Noriko rubbed her forehead, leaning onto the principal's desk. The principal's office had become her new base of operations as of recent, given that her previous location in the student council office had lead to three explosive traps, and two successful (though surprisingly painless) sniper rounds to the head. Having learnt from such mistakes, Noriko now places guards inside the office, and has had orders to make the glass windows reinforced.
All this didn't change the fact that Noriko was still having a very bad week. The vice Student Council President Eiji (one of the few people that Noriko found semi-competent, though a little dull) read out a rather depressing report of the situational changes within her rule, giving Noriko quite a headache.
"There has been a severe increase in sabotages in our operations in the Guild mining complex. The Sowing club leader and the Guild garrison are currently investigating the causes," he read. His face was not particularly expressive, since by being an NPC he failed to actually understandwhat he was saying. "Protests are occurring on an hourly basis, and many students have now stopped attending classes, or Club activities." Vice President Eiji paused for a moment, before adding, "As…you can see from outside the window."
Noriko took a glance at the horde of near of a hundred protesting students down below. They did little to help her migraine. Accursed NPC idiots. Know your place. "An unsightly rabble; have them arrested."
One of the guards left the room immediately to relay her order. The prison cells will be full by Friday if this keeps up. The thought of yet another problem piling onto her position made her head ache just a bit more. I thought being an empress meant I got to live in luxury.
Giving her a sympathetic pause to calm down, Eiji continued reading out his report. "Firefights between our guards and unidentified parties have been occurring for the past few days in increasing frequency. This is most likely attributed to the disturbing amount of unrest throughout the school, and the constant raids on weapons stashes in the Guild."
"Is there any good news?" Noriko moaned, growing quite restless of hearing an endless stream of negatives. "Because I'm pretty certain I've heard all the rest before."
The Vice President paused, unsure of what to do. Finally deciding that it would be best to leave the edgy and annoyed High Empress alone, he left with a bow.
That was only the tip of the ice-berg… Noriko thought to herself, now rubbing the back of her neck to try and get blood circulating. He wasn't even half-way through his report. I'm losing my grip over this school; not to Angel, but to nothing more than a band of hooligans and delinquents.
The door to the office opened, once again. One of Noriko's puppet Student Councilors walked in. "Your highness, a patrol requests to see you," the girl said.
More bad news? Noriko asked herself. Or is this one of those traps again?
"I refuse to leave this office," Noriko said. "You should be capable of solving the problem yourself."
The girl (Noriko still did not bother to remember names of her puppets) continued, "They're here to see you, your highness. Here in the office."
For a moment Noriko considered turning them down. She had enough of hearing bad news; couldn't her useless underlings do anything right? But then she decided it was better to listen to what they said. Who knows? Maybe they found a lead as to where her stolen bag is.
"Alright," Noriko said. "Let them in."
The puppet Student Councilor nodded, and turned the door open. The moment she had done so, Noriko heard the sound of guns cocking. "DEATH TO THE TYRRANT!" came a scream.
With a hasty and surprised glance, Noriko deciphered the situation in an instant; This is no patrol of mine! This is an infiltration team, here to assassinate me! she realized upon seeing the shiny barrel of a gun, pointed at her, only a few meters from her position.
In that same moment, time seemed to freeze. Noriko couldn't quite move herself. She couldn't get out of the way in time. She was going to be shot, at close range, by a group of very angry teenagers. I don't want to die!
The sudden chattering of gunfire ripped through that brief moment of intensity. Noriko squeezed her eyes shut, hastily crouching as low to the ground as possible. I don't want to die! she continued to think to herself. I don't want to die! I don't want to die!
She felt a light sting against her face; nothing like the sharp pain of a bullet like she expected. It was more like a drop of rainwater, blown against her face. Only it was warm. Am I dead? Of course, Noriko could confirm that she was not yet dead; after all, she had first hand experience. She could be sure she was alive because she could still hear gunfire. I'm still alive!
Taking advantage of the fact that she was still alive, Noriko immediately dived under the large, sturdy principal's desk, squeezing her legs against her chest, trying to remain under the cover of the wooden furniture. The rattle of automatic gunfire continued to come out in uncontrolled bursts; ripping apart the walls, throwing bits of the wallpaper all across Noriko's now limited vision, and she whimpered and winced in response. Eventually the shooting halted, returning to nothing more than silence, and a ring in Noriko's ears.
Footsteps soon ensued. They were getting closer to Noriko. Have they come to finish me off? She wondered. She immediately pulled out her pistol, and aimed it at the silhouette that drew near, finger on the trigger.
"Your highness, it's me!"
Noriko took a moment to register who this… 'me' person was. Then she realized it was the Student Councilor. Only blood stained. "Your highness, are you alright?" she asked, offering the cowering High Empress a hand.
