It''s red" Alice responded. "No, It''s pink!" Mariko started to argue. "It''s red" Alice responded. "Pink!" "Red" The two argued about the color. "Aren''t you from the north? Why are you complaining about raw foods?" Alice asked. "Yeah, Head butt me!" Mariko angrily responded. Alice sighed. "Didn''t you asked for a medium-rare? Oh, yeah.. You''re a northern" Alice says. The three started to notice her disliking towards northern. "Trust me, It''s different from a raw steak. But let it stay for five minutes" Alice moved the plate as to gesture that she should wait. "I''m going to wait again? You western people annoy me!" Mariko straightly tells her that. "...It''ll be all tender and juicy if you wait" Alice looked like she was hurt by her words, but she quickly puts up her usual expressionless look. Though, Mariko quickly noticed her. "F-Fine, I''ll wait, It better be good" She crossed her arms and looked away. "Then if you don''t mind, we should start eating" Yagano asked. "Yeah, Yeah! Go on, don''t worry!" The two eats way slow anyway due to them talking, Mariko was able to catch up with them after five minutes. "It should be good now" Alice moved the plate a bit. "Thanks. Wait... Have you been standing there the whole time?" Mariko asked, But Alice just stared at her. "Whatever..." Mariko took a slice and stuff it in her mouth. "Mm!" Mariko''s eyes sparkled as she chews. "Whoa!" Mariko gulped down and looked at the slices. "Is it good?" Alice asked. "Yeah! It is!" Mariko answered as she took another slice and stuffed it into her mouth. "I see, That''s a relief" Alice smiled. "Whoa! Smile! You smiled!" Mariko pointed a finger to her as she takes another slice, then she quickly looked up. "I''m happy" Alice states. "W-Well, Yeah. I can see that..." Mariko laughed at the obvious. "My mother doesn''t like them. It''s because, like you, She thought it was raw and refused to eat them. At one point, I still cooked her this and she just went mad and threw it away..." Alice tells a sad moment. "W-Wow... (That was unexpected!)" Mariko was surprised at a sudden topic. "I was afraid that no one will like it, but here you are" Alice smiled. "Y-Yeah, Despite the color. It''s actually good" Mariko looked at her and Alice nodded. "Though, I''m from the north, So I guess I don''t count" Mariko grinned. "Nope, I also heard you grew up here in the south. So you do count" Alice shook her head. "Damn, They told you everything about me, huh?" Mariko looked to Suzuka, She hid her face with a book. Mariko just sighed. "Good for you, Alice-chan! This really does taste good! Everyone will like this for sure once they got to try!" The two also tried it and were astonished. "Thank you very much, Yagano-san" Alice bowed. They finished their dish and went back to their room to call it a day. As usual as ever, Mariko woke up first the next day. She raised herself up to see Yagano and Katsuko still asleep. She thinks to herself; How if she tries to sleep again. She laid down once more and closed her eyes but she felt no sleepiness at all. "mm..." She grunts as she gets annoyed about not being able to sleep back. "I can''t do it" She whined. She stood up and went for the door. "Oh? You''re already awake?" Yagano suddenly spoke, Mariko got surprised and looked back. "A-Ah.. Yeah, I usually wake up around this time... You wake up early too, huh?" Mariko thought she was the only one. "Yeah, Duties. I am used to waking up early. Heck sometimes we are on duties at night and we sleep in the morning" Yagano stood up. He looked over to Katsuko to see that she''s sleeping peacefully. "That''s so hard... How can you even guard the towers if you''re all sleepy?" Mariko asked. "Nope, They train soldiers to be all awake at nights" Yagano answered. "Ah, Is that so..." Mariko looked at the doorknob. "You''re going out for a walk? If so, Then I''ll go back to sleep again" Yagano laid back to sleep. Mariko looked back and felt like sleeping too. "Urgh..." She didn''t know what to do, so she heads for the bed again. "Hm? You''re going to sleep too?" Yagano heard her falls to her bed. "Yeah" her voice was muffled as she was lying on her stomach and her face is stuffed on the pillow. A few seconds, she jolted up and quickly catches for air. Then she fixed herself and closed her eyes once more. Later that time, The sun rose and Mariko was still peacefully sleeping. "Father?! Where''s Mariko?!" Chiho knocked to their door with a panicked voice. She continuously knocked until Yagano and Katsuko were awaken. Yagano walked to the door and opened to see Chiho and Ayumi looking so worried. "Where''s Mariko?!" Chiho asked. "A-Ah, Yeah. She slept here" Yagano stepped aside for them to see Mariko sleeping. Chiho sighed. "She said you locked her out and she doesn''t want to disturb you, so she asked to sleep here instead" Yagano looked at Chiho. "Ah... I''m so sorry, Mariko-san" Chiho rubbed her face with both of her hands. "Just what happened?" Yagano asked. "W-Well... I thought she was with us when we walked in the room, so I locked it and went to sleep" Chiho explained. "I remembered it all, I was so sleepy, I noticed that she wasn''t with us but all I thought was to lie on the bed" Ayumi backs her up. "Sheesh, you two..." Yagano scratched his head. "Well, Whatever you do now, She''s sleeping over there" He looked at Mariko. "Oh! Good morning, Ka-chan!" Ayumi saw Katsuko on the bed, looking at them. "Mother! Good morning!" Chiho also greeted and Katsuko waved back. "Oh, by the way... Did Mariko wake up early? We were supposed to have more training!" Ayumi looked at Mariko. "Yeah, She did. But she went back to sleep again" Yagano answered. "Oh? So she can sleep again too!" Ayumi said. "She was about to head out of the room, but after I talked to her, She went back to bed" Yagano said. "Well, wake her up! I want training!" Ayumi shouted. Then She went inside and shook Mariko. "Hey, Wake up!" She shouted. Mariko quickly became annoyed and tried to shook off Ayumi. "Fuck off..." Mariko turned her back to Ayumi. "Hey!" Ayumi slapped Mariko''s cheek, making her jump up. "Ow! The hell?!" Mariko touched her cheek and looked at Ayumi. "The hell you want?" She asked. "It''s morning! training! It is training!" Ayumi raised her arms. "Ah, geez..." Mariko scratched her eyes with a yawn. "Sleeping back really isn''t my shit..." She lazily stepped on the floor to stand. "What a harsh way to wake up someone, Ayumi-chan" Yagano said. "What? I can''t shake her awake, how else am I going to wake her up?!" Ayumi angrily answered. "Anyway, Anyhow! Let''s go now!" Ayumi ran towards the door. "Alright..." Mariko removed the inn''s clothes and prepared to head out. They went downstairs and took breakfast. Then they head out. At the front of the Inn. They looked at each other. "I and your mother will take a walk, You''re heading outside right now?" Yagano asked. "Yeah! We are! See you later! Ya-chan, Ka-chan!" Ayumi waved at them as she ran towards the R37. "Take care, alright? Be careful not to hit each other!" Katsuko warned them. "Yes! We''ll be careful!" Mariko nodded. "Then, We''ll get going now" Chiho nodded and they went to their R37 with Ayumi already on the sidecar. "You drive, Chiho... I don''t feel like driving" Mariko sat behind the driver. "Oh? Did you ate something weird?" Chiho smirked. "No, But you disturbed my sleep. My head''s aching as a motherfucker" Mariko touched her head. "I see.." Chiho said as she took the seat and starts the engine. They accelerated and Ayumi looked back to wave at Yagano and Katsuko hearing their vehicle. Ayumi saw that Yagano was gesturing them to stop and come back. "Onee-chan! Wait!" Ayumi shouted, Chiho looked at her and pressed on the brake. "What? You forgot something?" Chiho asked. "I think Ya-chan wants to say something!" Ayumi pointed back. "Oh, You''re right..." Chiho looked at Yagano throwing his hands on the air trying to make them come back. They head back to them. "What is it, Father?" Chiho stopped the R37 beside them. "I forgot I was carrying this" Yagano raised the PPSH. "I wished to test it outside!" There was a hint of excitement on his voice. "Yeah! Let''s!" Mariko became excited. "Then! Let''s go!" Yagano walked near the sidecar. "You sit on my lap, Ayumi-chan. Katsuko will sit beside Mariko-san" Yagano says. "Okay!" Ayumi stepped out for Yagano to get in then she sat on his lap. "M-Mother? You''re going too?! How about your wounds?!" Chiho worries. "Don''t worry! Just go slow and I''ll be fine. I heard this one is smoother than carriages" Katsuko walked near. "May I?" She looked at Mariko and asked. "A-Ah, Yeah..." Mariko moved towards Chiho a bit. "Father? Don''t you want to drive?" Chiho asked as Katsuko sat beside Mariko. "Nah, I pass" Yagano shook his head. "Alright..." Chiho accelerates and noticed something. "W-Whoa, It became heavy!" She noticed the usual speed of the R37 lessens. "Perhaps your father has been eating too much" Katsuko smiled. "No, Katsuko. We are just too many" Yagano answered with a smile. The three girls giggled. Upon reaching the gate, The guards noticed that Yagano was with them. "Good morning, Commander Yagano. You''re going with them, i see" The guard on the left greets. "Yeah, Gotta try something" Yagano answered. The guard on the right shouted to open the gate and the gate made a loud noise before opening slowly. They waited in silence, Then the gate opened enough for them to fit. "Be careful out there, Don''t run into any enemies" The guard on the left says. "Thank you" Chiho thanked him before heading out. "Are we leaving the borders?" Yagano asked. "No, It''s a little bit far, but not outside their borders" Mariko answered. After a few minutes, they arrived at their spot, near the tree stump. "We''re here!" Ayumi took the chained sickle and the long axe that was resting on the sidecar. They all stepped out of the R37. "A comfy place you got here!" Yagano sat on the stump and looked around. "Good thing you haven''t been met an enemy around here" He looked at the direction to the Tsuchiya. "Right! Let''s test this beast" Yagano stood up with his PPSH. "There''s one more log here" Mariko looked behind Yagano and saw one last log. "Maybe you can test that thing with this?" She picked it up and showed it to Yagano. "Yeah, That should be fine. Place it somewhere far" Yagano nodded and Mariko walked away to place the log. "Is this fine?!" Mariko shouted. "Too far!" Yagano shouted. "Damn..." Mariko picked up the log and moved closer. "Is this fine?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, Good enough" Yagano made a thumbs up. Mariko ran to Yagano''s side. "Alright, Girls. This should be loud" Yagano warned them as he prepares to press the trigger. Katsuko covered her ears and the three didn''t. "Here goes..." Yagano slowly pressed the trigger. The PPSH loudly shot one round, Its force shook Yagano whole. "So strong!" Yagano didn''t expect it to shake that much, He looked at the gun as the girls got deafened. "It''s not as loud as their plane" Mariko says. "Of course, That one sounds all so loud in the air, How if it''s in the ground" Yagano prepares to shoot again. "I saw that soldier rapidly shoots... Maybe I''ll try holding this down" Yagano thought to himself. Then He fired the gun again, This time he fired more than one round. Its intense recoil makes him lose his accuracy and sent the bullets everywhere. He stopped before he loses control of the gun. "Ah..." Yagano sighed. Then he walked to the log to see how many times he hits. "Two..." He saw two holes. "They managed to shoot the last three bullets to Katsuko... They do know how to handle these properly" He looked at the PPSH. "Hm..." He walked back to them. "Alright, We''ve been loud enough. You do your training now" Yagano sat on the stump and placed the gun on the ground. "Will you watch us, Father?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, Let me see how you do against Mariko-san" Yagano nodded. "Then!" Chiho looked at Ayumi and placed her right hand in front of her. "Good luck!" Ayumi handed over the long axe. "Let''s see how you do now..." Mariko took off hers and moved away. "Aren''t they going to hit each other?" Katsuko asked Yagano as they watch them. "Nah, They went home without a scratch yesterday, so..." Yagano answered as he moved a little bit for her to sit. "Ah..." Katsuko sat down with him. "Oh? What about you, Ayumi-chan?" Yagano saw Ayumi sit on the ground beside them. "Mariko doesn''t want me to join" She pouted. "Oh, Is it because of your weapon?" Katsuko asked. "Yeah" Ayumi nodded. "Haah..!" Mariko''s shout made them look. Their weapon hits together, letting out a loud clang. "Oh! Chiho held her attack, She even jumped!" Yagano watched them closely. Mariko took a step back as her attack got blocked but quickly charged again. "Not yet!" She shouted as she used full strength. She swung her axe down to Chiho. "...!" Chiho blocked her attack by holding her weapon horizontal, But she almost loses her grip with the axe. "I''m not done yet!" Mariko held Chiho''s axe and swings the axe towards Chiho. "Ah..!" Chiho quickly lowered her head. Seeing the chance, Chiho used her head to hit and push back Mariko. "Urgh..!" Mariko let go of her axe and staggered back. "Damn it, You really like hitting my stomach, huh?" Mariko rubbed her stomach. "But I''m not stopping!" Mariko charged and continued to swing her axe as Chiho evades them. "Ha..! What are you going to do?!" Mariko shouted as she tries to hit Chiho. "...Now!" Chiho waited for her to land an attack. and before she can regain from the attack, Chiho hits her face with the knob of her axe. "Ow!" Mariko didn''t expect the attack and loses focus. "You''re done!" Chiho shouted as she hits Mariko to her stomach with the back of the head. "Akh..!" Mariko let out a noise as she lowered her body with her hands on her stomach. "Ha..!" Chiho swings the back of the blade towards her feet, Mariko fell into the ground. "After that, I can behead you anytime" Chiho stands her axe beside her. "Goddamn..." Mariko rolled herself to see Chiho. "Have mercy with my stomach" Mariko whined. "S-Sorry..." Chiho crouched. "Are you okay? Did I hit you so badly?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, Pretty much... I hope you were holding back" Mariko raised herself up. "Are you done?!" Yagano asked. They looked at him. "I''m up for another one!" Mariko stood up. "Alright!" Chiho moved away. "Alright, Here''s more..." Yagano says. "Isn''t Mariko-san hurt? It looks like Chiho hits her pretty hard" Katsuko looked worried. "Nah, She''s good" Yagano answered. "Hey, Chiho. How about you try attacking?" Mariko suggested. "Attacking? Alright!" Chiho prepares. "Here I come!" Chiho charged. "Heh..." Mariko watched her closely. "Haa..!" Holding the axe with both of her hands, Chiho swung the axe down. "Too slow!" Mariko moved beside Chiho to avoid her attack. "Hah..!" Chiho used her body to stagger back Mariko. "Whoa!" Mariko got pushed back, losing her balance. "Haa..!!" Chiho swings her axe towards Mariko, almost slashing her neck. "Whoa! That''s enough, Chiho!" Yagano shouted. Katsuko and Ayumi gasped at the near-accident. The two looked at them. "You almost killed Mariko there! Had me dying instead!" Yagano sighed as he walked towards them. "Y-Yeah, you almost got me there, Chiho, holy shit.." Mariko pants. "I-I''m sorry..." Chiho apologized. "Ah, Damn... You shouldn''t be so reckless, Such thi-" "Ya-chan!" Yagano was interrupted by Ayumi''s shout. "Ya-chan! She''s!" Ayumi looked at Katsuko. "Katsuko!" Yagano shouted as he saw her struggling. They ran to her side. "Your wounds!" Yagano saw her bleeding. "It suddenly hurts" Katsuko looked up to Yagano. "We need to return to the village, Let''s get out of here!" Yagano''s about to carry Katsuko, until they heard an engine noise coming near. "What''s that?!" Chiho shouted as they looked at the direction of the sound. "Is that..?" They saw an incoming vehicle, It was moving fast. "W-We have to go!" Yagano picked Katsuko up, But the vehicle was already near. Then It stopped before them. It was a BA-64. Its engine was changed to accelerate faster, thus, reaching them quickly. "Oh no!" Ayumi quickly saw the red star on its side and hid behind the group. A girl quickly came out and points a handgun at them. Chiho noticed she has the same gun. "§²§å§Ü§Ú §Ó§Ó§Ö§â§ç! Put your fucking hands up!" She shouted. They quickly recognized her uniform as the Prohorovkan. "What did I tell you?! Hands up now!" Her shout made them put their hands up. "Tsk..." Mariko uttered. "I was about to head this way until I heard shots. I had to radio back to HQ!" She was visibly angry. "They said there is currently nobody in this area, So I had to look for myself" She talked while observing the whole group. "Now all I saw was two idiots fighting... Just where the fuck those shots came from? I''m very certain it''s this way. Either someone got lost and got attacked or was lost and firing their weapon to signal us" She continued. "And either way, it''s gotta be one of us. But HQ said there is no one here and even I saw no one" The girl kept showing she was suspicious of everything. "Now, the only thing left is you!" She shouted. "Please, My wife is bleeding here. Let us go" Yagano begged the girl, surprising them. "I don''t give a shit, Want me to make it better?" She pointed her gun at Katsuko. "W-Wait!" Yagano moved Katsuko behind him. "Heh, If not, Shut the fuck up and let her bleed" The girl pointed at Chiho this time. But She saw the PPSH lying on the ground, Which enraged her even more. "What''s that doing there?!" She angrily asked. "S-Someone dropped it!" Chiho desperately lied. "Yeah, Wanna go to a lost-and-found? You fucking liars!" She shouted. "Look, Let''s just-" "F-Fuck off!" Mariko approached the girl and pats her shoulder, But the girl became frightened and brushed off her arm and shoots her in the chest. "Ahk..!" Mariko quickly placed a hand to the wound, but she didn''t lose her balance. "Mariko!" "Mariko-san!" They shouted her name. Chiho then looked at the frightened girl, She looked surprised. "You..." Mariko looked at her bloody hands, Then She felt the wound. "Argh...!" Then She slowly looked up the girl with a surprised look. "Haah..." She felt the burning pain again and suddenly got enraged. "Kuh... You!" Mariko angrily looked at the girl. The girl got scared of her look. "W-What''s with that look?! Stay back!" The girl pointed the gun at her. "You.. You... I said let''s just talk about this..." Mariko slowly walks towards her. "Mariko! Ah!" Chiho was about to run at Mariko but the girl shot the ground in front of her. "Why did you-" Before Mariko could finish, The girl shot her again. "S-Shut up!" She shouted. "Haah.... Haah...!" Mariko maintained her eyes on her. "You.. Fuck you!" Mariko jumped at the girl. "No!" The girl shot her again but she landed on her anyways. "Ha..HAAAAAAA!!!" The girl shouted in agony as Mariko bites the right side of her neck while pinning her down. After that, Mariko bites deep inside her skin and forcefully pulled her head away from the girl. "HAAAA!!" The girl cried in shock as blood gushed out from her neck. The group couldn''t believe what they just saw, Ayumi vomited on the side. "M-Mariko!" Chiho covered her mouth. Bloods pouring out from Mariko''s mouth as she grits her teeth. She took out her axe and held the girl''s head. "Stop!!" The girl cried. Mariko forcefully pulled her head left, making more blood come out. Mariko grunts as she hits the wound multiple times, wanting to behead her. Few hits already made the girl die in shock. "E-Enough!" Chiho threw herself at Mariko. They both fell into the ground. "Please, Stop!" Chiho hugged her, to stop her from moving further aswell. "She... She deserved that.. Heh.." Mariko laughed a bit. "Her blood''s delicious... Chiho, Let me bite you too!" Mariko whispered. "Whoa!" Chiho looked at her, to see her smiling. "Just kidding..." Mariko pulled her cheeks. "D-Don''t scare me like that!" Chiho moved away. "Ah.. Damn it.." Mariko stood up and used the girl''s uniform to wipe off the blood from her mouth. "W-What did you just did?! Mariko?!" Yagano looked so confused. "I''m sorry, ... Let''s not talk about that for now and think what are we going to do about this" They looked at the dead body. 19 Powers and Magics The next day, Mariko woke up on her usual time and didn''t get to sleep back due to overthinking. Instead, She spent the time down on the bar. Instead of seeing Suzuka first in her usual spot, there was nobody. She walked further and saw Alice standing inside the bar. "Oh? Alice-san, Good morning... What are you doing there?" She asked as she took a sit in front of her. "Good morning. Suzu-chan and Haru-chan aren''t here, as you can see. They both argued and I told them both to go" Alice answered. "Y-You?" Mariko gave her a curious look. "Yes. Is there a problem with it?" Alice tilted her head way too much. "Uh... No, I mean you sounded like you just dominated your boss or something..." Mariko said. "Well, I shouted at them too. Does it count as domination?" Alice asked. "Y-You shouted? That doesn''t sound like you..." Mariko thinks of Alice''s quiet voice being loud. "Do you want to hear me shout?" Alice asked. "No thanks" Mariko quickly rejected. The silence built around them then. When Mariko saw Alice staring at her, She made it a boring staring contest. After few minutes, Mariko finally got tired. "...Aren''t you supposed to ask me for a drink? You can''t just stare at your customer" Mariko asked. "But you''re a friend, not a customer" Alice responded. "Huh? What''s your logic? I might be your friend, but I''m still a customer" Mariko looked a little bit annoyed. "Friend comes first before the customer" Alice said. "Look, Even if-" "Can I get you a drink?" Mariko was about to explain but Alice cuts her. Mariko sighed deeply. "...You have coffee or something?" Mariko rubs her own face with both of her palms. "We only have Hot chocolate for now" Alice said. "Yeah, That chocolate''s fine..." Mariko lays her head on the table with her arms hanging. "Then I''ll make you... You pay for it" Hearing Alice says about paying made Mariko quickly look at her with a worried look. "Just kidding..." Alice said as she felt her look and disappeared to the kitchen. "This goddamn west fucker..." Mariko returned to the lazy position. "Haaa....." Mariko sighs as her mind thinks of all the things. "Chu fucking yuan..." She thought of the Chu-yuan''s standing in the Tsukosa alliance. The Chus actually have big lands and has a bigger army compared to the other small countries. Making them the fourth country before the three big countries, The lastest considered was the Soma, then the Jima, then the Yugara before Chu-yuan. Despite being on the top of the small countries, Chu-yuan''s lack of cooperation made them drop down the standings. Their leader barely talks. Rarely goes out for the meetings of leaders made by the great leader. Has a dangerously growing group of unknown assassins that the leader doesn''t even care about. Mariko counts her suspicions on the Chu-yuan. "Hrm..." She grunted as she thinks deep. Sometimes, the other countries just think they are not the bright kind of a country. The kind that just wanted to be left alone, but still carries the loyalty towards their allies quietly. "Tsk..." Mariko uttered and sighs and she moved her head up to rest her chin on the table this time. She lazily looked at the wall. "Hurgh...." The feeling of knowing that she can die with a slight mistake overwhelmed her. "Hm...." And knowing the fact that you can only live once and everything will just disappear when you''re dead and you can''t just come back anymore. "Hmph... If that''s how it is, I will make sure they''ll get to taste it before I do" Mariko talked against her thoughts. With that, She sighed and just stared at the wall. Then suddenly a hand slams a glass of hot chocolate in front of her face. "Ah!" Mariko quickly backed off and saw Alice looking so hurt, she was touching her right foot. "S-Sorry, I tripped" She apologized. It took Mariko a few seconds to process. "Y-You okay?" She asked. "Yeah, Bumped on this stupid stool" Alice glared at the foot of the chair. "You... You should calm down" Mariko thought it was hilarious to see her get mad at an unliving thing. Then Alice looked at her and bowed. "I''m sorry... It looked like it splashed at your face" She apologized. "Not really. I was just surprised" Mariko smiled. "Oh? So it was really okay to splash it on your face?" Alice asked, looking a bit angry. "I-I told you it''s no worries" Mariko looked at her eyes. "I saw some splashed on your face... Are you saying I need to wear glasses now?" Alice continued, making Mariko sigh. "Just go the fuck away..." Mariko snatched the hot chocolate Alice was holding the whole time. "I have no other places to stay. My father died in my hometown and I only have my mother here" Alice said. Mariko started to think she was just teasing her rather than being an idiot. But being an idiot at the same time as she teases. She even bought a very sad and shocking news along with her joke. Mariko didn''t know how to react and stayed quiet. Then She stayed with Alice, feeling annoyed for the rest of the time. One hour later, The two girls arrived and Mariko quickly approached Suzuka. "Hey, The person you just hired in your Inn has some serious problem with her head. I think you should check on that" Mariko said, looking so pissed off. "Eh?" While feeling confused at the sudden approach, Suzuka just watched her walk away. "You hate me?" Alice asked and Mariko didn''t bother answering her and disappeared to go upstairs. She regretted going downstairs and slept back. A few hours later, Sun rose. The whole group went downstairs together. Alice ran to Mariko upon seeing her. "M-Mari-ch-... Mariko-san, I''m very sorry!" She said, looking so sad. "W-What? It''s not like I hate you or something..." Mariko quickly corrects her. "Did Alice-chan do something bad?" Yagano asked as he takes a seat in front of the bar. "N-Nothing, really" Mariko answered as she also took a seat. "I''m very sorry about our talk before" Alice followed Mariko. "I-It''s fine! Don''t drag yourself down, geez..." Mariko turned to look at her. "Right, I will start wearing glasses from now on" Alice said. "Oh no. Don''t, for goodness'' sake. If you really don''t need one, don''t" Mariko sighed. "Okay" Alice nodded. Then She asked the group for breakfast and they ate together, while they are eating, Chiho asked. "Why are we eating in a place for drinking alcohol?" and nobody ever spoke. After their breakfast, they went out of the Inn and while on the front, Yagano faced the girls. "Are you heading out for practice? I would feel bad if I were to prison you here just because of unsure doubts. But we have a problem with the Chu-yuan and i should not be allowing you to go outside right now, to avoid any problems, But... J-Just don''t talk or even approach someone you don''t know, especially if they looked like Chus. Just go away from them... Okay?" Yagano asked a promise. Instead of responding, Chiho and Ayumi worryingly looked at Mariko, who looked a little bit angry. "Girls?" Yagano saw them act strange. "A-Ah, yes, Father... We''ll be careful" Chiho answered and bow. "Chiho? Is something the matter?" Katsuko looked worried. "It''s fine! We''re just scared, you know... We have a problem with the Chus, you know?" Alice shooked both her hands. "Hm..." Katsuko didn''t quite believe her. "T-Then, We''ll get going!" Chiho started walking and the two followed. On the side of the Inn, near the R37. Chiho and Mariko stand there. "You drive, Chiho... In case of some chu motherfuckers ambush us or something, I will jump on ''em!" Mariko said. "A-Alright, I will drive but don''t do that" Chiho anxiously took the driver seat and Mariko sat behind her. Then they headed for the gate. On the gate, The guard on the left talks to them as usual. "Your father may have told you already, We have a growing suspicion against the Chu-yuan. Are you sure you''re going to head out? Did your father allowed you to?" He asked to Chiho. "Yes. He''s aware of our trip" She responded. "Is that so... Then, We have nothing left to do but say our wishes to avoid any more problems outside" The guard then looked at the other guard and nodded. The other guard then shouted an order and the gate slowly opened. On the field, Mariko asked Chiho. "Do you know the direction of the Chu-yuan?". "Yes, It''s this way" Chiho pointed in front of them. She was already heading there. Northwest of Saiju lies the Jima, then to the Northeast lies the Chu-yuan. They are heading in that direction. While accelerating, They someone with a black hood leaning on a tree, looking at the ground. "You see him?" Mariko whispered to Chiho. "Yes" Chiho nodded. "That must be an assassin... Approach him, but be cautious..." Mariko whispered. They saw his head turn at them. They saw the assassin''s face and they saw that it''s a girl. "Huh..." Mariko observed her. The assassin has pink hair poking out of her hood. Her face can be barely seen. She was wearing a hooded cape with pink lines that cover most of her body. "She... She looks scary!" Ayumi feared as she stares at the assassin. Once they got closer, The assassin moved away from the tree and they stopped in front of her. Her eyes quickly landed on Mariko. "No ride. Walk." The assassin has a mysterious yet soft voice. "Just close. No rides need" She continued. "S-So..." Mariko tried to ask Chiho but the assassin''s stare bothered her. "Don''t worry. Ride won''t be taken" The Assassin assured them. "I will find out who takes it then bring it back to you" She continued. "R-Right... Then..." Chiho puts a little trust and stepped out of the R37. Ayumi also stepped out of the sidecar. "Hey, Are you sure about this?" Mariko asked while still sitting. "We walk" The Assassin said to Chiho. "Tsk..." Mariko left the R37 with an utter. "...Why bring a child? I get it that you bring someone to be safe... but why with child too?" She saw Ayumi and asked Mariko. "Hey, friend. Chiho''s my acting boss right now, stop asking me" Mariko was bothered about her asking her the whole time. "Huh?" Chiho looked at Mariko. "Well, I asked you to go here. Not your friend, Nor did I ask you to bring them. I only want you. My business only matters to you" The Assassin responded. Her response creeped out Mariko. "F-Fine..." Mariko shuts herself up. Hearing her say she only wanted Mariko made them even more anxious. After they walked far enough from the R37, The Assassin stopped walking. "Hey, What''s the matter...?" They stopped walking and Mariko asked her while resting her hand on her axe. "For..." The Assassin spoke but they didn''t quite hear her. "Yes...?" Mariko listened carefully. "For Prohorovka..." The Assassin said. The three got alarmed upon hearing the name. "I''m sorry. You have to... Die!" The Assassin quickly turned around, making her cape rise and exposing her body and armed with two short swords. The group only had one second to see her weapons before seeing her charge towards Mariko. "Shit!" Mariko quickly took her axe out and prepared. "Mariko-san!" The two shouted as the Assassin extends her right arm for a stab to Mariko''s neck. "Not gonna happen!" Mariko swings her axe left to hit the sword. "Ah...!" On the corner of her eye, She saw the Assassin''s other hand going for a stab. "Hrah..!" Mariko spun to avoid the sword and slams her fist to her face. "¾óÇ¿!" The Assassin shouted something. Mariko quickly burned the words into her mind. "ËÍÄãÒ»³Ì!" The Assassin shouted one more time before charging. This time, She was swinging her swords instead of a stab, which gave Mariko a hard time looking for an opening. "Goddamn it!" She fears as she only moves away from her attacks. "Heh..." Mariko saw her laugh. On the last swing with her left arm and Mariko avoiding it. The Assassin jumped and had her arm extended towards Mariko''s chest. "W-Whoa...!" Mariko desperately jumped back, losing her balance and falling to the ground. Luckily, The Assassin didn''t pounce on her and just waited. Mariko then looked at the two. "Goddamn it, stop looking at me and run back to vehicle! Take your goddamn weapons and help me!" Mariko shouted at them as she stands up. "L-Let''s go Ayumi-chan!" Chiho ran away with Ayumi. Mariko watch them run, then turns back to the Assassin. "Say... Are you working for those idiots?" Mariko asked her. "...What if I do?" She asked back. "What kind of sick fuck would side with those them? I thought we were supposed to be helping each other?" Mariko''s words darkened the Assassin''s emotion. Then She looked straight at Mariko. "...Just die!" She charged again. "Tsk..." Mariko had a little hope of stopping her, but she focused on not dying for now. "...!" The Assassin mixed up the stab and swing attacks, making it harder for Mariko to evade. Each Mariko''s evasion against the swing will be faced a stabbing attack and she can barely avoid them. "Haah...!" After giving Mariko enough pressure, The Assassin jumped again and aims for her chest. "Not this time...!" Mariko grabbed her arm to throw her on the ground. But the Assassin quickly recovered and jumped from the ground, aiming for Mariko''s stomach. "Whoa!" Mariko narrowly evades and moved away. Mariko started to breathe heavy. Seeing her in that state, the Assassin took the chance and charged. "Give up your life!" She shouted as she assaults Mariko again. "Haa...!" Pissed off, Mariko began attacking. "...?!" The Assassin got surprised by her attack and moved away. "I''m not gonna let you do that all the time, stupid" Mariko made a stance. "...Don''t be an annoyance!" The Assassin charged again. Knowing her usual attacks, Mariko easily blocks them. "Hiya..!" The Assassin swings her left arm. "...!" Mariko quickly caught her arm and saw her other arm going for a stab. "Hrah..!" Mariko slams her body against her. The Assassin staggered back. "Caught you!" Mariko jumped and swings her axe down. But the Assassin evaded her attack by taking another step back. The Assassin swings her right arm to sway off Mariko. "You realize you''re attacking your own allies?" Mariko spoke while catching her breath. The Assassin also started to breathe heavily. "You''re serving the wrong people!" Mariko shouted, surprising the Assassin. "You think they''re gonna let you go just because you obey them? Soon enough, they will harm your people!" She continued to shout. The Assassin grits her teeth. "It''s happening right now with the Saiju! They were treated like a friend, then later they were antagonized! This shit will continue until they took everything away!" She continued. "Shut up!" The Assassin shouted and charged. Mariko quickly caught her first attack and pinned her down using her violent strength. "Saiju, The Kosun, Yugara, Jima and the Soma! Once they are down, they will destroy your country to finish the job!" Mariko angrily shouted. The Assassin tried to attack while pinned down, But Mariko quickly caught her arm and pushed it down. "The Tsukosa, With the leader of the Saiju taking the lead. They are planning on actually fighting back! While you sit here, obeying those fuckers like a coward!" She shouted. "Our weapons are at a huge disadvantage? Can''t fight back?! So what?! It doesn''t mean you have to sit and kiss their ass while they destroy your neighbors!" Mariko was literally angry. "S-Shut up!" The Assassin desperately breaks away from her bind and moved away. "When the Tsukosa is defeated, Everything''s done for! They will wipe out every country in this godforsaken region! Including you fucking Chu-yuans! You think you stupid assassins can take that whole army alone?!" Mariko shouted. "I''d rather die fighting them along with my allies than betraying them and getting stabbed afterward!" She continued. The Assassin got surprised at her continuous rage. "Raah! Whatever!" Mariko furiously scratched her head. "Come at me! I''m gonna knock some sense out of you!" Mariko shouted. Her anger made the Assassin uncomfortable. "Regretting your decision?!" Mariko charged instead. "Ah...!" The Assassin got surprised that she was charging, She readied herself. "Hrah...!" Mariko pretends to swing down the axe. Effectively, The Assassin readies to catch her attack. Without a noise, Mariko swiftly spun around the Assassin, hitting her in the process. "Argh!" The Assassin staggered forward, Her back had a cut and is bleeding. She pants heavily. "Ho...? A normal person scratched an assassin?" Mariko laughed. The Assassin can no longer sense the fatigue on Mariko. "It hurts me when I hit a friend, you know" Mariko tilted her head. "Even if you Chus are shitty when it comes about meetings and shit... We treated you as one of ours. Our neighbor, Our Friends" Mariko continues. "...Friends?" The Assassin sounded curious and Mariko thinks she got the solution. "Yeah. Friends. You thought we don''t think you Chus as one? Then that''s where you''re wrong. We are all glad to have you on our side. It''s just, We don''t know why you Chus are acting weird" Mariko sighed. "...We are not fond of being all noisy like you" The Assassin answered. "Exactly what we thought... Now I only have to tell everyone that you are shy-ass and actually friendly!" Mariko smiled, lessening the Assassin''s threat. "Mariko!" Chiho and Ayumi, with their weapons, shouted as they ran. The two looked at them run. "Hey! Everything''s fine!" Mariko turned her back to the Assassin. "N-No!" The Assassin shouted. "Huh?" Once Mariko turned around, She saw her charge with her right arm extended. "Whoa!" Mariko narrowly avoided the attack. "M-My friends will...!" The Assassin panicked. "You... You just have to die!" The Assassin attacked with a worried look. "Kh..!" Mariko blocks her attack with loud clangs. "What friends?! What''s happening to them?!" Mariko asked. "Haa..!" The Assassin ignored her and continued attacking. "Tsk...!" Mariko forced herself to attack. Once the Assassin swings her right arm down, Mariko quickly caught it and used it to bring her down. "What''s happening to your friends?!" Mariko asked. "Get off!" The Assassin desperately breaks out and moved away. "Mariko!" The two finally arrived. "Don''t stick with me, Move away!" Mariko told them to spread. The two moved away from her. "You don''t need to know!" The Assassin''s swords suddenly lit pink and emitted small white particles. "W-Whoa!" Mariko was rather amazed than afraid. "For my fellow Assassins... I will kill you and save them...!" The Assassin shouted as her weapons letting out a faint heating noise. "W-What is that?!" Chiho shouted. "It''s shiny!" Ayumi shouted. "H-Hey... The hell is that?!" Mariko tried to ask the Assassin but She ignored her and charged. "W-Whoa!" Mariko readies herself. "Haa...!" The Assassin swings her right arm down. Mariko tried to catch the bright sword with her axe. But the sword smoothly cuts through the blade "Ah!" Mariko saw the blade fall off. Then She quickly saw the other sword aiming for a stab through her neck. "...!" Mariko moved her head away. Then she slammed her body against the Assassin to push her away. "I-It cuts through the blade!" Mariko looked at the broken axe. "What the hell..." She slowly looked up to the Assassin. "...With this, I can cut you at ease" She said. "D-Damn..." Mariko didn''t know what to do. The Assassin charged again. She pressured Mariko by swift attacks. "M-Mariko-san!" Ayumi shouted, Then She thought of something and spun her sickle up. Chiho saw her. "A-Ayumi!" She shouted, But Ayumi concentrates on the Assassin. While evading, She quickly saw Ayumi spinning her sickle. "Oh...!" Then She focused on the Assassin''s attack and tried to read them. The usual combo, Swing attack, if missed, go for a stab. Then repeat for two or three times before reversing it. Stab, miss, then swing. Mariko quickly remembered them all. When she found an opening, she throws the Assassin to Ayumi''s direction. "Ayumi!" Mariko shouted. "Haa...!" Ayumi throws the sickle. The Assassin got surprised at her shout. Then the sickle hits her shoulder and Ayumi quickly pulled the chains, making the sickle slides away, leaving a huge cut. "Urgh...!" She was slightly pulled by the sickle. staggering back, She tried to look at Ayumi. "On me!" But Mariko quickly jumped to her and punched her in the face, they both fell to the ground. "Ah!" Mariko quickly recovered and took away a sword from the Assassin''s hand. She quickly realized the light disappeared from the swords. "Kh..." The Assassin held her shoulder as she stands up. "Give it a rest! We don''t have to kill each other here!" Mariko shouted. "N-Never... I can die for my friends if I have to!" The Assassin swings her sword. "Don''t be fucking stupid!" Mariko shouted, getting angry again. "There are ton shits of ways to save your friends from whatever happened to them!" She continued. The Assassin''s sword lights up again. "I''m not going to listen to you..." She said. Seeing her sword lights up, Mariko looked at hers and it''s not lighting up. "That''s unfair!" She whined. "Haa...!" The Assassin charged. She aimed for a stab to Mariko''s stomach. "Don''t touch me there!" Mariko swings her sword and tries to hit Assassin''s sword. But her sword goes through the bright sword and was broke. "N-No way!" She forgot that the pink light made it cut easier. After a few moments, Ayumi thought of something. "Onee-chan! We have to help her!" She shouted and spun her sickle up again. "D-Damn it...!" Chiho charged with her long axe raised above her. Seeing the two ready to attack, Mariko thinks of something. She began to fight back a little bit with punches. When Chiho is close enough, Mariko gave the Assassin a strong attack. "...!" But the Assassin successfully blocked her and pushed her away, Then She kicked Chiho away. "Akh...! No way!" Chiho falls to the ground with her long axe. Then the Assassin faced Ayumi''s direction and raised her sword and the light changed to yellow. "Waah...!" Ayumi, who has already thrown the sickle, got surprised. The Assassin caught the sickle by letting it bind to her sword, Then she pulled it and Ayumi loses it and fell to the ground. Then the light changed to pink again and she swings it away, it easily cuts through the chains, sending them on the ground. "N-No way..." Mariko and Chiho saw it clearly. "No way of winning now..." She slowly walked towards Mariko. "Grr...!" Chiho took her long axe and stood up to attack the Assassin. "Haa...!" She swings the axe down to the Assassin. But the Assassin pointed the sword directly to the blade of the axe. "What?!" Chiho saw her do it and was confused. "Y-You idiot! Don''t you get it?! It cuts through everything when it''s pink!" Mariko shouted. The Assassin''s sword penetrated through the blade up to the base, Then the sword changed yellow and pulled away. "Ah...!" Chiho loses her grip to the axe, It was stuck on her sword. "What the hell..." Chiho stood dumbfounded. The light changed to pink again and the axe slides and fell to the ground, broken. The Assassin stared at her. "...I have no business with you, Go away" She said before turning back to Mariko. "W-Wait!" Chiho moved to her front. "Tsk..." The Assassin got annoyed. "Ah...!" A spiked ball hits her back. It completely penetrated her cape and her dress, hitting directly her skin. It slides down from her back, leaving a long scrape. "A-Ah...!" The Assassin looked like she can''t take the pain anymore and was just standing there. "Ayumi-chan!" Chiho shouted in relief. They knew it was Ayumi who threw the ball. "K-Kh...!" The Assassin fell on her knees and she used both of her hands to support herself from falling further. "Aaah!" The wound on her shoulders burns and she completely fell to the side. "K-Kh...!" She struggled with her wounds. "D-Damn it!" Mariko ran to her, Chiho also went. "We will-!" Mariko stopped as she saw her cry. "Ô“ËÀµÄ...!" She said something as she grits her teeth. "Hey! Stay with us!" Mariko said to her. The Assassin looked at her with her teary eyes. "Shit... We''ll bring you back to your village!" Mariko shouted. "H-Huh? Why...? But..." The Assassin asked. "No buts! Chiho, Stay with her! I will bring the R37 here!" Mariko asked her to stay. "Y-Yes!" Chiho nodded and Mariko started running fast. "Why... Are you doing this?" The Assassin asked. Then Chiho calms herself and smiled. "You are from Chu-yuan?" She asked. "U-Uh..." The Assassin didn''t know what to say and just nodded. "It really made us sad that you went to side with those Prohorovkans" Chiho said. The Assassin looked sad. "My... My fellow Assassins. They were held captive by them... Coincident, They asked us to kill someone. Then my fellow Assassins will be free" She answered. "I''m afraid, They will be killed when we do bad job" She continued. "Oh, Is that so..." Chiho looked worried. "Then we''ll find a way to let them free!" Chiho told her with a smile, The Assassin looked at her with a bit of relief. "We will tell this to the Saiju and we will make a plan!" She continued, The Assassin felt happy. "Hmph!" They heard someone and looked up to see Ayumi with her arms crossed. "Assassin... But was taken down by a child" She insulted the Assassin. "...I was holding back" She answered, surprising the two. "When Mariko said you treat us friends, I felt happy... But of course the intention of killing her was still there, Only I was able to hold back a bit" She continued. "W-Well, That was right you know!" Chiho backs Mariko''s words up. "Chu-yuan is a member of the Tsukosa, We are all glad to be formed!" She continued. "Y-Yeah..." The Assassin smiled. "Hmph... betraying us and all..." Ayumi pouted. The Assassin looked at her. "When we thought we were allies and will bring those Prohorovkans down with our strengths together" Ayumi continued. "Together?" The Assassin asked. "Yes, That''s right, Dummy. We will bring them down together. Their technologies are way different, but that doesn''t mean we are going down without fighting back" She answered. "Ha.... Damn it.." The Assassin closed her eyes then they heard the R37''s engines. "Hey! " Mariko shouted and she stopped beside them. "Bring her there! Chiho, You drive!" Mariko moved back. "Alright!" Chiho quickly rides the R37 and accelerates towards the Chu-yuan. On the gates, Two guards were there. They were alarmed by their presence. "Ë´! (Shun!)" The Assassin called one of the guard. "Êè·Å (Shu Fang!)" A guard rushed to them. Then the other guard got confused and started arguing with them in their language. Then suddenly they opened the gate. "We go with you!" The guard said. "O-Okay..." Chiho agreed and the guard sat beside Mariko. "Thank you..." The guard thanked them. Then he leads them to a less populated spot, There were still some houses around. There are still some untouched lands inside and there are still trees everywhere. On a small hut, Mariko and the guard carried the Assassin there and made her sit. "S-Shouldn''t we let her lie down?" Mariko asked but the guard just looked at her. "Don''t worry..." The Assassin said, then she took out a painkiller. "W-Wha...Wait, You have one of those?!" Mariko asked. The Assassin used the painkiller first before looking at her to answer. "They gave us these in case we defeat" She said. Then the guard came near and bowed his head. "A-Ah..." Mariko was surprised. "Are you Mariko Sakitama? I''m very sorry if my friend here causes you trouble!" He apologized. "Shun!" The Assassin scolded him. "I''m Shun Huang, an Assassin, just like her" He revealed that he''s an Assassin. "We are actually wanted to fight them, But we failed horribly and some of our friends got caught by them. Then one day, they offered us their freedom in exchange for killing someone. And you know it''s you which is the target" He said. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Yeah..." Mariko nodded. "Now. Us, We... The remaining Assassins, we rejected this quickly. Except for Shu Fang..." He gave a quick angry look at the Assassin who has the name of Shu Fang. "Hmph..." Shu Fang looked away. "She acted on her own and went after you. That''s the story" He continued. "I-I see... I understand that, no worries..." Mariko forgives her. Shu Fang looked at Mariko. "...Just why are you so kind?" She asked. "Just why don''t you just shut up and take all our love?" Mariko asked back. "L-Love?" Shu Fang blushed. "I-It means love, like friends!" Chiho panicked and told her. Shu Fang stared at her. "F-Friends...!" Chiho blushed. "Damn it, Mariko! Don''t give them a bad idea!" She hits Mariko. "W-What?" Mariko got confused. Chiho stopped but still saw Shu Fang still looking at her so she looked away. "...You seem like fun people to hang around" Shun said. "You think so?" Mariko asked. "I don''t know..." Shun''s answer confused the girls. "Certain things make me think... How are you able to take down Shu Fang? She has all these power the enemies gave her" Shun looked so curious. "It''s me!" Ayumi showed herself and puffed out her chest. "We were three against her alone, So it was kind of unfair for her" Mariko answered. "No, I think she held back? She..She said so herself" Chiho looked at Shu Fang. "Yes, I held back. If you haven''t said anything at that time, I would have taken you seriously and killed you already so it won''t be long" Shu Fang answered. "Is that so... Well, How about your powers?" Mariko was eager to listen about the power. "You saw it before. You make them bright by using your mind. When your weapon turns pink, It can cut through everything. When it becomes yellow, It becomes the hardest thing. Even if you use a sword, it will just hit the enemies and doesn''t cause a wound or something" Shu Fang explained. "And how did you got that from the enemies?" Chiho asked. "They gave us grapes juice, is magical, they say" Shu Fang answered. "I felt weird when I drank it. But then I felt a little bit powerful" She continued "Sometimes it suddenly just lights when I reached a certain thought. Because you use your mind to make it have that power" She explained further. "...You say you fight them together, yes?" She asked the three. "We only have two more of their magical drinks. One of you can''t have one, so decide" She said. "As much as it sounds awesome, I guess I will let you and Chiho have it" Mariko told Ayumi. "M-Me?! Really?!" Ayumi became excited. "Yeah, I will just snatch one later" Mariko laughed. "Is not good for children, I think" Shu Fang said. "Well, That''s what you thought" Mariko grinned. "...Don''t blame me for whatever happens... Shun, °ÑËüÄùýÀ´" Shu Fang talked to Shun. He nodded and walked away. "What did you say?" Mariko asked. "I told him to bring over the magical drinks" Shu Fang responded. "Ah..." Mariko looked at where he disappeared. It doesn''t take him long to return. He went back with two juice boxes, both grape-flavored according to what''s written on it. "Here..." Shun handed the two boxes to Chiho and Ayumi. "...Straw on back, Stab that little hole on the top. Sip on the top of straw" He instructed. "A-Ah..." Then the two drank the juice. Then they waited for a few seconds to see what will happen. "N-Nothing happened...?" Chiho asked Shu Fang. "N-No? Must be lucky" She looked at the two. "...The magic takes effect faster than one second" Shun said. "Could have said instant" Mariko whispered. "...Not everyone is a smartass like you..." Shun''s words surprised Mariko. "Now, now... You, Orange hair. Try making it pink" Shu Fang gave her the sword. "My name''s Chiho Hasegawa, By the way" Chiho said as she took the sword and held it tight. "Now think of the feeling of cutting everything with a swing of your weapon" Shu Fang instructed. "Think of..." Chiho concentrates, Then her sword flashed a pink light. "Ah!" She got surprised. "Try to keep it on your mind" Shu Fang said. "O-Okay!" Chiho nodded and concentrates again. The sword lits pink along with the particles. "Ho...!" Chiho managed to let it stay for longer. Then as she raised it, The light fades again. "No...!" Chiho panicked. "It seems you manage to get a hold of it... How about you, child?" Shu Fang looked at Ayumi. "Name''s Ayumi Kirisaki! I''m not a child!" She introduced as she takes the knife from Chiho. Unlike, Chiho. Ayumi managed to make it stay lit longer. "Ha..!" She even pretended to stab. "Oh! Nice one, Ayumi!" Mariko got amazed. "You''re quick learner, huh?" Shun was amazed. "This power will use your own energy. Meaning, you can easily tire yourself out if you''re reckless" Shu Fang said. "I want to train you to get used with the magic. It will take long, I will tell you. I also need practice so we can do it together" Shu Fang warned. "More training?! Yay!" Ayumi became excited. "You agree on training? Then we will train here, You will live here temporarily as we train. Then after that, you can go back to Saiju" Shu Fang said. "Yes!" Chiho and Ayumi nodded. "...It''ll be long, be prepared" Shun said to them. "Can I still join though?" Mariko asked. "Of course!" Shu Fang nodded with a smile. "Hehe..." Mariko was visibly excited too. "We have a lot to tell Leader-san about Chu-yuan, huh?" She continued. "Yeah..." They looked at the sky, can''t wait to see what will happen from that moment. 20 What will happen from now on? The three heroines just discovered even more crazy stuff. They were forced to battle with a Chu-yuan assassin. But then they were able to befriend the assassin and the assassins are willing to share the power! The three eventually told everyone about the Chu-yuan and Gentaro was able to meet with the assassins. Then later, the leader of the country. And Finally, Chu-yuan was able to remove all the doubts and became all clear. Few months later, The Assassins and the Leader were able to agree to each other and the assassins finally got supported by the country. The other assassins that were said to be caught were eventually able to escape and went back home. It wasn''t from anyone''s help. The Prohorovkans didn''t react to their failure on getting rid of Mariko. Few more months later, Everyone was able to see some changes the Prohorovkans are making with the Tsuchiya village. There were some more advanced structures built around the village. There were also some defensive positions at each side. Every people of the Ekigatamura worries about what will happen to Tsuchiya. The three trains hard every day with the assassins. Learning how to properly control the powers, How to avoid being exhausted easily and etc. The three were able to learn quickly, except Mariko who didn''t have the power. Almost every person in the Ekigatamura that Chiho, Ayumi and Mariko were training hard. They had little hopes and felt relieved. Few more more months later, they were able to learn more powers, like flight, simple magic shooting and such. With those, they became even stronger. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The Prohorovkans quickly knew about what''s going on with their spies, But everyone was aware of them. So they wondered how the Prohorovkans are going to react about it. One month later, They didn''t react a bit. The worries haunt the people of Ekigatamura. Another month has passed. There were reports of the Northern armies approaching. The Ekigatamura became frightened but the Northerners said they are no harm and wanted to talk. Their ''lord'' was with the army and Gentaro welcomed them to the Saiju. Their naked and Muscular appearances didn''t match the looks of the village. When the ''lord'' and Gentaro talked, They said they have been receiving words from the Prohorovka and they didn''t like it. And the ''lord'' felt like befriending the Southern. They agreed on letting the people to their region. Gentaro happily agreed and also welcomed them to their region. The Northerners and Southerners were happy at this news. Hearing this, Mariko was so happy. Then the Assassins suggested that they should visit the North and try to train there. They went and stayed there until they felt like coming back to the South. Hearing such a good news, The people of the Ekigatamura wonders what will happen from now on... Are they going to be able to defeat the Prohorovkans soon? Or will they attack while they prepare? Why are they staying silent? Do they really want the Tsuchiya only? The world wonders... 21 Coming Home 2 years later. Hearing the daughter of the hero and her friends gaining powers. The people started to become hostile towards the Prohorovkans. Most of the people said that the Prohorovkans have stayed long enough and they didn''t want them to be living in their region. Of course, Despite their rising hostility, They still thought of the Prohorovkan''s technologies. Some still fear them and some relies on the powers the trio gained to defeat them. Was their power alone is really enough to defeat the whole army of the PTRD? The question lingers in Mariko''s mind as they are heading back to the Saiju from the North with their R37. "That''s bullshit..." Mariko tried to whisper to herself but spoke out loud. "Huh? What is it?" Chiho asked as they look at her. "Just because YOU and AYUMI were able to get the crazy powers, they started to be all arrogant and shit towards the Proho cunts" Mariko answered. "You really think we can defeat all of them with your powers? We don''t even know if they have stronger powers hiding with them" Mariko complained. "If those Proho cunts knew about the people''s thoughts about them, they might get angry or something..." She continued. "But didn''t we get these powers to defeat them?" Ayumi asked. "Y-Yeah, but... Two against an army? I don''t think that will work... especially, as I said, we don''t know if they''re hiding more powers with them" Mariko answered. "...You think too much, don''t you? Mariko-san" Shu Fang smiled at Mariko, They were sitting on the back seat. "Well, this shit''s serious. You don''t just sit and watch. Plus they are relying on us! We will be the first one to face them!" Mariko shouted. "Yes, yes..." Shu Fang noticed her voice rising and just agreed on her. Upon entering the borders of the Saiju, Chiho changed their direction. They quickly noticed it. "Huh? Chiho? Where are you..." Mariko asked but then realized. "Oh... The place, huh..." She smiled remembering the spot they used to first do their training. Once they reached the spot, they stopped near the tree stump. "It''s been so long since our last training... Heh, It''s not even training. We didn''t last long" Mariko sat on the stump as soon as they disembarked. "They haven''t even removed this thing and let a tree grow" Mariko slaps the stump. "I heard that it has a chance of growing back to a tree" Ayumi said. "Oh? Well, it''s been so long. It didn''t make any difference" Mariko looked at the stump. "Trees doesn''t grow fast, you know" Chiho carried her long axe with her. Seeing her, Ayumi giggled and ran back to the R37 to take hers. "Are you plotting a duel? It''s so obvious!" Ayumi lightly spun the sickle. Chiho giggled. "Yes. But visiting this place again was another one of my reason" She walked away from Ayumi. "It''s so good to be able to spar with someone now!" Ayumi showed how excited she is. "Haa... I''m jealous, I wished I was able to drink one too" Mariko placed her elbow to her thigh and rests her chin on her palm. "If they touched Saiju, Everyone will join the fight. Maybe we can invade their place and let you drink their j...juices" Shu Fang blushed on her own words and Mariko''s curious why. "Then, Let''s start!" They heard Ayumi shout and they concentrated on their fight. "Ha..!" Ayumi didn''t spend time spinning the sickle and instantly throws the sickle as soon as it can be thrown. Chiho moves to her side to avoid the sickle. Though, upon moving to her side, Ayumi quickly jumped towards her with insane speed. "Ah...!" Chiho got surprised and quickly placed her axe in front of her. The sickle grinds together with the blade of the axe and Ayumi rolled to the ground and recovered quickly. She remained crouching. "What the hell..." Mariko was amazed at her speed. "S-She quickly reached Chiho that far...?" She continued. "It''s amazing, right?" Shu Fang smiled at Mariko. Back on the two, Ayumi smiled mischievously at Chiho. "Eh...?" Chiho got curious. "Eii..!" A chain leading to Chiho''s foot became visible. Ayumi quickly pulled her chains and Chiho got pulled by her foot, falling to the ground. "Haa....!" Ayumi jumped high with her sickle pink bright. "Oh no!" Chiho quickly rolled away and removed the chains around her foot. Ayumi landed, stabbing the ground. "Not bad, Onee-chan!" Ayumi relaxed. "T-That was good! I didn''t even notice you had your chains around me..." Chiho said as she stands up. "I know right?! My chains can become invisible!" Ayumi grinned. "Then, my turn!" Chiho said as she stands up. "Try to survive until I''m finished..." Chiho prepares to attack. "...!" Chiho ran at high speed. "So fast!" Mariko shouted. With enough distance, Chiho jumped and spun in the air. "Ha...!" Chiho swings her axe down upon facing back Ayumi. "...!" Ayumi readies to block her until Chiho''s appearance became an illusion and a real one appeared below, aiming at her legs. "Ah...!" Ayumi desperately jumped and narrowly avoided her attack. Then Chiho moved away. "Was it really that predictable? Were you able to respond to that easily?" Chiho asked. "No, I panicked and jumped... If you were aiming higher, you would have hit me" Ayumi answered. "I see..." "You two are done? Let''s go home" Mariko shouted at them. "Not yet!" Ayumi turned to look at her and shouted. "Oh, come on!" Mariko whined. Ayumi grinned at Chiho. "We''re just getting started!" With that, She readies herself. "This time, Like a real duel!" She shouted. Chiho got surprised. "Oh... If that''s what you want" Chiho readies herself. Ayumi waited for a second. "...Here I come!" She charged at a high speed and stopped mid-way. "...!" Ayumi throws the sickle pointed at Chiho''s head. But Chiho evaded. "Ha...!" Ayumi quickly throws the spiked ball, but Chiho evaded it again. "Heh..." Upon Chiho''s evasion, Ayumi started to spin and slowly moving forward. The sickle and the spiked ball dangerously whirls in front of Chiho. "Damn..." Chiho was backing slowly, waiting for a chance. The chains were long and Ayumi was far for Chiho to reach. Chiho was about to do something until Ayumi jumped on her last spin throws the sickle at Chiho. "Rah!" Chiho casts a spell to harden her sword, The blade of her axe turns yellow and swayed off the sickle. Then Ayumi quickly returned her sickle and throws the spiked ball instead, But Chiho did the same and sways off the ball. Ayumi landed and recovered her chained sickle. "Hehe..." Ayumi giggled and spun the whole chain up with both of her hands. "...!" Ayumi throws the sickle, Chiho repeats and blocked the sickle. Ayumi quickly recovered the sickle because of the continuous spin. Then She used her other hand to throw the spiked ball. This time, Chiho moved to the side to evade. "That can''t be the only thing you know..." Chiho said. "I''m just feeling you" Ayumi answered. "Ha...!" She shouted and throws her sickle, it became invisible with the chains mid-flight. "Ah...!" Chiho remembered where it disappeared and blocks her axe. Something hits her axe, shaking her. Then She saw Ayumi pulling something, then a chain with the sickle became visible again. "It''s too dangerous to pull that trick out when we are having a friendly duel. Though, I don''t have any more to show you" Ayumi said as she relaxes. "Then I''m going to show you one more before we head back" Chiho said as she holds the long axe with her right hand. She swings her axe to her left. "May the lightning shot and infuse my weapon to bring judgement on my enemy..." She speaks as she slowly moves back her arm to her side. The blade of the axe starts to leave a sparking mark behind as it moves. "H-Hey!" Mariko stood up as she watches Chiho cast. "W-Waah...!" Ayumi panicked. "W-Wait!" She shouted. "Hrm...!" Chiho suddenly swings the axe and the marks disappeared with the last spark then a loud thunder roars and the lightning hits the certain spot where Chiho was standing along with the clouds darkening. The lightning bolt left a bright crack on Chiho''s ground. Her axe was sparkling with electricity and so herself. "Hey! You idiot! There''s no way Ayumi can avoid that fucking attack!" Mariko shouted the best she can. "Eh?" Chiho looked at Mariko, losing her focus. The electricity running through her body disappeared with a spark and the clouds returned to normal. "Hurry! It''s gonna rain!" A carriage went pass by them and they heard a man shouts. "You crazy or what? You know how ruthless that one is! You can''t just go showing off that to your allies! Unless it''s a real enemy you''re facing!" Mariko shouted. "Right, right..." Chiho shrugged then she disappeared. "Ah...!" Ayumi got surprised. Black with blue outlines leaves replaced her position and they slowly fall to the ground. "Why is it not allowed though?" Ayumi heard Chiho''s voice and looked at Mariko and Shu Fang''s direction. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. All of them was surprised at Chiho. Then Chiho smiled wryly. "H-Hey! Get that fucking smile off your face! You never told us about this!" Mariko became a little angry. "You were just too dumb to realize..." Chiho shrugged. "Yeah! We didn''t believe it was power! There are many times where we will see you going into one place then you will just pop out from somewhere else!" Mariko shouted, wanting to hit Chiho''s head. "Well? What is the name for that power?" Shu Fang asked. "A-Actually... I don''t know... I just happened to run into a Prohorovkan and forced him to spit out some more power" Chiho answered. "And you drank his spit for the power?" Mariko asked with a silly look. "Go home you goddamn Northern. You''re wasting our precious air with your useless questions..." Chiho got annoyed a little bit. "And you''re also wasting them calling me a Northern when there''s actually a proper way to call me like ''Northerner''!" Mariko fights back. "That''s a Western term you goddamn Northern. We like our own" Chiho answers back as Ayumi walks near them. "Also when did you start whining about that? I don''t remember... You became like that when we visited that school back from the Dives village" Chiho asked. "You idiot, that was a term for Northern people" Mariko tried to confuse them but didn''t succeed. "Screw you, Let''s just go" Chiho teleports again, replacing herself with the magical leaves. "Hey! The fuck you went?!" Mariko shouted. "Hurry up!" Chiho shouted and her voice came from their parked R37 and they hurried there. After a few minutes, They reached the Saijun gate. "Chiho-san, everyone. It''s been a while" A guard said and both of them salutes. "Yes, It''s been a while" Chiho nodded. "How''s the North?" The same guard asked as the gate slowly opens. "Even if they have accepted Southern visitors, They are still rough with us" Chiho answered. "Well, at least they are not hostile anymore" The guard said. "Yeah, that''s right" Chiho smiled. "The North will be a huge help when we get to war with those Prohorovkans. It''s not far now" The guard said before stepping back to let them proceed. After that, they immediately went for the Inn. Mariko said something about the Saiju on the way there. "This village still hasn''t changed yet, after the years we were gone" and Ayumi responded with a "We''ve been only gone for two years!". Once they reached the place, Chiho parked their R37 to the usual spot and disembarked. "This Inn hasn''t changed too!" Mariko looked at the walls of the Inn. "Well, Let''s go" Chiho leads the group. As they opened the door, the familiar noises of conversations greet them. And of course, Suzuka''s greetings. "Welco..." She didn''t get to continue her words as she gets surprised to see the familiar faces. "We-Welcome back!" Suzuka hurriedly went out of her counter and ran to hug Chiho. "Hey there, Champ!" Haruki went out of the bar with her hands full of glasses of beer. She was looking at Mariko. "Hey, It''s been a while" Mariko raised her right hand. "Hmm...!" Suzuka made some noise as she tightly hugs Chiho. "H-Hey, Suzuka-san.. It''s...b-been..." Chiho was having difficulty speaking. "Ha..Haaa...." Chiho just stood there getting squeezed tight. While Ayumi and Shu Fang stared at each other. "Where''s ours?" Ayumi cried. "D-Don''t cry!" Shu Fang panicked. After that, they had a conversation for a few minutes. While they are in the middle of their conversation, Alice went out of the kitchen with both of her hands occupied with plates of foods. Then she saw the girls. "A-Ah!" She ran towards them. "Hey there, Alice-chan" Chiho smiled at her. "Chiho-chan!" She called, then she looked at Mariko. "Mari-chan!" She called. "H-Hey..." Mariko got embarrassed by the name. Then Alice looked Ayumi. "Ayumi-chan!" She called, Then she looked at Shu Fang. "..." Her smile fades as she stares at Shu Fang. "H-Hey there..." Shu Fang lowered her hood and speaks. "D-Don''t you remember me?" She asked. "Are you saying I have memory loss?" Alice asked back. "N-No..." Shu Fang lightly scratched her cheeks. "It''s only been two years, and yet you asked like I''m amnesiac" Alice said with an expressionless look. "I-I told you, it''s nothing like that..." Shu Fang started to get uncomfortable. "Ali-chan, Don''t get all grumpy with our Chu-yuan friend..." Suzuka calmly scolded Alice. "Right, Sorry" Alice looked at Suzuka, then back to Shu Fang. "ºÃ¾Ã²»¼û (h¨£oji¨³ buji¨¤n)" Alice bowed. "A-Ah! You speak our language?!" Shu Fang got surprised and asked. "No. Just because I said something in your language, doesn''t mean I can speak fluently" Alice answered. "R...Right..." Shu Fang nodded. Then, Alice went to a table to serve and gave the plate. "Where''s father and mother?" Chiho asked. "Yagano-san is on the Center with Gentaro-sama, Katsuko-san is in her room upstairs. I think she''s still sleeping" Suzuka answered. "I see, thank you. I think I want to meet with father for now" Chiho said. "Isn''t it worth waking her up? It''s been so long" Suzuka asked. "Hm... Okay..." Chiho thinks then agreed. After that, they went upstairs. "Didn''t change too, huh" Mariko said. Chiho quickly knocked to the door when they reached her parents'' room. "Huh? Honey?! Oh no, there is a-!" A faint voice came from the inside and sounded like panicking. The door quickly opens and Katsuko showed up. "Hon-! Ah!" She thought it was Yagano who was knocking and got surprised. "Chiho?!" Then she quickly became happy and embraces Chiho. "We''re home" Chiho said as she wraps her arms to her mother. "B-By the way!" Katsuko moved her head back to look at Chiho. "There''s a cockroach in our room!" Katsuko said. "Oh, That''s why..." Chiho swept the room. "Where?" She asked. "Under our bed, that''s where I last saw it" Katsuko pointed under their bed. After a few moments, they were able to find the cockroach and Mariko used her axe to kill it and flicks it away outside from the window. "By the way, It''s nice to see you in one piece. I thought you''ll get in trouble in the North" Katsuko calmed down and talked to them. "Yes! The people there are scary, but at least they don''t hate us anymore" Chiho answered. "The North''s approval of foreign visitors surprised the world, It''s the first time they ever welcomed outsiders" Katsuko said. "I know right? It was so sudden" Mariko said. "But we heard from Leader-san that it''s because of those Proho fuckers saying something about them, right? They were as surprised as we are when they get to see their terrifying technologies" She continued. "So you''re trying to say that they were frightened and decided to be open so when those Prohorovka messed with them, Everyone would be siding up with them?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, Your typical change side when things got fucked up" Mariko answered. "You will do everything to get more allies with you, that''s what" She continued. "And I''m sure as hell Leader-san and the people as well are willing to help the North against them" She continued further. "Together! We will fight and drive them out of our world!" Ayumi raised her right fist. "They have completely driven everyone out of the village and took it as their own! I, myself, can''t take it anymore! I want to go home!" She said as she clenched her fists harder while lowering it. "That''s everyone was saying right now on the Center" Katsuko said. "Hmph... That''s to be expected" Mariko crossed her arms. "Ever since they knew and proven that you had powers, they started to get angry and wants the war" Katsuko looked worried. "Just because we have powers..." Mariko sounded and looked annoyed. "Do they think we can win against them with just the four of us?" Mariko furiously asked. "A War means it''s a large conflict. They are going to risk their lives fighting too, with you four supporting them" Katsuko answered. "Hmph... That doesn''t mean we can win, Where do they think we got the powers from?" Mariko continued to complain. "We got attacked and driven out of our village! We can''t have it back without fighting them!" Ayumi suddenly shouted and everyone got surprised. "Now that we have powers, We can fight them now! What are you still complaining about?!" She continued. "Yeah... Why do you think Chiho-san and Ayumi-san got and mastered those powers for? Isn''t it for taking back everything that was stolen from them?" Shu Fang asked. All of them were against Mariko. "Geez, Fine... I''m just pissed that they became arrogant just because CHIHO and AYUMI got the powers that can annihilate even their technologies" Mariko sighed. "That''s something you don''t have to be mad about. We were finally able to get powers to fight them, it''s normal that people will be like that" Shu Fang answered. "Ah... Whatever" Mariko brushed off the topic. "By the way, How''s father?" Chiho asked. "There are peoples gathered in the Center, asking Gentaro to declare war on them. Your father joined the soldiers to hold them back while Gentaro tries to calm down the crowd" Katsuko answered. "A riot?!" Mariko got surprised, so is everyone else. "I think it''s a protest, no one''s being violent" Katsuko said. "Damn, we have to go there!" Chiho ran to the door. "Wait! I don''t think you should...!" Katsuko shouted and Chiho stopped by the door to turn and look at her. "..." Chiho didn''t bother talking back and ran. "Go with her! Keep her safe!" Katsuko looked at the girls. "You got it!" Mariko answered and they ran outside. As they got outside the Inn, there were some magical leaves on a certain spot. Mariko walked to take a leaf. She realized its silhouette was glowing blue instead of natural color. "Damn, Did she use that power again?!" Mariko throws the leaf away. "Then let''s use the R37!" Ayumi ran to the R37. "Right!" They boarded the R37 and accelerates to the Center. On the way there, They realized Suzuka didn''t mention about the gathering crowds. Upon reaching the back of the crowd, They stopped and disembarked. "Hey!" A voice lowly called for them. "Huh?!" Mariko looked behind them as well as Ayumi and Shu Fang. "Chi-Chiho?! Why are you-" "Shh!" Mariko''s voice was loud and Chiho had to scold her. She was hiding to an alley just before the crowd, they went to her. "Geez, why did you run away like that? You had us all worried!" Mariko angrily asked. "I wanted to know what''s going on, Listen..." Chiho pointed to the crowd and they tried to listen. "I know how you all feel! But we can''t just throw a war to them with the other villages unprepared! We also have to know about the four girls'' situation!" Gentaro shouted to the crowd. Then the people started to angrily respond. "Nonsense! Everyone''s ready!" "Even the Kosun got their asses clenched waiting for you to take action!" "It''s been so long! Everyone was prepared ever since they got Tsuchiya!" "You''re just letting them grow! Gentaro-sama!" "We have to act now!" ... Their mixed responses clearly show how they wanted to fight so badly. "Then once we get to talk to the four girls, asked the countries'' leaders for confirmation, We''ll act quickly!" Gentaro shouted and the crowd happily shouted. "S-So loud..." Ayumi whined and covered her ears. "Look, Chiho-san. We can''t go there now or the situation might grow out of control, Let''s go for now" Shu Fang said. Chiho sighed on her. "Fine..." She gave up. "Let''s just meet your father back in the Inn" Shu Fang walked to the R37. "I-I will just teleport or something" Chiho disappeared as she said that, magical leaves replaced her. "Teleportation, huh..." Mariko said and they got into their R37 to drive back to the Inn. When they reached the Inn, they parked the R37 to the usual spot and went in. Then they saw everyone looking at girls'' direction. Alice was using a mop and Suzuka was carefully picking up the broken shards on the floor. While Chiho stands there, looking guilty "Huh? What''s going on?" Mariko asked as they approached them. "Oh, You''re back" Suzuka looked up to them. "It seems Chiho-san used a teleportation power and happened to appear beside Ali-chan" She explained. "Oh? Then Alice got surprised?" Mariko guessed. "Yeah, She suddenly appeared out of nowhere" Alice looked at her and nodded. "S-Sorry, I''m still practicing the power" Chiho apologized. "Right..." Alice nodded and they became silent again. After that, they waited there until evening. Seven in the night. Yagano arrived and showed up from the door. He saw everyone on the bar. "I''m back... whew..." He looked so restless and painfully made his way to a seat in the bar. "Welcome back, Honey... How did it go?" Katsuko asked. "People are willing to sacrifice their lives. they don''t care anymore, they just wanted to go all out instead of just staying here" Yagano answered through his fatigue. "They don''t care about the technologies anymore, They are willing to fight with what we have. Especially when we have Chiho and her friends to obtain such a pow..." As he speaks, his eyes scanned the group and noticed Chiho. "Power?!" He got surprised. "H-Hey, Chiho! You''re back, aha..haha.." Yagano lets his head fall to the desk, his cheek loudly slams against the wooden table. "I''m happy" Yagano lazily smiled. "You''re happy?" Shu Fang asked. "Yes. Very happy" Yagano kept his smile as he responded. "Damn, you''re acting weird" Mariko looked at him with a weirded-out look. "You also looked weird, but I''m not weird... I''m absolutely happy" Yagano''s remained the same. "Ugh..." Mariko became uncomfortable. "Ahem... No worries, I''m just trying to break out of the situation" Yagano fixed himself. "You want some stress reliever? I have bought here a shot" Alice went out of the kitchen with a syringe raised for them to see. Everyone was frightened. "God, No. Alice-chan" Yagano rejected her. "Is that so? You want something to eat, or drink?" Alice asked. "Just a snack or something, I don''t know... Maybe that Yakitori?" Yagano pointed to a hand-drawn picture above the bar. There are pieces of brown thing that seems to be meat in a stick. "You consider that a snack? Yakitori, coming up" Alice asked but gave no chance to answer. "It doesn''t make me full..." Yagano answered anyway. "Look, Chiho" Yagano looked at Chiho, he suddenly sounds serious. "The people wanted war, Everyone suddenly became aggressive ever since they knew you were training for those powers" His words worried the girls. "War can break out anytime, Chiho. And when that time comes, You''re gonna fight them, we can''t back out" He warned Chiho. "We have no full control of the people, some may get out of the village and provoke them right away. We can''t prevent them from going out of the village too because that''s absurd" He continued. "Can Leader-san just make a rule to never step to the enemy territories?" Mariko asked. "Gentaro doubts that they will follow that, considering that they wanted war so bad. It''s a waste of time" Yagano gave her a reason. "Not going to forget to tell you that the people REALLY wanted a war. like, not just soldiers are going on the battlefield, but all of them exactly" Yagano gave a clarification. "Whoa... That''s crazy..." Mariko thought of the idea. "Of course, Gentaro was worried about this but totally not going to allow them will be a bad idea, so Gentaro said he''ll think of something" Yagano said. "How about allowing civilians. but like, limited or something" Mariko suggested. "And what''s the limitation going to be?" Yagano and everyone got curious. "Um... Something like age or something. Their skills and such... If they are too young or don''t know how to defend themselves even against sword fights, they are not qualified to go" Mariko answered. "Hm... Most of the civilians are untrained, so most of them are going to be denied if that''s going to be the case" Yagano thinks of her idea. "Then how else are we going to make sure they can handle a fight? You said Leader-san was worried about them right? We can''t just let them go there if so..." Mariko answered. "They have no choice. Leader-san worries about them" She continued. "Hm... I will try to tell Gentaro about that, but I don''t think the people will go with that rule" Yagano finally agreed but still had his doubt. "But when defending this village, they can go all out" Mariko added. "Hm..." Yagano nodded. After his response, They became quiet. "Hey, Haruki-san! Kurokawa will be paying for my drinks!" A man shouted. "He said you should pay your own!" Haruki shouted back but the man ignored her and went out of the Inn. He was the last customer. "These groups of friends! They keep throwing the payment to their friends!" Haruki was a little bit mad. "Then when that friend comes, he''ll be surprised and take back the payment to his friend" She continued. The group had nothing to say but to show their sympathy. After a few minutes, Alice showed up with a plate with six sticks with chickens skewered in it. "Here''s your Yagano, Yakitori-san" Alice placed the plate in front of Yagano, they all looked at her. "I''m sorry, I''m tired" Alice bowed and apologized. "U-Uh... This looks good compared to the drawing" Yagano said as he took a stick. Alice looked at the drawings. "Yeah, It looks very awful. This can be considered false advertising, a crime. It''s very misleading. Every people will say it''s a pork or beef when they see that awful drawing. But it''s actually chicken. If a person hates chicken, that could lead us to trouble... If not that, then blackmailing" Alice said too much and Suzuka was dying in embarrassment in her own counter. "Well, Suzu dra-" "Huh?!" Haruki was about to say something but Suzuka shouted at her. Her face was blushing hard. "S-Someone had drawn it for us! Yes! Someone did it for us!" Suzuka lied. Alice turned to look at her. "But even then, The false image is still the-" "B-Be quiet, Ali-chan! You''re betraying your own comrades here!" Suzuka interrupted Alice and buried her face on her desk while shouting. "...I''m just worried" "No! You''re not!" Alice tried to calm her down but Suzuka still shouted. Alice just sighed. "Then... The drawing is actually good, basic enough. not to worry about since we are not that high class. Too bad it''s not Suzu-chan''s drawing..." Alice turned the topic, still looking at Suzuka''s way to see how is she going to react. "Uuuuuuh....." Suzuka slowly raised her head, glaring at Alice. "Oh my god..." Alice spoke with her language. "Ah ma gahd! A horrible artist!" Haruki imitated Alice and pointed at Suzuka. She crouched to avoid the incoming book. After that, they shared with the Yakitori and went to their room to call it a day. But in the girls'' room, they had a little conversation. "...I actually don''t know if I''m going to be excited about this war" Mariko said, lying down. "Ready to take back what''s ours?" Ayumi smiled at her. "You stupid kid!" Mariko reached for her cheeks and pinched them. "Aaahh...!" Ayumi shouted. "Why are you... excited?" Chiho asked. "W-Well... You know me, Chiho. Actually, I wished for war so I can satisfy myself without being guilty and all. But this war that is about to happen is just... Unusual? I don''t know... We are facing an enemy with more advanced technologies, Our swords and axes are useless against them... It''s not fun... But at the same time, It''s war, I can at least kill a person or more" Mariko gave an answer. "Hmph! So that''s what your objective! To kill, not to take back what''s ours!" Ayumi pouted. "Isn''t it the same? You''re going to have to steal lives to take back what''s yours?" Mariko asked. "We''re talking about your intentions, your reasons. not the action" Ayumi answered. "Well, It doesn''t really matter if those two things are going to end up on a single result" Mariko smiled and closed her eyes. "Hmph..." Ayumi turns her back to Mariko. Then they had their sleep. 