Alright, the wait is over: the next arc in Roland's story is now here. It's time to celebrate!
...Or again, whatever it is you do when the next chapter of a series begins.
Okay, just a few things to point out: this story is going to be a lot shorter than what I'd usually make it (and I'm talking about the amount of chapters here, not the length of each chapter) because of the length of the movie. However, I am going to try my best to give the movie coverage as much of the Strike Heroes touch as I can, so I'll be depending on you guys to let me know how I'm doing.
Anyways, I'm sure you guys came around to read the first chapter, not hear me chat away...or type away as the case may be, so I present to you this: the first chapter of Project Wings...Strike Heroes: Wings of Freedom!
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Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
Since the dawn of time, mankind has always fought against monsters. Those found in the midst of battle are the girls called Witches, gifted with great magical faculties. However, in 1939, an enemy of unprecedented power descended upon Europe. Humanity named them "Neuroi". No one knew where they came from or what they wanted, but the fact remained that cities and entire nations burned in their wake.
To counter the Neuroi, Man created magical devices that amplified the Witches' powers and made flight possible. These magical devices were called Striker Units, and so powerful Witches from all around the world were dispatched to the front lines in Europe.
It was around this time that a new legend had started: the legend of a young man, a man who didn't belong in this world.
Cursed with a Neuroi core fused within him, the man had been through some challenges before being selected to be a member of the prestigious 501st Joint Fighter Wing, more famously known as the "Strike Witches", even being given a prototype Striker Unit to use in battle the day before his arrival. This man had done his job well, protecting his teammates while befriending them and even falling in love with one of them.
However, there was one event that changed the path he had been travelling...
In July of 1945, during the execution of Operation Mars, the man, known at this point as the "Neuroi Witch", had been aboard the transformed Yamato when it crashed into the Neuroi hive over Venezia. Using what was left of his strength after sustaining heavy injuries, the Neuroi Witch activated the Yamato's cannons and destroyedthe hive...only to be captured by the core that had been lying in wait.
Because of this, the members of the Strike Witches at the time, as well as a friend of his from before his time as a Strike Witch, had executed a plan that ultimately resulted in the man losing his magic as well as the depletion of one of his teammates' when she performed a powerful spell and the natural disappearance of another member's.
The brass had declared him dead two days after the events, yet he still lived on, having chosen to lead as normal a life as he could in Fuso as he looked for some answers on his own.
The man of this man, the Neuroi Witch...
His name was...
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Heidemarie's POV
Flying above the clouds in the night sky, I was busy humming a song to myself in order to keep me busy as I had my magical antennae active.
It took me a while before I came to the conclusion that there was nothing interesting to report for the night.
I pulled out a small notebook and a pen, opening the notebook as I started writing in it.
"Nothing to report today either," I said as I wrote down a quick report.
It's been rather...peaceful around here. Ever since the hive over Venezia was destroyed thanks to Pilot Officer Yoshika Miyafuji's efforts and the death of posthumously-promoted Captain Roland Sage, the Neuroi haven't really been too much of an issue around here.
I don't really know why, though.
"My shift's almost over," I added as I put away my writing supplies and looked ahead at the night sky before spinning my body around in a sort of corkscrew before I looked at the moon above. "The moon's so pretty tonight...can't I fly just a little longer?"
Soon, the radio in my left ear buzzed to life, and I stopped paying attention to the moon in order to answer it.
"This is the Saint Trond base," a voice said over the radio. "Squadron Leader Heidemarie, what's your status?"
"Yes..." I said into my radio in reply. "Heidemarie reporting. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Understood. The Neuroi in Karlsland haven't moved for the past month."
"Yes. I wish things would stay this way."
"Yeah...but be careful. The Neuroi act in mysterious ways. Even with the Neuroi Witch gone, the Neuroi can still be dangerous."
Probably one reason why people say that Captain Sage is really dead: the Neuroi seemed to have caught wind of him once the liberation of Gallia occurred. It's unclear if this reason was why they took Venezia close to six months after, but since his death they hadn't been as fierce.
They still destroy ill-prepared infantry forces and ships, but they haven't pulled any daring moves.
Maybe they're trying to be careful until they're certain that the Neuroi Witch was not going to fight back.
Soon, I could hear the signal starting to fill with static, my antennae even flickering on and off.
"Um...Saint Trond base?" I tried as I sought to keep in contact. "Please respond." I soon felt a presence as my antennae flashed red. "Neuroi!" I readied the gun I had been holding on my back, an MG 42, and flicked the safety off. "Warning. Neuroi presence detected. It's..." I looked down slightly and could see a shadow gliding through the clouds under me. "...below me!"
