A/N: UmiMaki chapter :)
(other pairings will also get their time in the sun)
Muse Section Chapter 4
June 5th 1944 Somewhere in Normandy
Darkness.
Maki groggily opened her eyes; her head swam as she tried to take in her surroundings.
Where am I? What was I doing? Is this London? Where is everyone?
Her brain registered something like a voice calling out to her in hushed tones.
"Maki?" it said, the noise pleasant to Maki's ears, like a soothing lullaby.
Trees loomed out from the darkness the sharp rough bark of pine trees providing little information as to her questions. She had the feeling that she was being suspended from somewhere there was too much tension in her harness near her legs and arms.
"Maki?" there was the voice again; its softness was calling to her, coaxing her out of the woolliness that she still felt like the first rays of dawn.
It slowly dawned on Maki's still fuzzy mind.
I'm a paratrooper right…did I jump? I must've done…but what happened
"Maki!" the voice hissed sharper this time s though the owner had had enough.
She gave a small gasp as it all came flooding back to her; the invasion, the explosion in the plane, the hurried exit and the frantic search for a good landing spot when she had jumped from a plane that was definitely below the minimum safe altitude for such a thing, followed swiftly by the pain of branches as her search failed, all dominated by a concern for the owner of the voice.
"Umi? Where are you?" Maki whispered to the darkness
"Maki for god's sake I'm down here!"
Maki looked down, seeing that she was suspended about a metre above Umi, Maki sighed at the sight partly out of exasperation, but partly out of admiration at the sight before her. Umi's hair escaping in long navy waves from underneath the maroon beret placed on her head, amber eyes laced with concern at the dangling redhead and a passionate determination that was ever present whatever the Bluenette was thinking. Although the Denison smocks were never flattering, Umi managed to pull it off the fabric doing a poor job of hiding her corporal's figure from Maki's eyes. She giggled briefly at the thought
My corporal huh? I guess she is mine in a way.
"Maki snap out of it. Are you ok?" Umi asked crossly, her face clearly unamused by Maki's daydreaming
Maki's head throbbed as she brought one up to inspect her body, causing a sharp hiss of pain to escape from her lips. She felt no sign of blood but the throbbing was getting worse.
"No external injuries but I think I banged my head on the way down." Umi's face softened a little at the news but she still didn't look placated.
"You're lucky that was it. Look at where you landed."
Maki allowed her head to loll back resting on her pack, sighing as she looked up at the scene above her. Sharp dagger-like outcrops of wood that were once branches jutted out from the tree's trunk, her parachute now a ripped and torn mess was snagged on at least two of these, preventing her from reaching the ground and hanging her like a puppet in mid-air. The bark being scrapped off of one of the branches implied that particular branch was the cause of her blow to the head
She's right; it was a miracle that I wasn't impaled on one of those. I could've ended up like my parachute.
"My god Maki, how are we going to get you down from there?" "You're going to have to climb down." Umi put her hands on her hips and sighed exasperatedly.
Maki baulked at the thought.
"You know I'm no good at climbing!" She exclaimed "plus there's no way someone good at climbing could get down from here the branches stop halfway!"
"Then the only other option is for you to cut loose your kit bag, and have me catch you." Umi Suggested.
"I guess it can't be helped then…" Maki sighed drawing her bayonet.
She looked to the ground, amethyst eyes coolly judging the distance that she might have to fall, and the possible injuries that might occur if this went wrong.
"…Heads up" she called to the girl below as she sliced through the rope connecting her kit bag to her feet with the blade in her hand. The dull thud that followed reverberating throughout the quiet forest.
Maki inhaled slowly steading herself as she grabbed her webbing and began to slice through fraying material gave suddenly leaving Maki hanging by only half of her chute.
The parachutist swayed in the still night for a bit, her legs flailing air as she struggled to get a secure hold on the second set of lines. Catching them with some difficulty she took her weight onto her own arm and sliced through the remaining attachment to her parachute.
"Ready?" Maki called out to the waiting NCO below her.