22 Provocation The girls had a good sleep even Mariko didn''t get to wake up early. But later, they were awakened by the noises from outside their room. "...Huh? What''s happening?" Chiho asked as she raised herself and looked at the door. The sounds indicate that there are people outside their room, shouting. They can even hear Yagano and Katsuko''s voices mixing with them. "What''s going on?" Mariko stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "I know how you all feel! But you can''t just barge in on us like this!" Mariko heard Yagano''s frustrated voice. "W-What the hell''s going on?" Mariko turned back at the two, they looked worried. "You need to calm down!" Mariko heard his voice again and she placed her head to the door to listen more. After a second, she quickly realized what''s the ruckus is about. "Tsk... It''s those people again! They just won''t shut up!" Mariko''s face was filled with anger. "W-What do they want?" Chiho asked. "I don''t fucking know, Maybe send us there right now?" Mariko answered. "...What else is it going to be?" Shu Fang, beside Chiho, spoke. "Tsk... Well, what do we do? Looks like your father is-" "Please, stop this!" "Your father, as well as your mother, is having a hard time there" Mariko heard Katsuko''s voice. "We are already planning! You just have to be patient!" Yagano shouted. "Later, we will go to Gentaro to talk about this!" He continued. "These people are so- Hey!" Mariko was cut off by a kick from the door. "Hey! Fuck off!" Mariko kicked back the door. "Mariko!" Chiho shouted at her. "This shit early in the morning?!" Mariko shouted at the door. "Fuck this!" Mariko took her axe on the top of a drawer. "Mariko?!" Chiho got nervous seeing her axe. Then Mariko furiously opened the door. The people outside became even noisier upon seeing them inside. "Hey! What are you-!" "Hrah...!" Yagano saw Mariko swings her axe on the people. luckily, no one was hit and they took a step back. "Hey! Calm down!" Yagano quickly grabbed Mariko''s arm wielding the axe. He saw how angry Mariko was. "Nothing''s gonna happen if you keep doing this shit!" Mariko shouted at them, they become silent. "That''s right..." Yagano took the axe away from Mariko. "Nothing''s gonna change even if you force us... Go to your leader now. We''ll go there shortly after we do our preparations" Yagano''s calm yet strict voice made the people regret their action. "Damn it..." "Just when are we going to take action?" "He said to go to Gentaro-sama, We''ll know from there" They listened to their whispers as they make their way down. After them, The three staffs came running up. "Yagano-san! Everyone?! Are you alright?!" Suzuka asked. "Yeah, we''re alright. Except for the door, one of them kicked it" Yagano looked at the door, there was some small woods on the floor. "If you recognized who did it, make sure to tell me. I will make him pay for this" Suzuka said. "A-Are you going to beat them up?" Alice asked behind Haruki, looking worried. "A-Ah, No... I mean, exactly, pay for this" Suzuka turned to her and smiled. "Money?" Alice asked. "What else?" Suzuka butts in. "You can make him pay by working with us. or at least, let him repair this door" Alice said. "I don''t want that idiot to be working with us, not when they just kicked our door. The damage isn''t that worse anyway, I will just let him pay with money" Suzuka said. "Hmph... Too soft" Alice hid further behind Haruki. "But... man, This is the first time we have ever encountered such things like that" Haruki crossed her arms. "They must have really wanted to take action, like right now. What are you going to do now?" She asked to Yagano. "We''re actually planning on going to Gentaro now. We''ll just prepare" Yagano answered and they realized Yagano and Katsuko was still wearing the Inn''s clothes. "R-Right... Everyone''s alright? Then we must let you do your thing now..." Suzuka bowed and they went downstairs. "I can''t believe they will just force their way here like that..." Katsuko sighed. Yagano was staring at the ground. "...We have to eat breakfast" Then he quickly walked and disappeared to their room. The girls didn''t know if he was serious or just hungry. "T-Then, Mariko-san. Do your things, we''ll need to get going" Katsuko told Mariko as she went back to her room. "Ah...." Mariko sighed and made a noise. "...!" Mariko slams the door close without showing anger. "Mariko?" Shu Fang called her. "You heard them. Get the hell out of your beds and get dressed" Mariko told them. "Where are we going?" Ayumi asked. Mariko looked at her. "Your father said we have to eat breakfast, that''s all he said" She said. "But my father isn''t here" Ayumi spoke with a childish voice, making them look at her. "...Then Chiho''s father" Mariko sat beside Ayumi. "Hey, come on" Mariko saw them still on the bed. After they get dressed up, they waited for Yagano and Katsuko before heading downstairs. The Inn was full and everyone was busy so they quickly had their breakfast and went to their R37, they forced to fit themselves. Mariko just sat on behind the sidecar. Even just by started moving out, they can already feel everyone''s gaze towards them. It became worse when they reached the Center, everyone was whispering. When they are near, they started to see some soldiers heading in the same direction. "What''s this?" Chiho watched the soldiers run and with their carriage. And when they finally reached the place, a noisy crowd and soldiers preventing them from storming the place came in sight. "Whoa! Look at this!" Chiho stopped the R37 to watch them. "They''re crazy..." Mariko watched the people''s angry looks. "...They really wanted war so bad. I have never thought of Saijuns like this..." Shu Fang was astounded seeing them. "These people are actually gentle, as you may have heard. I''ve been entering this village so many times, and I haven''t seen them so upset like this before" She continued. "Damn... So how are we going to get through with that crowd?" Mariko asked. "Let''s force our way in?" Ayumi said. "...Is there any other option?" Shu Fang asked. "Well... They might get crazy again" Mariko sighed. "Then let''s use my power!" Chiho turned to look back at them. "What power?" Yagano asked. "Teleportation!" Chiho drives the R37 to a safe side then looked at them. "Hold onto me!" Chiho asked them to hold onto her. They all reached for her, Shu Fang hugged her from behind. behind her, Katsuko reached for her shoulder. Mariko also went for her shoulder, Ayumi and Yagano held her hands. "Alright..." She focused. Then she thought of the image of Gentaro''s building''s interior and they were teleported there, they fell to the ground with their magical leaves. They let out a noise when they fell, But Chiho was wheezing. "C-Chiho! Are you okay?!" Yagano was still holding her hands even when they fell. "I''m..." Chiho couldn''t speak. "Those powers eats the user''s energy or strength instead of something else they call ''mana''" Shu Fang explained. "Um.. How did you guys get here? You just popped out like that" Gentaro and Itsumi, along with two soldiers, stared at them. "We used powers" Mariko quickly replied. "That''s why we practiced the powers. They are different than what we thought. It doesn''t need mana, It drains your power instead. So if you overuse your powers, it could eat your life and die in your own carelessness" Shu Fang explained further. "That''s horrible!" Katsuko looked so worried. "I... I never... thought it would take more of my strength if i... drag you along..." Chiho tried her best to speak. "...And the worse part is, you''re not used to it yet, the risk of dying was high. Glad you''re still breathing" Shu Fang nodded. "Yeah... I''ll be fine... I''ll be fine, don''t worry... I will tell if I feel something different" Chiho held her chest and grips the collar. "A-Are you sure?" Itsumi asked. "Yeah... Just... Just give me a moment" Chiho stopped wheezing and was just panting now. "Alright... So, why did you all come here?" Gentaro asked. "What else is it going to be? We wanted to talk about the situation" Yagano and the girls beside Shu Fang and Chiho stood up. The two remained on the ground. "R-Right... Without telling them, the Jima sent a message about agreeing on going to war. They even counted their armies to the message" Gentaro told them about the message. "How about the others?" Yagano asked. "I haven''t received anything from the others yet. I''m planning on setting up a meeting of all leaders to talk about this. I''ll have them prepare their armies" Gentaro answered. "Are we seriously going to war soon?" Mariko asked. "That''s a foolish question to ask, Mariko-san" Gentaro looked at Mariko. "People wanted war. We can''t stop them or they will go crazy and make their own moves to the enemies. when that happens, the enemies will just blame us. It all leads to war" He continued. "Damn... Can''t you like, change their mind?" Mariko asked. "No. I''m afraid that giving them any more excuse will no longer work and our village might fall into chaos if we continue to deny their wishes... We have to do it" Gentaro shook his head. "For the sake of Tsuchiya too. With your powers, we should be able to fight back" Itsumi said. "Well, don''t forget that Chiho and Ayumi were the only ones who were able to get the powers" Mariko scratched her head. "Yes. You stay with the people on the ground then. Shu-san, Chiho-san, and Ayumi-chan will be always ahead of you" Itsumi nodded. "Huh..." Mariko was a little bit disappointed. "Don''t worry! We''ll bring you their juice!" Ayumi encouraged her. "Their magical grape juice please" Mariko said. "So... We will send messages right away, please" Gentaro looked at the two soldiers and they responded with a yes and moved out. "It''s impossible, but we will try to send some messengers to the West. Our former allies, to see if they can help us" Gentaro said. "We will also try with the North. But I doubt they will help. If the West denied our call, we will be on our own. It will be the Tsukosa against this organization" He continued. "Of course they are not going to help! It''s been so long since we had interactions with the West, after all!" Ayumi shouted. "Right, but it''s worth the shot. They can at least help us by letting us borrow some equipment" Gentaro nodded. The silence built after that, so Yagano crouched beside Chiho. "Do you feel alright now?" "Hey! Where''s that Northern bitch?!" Someone shouted outside along with Yagano''s calm voice, Mariko clearly heard the shout and looked outside. "I feel okay. I felt like I had asthma" Chiho smiled a bit. "Next time will feel like going to heaven. Don''t be reckless next time" Shu Fang said to her. "Yes..." Chiho nodded. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Yagano, confirming Chiho''s condition, nodded and stood up. "So, Gentaro. How if these civilians wanted to go too?" He looked at Gentaro and asked. "Eh?!" Itsumi didn''t expect the question. "B-But... There''s no way they will charge into battles" Gentaro couldn''t answer properly. "Just in case, Gentaro. If one day or even now, they will ask you to allow them to go to battles" Yagano said. "Well, in that case..." "Will you allow them all or will you limit them?" Yagano asked before Gentaro could answer. "Of course. If that''s how things are gonna be, I will let some of them join the army. We''ll know who to accept and to reject" Gentaro nodded. "I see. Letting them join the army, huh" Yagano thinks of the idea. "Yes. Some soldiers are going to test them if they are capable of fighting before they can get in" Gentaro explains. "Hm... Age?" Yagano asked. "Of course, I''m not letting kiddos like Ayumi-chan to the army. Minimum age will be sixteen, any lower than that is not acceptable" Gentaro answered. "What age can you normally join the army?" Ayumi asked. "Eighteen, Ayumi-chan. You are going to be the youngest on our army" Gentaro smiled at her. "Yeah, Twelve" Shu Fang looked at Ayumi. "I''m Twelve! I''m no longer considered as a kid! I can be on my own!" Ayumi puffs her chest out. "...By the way, Where are your parents? I noticed that I haven''t seen you and Mariko''s parents" Shu Fang asked. "My parents are dead" Ayumi answered normally, like it was no big deal, everyone noticed it. "A very loving daughter, indeed" Itsumi said. "The last time I saw my mother was back in our village" She looked at the ceilings, to show that she''s thinking. Then Shu Fang turned to Mariko. "I''m adopted" Mariko quickly answered. "...Oh?" Shu Fang got surprised. "My parents gave me to a person here in the South. Not that they didn''t want me, they had something to do that they didn''t want me to get involved" Mariko tells her story. "...I see. What happened to your parents then?" Shu Fang asked. "Dunno" "Gentaro-sama! The Kosun and the Yugaran leader said that they will be on their way! The Messengers are currently on their way to Soma!" Two soldiers came in after Mariko answered. "Y-You have already been to two countries?!" Gentaro was surprised. "Yes sir, We used Chiho-san''s R37 parked on the side. Then the messengers used carriage from Kosun and we returned the R37 here" one of the soldiers said. "If that''s so, then why did they went for the carriage?" Gentaro asked. "We... We just took it without telling them, so we were worried" the same soldier said. "Idiots..." Mariko whispered and the two soldiers heard her. "P-Plus the leaders coming here would at least calm the people down!" the same soldier said. "Are they still there?" Mariko asked. "Yes. It looks like they are not going anywhere" the same soldier nodded. "Great. That could help. So the Soma and the Chu-yuan is only the remaining" Gentaro said. "Yes!" the two soldiers responded. "Hm... Anything you want to talk about? Yagano-san? Us Leaders will have a meeting soon enough. I will have to prepare too, so if you have something else to talk about, now will be a good time" Gentaro asked Yagano. "We just came here to see the situation. If you''re going to be busy, then we will have to go" Yagano chose to leave. "Ah, I almost forgot. Apologize for the people that went into the Inn" Gentaro mentioned the people barged into their Inn and apologized. "Ah, yes. No worries" Yagano shook his right hand. "Ah... At my second thought, I think I will stay here with the soldiers. I have no other things to do. So, I will act as one of the guards" Yagano said. "Then, Wanna teleport us outside again, Chiho-san?" Shu Fang asked and Chiho just stares at her. "Please don''t make a joke like that" Katsuko smiled at Shu Fang. "...Hm.." Shu Fang giggled. "I-I can do it!" Chiho stood up. "Chiho!" Katsuko''s smile suddenly fades. "I can do it, Mother! Father isn''t with us now so I can do it!" Chiho insisted. "Chiho!... Ah!" Katsuko''s still against it but Chiho forcibly took her hands. "Hold onto me again!" Chiho took Shu Fang''s hand and Ayumi and Mariko rest her hands on top of their hands. "Here goes!" As soon as Chiho made the warning, they quickly disappeared, replaced with the magical leaves. "Oh...!" Itsumi went to pick a leaf. "What is this?... Ah!" The whole leaf became bright blue before disappearing. "How beautiful..." Itsumi stared at her palm. On the outside, they appeared on the same spot as before. "S-See...?" Chiho started panting again. "How are you feeling?" Katsuko immediately checked Chiho. "Tired..." Chiho tried to smile. They can see how breathless she is with how her body was lowered. "So... Where''s the..." Mariko was about to look for the R37 but it was on the same spot. though, facing the other direction now. "They used this vehicle within that whole time we were there?" She stared at the R37. "Yeah, must be that boost thing. They came to Kosun and Yugara flying" Ayumi said. "Heh..." Chiho chuckled. Then they rode the R37 back to their Inn. Chiho parked the R37 and they went inside. Instead of hearing Suzuka''s usual words, they heard her calling Alice whos jogging towards them carrying a big box in front of her. She dropped the box to talk to them. "Ali-chan! Blocking them like is very rude!" Suzuka scolded her, But Alice ignored her. "Can you use your R whatever to Kosunja-jun?" Alice asked Chiho. "Kosunjin-yi?" Chiho makes sure. "Koska. Can you?" Alice asked once more. "Uh.. Yeah. returning something?" They all looked at the box. "Smuggling can be the answer, even if Suzu-chan knows about it" Alice said as she picked up the box. "Uh... A-Alright, then let''s go" Chiho didn''t know what to say so she just went ahead. "Are you girls going? I will stay here" Katsuko asked. Ayumi and Mariko nodded. "Are you going to stay here as well? Shu-san?" Katsuko noticed that Shu Fang didn''t respond. "...Yes" Shu Fang nodded in response. "Then, We''ll get going now!" Chiho went outside and they followed her. "Be careful out there! Don''t get into trouble!" Katsuko waved at them. As the door closes, Shu Fang looked at Katsuko. "...Aren''t you worried about your daughter''s safety?" She asked. Katsuko noticed that she was serious about her question. "Well... I actually do. I and Yagano do. But She''s already grown up so it''s fine!" Katsuko smiled at them. "...I''m not sure what to say. Mothers in my village are strict even if their daughter is grown-up" Shu Fang said. "Well, those kinds of mothers exist" Katsuko said. "Especially when they know that a guy is after their daughter" She winked. "Ah..." Shu Fang didn''t expect that. "Hey, You''ve been with Chiho with all those years, right? Did any boys try their luck on her on the North?" Katsuko whispered. "...There are few, very rare. She rejected them, obviously. Most youngsters there don''t bother hitting up on girls. You know those people, Katsuko-san" Shu Fang found the question hilarious. "Well... You girls are like walking bouquet! Men wanted to have a wife as beautiful as you girls~" Katsuko touched her cheek. "P-Please let us drop the topic" Shu Fang started to blush and chose to get away from their conversation. "Well? Tell me more about the boys who went after you!" Katsuko happily asked her. "A-Ah..." Shu Fang just stood there, wondering how did the topic arrive. At the same time outside. Alice went to the sidecar and Ayumi stood there staring at her. "Come on, Ayumi. You know Alice can''t sit here with that goddamn box. Sit here with us" Mariko said as she sits behind Chiho. "Hmph..." Ayumi went around and throws her butt on the seat, shaking the R37 a bit. "Goddamn it, Ayumi!" Mariko shouted but Ayumi just looked away. "Right, right. Enough of that, we''re going" Chiho then starts the engine and moved out. On the gates, they were asked as usual and Alice handled them. On the field, "To Kosun, right?" Chiho looked at Alice to ask. "Kower. Yes" Alice nodded. "Why don''t you pronounce the name properly?" Mariko asked. "What? You''re offended? I thought you were a Northern?" Alice tries to piss off Mariko. "Tsk... Just why?" But she didn''t bother being mad. "It''s dreadful. Awful! What kind of people will name their village like that?" Alice looked disgusted. "Them Kosuns apparently" Mariko answered, making Alice sigh. "Hey... We also don''t like calling their full name so we mostly call them just Kosun even when mentioning the village" Chiho agreed. "Huh... Then I will call them Koska" Alice said. "What''s Koska? Does that mean something in your language or what?" Mariko asked. "...I made it up" Alice responded. "Huh... It''s not even near their name" Mariko repeated the name. "At least the two K made it" Alice shrugged. A few minutes after they left the Saijun borders, they felt a presence watching them. "Man... I don''t feel so good" Mariko was the first to react. "I also feel like being watched..." Ayumi looked at the direction of the Tsuchiya. Unfamiliar space-like structures are surrounding the Tsuchiya along with obvious defensive MG-mounted positions. But they were too far away to even feel the presence of the people there. "What are you guys saying?" Alice looked so afraid. "You... You don''t feel it? I feel so weird, you feel it too right?" Mariko asked Chiho and Chiho nodded. "I don''t get it..." Alice became more nervous as she''s the only one not feeling something. "Whatever happens, we will prote-" "Aaah!" Chiho shouted as their R37 suddenly flies backwards, sending them to the ground and the R37 further bounces back. "What the hell?!" Mariko looked up. "Whoops! Sorry!" A familiar guy with brown hair stood in front of them. "I...It''s you!" Chiho immediately recognized him, then later the rest of them. They got annoyed by his smug smile. "This guy...!" Mariko immediately stood up but managed to hold herself, they all stood up. "Oh? Attacking me already? That''s not good!" Mark noticed her intention. "Sorry for the surprise, I really am sorry. I''m very shy!" He apologized. "Shy my fucking ass, look at yourself" Mariko gets even more pissed. "What? I''m really shy!" Mark shrugged. "So! By the way... I heard that you''re planning on finally fucking with us? What took you so long? Huh?" He asked them, the girls ignored his question. "W-Who''s this guy?" Alice looks so frightened. "He''s one of them" Chiho angrily answered. "Yes! Sorry for my rudeness. Mark Higashino. Half-American, Half-Japanese. Nice to meet you girls" Mark introduced himself. "Mark? then a southern last name, what a weird combination" Alice spoke with her language, surprising them. "Oh? You speak English?" Mark observed Alice. The three got no idea what they are talking about. "It seems you are wearing one of our names. So I thought you can speak our language" Alice''s fear becomes anger. "It''s OUR world''s language! Go fuck yourself!" Mark continued to speak in English and shouted. "Hey, Hey! We can''t understand what you two are saying!" Mariko shouted at Alice. "It''s your fucking fault! English is used everywhere in the world!" Mark continued to shout in English. "Hell! Hey you fucker! Is it English you''re speaking?!" Mark asked Alice. "So what if it is?" Alice responded. "Then this language, This fucking language?!" Mark started to speak Japanese. "What do you call this language?! Tsuchiyan?! It''s Japanese!" Mark shouted. "Your world, Your fucking world! Our world... Then our fucking world!" Mariko charges with the last words. "Hoohoho...!" Mark excitedly watches her. "Haah...!" Mariko shouted as she takes out her axe and swings at Mark. "Whoops!" Mark evaded her attack with a smile. "Don''t fuck with me!" "Mariko!" Chiho called her as Mariko continues to attack him. "Lay the fuck off!" Seeing a very exposed opening, Mark sends his fists against Mariko''s stomach, sending her back to the girls. "Urgh... Why is it always my stomach!" She whined. "Now let''s be serious. What took you so long, huh? Oh, You were powerless? Then suddenly one of the countries betrayed us and shared our power with you... Where''s that cunt?" Mark looked for Shu Fang. The girls were thankful that she wasn''t with them at that time. "Whatever... Now you have some of our powers, right? Come on, let me see!" Mark excitedly smiled at them. "Come on!" While he forces them to show their powers, Ayumi bought back her chained sickle with her power and made the chains disappear so she can spin it without noise. "Come on!.. Oh!" Mark noticed Ayumi do a throwing motion. He didn''t saw anything so he was just curious. Then her invisible sickle hits something like a barrier. A light flashed where the sickle hits and blue pattern of hexagons faintly appear behind the flash before disappearing in a second. "Heh... You flinched!" Ayumi giggled at him as she pulls the chain that is becoming visible again. "What the hell..." Mark whispered as he stared at Ayumi. "You''re not that strong, are you? You''re just relying on that magical shield!" Ayumi insulted him. "The hell you talking about? Want me to show you how strong I am?!" Mark shouted before charging towards Ayumi. "...!" Ayumi prepares. "Hey! He''s going for-!" Before Mariko could speak, A white-haired girl appeared in front of Mark, with pink magical leaves falling to the ground, they quickly knew it was the teleportation. "That''s enough, Mark" Maeru stopped his charge. "Shichiro is looking for you at the base here. Go back there before I beat you up and throw you back there" She sounded angry. "It''s you again!" Chiho accidentally shouted, making everyone look at her. "Huh? So it was you!" Mark pointed his finger at Chiho. "You were lucky back then, fucker! If I hadn''t-" Maeru turned to glare at Mark before he could finish his word. "Tsk..." Mark uttered, looking at Chiho, before teleporting out. Then Maeru looked at the utensils that were thrown out of the box, then she turned to Chiho. "Sorry for the trouble he caused" Maeru bowed at them. The girls didn''t respond. "That guy lied on us about taking a walk to that village. I felt his presence going somewhere and there I knew he''s planning on something" She explained. "...No one cares" Mariko responded, bothering everyone except Maeru. "Of course..." Maeru walked to the box and kneeled to pick up everything back to the box. They didn''t help her or even bothered to help. "...Why is she so kind?" Alice asked. "Don''t know... They''re probably stupid" Mariko answered, they were talking like Maeru wasn''t there. "Look at you..." Mariko sat down to observe her. Maeru glanced at her. "You haven''t given us your name... That''s unfair that you know our names yet we don''t know yours" Mariko said to her. "...It''s Maeru Shigawa" Maeru told them her name. "You even introduced..." Alice said, looking so confused. "Yeah, that''s Prohorovkans to you. Being so kind to the people they fucked with" Mariko chuckled. "Just... Look at you doing all this" Mariko watch her pick up the utensils back to the box. "Isn''t it better if we all just became friends?" Mariko asked, making Maeru stop for a second for continuing. "Tsuchiya would have welcomed you with open arms. They are not bad people and in fact, they love and accept everyone" Mariko continues to watch her. "You want more people with your organization? You could have asked for volunteers and many would have happily joined. Same goes for your resources!" She continued. She noticed Maeru''s reaction towards her words, making her sigh. "This incoming war is bullshit. I wish you could have approached us in a different way..." Mariko looked at the sky. Maeru felt her misery and quickly finishes the box. "There..." Maeru closed the box and pats it. Mariko saw Maeru glance at her before turning to Chiho. "I''m sorry, but I have to go now. See you soon" Maeru quickly teleported away, replacing her with the pink magical leaves. "...I didn''t know you can be dramatic sometimes, Mari-chan" Alice looked sad. "Heh..." Mariko ignored her nickname and just chuckled. "Just trying to make them regret it. She was kind enough to do that, might as well try it" She said. "Geez, I thought you were serious" Chiho sighed. "Well, I kinda am. I was half serious and half not" Mariko stood up. "Well, Let''s go" She took the box. "Oh?" She noticed the R37 flipped upside down on the far. "Tsk..." Mariko uttered before going there. "I got it!" Ayumi went running. Her sickle became yellow and used it to return the R37. It loudly hits the ground. "Ah... Wish I could get one soon" Mariko said as she reached the R37 and throws the box to the sidecar. Then they proceeded to their destination. After Alice delivered the box to the Kosun, They immediately wanted to go home. "Job''s done. Thank you, Chi-chan" Alice thanked Chiho. "W-Wait, is it the first time you call me that?" Chiho asked. "I guess so" Alice shrugged. "Eh..." Chiho ignored it and started to drive. On the same spot before, They saw Mark standing there once again. "You fucks better hold out long!" He shouted at them. "Because we are all out!" He continued. "Tsk..." Chiho got annoyed and drives past him. "Hey! I will crush you! Remember that!" Mark didn''t bother stopping them and shouted instead. "...He''ll be the first one I''ll slaughter in the war" Mariko said, They noticed a slight excitement on her voice. "And get that fucking smug off his face" She continued. "Though, sadly you''ll never see him until you crush his army" Alice said. "His army?" Mariko looked at Alice. "Yes. He might be a Count and leading a huge number of troops" Alice nodded. "Huh?" Mariko still didn''t get it and was ignored. Once they got inside the gates, they immediately went back to the Inn. Parked as usual and head inside. "Welcome back!" Suzuka greets them. "Hey, Chiho~!" Katsuko stood up from a chair, Shu Fang was with her on a table with empty plates. "Ow...!" Katsuko pinched Chiho''s cheeks. "Hey!" Chiho tried to move her hands away. "You naughty girl!" Katsuko pulled her cheeks. "Ah... Stop it" Chiho flailed to lose her grip. Shu Fang went walking to them. "Believe it or not, We came across with the enemies" Alice told them and everyone was surprised. "O-Oh? Am I not supposed to talk about that?" She noticed that the three are also surprised. "You... You bumped into one?!" Katsuko suddenly became worried. Chiho sighed. "Yes..." Then Katsuko invited them to their table and Chiho told them everything. It was short, so they didn''t take long. "Did anyone of you got scratched or something?" Katsuko looked at the four. "...Nope" Alice shook her head. "I see... That girl is something" Katsuko thinks of Maeru. "Sure does. Maybe she''s just being forced to join them or something. I can see her face clearly when I talked to her" Mariko agreed. "How did she looked like?" Katsuko asked. "I don''t know... Sad? One thing I am certain of is she''s deep in thoughts at that time" Mariko thinks of the scene. "They''re full of mystery huh..." Katsuko looked at ceilings. "After Gentaro-sama''s meetings, the remaining countries will prepare everything. once we got their signals, we''re finally going to fire up a war. I hope you are all prepared to what''s going to happen from that point" Haruki approached them with a tall pitcher and some glasses. The pitcher contained a brownish liquid and the body has moisture, showing how cold it is. She placed six glasses on the table and poured the content of the pitcher to each glasses. "Iced tea!" Alice took one of the glasses. "Oh? Iced tea? The hell?" Mariko took one glass. "It''s cold..." She felt the glass. "It''s Iced tea! Western''s refreshing drink!" Haruki winked at her. "Oh! I only know one kind of tea, I wonder what this taste like" Katsuko took a glass and sips. "...Lemon?" Katsuko guessed. "That''s right! It has lemon in it!" Haruki pats Katsuko''s shoulder. "How did you make these?" Katsuko asked. "That''s a secret!" Haruki didn''t tell her how. "Hm... Well, whatever! This will take more than one ingredients anyway! Can''t make it at home..." Katsuko said. "Right" Haruki placed the pitcher on the center of the table and walks away. "Oh... What''s this? I''m a customer now" Alice noticed that she was sitting with them. "It''s fine, Ali-chan! You went out to take care of things, you should take it easy!" Haruki seems to hear her and shouted from the bar. "Yes~!" Alice happily responded. "...Right. So...." Mariko finished her glass and took the pitcher to pour some more. "When the war broke out, what are we going to do?" Mariko curiously asked. "What else? Of course, we''re immediately going to follow Gentaro-san''s orders!" Ayumi answered. "Yeah, That''s right" Chiho nodded in agreement. "Though... I will be finally hitting a real person with a real intention of killing them..." There was fear and excitement in Ayumi''s voice. "...Hm.. Amateurs..." Shu Fang whispered and giggled. Mariko just looked away while the four were quietly terrified. "T...These two..." Alice shivered at the thought that she had been hanging out with two people that had already killed a person or even more. "So... How are we going to fight them? We can''t obviously charge there. It''s like we''re going there bare asses! We are charging at death!" Mariko turned to ask. "...B-Bare ass?!" Shu Fang blushed. Mariko looked at her and became annoyed. "The hell are you blushing for? I mean like going there with our ineffective armors and getting shot to death!" Mariko said. "...Yeah. Right..." Shu Fang nodded. "They even have those buildings acting like watchtowers! Those buildings with small windows! You see ''em?" Mariko asked. They nodded. "That alone can wipe our entire army with its rapid-firing gun. That Machine gun or something" Mariko thought of the bunkers with MG mounted in it. "So just charging there like we used to is out of the choices" She continued. "...Chiho-san can teleport there and neutralize those buildings" Shu Fang said. "Good one! But don''t you think she''ll be cornered there?" Mariko thoughts of the idea. "Don''t forget that my teleportation has a limited range too. I can''t just teleport everywhere" Chiho said. "Don''t worry about that. You will go with us then when we are in position, you will teleport from there" Mariko makes a thumbs up. "So the whole plan is, we go into a safe distance. Without telling them that we are going to fight them, they will stand there confused for a few moments. That''s where you will use that chance to teleport and kill everyone on those buildings!" Mariko looked so happy. "Ooh! I see!" Ayumi gets it and was also happy. "If you can, though. You can teleport there with us so we can help you" Mariko said. "Yes! Certainly! I already know how it feels to teleport with someone!" Chiho agreed. "Then! When it starts to get messy, we will signal the army to charge in and kill everyone who''s shooting at them! We''ll keep their attention to us!" Mariko sounded really excited. "Then " "Wow! We already have plans!" Ayumi cheered. "Of course! It''s better to be prepared!" Mariko laughed. "That will be our call for war!" Mariko raised her right fist above her. "Yeah!" "Wooo!!" The men on the tables near them shouted at her words, making her uncomfortable. "Way to go, champ! Beat em up real hard!" Haruki shouted and grinned at them. Knowing that they can plan out a proper strategy, they''ve become less afraid and more willing to fight. There''s nothing they wanted to do during that time and they wasted the day in the Inn. Talking about war-related things. 23 Good moments before everything crumbles Three in the morning, Mariko''s eyes opened wide on their own. "Fuck" She said in her mind and tries to sleep back. Both anxious and excitement boosted her mind to wake up at her usual time. "Got nothing to do down there anymore..." She said before drifting back to sleep. She has been avoiding waking up and going down every time she wakes up early, mostly because of Alice. At the same time, Yagano wakes up due to the same reason and went down. "Good morning!" He shouted while standing in the middle, then he felt a presence in the kitchen and looked to see Alice peeking. "Good morning" Alice greeted. "Are you the only one here?" Yagano asked as he took a seat on one of the chairs in the bar. "Yes, Suzu-chan and Haru-chan are heading for Gentaro-san. you know why" Alice answered inside the kitchen. "Ah, Is that so..." He thought of how hardworking the two girls are. "Must be a real pain in the ass working up every day, huh?" Yagano said. "It''s nothing when you get used to it" Alice faintly answered. "Do you want anything? Yagano-san?" She asked. "Hm..." Yagano looked up and saw that the drawings were removed. "Where was the art displayed here? How am I gonna choose?" He asked. "There''s a menu just below the counter, go take one" Alice answered. "Huh..." Yagano opened up the flip-up door and looked under the counter. He saw a pile of menus, there was nothing else there but the menus. He took one and closed down the door and returned to his seat. "Hm..." He chuckled at the basic design of the cover of the menu, Spoon and Fork forming an X shape with two chicken drumsticks behind it and ''Hirashiko Diner'' below it. "Still gets me to smile..." He whispered as he opened the book. "Have you made your choice yet?" Alice asked. "Hold on... Let''s see..." He scanned the list of foods available, then something came up in his mind. "Hey, Alice-chan. Don''t you think you should separate the foods that are recommended for certain times? Like foods for breakfast and the ones for Lunch?" He asked. "Eh..." Alice made a noise as a response. "I can see some foods here that work well for breakfasts" He continued. "Tell that to Suzu-chan, She''s the one handling the menus..." Alice said. "Uh... Well, I will just get coffee" He didn''t know what to eat and just went for the coffee. "Don''t waste the time and energy you just used to get that menu" Alice said. "E-Eh..." He was forced and ended up with food. Alice didn''t take long on his food and got it after a few moments. "Hm..." He looked at his bowl of rice with a raw egg on it. "I didn''t expect it to be raw..." Yagano looked at the menu again to read the name, it was one of the few new dishes they had. "Is it fine to eat the egg like this?" He whispered to himself. "Aren''t they experiencing too much...?" He continued as he mixed everything and started to eat. "Hm..." He liked it anyway. While he was eating, Alice finished whatever she was working in the kitchen and went out to see him. "How was it?" She asked, looking at his bowl. "It''s good... I don''t know how to properly describe it but it''s good... Though, I was worried about the raw egg" He laid his worries. "Is it fine to eat the egg like that?" He asked. "Yes. We taste our new foods before we make it into our dishes. We would be acting up if there''s something wrong about eating raw eggs" Alice answered. Then She took a seat beside him and looked at him. "Say, Yagano-san. What do you feel about this war? Do you hate the people because they wanted the war?" She asked. "War, huh..." He stopped eating. "The people were driven to the edge and became out of control, that led them to think only of war. So I don''t hate them" He said. "I also kind of feel them. I also wanted to bring up a war to take back our village" He continued. "But that''s the most horrible solution to rely on. Sometimes we can just talk to them and make a deal" He continued further. "...But the people said that they have annihilated the whole village and killed a lot of Tsuchiyan during that time. So talking to them is out of the question. What about that?" Alice asked. "Hah. Are you interrogating me now? Well, That''s fine I guess. Sometimes I liked being asked about things" Yagano laughed. "But of course it is. It really depends" He continued. "Huh... Do you think we will win?" Alice asked. "Dunno. The reason we are finally going to war is only because of the girls'' powers. Not like we have developed more dominating technology than them so I''m not sure" He answered. Alice looked at the table. "...It''s like finally making a production of your newly invented crossbows with your small army and declaring war on a large country just because they don''t have the same weapon" Alice whispered to herself. "Then they will just know that the large army had crossbows too, and they were the ones who invented them first..." She continues and looked at Yagano. "You''re really on making weird examples, huh?" He smiled. "What''s weird about it?" Alice asked. "Nevermind... But yeah, they got the powers from the enemies. And probably more powerful than what the girls'' have. People didn''t give a damn about it for as long as they thought having power is enough" His voice started to change. "It''s really risky, thinking about it again. But like Gentaro said, we got no choice. No resolve, This Is War" He said. "Huh, That sounds familiar" Alice thought of the last words he said. "Whatever..." She shrugged it off. "I also know about that. Then how if Chi-chan and her friends die because they failed on something somewhere there in Tsuchiya? What do you think will happen?" She asked. "What else? We''re screwed. They are gonna wipe us out of the earth''s surface" Yagano answered. "How if we won?" Alice asked. "Then we win? We''ll be able to take back Tsuchiya and... Maybe drive them off from our lands or make a peace deal with them. I''d rather make a deal with them. It will be a waste if we don''t befriend them. They are weird people. claiming that they came from other worlds and they have these crazy technologies" He answered. "But why are we befriending them? If we won then that means we have killed a lot of their people. Doesn''t that make them mad or something?" She asked. "So did they killed a lot of our people. It''s fair enough. We have avenged our fallen people. There''s no need for further deaths" He answered. "A Fairtrade, I see..." Alice nodded. "...How if no one wons?" She asked. "Uh... Then no one wins? There can''t be no winners" It became awkward. "...How if no one wons" Alice wanted his answer. "Then it will all return to this very situation, just thousands of lives wasted" He answered. "That so? Huh... Weird" Alice sighed. "How about you Alice-chan? How do you feel about the war?" Yagano asked her. "I''m scared..." Alice answered and Yagano looked at her. "You don''t look scared..." He said. "You want me to look scared?" Alice looked at him to ask. "No..." Yagano laughed. He sighed and continued to finish his breakfast. Alice just watched him eat and took his empty bowl as he finished. "Thank you, that was good" Yagano thanked him as she walks to the kitchen. Then a few seconds, he heard voices from the outside then the door went open. Haruki showed up. "We''re back... Oh? Good morning, Yagano-san! Perfect timing!" She grinned. "Hm?" Yagano looked at their way, Suzuka and Gentaro were also here. "Good morning" Suzuka greeted. "Morning... Gentaro?" He looked at him. "Hey, morning Yagano-san" Gentaro quickly went to sit beside him. The two girls went to the hallway. "The meeting went well and they all agreed. Everyone''s preparing, Yagano-san. We''re using everything we have, we''re gonna throw everything we can at them. I stationed some soldiers from each village, they will come back and report once the village is prepared" He said. "I hope Chiho-san and her friends are also prepared... They will be our superior weapons" He continued. "Heh... You sounded like they are a tool or something" Yagano laughed. "Hah, I know right? But seriously, Their power is the only thing that can at least fight those guys. Our army will just be shot at from far away". They continued to talk about that until sunrise. Eight in the morning. "So what I''m saying is..." Gentaro saw Mariko coming and stopped talking. His face suddenly became serious. "Uh..Genta..?" Yagano looked at him stands up and approach Mariko. "Oh, You''re awake" Yagano saw Mariko with bed hair. "We''ve been waiting for you, Mariko-san" Gentaro said. "Huh? Leader-san? What are you doing here early in the morning?" Mariko looked like she snapped to reality. "Where''s Chiho and everyone? We''re firing up the war now, We need you to the Center" He joked. "Oh.. Hm..." Yagano chuckled and let him trick them. "R-Right now?!" Effective, Mariko panicked. "Yeah, Go and wake your friends" Gentaro pats her shoulder. "Y-Yes!" Mariko ran back upstairs. "Come on, Gentaro. When are you going to grow up? Also, that''s a very bad joke" Yagano said. "That''s for waking up late" Gentaro smirked. Then He sat beside him and waited for the girls to show up. After a few moments, "Here they are..." Gentaro heard their voices coming down from the stairs, Yagano sighed. The girls hurried to face Gentaro. "S-Sorry to keep you waiting!" Chiho apologized, panting. "Oh no, Katsuko too?" Yagano saw that Katsuko was also there. "It''s finally time, huh?" Chiho said. "Yes..." Gentaro looked at the girls. "It''s now or never guys. Eat your breakfast, because..." He closed his eyes. "Because it''s getting late..." He continued, the girls got confused a bit. "...You what, I was just kidding..." He said. There was no response but after a second, Mariko grabbed his hair. "Oh?" He looked at Mariko, whos had her fist ready to strike his face. "Gr..!" "Whoops!" Gentaro avoided her punch and quickly barged out of the Inn. "Hey!" Mariko wanted to chase him but shouted instead. "He just trying to wake you all up..." Yagano smiled at them, Mariko turned to him. "Oh come on..." Mariko was glaring at him. "It''s his idea. I wasn''t even taking part in it" He said. Mariko grunted and took a seat beside him and slams her own face to the table. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "You have no idea how nervous we got..." Mariko puts her arms to the table to rest her head. "Geez, That old man!" Ayumi pouted. "Seriously though, He said that the meeting went well and everyone''s willing to fight. They are preparing, We will act quickly once all are good to go. So don''t go oversleeping like that" Yagano sounded like he was scolding them so the girls felt sorry. "But it''s not even noon yet! It''s not oversleeping! You just wake up early!" Ayumi shouted. "It''s a lot worse if you wake up at noon... Also in war, You can never be able to sleep like this so..." "Sleep all you want while you can" "Get used to waking up early" Yagano looked at Mariko, then sighed. "Don''t blame if you get into trouble" He said. "Oh? What could possibly go wrong?" Mariko asked. "Sometimes, We will need to act at nights, where most of them are resting" Yagano answered. "Eh, Bullshit. How if they are on moving at night too?" Mariko asked. "Then we will face them..." Yagano answered. "Second, You might get all sleepy at battles" He continued. "That''s another bullshit. Who the fuck don''t get their blood running at critical times?" Mariko argued. "I''m talking about you sleepyheads" He answered. "Who do you think I am?! Maybe you''re talking about Ayumi here!" She pointed at Ayumi. "What?!" Ayumi shouted and Yagano sighed. "Whatever, whatever. Do whatever you want today because we will get busy soon enough..." He said as he stands up. "Where are you going, father?" Chiho asked when Yagano heads for the door. "Oh, you know. I''ll be staying with Gentaro again" He said before leaving. "He did nothing but stay with Leader-san, huh? Things are really changing..." Mariko wanted to show how anxious she is. "I''d rather start the war immediately rather than waking up everyday to see everything change around you because of an incoming war" She continued. They didn''t react to her and remained silent. After a few seconds of silence, Alice came in from the door. "I''m back. Oh, Suzu-chan and Haru-chan aren''t here yet? Where''s Gentaro-san and Yagano-san?" She asked when she saw nobody but them. "T-They are out?! Then we were the only one left here?!" Mariko quickly raised her head to look at her. "Gentaro-san and Yagano-san said that they will stay here until they come back. What happened?" Alice asked as she closed the door behind her. "Well, something urgent happened and they had to go. Luckily, we were already down here when they went out" Mariko lied. "Ah, Is that so. Thanks for looking out for the Inn" Alice thanked them and head to the kitchen. "What would you girls want for breakfast?" Alice peeked from the kitchen to ask. "Ah!" Ayumi suddenly became happy. After having their breakfast, they planned to head out. Just outside the Inn, "Mother? Are you going with us?" Chiho asked Katsuko. "Nope. I''m going to take a stroll to the Center. I guess I will head for your father too, I don''t know" She answered. "Ah, I see. Shu-san said that she wanted to visit her home, so I guess we will head out for a bit" Chiho told her their plan. "I see. Be careful out there!" Katsuko pats Chiho''s head. "Yes!" Chiho responded with a bright smile. "Then, I will get going" Katsuko started to walk and waved at them. They waved back before going to their R37. Then they proceeded to the gate and went out. On the field, "You said that your country finally had a second village few weeks ago, right?" Chiho asked Shu Fang. "...Yes" She responded. "Chu-yuan is the first one to get a new settlement, huh?" Mariko was amazed by their second village. "Despite the incoming war, You Chus still managed to build another village like that... What''s the name?" Mariko asked. "...Quan" "Kuwan" "Kwanu" Shu Fang told the name then Mariko and Chiho repeats the name. "...You''ve been to the North and still can''t properly?" Shu Fang asked. "Fine. Quan" "Quanu" Mariko and Chiho tried it again. "...There''s something wrong with Chiho''s pronunciation..." Shu Fang complained about Chiho. "Well, I''m sorry. I''m not used to those kinds of names" Chiho felt a little bit jealous. "Hah! I can pronounce it just right!" Mariko laughed, proud of herself. "How about you Ayumi?" Mariko looked at Ayumi. "Quan" "Eeeh...? I''m the only one?" Ayumi said it just right and Chiho felt down. "Hah! You''re drowning in your own culture, Chiho! Try and learn the others too!" Mariko laughed. "Eh... Fine..." Chiho sighed and just went along. After a few minutes, they saw a village a few kilometers from the Chu-yuan. "Is that the village?! Hah! It looks cute!" Mariko saw that it''s not protected by walls and is very prone to attacks. "...They say that it''ll act like a place for sentries or any other soldiers in mission for a resting place or something... Just, It''s about the soldiers..." Shu Fang said. "I see! So it''s safe from bandits, huh? It''ll be full of soldiers..." Mariko felt better hearing about it. "...Let''s go to Quan..." Shu Fang said. "Right!" Chiho responded and accelerates faster. When they approached the village, Chiho looked for the entrance and headed there. "Chiho-san? Is it? What is your business here? Do you have a message for us?" Two guards were watching the entrance and one of them asked Chiho. "ÎÒÃÇÊÇÀ´²Î-" Shu Fang talked to them in their language and Mariko quickly missed the chance of hearing her words. the guards'' faces quickly changed. After a few seconds, The guards smiled at them. "Hope you enjoy your visit then, Chiho-san, everyone" The guards bowed lightly and they proceeded. Though they are already inside, It currently has five houses and there were only a few people. They can see how busy the people were by how fast they walk, and some of them are heading to a herd of cattle enclosed by wooden fences, just to their left. "...Let''s walk around" Shu Fang was eager to explore the village, despite how small it is. And to their surprise, most of the people there recognized her. "...Ever since the leader went to talk with us Assassins, people immediately became friendly towards us" Shu Fang said as she noticed their reaction to the people talking to her. "Of course. Who would hate a handful of killers that are willing to side up with them?" Mariko crossed her arms. "...They don''t always accept that kind of opportunity. And we thought we will be hated" Shu Fang said. "Ah. Is that so" Mariko sighed. After exploring the village a bit, talking to the people there about the village, they stopped in the middle. "...This is going to be a nice village" Shu Fang smiled as she looked around. Her smile made them feel better. "It is... The people here are very friendly, despite how busy they are. Most people I met are grumpy when they are working on something" Mariko appreciates them. "I know right?! They don''t want to be bothered when they are busy!" Ayumi went along. "...I''m already satisfied. How about you guys? Do you want to go somewhere? I will still go with you" Shu Fang asked. "''Course you will. How about we head back to Jima? My home" Mariko grinned. "Good idea!" Ayumi agrees. "Then let''s go there" Chiho also agrees and they started walking, until someone calls out. "Shu Fang!" A male voice reached out for them. As they look back, they saw a familiar face. "Shun!" Shu Fang was able to reunite with her fellow assassin. "ÄãÔÚÕâÀï×öʲô?" Shu Fang asked in her language. "I''m helping the people at those groups of cattle!" But Shun responded with Tsuchiyan language. "...You''re awfully cheerful unlike before" Shu Fang quickly noticed. "Yes. When you were staying in the North, I always visit the Saijun. Then when they get to know me, they ask why I always look so angry or something like that" Shun laughed. "Then they taught me how to smile like I don''t know how! When they see me, they will immediately smile!" He continued. "...Hah, is that so?" Shu Fang giggled. "Yes! I even bet most of us Assassins are being changed as well! I hope you keep our old self!" Shun happily pats Shu Fang''s shoulder. "...Hm..." Shu Fang giggled and nodded. "By the way, Did you come here to see the village or did you send a message or something?" Shun asked. "...Yeah, we came to visit" Shu Fang nodded. "Eeeh... Thought you will be sending a message too... The war is inevitable, huh?" Shun turned to the three. "Make sure not to get reckless with your powers, okay?" Shun sounded like a worrying parent. "You too, Shu Fang. I know you have more experience than them, but still" Shun turned to Shu Fang. "Of course. How''s Jing Kang Lin?" Shu Fang asked a name the three doesn''t know who. "Our assassin leader, huh... He''s doing fine. He doesn''t want me to work in this new village, but he knows me, so he just let me do it" Shun answered. "...The Assassins are not cooperative in this village?!" Shu Fang got surprised. "The country leader knows about it. It was no problem for him. He was already pleased enough with our growing connection with them so he just let us do whatever we want" Shun explained. "...Huh, that''s so soft of him. Despite the troubles we made to them before" Shu Fang thinks of their leader. "Yes. He tried his best to understand our apologies and listened to every of our words" Shun was so happy about their leader''s toleration towards them. "...Huh, not what we expected..." Shu Fang smirked. "Hah, yeah!" Shun laughed. "War!" Then he suddenly shouted. "It''s sad to know that you''ll no longer be with us, Shu Fang..." He shows them his clenched fist. "You''ll be fighting outside the shadows! The shades of darkness!" His sudden drama caused Shu Fang to sigh. "...We also move under the sun, Shun. Our missions are not restricted to night times only" Shu Fang gave a disappointed look. "That''s not what I meant!" His insistent made her sigh again. "The-" "...Right, right" Shun was about to speak again but Shu Fang stopped him. "...Look, We have to get going" Shu Fang said before turning to Mariko. "No, no! We''re not in a hurry! It''s fine!" Mariko shook both her hands. "You have another place to go? Then I have to get going too" Shun walks a bit. "Then!" He waved and walked away. "See you later..." Shu Fang waved at him and turned to the three. "...Let''s go" She nodded. They rode their R37 and went out of the Chu-yuan border. They are headed for the Jima. "By the way, How''s the old woman who took care of you?" Chiho asked Mariko. "Ah, yeah. Almost forgot about her... That old woman..." Mariko looked up to the sky. "We''re heading there right now. Come to think of it, you never went home after we''ve met" Chiho got curious. "Don''t you think she''s been looking for you this whole time?" She asked. "Well... I kinda told her that someday I wanna visit every village, so I think she won''t be looking for me like that" Mariko answered. "Oh? That''s good to hear" Chiho sighed and they were silent the whole trip. After entering the Jima''s borders and approaching the gates, the usual two guards are standing there. "Ah, Chiho-san, Mariko" The guard on the left called them. "Hey, Kenta!" Mariko called the guard. "Hey there" The guard smiled at her. "He''s my childhood friend here!" Mariko told Chiho. "Ah, Is that so..." Chiho looked at guard, who has the name of Kenta. "Say, Kenta. Do you like me?" Mariko teased him. "...What the hell..." Shu Fang gave her a disgusted look, but Mariko didn''t bother and waited for the answer. "A-Ah, well... Y-you..." Kenta stuttered. "Yes?" Mariko smiled seductively. The girls can''t believe what they are seeing. "Well... I used to like you, Mariko. But I fear that you will come to hate me if I say that I liked you so I kept it a secret!" Kenta bowed. "But now I know about your feelings, What are you gonna do?" Mariko asked. "Well... I already have a girlfriend..." He answered. "Awww...." Ayumi teased Mariko. "Your lovely childhood friend was stolen by some bitches around~!" She continued. "Hey!" Both Mariko and Kenta shouted at him. The gate has already opened and was waiting for them. "My girlfriend is a very kind person! Unlike this weird Northern woman!" Kenta shouted. "Huh?! Want me to behead that girlfriend of yours?! Who are you talking about weird?!" Mariko shouted, making Kenta whimper. "Y-You have changed, have you?" Kenta shakingly said. Mariko calms down and asked why. "We are used to shouting at each other, right? Now years have passed and you sounded like real business just now. Your Northern traits have shown" Kenta said. "Ah, is that so... Yeah..." Mariko sighed. "Also, you started to dress differently. You''re looking like one of the Northern people" Kenta scanned Mariko''s body. "Oh?" Mariko quickly jumped out of the R37 and approached him, everyone was surprised. "My body is better than that whore, right?" Mariko teased him and his eyes were unsteady. Being asked about her body, His eyes moved on their one to see below. "Right, right?" Mariko continued. Kenta managed to control himself and shouted. "S-Screw you, Mariko! I''m a loyal boyfriend! You''ll never get me!" Though, He sounded playful. "I see... Well, someone already caught my attention, too" Mariko said. "Good for you! perhaps, Another Northern?" Kenta asked. "Nope. But He''s more awesome than you are..." Mariko winked at him. "Hah, yeah right. What makes him ''awesome'' then?" Kenta asked. "He came from the other world and rocking with blue hair" "Huh?!" Upon describing, They, even the other guard and the guards up the wall shouted in surprise. "M-Mariko?! A Prohorovkan?!" Kenta shouted. "Just kidding~!" Mariko flicks his nose. "Ow... Geez, Mariko. Don''t joke like that" Kenta said as he rubs his nose. "Hey! Get a move on! Damn it!" The guard on the walls shouted down to them. "Y-Yes! Mariko!" Chiho responded to the guards up the wall and calls for Mariko. "Right! See you, Kenta!" Mariko waved at him before jumping back to the R37, She even kissed her hand and blows to his direction as they drive past them. "Oh, Come on..." Kenta sighed. The gates slowly close and when it''s finished, The other guard spoke to Kenta. "Damn, Kenta, my dude! She have grown up to be a fine woman! I mean, just look at those skins!" He clenched both of his fists in front of his face. "Don''t you want to mess with her body?!" He asked, making Kenta sigh. "Give it a rest, man..." He said with a defeated voice. "Kenta!" He furiously pointed his finger to Kenta. "If you don''t want to, then I will take her from you!" He shouted as he wipes his mouth. "Christ, dude. You''re a mess... Look, You know she has Northern blood, right?" Kenta asked. "Yeah, So what?! She''s hot and sexy!" His friend answered. "Hah, yeah. She looks sexy or whatever. But She has already slaughtered enough people, which doesn''t make her ''sexy'' and ''hot'' anymore..." Kenta became serious and it creeped out his friend. "S-Slaughter?" His lustful side fades into fear. "Yeah. Remember the Bandits'' corpses left out on a field somewhere within the Soma''s borders? She did it" Kenta''s eyes became foggy, he tried his best to scare his friend. "N-No way..." "Yes" His friends started to shake and he keeps on. "I was the person she went into before her old geezer. She was shaking and she had this look, this look of strong anxiousness of whether she can trust me or not" He continued, and his friend. *yelp* Somewhere near the Entrance. "Why''s everything is not changing?!" Mariko complains. "...That''s what you''re gonna say when finally returning home?" Shu Fang was disappointed. "What? You''re expecting a ''Oh! It''s nice to be home!'' something like that? Hah, Fuck off..." Mariko looked away from her, making Shu Fang sigh. "Hey, I didn''t come here to look at the village. I wanted to see my grandma again" Mariko told Chiho. "Is that so? Then lead me to her, or rather, your house" Chiho asked her for the direction. "Of course..." Mariko then leads her to her home. Few minutes later, Mariko signals her to stop. They stopped before a big yet very old house, its width showed how big it must be inside. The walls are painted with light yellow covered with dust. "..." Mariko scanned the whole building, there were parts of the roof fallen to the grounds. Then she looked at the door leading inside. "Fucking hell... Looks like she left this place long time ago" Mariko said. "I-Is that so? How if she''s still there?..." Chiho became worried. "Nah. There''s no way she''ll be still living in this rotting house. She''s an old woman, but she''s not those kinds of old people who are willing to die together with their beloved house or something like that. She''ll try her best to fill her life with as much as happiness before she dies of her age" Mariko answered. "Then, where do you think she has gone into?" Chiho asked. "There''s a place where you can ask to make clothes for you in exchange for a few amounts of silvers. We used to go there a lot, so we are more than an acquaintance to the owner. Let''s go there" Mariko leads them to a small building with a sign ''Gumo Dress Sewing'' above the door. They can see how the sign had got into many attempts to repair. "Let me go inside for a sec..." As Mariko walks towards the door, it opened and a young girl appeared before her. "A-Ah... You are?" They both stared at each other. "M...Mariko!" The girl suddenly became happy and hugged Mariko. "Hey! Naomi-chan!" Mariko happily remembered the young girl''s name. "...Wow, I didn''t think her life was this way" Shu Fang said to Chiho. "W-What were you thinking?" Chiho awkwardly smiled. They both noticed Naomi''s long brown hair showing a bit from Mariko "It''s been a long time! You grow up so quick!" Mariko pinched Naomi''s cheeks. "Hehehe... Mariko, you know what? I''m helping my mother to make more dress!" Naomi happily tells her. "Oh?! Is that so? Your mother is very lucky to have a daughter like you!" Mariko compliments her, making her giggle. "Then! Where''s your mother?" Mariko looked inside. "She''s with your grandma on the Capital" Naomi answered. "G-Grandma''s still alive?!" Mariko got surprised, confusing Naomi. "W-What were you thinking?" Chiho awkwardly smiled at Mariko. "W-Well... Nevermind, I was just kidding. To the Capital, is it? Thanks, Naomi!" Mariko quickly ran back to the R37. "Are you going there too? Can I go with you?!" Naomi asked. "Y-Yeah! Sit with Ayumi here" Mariko let her go with them. Ayumi looked up to Mariko before to Naomi. She happily hops in beside Ayumi, their small figures made them fit just fine. "Hehehe..." Naomi giggled at Ayumi. "..." Ayumi remembered that she used to be like her. "Then, We''re going" Chiho accelerates away. On their way to the Center. "Hey, Naomi. What are you going to do at the Capital?" Mariko asked. "Nothing! I just want to be with you!" Naomi happily answered. "Y-You''re awfully energetic, huh?" Ayumi got a little bit annoyed. "As if you''ve never been like her, Ayumi" Chiho glanced at her. "I might have been like that, but I don''t make my voice so goddamn high pitched" Ayumi crossed her arms, Naomi still haven''t noticed anything yet. "H-High pitch? I heard worse with minstrels" Mariko laughed. "Hmph..." Ayumi looked away but accidentally faced Naomi. "What''s your name?" Naomi asked with a big smile. "H-Haven''t you heard? I''m Ayumi..." Ayumi got even more annoyed. "Ayumi...?" Naomi was waiting for her last name. "Geez! It''s Ayumi Kirisaki!" Ayumi just looked at the floor of the sidecar. "Hah, See? You''re starting to know about the kids I keep differentiating you from" Mariko laughed. "Also, I''m not sure why you''re bothered with her. You''re either really irritated or just jealous and something like that" Mariko looked at her. "That''s not it!" Ayumi lowered her head. "Not what?" "Hey, Hey! There''s a stand in the Capital where you use bows to hit the bad guys and you will be rewarded based on how many you have shot!" Naomi shook Ayumi. Ayumi just stares at her blue eyes. Her excited look changed her a bit. "Fine..." Ayumi sighed. "Yay!" Naomi raised both of her hands above her and rests her head on Ayumi''s shoulder. "Hehehe..." She happily giggled. "Come on, Ayumi. You can''t be always like that, let your inner self take control!" Mariko laughed. "But this IS my ''inner'' self..." Ayumi looked at Naomi. A few moments later, they arrived at the Center. "Our Cap...Center is pretty small, right?" Mariko said as they looked around. "It''s not bad" Chiho said. "Come on, I know you feel suffocated right now" Mariko hits Chiho''s back. "I told you, it''s not bad" Chiho rubbed her back. "So, Naomi, You wanna go to the shooting range with Ayumi right now?" Mariko asked, Naomi quickly raised her head. "Yes! Yes!" Then she quickly turned to her right and pointed her finger. "It''s there!" She excitedly shakes her hand. "Alright, We''ll go there" Chiho drives to the direction she was pointing. Upon reaching the place, they stopped before an obvious house converted into a business place. There''s a counter with five small bows and three arrows in each bows on it. The man standing inside noticed them. "Let''s go, Ayumi!" Naomi grabs her by her wrist and she let herself get dragged to the counter. "Oh? If it isn''t Naomi-chan! You''ve met Chiho, I see!" The man smiled at her. "Chiho?" Naomi gave him a curious look. "Chiho Hasegawa, Daughter of the Hero!" The man proudly introduced Chiho to her. "Oooh!" Naomi turned back to Chiho. "Awesome! Mariko is friends with someone popular!" Naomi was so amazed. "Mariko?" The man looked at Mariko. "Heh... Hey there, mister" Mariko smiled at him. "Oh, you look so different now! What happened to that loving big sister of little Naomi here I used to know?" The man laughed. "...Wait, This is your little sister?" Shu Fang asked. "Nope. Like Ayumi and Chiho, We were both close and people started to see us as siblings" Mariko answered. "...I see" Shu Fang looked back to Naomi. "Then! Since everything was a surprise, you can shoot five arrows for free!" The man happily told the two. "Yay! You hear that, Ayumi?!" Naomi became excited. Ayumi stares at her blue eyes. She was bothered about the way she calls her like they are about the same age. "Hmm..?" Naomi smiled as she gets curious. "Nothing! Let''s go!" Ayumi quickly picked up a bow. "Hehe...!" Naomi happily picked up a bow. "Here''s your two arrows..." The man gave the two their two arrows. "Then, Mister! I''ll leave these two while we look for my grandma!" Mariko waved at the man. "Right!" The man waved back. "H-Hey! You''re going to leave me here?!" Ayumi shouted. "Just stay with Naomi! We''ll be back!" Mariko smiled at her. "Then, have fun with Naomi-chan!" Chiho waved drove away. "See you!" Naomi waves at them and turned to Ayumi with a smile. "Oh... Can''t be helped it" Ayumi sighed and brings back the smile. Somewhere near the edge of the Center before exiting the area. "See? It''s small yet it''s hard to find someone" Chiho made a long sigh. "Since we''re here, is there any person here who sells fuel? I''m noticing that it''s becoming hard to control" She asked. "I never heard such thing being sold here" Mariko shrugged. "Damn it... What do we do when we ran out on our way home?" Chiho sighed. "Just like we do in the North, Let''s push it!" "Aaah...." Mariko grinned and Chiho whined. While exploring the Center, Mariko managed to catch a glimpse of an old woman. "Wait!" Mariko taps Chiho''s back and they stopped. "That''s her!" Mariko pointed to a slow walking old woman wearing an old purple kimono with flower patterns. "That''s her?" Chiho turns back the R37 and drove closer to the old woman. "Grandma!" Mariko quickly jumped out of the R37 and hugged the old woman. "Ah... That voice..." She got surprised and stared at Chiho. "Mariko?" Her voice sounded like she''s about to cry. "Yes, It''s me!" Confirming that it''s her, She proceeded to tears. "Oh, I miss you..." She slowly wrapped her arms around her. "Ya grow up so fast! Look at you!" Her ''grandmother'' taps her back. Chiho and Shu Fang just happily watch their reunion. Mariko sniffs and pulls herself away to wipe her eyes. "How''s everything, Mariko? How is your life outside?" She asked. "Everything''s great but..." Mariko''s smile suddenly fades. "I heard that war is coming. I kept hearing your name along with Chiho. And it sounded like you''re going to fight alongside with her?" She asked. "Yes! Actually, She''s right there!" Mariko pointed at Chiho and her grandmother looks. "Ah, Yes. It''s the Daughter of the Hero!" She smiled at Chiho. "Good day! I''m Chiho Hasegawa" Chiho lightly bowed. "Right, Everyone knows ''bout you, Chiho" Her eyes turned to Shu Fang. "Looks like ya made some more friends" She said. "...Good day, Shu Fang Chen of the Chu-yuan Assassins" Shu Fang also bowed. "Oh! An Assassin! I used to fear ya when I was a brat!" She laughed. "I wish ya great luck on your battles!" She continued "So, What did you come back here for?" She asked. "Damn it, Grandma, don''t be like that! I came home to see how you''re doin''!" Mariko rests her hand on her grandmother''s shoulder. "Oh, ya shouldn''t waste your time like that! I already know how much ya care for me, I understand" She pats Mariko''s stomach. "What did I told you about wearing nothin''?" She looked up at Mariko. "A-Ah... ''bout that..." Mariko blushed and scratched her head. "Ya really can''t wear a proper dress, huh? Northerns really had it even if they grow up here at South..." She laughed. "Oh!" Then she suddenly remembers something. "You see, Mariko. This old age ain''t bringin'' me down, I''m still helping out people in this village" She said. "Hah! That''s my grandma!" Mariko hits her shoulder hard. "Ow...Ow..." She laughed even if it hurts. "Then I better go now, You kids do your things now!" Then she started walking. "W-Wait! You can ride with us!" Mariko tried to get her into their R37. "Nah, Ya get going. I want to keep walking, ridin'' a transport will make me weak" She patted her hip. "Geez. Take care then..." Mariko hops to the R37. "Whoa... We''re going already?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, she didn''t quite welcome me because she thought I''m wasting my time... Haah, that''s so like her. Will never change" Mariko sighed. "Hah... Alright..." Chiho turns back their R37. Mariko waved back to her grandmother as they drove past her. On the way back to the kids. "...I noticed something" Shu Fang spoke, making their attention drags to her. "...Sometimes there are some words I didn''t understand from both of you, but thinking about it. It''s like, you''ve changed some of the words. The first thing I noticed was..." Shu Fang gave an example. "¤¢¤¿¤ê¤Þ¤¤¤À(Atarimaida (Of course)) With that word, You would change the ''Da'' with ''Ya''" She said. "Yeah, I noticed it too" Chiho agreed. "Yeah, we have our own way of talkin'' here" Mariko spoke with her dialect and they quickly noticed. "...There you go again" Shu Fang stared at Mariko. "But I''ll make sure not to use ''em around ya..." Mariko winked at Shu Fang. When they''re closed to where they left off the two, Chiho quickly stopped the R37. "What''s up?" Mariko looked at Chiho. "Look at them!" Chiho pointed front. They saw the two sitting on a stair. Ayumi was happily listening to Naomi''s chatter. "They look so cuuute!" Chiho can''t hold herself and shouted. "Sure is! They look cute together!" Mariko laughed. "I could watch them all day! Let''s go!" Chiho quickly drove to them. The two heard their engine and looked. "They''re back!" Naomi quickly stood up. "R-Right!" Ayumi also stood up. "You two looked so cute from a distance!" Chiho touched her own cheeks. "W-What are you talking about?!" Ayumi blushed. "Hehehe... We had fun! Right, Ayumi?!" Naomi turned to Ayumi. "Y-Yeah..." She continued to blush. "Ayumi can''t be this fucking cute!" Mariko also teased her. "Geez!" Ayumi shyly hides her face. After that, They send Naomi back home. On their way out, they get to face the Saijun soldiers that were stationed there. The Jima is ready for action and the soldiers were about to go home with their carriage, so they went with them back to the Saiju. And they wasted the right of the day to the Inn, talking about their journey. 