The Neuroi I detected burst through the clouds, and I got a good look at it: it looked a little odd, like it was one of those long collapsible telescopes that had been put away...only wider at the far end.
"How did I not notice it earlier?" I asked myself as I stared at it. The Neuroi was continuing on ahead, so I tailed it as I aimed at it. "Target locked on." It then did something unexpected: it changed its appearance to resemble a missile with a large ring around its shaft, attached by some support beams. This caused me to lose my lock as I was surprised. "It transformed?"
I then watched the Neuroi go through the clouds to hide once more.
"It dropped into the clouds," I noted. "It noticed me!" I then heard some noises behind me, and I looked in that direction. "Behind me?"
The Neuroi fired lasers at me, forcing me to dodge them and fly over it. The Neuroi responded by following my maneuver to keep up, and soon we were right back to where we had started before the maneuver: the Neuroi still on my tail.
"It's fast," I added as I dodged more lasers, using my shields to protect my rear when I could see a laser coming from behind from the corner of my vision. The Neuroi still fired at me as I climbed into the sky. "It's strong. But..." I then fired at it while defending myself and maneuvering to avoid the lasers. It flew up to try tackling me, but I managed to slip past it and opened fire on it, soon finding a core to hit. In response, it fired two lasers that cut through the clouds, but I managed to avoid them as I turned to look at the hole revealing the core, which was closing fast.
"This is the end," I concluded as I fired at the core, destroying it.
The Neuroi stopped giving off its red light before exploding into white crystalline fragments.
I was panting slightly as I flew through the debris carefully before the radio kicked back to life.
"This is Saint Trond base," the voice from before said. "Major Heidemarie, what happened?!"
"I-I encountered a Neuroi," I said with a slight stutter.
"A Neuroi?!" the voice sounded surprised. "Are you in combat?!"
"No, I shot it down already."
The voice sighed. "Mein Gott...Give me a full report please. Return to base immediately."
"Roger, Wing Commander Minna." I then flew off back to base.
XXXXXXXXXX
Roland's POV
"Yoshika-chan, where are you?" Michiko said as she and I were busy inside a forest in Fuso, looking for one Yoshika Miyafuji. She was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt that reminded me of a button-up shirt, a bit like the ones Anna had when we trained with her. She also had a small wicker basket with a strap across her left shoulder and chest, the basket resting on her right side.
"Where could she have gone now?" I asked as I looked around. I was wearing a simple green T-shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. I had a watch on my left wrist, and a brown belt was holding up my pants.
...Let me guess: I need to introduce myself again?
Well...the name's Roland Sage.
Up until about a month ago, I was what people called the "Neuroi Witch", a male Witch who had a Neuroi core fused with his own body.
...Yeah, I said it: I was a magic-user (and male to boot), a rare find. Add in the Neuroi core and I swore that I was one-of-a-kind.
Well, mostly one-of-a-kind...
See, for the last three weeks I had been living as a normal human. No magic at all.
I did have my core still active, but I couldn't do much with Lionelis (I had named him that because it was easier to use a name than to refer to him as, well...you know...) aside from boosting my body performance.
A bit like adrenaline, but I haven't really used it a lot. I think I only used it once, and that was to move a lot of boxes around at the Miyafuji clinic (it was only a small boost according to the core; he did say that if he had added more that there would have been more to it).
Now, about my location while I was in Fuso: I had decided to crash with Yoshika because I had wanted to find a sort of link that told me why her father, Doctor Ichirō Miyafuji, knew about me.
So far, I was as close as I was when I started: not even close.
Ugh...you'd think the man would document something like his research or something. Did he even take notes?
Anyways, enough about my problems for now. I need to find a little Fuso ex-Witch.
"Yoshika!" Michiko tried again as we continued walking. To me, she added, "I hope we find her."
"She's a big girl, you know," I told her quickly. "She took out an entire Neuroi hive with a katana and a spell." I placed my arms behind my head. "A really powerful spell, I might add."
Soon, Michiko stopped as she looked relieved. I stopped, lowered my arms back to my sides, and looked at her before we soon saw a bear with a sort of white, wide V-mark on its chest stand up from a set of nearby bushes.
...Is it just me, or does this bear look awfully familiar?
Michiko's only response was to scream as she took a step back before crashing onto her rear, looking fearful.
Really bad time to not have a sword on hand...
I stepped between Michiko and the bear, arms stretched out.