"For you? Always…" The reply was instantaneous. The subtle reassurance and warm sentiment filled Maki with a feeling of comfort that she got from a cup of tea on a cold day.
Damnit why does she have make things sound so romantic? She smiled; her face turning a slight pink as she closed her eyes and let go of the support, falling towards the earth below her. Not that I mind though…
The sensation of freefall was a brief one, accompanied by the small adrenaline rush that remained no matter how many times Maki jumped from much higher heights.
The comforting feel of Umi's outstretched arms was what arrested her fall towards the ground; with Umi catching Maki in both arms, holding her like a groom would his bride.
Maki slowly opened her eyes seeing the glowing smile of the girl she loved, Maki smiled back the warmth inside of her intensifying.
Her amethyst eyes locking with Umi's sunny amber, allowing Maki to lose herself in the deep shine of emotions in her eyes. The sweet moment was cut short however as the intimacy brought the blood rushing to her face. Maki frowned at herself inwardly; annoyed at not yet being used to these feelings despite having known her Corporal for over a year.
Umi too was trying to hide her growing embarrassment from her lover and as she set Maki down the brief romance between the two was gone.
Umi's eyes softened and smiled as she saw Maki trying to avoid showing her flushed face, the Tsundere twirling her hair around her fingers as usual.
Umi giggled softly as the moment brought back old memories about her beloved subordinate. Memories of their first meeting. She watched as the girl unpacked her kit checking it wasn't damaged before slinging it on
The cool night air caused a shiver to run up Umi's arms and body as she reminisced. She found herself craving Maki's gentle heat, despite the cold exterior she put on the redhead was actually Umi's one source of comfort in this world, from her fiery red hair to her eyes that glinted with the aura of the evening star. She was close to the others but nothing made her feel as home as she did around Maki.
"Hey Maki…" the amber eyed girl spoke to the back of the girl in front of her. She wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the redhead and resting her chin gently her shoulder hugging her to her body.
Umi closed her eyes savouring Maki's heat, her light against the cold dark of the forest surrounding them. "Remember when we first met?" she whispered softly into Maki's ear.
The sudden move caused Maki's eyes to widen in surprise briefly, the heat from Umi's body enveloping her like a blanket. Her blush returning to her face as she tentatively relaxed into the embrace, placing her hand on one of Umi's.
The Medic nodded "Y-Yeah it was like what happened just now wasn't it?"
The soft laughter of Umi echoed in Maki's ear, the heat from her breath tickling her chin "it was…wasn't it" she said nostalgically, her eyes opening slightly looking off to one side.
"Except I was the one holding you then…" Maki sighed slightly, contentedly, spinning around so she was facing Umi and placing her arms around her neck, pulling her companion in savouring her gentle radiance.
The blush on Maki's face intensified as she gazed into her companion's sun-like eyes "you looked so cute back then…still do now." the inaudible whisper a sign that the redhead was letting her guard down.
The power that Umi had over her, the power to make her honest with her feelings was overwhelming. It still scared Maki, the fact that every waking moment she thought about Umi, the fact that she kept searching her surroundings when she wasn't by her side, the fact that she felt incomplete without her. Sometimes it was all too much. Sometimes the mask she wore slipped, and the cause was always the girl she was holding now.
The space between them suddenly turned into a vacuum, both girls under the influence of an overwhelming urge to squeeze the space between them out of existence. They pulled each other closer, sparks dancing across Maki's skin as her wrists came into contact with the nape of Umi's neck.
Umi blushed at Maki's statement, "don't be so shameless" she protested weakly as she moved even closer to Maki, her eyes half closed. She was savouring the sights in front of her, her heart rate increasing with every passing second that she had to wait for the inevitable.
