Shift

[Andromeda]

The ground suddenly started to rock. Everyone thought it was an earthquake at first, but realized that it felt nothing like what they normally accepted as a natural earthquake. Above them dirt fell between cracks that started to develop. Panic quickly spread throughout the base.

Suddenly the loud rumble ripped through the entire place to deafening levels. It followed up with a roar of unearthly origin. No one knew what was happening. Pressure increased through the place followed by a massive blast of force that threw people and anything loose away.

“What the hell is going on?!” Tatsuya shouted, trying to get through everything only to be met with a white blast. Everything blinded them in an instant. Screams erupted and then wiped out immediately.

When it all finally ended, rooms were destroyed and people laid all over. Some were already dead and others completely missing. Hiroshi staggered to his feet trying to understand what had just happened. Smoke filled the area, but he had an ominous feeling as something did not feel right. ‘Air…it’s not stale…why do I smell fresh air?!’

He quickly got his answer as strong gale wiped away all of the smoke to reveal the sunlight breaking through their base. “Impossible!” Hiroshi stared up the massive hole that carved hundreds of meters into the earth. At the rim of the giant chasm he saw numerous figures gathered. However, as his eyes adjusted to the light he could make out some disturbingly familiar ones. “Damn, I knew it, but I didn’t want to believe it anyway. They got all three of you!” Saki, Yumi and Fumiko all stand amongst the rest of the Takako Faction members.

In all the shock, Hiroshi could not even react to the entirety of the situation. It was more than he expected to happen. Something that none of them ever planned for. No one considered it a possibility. Yet he had to accept it now. Saki and the others stood before them.

‘Damnit all! I have to kill more of my friends…’ While it was not the first time that he had to do it. It never something that he wished to do. He might have put up the front before Yuki, but he hated it. As much as he wished he could have burned away all of his feelings. It would have made it easier. But it was never any easier. The hesitation just disappeared, but the regret and pain remained. ‘Does this never end? Will I ever be free of this?’

While Hiroshi fought over his thoughts, Miyako already started to jump around what remained of their base. She tried help whoever she could. Her gang followed her around working with others. It was complete chaos.

Tatsuya came up behind Hiroshi. A hand on his shoulder pulled him back to reality. “Hey man, we need you focused.”

“Right…” Mashing his hands together in frustration, Hiroshi focused on the whole situation that faced them. He started finally taking it all in. He could see how bad things looked. “Prioritize the protection the non-combatants! Everyone else hold the line with me!”

Chapter 298 – Crumbling Lines

“Yumi!” shouted Yori, as he threw off debris. Even before it happened, he felt that he sensed his sister’s presence nearby. It ended up putting him into the line of fire more than others. The blast that wiped away the earth burned through his school uniform. The entire left side of his jacket and shirt were gone. Light scorch marks lined upper arm. Nothing that would slow him down, but he could feel the sting.

Yori tilted his head up towards her. It made his heart jump to know that she was alive and safe. He did not know what they would have done to her. But she was before him again. However, it did not feel right. “Yumi?” He could see her staring down at him, but not with the sort of eyes he was used to seeing from her. There was cold emptiness that filled them up. Cold enough that it sent chills down his spine. ‘What’s happened to her? She looks like my sister, but she doesn’t too…’

Yumi stared down at him only breaking her silence briefly. “Yori Mizuno. Saki and Fumiko…” She motioned with her hand. It seemed to be the signal for the attack to start. All of the students and others from the neighborhood mixed in jumped down the deep hole. Only Yumi remained on top, just watching the events.

The initial blast worked well as a surprise and opening for a blitz-style attack. No one was prepared for the next wave. The Takako Faction bled through the opening with little resistance. Between the blast and blitz many were already dead or injured. Hiroshi’s side fell to critically low numbers with only seconds on the battle.

Down last, but arriving first was Saki who immediately charged after Yori, completely catching him off guard. His focus remained on Yumi rather than the view of the starting battle. Her first punch sent him flying backwards through walls and rubble to disappear among the smoke. She slowly walked in the direction that she punched him, knowing that it was not over yet.

Slower to hit the bottom, Fumiko dropped down with the clang of her staff. However, unlike her usual pattern, her flame arm appeared where she lost her arm rather than altering the existing one. It held tightly onto the staff.

Eerie rattling from the metal rings on her staff echoed throughout the ruined interior. Magic circles materialized in multiple locations in the air. Thin threads of magic swayed in connection as flames burst out attacking multiple targets. Fumiko quickly swept away many of the injured with her flames silencing the screams almost immediately.

A white lion leapt out in defense of some children trying to escape. It took the hit blocking most of the flames so that only the heat reached them. Haruo slowly stepped out from the shadows as he brought several more of his lions with him.

Down at his feet were three kids, no more than seven, completely frightened. The lion saved them, but now they were paralyzed with fear. “Run,” he ordered to them. However, they did nothing to heed his command. It only made it more difficult when more fireballs came for them. Building a wall with his lions and himself, they took the attacks.

While Haruo still stood, his clothes did not fare as well as his body. They were not made as sturdy. Only a school uniform, a large hole burned through the chest and right sleeve. Light redness appeared on his skin, but not so much as a burn.

He kept taking attacks from Fumiko unmoved and largely unfazed by it. Steam and smoke rose up from his body, but he continued to hold his position protecting the children.

“What the hell are ya doing?!” snapped Miyako at Haruo. She had been directing things around behind the loose line that Hiroshi tried to hold. Her body was not up for a fight as much as she wished to join them. When he did not give her any answer, she ran over starting to understand that he was trying to stop the flames.

She eventually made it behind Haruo seeing the children hiding. The fact that Haruo just kept repeatedly taking the attacks without budging a centimeter made her pause for a second. But she felt the heat and near miss of one of the spells. “You three can’t stay here!” Miyako knelt down and picked up the three kids despite her injuries. As she rushed off with them, she looked back at Haruo. She stared briefly in silence before focusing on getting the kids out of danger.

The freed up position gave Haruo the opportunity to dodge. He ordered his animals forward knowing what he had to do. Fumiko’s attacks did not stop on just because the children were safe. Plenty more still were in danger. There was no choice.

Black light burst out of the debris cloud wiping away the veil. Yori appeared once more, but with blood dripping down his forehead. ‘Damn, one punch from her and my whole body is ringing…’ He could still move, but he questioned how much he could take from Saki. The only time he fought anyone for real was Athene, though his time in Atlantis afterwards gave him practice. However, as Athene reminded him during their sparring matches, he was not a soldier.

He had to keep his mind focused on Saki with how fast she moved. A moment away, distracted by pain would ruin him, as he learned quickly. She already moved in a blur for him. He saw the follow up punches, but seeing was not enough. His body could not react to what he saw. It sent him flying once more.

‘Damn…’ Tears started to appear on what remained of his uniform. The strength of Saki’s hits seemed to have decreased for some unknown reason. Yori could tell the difference. He was not sure why it was the case, but he could only stand back up and try to face her. ‘Saki’s been fighting the whole time in Atlantis against one opponent after another. Even before then, she was a track member and even protected Hayashi. All I’ve done is sit behind a desk…’

It was a completely one-sided fight. Yori did not even stand a chance against Saki. That fact became very clear to him only a minute into their fight. ‘I can’t even think about making an attack or even defense. She’s too fast for me. I don’t know what I should do to fight her…’ A terrible match up, almost though it was designed that way. Yori only had his body’s toughness to protect him, which was not holding out.

All that happened was that he was made bloodier and bloodier with each thrown punch. He staggered back from the last round feeling his legs complaining, even though it should be his body or face. Saki did not seem to have any reservations in their fight. There was no hesitation. ‘…is she going to kill me?!’

He did not have any strength left in his body. The next swing was already coming in after him. ‘I can’t dodge…I never had any hope against her… I just wanted to protect…’ Yori closed his eyes hanging his head down in acceptance.

The sound of Saki’s fist crashing in echoed through the area, but nothing happened. “What’s wrong, Mr. President?” Tatsuya asked in a mocking tone. A grinned slid across his face as he caught Saki’s fist.

Surprise filled Yori’s face watching Tatsuya come to save him. “…why…” He was not even sure why he said it. But it seemed the most accurate to his feelings.

Spinning around with a kick, Tatsuya threw Saki off from her course. He then walked a little forward appearing to take on Saki himself. “So surprised I’d help you?” Tatsuya tilted his head over his shoulder to look at Yori. “We might seem like hard asses for the way we talk, but we’re not evil or heartless. We protect anyone, regardless of whether they part of us or not, as long as you’re not the enemy.”

It left Yori a little surprised still. They had been so dead set on knowing their allegiance that it seemed to be the only thing that they acknowledged. The binary of a war, there were only two sides to any conflict. The allies and enemies and they wanted them to pick which. He did not really expect such a reaction from all of their hesitation.

Tatsuya grinned a little playfully at Yori. “You’re not an enemy, are ya?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Then we don’t have a problem!” Charging back at Tatsuya, Saki tried go after Yori once more, but was interrupted again. Tatsuya grabbed Saki’s wrist to keep her from reaching her target. “Your opponent is me, Saki.”

She suddenly turned her head to look at Tatsuya, rather than Yori. It seemed that she recognized him, unlike before. Her target switched accepting the new entry. Saki brought her focus completely to him.

A swing from her aimed straight for Tatsuya completely missed him. Her eyes betrayed her confusion that she missed him. She tried again and failed to connect once more. Everywhere she placed her arm it seemed to miss. He was there one moment and then suddenly not as though he could teleport. Saki swung wide as he only seemed to be rotating around her, another miss.

