Ground Defense Force
Mao-Chan
Chapter 1:
Mao-chan's First Dispatch!
April, Day X.
Mao Onigawara is a second-grader at the girls-only Akamatsu School just outside of Tokyo, Japan. Her pink hair is tied on either side of her head by red ribbons. Even so, her hair goes down to her waist. Her expressive eyes are a bright purple. She wears a white long-sleeve shirt with a large yellow bow on the front, and a dark-red skirt. All over, she looked absolutely adorable. She will be the focus of our story.
Rikushiro Onigawara was Mao's grandfather, and Chief of Staff of the Ground Defense Force. He was a very tall man in sixties, his gray hair pointing up. He wears a green business suit, over which he wears a black- and-red cape. Rikushiro was a man who took his job very seriously, so much so that he prefered to be refered to as "Chief of Staff" by everyone, and I mean everyone. His face was bright, as it was Mao Onigawara's eighth birthday, and he had gotten her a present that would change her life...
Forever.
"Grandpa!" Mao said, looking up at her towering grandfather. He kneeled down, his face suddenly stern. He spoke, in a scratchy, yet comforting voice:
"Mao, don't call me Grandpa. Call me Chief of Staff!"
"Yessir, Chief of Staff, sir!" said Mao, realizing her mistake.
Rikushiro's face softened, and he said, "Mao, you are a good little girl who puts defense above all else." He pulled out a small green package that fit in his hand, and handed it to Mao.
"Here's your birthday present!"
Where are Mao's parents, you ask? Her father is currently reading a newspaper in a rocking chair a few feet from Rikushiro, not bothering or being bothered by Mao and her grandfather. As for her mother...well, she disappeared just months after Mao was born for no apparent reason.
Mao's father spoke up, somewhat annoyed: "Dad! You're spoiling Mao too much!"
Rikushiro ignored him, and said to Mao as she opened her present: "Your birthday present is something I confiscated from an alien that came to Earth!"
This startled Mao's father so much, he fell backwards out of his rocking chair, one of his slippers falling off. He quickly got back on.
Mao was surprised by the contents of the present. It was a green clover that was smiling with its mouth open and its eyes closed. Out of the bottom sprung a small piece of paper with the hiragana for Mao's first name. Mao found it...
"Awwww! How cute!" she said with admiration. She heard Rikushiro say, "Let's see how it looks on you, Mao!"
Mao placed it on her chest, over her heart. Rikushiro said, "It looks good on you, Mao."
Rikushiro stood up, and said overly melodramatically, "Keep that clover on your chest, Mao, and always strive for..." He struck a dramatic pose: "...the defense of the future!"
"Yessir, Chief of Staff!" said Mao as she saluted. She then swung her fist, putting her right hand over her heart, accidentally hitting the clover. "I, myself, will protect the peace of Japan!"
As Mao pulled her hand from her clover, its eyes opened, its smile widened, and its mouth closed. As this happened, it also began to glow a brilliant white, startling everyone in the room.
"What? What? What is this?" Mao stuttered scaredly, as the light engulfed her. When it faded, Mao had a light-green aura about her, the clover still glowing very brightly. "Grandpa!" she cried, literally.
"Chief of Staff!" said Rikushiro annoyed.
"I'm scared!" said Mao, still teary-eyed.
"Don't be!" Rikushiro said, clenching his fist. "Your spirit of defense is in synch with the Universal Power! Rejoice, Mao!"
Mao raised her arms, and let out a half-hearted "Yay!" "Although I'm still scared!" Suddenly, the green aura around Mao began to increase in intensity, forcing Rikushiro to shield his eyes.
From the source of blinding green light came a cry: "Help me, Grandpa!"
"It's Chief of Staff!" Rikushiro shouted back, as the green clouded his vision entirely, knocking him off his feet. Mao's father was knocked across the room, as the green glow faded, shouting: "What the--? What happened? Is Mao okay? What did you do, Dad?"
Rikushiro couldn't describe what he was seeing, so he pointed at Mao, hoping his son wouldn't hate him for this. He heard a shout from behind him..."Mao, what's that outfit you're wearing?!"
Indeed, she never wore such an outfit. It resembled a majorette's uniform, mauve in color. Her skirt was white. On her hat, and over her heart, were a clover each. In her hand, she held a golden baton with emerald spheres at either end. She wore a look of shock and confusion, her purple eyes red from all the crying she did.
Rikushiro, however, was ecstatic. He quickly stood up, laughing, "Yes! This will work! This will really work!"
Later that day, at Defense Force Headquarters, Commander Kagome Mishima made her way to Chief of Staff Onigawara's office as quickly as possible. He seemed urgent in the PA announcement, so she made her way there as quickly as she could without sweating. Then again, she normally did around Chief of Staff Onigawara, as she, strangely enough, loved him, even though he was almost forty years older than she was.