I know: I'm an idiot if I think that I'm going to actually take a bear claw to the chest, but if the bear does make the first move then at least Michiko won't get hurt.
"Hey, Micchan!" I heard the bear say suddenly.
Wait a second...since when have bears talked? And I'm not counting Yogi Bear, the Country Bears, or any talking cartoon, computer-generated, or animatronic bears from my world into the equation.
"What the hell..." I said slowly as I lowered my arms, ready to put them back up if I needed to. "Yosh?"
Soon, the bear seemed to have gotten onto all four, revealing Yoshika Miyafuji, who was riding on its back. She had the same type of wicker basket as Michiko.
"Hey, Roland-kun," she told me as she patted the bear's back gently. "Come on, you two!"
...Okay, I'm confused: since when did Yoshika learn to let a bear give her a ride? Better still, don't you need a license to be riding a bear like that?
"Huh?" Michiko asked, genuinely confused.
My point exactly, Michiko...
XXXXXXXXXX
"This is the bear cub you saved back in spring, right?" Michiko asked as she and Yoshika were riding on the bear. Since the thing was walking at a normal pace, I was able to walk alongside it.
"Yeah," Yoshika replied. "He sure grew up fast, didn't he?"
"I'd say," I added as we travelled. "I really don't know when bears reach this size, but that was about four months ago, right?" Since I arrived in Fuso, I had been informed by Yoshika about the general timeline of our trip (I didn't really know at the time: I wasn't paying attention to the days very much, and I had the Neuroi to worry about as well).
"Hai," Yoshika smiled slightly.
"Yoshika, how's your studying going?" Michiko asked now. "You applied to Teito Girls' Medical School, right?"
I think she did. Yoshika did bring it up once, but the name eluded me until Michiko mentioned it.
I watched as Yoshika frowned and said, "It's not going so well."
"Well, you had to fight the Neuroi the entire time. You and Roland-san."
Yeah, we did... "I'll have to make up for all I missed before next year's entrance exams. I'll become a great doctor, whatever it takes! Plus, I also have Roland-kun's help for studying."
Soon, another bear that resembled the bear with us walked out of the bushes ahead, and the girls were surprised.
"Is that his mommy?" Michiko asked.
Yeah...I think it is...hope she doesn't hold a grudge against me for what happened when I came here last time.
Yoshika leaned to the bear cub's left ear and said, "Thanks. We'll be fine from here. We've got Roland-kun to escort us."
Soon, the mother approached us and, as the girls got off their "steed", came up to me, taking a few quick sniffs.
This...is...awkward...I never actually had a bear sniff me before. Better stay still lest she tries striking me down.
The mother gave off a grunt as she seemed to nod her head, like she knew who I was: the guy who got between her and her cub to protect Yoshika. She then nodded her head to the left to signal the cub to follow her, and soon they were walking away, Yoshika saying good-bye to them.
"Oh, right, herbs!" Michiko said quickly as she remembered something important. "I've found some hypericum for you!"
...Don't ask me what hypericum was. Do I look like a botanist?
Yoshika gasped and replied with, "That stuff works wonders on bruises and small cuts!"
"Bruises and small cuts?" I asked. Bear Grylls I ain't right now...
To her cousin, Yoshika added, "Where is it?"
Soon, we could hear something yapping, and when we ran to look at the nearby river (where the noise was coming from) we saw a puppy laying down on its chest. The puppy itself was on a rock that was poking out of the rapids (at least I assume it was rapids we were looking at).
"Oh crap," I said as we stopped a certain distance from the river. "How did it get there on its own?"
Without replying to me, Yoshika ran ahead as she hopped down a few rocky steps and reached the river shore.
"Hang on a second," I added as I followed suit. I wasn't going to just let Yoshika do this on her own. Not after Venezia.
"Be careful, you two!" Michiko called out after us.
Yoshika took off her accessory and started jumping across the rocks between the shore and the dog. I waited a second before following her lead in order to make sure I didn't shove her off. Soon, Yoshika reached the rock next to the dog's and, crouching down, opened her arms to greet it.
"Come here," the little Fuso ex-Witch said as the dog hopped into her arms happily. "Everything's okay now!"
Turning around, Yoshika made to hop onto the rock that would take her back to the shore...but when she landed, she didn't catch the flat surface. As a result, she fell backward into the river, dog and all.
"Yoshika!" Michiko and I shouted as we soon watched said girl break the surface, the dog looking soaked.
I could only think of one thing I could do at the moment: I really hated to do it, but...