Yori stared in bewilderment as well. He did not understand what was happening. Unlike when he played punching bag to Saki, Tatsuya dodged everything that Saki threw at him. ‘How is he doing it?! Is this the difference in combat experience? He barely even seems to be moving. Just always on the move without stopping. I don’t understand…’

Hiroshi viewed much of it from a distance. He helped to hold the line, but his powers were ill suited to the current situation. It restricted his ability to have a meaningful impact on the fighting. However, his physical attributes gave him enough to keep up with holding back the attackers.

The whole battle continued to turn worse and worse for them. He could see it from his point of view. So many were dead from the start and the strikes after had been deadly accurate. He wondered how they managed for so long to keep things from completely falling apart. Only the thought of everyone dying seemed to be holding them together.

He did not like the feeling he got from the battle. ‘They’re far more organized than before. I don’t understand it. We haven’t had this large of an attack since the counter offensive began. They always stuck to smaller hit and run style attacks after we started to win. Why change now? What’s made the difference…’

Rescuing one of the students, Hiroshi threw back the insane teacher from the enemy faction. He threw off one of the larger pieces of debris where they fell to pin them underneath the earth. “How bad is it?” he asked the student he saved.

Blood soaked through their ragged clothes and dripped down their arm. “I can still move, sir!”

“Enough with the sir, I’m younger than you! Just get out of here!” Hiroshi pushed them behind him as he picked up a broken pipe to finish off the teacher. They were someone that he did not really know well. It made it easier, though he did see them in the halls and roughly knew that they taught math. ‘Sorry…this is the only way…’ He ran them through the heart quickly. It was the best way he found. A quick short death. He was not so brutal as to do it in any other way. He always watched them on their last breaths.

Never forget.

After it was finished, he looked up the gigantic hole. The sunlight made it difficult to see, but he saw a lone figure at the top. “…Yumi…” He did not understand why she did not make any actions. She just seemed to be watching the whole thing as though she was god.

A moment longer and their eyes met. She saw him. He did not get any more time to stare. Someone else came in after him suddenly acknowledging him. They seemed to have been largely ignoring him, but now he had more attention than he wanted. “Suddenly I’m so popular. This is why I preferred being in the background at school.” Ripping out the pipe, he wielded it as though it were a staff keeping off the close range attackers, while trying to dodge the long range.

Hiroshi succeeded in staying ahead of them for a few seconds, but suddenly his leg tripped on something. He looked down to see the earth had actually grabbed a hold of him. In the moment, they all jumped after him with his attention gone.

“Commander!” shouted Miyako, leaping over Hiroshi to lay down a spinning whirlwind kick to four separate attackers. It sent them all flying away with surprising force. She landed out in front of him planning to defense the position, despite all of her bandages.

Fighting with the earth, Hiroshi eventually got himself free, but not before Miyako quickly became overwhelmed. She fought them off as best as she could, but it was not going to last. “Miyako!”

Throwing one of them off her, she tilted her head back towards Hiroshi. “We’ve finished, sir!” She elbowed another out of her way, before a lightning bolt blew through her shoulder. It knocked her back as the earth came up to pin her down.

“Damnit…” yelled Hiroshi. ‘This is a losing battle. There’s no more point to it.’ Spinning the pipe around severely wounding two of the students trying to finish off Miyako, Hiroshi made it to her side. “We’re retreating now! Code black!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Hiroshi succeeded in staying ahead of them for a few seconds, but suddenly his leg tripped on something. He looked down to see the earth had actually grabbed a hold of him. In the moment, they all jumped after him with his attention gone.

“Commander!” shouted Miyako, leaping over Hiroshi to lay down a spinning whirlwind kick to four separate attackers. It sent them all flying away with surprising force. She landed out in front of him planning to defense the position, despite all of her bandages.

Fighting with the earth, Hiroshi eventually got himself free, but not before Miyako quickly became overwhelmed. She fought them off as best as she could, but it was not going to last. “Miyako!”

Throwing one of them off her, she tilted her head back towards Hiroshi. “We’ve finished, sir!” She elbowed another out of her way, before a lightning bolt blew through her shoulder. It knocked her back as the earth came up to pin her down.

“Damnit…” yelled Hiroshi. ‘This is a losing battle. There’s no more point to it.’ Spinning the pipe around severely wounding two of the students trying to finish off Miyako, Hiroshi made it to her side. “We’re retreating now! Code black!”

While Hiroshi dug at the earth with his bloodied pipe, Miyako stared up at him a little stunned. She could not believe that she was hearing those words come from their leader. Retreat was always an option to them. Running away to another town or just further away from the neighborhood. Despite Takako mercilessly expanding and killing, she did not seem to push on the opposite side that they could not protect. It was a very real solution that escape would have saved them all from their current fate. One that they all likely considered.

Yet, it was never taken. Even when it was thought of, it was never an option. It was silently denied before even being brought up. To retreat from their base, their home. It should never have happened.

More stunned was that she was willing to accept it. She was not firmly against it. Such a realization sank into her deeply. The corrupting feeling was not welcome.

Hiroshi freed part of her. Even while he worked, she fought with any part of her body that was free to keep them back. The pain did not matter to her. Blood dripped along her body, her wounds reopened. But she was finally free. Her full strength returned allowing her to pick up one of the students and fling him around over her head before chunking him into the crowd.

Miyako glanced over at Hiroshi to see his condition. He had endured repeated attacks just to save her. “Are you sure? Code black?” It was extreme even in her eyes, despite the evacuation.

Nodding with a little reluctance, he looked forward at the crowd of enemy soldiers. “Yeah, there’s no other option. Give the signal.”

Chapter 299 – Black Signal

Further away in the large hollowed out ground, Haruo stared off with Fumiko. His animals provided cover for him, but little in the way of any offense. He analyzed her patterns and attacks. Their time in Atlantis gave him little insight in her powers, as they were not together most of the time. ‘I was under the impression from what I saw that she could only cast her magic through her hands, but I’m not seeing that happening. She’s creating magic circles in the air around her. Did her power evolve after the last fight against Glykeria?’ He never learned much from the fight.

Naturally, Fumiko became more of a recluse in their month stay off the fighting ended. He rarely saw her and her attitude made it clear she had little intention of being friendly with the rest of them. It made him curious to know why she changed so dramatically between when he first met her and after the fighting.

It meant that he did not learn anything about her. And Glykeria was even more mysterious and confusing to understand. He failed on several occasions to try to figure the girl out. It left him with no useful knowledge, not that he expected to have to fight against her later. If he ever had to fight with her later on, he wanted to plan around her powers.

He summoned several more wolves as flames consumed more of them. Their size diminished greatly from the standard ones he used. However, he just needed to keep her busy. ‘I practiced summoning these animals often, this much doesn’t seem to have an effect on me anymore. It’s not like with Teris. However, I’m still no closer to understanding why their size varies so much. I can’t find any consistency.’

Their battle dragged on with little progress made by either. But it started to be something he noticed. ‘I’m barely holding her back, but I know she’s not limited by this. I’ve heard Seiji tell enough stories to know this is not her limit. Why isn’t she making a more pressing offensive?’ Haruo looked around the area wondering if his answer laid elsewhere, such a hidden attacks.

Nothing stood out to him. She did not seem to be up to anything. All around students in black uniforms, mixed with outsiders, had become almost a wave of death. They swept through many of the defenders with ruthless efficiency. They had coordinated attacks and teamwork. ‘I don’t recall them acting like this the first time I saw them fight. What’s changed?’

“Stand still you coward!” yelled Saki, as she kept trying to connect with Tatsuya. Every fist she threw missed him. Her face twisted with anger the more that she failed.

Dodging again with flawless precision, Tatsuya smirked a little. “Given the strength of those punches I don’t think that’s much incentive to let you hit me.” He had to dodge again before she connected. Her speed was nothing to scoff at, despite his casual attitude. “I’m not a fan of sleeping when I’m not tired.”

“Tatsuya! I’m going to kill you when I get my hands on you!”

“Still not a reason to stop!”

Yori still did not understand it. Everything he saw in the way they moved should have had Tatsuya eating dirt. His movements were not faster than Saki, but she still missed him with every attempt. ‘What is it that he’s doing to stay one step ahead of her the whole time? What is his secret? This is his power isn’t it?’

Catching her latest punch, Tatsuya grinned and delivered a swift counter to her face. It did not seem to make her budge at all. “Guess I’m going to have to be more serious. I can’t half-ass it with you, huh? Such a pain.” He wound up several more punches trying to move her but it was as if she was a wall. The last hit Saki caught with her free hand.

Barely even marked up on her cheek from the barrage, Saki’s eyes slid over to look at Tatsuya. “You hit like a girl.” Nothing he did made any affect on her.

Fighting a losing battle of strength, Tatsuya only had bravado to hold himself up. “And I thought I had at least graduated to womanhood,” he mocked. His legs complained to him along with his back to stop trying to keep up with Saki.

“You’re nothing like Rheia!”

“Who?”

“A real woman!” Saki suddenly broke free from the power struggle. She disappeared from Tatsuya’s sight and appeared in twin form striking him from two completely different directions.

Blood coughed up from his mouth as he flew back. “Damn!” His body slammed into the earthen wall of the ruined base. Smoke coughed up around his body.

“Tatsuya!” yelled Yori in surprise. Everything flipped in an instant. He never saw it happen. Not even a blur of Saki. Only at the end, he saw a shimmering around her body almost as though he was crossed-eyed and she was slightly out of focus.

While he turned to try to assist Tatsuya, Saki appeared behind him. “I’d be more concerned about yourself, Yori.” She spun around throwing Yori into the air with a wide kick. Followed up in an instant, she appeared above him spinning her leg down with her heel digging deeply into his stomach. Blood sprayed up from his lips dotting Saki’s face.

