Chapter 3
Sakamoto wasn't entirely sure how she'd gotten herself into this situation. She had trained hard, almost every single day, in order to stay strong. She had prided herself on being ever-alert and ready to act in any situation. Hers was the way of the warrior; only through battle did she feel truly alive. She had faced countless enemies in an innumerable amount of battles. But now…
But now she found herself breaking down in tears, clutching tightly at Minna's arm as she nestled in the Commander's chest. Her tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably as the emotion poured out of her. If Sakamoto hadn't been so emotional, she would most likely have been disgusted at her own behaviour. To show emotion so freely, so show weakness to somebody like this. It just wasn't her way.
Minna's mind was racing. She didn't know how to act or what to say. All she could do was hold Sakamoto tightly and attempt to console her. Minna tightened her grip, drawing Sakamoto into a closer embrace. To her surprise, Sakamoto responded by burying her face in Minna's upper body, like an upset child clinging unquestioningly to its mother for warmth and safety.
For what felt like an eternity, neither of them uttered a single word, lost in the moment. Then, after her tears subsided, Sakamoto broke the silence. "I bet you think I'm a fool, don't you," she murmured, smiling weakly.
"Of course not! Why would you say such a thing?" replied Minna. She didn't know if it was something akin to maternal instinct or what exactly, but she automatically tightened her grip on Sakamoto as she said this, as if attempting to protect her from some unseen threat.
"I….I guess it's time I was honest with you," Sakamoto said. She withdrew slightly from her commander's embrace and glanced upwards to stare directly into the German woman's deep eyes. They showed nothing but concern and affection. Upon seeing that, Sakamoto couldn't help but soften slightly. She cracked a small smile and continued. "I first noticed it two weeks ago. I'm not sure exactly what is happening but it's definitely getting worse. I thought if trained even harder, maybe I could prolong it, but…" she paused for a moment and swallowed.
"What is it, Mio?"
"I don't know what's happening but I can feel my magic energy changing. It's as if I'm being drained of all my strength somehow. At this rate…" she tailed off again, her head dropping to stare at her own hands.
"But I don't understand," said Minna. "What has changed over the last two weeks? We've repelled two Neuroi attacks, but that's completely normal. The only thing that's different now compared to several weeks ago is…oh my…"
Sakamoto glanced up again. "What?"
"Miyafuji's arrival."
She had decided that there was definitely something odd about all this. She just didn't know what. Miyafuji racked her brains, but it didn't make sense. First of all, they had all been woken abruptly by Major Sakamoto, then she had yelled at them, then they had taken part in the most gruelling training workout she had ever experienced. Then all of a sudden, Commander Minna had shown up (with Sakamoto nowhere to be seen) and informed them combat flight training was cancelled. Hartmann and Barkhorn were ordered to patrol the skies in case the Neuroi actually did show up and everyone else was essentially off-duty. Furrowing her brow in concentration, Miyafuji stared absent-mindedly out of her bedroom window as she tried to make sense of everything.
Sometime later, Barkhorn and Hartmann returned to base, with Barkhorn only slightly chastising the latter for her sloppiness, as she had almost damaged her striker unit with a hasty landing. "The last few moments of any mission can be the most dangerous. That's when everyone lets their guard down and is vulnerable to attack. Don't let it happen to you, Erica!" she had said, her voice bordering on concern.
"Well, for all her sloppiness and disorganised nature, she's still one of the best we've got in combat situations," Barkhorn said quietly to herself (although she'd never admit that openly to anybody) as she walked down the corridor towards the barracks. Just then she spotted Sanya preparing to leave for her night patrol shift. She nodded silently to her and continued on, without breaking her stride. Sanya watched her leave then continued to lace up her shoes.
"Honestly, what is it with her? Is she ever friendly with anyone?" commented Eila as she joined Sanya.
"I think she does care really," said the petite, silver-haired girl. "But she's just bad at showing it. Remind you of anyone?" she added, grinning.