Noriko shakily took the girl's hand, allowing herself to be lifted up onto her feat from beneath the table. Awkwardly, Noriko glanced around at the situation in front of her. It seemed that the entire assassination team was wiped out by her guards, after a fierce and property-destructive gun-fight.
It was at this time that Noriko managed to ask herself, why am I still alive? Nobody could miss at that range. Following this question, Noriko realized that the warm liquid on her face was blood. Somebody else's blood. One of her guards had jumped in front of her at the last moment as a human shield. Thank goodness for that, she thought. Thank goodness for all the zealous brainwashing I've done in the past two months. At least they'll be loyal to me.
Only now I don't know which one of them are actually on my side.
Noriko glanced around at the battle-torn office around her; half a dozen bodies littered, ripped apart by bullets. They'll be reviving eventually, she thought. At first, she resented the fact that her enemies would spring back to life. After a moment's thought, however, she decided she might take advantage of this fact.
Turning to her guards, she ordered, "Have these people locked up in the chambers underground. I'll be questioning them later." The guards moved quickly to comply, dragging the temporary corpses away.
For a fleeting moment, Noriko felt that she may have made a net gain from the encounter; she could easily hypnotize her would-be killers to give her information on the resistance against her rule. Once she knew who was in charge and where their base of operations was Noriko could easily rat them out.
The moment of victory ended, however, when Noriko felt a vibration in her pocket, followed by that of a cell phone ring. Taking her cell phone out of her pocket irritably to see 'You have 1 unread message', she started skimming half-heartedly through the text.
"SOCCER PLATOON CAPTAIN REPORTING. SOCCER PLATOON AND RUGBY PLATOON ON THE FIELD. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK."
It was only at this point that Noriko noticed the sound of gunfire in the distance, which had not stopped after the failed assassination attempt. Immediately, Noriko ran to the window, to look outside. Just as she was about to throw open the window, a loud crash was heard against a window, which made as though to shatter.
"Your highness! Are you alright!?"
Noriko stood shakily for a moment, trying to decipher what just happened. Upon realizing that another assassination attempt had failed, she thanked whomever idea it was to make the glass reinforced. "Yes," Noriko responded, a little unsure of herself. "I… I think I'm fine."
This time no longer attempting to open the window (who knows when another attempt on her life will be made?) Noriko looked out into the field. Out there, she could see the sight of about fifty or so of her soldiers, being fired upon from a much smaller group, which was hidden behind cover of hedges and furniture, and any sports equipment littered on the field. Oh, this should be easy. My forces outnumber theirs five to one.
Just as she was about to issue orders, Noriko received yet another text. "Oh what is it now?" she asked, rather annoyed.
"GUILD DEFENCE TEAM CAPTAIN REPORTING. WE ARE BEING RAIDED BY AN UNKNOWN AND UNSEEN ENEMY. ESTIMATED HOSTILE NUMBERS BETWEEN TEN AND FIFTEEN."
Do none of my subordinates have any initiative? Noriko asked herself. Honestly, such things are not even worth reporting.
Noriko wrote a quick reply to both texts in her annoyance, berating her incompetent subjects, and instructing them to charge the opposition. After all, was it not obvious that their forces had a clear advantage in numbers, and in firepower? All they had to do was charge at the enemy, and overwhelm them with sheer force, right? With that in mind, Noriko sat back down into the principal's chair, feeling slightly better, now that she knew her army would ultimately crush her opposition, much like kicking an anthill.
Only moments after sitting down, however, Noriko's cell phone rang with a text, once again. 'You have 2 unread messages.' Noriko's temper quickly rose, once again, after realizing that she received texts from the exact people she just messaged. "Do you idiots still not know what to do!?" she yelled, almost as though they were standing in front of her to listen.
She opened the texts, if only to reply to them, but did take some time to skim through them first. Only as she read through these textual responses to her orders did she realize that what she had done was not kick a mere anthill, but somehow agitate a wasp nest.
"SOCCER PLATOON VICE-CAPTAIN REPORTING. THE CAPTAIN HAS BEEN K.I.A. WE'RE PINNED DOWN BY A SNIPER." "GUILD DEFENCE TEAM CAPTAIN REPORTING. WE HAVE FALLEN INTO AN AMBUSH IN THE FOREST OUTSIDE GUILD. OUR RETREAT HAS BEEN CUT OFF AND THE ENEMY OCCUPIED THE GUILD."
At first, Noriko did not quite see what the problem was; after all, a measly sniper and an ambush party could still be crushed with the forces overwhelming superiority. It took a moment for the realization to hit Noriko, that, in fact, her forces no longer had an overwhelming superiority. In fact, it could be clearly stated that Noriko's forces were losing.