Yori crashed into the earth with a crater formed from his impact. His body screamed at him from the sheer force of the collision. He tried to move his body, but the earth seemed to take a hold of him. ‘Damn…she’s just too much for either of us…’

Saki came to a landing next to him. Her fingers pressed together forming a wedge as she thrust down for his heart. Blood sprayed up across her face. The cold look from her light blue eyes held no emotion at that moment. However, it quickly changed when she looked closer. ‘Damn, his barrier protected him at the last moment and deflected my hand enough to miss his heart.’ She withdrew her hand from his chest leaving a bleeding hole in his lung. “Don’t think that’ll be enough!” Saki pulled back for another attempt.

A slab of earth flew at Saki knocking her off Yori before she could finish. “Don’t forget you’re fighting me,” coughed Tatsuya, appearing out of the smoke. He wiped away the blood from his chin and walked back into the fight.

Pulverizing the chunk on top of her, Saki did not look much worse wear other than a slightly dirtied uniform, though the black made it difficult to see. “You’re turn is next after I finish Yori off.”

“Get use to disappointment then.” He worked up a grin to keep his confidence on display despite his feelings on the matter. ‘Damn Saki, since when were you so powerful?’

Interrupting the fight, a siren blared with all of its might despite being damaged and barely producing the intended sound. However, Tatsuya immediately glanced around. He knew the signal. ‘Black? Really, it’s gotten that bad?’

He did not get much time to react as Saki closed in with both of them. Tatsuya intercepted Saki and flipped her to use her speed against her. Reaching behind him, he retrieved a strange looking weapon with a wide barrel. A yellow beam burst out of it the moment he pulled the trigger. The ceiling all around Saki came raining down even heavier than the rock he tossed at her. It completely buried her. “That should slow her down…” Tatsuya lifted up Yori ignoring his wound and rushed out of the area.

“What…are you…doing?” asked Yori, trying to stay awake.

“Code black has been given. We need to get out of here! Hiroshi’s putting an end to this battle!”

Hiroshi and Miyako fought back to back trying to keep the mob back. Nearly all of their men had fallen or retreated, by his order. They were the last ones standing. “Get the hell out of here, Miyako!”

“I’ll be damned if I’m letting you do this!” she shouted over punching with her good arm a close ranged kid. Her foe went flying into the mob. They slowed them down both a lot with all of their powers, but they struggled on together.

He spun around evading a stone attack and protecting Miyako. “I’m in charge, damnit! Obey my orders!”

“To hell with your orders! There’s no way I’m leaving you behind!”

“Damnit, Miyako! I don’t have time for this!”

Knocking through some of the mob trying to make it to the exit, Tatsuya stumbled across Hiroshi and Miyako arguing as much as they were fighting the enemy. “What the hell are you two doing?!”

Miyako glanced over at the voice to find Tatsuya. “Tatsuya! Good timing!” She pushed Hiroshi down to protect him from an attack that ate into her ribs. Blood quickly pooled up around the wound. Once it was over, she lifted Hiroshi up with one arm. “Catch!” She tossed Hiroshi through the opening into Tatsuya ignoring the fact that he already carried someone.

The incoming human cannon made Tatsuya duck and forced Hiroshi to eat dirt. “What the hell, Miyako?!”

“Take him and get out of here! I’ll handle the order!”

“You can’t!”

“Someone needs to stay behind to keep them busy! Now go!”

Hiroshi recovered quickly, but the mob already started to close the gap and turn towards him. He tried to push through and fight off the crazed mob. “Miyako! Damn you!” Nothing would get him through and their lethality did not change just because he wanted back inside.

Four shadows suddenly appeared behind Hiroshi. As he looked back afraid he was surrounded, he saw Miyako’s team, those closest to her. The men she took everywhere with her. They were all badly injured and looked like they could barely stand.

Junichi pushed Hiroshi aside and used his size to breakdown the wall between them and their boss. Covering him, Jiro took aim with his finger firing off several quick bursts of purple-red light that struck down two students in the head. Shigeru slashed outward with his arms drawing blood as he finished their path to their boss.

Yasuo forced Tatsuya and Hiroshi back towards the exit. “We’ve got this. We’ll look after the boss.”

Fighting against Tatsuya, Hiroshi tried to go after them. “Let me go, Tatsuya! I’ve got to be the one!”

Throwing a wake up punch at Hiroshi, Tatsuya floored him in surprise. “You’re the leader, Hiroshi! You have to live and keep hope alive for all of these people! That is the responsibility you’ve taken! I won’t have you abandoning it just because it’s gotten a little hard for you!”

“Tatsuya…” Hiroshi wiped his mouth a little, surprised to be lectured by Tatsuya.

Inside the group, Miyako was annoyed at seeing her men around her. “Jiro, Junichi, Shigeru, Yasuo…what do you think you’re doing?! I told you to get out of here!”

They all stood back to back around Miyako. “Sorry, can’t do that boss!”

Junichi turned around to Miyako. “Sorry boss.”

“What are you—“ He suddenly picked her up far above the heights all the swarm around them. Junichi threw her over the crowd as she tried to turn around to grab after them. Her eyes filled with stunned shock to see the determined looks on her men. She knew what they planned. It was the same thing that she planned. “You can’t!”

“Commander Hiroshi!” yelled Jiro, “Get the boss out of here! We’ll be the bait!”

“Jiro! Stop it! Junichi! Shigeru! Yasuo! Guys!”

“Let us do this, boss. For you, who saved our lives. It’s time we paid back our debt!”

“NO! You can’t!”

Tatsuya helped a reluctant, but finally accepting Hiroshi drag Miyako away. Once they were inside the escape tunnel, another quake ripped through the whole base. Explosions erupted everywhere raining down stone and debris upon everyone. The further they went into the tunnel the more the ground rocked until a single massive blast ripped through the gigantic hole burning everything.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

A bright sunny morning, a fine start to the week. It could not be any better, unless it was the spring and the Sakura trees were in bloom. Even still, nothing made it better than today. The excitement and eagerness in the air was so palatable that it actually was infectious, though not necessarily in a good way.

It is said that one’s happy can spread to another. However, the opposite was just as likely. One’s happy could cause sadness in another. In the case involved here, it was more jealousy or just annoyance. Someone should not be that happy, especially a mature adult going on twenty-five. It was more as if he was a love struck teenager that just heard back from the girl he confessed to agree on their first date.

Worse, he was married already. He should not have been so happy. No one understood it. He did try to hide it, but a grin so wide you swear his head would fall off made it a little too obvious his nature. Though possibly more strange was that no one had really seen him like that better.

“I guess he’s normal like the rest of us,” one commented.

“Well normal-ish. I don’t think the way he’s acting is that normal either.”

“We’re going to hear no end to his boasting now.”

“He’s not really the boastful type though.”

“Look at that face, if that’s not boastful pride what is it?”

“Nepotism, ugly reality,” someone just joining inserted.

“No, I heard she passed completely without any aid from him.”

“Damn, so she’s a prodigy like him then?”

“No wondered they’re married.”

Not oblivious to the stares or comments as her husband, she leaned in a little towards him. “Dear, I think you’re excitement is showing a little too much.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder still unable to contain him. “Nonsense! I’m glad to finally be able to be with you again! Why shouldn’t I be happy!” It had been two years since they were apart. Well apart as much as one could be living together, but him working and her going full time to the university. A long time coming for him, he looked forward to this today for so long.

It made her pleased to see him so happy for her, even though it did embarrass her all the attention they received. The man was dead serious about so many things, yet for her he completely flipped personalities. She considered on several occasions getting him tested for multiple personalities. But joking aside, she was happy to be with him as well. “Even so, this is a professional environment.”

“Since when where you the stuffy one caught up on manners and protocol?” He laughed a little with other thoughts on his mind. “I’m the serious one, you’re the outgoing one! That’s why I fell in love with you!”

He was only making things worse. “Dear…this is Toyama Labs, one of the most well respected and pioneering medical research companies in Japan.”

“And now you’re here too!”

She sighed, he was not listening to her. It was actually surprising that he was not paying attention. Even at his worse in doting on her, he would still listen if he went too far. ‘I never would have planned on this happening to him. I would have thought he’d be more reserved around others. This is going to be a long first day…’

Fortunately for her, they arrived at the security checkpoint, the second already. They took their secrets very seriously and monitored all activity of their employees throughout the building. Another point that surprised her for his behavior.

Lifting her newly acquired security badge for the guard, he scanned her into the system. “Tomiko Hayashi, you’re clear,” the guard replied waving her through the gate. The man held up her husband scanning him in despite remarking that they had known him for two years. “Clear, sir.”

After they both passed safely through the gate, Tomiko started to turn to the right. However, Isamu stopped her. “We’re down this way, dear.”

“I’ve been assigned to the Sakamoto Team.”

“What?!” he exclaimed with his face completely melting.

Chapter 300 – Rewind 3

Laughing, Tomiko finished recounting the morning details around an outer door table in front of a local restaurant. Among friends, she stopped being the professional one. “The look on his face was priceless. If I wasn’t inside, I’d probably have started laughing out loud.”

Kiku giggled while trying not to cough on her tea. “No wonder Isamu looks so miserable right now.”

She patted Isamu on the thigh trying to cheer him up. It was a little heartbreaking to see him look so sad after being so excitement. The one-eighty he did would have given someone whiplash at his speed. “I didn’t have the heart to tell you, you looked so happy today. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.”

He poked his finger at his sandwich as though he was a child. Despite his intelligence and normally straight-laced attitude, he had a surprisingly immature side to him. “I know I requested you for my team. Did Human Resources not get my request?”

“Did you really think they’d allow a married couple on the same team, Isamu,” Hachiro reminded, “For being so smart I thought you would have realized that simple fact.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?!”

He sighed a little disappointed that Isamu did not understand. The two women laughed more between themselves.

Switching topics, as she teased her husband enough, Tomiko zeroed in on Kiku and Hachiro. They sat together opposite of them at the table. The normal set up for them during their lunch get-togethers. “So you two doing anything for your anniversary?”