I dived in after her, using a dive-block start I learned while swimming to enter the water and avoid the brunt of the damages. I then used a freestyle stroke to swim to the duo, making sure to keep my head out of the water to see as clearly as I could muster with the water around me.
"Yoshika!" I said as while fighting the splashing water trying to stop me from talking. "Hang on!"
There was a log that was ahead of our watery path, and I watched as Yoshika tried using breaststroke to reach it. However, the current was going too fast for her to fight through it.
I would have used the log myself to rest, but I needed to reach Yoshika before something happened.
Soon, I could hear the sound of water falling over a cliff. Looking ahead of Yoshika, I could see the top of a waterfall coming up to greet us.
...There's a waterfall here?
...
...
Don't tell us, Lionelis said quickly. We're about to go over a huge waterfall.
Yep, I replied neutrally. Why is he going through my memories to quote something right now?
Sharp rocks at the bottom?
Most likely.
Bring it on...not...
I really hope you don't want to experience falling over a waterfall because if you do then I'm more than happy to oblige.
Soon, I saw Yoshika catch a branch from a log that had gotten jammed between two rocks, using it to hold her position while cradling the rescued dog.
Thank God she didn't fall over...
So why is it I'm careening right for her?
I turned around and tried swimming against the current, but I was too tired from trying to catch up to Yoshika.
I am such an idiot...
SMACK!
I slammed into the branch, making it break. Because Yoshika had been using it to hold on to, she received my full weight as a projectile.
"Sorry!" I shouted to the two victims of my collision as we soon went over the waterfall, my life soon flashing right before my eyes.
...You know, why is it that when you're about to die your life does that as a sort of montage? Is it your way of going over your decisions up to that point, or is it just one of those things we just can't explain?
Anyways, since I don't want to look through my life right now, let me try seeing if I can find some sort of solution to us falling.
I closed my left eye to keep the memories going as my right eye examined the area around us.
There's Yoshika, the dog, the water falling around us, the water down below coming up to greet us, the branch Yoshika was still holding, some Witch soaring right for us-
Wait, a Witch?
The Witch came in and caught us, stopping our fall as she flew us back over the river that we had fallen out of. I looked at Yoshika, who had the Witch's left arm holding her up as the little Fuso ex-Witch was hugging on to the puppy.
I can only assume that the Witch's right arm was around me.
Anyways, I watched Yoshika open her eyes (I guessed she closed them in anticipation of pain or death) and look down at the water below us.
"Huh?" she asked as she looked at me. "We're flying?"
"Saving that dog from drowning was very noble of you," the Witch said as she brought us in for a landing, "but you ought to consider your own swimming abilities first. As for you, mister...you need to go on a diet or something."
...I am not fat! I just happen to work out a little too much.
"I'm sorry," Yoshika said as the Witch placed us on the ground. We soon turned to face the Witch who had saved us.
"As long as you understand," the Witch continued.
"Thank you!" Yoshika bowed, the puppy giving off a grateful yap.
Looking at me now, the Witch added, "You nearly caused the death of someone, mister. You better be glad that I came when I did."
I frowned as I looked at her.
"Yeah," I said slowly, "Thanks for telling me what I already know..."
"I'm so glad you're alright," Yoshika told the puppy.
Soon, we could hear Michiko's voice as she called out, "Yoshika! Roland-san!"
"Micchan!" Yoshika turned to look at her cousin as she came down to catch up to us.
"Yoshika?" the Witch asked in surprise. "Could it be that you're Pilot Officer Yoshika Miyafuji?"
Raising an eyebrow, I turned to look at the Witch as the girls did the same (without the raised eyebrow).
"Yeah, she is," I said quickly. "Don't tell me you didn't know what she looked like..."
"How do you know my name?" Yoshika asked, confused.
The Witch suddenly tensed up and made herself upright as she said, "F-Forgive my impertinence! I am Shizuka Hattori, first year at the Fuso Naval Academy! You've always been a role model for me, Officer!"
Where to start first on describing her to my best abilities? Other than the fact that she was similar to Mio…seriously, she reminds me of Mio. Just put on the eye patch and voila. Anyways, what she was wearing was a black military jacket, and as for her legs it was rather hard to tell with a Striker Unit covering them. Her black hair had three parts to it: two sets of hair had diverged from the rest and were at the sides of her head. The third part was in a sort of pony tail in the back.