"Oh, you are kidding me!" Noriko screeched, once again rushing towards the window. Much like before, she instinctively put a hand on the window, about to push it open for a clearer view, only for the window to vibrate violently as the force of a bullet crashed against the reinforced glass.
"Your highness," called Noriko's puppet councilor, whom still seemed to be in the room (Noriko had forgotten about her presence, through all this confusion). "Might I suggest that you relocate, to avoid further assassination attempts?"
Noriko glanced back at the girl, whom was a lot closer to where Noriko stood than Noriko had thought. "Where do you suggest I move to?" Noriko asked, a little shaken from having three consecutive attempts on her life.
"Perhaps the rooftop?" the girl suggested. "It's one of the highest points in the school, so you have a vantage point, and since there is only one entrance it should be easily defended."
Noriko pondered briefly over the suggestion, before nodding in agreement. By this point, any displays of competency and helpfulness from her NPC subordinates were very much appreciated. "Very well," she said, making her way out into the hallway, gesturing her personal bodyguards (now significantly reduced in number, down to about three of the original ten in the office) to follow her out.
Noriko and her escort party marched at a brisk pace, even though Noriko was reading and rereading the texts over and over again, in an effort to formulate some sort of plan. As Noriko went past 'class representatives' (the official name for her hallway guards) would salute to her, which she paid little heed to. Noriko was rather used to the drilled loyalty of her subjects, and the gesture of saluting was seen as nothing out of the ordinary.
By this same logic, Noriko did notice what was out of the ordinary, through the corner of her vision. As she walked past class B-8, she noticed that the hallway guard of the class did not salute to her, like all the others did. This anomaly in situation was enough to get Noriko to take her eyes off her cell phone, to try and see what the problem was.
What she saw was a sight that she was becoming just a little too familiar with; instead of a respectful salute, the hallway guard had, instead, raised his firearm, and aimed it at Noriko; the fourth attempt on her life in a row. "Death to the tyrant! Down with Angel!"
Not again! Noriko thought to herself. Not another assassination attempt! This can't be happening!
"Your highness! Look out!"
Noriko felt a sudden force on her side; a force large enough to painfully throw her against the wall, which added another pain as her head collided against it, temporarily deafening Noriko's hearing. Even though she could no longer hear properly, the sound of a dulled gunfight broke out. It was as though shooting was occurring in an enclosed room, miles away from where Noriko sat. What Noriko saw with her eyes, though, proved that the fighting was only a meter in front of her.
The brave and fanatically loyal bodyguard which threw Noriko aside was now sprawled over the floor, bleeding. The hallway guard, for his part, was quickly cut down by Noriko's remaining two bodyguards, and by hallway guards of nearby classes.
One of the guards stood over Noriko, asking, as her hearing gradually returned, a question she was hearing quite often, as of recent. "Your highness, are you alright?"
Noriko stood up, a little awkwardly, nodding half-heartedly at the question. Her mind was thinking about things beyond that of the question her guard had asked. Angel? She asked herself. He called me 'Angel'? Does this mean that these are the people that stole my laptop? Do they have the same motives as me? Or have they mistaken me for someone else?
Staggering, with her head buzzing from pain and stress, Noriko and her escort party managed to finally get to the rooftop.
"Here you are, your highness. Here we should have a good look of what's going on," said the student council girl who had first suggested coming to the rooftop. She said it almost as though to justify something. What the girl was trying to justify, though, Noriko had no time to think about, as she walked over to the railing, and glanced over at the school turned battlefield.
Out on the sports field Noriko could see her soldiers, spread out with no cover to speak of, shooting wildly in all directions at an enemy that they cannot see, even as they were hailed with bullets and bombarded with explosions. After a moment of closer observation Noriko noticed that several of the bodies prone on the floor were not cowering in the face of gunfire, but simply stiff. Further out in the distance, Noriko could see smoke rising from the forests, just about where the guild should be. The rattling of gunfire had already become background noise to Noriko, but now flashing bullet tracers were synchronized with the sound Noriko began to register the situation before her as actual combat.
Pulling out her cell phone in an attempt to issue orders, Noriko realized that it had been vibrating non-stop in her pocket. 'You have 19 unread messages', it read. Not a single one of it could possibly involve good news by now.
Though she thought it to be impossible, Noriko's heart began to sink a little further with each message she read. "SOCCER TEAM. THE ENEMY HAVE HIDDEN INTO THE HEDGES." "GUILD DEFENCE TEAM, WE CANNOT FIND THE ENEMY IN THE FOREST. WE ARE BEING AMBUSHED CONSTANTLY. WE CANNOT MAKE IT TO BASE." "RUGBY TEAM. WE ARE FACING FIRE FROM THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS." "HALLWAY GUARD. WE ARE FACING HARASSMENT FROM ENEMY INFILTRATION UNITS." "THE ENEMY ARE BOMBARDING US WITH HEAVY WEAPONS, INCLUDING MORTARS AND GRENADE LAUNCHERS. REQUESTING ASSISTANCE."