Immediately blushing with embarrassment, Kiku might have known Tomiko throughout their time at the university, but it did not make her any less immune to her more intimate remarks. The question left her almost completely shutdown.

Tomiko grinned like a cat watching Kiku. “You’re acting like a school girl still, Kiku. You two have been together for nearly as long as we’ve been married.” She slid her eyes over to Hachiro checking him out for a reaction. “You must be planning something special, six years.”

It was hardly the first time she pressed them. Hachiro had gotten used to it more than Kiku, but he still found her nosiness to be a little annoying at times. “I’m grateful to you for what you’ve done, but what we do is our business.”

Pouting a little in disappointment, though more just giving him a hard time, she smiled again quickly. “Aw, come on! We’re all friends here! The two of us are finally through with university and you’re looking for work. You only live once!”

“Private matters are private matters,” he replied stubbornly.

“You’re so old fashion!” She clung onto Isamu more intimately than most would have viewed as acceptable by more strict individuals. “Society’s more open these days to being open and free about your relationship, you don’t need to hide it away in your apartment.”

Her comment and act managed to make Hachiro blush a little now. “And you could do with a little more restraint.”

Tomiko giggled pleased with her success. “You’re my friends. More than anything I want you two to be happy.” Another patient was admitted for whiplash. She flipped to serious so fast it might have made the two fall out of their chairs.

“I know,” Kiku said, almost instantly recovered. A warm smile came across her face seeing the sincerity from Tomiko. She had a lot that she owed to her. It made her wonder if she would ever be able to repay her friend for everything she had done. “Thank you.”

Everything seemed to be back on track. The mood returned to a happy one without the teasing. Their meal could continue or so they thought.

Suddenly, someone passing by the restaurant collapsed right at their table. The seemingly unconscious body spread out on the concrete quickly threw everyone outside into a panic. People screamed and panicked not knowing what to do. Others ran into the building looking for help.

Kiku and Hachiro both looked over at their friends. It was barely even a two seconds after it all happened that they ran out to the collapsed man trying to see what was wrong with him. Hachiro stood up with concern, but aware he could do nothing. “Can you do something?”

Isamu checked the man’s vitals turning him over with the assistance of Tomiko. “I might have a medical degree, but my expertise isn’t in the practicing area. Though I know enough to provide some help.”

“He’s still breathing, though a little shallow,” Tomiko reported.

“He’s sweating a lot and seems like he’s burning up.” Then suddenly a deep groan came from the man’s stomach making all four of them sweat a little. “…he’s starved…” With Tomiko’s help, they got him up to their table.

Hachiro met with the restaurant owner as they rushed out. “He doesn’t seem to be in any danger…other than starving…” He quickly had to explain to them that the stranger was fine and no ambulance was needed. It took a few minutes of convincing which ended when the foreigner came back to reality with drool down his lips as the sight of food.

“Thank you!” he repeated several times in rough Japanese, as though it was the only thing he knew. He had a thick accent that did not sound American for the few words of English they picked up from him, as side comments to the food.

It took him several minutes of stuffing himself before he responded to anything external. He then looked over at Kiku seemingly recognizing something familiar in her. “Oh you’re a foreigner too!” he responded in English to her. He quickly grabbed up her hands as though he had found his savior. “I don’t know any Japanese!”

Kiku hesitated a little, he targeted unknowingly on a sensitive subject. “…um…”

Jumping in to Kiku’s aid, Tomiko separated the overly friendly man from Kiku. “Kiku is Japanese.”

The stranger did not seem to understand why Tomiko said it, though it was in English. “But she looks American.”

“That doesn’t matter, are you feeling better?”

“Oh yes! Thank you very much! You’re very kind for the meal.”

Isamu had been rubbing his face the whole time trying to figure out the accent. He knew his English well enough from his college classes, but it was nothing like what he heard before. “Are you American?”

“Oh no! I’m British, I’m just a tourist! I’m surprised how good your English is, I haven’t found anyone that understands me!”

“That’s explains it. How long has it been since you ate last?”

He had to rub his chin a little in thought. “Two days?” The reply received quite the surprise from the table. “I couldn’t get any meals and I was lost. Then the heat…I didn’t know summers in Japan were so bad, it’s nothing like England.”

“It’s not always this bad, you just caught us at a bad time of the year.”

The man looked around at the table realizing that he was out of place and did not really belong. “I’m sorry for intruding on your meal. Thank you for the meal, how much was this?” Isamu and Tomiko declined him. “But I insist!” He dropped a couple thousand yen bills down on the table. Before any more protest, he bolted as his way of ensuring he paid.

They all looked around at each other not completely sure what happened. Peace at least returned to the restaurant. Things no longer even seemed to notice that something occurred only a few minutes before.

“Strange man,” Tomiko commented.

“Yeah…”

Staring down the street for a moment, Isamu spoke, “It’s odd that he couldn’t find food anywhere, even without knowing Japanese.”

Hachiro nodded in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.”

The British man disappeared into the crowd and broke through into the alley. He looked around the alley seeing that it was empty. A moment passed in silence as a beep sounded off confirming something for him. Then a ripple suddenly came out from his feet altering his appearance. “…hmm, so those were the Hayashi’s… They might be ones I can trust…”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

As he walked, he tried to think up what he would say. He needed to say something. The years it had been since the last time he saw her made for difficult for him to know what to say. It was not as though a simple ‘Hey’ was going to work. She left them because she had become fed up with everything. Their grandfather was too rigid and old fashion and their father too capricious. Seiji knew how she must have felt. It was not as though he did not have the same thoughts.

Even having the same thoughts, he was not sure why he never acted on them. He hated dealing with their old man every day. All of the rules and structure were not things for him. The man was too dead set on things going only his way. It made Seiji wonder how their grandmother ever could come to love such a man. He was impossible to deal with. Yet maybe, he was not so stubborn anymore. Maybe the new reality changed him as it did the others just in a different way. Seiji did not know. Though he wondered, he did not really care about it too much. He had his own problems.

The most immediate one stood in front of him. ‘This is the place…what do I say?’ It was the biggest question he had in front of himself, before even talking. He did not even know what he should open with. He had lost track of the years. ‘Will I still remember her? Will she remember me?’ The question built into worry, something that should not have even been a concern for him.

Seiji had an unusual feeling nestled in his stomach. Everything he was used to doing just was impulsive. He acted. He did not think about the situation or consequences. It did not matter to him. It was better to act and regret the act rather than not act and regret doing nothing. He lived in the moment as a true man should.

At least that was what he believed.

However, a true man would not just stand in hesitation before the stairs. He should already be walking forward, but his legs were shaking. ‘Why…am I afraid?’ It was a feeling that he could not put clearly into words. It seemed too simple and yet it was all he had. He did not know why, but he felt a little afraid or some reason. Mixed in with it were worries and doubts, but he was afraid.

There was an odd certainty about it. None of it made any sense, but he was positive. He just could not explain it even to himself. The fact that he could not understand it himself only multiple the feeling, as if feeding on his doubts.

“Damnit, man!” Seiji rammed his fist into his cheek with enough force that it made the wood of the apartment groan. “Get it to together!” Lowering his hand down, a red mark remained where he knocked some sense into him.

All of the questions just fell out of his mind. It was empty. The way he preferred it. Seiji marched up the stairs to the destination. Though he cleared out the blockage in his mind, it seemed to start returning. And it was growing even stronger the closer he got. ‘Damnit, hold it together.’

Any sort of encouragement had little effect on his tidal wave of emotions. Nearly every part of his body seemed to shaking as if someone was throttling a tree for an apple to fall. It made one of his steps miss and knocked him on his face. ‘Why am I falling apart like this?! This isn’t me! You’re better than this Seiji! You decided that you were going to do it so stop it!’ Another whack from his reliable fist pushed him forward again.

The spell would not last for long, but it got him the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the moment that he came to a stop in front of the door the feeling crashed into him like a ten-meter tall tsunami. It wanted to drag him away. His feet almost seemed willing to accept it. Only his stubborn determination to see it through held him in place, a few more punches kept him still. He was going to be black and blue before he even spoke to her.

It seemed to take everything in him just to get his hand to the door to knock. Measuring his strength carefully, he did not want to smash it down with his strength. Initially, almost non-existent, the second try was better if not a little too strong.

He waited.

And waited.

Nothing.

Another knock. Nothing once more. Knock a third time and same.

‘Is she at work maybe? It is the afternoon now.’ He tried again, finally having the strength. He could not stop anymore. He committed to it. ‘I can’t have wasted all of this effort on nothing…’ Further attempts failed too. However, he just did not want to walk away. “Umm…” Seiji hesitated, trying figure out his words, “It’s me, Seiji…mom…”

He waited. A distant noise from inside the apartment leaked to his ears. ‘Is that her? She heard me?’ The waiting to see her became almost unbearable for him. He just kept hearing her moving closer. However, the feeling came back the strongest he had felt and worse it seemed to be multiplying with each second that passed.

It paralyzed him on the spot. Everything came into question. ‘Should I be here? She left us. Did she even want to see me? Is she just going to yell at me?’ Seiji could not think straight. All he felt now was fear. It was no longer anything so peaceful or calming like a wash or a wave, even a tsunami. It was an oppressive depth trapped at the bottom of an ocean.

All he could think about was one thing anymore.

Run.

It did not make any sense, but in the next moment he had disappeared from the threshold. His legs took over command. He could not stop running. His heart pounded harder than he had ever known. It was worse than running until his muscles fell apart. He really thought it was going to jump out of his chest. It hurt.

The door opened to the apartment revealing middle-aged woman with completely disheveled light brown hair and an oversized pale blue shirt with sweat pants. Her eyes looked almost completely blood shot with heavy lines.

She looked around the hall seeing nothing. A thought seemed to pass through her. She ground her teeth. “…tch…” The door closed quickly with a harsh slam.

