Strike Witches
One Bullet
Chapter One
Deadly Mistake
Yoshika's hands trembled as she picked up the handgun and held it. She handled it as though it were a bomb about to go off, but in a way it was. One pull of that trigger and she could easily kill someone, a human just like her.
She shivered and put the gun back down on the bedside table. She didn't like guns.
"Yoshika? Is something wrong?" Lynette entered her room, looking surprised to see her friend there sitting at the edge of the bed.
Yoshika shook her head and quickly stood up, replying nervously. "Oh, no, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you. And just now I was..." She trailed off, her eyes flicking to the gun.
Lynette followed her gaze and smiled weakly. "You really don't like guns, do you?"
Yoshika shook her head. "They're just so dangerous," she said, shrugging. She couldn't think of another way to describe them.
"Well, they are meant to kill," Lynette said, "but we only use them to destroy the Neuroi. Knowing that doesn't make it any better?"
Yoshika shook her head, averting her eyes from the gun. "Not really. I've only been here for a few months and I still can't stand them. Sakamoto keeps pushing me to drop the habit, and I know Minna is nervous that I won't get the hang of it and will have to go home." She sighed, then a thought popped into her head. "Hey, Lynne? Why do you keep your gun so close to your bed?"
Lynette strode over and sat down on her bed, motioning for Yoshika to join her. "I keep it close because it... well, it makes me feel safe. I guess you wouldn't understand that, huh? Well, I think you just need a little more time. When you start destroying Neuroi on your own, you'll feel better. There is no feeling like destroying the cores. You can practically hear all of the people you've just saved. It makes it less scary."
Yoshika smiled at her friend and nodded. "Maybe you're right," she said, but inside, she was certain she would always have a fear of them. At least Lynette was there to comfort her, though. Lynette always seemed to understand.
"Miyafuji! Its time for your training!" Sakamoto's booming voice reached both girls from downstairs.
Yoshika sighed. "More gun training. She's desperately trying to make me a better shot, but I keep shaking when I'm holding the gun." She held up her hands that were already trembling.
Lynette took them gently. "Whenever you hold the gun and your aiming at your target, try imagining the faces of everyone down below who are watching us and how their faces will light up and wear big smiles when we put an end to the Neuroi. Maybe that will help."
"Yeah," Yoshika said, instantly cheering up. "I'll try that."
"Miyafuji!"
"Coming!"
Despite Lynette's advice, Yoshika still either missed most of her practice targets, or destroyed them but failed to hit the centre which wasn't good enough for Sakamoto.
"Are you concentrating, Miyafuji?" she asked.
Yoshika nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Are you distracted?"
"No ma'am."
Sakamoto sighed. "Than what is it? What keeps putting you off?"
Yoshika didn't how to answer the Major. Everyone knew of her reluctance around guns and her terrible unsteady hand, and they knew that she was afraid of hurting or killing someone. She had seen the affects of war, had felt them in her very heart. But that excuse wasn't working anymore. She needed to overcome her fear with training, as Sakamoto had told her, but she just couldn't aim with a steely hand. They shook all over the place and her bullets tore holes in the sky from every direction.
Her fear didn't matter anymore, but her aim did.
The air siren was so sudden that it took Yoshika a moment to realise it was there at all. Sakamoto, however, was alerted right away and screamed at Miyafuji to get up. Several of the other witches appeared, hurrying to their strike units at the other end of the hangar. Yoshika hurried toward them.
"Sanya and Eila are staying to watch the base," Minna said as Sakamoto hurried over to her. "The rest of us are flying."
"Right," Sakamoto said, turning to Yoshika. "Our training's on hold. Get your unit and let's fly!"
The Neuroi was huge, shaped like a sharp-edged ship that ripped through the air. Yoshika and Lynette were paired up with Sakamoto while the others branched off in their own small teams. Sakamoto flipped her eye-patch to see the core with her magical eye. She shouted out commands and pointed at where to shoot. Guns fired and bullets blazed. It was always like this.
The other witches aimed at the heart where the core rested beneath. Both Yoshika and Lynette waited for it to appear so they could finish it off. Yoshika was trailing behind Lynette, staring past her as bullets razed the top side of the Neuroi.
Pieces of the ship broke away like shards. The pink light of the core could soon be seen through the fractures. "There!" Sakamoto shouted, and both Lynette and Yoshika aimed.
Yoshika's heart thundered in her chest as she held up her gun and positioned it under her arm. Her hands were already trembling, throwing out her aim. Sweat broke on her forehead as she flew closer and closer to the core.
Imagine the faces of everyone down below who are watching us and how their faces will light up.
Yoshika felt courage ripple through her and took aim again, but she was still shaking. She couldn't stop it even with Lynette's words running through her mind.
Lynette fired and missed. She reloaded and aimed again. She was just in front of Yoshika, her body poised and ready to fire again. She was so confident now.
"Yoshika, shoot!" Sakamoto screamed.
Yoshika ground her teeth together and tried to hold her hands steadily around the gun. "I have to try," she said softly to herself. She pulled the trigger.
Lynette screamed.
The world stood still as Yoshika's bullet hit Lynette in the back.
Blood sprayed into the air and Yoshika's heart stopped for a beat.
Lynette fell down through the sky like a lifeless rag-doll.
Yoshika screamed her name and dove after her, paying no mind to the other witches.
Sakamoto swore and fired at the core openly with the witches. The Neuroi shot out lasers everywhere and the other witches duck and wove. The core burst and the Neuroi exploded into dazzling shards.
Below, Yoshika had caught up to the falling Lynette and guided her down to the nearest landmass that was covered with trees and grass. She rested her down and immediately got to work, tearing open Lynette's shirt.
The bullet had gone through. She saw that immediately. It had entered her back and left her chest. It was alarmingly close to her heart and the blood was everywhere. Lynette's face was pale and for a moment Yoshika was certain she was gone. She rested her ear just above Lynette's mouth and heard her short breaths.
She was still alive.
The relief was short lived as blood continued to pour out of the girl. Yoshika quickly yelled into the receiver in her ear. "Major Sakamoto, Lynette needs medical attention now!"
Sakamoto answered quickly. "I'm coming down to get her! Start healing her immediately!"
Yoshika had, of course, already started, her hands resting just above Lynette's chest, the blue light the only sign that the magic was doing anything at all.
Yoshika started crying. "Lynne, please, don't die," she begged. "Please, just hold on, alright? Hold on, Lynne!"
It took forever for Sakamoto and the other witches to land around Yoshika. She kneeled there on her hands and knees, pouring all of her magic into the healing process, concentrating solely on the task. Minna caught her shoulders as she began to slump to the side. She hadn't even realised she was losing consciousness from the effort.
"That's enough," Minna told her. "We'll get her to the doctors back at the base."
"No," Yoshika moaned, pulling away from Minna. "I need to... keep-"
"Miyafuji, stop that right now!" Sakamoto ordered. Yoshika looked up to see the Major staring down at her with such a hard look in her eyes that her blood ran cold. Without another word, Sakamoto bent down and scooped up Lynette effortlessly. She took to the sky again, Hartman and Barkhorn following, looking pale and serious. Shirley and Luchini followed them up, shocked and worried and, for once, silent, but Minna stayed with Yoshika.
"Can you stand?" she asked after a few moments.
Yoshika didn't answer but tried to stand anyway. Her knees buckled and Minna wrapped an arm around her. "Come on," she said hollowly, and she lifted to the sky with Yoshika.
All Yoshika could think as she watched Sakamoto flying far ahead of them with Lynette limp in her arms was that she had shot her best friend.
She had shot Lynette, and that one bullet could very well kill her.