A shaft of moonlight bathed the forest as the ghostly satellite appeared from behind the clouds, for a brief moment the redhead could see her lover as clear as day. The ethereal light bathed Umi in a glow that illuminated half of her features, for Maki to see clearly. Her midnight blue hair cascaded out of her helmet blending in with the darkness, her eyes that looked like two smouldering embers combined with the moonlight to make it look as though she radiating warmth, like a fire in a log cabin the smell of cinnamon hanging around her and the heat of the comforting flames inviting Maki in. her lips reflected the light with a slight hint of pink, making them look even more soft, even more luscious, even more enticing.
Maki's focus kept switching between Umi's eyes and her lips. Her entire mind was dedicated to the girl in front of her at this time as their faces edged closer together. The cool crisp air doing little to dampen the haziness in both girls' minds as the raw feelings they held for one another took over.
The air between them was thicker than honey both hesitantly, tentatively closing the gap. Maki closed her eyes as she finally captured Umi's lips with her own, the softness and the sweet taste of the kiss was breath-taking, her head began to fill, her body felt lighter, Umi kissed back tentatively at first before being overcome with a passion few knew about. Her fingers clutching at the fabric of Maki's clothes desperately, needily pulling Maki into her, as though she was trying to absorb the stubborn redhead.
Maki wanted more; she needed more, the feeling of Umi's lips on hers, of Umi's skin on hers. It was like some kind of drug, some kind of spell. Yet a part of her subconscious shouted at her, cutting through the effects of the enchantment; drawing Maki's attention back to the real world…to her doubts. She felt as though she would burst if she held the kiss for any longer, if she allowed the embrace to continue. As though all the love that she kept bottled up for Umi would escape and she would bear her soul to the girl in front of her completely, and give her entire self over to her; every flaw and every imperfection.
Yet Maki was terrified. For all her façade Maki was terrified of being alone, of being abandoned, rejected. Every time she used every scrap of her will-power to break away after only what was normally only a brief kiss, trying to keep some kind of distance between them for the sake of the walls she had built around her heart. This time was no different as Maki tried to push her lover away after only a few brief pecks
Umi looked at Maki surprised at the break in contact, hurt even, as she looked down at the ground her fringe falling over her eyes obscuring them in shadow. The redhead regretted what she had done she knew that when she tried to keep distance between them it hurt Umi, but she couldn't help herself. The crushing guilt left a bitter taste in the redhead's mouth, made even bitterer by the lingering sweetness left by Umi's lips.
Why am I such a coward? Why can't I be honest?
The medic closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from showing her emotions; she breathed slowly counting back from ten.
The redhead slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by the sight of Umi gazing at her face again; her entire face still dusted by a light blush as she smiled warmly at her companion. The warm feeling contrasting painfully with the guilt that Maki felt.
Her eyes welled up, only to be stopped by Umi caressing the side of her face, wiping the tears from her lover's eyes with her thumb, something that only intensified as Maki brushed a stray strand of blue hair over Umi's ear.
"It's ok…I know that sometimes you're not ready yet…but that was still longer than the last time."
Maki nodded numbly, Umi was right. She'd heard the first part before, Umi's apologies normally doing little else other than feed her self-loathing, but the last part gave her hope, hope that she could stop being so reserved.
"See sometimes even you can still be…Shameless" Umi mumbled into the empty space between them, her blush intensifying as she breathed the last word into Maki's ear.
Umi leaned in again pressing her lips momentarily against Maki's. Maki was caught off guard by the sudden warmth of the kiss realising that her companion was doing it to reassure her. To dispel her guilt. Maki knew Umi wasn't expecting a response and simply stood dumbstruck as Umi broke away her mind racing.
The Corporal shakily exhaled a breath that she'd been keeping in for way too long, before looking around twitchily as though she was only just noticing where they were.
"Come on Maki-chan, we should get going…we can't stay like this forever there are German patrols about." Umi mumbled to her lover.
Maki nodded her heart lifted slightly by her consort's actions as she walked over to her kit bag that was lying in the rough dirt and dead pine needles that covered he forest floor in a blanket.
She retrieved her medical supplies and Sten. An awkward silence pervaded the air around the pair, Umi standing looking into the forest her hand over her heart, ragged breaths reaching Maki's ear every now and then. Maki could hear the blue haired girl muttering to herself but she couldn't make it out herself.