24 Campaign! - Start the War! In the middle of the night, Twelve, to be exact. The remaining messengers on the field finally returned together. Jima''s forces, which consist of Twenty archers. Ten crossbows and another ten bows. And thirty of foot soldiers and twenty cavalries. Seventy in total, they were with the remaining messengers just like the messengers the girls came home with have said. The village had communication and talked about returning the messengers together. On the Leader''s room, Gentaro and Itsumi anxiously looked at each other as everything is finally in order. "Everyone''s ready..." Itsumi took a deep breath. "Take a seat..." Gentaro told her to sit and she went to sit to the left sofa. "This is it, huh..." Gentaro rests his hands on his desk. "It all feels good when I shouted at the people that we will be declaring war with them... But it''s actually scary when it''s about to happen..." Itsumi knew how nervous he is by his voice. "We just have to be intelligent about this, no need to fear their technologies. For as long as we think smart, maybe we can win this" He continued. "There''s no way of talking to them because even the people hated the idea. They wanted to win the war by dominating them" He thinks of every people of the Ekigatamura. "Itsumi..." Gentaro looked at her. "Help me out..." He said. Time passed, Five in the morning. "Hey!" Yagano''s faint voice reached out to the girls. Mariko quickly woke up and ran to the door. "Y-Yes?!" Mariko''s heart races. "We got everyone''s message. There are forces in the Center right now!" "Eh?!" Ayumi shouted in hearing the news. "You''re kidding right?" Mariko remained surprised. "Not this time, Mariko. Gentaro and Itsumi were readying some forces the whole goddamn time. I was surprised as well, a soldier just came in knocking to us to say this" Yagano answered. "Oh, fuck..." Mariko cursed and was on verge of panicking. "Those two are currently resting right now, And we''re moving in Seven. We have plenty of time, but use those time to prepare" Yagano nodded and was about to walk down. "Father?! Can we see them in the Center first?!" Chiho came running to ask. "Well... Yeah, do whatever you want" Yagano allows them and they all ran downstairs. "Hey... Girls!" Yagano was pushed aside by them. They are all still wearing the Inn''s clothes. The staff just watched them run. They quickly drove to the Center and stopped immediately before entering the area. "Shit..." Mariko curses as they stared at the army. The chatter of the soldiers, the sounds of the weapons being carried, the sounds of the carriages and the horses'' neighs fills the whole area. There were no people walking at the Center and was left for the army to wait. "...At first, I thought it was another joke" Even Shu Fang can''t stop staring at them. They all became nervous. "M-M-Maybe G-Gentaro-san is still messing with us?" Ayumi shakingly asked. "Bullshit! There''s no way that guy will go this far for a joke!" Mariko shouted. One of the soldiers walked towards their direction and noticed them. "Hey, maybe we can ask that soldier?" Ayumi called out the soldier and waited for him to get close. "Hey, what are the soldiers doing here?" She asked him. "Huh? I thought a soldier already went to the Inn? It''s the war, girls" The soldier walked away. "U..Uh..." Ayumi slowly turned to Chiho. They didn''t know how to react and just went back to the Inn. "Well...?" Yagano sitting on the bar asked. "There''s...There''s a lot of them there" Chiho looked worried. "Told you so..." He took a sip of coffee. "Does the enemies know yet?" Chiho asked. "No. We''re going to surprise them" Yagano answered. "How?" Mariko asked as they all took a seat. "We''re gonna charge there..." He answered. "Oh come on..." Mariko sounded disappointed. "Don''t forget that we have powers!" Mariko grinned. "Yeah. Since you have powers, you''ll be ahead of our charge" Yagano said, Mariko sighed. "Chiho''s ability to teleport. They have a fucking ranged weapon, Yagano-san. We''ll teleport in one of their defensive positions and cause a huge distraction. Maybe we can use their weapon against them" Mariko told him their plan. "Huh..." Yagano didn''t quite like the idea. "Isn''t that dangerous?" He asked. "Nope. We''re teleporting on one of their defensive structures and we will make the distraction from there" Mariko answered. "Yeah, that''s the point" Yagano crossed his arms. "W-Well... It''ll be fine as long as we''re together. We''ll use our powers to destroy the defensive line while you charge in" Mariko said. "And I thought you were just making distraction?" Yagano got confused. "Well... If the distraction isn''t enough and they are showering you a whole lot of deaths, We will completely destroy them" Mariko nodded. "Remember that every one of them carries two painkillers, imagine how many we can take after that surprise inside their structure" She continued. "Hm... Still, don''t be aggressive" Yagano finally agrees and sips his coffee. "We can do this!" Mariko shouted. "Yeah!" The girls shouted. They took a quick breakfast, told Katsuko, and she went with them to the Center. "Katsuko. We will use this vehicle on the battle, you will have to walk back to the Inn" Yagano said, Katsuko got a little irritated. "How many times are you going to say that? I already know..." She said. "...He''s just worried about you" Shu Fang looked at her. "I already know about it, he didn''t have to repeat it all over" Katsuko said. "...No. He''s worried, that''s why he keeps telling you that" Shu Fang shook her head. Katsuko just looked at her and sighed. "So...Yeah, we''re here. Don''t tell me you went with us to argue with him, Mother?" Chiho asked. "Of course not, I came to see what''s going on... And there sure are a lot of soldiers here..." She scanned the whole place and a flag caught her sight. It was the flag of the Tsukosa. It has a blue base, A white tower icon in the middle with two white chevrons pointing at the tower from the lower and upper part. It slowly waves as winds hit the area. Ayumi followed the direction where she''s looking at. "It''s the flag of the alliance, you know!" Ayumi said to Katsuko. "Yes, I know. Just seeing the flag makes me want to go to battles just to wave them" Katsuko thought of the idea. "I know right? You will scream "For Tsuchiya!" while waving the flag of the Tsukosa" Ayumi and Katsuko happily imagined the idea. "But wouldn''t it better if the ''Sanguis omnium fortis'' were also with us?" Mariko joins in. "The what?" Katsuko quickly turned to her. "The North''s only flag! that awesome black three-sided weapon with the eight-sided star or sun inside a circle on top of it!" Mariko imagined the flag of the North. Their flag has a white base. From the lower part, it has a small red chevron and its tip acts as a stand for the black three-bladed weapon. There''s a red sun enclosed by a circle and it lies in the middle of the black weapon. Lastly, there''s a small red shield on top of it. "Their flag really is something..." Yagano spoke. "They even have the name for their flag" He added. "But ours is better! Blue as the clear skies and as white as the clouds!" Katsuko turned to their flag and smiled. "Eh... I wish those symbols had meanings..." Mariko stared at the flag. "Like that tower icon, like what towers really do, it''s a protection. Like, We protect the weak against the strong something like that" Mariko gave an example. "And those... what do you call those? those really thin shits pointing at the tower? Those sharp fuckers aiming at the tower means the oath of putting your life on the lines to protect the others" She continued. "You''re quite creative, huh?" Yagano got impressed. "Haha..." Mariko shyly scratches her head. "You just have to change how you refer to the things you don''t know..." Yagano lays his disapproval. "Can''t be fucking bothered. I will speak whatever the fuck I want" Mariko crossed her arms and smiled. Yagano just sighed at her insolence. "It''s the fucking war, why the fuck are you still bothered about the fucking languages?" She continued. "Stop it, Mariko..." Chiho got annoyed and told her to stop. "Why don''t just let me be? You''re all killing machines yet you hate simple bad words" Mariko complained. "She has a point" "Shut it, Ayumi" Ayumi backs her up but Chiho scolded her. "But it''s true!" Ayumi whines but no one responded. "By the way, Why don''t we talk to these soldiers about the campaign?" Mariko asked. "Campaign?" Chiho looked at her. "Yeah. Missions. The plan" Mariko nodded. "Then I''ll go with you!" Ayumi agrees to join. "Yeah, I guess I will go" Chiho also joined. "How about you three?" Mariko looked at them. "...I''m fine here" Shu Fang refused. "We''ll stay here" Yagano also refused and Katsuko nodded on his word. "Alright, just the three of us" Mariko says and they hopped out of the R37. "I wanna talk to that flag bearer" Mariko looked at the soldier who''s supposed to carry the flag, they saw that it''s actually on a pole and was tied into a carriage. "He''s too far away, though. Let''s talk to the soldiers on the way there" Chiho said and she started to walk, the two followed her. "Here..." Chiho approached a soldier. "Um..." She dragged his attention to them. "Oh? If it isn''t Chiho''s little party?!" He puts up a big smile. "Hey, why don''t you get someone else to come to your party? Not only you can become strong in numbers, but you all can be friends as well!" He said. "Not when we get big. And I don''t think one of us can lead a group that much" Mariko disagrees. "So then you just rely on your powers alone? You can teach yourselves how to rule a large group!! Having your own troops to command around has a lot of benefits you know. You can''t always command a Commander around with his troops just because you have those powers" With that, The man turned away and returned what he was doing. "Nice piece of advice, I guess..." Chiho shrugged and walked around. After a few seconds, a Commander on a horse noticed them. "Hey, Chiho!" He called. The girls quickly turned to him. "Me and my men will be the ones who will be facing the enemies first. I bet you''re going with us too, with your powers and all. Got any idea about it?" He asked. "We actually have plans. Do you know my ability to teleport into a place? Once we got into range, we will teleport to their defensive structures and neutralize it. Then we will distract everyone so you can charge ahead" Chiho told him their strategy. "Oh! That''s good to know! I''ll let everyone know about this!" The Commander was visibly happy. "By the way, those defensive structures you''re talking about? They name it Bunkers. They can fit more than ten people there so I think it''ll take long for you clear those" The Commander said. "That''s fine. Come to think of it, we keep thinking of signaling you before you charge. How can we signal the army?" Mariko remembered something and asked. "Yes. Hold on" The Commander took the brown horn that was on his neck and extends it to Mariko. "Here. This should do, it''s loud" The Commander said. "Thank you! I will use this when we''re successful!" Mariko was happy and immediately hangs it on her neck. "No problem!" The Commander grinned. "Commander Matsura..." A soldier called him. "See you girls later" The Commander waved his hands and focused on the soldier. "Nice! I was planning on signaling them by firing a gun but that would be a bad idea" Mariko said as she raises the horn and let it swing back to her body. "Do you think we can do it?" Chiho asked as they walk. "Huh? Are you being a chicken right now?" Mariko quickly got disappointed. "No... But it''s just four of us against up to ten enemies inside those bunkers. We don''t even know if we can freely swing our weapons inside, it looks tight inside" Chiho laid her worries. "Then we stab them!" Mariko swings her right arm forth as to pretend a stab. "I don''t think we can stab like that" Chiho and Ayumi spoke at the same time. "Then fucking swing! You don''t have to fully swing your shit to scratch a fucking person!" Mariko got annoyed. "Fine..." Chiho sighed and remained silent to prevent her to become even angrier. "Hey, I heard that there''s a one-eyed girl in the enemies that is both good at close-range and long-range fighting..." As they walk, they heard some of the soldier''s conversation. "One-eye... Do they mean that faction leader I''ve met before?" Mariko whispered. "Yeah. It might be her" Chiho nodded. "She does look strong, Her presence was enough to make my skin crawl... Her emotionless face and faint voice really give out the creeps. But as that Takumi-idiot said, She can be cute sometimes. She smiled once when she heard my name and goddamn..." Mariko clenched her teeth and snaps her finger. "Imagine that smile in her face without her guts!" She shouted. "H-Her guts?" Ayumi looked frightened. "Uh... Guts, like her strength to fight? Imagine her as a normal, defenseless child" Mariko looked up. "Can''t do that, I haven''t seen her" Ayumi shook. "Well... You will see her now this time" Mariko smiled. "Oh... Talking about that eyepatch girl..." Chiho''s about to ask something. "Aren''t they going to be mad about you? That you lied about joining them?" She asked. "They can be mad, but I think they understand. Even if I really meant to join them..." Mariko looked away and spotted a familiar flag. "The Jima''s flag!" She pointed a waving flag, It has a white base with large red chevron talking almost half of the flag. Then an Axe and a Sword forming an X lie in the middle. Their huge acceptance to the Northerners since the beginning made them earn this flag. They got the idea of the red chevron from the North''s flag. "Oh, It''s your home''s forces!" Ayumi recognized the flag. "I wanna talk to ''em!" Mariko ran and they followed her. "Hey!" Mariko shouted to the Jiman forces. "Oh? If it isn''t Mariko-chan!" A Jiman Commander on a horse quickly recognized her. "Hey! Commander Yamada!" Mariko waved at him. "We''re growin'' up in a flash, eh?!" Yamada leans to pat Mariko''s head. "And yer face became a fuckin'' grandpa!" Mariko talks back. "Haha! This face ain''t nothin''! I still can fight!" Yamada laughed. "Ain''t yer back hurts?!" Mariko joked and they both laughed. "Mariko''s quite popular even to the soldiers huh..." Ayumi whispered as they watch her talk to the soldiers. Since it was her countries'' forces, they didn''t get to listen much to their conversation and just listened to how they speak differently when talking to each other. While watching there, a crossbowman noticed them. "Chiho-san!" A female voice reached out to them, making them look. The crossbowman? approached them and took his helmet off. "Hey, Chiho-san. Can you tell me more about your weapons you''ll use in this war?" A woman with long brown hair asked. "W-When did they accepted women in the army?!" Ayumi got surprised. "Gentaro-sama did allow some civilians to join in depending on their skills..." She said. "Ah..." Ayumi forgot about it. "By the way, my name is Hitoshi Okubo! Nice to meet you!" She quickly reached Chiho''s hands and shook them. "Hitoshi? That doesn''t sound girlish, are you those guys with long hairs?" Ayumi asked. "What? Then what about this beautiful voice?! It''s my father''s fault for giving me this name! But whatever!" Hitoshi shook her head. "That''s not what I came here for. So? About your weapons?" She asked. "Ah, Yes. I''m using a long axe and she uses a sickle with chains" "Chained sickle! It''s not just the sickle! It has a sharp ball on the other end of the chain!" Chiho told her their weapons and Ayumi corrects her. "I see. How about Shu Fang-san and Mariko-san??" Hitoshi asked about Shu Fang and Mariko. "Ah. Shu Fang uses two short swords and Mariko uses an axe, shorter than what I have" Chiho told her their weapons. "Ah... Not even a ranged weapon?" Hitoshi got worried. "We do eject some magical fires or something!" Ayumi answered. "Well, how about non-magic ranged fires? I heard that it takes your strength for using your powers too much, so I guess I will give you mine!" Hitoshi took out a small crossbow. "It''s small but it can penetrate a skull or two!" She handed it to them and Chiho took it. "So cute! This will be very useful indeed!" She inspected the small crossbow. "That''s to be used in case of emergency. like you have to shoot someone or something urgently" Hitoshi explained. "Yes! I will take care of this!" Chiho happily nodded. "By the way, is that your Northern friend?" Hitoshi was looking at Mariko, who was still talking to the soldiers. "Yes. She''s talking with her country''s soldiers" Chiho answered. "Eh..." Hitoshi looked up to the flag and recognized the Jima''s flag. "Jima, huh?" She said as her eyes turn to the soldier. "I don''t know much about the Jima, though. The only thing I know is that they accept the Northern people" She said. "Everyone knows that" Ayumi said. "Yes. It became a piece of common knowledge. It''s a surprise they still got the nice standing on the Tsukosa even with their unacceptable decisions" Hitoshi crossed her arms. "Oof, gotta go. I think Gentaro-sama is arriving soon. Once he arrived, he will call for your father and start the campaign. So I have to take care of things, Bye!" Hitoshi waved and ran away. "Take care!" Chiho and Ayumi waved back. "Let''s get back to Mariko..." After watching Hitoshi disappear, Chiho turned back to Mariko''s direction and saw that she''s already walking towards them. "Hey. Who was that?" Mariko asked. They knew that she was watching from there. "She''s a female crossbow user. She was one of the civilians who surpassed Gentaro-san''s test" Chiho explained. "Ah. I see..." Mariko looked at the direction of where she disappeared. "She let me borrowed this!" Chiho showed her the small crossbow Hitoshi gave. "Ooh! That''s so cute! Wish I can get one too!" Mariko took the crossbow and looked at every part. "We can borrow one from the crossbowmen!" Ayumi said. "Sure! I don''t care if they run out of the second option!" Mariko said as she hands the crossbow back. "Second option?" Chiho asked. "Yeah. If their main crossbow broke or something, they will switch to that little guy" Mariko answered. "Yes, She said that we should use this on urgent situations" Chiho looked at the small crossbow. "Yeah. No one uses that small as the main weapon, only acts like a secondary. Second choice" Mariko nodded. "I see... Then, let''s look for more small crossbows!" Chiho said and they looked for crossbowmen who would let them borrow or have a spare for them. Later, they got their own. They didn''t forget Shu Fang and had one more. As they return to what they''ve been doing, they approached the flag bearer without anyone talking to them on the way. The soldier on a horse carries a pole with the flag and a broadsword only. "Hey there..." Mariko called out to the soldier. "Morning. What do you need?" The soldier asked. "How does it feel like to be a flag bearer?" Mariko asked. "How does it feel? I feel like I have wings and I have this duty to carry all my allies to victory!" The soldier answered with determination. "Yes! Please guide us to victory" "Aye!" Ayumi went along with him. "Hah... Please, destroy those Stukas too" Mariko thinks they are both hilarious and made a joke. "Ahaha... Yes, of course" The soldier awkwardly scratched his head. "My name is Satoshi Tagami, at your service" He bowed. "I''m afraid I already know your names..." He smiled. "Though, I feel like someone missing, Where''s our Chu-yuan friend?" He was looking for Shu Fang. "She was with my parents from the entrance" Chiho answered. "I see... Anything else you wanted to know?" Satoshi asked. "So... Seriously, what''s your role in the war?" Mariko asked. "Flagbearer, I will be one of the guys who will shout to increase our morale. You still don''t know about it?" Satoshi asked. "Just making sure..." Mariko answered. "Is that so... Anything else? I think Gentaro-sama will be arriving soon" Satoshi looked at his right and there were some more cavalries going in. "I recognized some of them. They are the soldiers Gentaro-sama stations to the noble families to watch over them" He said as he watches the cavalries goes. "Due to their duties to watch the families, they are the closest to Gentaro-sama. When they appear like that, Gentaro-sama would likely show up after" He continued. "Is that so..." Mariko became nervous. "Yes. Are you prepared? Once Gentaro-sama arrived, we have to start immediately" Satoshi warned them. "Yeah, I guess we''re all good to go" Chiho nodded. "I see. How about Yagano-san? Did he get his equipment yet?" He asked about Yagano. "Oh... Yeah, about that?" Mariko looked at Chiho. "He wasn''t wearing any armor when we got here" Chiho also got surprised. "I think he changed when we left" Ayumi said. "Yeah, I guess so" Chiho shrugged. "When we see Leader-san, let''s teleport back" Mariko said. "Alright..." Chiho nodded. "By the way, we told a Commander our own plans. We will teleport to their...uh...Bunker and clear it out. The Commander said that he will tell everyone about it. So listen carefully" Mariko reminded Satoshi. "Noted. Good luck out there" He nodded. "Gentaro-sama''s here!" The soldiers shouted to warn the whole army. They were surprised by them. "Looks like he''s here..." Satoshi smiled. "I''m anxious, but for the Tsuchiya, I will encourage my allies and take back what''s yours!" Satoshi smiled with determination. "Good luck!" Chiho bowed. "You too girls, Good luck..." He nodded. As Mariko asked, they teleported back to their R37. And just like Ayumi guessed, Yagano was now wearing armor. "...? Oh, Welcome back..." They appeared behind the R37 and Shu Fang noticed them. Yagano and Katsuko looked back on hearing her. "Oh hey. I''m all ready. Looks like Gentaro''s finally here to make a briefing" Yagano looked past through the soldiers. "Is it starting?" Katsuko looked at them. "Yeah. Once Gentaro''s done, We are moving towards Tsuchiya" Yagano nodded. "I see..." Even Katsuko had mixed feelings within her. "Move back people!" A soldier shouted from the front and they started to move back. "Oops..." Chiho quickly rides the R37 and pressed something with her foot, then she worked the accelerator but instead they reversed. Once everything''s good, Gentaro and Itsumi stands in front of them. "The day that we''ve been waiting for has finally come..." Gentaro started his speech but Chiho and the group easily got bored, Gentaro and Itsumi were just standing in the ground, so everyone on the back can''t see him. "What is this..." Mariko sighed. "Let''s fly!" Ayumi shouted and flew up. "Wait! How about them?!" Chiho shouted. Their noises are making the soldiers look at them. "Carry them!" Ayumi shouted whilst in the air. "No way!" Chiho whined. "Me and your mother will be fine down here, you can go" Yagano wanted to remain on the ground. "Ah... Alright..." Chiho and Shu Fang flew on his confirmation. "Look at them fly..." Yagano and Katsuko heard a voice and realized that Mariko wasn''t able to fly. "Eh... This will be fine..." She sighed. "Once we invaded them, I will quickly get my own powers" She muttered. After a good speech, Everyone cheered. "Then!" A soldier with a horse went to him and he rode the horse, then he unsheathes his sword. "Let''s not waste time! We''re marching! For Tsuchiya!" "For Tsuchiya!" Everyone shouted the name and started to move. "Whoa whoa...!" Mariko got surprised that the soldiers started to turn to their direction. "Oops..." Chiho flew down to the R37 and drove it, making them look like they''re leading the army. "I should go down from here..." Katsuko found a big spot and asked to stop. With that, she stepped away and waved. "Good luck!" About to cry, she held it and wishes them good luck. "We''ll be right back..." Yagano smiled and Chiho was in tears. "Don''t cry, sweety..." Katsuko tried to calm her down. "You were cool and all, why are you crying now?" Katsuko asked with a smile. "No... It''s just..." "You can do it!" A soldier encouraged the crying Chiho, they looked at him. "Yeah! We''ll kick them off your lands!" "We will slay them without a sweat!" Then everyone started to shout words. "Everyone..." Chiho can''t believe what she''s hearing. "...!" Chiho wipes her tears and they all stopped. "Then, Everyone! Let''s do our best and drive them out of our lands!" She shouted to the army and everyone happily cheered. "Hah... Look at that, Chiho. Everyone''s hyped up for our battles..." Yagano whispered. Then Gentaro and Itsumi''s went through the army to them. "We can do this, Chiho-san, everyone..." Gentaro nodded with a smile. "Right! Then, Mother! We have to get going now!" Chiho turned to her mother with a determined look. "Yes, Good luck!" Katsuko joined her hands together as she speaks. "Then!" Chiho waved and started to drive. The army moves and Katsuko watched them. On the field. The army stands in formation, divided by each role and by their countries'' flags. The Commanders were in the first row, then the cavalries, then the footsoldiers and lastly the archers. "Perfect..." The girls were on the air inspecting the army. "Oh...?" They saw some more forces with the Chu-yuan flag. It has a red base and a blue paifang symbol in the middle. It has a ''³ý-Ôª'' text inside the gate. "It''s our army!" Shu Fang was happy to see her country''s army. "...And I''m guessing that Shun and the other assassins are going to move outside the battlefield..." She continued. "Let''s keep going..." Chiho looked at them and flew down to their R37. They waited the Chu-yuan to merge in before they marched outside the Saijun borders. Later on, they met a small hill before entering the Tsuchiyan borders. "Oh!" Chiho stopped before the hill and so everyone. "This is better than I expected!" Chiho became happy. "The army waits here while we distract everyone. When I think you can charge, Mariko will let you know with her horn" She instructed. "Everyone already knows about this, Chiho. Thank you for reminding us" A familiar Commander in the front spoke. "Then! We have to get going!" Chiho nodded on him then turned to the group. "Let''s do it!" Chiho closed her eyes but no one responded to her. "Eh...?" She opened her eyes again to see them staring at her. "Eeeeh... When did you become like that?" Mariko said. "...Amazing" Shu Fang went along. "B-Become what?" Chiho got confused. "You sounded like a commander just now!" Ayumi also went along. "Eh...?" Chiho got even more confused. "L-Let''s just do this..." She closed her eyes once more and they hold on to her. "Father... We''re going..." She whispered as she felt their touches. "Good luck..." Yagano smiled as he watches them. Rather than fearing their death, He trusted the girls instead. On the last seconds, Mariko saw Gentaro. She made a quick salute with her other hand before disappearing. Magical leaves slowly fall to the R37 and Yagano was able to get one before it disappears along with the ones on the floor of the sidecar. On a bunker, they appeared behind the two enemy soldiers, watching the area ahead of them with their mounted machineguns. They were about to hit them but they noticed something wrong. "..." Chiho noticed that there were buildings in front of them. "...!" Chiho gestured them to hold on to her once more and they quickly teleported somewhere. "Huh?" The soldier on the left noticed and saw the magical leaves on the ground. "Shichiro...?" He called out, making the other soldier look. They appeared in a large green field. Chiho dropped on all fours and was panting hard. "H-Hey... What was that?!" Mariko shouted. "Where did you brought us?! Did you just went inside Tsuchiya?!" She continued. "No... I''m pretty sure... It was that bunker..." Chiho tries her best to speak. "...Then why there are some buildings?" Shu Fang, all of them fell into confusion. "Let''s... Let''s go back to that hill..." Chiho slowly made her way to stand. "...We should wait" Shu Fang suggested. "No... I still can make it... Come on" Chiho took a deep breath, but only to pretend to look fine, her heart is beating so fast. "...Are you sure?" Shu Fang looked very worried. "It''s a disaster if you fall right now, we haven''t done anything yet..." She added. "Right, I''m sorry..." Chiho, seeing Shu Fang with a worried look, took another deep breath. This time she actually calms down. Once she felt their touches, They teleported back to the Hill. Upon teleporting back, Chiho finally fell to the ground. "Chiho!" Mariko raised Chiho''s head and rested it on her lap. "What happened?!" Yagano shouted and the army started to whisper. Shu Fang faced them as they take care of Chiho. "There was something wrong when we teleported..." She answered. "Huh?" Yagano didn''t get it and Shu Fang went to the top to look ahead. "...!" She can''t believe what she saw. There was an outpost ahead, guarded by bunkers and sandbags. She hurried down to the group. "...They built another village ahead of us!" She shouted. "Village?!" A soldier shouted and the army became noisy again. "...And of course, it is guarded by bunkers" Shu Fang thinks. "S-So, Where did we teleport into?" Mariko looked up at her. "Probably the bunker that was around Tsuchiya, not this new village" Shu Fang answered. "Shit..." Mariko cursed as she looked at Chiho. "I should have looked for it before we did that..." She continued. "Can you do another?" Mariko asked. "Of course... Give me a second..." Chiho tried to stand up but she fell and just sits. "We can wait..." Gentaro said. They waited for a minute, completely forgetting about the great risk of being detected by a plane. Luckily, there were no aircraft at that time. "Alright, I''m good..." Chiho stood up, she stood up normally which indicated that she''s really fine. "This time for real..." Chiho took a deep breath, they touched her one more time and they teleported. And this time, they saw the same hill from afar. "Finally!" Mariko shouted, to initiate the surprise. "Haa..!" "...!" Chiho and Shu Fang went to kill the turning soldiers. Chiho swung her axe down to the soldier''s shoulder while Shu Fang stabbed his neck. Chiho''s enemy shouted as loud as he can. She slides down the axe and the soldier got dragged down. "Hrgh...!" Chiho raised her axe above her and swung it down his head. "Oof..." Mariko looked up. "Didn''t know this place to be this big, you can roll hard with the axe..." She said. "Hey, What''s happening?!" A soldier barged in. "Ya...!" Ayumi got surprised and threw the sickle around his neck and pulled him closer. The soldier stumbled in. "You''re mine!" Mariko took her axe and swings it to his left leg. "Argh...!" The soldier shouted. "Rah...!" She spun and hits his other leg. Mariko swings the axe down to his head as soon as he fell to the ground. "Tch... Too easy..." Mariko said as she removed the axe from the head. "§±§â§Ú§Ô§à§ä§à§Ó§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ §Ü §ã§ä§â§Ö§Ý§î§Ò§Ö" Someone shouted from outside and a lot of footsteps are closing in. "Sounds too many... Let''s grab these!" Mariko quickly reached out for the MGs. "Go! I can''t remove them!" Ayumi let them do the job and just watched the door. "§»§Ñ§ã §á§à §Ö§Ò§Ñ§Ý§å §á§à§Ý§å§é§Ú§ê§î, C§å§Ü§Ñ!" Someone shouted really mad and kicked the iron door open. "Ha...!" Ayumi threw her spiked ball to the first person who appeared from the door. It hits his face. "Gaargh... §¢§Ý§ñ§ä§î...!" The door closed again. "§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Ú§ç §ä§Ñ§Þ?!" Someone shouted again. "That one sounded like he''s asking...!" Mariko guessed the voice. "Probably about how did we get in or how many are we... Ah!" Mariko guessed and finally took off the MG by force, screws and metals clangs as it falls to the ground. "Just what are these?!" Chiho struggled at removing the MG. The metal base is screwed on the surface and the MG is also screwed on the metal. "§¤§â§Ñ§ß§Ñ§ä§å! (Granatu!)" "Granatu?!" Mariko clearly heard what they''ve shouted. "§¯§Ñ §ç§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Û!" Someone shouted and opened the door slightly then threw a grenade. "What the fuck is that?!" Mariko panicked, holding the Degdtyarev. "...!" Shu Fang quickly grabbed the grenade and threw it out. "...Whatever that is, that is no-" The grenade explodes and interrupted Shu Fang, proving her point too. Hearing the explosion, they barged in. "Heeeey!!!" Mariko opened fire at them. The flashing of the muzzle, the loud banging, some of the bullets hitting the walls and the dust made a terrifying scene which scares both sides, even Mariko herself. A lot of the soldiers who barged in got shot and were retreated until the door closes again. "Fuck you!" Mariko curses out loud. "That was very loud!" Ayumi shouted. "Change of plans! or maybe... When we can''t get out of this shithole, I will signal them to charge" Mariko thinks of another strategy. "You''re using them as a bait?!" Ayumi shouted. "No! But maybe yes... Once they noticed the army, we will move out immediately!" Mariko explained. "So? What about it? Let''s try now..." Mariko slowly approached the door. She heard how busy they got outside. "Here goes..." Mariko slowly reached for the door. Then quickly opened the door and closed it again. Successfully tricking the soldiers outside, They fired at the door. Once they''ve stopped, Mariko opened the door wide and opened fire. "Taaake thaaat!" She sprayed at the soldiers aiming at the door. Six of them got shot and some were able to avoid her. Mariko walked outside. "You fuckers are- Argh!" A Mosin-Nagant fired and hits her MG. It flew from her hands and fell to the ground with a broken barrel. "Shit!" Mariko quickly took the SVT-40 from a fallen soldier before going back inside. "What happened?!" Chiho shouted. "Why did your gun became small?" Ayumi asked. "Someone shot my fucking gun then I picked what I can see" Mariko answered. "Someone''s a good shot out there..." Mariko pointed her thumb to the direction of where felt the shot. "To the left, right?" Chiho prepared to teleport. "Go sound the horn! Then I will teleport outside, once I got their attention, Go out and go wild" Chiho made a plan "Yes!" They nodded. "With your signal, Mariko!" Chiho waited for her. "Right!" Mariko held the horn and used it. But didn''t last long since a female soldier peeked through the window and started firing her PPSH. They all ducked. Mariko continued to blow the horn for a few seconds. "There you have it!" Once she stopped, she turned to Chiho. "Wait for a second before you charge out!" Chiho shouted before teleporting out. She appeared behind the soldier who shot Mariko''s gun. They were standing on a roofless wooden tower. The soldier quickly felt her presence and used the stock to hit her without turning. Chiho got hit in her right arm. "Ow...!" She screamed but quickly gained focus and swings her axe down to the soldier. But the soldier quickly moved away and turned to her. There she realized it''s a girl. "Getting rough are we?" The soldier grinned as she removed her helmet. Exposing her short red hair. "So you''ve gained that power, huh?" She examined Chiho''s face. "Eeeeh...? You?" Even though she was smiling, there was a hint of disappointment in her voice. "You can''t be serious..." She laughed. "I would like you to know who you fight with first... I''m Nami Setogawa, of the Red-Mosin of the Prohorovka! Nice to meet you, Chiho Hasegawa..." She smiled. "..." Chiho feared that she''s well known to the enemies. "You fucks finally decided to act..." Nami shrugged. "We''ve been waiting for so long!" She shouted as she charged towards Chiho. "...!" Chiho carefully watches her. Not what she was expecting, Nami held her gun from the barrel. "Haaa...!" She swung her gun stock against her, but Chiho blocked it, making Nami step back. But as soon as she did, she spun and fired at Chiho. "Whoa!" Chiho happened to react quick, her blade turned yellow but she just moved her head. "Heh..." Nami chuckled as she works with the bolt. The sound of the cartridge falling to the ground scares Chiho a bit. "Not bad. Not everyone can avoid a bullet like that..." She said. Then suddenly, the door from the bunker opened wild and the three jumped out together. "What?!" Nami looked behind her to see what''s up. "Take this!" Mariko opened fire to the soldiers while Shu Fang and Ayumi flew up to the sky. "On me!" Chiho tried to get Nami while distracted but she used her gun to block Chiho''s attack. "Ah!" Chiho got surprised at her quick reaction. "Not gonna... Work!" Nami pushed off Chiho and quickly charged. "...!" Chiho tried her best to watch her as she stumbles back. "Haa...!" Nami swings the stock against her, but Chiho blocked it with her blade. "...!" Then she used the knob to hit Nami''s face, but she moved away. Missing the attack, Chiho aimed to bump the knob against her stomach. "...!" She thrust her axe forward, but Nami catches the knob. "Heh, nice combos" She giggled. Then suddenly, they heard a huge army charging to their direction. They both looked to their right. "Tch... Knew this gonna happened, that damn horn..." Nami got annoyed. "Get off!" She throws the axe away and aimed at the army. "Ah...!" Chiho didn''t get the time to react and just watched her shoot, then she loads another bullet. "Wait!" Seeing her ready for another shot, Chiho stood up and swings her axe against her. "Don''t be a nuisance!" Nami blocked the axe and quickly grabbed it. "...!" Then she pulled it to drag Chiho closer and slams her body against her. Chiho fell to the ground. "Gr..." She threw the axe behind her and faced her soldiers. She shouted in her language and Chiho couldn''t understand. Chiho saw a lot of dead soldiers down there with the three going on a killing spree. But despite that, there are more soldiers coming to their position. Those who are not targeted by the three, went to face the army and starts firing at them. "Oh no!" Chiho extends her arm at the axe and it slowly made its way towards Chiho''s hand. "Huh?" Nami noticed it and saw the axe in Chiho''s hands. "Fuck sake..." Nami cursed and shouted in Russian again before turning to Chiho. "I''m sorry, but I will leave you for now!" Chiho then teleported down to the ground. "Hey!" Nami ran to her place and looked everywhere. Then she started to hear her soldiers'' scream. "What the?!" She looked below to see Chiho killing the soldiers who were shooting at the charging army. "You!" Nami jumped down and revealed her right blade. After killing some of the shooting soldiers, Chiho stopped to face Nami. "How dare you run away from me?!" Nami''s about to charge but a dead soldier was thrown in front of them. They looked up to the sky and saw Ayumi spinning in the air with a soldier tied in her chains. Then she threw off the soldier away. After that. They saw a fast black shade charged to a soldier, killing them. Then the shade became Shu Fang''s appearance. "Shu Fang!" Chiho called and Shu Fang looked at them. "Kill those guys shooting at them!" Chiho shouted. "...Alright!" Shu Fang nodded. "Ah! I can''t believe this!" Nami aimed at Shu Fang and fired, but Shu Fang became a black shade and quickly charged to the soldiers. "Shit... Ah!" Nami was about to load another bullet but Chiho didn''t let her and charged. "I would never let you!" She shouted as she slams herself against Nami. Chiho even put all her strength but Nami just stumbled back. So she followed up with a swing attack. "Kh...!" Nami used her blade to parry and push back Chiho. "Looks like I''m underestimating you a lot... Didn''t knew you were this strong!" Nami was really surprised and started to get serious. "Hmph..." But she quickly let go of it. "I''ll let Mark handle you and see who''s more useless..." Nami mentioned a familiar name. "Until then..." Nami ran to the middle. "Hey! Mark''ll be handling you now! The guy can''t fucking speak Russian so careful with your language!" She shouted to the soldiers before running. Chiho watched her run. All of the sudden, Mariko suddenly showed up and surprised Nami with a swing attack. "Ah!" Chiho carefully watches them. "Get out of the way!" Nami blocked her attack and threw her to the side and ran away. "Hey! Get back here!" Mariko shouted but didn''t chase after her. And a soldier came running to her with a bayonet. "Hey!" Someone called behind Chiho and she turned. "...!" She quickly moved her head away and the handgun fired. "What the...!" The soldier got surprised. Then Chiho pushes him away with her axe and immediately swung it down to his head. Then she kicked off the body away, making the blade slices before it falls to the ground. Right after that, She saw a female soldier aiming at her but Mariko threw her axe before she can fire. The axe got stuck on the soldier''s neck. "Ha...!" Chiho noticed the soldier got shocked and dropped her gun. Then She charged in to finish the job. She grabbed Mariko''s axe, then held her long axe by its shoulder and stabs it on the other side of her neck. "Die!" Chiho used her strength to push both axes until it pierced through and beheaded the girl. "Whoa! Amazing! Amazing! Hahaha!" Mariko was visibly happy about it. "Don''t get distracted!" Chiho teleported behind a soldier aiming at her from a distance. She used Mariko''s axe to stab at the soldier''s shoulder and her long axe to his neck. "Akh...!" The soldier couldn''t speak with his neck stabbed and took his knife and stabbed behind him. "Urgh...!" Chiho got stabbed on her stomach but still continued. She removed Mariko''s axe from the shoulder and stabbed it on his stomach. Then she slides both axe away, slicing his neck and his stomach. It fell on the ground and Chiho removed the knife from her and looked for a painkiller. "Ah!" Chiho got shot in her right arm and fell to the ground. "Onee-chan!" Ayumi shouted in horror and quickly turned to the soldier who fired at her. "You!" Ayumi throws her sickle glowing in pink and it hits the soldier by the chest. "Ya...!" The sickle turned yellow and the soldier got dragged with. Ayumi spun and throws the soldier to the ground. She turned the sickle pink to get off the soldier and flew to Chiho. "Onee-chan!" Ayumi looked like she''s about to cry. Then the army finally arrived. The army quickly swarmed the place, killing the remaining enemy soldiers. "Hell yeah!" They heard Mariko''s shout. On a split second, they saw the R37 with Yagano driving and a soldier to the gun charged deep in the outpost. Then they saw Itsumi looking around. "Itsumi-nee-san!" Ayumi called out to her and Itsumi quickly went to them through the charging horses. "What happened?!" Itsumi went down from her horse and crouched to see Chiho. She saw how bad her wounds are. "Don''t worry... Just..." Chiho finally found a painkiller and injected it on her arm. Then she suddenly lit bright white. "Aaah!" Chiho got surprised and threw the syringe away. Then the light slowly fades. The wounds still had the bright light for a few seconds before disappearing. There was no trace of a wound. "W-What was that?!" Chiho looked at the syringe. "You became so bright!" Ayumi shouted. Chiho then looked around. Friendly soldiers are still pouring in. "There''s no time to be amazed, Chiho-san. If that healed your wounds. Then we must get going!" Itsumi stood up and extends her right arm to her. "Yes!" Chiho responded as she took Itsumi''s hand and stood up. "Then, we must get going!" Chiho nodded. "Hold on to me, Ayumi! I''m teleporting to one of their buildings!" Chiho asked Ayumi. Then they both teleported to a small armory, behind the soldiers trapped inside. "Haah...!" Chiho swung her axe down to the soldier''s head. "Ya...!" Ayumi turned her sickle pink and continuously sent it to the enemies. Chiho quickly saw that they were armed with guns so she picked the PPSH from a dead soldier. "Ayumi!" Chiho called out, Ayumi looked behind her and immediately moved away. "Die!" Chiho opened fire at them, giving them no chance to fire back. Then they heard a loud crash and the shouts of the soldiers started to fill the small building. Friendly soldiers started to storm the building and the last soldier fired at them but didn''t last long. The soldiers that got shot screamed in agony. Then a soldier approached the two. "Hey, Good job clearing this one, they still have three buildings left and some of them locked themselves in" He said. "Alright! We''re going!" Chiho nodded. Ayumi hold on to her and they teleported to a depot. They did the same and the soldiers barged inside and cornered the hiding soldiers. They repeated until all buildings are cleared, they all cheered. "This is like the main building, huh?" Chiho looked at a two-story building. Like the other buildings, it looked like it''s made purely out of steel. Its colors only consist of black and white. A completely space-themed building, which terrifies everyone. "Everyone! Charge in! We''re teleporting inside!" Chiho shouted to the soldiers and they responded with Yes. "Let us go with you!" Mariko and Shu Fang went running to hold onto her. The four of them teleported inside. "Alright, You heard her! Let''s break in!" Gentaro instructed the soldiers. They teleported on the second level. "Ah!" A familiar brown-haired guy got surprised. "Shit! Kill them!" He shouted to the soldiers near him. Shots fired but no one got hit, the four of them finished off the soldiers then. "Screw it!" Mark loudly revealed his blades. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, so they saw where the blades came from. A dark-blue something suddenly appeared and is attached to both of his wrists with a glowing blue stone on its top. His appearance proves that they were not expecting the army to initiate the war at this time. "One on One! No need to get salty here!" He shouted, then turned to Mariko. "You! Cavewoman! I will go with you first!" He pointed at her. "Huh?! What did you just call me?!" Mariko aimed her SVT and shoot at him, but a barrier blocked off the ammo. "Ah...!" Mariko got surprised. "Come on, I am challenging you to a sword fight not gun fight!" He shouted. "...If I''m not mistaken, you''re that guy Alice told us about..." Shu Fang talked to him. "And you''re that fucking disobedient fuck!" He recognized her almost instantly. "Then! Cavewoman!" He faced Mariko. "My name is Mariko Sakitama. That name will devour your mind as I dismember you!" Mariko became hyped up. "Hah! If you can! Bitch!" Mark laughed. "Then... HERE I COME!!!" Mariko shouted so loud, the girls got surprised. "HRAAH!!!" She swung the stock of the gun against him. Mark flinched as the barrier protected him, the stock got broke. Seeing the sharp edges of the broken gun, She thrusts it to him despite the barrier. "Y-You would never hit me, Haha!" Mark nervously laughed. "Take this!" Mark went for a stab to her chest but Mariko quickly caught his arm and headbutts him. But a barrier appeared between them and Mariko hits it instead of Mark''s head. "Without that fucking magic shit, I would have killed you already!" Mariko furiously shouted. "Hah! This will be your end!" Mark pretended to swing his left arm but kicks her right leg. He was slow and easy to read for Mariko, so she moved her leg and pushed him away with the gun. "Mariko!" Chiho called her and toss her axe. "Thanks! I missed her so much already!" Mariko thanked her as she caught the axe. "My turn!" Mariko threw the gun at him. Mark flinched again, they are starting to notice how he lacks experience. Right after throwing the gun, Mariko charged and slams herself against him. "Aaah...!" Mark got pinned down by her. Mariko rode him to keep him down and strangled him. "Kkh...!" Mark tried to get her hands off. "No!" Ayumi shouted and ran to them and took his hands. "Die like a useless fuck you are!" Ayumi shouted as she restraints him. "Uuukh...!" Mark struggled. "How''s your fucking magic shield?! I''m not done with that yet!" Mariko then grabbed her axe and tried to hit his head. And like she expected, the barrier protected him. "There''s no way you can keep this fucking shield standing!" Mariko then continued to smash the barrier while strangling him at the same time. The shouts from below started to get intense and an enemy soldier went running up to them. "Ah!" He got surprised at the scene. "...!" Shu Fang turned into a shade and quickly grabbed the soldier by his collar and pinned him down. "...I will kill you if you move a muscle..." She threatened. "ha..haaah..." The soldier remained motionless on the ground. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Then a few seconds later, Friendly soldiers started to show up. "Haaa...!!" Mariko used her last strength and bashed her axe on the barrier. And finally, the blue circle barrier that was protecting him fades away and her axe''s head hits his cheek, leaving a graze. "Hah! See?!" Mariko became happy while Mark''s face flushed with fear. "...You''re so hopeless..." A little girl''s voice reached out to them and suddenly Mariko flew away, like she''s been kicked away by an unknown entity. Then a little girl with long red hair suddenly appeared beside Ayumi. They looked like the same age. "My name is Akiko Petryaev! Sister of Liliya Petryaev! Ooops! I said her name!" She playfully introduced herself. "Sister of who...?" Mariko slowly stood up and saw that the girl was wearing an eye-patch with a familiar symbol. "No way..." Mariko, along with the soldiers behind her, stared at her. "You can call me Aki! Teehee!" Akiko sticks her tongue out. Then she noticed Ayumi beside her. "Haaa!!" She got happy seeing Ayumi. Ayumi stared at her red eyes, reminding her of Naomi back in the Jima. The same playful side is what reminded her. "You can call me Aki!" Akiko forcefully threw Mark''s hands away and held Ayumi''s hands. "What''s your name?!" She asked. "A-Ayumi..." She said her name. "If your friends are going to fight with my friends, I would like you to play with me, alright?!" Akiko asked. Without letting her answer, she let go of her hands. "Now, Mark-san. You trash..." Her voice suddenly became serious. She leaned close to his ears. But still spoke loudly. "If you fail at these small fries one more time, Me and my sister will be the one to kill you instead" Akiko made a very threatening look. "Y-Yes..." Mark nodded without hesitation. "Good boy! Now..." Akiko faced everyone. "I hope to see you soon! Don''t fall into garbages like him and face us instead!" Akiko waved at them and she disappeared with Mark quickly. After that, they fell into silence for a few moments before moving on. They cleared out every corner of the outpost, making sure no one survived nor escaped. It took them a little bit of time before finishing. After that, they planted their flag on a tower facing the Tsuchiya. 25 Defend! - Prohorovkan Counter-Attack! With the ''victory'' against the Prohorovkans on the outpost. The Tsukosa gained a lot of equipment that can be used on their war. Though, despite the glorious first victory, some can''t just stop thinking about the Prohorovkan''s lack of response to the attack, since they knew how powerful they are. But most of them didn''t care for as long as they had the outpost without suffering heavy casualties. On a field. The group went with half of the army, including Gentaro, that''s going back to Saiju. The rest stayed on the outpost to guard and to take care of the equipment left by the Prohorovkans. "This is cool!" Mariko still had her SVT and took a few magazines. "But mine shoot faster!" Ayumi picked up a PPSH. "...And I''m a veteran sharpshooter" while Shu Fang took a scoped Mosin. "..." Chiho sighed. Mariko noticed her. "Why didn''t you get yours?" She asked her. "I forgot..." Chiho looked at her weapon. "Can I test yours?" She asked. "Huh? Ah..." Mariko handed over the SVT. Then Chiho aimed at a distance and fired. Chiho couldn''t fully hold back the recoil and the stock slides up to her shoulder "Whoa!" Mariko and everyone looked at her. "So strong..." Chiho looked at the smoking barrel. "There''s a lot of weapon back in that place, you can always take one" Yagano, who was driving, told her. "Yeah! Take the big one! But, wait... Didn''t we get two from the bunker? Mine broke..." Mariko was curious. "...It ran out. I had to throw it away" Shu Fang answered. "Ah, is that so... Too bad" Mariko said. They fell silent for a few minutes. They were moving with a slow pace, the horses are walking and Yagano is matching the speed of their R37 with the horses. Then Mariko starts up a conversation. "Hey... I''m wondering... How did we get that place successfully?" She asked. "The lack of response from them worries me" Chiho said. "Yeah, I also felt that. They barely responded to our attack. "And we had a huge army to capture a small place!" Ayumi shouted. "Why did we stop from there?!" She continued. "We didn''t expect that base. We have to secure it first, then plan our next move" Gentaro dragged his horse near them. "We could have moved as soon as we cleared that out!" Ayumi continued to whine. "Like I said, We have to secure it. There''s a lot of weapon stored within that base we can use for our further invasion" Gentaro said. "Hmph..." Ayumi dropped her gun and crossed her arms. "Don''t you worry. There are some Commanders back there that will try to push further to the enemy territories. Another major invasion will happen tomorrow" Gentaro said. "Tomorrow?!" Mariko shouted. "Are you fucking out of your mind?!" She furiously asked. "Calm down, Mariko-san. You know that we left the Saiju almost no soldiers" Gentaro talks in the same calm manner. "Who the fuck leaves his village like that?!" Mariko shouted. "Ahem... Let me lay it out for you. First of all, the attack on that outpost was really unexpected. We were ready to siege the Tsuchiya, not a small base like that. So I went all out and sent most of our armies. And since that happened, Half of the army is returning back while the other half tries to invade some more places" Gentaro explained. "Huh?! Invade some more?!" Mariko got surprised. "Did you just realized that now?" Gentaro smiled. "It seems like they''ve built a lot of bases to slow down the invaders" "Huh?!" Gentaro told them and the girls were the only ones who got surprised. "Remember that we just entered the Tsuchiyan borders. Your land is quite big, right?" Gentaro asked. "Also, didn''t you girls see what''s up ahead? There are more bases, that''s where the Commanders are trying to conquer" He said. "We... didn''t see" Mariko got nervous. "Right. The Commanders will try to get as many as they can. But it won''t be easy without a larger army" Gentaro nodded. "I also thought that you will help them with it. I was surprised you went back home with us" Gentaro smiled. "A-Ah... Ask the driver" Mariko and everyone looked at Yagano. "Hey, It''s Chiho who told us to go with you" Yagano directed the blame to Chiho. "I-I didn''t know we were just going home" Though, Chiho admitted. "We can''t turn back now, though. We are near-" "Hey! Over there!" Yagano was talking until a soldier pointed up to their left. They all looked. "I-It''s them!" Chiho shouted. A convoy of tanks and trucks are going in the same direction from afar. "They''re gonna be like that huh?!" Mariko got hyped up again. "Yagano-san! Let''s hurry back!" Gentaro shouted and went full speed. "Got it!" Yagano also went full speed and got past the horses. They quickly reached the gate. "Open the gates!" Yagano shouted at the guards. "Open the gates!" The guard on the left shouted. "There''s a large group of enemies heading right towards here! Gentaro and half of the army should be here in any seconds now!" Yagano shouted to the guards and they visibly became worried. "The gate''s taking too long! Hold on to me, everyone!" Chiho asked them so they can just teleport inside. Once they got in, Chiho suddenly started panting hard. "Wha...!" Mariko noticed that they are still on their R37. "...Our vehicle went along!" Shu Fang also noticed immediately and told them. "How did that happen?!" Yagano shouted. "M-Maybe I was holding into it?! Ayumi panicked. "...Then it must have taken a lot of strength!" Shu Fang looked very worried. Chiho then fell on her. "I''m sorry! I shouldn''t have touched into it!" Ayumi apologized to them. "Goddamn! Good thing our clothes still go with us even though we don''t touch them... Just how this goddamn power works?" Mariko asked herself. "Hold on!" Yagano drove forth. "Where are we going?" Mariko asked. "There''s a place where they take sick people in! I''m going to take her there!" Yagano shouted, without looking away from their path. "I''m...Okay!" Chiho tried to speak. "...Yeah, I think she''s going to be fine, she just needs more minutes" Shu Fang said. "Really? Do you think you''re going to be fine?" Yagano glanced at Chiho. "Yeah...I will be...Fine" Chiho answered. "But...Let''s go there... Warn them about the enemies" She said. "Y-Yeah! That''s a good idea" Yagano agreed and proceeded to drive towards there. On the way to the Hospital, A Carriage that is going in the opposite direction approached them. They stopped in the middle of the road. "Commander Yagano! It is good to see you! There is a large group of enemies heading towards our village! We saw them from up the walls!" The soldier that was driving the carriage warned them. His face clearly shows how nervous he is. "We know that. We were with Gentaro on the way here when we saw them" Yagano answered. "Gentaro-sama is coming?! That''s good to know sir! Then, We''ll be on our way!" The soldier nodded and proceeded to their destination. Yagano drives again at full speed. After a few minutes, people are starting to show up from around them. Going in from their houses and taking out whatever they can and some insist to remain and stay inside their houses. Then not too long ago before they come across a group of soldiers who are shouting a warning as they move to different places. And later they can now see some people warning their own neighbors. It is getting busier as time passes by. Later when they arrived at the clinic. It''s not what they expected, the place around it isn''t busy and has yet to be alarmed. "Look! We can start from here!" Mariko shouted. Then they all disembarked but Shu Fang and Chiho. "...Can you stand?" Shu Fang asked. "Yes...Yes, I can" Chiho nodded and slowly left her seat, Shu Fang was guiding her. "Great. Now let''s split up, we''re gonna need to warn the whole area!" Yagano shouted an order and they went into different directions. What''s left was Chiho and Shu Fang. "...Looks like we will handle this place" Shu Fang looked at the very old brown building that was obviously handled with such care so it lasts longer. A getting dusty sign with "Hospital" in it is nailed above the entrance. Its door is one of the things that shows how old the building was. "...Let''s go inside" Shu Fang looked at Chiho. "Yeah..." Chiho nodded, still panting but not that intense anymore. Once they got in, a very saddening scene greets them. There are eight beds. While the enemy charges towards their village to destroy everything, An old man, A pregnant, A sick little girl, A man with serious flu, Another man with a broken leg and three other girls with no visible physical illness fills the quiet little place. They all looked at the two. Their sad gazes made Shu Fang very uncomfortable and wished that they were not carrying bad news. Chiho noticed her so she took a step forward to talk to the sick people. "Everyone..." Chiho took a deep breath after calling them out. Shu Fang noticed that she was already fine. "The thing is... The enemy is coming..." Without looking at them, Chiho effortlessly warned them. But nonetheless, they started to tears. The two felt their despair. "But don''t worry! We will protect you! With our strength, with our people''s strength! We will stop them!" Chiho smiled a bit and tried to look at each one of them. The illnesses and problems that keep them immobilized shocked Chiho. "I promise you! We will protect you!" Chiho bowed to them. They quietly appreciated her. "...Right. We will never give away this village nor our whole land!" Shu Fang supported her. "Thank you..." The pregnant woman thanked them and the two felt happy. "We''re sorry if we somehow slow you down. We''ll try our best to cooperate as possible..." The man with a broken leg said. "You don''t have to do anything! We''ll protect this area!" Chiho bowed once more. "May you and your father save us once again, Chiho-san" A woman said. "Then we must go! Our friends and my father is going around the area warning the people!" Just like Chiho said, everyone is starting to get busy outside. The two bowed before heading out. "They''re here!" A plane flies by as soon as someone shouted. "...Here they come!" Shu Fang looked at Chiho. "Yeah!" Chiho nodded and they separated. Chiho ran to the left and saw Mariko helping out a family. "Mariko!" Chiho called out. "Yeah, What''s up?! I''m going to help these fellows then move on to the battle!" Mariko turned to shout at her. "Alright!" Chiho''s about to run, but she heard loud gunshots from the previous plane that turned already. It started to shoot at the buildings and was heading towards Chiho''s direction. "..." She examined the plane and see if it''s familiar, but to no avail. It was a LaGG-3, though, and it was her first time to see the plane. "It''s coming!" Chiho shouted as she flies up. "..." She silently casts and turned her blade pink and charges towards the plane. "Haaa...!" As soon she reaches the plane, she swings her axe against the propeller and started to cut it in half. "...!" The plane shakes a little as it loses its propeller. Then she sticks out her axe and cuts down the tail. Then, while standing on the wing, she saw the enemy army and thinks of an idea. She swings her axe against the plane and casts and made her axe yellow while stuck. "Haaa...!" She floats and used all of her strength to spin with the plane. "Take...This!" Chiho waited for the great chance to throw the plane against the enemies, changed her power and let the plane fly down to the enemies. From there, She can see the enemies scatter to avoid the plane. Then some of them started firing their guns at her despite the distance. She had to go down just to be safe. "Wow! That was amazing! I didn''t think you could pull that one off!" Mariko was watching her. "There''s no time to be amazed!" Chiho smiled. "We have to protect this village first!" She continued. "Right!" Mariko nodded. Then suddenly, a group of cavalries with Gentaro leading them appeared and approached them. "Looks like they are planning on breaking this part of the wall, huh?" He said to the two. "Yeah, They are clo-" Before Mariko could continue, a tank fired from the outside followed by the sound of the walls collapsing. "Tch... Just what you have said!" Mariko got mad. "Mariko! Stay with them! I will Ayumi and Shu Fang!" Chiho shouted and ran away. "Shit... I really wished I had powers..." Mariko said as she turns to Gentaro. "Do you have any horse?" She asked. On a house, Ayumi came out and Chiho called her. Then they looked for Shu Fang and went together to the fallen wall. On the air, They saw Gentaro''s forces going in the same direction. "Look!" Ayumi pointed to the holed wall. Troops are starting to pour in from the hole and soon, the tanks drove through the walls, making the hole bigger. "We have to stop them... Haa...!" Ayumi flew closer and swings her axe. Fire magic came out of her sickle and goes for the enemies. "You two! Go!" Ayumi glanced at the two before she starts spinning. Her sickle and her spiked ball continuously let out a magic shot every time it swings at the enemies'' direction. "You should go!" Chiho looked at Shu Fang. "...Right" She nodded and became a shade and went down with incredible speed. Chiho raised her axe above her with two hands. "Lightning! Infuse and become one with my weapon!" She shouted while looking up. Then a bolt of lightning hits her axe and she was filled with immense power. The skies quickly darkened and the blade''s bright with sparking, electricity. "Haaaaaa.....!!!" While still raising her arms up, Chiho flies down to the enemies. "Take thiiis!!!" She shouted as she swings down the axe against the ground. making a huge bright crack around the area. The axe made a loud noise as the electricity from the blade disappears and transferred to all of the nearby soldiers and electrocutes them. The first tank that got in, A KV-1, was unaffected and slowly turning their turret towards Chiho. "Not gonna let you!" Chiho charged and casts and turned her blades pink. She swings and disabled its gun by cutting it. The KV-1 still fired it nonetheless and the exploded from the inside, probably harming the crews inside and temporarily stopped them from moving. Then a soldier fired his PPSH but didn''t last long as a shade kills him in a flash. Then a soldier shouted in Russian and some of the remaining soldiers started to fire at her. "Ah...!" Chiho got startled by the sounds of the guns and its ammo bouncing against the KV-1. She quickly hides on the other side. Then a soldier who''s about to go to the other side noticed her and pointed his gun at her. But she charged and brings down her axe against his head and hides back. "Gaah...!" Suddenly, An MG started shooting from the back of its turret and Chiho got shot two times. She fell on the ground. She heard A faint male voice came from inside the tank followed by more firing of the MG. It can''t go any lower and it was hitting the ground just above Chiho''s head. Then suddenly, She heard the horses'' footsteps coming closer. Through her blurry senses, she saw an enemy soldier pointing their gun at her but a horse went pass by and the rider hits the soldier''s back and the soldier fell dead next to her. It was such a nice coincidence for her. The back MG of the tank tries to shoot the horse but failed. Then Suddenly, both side has met on the other side of the tank. The pouring enemy soldiers and Gentaro''s forces have engaged in a battle. The sounds of the guns and their shouts fill the area. Hearing the battle, Chiho tried her best to move quickly and go through the soldier''s uniform for the painkillers. After a while, She finally found one but a grenade without a pin got tossed into her side. She quickly throws it away without hesitation and injected the painkiller into her arm. Unlike before, She didn''t become a bright light and the wounds are the only one who brightened. "Whew..." Chiho sighed. Then suddenly a wounded enemy soldier staggered towards her. He shouted in Russian and exposed his right blade. Despite his wound, He lunged at Chiho. Chiho quickly picked up her axe and cuts his arm. The soldier screamed in agony as he falls to the ground with his bloody severed arm on his side. "No!" A female soldier shouted behind Chiho and she turned to look at her. "You...!" The female soldier started crying as she exposes both of her blades. Chiho felt really sad despite the situation. "How dare you!" The soldier''s face completely fades of sadness and became nothing but anger. "I...I''m sorry!" Chiho apologized and felt dumb. "Die!" The female soldier reached for a stab but Chiho moves to her right side and swings her axe right. But the female soldier skillfully dodged and lunged at her. Chiho still moved to her right to avoid her attack and this time, she made sure her axe caught her by her stomach. "Akh...!" The female soldier coughs blood as the blade of the axe made its way inside her gut. She quickly took out her handgun and fires at Chiho''s legs. "Kh...!" Chiho greeted her teeth to fight the burning pain in her left leg. Becoming fully antagonized, Chiho pulled the axe to throw the soldier forward. The female soldier fell on all four and Chiho swings her axe down to her back followed by the loud sound of her flesh and bones being penetrated with such strength. The soldier didn''t get to scream. Then Chiho puts her right foot on her hips to push her down, to remove the axe from her. "Everyone! Use blades!" A familiar male voice shouted from the other side and the gunfires stopped and a lot of clanging replaced them. "It''s him!" Chiho jumped up in front of the KV-1 to see. But suddenly a crew appeared in the hatch. Chiho quickly slices his neck. She saw a grenade in his uniform and throws it inside the tank. Not knowing how it works, She didn''t pull the pin first. But the crews inside got tricked and immediately went out of their hatches. Chiho went and swings her axe against them. After dealing with them, she started looking around. But couldn''t find what she was looking for. Then she jumped to a nearby enemy soldier and swung her axe down his head. Then immediately removed it away and faced some enemies. After dealing with a number of soldiers, she looked at the hole and the enemies are still going in. "They''re so many!" Chiho shouted. Then a soldier charged towards her but she teleported behind him and swings her axe down to his shoulder and pulled it to make him fall on his back. "...!" Chiho raised her axe above her and throws it down to his head. "Just why are they so many?!" She complained as she looks at the pouring enemies. Then suddenly, a group of cavalries with Yagano leading them with the R37. joined the battle. Yagano ordered the cavalries to charge forth as he stops the R37 in the middle for the gunner to fire at them. Then He saw Chiho. "Chiho! We''re going to handle this! Look for Ayumi or Shu Fang and go to the Northside of the wall!" He shouted at her. "To the other side of the wall?!" Chiho got surprised. "Yeah! They''re surrounding us!" Yagano shouted. "D-Damn it!" Chiho flew up to look for Shu Fang. "Shu Fang! We have to get to the other wall!" Chiho shouted at the top of her lungs, despite the noises. Then Shu Fang came flying towards her from a certain spot. "...The North wall?" She asked. "Yeah! They are breaking in from the other side!" Chiho nodded. "Let''s go!" Chiho flew away and Shu Fang followed her. Ayumi saw them from the grounds and flew up. "Hey! Where are you going?!" She shouted. Chiho looked back. "Stay there! We are going to handle the enemies from the other side!" Chiho let her stay. "A-Alright!" Ayumi nodded and flew back to the battle. "...On the North... That means it was the East wall they first broke into?!" Shu Fang asked. Chiho nodded. "You just noticed?" She asked. "N-No... It''s just... Your entrance is facing the west, it leads me to confusion..." Shu Fang shook her head. "Ah... Is that so..." Chiho understands. There were no tanks at the North wall, Just some transport vehicles. They have yet to make a hole. "I see the archers on the walls!" Chiho pointed at the top of the wall. There were archers shooting down from their position. "Let''s help the-" Chiho got interrupted by the gunshots from an incoming plane. A Yak-9. "Damn it!" Chiho got annoyed by it and started to follow it as it flies by. "Shu Fang! Go help the archers on the wall!" Chiho shouted as they separate. Shu Fang went for the wall but it collapsed before she can set foot. The screams of the soldiers went along with loud noise of the walls collapsing. Shu Fang was surprised. Once an enemy soldier has entered, Shu Fang immediately went to kill them. On the other hand, Chiho was now using the Yak-9. Though the cockpit is different, she still thinks of everything she had learned from Takumi and recognized some of the controls. First, she felt the controls and see how to plane reacts to them. It was not too long before she can control it just fine so she used the stick to turn it back to the walls. "Oh no!" She saw the walls destroyed and the soldiers are flooding in. Seeing no friendly soldiers on the area, Chiho opened fire at them. The Yak-9''s cannon is equipped with High-Explosive so it killed a lot of enemy soldiers. "Haa..." Seeing how fast she was flying and its nose pointed at the ground, Chiho pulled up the plane way earlier. "That was close!" Chiho took a deep breath and went for another strafe. As she starts firing at the area again, She heard a voice from her right, it was coming from a radio. The voice of a girl was audibly upset and confused and Chiho guessed it right that it was about their own plane shooting friendlies. Chiho just smiled as she rains down hell to the enemy soldiers on the ground. "Is this a stolen plane?! We''re gonna fuck you up!" The girl on the radio finally realized and spoke Japanese. "We''re gonna kill you! You hear?!" She was really pissed off. Chiho half-smiled, she was still nervous at the enemy planes that''ll be chasing her. So while the skies are still clear, she kept firing down the soldiers. After some strafing, She saw a group of cavalries heading to the wall so she became very careful. But at the same time, She saw two planes, they were two LaGG-3. They followed her tail without firing at her. "..." Chiho maintained a straight flight. "Yakovlev. What kind of joke is this?" A male voice came out of the radio. Chiho then had the feeling that it was one of the pilots that were on her tail. Then all of the sudden, She felt like fighting them and responded to the radio. "This is Yakoflfl whatever... I''m gonna quit the army and join the enemies!" Chiho pretended that she was the actual pilot but they weren''t tricked. "Fuck you. You hijacked that plane, get ready for some action, motherfucker" The pilot on the radio said and the two planes separated and went to each side. Chiho noticed and looked to her left and right. Backed away enough, The two planes pointed their nose to Chiho''s direction and started firing. "Oh no..." Chiho quickly pushed the stick forth, making the plane down. The two planes exchanged sides and turned upside down. They pointed their nose on Chiho''s direction and started firing. "They are still on me?!" Chiho turned to her right to run away. The plane on her left follows her while the right plane turns to follow the tail of the other plane. After evading their some of their attempts to bring her down, She started to think it''s not worth the time. They can''t bring her down in a second and she can''t get into their tail as well, so she just ignored them and focused on the ground. "Ah!" As Chiho points her plane towards the hole, She saw that the enemy has already advanced further. Then finally, The two planes finally landed a shot to her plane. Despite how bored she was, she still got startled from the noise and the shake when her plane got hit. She still ignored them nonetheless. "I can''t shoot there..." Chiho thinks it is impossible to shoot down at the advancing enemies, mostly because she might hit friendlies. So she heads for the East wall with the two planes still on her tail. She even thinks that those two planes are so bad compared to her. They still shoot at her and she will be shot two or three times then a few seconds they will try again. Despite that, Her plane is still working good. Once they reached the East wall, The same thing happened. The enemies are advancing. "Goddamn it!" She curses as she looks around, looking for an area with nothing but enemies to shoot at. But were being disturbed by the two planes. "Tch..." Chiho opened the canopy and jumped out. She flies towards the first LaGG-3 and landed on the canopy. "Hey!" Chiho knocked and she saw how surprised the pilot was, which made her laugh. "...!" Then she used her axe to break the glass. "I got you now!" Chiho smiled at the pilot. Then he took his handgun out but Chiho didn''t let him point it at her and quickly sent her axe to his neck. After that, She quickly flies towards the last plane and did the same. She threw the dead body away and took control of the plane and flies towards the hole. "Goddamn it! They''re really moving in so fast!" Chiho thinks it''s pointless to have the plane and jumps out. Not worrying about where the plane''s going to crash. While the skies are still dark, Chiho raised her axe up and got another power. "Aaaaaaahhh!!!" Chiho shouted as loud as she can and landed on a street with advancing enemies. The nearby soldiers get electrocuted as the axe hits the ground. "Raaa...!" A soldier charged first. He went for a stab to her neck but Chiho moves to her left and swings her axe to his legs. Once he fell, She landed her axe on his nape, killing him. The other soldiers followed and Chiho was mostly slicing their throats, chest and their stomachs. Until to the point that four soldiers are attacking her at once, She had to cast her axe pink and swing it across to the four. Then she finally noticed that they were all using their blades. The soldiers are waiting for her to move with their dual blades exposed. She also noticed that the left side of the road is being filled with enemies. Seeing how many they are, She''s so willing to try another power. With that, She raised her axe up with two hands. "Lightning! Infuse my weapon!" She shouted and her axe got hit with the lightning. The soldiers stare at her bright, sparkling with electricity, blade. Then she looked to her left. "May this power guide you to the path to hell..." Without hesitating, Chiho shouted as loud as she can. She hits the ground as hard as she can and the power transferred to the ground, followed by very loud and blinding thunderbolts that go straight on the road. A lot of the soldiers screamed as they got hit by the thunder and the streets were cleared of them, with Chiho standing on the middle. The soldiers behind her got scared and hesitated to attack. Chiho slowly turned around to see the soldiers clueless of what are they going to do. Then one of the soldiers manned up and shouted at her. "Like we''re gonna fall for that!" He said as he charges. But Chiho teleported behind him and caught him by his neck with her axe. The soldier struggled as his throat bleeds. Chiho turned around and swings her axe to throw the soldier to their direction. "Keisaku!" A female soldier went to his side and was about to take out a painkiller. "Not gonna happen!" Chiho charged in and quickly casts her axe pink and sliced away her hand. The female soldier fell to the ground, shouting in agony. "Yuka!" A soldier shouted and they all came charging at once. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Chiho deals with them until she notices that they are getting many again. "I can''t handle this alone! Where''s Shu Fang?!" Chiho asked herself loudly. "Where''s who?! They''re dead!" A female soldier taunted her. "There''s no way they will fall just like that!" Chiho then proceeds to deal with them. The situation just keeps getting intense and bringing out more attention. The other side of the road is starting to fill with enemies again. "Gah! I have to move away!" Chiho flies and some of the soldiers also fly. "What the?!" Chiho stared at the soldiers flying. "Think you''re the only one, huh?!" A soldier shouted as he charged towards her. He went for a feint and spun around Chiho to hit her side. But Chiho moved away. "...!" Chiho swings her axe but the soldier moved away. Then another soldier went for her and was going for a stab to her chest. But Chiho managed to push him away before his blade reaches her. The flying soldiers took turns on her, at first she thought they were skilled, but she was easily able to read their moves and quickly dealt with them. After that, she shot magic down to the enemies watching them before flying away. She returned to the Hospital and saw that enemies are running past them, which relieved her. She didn''t waste time and jumped down to the soldiers. And they began to attack her. Few seconds later, They heard a tank driving close. "Get out of the way!" A female shouted and the soldiers Chiho was facing moved away. And a T-34-85 came in sight with the Commander on the hatch. She was wearing glasses for what Chiho have only seen before flying away to avoid it. Just as she flies away, The tank fired a High-Explosive to where Chiho was standing. "...!" Chiho then charged towards the tank but the Commander quickly went out of the hatch and exposed her blades. "Haaa...!" Chiho pretends that she''s going to deliver a blow, but she teleported behind her and head locked the Commander. As the Commander struggled, Chiho quickly noticed that she has her blades out so she kicks her right leg and pushed her down to the ground. Chiho was surprised that the Commander didn''t use her blades so she grabs her right arm and thrust the blade to her leg. "Aaah...!" The Commander cried out and flail her left arm wildly at Chiho. Chiho leaned back to avoid her blade. "Take this!" A soldier came jumping at her from the somewhere but Chiho quickly noticed and used the length of her axe to stop him. He fell to the ground awkwardly. "Aaah..!" As Chiho turned back, The Commander thrusts her left arm, blade''s reaching for Chiho''s eyes. But Chiho moved her head to the right and narrowly avoided the attack. Chiho quickly followed by swinging her axe against her stomach, making her scream louder. "Kh... What are you doing inside?! Help me out here!" The Commander shouted at the tank with her holding the axe, trying to push it out. Then suddenly, The hull''s hatch, The driver''s, opened. "Stay down!" Chiho pressed the axe further, making a horrible sound. Then She snatched the grenade from the Commander and went to the hatch. Leaving the Commander alone with her axe stabbed, Chiho punched the crew going out and threw the grenade inside and closed the hatch. Again, without pulling the pin. Then she went back to the Commander who was barely even managed to get the axe out. She steps on the Commander and forcibly pulled out the axe, making her groan. Then she landed the axe on her head. After that, She noticed that the crew was already out and is about to charge towards her. As they were nothing, Chiho quickly dealt with the crews. Then she looked at the soldiers that were watching her. She wondered why they just watch, before they started to run towards her. The enemies were far too many for Chiho to handle alone and were being pushed back. "Damn... The Hospital!" Chiho saw from a distance that the soldiers are entering the buildings, and one of them was the Hospital. "Just where are they?!" Chiho shouted as she finished off the last soldier who went running, the rest stayed and watched her moves. "Onee-chan!" Chiho and the soldiers heard a voice from up the skies. They saw Ayumi charging down with her weapon with two different powers. "Yaaa...!" Ayumi hits two soldiers as she drops and started to spin. Her sickle slices the soldiers and her spiked ball hits them unconscious. Chiho helped her to clear the enemies. After a while, Chiho and Ayumi stopped, but the enemies'' are still large. Then Chiho perks up. "T-The sick people!" She forgot about them. On the Hospital, A group of five soldiers entered. The same sad scene greets them, except that they were not affected. "This place stinks!" The male soldier, who seems to lead the group, complains. "Ha...Haa!!" The little girl ran further inside, afraid of the soldiers. "Hey!" "Don''t worry!" The leader was about to chase her but another male soldier chased after her. "Look at you!" The leader walked to the pregnant woman. The rest of them walked to the others. "Please... Don''t hurt me..." The woman begged, crying. "Who said I''m going to hurt you? I''m here to relieve your stress..." The leader gently rubbed her stomach. "I told you to fucking sit up!" A soldier talking to the man with broken legs shouted, all attention went to him for a second. "Please... I''m pregnant, have mercy..." The pregnant woman begged. "I told you I''m not going to hurt you, didn''t I?!" He punched the stomach and the woman screamed in pain. "Now you''ve done it! Stand!" He took the woman by her arm and forced to stand up, She cried in pain as she was forced to stand, Then was forced to lean on a wall. "Raah...!" The leader used his stock of his SVT and shoved it on her stomach. "Kuoh..." The pregnant woman vomits blood and the leader got splattered some. On the other bed, a female soldier throws the stock of her gun against a man''s chest. The man wheezed as he tries his best to remain to breathe. "The hell''s wrong with you?" She raised the man up and hits his chest again with her stock, then the man started to moan and cry. "Stop... Please..." The man begged with a horrible voice, rubbing his chest. Then suddenly a gun fired. They all looked and the pregnant woman got shot in the stomach and was crying so hard, she fell to the ground. "Fuuuck! We''re not done yet!" The leader picked her up again and forced her to stand and shot her once more. Then they heard a little girl crying and a shout. "You made me run!" followed by a thud on the wall. Then a soldier holding the little girl by her hair appeared. There was blood running down from her head down to her face mixed with tears. "Oh!" The female soldier who was riding the man and choking him with her gun turned to see the girl. She went down and walked towards them. As she gets closer, she pointed the stock and thrusts it against the girl''s stomach. The girl coughed and spat and fell to her knees, embracing her body. "Don''t be so rough now, Mizuki..." The soldier who chased her rubs her hair. ''Mizuki'' scoffs and picks up the girl. "How old are you?" She looked at the girl''s messy face. She didn''t bother answering and just cried. This made Mizuki furious. "If a fucking adult asks you, you better answer!" She punched the girl as hard as she can and the girl fell on her back. "Tch..." Mizuki pulls out her handgun and shoots at the girl''s chest, followed by another shot behind them. The girl couldn''t even shout anymore and just laid there. "Ah..." Mizuki looked bored and picked up the girl and throws her to a bed. "Here you go!" Mizuki exposed her blade and stabbed the girl''s stomach, her body slanted a bit. She moved the blade a little bit to make the cut bigger then she used the bed''s sheet to tie her to the bed. "That''ll be very painful death..." The soldier knew that Mizuki wants her to bleed to death. Then she looked around and saw that all of them were dealt with. "That was fun... Let''s head out come on! That Mark fucker has some missions for us..." As the leader''s about to head out, Chiho and Ayumi came bursting in. And the horrible and bloody scene met them. 27 Defend! - Base Trupriv is under attack! The situation over the Base ''Trupriv'' is currently great, despite the other enemy outposts being 1 kilometer away and the base is very exposed to invading enemies. While Mark''s forces went to hit back directly at Saiju, Two commanders tried to advance to two bases ahead. But they saw the same bunkers aimed at their direction. They thought smart and retreated immediately. They remained on guard of the place for the day, gathering every weapon and equipment they can find, while they still can. With that, they await for new strategies Back at the Saiju. The girls teleported in the Center, they all fell on their butts as they were sitting when they did. "Ow... Why are we here?" Ayumi asked. "I don''t want to get all exhausted again, so I teleported nearby" Chiho answered. "...Wouldn''t it be the same? If you teleport us again, you will be exhausted too..." Shu Fang asked. "Yeah, Chiho. What the hell?" Mariko looked a little bit annoyed. "Fine. Fine! I''m sorry!" Chiho got irritated and quickly held their hands. Then they finally got into the Inn. As usual, Chiho drops on the floor as she catches her breath. They felt the gazes of the people around them as they check on Chiho. "A-Are you okay?!" Alice''s voice came out to them and they heard footsteps coming near. "...She''s gonna be fine" Shu Fang said as she looked up to Alice. "...It''s just like last time" She added. "H-Hey! Northern... Y-Your leg...!" One of the people, a bearded man, pointed at Mariko''s bandaged legs. Worried about one of their ''power-wielding'' heroes being immobilized, the people started whispering with their scared and worried looks. The girls can clearly see how the people looked terrified like they''re gonna lose the war already. Mariko spoke up. "Don''t worry about me. A leg missing won''t stop me!" She hits her chest with her fist. "But you won''t be the same as before..." A woman said on the corner. "Yeah, But at least I''m still movin''!" Mariko replied. Despite her answer, the people weren''t still convinced. After a while, they went up to their room. Telling their customers that they will be gone for a while, the three staff went up together with the girls. The girls went to check up Chiho''s mother but her room was locked. Suzuka told them that she went up early. "Say to Gentaro-sama that we''re doing fine, thank him for his concern" Suzuka smiled as they all sit on the beds. "So? What else is the reason you came here? You''re not going to rest here, are you?" Haruki asked. "H-Huh?! What are you talking about?! Are we now not allowed to rest here?!" Mariko shouted. All of them were startled by her shout. "W-Well... You have that new base you got, right? I thought you''ll be resting there so it''s easy for you to get right back into battle or something..." Haruki explained. "Ah. Nope. I prefer to sleep here" Mariko sighed. "Me too! The beds here are the best!" Ayumi raised her right hands up. "...I''d say the same..." Shu Fang nodded. They agreed except Chiho, which they quickly noticed. "How about you?" Mariko asked Chiho. "Well..." Chiho scratched her cheeks with her finger, looking annoyed. "I''d say I prefer sleeping over there. I don''t want to keep using this exhausting power" She said. "Well... Let''s get our R37... By the way, where is it?" Mariko asked. "I saw Father driving it" Chiho remembered seeing her father lead an army with their R37. "Right. So we don''t have anything to ride on. C''mon, Let''s just use your teleportation" Mariko smiled. "No way! I feel like dying every time I use that power!" Chiho shouted. "But you won''t!" Mariko shouted louder than her. "Still! I''d rather walk!" "Just one more time!" Chiho shouted way louder and Mariko also did. "..." Chiho looked away and sighed. As they already heard Gentaro''s concern, silence built around them. "So... How was it?" Alice sparked up a conversation to break the silence. "Huh? What was it?" Mariko looked at her and asked. "Your first battle? How did it go?" Alice said. "Ah, that. Well, things went smooth, no problem... But, You know!" Mariko suddenly got the energy as if she remembered something exciting to tell about. "I get to scratch that fucking smug motherfucker!" Mariko gestured a stab. "Right into his fucking cheeks! It felt so good even if it''s just a small wound!" She continued. Hearing this made Alice smirk. "He thought he can rely on his stupid barrier bullshit! Haha!" Mariko proceeds to laugh. "Hm... serves him right" Alice giggled. From there, the girls told them everything happened. When they were done, Alice asked. "That... went so unexpectedly well, don''t you think? Are they holding back or something?". Her question seemed to confuse them. "What do you mean?" Mariko asked. "Unless this is how war really works... Shouldn''t we... like, getting invaded right now? or at least those planes dropping bombs on us?" Alice asked. "I know right..." Mariko nodded. "Well... You know how weird they are!" She shrugged with a smile. "Talking about them... When is Takumi-san will come? I think I remember hearing her say that she''ll come here when the war broke out..." Chiho asked. "Y-Yeah..." Mariko looked at Chiho with open-wide eyes, looking somewhat excited. "That Takumi..." Mariko looked outside the window. "Takumi?" Haruki asked. "Don''t you remember?! I got to shoot one of their planes and got to take the pilot alive! And it turns out she''s actually friendly!" Mariko reminded them of Takumi. "A-Ah..." Haruki nodded. "That Idiot...!" Mariko clenched her fist. "Things will get a lot better if we can get one of them on our side, don''t you think?" Suzuka smiled, imagining their soldiers equipped with more advanced equipment. "Yeah. She said she would... But I think she''s getting cornered there right now... Her friends, well, Shichiro himself too, already know that she''s going to be a traitor" Mariko said. "Or maybe, they''re already making their way here... While, like, being chased by her friends!" She started to imagine a scenario. "Shouting her name and calling her a traitor! Seeing her friends'' faces filled with sadness and confusion! Holding back her tears! Apologizing to them! Thinking that it is the right decision! Leaving the people you usually greet! Their smiles no longer! Leaving the place you always see after you wake up! The place you are familiar with! Just for some acquaintances about to lose the war..." She ended it with a clenched fist in her chest, eyes closed. "Wow... Like, it was a little bit awesome until the last part..." Everyone was amused but Ayumi quickly complained. "I thought she was thinking that it is the right decision? Why would you say ''Just'' for some acquaintance?" She continued. "Well... I''m talking from the perspective of friendship or something like that... From their perspective, you know... She was loved by the people around her, she showed her love to them in return, and she was considered one of them. And yet, there she is. She betrayed all the trust she had received from them and stabbed them just because she thought it''s the right decision..." Mariko explained. "Well, it IS the right decision. Even if they are your friends, if they think that killing people and stealing their homes away from them is a good idea, then you really have to separate yourself from them, right? I think Takumi knows that already" Ayumi said. "But sometimes, there are people who just couldn''t separate themselves from their friends. Mostly those who had their family destroyed. They had no one left to hang around with but their friends. So they had to stick with their friends even if they have become a horrible group" Haruki said with a serious tone. "Trust me, I know one person. From my young days..." Haruki clearly saw an image of a certain child with a sweet smile and a bandit in her mind. "He was my childhood friend... We were really close. I even remembered him confessing his feelings to me..." Haruki blushed a little bit, embarrassed. But held herself together for the sake of telling the story. "The few days after hanging out with him, We got ourselves some more friends. But then I wondered about his parents. When I asked him once, he didn''t gave an answer. I already had the right guess after that. Then later, He suddenly confessed to me. I... kinda liked him back then..." She blushed even more. "He just has this overwhelming smile... And about his c-confession, well... I..." Haruki started to stutter. "I..." She couldn''t get the words out. "Hm...Fuhihihi..." Ayumi started to giggle, which annoyed Haruki. Then Haruki crossed her arms and looked away. "I... I accepted his feelings. We were so happy..." She said. Then as she looked back, her face was serious again. She was about to speak but Mariko spoke first. "Damn... How the fuck did we get into your story?" She said in an annoyed tone. "Well... I got to get an example of what I''ve said..." Haruki scratched her head. then slowly became serious again. "Let''s cut into the chase then... One day, we had to move out. I and that kid were so devastated. But in the end, he remained his smile and say that I shouldn''t worry. Because He still have his friends to rely on, and that they will wait for me to return..." Haruki sighed. "So... What happened to him?" Mariko asked. Her question seems hard to answer for Haruki, as she sighed so deep that they clearly noticed. Then she continued, focused on the floor, trying to imagine the scene into it. "When my first few days here at Hirashiko, on a certain afternoon. Suzu-chan asked me to get some stuff to another village" "Ah..." Suzuka reacted to her words. "That day... I remembered that..." She showed them a sad smile. "I thought you were sad about the first time I gave you a task... Turns out it was something so deep..." She said. "Y-Yeah... I''m sorry, I couldn''t bring myself to say it back then and gave you the wrong idea..." Haruki scratched her head. Suzuka was surprised and quickly shook her hands. "N-No! It''s alright! It''s no problem! Come on!" She quickly said. Haruki nodded. "I was on a carriage driven by soldiers that day. Then in the middle of our trip to that village, The soldier spotted a group of bandits with a stolen carriage. The soldiers talked to me about it and said that they were carrying a lot of stolen goods and they should cut their trip and chase after them... I didn''t care and totally agreed with them, until I saw his face..." Haruki stops there. They were all sad, except for Mariko. "Woah! I knew he''ll be one of them! Ah... Or I think... all of your other friends?" Mariko asked. "Yes..." Haruki sighed deep. "They were all my friends, my good friends, my neighbors... As soon as I recognized his face, their faces started to become familiar... It didn''t take long before they were able to immobilize their stolen carriage" Haruki then closed her eyes as to play the scene into her head. "We got them!" The soldier, who has been throwing the spears at the bandits'' stolen carriage, shouted. Haruki managed to flash a surprised look before being shaken by the sudden turn of their carriage. "Let''s go!" Once they made the sharp turn, they stopped the carriage and went out rushing towards the bandits. "W-Wait!" Haruki shouted out of panic, but she wasn''t heard. She wanted to stop the soldiers but she remained in the carriage instead and watched the soldiers clash against the bandits. "Y-Yusuke..." Haruki started to cry as she watches her childhood friend, desperately fighting for his and his friends'' lives. She clenched her fists, hating herself because she couldn''t do anything to save her friends. "Damn you!" Haruki heard her childhood friend''s voice, which made her look. "H-How about this?! You take the goods and we''ll run away far! So far you''ll never see us again!" Then another familiar voice begged the soldiers. "H-Hiromi-chan..." Hiromi Azagami. One of her friends. A cheerful and energetic girl. Haruki remembered her as one of her friends who kept their group happy on the day Haruki had to leave them. "Ah..." Haruki looked at Hiromi, standing beside Yusuke with a slash wound on her right arm. The cute brown hair she used to see is now a dirty, dusty long hair. Her dress was covered with a lot of stitches made with poor skills. There were still some visible cuts and some of them were new. "You''ll go far away?! Then you''ll start stealing stuff again?!" A soldier with a rowdy attitude shouted. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Don''t mess with us! Do you think you stupid bandits will ever change?!" He continued. "Yeah. That''s right. You never change" Another soldier, who''s the opposite of the rowdy soldier, agreed. "You''ll move to a new area and start again. So we''ll end you right now" His words surprised both Haruki and the bandits. "W...What do you mean?!" Yusuke angrily shouted. "We refused to fight already! Why are you still gonna go after us?! Isn''t that going to break your rules?!" He continued. "Shut up you brat!" The rowdy soldier swings his sword as to intimidate him. "Like we fucking said, you never change! If you get out of imprisonment, then you start again! We had enough of that bullshit and we''ve decided to just kill you! The world knows about this fucking rule and the banditry is over!" He shouted. His words frightened the bandits, and so Haruki. She remembered hearing that certain topic. "Come on. We have the Hirashiko Inn''s woman waiting. Let''s just end them" The calm soldier said as he made a battle stance. "Heh. Yeah, right. Let''s put these fuckers to rest" As the rowdy soldier readies, the other soldiers encircled them. The situation made Haruki very anxious. She can''t think of anything else. "YUSUKE!!!" She shouted the name of his childhood friend as loud as she can. ignoring the incredible pain in her throat she had never experienced, she continued until she was out of breath. "H-Huh?! What the...!" Yusuke, all of them, got surprised and looked at Haruki''s direction. Yusuke stopped on Haruki''s image. His face frozen, eyes unsteady, feeling unexpected happiness of hearing a familiar voice. "Ha...Haruki!!!" Hiromi shouted the name she swore not to forget, the name she wanted to call again for so long. "Hiromi..." Haruki wanted to shout back her name but only managed to whisper, she no longer had the strength to shout. "W-What the hell..." A soldier noticed the bandits tears. "They know each other?" Another soldier reacted. A few seconds of silence built up between them before the rowdy soldier shouted. "But they''re bandits! It doesn''t matter if they knew each other! What matters here is their bad deeds and the lives they took!". His words shook the bandits. Yusuke drops on his knees and loses his grip on his sword. "Y-Yusuke!" Hiromi quickly crouched beside him. "We... We never wanted this... We were poor, we had nothing to eat. We had nothing to stay on. If we don''t steal things, we''ll never be able to eat" Yusuke said on the soldiers. "Yes. We are all aware of that. Most people who do such things got a horrible past. Having rejected by most people because you are poor, you had no choice but to do what you can to survive. And that is, even the bad things" The calm soldier said. "But let''s not get all the drama here. You have chosen the wrong path. We''re putting a lot of lives to rest on killing you" He added. "How can you make sure we have killed a lot of people?!" One of the bandits asked. "Aoi-chan..." Hiromi looked back at the smallest member of their group. "Hah! Don''t make me laugh!" The rowdy soldier smirked. "Look at that carriage and the goods on it! Looks like it was stolen from a rich family!" He pointed at the stolen carriage. The body was pure white, with beautiful black patterns on each side. Totally different from a common carriage. If it weren''t for the dust, scratches and some spears stuck around its body, it would have looked really expensive and high-class. "And of course. Rich families have the army of the country with them as the guards, along with their own. It will be a tough job for common bandits to steal one of their properties. You were different" He continued. "And how did you know when we-" "Enough with the fucking questions!" Aoi got interrupted by the rowdy soldier''s shout. "You killed a lot of people and that''s it! No one wants you alive! People would REALLY reject you now!" Having enough, he raised his sword up high. Yusuke looked up to his sword. "Aaah!" The rowdy soldier swings his sword down at Yusuke, but Hiromi blocked his sword with her rusty sword and swiftly pushed him away. "Gah! You brat!" The rowdy soldier quickly regained his balance and glared at Hiromi. "If this is really it..." Yusuke said, making them look to him. "Then we have no choice but to kill again..." He said as he stands up. He picked up his sword. "We have already told you that we never wanted this kind of life. All you had to do is understand. But you people didn''t. We could have changed. We could have been part of the community. Had jobs, or even serve the country" He added. "You have already gone too far to ask for mercy" The calm soldier said. "This is not the first time we''ve asked for forgiveness. We''ve been doing it since our first act" Yusuke quickly responded. The calm soldier couldn''t answer for a second. "Then why keep up the bandit life after asking for forgiveness?" The rowdy soldier dropped his attitude and asked properly, this surprised the bandits. "We were hopeless. After our first stunt, we tried changing lives. It was too much to take for us to have this way of life. But people kept ignoring us and we were starving again. You can guess what happened next" Yusuke answered. "Eh... But I don''t give a fuck! My sister got killed by bandit fucks like you! I will never forgive you!" The rowdy soldier shouted as he charged towards Yusuke. "Kh...!" Hiromi stood in front of him with her rusty sword. "Out of the way!" The rowdy soldier swings his sword at Hiromi. She blocked his attack but the rowdy soldier quickly grabbed her arm and pushed her aside. Then he quickly swings his sword at Yusuke''s neck. "Urgh...!" Yusuke narrowly avoided the sword by moving back. Hiromi quickly moves by his side. "We have no choice here, Hiromi. Just like before" Yusuke whispered, making her glance at him. "Kill them!" The rowdy soldier shouted and the clashes began. Haruki heard everything from the carriage and just watched them clash while tearing. It would be bad if she stands in the soldiers'' way. "Please... spare them..." Haruki hopelessly wished. It was not long before she heard a laugher. As she looked back, she only saw the soldiers standing. The bandits were on the floor, soaked with their own blood. The soldiers were catching their breath. The rowdy soldier stared at the bodies and clenched his fists. "Grr...! Let''s just go!" He quickly turned back to the carriage and saw Haruki''s face, making him avert his eyes. The soldiers quietly rode the carriage. Two of them drove the stolen carriage back to the village. The first few minutes of their trip to another village was silence. Until the calm soldier spoke. "They...are your friends?" He asked. Haruki didn''t bother answering, she was staring at the floor with a sad look. "I''m sorry it had to be this way" He apologized. "I can see that they didn''t want to have that life. They were led to that path because they had no choice. But we can''t do anything. People would like them to be killed if we brought them back. And there''s that rule... They are all going to end on the same fate. I hope you understand that" He added. His words made her cry and the other soldier beside her comforts her. "That''s pretty tough..." Chiho said with a sad tone. "Uuu... Haruki!" Mariko cried out her name. "W-Woah! Disgusting!" Ayumi quickly moved away from Mariko as she watches her drenched face and runny nose. "Uuu... Here!" Mariko stood up to hug her. "A-Ah... T-Thanks, I guess..." Haruki awkwardly laughed. After Mariko calmed down, Haruki spoke. "That''s quite an example, isn''t it?!" She laughed. "Y-Yeah. I really regret doing that poem..." Mariko scratched her head. Haruki laughed and pats her shoulder. "You should get some rest while you can. We still have to run the Inn" Suzuka stood up. "Yeah, that''s right. They might attack at night. So take rest while you can" Haruki stood up and nodded. "Then! We''ll get going now!" Suzuka bowed and went out. Haruki waved at them before going out. "Good night" Alice bowed and headed out, closing the door behind her. "...Are you really that much of a crybaby?" Shu Fang asked with a giggle. "But!" Mariko turned at Shu Fang, about to cry again. "...Yes, yes..." Shu Fang thought of not letting her proceed and just agreed. "Geez! You''re a mess!" Ayumi pointed at Mariko. Seeing her disgust, Mariko thought of something. "Uuu...! Ayumi!!" She ran towards Ayumi. "Eeeeek! Stay away!" Ayumi ran from Mariko and hid behind Chiho, resulting Mariko bumping her face on Chiho. "Ah!" Chiho''s eyes opened wide. Mariko slowly looked up to Chiho. The threads of her mucus and her saliva made Chiho''s body shake. "Haah..." Chiho didn''t know what to do. Suzuka, Haruki, and Alice were about to return to their stations when Alice heard a scream upstairs. "A-Ah... Did you hear that?" Alice asked the two. "Y-Yeah... Was it them?" Haruki asked. They listened for a few seconds just in case, but nothing came out. "I...I''m going to check them out!" Alice hurried back upstairs and went storming in the room. "Are you-!" Alice was about to shout but the scene made her stop. "Eeeww...!!!" Chiho was standing in the middle, topless. She was holding her shirt. "I-I''m sorry..." Mariko, who''s still crying, keeps apologizing to Chiho. "...H-Hey there, Alice-san. Don''t worry" Shu Fang waved from the bed. "W-What..." Alice stared at them. Morning came and Alice came knocking the door of their room. Chiho jumped up and rushed towards the door and hurriedly opened. "Chiho-sa..." Alice got interrupted by how Chiho looked like. "D-Did I scare you or something? A soldier came here to wake you up. He said you should go back to T...Tr...Trupriv base" Alice said. "Tr...What base? You mean the one we got yesterday?" Chiho asked. "I think so, yes. He said that there is currently a battle happening there, they think they wanted the base back" Alice nodded. "I see..." Chiho nodded and about the turn back, only to be surprised as Mariko was standing behind her. "Y-You''re awake... We have to go, now!" Chiho said to Mariko. "A-Alright..." Mariko responded and went to wake up the two. The girls hurried downstairs. They waved at Suzuka and Haruki before leaving the Inn. "Girls!" A soldier riding a carriage called for them. "In here! Trupriv Base is under siege!" He shouted. "R-Right!" Chiho responded and they ran and went inside the carriage. They immediately head off. "It''s nice to have a good night''s sleep, eh? I wish I was able to sleep at a soft bed yesterday too! Instead of having the guard the night and able to sleep for only what? Two fucking hours?" The soldier beside Mariko complained. She glared at him. "You can always retire and get your fucking good night''s sleep" She said. The other soldiers snickered. "W-Whatever..." The soldier looked away in embarrassment. "Anyway, we have named that place what Mariko-san had named it" The soldier driving the carriage said. Hearing that made Mariko happy. "Can I name the other bases as well? I would love to create a name from their language and use it for those bases" She asked. "Well... Ask Gentaro-sama about it" The driver responded. Mariko was visibly happy. "Also, have you noticed? They stopped using their guns. Instead, they use their blades from their arms" The soldier in front of them said. "Yeah. It''s like, still bad news. We''re no longer getting killed from long distances, but they are great at close combat. They are swift and agile. Hell, they are scarier if they don''t use their guns" The soldier beside him responded. "I think I remember when they stopped using their guns" Chiho spoke and all of the attentions are on her. "They were called by...uh...Radios? When the soldier responded, they immediately hid their guns and let out their blades. I thought it was only for that certain time, but maybe I''m wrong" She continued. "Huh... What the hell are they thinking?" The soldier in front of them got annoyed. "Are they playing with us or something?" He asked. "Most likely. I''ve heard their story and the answer is not far from yours" Mariko answered with a somehow serious tone. "They are not doing so they can gain more territory and resources, nope. They''re doing something I can''t exactly figure out. But If I really have to give an answer? I guess I would say they''re playing with us too..." She continued. "...Or they just wanted to hurt, rob, and kill people?" Shu Fang asked. "That could be possible... And if so, what the hell... No, no. Takumi-idiot never said anything like that" Mariko still remembered everything Takumi told her. "...She might be lying" Shu Fang said. "I...Think not... I know it when a person lies. There''s nothing suspicious on her voice back then..." Mariko disagreed. "...You don''t know that" Shu Fang insisted. "C''mon! Don''t be a turndown! I have my own skills and one of them is knowing when people lie! Don''t underestimate me just because I was born in the North!" Mariko glared at Shu Fang. "...And what does YOU being born at the North, got a connection with our argument?" Shu Fang asked. "You think that I''m nothing but a crazy person who only thinks of slaughter! I have many more talents than you think!" Mariko shouted. "...Fine, fine..." Shu Fang sighed. "Can you tell me one of your talents or skills? Mariko?" Chiho asked. "Ah? Ah... Well, the one I was very proud of is I can easily remember foreign languages!" Mariko happily told her about being able to learn foreign languages. "You remember? The reason why I left my village? To explore the world? I wanted to know more about the cultures and shit existing in this world. So I was able to develop such talent!" Mariko reminded them. "Oooh... That''s cool!" Ayumi was fascinated. "I know right?! That''s why, when Takumi arrives, I will ask her to teach me some Russians!" She became excited. "Good! When you do, you''ll be taking a huge part in the war. You''ll be able to translate what they''re saying and such!" The driver''s happy hearing about it. "Yeah!" Mariko nodded. On the field, they can already hear the chaos from a distance. "Damn, how bad was it when you went back to Saiju to get us?" Chiho asked. "Not too bad. Especially when we had them tasting their own medicines" The soldier in front of them responded. "Hah... Can''t wait to be able to use a gun again..." Mariko pretended to hold a rifle and aimed. "Yeah, they left quite a good amount of guns there. If that counts as their ''play'' then let''s take advantage of it!" The soldier beside Mariko said. Upon getting closer, they saw enemy soldiers going around the base, attempting for a flank. They immediately knew what they are up to. "These guys are planning to attack from behind!" The driver shouted. "Let''s get them!" He shouted as he stopped the carriage. "Let''s do this!" Mariko shouted as they all left the carriage. They charged towards the flanking enemy soldiers. They stopped as soon as they saw them charging. "§¢§Ý§ñ§Õ§î! (Blyad!)" The enemy soldier leading the group shouted in Russian. "§µ§Ò§Ö§Û §ä§Ö§ç §Ô§Ñ§Õ§à§Ó! §¥§Ó§Ú§Ô§Ñ§Û! (Ubey tekh gadov! Dvigay!)" He shouted before they charge with their war cry. "Here they come! Kill them!" The soldiers charged once again. "Let''s fuck them up!" Mariko shortly followed the soldiers. "...Yes" Shu Fang nodded and became a black shade and went into the enemies with incredible speed. "Let''s go, Onee-chan!" Ayumi summoned her chained sickle and went in the battle. "Heh, here we go..." Chiho raised her right hand up and opened her palm. Then a white silhouette of her long axe appeared after her hand and shortly replaced by the actual axe, then she carried it with two hands. Then she ran ahead. As they expected, the Prohorovkans didn''t use their guns and fought with their blades instead. The clash didn''t last long, thanks to the girls'' powers. They lost one of them though. It became quiet but there were two more enemies Ayumi''s currently facing. She was panting heavily. "§¥§Ö§â§Ø§Ú§ã§î §â§ñ§Õ§à§Þ! (Derzhis ryadom!)" The male enemy soldier shouted to his friend. "§®§í §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§í §Ó§Ö§â§ß§å§ä§î§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ §Ò§Ñ§Ù§å!" The female soldier shouted something to his friend, Mariko couldn''t follow her words. "§¯§Ö§ä (Nyet), I will have to handle this" The male started speaking Japanese. "You go, Sagiri. Call out our troops. We have suffered casualties, we have to step back. I knew Mark would mess up this simple task... Go, I will cover your retreat because these guys are troublesome..." He stared at Chiho. ''Sagiri'' looked at the girls and to the soldiers, before turning back to his friend. "Thank you. §µ§Õ§Ñ§é§Ú(Udachi)" She thanked his friend and nodded before running away. Mariko saw the girl run. "Like hell she''ll be able to run away!" She shouted. "...I got her!" Shu Fang stood beside her and became a black shade and quickly chased after the girl. "I''m not gonna let you!" The male soldier jumped like the speed of the light to block Shu Fang. "...!" His speed surprised her. "...To be able to match my speed..." She said as the black shades fade away, exposing her again. "You''re quite unlucky, you have to face me!" The male soldier shouted at them. "Heh... I''m not gonna let you live!" He added as he withdrew his left blade. Then He swings his right arm and made a stance. "What''s that?! Only one blade?! Come on! Let''s take him out!" One of the friendly soldiers charged with his sword raised in the air. "Take this!" He shouted as he swings his sword down. The enemy soldier raised his arm over his head as soon as the sword reached him and quickly took a step forward, making a very loud scraping noise. As he got closer to the friendly soldier, he immediately thrusts his arm towards his neck, stabbing him. "No!" His friends shouted from behind him. The enemy soldier swings his arm to the right to throw the body away. "Screw you!" The soldier who shouted now charged wielding a dual short sword. "Hrah!" He attacked with his right sword, but the enemy soldier swiftly stopped his attack with his left arm. "Guh...!" The friendly soldier got surprised and quickly thrusts his left arm, but it was caught again. "§¥§å§â§Ñ! (Dura!)" The enemy soldier shouted as he throws him to the right to lose his balance. Then the enemy soldier quickly slashed his neck, then immediately swings back to cut his right arm and then proceeded for his left arm before kicking him away. The armless body went flying in front of the last soldier. "Ah...Ah!... H-Hey! What are you standing there for?!" The soldier got mad at the girls, who were surprised by the enemy''s strength. "S-Sorry! Let''s help him out!" Chiho shouted, making the enemy soldier look back. "Haah...!" The last soldier shouted, his sword already on the air, it was about to cut the enemy soldier''s head into half until the enemy heard him and turned back at him and disappeared from his position. All of a sudden, the soldier spun 160 degrees and immediately drops on the ground, dead. The enemy soldier was standing a few feet away from him. He slowly faced the girls. "What? Just gonna watch there?" He said. "A-Are you a...Commander or something?" Ayumi asked, confusing him. "Huh? What do you mean?" He asked. "I mean... You have this power and all..." Ayumi said. The enemy soldier was led to thoughts for a few seconds. "Ah, you mean I''m a higher rank? Because I appear strong? Is that right?" He made sure. "Y-Yeah..." Ayumi nodded. Her response made him laugh. "Haha! No! I''m just a... let''s say, a common soldier. I''m not bearing a high rank" His response surprised the girls. "We infantries have powers too! Not all of us but most of us were able to obtain powers!" He added. "D-Damn..." Mariko imagined a thousand of Prohorovkan foot soldiers with powers almost as good as their higher-ups. "Enough talk! Let''s do thi-!" "§´§Ñ§Ü§å§Þ§Ú §Ú§Ù §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§ß§í§Û §Þ§à§ã§Ú§ß! (Takumi iz krasnyy mosin!)" The enemy soldier''s shout was interrupted by a voice from his radio. "§¹§ä§à? (Chto?)" He was visibly annoyed by the interruption and answered in an angered tone. "§Á §Ó§Ú§Ø§å §Ó§â§Ñ§Ô§à§Ó, §à§ß§Ú §Ó §á§à§Ý§Ö!" The person from the radio responded. The girls recognized the voice. "§¥§Ö§â§î§Þ§à...! (Der''mo...!)" The enemy soldier quickly looked behind him and saw the incoming reinforcement. It was the Northern warriors. They were running alongside with some terrifying-designed carriages. "Who are these guys?" He asked the girls. "It''s the crazy guys!" Mariko shouted with a relieved tone. "Are those...Vikings?" The enemy soldier looked closer. "Vi...what?" Chiho heard him and got curious. "So they exist here! This world''s interesting!" He grinned, then turned back to look at Mariko. "I take it you''re one of them? You look like them, given how you''re dressed up and your weapon" He asked, they noticed his hostile aura gone. "Huh... Ah..." "§°§ã§ä§à§â§à§Ø§ß§í§Û! §¥§â§å§Ø§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§Ý§×§ä§Ú §á§â§Ú§Ò§Ý§Ú§Ø§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Ü §Þ§Ú§ê§Ö§ß§Ö§Û! (Ostorozhnyy! ...)" Mariko was about to respond until Takumi shouted something from the radio. It made the enemy soldier focus back and respond to the radio. "§·-§·§à§â§à§ê§à! (K-Khorosho!)". Then he went back to his stance. "I''m still not gonna-" "You know what?! Whatever! Chiho-san! Mariko-san! I see you down there! I''m going to help you out!" The enemy soldier got interrupted by Takumi''s shout from the radio followed by the loud sirens of the two Stukas approaching the battlefield. "Shit! Takumi!" He shouted at his radio. "Sorry, pal. I ain''t siding with you this time..." Takumi said over the radio. "Hah! Yeah! She''s with us!" Mariko shouted. "Tch... Fucking cowards... Hey..." The enemy soldier called out for Chiho as the Stukas flew past above them. "Takumi Saito might be a good person after all, but she prioritizes her loyalty first. How did you convinced that person?" He asked. "We didn''t do anything nor we said anything. She did it on her own will" Chiho answered. "Is that so? Then..." He looked like he''s in deep thoughts and looked at the approaching reinforcement. Then he looked back at Chiho. "Then, I''ll go with Takumi. With my friend Sagiri" His declaration surprised and excites the girls. "...But not when we just saw you kill one of ours..." Shu Fang said. "Oh? Didn''t Takumi join the bombings of the Tsuchiya? Unlike me, this is my first battle here in this world. I was stationed inside that village at the time you raided this base and Mark''s bullshit raid on the other one. These three idiots were my only kills so far" He responded. "...Then revive them!" Shu Fang ordered. "Takumi has a reviving skill, I guess. You bring them back to your place and let her handle it" He answered. Shu Fang was surprised to know that they actually have the power to bring back the dead. "Hey! Tanaka! I heard that! You''ve finally decided, huh?!" Takumi laughingly shouted from the radio. "You''re gonna pay for making me, fucker..." His annoyed respond made Takumi laugh. "Not so loyal now, eh?!" Takumi proceeded to annoy him. "C''mon! I hope Shichiro doesn''t mind! He can kill us all without a sweat anyway!" "Hey! That''s not funny..." Her words terrified him a bit. "Pussy..." "§©§Ñ§ä§Ü§ß§Ú§ã§î! (Zatknis''!)" Tanaka immediately turned off his radio. "W-Why is she calling you a pussy?" Mariko asked. "You don''t need to know... S-She likes calling everyone whatever animal she can think of" He answered. "Oh?" Mariko doubted him but ignored it. After a few seconds, the Northern armies flooded the base and the area became even noisier. Then after that, they saw one of the Stukas directly aiming at them. "Um... That doesn''t look good!" Ayumi pointed at the Stuka. Tanaka immediately turned on his radio and quickly shouted. "Hey! What are you doing?!" As soon as he was heard, the stuka moved up its nose away from them. "Just want you to get your radio back up... Mark''s forces are retreating, I bet these Vikings'' are disappointed" Takumi said, followed by the cheers of the soldiers from the base. "Did you made them retreat?" She added. "Y-Yeah! I told them! I''m also with Mark''s T-26!" A girl happily responded from the radio. "Sagiri?! They''re with us?!" Tanaka got excited, and so does the girls. "Of course! I heard everything and decided to tell the 26''s crews! I thought I''ll have to get rid of them and steal the tank, but they''ve agreed!" She responded. "Y-You have one of the tanks too?!" Mariko shouted. "Excited to see inside a tank, Mariko-san?" Takumi asked from the radio. "Damn right I am!" Mariko shoutingly responded. It didn''t take long before the T-26 appeared from the corner of the base. "W-Whoa! Here she fucking is!" Mariko scanned the tank from turret to tracks. "Hah! We saw a bigger one from Tsuchiya!" Ayumi bragged. "I don''t care. You just saw one but I''ll be riding one!" Mariko argued back, making Ayumi pout. "Haah... Everything is happening so fast..." Chiho let out a big sigh. "I don''t get everything anymore..." She added. The T-26 stopped before them and the crews popped out from their hatches. "Sagiri!" "Nii-chan!" The two ran to catch each other. "N-Nii-chan? They''re siblings?" Ayumi asked. "...As you can see" Shu Fang nodded. "Well, Tanaka-kun? Sick of Mark already? I mean It''s just his first time leading an army so I thought you''d understand" A girl with a red half-trim glasses from the Commander hatch spoke. "Not a chance, this is the second time he failed" Tanaka answered. "But I thought it was always the third time?" The girl asked. "Not in my dictionary, fuck no" He replied. "I''m also surprised that he still had the tanks deployed if he wants us to fight with blades alone" The girl from the driver''s hatch said. "Yeah, He''s full of bullshit" Tanaka said, this made the Commander laughed. "So? Is this the Chiho Hasegawa I''ve been hearing about?" She scanned Chiho. Then she went back to her face. "Feeling anxious about being known? You''re the ''Daughter of the Hero'' after all" She asked. "A bit, yeah. But it doesn''t matter" Chiho let out a sigh. "Then. Let''s not hang around here anymore. Let''s go back to Saiju" The Commander went inside her hatch and closed it. "Let''s ride a carriage!" Sagiri told her brother. "You want to ride one? How about the Viking one?" Tanaka asked. His suggestion made her frown. "They''re scary. Don''t wanna" She said. "Fine... Let''s get going then..." He looked at the girls and they nodded. "I''m sorry, brothers..." He turned to the dead Prohorovkans and turned away. "Wow, so cool... Sorry, brothers. You''re lost, but not forgotten" Ayumi repeated his words and added more. "O-Oh, what the... that quote seems familiar... Angels of War book?" Mariko asked and Ayumi nodded. After that, Tanaka radioed Takumi and told her to rendezvous at Saiju. The girls carried the three unfortunate soldiers back with them. Explained to the soldiers of the base about their changing sides and rode with Tanaka and his sister on a carriage. Together, they cruised back to Saiju. 29 The Four Legends of Kalhelm Under Shichiro''s command, The Four Legends of Kalhelm, (or colorful bastards from the PTRD''s soldiers) are the carriers of the magic-imbued guns. They were the strongest ancient power-wielders of a certain magical world. The Peacemaker, Sera. The Justice Bringer, Kara. The Reaper, Kujo. And The Goddess of All Existence, Mariel. The newly-born world called Kalhelm, created by the Goddess Mariel, was quickly turned into a chaotic world the moment she let her followers do what they want. Her three servants hated each other due to different perspectives of the way of life and rebelled on Goddess Mariel to build their own faction and influence her followers to join their cause, promising a world Goddess Mariel couldn''t do. Mariyou Surigawa, Shichiro''s ''Ancestor'' was visiting magical worlds when she encountered the Kalhelm. The Goddess felt her strong presence, and so her three servants. She quickly asked for her help despite being a stranger. Mariyou was amused by the Goddess, pleading for someone to save the world she created. She was also asked by the three servants but didn''t give no care. With that, Mariyou asked the Goddess for a favor. The Goddess agreed and they fought back the rebels and was able to bring peace to the Kalhelm. The three servants defeated, they asked the Goddess for forgiveness, in which she instantly does. Then as promised, The four of them will accompany her favorite child. And their world will be taken care of by her faithful followers... Upon meeting Shichiro and his organization, They were amazed by their technologies and weaponry. The four thought about owning some of their guns and use them as they help them on their journeys. . . . On the Prohorovkan Side. The mission to take back the Base ''Betty'' failed. Both Defenders and Invaders failed to maintain control of the Base. Meanwhile in the Center of the Tsuchiya. "Why did you retreat?!" Mark shouted at a female soldier. His shout made the people around them look. "S-Sagiri told us to... And we are outnumbered! Count how many you''ve sent there! That''s their first captured base! So they have the entire fucking army pouring in there to defend!" The soldier shouted at him and walks away. "Damn fuckers..." Mark stared at the back of the soldier as she walks away. Then he heard a faint magical noise behind him. "Are you sure you can handle this?" Maeru teleported behind him and asked. "Y-Yeah, I got this. I just need a little time..." Mark scratched his head. "Well, it''s just the Betty after all. You got four more bases before they enter Nami''s bases" Maeru walks beside him. "Where are you going?" She asked. "A-Ah. Yeah. I''m planning on gathering my soldiers to plan on the next strategy" He answered, making Maeru giggle. "I hope that one goes well this time. The Prohorovkans are already sick of you" She said then proceeded to walk. "R-Really? I kinda feel like it too..." Mark follows her. "Geez. You''re so slow! I mean, can''t you feel the atmosphere when you are with your soldiers? One time I saw you with them! And they looked like they''re dying!" Maeru showed Mark a disgusted look. "Shit..." He clenched his fists. "I-I''m fine, alright? I''ll get through this... How about you?" Mark changed the topic. "My soldiers are helping to expand to the south-east of the map. Just behind those two Chinese villages" Maeru answered. "Chinese? What are the names again?" Mark asked. "Kosunjin-Yi and Chu-Yuan. I can''t believe our races are the same but different name" Maeru was amazed by the fact. "Huh. You remember when you went to stop me from messing with that fucker Chiho Hasegawa? One of them, the white-haired one, is American. She speaks English well. This world stuns me really good..." Mark thought back the image of Alice. "She even looked cute... So bad she wasn''t able to join our side..." He blushed a bit. "Once this is over, are you going to go back for her?" Maeru asked, real curious. Mark''s blush faded. "Nah. If I''m coming back for her, that means killing her. She''ll be long dead before this war ends anyways so there''s no need of thinking that..." He said. "Hey. I just said she''s cute. If she''s my enemy then I can bury that motherfucker down without any second thoughts!" Mark cast his left blade and imagine Alice then swings his blade. "Ah, is that so. That''s a disappointment..." Maeru sighed. "I thought you finally find the girl you like" She added, stopping Mark from walking. "W-What?" He asked, Maeru stopped walking to face him. "I was hoping that you won''t be able to succumb into killing people like Shichiro and this whole organization..." She said with a sad look. Mark couldn''t believe what he''s hearing. "I joined him in this world because he promised he would stop after this one..." She added. "Y-Yeah. I think I keep hearing that you are always fighting against Shichiro in every world he slaughters..." Mark said. "So... You''re like that, huh?" Mark relaxes, Maeru noticed him. He walked beside Maeru. "Actually... Yeah... I got interested in that girl..." Mark confessed. Maeru gave him a weak smile. "She speaks English... And, her voice is like... L-Let''s just say she''s my type..." Mark fidgets for a second. "I was trying to hide it from you. Because I thought you might think of me as weak or something... But you were actually on the good side..." Mark sighed in relief. "Oh come on, You know I don''t like Shichiro''s play" Maeru said. "Just because it''s not our world, doesn''t mean we have to take lives..." She added. "Y-You''re right..." Mark nodded. Then noticed a girl with blue dusty long hair, around their age, staring at them. "Then, you people are not bad people at all? You also help our people" She said. The two looked at her. "I thought when you got a hold of our village, you''ll kill us all. Or at least, make us prisoners, slave or stress relief..." "S-Stress relief?!" Maeru was very surprised at the familiar word. "But instead, you help us. You even volunteer who wants to work with you for money. Some of your soldier helping the people around... So I guess you''re not very bad!" The girl smiled. The two got affected. "Shut it! We needed your hardworking fucks and their full potential so we don''t show any harm!" Mark shouted, fading the smile from the girl. "M-Mark? You can drop the act when I''m around, you know?" Maeru said. "That wasn''t..." Mark sighed. "Right. That was an act" Mark looked at the girl. "Sorry. Just forget about that..." With that, Mark walked away. "You ought to mind your business, girl. You don''t just talk to us like that, you were lucky" Maeru warned the girl and walked away, leaving the girl worried. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "I''m really glad you''re kinda on my side, Maeru. I thought I''ll be the only angel-ass, good motherfucking samaritan here" Mark said, making Maeru laugh. "Yeah. I''m also glad. You''re the only sane person here too" She said. "No... There''s one in the Red Mosin and two or three of my soldiers? That joined Chiho''s side. There are some who''s not into Shichiro''s side. But He doesn''t care, right? As long as they don''t really hate him or something" Mark said. "Yes. Something like that... Saito Takumi is the Red Mosin girl along with her close friend, Kanahara Tamie. Both are in one of the Red Mosin''s squadrons... I don''t know how they escaped from that Russian girl''s grasp" Maeru got curious. "That Russian girl, huh. I think I remember she has a little sister... Yes, yes, she has one. That little girl can speak Japanese... She''s one annoying brat, to be honest" Mark sighed. "She might be annoying, but together with her big sister, they are powerful. Both are very agile and they are always in sync when on a battle... Hell, you''re gonna be like, fighting with the wind if you faced those two" Maeru thought of the two. "Hey! Maeru-san! Mark-kun!" A female soldier called out from behind, they looked behind them. "Shichiro is in the main headquarters! They''re calling you both. Especially you, Mark" The soldier smugs. "Sounds like you''ve caused another problem. I wonder when your soldiers are going to rebel against you?" She giggled and ran away. "See?" Maeru shrugged. "Damn it. ANOTHER problem?!" Mark complained. "What else? Let''s go" Maeru quickly disappeared, replacing her with pink magical leaves. "It''s not me... It''s just those soldiers... But again, I don''t want to blame them..." Mark sighed. "My baby! That Mark dude left her in Betty!" A noisy blonde girl whined. She was wearing an oversized black coat with yellow lines similar to the Peacekeeper weapon. It also flows with energy. "I swear if she got scratched I will crush that Mark''s skull!" She cried. "Calm down, Sera. Your weapon ain''t going nowhere..." Maeru said. "Good thing you''ve arrived, Maeru" Shichiro, who was facepalming the whole time, sighed in relief. "Take care of her, will you? She-" "No! You''re the leader! Go handle this right now!" Sera whined louder. "You know how much I love her! I bet those dirty men are touching her right now!!!" She shouted. "Calm the hell down, geez. I told you Maeru will take care of your thing" Shichiro gave an annoyed look and walked away. "No!" Sera ran to hug Shichiro from behind. "W-What are you doing?!" Shichiro tried to shake her off. "Right now! Right now! You do it! Ask your people! Right now!" Sera shouted at his ears. "Maeru!" Shichiro called for help. "S-Sera-chan! Calm down!" Maeru tried to pull Sera away. Then Mark teleported beside them. "What''s going on here?" He asked. "This man! This man!" Sera pointed at Mark. "W-What?" Mark asked. "This man! This filthy man! He left my Peacemaker at the Betty! Someone get rid of this man!" Sera shouted while still death-gripping Shichiro. "Mark! You better get that gun! This girl won''t let me be!" Shichiro struggles to set free. "How can you be so goddamn strong?!" He angrily asked Sera. "I won''t let you go unless you get my baby back!!!" Sera shouted. "Just don''t shout at my ears!" Shichiro shouted louder. "No! Get me back my baby right now!" "We''re going to do it! Just shut the fuck up and let me go!" "I''m not letting you go unless you-" "How about you do this shit on Mark?!" Sera became quiet and looked at Mark. "Akh! Shichiro you bastard!" "Get my baby back right now!" Sera strangled Mark and bashed his head against the walls. Later, at an open garage. "Alright... Let''s do this..." Mark said as he rubs his neck. "You''ll be going for the base Atropos and Mercy. Scout out from those bases before you make your way to the Betty''s armory" He continued to instruct the soldiers around him until he was finished. "Sera''s a noisy bitch, yeah?" A soldier said to his fellow soldier as they move out. "You heard that?" Mark asked Sera, who was standing behind him the whole time. "I don''t care. Words don''t affect me. I''m not even a bitch... I''m a God! God of all-!" Sera accidentally(?) bit her tongue. "Whatever..." Mark sighed and left the garage. Few seconds later, somebody spoke on his radio. "§³§å§Ü§Ú§ß §ã§í§ß! (Son of a bitch!), We saw enemies in the field! It''s the whole fucking world!" A male voice shouted. "W-What?! How many of them?!" Mark responded to the radio. "§ª§ç §Þ§ß§à§Ô§à! (A lot of them!)" The soldier responded. "W-What did you say?!" Mark asked. "Don''t worry, Mark. We heard them" Another voice reached out. "G-Got it. Good luck..." Mark sighed. "They''re failing already?! I should have gone ahead!" Sera grabbed his shoulders. "T-They''re not! They''re-!" Sera teleported out before he can finish his words. "Whatever..." Mark then walked away alone. Later, Mark arrived at a Hangar. Two Lagg-3 and two Bf.108 is preparing to take off. "Hm... nothing to do here..." He said as he walked away. Right after stepping out of the hangar. "§¢§Ý§ñ§Õ§Õ§Õ§î!!! O§á§ñ§ä§î §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú!! Peacemaker!! §£§ß§Ú§Ù! (Fuuuck! Again!! Peacemaker! Get down!)" He heard the scream. "P-Peacemaker?!" Mark got nervous. "§¯§Ñ§ê ''85 §å§ß§Ú§é§ä§à§Ø§Ö§ß! (Our ''85 is done for!)" Another scream. "Shit! They are using my own weapon against us!" Sera said on the radio. "I will kill you, Mark! I will kill you!!!" Sera shouted. "Damn it...!" Mark panicked and teleported away. 30 Peacemaker of the Gerhard "I''m seeing fewer enemies..." She whispered as she took down the last enemy soldier that has clean shot. The rest of them were inside the base, clashing with the allies with their blades. "Should I go join them? It''s too risky taking any shots from this point... I might hit our soldiers..." She thinks for a second before going down from the tree. "Let''s see... Running or Teleporting... What''s more tiring, huh?" The distance between her and the base was quite distant. Running towards there will be a waste of time. "Teleporting, it is then... I''m tired, but at least I''m already there!" With that, Chiho teleported before the broken gate. "Kh..." As soon as she teleported, she quickly focused not to lose balance and relaxes. The shouts and the metals clashing irritated her. After a few seconds, she was able to recover. "Alright...!" Chiho tried to replace the Peacemaker with an axe but was shocked by the energy from it and interrupted her cast. "O-Ow!" Though, the energy wasn''t that strong to let her lose the gun from her hands. "Y-You don''t want to? Then I''m just going to carry you then..." Chiho held the Peacemaker with her left hand and used her right to summon her long axe. "E-Eeeeh..." She immediately realized that both were heavy, and she wouldn''t be able to swing her axe while carrying the gun. "Where should I- Ah!" As she was about to scan the area for the Peacemaker to place into, an enemy soldier was thrown in her direction. Chiho managed to move aside before she was hit and be on the ground like him. He looked up to Chiho and saw the Peacemaker. His eyes widen as soon as he does. "C-C§å§Ü§Ñ! §¥§Ñ§Û §Þ§ß§Ö §ï§ä§à!" He said to her. "W-What?" Chiho readies herself from any attack. "§´§à§ä §á§Ú§ã§ä§à§Ý§Ö§ä! You don''t want to mess with the person who owns that!" The soldier started speaking Japanese. "I don''t care. This is mine now!" Chiho smiled. Surprisingly, the enemy soldier smiled along with her. "Heh. Alright then. I warned you, Chiho fuck. You''ll be dead in a second you saw her, bitch!" He tried to stand up but Chiho quickly hit his neck with her axe. "Stay down!" Chiho shouted. She let go of the axe still stuck in his neck and repeatedly smashed his face with the stock of the Peacemaker. "Die! Die!" She shouted as she crushes the enemy soldier''s face. "Whew..." After that, She removed her axe away from the body and looked inside the base. The defenders were still many and the soldiers were barely reducing their count. "Alright... Where to put this beast on first..." She looked around then to the gun. "Oh?" She just noticed that there''s a strap attached to it. "Oooh... How convenient!" The Peacemaker now hangs from her back. "Alright... Time to kill some goddamn Prohorovkans!" Chiho charged through the clashing soldiers with her axe, looking for a target. As she got deep into the base, she felt some soldiers who hold powers. She looked for the closer and it was a female soldier. "...!" Chiho flew fast towards the enemy soldier. Having taken down a lot of soldiers, she was too exhausted to avoid Chiho, and landed on the ground. "§°§ä§Ó§Ñ§Ý§Ú §à§ä §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ!" She punched Chiho but was too weak to get Chiho away. Chiho looked back, gritting her teeth. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. She grabbed her axe by its neck and used the blade to ''punch'' her. Screaming in agony, the female soldier held her slash-like wound in her left cheek while she let out the blade from her right arm. "§°§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§î §Ö§Ö §Ó §á§à§Ü§à§Ö! (Ostav'' yeye v pokoye!)" Shout by the charging male soldier. "Damn...!" Chiho didn''t know who to stop. On a split second, The female soldier''s arm went for her first, Chiho noticed her quickly and pinned down her arm with the blade of the axe. "Haaa-Akh!" The charging soldier suddenly got hit by something, killing him on impact. "What the...?!" Chiho tried to look at the thing that killed the enemy soldier but the soldier she was pinning down struggled. "...!" Chiho swings her axe from the girl''s arm across her neck, slashing them and causing a lot of blood to burst out. Chiho quickly moved away to avoid being stained. The female soldier squirms at the ground, holding her neck to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, she wasn''t carrying a painkiller to heal herself instantly. "Haah...!" Chiho finished her off by swing down her axe at the top of her head. "Oooh! Nice one, Chiho!" "That voice...!" Chiho quickly looked back and saw Mariko and Shu Fang. "What the..." Chiho was surprised to see them both. "You two?! H-How about the other base?!" She asked Shu Fang as she forcefully removed her axe from the body. "...They said they can handle it from this point. Those crazy bastards rushed in like there''s no tomorrow, had the enemies panicking" Shu Fang giggled. "Look!" Mariko stomps with her leg, showing that she suddenly got her leg back. "How...?!" Chiho. Their conversation was interrupted by the incoming enemies. They skillfully fought them off, but the enemies continued to swarm them, leaving them no chance of talking. After a good few minutes of fighting. Both sides lost a number of troops, they took a step back to regroup their soldiers. "§¿§ä§Ú §â§Ö§Ò§ñ§ä§Ñ §à§é§Ö§ß§î §ã§Ú§Ý§î§ß§í§Ö...! (Eti rebyata ochen'' sil''nyye...!)" said by the soldier in the front, looking like the head of the defenders. "§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ó§í §ã§à§Ò§Ú§â§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö§ã§î §á§â§Ú§Ö§ç§Ñ§ä§î? (...)" He said something on his radio. Mariko, who got pissed off, moved to the front. "Hey! Who the fuck are you talking to?" Mariko shouted to the soldier. "§§§Ò §ä§Ó§à§ð §Þ§Ñ§ä§î! (Yob tvoyu mat''!)" The soldier shouted back at her, making Mariko even angrier. "§° §é§Ö§â§ä, O §é§Ö§â§ä! §µ§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä§î §à§ä§ä§å§Õ§Ñ! O§ß§Ñ-! (O chert, O chert! Ukhodit'' ottuda! Ona-!)" The loud shout of a girl from his radio was cut from the loud distorted noise of the radio. Then all of a sudden, they were surrounded by yellow aura followed by an echoed shout from above. "L-Look!" Shu Fang saw a yellow light fast falling straight between the two sides. Before everybody else got to look, the yellow light landed before them. The intense force made them flying back, including the enemy side. And the grounds are ruined, large cracks are all over the place, making some buildings collapse. Mariko and Shu Fang were thrown into a wall, leaving a crack into them. "Ahh...Shit..." Mariko stood up slowly. "...What...was that?" Shu Fang couldn''t stand up for a while and looked from there. A blonde girl crouching replaced the spot where the light landed. "...A girl?" Shu Fang then looked at the enemies, who were also surprised at what happened. "...Who is this?" She asked. "No idea... Here" Mariko helped Shu Fang to stand. The blonde girl stood up and started looking around. "What did you just do, Sera?! You know there are-!" "Shut up!" An enemy soldier called her out and was shouted at. "Sera...?" Mariko heard her name. "Now! Where is Chiho Hasegawa?!" Sera shouted. "...Damn, she''s looking for her..." Shu Fang quickly knew what''s going on. "W-What now?! Who is this? Why does she know Chiho?!" Mariko panicked. "...She''s also a Prohorovkan. We found a weapon back at the Trupriv and its appearance is similar to her coat..." Shu Fang told her about the Peacemaker. "Huh? What the fuck? ... Ah. So now she wanted her gun back..." Mariko quickly realized. "You''re right! I want to get back what''s mine!" Sera heard her and looked at her. "Though, same appearance as her dress?" Mariko looked at Sera''s coat, she was amazed by the flowing powers looking like lighting. "Nice dress. How did you do that?" She asked but was ignored. "Now where''s that Chiho?!" Sera shouted. "...Where is she?" Shu Fang asked. "In a split second, I saw her flying towards th... Well, there she is..." Mariko pointed at the entrance of the base and saw Chiho walking in. "Hm...?" Sera heard her and looked. "Hey, redhead! Are you Chiho Hasegawa?!" Sera shouted at her. "R-Redhead?!" Chiho was surprised by how she was called. "Yeah, you! Is it you or what?!" Sera asked. Chiho walked a little bit before stopping. "Yeah. It is me..." She said. Sera stared at her. "You don''t look so powerful, Chiho. Perhaps Shichiro''s soldiers are that weak and pathetic?" "Oi..." Sera insulted the soldiers. "By the way..." Sera placed her hand on her chest in an arrogant way. "My name is Sera! The Peacemaker of the Gerhardt region of Kalhelm! And I believe that you have something of mine!" Sera introduced and quickly went back to her point. "...I can feel her heavy presence, this girl is far powerful than what we''ve encountered..." Shu Fang said to Mariko. "Y-You think so?" Mariko gulped. "E-Even I can feel it, despite not having any power... I feel...sick?" She said. "...Chiho wouldn''t stand a chance if that Sera fought her seriously..." Shu Fang said. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Sera waited for Chiho to give her the gun back. "Then... She doesn''t have any much choice but to give that shiny thing back, huh?" Mariko nervously said. "This weapon..." Chiho took the Peacemaker from her back. "Yes! That weapon! That''s a very powerful gun that-" "-Is mine now!" Sera''s eyes widen, can''t believe what Chiho just said. "Ch...Chiho! What the fuck are you doing?! Can''t you feel her power around us?! Just give up the goddamn gun!" Mariko shouted. "...It''s not worth fighting for!" Shu Fang shouted after her. "You... You''re quite confident about the little power you have, huh?" Sera gave her Chiho a cold stare. "Unlike that Mark guy''s troops with stupid childish ideas. I can kill you right now, guns, powers or by my bare hands" She added. "Hey! Chiho! Just give it up goddamn it!" Mariko shouted. "...You! If you get your weapon back, will you let us go?!" "Don''t ask such ridiculous questions, Shu Fang!" Shu Fang asked Sera and Chiho got mad and shouted. "Of course. I wouldn''t waste my time on weaklings like you. I get my gun back and I will leave you alone" Sera answered. Before anybody could speak, enemy reinforcements have arrived. They came storming in, almost running over their own allies. "§¹§ä§à §á§â§à§Ú§ã§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §Ù§Õ§Ö§ã§î?! (...)" The driver shouted as they all disembark and point their weapons at them. They were confused. "Sera..." One of the soldier talked to them. "Sera §ç§à§é§Ö§ä- (Sera khochet-)" "Aaah! Shut up with that language!" Sera turned back and shouted at the enemy soldiers. "We all have this same language that we all can speak and understand, so use it! No need to be so goddamn selfish!" She added. "But shut up for a while, yeah? This Chiho here is so stubborn" Sera turned back to Chiho. "You heard your friends over here. I''m far powerful than you are! You won''t stand a chance against me, little girl..." She said. The enemy soldiers started to whisper in Russian. "...Chiho! Just- Ah!" Shu Fang called her out but Chiho glared at her. "...D-Damn it... If this is what she want, then let''s help her!" Shu Fang clenched her fists. "Y-You do it! I won''t stand a cha-" "...Just think of something!" Mariko tried to step back but Shu Fang shouted at her. "Something that will distract her or something!" She shouted. Mariko noticed how serious she was. "F-Fine. I will do whatever I can..." Mariko sighed. "We will, too!" The Commander said. "So you won''t just give up, huh?" Sera''s eyes flashed yellow. "Fine... You guys stay out of this. I won''t be holding back just because you''re around!" Sera shouted at the enemies. "Y-You got it, Sera! Don''t bring the whole base down, alright?! Let''s go!" With that, the enemy soldiers left the base in a hurry, leaving Sera alone with Chiho and their army. "Oh fuuuuuck..." Mariko whimpered as she watches Sera. "Chiho, I will hit you, I swear..." She said. "...Where''s that Northern charm?" "Shut up! We''re like fighting a fucking god or some shit!" Shu Fang teased her and Mariko burst out. "I''m not even a god..." Sera shrugged. "Shut up! Soldiers! Get her!" The Commander shouted to charge. "Geez..." Sera felt annoyed seeing their hopeless charge. "Raa...!" The first soldier who got close thrusts his sword to her chest, Sera slaps his sword away and took him and throws at the charging soldiers, disrupting them. "You...!" The Commander couldn''t stand the scene and charged ahead, Sera watched him. "Eat this!" He swings his sword against Sera, but she moved to her left. Her right hands lit up yellow and hit his sword down. The sword got pushed into the ground with a strong force, stuck on the ground with cracks around it. "Ah...!" It happened quickly that the Commander couldn''t react in time. "G...Grr...!" He desperately tried to remove his sword. "Hm..." Sera aimed to grab his neck but a magic projectile came and hit her hand before it reaches the Commander. Sera looked to her left and saw Chiho with her powered long axe. Sera was angered but held it in and ignored her. She tried getting the Commander again but she was hit by the same magic again. "AAAAHH!!!" As soon as she was hit, Sera shouted and quickly surrounded herself with yellow energy and went flying towards Chiho with insane speed, leaving a yellow trace for a second. The two dropped on the ground, Sera''s energy burst out as they hit the ground. None of them was able to react to her speed and just saw her on top of Chiho. "...!" Sera prepares to punch her, her right hand lit up with yellow energy. As she was about to land her fist, A black shade forcibly pushed her away from Chiho. "The hell?!" Sera quickly looked and saw Shu Fang standing in front of Chiho. "That was quite fast..." Sera was impressed. "I wasn''t able to see you coming... What''s your name?" She asked. "...I''m just a Chu-Yuan assassin..." Shu Fang answered. Sera gave a disgusted look. "Oh pshh... Don''t give me that hero, protagonistic-ass line. That''s so annoying... Yeah, I know you, you fuck. You''re Shu Fang Chen from that Chu village. You were told to get rid of Chiho but sided with her instead. You were given such a beautiful opportunity for you and your kind to be one of our allies. Why have you ignored it?" Sera asked. "...I decided that I don''t want to betray my neighbors to some strangers..." Shu Fang looked at Chiho in the corner of her eyes. "Oh? YOU Decided?" Sera was a little bit curious. "...Yes, I decided it. And my fellow assassins agreed with me..." Shu Fang nodded. "Huh? Isn''t it supposed to be your country''s decisions?" Sera asked. "...We Assassins act and decide separately from our leader. We do things our own..." Shu Fang asked. "Hah. Wow" Sera was amazed. "Alright, enough talk!" Sera focused on the battle. "Why don''t you come at me? Shu Fang Chen?" She taunted. "Maybe I wasn''t really serious before. So let''s see who''s faster now..." Sera eagerly looked at Shu Fang. "Shu Fang..." Chiho whispered. "...?" Shu Fang remained her gaze at Sera, not moving an inch. "Distract her... Make an opening for me... I''ll use this powerful gun..." Chiho whispered. "...Roger" Shu Fang acknowledged and turned her self into a black shade and charged at Sera with speed of the light. "Here we go!" Sera surrounded herself with yellow energy and flew away to avoid Shu Fang. But Shu Fang kept going after her. They were too fast to be seen normally, Sera was swiftly evading and Shu Fang kept chasing her. It was only the black shade and the yellow energy circling around in the same spot. "T-They''re fast...!" Mariko shouted. "It''s time for me to-!" Chiho quickly took the Peacemaker and enabled its energies. "-Form the Peace!" Thinking of the Peacemaker''s capability, that certain line was randomly put into Chiho''s thought. She looked through the scope with strong determination to take down her target, causing her eyes to turn yellow with a burst. The texts in the scope flashed along and they changed into new different texts. Chiho aimed at the center of their circle. Shu Fang quickly noticed her, She made a different direction of her flight, to catch Sera from behind. Sera quickly noticed her sudden change of pace and countered her, but Shu Fang still got a hold of her hand. "...Now!" Shu Fang returned to her human form and shouted. She took Sera''s other hands and remained in one spot. Sera''s energy burst out and remained motionless under Shu Fang''s restrain. "You''re quite fast..." Sera looked behind her. "...Hm..." Shu Fang smiled along with her. "What...?" Sera wondered why she was smiling. "Anyways, My time messing around is finished. I will take my Peacemaker from...Chiho..." Sera looked at Chiho and her eyes widen. "DIE!!!" Chiho shouted and fired the Peacemaker. It''s shot was so fast even Sera couldn''t trace it. 31 === Happy New Year! === On a certain night, People of the Ekigatamura gathered in the Prohorovkan Main Headquarters to celebrate the new year. Shichiro''s usual large cafeteria was built to invite the people in. The room was lively with the people''s chatter and the speakers blasting loud music. The Prohorovkan did their very best to prepare for this happy celebration. Since the PTRD consists of many people, the cafeteria, the whole base and their territories were designed with lightings and speakers. They even have their tanks and their anti-tank weapons modified with fireworks. Everything is so new to the Ekigatamuran people. It is the happiest celebration in their entire history. "Maan, look at all these!" Mariko laughed. They have just arrived on the base with their R37. The entrance of the base was very bright with yellow lights, with a neon text in Japanese greeting the visitors ''Happy New Year!''. "Wow... It''s so bright and loud!" Ayumi quickly went out of the R37 and ran inside the base. "Hey, Ayumi!" Chiho tried to scold Ayumi but she has gone inside the base quickly. "...W-What''s with these loud sounds? We''ve been hearing all these the entire trip..." Shu Fang looked so disturbed. "...Is this how their world celebrates? This is just so loud for me" She said. "W-Well, it can''t be helped, right? Aside from the loud sounds, I think this is quite fun..." Chiho looked around themselves, Lots of their people and the Prohorovkans getting along together before them. "This feels so nice..." Chiho smiled. "Yeah... Sure does..." Mariko looked around. As they stand there, admiring the scene, Yagano and Katsuko came out of the base with their fancy dress. "Oh! Chiho! You made it!" Yagano let go of Katsuko and shouted at Chiho. "Hey! Father!" Chiho ran to meet her father. "Hello, Yagano-san. Can''t you believe what''s happening right now?" Mariko greeted Yagano. "Yeah, This is crazy!" Yagano laughed. "Mother?" Chiho noticed that Katsuko was barely keeping her smile up. "Chiho? Oh..." Katsuko smiled at her. "Ehh... Your mother doesn''t like these loud sounds from those things they call speakers" Yagano scratched his head. "Sorry... Maybe my hearing is that sensitive..." Katsuko smiled weakly. "...I think I can relate with you, Katsuko-san..." Shu Fang joined Katsuko''s company. "Well! Let''s not stand here long! Shichiro and his friends are waiting for you girls!" Yagano said. "H-He is?!" Mariko blushed. "Yeah! They''re waiting in that large diner hall" Yagano nodded. And with that, they proceeded to the cafeteria. "Holy cow!" Mariko shouted as soon as they entered the large cafeteria. "It''s like the whole fucking world is in this goddamn place! And it''s so big!" Mariko observed the whole room. It is very big and wide. The roof was very high. They were traced by large black lines, they can be opened for the skies to be seen, With the roofs opened, Glass replaced them. The lights to brighten the whole cafeteria was fixed into this roof. The whole room is filled with tables and long metal chairs with them. On the opposite side of the entrance is the large counter where they can get any foods they wanted, since it was a party, their long menu tab above them is changed to display a text ''Happy New Year XXXX!". Every corner of the room was decorated and the cafeteria''s boring silver color was effectively covered. "Can we even find a fucking empty table with this many people?!" Mariko scratched her head. "We''re sharing with the same table as Shichiro''s and his friends. Follow me..." Yagano leads the way. "H-He''s sharing with us?!" Mariko blushed hard. "Yeah... Father said they are waiting to meet us, right?" Chiho said. "Y-Yeah! Let''s go!" Mariko nodded repeatedly and walked fast with a tensed body. "...What''s wrong with her?" Shu Fang stared at her walk. "Is she falling in love with that Shichiro guy?" "EEHH?!" Chiho and Shu Fang both yelled at the same time as they heard Katsuko. "H-Hey! Good evening..." Mariko arrived at their table and greeted while staring at the table. "Good evening, Mariko-san!" Tamie greeted. "H-Hello there, Tamie..." Mariko looked at her. "The hell you blushing about?" Mark asked. "H-Huh?! Shut up you..." Mariko looked up to Mark and about to shout until her gaze went pass by Shichiro. "U-Uh..." Mariko squirms for a second before being bumped by Takumi from behind. "Yoo!! Good fucking evening guys!" She shouted. "How''s our place?! Looks good, yeah?!" She said as she drags Mariko into the seat beside Maeru. "Hahaha! You see that one over there?! Me and my friends did that!" Takumi started to tell them about what she had done on their decorations. Mariko was coincidentally seated in front of Shichiro, him and Mark can''t stop watching her. "Hm..." In her shyness, She gulped and accidentally let out a moan, causing her to blush even more. "What the..." Mark, and also the rest of them, heard her. Shichiro, Maeru and Mark also knew what''s going on. But Maeru pretended not to. "Is something wrong?" She asked to Mariko. "Huh?!" Mariko shouted at her. "U-Uh... Is something wrong, I said?" Maeru was a little bit surprised. "N-No! Don''t worry! Ahaha... I''m just... not fond of this loud sounds..." Mariko gave an excuse. "But you were fine until n-" "And I guess it was cold outside, I think I got a little bit of the cold!" Chiho was speaking but Mariko raised her voice against her. Shichiro sighed. "That''s too bad, isn''t it?" Shichiro said. "Y-Yeah..." Mariko looked at him, she regretted lying to them. "Well. Want me to lead you to our infirmary? It''s quiet there right now so you might get scared to go alone..." Shichiro smiled. "H-Huh?! W-What are you-!" Mariko panicked for a second, about to leave her seat. Shichiro held his laughter as he placed his arms on the table and hid his face, where he then let it out with a muffled voice. His shoulders were visibly shaking, showing his laughter. "Geez, Shichiro..." Maeru sighed. "...!" Mariko sat down with her clenched fists, then faced Takumi, who was still talking about the decorations. "You did this on purpose, did you?!" Mariko grabbed Takumi by her collar. "Y-Yeah. I mean, we wanted them jewelries for those holders of those fur-like designs, so..." Takumi answered. "Not... Not that!" Mariko got annoyed that she thought she was just pretending to not know of the situation. "Mariko?" Yagano, who was listening to Takumi, got curious. It was rather a horrible day than a happy celebration for Mariko, or at least that what she thought. They spent the whole time conversing with each other while munching down foods. They felt like the chatter of the people around them will never end, as they never run out of topic. As time started to arrive. Shichiro excused himself from their seat and went in front of the counter. As soon as he carried a microphone with him, the loud music slowly stopped. The light around the whole tables started to dim, except to Shichiro''s spot, which brought the people''s attention to him. As soon as the room became quiet. Shichiro started speaking with his microphone. "Good evening, People of Ekigatamura, Tsuchiyans, Saijuns, Kosuns, Chu-Yuans, Yugaran, Soman and Jiman people! Thank you for arriving and attending this party of ours! Right now we have one minute before the day of the next year arrive!" The people cheered and clapped at his announcement. "We all know we had our deadliest conflict for a long time. But we were able to find peace! So let us forget those memories and let it be the greatest history of this world! So as your new friend and ally, We''ll celebrate the new year''s arrival together!" He said and the people cheered again. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "How long has it been, huh?" Maeru pondered as he watches Shichiro speaks in front of many people. "It''s been a crazy ride with you, you goddamn Prohorovkans..." Chiho sighed with a smile. "Yeah, you fucks are the weirdest yet strongest enemies we have fought... Can''t believe we made it out alive..." Mariko said. "But... Without the help of your ''reincarnation'' power, I don''t think there will be peace at all..." Chiho said. "Hm..." Maeru nodded. They all stared at Shichiro. Before they realized. "Ten! Nine! Eight...!" The countdown started and the people started to count along. The lights turned off completely as the roof slowly opened. "Wow!" Ayumi was the first to react then the rest of the people. "-Four! Three! Two! One!" As their countdown finished, they all cheered and yelled the happy new year. Right after that, The tanks and the AT guns from the outside started launching the fire works on the sky above the cafeteria. The room was brightened by the different colors of the fireworks and their different types of explosions. As the fireworks display ended, they continued their party for a little bit longer. After that, the people started to get less and lesser, the Prohorovkans were giving out some foods and desserts for the people as they leave the base. 32 Peacemaker Obtained! - Another tension risen! As Chiho aims the Peacemaker at Sera with a strong intention of killing her, Her eyes flashed yellow and remained yellow until she fired the gun. As it fires, its speed cannot be seen, even Sera herself. Little did they know that Shu Fang was also about to get killed due to being just behind Sera. They were really into luring her in their trap. However, they heard something like clang and it made it flew up the sky as soon as it got close to them. The next thing they saw was the Peacemaker''s round exploding at the sky, sweeping away the clouds around it, filling the sky with yellow glitters "What?!" Chiho instantly loses her cool. "You...!" Sera was catching her breath, she looked terrified. "...How did you?!" Shu Fang quickly throws her away, but Sera remained in the air. "What do you mean?!" Sera looked back at Shu Fang. "...Huh?" Both Shu Fang and Chiho got surprised by her response. "We both supposed to be dead right now!" Sera shouted. Before they were able to continue, A girl beggar came out of nowhere and stood in front of Chiho. "W-Whoa, who''s this?" Mariko called out the girl, but she was ignored. "This is no place for beggars, you fool!" She shouted. The beggar wears a short gray hair. The sleeveless undershirt and the short she was wearing are heavily torn, exposing a lot of her skin, who''s into the tanned side but they weren''t too dark. This made her look very beggar for Mariko. "W-Who are you...?" Chiho lowered the Peacemaker. "You... Who are you?" The beggar asked. They were surprised. "That voice!" Sera recognized her voice and landed on the ground. "Mariyou-sama?! What are you doing here?!" She called the beggar ''Mariyou''. "Do you have any idea who this girl is?" Mariyou turned to Sera. "She''s just another villager as far as I know... But She somehow caught some small powers from Shichiro''s men" Sera answered. "A Succubus, huh?" Mariyou turned back to Chiho with a cold look, Chiho was easily terrified. "N-No! No! She''s not one of those sluts! Or maybe she is, but she''s certainly not a Succubus!" Sera shouted to correct her. "Oh... Alright, I get it..." Mariyou lessened her threatening look. "No ordinary human could get the full potential of those magical guns I''ve created for the four of you..." She said. "Y-Yeah! That''s what I thought too! That girl tried to kill me and her friend here!" Sera shouted. "Tell me who you are, kid..." Mariyou asked Chiho. "Why am I going to tell you my name?" Chiho opposed her question. "If you won''t, we''ll do this the hard way. I will sap your life just to get the informations I wanted" Mariyou said. "Yeah! I experienced that shit! If someone like me suffered at that kind of power, then how about you weaklings?!" Sera shouted as she went beside Mariyou, Shu Fang used her shade to quickly go beside Chiho. "I don''t want any troubles here. I''m just here to ask something" Mariyou stated her intention. "Full potential?! If she was able to get a god''s weapon''s full potential. that means she''s already strong enough!" Mariko laughed, Mariyou looked at her, wondering who she is. "S-Sorry..." Mariko covered her mouth and was about to run away. "F-For the fucking last time, Chiho! Just give whatever they need! That''s two gods you will be fighting!" Mariko shouted. "God?" Mariyou gave a curious look. "Y-Yeah... You know, these Southerns believed God is their creator or something like that, I don''t know..." Mariko said. "I''m far stronger than that God you believe in" Mariyou gave a chilling smile. Mariko gulped, terrified. "Yeah! WE all are!" Sera laughed. "Y-You heard her, Chiho. You still want to fight? You do that on your own, you little shit, I''m out of here!" Mariko shouted with a shaky voice. Tired of hearing Mariko, Chiho gave up and intended to answer Mariyou''s questions. She stood up and faced Mariyou, She realized Mariyou was a little bit taller than her. "How about you tell us first who you are?" Chiho said. "Fair enough" Mariyou agreed. "I am Mariyou Surigawa, Head of the Kumori Daiwa. We in our Daiwa gather willing humans and other kinds to teach them the proper use of their powers... I take it that you know who Shichiro Fujiwara is, yes?" She introduced and asked her a question. "Yeah. He invaded our world and took our home and the lives of many!" Chiho angrily responded. "Hm..." Mariyou nodded. "That kid. I wasn''t supposed to visit a world full of powerless people, they rely on those technologies and such, no magic at all... But there''s this devilish family residing below their world and I can feel their burning intention of destroying the surface... I wasn''t interested in protecting this world, but I felt the responsibility! Since I was able to visit them! It''s so stupid!" Mariyou laughed, leaving everyone stunned. "So yeah! I went into that world and looked for the proper human to hold one of my powers. Then there''s this cute guy!" Mariyou giggled, her palms on her cheeks. "Mariyou-sama? What are you doing?" Sera was visibly disturbed. "Oh my, Sorry~! Looks like I was carried away again!" Mariyou childishly apologized. "You see. I''m not really into this war of yours. I never liked war! I was serious about coming here to ask you" Mariyou shook her hand. "Well, that''s that... Now tell me, Chiho Hasegawa..." She folded her arms. Chiho''s eyes widen. "How did you...?!" She asked. "Since the moment you refused my question, I have already gone inside your head" Mariyou said. "Or maybe you just knew her all along?" Mariko said. "No shit, Mariko. I told you..." Mariyou turned to her. "Ah!" Mariko shouted. "Then, How about that girl!" She pointed at Shu Fang. "Shu Fang Chen" Mariyou looked at Shu Fang, surprisingly, she wasn''t amazed. "Then how about that soldier over there?!" Mariko pointed to a random soldier. "Hm...? Isao" Mariyou said his name and he was very surprised. "Amazing!" Mariko was visibly amazed. "I know right?!" Mariyou smiled with her. "Mariyou-sama!" "I know! I know!" Sera shouted at Mariyou and she quickly focused back. "Now, Chiho... How were you able to hold that gun, huh?" She asked. "Actually, It-" "Ahh! I forgot she''s still holding my baby!" Chiho answered Mariyou but was interrupted by Sera. "...Baby?!" Shu Fang got very confused and blushed. "Hey, hey, Focus" Mariyou gets Chiho''s attention back. "I almost forgot that no one should be able to hold that gun but this person here" Mariyou glanced at Sera. "Yeah, What the fuck?" Sera shouted. "Whatever that is, it didn''t work" Chiho answered. "Alright..." Mariyou took a deep breath. "Then how were you able to fully activate it?" She asked. "What do you mean?" Chiho couldn''t understand her question. "Hm..." Mariyou thought of something. "Before you shoot this girl here, Have you felt anything?" She asked. "..." Chiho was about to speak but she made sure of her answer first. "Now that I think about it, I felt like something in my eyes" Chiho thinks carefully. "How?!" Sera shouted. "Oh my god! You were able to do it too?!" She added. Their responses made Mariyou curious. After a second. "Are you sure you''re not Aurelia''s minions?" "I told you, Mariyou-sama..." She asked and Sera butted in. "I don''t even know her" Chiho answered, looking straight into Mariyou''s eyes. "Aurelia Farina... One of my fri-" "Mariyou-sama, are you seriously going to tell them your whole story?" Sera was both bored and annoyed now. "Well, I was asking her about Aurelia, right?" Mariyou shrugged. "Ugh! This got me feel so sluggish! Can I ask you to give me my gun back, Mariyou-sama? I really feel like lying down..." Sera asked. "You got it~!" Mariyou got happy getting rid of Sera for some reason. With that, Sera left, telling the enemy soldiers who were watching from outside to retreat, despite losing the two bases. "I guess I wanted to spend some time here! You''re really interesting, Chiho..." Mariyou said. "You were really a normal villager, got powers from this Chu-Yuan fellow here, and used them to battles" She added. Then looked around. "Uh... So, Sera and Shichiro''s men left the place, so I guess you won it?" Mariyou shrugged. They couldn''t respond. "...What?" Mariyou asked as everyone stare at her. "So... Are you friendly?" Mariko walked a little bit close. "I told you... I''m on neither side" Mariyou answered. "Really? Then can we be friends or something?" Mariko asked. "No. I''m afraid I can''t do that" She shrugged. "Oh..." Mariko felt sad. With Sera''s interruption and Mariyou''s arrival, The conflict for the bases'' control was cut off and they were given to Chiho''s side. Taking advantage of Mariyou''s neutral attitude, Mariko pushes her luck trying to get Mariyou close to their side. As an hour passed, the soldiers who were to clear the bases and confirm control of the area arrived. After that, the bases and its perimeter is fully guarded and in complete control. . "If you are Shichiro''s master or something, why won''t you side with him and kill us all here?" Mariko asked, annoyed. "I''m not going to meddle with his things. My business here was talking to Chiho here, not joining your little war" Mariyou answered. Then she turned to Chiho. "Mind if I scare you a little bit?" She asked. "Huh?" Chiho gave her a curious look. "All of the sudden, I don''t feel like talking. So let me do something else" Mariyou dragged Chiho''s face closer to her. Then suddenly, Chiho''s eyes and mouth became bright blue and opened wide. Then they let out a blue colored magic that looked like her very spirit. Along with a terrifying sound, they went directly into Mariyou''s like the flow of a river. It looked like she was taking her life, which shocked everyone. "Hey, hey, hey! What''s going on?!" Mariko shouted as she stares at Chiho who was standing still, not making any struggle. She noticed that the color of Mariyou''s eyes turned into the same color as the energy. After a few seconds, Mariyou''s eyes and the energy flow turns red. The loud sound became sharper as it changes, then Chiho quickly shouted in pain. This terrified everyone. "...Chiho!" Shu Fang called as she plans on interrupting Mariyou. After that, Mariyou finished. The last line of Chiho''s energy went into Mariyou. She caught Chiho before she fell on her own and slowly sat her on ground. "What did you do to her?!" Mariko shouted. "Hm..." Mariyou closed her eyes as she rubs her chin. "So there''s really nothing, huh" Mariyou sighed. "Is it really because of Jin''s fault" She talked to herself. "Hey! Listen to me!" Mariko kept shouting. After dealing with her suspicions, Mariyou held Chiho with both of her hands. With a very loud noise, Mariyou transferred back Chiho''s energies. Unlike before, It was quick return. "There" Mariyou shook Chiho a little bit and she slowly regained consciousness. "Chiho!" "...Chiho!" The two called out as they run towards her. "u..." Chiho puts her hand on her head. She looks terrible. "Don''t worry. Nothing bad happened to her. She''s just weak, she''ll not take long on recovering" Mariyou said. "Why did you do that?!" Mariko shouted at her. "I wanted to make sure. Aurelia''s minions are able to take Human form and completely hide their powers from being detected" Mariyou said. "Just who is this Aurelia?!" Mariko looked very annoyed. "Aurelia Farina. She''s a Succubus queen from my world. I hate to say that she used to be my closest friend. Ever since she replaced her mother as the queen, she gained a lot of power. Then she started messing around and my Daiwa''s involved!" Mariyou was visibly upset. "And to think she was able to use my creations at her own will... I will not allow that!" She added. "...Daiwa...YOUR Daiwa?" Shu Fang got curious. Mariyou sighed. "I shouldn''t be giving out information like these to some random humans, but I''ll let it slide for now... There''s only two Daiwa existing, Kumori Daiwa and Fujitsu Daiwa. As I said before, I am the head of the Kumori. The Fujitsu is being led by one of my closest friends" Mariyou said. "What''s her name?" Mariko asked. "Why should I tell you?" Mariyou asked. "Maybe that person''s my mother or something" Mariko giggled. "Hm... Whatever, her name is Roma Sanbaru. Your mother or auntie?" Mariyou asked. "Nope. But her name''s beautiful... Roma..." Mariko repeated the name. "Shu Fang..." Chiho called. "...Yes?" Shu Fang crouched to see Chiho. "What...just happened?" Chiho asked. "This girl just..." Mariko tried to explain but couldn''t put them into words. "It''s like, your spirit went into her face and shit... Then the next thing is you just fell unconscious!" Mariko said. "Do you remember that part? W-What did you feel during those moments?" She asked, nervous yet curious enough. Chiho remembered exactly how she felt. At first, she felt something like a strong wind swirling inside her head, it was enough to leave her unable to react during that time. Then later she felt her entire body aching as if her flesh and insides are melting and is being forced to go all the way up to her head. As soon as they were there, she would feel like they are escaping through her face. Chiho couldn''t explain such experience. The only thing she can say that her life was sucked out of her. "C-Can''t you at least tell me one bit?" Mariko asked, but Chiho shook her head. "It was rather horrible to feel, Mariko" She said. Mariko looked away pouting. "How am I still awake after that?" Chiho asked. "...She gave them back. Your spirit or energy, whatever that was" Shu Fang answered. "If I didn''t give you your energy back, you''ll be dead in five" Mariyou said. "I''m certainly sure some of Shichiro''s soldiers also carry that power. I''d be careful fighting close-quarter if I were you" She warned. "...Be dead in five? Why?" Shu Fang asked. "Yes. In such cases like this time, you would like to squeeze out information without killing the person. The enemies won''t notice a thing. There will be bits of energy to keep the body from completely ceasing to function" Mariyou said. "Bullshit. Chiho remembered her life was taken away. As soon as they come back to life, they can just tell their allies that they were robbed of their life!" Mariko said. "Yes. Because of that, we were able to improve this certain power. You can now control what you sap aside from their life" Mariyou said. "You can sap some of their memories. That means you can make them forget what happened before they lose conscious" Mariyou said. "Oh?" Mariko was convinced. However, Shu Fang wasn''t. "...That won''t work everywhere" She said. "You''ve noticed something?" Mariyou smiled. "...Everyone can predict. If their people are found unconscious on the ground. They can assume that they were sapped" Shu Fang said. "Yes. That''s why you need to be quiet about it" Mariyou nodded. "Enough explaining. My job here is done" Mariyou clapped. "It''s really frustrating when you limit your things for a certain person yet it''s being used by normal humans" She sighed. "You can keep that weapon. I''ll talk to Sera about it and make her another one" She said to Chiho. Her eyes widen in surprise. "R-Really?! Thank you very much!" Chiho stood and bowed. Mariyou laughed. "Don''t thank me. I''ll be making them another one, and you already have it, so there''s no need to force it away from you" She shrugged. "Unless I wasn''t able to convince Sera. She might chase you until you give it back to her" Mariyou giggled before she walks away, she disappeared behind a building. After the silence, Chiho happily hugged the Peacemaker. "Aaaahh!!!" Chiho rubbed her face in it, she looked really happy. "Whoa. Since when did they became attached to each other?" Mariko stared at Chiho. "...I wonder, too. Considering that we just found that gun back at Trupriv before we launched an attack here" Shu Fang said. "Well, whatever. Another enemy weapon captured I guess... And it''s a unique one!" Mariko folded her arms. Shu Fang nodded in agreement. On the Prohorovkan Headquarters, Mariyou came walking in, She felt all of the gazes as she does. Even the front entrance is large and loud enough to give away how big their organization is. As she reached the end of the hall, she stopped before a large counter with a girl behind it. The familiar name ''Sahara Mishiro'' is written in a frame on top of the desk. And then the same familiar figure. Black hair, tied with sunflower holder, lying in her left shoulder, light-red eyes. Mariyou felt like she meets that person in every world she visits. "M-Mariyou-sama! Welcome!" The girl behind the counter quickly welcomed her. "Hello, Sahara. Still in this boring position?" Mariyou greeted the girl. "Y-Yes..." Sahara shyly scratched her head. "If Shichiro doesn''t need me in his army, then I''ll take it as an advantage to never go to war!" She said. "Being an angel in a deadly organization... Still gets me... So, is Shichiro here?" Mariyou asked. "He''s not here, though. He just left. I heard he''s going back to his world, going to take care of his family I guess..." Sahara said. "Huh... Is Sera here?" Mariyou asked. "Yes. She looked very angry. Then she asked me if Mark is in inside. He sure is in a lot of trouble, since he joined Shichiro" Sahara said. "Hm... I got the news from Maeru on our little talks. He indeed in a lot of trouble... How about you? What do you think of Mark?" Mariyou asked. "Well... You know I can''t answer that question" Sahara said. "Then base from what you''ve heard, do you think he fits for one of Shichiro''s commander or something?" Mariyou asked. "As of now, I don''t think so. He needs practice, then after that, we can talk about whether should he be called a commander. He barely used our weapons and just relied on those blades" Sahara gave an annoyed look. "Sure is. He''s still living in a fantasy" Mariyou laughed. "Well. I heard about his controlled territory. The three of his bases were already captured by the enemies. There''s two more before he completely messes up his territories" Mariyou giggled. "Yes. We are kinda waiting for those two bases of his to fall so Nami-san will finally be in control. Once she does, the tide will turn for the enemies" Sahara giggled. "They''ll face the true horrors of the Prohorovka!" She added. "Hm... There are four layers of defense covering that Tsuchiya right? The outer one, which is Mark''s. Next is Nami''s... then who''s next?" Mariyou asked. "It''ll be Natori-san''s. Do you know her?" Sahara asked and Mariyou shook her head. "Natori Mizuhawari. She''s the fourth of the Red Mosin''s elite sniper and commander! She''s known for having a great talent for fast firing. She will never lose focus even when she reloads!" Sahara told her about the commander. "Uh... So that means she looks through the scope while reloading? What''s so special about that?" Mariyou asked. "...She never lose focus? Plus she works on bolt-action rifles very fast! without looking away from the scope too!" Sahara said. "Hm... After that Natori girl, who''s the last one?" Mariyou asked. "It''ll be me..." Sahara answered, shocking Mariyou. "Just kidding~ ... It''s Shiori Yoritouin! The first one on the list! She always follows their faction leader all the time, like a secretary. I think they both have some mutual interests or something, who knows... Like that, she carries almost all of that faction leader, along with her little sister" Sahara said. "Hm... Where''s the rest of the Red Mosin''s snipers?" Mariyou asked. "There are only four of them, I believe. The only left missing is Ryujo Shunchuji, the second one. I''m not sure where is she right now" Sahara shrugged. "And what is this one known for?" Mariyou asked. "She''s known for inventing her own flash guard. She was able to make her rifle more powerful while hiding her flashes. She never told us about how she made it, she just joined with the guys at a factory. She never even share it with others. So it''s a little mystery for us" Sahara answered. "Alright..." Mariyou was about to head inside but Sera came out of the elevator. "Mariyou-sama! Did you get it?!" Sera ran to her. "No, Sera. I will be making a new guns for you and your friends. I''m going to ask Jin-chan about them. Make sure those guns will be held by nobody but you" Mariyou said. "Huh?! I''m fine with that, but where''s my Peacemaker?!" Sera already guessed the answer. "I let Chiho have it" Mariyou answered and Sera face-palmed. "Why?" She asked in a disappointed tone. "There''s no need to keep those" Mariyou said. "You could have just given it for Shichiro''s soldiers" Sera pointed at Sahara. "Hmph... I hate Shichiro" Mariyou looked away pouting. "Being a tsundere out of nowhere, Mariyou-sama? What''s going on?" Sera asked. "He keeps ignoring me! I told him to stop yet he continues!" Mariyou shouted, Sahara giggled at her. "He''s quite a bad boy, isn''t he?" She said. "Yeah, He is. There''s one time I was able to hit his head hard out of pure anger. I didn''t want to do any harm to him but he really got me there. He''s making me look like a mother scolding her child" Mariyou sighed and folded her arms. "Do you have any connection with that Chiho?" She asked Sera. "Huh? What do you mean? I got no deals with that girl. She had my gun and that''s it" Sera answered. "Hm..." Mariyou nodded. "Why did you ask?" She asked. "Nothing..." Mariyou shook her head. "Huh...Alright, I''m going home..." Sera said as she walks away. "Home? Where exactly?" Mariyou turned to ask. "To OUR world! Where else?" Sera stopped to face her. "Hm...Alright. Say hello for the Goddess for me, will you?" Mariyou giggled. "Yeah, yeah..." With that, Sera walked outside. "She''s going home, but she went outside... I don''t get it..." Sara looked up to think through. "Well... There goes my visit. See you again, Sahara..." Mariyou reached for her head. "Y-Yes!" Sahara quickly responded to her touch. With her last rub, Mariyou disappeared in a flash before her. "At least wear proper clothes next time, idiot..." Sahara whispered to herself. Once everything is settled on the newly-captured bases, the girls headed back to Saiju. People were staring at Chiho as they make their way to the Inn, because of the Peacemaker still active behind her. "You''re a bit lucky out there, Chiho-san" The soldier who was accompanying them said. "That Sera girl was intending to fight you till death until that poor-looking one came. Turns out she was Sera''s master or something" He added. "Yeah... If that girl didn''t arrive, We would still be fighting that Sera right now" "No! Chiho! You''ll be good as dead right fucking now!" Mariko shouted. She looked away as soon as Chiho looked in her way. "I didn''t like your shit, Chiho. That was a hell of a risk! You could have led us to our death!" Mariko looked back. "...She''s right, you know..." Shu Fang sided with her. "But look at the bright side! I get to own this monster!" Chiho pats the barrel of the Peacemaker. "Way scarier monster, I get it... Fine..." Mariko sighed. "Also, that''s so unlikely of you to be such a chicken, Mariko! You embarrass the North!" Chiho teased her. "Well, I''m sorry I didn''t grow up with them!" Mariko shouted, folding her arms. "I had their blood but I didn''t grow up in the North, I''m sorry!" She added. "Plus, as I said, I grew up here so that means it is YOU Southerns who made me like this!" She said. "Right, right..." Chiho dropped the topic before it goes hot. Once they arrived in front of the Inn, the soldier waved goodbye at them and walked away. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Good to be at home. A fucking Inn...!" Mariko said before opening the Inn. "Heey!" She shouted, then got surprised. "What the..." She saw the Prohorovkans inside. Takumi and the T-26 crew was sitting at the bar, while Tanaka and Sagiri sat on a table in the middle. There were a few empty chairs and tables between them and the other people. Some of them are watching them closely. "They''re back!" Ayumi appeared from the hallway on the right and ran towards them. "Oh! Haha..." Mariko caught Ayumi. "Hey... How are our new friends doing?" Mariko asked. "They''re behaving!" Ayumi said with a smile. "Behaving..." The commander of the T-26 chuckled. The girls went in and Chiho quickly became the interest of the people. "§¹§ä§à §Ø§Ö §ï§ä§à §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Ö!!! (Chto zhe eto takoye!!!)" Tanaka stood up and shouted as he points at Chiho. "Huh...?" Takumi looked at Chiho and saw the little flash of energy from the Peacemaker. "§£§à§ä §ï§ä§à §Õ§Ñ...(Vot eto da...)" The commander smiled while the rest of them in shock. "Oii... §®§å§Õ§Ñ§Ü!(Mudak!), Wh-What the hell is that?!" Takumi pointed at her. "Hm... This?" Chiho took the Peacemaker from her back and held it with two hands and extended her arm to show to the people. "§µ-§µ§Ò§Ú§â§Ñ§Û§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ§ç§å§Û §à§ä§ã§ð§Õ§Ñ! (...)" Takumi showed a real terrified face. "§°§ä§Ü§å§Õ§Ñ §à§ß §å §ß§Ö§Ö?!" "§Á §ß§Ú §ç§â§Ö§ß§Ñ §ß§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð!" Takumi and the loader of the T-26 shouted at each other. "Whoa, whoa... Calm down!" Mariko shouted. As things calm down. Chiho sat with Takumi and the T-26 crews on the bar and told them the story. "Hey, hey, are you serious? Mariyou-sama just came in to meet you?" Takumi asked. "Yeah, like I said, It''s because of how I managed to use this at ''full potential'' she said..." Chiho scratched her head. "Wow... Still, we still don''t know if Sera will come barging here to take that thing back" Takumi said. "Even if we all have powers here, we are still unable to match hers. Sera''s power is around Shichiro''s and Mariyou-sama''s. She''ll just be playing with you!" She added. "Oh, yeah... Talking about powers. Takumi, that Mariyou said that some of the Prohorovkans also carries the same power she used at Chiho. Do you have that?" Mariko asked. "Huh? Which one?" Takumi looked at her. "That... Life eating one... where they both look at each other then there''s just... spirit coming out of Chiho, in which goes to Mariyou..." Mariko tried her best to explain. "Ah. That... Yes, I can do that. Why?" Takumi nodded. "Wow! Can you test it on me?!" Mariko excitedly asked. "Huh? Are you nuts? Do you even know how that works?" Takumi shouted. "I know, I know! I just wanted to know how that feels! Since Chiho here wasn''t able to talk about it, it just makes me dead curious!" Mariko said. "Fine..." Takumi fixes herself. She opened her mouth as a start then sapped Mariko for one second. The loud noise draws the attention of the people. "Holy shit..." Haruki behind the counter flamed as she processes the scene. "Ahh..." Mariko looked very surprised. "So? How''d it feel?" Takumi asked. "Uh..." Mariko slowly looked at Takumi. "I... feel like shit..." She said. "I told you already, Mariko. You just won''t listen..." Chiho sighed. "By the way, You went into Atropos and Mercy, right? Have you snatched them from Mark?" The commander of the T-26 asked. "Huh? The fuck are those?" Mariko asked. "I mean... The two base ahead of the first one you got before" She said. "Ahh... Yeah... Mariyou sent Sera away along with those cunts. So we had the bases with ease!" Mariko triumphantly said. "Hm... Two more bases and Mark will run out of control... Then after that, shits are gonna serious" Takumi said. "W-What do you mean?" Haruki asked. "Ahead of Atropos and Mercy lies the last two bases Mark was assigned, Lima and Virtue. Once you caught all of Mark''s territory, I think Mark will finally show himself and have yourselves a little showdown. That''s our rules, You lost all your territories, you show yourself to the enemies and try to take back all you have lost..." Takumi explained. "Heh... If that''s how it''s going to be... Then I''ll join the invasion of those two bases so I can finally kill that motherfucker...!" Mariko smiled. "You guys really hate him, huh?" Takumi giggled. "Yeah! He''s a fucking asshole!" "True..." Mariko insulted him and the gunner of the T-26 agreed with her. "After you''re done dealing with Mark, you''ll be facing one of the Red Mosin''s commanders. Nami Setogawa, I think you''ve met her back at Betty... Or whatever name you gave to the first base you''ve captured..." Takumi reminded them of Nami. "Trupriv! I was the one who gave it!" Mariko said. "T-Trupriv? Wow, where''d you get that from... Well, anyways. Things are REALLY gonna change from that point..." Takumi smiled mischievously. This scared the people around. "Nami-san... All of the Red Mosin''s commanders are very serious compared to Mark... Remember Tsuchiya? Diving planes, fast movers, gunfires, machine guns, tanks, paratroopers, artillery fires... Those horrors will come haunting back at you.." Takumi said. "No..." Ayumi remembered everything, and so does Chiho. "Mark... He..." Chiho doesn''t know if she''s going to be angry, that Mark wasn''t serious the whole time and was giving them hope of easily winning the war. "Fuck... What should we do?" Mariko asked. "That''s why we''re here! We''re gonna use the equipment from Mark''s bases and use them against Nami''s forces! We''ll teach your soldiers how to use them!" Takumi cheered them up. "Y-Yeah, that''s a relief" Chiho nodded. "We''ll prepare for the last strategy for Mark''s bases. We wi-" "Prepare?" Chiho was saying something but Takumi interrupts her "Gentaro was already planning on taking out those last two bases since those Vikings are already there" Takumi said and everyone yelled in surprise. 33 In prep for a Big Showdown During the night, when everyone is asleep. The Prohorovkans launched a night raid at the Base Atropos and Mercy. The defenses almost fell during the raid, but they managed to hold and push back the raiders. The message arrived to Gentaro right after the raid. It went around the whole village in the morning. As everyone, without Yagano and Katsuko, woke up, they all stayed and did their breakfast at the Inn. "Shit... I thought the foods here will be bland as hell, being so medieval shit and all..." Takumi finished her dish. "But they taste great" She gave Haruki a smile. "My! It''s all thanks to Ali-chan!" Haruki gave the compliment to Alice. "Who?" Takumi looked up to Haruki. "It''s me..." Alice spoke behind them, Takumi looked behind. "Hm..." She nodded. "This salmon is very good!" She ordered a pan-fried salmon aside from her main dish. "This way of cooking... It''s the same way we do it in our world" She said. "Is that so?" Hearing that made Alice smile. "That fish is also popular in your world, I see" She nodded. "Yeah. Though, in our country, we eat them raw" Takumi told them about the Japanese foods. "Ew..." Mariko whispered in her seat. "Doesn''t that make your tummy hurt?" Ayumi asked. "Not at all. There are still processes to keep the foods to be safe to eat" Takumi answered. "Hey. You mentioned your country just now. What''s the name?" Mariko asked. "Japan! We are known to be a very respectful country in our world!" Takumi said. "We are the strongest, you know? We are also known for having a long history! And up until now, we are the most advanced country!" She proceeded to boast about Japan. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Y-Yeah... How about your language?" Mariko asked. "We''re speaking it right now" Takumi smiled. "Huh? Right now? This is your language too?" Mariko got confused. "Yeah. I believe we have the same language but we called them differently. It''s called Japanese" Takumi said. "Yeah, Japanese. I heard that name before" Chiho nodded. "How about that other language?" She asked. "Russian? Yeah, we call it Russian. It''s a bit hard to get used to. You''ll be speaking tongue-twister" Takumi giggled. "Hard to get used to, yet you''re speaking them like it''s your first language" Mariko whispered. "I learned Russian a long time ago and you''d fucking sound weird when you speak a foreign language with a Japanese accent. You gotta change them, you shit" Takumi looked at Mariko. "Then... What about... §³§Õ§í§ç§Ñ§ä§î? (Sdykhat''?)" Chiho still remembered the word. "If you really want to tell your enemy to die, you can say ''§µ§Þ§â§Ú!'' (Umri!)" Takumi said. "§µ§Þ§â§Ú! (Die!)" Mariko shouted. "How about an insult?" She asked. "§³§å§Ü§Ñ!(Suka!), that word is a very popular word in Russian which means Bitch" Takumi said. "§µ§Þ§â§Ú, c§å§Ü§Ñ! (Die, bitch!)" Mariko shouted the words together. "Hehehe... I''ll be shouting that shit to Mark!" Mariko giggled. "Too bad, Mark can''t speak Russian. But I guess he knows about c§å§Ü§Ñ ..." Takumi giggled. "Going for the bad words already!" Ayumi pouted. "Takumi-san! What is hello in your language?" She turned at Takumi and asked. "The most common and popular one is §±§â§Ú§Ó§Ö§ä (Privet). The polite one would be §©§Õ§â§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§å§Û§ä§Ö (Zdravstvuyte)" Takumi answered. "Why is the polite one long?" Chiho asked. "I don''t know. But it sounds really well when you are all formal and shit" Takumi shrugged. "§±-§±§â§Ú...§Ó§Ö§ä...(H-He...llo...)" Ayumi tried to repeat the word. "Yeah! You''re getting a hang on it!" Takumi pats Ayumi''s head. "§±§â§Ú§Ó§Ö§ä! (Hello!)" Ayumi perks up as to finally get the word and shouted. "There we go!" Takumi laughed. "Then, then! How about Good morning?" Ayumi asked. "§¥§à§Ò§â§à§Ö §å§ä§â§à (Dobroye utro)" Takumi answered. "§¥§à§Ò§â§à§Ö §å§ä§â§à (Good morning)" Mariko easily got it before them. "Hah! So easy..." She laughed. "I... can''t speak that right now but I will remember it!" Ayumi said. "Hey, hey. As much as I wanted to learn their language too, don''t you think you should be at the battlefield or doing something right now?" Haruki interrupted them. "Oh, almost forgot!" The commander of the T-26 remembered something. "Nagami?" Takumi looked at her. "I was keeping this structure cube the whole time in this world! This is a plane factory!" Nagami pulled out a factory cube. "P-Plane factory?!" Chiho shouted in surprise. The people overheard their conversation and were looking at their way. "Whoa, shit! Factory? We can make planes?!" Mariko shouted. "If we had the resources, yeah" Nagami nodded. "Shiiit!!!" Mariko couldn''t contain her excitement. "Lucky for you, we don''t need that many resources. We have a building tool inside of those factories that''ll use fewer resources. But the results were just like normal, those needed tons of resources" Takumi said. "You place any forms of metal. A metal plate, for example, you place that shit on the scanner then you choose what you''ll make. Then the scanner will slowly consume the metal as it generates the item you chose. It doesn''t matter how big the thing is, the amount it consumes the resource and the time it makes the item is fixed" Takumi explained. "Of course. We need gunpowder to make ammunitions" Nagami said. "Is gunpower already present in this time?" She asked and nobody gave an answer. "Great. I don''t know how to make gunpowders too, So I guess we will get them from other worlds" She sighed. "Powder for guns?" Chiho asked. "Yeah. That''s what makes the bullet fly. From this era of yours, the first weapon you can make when you finally invented Gunpower is what we call Musket. I don''t know how they actually work, but I''ve searched about them before. They carry those little bags filled with gunpowder. They will pour them into the gun then put that little bag thing inside the barrel then they can fire" Nagami answered. "Oh..." Chiho thinks for a while. "Wait. Does it work just like the way your guns work right now?" Mariko asked. "No. You''ll be like using crossbows, but just with gunpower and longer reload I guess..." Nagami said. "Then that''s bullshit. We have your better guns, why would we stick into those ''musket''?" Mariko angrily asked. "She''s saying that if we didn''t come into this world, you''ll be sticking with those kinds of weapons before being able to move on to modern ones like ours" Takumi said. "Since we arrived from the future, you guys will have the greatest leap in technologies" She added. "From stones straight to space-age" The driver of the T-26 laughed. "You won''t have to go through all the work our people have been into" Takumi said. "Hey. Seriously?" Haruki sighed. "Alright. Let''s get going then..." Takumi stood up. "Let me take care of the plates..." Alice told the group and they left the Inn. "Hey, hey! Where are we going to place that plane factory?!" Mariko asked. "Well... First, we need a big place, a safe big place. This building has an underground built-in, that''s where we build the planes and some space for parking. The upper building is mostly like a Hangar, or just a large parking space for the planes" Nagami said. "So, seeing how cramped up this place is, we will need to build this outside, as much as I hate it being in the open..." She added. "Let''s ask Leader-san to build another village!" Mariko suggested. "Yeah! Yeah! Just like the Chu-Yuan!" Ayumi got excited about the thought. "Making a new settlement in the middle of the war?" Takumi gave a confused expression. "Yeah. We gotta stop whatever Leader-san is planning on the last bases right now. This plane factory comes first" Mariko said. "You can ask him that, right? Chiho?" She asked. "I guess. Why is it got to be me though?" Chiho looked at Mariko. "You''re the one who''s close enough to talk to him about it" Mariko answered. Chiho thinks about it for a second. "...Alright" She nodded and they all went to Gentaro''s place. The same as yesterday, people were looking at their way. Some looked scared, some looked angry. On their way, a man carrying a big sack of potatoes on his back fell in front of them. In reflex, Takumi and her friends quickly stopped and helped the man collect his potatoes back. "I''m sorry for the trouble..." The man apologized to Takumi. "No problem at all. Where are you headed?" She asked the man. "I''m going to deliver these to the Market" He answered. "But the Capital is behind you" Mariko pointed ahead. "Yes. I forgot something in our home. I have to get back" The man nodded. "While carrying that heavy stuff?" Takumi asked. "Y-Yes. My friends and my families are all busy to help me" He scratched his head. "Then let me help you" The gunner picked up the sack, the man grabbed the sack. "No, no. I can''t give you any more trouble!" He said. "It''s alright. Go get your things, we will get this potatoes to the Market" The gunner said as she placed the sack on top of her head, surprising the man. "C-Can you even walk like that?" He asked. "Yeah. Don''t worry" The gunner was keeping the balance of the sack with her two hands. "It''s not heavy?" He looked really worried. "Yeah. This is nothing compare to our work at the factories" The gunner said. "Well? Where are we taking this?" She asked and was told to deliver the sack on a vegetable stand with a sign ''Grapes at lower cost!''. As they enter the Market. They started looking for the sign. But after several minutes, they still haven''t find it. "There''s no sign here" The gunner complained. "What was the goddamn sign again?" She asked. ''Grapes on low demand" Mariko answered. "It''s a discounted sign" Nagami said. "Ugh. I remembered growing up being dragged by my mom in a mall and wasting the whole day going through the entire goddamn place of discounted stuff. This should be a nostalgia trip" The gunner laughed sadly. "Mall?" Chiho looked at the gunner. "It''s like a huge, covered Market. A building full of stuff to sell" The gunner replied. "It''s also very cold inside. There''s like, a huge thing blowing cold winds inside" The loader added. "Wow. Sounds better than our Market full of fishes'' smell with those sweaty men''s scent" Mariko said, making everyone giggle except Takumi. "Hahaha!!! I know right?!" She hysterically laughed. "You can even see their sweat drop on their goods sometimes! Hahaha!!!" "Eeww!" Ayumi squirms on Takumi''s words. "Fuck, that''s disgusting" Mariko looked very disturbed. "I''m glad I still wasn''t able to witness such things like that" She added. After a few minutes, they finally gave up. "There''s no goddamn sign here about discounted grapes..." The gunner sighed heavily as she drops the sack to the ground. "What should we do?" Nagami asked. "Hey, Tamie" She faced Tamie, everyone was surprised, including Tamie herself. "Like, you have been quiet the whole fucking time. You dead inside?" She said. "Um... I... don''t see any sign too" Tamie said. "At least anything that says ''grapes''?" Nagami asked. "Ah... I saw a stand with grapes on them but it doesn''t have any signs" Tamie said. "Oh. Lead us there then" Nagami asked her to lead them to that grape stand. It was west from where they stopped before. Once they arrived, they saw a sleeping little girl with an untied black long hair in a stool who was supposed to keep watch. "Hey!" "Waah-!" Takumi shouted and awoken the girl in surprise. "Yes?! Do you want to buy something?!" The girl quickly stood up to ask. "We''re here to get these potatoes" The gunner put down the sack to the ground. The girl stared at the sack, then to the Prohorovkans. "Did nii-chan asked you to? You''re his friends?" She asked. "Well, he tripped and fell. Then we helped him" Takumi said. "Oh... Let me see the potatoes" The girl took the sack from the gunner, she pulled it until she sat back on the stool. She removed the straps at ease despite its tight bind, then she peeked inside. "Fourty-six potatoes...Hm...Hm..." The girl nodded repeatedly. "Thanks. The potatoes we needed are all in here" She said as she looked up to the gunner. "Y-You counted that fast?" The gunner was amazed. "Life in the Market" The girl smiled. "Wow. Now I''m starting to regret not agreeing on how our technologies affect the developments of the children" Takumi scratched her head. Not too long, the man before arrived. "Oh, we really appreciate your help. Please..." The man thanked them and took a small bag and started picking up grapes from their stand and gave it to Takumi. "Oh, thank you" Takumi took the bag and looked inside. "They came from the seeds Gentaro-sama gave us. So it''s as good as the ones in their garden" The man said. "Oooh...!" Ayumi heard him and was excited. "By any chance, are you Takumi Saito-san?" The man asked Takumi. "Yeah, that''s me. What a surprise I''m already known in this place" Takumi giggled. "Yes. Some people were waiting for you to side with us. Also, you were the first person from the enemy side to get to talk to us" The man said. "Yeah, I guess so" Takumi folded her arms. "I''m Satoshi Rurikawa, this is my little sister, Aya" Satoshi pats Aya''s head as he say her name. "I''m Aya Rurikawa! Nice to meet you!" She bowed also to get her brother to stop patting her head. "I''m Nagami Suruji. And these are my crews, Satomi Kirisawa, My gunner. Natsuki Akiyama, my radio. Machi Shinonome, my Driver. And Kaho Kaigara, my loader" Nagami introduced herself and her crew. "Well, you already know my name" Takumi said, then looked behind to Tamie. "Eh...?" Tamie realized she was the only person left. "Ain''t you gonna tell your name?" Takumi asked with a smile. Tamie looked at the man. "I''m Tamie Kanahara" She bowed lightly. "You two also" Nagami looked at the siblings. "I''m Tanaka..." "I''m Sagiri!" The two introduced. "Wow. I can''t believe we are actually introducing ourselves to the Prohorovkans" Aya said. "Mom would be so dead right now!" She added. "Aya! Watch your language!" Satoshi quickly scolded her. "Huh? Why is that?" Takumi asked Aya. "Our mom is very afraid of you" "So afraid that she was willing to let Dad join the army so he can protect us from you!" Satoshi and Aya answered. "Heh. Wow. What a mother" Nagami laughed. "Oof. I remembered we gotta talk to Gentaro-san. We have to get going now" Chiho laid her hand on Takumi''s shoulder. "Oh, yeah. We still got a lot of things to do" Takumi said to the two. "Is that so? Then you better get going then" Satoshi nodded. "Alright, let''s go" Mariko started walking and they all followed, waving at the two. "Thank you for helping us!" "Bye bye!" Satoshi bowed and Aya happily waved back. As they left the Market, they saw a bunch of soldiers heading for the Entrance. "Hey, hey, hey! What is that?!" Mariko pointed at them. "...They''re already on their way there?!" Shu Fang asked. "We gotta stop them!" Chiho shouted and teleported in front of the soldiers. "Whoa!" The driver of the carriage was forced to stop the carriage. "Wait! Don''t go back there yet!" Chiho shouted at the soldiers. "Why?" The driver asked. "Gentaro-sama ordered us to gather at the bases we captured" He added. Chiho thinks for a second. "Gather up there, but don''t go ahead yet, you hear me?!" Chiho shouted and the driver nodded "Yes..." He replied. "We''ll talk to Gentaro-san about this. So be on standby" Chiho said as she move aside from their way. "Right" The driver nodded and they proceeded to move out. "Chiho!" Mariko shouted as they run towards her. "Why did you let them go?!" She asked as she glanced at the soldiers. "They were just ordered to gather up at the bases. No attacks yet, I told them not to. Now, let''s get going" Chiho walked fast. They ate the grapes on their way. After a few minutes, they reached Gentaro''s place and entered. They saw Hiro standing by the entrance. "Hey, Chiho!" Hiro smiled. "Hey!" Chiho called him back. As they reach him, Chiho asked where Gentaro is. "He''s up in his room, he actually called you to get in here" Hiro said. "Perfect timing, we also wanted to talk to him" Takumi said, making Hiro look at them. "Wow. Look at you" He said. "Even if you took part of the invasion, people still somehow accepted you here" He added, Takumi laughed. "Yeah. It really showed how desperate you guys are" She said, Hiro just laughed along. "Go on now. He''s upstairs" Hiro moved out of the way and they all walked in. "Your gang is getting bigger, Chiho. Better start catching up money for their salaries" Hiro laughed, Chiho just sighed while Mariko giggled. Upon entering, they saw Gentaro sitting behind his desk. He looked surprised. "I didn''t asked for the whole team" He said. "Too bad, Chiho came not because you told her to. We got something to talk about" Takumi said as she went first to the sofa in his right. "And what is it?" Gentaro showed a curious look. "Should we tell the whole story?" Nagami asked Chiho. "Of course, you shit. How is he suppose to understand?" Mariko answered, making everyone look at her. "Alright, I guess" Nagami sighed. "Hm..." Takumi nodded. "Alright. But first, do you know who''s in charge of the bases you captured?" She asked Gentaro. "It''s this Mark guy. We heard him from Chiho and the soldiers" Gentaro answered. "Good. I would freak out if you didn''t" Takumi nodded. "Alright. Are you curious why we are shit at defending?" Takumi asked but Gentaro couldn''t answer. "It''s because of Mark" She said, Gentaro looked very surprised. "Why is it him?" He asked. "He''s a stupid gamer that joined the military as a General without going through all the real experience" Satomi said. "Yeah. Like she said, He had no real combat experience when Shichiro invited him in. So it''s no wonder they used blade against you" Takumi said. "Right now, he only got two last bases. If we are to attack and successfully captured all of his bases right now. We''ll be facing a Red Mosin commander right away. And it won''t be like Mark''s play" Takumi said. "You''re getting my point here, §Õ§Ñ? (da?)" She asked. "Hey, what is ''da''?" Mariko whispered to Natsuki, who was sitting beside her. "It means Yes..." Natsuki whispered back. "The rest of the bases in the Tsuchiya are commanded by the Red Mosin. It''ll be a bloodshed, Gentaro-kun" Takumi giggled. "We''ll train you how to use the equipment from Mark''s bases before you go ahead and finish off Mark and his last bases. Once this is done, prepare for the real fucking war" Takumi said. Gentaro sighed. "So it''s not actually happening yet, huh?" He said. "Y-You actually thought that was all the Prohorovkan could give?!" Nagami shouted in surprise. "Didn''t the invasion of Tsuchiya gave you any idea?!" She added. "That''s..." Gentaro couldn''t answer "Whatever... We managed to catch your soldiers on their way out and told them to stay" Takumi said. "Once we''re done here, we''re gonna go there and start the damn lessons" She added. Gentaro looked at Chiho. "Chiho-san?" He called. Chiho nodded. "Let''s do it'' She said. Getting a confirmation, Gentaro looked back to Takumi and agreed on their plans. "Nice. You''re easy to talk with, Gentaro-kun" Takumi stood up and grinned as she extends her arms towards Gentaro, asking for a handshake. Gentaro awkwardly moved his hand to shake Takumi''s. "May I ask how old are you?" Gentaro asked as they separate. "Hmm? You''re interested in me?" Takumi leaned on the desk and placed both of her elbows at the desk while her head rests on her hands. "No. Just curious" Gentaro answered. "That''s what they always said. I''m Sixteen!" Takumi said. "Huh..." Gentaro sighed. "Why did you ask her?" Nagami asked. "Is that the normal age of the people of your organization?" Gentaro asked. "Yes. There are some who''s eighteen and above, they are rare, to be honest" Takumi answered. "Hm... Alright, you can go..." Gentaro finally let them go, the T-26 crews and Chiho stood up to leave. "How about you? How old are you?" "§¥§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Û§ä§Ö §á§à§ê§Ý§Ú! (Davayte poshli!)" Takumi asked Gentaro back but Nagami pulled her by her shoulder with them. Gentaro just sighed as they all left him in his office. "Oh, by the way" Nagami returned alone. "Hm?" Gentaro watched Nagami walk inside. "Here" Nagami showed him the cube. "This is a structure cube. A plane factory. It will turn into a big building. If you want to defend yourselves from the Prohorovkan planes, you might want to give space for this building" Nagami said. "Takumi and Tamie will teach your men to be airborne. You''ll be finally able to fly and see the world from above" She added. Gentaro felt very happy. Itsumi came in quietly. "Itsumi. Look" Gentaro pointed at the structure cube, Nagami turned for Itsumi to see. "With this little thing, we can finally own their planes!" Gentaro said, Itsumi gasped. "We just need a space, and that''s obviously outside of this village" Nagami said. "Where would you like to build it?" Gentaro asked. "Hm..." Nagami thinks for a second. "Tsuchiya is south-west of this village, right? Then I would like it on north-east" Nagami said. "Alright..." Gentaro agreed. "Also. The purple-haired girl and Chiho''s daughter are excited for a new village. I''m not gonna lie, that makes the security better" She added. "A village and a guard post near that building" Gentaro said and Nagami nodded. "Alright. Leave it to us. We will make preparations right now" Gentaro looked at Itsumi, and she nodded with a smile. With that, Nagami left his office and catches up with the group Once they got out, Chiho used a lot of energy to summon their R37. "Wow. You can spawn things" Machi got amazed. "Yeah, though it uses my life" Chiho said as she sits on the ground and catches her breath. "That''s a very convenient power you got, Chiho" Takumi pats Chiho''s head. "We call that power ''Spawn''" She added. "Huh, so short for such amazing power" Mariko said. "What? Were you expecting longer name?" Nagami asked. "Elemental Power: Nature''s call - Power of the God''s creation?" Takumi laughed. "We don''t need such long names" Machi said, they all looked to her. "We also don''t cast the powers too long" She said. "O elemental powers, I call upon you and gather as my energy. Create the entities of my needs and I SHALL PROTECT THY HOME!!!" Takumi laughed way louder. "Bitch, I would have slash your neck already before you can speak the other half of your cast!" She added. "Yeah, this is not a fantasy we live in, where your enemies just watch you cast your powers" Satomi said. "Wow. I felt bad for those fantasy books I''ve read" Mariko said. Machi turned to her. "Yeah. Those long names, long cast lines. They existed for the purpose of drama. To make everything cool" She said. "There was one girl from one of the world Shichiro has visited who mastered a skill from a book. A skill that requires something more than a long speech. an instant death skill" Takumi said. "The fuck?" Mariko was really terrified. "Oh, that girl. She got that book from Sanbaru-san. She used it once to Maeru. Everyone freaked the fuck out" Nagami said. Chiho and her group rode the R37. "We''ll meet you there, Chiho" Takumi said. "Hey!" Mariko called Nagami. "Ride with us!" Mariko said. "Oh, come on..." Nagami sighed on the sidecar, carrying Ayumi on her lap. They are about to reach the Entrance "Tell us about that girl!" Mariko shouted. Nagami held herself from bursting and remained calm. "That girl. She used to be Shichiro''s girlfriend" Nagami started telling the story. "Wow. He sure does have a lot of girls, right? Mariko?" Ayumi said, triggering Mariko. "Hey, kid. The fuck are you on about?" Mariko asked but Ayumi ignored her. "At that time, Maeru still haven''t confessed her feelings to him yet and he was able to find a girl before she does. So she was jealous as fuck and always messes with the girlfriend whenever she got the chance. The girlfriend knew that Maeru liked him and wishes to leave them alone. But she won''t like to dump Shichiro just like that. Maeru''s verbal and physical abuses remained for a year until the girlfriend got in contact with Mariyou-sama''s close friend. She kind of slipped and exposed the story to her and there, the girlfriend was given a book of skills that she would be able to learn and use against Maeru. But, in the whole fucking world''s surprise, she chose the most difficult yet deadly skill. The Grim Reaper''s call. The user is needed to wear a true hatred in order to pull this one out. Simply shouting ''Die!'' won''t do. Or just because they had an arguement with you won''t work at all. You have to hate their very existence, no exceptions, no regrets, no buts. Not because for the sake of something or someone. just pure rage. And you''ll be able to pull that insta-kill skill" Nagami explained as they left the gate. "What does that power looked like?" Chiho asked. "The user''s eyes will flash red with a terrifying noise as soon as they cast the power. Like its name says, it''ll be like the reaper arrived in the world to announce and take someone''s life. The whole world will hear the noise and turn the surroundings red. As the user''s eyes flashes red, the target''s heart will give a final strong beat that will shook the grounds and wrap on everyone''s heart to let them feel the target''s deep feelings on their death" Nagami sighed, her voice audibly shook. "I was there when it happened. Everything went quiet for a minute there. No one was able to react at the time..." Nagami was shaking but Ayumi places her hands on hers to calm her down. Then Nagami giggled. "I''m sorry. It was really scary for me. It was a bizzare feeling... At that time, we only knew that she got the book, but not that she managed to learn that damn skill. That girlfriend kept it all in herself" She said. "So... Her target was..." Mariko guessed. "Yeah. Obviously, it''s Maeru. She was lucky she was still able to be revived back to their world. We heard that it was written there that both person will die and no magic could bring them back to life. Unless either of them got the powers of the creator of that power that could nullify the effects of that skill and turn their deaths as a natural cause. Then they can be put back into life" Nagami said. "I think I remember Mariyou-san saying that Maeru was from Shichiro''s world. Maybe she was able to live because she''s a devil herself from the deep hell?" Chiho guessed. Nagami nodded. "Yes. She was carrying the blood of the devil" She said. "Ooh. Correct answer" Chiho giggled. "Then what happened to the girlfriend?" Ayumi asked. "Apparently, she died. It was her choice, we couldn''t do something about it..." Nagami said in a sad way. "Poor girl. She was very sweet and very cheerful towards Shichiro. We even saw how happy she was when she met Maeru and the Prohorovkans. Most of us in the PTRD felt so down when she died" Nagami sighed. "Wow. sounded like she became attached to you guys within a small amount of time. What a girl... And she''s gone because of this Maeru''s jealousy?" Mariko asked. "That''s just cruel..." Ayumi said. "Well? How about Maeru? I''m interested on how she was a devil from hell" Chiho asked for Maeru''s story. "Maeru told Shichiro everything about her after the war between them. She was the only daughter of the Shigawa family. There was once a clan called Lucifer''s Wraiths, which consists of many families from the hell. Maeru''s family was one of them. They were massively reduced into few families after they horribly lost a war against the surface dwellers in a certain world. Then later, they were found out and they were driven out from the hell. They were abused by the people before the magicians casts a spell for them to disappear eternally. Half of the families survived the war died of the spell, the other half was sent into different worlds. So that means the magicians sucks dicks a lot" Nagami giggled. "Suck what?" Mariko asked. "I meant that they were bad at doing their job" Nagami answered. "No, no. You definitely meant that they sucked someth-" "Tell us more!" Ayumi said. They were half-way to Tsuchiya''s borders. "So, The Shigawa family was sent into Shichiro''s world. And that''s when Shichiro''s life changed and the beginning of his life as an Immortal" Nagami said. "You already know what happened next, yes? Mariyou-sama told you already" She asked Chiho. "Hm..." Chiho nodded. "She felt their presence and their intentions. Then she roam and chose Shichiro for her powers. The Shigawa noticed Shichiro''s new power and they sent their daughter up to the surface as a test of her potential. Maeru disguised as a human and thinks of many ways to get contact with Shichiro. Following him around, Maeru learned that Shichiro has a problem with his computer-" "Whoa. Computer?" Mariko interrupted. "It''s a new technology. From there, you can talk to people, play games or just for the communication. There are other forms of technologies and they are called Gadgets. Communication isn''t that much of a hustle thanks to the gadgets. As long as there is internet, that is..." Nagami explained. "Internet...?" Mariko whispered. "Sounds like the future is really beautiful, huh" Chiho said. "Yeah. Us humans in our world are heavily reliant to technologies. God I feel like dying when our internet dies" Nagami laughed. They finally entered Trupriv and was greeted by the guarding soldiers. They are now heading for the Atropos and Mercy. "So, what happened next? About Maeru''s story?" Chiho asked Nagami to keep going. "Shichiro was having a problem in his computer and Maeru took this chance. She looked for the person who can fix stuff about computer and took their knowledge by eating them whole, don''t ask me how. Then she finally able to face Shichiro and go to his home. "I''m not sure if I messed up the line for the time of the trigger when the player gets closer. Take a look, will you?" Shichiro sighed heavily as he showed Maeru his code. "This... Are you making a game?" Maeru noticed that the code was about the behaviour of the bots of a game. "A small game. Made by Unified engine. I kinda wished I could make a game by scratch" Shichiro scratched his head. "Well? Boss? What do you think is the matter?" Shichiro asked. Nagami coughs. "For some reason, Maeru liked it when Shichiro called her a Boss" She said. "W-Well... You do missed the last bracket here. Look" Maeru took the mouse and used its cursor to point to the last line. "This should be pretty obvious, Fujiwara-san" Maeru smiled. "Ah damn. Just one goddamn bracket miss and the whole game will never start" Shichiro scratched his head. "Here..." Maeru typed the missing bracket and saved the file. "I shouldn''t have tried making a game, this is just nerve wrecking..." Shichiro complained. After closing the file, the folder of the game came in view. "Well? Let''s try and run the game now, shall we?" Maeru clicked back to the main root of the folder. There she saw the .exe file with a name ''Test''. "Is it me or-" Before Nagami could continue, they already reached Atropos and Mercy. Chiho went for Mercy. "Aww... Why the fuck did you drive so fast, Chiho?!" Mariko shouted. "Huh?! I wasn''t even fast!" Chiho shouted as she kills the engine. "We can always continue later" Nagami giggled. "Last thing... Is Shichiro a bad person?" Mariko asked and everyone stopped to hear her answer. "He''s... not really a bad person, I guess..." Nagami felt the heavy atmosphere. "You just happened to get our bad side" Nagami smiled a bit. "Huh..." Mariko sighed at the thought. As they left the R37, they asked the soldiers around about Takumi and her friends. They were told that they are in the field, east of their location. They walked and saw Machi on an AA position in the corner of the base. "Hey! Machi!" Nagami called out. "Afraid of birds, are we?!" Nagami shouted and Machi showed a thumbs up. "Hey, why would the soldiers be afraid of the birds?" Mariko asked and Nagami held her laughter. "What?" Mariko got curious. "By birds, we meant the planes. That''s an Anti-Air gun right there. A gun made for shooting down planes" Nagami explained. Chiho noticed that there are many soldiers surrounding the AA gun, listening to Machi. "Ooh!" Ayumi''s voice made Chiho look ahead. She saw three tanks on the field, and two PaK 40 and three Zis anti-tank guns. Both of them are surrounded by learning soldiers. "Where''s Takumi and the glasses girl?" Mariko asked. Nagami called a random soldier. "Takumi? Ah, she and her friend is teaching the soldiers about the planes. I think they''re over there" The soldier pointed far behind them. With that, they went to the direction the soldier pointed. As they reached the corner of the base, another AA position is seen surrounded by soldiers who was listening to Satomi. "Hey! §¤§Õ§Ö §´§Ñ§Ü§å§Þ§Ú?! (Gde'' Takumi?!)" Nagami shouted. "§Á §ß§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð! §£ §Þ§à§Ö§Þ §ã§Ö§â§Õ§è§Ö, §Ó§à§Ù§Þ§à§Ø§ß§à?!" Satomi shouted back while laughing. "Heh, stupid..." Nagami saw the two stuka at the fields ahead of them. Also surrounded by the soldiers. "Hm..." Nagami giggled. "Things are going to be serious..." She said. "Well. There they are, your soldiers are learning!" She sighed. "I guess I will be your teacher huh..." Nagami looked at the four. "I''m a Tanker so I guess we should start with tanks" Nagami winked at Chiho. "Whoahaha! Let''s do it!" Mariko laughed in excitement. With that, They went to the other field. "Onee-chan! A tank! We''ll be using a tank!" Ayumi happily jumped as they walk, making Chiho giggle. "It''s not as exciting as seeing inside of the original ones, but it might do" Nagami giggled. "What do you mean?" Chiho asked. "Takumi taught you about the Stuka, the plane she fly with, right? We had our own models of the vehicles and trust me, the original looked way more badass" Nagami answered. "The originals are very faulty, stuff like that. Shichiro changed everything. Cannons, ammunitions, armor, engines... Way better than the originals" She added. The girls couldn''t respond. "Takumi actually hate them despite the less frustration it gives... She said that she hated futuristic stuff, where everything looked so ''modern'' or lacking design for the purpose of unique capabilities and features" Nagami said. "I kind of agree on her. I used to like cars before. I''m addicted to street racing, or at least the games about that... And I used to think that the car which had the most badass paint is the fastest. Also the body kits applied to make your car look faster" Nagami giggled. "But right now, some of the companies are showing off some future cars that looked rather terrifying. I think I remember seeing one which the wheels looked glued to the damn body..." Nagami stopped for a moment. "Sounds horrible..." Chiho laughed awkwardly, and Nagami laughed loudly. "§³§à§Ø§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ð! (Sozhaleyu!) You don''t have any idea what I just said, right?" She scratched her head. "It''s alright. Just translate what you said" Mariko smiled. "Huh? Ah, c§à§Ø§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ð... It means Sorry" Nagami said. As they descended into the field, the AT guns fired for the first time under the soldier''s control. They heard their cheers after it. "Those are Anti-Tank guns. Just like the name say, they are for destroying armors. If you can''t build a tank, why not make a gun with wheels?" Nagami explained as they walk past behind them. "Our AT guns are the most with magic-filled shells. It has incredible speed and effective penetration" She added. "Looking at the fires, they are the normal rounds" She observed the fires. "The other two looked different" Chiho noticed. "Yes. The two gray guns are from different country. The green one is from ours" Nagami answered. "So... Do they have names?" Ayumi asked. "They have. The green one is called ''Zis-2'' while the gray one is ''PaK 40''. By the way, the other country is named Germany, if you''re curious" Nagami answered. "Germany, huh... Can you speak their language?" Mariko asked. "Umm... Die motor hat keine leistung mehr!" Nagami had a hard time saying a german line. "Holy shit. You can speak three languages?! What does it mean?!" Mariko got amazed. "Not really, it''s a certain line I got used to from a game. It means ''the engine has died'' Something like that" Nagami scratched her head. "Ah..." Mariko got disappointed a little bit. They stopped before a BT-7. Nagami''s T-26 is rolling ahead, the soldiers watch it go. "Looks like we''re starting from a light tank" Nagami slaps the body of the BT-7. "B§Ö§ä§Ü§Ñ-7. My favorite light. We made this thing a racer" Nagami laughed. "Well? Are you excited?" She asked the group as they stare at the BT-7. 34 The Western Approach As the Southern army is being trained by some Prohorovkan rebels. The West planned on helping them by infiltrating the Prohorovkan base and do scouting. Their plan is to make a fake alliance with them and set up a meeting within their base. During the talk, one has to make an excuse and leave. Then start exploring the base. Once done, the units should come back and report to the President. Though, it is a risky job. The president of all Western countries will never order an official soldier to go and face the Prohorovkans directly. Instead, they asked the low-life criminals to go after them in exchange for their freedom. A notorious gang and a company of pirates were the last to be the bravest to accept the offer. "Are you sure about the pirates? They don''t seem to be serious about this and our exposure might be at risk!" The secretary with a long brown ponytail asked the President. The governors of the countries have been gathered by the president for a meeting. They sat before a long table on a large white room lit by the big lamps on the roof. The president was on the other end with his secretary. "Who gives a damn? We can still make our way in case that happens" A retired bald Commander with a long scar on his cheek, Governor of the Glorian State, angrily said. "The enemies have the most modern technology according to the Southern countries! They have reported enormous explosions, guns, flying vehicles and many more! We can''t let a single mistake happen!" A man on his prime with glasses, Governor of the Harmony State, angrily went against the commander. "Indeed. He is right, Mr. Brian. One mistake and those guys are all over us. We should avoid any mistake and use the full advantage of their war with the South. We will work from the shadows and rise up to the light when the time is right!" The president slams his fist on the table. "I also heard that the North is also helping them. However, the East is quiet" The secretary said. "That Gentaro guy will surely call the Eastern countries too" A woman with a short blonde hair, Governor of the Valkyrie State. "Huh?! The world against one Organization?!" The young girl with long orange hair who looked like the Blonde girl''s secretary shouted. "Ah! You and your high pitched voice! Why are you even here?!" The Glorian governor shouted. The girl hid behind the blonde woman. "Egghead!" She shouted. "Tch..." He sighed. "Well? Any words from the other governors?" The president asked but the other governors were quiet. "Any objection about our deal with the enemies?" He asked and no one answered. "Any objection about the criminals in charge of the deal?" He asked and no one answered. "How about you, Mary?" He asked his secretary. "I have no words against it, sir" She shook her head. "This is the final call. Who is against this plan?" He faced the governors, no one answered. "Then that''s the end of our meeting. You are all dismissed!" With his command, all of the governors stood up at the same time and faced the president and saluted before leaving the room. "You know what to do. Call the VRF Pirates and the HF gang and prepare them to go to the South" He commanded his secretary and she nodded. On a small part of the little town St. Joseph of the Glorian state, a huge pirate ship is illegally parked on their little port."The prez has somethin'' with us! So fuck off, will ya?" A pirate was arguing with a worker from the port. "One of our ships is waiting!" The worker shouted. "Who gives a shit?! It ain''t our damn fault! Hey, boss! This bitch is noisy!" The pirate called ahead, the worker looked back. A woman with long messy blonde hair wearing a big brown coat and an eyepatch approached him. "I told him ''bout the prez but he won''t give a shit!" The pirate shouted. The woman stared at the man. "...Are you deaf?" She said as she flicked his right ear, making the pirate laugh. "This handsome guy told you that we have something to do with the president, did he?" She walked closer towards the man. Their height difference made the man anxious. "Leave him alone, Anne" A girl with long black hair wearing a black cape approached them. "Huh?!" Anne looked behind and saw her partner. Black hair but the bits of the hair in the middle of her bangs are white. Eyes are black, small face. Smaller height. She was wearing the same black eyepatch which Anne thinks is cute. "Leave him alone?! This guy is harassing our men! Why would I leave him alone?!" Anne shouted. "I-I was just-" "What?!" Anne faced the man. "The secretary will be here any minute now! Don''t-" "The secretary will be here in any minute now" Anne mocks her low angry voice. "Why don''t you get some balls, huh? Chris? Get some implants and hopefully, it will make you a bit tougher, eh?" With that, Anne faced the man. "And you, you little shitbrains. How about you fuck off and let us be, huh? You know what, who told you to mess with us?!" She asked, and in fear, the man answered her. "Manager, huh?" Anne looked around. "Hey, Manager! Show yourself!" She shouted and walked ahead. "Anne?! Where are you going?!" Chris asked without following her. "Gonna find this dick and teach him some manners..." Anne said as she approaches some workers. "Where''s your fucking manager?!" She grabbed one of the workers by his collar. "H-He''s-!" "Is there any problem?" Anne and the workers looked to their right, at the man who came out of a blue container. He looked very bossy. "Ohoho! Big guy!" Anne let go of the man and laughed. "Oooh... Big, big guy... I''m scared" She whispered as she slowly approaches the manager. "You pirates are blocking our ships and delaying the delivery!" The manager said with his chest out. "Well, as we said..." Anne spoke in a soft voice. "Like I said..." Then she quickly punched his guts, making him drop on his knees. The workers quickly came to his side. "Anne!" Chris shouted from the distance. "We have something to do with the damn president!" Anne yelled at his face. "In which part of that sentence don''t you fucking get?!" She added. "My god! Anne! Stop hurting people!" Chris came running. Anne looked at her. "Imagine this, Chris?! The news about us working with the president is, like, fucking nationwide news but this big fuck still doesn''t get it!" She shouted at Chris. "You could have sailed and park at the empty shore just next to this port!" "And make us walk here?! Fuck you!" Anne shouted at the manager. "Anne! They had enough! They already got your point, now let''s go!" Chris shouted. Anne sighed and walk a feet back. "That''s right. Let''s go" Chris smiled and about to turn away. "You better remember this" Anne loudly pulled out her sword and placed the tip of the blade at the manager''s forehead. "For fuck''s sake, Anne!" Chris panicked. "I would have cut you open if I''m really having a bad day. So I''d be careful next time if I were you" Anne threatened the manager. He couldn''t move an inch. Chris walked between them and took the sword from Anne and raised it up. "They already got the message, alright Anne?" Chris asked. "...Fine. I get it..." Anne sighed. "Good" Chris nodded and pointed the sword at Anne''s sheath. She inserted the sword back as she walks past Anne. "Let''s go, the secretary will be here in any seconds now" Chris said as she stops to look at Anne. "Alright..." Anne answered and walked away with Chris. "You better remember!" Anne looked back to shout. Chris slaps her face forward. "Ow! Why?" Anne gave a sad look. "You''re really getting noisy" Chris sighed. In a distance, they saw a person in a suit talking with the pirates. "Look. The president''s dog is already here" Chris said. "Yeah. I know this guy. But I thought it was the chick? The secretary?" Anne stared at the man. As they approach, the man in the suit noticed them. "Hey, boss! Dogs of the president''s here!" The pirate he was talking to shouted and walked away. "Heeey! Mikhail! What are you doing, whoring yourself to our men? Tired of eating the government''s dicks?" Anne insulted the man, making the pirates around laugh. Chris on the other side sighed at her antics. "It''s Michael, you dipshit. The president had the final call" Michael said. "Final call of surrender?" "Final call of the DEAL. You pirates, along with the Hell''s Fury gang, are confirmed to meet up with the Prohorovkans at the sea and sail together back to their base. The president already instructed you what to do next, right?" Michael asked. "Yes" "I wasn''t listening. Maybe repeat it all here?" Chris and Anne answered. "Anne..." Chris sighed. "Fuck you too, Annabelle. Wait for the HFs here. They are already informed that you are to meet up here" Michael said. "Well. That''s my message. You pirates better come back alive" Michael walked away. "Yeah. I''m going to come back, just for your booty, baby" Anne laughed. "Oi, Mikhail! Arm wrestle with me first ''fore ya gone ahead!" A pirate shouted at him, his fellow pirates cheered. "Hah! Yeah, Arm wrestle with my buddy here! Uh..." Anne shouted and was hit by Chris'' elbow. After ten minutes, Anne started acting up. "Any minute now, Anne" Chris tries to calm her down. "Any thirty minutes now, Chris! The hell are those uglies doing?!" Anne whined. "Boss, I guess that''s them" A pirate pointed at the incoming multiple Harley-Davidson 42WLAs. "About time! My god!" Anne shouted. "About fucking time..." The woman with a purple mohawk hair who has been leading the group said. "Man! Y''all look so ugly!" Anne looked very disgusted as she looked at the gang. "Are you the Valkyrie Pirates?" The mohawk girl asked. Anne can''t stop staring at her purplish-black lips. "A-Ah yeah. No, actually we are working here at the port" Anne said. "Hah. Funny" The mohawk girl gave her a bored look. "And I assume you are the Hell''s Fury? You really looked like you just crawled up from hell" Anne laughed. "Anne..." Chris sighed. "Yo. Let''s just do this" A girl with a long black hair that transitions into dark purple at the end of her hair, stood up from her bike and faced Anne. "Yo, wassup yo!" Anne points both of her finger at the girl. "I''m Riko Matsumoto. Secretary of the Hell''s Fury" Riko raised her hand for a handshake. "What a name. Are you a foreigner? Southern?" Anne asked. "I''m Half..." Riko answered. "Bullshit. You had the full name. Annabelle Ramirez. Captain of the VRF Pirates" Anne took Riko''s hands and shook. "Hm... And you are?" Riko turned to Chris. "I''m Christine Turner" Chris shook hands with Riko. "The Turner family, huh" The girl with a light green hair tied in side ponytail speak up. Her eyes are also green and are sharp eyes, making her more intimidating. "Why is a Turner staying on the life of Pirates?" She asked. "It''s none of your business..." Chris glared at her. "Whoa, whoa, hey, hey! Chill..." Anne walks in front of Chris. "Huh, just noticed you are all wearing the same black leather jackets. ''cept for this one" Chris looked at the green-haired girl. The girl was wearing a light yellow sleeveless shirt. Looking closely, A skull with horns symbol is printed on the left chest. "Hm... I can''t watch my sec. doing all the glory" The mohawk girl turned her engine off and stood up. "I''m Alex Pratt! President of the Hell''s Fury!" The mohawk girl showed her back, showing off the jawless skull, with glowing red eyes and long sharp horns. There''s a blood-written-looking text below it that says ''Hell''s Fury''. "I already knew you are the leader" Anne smiled. "Oh? Is it because of my strong aura?" Alex laughed. "I guess. Rather, you looked the ugliest in the group" "Anne!" Anne laughed loudly and Chris pinched her side. The pirates around laughed along. "Very funny" Alex sighed. "Right, right. Let''s get this over with" The green-haired girl claps as she stands up. "Yeah. Let''s go and get our freedom!" Anne raised her hand up. They quickly left the port as soon as they boarded the pirate ship. "This is one hell of a ship" Riko commented about Anne''s ship. "This is my first ship and the biggest of all my four ships!" Anne proudly told the gang. "My other four is-" As Anne talks to the gang, Chris noticed that the green-haired girl is glaring at her. She immediately looked away as soon as Chris looked. "-est one so far!" She focused back on Anne. Later, the gang separates way, Riko, Anne and Chris walk up to the front of the ship. "What do you think of these... Prohorovkan guys? They sound similar to the guys in the snowy mountains. Do you think they have connections?" Riko asked. "What I''ve heard from the president is, they came from a different world" Anne answered, surprising Riko. "Had me laughing. But their amazing technologies and vehicles is their evidence. Oh and they also speak the same language as those snow guys, but they call it differently. This is just weird" She said. "Came from the other worlds..." Chris thinks. "How is that even possible?" She asked. "Didn''t the president told you about it?" Riko asked. Anne shook her head. "No. That''s all they told us. But I know they know something else" She answered. "Ah. Yeah, how are we gonna talk to them?" Chris asked. "Do they speak English?" She added. "We''ll see" Anne sighed. "How bad did you heard about the South? Being in the war with these Prohorovkan guys" Riko asked. "Hmm... They are somehow still standing, they said. We''ll know when we reach the place" Anne answered. Silence built up and Riko was looking for a topic to talk to. "Hey. Your group has a long name, right?" She asked. "Yeah. Valkyrie Rebel Front''s Pirates. Basically, we are the army of the sea for the rebels in the Valkyrie State" Anne answered. "How about you? How did you come up with the ''Hell''s fury''? Can you really unleash the hell''s fury?" She asked. "Well. We kind of make chaos" Riko shrugged. "Nah. You''re just like any other criminals. Hell''s Fury is known for extortions, suspected driving stolen vehicles those kinds of crimes. I think I remember you gangsters tried to kill the whole Glorian government once. You wanted the state to bow before you. Which will never happen because you''re the fury of the hell and people never wanted to live in hell!" Anne said. "Yeah. We wanted to rule over the Glorian State. We have connections from the South for assistance in case this president of ours tries to drive us away. Sadly, we failed. They were listening the whole fucking time..." Riko sighed. While thinking, Riko realized something, her eyes opened wide. "The Ramirez Piracy..." Riko looked at Anne. "Are you...?" "Yes..." Riko gulped. "I''m the last of the Ramirez bloodline, still up and maintaining the streak!" Anne answered. The thought that she was standing beside a Ramirez pirate sent some chills down her spine. The Ramirez Piracy. The Ramirez bloodline had a long history of Piracy in the world and is very well known even on the other side of the world. The Ramirez was the first to be the successful rebels and had the largest fleet of pirate ships before their country. It is said that the Ramirez once ruled over the West for many years, enslaving or executing everyone who goes against them. They didn''t stop even when they had the West in their hands. They sailed and explored the whole world. Taking away resources from different locations. Slaying the tribes who don''t agree on following them. They owned the world for many years. Until they lost control at the Great War when the Northern armies declared war on them and the South. They quickly lost control of the other side of the world and almost all of the people from the West fought the Ramirez and drove them away from control. And with that, one of the higher-ups of the western army took the president seat and handled the war. Starting from that day, The Ramirez Piracy has finally ended and the surviving Ramirez hid into one of the states. "My parent was the one who survived the war and hid into the Valkyrie State before the states were even divided into different names" Anne said. "Wow..." Riko looked at Anne with amazement. "You''re a fucking history, you know that?" She said. "Heh. Yeah. I''m going to take back the Ramirez Piracy and rule the west again" Anne giggled. "Especially that I have met and known some of their dogs" She added. "Me and Chris. Together, we''ll revive the Ramirez occupation of the West!" Anne folded her arms. Chris smiled as she looks at the clear seas. After that, they had their idle conversation until they were half-way to the Southern waters. "Hey..." Chris pointed at the two jets incoming. "Whoa-!" The jets loudly flew past them. "Boss! Those are noisy birds, is it?!" The pirate driving the ship shouted in fear. "Yeah! Except that it''s not a bird! It''s something else!" Anne shouted. All of a sudden, number of ships appeared around them. They are the Prohorovkan ships. They were at the same speed as the pirates. "B-Boss?!" A pirate called. "Are they a ghost or somethin''?!" Another pirate shouted. "Wait!" Anne looked closer and saw the red star from the cruiser. "That red star. It''s them" Anne told the two. "Prohorovkans?" Riko stared at the ships surrounding them. There are two Kirov-class Cruisers on both of their sides. One Gangut Battleship on the front and three Storozhevoy-class Destroyers on their rear. "These ships!" The pirates started to get amazed by the Prohorovkan ships. "Hey! What''s going on here?!" Alex with her gang showed up from the cabin. "They are the Prohorovkans! I think we''ll be escorted back to their base!" Riko shouted. "Oh boy. Here we go" Alex grinned. After a second, Mark and a soldier appeared behind the gang. "Whoa!" Anne shouted as she saw their teleportation. "Hello" Mark greeted, surprising the gang. "Huh?!" Alex quickly looked back, hearing an unfamiliar voice. "D-Did you see that?" Anne whispered to Riko. "They just appeared, like, poc!" Anne flicks her fingers. "Yeah, what the hell..." Riko nodded. "Are you the pirates and the biker-looking gang?" Mark asked. "So they do speak English..." Chris confirmed. "We''re not them unless you really look closer and use your brains! Don''t we look like it?!" Anne shouted. "Calm down, Anne..." Chris scolded. "There are many pirates and bikers you know" Mark glared at her. "The fuck are you talking about? There are only one pirate and a gang right now in the West!" Anne shouted. "Huh? Is that so?" Mark got confused. "Are you this... Pro-something?" Alex approaches Mark. "Yes. And looking at you, you''re the Hell''s Fury" "My god, that''s so obvious!" Mark talked to Alex and Anne shouted again. "Mark. Ask them to come down and introduce themselves" The soldier talked in Japanese. Mark nodded and called them down. "I''m Annabelle Ramirez, handsome" Anne introduced. "I''m Christine Turner" Chris introduced. "I''m Alex Pratt. President of the Hell''s Fury" "Sarah Gustavo. Vice-President" "Riko Matsumoto. Secretary" "Aaand Gabriel Smith! Gold miner!" Everyone looked at Gabriel. "Treasurer..." She sighed. "Treasurer of what?" Alex asked. "Treasurer of Hell''s legi- Fury!" Gabriel stood straight. "Legion?" Riko gave a curious look. "Mark Higashino. one of the commanders of the PTRD. Nice to meet you" Mark raised his hand on Anne, for handshake but dropped them as soon as Anne was about to reach them. "Motherfucker..." Anne got annoyed. She grabbed Mark''s neck instead. "Ack!" Mark was hurt by her grip. "Anne?! What are you doing?!" Chris, as well as the others are surprised. "I just wasted my energy asking my body to shake that hand of yours, and you wasted it!" Anne shouted. "Get... Off me!" Mark threw her hand away. He catches his breath while rubbing his neck. "Damn..." Mark glared at her. "Hey, come on now! Don''t be upset!" Anne shrugged. "You''re lucky it didn''t grab your dick!" Anne laughed. Mark shook his head in annoyance. "Well? How about that cute girl beside you?" Anne asked and everyone looked at the soldier. "I''m Seiya Kanu-" "Wawawatashi wa- We don''t speak that shit here" Anne interrupted her and got annoyed. "§©§Õ§â§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§å§Û§ä§Ö. §Á §³§Ö§Ú§Û§Ñ §¬§Ñ§ß§å§ê§Ñ. §±§â§Ú§ñ§ä§ß§à §á§à§Ù§ß§Ñ§Ü§à§Þ§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ..." Seiya spoke Russian instead. "Alright... Does she not speak English?" Anne asked. "Oh? You call it English too?" Mark was surprised. "Uh. Yeah?" Anne shrugged. "Well. She doesn''t speak English. Her name is Seiya Kanusha" Mark told them her name. "You see. Our organization is obviously Russians. I''m the only foreigner in here" Mark said. "Russian, huh? I''m pretty sure you haven''t been on the snowy mountains up from our states, have you?" Anne asked. "Nope. Never been there. Why?" Mark asked. "Nothing..." Anne shook her head. "Nice ships by the way" She complimented. "Yeah. They all belong to the PTRD" Mark nodded. "PTRD?" Chris repeated the name. "It''s a long-ass name I already forgot. Shichiro, the founder, made that name on his own. PTRD is actually the name of a weapon" Mark explained. "So the P in the beginning is the Prohorovka?" Riko asked and Mark nodded. He looked around, thinking if he forgot something. "Alright. I guess that''s it. Got your names and confirmations. See you all back in the base!" "Hey cute girl!" Mark and Seiya were about to teleport away until a pirate called for Seiya. They all looked at the pirate. "I have a lot of money in my pocket! How about we spend the rest of the day in an Inn?" He said and the other pirates laughed. "Yeah! Marry me!" "Go out with me, girl!" "You look hella cute!" "Those hips!" The pirates shouted. "How about-!" Anne was about to join but Chris pinched her side. "Creepy old men..." Seiya sighed loudly and with that, they teleported away. "Hey. Aren''t y''all gonna talk about how they just appear and disappear?!" Anne shouted. "Yeah. Shit''s weird" Alex looked up to Anne. "These guys are aliens in human skins" Anne shakes. "Do you believe in aliens, Anne?" Chris asked. "What are you talking about? We already witnessed two!" Anne shouted. "Boss! The ship in front of us is changing course! Should we follow them?!" The pirate shouted. "Of course you dumb fuck! Where else would you want to go?! Valhalla?!" Anne shouted back. "I''m sorry, Boss!" "I''m sorry, boss" The pirate apologized and Anne mocks him. "Anne, you gotta stop that-" "Shut up, Chris" Anne placed her finger on Chris'' lips and Chris angrily slapped it away. After some time, they finally saw the Southern lands and the Prohorovkan ports. "Yo! You see that?!" Riko pointed at the Prohorovkan Headquarters. "Where is that building made of?!" Anne was very surprised. They docked into one of the port and they all disembarked. "You don''t want your pirates loitering around, Annabelle. The soldiers will drag them somewhere else" Mark said. "Just call me Anne, sweetheart" Anne replied and told the pirates to cause no trouble. Then they all walked to the Headquarter. "Anne. Remember" Chris whispered. "Huh?" Anne looked at Chris. "No russ-" As they enter the headquarters, the pirates followed the soldiers calling them. Chris kept reminding Anne of their plan. "I know, I know!" Anne was getting tired of Chris'' whispers. "They are sure many. Wearing the same uniform" Alex whispered. "They all looked so young!" Gabriel whispered. They walked near the reception, where Sahara was all the time "Oh, Hi Mark" Sahara greeted. "Hey. These are the guys" Mark said as he keeps walking. "The guys from the west, I see" Sahara watched the group walk by with a smile. "Man, I already hate being here. They speak gibberish..." Anne taps Chris'' shoulder. "What the hell did you expect? We''re on the other side of the world!" Riko said. "Yeah, but I didn''t expect them to sound like this!" Anne made a horrible face. "We''re taking an elevator. Don''t be afraid or something" Mark warned but none of them reacted. "Boy, we already know about the elevator, what year do you think are we in?" Alex asked. "Thought elevators still didn''t exist here..." Mark shrugged off her question. Then they stopped before a big white elevator door. "Dude. Is this even an elevator?" Riko observed the door. It was rather in the silver side and traced by the black lines. Unlike any other elevators, their elevator doesn''t display which floor it is currently on. Instead, a yellow light was on the top. There''s a yellow button on the right in a rectangle shape. Mark pressed it and the elevator let out a loud beep before the light started to flash, indicating that the elevator was called. "How many do you think are you in this building?" Anne taps Mark''s shoulders. "Around fifty-k maybe" "WHAT?!" Mark''s answer made her shout so loud, it even echoed a bit. "Where the fuck y''all came from?" She loudly asked. "You will meet Shichiro in his office. Ask him about everything there" Mark sighed. "Though, I doubt he will tell you everything" He glanced at the group. "Why?" Anne asked. "Seriously? Do you really think they will give out information just like that?" Alex raised a brow. "We''re siding with them, it''s natural that they should exchange secrets" Anne glared at her. "Alright, chill. You two ain''t starting no trouble" Riko taps Alex''s shoulder, she angrily sway her shoulder. "Don''t touch me..." She said. The elevator finally came, the interior came down in sight seen from the small windows. The elevator let out another beep as the light turns off. Then the door opened before them. "Wow. This is a bit bigger than what we have" Riko scans the room, can''t stop from being amazed. They fit just fine as they enter. "There are even chairs" Riko sat on one of the fixed rows of chairs on the left, there is also one on the other side. "You can even dance here!" Gabriel laughed. "Hm?" Anne noticed there are few sticky notes attached to the walls. The texts are written in Russian. She also noticed some black sticky spots, showing that some of the notes are taken. She wasn''t bothered to ask about them. On the left wall of the elevator, there are two white touch-screen buttons in a rectangle shape. Mark pressed the upper button and the doors closed. The cabin had another door that looked the same as the ones on the floors. Then they started ascending. "Why did the west wanted to join us?" Mark asked. "We... kinda hate the south" Anne said. "For what reason? I heard that you allied with them once during a war" Mark turned to Anne. "Shit happens, you know?! There was a misunderstanding and now things don''t look good anymore!" Anne didn''t show any fear and answered naturally. This is a huge relief for the whole group. "I also heard that they were called by the Saijun country. And I didn''t hear no cold response from you" Mark folded his arms. The group was sweating bullets, fearing that they are going to be blown out. "Well. I know nothing about that call but seriously, that was the current situation of our relationship with the souths!" Anne kept her composure and acted naturally. "Hm..." Mark cackled. "You doubting us? How are we able to enter here at ease if we were your enemies?" Anne said. "You could be good at hiding your faces" Mark looked at the group. "Wow. We''re just criminals acting like an emissary for the fucking government, not a fucking actor!" Anne shrugged. "We don''t hide our shit, we show them!" She said. She got him confused and just sighed and dropped the conversation. "I can even marry you if that''s how it''s going to take" Anne said as she closed her eyes as everyone looked at her in surprise. "I''ll pass. I''ll let the others take care of you..." Mark said with a disgusted voice. "Why the fuck do you sounded like I''m just a cheap whore, huh?!" "Anne!" Anne was really triggered and Chris tried to calm her down. "Did I?" Mark looked at Anne. "Yeah! You did sound like you''ve been asked by a fucking whore! Look at my eyes!" Mark looked at Anne''s eyes as she said. They are somewhat beautiful yellow eyes. "Yeah, I get it. You had the appearance, you''re just not my type" Mark sighed. "I''m not your type because you have a bad taste! No wonder you''re still a virgin!" Anne shouted. Mark blushed ears to ears. Everyone was quiet. "Hah! Virgin!" Anne proceeds to insult him. "Anne, stop it" Chris scolded her. "Why? This guy is on the age where you already fucked a girl once. But this guy ain''t!" "Just... Stop" Anne fought back but Chris easily gave up. Anne noticed how down she was and quickly stopped. "Sorry..." Anne apologized to her. After reaching the floor, a lot of Prohorovkans in lab coats went into view. "Oh, wow. Look at them!" Anne''s eyes widen. "Follow me" Mark said as he started walking. "It''s like a fucking research facility. Lots of fucking scientists, man!" Riko whistled as she looked around. "Hey. Y''all are scientists?" Alex asked. "No, but yeah... They are soldiers too. If they are not needed in the army, they do the works inside the bases" Mark responded. "What do they work on?" Anne asked. "They research, they develop weapons, those kinds of works. Those lab coats are the researchers and shit. They study the magics and try to develop a weapon with them" He answered. "Any weapons that are made by magics you can show or tell us?" Anne looked excited. "Not really. I''m not allowed, I think. Shichiro wouldn''t want me messing around, especially that the whole organization hates me" Mark sighed. "They hate you? Why?" Chris was somehow worried. "I..." Mark couldn''t answer in embarrassment, but he tried anyway. "Ugh... I was trying to play around. But I guess they just not in the mood for that kind of play" He sighed. "Lots of soldiers died under my command. Because of that stupid rule I made" He clenched his fists. "But this time, for sure. The last of my territories. I will unleash hell!" He whispered to himself. "Some strong spirits there, bud! You can unleash hell together with these Hell''s Fury!" Anne laughed, She made Mark chuckle. After a long straight walk, they reached an elevator-like door. The group was kind of waiting for it to open, see how it does. They noticed there was a green light on the left door and red to the right. Once they approached it, the green light lit and the door opened. "Wow. I thought it was another damn elevator..." Anne giggled. "This hall leads to the offices. Shichiro''s is at the end of the hall" Mark said. The hallway a little bit dim compared to the rest of the places around, and was very quiet. The noise was only their footsteps. They''ve reached the end of the hall and Mark sighed loudly. "Fuck. I forgot..." Mark looked at the sign and it was named after another person. "What?" Anne looked at the name. "Don''t tell me this is not his" Anne quickly looked at Mark. "I forgot that it was on another elevator. Left of where the reception desk is" He said. "You bastard. You made us walk all the way here! But I guess it''s fine, we got to see some shit" Anne winked at Alex. "Yeah. Crazy shits" She smiled. