Author's Note: Woooah, update after 4.5 months! Yeah, I apologize to all the dedicated readers :( College, y'know? I'll spare the details. Heeere we go!

Additionally, I recommend Hiroshi-Sama and Kuro while reading for better mood.


- Chapter 12 -

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. - Charles Dickens


Her eyes fluttered open wearily, as if she had been asleep for a long time. They felt unusually heavy. Her body shivered once to alert her to the cold.

Suou clenched her hand, grasping at the ground to push herself up.

Wait-

The cold bit at her fingers.

"Snow..?" She muttered.

A wave of pain began to creep into her body, and it wasn't because of her numbing nerves. Fear.

Her heart began to pound. Suou's eyes darted nervously around her, scanning the clearing for any comforting sign. There was none.

The wind howled angrily, easily sinking through her thin sweater and into her bones. She stood shakily, clutching herself around her stomach. Her breath condensed into a thick fog, floating away with every sharp inhale.

"This c-can't be happening…"

Already, she was beginning to twitch uncontrollably.

Not good. I don't have long.

Years growing up in snowy Russia had taught her when conditions were bleak. In the waning light of a rising sun, as dim light filtered into the snowy forest, she spotted a slumped figure in the corner of her vision. She approached it wearily, snow crunching underfoot her woefully small sneakers. It wasn't until she was fairly close that she registered what she was looking at.

"July!" Her shriek pierced the silence, disturbing a handful of birds into the sky.

She dropped down on her knees, pushing him onto his back to see if he was responsive. Her hands shook, red and raw as they ran across his freezing shirt and touched his pale face.

"July, wake up! Come on!"

Even while she shook him, she knew he wouldn't be waking. She was too numb to feel a pulse, but she doubted it was there. Suou was torn between being cocky and feeling he would, and resigning to reality, defeated. It tore her heart in two, stealing a small sob from her lips. She slumped over his body, shivering as tears rolled down her cheeks, quickly freezing in the snow.

"Why..? Why you, July..?"

She wanted to give up. Just sit there and die along with him, but something wasn't letting her. A warmth stirred in her heart, unusual and fast, blossoming like a wild flower. She didn't recognize it, but it comforted her. She felt it calling out to her, and the words echoed of their own volition in her mind.

Don't give up.

She looked around, straining her ears to make sure she didn't imagine it, but there was nothing else to hear besides the breeze. Her eyes settled back on July's freezing little body. With a grunt, she pulled it up towards her chest, cradling him. Then, with some effort, she stood while he hung limply in her grasp. Suou wrapped his arms around her shoulders, maneuvering him onto her back. When she was certain she had a good grasp on him, she peered forward, trying to discern the direction they would go.

"Don't worry, July…" She whispered, the sound of her frail voice reassuring. "I haven't given up on us yet."

The sun was a little higher along the horizon, and she could finally see faint streaks of light filtering through the trees to her right.

I guess we're headed north, then.

She stepped forward, wobbling but certain.


"Someone please tell me the Captain has been found." Major Hanoch barked, throat sore from having yelled for the umpteenth time that early morning. Instinctively, his hand reached up to rub the spot where it ached.

It had been an infuriating morning, actually. Not only had their prisoner escaped, bafflingly, he might add, he had taken Fieritz with him and, and…

His rolling anger trailed off as an officer jogged up to him, saluting. It coalesced into one marvelous point, focusing on the man, ready to erupt should the unfortunate soul bear any bad news.

"Sir, the Captain has been found." Wrath had been spared.

"Finally, someone's doing their job! What else?"

At least a little, Hanoch could feel himself ease up. He had been unusually tense after the alarms went off and the Captain had been nowhere to be found. This tenseness grew with the passing minutes as the base scrambled, unsure of what was happening. Admittedly, it seemed they were not prepared to handle an escaping Contractor, regardless of whether he was still lethal or not.

"There is evidence of intruders, sir."

This was a surprise.

"What?"

"We found numerous sets of footprints around the Captain, sir." The officer stifled a sneeze, thoroughly embarrassed as Hanoch listened on impatiently. "And in front of the base, sir. They match the ones found by the Gate."

"So they're believed to be the same ones…" Hanoch trailed off.

"Yes sir."

"How did they slip by the base and end up that far..?" He wondered out loud, oblivious to the other man now. The base had a long semi-circle of chain link fence equipped with various sensors that circled the Gate. Obviously, it was possible to eventually circle around it, but it would take many hours on foot. Cutting straight through would set off alarms. That would mean-

"They went straight through while BK-201 was escaping, sir."