"You saved the carrier Akagi on your maiden flight!" Shizuka continued as I noticed her Striker Unit activated and revving up still. "You fought alongside the greatest aces in the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing and saved not only Gallia but Venezia too! And you even flew with the Neuroi Witch himself. That's amazing!"
...Strange...usually when people used my title they at least say who owned it nearby.
When I looked at Yoshika and Michiko, the little Fuso ex-Witch looked a little startled.
"Oh, really?" she asked, curious.
"Squadron Leader Sakamoto often told stories of your heroic deeds in Europe. And some funny stories about the Neuroi Witch as well."
At least Mio's informing her students-wait, what stories?
"Stories?" I asked, now baffled.
Shizuka shot me a glance as she said, "Sorry, but who are you?"
Oh, now she chooses to ask for my name? "Roland Sage, ma'am." I gave off a quick salute.
Shizuka looked at me carefully. "You share the same name as the Neuroi Witch..." the Witch then shook her head. "Oh well, people do share names around the world."
...
I can't believe that I'm not the only one who realizes that it's possible for two people to share the same first and last name.
Also, I really don't think she knows what I look like...
I mean, come on: When I met Adolfine and Ursula for the first time they took me as being part of the maintenance crew before they at least knew who I was (after they had been corrected by myself or Minna).
At least I'm not in the military currently.
"Anyways," Shizuka continued as she looked back at Yoshika. "I brought with me an official visa for you to study abroad in Europe."
I raised an eyebrow yet again.
Visa? Official?
...Europe?!
"Official visa?" I tried.
"Europe?" Michiko asked.
"Study abroad?" Yoshika added.
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Yoshika had evidently brought Shizuka back to the clinic so that the Witch could speak with her mom and grandmother. The other adults had asked me to sit with the three of them as they discussed Shizuka's proposal.
Not too sure why I needed to: I'm not exactly her father...but I am one of Yoshika's closer friends. Also, I fought to protect her and the others during my time in the Strike Witches.
Besides, I really doubt Lynette can get over here in three hours from...wherever she was at currently (I think she said something about Gallia the last time she sent me a letter via Yoshika's address).
"I see," Yoshika's grandmother said once Shizuka explained to us the plan in more detail. "So Yoshika's going to study at a European medical school?"
"Yes," Shizuka replied. "I've been appointed to take her there."
"What do you say, Yoshika?" Yoshika's mom asked the little Fuso ex-Witch as she was crawling out of the room she and Michiko had gone into, which was nearby.
Yoshika was evidently unsure about the idea...I think.
"Why Europe?" I asked for her. "She could head to any school in the world if all she needs is a visa. Hell, she could even go to Liberion for it. Why there?"
"The Helvetian Medical School's new term starts next month," Shizuka explained to us. "When they heard she wanted to become a doctor, they decided to invite her."
...That's their only reason? Hearing that she wanted to be a doctor?
Michiko gave off a quick gasp of excitement as she said, "Yoshika, there's no better place than Helvetia if you want to become a doctor!"
...Wait, what? Why does it sound like Helvetia is the Harvard of Europe based on my knowledge of the world map?
"Really?" Yoshika asked, surprised.
"Yes," Shizuka continued. "It's one of the three great medical schools of Europe."
It took only a brief second for Yoshika to make her decision: "I'll go, then."
"Are you sure you don't want to think about it some more?" Yoshika's mom asked her daughter.
"Europe is a rather big place," I added. "You barely scratched the surface heading to Britannia and Romagna."
"It's fine!" Yoshika told us. "I wanna study in a top medical school!"
"Very well," her grandmother replied. "Then go. Study hard and learn all there is to know about the newest Western medicine."
"Okay, I promise!" Yoshika then blinked as she thought of something. "Um...can Roland-kun come along?"
We all looked at the little Fuso ex-Witch.
"Yosh?" I asked carefully. "Why do you want me to come with you to Helvetia, wherever that is?"
"Well..." Yoshika started nervously. "I thought that I'd feel a little more comfortable if someone I knew at least came along with me. You know, to help ease me into life abroad."
...I think you have an unspoken reason, and I think we both know what it is: with the Neuroi still in Europe, there's no telling what will happen along the way.
But we need our magic if we're going to do anything to help out in a fight. According to Lionelis, I may never be able to fly again even if my reserves filled up completely. And Yoshika doesn't seem like she's regaining her magic anytime soon, not even a little.
"Do you mind if I tag along, ma'am?" I asked Shizuka.
"I'm not sure," the Witch told me. "I was only asked to bring Yoshika. Bringing you along would be a bad idea."