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Alright. Let''s go back..." Mark said and they proceeded back down and used the other elevator. This time, it was another hallway that greets them, similar to the other side. It was also quiet, but way quieter. The group was quiet as to go along with the silence. There were only two offices and enclosed by a single sliding door. Both have the same lights and both has the red light lit. They walked into the last one in the hall. They noticed there''s a keypad above the lights on the doors. "Hey man, they''re here..." Mark spoke at the door. "Who are you talking to?" Anne asked but no one responded. The door lit green and opened sliding up. Inside was a small room, cold by the air conditioning. There is a big sleeping pod attached to the wall on the left. A table for four people just left of the door. Then beside Shichiro''s spot on the corner lies the three big gray lockers. The room was lit by two long LEDs attached to the ceiling. Shichiro was sitting on his desk facing the left wall. He looked at them with a bored face. "Hey. These are the guys from the west" Mark walks toward Shichiro while the group follows him. "Hm..." Shichiro looked at the group. "Pirates and gang. How dumb are they to entrust this important stuff to some criminals" He said as he chuckled. "So our leader speaks English too, nice...But yeah." Anne turned serious. "They sent us so it will not be their soldiers or any officials who would get fucked up if you guys didn''t agree on our alliance. They''re cowards!" Anne was angry. "Hm..." Shichiro smiled at her. "If that''s the case, why don''t YOU join us?" He said, surprising the group. "W-We are, right?" Chris asked. "No. Not the west, but you and your gang. Ignore whatever they asked you to and stay with us" Shichiro said. "Hey... This is crazy..." Alex bumped Anne with her elbow. "Dude..." Alex called. Then she looked at her face and saw a smile. "Annabelle?!" Alex knew what''s going on with Anne''s head. "If you''re going to accept us, then we''ll gladly join you" Anne said with a determined smile. Even Chris was nervous about the situation. "Heh. Good answer. Now..." Shichiro stretches his arms. "We''ll not do this by just talking. I want you to prove yourselves. Kill our enemies. Obey us and your gangs will be part of ours. Simple as that" Shichiro rests his arms on his desk. "Mark, be ready for your last defense. They could be planning on something right now" He said to Mark. "Bring these guys with you and make sure you watch them carefully. If they showed even the slightest hesitation on the battles, shoot them right away" Shichiro smiled. "Grr..." Alex grits her teeth in anger. "Y-You got it, man. You heard him. You will be also proving what you said to me before" Mark told the group. "Shichiro. I would like everything in my arsenal to be deployed at Lima and... the other last base!" He gathered his courage up to say it to Shichiro. "Oh? You''re finally going to be serious?" Shichiro smiled. Mark nodded with a strong spirit. "Guns, tanks, planes... Everything!" Mark said. "I''m going to show them how real capable I am!" He placed his right fist on his chest. "Good. They are yours, to begin with. No need to ask me..." Shichiro sighed. "They were yours since I assigned you as one of ours" He added. "Great. Then, let''s get going!" Mark told the group and they left Shichiro''s office. The door slid down after two seconds they left. Shichiro pondered on his seat. "Hm... That''s my brother, right there..." He chuckled. "Apply those Rule and Invade skills of yours" He added. Mark gathered up his remaining army and called his squad leaders in a large briefing room. They sat, surrounding a large metal table. "Wow. Didn''t expect to turn like that!" A female squad leader said. Mark looked at his squad leaders. "Listen, Mark. The squad leaders leading the squad I''ve assigned under your command has a lot of potentials. They are good leaders, Mark. They take big pride in their talents and would likely to respect you if you use them right. They will never disobey any of your order unless needed, man" He remembered his conversation with Shichiro. "You said they are used to be tank crews, right? They got promoted or something?" He asked to Shichiro. "Yes. I saw their uses and made them squad leaders. They are elite!" Shichiro chuckled. "Heh. Alright. I will take care of them!" Remembering the names of the former tank commanders under Shichiro''s command, Mark promised him to lead them. "Harumi, Seiko, Minohara, Shizume, Mitsuki, and others! I''m sorry about before!" Mark bowed and apologized to them, surprising them. "I''m... I showed a very immature move until now..." He said, the squad leaders immediately felt remorse. "So, today. On our last territory, We will give everything out!" His words made many eyes open wide in surprise. "We''ll give them hell! We''ll give them the hell of modern warfare!" Mark slams the table. "There we go!" Seiko shouted. "I knew you had in ''ya pal!" She said. Mark nodded on her. "Yes. Get everything we got and we will move immediately. Everything, bring your squadrons, your artillery platoons... All of them! And we will march towards the Lima and Virtue!" Mark said. "Heh. Finally. My new KV-2 has been waiting for too long for a destruction..." Kaede giggled. "Here''s the rise of the Elite tankers!" Harumi joined the hype. "Whoa. They looked excited..." Anne watched them, having no idea what they just talked about. "They looked war-torn despite their ages" Gabriel audibly gulped. "What the hell is going in here, Riko?" She nervously looked at her. "No idea either. Guess we''ll find out..." She said. 35 Decisions Mark''s forces march towards the base Lima and Virtue like a Battalion. "§¢§â§à§ß§ñ §Ü§â§Ö§á§Ü§Ñ, §Ú §ä§Ñ§ß§Ü§Ú §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú §Ò§í§ã§ä§â§í, §Ú §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú §Ý§ð§Õ§Ú §Þ§å§Ø§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ §á§à§Ý§ß§í~?!" The tank crews started singing a song in the middle of their march and gradually started to get louder as the others join. "§£ §ã§ä§â§à§ð §ã§ä§à§ñ§ä §ã§à§Ó§Ö§ä§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §ä§Ñ§ß§Ü§Ú§ã§ä§í, §ã§Ó§à§Ö§Û §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§à§Û §²§à§Õ§Ú§ß§í §ã§í§ß§í!!!" The pirates and gang watched in awe. "This is very scary..." Chris gulped. "W-What? They''re just singing..." Anne said that but was also scared. "They are many of them in this formation... And to think this is only led by that Mark guy..." "How about the others?" Anne and Chris shared some scary thoughts. "D-Did those guys seriously brought drums and trumpets for the sake of the song?!" Gabriel noticed as she peeked out of the truck they were on. "Wow. Talented" Shio giggled. "Whoa. This is the only second time I got to hear your voice again..." Anne stared at her. They both stared at each other. "...Speak! Come on!" Anne stomps. "Hey, dude! What''s wrong with your guy here?!" She looked at Alex while pointing at Shio. "She having a stroke every now and then?! She barely speaks!" She shouted. "Let her be, man. You don''t want to start trouble here with her" Alex sighed. "Trouble?" "Oh no..." Chris sighed as soon as Anne heard the word. "If you got a problem, just say it to me, bitch. I''ll fucking bury you to the ground!" Anne shouted at Shio. Shio just looked at her with the same emotionless stare. "Cunt..." Having enough, Anne gave her final insult and sat back. "...Twat" Shio insulted back, making everyone turn to her. In Chris'' relief, Anne just sighed. Like a coincidence, they reached the bases as the soldiers finished their song. The truck pulled over to a stop. Then the soldiers stepped out of the truck. "We''re here, I guess..." Anne said as she left first before everyone else. The blow of the winds greets them. "Whoa... This place is wonderful" Anne took a deep breath and exhaled as to appreciate the winds. "There''s Mark. Let''s follow him" Riko saw him and pointed her finger. He was talking to the squad leader, Kaede. They walked towards him and listened to their conversation, even though they don''t understand. "Want to give them a notice that we''re here?" Kaede said with a mischievous smile. "Hm... I don''t mind wrecking my base if it''s full of enemies" Mark nodded. "That''s what I''d like to hear! Artillery!" With Mark''s permission, Kaede called her artillery platoon to fire a barrage of Atropos and Mercy. "Shouldn''t we like, scout first?" Mark asked. "Of course. You should go and tell Shizume. Her T-50s should do" Kaede nodded. "Right..." Mark looked around, then found Anne''s group. "Oh, hey. Almost forgot about you. Kaede, what do you think these guys should do?" Kaede was about to leave until she was called again. She turned back and looked at them. "Huh... What can a gang and pirate do to a war?" She said as she rubs her chin. "Maybe steal our weapons and bring them home?" She said. "That will never happen" Mark spoke in English as he looked at the group. "What is?" Anne gave a curious look. "They don''t know what guns yet, so we got no choice but to send them with the foot soldiers. They can''t be riding our tanks and planes" Kaede scratched her head. Mark sighed and faced the group. "You guys don''t know about guns so let me just-" "What do you mean? We already have guns!" Alex walks closer to show her black revolver. "This is my signature weapon!" She aimed her black Anaconda revolver far away. "Oh. The tech gap is huge! This place doesn''t even have guns yet!" Kaede was amazed. "She looked surprised! What did she say?" Alex asked Mark. "The technology gap is huge. This part of the world hasn''t invented weapons yet" He answered. "Damn. That''s nuts" Anne scratched her head. "Can''t believe the south is falling behind" She said. "The Chine-... The guys at the East are also on the same ride as them. They have yet to invented guns" Mark said. Chris'' eyes wandered around and stopped on the line of Katyusha rocket launchers. Her eyes widen in amazement. Anne noticed her and looked at where she was staring. "Those are civilians trucks, right Anne?" Chris asked. "Yeah, turned into a military vehicle. What a sad life it must had" Anne said. "A Transport vehicle made for travels. But instead of transporting a warm, happy family to their favorite place and back to their home, they''ve been changed to carry deadly weapons that can kill hundreds of families" She continued. "I wonder how many civilians have used that vehicle before it was turned into a weapon?" Chris asked. "None. We made them and they were like that already" Mark broke their little conversation, which kind of annoyed them. Later, a single T-50 went and scout ahead. "Didn''t think you would come along, Shizume" Kaede radioed the T-50. "I missed being inside a tank! So it can''t be helped!" Shizume shouted at the radio. "Geez, no need to yell like that..." Kaede said. Later, they climbed a small hill and stayed at a top. Shizume used her binoculars to look at the two bases. "Hey. These guys are doing something" Shizume spoke through her radio. "There are planes flying above them, lined-up AT guns and moving tanks. Those idiots must have been teaching the enemies how to use them, tch..." Shizume got mad. "Don''t be upset. It will take a decade or more before they get used to them. We have a lot of time to stop them" Kaede responded. "Yeah, I know that. What should I do? Should I shoot one of them?" She asked. "Don''t fire unless the Kats does. You will expose yourself" Kaede responded. "Fine..." Their conversation finally ended, Shizume moved aside her radio. "Be ready to get some hell" She laughed as she raised both of her hands to casts a vision spell. "You guys seeing this?" She asked on the radio. "Hey, got the vision?" Kaede shouted at a Katyusha. Inside them has a big monitor on the middle right next to the steering wheel. Like a Live feed, all of the monitors within the Katyushas are connected to the spell and have eyes on the bases. Every detail is displayed around the screen. They only had to control the vehicle to aim. "Katyushas are adjusting their weapons..." Kaede said on the radio as the Katyushas aim high. Anne, everyone, watched them go. "Holy shit, they are about to fire..." Anne whispered. Gabriel quickly covered her ears. "Gab. Imagine us having this weapon, and I mean US only!" Riko placed her hand on Gabriel''s shoulder. "Y-Yeah. Powerful..." She smiled a bit. "§¤§à§ä§à§Ó!" One of the katyushas shouted, Kaede nodded. "They''re ready to fire. Are you good to go?" She asked through the radio. "Hold on, let me get my vodka" Shizume laughed. "Heh. Roger that. Firing" Kaede gestured the Katyushas to fire. The crewmen radioed the rest of the Katyusha to fire. After three seconds, the Katyusha started unleashing the rockets. The loud roars of the propelling rockets deafened Anne and her group. "Damn! That''s so loud!" Anne shouted. They were the only ones who were covering their ears. The area around them began smoking up until they were barely seen through. "Here they come~!" Shizume smiled as she kept hearing the Katyusha fires. Then all of a sudden, a black thing flies towards them very fast. "What the...!" Shizume was forced to stop her magic and focus on the incoming danger. She quickly jumped out to the front and swings her right blade as soon as it gets close. The black shade bounces off and Shu Fang appeared as the shades fade away. She was floating in the air with Shizume. "We lost visual! What''s happening?!" Kaede shouted but Shizume couldn''t answer back. "The hell you want?" She asked Shu Fang. Before she could answer, she heard the incoming rockets falling down, about to land on the whole area of Mercy. It was hard for her to get her eyes off the rockets but she forced herself to focus on Shizume, who was giggling. "...You!" Shu Fang flashed a very angry look. "It''s too late for-" Shizume was cut off as Shu Fang charged before she could continue. Shu Fang used her dual sword to fight, so Shizume wielded both of her blades. They clashed as the rockets hit the ground and shook the area. "Shizume-san!" One of her crew came out of the turret hatch and aimed his PPS-43 at Shu Fang. He opened fire but Shu Fang became a shade and charged at him, slashing both his hands and his neck. Shizume couldn''t trace her speed and started to get nervous. "T-There''s a magic wielder here! I can''t stand her speed!" Shizume shouted at the radio. "What?! Get out of there then!" Kaede shouted back. "Crew, go back to base! I''ll hold he-!" Shizume was shouting at the T-50 and Shu Fang quickly lunged at her. The T-50 fled the area. "Grr! This damn...!" Knowing that she was slow, Shu Fang fastens her pace and attacks from multiple directions. Seeing Shizume struggle made Shu Fang even faster. "Can''t hold he-AH!" The moment Shizume spoke, she quickly lost her focus and Shu Fang''s right sword slashes across her chess. Hurt by the wound, Shizume gave an opening and Shu Fang swings her left sword across her neck. "Shizume-san!" Mark teleported in time and pulled Shizume away. "Mark!" Shizume gasped. "...Mark" Shu Fang was annoyed. "Did I made it in time?" Mark smiled. "A bit. I''m wou-" Shu Fang didn''t waste time and charged at them at high speed. "Shit!" Mark got careless and barely dodged her. "She''s indeed fast!" He said. "You were just a simple assassin back then. You''ve cha-" Shu Fang quickly charged at him. Mark catches her sword with his right blade. "You''ve also become aggressive!" Mark said as they both push their blades. Then they separate and started clashing. "Shizume. Mark ordered an all-out attack on Mercy and Atropos. We''re coming!" Kaede said on the radio. "Fuck. Okay!" Shizume responded as she nervously watches the two clash. "Grr... Painkiller..." Shizume laid on the ground and took a painkiller from her waist. Shu Fang quickly noticed her. "Aand...!" Shizume raised the painkiller and was about to inject it on herself, but Shu Fang parried Mark''s attack and quickly flew towards her, slashing her hand away. "Shizume!" Mark saw her hands fly off her arm and was horrified. "Don''t!" Mark shouted as Shu Fang carried Shizume with her sword on her neck. "..." Shu Fang watched him shake in terror. He quickly got an idea and teleported behind her. But as if she can read his mind, Shu Fang swings her sword behind her as soon as she saw him disappear, slashing his chest. Then she quickly kicked him away. "Ugh..." Mark placed his hand below his wound. Then he saw her drag Shizume violently around and forced her to stand, she grunted as her wound strikes her with pain in every quick movement. They heard the incoming army. "They''re here!'' Mark looked and back to Shu Fang, who didn''t seem to break her stare as she held Shizume. "Hey!" Mark saw her raise her sword, pointed at Shizume''s stomach. Shizume became too weak to struggle away. Like that, Shu Fang stabbed her abdomen as she stares at Mark. "Akh..Kh..." Shizume groaned in pain. She coughed blood after. "Fuck! Let go of her!" Mark desperately charged ahead. Before he can reach the two, someone teleported between them and pushed him off. "Argh!" Mark fell to his back and shouted. "Mark..." Chiho was enraged seeing him. "Huh...?! Chiho!" Mark shouted, spewing blood. "HURRY!" Shizume used her last strength to shout at her radio. They both look at her. "...I''m sorry. She''s noisy" Shu Fang said and pushed her to the ground. Mark was about to move but Chiho watched her. He had no choice but to see her fate. Shu Fang raised her head, Mark made eye contact with her. Shu Fang placed her sword on her neck and quickly slashed her neck, then she quickly dropped her head. On the other side. "Mark! Shizume! Respond, will you?!" Kaede shouted on her radio. "This wasn''t on our job list!" Gabriel whispered to Riko, they are currently riding a truck full of soldiers. "Just... Follow them around, you shoot but try not to hit any southern soldiers" She whispered back. "Goddamn magic..." Kaede stomps. "What''s the matter?" Anne asked Kaede, they just stared at each other. "Damn! Is there anyone speaking English here?!" Anne got tired of the language barrier and asked everyone on the truck, no one responded, they just looked at her. "This is stupid..." She sighed. A few minutes later, the artillery started firing again. They saw shells flying above them to the place ahead. "Look at them fly" Anne watched the artillery fires. "There they are! Get out!" Kaede shouted and the soldiers hurried off. The group quickly followed them. The soldiers and the tanks started firing at where Chiho and Mark fighting. "Shit!" Mark quickly flew away not to be hit by the bullets, Chiho followed him. "They''ve gone ahead! Charge towards the Mercy!" With Kaede''s shout, the soldiers and tanks charged ahead, climbing the hill. "They''re noisy!" Anne can''t believe the scene. "Let''s follow them!" Riko shouted and started running with the soldier. "Wait! Riko! Shit, let''s go!" Alex commanded her gang and they all ran ahead. "What should we do?" Chris and Anne were left behind. "Let''s follow ''em" Anne nodded and they both ran ahead. Alex''s gang stopped at the top of the hill, watching the soldiers'' wave against the Mercy. "Sweet lord, look at them" Alex said. Anne and Chris caught up and stopped. "The hell are you doing?!" Anne pushes Alex, which startled the gang. "Go!" Anne shouted and pointed ahead. "...I''ll get you later" Alex glared at her before going ahead. "We got these long-range weapons for a reason..." Anne was carrying a scoped Mosin and Chris was carrying an x4-scope SVT-40. Anne lied on her stomach and aimed down the battlefield, Chris did the same. "Hey, Chris..." Anne called. "What?" Chris looked at her. "I was serious about joining ''em" Anne said and surprised Chris. "Anne?! Why?" in surprise, Chris sits up to look at her. "With Prohorovkan''s help, we can be strong. Instead of being a dog to those Valkyrie rebels, we can make ourselves even stronger and more equipped..." Anne answered. "You trust them that much already?! H...How about the remaining pirates at the Valkyrie?!" Chris shouted. "I gathered all of ''em in our ship towards here. Didn''t you noticed how overcrowded our ship was?" Anne asked. "Well..." Before Chris answered, Anne fired her gun, killing a southern soldier. "Wait, Anne!" Chris looked at the battlefield. The thought of betraying their own country terrifies Chris. She shivered uncontrollably. The big step they are about to engage was just too much for her. "Chris?" Anne looked at her and jumped in surprise. "Chris!" Anne grabbed both of her arms, Chris quickly looked at her. Anne sighed and talked in a calm manner. "Are you... Afraid?" Her question hits Chris very much. "Do you think this is wrong?" Anne''s voice really gave out how worried she was for Chris. "I''m... I don''t know, Anne" Chris took a deep breath. "Maybe it''s just the first-time sickness..." Chris smiled weakly. "I promised that I''m going to be with you whatever happens, after all. It just... surprised me..." She said. "Right. With these Prohorovkan''s help, we can quickly become strong and conquer the West!" Anne said with a smile. "Yes. I just hope everything goes right..." Chris smiled along and nodded. "Don''t worry. I will protect you, no matter what!" Anne hits her right arm three times with a grin. Then they quickly went back into sniping. The Prohorovkans easily broke through Mercy, because of their guns and tanks. Chris found a target, whispering an apology before shooting the soldier off. "Hey. How about the Hell''s Fury?" Chris asked. Anne giggled. "They will never get out of here alive if they don''t join along. We should tell the Prohorovkans everything" She said. "Got it..." Chris nodded and returned to sniping. On the other side. "Onee-chan! They''re using guns!" Ayumi shouted. "And tanks too! I''ll wipe them off!" Chiho flew above them. "Whoa! You''re seeing this, Chris?!" Anne saw an orange-haired girl with a long axe flew above high above the enemy soldiers. "Is that one of ours?!" Chris shouted. They saw her raise her axe up and a bolt of lightning hits her axe, filling her enormous energy. "Fuck it. Shoot her!" Anne aimed at Chiho and shoots, but energy appeared and shocked and burnt the bullet before it reaches Chiho. "What the?!" Anne looked away from the scope in surprise. "T...That''s Magic, right there!" Chris shouted as she watches through her scope. Many of the bullets from the Prohorovkan soldiers fail to hit Chiho. As she became ready, Chiho dived into the middle of the soldiers with her axe up. "DIE!!!" Chiho shouted violently and swings her axe down to the ground with strength. She chopped a soldier in half and the axe let out huge energy as it hits the ground, shocking many soldiers around while brightening up the area. "Holy shit!" Anne was blinded by the bright light from the energy. "She just killed many of Prohorovkans! She''s an enemy!" Chris'' shout made Anne shout. "Shit! We don''t even have any magic!" She said. "What should we do?! Should we pretend as friendly?" Chris panicked. "Y-Yeah. That would work..." Anne had no other idea so she just nodded. Right after they looked through their scopes, they saw a little girl spinning on the ground, killing the soldiers around her as she moves. "Hey, hey! That''s a damn child!" Anne shouted. "The Hell''s Fury!" Chris saw Ayumi getting closer to the gang. "Shoot the child!" Anne''s shout surprised Chris. Chris paused for a second while Anne kept shooting. "..." Chris focused back and shoots the ground between Ayumi and the gang to stray her away from them. "Guys!" Mark teleported behind them, the two quickly looked behind. "What happened to you?" Anne was surprised to see him very dirty and bloody. He looked exhausted. "You can''t do anything against those magic. Shoot the soldiers and we will kill those magical girls last, alright?" Mark instructed. "Y-Yeah..." Anne nodded. "Good. Some of our magic wielders will hold those girls off as you clear out the soldiers. So do your job quickly!" Mark shouted and teleported away. "Shit... Shoot the soldiers he said!" Anne focused back on her scope and started firing at the soldiers. Chris did the same. Later, Mark couldn''t hold Chiho anymore and retreated to the hill. "Shit..." He catches his breath as he sat on the grass. "Hey! The hell are you slacking for?!" Anne shouted at him. "I''m-" "Those girls will kill all of your people!" She shouted. Mark had no choice for he was very exhausted and wounded. Luckily for them, they overwhelmed the southern forces and forced them to retreat. Chiho and her friends stayed and battled for a while. Anne and Chris stopped firing so Mark took Anne''s and started firing, they were shortly found out. Chiho ignored the soldiers below and flew up to them. "Fuck!" Mark fired one more round before throwing away the gun to focus on his blades. "You two! I can''t hold her much longer! And we ain''t got the time to get you back! We''ll get killed! Deceive them! Find a way to tell them you''re on their side!" Mark shouted at the two as he throws a radio at them, Chiho didn''t notice this as she was focusing on hitting him. "Radio...!" Anne quickly picked up the radio and hid it inside her coat. Mark seeing her get the radio, he gave a final blow against Chiho before teleporting away. His attack was blocked. "He got away again..." Chiho sighed. Then she noticed the two and quickly readies herself. "F-Friendly!" Anne raised her hands up. Chiho gave a curious look. Anne thinks about how to say it in their language. Then Shu Fang came up as a shade. "...Chiho, we need to get out of here" She said to Chiho. Then turned to the two. "...And these two?" She asked. "Friend! Um..." Anne was terrified by her presence. "We are friends" Chris spoke to Shu Fang, making Anne look. "Y-You can speak their language?!" She asked. "Kind of. My little sister and I studied when we were young" Chris responded. "...Friend, huh" Shu Fang walked closer. "...Then why are you carrying a gun?" She asked. "We were protecting ourselves" Chris answered. "Are you guys from the west?" Chiho noticed their accent and asked. "Yeah. We are sent here to see the Prohorovkans. We pretend that we are their allies" Chris answered. "§£ §ç§à§Ý§Þ§Ñ§ç!" The soldiers saw them and shouted to get them. "§µ§Ò§Ö§Û§ä§Ö §Ú§ç!!!" They shouted. "...Let''s go!" Shu Fang held Chiho. "You two! On me!" Chiho shouted at the two. "Annabelle! Turner! They''re coming up here!" Gabriel shouted as she and Riko reached them. "Hold onto me!" Chiho shouted. "Hold her!" Chris shouted at them and they held on to Chiho in panic. Then they teleported away. The soldiers reached the top of the hill right after. "They''re gone! §¥§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Û§ä§Ö §Ó§à§Ù§Ó§â§Ñ§ä§Ú§Þ§ã§ñ!" A soldier shouted and they backed off. With the Prohorovkan''s mechanized assault, with Katyusha''s barrages, the southern army was heavily defeated, even with Takumi and her friends'' help. The Mercy and Atropos went back into Mark''s control and the surviving army was forced to retreat back to Tripriv. Chiho and the others teleported back to Tripriv. As usual, Chiho came exhausted and Shu Fang went to support. "Holy shit, what did just happen?!" Anne, as well as the others, looked around in surprise. "We... Holy shit..." Gabriel scratched her eyes. "Did we just teleport?" She asked. "Yooo!!! That''s so cool man!" She laughed. "My god. Where are we?" Riko asked. "Where are we?" Chris asked Shu Fang. "Whoa, our guy here can speak Tsuchiyan!" Gabriel was amazed. "...We are just a kilometer away from the place we''ve been" Shu Fang looked up to her then back to Chiho. Chris turned to her group. "She said we''re just one kilometer away from where we''ve been" She said. "Wow" Anne looked far. "Let''s go back to Saiju and tell this to Gentaro-san. We''ve wounded Mark, so I guess they won''t attack" Chiho stood up. "She said they should go back to, uh, Saiju. I guess that''s the leading country of their forces" Chris translated for the group. "Great! We should get some time off!" Gabriel stood straight, hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "Fuck. This place reeks blood" Her face went down. "...We also killed plenty of them" Shu Fang said. "So... Should we go with them?" "Of course!" Riko asked and Gabriel shouted quick. "Yeah. Where else are we staying?" Anne said. "Before we get going, may I ask your names?" Chiho spoke to Chris. "I''m Christine Turner. And this is Annabelle Ramirez. Um... That blonde girl is Gabriel Smith and the other one is Riko...uh... Matsumoto?" Chris looked at Riko. "Yeah, that''s right" Riko nodded. "These two came from a gang and we both are obviously pirates" Chris said to Chiho. "I see. Why pretend to be their allies though?" Chiho asked. "We need to know everything about them. The president had a plan" Chris answered. Thinking about the south, Chris remembered someone dearly. "Anne..." She looked up to her with a smile, then quickly looked away, blushing. "Ah..." Anne was surprised to see her smile. "...Yes?" She asked. "L-Let''s talk about it later..." Chris said. Anne was left curious. "We need to make sure they won''t attack soon before we go" Chiho said. "...I''ll go check" Shu Fang said and flew up high. She looked at the Atropos and Mercy. There are no formations for an attack, they looked like they are settling down at the bases. "...Hm" Shu Fang made sure and watched closely. Line of Katyushas is approaching the field beside the Mercy. There, they lined up like before with their weapons up. "...Those vehicles!" Shu Fang saw the rockets and quickly flew down. "...Chiho! I saw the vehicles that sent down those explosives!" She said as she remained in the air. "...I think they are about to fire again!" She added. "Alright!" Chiho nodded and summoned the Peacemaker in her hands. "Whoa, look at that..." Anne was astonished about the magic. Chiho and Shu Fang flew up high. "Damn. I can''t believe what I am seeing right now..." Anne said as they watch the two fly. "Real life superheroes, man! I wonder which is the good side?" Gabriel said. "Huh? It''s obviously us" Riko joined her. "It could be them prohorovkans! The people who lived before us might have done something to their race and they are back for vengeance" Gabriel responded. "There''s no such things like that, Gab. You''re making shit up" Riko giggled. "You never know!" Gabriel folded her arms. As they reach the height, Chiho used her Peacemaker and aimed at the Katyushas. "I''m going to blast them away!" She shouted as she activated her gun with her thumb. Shu Fang watched her. Chiho counted three seconds before firing. The Peacemaker roared in the air, leaving the people down below in awe. Then later, they heard loud explosions far away. The Katyushas were destroyed by a chain reaction. The two quickly flew down to the ground. "...Now they will surely come after us" Shu Fang said. "At least it''s not going to rain explosives again" Chiho said. As things go quiet, Takumi and her friends showed up. "Hey! Nice job taking out those things!" Takumi shouted. Once they met, Takumi explained the Katyushas. "Those are Katyusha rocket launchers. A single Katyusha carries sixteen rockets. A row of them like before is very deadly" She said to the group. "And who are these guys?" Nagami noticed the others. "They''re from the West. They were sent to pretend as the Prohorovkan''s allies" Chiho told them. "W-Wait a second" Anne nervously puts her hand on Chris'' shoulder. "Aren''t these guys Prohorovkans? Why are they..." She whispered to Chris. "Miss. What''s going on?" Chris called out Chiho. They took a few seconds before they realized her question. "Ah. They are on our side. They are kind of a rebel" Chiho answered. "They are rebels, they said" Chris turned to Anne. "Wow. I thought they are perfect. Turns out they''re corrupt as fuck" Anne laughed. "How can they make sure they''re not spies?" Riko folded her arms, looking curious. "How can you trust them?" Chris asked Chiho. "Let''s just say, they are the good guys of the organization" Chiho answered. "They are the good guys, she said" Chris translated. "Good guys? Why bother joining them if you''re going to be the ''Good guys''?" Riko sighed in annoyance. "Who knows. Maybe they''re forced to join" Anne shrugged. Then Ayumi came flying down, surprising the group. "Onee-chan! They don''t seem to be preparing for an attack!" She said. "A-Ah. I didn''t know you were still out there. Good job, though" Chiho smiled at her, making her happy. Then she quickly noticed Riko and Gabriel''s clothing. "T-Those clothes! They''re one of them!" She readies to attack. "They are pretending to be one of them, Ayumi" Chiho explained, calming her down. "Pretend?" Ayumi was curious. "Yeah. The west faked the alliance so we can scout them out. Unfortunately, things didn''t go as planned. Shichiro, their leader, quickly sent us here to prove ourselves. We were not instructed about this, nor did the President knew about it" Chris answered. "We are separated from our friends and we still have no idea what to do..." She added. "I believe we''re not compromised yet, so I guess we-" "Nope!" Chris was speaking and Takumi interrupted her. "Once our friends got in contact with the enemies, we will break the alliance. That''s one of Shichiro''s rules" She said, surprising Chris. "What did she said?" Anne noticed how surprised Chris was and quickly asked. "Uh..." Chris focused herself. "If one of their allies get in contact with their enemies, they have simply become enemies. The Prohorovkans might turn against us any time..." Chris translated, shocking the others. "H-Hey, what the hell? How about Alex and the others?!" Riko shouted furiously. "But don''t be afraid yet. Shichiro doesn''t just turn you as enemies if some of your friends are with him. Though, he might hold them captive and actively send out a scout for confirmation" Takumi said. "That''s what he always does on these kinds of situations" She added. Chris translated what she said. "So, what? How can we show that we are still on their side?" Riko scratched her head. "Mark gave me a radio here. I turned it off right away after I got it. We can talk to them later" Anne took out the radio and showed them. "Ah. That''s nice" Riko sighed in relief. "I hope they believe in us, though. He looked like a serious kid and doesn''t fuck around" Anne said. "...Chiho, we have to go back to Saiju" Shu Fang called Chiho. "Y-Yeah. Looks like nobody went back to report" She looked around. The soldiers were busy gathering and fixing themselves. Some of them are being comforted by their friends due to shell shock. "Yeah. Go back. We''ll take care of everything here. Mariko is helping the soldiers gather unharmed weapons in the fields, so y''all go ahead" Takumi smiled at them. With that said, they left the Trupriv. Right after they left the base, Chiho quickly strikes up a conversation. "So, what are you going to do now? Oh, by the way. I''m Chiho Hasegawa" She introduced first. "Ah! You''re the Daughter of the Hero!" Chris got surprised and turned to Anne. "Anne, this girl here is Chiho Hasegawa! You know her as well, right?" She asked. "Ah. Daughter of the Hero? Yeah" Anne nodded. "You southerners really made a huge deal about it just because the man led the war to a win" She said. "Anne..." Chris sighed. However, Chiho was smiling at them, knowing that Chris told Anne about her. "What did she say?" She asked. "Uh... She said she will be looking forward on working with you" Chris lied about what she said. "H-Hey, did you really have to translate that?" Anne looked a little bit uncomfortable. "Not really. I said something else" Chris sighed. "...You said that you are both pirates, yes?" Shu Fang asked. "Yes. My name is Christine Turner, and this is Annabelle Ramirez. We are the Valkyrie Rebel Front''s Pirates. She''s the captain and I''m like an assistant" Chris introduced themselves. Shu Fang turned to her for a brief second with widen eyes before turning away quickly. "VRF for short..." She added. "VRF, huh" Chiho remembered the name. "And this is Riko Matsumoto and Gabriel Smith. They came from a different group or a gang... What is it again?" Chris introduced the two and turned to them. "Hell''s Fury" Riko answered briefly. "Hell''s Fury. They''re gangsters. Those punks at the streets, you know" Chris gave an idea. "...So you''re all criminals?" Shu Fang guessed. "Yes, that''s right" Chris nodded. "...I see. I''m Shu Fang Chen. An Assassin from Chu-Yuan" She introduced. "Nice to meet you. Everyone. This is Shu Fang Chen. She''s an assassin from that country" Chris introduced her. "It''s no surprise, just look at how she''s dressed up" Riko said and they looked at her. "She looked like she''s still not done on her job yet" She half-joked about Shu Fang still having her hood on. "My friend here is bothered about your hood, miss" Chris told Shu Fang. "...Ah. Pardon me" She apologized and brought down her hood. "Hey, you don''t have to say everything" Riko sighed. After that, they stopped talking for a while. Chiho felt awkward after a minute so she struck up a conversation once again. "Where did you learn Tsuchiyan? How were you able to learn it?" She asked to Chris. She gave a smile as she remembers back. "I and my little sister dreamed about visiting your region when we were young. We studied every day, and asking ourselves to know if we really caught the lessons" She answered. As if wanting to confirm something, Shu Fang gave her that look. "...Where is your little sister now?" She asked, leaving Chris to smile more. "She''s at... Saiju" She said as she looked down with a smile. Chiho and Shu Fang quickly knew who was her. "Chris? You''ve been smiling often lately" Anne sounded so surprised, Riko and Gabriel also became curious. Then Chris looked up to her. "My sister, Anne. She''s at Saiju, on where we are going right now" She said with a big smile, Anne couldn''t believe what she''s seeing. "C-Chris. Wow. I mean..." She focused herself. "T-That''s nice! I''m sorry I forgot about you two!" She said, scratching herself. "But..." Her voice turned down. Chris'' smile also lessens but didn''t let it go. "I''m pretty sure she forgave me now. I mean, she can''t possibly still hate me right now. After the years I''ve been gone" She said, making Anne sad. "Wow, Chris. I uh... Like, I can''t believe you think that way..." She said, leaving Chris worried. "I hate to ruin it, but it doesn''t... work that way" She outright told her what''s in her mind. "Your family was like, one of the rich and well-known families. Your family is a part of the higher standing of our civilization, Chris. Do you even know what you did to your family?" She asked. Chris looked down quietly. Riko and Gabriel were quietly looking at her, feeling quite sad. "I-I''m not going to talk about this again, Chris. I don''t want us to fight again. Just... Please. Think about the consequences you made, before you, uh, confront your sister. The mistake you made really ruined your family and I don''t think that is a very easy matter for forgiveness" Anne sighed. "I just wanted you to stop getting your hopes up, Chris. I don''t want you like, ending up crying there" She added, Chris gave no response. "...I''m sorry, Chris" Anne sighed. "It''s alright... I... Understand. But that doesn''t mean I hate my family now, right? No matter what happened, what I did. Even if they hate me, we are still family and I still love them. I will meet my sister with a great smile I usually do" Chris looked up with a weak smile. "Y-Yeah. That''s gonna be tough, Chris. But I''ll be here with you through all that" Anne smiled at her, Chris nodded. "You two sure are close" Riko smiled at them. "Yeah. We''ve known each other since we were little. She never leaves my side ever since" Anne said. "Heh. Childhood friends sure are great, huh" Riko giggled. Chris quickly noticed that Chiho and Shu Fang had no idea about their conversation. "I''m sorry! We were talking about my sister!" She said to them. "A-Ah! Is that so? You guys sounded rather sad, though" Chiho said. "Yes. There are some... Complications happening between us" Chris nodded. The two were surprised and responded no more. And they spent the rest of the trip in silence. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. 36 Long Lost Sister "...Alice, right?" Shu Fang assumed. "Yes! Are you her friends?" Chris was very happy to hear her little sister''s name from someone. "Yes. She was hired by the Inn we were staying. She''s a good cook! Everything she makes is just so good!" Chiho quickly complimented Alice. Chris couldn''t respond in happiness. "Though, she can be moody sometimes. But that''s alright" Chiho said. "Yes. She had that attitude. But I assure you, it''s nothing serious! She''s just that kind of person!" Chris said. "She''s all grumpy when I''m not around. I don''t know why, but for some-" She continued to talk to Chiho. Riko bumped Anne with her elbow and waited for her to look. "She looked very happy" She whispered. "Yeah. I never saw her this damn happy before" Anne nodded as they watch Chris happily conversate with the two. "Yeah. I barely even hear her voice before" Riko nodded. "She looked rather young. Mind if I ask you your ages?" She asked. "She''s only a year behind. I''m twenty-five" Anne answered. "You guys are too young for this" Riko said. "Why? How old are you?" Anne asked. "I''m about to turn thirty next month" Riko answered. "Wow. Big sister, eh?" Anne giggled. Then she peeked past her to Gabriel, then leaned back. "How about your buddy?" Anne asked. "Gab. You''re the youngest in our ranks, right?" Riko turned to her. "So what?" Gabriel gave an annoyed look. "W-What? I''m just asking" Riko shrugged. "How old are you, friend?" Anne peeked at her. "I''m twenty" Gabriel responded. "So we''re all line of two" Anne smiled. "Line of two?" Riko gave a curious look. "We''re all twenties" Anne smiled. After that, they became silent and just listened to Chris despite speaking another language. "-too well!" Chris continues to talk to the two. Then later, they stopped, leaving them with another silence. They are three minutes away from Saiju when Chris looked up to Anne and asked. "Anne, um... Were you serious about before?". Anne was surprised by the sudden topic. "A-About what?" She asked. "About joining them" Chris also brought Riko and Gabriel''s attention. "Uh..." Anne was anxious and glanced at the two. "Yeah. I mean, you agreed right?" She nodded. Chris didn''t respond. "That, but... How about my sister? She might hurt them if they knew" Chris asked. "We can''t obviously drag her along with us" She added. "You''re worried about your sister. How about your parents back from the West?" Riko joined them. "You''re obviously not thinking this through" She added. "Your parents will definitely be executed if they knew your betrayal, no matter how rich your family is" She sighed. "I... don''t care about them" Her answer surprised the three of them, they quickly turned to her. "Chris?!" Anne called her name. Chiho and Shu Fang noticed them and were curious. "They treated you like a worthless scum, Anne! I had to lie to be able to see you! They just don''t want me near you!" She shouted. Anne was speechless. Then she gradually giggled. "I kinda knew that already. There''s no way a rich family will just let their princess and their prince get close to criminals, right?" She said. "Yes. You have no idea how much I hated them when I learned their disgust on you! They never knew how kind you actually are!" Chris shouted. Anne laughed at her. "Chris. You really think I''m kind?" She asked. This led Chris into thoughts. "I might look kind because I''m with you, my closest friend. But how about other people?" Anne asked. "C''mon, Chris. It wasn''t so hard to notice. I''m a bad person. I killed and rob people. I only looked kind because you were my ally" She said. Chris couldn''t accept the words. She strongly believes that deep within Anne lies a kind and gentle personality. If only she wasn''t born as a Ramirez and had the goal to keep their names alive. "Geez, Chris. How many times have we talked about this?" Anne sighed with a weak smile. "Sorry to intrude, but I get this feeling that you wanted her to be seen as a kind person. She''s a pirate captain, a fucking living Ramirez from the history! So what''s the point?" Riko joined them. "Pardon my kid here, She''s just confused as of now. Right, Chris?" Anne leaned on her. "That''s right. She was raised from a rich family, after all. Joining the crime life must be a huge step for her" Gabriel nodded. "Whatever. I don''t want this conversation to continue" Chris quickly dropped the topic off. "You still have a lot to learn, Turner. Being the bad guys, the scums of the world, isn''t just about calling people their moms whore and taking off their pants in the public" Riko giggled. Anne nodded to show that she agreed. "You''re also too late to back out of the criminal life now, either. Your family will never be the same even if you apologize to them and even show evidence of you having no more connections with the pirates" Riko said. "You only have Anne and your pirates now. You two will both see the end of your journey... Ah, let''s not get too dramatic here" She scratched her head. "You''re reading too many stories!" Gabriel laughed, making Riko giggle. "I guess so..." She sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don''t say that to her. Despite what I said, her sister might have changed her mind now" Anne swayed her right hand. "Yeah! I bet she did!" Chris smiled with determination. "But, as I said, don''t expect too much, mmkay?" Anne spoke in a tiny voice. Later, they finally arrived at the gate. They stopped before the gate and the guard on the left approached the driver. "We came from Trupriv. The two bases, uh, Atropos and Mercy got stolen from us. They used their weapons. We need to report back right now" The driver told the guard and he shouted to open the gate. "We lost the bases? Damn. What do you mean they used their weapons?" The guard on the right joined them. "They used guns, everything" The driver replied. "Also, they were bombarded by those vehicles called ''Katyusha''. Those things fire a barrage of rockets from a long-distance" Chris said to them. "So you must have lost a count of soldiers" She added. "I see. You don''t sound and look like from here. Are you from the West, perhaps?" The guard on the left asked. "Yes. We came from the West" Chris nodded. After that, the gate opened and they drove in. Chiho told Chris about the Inn and Anne said to walk there so they can go ahead and report the situation. With that, they dropped off near the entrance. They looked around them as the carriage drives away. "Wow. This place doesn''t bad. Not as bad at it sounds like from the people" Anne said. "Yeah. They said too much" Gabriel nodded. "I remember hearing Miguel being here and telling everyone how bad it is here" Riko said. "That guy''s a dick" Gabriel sighed. "He always wanted the people around him to believe his shit. He always thinks he''s right!" She added. "I know, but he got his uses, right? As long as he doesn''t fuck with us or Alex" Riko said. "Right, right, right. Let''s go to that Inn, I also wanted to lie down for a bit" Anne looked to their right and saw a long road with few people on them. "Chiho said that it''s on the other end. It''ll be quite a walk" Chris said. "Unless we run" Anne winked at her. "We''re NOT running, Anne" Chris gave an angry look. "Hah, yeah. Not with those heavy coats weighing you down" Riko giggled. "Nah, it''s not as heavy as it looks. I feel fine" Anne shook her head. After that, they walked ahead. "Is this how a country on war looks like?" Gabriel looked very curious. "It looks too peaceful, right?" Riko as well. "Are you expecting them to stay in their houses the whole time and desert the streets?" Anne asked. "No. But look, they''re all happy as fuck! You can''t sense the horrors of war in their faces!" Gabriel said. "Yeah. They all looked contented" Riko nodded. "Maybe they are just not giving in to the war?" Anne thinks. "You know, so they won''t all depressed and shit. Gotta keep the spirits up and keep the morale balanced" She said. "Well, ain''t that quite positive spirits" Riko was amazed. "Mostly in the war stories I''ve read, most country people were driven by fear. I never thought people could actually fight it off" She said. "C''mon man, those are just fictions! It''s the creativity of the people''s mind, it''s unlikely going to happen in real life" Gabriel said. "Yeah, there''s no way somebody''s just gonna appear out of nowhere and conquer our world, right?" Riko laughed but no one else did. "Dude. Didn''t the Prohorovkans appear out of nowhere? They even have magic, they''re flying and those futuristic weapons and vehicles. They are time travelers!" Anne said, surprising everyone. "Y-Yeah, that''s right. The fuck..." Riko looked afraid. "How did it happen anyway?! Was there really a fucking world ahead of our era?!" Gabriel panicked. "Well, where else did they came from?" Riko said. They walked in silence, observing their surrounding for a while. "Wow. It''s my first time in a foreign place where I don''t get stared at" Gabriel said. "What do you mean?" Anne asked. "Haven''t you been into a foreign place before? They stare at you as you walk by because of your difference in clothing" Gabriel answered. "Ah, that''s what you''re talking about. We are used to it. People glare at us almost every day. Don''t you get glared at too?" Anne asked. "Not as much as you said, I guess" Riko shrugged. "By the way, is that the Inn?" Chris pointed to a signboard facing the street they''re on from a building. It has ''Hirashiko'' written in it. "I recognized the text" She said. "Well. You''re the one who can understand these abominations, Chris. You know the way" Anne folded her arms. "Why do you call them like that?" Chris sighed heavily. "I ain''t a fan of them. Their language nor their culture" Anne replied. Nonetheless, Chris was looking for seeing Alice inside the Inn. Her excitement grow as they walk forth. "How did your sister ended up as a poor country''s Inn servant?" Riko asked. "Being a maid is what she liked, she never stopped bothering me about it" Chris answered. "Why become one here at this place?" Riko asked. "She liked it here. Going here is the reason she studied their language" Chris said. "How about you? You like it here?" Riko looked at her. "Sort of. I was mostly influenced by my sister and my interests just went along. I didn''t actually care about this place to be honest" Chris giggled. "You did for your sister. What a lovely sibling you are" Riko said, making Chris smile. About thirty seconds, they arrived and stopped in front of the Inn. "Huh. This looks like a decent Inn" Riko placed her hands on her hips as she looks at the building. "From the outside, that is. I wonder how it looks inside" Gabriel said. "Can''t be that bad. C''mon, Turner. You''re ready?" Riko turned to Chris, surprising her. "A-Ah. Yes" She nodded and prepared herself. Many scenarios built up within her mind. How if Alice weren''t happy to see her after all? How about if she was happy? How should she react? How if she got mad and charged at her? Will she get mad or remain happy? She feels like she will never be able to do either way and lose herself into tears, which she prepares. Those thoughts rushed her in her head. They set aside for Chris to open the door open. Chris didn''t waste any more seconds and pushed the door open. The usual noises of people talking greet them. "Welcome to... Hirashiko!" Suzuka shouted her usual greetings to new customers, she was surprised by their appearance. "Would you like to rent a room? Do you want to try out our delicious dishes? Or you just want to pass the time in our bar?" Suzuka put a little more effort since they looked foreign. "Not gonna lie, I quite like it when they welcome us, they look cute" Anne said. "We... We would like to rent a room!" Chris answered. "A room, it is! Come! Write your name here first and the days you will stay and you''ll be in your rooms right away!" Suzuka raised a pen. "Hey, did you just tell her that we''ll be staying?" Riko asked. Chris nodded. "We don''t have the money!" Anne shouted. "My, is there a problem?" Suzuka looked at them curiously. Chris quickly looked at her. "W-We can''t actually pay right now... So..." "It''s fine!" Suzuka smiled. "Wha-!" Chris got surprised. "What now?" Anne asked. "Since you were the first foreign customers we had, your stay will be free!" Suzuka said. Chris turned to her group. "She said our stay is free! Because we are the first foreigner they had!" Chris happily told them. "Really?!" Anne happily shouted, making Suzuka giggle. "Let''s get going!" Chris grabbed Anne by her wrist and dragged her with her towards Suzuka. Riko and Gabriel just walked. "Here, write your names here! It''s okay if it''s in your language!" Suzuka placed the pen near the book on the surface. "Don''t worry. I can write our names in Tsuchiyan" Chris smiled and took the pen and the book. She skillfully wrote their names at ease. Down to Gabriel Smith, Chris finished writing and rotated the book to face Suzuka. She looked at the names and the first name surprised her. "Christine Turner?" As soon as Suzuka mentioned her name, a loud noise came out from the kitchen and Alice went barging out with a nervous look. "Sister?!" Alice shouted in English. "Alice!" Both in surprise of her entrance and her being her sister, Chris turned quickly. "Alice...!" Chris smiled as she was astonished to see her sister for a long time. Alice looked like she was about to tear away but held it in. "Where...have you been?" She asked. "Why did you left us?" She added. The people around noticed the rising drama and behaved themselves. Nonetheless, the two kept going. Alice just wanted to run and hug her long lost sister but the grudge was holding her. "Not only you left us... You ruined us!" She shouted. "Why did you... follow her?" Alice glared at Anne, making her look away. "I know you already know the reason" Chris said, leaving Alice no response. "Anne was the only person who cared about me. I mean, who ACTUALLY cared about ME! Our parents are drowning in pleasure of being the richest family and barely gives us a damn!" Chris shouted. "That''s not-!" "You should have noticed them as well, Alice!" Chris raised her voice against Alice''s, then sighed. "I know they are still our parents, but it is too much for me. I didn''t felt any love the moment I gained the ability to think!" She said. "And that''s why I made up my mind. I chose my own path and believed what I think is right" She added. "So that ''path'' of yours is to leave your family and break everything we had apart?!" Alice shouted. Chris was hit hard and began trembling, eyes unsteady trying to focus on Alice''s. Everyone noticed her right away. "Did you really think I wanted that?" She asked. "You had no idea what I went through, Alice. The thoughts and regrets overwhelmed me at that time... But I had no choice, I can''t take them anymore. I can''t bare staying in that house of loveless family, no matter how rich we are" She said. Alice can''t find any more reason to ask her further. "You could have stayed for my sake!" Alice shouted. "We were happy, weren''t we?! I loved you and never wanted to leave your side! But why?!" She shouted. Tears started flowing down her cheeks, Alice was filled with overwhelming emotion, the feeling of being betrayed and left alone by the beloved person who was always in her side. In that same spot, Alice continued to sob. Chris didn''t know what to do but had only one choice. She slowly approached Alice and in her surprise, Alice didn''t moved an inch and accepted her embrace. Having to finally feel her little sister after a long time, Chris was attacked by an overwhelming emotion of remorse. Having to hurt her beloved little sister by leaving from her side. "I''m very sorry, Alice..." She apologized. "I wasn''t thinking clear..." She added. Alice burrowed her face into Chris'' chest. "Sister..." Her painful muffled voice made Chris more sad. "I missed you, Sister!" Alice raised her voice to express how much she desired to see her sister again. "I don''t want to see you gone again! Stay here with me!" Alice began losing her usual attitude and started showing her behavior when her sister is around. On the other hand. "G-Gab?!" Riko heard Gabriel''s gasps and turned to her and whispered. Gabriel panicked and quickly wiped her eyes off. "A-Ah! I was just...!" She continues to wipe her eyes with the sleeves of her jacket. "Heh, they got you good, huh?" Riko giggled. "Y-Yeah. But I had other reasons, sorry..." Gabriel smiled, fading the smile from Riko as she realized. Then all of the sudden, the people around gradually clapped and cheered the two. "I''m goddamn happy for both of you..." Anne sighed. They stayed connected for a while until they stopped crying. After that, they went into a vacant room to settle Chris'' group. Riko and Gabriel chose the room next to Anne''s, to not meddle with their story. The three, Anne, Chris and Alice, sat down in the bed. "Hey, uh..." Anne spoke up, looking at Alice. The two looked at her. Anne shyly messed with her hair. "I''m sorry... Your sister followed me because I asked her to..." She apologized. "Anne..." Chris sadly called her name. Alice made a half-angry look. "I never liked you. You are a criminal, you live slaying people and robbing them. But if my sister trusted you, then I must learn to trust you as well..." Her answer surprised the two. " I might take a long time to accept you, considering what happened" She added. "Alice..." Chris smiled happily. "T-Thank you. You''re a very kind person, Alice. I''m sure your big sister is very happy about your decision" Anne smiled at Chris. "I''m kinda longing for a drink, it has been a while after all. I will leave you two for now" She said as she stands up. She removed her coat and laid it on the bed before heading outside. As Anne closed the door behind her, the two quickly thinks of what to talk about. "Looks like you''re doing well here, Alice. What is your job here?" Chris asked. "First, I only served the customers, get them their drinks and things. Then the owner found out my cooking abilities and implemented a kitchen. Then finally, I became their first cook. The people here at South enjoyed my foods, Sister! To think that I can finally cook after dreaming so much!" Alice happily said. Chris giggled. "I''m very proud of you, Alice You really went for your dreams. Your determination which I can never compete" Alice smiled at her. "How about you? What did you and Annabelle do when you ran away?" She was really curious. "I didn''t know you were interested" Chris was surprised. "W-Why do you think that way? You''re my big sister, I worry about you too!" Alice was a little bit triggered. "...No matter what you have become... My worries about you still remain. We are sisters, after all. We are related, a family. And nothing can severe that connection" She smiled. "Oh, you..." Chris reaches to hug her. "I thought you hated me for real. To the point that you don''t even want to see me" Chris was filled with relief as she held her sister. "I assure you, sister. That will never happen. I will love you until the end. Unless the enemies controlled me to do so... So? What did you guys do? How did you become Pirates?" Alice was so eager to listen. Chris giggled and began telling her their story. "It''s not as interesting as you think. Unbelievable as it is, after running away Anne and I bravely went into a rebel''s place, where their ring leader is said to hide. Of course, we were held at gunpoint, which Anne warned me before going there. The rebels doubted us at first because I was with her, worrying that I was the government''s spy. Anne forcibly convinced them and they gave us a chance and trusted Anne" Chris stopped for a second. "Annabe... Anne, She''s a Ramirez, right? Is that why they trusted you?" Alice asked. Chris nodded in response. "Yes. They recognized Anne, and they knew that the Ramirez never had any connections within the Government, nor they desired to" She said. "So, we met the leader and he happily accepted us. And there begins our life as bad people. First, we acted as contract killers. We received money on killing people. Then our counts rapidly increased and the leader wanted to push his luck. He planned on sailing and spreading his territory. There, we stole ships from the Government. Then he trained some of his men, including us, how to sail. After a year, with more additional members, he formed the Pirates. And he let Anne and I become the Pirates'' captain" Chris ended there. "How were you in the rebel? Was it hard for you?" Alice asked. "It was. We never had any better place to stay. The President always hunts us. Sometimes, there are rats among our connections and we will be eventually found out and we had to fight out of the area and hide somewhere. I never had a proper sleep since then. And I sadly adapted to it" Chris shrugged. "U-Until now?! Good thing you have visited me here! I will take care of you!" Alice leaned to her. "Thanks. Though, the tension lessens when we Pirates had more strength. The government now fears that there will be a war if they touch us. They''re now being careful with their operations" Chris said. "And I, uh... didn''t come here to visit you, actually" She said, surprising Alice. "O-Oh..." She was a bit disappointed. "The President asked the criminals to take part of a mission here at the South. We will pretend to be the enemies'' allies and scout out everything. Unfortunately, everything went wrong and we were separated from the other gang. Chiho and her friend caught us and returned us here. Then I asked her if you are here" Chris said. "Then you still came to visit me!" Alice pouted. "Ahaha... Alright, I guess" Chris laughed. The two chatted for a while alone in the room. Meanwhile, down to the first floor. Anne went to the bar and sat down in a stool. "Hey there, miss!" Haruki, who was mixing pouring drinks on a wooden mug, greets her. "Fuck, I forgot I can''t speak their language..." Anne whispered to herself. "The fuck should I do here? We only had Chris for translations..." Anne whispered as she looked around. She saw no faces from the West and they all speak Tsuchiyan. "I...see that you''re having a problem communicating with us..." Haruki noticed her uneasy feeling. "Uh... Suzu?!" She called out Suzuka. "Yes?" Suzuka''s head popped out from her desk. "Can you like, speak English or something?! Our foreign friend here can''t talk to me!" Haruki shouted. "Oh no..." Suzuka hurried to Anne''s side. There, she stood awkwardly. "Wine... You, uh, have?" Anne looked up to Suzuka and asked. "W-Wa...Oh! Wine?!" Haruki shouted, making Anne and Suzuka turn to her. "Y-Yeah. Sake... Sake..." Anne just nodded. "We don''t have those yet, Haru!" Suzuka covered her mouth in embarrassment. "No shit!" Haruki stomped loud and slowly turned to Anne. "Wine..." Haruki said wine before shaking her head. "Uh... No wine?" Anne looked confused. "No wine..." Haruki repeated the English word. "That''s too bad, I guess I will just have a beer... Beer..." Anne repeated the word beer, which quickly caught Haruki. "Beer! You got it!" She quickly poured beer on a wooden mug from the barrel behind her. "Finally..." Anne sighed loudly. "Everything good?" Suzuka asked. They both jumped as soon as their eyes met. "Um... T-Then, I should go!" Suzuka quickly bowed and ran back to her usual post. "Here you go!" Haruki placed the mug in front of Anne. "Finally!" Anne''s stress quickly faded away as soon as she smells the strong fragrance of the beer. Five minutes later, Chiho and her group arrived. "Welcome back, everyone!" Suzuka greeted them. "Aaahh! I can finally lie down!" Ayumi was audibly tired. She ran towards Suzuka and slams herself against the desk, her face buried on the desk, her hands on the surface with open palms. "Key!" She asked. "It''s been a long day, huh?" Suzuka smiled as she placed the key on Ayumi''s right hand. She closed her palms fast as soon as she felt the key in her hand and ran upstairs. "I''ve been noticing, every time that kid''s tired, she just kind of fly around, if you know what I mean" Mariko said to Chiho. "She''s like, just using her legs and arms to do shit. Her body just sways everywhere" She added. "That''s Ayumi to you..." Chiho awkwardly laughed. As they walk towards Suzuka, they smell the strong smell of the beer, coming off from Anne, who was still somehow drinking alive. "Damn, this one''s wasted as fuck" Mariko peeked at her face, they were already red and her eyes unsteady, which made her giggle. They greeted Suzuka before heading upstairs. On their way, Mariko said. "Hey, I kind of noticed that that drunk woman looked foreign". Which got their attention. "...Foreign?" Shu Fang looked at Mariko. "Yeah. Her face looked different. You know, you just notice if they looked like they came from other places" Mariko nodded. "I think she looked like a Western" She said. "Western? Ah, it must be Christine''s friend!" Chiho remembered. "Ah, yeah. You told us about them coming here..." Mariko looked excited. "...Unfortunately, for you. Only one of them can speak our language. They''re not the same as the Prohorovkans..." Shu Fang giggled. "I don''t care! I will find a way to befriend them!" Mariko didn''t let herself down. As they head to their room, Alice and Chris walked out of their room, about to head downstairs. "Oh, hey! Welcome back!" Alice greeted them. "What the... You two looked similar..." Mariko gave the two a disturbed look. "Hello, Chiho-san. Good to see you again" Chris smiled. "Oh! You''re the one who can speak Tsuchiyan?!" Mariko''s eyes widen as she heard Chris. "Yes. I am Christine Turner, I''m Alice''s elder sister" Chris introduced herself as she rubs Alice''s head. "You didn''t tell us you had a sister!" Mariko shouted. "Are you staying here as well?" Chiho asked. "I guess... I got to talk to Anne..." Chris shrugged. "Anne? Was it that wasted woman downstairs?" Mariko asked. "W-Wasted? That Anne..." Chris sighed. "I will also come down later after I change, so wait for me down there, okay?" Chiho was looking for talking to the Westerners. "Bah... I wish to join but I''m tired as fuck. I will get you tomorrow" Mariko lazily yawned and headed to their room. "...I''m tired as well. I should also go to rest" Shu Fang went after Mariko. "Alright... See you later, Chiho-san..." Chris nodded and they separated. On the way down, Suzuka noticed them in the hall. "Ah! You two!" Suzuka smiled and waited for them to get close. Alice quickly realized something. "A-Ah! I forgot! Sister! I should go! The customers are waiting!" Alice rushed to the kitchen. "Hey! It''s okay! Take your time, woman!" A customer overheard her and shouted. "We are lucky to have your little sister here, Christine-san. She made great changes to our services!" Suzuka complimented Alice. "That''s good to hear!" Chris smiled in relief. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "She''s a hard-worker. A determined and optimistic person! She never let herself down with her thoughts!" Suzuka said. "Yes. She strives for her dream without any doubts. Which I can never do" They both giggled. "I believe you can do the same, Christine-san. If Alice can do it, so can you!" Suzuka cheered her up, which thinks Chris is cute. She looked around and saw Anne still drinking at the bar. "That Anne..." She sighed. "Looks like your friend is enjoying life too much..." Suzuka laughed awkwardly. With that, Chris approached Anne. "Hey..." She pushed Anne with a little bit of force. Anne looked at her, pissed off. "The fuck you want, Chris?" Then quickly brighten up. "Want to join me?" She asked. "No. Don''t drink too much, you always making me carry you" Chris said. Realizing that she came for a warning, Anne got mad. "Fuck off, Chris. You''re always like that, like a fucking... mother" She said with a hiccup. "You got to fix yourself, Anne! Chiho is coming down to talk to us!" Despite Chris'' warnings, Anne remained acting up. "Fuck Chiho. She loves us and you know it, motherfucker. She knows that I drink and she loved me for it, hahaha!!!" She laughed out loud, bringing everyone''s attention. "Anne..." Chris sighed. "Just say to her that drinking is a fucking tradition" "No..." Chris quickly replies to Anne. "You should stop right now!" "NO!!!" Chris took the mug away from her and Anne quickly jumped to hug her. The beer spilled everywhere as Chris was shaken by Anne. "Don''t... fucking leave me, Chris!" She sounded like crying. "A-Anne?!" Chris felt warm from Anne''s face. She pushed her head and saw her crying. "What the hell, Anne?!" Both disgusted by the smell of the beer and the tears on her dress, Chris dropped the mug on the table and pushed her off with both of her hands. "Get... off me you drunk bastard!" Chris tried hard to push her off. "Don''t leave me Christina! I swear I will change!!!" Anne cried more. "W-Whoa, few minutes and she''s this drunk?!" Haruki can''t believe her. "Please!" She pleaded. "Wake... the fuck up!" Chris had enough and punched her hard, throwing her away. She quickly raised herself up to look at Chris. "You traitor...!" She said with wide eyes, touching her nose. "I trusted you and this is what you return?!" Anne began sobbing again. "I... think you better off riding along with her, Christine-san..." Haruki told Chris while scratching her head. "Here''s a better way to wake this idiot up..." Chris walked up to Anne. "I''m sorry, Anne..." She smiled. "You won''t leave me?" Anne stopped crying to ask. Chris held her head and leaned back her own head. "Eh...?" Anne wondered why and Chris headbutted her to Valhalla. "Whoa!" Everyone was surprised. "You''re such a mess when you''re drunk..." She said as she carried Anne to a stool. She laid her arms and head to the table, she now sleeping at the bar. "Y-You''re pretty wild, Christine-san" Haruki was a little bit afraid. "We always headbutt each other when we are drunk... It became my habit to headbutt someone to knock them to sleep" Chris said as she sat next to Anne. "W-Wow..." Haruki awkwardly laughed. "Sister!" Alice called out with a plate of a well-done steak and another dish on her other hand. "Here! I know you''re hungry!" She dropped the plate of steak in front of her and left winking at Chris. "Hm... This looks good! To think Alice made this on her own..." Chris said as she looked at Alice serving people their food. "You have grown up now..." She whispered with a smile, then returned to her food. Haruki happily conversates with Chris as she munches down the stake. A short time later, Chiho arrived, wearing the Inn''s clothes. "Hey, Chris-san!" Chiho waved at her. "Hello!" Chris turned to her and greeted her. Chiho sat next to her and quickly saw the dead Anne. "She drank a lot and passed out, I see..." Chiho said. "Yeah, she drank a lot, right?" Chris smiled at Haruki. "A-Ahaha..." She laughed awkwardly. "How are you doing though?" Chiho asked. "We''re doing fine. I think we can rest for the day here before we head out again..." Chris said. "Are you going to return to the Prohorovkans tomorrow?" Chiho asked. "A-Ah... that..." Chris was surprised by her question. They talked about their plans for tomorrow until time passed for too long. 37 Hopelessness The next day, everyone gathered on the first floor. The Hell''s Fury and the Pirates sat on the bar. Chiho sat beside them while the others went for the tables. "So, what''s your next move?" Chiho asked, Chris repeated the question to Anne. "I contacted Mark at midnight and told him that we will be returning today. So we''ll need to get going soon" Anne said and Chris translated her response back. "I see. Then we can go back there together. We also need to return to the base, Gentaro-san deployed some of his soldiers back there to retake the forward bases" Chiho nodded. Suddenly, the radio from Anne''s coat began making erratic noises, then a voice reached out. "Hello? Chiho? My radio caught your signal from back there at Saiju" It was Takumi''s voice. Anne was about to panic but Chiho gestured her that it''s okay. Anne took the radio out. "Takumi, the Westerns are the ones carrying the radio. Mark gave it to them" Chiho answered. "Ah, the Americans... Yeah, sure. We''re on our way there to get you. The soldiers said that you are running late and asked us to get you" Takumi said. "Are we? Sorry for that" Chiho lazily apologized. "We slept at one o''clock and woke up at four to work again. You are the Daughter of the Hero! You should be the one sleep-deprived!" Takumi sounded so pissed off. "We''re working our asses here-" "Turn it off" Takumi kept scolding from the radio and Chiho told Anne to turn off the radio. Chris quickly reached for the radio. "-this is some-!" Takumi''s voice was cut off as Chris pressed the button. "Whoever that was, she sure sounds so pissed off" Anne said as she hid back the radio in her coat. "I think it''s those friendly ones..." Chris guessed. "Friendly ones?" Anne looked at her. "Friendly Prohorovkans" Chris sighed. "Ah. Why do you look annoyed?" Anne glared at her and Chris looked away. "May I ask why there are some Prohorovkans on your side?" She asked Chiho. "Ah. Let''s just say, they are the good guys, who joined their Organization without knowing their actual goals" Chiho shrugged. Chris wasn''t sure what to say. "So... they are rebelling against their own? How could you convince these people?" She asked. "Uh... They went on their own, t-their story is very confusing and complicated..." Chiho showed a frustrated look. "Is there any chance that they are aliens?" Chris asked, bringing everyone''s attention. "They might be alien in disguise" Mariko said. Despite how unserious the question is, Chiho still thinks if it''s true. "I wonder. Aliens don''t talk right?" Chiho asked. "They do. They have mouths or if they don''t, they use telepathy" Ayumi joined. "Whatever you guys think, I don''t think they''re aliens. I know how the stories and fantasies describe the aliens, I don''t see anything wrong with them" Mariko said. "I also get to touch Takumi''s hands by accident sometimes, they are warm, like ours" She shrugged. "Dann Touchu''s stories about the aliens isn''t true at all! Mary Samwell''s stories of aliens are much truer!" Ayumi shouted at her. "I ain''t believing in the Western shit! How can you side with them against our works?!" Mariko shouted back, silencing Ayumi. Without any further conversation, the topic dropped off. "Y''all are finished? Where are the foods at? We need to get going soon, them Prohorovkans would get too suspicious if we don''t move quick" Anne said to Chris. Then Chris turned to the kitchen then to the people behind her then back to Anne. "There are other customers, Anne. Alice can''t serve all these people at o-" "I''m sorry for waiting!" Alice shouted as she happily appeared from the kitchen carrying a medium tray of four plates. She approached Chris'' group and gave them their food. "Thanks, Alice. By the way..." Chris thanked her little sister and remembered something. Alice stayed, waiting for her to say it. "When are you going home, back to the West?" Chris asked in Tsuchiyan. Alice appeared happy about the question. "Father said that I can live here and continue my duties here at Saiju. I will stay here, I love it here!" Alice smiled. "I see" Chris was happy to hear her decision. "Hey, speak English, damn..." Anne whispered, looking uncomfortable. But Chris just smiled at her, feeling bad. "Do they know yet?" Chris asked Alice. "Yeah, we talked about it before I went here" Alice nodded. "I see" Chris also nodded. Then Alice went closer to her. "Will you stay here too, sister?" Alice eagerly waits for her answer. "Sure" Chris gave no second thought and responded a yes. Alice giggled and happily hops back towards the kitchen. "Ali-chan changed so much..." They heard Suzuka at her usual spot speak. After that, they started eating their breakfast. "One of the things I love in Alice is she''s not a picky person when it comes to the environments. Despite growing up in rich and expensive land, she still enjoys staying everywhere. You know what I mean?" Chris said to Anne. "Yeah. She''s not one of those rich bastards, daughters of rich fucks who are disgusted on everything below them" Anne strongly agreed. "Yes. I had one friend who is also the daughter of a rich family. If my memory serves right, she''s from the Davis family" "The Davis?!" Anne shouted as soon as Chris mentioned the name. "Those are the fucks who alarmed the fucking navy on our raid on the Belovan port!" Anne said. "Yes, I still haven''t forgotten about that" Chris smiled as she scratches her head. "I was also enraged when I heard the Davis too. I remembered that bitch all of a sudden. She and her fake beauty" Chris looked a little pissed off. "Hahaha!" Anne laughed as Chris used insulting words. "Maria Davis. A beautiful name, a beautiful face. Golden hair and clear blue eyes yet bitch attitude" Chris and Anne laughed together. "Also a fucking cunt who plays with the boys. She would mess with the guys who confess their feelings to her. I remembered that one guy, he looked so innocent and cute yet full of courage... Maria baited that guy and public-shamed him of his life. She''s awful" Chris said. "If I ever find her again, I will kidnap and make her our pirates'' properties" Chris mischievously smiled at Anne. "Aye! We''ll get that bitch cunt and start the fucking!" Anne happily shouted. "Thank you" A young male thanked Alice as she gives him his food. "...Ma''am?" He called Alice who was not letting go of the plate as she overheard her big sister''s conversation. "It''s been a while since I heard your... pirate accent or..." Chris wondered. "Cuz ya see, ''dis woman be always wit'' ye, lass!" Anne suddenly changed how she speaks. "Ye influence me of how ya speak, Chris''o. And ye ne''er even born a pirate to go along wit'' me, so why not right?" Anne winks then focused on her food and grabbed a bite. "Aye, Captain" Chris giggled and ate. Anne raised her head and giggled while still munching her food. As she gulps them, "I really don''t give a dam'' ''bout it. Do ya? Christina?" Anne asked without turning to her. "Don''t call me that. I was just worried" Chris said. "Huh? Worried ''bout what? Ya worried even ''bout how I speak?" Anne sounded a little irritated. "I thought you were being forced out of your habits or something..." Chris said. "Ah. Don''t worry, geez. It''s fine for me to speak like this" Anne laughed. They talked for a while as they finish their dish. "Damn. Alice sure does cook good foods" Anne said as she looks at her plate. Alice, who stepped out of the kitchen after serving all the customers, approached them. "Are you two going now?" Alice asked in Tsuchiyan language. "Yeah. The Prohorovkans are waiting for us" Chris answered with the same language. "Be careful... and come back, will you?" Alice asked for a promise. "Look. I''m not sure if we can go back here whenever I want. If we broke my cover, the west will be exposed and targeted by the Prohorovkans. We must be cautious about meeting you guys here" Chris said. "I... I see..." Alice weakly smiled. "But, don''t worry..." Chris stood up and pats her head. "We will go back and see you if we got the chance, alright?" She said. Alice happily nodded in response. "You''re set? Let''s get going" Anne stood up and ready to leave. "You''re ready to go?" Chiho asked the two. "Yes" Chris nodded and left with Anne. Alice happily hops back to the Kitchen. "Hah. Alice sure is happy about her sister. She suddenly became a different person" Mariko giggled. "Okay! Let''s go!" She then stood up and catches up with Anne and Chris. "Let''s go, A...Ayumi..." Chiho looked to her side to see Ayumi about to finish rushing her food. She then grunts as she almost got choked on her own food and grabbed her water and drank it all. "Ah!" She felt refreshed after washing her food down and immediately ran outside. "...Her food wasn''t-" "AH!!!" Shu Fang spoke beside Chiho and she got startled. "Geez, Shu Fang... Is it me or you''re becoming more mysterious and well-hidden?" Chiho placed a hand on her chest to calm her down. "...Huh?" Shu Fang was confused. On the outside, Mariko was showing off their R75 to the two Westerners, it was usually parked right next to the Inn. "Chiho and that kid with the white hair stole this hot babe from the Prohorovkans back from the Tsuchiya!" Mariko boasted. "They escaped with this beauty as they were getting shot at by a Tank!" She continued. "Tank?! You mean Landships?!" Chris was surprised. "Y-Yeah, I guess you can call it that... They have long... I think I remember hearing that those are Cannons..." Mariko said. "Yes! Those! They already had Landships?!" Chris sounded impatient. "Yeah, except, they call it Tank" Mariko nodded. Chris then translated everything Mariko said. "Savages..." Anne reacted with a straight face as she stares at the R75. "They look similar to the Hell Fury''s bikes" She said. "That''s true. They were riding their bikes when we met, right? The designs are close enough" Chris said, Anne nodded on her. "And they already had Landships... or Tanks, as they called them" She rubs her chin as she dives into deep thoughts. On the Inn''s door, Chiho, Shu Fang and the Hell''s Fury came out. "They name their tanks different. For example, BT-7..." Mariko said. "BT-7?" Chris repeated the name. "Or §¢§Ö§ä§Ü§Ñ (Betka), or §¢§Ö§ä§å§ê§Ü§Ñ (Betushka), or §¢§í§ã§ä§â... §¢§í... §¢§í§ã§ä§â...§¢§í§ã§ä§â§à§ç§à§Õ§ß§í§Û...