Chapter 301 – Regretted Outcome

“What are you—“ He suddenly picked her up far above the heights all the swarm around them. Junichi threw her over the crowd as she tried to turn around to grab after them. Her eyes filled with stunned shock to see the determined looks on her men. She knew what they planned. It was the same thing that she planned. “You can’t!”

“Commander Hiroshi!” yelled Jiro, “Get the boss out of here! We’ll be the bait!”

“Jiro! Stop it! Junichi! Shigeru! Yasuo! Guys!”

“Let us do this, boss. For you, who saved our lives. It’s time we paid back our debt!”

“NO! You can’t!”

Tatsuya helped a reluctant, but finally accepting Hiroshi drag Miyako away. Once they were inside the escape tunnel, another quake ripped through the whole base. Explosions erupted everywhere raining down stone and debris upon everyone. The further they went into the tunnel the more the ground rocked until a single massive blast ripped through the gigantic hole burning everything.

Quickly earth fell down behind him from the collapse. Everything was closed off. There was no longer a base. No longer a chance to save anyone. They could only move forward. In the wake of the explosions and quakes, silence accompanied everyone. No one had anything to say. Nothing to encourage in the face of more losses.

Hiroshi held the rear position watching everyone ahead of him. His eyes especially focused on Miyako. ‘Those men were more than just friends or gang members for her…they were family…’ Killing friends and familiar faces was something he grew accustomed to doing. Most of them had, but Miyako never had to face it.

He thought back to their first meeting. They had been on patrol in the neighborhood after their successful counterattack. Everyone was feeling more confident. Even he had a bit of a grin on his face feeling good that they could take the city back and end the nightmare. ‘…maybe I can go back to being a student now…’

However, thinking about such hopeful dreams had to wait. Tatsuya dropped in to his side, having taken point. “Trouble, Hiroshi.” All of his team came to a halt waiting on orders. Their familiar paranoia pulled in their ranks tightly to protect Hiroshi and monitor all angles.

Hiroshi scanned in the direction that Tatsuya came from. ‘Smoke? A fight…or worse…’ He tilted his head over to Tatsuya. “What happening?”

“Looks like the Takako Faction found some non-aligned.”

A chill went up his spine. It only meant one of two things. They had seen it far too often. Hiroshi hated how good he had become at digging graves. “An extermination squad?” Tatsuya nodded in agreement. Everyone looked back at Hiroshi with a conflict expression baked into their face. The same one he hid from them. ‘I know how they feel. But there’s no choice.’ He stiffened his back and focused on the team. “We’re going to rescue them! I won’t allow innocents to die in my city!”

The conflicted looks disappeared immediately as they filled with Hiroshi’s resolve. They all were ready. Hiroshi nodded pleased to their acceptance. He was hardly anyone to give commands as if they were a military, even though that was how they all saw it. “Tatsuya split off with half the team and flank around to the west. We’ll get them in a pincer attack. Be swift and don’t hesitate.”

“I know, Hiroshi. I won’t this time.” Tatsuya ran off with his group, already knowing to follow. They had all worked together long enough to understand the orders without specifics.

Hiroshi arrived first at the scene, which only made it worse for him. He had to wait on the positioning knowing that people were being injured or killed while they held. It was not easy for any of them, but surprise and swift action was important.

Once he saw the signal from Tatsuya’s group, they charged in together. Distracted with their killing orders, Takako’s squad did not see them coming before it was too late. Their first volley killed most of them without even needing to close. It was the best way. Once alerted, they had to close to mop up the rest.

The charge quickly swept through the remaining numbers. It was all over in only a minute. The way he preferred. Unfortunately, one still survived with a grave wound. The chaos left the girl missed by everyone. Hiroshi noticed though. He saw the murder in her eyes. It was the only emotion she had. ‘Okano…Class 2-B…damn…’ Pulling out a dagger from a belt hidden against his back, he quickly stabbed the blade through her heart. He watched the life slowly drain away from her eyes. ‘…this is why I prefer killing them all at a distance…’

Keeping himself together, Hiroshi wiped away the blood and sheathed it back before turning to meet those that they saved. He saw Tatsuya already giving aid to those injured. However, there was one that kept standing refusing them all. She looked worse than all of them, soaked in her own blood. ‘She’s been holding them back almost entirely alone, protecting all of these people…who is she?’

Hiroshi approached her, but slowed his pace when she noticed them. He could see how tense she looked. She was still caught up in the fight, her mind completely locked up. “Hiroshi Kuroda, we are friends.” Nothing seemed to register with her. He tried to approach and she reflexively launched into an attack.

His power activated quickly to bring her to a stop. It was the safest of the options he had to deal with her. The rest were not very well suited to anything but fighting. “The fight’s over. Everyone’s safe.”

“…fight…safe…protect…”

“Yes, you protected everyone. They’re still alive, hurt, but alive.”

“…safe?”

“That’s right.”

“…protect…” The woman collapsed almost immediately. He could see the look of relief on her face before she hit the dirt. It was a wonder she managed to stay standing for so long. Blood quickly started to pool around her.

‘…they’re like family to her, no one more important…and now…’ Hiroshi respected the fierce loyalty that they shared with each other. It made them strong and capable. He could trust them with anything knowing that they could succeed. ‘…how will she handle this…’


The deep buried remains of the Resistance base had become a crater. The entire underground filled in as the ground fell in. More than a hundred meters of earth buried the entire thing. A whole block was taken out just to deal with Takako’s men.

Smoke rose up from the settling blast site. Nothing moved.

Light suddenly pierced through large chunks of earth. Waves of stone and earth moved starting to hover. Pushing up more and more debris rose into the air eventually revealing a purple barrier. Once enough rubble was removed the barrier came down.

Inside, Yumi, Saki and Fumiko stared at their surroundings unfazed. Those alive still grouped around Yumi awaiting her orders. “Mission complete, return to the school. The Resistance is shattered, we can now move forward with our next plans.”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Turmoil spun Miyako’s thoughts around like a whirlpool. Reality phased out for her. All she could think about were Jiro, Junichi, Shigeru and Yasuo. Their sacrifice so that she would have to live on. It was difficult to accept. Rejecting reality, she returned to a better time, a time she felt more comfortable in.

Years before Japan went to hell, Miyako’s life was a simpler one. A comparatively simpler life, though most would likely disagree with it being anything but simple. Yet, against the backdrop of a merciless warzone of friends killing friends for no reason, it was simple. It was still a bloody affair and a warzone, but nothing so cold or pointless.

Miyako, age seventeen, had considered skipping classes, but elected to stay. Old habits certainly died hard, as the saying went. It was hard some days keeping it together. Especially the looks from the rest of the class. They mixed between confusion and fear, not knowing when she would jump up to surprise them all that she was just faking the whole thing. But it was not fake. It was the truth. As much as none of them believed her.

It did not stop her from pushing the path that she took. She even got it from those that she thought she trusted. But the truth showed her who she should trust and who not. It became very clear quickly.

Walking away from her high school, she saw a group rough appearing boys all with overly confident looks with a chip on their shoulder. They were the type that she really could not stand. They were simply looking for anyway to make a name for them. Between her decision and the fact that she was a woman, they thought she was an easy target. They just assumed it.

The other students stayed away from the group making an effort to cross completely to the other side of the street just to avoid them. However, Miyako was not one to be intimidated. And her old life was a difficult one to escape. ‘We’ll see how resolved they are for this…’ As she passed around them, she gave them a deathly glare that would chill even the most experienced street brawler.

For a second, it seemed like they might have decided to back out of their foolish and childish plan. But one did not get the message from Miyako. He stepped forward still planning to care out their goal. One of his friends grabbed him by the arm trying to stop him. “Hey man, maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

Ripping his arm free, he looked back incredulously at his supposed friend. “We’re doing this! You know the score. Everyone’s talking about it.”

“Yeah, but she’s the Eighty Deaths, leader of the Blood Lotus Gang!”

“Former leader,” he corrected, “And former gang. Neither exist anymore, she’s just a lone high school girl.”

Their voices were hardly quite, but Miyako just ignored them. Yet her menacing presence just from her back never quit. It had the rest of the group trying to talk the headstrong fool out of his insanity. “But none of the gangs mess with her. They’re a reason for why they all stir clear of her, even now!”

“Are ya all a bunch of spine-less bastards? She’s forfeited her territory, it’s anyone’s for the taking!”

“But no one wants it! They’re still afraid of pissing her off!”

“Come on let’s just go. No one will think any less of you, man.”

“To hell with all of ya! I don’t need anyone of ya to take her down! Her head is mine and then I’ll be the new legend in this city!” The moment he said that, Miyako came to a stop. His friends took several steps back already wanting to run away, but only sticking around due to misplaced loyalty. Miyako merely tilted her head over her shoulder to glare back at the idiot. One look of just her right eye locked straight on him was enough to make him piss himself. “…on second thought…maybe you’re right…guys…”

Peace returned to the streets.

It was not the way she wanted to start her afternoon. School tired her out, still not completely used to a full day. Thoughts of homework and career planning spun around in her head making her almost wish for something to ram her fist into, even just to break the stress. Not an easy course, she knew, but she was determined to hold it.

Not that her past would ever leave her alone. “Boss! Boss!” shouted a familiar, yet tiring voice for Miyako. She looked ahead of her to see Takayuki with several others. He waved her down completely ignoring any sort of social courtesies.

Once she closed the distance to meet up with them, she reprimanded them for their behavior. An unrulely lot, but she cared about them, even after the disbanding. “How many times do I have to tell you, don’t call me boss anymore. I’m just Miyako. I’m not Eighty Deaths or any of that stuff anymore.”

It was something that never seemed to learn. Old habits again. “You’ll always be our boss, boss!”

“Morons, I quit that life. You don’t need to follow me anymore.”

“None of that matters to us!”