She clipped her jump helmet onto the back of her belt and corrected her beret that now rested on her head. She tapped Umi on the shoulder making the NCO jump a little.
"We ready to go Umi?" the now kitted out Maki asked.
"Yeah let's go…" Umi shifted uncomfortably before regaining her senses "There's a German patrol in the area and we need to find a map. If we ambush them we could possibly steal their map and link up with some form of friendly forces."
The drone of aircraft and the crump of German artillery fire continued nearly incessantly as Maki walked a few paces behind her NCO, she gripped her Sten tightly, ready to deal with any possible threats. Bursts of tracer fire were lighting up the sky more frequently now as the enemy high command got its act together, rallied its forces and more soldiers woke up from their slumber boosting the thinly stretched night duty.
Yet despite the distant sounds of war, the sound of crickets and soft breeze that wafted through the knee high grass in this lonely corner of France reminded Maki of her evening walks through Richmond Park with her family although the darkness meant it wasn't the best comparison. Maki sighed reminiscing of a simpler time, when her parents would get home from the hospital and they would all go out together as one.
Before all this happened. Before the violence, before they left me. Before the bombing...
The redhead clenched her fists fighting against the wave of emotion that came attached with those memories.
If only we had been home then…I could've helped…they wouldn't have had to suffer like that. We could've helped.
The rapid fire sound of a German AA Gun broke Maki out of her reverie shattering the calm, with its noise like a thousand milk bottles shattering in quick succession. The flashes of light coming from the other side of some trees and the loudness of the sound implied that the emplacement was nearby.
Maki was about to continue on across the field until she saw Umi begin to wander towards thesharp flashes of light emanating from the other side of the forest, like a moth drawn towards a flame, she walked almost as though she was in a trance, heavy footed paying no heed to what may be around her, her Sten hanging limply at her side.
"Corporal!" Maki hissed at the bluenette, getting no response.
Umi continued her march towards the gun.
"Corporal Sonoda!" she hissed once more. Again Umi ignored her call. Maki ran to catch up to the NCO. "Umi what the hell are you doing?!" Maki shouted as she grabbed Umi's shoulder.
Umi glanced at Maki, glaring at her, annoyed at something.
"Shhhh. Do you want to get us caught? Don't shout!" the orders were curt and the force behind them slightly shocked Maki.
"Ok, Ok but what are you doing?" Maki pressed her question.
"What do you think?" Umi sighed "I'm going to recce that AA gun and see if we might be able to take it out. What did it look like I was doing?"
The medic began to twirl her hair around her fingers again suddenly self-conscious. "It looked like you were in some sort of trance, like you were under a spell…"
Umi chuckled softly, the warm sound echoing around the field cutting through the noise of war like a ray of sun cutting through a winter fog.
"Next time pay attention to my hand signals, instead of daydreaming." She giggled at her subordinate.
Maki shifted uncomfortably at the lapse in her attention span. "It's not my fault…promise to keep me in the loop from now on though…" she mumbled
Umi's expression became more serious as she turned to face their target. "Ok it's a deal…now let's scout out that position."
The two girls walked into the small woods discovering the gun to be on the other side of a hedgerow at the other end of the woods. They went prone so as to better conceal their position. The guns itself was a quad-barrelled 20mm and luckily it was currently facing away from them exposing its crew to their weapons, and what's more along with its crew the only other occupant of the field was the truck used to tow the gun that sat near to the emplacement itself.
"I count at least seven peons and one officer, maybe more on the other side of the gun." Maki whispered to Umi as the latter's honey coloured eyes surveyed the scene.
"I agree shall we call it about ten in all?" Maki nodded in reply. "Umi's eyes flicked towards her companion. "What's your weapon status?" she asked quietly.
"You're planning an assault without knowing what weapons we have?!" Maki mock gasped. "Shouldn't you already know that being the NCO on duty?" she teased, lightly punching Umi's shoulder.