§ä§Ñ§ß§Ü! (Bystr... By... Bystr...Bystrokhodnyy tank!)" Mariko said, almost bit her tongue. "It''s the lightest and fastest tank I''ve... or we have ride on. But they have bigger and stronger tanks" She said. "They also have planes!" She added. "Planes?! Aircraft?! Aviation?!" Chris was very surprised, then she turned to Anne and said it in English. "Say what now?! They flyin''?!" Anne was surprised as well. "And it''s not magic? But the technologies?!" Anne asked. Chris nodded in response. "I still can''t believe what I''m hearing right now... We''re just inventing Aircraft!" Anne shouted. Chris turned to Mariko. "Have you seen one?" She asked. "Yeah. Remember that friendly Prohorovkan back at the base before? She''s driving one and I shot her using a stolen weapon from them. That''s how I met her. Then Chiho arrived and I agreed to go along with her" Mariko smiled at Chiho. "So, you shot her aircraft and she went down? Then she, like, surrendered?" Chris asked. "I wouldn''t say she ''surrendered''. She willingly joined our side and betrays her organization" Mariko scratches her head. "Hey, let''s not waste any more time..." Anne said to Chris. She nodded and said to Mariko that they need to get going. "Sure. You guys want a ride? Chiho can drive you there" Mariko asked Chris. "Ah! No, no. We, uh, have to go somewhere here, so you go on ahead...!" Chris lied to reject her offer. "Ah, alright. Take care then..." Mariko was a little bit disappointed and rode into the R75''s sidecar in silence, the others hop on as well. Chiho started the engine and revs it up as if to test if it''s working, then she looked at the two. "You... sure you don''t need a ride? They can just ask the soldiers to get them there..." Chiho asked one more. "We''re fine, really!" Chris lightly bowed in embarrassment. "Okay. Take care then! See you there!" Chiho waved at them before she drives the R75 away. "I wish I can also talk in that language" Riko spoke up. "What do you call their language?" She asked Chris. "Tsuchiyan..." Chris replied. "Tsuchiyan, eh? It''s that captured town, right?" Gabriel asked. "Yeah. It is. It''s heavily fortified by them Prohorovkans, according to the President..." Anne nodded. "Come on, let''s walk and talk" She started walking and they followed her. They were talking about the Tsuchiya as they walk, but they felt like someone was following them. "Is it me, or this hooded motherfucker''s been following us since from the Inn?!" Gabriel whispered to Riko. Riko, tired of feeling stalked, stopped, and faced the hooded person. "Excuse me? Who might you be?" Despite her language, Riko asked the hooded person, who started giggling. "What''s so funny?!" Riko clenched her fists. Chris then went into Riko''s side. "Who are you?" She angrily asked the hooded person. The hooded person then moved their head up to look at them. Then they took the hood off, revealing a girl''s face and her black hair and black eyes. "So, you have been telling us lies this whole time?" She spoke in Japanese and focused on Chris. "What?!" Chris was surprised. "Hey, what is she saying?!" Riko shouted but Chris gestured her to remain quiet. "I''ve been spying on you since you left Shichiro''s office..." She said, greatly shocking Chris. "This girl, guys...! She''s one of them!" She said to them. "Fuck! Get her!" Anne shouted and Riko and Gabriel charged to capture the Prohorovkan. The girl smiled as she watches them charge. Gabriel was the nearest one to be able to lay a hand on her, however, the girl moved to her left and pushed Gabriel against Riko. The girl''s push was powerful, the two fell on the ground. Seeing the two fall on to the ground, Anne unsheathes her sword and ran forward. She stood in front of the two. "§¿§ä§à §á§à§Ö§Õ§Ú§ß§à§Ü..." The girl said as she reveals her right blade. "§Á §ä§Ö§Ò§ñ §á§à§â§Ö§Ø§å!" She grins widely. "S-She''s speaking a different language, Anne! I can''t understand her!" Chris warned her. "It''s alright! I just have to take her down!" Anne shouted. "Let''s do this, motherfucker!" She smiled as she stares at the girl''s eyes. The girl nodded and readies. Then Anne wasted any more time and rushed ahead. She thrusts her sword directly to her neck, but the girl swiftly moved her head left and nimbly slashed Anne''s right leg as she moves away. Anne grunts and gritted her teeth in pain. "Anne!" Chris shouted as she saw her hurt. She unsheathes her blade and quickly ran to her side. "This is a duel..." The girl spreads her arms, looking quite annoyed. "So, she was asking you for a duel..." Chris said. "A fucking duel, huh?!" Anne was hyped. "Leave it to me, Chris! I will make sure to take her down!" She said. "Be careful, Anne..." Riko said as she helps Gabriel up. "That push alone shows how powerful she is... It''s unnatural!" Gabriel said. Anne was getting anxious about hearing their words, but put those aside and still bravely faced the girl. "C''mon, Chris. I ain''t turning down anyone''s challenge" Anne said. Having no choice, Chris lowered her sword and moved to the side. "Don''t disturb us..." The girl said as she swings her right arm as intimidation. People are starting to notice them, despite that, they continued. "I can aim to your knee this time and make you unable to stand" The girl said. "Anne, she said something about your knee, don''t let her hit your knee anymore or you wouldn''t be able to fight properly!" Chris warned her. "Yeah! I know that!" Anne nodded. Then she made a stance and slowly made her way near the girl. "Haa!" Anne throws a slashing attack and the girl avoided it. Anne continues her attack by thrusting her sword, the girl sways her sword away. "Hey... why don''t we just group up against her?!" Riko asked as she pulled out a 1911 pistol. She held the pistol with her right hand and aimed at the girl. Gabriel then pulled out hers and also aimed at the girl. "Careful with your guns!" Chris warned. "We know how to use these..." Riko said. Anne was throwing her attacks when the girl notices their guns pointed. "Anne! Move it!" Riko shouted. Anne quickly moved away, leaving the girl open for their gunfire. Before the two could pull the trigger, the girl took out two PPS-43 and aimed at both of them. "Where did those come from?!" Seeing a machine gun, Riko felt overwhelmed. "Don''t you even try!" Anne ran on the girl''s side. Chris ran to her other side, surrounding her completely. "Filthy people... Do you even know what a fair fight is?" The girl gave a disgusted look. "Your powers are already unfair to begin with!" Chris shouted. The girl glanced at her. "Did you see me use it against her?" She asked without leaving her eyes on the two. "What did she said, Chris?" Anne asked. "About fair fight..." Chris responded. "Fair fight?! A military-trained against punks?! Where''s a fair fight there, you fucking cunt!" Riko shouted at the girl. People are starting to come and few soldiers went running from their left. "Hey! Hold it right there!" One of them shouted. "Tch...!" The girl looked at them. "Now!" Riko shouted and they both fired at the girl. The girl struggled and opened fire. Riko and Gabriel ran and separated themselves. "Kh...!" The girl couldn''t stay her fingers on the triggers and had to teleport away. "The bastard''s gone!" Anne shouted. "Fucking coward!" Riko shouted. "Drop your weapons!" The soldiers unsheathed their soldiers and watched them carefully. "We just drove a fucking spy out of your home!" Anne shouted. "Shh!" Chris scolded her and walked in front of the soldiers. "We are the people sent by the West! Calm yourselves!" Chris shouted. "The West?!" The lead soldier said. Then they lowered their swords. "Who was that person then?" He asked. "A Prohorovkan spy..." Chris replied. "A spy?!" The soldiers were surprised. "Yes... She was tailing us for a while..." Chris nodded. "That''s not good! Where did she go?!" The soldier asked. "Somewhere..." Chris shrugged. "We have to inform Gentaro-sama!" He shouted and they ran off. "What did they say?" Anne asked. "They asked who the girl is, they went off to alert their... I think their master or something" Chris shrugged. "The fuck are we gonna do?! That girl''s gonna end our whole career!" Riko shouted. Outside the Saijun borders, the girl teleported into. She was shot by Riko and Gabriel on her intestines and can barely walk and even teleport far. She sat on one knee to control both of the pain from her power and from her wounds. "How embarrassing..." She whispered to herself as she moves her hand away from her wounds. Her hand is completely covered with her own blood. "Ukgh..." She groaned as she puts her hand back. "Gotta walk..." She said to herself as she stands up carefully. She looked around to make sure no one sees her before she proceeds to walk. As she walks, she took her radio. "Shichiro...§´§í §ä§Ñ§Þ?" She asked something over the radio... No response. "§Á §à§Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ..." She whined. After walking for ten minutes, she heard hooves of the horses coming near. She stopped and her eyes widen in terror. She turned back and saw a huge group of horsemen coming her way. The leading horseman was carrying the banner of the Saiju, which confirms her fear. "That''s her!" The leading horseman shouted. "§ª§Õ§Ú... §ã§ð§Õ§Ñ!" She weakly shouted. The horsemen fired their bows on her, she was on the shoulder, one on her right leg leading her to fall on her knees. They stopped firing once they saw her completely incapacitated. She was about to fall, but she caught herself by holding on the ground with her left hand. She slowly raised her right hand and let out her blade. She then waits for them to get close. The leading horseman raised his sword, ready to swing at her. Her visions are starting to get blurry and she can no longer feel her arm, which fell down without her even realizing it. They finally reached her and the horseman swings his sword against the girl. On a split second, she realized that she can''t move anymore and took the attack. She was hit by her neck and was sent into the air due to the speed of the horse. She flew in about a second, blood spurting everywhere, before falling to the ground, she rolled and ended up facing the sky. She saw the clear blue skies in a split second before losing consciousness. "She''s dead!" One of them shouted. They all surrounded the girl to confirm that she was the spy. Her eyes were still staring at the skies, the scene saddened the soldiers a little. "...We can''t leave her body here, let''s also get her into the village for confirmation" The leading soldier said as he went down from his horse and crouched near the girl. He then closed her eyes and carefully carried her body on his horse. With that, they came back to the Saiju. The Westerners are asked to wait at the gates, at there, the soldiers let them look at the girl. Chris confirmed that it was her and the soldiers went further inside. "So we shot her, I saw two wounds on her stomach..." Riko said. "Why do you sound so sad?" Anne asked. "Ah nothing... Well, looking at that girl. Without that horrible Organization, she could have become a cute girl, being chased or serenaded at " She responded. "Kind words coming from a punk of a notorious gang" Anne smiled. "I had a better life before, so it can''t be helped" Riko sighed. "Better life? Mind telling us? We''re gonna walk anyway, and it''s a long fucking walk. And we''re team anyway" Anne said. "...Yeah, I guess it''s worth telling..." Riko nodded. "Walk... why are we walking..." Gabriel looked very annoyed. Once they left Saiju, Riko started telling her story. "I had loving parents back then... My father was Tsuchiyan and my mother is native in Valkyrie. I was the only daughter of my family and they really, really loved me. They will do everything I wanted to keep me happy. But then I was influenced by some punks at the streets... I became a delinquent and I started to saw my parents'' love as a nuisance on becoming the toughest punk in our area. I grew up as a rebellious child. When the time comes that I can finally handle my own, I immediately ran away from home, behind me was my mother crying and my father begging me to stay. At that time, I didn''t even listen nor did I feel any emotion, I just want to get away from their embrace, for my reputation!" Riko sounded very pained. "I lived my life on the streets, joining some stupid gangs and robbing people for living. Then one time I faced Alex, she was our rival gang on the money. She saw what I can do and invited me to join the Hell''s Fury..." She said. "Huh... Lucky for you, your parents might be still alive back at the West and go back at them" Anne said, they all looked at her. "As you guys know, my parents died when the war happened... Ever since then, I never knew what it''s like to be loved again and I grew up craving for it..." Anne said. "Anne..." Chris remembered something. The scene where Chris get to talk to her parents. "Take care of Annabelle..." She clearly remembers Anne''s mother''s last words. The words she accepted into her life. "...Revive the piracy" Anne''s father''s last words, in which she promised to do. Chris remembered everything yet she continues to hide it from Anne. "And to think you grew on a family with very loving parents, I am very fucking jealous..." Anne said. "You were given such blessings and you wasted it... Not that I''m blaming you, alright?" She said. "My parents loved me but we were hated by people. They loved me but they were too busy to take full attention to me" She added. "You were right. I made a horrible choice..." Riko clenched her fists. "So, what does that have to do with the girl before, then?" Anne asked. "Ah... well, recently, we were tasked to get something from one of our hideouts. The route included our street. Feeling so home, I quietly visited my home... They were there, just sitting on a couch together because of god knows why...!" Riko''s voice started to shake. "Probably waiting for me, or the fucking death to embrace them" She said while holding her tears. "It''s like they have given up on their lives... They became so thin, the house hasn''t changed... They noticed my presence and they turned around..." She said. "C''mon, it''s alright to cry..." Anne said as she saw how hard she was holding back. With her words, she finally teared up. "Goddamn it..." She looked away. "They... smiled, they were very happy... Then I realized that my mother was holding my picture... I peeked and my mother said ''You were so cute back then'' and then she looked back at me and said ''You would have become a sweet girl, being chased around by the boys. Only if we were careful enough''... They even blamed themselves..." She said. "I ran away in tears, people are looking at me as I run crying..." She stopped tearing up and faced the ground. Silence built around them. After a while, Riko spoke. "I decided... that once we get back to the West... I will... live with them again" She said. "Y-You''re what?! That means you''re quitting the Hell''s Fury!" Gabriel shouted. "Heh. So be it. I''m tired of running away, I just want to end it all and hug my parents..." Riko shook her head. "How about Alex? She will be on us..." Gabriel said. "''Us''? Don''t tell me you''re going with me, Gab" Riko looked at her. "Well..." Gabriel decided to tell her story. "I had loving parents too, but they died in an accident... The government didn''t help much due to being a normal family without higher social status... I was forced to live on the streets. Same goes for Riko, Alex found me and invited me into the Hell''s Fury..." She said. "It was not our will to join the crime life, we were influenced, I had no choice... If I were to take down her offer, I would die rotting in the streets, died of starvation..." She added. "Heh, wow... What coincidence...That mark guy also talked to me about bad people, due to his Organization..." Anne said. "Turns out he''s a close friend to Shichiro and he was stuck in his killings! He''s just another honest folk stuck in a murderous organization" She added. "So, that night. He asked me what I think of bad people. He first gave his own opinion. He said that they are those who are living in a disarrayed life and had to do bad things to live. You both just proved his point there" She said. "Wow..." Riko was amazed. "What is your answer, Anne?" Chris asked. "I answered ''They are the people who love seeing others suffer''" Anne responded. "I guess I will go with Mark''s idea" Chris giggled. "Hah, yeah. That''s what I believed until I heard his. I still doubted though, until these two came in to prove that he was right" Anne giggled along. "Hm... yeah" Riko nodded. "I would have been an entirely different person if things didn''t turn out this way... I would feel like, I will be so clingy to my parents, and very girlish... I used to be girlish, yes..." Riko blushed and looked away. "And about Alex, Gab. Prohorovka will attack the West soon enough anyway, I doubt that they will keep us on their side" Riko said. "And how if they didn''t?" Gabriel asked. "I will ask the Daughter of the Hero for protection" Riko responded. "Huh..." Gabriel looked ahead. They still can''t see the Trupriv clearly, showing that it will be quite a walk. "If they fight us, they will bomb our whole place. Your parents might die, so that''s not good to wish for" Gabriel said. "Hm..." Riko sighed and looked away. "Whatever... Whatever happens, I''m quitting. Be it that they go after our heads, I''m quitting. For my parents, this is the only thing I can do for them" She said. "Huh... I can''t believe that a person is greatly changing before my very eyes. What a day..." Anne said. "And you, Gab. Don''t trouble yourself. Stay at the Hell''s Fury..." Riko said to Gabriel. "No! I''m also... I want to go with you..." She responded. "Damn... You guys ain''t showing a bit of consideration... Is it really that easy to leave your mates? Especially that your gang is very well-known. If some other gang knew that the Hell''s Fury is losing members, the whole gang will be humiliated for, like, disloyalty, no strong bonds. Then some opportunistic fucks will take the chance to mow your gang down. Alex and her loyal pawns will REALLY gonna get you, pal" Anne said. "Not unless I had talked to that Hero''s daughter... I''m gonna ask you a favor, Turner" Riko looked at Chris. "If the time comes, I want you to translate everything I have to tell her" She said. "Sure thing" Chris nodded with a smile. Riko was happy that she agreed. "Thank you..." She thanked her. "I, heh... I honestly didn''t think that we will become this close. I thought of this as just a stupid idea of the Prez. I also became annoyed that we will be sided with another band of criminals we haven''t been in contact with" She giggled. After a while, Gabriel started to whine and lowkey blaming Chris for turning Chiho and Mariko''s offer down. "Did you guys heard the news before? Once we''re ready, All states will arm themselves and the President will unite them all and name us all under the title ''The Great Alliance''. We will be the TGA!" Anne brought up a topic. "The fucking great alliance, baby! Alex thought of something that will make the government rely on us during the war. Information trade, for example" Riko said. "Yeah, mow down the president''s pride and make him rely on you" Anne laughed. The topic didn''t make it long, they walked for a few minutes in silence. With their long patience, they finally entered the Tsuchiyan borders. "We''re getting there..." Anne sighed. "Goddamn it, Chris... Someday, I''ll make you swim longer than this" She said to Chris. "Please no..." Chris sighed. "That''s them, right?! Oh my gosh..." Gabriel is sweating and her eyes are unsteady. She felt her body pump a bit of energy for the last few distances. "Longest fucking walk in my life, thanks Chris" She said. Chris just looked away. However, as she looks away, she saw a tank with a 152mm Howitzer cannon in a large turret. It was a KV-2, aimed at the Trupriv. Chris stopped walking, as she does, her eyes then moved to the soldiers around it. Large counts, with Five T-34-85 and a SU-100. "Huh? What''s wrong Ch-" Anne and the group turned back to her and suddenly they heard a loud fire, as they turn to the source of the sound, the main building of the Trupriv exploded. Like the earth just had a quake, they were shaken by the explosion. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are they attacking?!" Anne looked very nervous. The enemy soldiers then shouted their war cry and charged. "Holy shit! They''re about to fight!" Riko said as they watch them charge. The SU-100 started firing at Trupriv as well. "Wh-What should we do?!" Gabriel panicked. "We should head back! I''m not risking myself meeting with those Prohorovkans, not when we were found out. We have to make sure!" Riko said. "But the spy died! They even showed us her face, right?! There''s no way they would find out!" Chris argued. "They have radios, Turner! They might have been listening the whole time!" Riko said back. Then they turned to Anne to wait for her decision. "Wait, shit..." Anne tries to calm herself and think things through. She looked at the conflict, the Saijun soldiers and some Northern warriors are being shot by the guns of the enemy soldiers. The tanks from the distance are firing High-Explosive rounds, sending many friendly soldiers to their death. They were outnumbered and at a disadvantage on weapons. However, some are able to arm themselves with guns from the armory or pick the ones on the ground. Some of them are just firing wildly, some of them are using their iron sights. She saw Chiho, Ayumi, and Shu Fang fighting alongside them. Then she looked at the tanks from the distances, the T-34s are mercilessly firing at Trupriv. Their machineguns flash rapidly as they mow every soldier down. Anne was very anxious to approach the raging Prohorovkans, but, "That spy must have been alone the whole time, I don''t think radios work that far!" Anne sided with Chris. "Damn it, you don''t know that!" Riko shouted. "Then hold on!" Anne shouted back and took her radio out. "What are you doing?" Riko asked. "Gonna make sure if they know or not!" Anne responded. She turns the radio on and moved it near her mouth. "Hello? Mark?" She called out. "Anne?" Mark replied. They became uneasy when he spoke. "Where are you right now? We''re retaking Betty" He said. "A-Ah! We''re actually about to enter the base when you guys shot them" Anne responded. "Is that so? Go around the base, our tanks are firing so be careful. It would be safe if you approach us far from our line of fire" Mark said. "Roger that! We can actually see you from here" Anne said then waved her left up hand up. "What the fuck are you doing?!" Riko became even more nervous. "Yeah, We can see you. Go ahead, we will be watching for you" He said then his radio went off. "See? They don''t know yet!" Anne laughed. Riko and Gabriel looked at each other. "Screw it, let''s just go" Riko took a deep breath and walked. They all then marched past the scorching base and the sounds of battle. After a while, they are now walking the field between the base and the tanks, they are anxious as the tanks are facing them and could fire at them anytime. "We''re fucking marching towards our death..." Riko whispered. Suddenly, multiple Yak-3 flew past them, they were frightened by the roars of their engines. One of them dived and strafed at Trupriv. As they look, it was destructive when their ammo hits the ground, showing that they are also equipped with High-Explosive shells. "Look at that..." Riko said, they stopped and was looking back. Anne''s radio emitted noise. "Hey, keep going" Mark spoke from the radio. They then walked again. "They are really tearing the place apart..." Anne whispered. "Look what they can do, Riko! Don''t ever think about them having a war with us again!" Gabriel angrily whispered. "W-What? That''s a possibility. It''s good to know earlier than later" Riko whispered back. "I''d rather have me expecting them than being surprised" She added. "Still! You''re pushing that possibility!" Gabriel said. "You believe in such things?! It''s not like I have influences nor I''m responsible for the fate of this world!" Riko said. Finally, they arrived. Mark and his soldiers surrounds them. "Hey..." Anne laughed, sounding very uneasy. "It''s good to see you again, Annabelle!" Mark looked happy but very suspicious of them. "Yeah... We''re very happy too..." Anne said in a lower voice. "Say, Anne... I wonder why your country is willing to serve us..." Mark asked as he slowly walks around them. He stopped and looked at burning Trupriv. "While the fellow humans who share the same world as you are being slaughtered by some weird people who assume that they came from other worlds... It''s very sad" He said. "What are you trying to say?!" Riko shouted. Mark turned around and looked at her. "What I''m trying to say is, why did you lie to us?" Mark said. They were surprised by his response. Then suddenly, the soldiers moved. The soldier near Gabriel grabbed her by arm. "What are you-!" He punched her intestine and kicked her right leg, making her fall. "What the-!" The other soldiers moved in to seize them as well. Anne was hit on her head by the stock of the soldier''s rifle, Chris was grabbed by both arms and was pushed hard to the ground, Riko struggled hard, causing two soldiers to take her down. Riko still resisted them, a soldier has to hit her by her back to make her stop. She was hit four times before she behaved. "You''re one hell of a woman..." Mark sighed. "Yeah, I''ll fucking kill you!" Riko shouted. "Shichiro finally accepted and trusted you, why waste it? Do you have any idea how much power you have wasted that your country should have? Your country will be the strongest and the world will bow before you!" Mark said. "Trusted?!" Anne laughed. "You sent a spy to stalk us and you said that we were trusted?" She asked. Mark ignored her, he walked in front of her and looked down. "Just a funny thing though..." Mark looked amused. "Your country relied on lowlifes like you on such important operations. Are your leader that dumb enough?" He asked. They were already exposed, they didn''t know what to say. "Now, what to do with you?" Mark stood up and think. "Would you rather stand against a wall and shoot you, or beheading you with an axe?" Mark gave them a choice. "I''d rather behead YOU with an axe!" Riko shouted. "Behead it is, then..." Mark chuckled, the soldiers grabbed them and made them kneel in line. "Damn it, man! Next time, stay quiet!" Anne shouted. "There will be no next time..." Mark said. "Screw you!" Anne looked at him and shouted. Then Mark raised his right hand on the air and spawned an axe. They were somehow amazed. "Now, I''ll go with you first, Annabelle..." He said as he rests the blade of the axe on her nape. Its sharpness and the cold steel sent chills to Anne. "You''re... not gonna actually kill us, right?" Anne slowly looked up to him. "What are you talking about?" Mark smiled at her. "Anne..." Chris whimpered. "Be strong, Chris. We will never let these assholes just kill us like this..." Anne said. "You don''t have any chance, your fate is bounded. You are destined to be killed like this" Mark said as he raised the axe up. "Kh...!" Anne''s guts disappeared and looked very afraid, she started to shake. "I would look down if I were you..." Mark said. "Anne...!" Chris called out. "Goddamn it!" Anne was startled by Chris'' shout and panicked. She shook her head and looked at her friends, they looked very mad and worried. "It''ll be fine!" Anne said to them. "Face...DOWN...!" Mark shouted. Anne had no choice but to face the ground and close her eyes and wait for him to land the axe. "Goodbye..." Mark said in a low voice and swings the axe down. In a split second, Anne looked up to remember where she died, in a very small time, she saw a figure fly up from Trupriv. Something flashed white. Then all of the sudden, one of the tanks behind them blew up, sending most of them flying, some were wounded, some are just unconscious. 38 Inevitable Ears ringing, body in pain weighing her down, blurry visions, head spinning, is what attacked Chris after she managed to stay conscious after being blown away by the explosion. She weakly moves about on the ground, trying to regain focus. "Ugh..." Sensing no danger around, Chris rested her head and looked up, her vision still unclear. "-e wounded...!" She then heard voices coming near. Hearing something other than the ring, she slowly regains focus. "Yield or die!" A familiar voice shouted. Chris forced herself to look at where the voice is coming from. However, before she can see, Ayumi ran up to her and checked her. "Are you okay?!" She asked. Chris tried to respond but she couldn''t. "Chris-san is over here!" Ayumi looked up to tell them. "Can you stand?" She looked back at her and asked. After a while, Chris completely regained focus and she slowly raised herself up. Ayumi carefully supported her. As she raised her body, she saw the burning wrecks of the tanks and the burnt grounds near them. She then heard their burning noises. "§®§í §å§ã§ä§å§á§Ñ§Ö§Þ!" She heard a familiar language and looked ahead. Five wounded enemy soldiers are on their knees and their hands up. Shu Fang and Mariko were guarding them, while Chiho checks on other wounded. "Hey, Chiho? What do we do with these cunts?" Mariko called Chiho. "Hold on!" Chiho turned around and shouted. She was checking on Anne. "Anne..." Chris saw her and wanted to go to her but Ayumi stopped her. "It''s bad if you move around too much, rest..." She said. Chris then just stared at Anne. After a while, Chiho stood up. "She''s still breathing..." She said as she walks towards the enemy soldiers. She stared at them for a second. "We drag them back to Saiju..." She said with a glare. "Fuck you!" A familiar voice shouted. Chris saw that Mark was one of the kneeling soldiers. He got blood everywhere, showing how badly he was injured. "Shut the fuck up!" Mariko slapped him with her axe, making him fall to his side. "We will need Takumi-san to talk to them..." Chiho said. "I see what you''re up to..." Mariko looked at her with a bored expression. "I thought I''ll be able to behead some Prohorovkan fucks this day..." She said. "You will if they don''t agree with us..." Chiho smiled while scaring the kneeling soldiers. "Bring me back to Saiju and it will be a disaster!" Mark shouted as he stood up. "Kneel!" Mariko slammed the head of her axe against Mark''s intestine. He groaned in pain and was forced to drop on his knees. "...What do you mean by that?" Shu Fang placed the blade of her sword next to Mark''s left cheek. He flinched in fear. "My whole army will come after you and destroy the whole damn place!" Mark moved his head away as he shouted. Then suddenly, the enemy soldiers from Trupriv found them and started shooting at them. "We have to get out of here!" Mariko shouted. "Alright! Mariko, you drive the R75 and take two of them and make your way to Saiju! I will take care of the rest!" She instructed before kneeling down and aiming down the shooting soldiers. She covers fire as Mariko drag Mark and a soldier to the R75''s sidecar. "Try to escape and I''ll hurt you more!" Mariko threatened before going riding the R75. "Ayumi! Go with me! Shu Fang will have to go with Chiho!" She shouted. Ayumi then left Chris'' side and rode in the R75 and they moved out at full speed. "Shu Fang! Gather the other wounded beside the prisoners! We will teleport out!" Chiho shouted as she continues to fire at the enemies. "...Roger!" Shu Fang started dragging Anne towards the kneeling soldiers. Her still being unconscious worries Chris. After Anne, Shu Fang approached Chris. "...Ah, can you stand?" Shu Fang. "I can..." Chris nodded and tries to stand up. Shu Fang grabbed her left hand and pulled her up. "...I want you to watch over them while I drag the others..." Shu Fang ordered her to watch over the soldiers. Chris slowly made her way to the soldiers. They stared at each other. Three of them are boys and the other one is a girl. The girl has a scratch on her face while the boys have dirt on theirs. Looking at their uniforms, they don''t seem severely wounded. Chris saw a TT-33 pistol from the girl''s holster and took it. She ejected the magazine to see how many rounds it holds then inserted it back up the gun. Shu Fang brought Gabriel near them and ran to catch the others. "Let''s go!" Chiho ran out of ammunition and ran back. Shu Fang grabbed Riko, she''s bleeding from her left leg. Trails of blood painted the ground left by her wound. "You see any soldiers alive?! I think I can carry more!" Chiho shouted. Shu Fang darted around and saw one squirming soldier. Her right arm is bleeding. "...There!" Shu Fang pointed and ran. "Go!" Chiho shouted and looked around, she saw another squirming soldier and forcefully dragged him to the spot. Once they''re done, they instructed the kneeling soldiers to hold onto her. Chiho gathered the wounded''s hands to hold together. "We''re moving out!" She shouted as an alert before teleporting out of the place. Chiho couldn''t teleport far by how many was she carrying, they end up in a field. "...We''re not there yet!" Shu Fang said. Chiho was panting hard, down on her left knee. Chris wondered how the teleportation worked. She picked up a blue magical leaf on the ground and observed. However, it turns into dust quick and the winds blew them away. As she looks where the dust dispersed, her eyes fixed on the burning structures of the Trupriv, and showed that they are not yet far. "We got to move!" Chiho said as she slowly stands up. She gathered them again and readies to teleport once more. Chris quickly held to her and focused on what she''s going to see. "...Are you sure? Are you feeling okay?" Shu Fang asked. "I''m fine, I''m fine!" Chiho replied. Shu Fang had no choice but to hold onto her again. "Ready? Here goes!" Chiho then teleported again. This time, they reached the gate of Saiju. Chiho collapsed on the ground, on the verge of fainting. Shu Fang quickly sat on the ground and carried Chiho''s head on her lap. "...Chiho?!" She called. Chiho responded by moving her left hand up. Shu Fang sighed in relief. "What''s this amateur shit?" One of the prisoner soldiers said to Chiho. "You''re obviously not capable of that power" He added. Despite being annoyed, they ignored him. "You''ll end up killing yourself" He said. Finally, the guards arrived to help them. They helped carry Chiho, the wounded, and the prisoners inside. Shu Fang told the guards to guide them back to the Inn. Once they were there, Chiho asked to let her rest into an empty table. Luckily, there''s one on a corner to the left. The guards sat Chiho there and asked about the prisoners. "They will stay here..." Chiho said. She told to carry Anne and the other wounded back to their room. They left shortly after. "...You should lie down" Shu Fang worryingly said. "No, I''m fine. I just need time..." Chiho said then faced the standing prisoners. The atmosphere was awkward as there are people in the Inn as usual. "Where... are the others?" Chiho asked. "...I don''t know. They are not at the gates" Shu Fang shrugged then looked around. She stopped at Suzuka''s. "...Suzuka-san, did Mariko and the others arrived here?" She asked her. Suzuka showed a confused look. "Ah... They haven''t arrived yet..." She responded. "...Maybe they headed straight to Gentaro. What should we do?" Shu Fang asked. Chiho thinks for a second. "I told them to go here because Takumi and her friends will be here after the battle..." She sounded a little bit annoyed. Few minutes later, the door bangs open. Mark flew on the ground, spraying blood on the floor. "You motherfucker!" Mariko came in and swings her axe against his leg, making him scream in pain. "...Mariko!" Shu Fang angrily shouted. Mariko pulled the axe away from him and looked at Shu Fang. Then she pointed at him. "This motherfucker and his cunts tried to escape and make trouble at the Central!" She shouted. "I have to chop his one leg off to keep him from running!" She added. As soon as they heard what she said, they looked at Mark and he had his right leg severed. "...What did you do..." Shu Fang can''t believe what she''s seeing. "If I didn''t do it, he and his cunts are gonna lives" Mariko calmed down. "Just tell Takumi to fix him up if you want" Mariko then walked past them and approached Chiho. "Sorry if it was a mess. I had to do it..." She apologized to Chiho before sitting in front of her. "With what you did, I wonder how they are gonna react..." Ayumi asked. Chiho, Mariko, and Shu Fang looked at her. "Especially when we brought him here..." She added. "Whatever we planned on him we got to move quickly before the rest of them arrive here..." Mariko said to Chiho. "We''re gonna make Takumi talk to him and maybe she can convince him..." Chiho said. "To join us? What, don''t you want to kill that guy?!" Mariko angrily pointed at Mark, who was being carried by Shu Fang to a stool in the bar. "Don''t you want to fucking rip that guy''s head off?!" She shouted. "Things are gonna get worse if we kill him!" Chiho raised her voice against Mariko''s, surprising them. "If they found out that he''s dead, they will surely destroy us all!" Chiho shouted. Mariko was silenced for a second before speaking up again. "So, what''s the overall plan then? Make them all side with us?" She asked. "Yeah" Chiho nodded. "I mean, what choices do we have? We obviously can''t face them with what we currently have... And given what Takumi said, the organization seems ''disorganized'' and some of them are willing to side with us. And whatever reason it is, I don''t care for as long as they''re gonna side with us..." She said. "So, to be short, we''re using the opportunity of their ''good guys''" She added. "This is really killing me..." Mariko scratched her whole head with both of her hands, showing frustration. "I know, let''s just remember our goal and we can finish this quick..." Chiho said. "Quick?! Shichiro will fuck you up hard if he ever knew what you did to me!" Mark shouted at them. "They will fucking know! They will know that I''m nowhere to be found and they know it only means one thing!" He shouted. "This guy is way too hard to break, don''t you think?" Ayumi whispered. "He''s just getting angrier and angrier the more we hurt him..." She said. "Yeah, Chiho! I don''t think this guy is willing! Even if Takumi convince him!" Mariko agreed. "Yeah! That fucking Takumi! She dares betray the damn Red Mosin! I will fucking get her if I ever find her here!" Mark shouted. "See?" Mariko said. "Let''s just see what Takumi can do..." Chiho said. They had no choice but to obey Chiho and wait for Takumi and her group to arrive. Later, as Mariko becomes more impatient, they have arrived. "Ah! Finally. Look who we got!" Mariko pointed at Mark. They all looked at where she was pointing when they get in. "Oh? You look horrible, Mark!" Nagami giggled, covering her mouth. "Fuck you, disloyal pricks!" Mark insulted the group. Takumi then suddenly quickly walked to him and punched him with her right fist. Mark fell on the floor, grunting in pain. Takumi then stomped on his face hard. "I''ve been wanting to hit you like that..." Takumi showed a satisfied look. Mark let out more blood, his face is completely covered. "Hey, what''s the deal?" Mariko looked concerned. "Ah. He''s the first one to rat me out and I hate him for that" Takumi responded then walked past Mark. "Hello, Mark" Nagami waved at him with a smile. "You...!" Mark remembered her face and tried hard to speak. "You betrayed..." He coughs blood before he can speak any further. "I don''t consider you as my commander, Mark. You''re just another friend of Shichiro after all" Nagami turned serious. "Your show on base Betty was awful. How can a medieval army defeat a modern army like that?" She looked at him with disgust. "I was pathetic, yes. But now I unleash everything!" Mark said. "Then let me see that ''everything''..." Nagami said as she walks past him, towards Chiho. Mark looked very sad and disappointed. Her crews followed her as they look at him on the ground. "...Get up" Shu Fang carried him back to the stool but Mark shook his body to sway her off. Angered, Shu Fang pushes him off back to the ground and kicked his face. He almost fainted on the pains he received. Tanaka and Sagiri came late, they were carrying guns they could take. They hurried up to their room, glancing at the group as they walk by. "So, why is he still alive?" Takumi asked Chiho as she sits beside Mariko. Suzuka and Haruki hurriedly went out from their usual spots and gathered chairs beside Chiho''s places. Nagami and her crew sat down to the chairs and thanked them. Takumi then looked back to Chiho, and raised a brow and shook her head with a smile to remind her of the question. "We were thinking of siding him with us" Chiho said. "Hah!" Takumi shouted a single laugh. "That motherfucker? I don''t think he''s even willing to side with us" She said. "Plus he''s no use to us, his troops will likely stay on Shichiro''s side if he does change side. And he has no power besides the teleportation. He has the blades that all of us have but he has no skills in fighting" She said with a smug as if she was humiliating him. "He''s just another civilian, Chiho. I don''t recommend him. A peasant if you call it in the old days. Just cut his head off or make him a slave, do what you want" Takumi smiled mischievously. They can''t believe that Takumi could easily say that to her own allies. "Y-You really hate him, do you..." Ayumi said. "Of course. You have all the modern-ass weapons and war vehicles and yet you chose to fight with blades against medieval army whose specialties are melee fights?" Takumi then started to sound annoyed. "You expect me to obey that fucking retarded person?!" She shouted. "Can we kill him that easily? I fear that they will finish us off quick if they knew that we killed him" Chiho asked. "Shichiro will throw you some heavy assaults, but he''ll definitely not finish you off ''quick'' like how you think" Takumi said. "Remember that he''s amused of this world of yours. He doesn''t seek territories and resources alone" She added. "I see..." Chiho nodded and thinks. "So... Do you think we should kill him?" She asked. Mariko suddenly stood up. "Yeah! We SHOULD kill him, Chiho! Takumi here already gave you her answer!" She raised her voice. Despite that, Chiho ignored her. "How about his soldiers? What are they doing?" She asked Takumi. "Huh? Ah. They''re rebuilding Betty and maybe rearm. If they knew that you captured and brought him back here, they might take the chance of bringing this main village of yours. They believe that once they took this Saiju down, you will severely lose the ability to stay in the fight, being the head of your alliance and all" Takumi said. "However..." Takumi raised her voice a little and moved her head back. "If they ever do come here, it''s because they wanted to, not because of saving prisoners" She said. Ayumi laughed at her. Takumi giggled along with her laugh. "Fuck you..." Mark replied as he squirms on the floor. People are starting to leave the Inn, some are walking across his weak body. Some are pretending to trip over his body but actually wanted to kick him. Shu Fang just stood beside him, staring at him. "I''ll kill... you all...!" He shouted. He then tried to stand on his own feet. His legs are shaking and he''s losing control badly. He only got up to one knee. They were all looking at him, but Takumi turned to Chiho. "How about these dudes?" Takumi looked to her left. the six captured soldiers were sitting on the floor and had their backs against the wall. "Scheduled for executions?" Takumi giggled, scaring the soldiers. "Same goes for them, I think you can convince them" Chiho said. "Hm. Alright..." Takumi then turned to them. "So? Die today or live for another few days?" She asked them with a giggle. "Alright. Become part of my party or get executed by these guys?" She asked one more. "I will, I will!" The girl soldier repeated. "You will die by their hands?" Takumi giggled. "No, no. I''ll go with you!" She immediately responds back. "Good, that goes the same with the other gal. How about you boys?" Takumi asked the others The male soldiers looked at each other. "Takumi is a Red Mosin, are you that prideful that you can''t even listen to a high ranking soldier?" Nagami said. "She''s no longer part of them, you shit!" One of them said. "That means Takumi here shares the same powers as them" Nagami said. Takumi then pointed at them and winked. "If you relate this like a game, I''m three-level behind Shichiro!" She said. "I did well at pretending to be a normal grunt of the Prohorovka. I secretly studied their powers and stuff" She added. "As expected, Takumi..." Kaho beside Nagami said. "No wonder they''re watching you closely. Especially, she..." She added. "Hah! Whatever she does, she just can''t catch me with my pants down!" Takumi laughed. "I can feel her wanting to claw me down but she just can''t catch me. Shichiro thinks of me as a normal soldier of the Red Mosin and that''s why she just can''t face him and say that I''m suspicious" She said. The T-26 crew was surprised. "We didn''t know this until now" Nagami said. "Yeah. Only Tamie knows this" Takumi smiled. "Tamie? Where is she?" Mariko remembered the name and asked. "She''s guarding the planes with the guards at the gate" Nagami responded. "So? What''s it gonna be?" Takumi asked the boys. They didn''t know what to answer. "Oh come on, this shouldn''t be a difficult choice..." Nagami was disappointed. "If they don''t want to, I guess I can behead the-" "No, no. Fine! You got us, Takumi!" One of them spoke to stop Mariko. Takumi then clapped. "There we go!" She cheered. "We increased count again. We should name our little party eh?" Takumi said. "X§Ö§Õ§ç§Ñ§ß§ä§Ö§â§í (Khedkhantery) should do!" She said. Nagami made a sound of disappointment. "C§Ý§Ú§ê§Ü§à§Þ §á§â§à§ã§ä§à§Û...(Slishkom prostoy...)" She said. "§ª §ï§ä§à §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ô§Ý§å§á§à... (I eto bylo glupo...)" She added. "C§ì§Ö§ê§î§ä§Ö x§å§Û, (S''yesh''te khuy), Nagami. It''s my party and you''re my troop. My troops can''t order me around!" Takumi laughed. "§·§à§â§à§ê§à... (Khorosho...)" Nagami giggled. "§¯§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§å §á§à§Ó§Ö§â§Ú§ä§î, §é§ä§à §ï§ä§à §á§â§à§Ú§ã§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä..." One of the male soldiers sighed. "§´§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ý§å§é§ê§Ö §á§à§Ó§Ö§â§Ú§ä§î!" Takumi winked at him. "Bah..." The soldier looked away. "Well? Will you let us go now?" The soldier beside him asked. "Fine. Let''s untie them..." Takumi and Nagami then proceeded to untie the soldiers. "Hey! You better be not carrying any bombs inside your clothes!" Mariko suddenly stood up and pointed her axe at the soldiers. "It''s alright. I don''t sense any" Takumi calmed her down. "The fucking last time we caught one he pretended to panic. We came closer to him and once we gathered, he fucking opened his clothes and showed us blinking lights" Mariko told them. "I was luckily able to move my horse away or else I''m all blown up" She added. "And I returned your leg" Takumi laughed. "Yeah..." Mariko snickered. "I... heard everything you stupid shits..." Mark spoke. "Oh, of course you did!" Takumi turned to him and opens her arm. "But it doesn''t matter to Shichiro. After all, this will be his last adventure. Once he''s done here, he''s gonna spend the rest of his life with Maeru-san" She said. They were shocked. "Wait, what are you saying?!" Nagami asked nervously. "You heard it right. Once he''s done here, they are gonna break Mariyou''s seal or something to stop them from aging and live a normal life starting from there" Takumi said. "You know too much..." Mark said. "That''s how serious I am" Takumi winked at him. "That''s right... Once he''s done here, we''re all gonna return to our world, break the age-repellant seal, cease connection with Mariyou and the people from the heavens, and start the life from there again..." Mark said. They were a bit surprised how calm he explained that. "Then what''s gonna happen to the Prohorovka?" Nagami started to become troubled and annoyed. "She will lead us all" Takumi said. "Huh..." Nagami still wasn''t satisfied. "Great... Reality is gonna eat us again. No matter what happens..." Machi said. "I thought we will be able to live forever, but I guess Shichiro is also getting tired of this" She added. "Probably at some point, he just wanted to end it all and live a normal life with Maeru" Kaho said. Suddenly, Nagami stood up loudly. "Normal life?! Normal life doesn''t include living with a fucking devil from the hell in the first place!" She shouted angrily. "Chill the fuck down, Nagami" Takumi said. "This isn''t fair! He''s just gonna leave us all like that?!" Nagami asked Takumi. "We''ve been doing this for many years! I also feel like getting a boyfriend and become married and get a healthy family!" Takumi said while blushing. Nagami then calms down. Her mind is scrambling thoughts. "He''s letting you guys leave the Prohorovka once they break the barrier, so you can have your freedom" Mark said. Nagami looked at him, looking defeated. "Prohorovka is my home..." Nagami weakly said. She somewhat made them sad. "Back in my world, our home got hit by terrorists during their resistance movement. My parents died and I was the only one to survive. Shichiro then came in with his Organization and started beating the fuck out of them. That''s how I got into Prohorovka..." She told her story. "Basically, I have nowhere to return to. Even if I return to my world, I got no one to stay with. Nor a house to live in. My other relatives? I tried looking for them when I return home when Shichiro allowed me to but to no avail" She said. "There''s always a way. The Prohovoka will surely back you up even if you leave us, you know, get you to start fresh in your homeworld" Takumi said. "I''m sure Shichiro or she will do that" She added. "We''ll get there..." Nagami nodded with a sad smile. "Holy shit..." Mariko reacted. "Y''all into some deep shit I can''t even get my ass to understand..." She said. Silence then ate the atmosphere until Takumi breaks it up by standing up and claps. "That''s that!" She said, getting their attention. "A lot of things are gonna happen before we get there. Mark dying here will be the first big event to happen..." She winked at him. "Like hell that will happen!" Mark''s hostility came back. "I bet they''re coming right now..." He said. Takumi then turned to Chiho. "Chiho, have him secured somewhere else than here. We''ll still need him" She said. "Alright..." Chiho nodded. "Go. Now, come on!" Takumi gestured them to get out. Chiho then stood up and walked towards Mark. Ayumi and Mariko followed her. Shu Fang then grabbed Mark up and followed Chiho outside. Before they can get out, Takumi''s radio makes a noise. Then Tamie''s voice came through. "Takumi! They''re here!" She alerted. "Ah, quick fucking response!" Takumi stood up. They all moved quickly, Nagami called the two siblings from their rooms while her crew ran for their T-26. "I''m flying my plane! I will be leaving yours on the ground!" Tamie said. "Alright! Fight them off!" Takumi said as she ran outside with the others. As they ran outside, four Yak-9 flew above them. "Goddamn it!" Takumi tuts as she thinks of something. "Tamie! I''m gonna assist you with powers!" Takumi said to her radio. "Roger!" Tamie replied. Takumi then looked around. "What are you standing for?!" She shouted at them. They then hurried to their R75 and drove off. "Alright..." Takumi prepares to fly. She moved her right foot back, lowering herself. She looked for any returning Yak-9s. Then two of them returned. "There...!" Takumi''s feet sparks of energy as her heels emits blue light. "Tamie... I''m going!" Takumi said. "Roger that! I''m currently engaging the other Yak-9s! We''re flying in front of the village!" Tamie said. "Front huh... Roger that..." With the confirmation of the locations of the other Yak-9s, Takumi then started her assault. Her heels exploded and she flew straight towards the target Yak-9 with blinding speed, leaving blue laser-like trace. As she hits the Yak-9, it exploded and sent her to bounce off. She used the momentum to turn to the other Yak-9 behind her and flew fast towards it. With that, the two Yak-9 are destroyed. As she bounced again, she quickly looked ahead and without confirming, she flew straight towards a plane. Tamie was chasing a Yak-9 and suddenly it exploded in front of her. She jumped in surprised and quickly moved her flight stick to pull away from the exploded plane. After a split second, she heard one more explosion. She looked around and saw the last Yak-9 explode in her left and saw Takumi falling beside its wreck. "Still can''t see you bolt fast!" Tamie shouted. "That''s all of the Yak-9s" Tamie said to her radio. "Yeah... But I saw shit tons of planes and bombers from afar! They''re gonna tear this place up!" Takumi responded. "Not to mention the marching army!" Tamie shouted. "Shit... This is gonna be a bloody war!" Takumi said. "Park your plane somewhere else! Let''s fly on foot together!" She said. "Where though?!" Tamie asked as she looked around. "Alright! I''m gonna park her to Kosunjin-Yi!" She decided. "Alright, do it fast!" Takumi said. "Alright! Off I go!" Tamie then flew away from Saiju. "Shit..." Takumi, who was standing in front of Saiju''s walls, looked at the skies. Silhouettes of multiple Pe-8 and Pe-2 with Yak-9 escorts flying in formation are seen coming fast towards the village. Despite outnumbered, Takumi remained her cool. Then suddenly, a T-26 appeared and drove beside her. The hatch opened and Nagami pops out. "Hey, you see that?" She tilted her head to point out. "Yeah..." Takumi nodded as she folds her arms. "Feeling regret yet?" Nagami asked jokingly. "Heh. Not one bit" Takumi smiled and looked at the fleets of planes. "Once I have decided, It''ll be it" She said. "I''m gonna fight for this silly medieval army and that''s it" She said. "You became close with them, I see" Nagami said. Takumi laughed. "I guess so..." She said. Then a BT-7 appeared quick. Tanaka and Sagiri are sitting on its back along with the newly recruited soldiers, once they saw Takumi and the T-26, the two flew ahead and landed near Takumi. They were holding their Mosin-Nagants. "They''re many. Whoever was leading that army must have been mad" Tanaka said. "Mad because one of their commanders got captured, not because it is Mark" Takumi joked and they laughed. "Hey, Kaho! You still got them laser-ass shells?" Nagami looked inside and asked. "Uhuh..." Kaho replied. "Alright, we''re burning everybody today..." Nagami smiled at Takumi. "Same..." Takumi smiled along. Then she turned to Tanaka. "Are the new guys driving the BT-7?" She asked then turned to the BT-7. A male soldier appeared from the hatch. "Yeah, they are. I will keep them behaved" Tanaka nodded. "Good. Thank you" Takumi slaps his shoulder, sending him blushing. "It''s no problem..." He said as he looked away. "Takumi-san, we''re counting on you, alright?" The soldier from the BT-7 said. He made her happy. "Yeah! I''ll make sure you don''t regret siding with me..." She nodded with a smile. Then she looked around, looking at her squad. "This is the beginning of our army from this side. We will bring more in and grow large and protect these helpless idiots from Shichiro''s game" Takumi said. "Roger that..." Nagami smiled. They then turned to the incoming planes, they now became bigger and their engines are now audible. "Y''all are ready? You better not be dead..." Takumi said. "I know most of their skills, I can fight them..." Tanaka said. "If I''m with you, I''m just as strong as you are" Sagiri said to her brother. "And if you are all with me, you will never die as I''m secretly in par with the commanders of the Red Mosin... Well, of course except for her" Takumi said. "I''ve long to serve Red Mosin, whatever we''re in, I''m happy for as long as you are a Red Mosin, Takumi. That goes the same with my crew" Nagami said. "Goes the same with us!" The BT-7 commander said. "Good. Y''all are good soldiers..." Takumi was very happy to get some ally on her side. With that, they wait for the planes to get closer and once they do, they''ll start to intercept them. 39 A Permanent Wound Before the assault at Base Trupriv/Betty, at Tsuchiya... A little recall of the past had happened before the whole thing. "How are ya doing?" Maeru surprised Mark by teleporting behind him. He was sitting on a stair outside of the former building of the Tsuchiyan leader. Mark jolted up and quickly regained his cool with a sigh. "The spy Shichiro sent after those Americans found out that they are tricking us" He said. "Huh?" Maeru looked very curious and sat beside him. "The spy has been following them and listening to their conversations. Those pirate women, Annabelle and Christine, they are the one who seems leading their operation or whatever they''re trying to do..." He said. Then he faced her with a smirk. "Imagine this, Maeru. They sent some punks to mess with us like that!" He said. "What did you expect? This is not the same world we live in, maybe they have their own strategies" Maeru giggled. "So, is there anything else?" She asked. Mark looked at her with excitement. "We''re gonna run siege on Betty, completely annihilate the whole base. We can just rebuild it right after..." He said. "I''m gonna go all out now, Maeru! This is the time I fucking rise!" He said, fists clench. Maeru giggled. "Good!" She nodded. "What about you?" Mark asked. "Me? Well, those Chinese are putting up resistance and doesn''t want to cooperate. We''re trying our best to stay as calm as possible. We don''t want them alerting Saiju" Maeru responded. "Saiju? We''re planning on taking that one out after Betty. So you can do whatever you want with them" Mark smiled at her. "I see..." Maeru nodded. They fall into silence, watching soldiers and civilians pass by. Then Maeru spoke up. "About those Americans..." "Yeah, they don''t know that they are being tailed yet and will probably never will. So we''re gonna wait for them to show up and pretend that we don''t know shit" Mark quickly responded on her. "Once we got them near us, I''ll kill them myself" He said. "How about trying to take them alive? We could run a ransom at their home country" Maeru said. "Those low-life punks? I don''t think they will care about them" Mark scoffs. "You never know. They might be carrying a worthy title, I don''t think they are just gonna pick up some random punks at the street and send them for a very important mission, especially when the country''s safety is at the line... At least they have to be notorious ones, those who have a lot of connections or very wanted organized criminal groups" Maeru said. "Nah. I''ll kill them" Mark firmly said. "Here I am, thinking you were a good guy" Maeru smiled. "They are liars, Maeru! You know well that I and Shichiro hate those kinds of people!" Mark raised his voice. "Hmm..." Maeru thinks of the past. "That event really gave birth to a monster inside you, huh?" She said as she looks up to the sky. "Damn, don''t say it that way..." Mark was disturbed by how she emphasized her point. "And yeah, that''s right..." Mark nodded. Then he started to recall Shichiro''s unfortunate event. Back when Maeru haven''t confessed to Shichiro of her feelings, Shichiro had a girlfriend. She was a classmate during his high school days. Mark and Shichiro''s four other best friends are supportive of his relationship. Despite him having another girl, Maeru chose to support him as well. One night, Mark was walking back to his house. He was holding his phone with his right hand and the groceries on his left hand. He was on a group chat with Shichiro and their four friends. Until he got to cross with Shichiro''s girlfriend on a corner. Her blonde hair and her voice lightened the dark and quiet surroundings. She was happily talking to her phone, she didn''t even notice Mark. Somehow, Mark managed to listen to a bit of their conversation. "Huh...?" In surprise, he stopped walking and turned back. It was really her voice, all cheery and girlish. In the split seconds, he thought she was talking to Shichiro with all the flirting words. But he quickly realized that Shichiro was actively chatting on the group chat, totally laughing out loud with the other guys. He jumped into many thoughts like there''s no way Shichiro could switch between flirty, sweet, and totally laughing machine to him hiding that he was talking to her. They are so close to each other that he wouldn''t hide this from them. His heart races quickly as the realization finally hits him. Along with his body tensing up in nervousness. Mark then quickly made an excuse to the group chat so he can leave the conversation for a while and quickly trailed the girl. "There''s no way, there''s no way..." Mark gulped hard as he didn''t want to quickly jump to conclusions. "This girl..." He said as he stares at her back, still talking to the phone. At some point in their walk, he can hear the girl saying ''I love you'' often. "Hitsumaki-san... Who are you talking to...!" He angrily whispered. Few minutes of stalking Hitsumaki, they have arrived in a deserted park. The winds of the night gently blow on the park. Mark hid to a wall and peeks at the corner. "Hitsumaki-san..!" He heard a male''s voice who sounded very happy. "Seiji-kun!" replies Hitsumaki. "I fucking knew it!" He whispered, his heart is uncontrollably beating fast. He started catching his breath. "This girl... did she just met this Seiji dude...?!" He asked himself as he listens to their conversation. "So, like... I saw your pics on Heart Catcher... They were nice, Hitsumaki-san!" The guy said with excitement. "Are they? That''s nice to hear!" Hitsumaki replied. The guy then asked Hitsumaki to sit along with him on a bench that is facing towards Mark''s direction. "My name is Hitsumaki Hana. Nice to meet you..." She introduce to the guy. "You already know me! Haha! I have my whole name on my bio!" He said as if he was boasting on it. "Seiji Kanara, right? I think your name is cool!" Hana said. Like that, they exchange compliments as Mark listens to the whole conversation. "Should I tell...?" Mark looked at his phone, who he hasn''t put back to his pocket yet since he started following her. "Goddamn it...!" He hesitated then decided not to do it yet. "Ah!" As he was nervously flipping his phone on his hand, he saw the camera and quickly thinks of an idea. "How about some evidence...?" Mark happily chuckles. He opened his phone and used the lock screen camera to quickly put it up. He carefully placed his phone to the corner of the wall as if it was peeking. He immediately recorded a video once he adjusted enough. Like that, he continued to listen. "Have you done it?" Hana asked. "Hm?" Seiji seductively looked at her. "This guy''s face!" He angrily whispered, shaking the camera. Seiji has a short olive green hair with matching eye color. He has a long face. The guy is taller than the six of them. He was disgusted by how handsome Seiji looks like. And the current situation where he is seducing Hana disgusts Mark even more. "Have you done it?" Seiji asked again. "Nope~ Haven''t..." Hana raised her shoulders as she rest on his shoulder. "Wonderful..." He responded. "It will be my first time with you... Hana...." As he said her name, he slowly grabbed Hana''s chin and brought her lips to him. Mark gasped hard. "Motherfucker...!" He started speaking English in rage. "They kissed like they''ve been seeing each other for a while...!" He said to the camera. He thought it was a quick kiss, but they eventually switched to a deep kiss. Noises of smacks and the saliva when they swirl their tongues together fill the area, putting more disgust to Mark. "Fuck, fuck...!" He just wanted to jump in and stop them but it would be a bad approach. Then suddenly, something came up with his mind. "Heh... I have plans for you, Hitsumaki..." He said to himself, not to whisper for the phone to hear. He realized that he can control Hana with the video afterward. They continued to do it for exactly five minutes before pulling away from each other. "How about we spend the rest of the night in my place?" He said in a very seductive tone. "You''re in a hurry? We haven''t even dated yet~" Hana goes along with him. "Tomorrow, let''s spend the day strolling around town. You have said that you''re attending the Saizana High, right? It''s Saturday tomorrow, so you should have no class right?" He asked and Hana nodded in response. "I''m studying at Tonowa, it''s not far away from here" Seiji said. "What?! That private school?!" Hana sounded very amazed. "Haha... Isn''t Saizana good as well?" He asked. "Well, the school couldn''t match with Tonowa when it comes to money, and designs though!" They laughed together. "She''s even saying shit to our school..." Mark whispered. As if they hit another romantic conversation, they have started kissing again. "Yeah... Kiss him more motherfucker... Show how much of a bitch you are...!" He suddenly takes joy recording her of her cheating. "I''ll ruin your fucking life, motherfucker... I''ll tell and show this to every single fucking people you fucking know in your life!" His phone shakes as he whispers to himself. They kissed longer than the first one before breaking away. "Come on, let''s go home, shall we?" He asked Hana. "Sure~! It''s getting cold out here, anyway..." Hana replied sweetly and they both stood up from the bench. "Shit..." Mark quickly moved away from his cover. The entrance of the park was where he was hiding and he moved a block away and hid into a corner and continued to record from there. As they made their way out, they made a quick kiss. "How many times are they gonna kiss like this?" He whispered. As they are walking away, Mark turned the camera to himself. "This Seiji dude is now leading this girl to his house and probably smash all night!" He said to the camera. He suddenly realized that he planned on sending the video to the group chat, so he started speaking Japanese again. "I''m gonna follow them very stealthy... Locate this motherfucker''s house and sell the location to the black market, motherfucker!" With that, he ran quietly to follow them. After following them for a few minutes, Hana sparks up a question. "Where is your place exactly?" She asked. Seiji suddenly chuckled and sent the two in curiosity. "I guess I should tell you more..." He said in a boastful voice. "I live in the Kanou Estate!" He said, surprising the two completely. "No way!" "No fucking way!" The two reacted the same. Mark quickly turned the camera to himself. "Y''all heard that?! This fucking guy lives in that big ass mansion!" He said to the camera. "Wow! That mansion?! There''s no way!" Hana sounded very happy. "And this motherfucker happy!" Mark said then turned the camera back to them. "Mark, wait...!" Maeru suddenly laughed, stopping Mark from telling the story. "W-What?" Mark chuckled. "The way you talk to the camera...!" Maeru was trying to suppress her laugh by placing a hand on her mouth and to her stomach. "Haha, what?! Don''t you know how a vlog works?!" He asked. "You considered it as a vlog?!" Maeru finally burst out laughing. "Yeah! It is a vlog! A perfect vlog out of any goddamn video from Ontube!" He said. "Whatever...whew..." Maeru calmed herself down. "Next thing, they reached the populated area, right? They took off with a car?" She asked. "Yeah..." Mark focused back on the story. Few minutes of tailing the two, they have arrived in the urban area. Few people and cars are still passing by despite the time. "It''s awfully busy tonight..." Mark whispered to the camera. After a while, Mark knew that they are going for the overpass. He stayed on his side of the street and carefully record them walking across the platform. "They are crossing the street..." As soon as they were out of sight, he dragged his camera down where they would reappear. There was a 24/7 convenience store just a few feet away from the overpass and a black car was waiting in front of it. "Is that their car?" He asked. "Shit. This guy is a real deal dweller in that damn Kanuo gold dump" He said as he zoomed in to the rear of the car. It has a golden ''¿ÉÄÜ'' insignia above its gas tank. "No wonder Hitsumaki was baited..." He whispered. "No, no... Maybe she''s just a real bitch..." He smiled. After a while, the two finally appeared at the other street. Their voices are faint and he can''t listen well. "I want to follow them, but..." As he was looking around, he saw a lonely bike stand. "Well... I don''t regret stealing a pencil back in kindergarten..." He hurriedly took the bike and went off. He went around and stopped behind them. "Ah!" Mark saw that the bike had a basket in its front. He placed his phone on it, standing to record his travel. "Alright, I''m gonna tail them back to that place..." He whispered. The car took off as soon as they got in and Mark let them distance away before following them. "I hope they won''t notice me..." It didn''t take them long before leaving the urban area. The surroundings are starting to transition into rural areas. Then eventually, open fields. The Kanou mansion was now visible from their distance, mainly due to the lights lightning certain spots of the mansion. It was an addition to its bright interior shining through the darkness of the empty fields. "There it is... The fucking Kanou Estate. Home of rich families, owners of successful businesses running the whole city" He said. "I secretly admire them, despite that they are hated by most of the people. But now? Now that I knew that one of them is baiting school girls on the Internet?! It''ll be huge hate coming down at ''ya, Kanou fucks!" He cursed. "You messed with the wrong people!" He said. On the distance, he saw the car stopped in front of the entrance, also stopping on his bike. "Ah... The princess has arrived!" He said as he took his phone from the basket. He looked at the camera. "Alright, I''m near the gold dump. As you can see, the whole area''s a nature then suddenly there''s this fucking big mansion out of nowhere..." He said as he recorded his surroundings and stopping at the mansion. "Alright... they are inside..." Mark waited for a few moments before strolling ahead. He stopped in front of the mansion. A big gate is preventing him from getting inside. Past the gate and its designed paths is the mansion. It looked bigger than how it was from a distance. "Look at this...." He said as he slowly moves the camera from bottom to the top. Then suddenly, two guards came from the inside. "Hey, you!" They shouted. "Oh shit...!" Mark hid his phone away without stopping the recording. "What are you doing?" The guards asked. Their black suits terrifies him. "Oh, uh, I was taking pictures if that''s allowed?" He pretended to be a follower. "Scram! Before I drag you inside and let the master talk to you himself!" The guard said. "Right! I''m sorry!" He bowed and drove away. "Heh, cunts..." He chuckled. He stopped in the middle of a dark road. He took his phone and faced the camera. "And that''s your bitch princess Hana Hitsumaki. This is Mark, signing off!" He ended the video with him saluting at the camera. Then he sighed heavily. "What just happened...?" He asked himself as he unlocked his phone and pressed the video. The video started with them in the park. "Ugh..." He skipped a few minutes ahead and stopped at when they were crossing the street. "Everything happened so fast..." He said as he rubs his forehead in stress. He then shook his head clear and went home. He spent the rest of the trip in thoughts. "You didn''t outright tell Shichiro about it, right?" Maeru asked. Mark nodded. "Yeah but I couldn''t hold it anymore and become suspicious to him the next day..." He smiled shyly at her. On the next day, Mark quickly get up from his bed early and took his phone. He started recording himself. "It''s Saturday now and they both had a plan, remember? I was thinking of going to the park earlier than them but I guess the girl stayed on that gold dump" He said to the camera. Then suddenly, a notification showing new messages from their group chat has appeared at the top. "Ah..." Mark paused the video and instead used his computer to chat with them. The phone would cut the video even if it''s paused when he switches to the chat. He waited for computer to boot up and quickly opened his browser and to their group chat. He saw Shichiro happily chatting with their friends about the game he was making. "Shichiro..." Mark sadly reads his chats. The fact that he was chatting all happily while he discovers something disturbing about his life makes him sad. He then proceeded to make an excuse to take himself out of the conversation. "yous a busy man, mark! give it a rest lol" Shichiro replied on his message. "Heh... I''ll be..." Mark chuckled and replied to him. "lol stfu i have other stuff to do than chat with u crazy dudes xD" He said to him. "i''ll hit u on monday!" Shichiro''s reply makes him chuckle again. And finally, Mark said his goodbye to the chat and set foot outside. "Alright..." Mark sighed deep and resume the video on his face. "I will first visit the park in case they are there... If not, then I''ll watch the roads for their cars. It is way too early for them to go outside for dates" He said. Then he proceeded to the park. He found people hanging around on the park, some benches are occupied by couples. However, the bench where he witnessed everything is empty. "Shit... I don''t know if the girl made her way home or she stayed..." He said to the video. "...Maybe I should wait at the road for their car" With that in mind, he planned on waiting at the convenience store and proceeded. Luckily, the seat that is facing outside is empty and he quickly took the spot. He switched the camera to the front and lay it in front of him. "Here I am... at the convenience store..." He then quickly realized something and looked back. The male clerk was glancing at him. "Damn, mind your own business..." He whispered. After that, he stares at the passing cars, looking for the same car he saw last night. He spent an hour waiting there. The clerk had to walk up to him. "Sir? Are you waiting for someone, perhaps?" He asked, surprising him. "Oh, uh, yeah..." He nodded. "I see... People are waiting for the seat, it would be wise to leave if you aren''t waiting for someone..." The clerk said. "Yeah, I''m waiting for someone..." He said with a grim smile, driving the clerk uncomfortable. After hearing the clerk return to his counter, Mark sighed and looked at himself at the camera. "Ah..." He saw eyebags thickening under his eyes. "..." However, he gave no care. Almost half an hour has passed and finally, a car pulled over in front of the store. "Fuck...!" He quickly covered his face with his phone and switched the camera to its back. Like that, he watches them with his camera. "There they are..." He saw Hina and Seiji getting off the car. "She sure looks happy..." He whispered. Hana then started pointing everywhere, showing where she wanted to go. Then all of the sudden, the clerk appeared behind him and puts his hand on Mark''s shoulder. Mark looked at him through the reflection of his phone''s screen. "Excuse me sir, but you''re getting suspicious here..." The clerk angrily said. Mark was angered as well but held it in and faced him without turning completely. "Mind your own fucking business..." He said. However, the clerk insisted. "Sir, I''m gonna call the cops on you if you don''t stop doing that!" He threatened but Mark was unflinching. "Someone''s getting cheated at..." Mark told the clerk and he gasped. "That enough for you?" He asked. The clerk didn''t know what to say. "B-But sir, doing this kind of stuff..." "This is very personal, mister. So why don''t you lay it off before I tell everyone that you like to stick up your nose to the customers and make your life harder than it is now?" Just a little bit of his interference and Mark would definitely explode at his seat, he glared at him hard. And finally, the clerk let him go and returned to his counter defeated. As if they were doing something else during his talk to the clerk, the two just started walking and their car just left the store. "Ah... they''re moving" He said as he slowly stands up. He steadied the camera on them. Hana was grabbing Seiji''s arm as they go and it made Mark sicker. "Time to go..." He said as he make his way towards outside. He stopped as soon as the doors opened. He faced the clerk back, who was looking at him as he expected. "Next time, try not to be a hero, ''cause you''re not and will never be" He said, making the clerk uncomfortable. "One mistake and your life are done for, Kenji..." He read his name using his ID. He left him in a tight spot. "Alright... Obviously, they''re going on a date..." He said as he records both of them walking together. "I''m not following them all day... I just wanted to record more evidence..." With that, he stopped the recording and went home. "You''ve really held everything up... You managed to stay calm after all those..." Maeru was impressed. "I would jump on that girl the moment I saw her with another guy if I were on your situation" She said. "So you can have Shichiro all by yourself, of course" Mark smiled. "No-!" "Ah ah!!" Mark suppressed her as it was obvious. "You were in love with him during those times, and killing people wasn''t a problem for you back then" He said. "So I don''t think you''re gonna do it for their relationship" He chuckled. "Fine... you got me" She pouted and looked away. Her admitting defeat made him chuckle even more. After Mark got home, he holed himself up in his room, replaying the videos mindlessly. "This a life changer..." Life was going as usual for him, Shichiro, and his four other friends. Same goes for school until it happened. "What made you astray, Hana?" He rethinks of certain times where she was clinging to Shichiro very much without care of the people around her. Some think she really loved him, some said that she wanted to show off and some said she just wanted to show love. Those affections she was showing towards Shichiro had become dull to him. He started to believe that those are fake acts. While everything is going through his head, a notification started showing at the top of his screen, indicating that the group chat has started to become lively again. "Grr... Keep it together! I''ll never do anything if I stay like this!" He slapped his face with both of his hands. Then he took a deep breath before joining the chat. He spent the rest of the day talking to the group chat, and to Shichiro in full English conversation once the others have signed out. At first, he was casually talking to him over something. But the next day, the temptation was too overwhelming and he started giving out hints. Then at night, Shichiro finally became suspicious. "Why are u asking all these dude?" Shichiro asked at their private messages. Mark became nervous as he was finally taking notice. "did something happened? did u somehow got a one day girlfriend? hahaha" He added. Mark got a bit of a chuckle and decided to give it a rest and change the topic. However, as he was typing a response, Shichiro sent another message before him. "but seriously..." He said, halting Mark on his words. "what happened?" He asked again. "u don''t normally bring up topics like this mark i know something''s up" He said, now fully aware of the situation. Mark was nervously reading his messages repeatedly. Both tension and temptation overwhelmed him and decided to tell him. He nervously typed ''Hana'' and sent it. Shichiro saw the message and was quiet for about three seconds. "and what about her?" He asked. Mark then proceeded to tell him. "he''s cheating on u dude..." He took a breath to calm himself, his hands are shaking and cold on nervousness. Shichiro took a few seconds before replying. "no wonder she''s not answering her phone... how can u make sure?" He asked. "on friday, i was going home after doing some errands and i caught up with her on the way..." He sent the message before doing another one. "when i said that something came up? that was the time" He sent. "huh..." Shichiro replied quick. "i followed her and she made her way to the park dude! and he met a guy there!" He sent. "u know what happened after that! They flirted with each other, tell their lives and sh1t, then kissed and went home!" He sent, totally very satisfied with telling him everything. "i video''d everything dude! just like vlogs!" He sent and Shichiro replied a laughing emoji. "how abt this? u crash to my place rn and ill let u watch everything? dat cool?" He sent. "i mean, it''s only 7 pm, it''s too early to be afraid of creepy old men xD" He joked to get rid of the tension. "haha stfu im on my way there" Shichiro replied. "aight dude see u" With Mark''s reply, they both signed off. Mark nervously wait for him in his room. He tried to play on his computer but got the feeling that it won''t help. After few minutes of re-reading their whole conversation, he heard their doorbell rang. "Ah!" He jumped on his bed and ran outside. "Mark!" Her mother called. "Shichiro''s here!" She said. Mark stopped on the stairway for a second before going down. He ran on her mother''s side. "Hey man..." Mark greets and they exchange a troubled smile. "You two should avoid meeting up at these hours" Her mother scolds them. "Ahaha, sorry! Mark said that he broke his PC and asked for help" Both of them were surprised by Shichiro''s response. Her mother glared at him. "How many times you will break your stuff? Your father can''t pay all the troubles, you know?!" She shouted. "Geez, it''s just a minor bug, uh, a virus! I just needed him to do it since he knows them more than I do!" He said. "Good grief..." With that, her mother walked away. "If you need something, call me" She said as she''s gone inside the house. "Shit''s fucked up, huh?" Shichiro then showed a saddened smile. Mark felt the same way. "Yeah, man. Everything happened so fast..." He sighed. Shichiro then looked at his face. "You didn''t got any sleep? You look like a mess" He asked. "Yeah. I was too busy thinking about all of this..." Mark scratched his head. Shichiro smiled as he knew how worked up he was. "Alright then. Let me take a peek of those videos..." He said as he walks inside and closed the door behind them. "Up to my room then..." Mark said then they both headed up to their room. Mark peeked outside first before locking the door. "Did you knew who the guy was?" Shichiro asked as he sat on Mark''s desk seat. "He''s a son of a family in the Kanou Estate" Mark replied as he sat on his bed. "Kanou Estate..." Shichiro furrowed his eyebrows, can''t believe who they got into. "You said it. His name is Seiji Kanara. They met at that damn app..." Mark said. Shichiro looked at him. "What app?" He asked. "Guess it!" Mark shouted. "Heart Catcher?! That paid fucking