“That’s right!”

“We’ll follow you regardless if you’re running the gang or not!”

She was sighing so much, she wondered if she already lost ten years off her life. “You guys…”

“Boss…”

They had very determined expressions. Naturally, it was not the first time they followed her after she made her decision. It might have only been a week since, but they kept at it. She had grown tired of trying to convince them out of their stubbornness. ‘I’ve lost so many hours of my day trying to lose them. I should just accept that I can’t rid myself of my old life so easily.’ Miyako stared at them. Determined as they were to follow here, it could only last for so long. ‘They’ll get bored and realize that I’m not going back. This is my new life… It’s what I’ve decided…’

Chapter 302 – New Leaf, Old Leaf

Makin the decision seemed hard at the time, but it was actually the easiest part. Once she left the life she had known for so long, she found that she had time for so many other things. Things that were important to her new life path. Ones that her boys did not seem to grasp fully. She looked back at them with a slightly tilted expression to match the befuddled looks they were giving her. “What?”

“What are you doing here, boss?”

She looked back up at the sign. It should not have been very hard for them to figure out. “That should be obvious. I need some books from the library.”

The boys exchanged strange looks back and forth to each other. Despite following their boss for the last week, anything they did was actually fruitless. It was mostly running around after her. So they really never knew what she was planning. “A library? Have you ever been to a library before, boss?” Further uncertainty went around the group.

“It’s just a library,” she said with unfounded confidence, “What’s there to be worried about. It’s just an oversized bookstore.” Despite her certainty, they still showed doubt. She was not about to stop by them.

She started to the front door. The ribbon on her school uniform bounced with her heavy stride and reminded her of a different matter. Tilting her head back, she checked out all of them. Any reservations that they had did not matter. They planned to follow her. “Clean up your appearance a little, guys. I know most of you don’t attend school, but you look like a bunch of street punks.”

They looked back at her a little surprised to be hearing her say that to them. A few glanced around at each other trying to gauge their appearance. It all seemed appropriate for them. It was a little flashy and made them stand out. They enjoyed the wild look and it made them easy to spot by other gangs that wanted to pick a fight.

“But we are street punks, boss.”

“Oh…right, I guess you are. Well then I guess try to look less like you’re spoiling for a fight. I don’t want any trouble in the library.”

“Yes, boss!” They all became unnaturally stiff as though soldiers under inspection by their commanding officer.

Another sigh. “You look even worse now.” She waved her hand at them, as she walked into the building. “Just don’t look at anyone and try to not draw attention.”

“Boss!”

Unfortunately, it was an impossibility. She did her best to look like she did not belong to them, but they followed her around like baby chicks. It was hard for people not to assume they were with her. Though she still got a lot of strange looks. A bunch of a rough looking boys stalking a normal looking high school girl probably had them thinking that they should call the police to save her. ‘If they’re going to be doing this, I’m going to need to fix them up. This is more trouble than I need right now…’

Digging through the aisles, she searched each one quickly before moving on. The boys just watched her in silence. None of them really to know what she needed for obvious reasons, as they never asked her. And she had a determined expression like she wanted to do it alone. So they just followed.

After five minutes of repeating the same twenty aisles, one of them spoke up. “Boss? What are you searching for?”

“Huh?” she paused on the current aisle frantically searching it a little longer than she had before. Though she did hear the question, she kept looking at the aisle intently. ‘Has to be here…where the hell is it?!’

“Boss?”

“What?!” snapped Miyako, glaring back at the group. It made them all step back a little, a familiar expression started to appear in her eyes. Old habits really do die hard.

“Um…what are you needing?”

“Huh? Books, of course!” Not really the answer they were wanting. The obvious reply actually made them sweat a little, as they were seeing an unusual side of their boss. “…study…guides…”

“Boss?”

“I said study guides!” Her voice rang through the wing of the library they placed themselves into for the search. It drew up the attention of everyone, turning her face red quickly. Anger covered up embarrassment until she deflected it back at them. “Look at what you did!” She barely controlled her voice.

In a surprising bit of common sense by her boys, they led her away from the bookshelves out to a corner of the library. Isolated from all of the tables where people gathered, they would not disturb anyone.

“Study guides, boss?”

“Yes, exams are coming up soon, not to mention I don’t exactly have the best attendance record right now.” Miyako’s face turned a little redder. They continued to see sides of their boss they never knew even existed. She was not the person that they knew. “This is the only way I’m going to pass at this point.”

“But can’t you buy those at a bookstore?”

“Yeah, I know I’ve seen some of those bookworm types saying they go there for them!”

Crossing her arms up, she turned a little away from them and leaned back against the window frame. “I know that already. But it’s not like I have spending cash just lying around. They aren’t cheap you know!”

“Boss…” They had all sort of forgotten her situation. It was not something they dug in too deeply. They just knew the minimum that she was willing to talk about. They were all still teenagers, but she was the only one of them without the same sort of support they had.

“The library’s free, right? So I should be able to study here. I see plenty of those nerdy types in the school library all the time.”

“Couldn’t you have gone to the school library? They probably have the guides or books you need to study available for you.”

Miyako turned around completely to stare out the window. It was nothing so simple unfortunately. “That’s not an option.” She balled up her hand, pressing it against the pane. She never imagined how much she would end up regretting her past actions.

“Boss?”

“I sort of got banned from the school library.”

“What did you do?”

“Some punks from East thought they step on our turf and I showed them the error of their ways.” Pride came out in her voice, despite also having sadness mixed into it.

“Well we’ll help you find what you need, boss! Right, boys!” They all started to get excited, finally able to do something for their boss, even if it was something so boringly mundane as searching for a book.

“Forget the books.” Miyako suddenly pushed off from the window and marched down the hall. Purpose suddenly painted over her face. The new Miyako disappeared.

None of them knew what happened to change her mind. They knew the look she had. “Boss?” Rushing to catch up, they walked around her flanks trying to figure out what was on her mind.

“There’s something I need to do.”

It had no more of an answer for them than the last thing she said. Anymore seemed to be impossible to get out of her. Her mind locked on to the target she found.

Outside the window Miyako stared at, there were five street punks. Four of them were ganging up on one out in the middle of the street with no care for the scene that they started. The four boys all had familiar looks.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

“Forget the books.” Miyako suddenly pushed off from the window and marched down the hall. Purpose suddenly painted over her face. The new Miyako disappeared.

None of them knew what happened to change her mind. They knew the look she had. “Boss?” Rushing to catch up, they walked around her flanks trying to figure out what was on her mind.

“There’s something I need to do.”

It had no more of an answer for them than the last thing she said. Anymore seemed to be impossible to get out of her. Her mind locked on to the target she found.

Outside the window Miyako stared at, there were five street punks. Four of them were ganging up on one out in the middle of the street with no care for the scene that they started. The four boys all had familiar looks.

“Hey boss!” called Takayuki, leading the group on her left. They made it out of the library and around it before she even looked at them. Even then, none of them knew exactly what to make of it. “What’s wrong?” It was an all too familiar expression, but with no reason. ‘She’s left it all behind, so why is she looking like she’s going into a fight?’

Around the library, Miyako came to a stop facing five boys roughly looking to be about the same age range as them, so high school age. They were all gathered up on the street making it impossible for anyone to pass. Bystanders on the opposite side of the street mostly just ignored the scene, but glanced out of the corner of their eye, as was usual for those curious yet wanting to stay uninvolved. Unfortunately, being a fairly busy street it was hard for anyone on their side of the street to pass without becoming entangled in the conflict. Some just turned around looking for a different way, while others ended up frozen not sure how to deal with the violence likely to come.

Takayuki immediately realized what had dragged her out of the library. He walked up to Miyako, standing a little in front of her. ‘Is she planning on fighting them? But why? She doesn’t want to be involved in these things anymore. She even just frightened those overstuffed punks back at her school, when she normally would have just painted the pavement in their blood in the past.’ Making the choice for her, he tried to approach, but was stopped by Miyako. “Boss?”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Takayuki!” She walked up to the group. Four against one, hardly fair odds to say the least. However, it was not the odds she cared about. She easily did twice that many at times. “What do you think you’re doing picking on someone that can’t even fight back?” she bellowed in a deep voice, that unnerved the normal bystanders expecting something different from a school girl.

One of them tilted their head back, surprised that anyone had the balls to interrupt them. “Eh?”

“Hey Junichi, focus man! Ignore the chick.”

“Yeah…” He crunched his knuckles to be winding up for another beating. “Lessons are important.” The boy nearly spread out over the sidewalk already had a bloodied and bruised appearance from all of their beatings. Junichi did not seem to be interested stopping.

They just ignored her. That part bothered Miyako a little, but was not the real reason. She stepped up stretching out her hand for Junichi, the large size of the boy did not even make her hesitate. Size never mattered at the end of the day. She could drop any one of them. Unfortunately, Takayuki stepped in between the two of them. “What the hell, Takayuki! What are you doing?”

He knew that look just like everyone else did. It was the one that you did not step in front of if you did not want to be visited upon by unearthly pain. The sight that made any of them turn blue with fear. It made their enemies flee when her name did not do the job alone. It was the reason they were so feared and well known among the gangs. And he stood in front of it.

Yet even though he knew all of that, he managed to hold himself together. ‘I’ve seen her like this too many times to know this is a bad idea. But I’m not afraid. Why? I don’t understand it, but I know what I have to do. We all want her back, but this just seems wrong… I’m a fool…’ Takayuki grabbed a hold of Miyako’s wrist that planned to start a fight on behalf of some stranger they knew nothing about for reasons they knew nothing about. “Boss.”

“Takayuki, do you know what you’re doing?”