Kagome Mishima is a woman who can make most other women feel quite self-aware of themselves at a glance. She had brown hair that she had tied into a bun on the back of her head. She is also very intelligent, with an IQ of 250. She devised many of the Defense Forces tactics and strategies.
Making her way past some oglers in the corridor, she reached a door with a sign on it:
CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE
Kagome blushed, and thought passionately, Chief of Staff Onigawara... She looked over herself one last time to make sure she appeared professional before the Chief of Staff, and knocked.
Kagome said, "This is Commander Mishima. I'm coming in."
She opened the door, and was surprised at what she saw. Rikushiro was sitting in his chair, an expression of joy on his face. Mao (whom Kagome didn't even know yet) was on his lap, and he was tickling her.
Mao said, through giggles of pure delight, "That tickles, Chief of Staff!"
"Good girl, good girl..." said Rikushiro, laughing as well.
Kagome, however, was not laughing. She started, a look of confusement on her face. What?! Does he have a Lolita Complex? she thought.
Rikushiro noticed her, set Mao on the floor, and said, "Oh, Miss Kagome. Allow me to introduce my granddaughter."
Kagome was immensely relieved. She saluted and said, "Oh, is that so? How do you do? I am Commander Kagome Mishima of the Ground Defense Force."
Mao saluted and responded, "I, myself, am Mao Onigawara."
"So, your name's Mao-Chan, right?" said Kagome, kneeling in front of Mao.
"Yes!" said Mao. "I will protect the peace of Japan!"
Kagome chuckled at what Mao said. She's so cute, Kagome thought. "I look forward to the day you join the Defense Forces."
"Then that would be today. I had her signed up immediately." said Rikushiro, startling Kagome.
"What?" she said, confused. He isn't doing what I think he's doing...is he? she thought.
Rikushiro put his hand on Mao's shoulder, and said, "You see, I made Mao a member of the Defense Forces as a special private."
Kagome paled. He is doing what I thought he was doing! Is he crazy?!
"You're the best of the best, Miss Kagome," said Rikushiro, "so I'll need you to act as Mao's support during her missions. You'll do it for me, won't you?" He grinned, showing his shining white teeth. The light glinted off them, causing Kagome to become smitten. Without a second thought, she said, "Yes, sir!"
It was one day after Mao became a member of the Defense Forces, and already she was a household name. She was everywhere, in magazines, on TV, in newspapers, everywhere. This impressed her best friend, Misora Tsukishima, who was also eight.
Misora Tsukishima has long, blue hair that goes to her waist. A light- blue bow keeps her hair out of her eyes, which were red. She wears a similiar outfit to Mao, except her skirt is dark-blue rather than dark-red.
"Mao-Chan, this is amazing, I say! You are a national celebrity, I say!" said Misora that lunchtime at school. They were having an outdoor lunch. Mao chuckled modestly, when Misora stood up suddenly.
"Look at this! You even have paparazzi, I say!" she said, pointing to the large gates leading into the school grounds. Sure enough, there were at least a dozen people there, holding cameras, taking pictures even as Mao noticed them. Mao let out a weary moan.
"Mao-Chan," said Misora, "I envy you, I say. I want to defend the country, too, I say."
Mao turned to Misora and said, "Misora-Chan, why don't you join the Defense Forces and defend with me?"
Misora hung her head, and said, "But your grandfather is Chief of Staff of the Ground Defense Force, and my grandfather is Chief of Staff of the Sky Defense Force, so we won't be able to defend together, I say."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
With each 'beep', Mao's clover softly glowed green. She looked down, slightly shocked. "What is it, I ask?" asked Misora.
Mao's face turned stern, and she said, "I-It's a dispatch order!"
Misora was excited, "So, this will be your first defense mission, right?"
"Yeah! I'll do my best!"
With that, Mao ran off as fast as she could to Defense Force Headquarters. Unfortunately, Mao was not particularly good at running, and after about five seconds, she was only a foot away from Misora.
This is the Defense Force Control Room, a circular room divided into three, one room for each Defense Force. This was the Ground Defense Force room, which was painted green. There were two screens on the rounded wall. Miss Kagome and several Operators, and Rikushiro, work here.
"They are finally here! As I have predicted," said Rikushiro to the Prime Minister on one of the computer screens, "Those Cute Aliens are finally returning to Japan!"
The Prime Minister was a middle-aged man, with a perpetual nervous look on his face. He was almost always wiping sweat away from his face with a handkerchief in his hand. Right now was no different.
"Is that so? Is that so?" said the Prime Minister. Rikushiro pulled out a map of Japan and said, "Look at this! In just two hours the Cute Alien will arrive in Japan!"
"Is that so? Is that so?"
"That's right!" said Rikushiro, startling the Prime Minister. "Now is the time!" He struck a dramatic pose. "The time for defense has come!"
Rikushiro deactivated the connection to the Prime Minister, and turned to Kagome, saying, "How much longer till Mao gets to Defense Force Headquarters?"