app?!" Shichiro can''t believe what he just assumed. "Yeah. It seems like Hana was still using it even though you''re both in a relationship. Here, watch everything..." Mark showed him his phone''s screen. It has the video on pause at the start. "..." Shichiro quietly walked to his bed and sat with him. Like that, they watched it together. Up to the video he made yesterday. Shichiro was sighing often, holding back his tears together while Mark sadly watch. At the end, Shichiro managed to stay his cool. He handed the phone back while looking away. "So..." Mark waits for his reaction. "I honestly don''t know..." Shichiro shook his head and covered his face with his hands. Like that, he sighed heavily. "Let''s not stay sad for this girl, Shichiro..." Mark planned on telling his ideas. "This girl is nothing but a bitch now, we don''t need her anymore!" He said. Shichiro looked up to him with tears at his eyelids. "Uh..." Mark realizes that it might be too much. However... "Yeah..." Shichiro slowly nodded. "I''m... breaking up with her, I guess..." Though he just said it like that, he still finds it hard. Shichiro then wipes his tears and smiled. "No second chance..." He said. Mark also smiled. "No fucking second chance" He said. "Death marked!" They both shouted at each other then laughed. "I can''t believe we''re referencing games over this shit..." Mark said as they both stopped. "So, I wanted to use this girl..." He then proceeded on telling him his idea. "Tomorrow, we''ll pretend as if nothing happened. Let her do what she wants and we''ll watch her go. Then we''ll tell her at the end of the class. Then we can manipulate her life!" He said. "You monster... Fine" Shichiro happily nodded. "A bit mean but it''s fine" He said. "It''s definitely alright! She lied and fucked up your relationship, with JOY!" He shouted. "You saw how happy she was, man! She''s hanging out with that dick like you two had never met!" He said. "Yeah, unbelievable..." Shichiro sighed. "It''ll be interesting tomorrow, Shichiro..." Mark said. "We know everything and she has no idea..." He sounded very excited. "We''ll slowly fuck up her life and I hope you don''t hate me for it..." He added. "Oh please. Why would I defend a bitch?" Shichiro smirks. "Hah, yeah. That''s right..." Mark said. "Shichiro''s amazing, isn''t he?" Maeru said. "He didn''t give any second thoughts to the girl and went along with your silly ideas" She added. "Yeah, and I like him for that. He''s my best, best friend! He''s the man!" Mark cheered. "The dude didn''t even sulk on the bitch nor gave her a second thought!" He shouted. "''Cause it''s all in those videos!" He said. Maeru giggled. "Then? The next day?" She asked. "The next day''s the best day..." Mark said. The next day, the two rode on the bike together and went to the place where he stole it and placed it on the ground a block away. Then they made their way to the school. "Ah! That day! I was stalking Shichiro since the moment he woke up!" Maeru breaks the story. "I actually knew that he went to your place but I wasn''t sure why. And I had my guards up and thought that you were talking about me!" She said. "Wow, you thought he was on you during those times?" He asked and Maeru nodded. "I had to stay up all night, watching him in case he does something during the night. Then eventually, I slept at the neighbor''s sofa for the rest of the night" She said. Right after arriving at school, the Great Six gathered in the left corner of their classroom to talk about it. They were surprised about it as well and one of them went against their idea but eventually joined them after being convinced. Hana would arrive ten minutes later after the Great Six, so they disperse first. After a while, the door slide open. "Good morning!!!" Hana appeared from the doorway and greeted loudly with her hand up. "Aaaand...!" She ran straight to Shichiro who was sitting at the other side of the room at the last row. She threw herself on Shichiro and gave a kiss on his cheek. "Shichiro~" She gave him a lovely gaze. As usual, the Great Six would gather around Shichiro after she arrived, in which they did. "Sup, Hana" Mark greeted. "How''s your weekend?" He asked. "Oh!" Hana jumped on his question and faced Shichiro. "Sorry~!" She slapped her hands and bowed. "I was busy the whole weekend! Family day, you know!" She said. "As far as I know, family day only means a whole single day with your family, not three days" One of them said, making them turn to them. He then cleared his throat. "C''mon Hiroshi, it''s Monday, don''t make it more annoying" Mark laughed. "Whatever..." Hiroshi sighed. "So, you spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with your family?" Shichiro asked her. "Yes!" Hana happily nodded. "Hmm...?" He stared at her. "W-what?" Hana was embarrassed. "You''re a family girl, then?" He joked. "Well, not much of a clingy person to the family..." She responded. The whole time, the Great Six would exchange glances every time Hana tells lies when they ask what she did the whole weekend. During lunch, they have decided to confront her after their class ends. After that then, they would watch her acting around them as if nothing had happened. The smile she used to bring them happiness is no longer and they would be annoyed at some point. After their class, Shichiro and Mark told her to stay with them in the classroom for something important. Hana felt a little curious. Once everyone is out of the classroom, Mark locked both doors. "What''s the meaning of this?" Hana asked them. "Mark, take my phone will ya?" Shichiro took his phone out and handed it to Mark. "Now..." Shichiro faced Hana with a serious gaze. He unblinkingly stared at her sky-blue eyes. "I want you to tell the truth, since nobody is here" He said and Hana quickly gasped. "W-What is it?" She became unsettled. "What have you been doing this whole weekend?" He asked as he stood up and stand before the windows. "I... I told you...!" Hana tried to smile at both of them. "I spent the time with my family, and... and..." She stuttered, slowly fading her smile away by guilt. Shichiro sighed deeply. "I have reciprocated your feelings, Hana. I was happy. You WERE happy..." He said. Hana started to shiver. "I cherished every moment we have spent together... You have no idea how happy I was..." He turned around, his eyes are totally red. "So why?" He asked. "Shichiro..." Hana was then struck with curiosity on how she was found out. "Everyone else was happy for us. Mark, Akira, Hiroshi, Kisho, Goro, Kozue and the whole class..." He stared straight at her wavering eyes. "Both of our parents, oh, the sweet smile of your mother..." He smiled, remembering the times he spent with her parents. "Knowing that their daughter will end up in good care... They would try their best to show the best of what they got for us to be successful, but ugh..." Shichiro was visibly disgusted at saying ''success'' and shook his head. Like that, he stared at the ground with his hand on his chin. "I didn''t... How did you...?" She looked at Shichiro, then to Mark. She saw him smirking. "Mark...?" Her eyes widen. "Yup..." Mark took his phone out with a sigh and went to the video. "The Great Six is on you, Hana. You think us fools" He said. "What''s done in the darkness..." He said. "...comes out to the light" He faced the phone to her with the thumbnail of the video. Sending her to gasp. "That phone contains everything, Hana..." Shichiro said as he walked towards Mark. They exchanged look before handing the phone. "Secrets will be eventually found out, no matter how concealed you think it is" Mark said. Shichiro walked in front of her. "That''s how it works. No secrets have remained a secret" He smiled at Hana, who was shivering in fear. Then he chuckled. "God I shouldn''t be like this, it''s just you''re not worthy of those words..." He said. "You''re just one cheater of a woman" He shrugged. Shichiro then shoved the phone to Hana. "Watch" He said. Hana slowly took the phone and pressed the video. "Have you done it?" The video started when they were sitting in the bench at the park and Hana gasped hard after seeing herself from the video. She watched the video in shock, with her other hand covering her mouth. When the video was about to show their kisses, Hana cried and the phone slipped from her hand. "Oops!" Shichiro caught the phone. "Damn woman... You have broken a relationship and now a phone?!" He half-jokingly said to her as he hands the phone back to Mark. "Hey, what the hell? That was not all!" He shouted. They both look at her. "You still haven''t watched the whole video! How you walk with arms linked, being so happy that you ''dated'' a guy from the Kanou and how you happily hopped into their car!" He shouted. After that they were quiet. Hana had to speak. "S-Shichiro... That..." She tried to think of other excuses despite being clearly exposed. "I...I''m sorry...!" She finally broke down. "He''s... I was..." "Ah, shh..." Shichiro shush her off. "It''s okay, it''s okay..." Shichiro then hugged her. She also wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I''m sorry, Shichiro! I was... I didn''t mean to..." She said. "Yeah... yeah..." Shichiro then tapped her back. "It''s just a small mistake, right? A mistake that can be healed through apologizes..." He sent a hint to Hana that he wasn''t actually forgiving her. And in her surprise, Shichiro chuckled. He pushed her and looked at her. "I don''t care anymore, Hana. We''re done" He quickly changed and now wears a pained smile. "I''m definitely not the guy who would keep you around after all that" He taps her shoulder. "No! Don''t break up with me!" Hana pushes herself to Shichiro as she breaks down. It is hard than Shichiro thought it would be. They were supposed to manipulate her but their emotions are all over the place. He knows that she is remembering their times together as well and is so sad to lose it. "Come on, Shichiro. Those are fake tears! She already has that guy from the estate!" Mark tried to control Shichiro but he was quiet. Hana hugs him tighter as he tried to. "It''s not over yet..." She said. "It IS over, Hana! Not only you wrapped your tongues around that guy''s but stayed over his place as well!" He shouted. Hana couldn''t answer back to those. Then suddenly, Shichiro pushes her slightly by her shoulder. "He''s right. We''re done" His straight-forward answer beats her, she froze in place. "Also..." Shichiro parts himself away from her and tapped her shoulder. "Those two videos are supposed to be around the school at the end of this day" He said. Hana tensed up in fear that they might expose her. "But, for the sake of our times. We will consider it" He said. Then Mark walks closer. "Instead! You will listen to whatever we tell you to do. And these videos will not be in the phones of every people you know" He said. Hana shivered in her place. "W-wait..." She looked at the two. "If you don''t, we will spread it like virus" The two of them smiled. "It sucks that we have to do this to you. Consider this as your punishment for your lies and unloyalty" Shichiro shrugged. "We will keep you like a servant until we feel like letting you go. So, for now, be a good girl, alright?" He tapped her shoulder once more. "I hope you''ll learn that cheating is the worse thing you would do in your life and could break one''s life apart..." His expression changed again and quickly walked away. "Let''s go home man..." He said. "Say hello for Seiji-kun for me will ''ya?" Mark said. "Tell him I would like to buy one of their jewels!" He laughed as he jogs out. "Actually, I''m serious. Do tell him because my mother''s birthday is coming up so I needed a gift" He peeks back to her and then immediately left. Hana was left standing on the corner of the room. At night that day, Mark sent "What happened to the girl when you left?" Maeru asked. "Well... We heard that two students heard her sobbing and saw her sitting in fetus in that same spot..." He responded. "They brought her to the infirmary and she went home after the students calmed her down" He added. "That''s when you started to become a bad person, both of you..." Maeru slightly sighed. "Yeah. He became so down after that stunt, when he realizes that we''re blackmailing a person for the first time. One time he chatted me that he could just stab the girl, but I''m glad that he was joking. Even if he wanted to kill her, he couldn''t because he''s aware of everything he does..." Mark said. "Hm..." Maeru nodded. "So, what happened after that?" She asked. "Well... Her worse part of her life has started. We started ordering her around while maintaining the same acts in the classroom to avoid any suspicions. We forced her to continue her relationship with Seiji to juice him out of money. Then we would use that money on buying what we want, games, consoles, some PC parts, stuff like that. It was very sickening" Mark laughed. "When we needed a cooldown on begging for money, we would use her own earnings. Especially, for our everyday food and snacks" He added. Maeru watches him with conflicted expressions. "When she ran out, we would tell her to ask her own parents for more. From that point, she started breaking down. Sometimes, she would break into tears and beg us to forgive her already, that she learned her mistake. But, boy!" Mark happily stood up. "Shichiro didn''t give a shit, and so we did. We would just let her cry beside us... I have a little respect for her for surviving through up to that day though, most would like to hang themselves..." He said as he sat back. "Her cries didn''t stop us. We continued using her for the rest of the school year. The more we continue on treating her like that, the more she cries" He said. "One day her mother found out that she was always sobbing in her room and she had to lie again. But her mother knew her playful nature and wouldn''t just become like that because she failed in an exam" He said. "She knew that she was studying well so she wasn''t convinced. She had to go to the school with her to talk to our homeroom teacher, we were nervous!" He laughed. "I swear the look on Shichiro, he was ready to jump on her and kill her if she exposes us out, but luckily she didn''t. She was scared of what we might do to her" He said. "Wow..." Maeru heavily sighed. "I keep thinking that we are the evils, us that live in the Hell..." She said. Mark curiously looked at her. "We were aware of what humans thinks of us, and we loved it. We were the bad guys. But look at that..." She turned to him. "Turns out the humans are never better beings than us. We were the same, you can be as evil as the entire body of the community in Hell" She said. "I... we heard that already, haven''t we? How many times are you going to tell us that?" He scratched his head. "Well, sorry! But I can''t just believe it!" She shrugged. "My entire race was told to believe that humans are actually better beings than us for ages! If I''m right, I am the first one to witness this and learn the truth!" She said. Mark was quiet and they stopped for few seconds. "So... what happened next?" She asked. "Well..." Mark thinks of where he stopped. "We survived her mother''s interrogations and we continued to abuse her like that. Up to the point where Seiji notices that she was using him for money. She gets to argue with him and she had to lie again. Then few days later, he broke up with her, saying that he wanted love in his life, not a gold digger" He laughed. "We felt her mixed anger and sadness when she''s around us after that. We started juicing her parents after that. You had no idea how she looks like when we ran out of a rich supplier" He chuckled. "Her begging to stop became frequent because it was her parents that we''re asking money from, but we didn''t give no care and even threatened her more..." "Alright, alright, enough of that. When did you let her go?" Maeru stops him from there. "We didn''t exactly let her go. On the last week of the classes, we sent the videos to the school and started the rumors around. We didn''t let her know this and let her get the hint from the people around her" Mark said. "Gosh..." Maeru gasped as she didn''t expect it. "It didn''t last three days before she notices it and became mentally ill right away" He said. "After she noticed it, she already stopped going to school. It was a bit alright because we just had a few days before the end of the school year anyway..." He added. "The last moment we ever had with her was... well... One of our friend, Akira... She passes by her house a few weeks after our class ended and she heard Hana''s cries and her parents desperately calming her down... Akira was so sad when she told us this" Mark said. "You completely destroyed her life... Were you happy?" Maeru''s questioned made him froze. "You were successful with your goal, but was it worth it?" She asked. "You know how this greatly affect you? People who knew your story will change, how they look on you, how they interact with you, how they treat you..." She sighed. "It will never be the same and you will never go back again. It happened and will stay until the end" She said. Mark was quietly staring at the ground. "I know the six of you felt regret during and after what you did. I know you are not heartless. I hope this becomes a LESSON for YOU..." She smiled at her. "When we are done with this world, when we break Mariyou''s seal, I will ask Shichiro to go with me to meet her and settle things" She said as she looks up at the skies. "After all that? She will ''settle things'' with him?" He asked. "Better than leaving it as it is. Shichiro has a lot to say to her and I will make sure she will accept us and support her" She said. "By the way you and Shichiro describe her, she''s a nice person. Perfect reputations at school, good grades, she looks cuter than how you describe her, His father is a lawyer and her mother is a therapist. She would have been a great wife. She just happened to succumb to the temptation..." She added. "Ahh... I really feel bad the more I hear about this. I would punish you for what you did as a demon from Hell if I want" She stood up and stretches her arms up. "Shichiro wouldn''t like that..." Mark said. "Like I would listen to the six of you if I give punishment" Maeru shrugged. "C''mon, do your job now..." Maeru taps his shoulder and walked inside the building. "The Betty... yeah..." Mark spent a minute there before getting back on track. 40 The Siege of Saiju The Prohorovka, An entire army led by another Commander marches ahead towards the Saiju. The beautiful green fields being droved and stomped onto, leaving tracks traces and footprints. Their numbers countless, as if they are like a wave of the ocean about to hit the village. Their march strikes fear to the soldiers on the walls, lowering morales and losing courage. Tanks'' paces slowed down for their foot soldiers. Their air force flying above them with haste, from fighter planes to heavy bombers. The usually quiet and empty lands, the natural blow of wind, the natures of untouched lands, colored by the greens of wild grasses, are now filled and stained by the raging machines of the modern world. Polluting the air, covering the surroundings with the smokes of the vehicles. Birds are diverting from the plane''s direction, gathering together in the air and on the ground, making noises together as if they are giving hints of a natural disaster. "Who are leading these guys, I wonder?" Tanaka broke their silence. "Either Setogawa or Liliya..." Nagami responded. "Nami doesn''t bring out that much" Tanaka looked behind to them. "Then the whole Red Mosin then?" Takumi asked as she walks forward. "I bet it''s not just Saiju. They are also after us. Liliya doesn''t want traitors unlike Shichiro" She said then she summoned a binocular, which got their attention. "You can even spawn a thing... Just how long have you been learning them? I''m really surprised" Nagami said. Takumi just smiled as she looks for the ground troops. "Hold on..." Her tone suggested that she saw something. "§¹§ä§à? (What?)" Nagami looked ahead despite not clearly seeing anything. "§Á §Ó§Ú§Ø§å §´iger I... (I see Tiger I)" Takumi responded. "Huh? §° §é§Ö§Þ §Ó§í? (Huh? What are you talking about?)" Nagami looked again with squinted eyes. "§©§Õ§Ö§ã§î... (Here...)" Takumi throws the binocular at the T-26 and Nagami caught it and quickly looked ahead. "§¹§ä§à §ß§Ö§Þ§è§í §Ù§Õ§Ö§ã§î §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ð§ä? T§à §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §Ò§í§ä§î... (What are the Germans doing here? It can''t be...)" She saw a Tiger I that is seemed leading the pack. "That''s definitely Heidemarie. They''re the only one using Tigers on the field..." Tanaka said. "Aren''t they doing that ''gathering the storm'' bullshit? Why would they join the assault?!" Takumi sounded annoyed. "Who knows. She might have taken interest in this world too" He answered. "Like, ''it''s our time'' kind of stuff... You see any of their uniforms?" He asked. Nagami takes a look again. "I only see our uniforms, no jerry uniforms yet..." She said. "They could be behind them, no way Heidemarie could be joining the assault by herself" He said. "Heidemarie. Heidemarie. Just call her with her own name! Himari! That nickname is way too obnoxious" Takumi was mad for that reason. " I think that name is beautiful! But... Her real name is Himari Chinen, right?" Sagiri asked. "She''s leading the German circle..." She said. "Yeah. She gathered people who are interested in German technologies and built a faction of her own" Nagami nodded. "We don''t usually share military equipment and vehicles with them, but we borrow some of their aircraft sometimes... Why do you sound like you just joined?" Takumi asked her. "I didn''t get to ask much about them. I almost didn''t know there was a german side in our Organization if it weren''t for their different uniforms..." She responded. "That pretty much shows that you are new face" Takumi laughed. "It''s not just Red Mosin, my friend. If Liliya can make faction like that, so the others too. There are Jerries, the Froggies, and the Vikings" She said. "F-Froggies?" Sagiri looked confused. Takumi looked at her with one brow up. "German, French and Swedish factions..." She said with a sigh. "Oh? Vikings aren''t Swedish alone, you know" Tanaka said. Takumi turned back to him. "So what''s your point?" She asked, hands on her hips. "That naming them ''Vikings'' doesn''t specify them as Swedish!" "Shut up! Here they come!" Nagami shouted as the planes approach fast. "Chiho should hurry, we can''t handle them all! We need that Peacemaker!" Takumi shouted. "I''m going before they bomb the whole place!" With that, she ran ahead to get the distance. "Our bullets should penetrate their tanks..." Tanaka took his Mosin-Nagant from his back and opened the bolt slightly. He felt faint magic emitting from the bullets. Then he closed it shut. "Sagiri?" He checked on his sister. "I''m good!" She took hers and also did the same thing. "Are you guys on an AT squad?" Nagami asked. ''Obviously..." Tanaka replied. "Well, you might be part of Nami''s army. They are issued with the same armor-piercing rounds from her no matter what your designated class is" Nagami said. "I and Sagiri spent our whole time with Minohara-san''s squad. We would keep them safe from any enemies while they do their ''sniping''. Until Mark joined in and we were lucky to be included on one of the troops that were transferred under his control" He said. "Minohara? Shichiro''s tank commanders?" Nagami asked. "Yeah. They are very skilled and talented. I wouldn''t like to separate myself from them, I would-" Takumi suddenly flew off and one of the approaching planes exploded. "Ah! She''s gone for it! Let''s go!" Tanaka alerted his sister and flew away. "§¯§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý§à §â§Ö§Ó§à§Ý§ð§è§Ú§Ú! (The start of a revolution!)" Nagami slams down her hatch and they drove ahead with the BT-7 Meanwhile, inside Saiju, Mark was imprisoned into a temporary cell beneath the leader''s building. It was surrounded by crumbling cold stone walls and a single candle hanging from the wall in the middle of the cell. The whole village has heard the incoming planes and their explosions on the air. People are running for safety and the soldiers are forming at the walls. Some of them started firing the Maxim M1910s with a bipod mounted at the walls at the incoming planes, some of them are using their large crossbows against the enemies on the ground. Groups of soldiers are pushing their catapults and some are sent outside to alert the whole region. "It''s started!" Mariko shouted. They were still in the underground when the village was fully alert. "I can hear those guns at the walls!" She looked at Chiho. "Well, come on! Let''s not waste time here!" Chiho ran past them and they followed her outside. As they bust out of the building, they saw blue traces connecting to the planes and exploding them. A Pe-2 survived Takumi''s attack and is falling from the skies directed at the middle of the village. "Oh no!" Chiho stopped on her tracks to see the plane drops four bombs, dealing wide damages on the village before crashing itself down to the Markets. "Shit! It''s all going to be Tsuchiya again!" Mariko shouted. "Let''s destroy those planes before they wreck the whole place!" Chiho shouted at them. "Mariko! Go get something to fight with!" Chiho said before flying away. Shu Fang and Ayumi followed her up the skies. "Something to fight with?!" Mariko looked around and turned back inside. "Leader-san!" Mariko called upstairs but no one responded. She quickly climbed up the stairs and met Gentaro at the doorway. "Ah... Takumi stockpiled some guns here, right?!" She asked. Both of them stormed down to the underground and gathered guns from a dim-lit room where they hid them. Mariko chose a scoped SVT-40 and a PPSh-41 to carry. "I need someone to carry my ammunitions!" She said. They went upstairs and took a soldier in guard duty to go with her to carry her ammo. Then Mariko ran outside. She ran to the right and turned straight left. From there, they ran past through the panicking people and soldiers. She saw the skies covered with bright traces and thick smokes. She can also hear the soldiers'' shouts up the wall to their right. "Shit... wait!" Mariko placed her arms in front of the soldier to stop. Another Pe-2 hasn''t been completely destroyed and was going down directed at the center of the village. Like the first one, the plane dropped its bomb, obliterating a wide area before crashing itself somewhere. "This is bad! It''s happening again! Saiju will be destroyed!" The soldier screamed. "Calm down!" Mariko shouted. "It''ll not be the same as Tsuchiya! We now have something to fight back!" She said. "Y-You''re right..." He calmed himself down. "Come on, come on!" Mariko ran again. After running at some time, they are half-way through the entrance. "Where are we going exactly?!" He asked. "I don''t know, but let''s go outside for now!" "That''s dangerous!" Mariko told him and he quickly objected. "We can''t stay he-!" The walls to their right suddenly exploded, debris loudly falls to the ground and scatters. "No!" The soldier screamed as they stare at the holed wall. "Fuck! They''re swarming in from that hole!" Mariko shouted. They ran to cover distance and hid behind a large crate. "I''m gonna shoot them!" She said as she moves up to the surface and aimed at the hole. Enemy soldiers are pouring in, climbing up the pile of stones that were once served as the protection of the village. Mariko chose a target and fired. The male soldier was shot at his left chest while going down from the rubble and fell down instead. "I saw that!" He said. Mariko kept firing at the soldiers flooding in from the hole until they noticed her flashes. One of them splashed their PPSh against Mariko''s cover. Despite the inaccuracy due to the distance and recoil, it was enough to scare Mariko and go down. "They saw us!" She said. "Change position?" The soldier asked. "Yeah, yeah..." Mariko took a peek and they are now running towards them. "They''re coming here!" Mariko placed her SVT on the crate once again and sniped some of the soldiers. They stopped her by pressuring her with gun fires "We can''t stay here, Mariko-san!" The soldier shouted. "Come!" He ran back and Mariko followed her. The enemy soldiers fired at them but they escaped unscathed. "If you''re gonna use that sharpshooter, we better off hiding inside the Akuzawa residence!" The soldier pointed to a building to their right as they run. It was not too far from them. "B-But that''s where the planes are crashing!" Mariko looked at the black smoke rising up past the house. "It''s the only high ground we can step on! We can''t use that thing at the opposite wall!" He shouted. "They might shoot the house down if we were found out!" Mariko shouted. The soldier was quiet for a second. "Screw it, the whole place is gonna get bombed anyway!" He shouted. After running straight, they turned right and the house was in sight from the left of the intersection. They had to run around it to get into the front. "Akuzawa-sama! Let us in, please!" The soldier shook the gates. The door quickly opened and revealed a familiar woman. "Haruna! No!" A male voice came out as soon as she ran out to open the gates for them. "Thank you!" The soldier ran ahead with Mariko. "Mariko?" Haruna looked back as she closes the gates again. "What''s the meaning of this?!" Her father blocked the doorway. "Sir, forgive our intrusion! But we need a high ground to shoot from!" He bowed on him and apologized. "I cannot accept this!" The father was red in the face. "Sir! The eastern wall is holed! The least we can do is try to hold them off or this whole place will be full of enemies soon!" The soldier insisted. "There are no other structures we can step on!" He said. "C''mon old man, this isn''t an argument!" Mariko grabbed the man''s collar and pushed him inside. His eyes widen in surprise as he gets pushed back. "Your precious house is gonna fall into ashes anyway!" She pushed him away and they rushed upstairs. "Father!" Haruna ran to his side. "I''m fine..." He said as he fixes his collar. They ran in a circle as the stairs are in the same spot. They ran up the four floors before reaching their terrace up high. Mariko quickly aimed down at the streets while the soldier falls to the ground to catch his breath. After firing one, Mariko shouted. "Goddamn it! They are coming here!" The enemies are coming from the street they were running on before. From the terrace, she holds off the soldiers, picking the enemies one by one. The soldier took her PPSh to help her. Meanwhile, up in the skies. Takumi and the others are easily taking down the planes as no other thing is defending them besides the few enemy soldiers who can also fly. Takumi''s thunder-like power was very effective in taking down several planes in a short time. However, the count of the planes is enormous, some are able to get pass through them and drops their bomb down the village and break away from their formations. On a Pe-8, Takumi landed beside the rear support gunner, surprising him. "§¥§à §ã§Ó§Ú§Õ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ... (Goodbye...)" She smiled at him before stabbing his head through the glass with her blade. Then she turned to the cockpit and went for the remaining pilots. She quickly opened the cockpit and threw the bodies out with the help of the intense wind blowing them away. She got in and quickly regained control of the plane. Her eyes flash as she reaches for her allies'' minds. "Be advised, I hijacked a Pe-8 Bomber, 84th squadron. Chiho, don''t touch the big plane with an ''84'' number on its rear, you got it?" She said as she focuses on turning the plane back to the enemy ground units. "W-What?!" Chiho shouted loud and looked around. She saw Ayumi and Shu Fang stopped in confusion. "This is called Telepathy, but Shichiro and Mariyou didn''t call it that way. I believe you have witnessed this kind of power from Mariyou herself. I''m speaking to you with my thoughts alone. Such power is essential when you can''t or don''t want to use your mouths when there''s someone listening" Takumi said. "Remember what I said. Big plane with ''84'' number on it. Don''t tell me you still don''t know how numbers look like?" She said. "I got it!" The three of them answered before continuing on dealing with the planes. Ayumi was using her chained sickle infused with sharpening magic that made her sickle brights pink. She will either cut through the cockpit and behead the pilots or cut the plane''s wings and using the hardening magic to push the plane down. Shu Fang was in her shade form and just like Takumi, she''s hitting the planes with insane speed, disturbing their flight, and making the plane uncontrollable. Some got pushed down and crashed to the lands as it cannot fly back up quickly. While the two are busy, she looked around. At the brief seconds, she saw some flashes of guns from the opposite side. Then she saw one diving plane with ''84'' written on its rear fuselage. "Ah! There it is!" They were distant from Takumi''s plane so she can return on freely killing down planes again. Back on the ground, The BT-7 and T-26 are on a top of a small hill. With their shells imbued with magic power, they are able to take down heavier tanks and disrupt their formations. "Load HE! Fire at those infantries!" Nagami shouted a command. "§£§í§á§à§Ý§ß§ñ§ð! (Will do!)" Kaho took a shell that has a bright light on its tip. She rammed the shell inside the gun. "§¥§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Û, §ã§ä§â§Ö§Ý§ñ§Û! (Go on, shoot!)" Kaho shouted. Satomi aimed for the ground on where the enemy soldiers are running, they are disappearing from the corner of Saiju''s wall. The T-26 fired and a large number of soldiers were blown away by the shell. "§¤§à§ä§à§Ó! (Killed them!)" Satomi shouted. Its shot showered the nearby tanks with dirt and turned to their direction. "§¯§Ñ§ã §Ó§í§ñ§ã§ß§ñ§ð§ä! O§ä§ã§ä§å§á§Ñ§ä§î, §á§à§ã§á§Ö§ê§Ú§ä§Ö! (They found us! Back away, hurry!)" They saw the tanks'' turrets rotating and aiming down their sights at them and Nagami ordered the driver to reverse away. "§¢§Ö§ä§Ü§Ñ! §±§à§ê§Ý§Ú, §Õ§Ö§â§Ø§Ú§ã§î §â§ñ§Õ§à§Þ! (Betka! Let''s move, stay close!)" Nagami told the BT-7 to relocate with them as they are found. The two tanks backed down the hill and moved away. They moved to their left, leaving the hill and leaving them exposed to the enemies. As they are visible, the enemy tanks started firing. Due to both of them moving, most of the shots miss them. The whistles of the shells flying past by them terrified them. As they were reaching another hill, the BT-7''s right tracks were broken by a shell shot near them. It slightly slanted to the left and the tank was forced to turn towards their right where are the enemies at. "Shit! Our right track is gone!" The BT-7 commander shouted in fear. "Laying fire!" Even though de-tracked, the BT-7 kept shooting. "Hold on!" Nagami shouted as they take cover on a mound. Peeking to its left, the T-26 shoots with the BT-7. "Takumi! We need some help here!" She shouted. "Hold on!" Takumi moved away from her original targets and went for the tanks aiming at them. "§¯§Ñ §á§â§Ú§Ü§å§â§Ú! (Lights up!)" Takumi released the bombs and pulled up. "Whooo!!!" Both of the tanks cheered as the enemies got bombarded. "§·§à§â§à§ê§Ú§Û! Takumi! (Good one, Takumi!)" Nagami said. "Aye!" Takumi was laughing when she got hit by something, shaking the plane. "Damn! Somebody shot the plane!" Takumi shouted. As she looks around her, she saw the tanks shooting the walls down completely. "Shit, their wall is gone!" She stared at the enemy troops going through the rubble of the walls and entering the village. "I''m crashing this plane!" Takumi turned the plane back and aimed towards the remaining armies outside the village. "Alright..." Takumi opened the canopy and jumped out, leaving the plane to crash at the ground at full speed. As she falls, she saw incoming german planes. "What the hell?!" There were multiple Stukas and Focke-wulf fighter planes with the Balkenkreuz symbols. "German squadrons in sight!" Takumi shouted. "§£§à§ä §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à §é§×§â§ä§Ñ §à§ß§Ú §ä§å§ä §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§ð§ä?! (What the fuck are they doing here?!)" Nagami looked at the skies. "§ª§ç §á§â§Ú§à§â§Ú§ä§Ö§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§î! (Prioritize them!)" She shouted. "Aye! Chiho, guys! Make sure to destroy the planes with the black cross as their symbols! Those ?stkampfer Stukas'' bombs are way deadlier than these Pe bombers!" Takumi warned them. "You heard her?! The one with black cross! Let''s deal with them first if we ever get close to them!" Chiho shouted at the two. "Chiho!" Tanaka flew towards her. "I and Sagiri will fly down the village! Your people are being overrun down there!" He said before the two of them flew down. Sagiri stopped and faced her. "Wait!" She shouted. Chiho was about to fly away but was called. "Those German planes... Like Takumi-san said, they are wearing black crosses as their symbols! They are flying in formations like the others, so go for their side and use your Peacemaker''s power to shoot through them with one shot!" After that, she hurried to follow her brother. "I... I got it!" Chiho smiled as she gets what Sagiri meant. Without wasting any more time, Chiho flew to her right, to the side of the battlefield. Ayumi saw her going away. "Onee-chan! Where are you going?!" She shouted but Chiho didn''t hear her. "Black cross... Black cross..." Chiho watches the planes passing by. "There!" She saw camouflaged Stukas flying in line abreast formation. She quickly pressed the button of the Peacemaker and aimed at Stukas. Her rage started to gather, having her eyes, along with the Peacemaker, sparking with power. "Aiming..." Chiho set her sights ahead of the Stuka''s direction. Once they entered her scope, she fired. The Peacemaker roared in the air as it fired its enormous power, Chiho pushed away due to the recoil almost losing the Peacemaker from her hand. Its yellow trace cuts through the fuselage of the Stukas and explodes at the same time, breaking away their fighter escorts, some are hit by the explosions and are going down. "There goes the Peacemaker!" Takumi stopped to see the yellow trace disappear. "That''s one hell of a weapon..." The BT-7 and the T-26 saw the explosions of the Stukas up the skies. "She''s so cool!" Ayumi and Shu Fang were watching her when she fired the Peacemaker. "What the hell was that?!" Mariko saw a burst of fire and smoke at the corner of her eyes and stopped firing. "What''s that bright line?!" The soldier pointed at the yellow trace. "Peacemaker! Urgh!" Mariko was happy before quickly realizing that she had enemies to fire. As soon as she looked through her scope, she saw the enemies also looking up the skies, curious about what caused the noise. "This is no time to get carried away!" Mariko fired at one of the soldiers, surprising them and making them focus back. "She has done it!" Sagiri cheered as they are under fire at a broken wall. "Who would have thought some villagers can take Sera-sama''s Peacemaker just like that..." Tanaka smiled. "It was Mark''s fault, though" Sagiri said and they both smiled at each other. Chiho remained at the skies, looking at the havoc she made. "Whew..." She changed back to normal as the Peacemaker recharges itself. Hearing the loud noise, the tanks aimed at her and started firing. Chiho quickly flew away to avoid them. A minute has passed, Mariko and her assisting soldier took many enemies off the streets. But they are endlessly being replaced by other soldiers "Argh!" Her scope was shot from one of the charging enemies. She backs off inside. "Damn it! They shot my gun!" She said. "A-Are you okay?!" The soldier was firing her PPSh when she was shot. "I''m fine, I''m fine..." Mariko sways her hands. With that, the soldier returned on firing. "Ah!" He saw their own army in horseback charging against the enemies. "They have arrived!" The horsemen have swords, spears, and guns with them as they charge, outnumbering the enemies on the street. On Kosunjin-Yi, a Saijun messenger arrived and alerted the leader that the Saiju is under siege by the Prohorovkans. Maeru''s forces who were convincing them to join their side were quickly held by their soldiers and were dragged to see their leader. "Tell your woman THE SAIJU IS UNDER ATTACK!!!" The leader was outraged and angrily shouted at the enemy soldiers. "ÄãËÀ¶¨ÁË... š¢ÁËËû‚ƒ! (You''re dead... Get rid of them!)" With his order, the soldiers quickly slit their throat. Some of them were able to react quickly and struggle away from them. Thus, the Kosun is now also under attack. The other Kosun soldiers ran away to warn Tamie who just arrived to park her Stuka. She helped the village defend against the enemy soldiers inside. Back on Saiju, Tanaka and Sagiri was now in contact with the Saijun army and helps them hold off the enemies. "Hey, hey!" Tanaka looked for a very armored one on a horse. "Where are the AT guns?!" He asked. "W-What gun, sir?!" The commander asked. "Anti-tanks! The one with two wheels!" Tanaka shouted. "Y-Yeah! They are in the Markets, placed for ambushes!" The commander said. "Bring some of them outside! Our friendly tanks need help! Two Pak-40s and two Zis-3 is good enough! Line ''em up with the tanks and they are good to go!" Tanaka said. "Roger that!" The commander nodded and ordered some of his men to get the AT guns outside. They continued to hold off the enemies for a while. Meanwhile, in the skies, the girls have become tired and they have become less agile and a bit powerless. Seeing that the planes are continuously flying ahead makes it more tiring for them. "I can''t... It''s my limit..." Ayumi landed on the left wing of an Fw-190. From there she catches her breath. It took the pilot half a minute to realize someone was on her wings. Ayumi quickly got rid of the pilot and took over the cockpit. From there, she closed the canopy and used the flight stick, the only thing she remembers on controlling the plane. She focused on catching her breath while she turns the plane back and aims for the ground. "I''m... I''m crashing a plane, guys!" The plane was on full throttle and racing towards the ground. "§¥§à§é§î?" A female voice came through the radio but Ayumi was busy escaping the plane. "Eeep!" She cried as she hurriedly stands and jumps out of the plane. The plane crashed into the ground, destroying few tanks and several foot soldiers. Meanwhile, Takumi was also starting to get fatigued. However, without them realizing, they already managed to take out the rest of the planes. The next wave was still far away, giving them time to handle the ground. "Whew..." Takumi wiped her sweat off her forehead. "Guys, the skies are clear. Go take care of the ground for now. I will..." As she was looking around, she saw four carriages down the village towing the AT guns and charging fast towards the entrance. "I will tell you when the planes are near!" Takumi then flew ahead of their route and took out the enemies that they will get contact into. "Cleared..." She whispered as she waits for the carriages to go past her. Chiho sniped the enemies from the skies, while Shu Fang and Ayumi goes down, killing many foot soldiers. Meanwhile, in the Akuzawa residence, Mariko and the soldier were taking fire on the second floor. They hid into a room and shooting the wall near the stairs to stop the enemy soldiers from going up. "Hey! You saw our army right?! Let me take the gun and call out for help upstairs!" Mariko said. He gave the PPSh to her and he ran upstairs. The enemies heard his footstep and climbed up the stairs. "Stay away!" Mariko fired, stopping them from having another step. "§¢§Ö§Û §ä§à §Ô§Ñ§Õ§à§Ó! §°§Õ§ß§Ñ §Ú§Ù §Ü§à§Þ§ß§Ñ§ä! (Bey to gadov! Odna iz komnat! )" She heard them shouting something. "§¤§â§Ñ§ß§Ñ§ä§Ñ! O§á§Ñ§Ñ§Ñ! (Granata! Opaaa!)" As she heard another shout, she saw a round shape thrown towards her. With quick reaction, she shut the door close, preventing the grenade to enter her room. After a few seconds, the grenade took off. "Motherfucker!" When the grenade exploded, she heard them going up the stairs. She opened the door and open fired at them. "§³§á§å§ã§ä§Ú§ä§Ö§ã§î, §Ú§Õ§Ú! (Spustites, idi!)" They shouted as they hurriedly go back downstairs. Mariko shot six soldiers and they fell dead on the floor. "Great!" She saw the two PPSh on the ground, she took them and their drum magazines in the room. "Don''t come in here, motherfuckers!" Mariko shouted. "Fuck you!" A sweet reply came from downstairs. "Grr..." Mariko fired at the walls again to scare them as she makes her way to the dead bodies. "These are those exploding things, right?!" Mariko took a Mk 2 grenade from one of the bodies. "Eat this...!" She took off the pin and the lever springs away from the grenade. She threw it downstairs, hitting a soldier on his face and panicking away from the stairs. "Over here! Over here!" As she was waiting for the grenade to take off, she heard the soldier up in the terrace calling for help. When the grenade exploded, she was surprised she heard no screams. "They''re all dead...?" Mariko came down quietly with her gun ready. An enemy came out of a table and has her gun on Mariko, but she was bested in who pulled the trigger first. "§¯§Öee§ä! (Nooo!)" Another soldier came out of hiding from the same table, he looked at the girl sadly for a second. Mariko quickly showered him with the PPSh and he fell on the girl. "§£§í... Akh! (You... Akh!)" Two soldiers came out of hiding from her right but two Saijun soldiers came in and fired at them with an SVT and PPSh. "Mariko-san! Where''s the Akuzawa?!" One of them asked. "They''re safe! They''re on the third floor!" Mariko responded. "Good! I''m glad you''re both safe! The eastern wall is completely gone! They''re swarming in!" He said. "Go back to Gentaro-sama if you need weapons and ammunition! Otherwise, help the others hold off the enemies at the east!" He said before heading upstairs. More friendly soldiers came in to secure the area. As she was about to go out, the soldier she was with called her from the stairs. "Mariko-san! Do you still need me?" He asked. Mariko stopped at the doorway and turned back. "Y-Yeah... Come with me if you like" She nodded and she waited for him to go down and they ran outside. The streets are now filled with Saijun army, going to the east and securing the surrounding areas. "Great. We are still many. Let''s go!" Mariko and the soldier ran with the army towards the east. "You saw the whole place up there? How''d it look?" She asked. "The damage is very big, especially in the middle, and the Markets. But surprisingly, the other part of the village is untouched. The entrance opened normally and I saw some carriage made it out safely" He responded. "See? If it were like Tsuchiya, this whole village will be long gone!" Mariko grinned, which makes him happy. Meanwhile, in the fields. Both T-26 and BT-7 is sneakingly firing at the enemies when they are no longer focused on them. They have effectively shut off many tanks they could. "Nagami-san! There are horse transports with PaKs and Zis ATs!" The commander of the BT-7 told them. "Goddamn! That''s a big help! A big thanks to whoever told them to bring some!" Nagami and her crew cheered. The BT-7 crew went out of their tank to help the Saijun soldiers set up the AT guns. The siege was still hot. More Prohorovkan tanks are still coming in and the infantries are still pushing their way inside the village. The T-26 and BT-7 and their Anti-tank guns are effectively taking down enemy tanks from their position on the west of the battlefield. The girls at the skies cleared out the planes and prevented the village from being heavily bombarded. They helped the ground for a while and despite being tired, the girls returned to the skies and continued taking down any incoming planes to prevent them from reaching the village and disrupting their bombing runs. Takumi would go after the planes that are heading towards the Nagami''s direction to prevent them from getting bombed. With Mariko, Tanaka, and Sagiri helping the Saijun army to defend the eastern part of the village, the enemies were having a hard time pushing through the village. The tanks are being outrun by the horses in the narrow streets and they can''t use High-explosive rounds as they were told not to, to prevent friendly-fire. Most of them are being jumped by the soldiers from the horses and getting shot inside of their tanks. The army that was tasked to jump on the tanks and clear out the crews were Yagano''s. They prioritized the tanks and the other armies would cover fire. The attack remained for more than twenty minutes, the last five minutes were starting to get minimal. Some of them are starting to retreat. Until they were called out to completely retreat. "They''re going back!" A soldier cheered loudly as they saw the enemies pulling back. "Yeah!" "Take that!!!" "Long live the Tsukosa!!!" The very hyper cheers reached out the friendly tanks in the fields. "We did it?!" Nagami heard them and pops out of her hatch. "Son of a bitch we made it!" She slams the turret. "We defended the place!" The commander of the BT-7 cheered on his hatch. The crews of the AT guns have started to cheer as well, putting their fists up and screaming. Meanwhile, at Trupriv/Betty. "Was? Ihre Truppen sind weg?" A light-blonde haired girl was mocking Nami on a tower. "Speak Japanese" Nami said as she looked at the battlefield with a binocular. "Damit habe ich nicht gerechnet..." The girl giggled. "One more German word and I''m kicking you off this tower. Try me" Nami glared at her and looked back to her binoculars. "I said that I wasn''t expecting you. You to be defeated like that" She said. "Well, that GODDAMN Takumi and her friends helped them and took most of our birds down!" Nami stomped hard. "Someone was flying too fast, almost unseen by bare eyes. They are destroying the planes one by one, I can barely focus on them. I don''t know who that was, but that certain power is one of Mariyou''s. And that can''t be Mariyou herself" Nami grits her teeth in anger. After seeing her army retreat, she sat down the binoculars and faced the girl. "What about you Fr?ulein Heidemarie?" She asked. Himari coughs off. "Excuse me, don''t call me that. It is very offensive" She said. "Then what? Herr Heidemarie?" Nami looked confused. "No, God no... Just call me... F¨¹hrer" Himari moved her hands to her back and stands proud. "I''d stick with Heidemarie, I''m more superior than you" Nami shook her head. "Whatever. If you already had your tails between your legs, then I guess it''s time for us to strike now" Himari said. She took her radio and spoke. "Verst?rkt den Angriff, der Sieg ist unser!" She said to the radio. "Verzeihung, Heidemarie! Aber das ist v?llig unm?glich! Die Russen hatten sich zur¨¹ckgezogen!" A voice responded to her, making her sigh. "You were supposed to show us how it''s done, Nami. You disappoint me..." She let out another sigh before going for her radio. "in Ordnung. R¨¹ckzug! Wir ziehen uns auch zur¨¹ck!" She said then faced Nami. "You barely even damaged the village. How embarrassing" She insulted her. "Huh?!" Nami grabbed her collar and brought her closer. "Didn''t you understand? There was someone with that power that makes them fly in a very crazy speed, that a naked eye can''t see! And most of our planes are from a world war back in the twentieth century! They aren''t no modern jets!" She shouted. Despite her aggressiveness, Himari was still calm and smiling. "Then that makes us on the same level..." She said. "You goddamn German junkies!" Nami pushed her off. "Get that fucking smile off your face!" She shouted. "You''re no superior. You can''t even kill a single magic-user" Himari said. In anger, Nami pulled a knife and brought it on Himari''s neck. "I will slit your throat, I SWEAR!" She shouted. "...Sie k?nnen mich nicht t?ten, Ich bin Deine F¨¹hrer..." Himari looks up to her due to their height differences. She gently rubs her cheeks. "Nami Setogawa. You''re a disgrace to Red Mosin by doing this" She whispered. Then she grabbed her arm, surprising her. "Losing temper to a lower faction than yours..." She grips her arm hard. "Slit my throat, then..." Himari slowly slides her arm across her neck. "Hey!" Nami''s eyes widen as she pulls herself away from her. Blood pours from her neck down to her chest. "In the end, you''re all talk..." Himari wipes the blood and showed it to her. "A superior can kill and betray an ally, no matter what the consequences..." She gestured stabbing a knife in her intestine. Nami couldn''t react to her. Satisfied on how Nami reacted, Himari sighed with a smile. "I will take care of it. We will gather forces again and go for that silly village again. It will be a Blitzkrieg!" She smiled at her. "Fine. Do what you want, I''m telling Shichiro you''re gonna replace Mark''s position" Nami heads for the ladder. "No, no. We are not replacing that guy, we are just here for a tour" Himari said. "Whatever..." Nami shook her head and went down the ladder. At the end of the day, the Saiju was successfully defended. Takumi''s hidden powers saved them from being bombed. Together with Chiho and her group, they handled the rest of the planes. The T-26 and BT-7 helped to disable tanks and some foot soldiers from a different location. Mariko managed to hold off the enemies entering the village before their army is mobilized. The Saijun army used the advantage of narrow streets to deal with the tanks, leaving many unmanned tanks blocking the streets. 41 Azumi and... Blitzkrieg? The Saiju has thought that they have successfully defended their village, that they have everything to fend off the Prohorovka. They gained hope for their power, but the Prohorovka had yet to show its full color. Tamie quickly returned to Saiju after helping the Kosuns to get rid of the enemies at their village. She had told everyone about Maeru''s forces trying to bring the Kosuns to their side. Gentaro thanked the Kosun leader for staying strong and loyal to the Alliance. Takumi stopped the wall rebuild when she heard it from Gentaro himself. She volunteered to go back to the Prohorovka with Tamie to steal some defensive wall cubes. Everyone was confused when she said she would go back, Nagami asked her how is it possible, but Takumi responded with a wink. "We will be quick, don''t worry" She said before teleporting away, leaving everyone in confusion and the Saiju undefended. The Saijun army guards the undefended side of their village, while the tanks and the AT guns relocates to the northwest for a better view of the battlefield. Gentaro sent Chiho ahead to see what the Prohorovka is up to. Up in the skies, she used her Peacemaker to scope out Trupriv/Betty. "Hmm..." Chiho observed their activities. The base is very active, a lot of gray-colored tanks are moving about. There were new uniforms she''s seeing aside from the Prohorovka''s usual black and red uniform. "Are they new?" She whispered. There are grayish-green uniforms, then camouflaged with different patterns. Their helmets are also different from the Prohorovka. "Those guys look different..." She whispered. She saw some with German officer clothing. They had officer caps instead of common soldier helmets and their uniform differs from the German infantries. "Hmm..." She looked for other things, and she noticed the vehicles. "Black cross..." She saw the gray tanks with the same symbol as the Stukas back then. "Takumi was worried about them... Are they that dangerous?" Chiho started to consider the cross as a very dangerous symbol of a group or tribe. "If Takumi was worried despite her own powers, then they are indeed dangerous..." She mutters as she scopes out the whole place. After a second, she saw a blonde girl and another girl with bright red hair that is somehow familiar to her. "That person...!" She recognized the face and gasped. It was the person they met during their attack on Trupriv. "She''s back... No wonder the attack was scary..." She said. "Like the others said, it''s gonna be different when we got Mark down..." She added. "But who was that child?" She focused on Himari. She was handling her troops while Nami watches her as she waits for hers. Behind Chiho was Shu Fang, who was also looking at the scope with one eye. "It''s the first time in a while when I saw a blonde person on their side..." She said as she remembers Anne''s hair. "...Let''s a-" "WAAAH!!!" Shu Fang spoke and Chiho squeals and flies away to see who''s behind her. The people at the ground looked up the skies as her screams reached the whole village. "D-don''t just appear behind me like that!!!" Chiho shouted. Shu Fang was very confused and her usual emotionless look bothered Chiho. "...You didn''t hear me flying?" She asked. "I didn''t! At least tap my shoulder or call me!" Chiho shouted. "Hey, aren''t they a bit too loud?" The BT-7 crew said. They were out of their tanks and are resting on the field. "That Chiho is easily frightened..." Nagami giggled as Chiho kept scolding the poor assassin. In the end, Shu Fang couldn''t say anything but apologize, and Chiho finally let it go with a sigh. "By the way, what were you saying?" She asked as she continued to scope the place. "...You were worried about the black cross enemies, right? Let''s ask Nagami-san about them..." Shu Fang responded. "That will be good..." Chiho said as she finishes scanning the place. "They are just below us, see?" Chiho pointed below to their left. "...Yeah, I saw them already..." Shu Fang said. "Yeah. Go ahead and ask them. I still need to report back to Gentaro-san..." Chiho said. Shu Fang nodded and Chiho flew back to Saiju. Shu Fang watches her disappear inside the village before flying down to the tanks. "Oh, the Chinese assassin..." Kaho said as Shu Fang drops in front of them. "...Chinese?" She looked at her, curious about the word. "W-whatever..." Kaho looked away embarrassed. Shu Fang was left hanging. "So, why did you came here for?" Nagami broke the awkwardness and asked her. "...Ah. About the..." Shu Fang was going to sit beside Nagami and saw Mariko sitting on the back of the BT-7. They stared at each other. "Sup..." Mariko greets her awkwardly. Without replying, Shu Fang sat beside Nagami. "...About the black cross..." She asked. "W-wait..." Nagami moves a little bit, Shu Fang was very close to her face. "The black cross, right?" She asked. "They called themselves ''?stliche Streitkr?fte''. They are the second faction formed after the Red Mosin. They are doing an imitation of another country from our world, called Germany. Like the whole Prohorovka imitating a country called Russia. They call their troops ''?stkampferb¨¹ndnis'' or ''?stkampfer'' for short. ''?stkampf'' if you hate saying the last two letters like us, or just Jerries or Krauts if you really don''t like them at all. These... Germans barely join a war like this, that''s why we were surprised..." Nagami explained. "Countries..." Mariko spoke. "I think I remember you telling us about those countries..." She said. "Yeah... Those Pak-40s came from them, we borrowed them" They all looked at the Pak-40s from their right, aimed ahead. "Same goes for Takumi and Tamie''s Stuka planes, you noticed how they look the same? but with different symbols?" Nagami asked. "...Yeah" Shu Fang nodded. "Their leader is named Himari Chinen, who had nicknamed herself ''Heidemarie'' for the sake of matching their names to Germans. They are well-known for their, well, obviously their unique German military. They wear the same uniforms as the real Germans back in our world and use the same vehicles and equipment. They also speak German, which really bothered us..." Nagami shook her head. "Even though sloppy, they tried their best to form up rank just as same as the real German military..." She said. "This ''Heidemarie'' has a superiority complex, making her very arrogant and often speaks and acts like she is above everyone else. She forces people to call her ''F¨¹hrer''. It''s a German word for ''Leader''. We''re still not quite sure if these are all just an act for the sake of imitating the ruthless leader of Germany back then, or she''s just really have that superior nature" Nagami explained. "Yeah! She won''t even hesitate to order her troops to aim their fucking weapons at us!" A female BT-7 crew shouted. "We were threatened into gunpoint by them when we were transporting tanks!" She shouted. "Yeah, assholes to the core" Nagami sighed. "We never knew what their true powers since they were very neutral and independent. They barely gets into a battle, we only know two so far..." She said. "As Takumi warned before, their bombs are very dangerous. We had no idea how they got the magics to infuse them with their bombs. We were also invading another world when they had their first campaign. Their Stukas dropped their bombs and it was very mini nuclear-ish" She said. "Blue explosions, very fucking scary..." A male BT-7 crew said. "Uhuh... Explosions are normally around orange and yellow, but if it''s colored differently? There''s something wrong" Nagami said. "Then there are their three heaviest war vehicles. The King Tiger, The Maus, and The Ratte. The first two boasts the heaviest armor and deadly cannons, while the Ratte..." Nagami looked at her crew, then back to Shu Fang. "The Ratte is the biggest tank that was ever developed during our war. Luckily, it was canceled, who knows what''s actually gonna happen during those times when it got out to the field" She shrugged. "The Germans called it ''Land Cruiser''. It''s just too big to be considered just as a tank... Himari might deploy that Ratte here but don''t be scared, we have powers" She giggled. "Even if they placed magics in that big rat, we still can take it down. Also, I''m pretty sure Himari is intelligent on her own and wouldn''t want to deploy their only Ratte to a world where there are enemy magic users" She said. "How about the King and the... Mouse?" Mariko asked. "Ah. Well, the Tiger and the Maus got the best armor there is for its era, it is bigger than most of the tanks you saw. No big deal, though. The Ratte is all that matters" Nagami replied. Before they could continue their conversation, Chiho flew in and stood in front of them. "Hey, Nagami-san. My father asked if they can use the abandoned tanks on the village" She asked, making Nagami perk up. "Ah yes! The tanks!" She stood up and cleans off her clothes. "W-Wait! You can stay here. I will just come back and tell them" Chiho halted her. "Ah... Well... Look for any soldiers who have been taught about the tanks and then teach the others who haven''t. Then you can use it as you wish" Nagami sat again beside Shu Fang. "Alright..." Chiho was about to fly back to the village but Mariko called her. "What about the Westerns, Chiho?" She asked. "Ah... They''re doing fine, they''re already awake. Chris took care of their wounds when we were in battle" Chiho said. "Okay..." Mariko nodded and Chiho flew back to the village. "...Hey, how long is Takumi gonna take? Chiho and I saw enemies gathering at the Trupriv..." Shu Fang asked. Her question bothered Nagami. "Ugh... I don''t know..." She rubbed her face with her left hand. "She''s up to something and I don''t know what..." She said. "Without her, we wouldn''t be able to fend off the planes that much" She sighed. They sat quietly for a minute before Chiho came back again with Ayumi on her tail. "They''re already going for the tanks..." Chiho was panting hard. "Jeez, take it easy Chiho!" Nagami laughed. "No, wait..." Chiho sat beside Shu Fang and rested her head on Shu Fang''s shoulder. "...Ah!" Shu Fang grew red on the face. Seeing how Shu Fang was struggling with Chiho so close on her got them thinking. "Am I sensing some... Yuri stuff here?" A female BT-7 crew giggled. "That''s what I''m also thinking!" Nagami pointed at her and laughed. "Yuri?" Mariko repeated the word. "Ahh... the world so innocent..." Nagami calmed herself down. Nagami explained what she had told to Shu Fang and Mariko again for Chiho. Later, an hour has passed. Few of the tanks are manned. Some of it went into defensive positions at the village, some joined Nagami''s side. They are getting anxious as time goes by. "No one really knew about that brat being nosy..." Nagami said. "How could she be possibly studying their powers without them noticing?" She asked. "The power that makes her so fast... No Prohorovka have ever learned that..." Nagami thinks back of Takumi''s blue traces at the skies.". Takumi hasn''t returned yet and no one is powerful enough to hold off any planes as much as she does. Though, they are a bit confident because they got the abandoned tanks manned. All of a sudden, it became loud at the Trupriv. The tanks and their guns are firing. "Shit... They''re on!" As the tank and AT gun crews are hurrying back to their tanks and cannon, they heard a screaming engine approaching fast. It sounds like its speeding ahead, along with cannon fires. "That one''s fa-!" The shout of a BT-7 crew was cut by the jump of a blue wheeled vehicle, it was followed by two gray wheeled vehicles. "What the fuck?!" Nagami saw the vehicles. It was a Panhard EBR 90 being chased by two Sdkfz. 222. The Panhard drifts as soon as it landed on the ground and shot one of the Sdkfz. Its crew died inside but the vehicle wasn''t exploded, leaving it rolling forward until it stopped. "What is going on?!" Mariko shouted. The Panhard drove ahead, flanking the last Sdkfz. It stopped and slowly turn back with its turret. But it couldn''t point its guns at the Panhard due to its agile movement. The Panhard quickly drove around the Sdkfz before finishing it away. A shot to its ammo racks made it explode very loud and huge. "Hey, hey! Don''t tell me...!" A male BT-7 crew shouted. "Takumi?" Nagami looked very carefully. The hatch of the Panhard opens. "Ahhh!!!" Tamie popped out with a scream. She was sweating bullets and struggles to get out. "G...Grr...!" She gave her best to stand and get out of the vehicle. As she got out, she steps into the hull, but she got cramps and lost her balance. "Akh!" She fell with a groan. "Hey, watch your steps..." Takumi came out gasping for air. "Damn it, Takumi! I''m never going with you again!" Tamie shouts as she laid on the ground. "Whoaa!!!" Mariko and Ayumi ran ahead to see the Panhard. Its big wheels caught their attention. "This looks beautiful!" She said with fascination. "She''s a beaut''" Takumi slaps the turret. "Can we get out now?" A female voice came from inside and Takumi hurried out and jumps to the ground. "This baby can outrun tanks and destroy them in the process!" Takumi said with a big grin in her face. "So this is what you left us for..." Nagami said as she and her crew approaches the Panhard. They all gathered to look at it. The AT crews were whispering with their eyes fixed on the vehicle. "I''ll call her Azumi" Takumi named the tank. "From now on, her name is Azumi. Remember that well..." She sounded so proud. "Still, how did you get this?" Nagami asked. "Well... I have the power of disguise!" Takumi responded. Everyone turned to her. "What now?" Nagami can''t believe what she said. "Disguise" Takumi repeated. "What?" Nagami still can''t believe it. "Oh, come on..." Takumi''s image blurred, surprising them. When she became clear, Tamie was now standing on her position. "What!" Everyone reacted to her. "H-Hey! That''s creepy!" Tamie shouted as she looks at her doppelganger. "Why is it creepy?" Takumi asked. Takumi even sounded like Tamie when she disguised as her. Everyone had their jaws down. When Takumi was teasing Tamie, Chiho noticed the crews of the Panhard going down. A blonde crew stayed at the hatch. "Another blonde..." Chiho whispered. What gets her more is the girl''s hair got messed up and ruined during their arrival. Her eyes match her hair and she looked younger than Chiho herself. "Ah! wait!" Takumi grabbed Tamie and they both spun around, making Tamie cry a bit. "Now who''s the real one?!" Takumi asked as they stopped. "You idiot" Nagami chuckled. It was obvious for them due to their different energy. Tamie was clearly uncomfortable and Takumi was enjoying. "Hmm..." Takumi looked at Tamie and got the idea. "Alright then!" They both spins again. "Stop it!" They stopped and Tamie shouted at the other Tamie. Nagami was now confused. "Can you stop it already?!" Tamie on the right shouted. "Huh?! You''re the one who''s doing all this!" Tamie on the left shouted. "Stop playing around and get serious already!" Tamie on the right shouted. Takumi got them all confused as she matches herself with Tamie''s timidness. "Who''s to speak here?! Stop it and return your normal self again!" Tamie on the left shouted. "How am I supposed to do that when I''m myself?!" Tamie on the right shouted. "JUST STOP IT ALREADY!!!" Tamie on the left bursts out of tears. "I HAD ENOUGH!!!" Tamie on the right cried. "Hey, for fuck sake, Takumi stopped it already" Nagami scolds as she looked at the Tamie on the right. "Huh? She''s Takumi..." Tamie on the right pointed at the other Tamie. "What?! It''s her!" Tamie on the left pointed. They continued to point at each other and Nagami finally snapped. She brought out a grenade and looked at their reaction. The one on the left cried in surprise, while the one on the right gasped. "Takumi..." Nagami hid back the grenade and approached her. She grabbed the Tamie on her right shoulder and punched her intestine with her right fist. "Ooough...!" The Tamie drops on her knees and she started to blur away. Takumi quickly returned back to her own self as she loses focus on the disguise. Later, they talked about the crews of the Azumi. "Believe it or not, here''s the leader of the froggies" She leaned her shoulder on the blonde girl. "Bonjour! My name is Rousseau!" The girl happily introduced. Takumi moved away from her in irritation. "Her real name is Emiko Fushima" Takumi said. "Emiko, here''s Chiho, Chiho Hasegawa. The oh-so glorious daughter of the hero, she''s like, leading the war against us" She introduced Chiho and Emiko approached her. "Bonjour!" She winked and took her right hand. "Nice to meet you!" She held her hand by both of hers and happily and aggressively shook her hand. "Ah... Yes, nice to meet you" Chiho used her other hand to join the shake, they are both holding each other now. "Alright, that''s enou-" "Hey, hey!" Nagami was about to shake off their greeting but Mariko came in. "I''m Mariko Sakitama!" She was excited to hold Emiko''s hands. "Hi, I''m Emiko!" They also did the same and they shook hands in a very energetic way. "Quiet an energetic one, huh" Nagami walked beside Takumi. "Yeah. I also realized we''re lacking a person like her. We need someone like her. Loud and annoying. It''s gonna be a help, otherwise, we''re all gonna stay grumpy till the end of this war and have it the rest of our lives" Takumi said. They parked the Azumi near the tanks and sat on the ground to relax. Some of Nagami''s crew went for the damaged Sdkfz. and started repairing it for use. "Say, what is a faction leader doing in the field all by herself?" Nagami asked. "Shouldn''t you be sending one of your comrades?" She asked. Emiko looked at Takumi. "She insisted that I should come. I could have sent one of my trusty commanders" She responded. "Well? How about joining us in this war?" Takumi convinced her. "I''m not sure how I could transport the armies here. We can''t obviously go through the same way we went. We can''t obviously tell them or they will not allow us to go here at all" Emiko said. "I can steal a portal cube from their base and have the whole country here" Takumi winked at them. They were amazed. "I wonder how everything will turn out if Takumi wasn''t here" Kaho said. "They will bomb the whole place and the Saijuns will never be able to properly organize themselves" Nagami responded. "We will be living to the other villages right now, plotting a re-take of the Saiju" She added. "Say your appreciations to this crazy woman here" Takumi pointed to Mariko with her thumb. "If it weren''t for her, I would be in one of the planes bombing the place" She said. They all looked at her and she fidgeted. "Y-Yeah... I''m the one who met her" She said. They had a long conversation after. They almost forgot about the gathering ?stkampfer on Trupriv/Betty. Half an hour later, a Saijun soldier came running back to the village. He looked frightened. He almost trips to the ground due to him panicking. "They''re coming! They''re coming again!!!" He shouted. His voice reached out to the group in the field. "Shit. Was he a scout?! He said they''re coming!" Nagami shouted. "Man all your vehicles!" Takumi shouted and the soldiers went to their own vehicles and cannons. Chiho and her friends flew up the skies to make sure. "They''re as many as the first one!" Chiho shouted. "Germans?!" Nagami asked. "Uh... The... Jerries!" Chiho replied. "They are all wearing different clothes and they have black crosses!" She said. "The damn ?stkampf!" Takumi shouted. "No worries. Just like the same before, kill them all!" Takumi grinned and flew up. The tanks and the AT guns formed a line and the village was in full alert. The newly-manned tanks have pointed their cannons in the invaders'' direction. Checking the village, Nagami remembered something. She looked up at the skies. "Hey! Where''s that wall you promised?!" She shouted. "Huh?! I thought it would be better to leave it as is for now?!" Takumi responded. "What the fuck do you mean?!" Nagami was confused. "We have tanks on the ground! It would be better if they can shoot from the village!" Takumi responded. Then she turned to Chiho, who was observing the marching enemies. "Hey, use that Peacemaker" She tapped her shoulder. "Alright..." Chiho pressed the button and she gathered her emotions to form rage and share it with the Peacemaker. "This should be fun!" Takumi was excited to see the Peacemaker fire up close. "Remember, shoot the tank with many friends near them. Make that one-shot kill lots of ''em!" She advised. "Alright!" Chiho replied and looked for a tank with many infantries near them. In the fields, most of them saw Chiho''s scope glare and were frightened. "Bis in den Himmel! Verwenden Sie den panzer!" The infantries shouted. "Das kann ich nicht tun!" The tankers replied. Chiho found a Panther tank with soldiers sitting on its back. "Got one... I''m firing..." She said. "Go on!" Takumi said as if to push her. Chiho slowly moved her fingers to the trigger and calmly pulled the trigger. The Peacemaker fired, drawing a trace between its muzzle and the Panther, disturbing the peaceful surrounding and being the signal of another battle. "Yeaaah!!!" Takumi cheered along with its loud noise and long echo. "Son of a bitch, the tank vibrated like hell!" Nagami shouted, a bit terrified. "So goes the ground shakes!" A Zis-30 crew shouted. On the opposite side, the Panther which was carrying soldiers on its back exploded, blowing all the infantries near them and damaging the tanks'' tracks near. "Alright, we disrupted them alright. That should decrease their morale" Takumi nodded. "Alright, time for my opening too!" She became serious for a second before looking down. She looked like she forgot something. "Hey! Nagami! I wanted to show Chiho something, hold on!" She said down to the tanks. "What?!" Nagami looked very confused. "Just stay cool down there!" Takumi replied. Nagami didn''t know what to say. "Alright, Chiho. I will show you something real quick" With that, Takumi became serious and looked down the enemies. "I noticed something about you and I would like you to know more about it..." She took a deep breath and suddenly the skies turned dark. As the dark clouds cover the skies, it pours down heavy rain. "T-Takumi?!" Chiho looked very surprise, Takumi''s hands are glowing blue in power. She looked at Chiho with a weak smile. "I hate it when it always rains when you summon your energy-type magic" She said. "Energy...type?" Chiho remembered her powers with her long axe when she still hasn''t got the Peacemaker. It would also darken the skies and rain. But compared to how the rain is raging right now, hers was just like a drizzle. Takumi then looked back at the enemies. "Ah..." Chiho saw Takumi gathering her breath to shout. "Behold the power of a Goddess!!!" Thunder strikes her, blowing away Chiho. Takumi started to emit powerful aura, even the troops on the ground could feel it. "What the fuck is that?!" Nagami was almost to hide inside the tank when the thunder strikes. She saw it hits Takumi but wasn''t unscathed. "Power of a fucking Goddess?!" Kaho shouted. "You guys can feel it too, right?! My chest is acting up!" Their hearts suddenly starts beating abnormally. Each beat is sharp and painful and it felt like begging to get out. "Fuck... Takumi..." Nagami wanted to shout but the pain was holding her down. On the enemy side, all of them were gripping hard their chests, gritting their teeth in pain, and groaning. The tanks have ceased to move forward. The whole ?stkampfer had fully stopped. "Was passiert... hier?!" One of them shouted as he falls onto the ground. "You see what''s happening, Chiho?" Takumi asked as Chiho slowly flies beside her. Chiho looked around and saw all of the people gripping their chests and struggling. "This is where your heart throbs as if you are in love, without being in love at all" Takumi giggled. She was sparking with blue magic and both of her palms are open, glowing in bright blue. "This is the power of Goddess Mariel, Angel Maria, Mariyou, and Shichiro. No other beings are supposed to learn this monstrous power!" She said as she closed her palms, sparking the magic on her palm as if it was crushed. "It drives you crazy. Your heart will throb in an abnormal way, and your body and mind will betray you and make you believe that your heart is gonna burst out and kill you" Takumi said as Chiho looks down below. Even their allies are affected by power. "Only the people who are close enough will be relieved of this power. By the time the effect wears away, they will be stricken with intense satisfaction" She continued then looked at Chiho and smiled. "That means there''s no escape at all..." She giggled. "Your body will be relieved of the pain and you are intensely entranced, making you remain immobilized for a few moments before you start to realize the situation" She said. Chiho was very shocked and couldn''t even react, she feared her a little. "This is another evidence that a human has no complete control of their own bodies and can turn against them sometimes, another is disease and sickness..." Takumi whispered. At the Trupriv/Betty, the people there are also affected. "What is...!" Nami and Himari were watching the ?stkampfer when it happened. "Gah...! This feeling! How is a power...!" Nami tried hard to speak but the pain intensifies when she struggles against it. Beside her, Himari almost rips off her clothes as she was fighting the first intense pain she has ever felt. "Shichiro...!" The first thing that came into her mind was Shichiro, as she recognized the same experience when he was with them on a battlefield. At a split second, she believed that he was the one doing it. But she quickly realized that their armies are communicating with him at Tsuchiya. "We... Have to kill that person AAAAAGHHH!!!" Nami screamed loud as she pushed herself against the pain, and her heart gave her one big sharp beat in return. She fell on the floor of the tower and rolled. After a while, Takumi spoke up. "I believe you can do this as well. I know you had the same type of magic when you wielded that axe" She said. "But for now, you have to practice. Otherwise, this power will devour you. You can''t even teleport without having to catch your breath" She laughs. "When you get a grip of your powers, come to me. I will teach you everything" She smiled. "Believe in yourself. If a normal person like me and Shichiro can pull off these powers, so can you. So don''t get too down, alright?" She said. "Alright, this is the last thing I would like to show you" She opened her palms once more and balls of energies has formed on her palms. "Devastating balls, I called these" Takumi moved her hands towards Chiho for her to see. "They''re cute, aren''t they?" Takumi giggled but Chiho barely does. "They look like a dog''s toys. Except, they can kill" She said. "Here, watch this!" She aimed both of her arms ahead and the balls fired with a loud spark. It flew ahead and lands above the ?stkampfer. When it was going down, the balls exploded and releases multiple particles. When it drops, the ground lit up bright blue as it shocks a wide area with a very loud noise. "That''s all..." Takumi then fades her power away and the skies returned to normal. On the Trupriv/Betty, the soldiers went back to normal. "Ahh... That feels better..." Nami took a deep breath as the pain wears away. "I don''t want to feel that ever again..." She said. Then she looked at Himari, who looked very dreamy. "Hey, pull yourself together" She giggled slightly as she watches Himari''s reaction from the power for the first time. "You looked like you would rip your clothes off and become a genetically mutated person" She said. Then she looked back ahead and was very surprised. "Hey! What happened?!" She shouted. Himari stood up slowly and saw her own troops severely killed. No more than twenty survived and the tanks'' engines are burning. "Oof. Looks like I stopped their invasion..." Takumi covered her mouth as if to realize a mistake. "I didn''t know they will be wiped out like that..." She said. "Y-You didn''t?" Chiho glanced at her. She saw how disappointed she was. "Seriously...?" Chiho said. "My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined..." Takumi slightly giggled. "TAKUMI!!! GET DOWN HERE!!!" Suddenly, they heard Nagami screaming angrily down there. "Looks like I hit a nerve" Takumi scratched her head. "I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU, GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE!!!" Nagami shouted again. "Whatever it is, it doesn''t sound promising" Takumi teased her. "FUCK YOU, GET DOWN HERE!" Nagami shouted. With that, Takumi and Chiho flew down. As they do, Nagami pops out of her turret and stood on it. She showed her right blade and pointed it at Takumi. "Never fucking do that again, you hear?!" She said. "Alright, I''m sorry..." Takumi flew down to her with a sweet smile for forgiveness. "Just because you-" "I know..." Takumi hugged her. "Goddamn it, Takumi!" Nagami looked away as Takumi was gently rubbing her cheeks with hers. Later, Takumi explained everything and how they ''accidentally'' stopped the invasion. While she was disappointed, the others were happy that another attack was stopped. The Germans were furious about this and started gathering more at Trupriv. The Saiju and its defenders were able to fortify their defenses even more. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free