The severity just jumped another level in her expression. It made him grind his teeth. He felt like he was trying to stop a bullet train with just stock of bamboo. ‘I shouldn’t be stopping her. I know this, but I can’t…’ Facing down that look should have made him run in fear. Takayuki held his ground though, despite it all. “I should ask you the same thing, boss. Do you know what you’re doing? What this will mean?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m saying, this isn’t your place to be in anymore! You’re out of this life now! You can’t just step back in whenever you feel like you want. You’ve made your decision on the course you want!”

“Takayuki…out of the way when you don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“No. I do know! The boss I know isn’t so weak willed as to given in when she’s made her decision!”

Miyako snapped out of her rage upon hearing his berating. ‘…damn…he’s right…I made a choice to leave all of this. If I do this I’ll just be dragging everything I’ve done through the mud. But I can’t just ignore this…’

He could see that he finally got through to her. This was not her fight. Takayuki pushed her back, which surprised her as much as the rest of the gang. They had not really known him to be so bold. “Let us handle this, boss! I know what you’re thinking!”

“Us?” sounded off several of the group, a little confused by Takayuki’s declaration. They were not really sure what he was planning. It was nothing that involved them. They had no business getting involved, especially not associated with any gang anymore.

Annoyed by the interruptions and unwelcome presence of strangers, Junichi turned around again. “Shut the he—“ He did not get a chance to finish before started to eat a fist. The weight of the punch stunned him, along with not expecting someone to go against him. But it did not bring him down, as Takayuki might have hoped.

Regardless of whether it was successful or not, Takayuki made his point and stand clear. The rest of his group could hardly stand back and do nothing. They moved quickly to support Takayuki, who was already starting to receive the vengeful gazes of the other three. “There’s the difference between making your point and just torturing someone! If you’re just looking for some blood, then we’ll be more than happy to take out a donation from your hides!”

While Junichi recovered himself and wiped away the blood from his lip, the other three stepped in taking up sides around him. “So we’ve got some would be heroes,” remarked one of them.

“Let’s show them, Jiro!”

“Yeah, Yasuo. No one messes with Black Gate!”

“You got the one of the right Shigeru!”

“…guys…”

Chapter 303 – Hot Blooded Meetings

Finished, both parties called it after thirty minutes. Takayuki’s group came out the worse from the exchange, even though they did succeed to driving them off. They made it more trouble than they wanted to deal with.

Bruised and bloodied, Takayuki and the rest leaned up against the wall in an alley keeping the way clear. They had dragged most of it out from the broad daylight. Though noise came out from all of their fighting along with yelling and pain, life in the sun could resume to some degree.

Miyako helped them all up and walked them through the back alley to get them out of the area. If they stayed too long the police would probably show up. It sort of surprised her that no one called before, but they were probably too afraid of what sort of retribution would happen if they did. They just pretended it did not happen. Miyako kept her fights out of the public, unlike that foursome, gang fights were supposed to be only be with gangs. Getting it to spill out into the light should never happen, not that others follows her personal code.

A few blocks away, they all stopped in a park. It gave them a place to rest. She knelt down to look at Takayuki, who looked the worse for taking on the brute named Junichi. ‘While he knows his way around a fight, he was never one to just take it straight head-on. Dumbass…’ Miyako ripped off her tie to try to tend to some of the blood. “What were you thinking? That I’m just some helpless girl now that needs other people to fight for her.”

Coughing a little, his body felt so much pain. It had been a while since he had been in such a rough fight. Miyako handled so much of their fighting that they never had to worry about a drag out fight. “You know why, boss. It was the same reason that you had.”

“Bastard…” she cursed, frustrated with herself. ‘I couldn’t do anything. They fought for me when that should have been me. No one would have been hurt other than those that should have been.’

Takayuki could see the stress building up in her eyes. She cared about all of them still even as much as she tried to throw them all off. “We’ve all made our choices, boss. This is your choice and you must follow it, no compromises. That isn’t who you are.”

Grind her teeth together, she had trouble controlling the anger coursing through her muscles. “Damn you, you know me too well.”

Grinning a little, he knew it was how it needed to be. “You’ve chosen to stand in the light now boss. We will stay in the shade where we belong. You can’t step back, we’ll carry no what you’ve have for all this time.”

“This isn’t something you need to do, Takayuki.”

“Perhaps, but we want to. You’ve looked after all of us, boss. We can return the favor now.”

Miyako rammed her fist into the grass frustrated with her own inability. ‘I wanted out of it all, because I realized that I needed something more than just blood and breaking bones. They call it a normal life, what you’re supposed to do. I just needed out from it all. All of the blood…but if it is going to be like this…’

“Don’t give up, boss.”

Lifting her head, she looked over at Takayuki, who seemed to pick up on her doubt. She was not known for showing her emotions, other than anger, naturally. She hated weakness, but it was all she felt in such a situation. It surrounded her like an ocean. “Takayuki…”

“You can be better than us. Most of us never finished high school. We’re too dumb or just didn’t care. We made a choice, even if we didn’t think of it as one. Do what we can’t, because you’re better than us. Boss.”

It was difficult to counter what he said. She had made the choice to leave it all behind and now thought about breaking that promise she made to herself. ‘Only a week and I’m already having second thoughts. When did I get to be like this?’ Miyako clinched her fists up knowing the course she had set. It was the only thing she could do. “Since when did you start talking back to me, Takayuki? Who do you think you are?”

Laughing, Takayuki was pleased to see her looking more resolved. “I was your right hand.”

“Yeah…”


The next day after school, Miyako exited with the expectation to find Takayuki and the rest of the crew with him waiting on her. They were nowhere to be seen. She looked around feeling a little lonely, surprisingly, without them stalking her. It was what she wanted. ‘I’m glad…the way Takayuki was talking back to me. They can stand on their own now. They don’t need me. I can focus on my path…’ A melancholic smile came across her face as she walked to the library.

However, she only made it halfway there before some strangers looking for a fight blocked her path. Unlike the cocky boys that did not know better, these had hardened looks in their faces. They knew the life better than those wannabes. She did not miss a step despite their gazes at her. ‘They have nothing to do with me. I’m out…’

Out or not, they did not seem to know. They grabbed her by the shoulder and squeezed tightly pressing muscle to bone as she came in range. “You the leader of those weaklings?” the older teen asked, trying to confirm something.

She did not even flinch when they invaded her space and tried to strong-arm her. ‘If I just give them the standard death stare, that should make them back off. I don’t need a fight.’ Miyako put everything she had in it, knowing how battle hardened they looked. Just her usual stare was not going to be enough. It did not always work for her in a fight, but it usually did enough to unnerve those that did not piss themselves on the spot.

Her patented death stare seemed to have no affect on them. In fact, it actually seemed to make things worse as they knew that she was willing for a fight. “Yeah, that’s the look. She’s no normal school girl.” He worked to try to crush her collar bone from his oversized hand. “As the leader of those weaklings, you’ve got to pay for the responsibility of them.”

Miyako flashed a little confusion in, not getting at the point that they were trying to make. However, her mind quickly reached the natural conclusion. “Your members from the Black Gate. Come for pay for your boys, is that it?”

“You catch on fast, girlie. We’ve already taken out our full payment your men earned for their boldness yesterday. Now you—“

‘Full payment…’ The death stare in Miyako suddenly flipped. Cold emptiness replaced it. The bruiser trying to play at intimidation flipped on his back in an instant before he finished his sentence. Miyako stared them all down. “Now you’ve earned my wraith!”

She finished all five of them off so fast that there was hardly even a scene. Anyone passing by just thought that she laid down self-defense on a group of boys trying to assault her. It only took her another few seconds to get the weak one in the group to spill where they attacked Takayuki’s group.

‘Damnit!’ she cursed, as she ran through the blocks to try to reach them. It was already too late to stop it, but they did not look like the sort to just to leave them a little beaten. She did not know how far they would go and feared for it too.

Miyako slid around the corner of the final turn and came their former base, an abandoned construction site. She slowly walked in looking everyone for any signs of her men. ‘They’re here somewhere…just don’t be…’

Eventually, she found blood dried and soaked into the earth. Following it, the signs only got worse. More blood and trash thrown about everywhere. The whole place had been ripped apart. And then she found them. Most of them looked passed out, she hoped, they did not seem to be moving or making a sound. Blood covered them along with knife wounds. “…damnit!” Rage boiled up in her chest at the sight.

One of the boys coughed, signaling that they were still awake. Miyako rushed over to them trying to check on them. He looked up into her eyes. “…sorry…boss…”

“It’s fine! Don’t talk. I’ll call—“

“Takayuki, he fought them for all of us…but he…”

“That’s enough!” Miyako tried to keep them from talking, but they seemed to have only managed enough to report to her before falling over. She hung her head thinking about all of them. Her body felt on fire.

Standing up, she looked around to find everyone, but she still did not see Takayuki. He was not anywhere outside. Miyako found the only completed room, which they used for their command room. Blood was all over the door and over the floor. She looked in to find two that she did not recognize just left behind.

And then she found Takayuki. Mounted to the wall with stray pipes through his arm and chest. She had trouble looking at him. “…Takayuki…those bastards…they did this…” Miyako could not content her anger anymore. “I will make them all PAY for this!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

And then she found Takayuki. Mounted to the wall with stray pipes through his arm and chest. She had trouble looking at him. “…Takayuki…those bastards…they did this…” Miyako could not contain her anger anymore. “I will make them all PAY for this!”

Is what she said, however, she thankfully had a little more intelligence about her. Prioritizing their health over immediate revenge, she called for an ambulance. She might have been completely enraged with what she saw, but they still were more important to her.

Waiting though was the worst feeling for her. She paced around the hospital hall for a while. Even though she was dressed as a normal high school student, the look she gave them all left everyone off balance. They knew to keep their distance from her.

