Chapter 7:
Iku barely dodged the bullets as she ran through the trees. She had already received several cuts from when the bullets skimmed past her skin. Ugh, where are the defence troops when you actually need them?!
The two other Task Force members that Genda had sent had followed her to the library back door, where Iku rushed in to grab the last box of books. Unfortunately, several MBC troops had made their way to the back of the library, and the two people who followed her had acted as bait so she would be able to escape with the books.
But because they were outnumbered, two MBC troops managed to go after Iku, and is currently shooting at her despite knowing that she had no way to defend herself. They were hot on her trails, and she had no choice but to take a detour back to Genda's team.
She ran in zigzag patterns, which proved to be a difficult task considering the fact that she was in a forest. Several times, she had almost tripped over tree roots, and the box of books she was carrying didn't make the situation any easier.
Iku was getting tired, and her vision started becoming blurry. Great, just when I thought it can't get any worse. I gotta concentrate!
She arrived at a small clearing in the forest, and quickly avoided it. Although the trees made it difficult for her to run, it also served as a shield at the same time. Seeing a cliff in front of her, she paused for a second and listened for the sound of guns or footsteps. It was silent.
Iku bent over, trying to catch her breath. If she went down the cliff, she would arrive back to Genda's team quicker. Cautiously, she peeked over the ledge. The ground wasn't that far down, but if she fell from the top, she could still get injuries. She frowned, and started debating with herself about what to do.
Without warning, a bullet skimmed right past her head. Before she could react, more bullets were shot at her direction, several of which came too close for comfort. She balanced the box under her left arm and continued running along the crag.
But when a bullet suddenly hit her arm, she lost her footing and tumbled down the cliff, head first.
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"Dojo, more ammunition arrived!" Komaki called out to him in the midst of the battle. Both sides were firing at the other without stopping, and the Task Force, along with the defence force of the Murazato Library, were starting to run out of ammunition. They had already called for reinforcements, though they would have to wait for a while longer.
"How long till the reinforcements arrive?!" Dojo asked with a scowl.
"A while longer. Be patient, Dojo." Komaki glanced sideways at him. "Are you worried about Kasahara-san? I'm sure she's fine. Major Genda's team has guns with them just in case."
Dojo stopped shooting when Komaki mentioned Kasahara.
"Dojo?" Komaki looked surprised at the guilty look on Dojo's face. "What happened?"
"Nothing." Dojo answered a little too quickly before he continued shooting.
A crackle came over the radio. "The reinforcements from the Kantou Library Force has arrived!"
"Yes!" Komaki smiled in triumph. With the reinforcements, there's no way they'd lose this battle. "Don't worry, Dojo, the MBC will surrender soon. Then you can go check on your little princess."
For once, Dojo didn't get angry at Komaki for making fun of him. And even though Komaki was mostly concentrating on the battle, he certainly didn't miss the look of relief on Dojo's face.
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Iku shifted painfully, gritting her teeth, and trying to make as little noise as possible. A bullet was lodged within her arm, and the whole sleeve of her uniform was red because of the blood. She was currently couching on a branch at the top of a tree. When she had fallen off the cliff, thanks to her quick reflexes, she had managed to grab on to a tree root, but had dropped the box of books in the process.
She had climbed down in a rather painful manner, but finding the box was one of her priorities. It didn't take her much time to find it, but when she did, she heard the voices of the MBC who were following her. Iku made a quick decision to hide the box under a rather messy cluster of bushes, then quickly scrambled to the top of the tree in record time. Because she spent much of her childhood climbing trees, she had managed to do so with only one arm.
And now that she was hiding in a tree, she started wondering if that was the smartest thing to do.
Oh well, it's too late for regrets…so what do I do now?
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"What's going on, Sir? Are they retreating?" Tezuka asked the Lieutenant in charge of the snipers. From the roof, they could see the MBC troops moving backwards, shooting only occasionally. The reinforcements they had call in had arrived a while ago, and had quickly turned the tables on the MBC.
The Lieutenant grinned. "That's right. This victory is ours, Tezuka."
But just in case, he kept shooting at the front lines of the MBC as they retreated. When he was sure, he ordered Tezuka to inform the other squads over the radio.
Soon the last MBC van disappeared from view.
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Iku almost couldn't stand the burn in her legs any longer. She'd been crouching for a very long time, because the MBC soldiers who had followed her were still around. It seems they were intent on not letting her escape. And with her injured arm, there's no way she would be able to get away with the books.
She shut her eyes, hoping someone would find her and be able to help her. And as usual, the first person that came her mind was Dojo.
"Hey, Takamura, we've been ordered to retreat."
Iku jumped at the unexpected voice. Horrified at the thought that they might have seen the tree moving a little, she froze. But at the same time, she was mentally rejoicing at the fact that they were leaving.
"So soon? Let's stay for a little longer. I want to get my hands on those books. If you're scared of getting in trouble, we can just say our radio broke and we didn't get the message."
She groaned. Just great.
"Oh, that could work. If we managed to bring back a couple of books, we'll be commended for being the only ones to succeed." He laughed. "Maybe we'll even get promoted!"
Hearing the other troop member agree, Iku couldn't help but roll her eyes. I thought the Task Force members in our own library were stupid and reckless, but this; this is a whole new level.
She frowned, knowing that her problem still wasn't solved. How was she going to get out of this situation?