They used the diversion as cover. But it was too perfectly timed- were they in contact? The radio operations would have noticed any traffic on the airwaves.

It was a confusing matter, and it was trying the Major's nerves, but he was confident he could nail this weasel of a situation that was fluttering about. Certainly, it made him feel years younger, if not inflicting the exact opposite toll on his body.

"That would make sense." He paused, thoughts alight.

"Orders, sir?"

There wasn't much to work with. For now, he would bite his lip and bide his time. When the moment was right, the opportunity would present itself.

"You don't need me to tell you to get Fieritz to the infirmary. That's all for now. Dismissed."

The officer saluted, wheeling around and jogging back to the general mass of shouting and activity.

Major Hanoch stood ankle deep in the snow for a few fleeting moments, sucking in the crisp, invigorating air, and then strode in the direction of the cafeteria.


"You look a little worse for wear." Hanoch chuckled, setting down a steaming cup of coffee next to the bedside table. Wispy trails of its aroma wafted into the air, earning a wistful stare from one of the nearby doctors.

The Major pulled over an uneven aluminum chair to the bed and plopped down onto its worn cushion with a groan, letting his head roll backwards to stare at the sterilized white ceiling and ugly lights. He had always hated infirmaries, a sentiment he was sure many shared.

Noticing Captain Fieritz was still silent and actually quite forlorn, he ventured to guess the man was wracked with guilt and disappointment at having been knocked unconscious by BK-201 and, landing a further blow to the pride, failing to apprehend him. For someone as committed to justice and duty as the Captain, it was a deeply personal problem, one that was many times more bloated than it should have been. But perhaps that was because he liked Fieritz.

"Listen, things happen-"

"I'm sorry, sir." He grunted. Hanoch eyed him over, unable to fully make the connection between the Captain in the crisp uniform and the man in a gown lying before him. He waved the flimsy apology off, making a show of not even bothering with it.

"Don't take it so hard. We happened to be dealing with a volatile, dangerous Contractor, and you reacted quickly to the situation. Considering they found your sorry butt by the Gate, it was no fault of your own- unless you and BK-201 took a walk together?" The attempt at humor was weak, but it was worth a try to dispel the somber attitude. "Why don't you tell me what you remember, and we'll work from there."

Captain Fieritz nodded grimly. "I was in transit between the base when I heard a shout in the distance, approximately from the prison block, and then a panic. Some of the guys started yelling in confusion, and it only took seconds before alarms went off. We had a shot patrol. Judging that since they were running in my direction, probably chasing the cause of the alarm, I intercepted in their direction." He paused, catching his breath as Hanoch listened on, digesting the story.

"There were rifle shots. I didn't know what to expect, but I ended up engaging with an imposter guard that had bumped into me. Probably BK-201, since you said he escaped, but I couldn't see his face clearly in those few seconds. He whipped out his pistol, but a little too late. I had already tackled him. The bastard kicked me in the face-" Fieritz winced as the hefty red imprint on his cheek seemed to throb, "and it all ended. I remember only that a second figure had appeared next to us and suddenly I felt weightless. I passed out and woke up by the Gate."

Hanoch took a sip of his own coffee, swirling it around in the little paper cup as he slowly recounted the details in order, scavenging for any clues. Then, he set it down on the bedside table and folded his arms.

"I don't suppose you glanced the second figure?"

"No sir."

"Enough of that sir, it's distracting." Hanoch interjected with good humor.

"Sorry, s-…"

"Now, BK-201 was wearing a uniform. That means he intended to blend in and slowly make his way out of the base, where the chance of being stopped was slim. If he wanted, he could have done it very quietly, but he used a pistol. Crude of a Contractor with powers- he must not have them at his disposal." It was a radical proposal, but it would explain why it had taken so long for BK-201 to escape and why it was botched. Including his interception and arrest, where he had knifed the patrols- it attracted a lot of attention.

"Is that possible?"

"We don't theorize why, just what. I can admit that if he had his powers available, his escape would have been smoother." That seemed to content Fieritz. "However, the trouble is whether he was working alone. Numerous footsteps leading into the base were discovered, but abruptly disappeared. Did you notice these during your transit?"

"No, at no point. Whoever it was must have came in at around the exact same time as BK-201 was fleeing."

"I believe it highly unlikely they were in contact. BK-201 would not have made a scene if they were, either. Where would he get the comm device, anyway? Did you see one on him?"

"Not that I recall, no. He had a balaclava on, so only his eyes were exposed."