"Err…I don't know what you mean! I don't really care that much about her, or most of the others. Just as long as you're okay, that's all I need to care about!" Eila replied quickly, blushing ever so slightly.
Sanya giggled. "No, you really do care, Eila, I can tell. That's one of the things I love about you."
Although she didn't know why, Eila felt her cheeks reddening at that last comment. "A-anyway, have you noticed how weird everybody is acting today? Sakamoto was crazy this morning, then Minna was acting strange and Miyafuji's been in her room all evening," she said, trying to change the subject.
Sanya nodded. "I don't know what's up, but hopefully it's nothing serious," she replied as she finished tying her shoes and stood up. She started to leave, but Eila put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.
"Eila?"
"Be careful out there tonight, Sanya. I have a feeling something big is going to happen soon."
"You mean your tarot cards?"
"Not just that. I have a really, really bad feeling, that's all," Eila said. She moved closer as if to embrace Sanya, but then stopped and pulled back. "Just…make sure you come home in one piece, ok?"
Sanya responded by smiling the sweetest smile Eila had ever seen. At that moment, all she wanted to do was step forward and embrace her, hold her in her arms to protect her and never let her go. But she couldn't. All she did was smile weakly as Sanya said "I will."
Eila watched the young girl leave with a lump in her throat and a knot in her stomach. Fighting her bodily sensations, she turned sharply on her heels and walked in the opposite direction. The unexplainable anxiety was puzzling and annoying her. Sanya had done plenty of night patrols before, so why the bad feeling about this one? Stubbornly Eila fought her nervousness and went to take a shower. "Maybe that'll wash away these feelings," she said to herself hopefully. "Or at least give me five minutes to clear my head so I can think straight."
Miyafuji again had trouble sleeping, her worrying thoughts about Sakamoto keeping her awake. She tossed and turned for what felt like an eternity, her bed sheets soaked with perspiration. Eventually tiredness washed over her and she drifted off into an uneasy dream. She found herself standing alone and in silence in an unknown large chamber. It was dark but the walls glowed with a spooky gleam despite the absence of any apparent light source. She moved over to one of the walls and examined it. It was made of some kind of stone, smooth to the touch and faintly warm. Miyafuji looked around but could see no visible exit. Suddenly red glowing eyes appeared without warning in front of her, hovering in the centre of the chamber. "Yaah!" Miyafuji spluttered instinctively in shock. The eyes seemed to study her coldly, then a voice could be heard calling her.
"Yoshika…"
"Yoshika…"
"Wait!" she screamed in panic, waking herself in the process. She sat up in bed, breathing heavily.
"What…was that?" she said to nobody in particular. "It felt like….a Neuroi…"
High up in the night sky, Sanya flew higher and higher. She crested the top of the last cloud layer and gasped. The view never ceased to amaze and captivate her. She could see for miles in all directions, the faintly blue clouds below her stretching off into the distance. It was quiet. She looked up at the stars, twinkling prettily and then she gazed up at the large moon. It was a full moon tonight and with no clouds or extraneous lights to obstruct her vision, she saw it in its full glory. It was beautiful.
She accelerated through the night sky and couldn't help but beam as she enjoyed the sensation of the wind on her face. "This is the best," she grinned happily. Then she thought longingly: I wish Eila were here to see this with me.
Sanya suddenly snapped back to reality. She could sense something. "What is that?" she said aloud.
Straining her ears, she could hear a voice. Disturbingly, it didn't sound completely human, it was different somehow. She tried and tried, but she couldn't make out what it was saying. Closing her eyes, Sanya concentrated and pushed her senses to the limit.
"Yoshika…" the voice called.
"Who on earth is that? And what do they want with Miyafuji?" the Orussian girl pondered.
All of a sudden, a synthesized alien scream pierced the air, sending a shiver up Sanya's spine. She opened her eyes just in time to see a Neuroi craft speeding straight towards her.
To be continued