"Well, I have a few friends in Belgica right now, so I can get a ride over there once Yoshika makes it to the school. All I need is transportation to Europe."
Shizuka seemed to have given it some thought before she said, "I guess you can come along. But you're not my responsibility; you're just a civilian, understand?"
I raised an eyebrow.
What rank is she anyways? Something tells me that if I actually told her mine that she's respect my rank.
...But I need her to respect me as a person, not as a superior officer. Besides, it's probably easier to avoid giving hints about my true identity as long as I can, even if I have to pretend to have been of a lower rank than her.
"Understood," I replied.
XXXXXXXXXX
Later at night, the feeling of everything wrong going to happen crept into my mind.
I have no idea why, but ever since I had gotten back from Romagna I'd been worrying a lot at night. I barely get enough sleep to wake up not cranky, and it's not because of the floor (I've gotten used to it).
It feels like something else...
Guilt?
Guilt about what?
About leaving Minna behind when we had just started being a couple, which we both wanted to happen (I think)?
About not being able to protect Yoshika and the girls properly?
...About lying to someone to try preserving my identity?
"Roland-kun?" I heard Yoshika ask as I turned my head to see her standing in the doorway of her old room, dressed in her usual sleepwear, simply a white nightshirt that seemed to go down to about halfway down her thighs. "What's wrong?"
"Hmm?" I replied as I looked at her. "Nothing. Just trying to think, that's all."
"About Commander Minna?"
I averted my gaze by turning my head away as I heard the little Fuso ex-Witch walk over to my side and get onto her knees. "...Yeah, a bit..."
"We all know that you made the choice that you thought was best. Hiding your true identity, even if to protect us, was the best thing you saw. But it's okay..." I felt her right hand rest on my left cheek as she rotated my head to face her, rubbing some of the facial hair I had been growing (in the past month I had grown facial hair around my jaw and a mustache) gently. "I'm sure Commander Minna will forgive you."
"But...what if she doesn't, Yosh? We were barely a couple for a week at the time, and I nearly died in front of her. Why do I deserve her if I can't even keep myself safe?"
"You chose to fire the cannons on the Yamato. Had you not chosen to, Sakamoto was going to do it instead. Because of you...she didn't suffer your fate."
"But is that the truth?" I looked at Yoshika completely, who now looked confused. "Face it, Yosh: ever since I got involved, some of the key decisions were made by me. Going to the Neuroi nest in Britannia? My choice. Rejoining the Strike Witches? My choice. Nearly dying just to finish a mission? My choice." I then sighed. "I'm just scared for you all...why is it I'm so afraid of watching you girls fail?" I closed my eyes and felt Yoshika give me a hug.
"Baka...it's because of you that we keep fighting. Yeah, we could have been better off had you never existed here, but it just wouldn't be the same. You showed us what it was like to live life without trying to strictly adhere to rules, showed us that it was possible for us to be happy...and yet you're the one who showed us that even the best kindness in the world can be used to hurt others. You gained our trust and nearly lost it when we learned your secret. You fell in love with Commander Minna and took a chance trying to convince her." The little Fuso ex-Witch then laid down next to me, still embracing me. "So please...don't let failure slow you down, Roland-kun."
I gave off a faint smile. "Thanks, Yosh. I'll try to keep you from worrying about me too much starting tomorrow."
I swore I heard Yoshika yawn. "Alright...tomorrow...let's go and see what new adventures we'll have before we get to Helvetia. Night, Roland-kun..."
"Night, Yosh..."
And thus we drifted off to sleep, the little Fuso ex-Witch hugging me like I was a stuffed bear.
Honestly, I've gotten used to her laying next to me. Probably because of Sanya doing it sometimes that I got used to Yoshika (and later Minna) laying down with me.
Could be the same for any girl who ends up doing it.
I mean, the whole trick here was to avoid doing anything...well, dumb.
She's just sleeping next to me, so what's wrong with that?
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And there you go: the first chapter in the next episode of Roland's story.
In case you're wondering why I named the story how I named it, my answer to you is this: as the movie this is based on didn't have a number in its title, I chose not to include one in my title. Besides, it probably would have looked a little...off for me if I put down, say, "2.5". I don't know, but it was my preference. As for the absence of "The Movie", I wanted to try something different with naming my story.
As for other stories...I've got some news: as an added bonus, I will be publishing two chapters for Project Himebana (officially named Strike Heroes: Himebana), so when you get a chance please go and check that out.
Anyways, please read and respond and let me know what you thought of the first chapter here.
Thanks, and I will see you guys in the next chapter.