"WHAT?!!" Kagome shouted. "You're sending Mao-Chan, I mean, Private Onigawara to stop the Cute Alien invader?"
"Of course. Why do you think I made her a member of the Defense Forces, if not to protect the peace of Japan?" said Rikushiro, apparently unfazed by Miss Kagome's shout.
One of the operators, a woman with short black hair, said, "But no matter how often we check and recheck the power levels from Private Onigawara, we don't detect any differences! She's just an ordinary person!"
"No matter. I have instilled into Mao the spirit of defense from the day she was born, making Mao the ultimate Defense Force member," Rikushiro persisted.
Another operator, a woman with long dark-brown hair, shouted, "But she's just an eight-year-old girl!"
Still, Rikushiro defended his stand. "Her age and gender are irrelevant. We need someone who possesses the will to defend!"
He turned to Kagome, and said, "Am I right, Miss Kagome?" glinting his teeth again. Once again, Miss Kagome said, "Yes, sir!" without a second thought.
At that moment, the doors opened, and Mao ran in. "Sorry I'm late!" She tripped over a cord, and fell on the floor, crying and "Ah-ooh-eh-ooh"- ing, but stopped when she heard Miss Kagome amd Rikushiro.
"Private Onigawara, commence defense operation!"
"Go forth and defend, Mao!"
"The Cute Alien will land in a few short minutes in Ariake, Tokyo. Evacuation of the neighborhood with the assistance from the Self-Defense Force is complete. Placement of Private E-2 Onigawara is complete."
Mao was on national television. Everyone in Japan was watching her. Grandpa, Miss Kagome, Misora-Chan, I myself will not fail!
Suddenly, her clover badge flashed, 'beep!'-ing every time it flashed, and she heard Miss Kagome's voice:
"Private Onigawara, the Cabinet has approved special use of budget. Prepare to download Type 2 Ground Gear!"
Mao saluted, and shouted, "Roger, ma'am! Type 2 Ground Gear... Download!" She touched the clover badge's face. "Riku-bo!"
In a flash of green light, Mao was once more in the outfit her father shouted about on her birthday.
"Private E-2 Mao Onigawara of the Ground Defense Force! I will defend the country today in high spirits!"
Mao watched as the capsule containing the Cute Alien fell towards Earth. She was incredibly nervous. She stuttered, to noone in particular, "I-I will protect th-the peace of Japan...so..."
By now, the capsule was just a few hundred feet above her, surrounded by fire from entry into the atmosphere. This caused Mao to turn tail and run as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast. She shouted, "I'm scared!"
Behind her, she heard a loud 'BOOOOM!' as the capsule hit Earth. The shockwave hit Mao, knocking her off her feet, and she fell...
Miss Kagome was worried for Mao. She turned coward and tried to run from the falling capsule, and got knocked down. This isn't going well at all! Kagome thought. We'll become a laughingstock as quickly as we became famous!
She turned to Rikushiro, and said, "Chief of Staff!"
"Not yet! The defense is just beginning..."
"It hurts! I got a boo-boo! And it hurts!" Mao shouted, as she scraped her knee from the fall. The capsule was in the middle of a small, smoking crater before Mao, but her scraped knee was the first thing on her mind. Eventually, the pain subsided, and Mao walked toward the crater as the smoke cleared. To Mao's surprise, the capsule was small, small enough to fit in her hand.
It opened.
And out of it sprung...
"It's so cute!"
...a small rabbit-like creature. It stood barely half-a-foot tall. It just stared at Mao, who stared back for a moment. Then Mao remembered Misora's and her grandpa's words:
"So, this will be your first defense mission, right?"
"Go forth and defend, Mao!"
Mao's expression changed to a sad one. She said to the creature, which was scratching one of its ears, "Um...excuse me...are you an alien?"
The rabbit-like creature blinked, then nodded.
"Oh, I see..." Mao said, falling to her knees, wincing slightly as her scrape hit the ground again. The alien tilted its head, confused.
"You see, I, myself, am a member of the Ground Defense Force. So...I have to..." Mao said, raising her baton. She hesitated, tears forming in her eyes, then swung at the alien's head.
"I'm sorry!" Mao shouted. She stopped her swing just an inch over the alien's head, then bopped it over the head, knocking it out.
"I'm very sorry..." Mao tearily said, now crying fully. She wiped her tears away, and said, voice still cracking slightly, to the news camera in front of her:
"The situation is under control."
Everyone watching the news report cheered. Even the two operators at Defense Force Headquarters who were doubtful of Mao couldn't help but cheer. Kagome was slightly confused, though she was still happy that the mission succeeded. Misora was quite cheerful when she saw that the mission was a success.
Mao picked up the Cute Alien and began the trip back to Defense Force Headquarters. Rikushiro was pleased that the mission was successful, though he knew deep down that this was only the beginning of the Cute Alien invasion...
TO BE CONTINUED...