"I rule it out anyway. That means the encounter was coincidence- but the same footprints were found by the Gate, right around your body. Now unless the entrance patrol is blind, this group will have included camouflaging, likely from a Contractor, and some kind of teleportation. There's just no other way to travel that far, that fast. There's not much here to hide besides our former prisoner; it's likely they had come to extract him, possibly against his will. A third group."

"Mercenaries?"

"Let's throw it out there. He's a famous killer, wanted the world over for who knows what kind of jobs or as a bounty. I'd be surprised if this group wasn't here to extract him."

"Wait, teleportation- could it have been the second figure I saw before I passed out?"

Hanoch shook his head. "The footprints were not with the third group, either inside or out of the base. A separate Contractor." He ran a hand through his thinning hairline. "Quite a mystery we've found ourselves in."

Fieritz looked thoughtful. "I don't believe BK-201 was researching the Gate to improve his powers. Unless he meant regaining them, if they really are lost."

"Neither do I. I saw right through that B.S. the moment he uttered it. But he did react to the ruse of torturing his friends- he might have actually been working with someone before being caught, or expecting them. It's not an important detail, I wouldn't put it past him to lie about that too."

"…We're not actually any closer to getting anywhere with all of this."

"Well, no, but it's fun to muse anyway." Hanoch smiled, leaving a dumbfounded look on Captain Fieritz's face.

"I'll be going now. Brass work to do in the aftermath of this shitstorm."

"…I still can't believe that was voted as top word of the year back in '12."

Hanoch shrugged nonchalantly. "Stranger things have happened. Rest up Captain, there's hands to get dirty."


"Sprechen sie Deutsch?" He tried first in German. No response. Then, next most common, English.

"So, who might you be?" Major Hanoch eyed the young girl in front of him, wrapped in a blanket and still blue on the lips. Not long after he had left the infirmary, a patrol had found her wandering through the snow with an even younger boy hanging from her back. She was heading away from the Gate- and kids didn't just appear in the middle of the forest. The breaches in security were increasing alarmingly in the past week, and it was just a tad frustrating. She frowned at him.

Spunky.

"I was told you were trekking almost knee deep in the snow with an unconscious boy on your back. Pardon me if I find it unusual you should appear at my doorstep miles from any road and further still from a city. You're not exactly…" He motioned with his hand towards her clothes, "Dressed to journey. Would you care to explain this?" Honestly, he had been downright nice until that point. He had provided her with shelter and took the boy to recover and only asked for some answers in return. Why were children so difficult?

Hanoch sighed. "Let's try this from a different angle. My name is Major Hanoch. What is yours?"

She eyed him with some contempt, much like BK-201, but was a little more forthcoming. "Suou."

"Pleased to meet you, Suou. I'm guessing you're around… 13, 14 years old?" She nodded faintly.

"Yes, still a tender age. Not like me, my hair is starting to fall out." He patted what would soon be a bald spot.

"Now, who is the boy?" Here, however, she hesitated.

"…Michael."

"Judging by looks, a friend, not relative, yes?"

"Yes." Some warmth had returned to her skin, restoring her more natural color, which was not far off from pale. Her hair was an interesting red, cut short with untamed tips, something of a rare variety around these parts. Hidden in the depths of the blanket she tightly gripped was a braided ponytail. Now, he would press his steady pace.

"I know this issue is touchy, but I must know how you came about around here. This is a military base, and we don't have young girls waltzing around in the backyard. Are you familiar with Gates?"

Suou bit her lip, uncertain of how to reply. Personally, she knew nothing about them, but somehow, she had the sense they were familiar. "…No."

"Best not to worry you with that, then. What is important is that they are rather strange, powerful, and potentially dangerous, and from what I understand, you seemed to have traveled from one."

"Believe what you want but I don't know anything about them." She quickly snapped out, tone rising. "I'm not even sure how I got here. One moment I was home, the next I was-" She caught herself abruptly, apparently surprised at the ourburst and perhaps thinking she had let a little too much slip. Too little too late, unfortunately. Hanoch had found a lead quite by chance, and he would not be letting it go back whence it came.

"At home..?" He gently prodded, but she was silent again. "Please don't whittle my patience."

"…Yes, in Japan."

And that was intensely fascinating for the Major. Already he was checking off a list of contacts that he could get in touch with to dig up more information on Suou and how she had wandered into his grasp.

"Thank you, that will be all for now, Suou." He smiled broadly. "You are welcome to eat and rest. I will have you escorted to something a little more comforting in the meantime, and we can talk about getting you home later."

In reality, he imagined she would not be seeing home for quite a while.

Quietly, Suou whispered to herself. "Don't worry July, I'll figure out how to get us home…"