"Yeah well we can't all be as good as Honoka at that sort of thing, plus…" Umi glanced down at the two chevrons on her arm "…I'm only a corporal remember?"
"yeah, yeah I remember." Maki twirled her hair around her fingers "I've got my Sten and about four Mills bombs."
"right well there's my Sten and a couple Mills bombs too as well as…"Umi fiddled around her webbing feeling the contents of one of the pouches "…two gammon grenades. That makes two Stens 6 mills bombs and two gammon grenades"
"Are we sure that we're enough to take them down?" Maki asked not liking the numerical odds of their attack "You're always quoting Clausewitz about how the defence is positive the offence negative".
"Their defensive position is utter crap. They've got hedges on both sides from which we can attack behind. Plus their guards are too close together; one gammon grenade could take most of them out and damage the gun. If I make my way around that side into that field…"Umi gestured pointing around the gun to the left while you make your way to the closest hedgerow we could do this. Two grenades, a burst of sub-machine gun fire and we're done."
The medic looked on, awed by her corporal's plan. "You say you're not as good at this as Honoka and then you go and come up with a plan that might not get us killed. You really are special, you know that Umi?"
Umi blushed at the compliment, before clearing her throat. "W-Well, that's the plan, when these explode…" she pulled out a Gammon grenade and a Mills bomb from one of her pouches "….you open up. Ok?"
Maki nodded, checking her Sten to make sure she had ammo in it; she pulled the cocking handle before getting to her feet. "See you soon. Umi. Try not to die, I'd be lonely without you" She said as she kissed her companions cheek
As she smiled at the look on Umi's face that she had caused; she made her own way out of the woods stealthily crouched, like a panther; she stalked her way towards the hedge, placing herself in amongst the foliage so she had a clear line on sight onto her target.
Umi was right about their position, the medic thought any good sentry would've spotted me by now and it is way too easy to ambush them. One burst would take out at least four or five of them. Maki sat watching the crew scurry around the gun getting ammunition reloading and firing off bursts into the cloud speckled sky it all ran like well-oiled clockwork.
Yet despite the almost hypnotic quality of it all, Maki didn't lose focus again she kept listening in amongst the noise of the gun and the barked orders in German, for the two thuds that would signal the start of their little trap.
Soon she heard it the tiniest thud in amidst the noise.
Immediately Maki ducked her face down covering her head with her arm and braced for the inevitable explosion, she heard one of the soldiers ask his comrades a question before a deafening explosion ripped through their bodies, and made even the redhead's ears ring. There goes the gammon grenade. She thought coldly
As she looked up at the scene seeing what targets to prioritise, Maki was greeted by a scene of horror. The explosive had landed slap bang in the middle of the group, blowing to bits one man and maiming three others. The blood and bits of flesh mixed with the dirt thrown up be the explosion; coating the ground and the remaining soldiers who had been pushed to the ground by the shock wave stunned.
Maki opened up with her Sten, the rippling sound of bullets splitting the silence that followed the explosion. Her gun taking down two more of the shocked and bloodied soldiers, blood sprayed from the holes created as their bodies slumped to the floor.
The noise of gun fire muffled a second thud that heralded a second explosion. The grenade exploded at the foot of a German with less force than the first, sending up clumps of dirt into the air and blowing the legs off one unfortunate soul who had started to get up, both legs and owner being sent flying into the air spraying the now ubiquitous red liquid into the air before landing with a fleshy 'thwomp'.
The redhead broke cover as she gunned down the only immediate threat left; the German officer clutched his belly as Maki pumped a hail of fire into it. She quickly sprinted across the carnage taking cover behind the gun. Blood had sprayed onto the metal making it gleam in the moonlight a piece of flesh that was stuck to it slowly slid down the smooth grey surface creating a squeaking noise as it did so.
Maki took one deep breath feeling the adrenaline pump through her system as she smelled the acrid smell of cordite drifting from the barrel of her Sten.