Miyako took a break from the endless wandering knowing it was about as useful as screaming her vengeful words into the empty hall. ‘Damn it…I know most of them can’t be at risk, but Takayuki…as he was when I found him…’ She looked up towards the end of the hall to the ICU. Takayuki had been in there long past the time some of the others finally woke up. ‘…if he dies…if he dies…’ It was difficult to finish the thought, just left to repeat for her.

The entire time she waited, she saw no doctors or even nurse exit. She did not plan to miss if any of them exited. No one else would tell her anything on Takayuki’s condition. They were either too scared to speak or really did not seem to know anything. His life hung in their hands.

Afternoon had long passed into night. She had forgotten about time. She never knew when it was when she finally saw someone come out of those seemingly stuck doors. The unfortunate woman did not know what happened.

Upon her in an instant, Miyako cornered her before she could even make it half way down the hall. Whatever her destination, it had changed. “Tell me everything.”

“Huh?” the woman asked, looking like she wanted to crush her body into the wall to escape Miyako dark gaze.

Slamming her hand up against the wall, Miyako had little patience for false ignorance. “Don’t give me that! I want answers!”

Scaring the woman till she nearly pissed herself was hardly a smart approach. All it managed to do was shut her down further. She could not utter a word completely entrapped by fear.

Miyako rammed her fist into the wall only centimeters away from the woman. “If you don’t start talking things will start becoming more unpleasant than they are now!” The intensity in her eyes increased trying to force speech from a mute.

As if a real mute, such things were impossible. Miyako got nothing out of her. The woman was just too terrified to respond. She likely had never seen anyone with such a look of wonton violence and even if she had, nothing stacked up. It was a natural human response.

Creaking hinges from the door alerted Miyako, finding two more exiting, a man and a woman. The second before she acted, they were discussing something between the two of them with a grave tone. None of it registered to her.

“What the hell is happening here?” the woman asked just moments before Miyako pinned both of them up against the wall.

A bit of clarity in Miyako realized that the woman had more of a spine than the man or the other woman. So she targeted her for questions. “I’ll be asking the questions! I want to know everything right now! How is he doing?”

Put off a bit by Miyako, but clearly not paralyzed, she managed to keep her wits about her. “Just like a child to threaten. You’re not family, we’ve got nothing to tell you even if you did bring him in.” The woman actually seemed to be doing it to spite Miyako more than anything from the look in her eyes.

Unfortunately, that did not work for Miyako. Swiping her leg out from under the man and dropping him painfully to the tiled ground, she pinned him under her shoe. “You dare to provoke me?” Miyako took both hands to the woman’s top. “You want to see how childish I can be?”

The woman surprisingly remained calm during the whole situation, despite completely disadvantaged. “You think empty threats are going to change anything?”

“I make neither threats nor empty ones,” roared Miyako, tightening her hold on the woman.

Most would have considered it poor timing, but giving the situation it was actually perfect timing. Otherwise, Miyako would have delivered on her promise, she did not make threats. Another person stepped out, a middle-aged man completely confused by the situation of a teenage girl man handling the hospital staff. “What’s going on here?”

“They just keep comin’” Part of her speech started to slip as she lost more control of herself.

The man on the ground managed to pull himself out of his fear to answer. “She’s the girl that found all of those wounded. She’s demanding we tell her the condition of the teen in the ICU.”

“I can see that,” he remarked from understanding the scene better. Coughing partly out of need, he found himself the one playing peacemaking to prevent the need to treat anyone else. “While she might not be family…judging from her actions she seems to know them. It’s not my business why a girl like you knows a bunch on the wrong side of a gang war, but I can say the boy is still alive.”

“He is?” She lowered the woman and let up her grip, finally getting answers. “And he’ll stay alive?”

“It’s out of any of our hands now. We’ve done all we can, it’ll be up to him if he lives through the night.”

“What do you mean?” Miyako turned to face the man directly, as he seemed to have all the answers.

Getting full view of her intense fury made the man choke back a little before he responded. “He has a punctured lung and stomach and severe blood loss. Had you found him any later and he would have died. He seems to have a strong will to live despite his injures. If he makes it the night, then it’s likely he’ll recover.

“Takayuki’s strong! He’ll live, that’s a promise!”

“The next few hours will be the most important.”

“Can I see him?”

“No, we’re still heavily monitoring him for any signs.” Poor timing reared its ugly head. A ringing came through the hall. All of them looked back at the doors questioning what might be happened. “Damn…” He turned around and ran through the doors followed up quickly by the rest of the staff.

The ringing seemed to drain Miyako. She just stared completely lost at what was happening. She did not feel it when more staff ran past her, alerted to the alarm. ‘…Takayuki…’

Chapter 304 – Repayment

Miyako did not know when she returned home. It was all just a blur. She never saw the doctors or nurses again. She was not sure what she saw anymore. Everything just seemed numb. She did not care about school in the morning or even breakfast. She took a short whole loaf with her and just walked out.

Absentmindedly, she carried through the streets with no direction. Her feet took her somewhere, but she was not aware of it. Nor was she aware of the stares she got. It was not her blank expression. Rather the fact that she still wore yesterday’s uniform soaked with blood. She had the look of unearthing herself out of a war zone. Most just kept a wide clearance of her path.

Bad luck continued, but delivered to someone else this time. By happenstance, Miyako blindly ran into four familiar faces. She did not know it at that moment, but would soon enough.

“The hell?” barked Jiro. While in a fight two days, they all looked in good shape.

Junichi stepped up as the wall to get into the face of the one that made the mistake of entering their path. “Watch where yer goin!”

“Hey, Junichi wait,” interrupted Shigeru. He poked out around the wide Junichi. “Isn’t this the girl that tried to start something with you and had to get her men to fight for her?”

“Huh? Oh yeah! It is her!” Junichi leaned in trying to get a reaction out of her, but she did nothing. He did not pick up on her condition finding it to be insulting. “She starts a fight with us and then sends others to do her work. She’s got guts, especially after we dealt with her little weaklings.”

Yasuo stayed back not too interested in the girl. It was more Junichi that had a beef with her and they already dealt with her men, the ones that actually did something. She was just small fry, especially a girl. “Hey, wasn’t she supposed to be dealt with yesterday? Did the boys miss her?”

It took Jiro a moment, but he recalled what he had overheard. “I heard Masuzoe’s group were taken out.”

“Before they got to her? What gang made that mistake?”

“I don’t know, just what I heard. But since it seems she never received what she was owed for trying to stop us, we’ve got the chance now. Luck is on our side, I wanted to wipe that smug look off her face the moment I saw her.”

“Bad luck, girlie,” echoed Junichi, in agreement. He grabbed her by the collar of her uniform’s jacket. Dragged off the street, no one seemed to notice or wanted to notice.

Once out of sight, they threw her up against the wall of a nearby building. It was an empty alley only used for pick-ups, but no one was around. So it was a perfect place to teach her who had the right and who was in the wrong.

Yasuo leaned up against the building watching the alley. He had the least amount of interest in beating up a defenseless girl. “Orders are orders and she crossed us, but there’s nothing fun in teaching a defenseless girl.”

“They’re the boss’ orders,” Jiro reminded Yasuo, “You follow his orders or you receive punishment. It’s the way things work.”

“Which is why I’m watching the alley while you take care of the order. I know what happens to those that are punished.”

Eager to start the teaching, Junichi cracked his knuckles. “Then I get the first lesson.” Without any warning, he wound up a punch and smashed Miyako’s face into the building’s brick. Blood quickly started to paint the wall.

“Just remember, lessons are only remembered when still alive.”

“I know, Jiro! I won’t kill her!”

“I only say that because you hit like a train and this is just a girl. She’s not going to take the same sort of beating as her boys did.”

“I know, I know! But I’m still making her remember not to stop me from a lesson!”

“Fine, teacher.” Jiro picked Miyako back up after the second punch from Junichi left her face down in the trash. He picked off the soaked bag stuck to her face to give Junichi a clean shot.

Blood dripped from cuts along her cheek, lips and nose. Yet Miyako’s eyes still seemed completely out of it. She felt none of the punches. She did not know what was happening to her. The whole world completely disappeared to her. All she could hear was the repeat of the night before.

None of the staff came out of the hall from what she remembered. They just kept running in. A lot of them. She had lost count. They could have been cramming them all in until there was not even air for room for all she knew. They just seemed to have an endless supply.

The ringing never stopped.

She could not stop it.

It was deafening still.

Deafening.

A loud ring suddenly completely overshadowed the noise. It was completely different from the one that blasted her mind for more than half a day. It was familiar. She knew it. It drowned out the other sound. Suddenly, she realized what she was doing. She was wasting her time.

Her eyes opened for real and saw the punch coming in with enough time to dodge it. Junichi’s fist painfully cracked up against the brick. Miyako blinked trying to figure out what was going on. But the ringing came back, the ring of her cell phone. “A call?” She completely ignored the current situation.

Digging out her phone from her skirt pocket, she did not know the number, yet its name came up as the hospital. “Takayuki!” She immediately answered the phone without another thought. “Yes?”

“Is this Miyako Ibuka? The girl that brought in those boys yesterday.”

“Yes. What is it?” An uncomfortable feeling started to surge up in her body. It was fear. The fear that she knew what the call was about. Her mind immediately went the worst possible outcome rather than the hopeful one. It was hard not to think that way.

“It’s about boy named Takayuki Kano. I’m sorry to inform you that he has passed away.”

“…I see…” Miyako’s hand dropped to her side. The voice on the phone tried to reach her, but failed. Miyako stopped listening. ‘Dead…dead…dead…DEAD!’

“Done with your phone call?” Jiro interjected, stepping in for a recovering Junichi.

Miyako, unfortunately for them, was still awake rather than falling back into the void. She saw all of them. “You…YOU!” her voice roared as her body came alive completely ignoring whatever injuries she sustained from Junichi. She seemed completely healthy the way she moved. “You won’t be enough! But it is a good place to start! You’ll regret this war!”

To be continued…