Noriko stopped reading there, as she could not stomach any more. I'm losing… she thought to herself. How am I supposed to be God of the universe if I'm losing to a rag-tad band of terrorists and guerillas?
On the verge of breakdown, Noriko winced as the door to the rooftop slammed open. "Your highness! What are you doing here on the rooftop!?" called the boy who opened the door: vice President Eiji. "You could get shot up here! There is a confirmed sniper in the bell tower, and your in clear view of it!"
Noriko opened her mouth to explain, only for her to reach a sudden realization; Noriko figured out what the girl, whom had been her advisor thus far, was trying to justify earlier.
The girl had to be a spy.
Upon realizing this, Noriko grabbed the girl, standing right next to her at the time, by the collar. "You!" she yelled furiously. "All these assassination attempts were because of you!"
The girl's face was painted with startled guilt and fear. "What…? No…! Your highness…" she tried to talk her way out of Noriko's wrath. Noriko, of course, was not listening.
"You're working with them aren't you!" she hissed, "You've been feeding them information this whole time! That's why they're hitting so hard! That's why all my plans have failed for the past week!" Noriko shook the girl viciously, demanding, "Who's in charge of all this!? Tell me!"
The girl shivered with increasing anxiety, "Your highness, I have no idea what you're talking about…"
Noriko's grip tightened yet further, her seething in rage. Suddenly, Noriko loosened her grip on the girl's collar, calming down a little. This proved little comfort to the 'spy', however, as Noriko's expression had turned from red-hot rage to ice-cold fury.
"Very well…" she said, in a chillingly flat tone. Reaching into her pocket, Noriko pulled out a watch; it was an old, rusty, and rather infamous pocket watch, said to be able to bend the will of anyone that stared into it. "I have ways of making you talk."
The girl's eyes widened. "N… no…" she begged. "Your highness, no!"
Noriko lifted the watch in front of the girls eyes, letting her see and hear the mechanical watch as it ticked. That's right… fear me… fear me like a mortal fears its God. For a brief moment, Noriko let out a sadistic giggle, finally gaining the upper hand on her opponent.
TWANG!
Wha…?
Noriko stared blankly at the girl, who was blankly staring back; both wide eyed in shock. The watch that had separated their gazes from each other had seemingly disappeared; shattered in a flash.
"What just happened…?" Noriko managed to whisper, still holding the chain of the now-missing pocket watch.
"Your highness! Get down! It's the sniper!" cried the vice President.
Before Noriko could properly react, she was once again tackled down by one of her subordinates in time to just narrowly avoid another assassination attempt. Ah… that seems to be happening a lot to me today… Noriko thought bitterly to herself. I have survived every attempt on my life so far have been a result of the loyalty of my subordinates, and not of my own skill…
Likewise, all the assassination attempts were a result of disloyalty of my subordinates.
Noriko, now on the floor of the rooftop, took a glance to her side. She noticed the many broken pieces of the rusty mechanical watch that was only moments ago about to assure her victory. Damn… now I'll never find out who's in charge of this rebellion.
Her train of thought was disproved, however, when she heard the four ascending notes of the intercom system, followed by a very, very familiar voice.
"This is Fujimoto Asako; ex-Student Council President and leader of the Afterlife Battlefront. To all students facing oppression in the classrooms, I hereby order a revolution against the tyrant angel, the self proclaimed 'High Empress' Yamamoto Noriko. Everyone, please attempt to leave the classrooms and restrain any person wearing a white arm-band. Thank you for your co-operation."
The message was followed by the four descending notes of the intercom system. Moments later, Noriko felt the floor below her shake, as all the students in the school rose out of their desks in rebellion.
By this point, Noriko realized that she had lost every advantage that she had held the day before: Noriko no longer had superior firepower, superior organization, superior numbers, she had lost her power of hypnosis, and Fujimoto Asako, who Noriko had assumed to be incompetent, had proven to know exactly as much about NPC psychology as she did.
I feel sick...
A/N: I had this chapter in my laptop for a month now, but I never wrote the last few paragraphs because I didn't know how to order it all properly. In the end I decided to cut out many details of the fighting, and focus purely on what Noriko was able to see at the time. This explains why it took one month instead of one week or half a year.
Also, this is the first time I've written anything like a fight-sequence, so I couldn't quite make it to detailed just yet.
As much as I'd like to promise quicker updates, my end of year exams are coming up, so I might not have time in the near future. Sorry to those whom that might annoy.