She peered around the corner of her cover only to be greeted by sparks as two rounds impacted the gunshield with a metallic clang that made her flinch. Two Germans were lying prone on the other side of the AA gun, shots continued to pepper the metal gunshield and the surrounding earth, forcing Maki to keep her head down.
Shit if they keep me kept pinned down they could flank me. The medic panicked briefly realising the danger stuck her gun round the shield and fired a burst at her two aggressors blind, hoping to briefly stop their onslaught so she could attack. It did nothing. Rounds continued to zip through the air until the shooting stopped for a brief second. Maki seized her opportunity and crouching down threw herself around the corner taking aim at the two soldiers who were both reloading.
"Amateurs" She smirked as she squeezed the trigger, expecting to finish this with a quick blast from her gun.
Instead her eyes widened with horror as her gun emitted a distinctive click meant she had to dive back into cover. "Empty?!" she fumed at her weapon and her carelessness at her arrogance, as she fumbled with her magazine discarding the empty pieces of metal. Bullets continued their onslaught through the air clanging against her cover and thudding against the dirt.
Suddenly a second burst of machine gun fire tore through the air. Maki chanced a look to see Umi advancing towards the two Germans firing steady aimed bursts as she did so bullets kicking up plumes of earth around the two remaining riflemen. The panicked shouts arose as they tried to switch their fire
Maki looked on as one of the German's heads suddenly jerked up a splat of blood exiting the back of it as one of Umi's bullets found it's mark, his comrade decided that had had enough and started to run for it. The redhead quickly replaced the magazine in the side of her gun before swinging back around the corner firing off a burst at the retreating figure. Umi crouched down firing from one knee and the combined fire of the two girls soon meant that the man running away collapsed, dead, blood leaking into the ground.
The bluenette got up and smiled at Maki, her beret slightly askew and a leaf sticking out of her hair. "Well…that was hectic." Umi smiled once more.
Maki got up hands still trembling from the adrenaline and ears still ringing at the explosions, she weakly returned Umi's smile. "That was a slight understatement." She said meekly
"Are you ok? You don't look so good." Amber eyes looked on, concerned.
"Y-Yeah I'm fine…not everyone handles combat as well as you do Umi." Maki sighed.
"Hmmmm. Well let's see if we can't find that map, shall we." Umi extended her hand towards Maki who was still crouching behind the AA gun.
The redhead nodded gently, and took her lover's hand blushing as she was pulled up from the ground. Both girls started walking to where the initial engagement was. The stopped briefly staring silently at the scene of carnage before them.
Umi dropped her Sten and continued walking Maki stopped, wanting to look a bit longer in grim fascination at what humanity could achieve with a little science. Body parts scattered across the stage and pools of black blood stained the ground in the moonlight their surroundings coated in the gore of what used to be people spattered on haphazardly like some crazed child's painting.
Maki stopped as she spied movement from one of the bodies on the ground.
Is that officer still alive?
The world seemed to move in slow motion as Maki looked closer at the blood soaked figure on the ground. He had his Luger drawn and was clearly struggling to aim it, his effort causing more blood to spurt out of his wounds. But the gun was level and right now it was pointing at…
"UMI!" Maki screamed at her friend
"What is it Maki-chan?" Umi turned to face Maki, oblivious to the danger behind her.
No! This can't be happening! This is like some bad dream!
The pistol shot echoed through the air, the sound echoing through the silence briefly.
"UMI!"
A/N: This will be the last double upload for a while. as i think I've set the scene and got enough action to attract attention for now.
also: Muwhahahahaha you will all have to wait to see what happens next. leave a review so I know what you all think.
Glossary
Mills Bomb: British hand grenade used in WW1 and WW2 nicknamed the mills bomb after its designer
Gammon Grenade: a grenade with a lot of explosives in it kept in a stockinette bag beneath the grenade used by British special forces during WW2
Luger: german pistol issued in WW1 to officers was being phased out by WW2 in favour of the Walther P38 hence its rarity and prized by Allied soldiers as souvenirs.