Eleven

Akio

By the time the Tenth Company had returned to the hidden city, the Night Blade villagers and their Sixtieth allies had transformed Yamakabe, using her company's supplies to do so. All of their waterproof tarps had been made into many awnings along every part of the city's walls, and the bags of food stored in one of the unused buildings. Despite these new constructions, the city was mostly silent, the few spotted Inklings apparently being left behind due to their wounds being too severe.

When asked the location of where the majority of the Sixtieth and villagers had left to, the wounded had explained that Kagehaha had asked for the assistance of the healthy Inklings, intending to bring more of their village's supplies from its hidden location. Range had nodded at this news, then ordered his own warriors to rest their weary legs. For some, this would be their first chance to sleep in days, having been on the move nonstop up a mountain lest their confused enemies locate them again.

Rest would have to wait for the platoon leaders though, as Range took over a building while his bodyguards slept. Inside the sun-lit structure, Hana noticed that everyone's faces were a mixture of emotions, their nerves on edge just as hers were. Hana also couldn't help but notice that they were down a platoon leader, Naoki's head shaking softly as Hana quietly inquired to Daiki's absence. The small motion had been enough to inform her all she needed to know.

The boy's death upset her, but she was quick to dismiss her emotions. Daiki had been a good kid, who took his responsibilities seriously. Hana nodded at the news, wondering how those in the boy's platoon would take his death. To her knowledge, Daiki had been loved by his juniors. He had a habit of treating everyone fairly, and more importantly, putting their lives above his own. Surely, he would be the subject of many a toast, should they get a chance to even celebrate the victory they had taken.

"Casualties?" Range asked his platoon leaders, his face a mask as he listened to each of the platoon leaders speak of their dead.

Hana had been fortunate in both battles. During their raid at Ishigaki, Hana's platoon had stuck to the ground floor, clearing out hallways and rooms of the few enemies that had tried to hide from them. During the lake engagement, they had ambushed several small groups of the Octrian, taking no losses from them either. Hana had hoped to believe Akio would have the same luck, but when she heard that he had lost half his platoon, rage filled her.

"Sixteen?! How did you lose Sixteen warriors?!" Hana found herself shouting, certain this was the first time she had ever had an outburst in front of anyone. Confused and shocked faces stared at her, looking at the reactions of Range and Akio.

Akio began stuttering an excuse, but it was Souta who gave Hana's rage justification.

"Because he's a fucking idiot. Akio charged his warriors out of their position, and were turned on as soon as they hit the enemy's flank. The only reason half of them are alive is because Daiki led the charge that broke the enemy briefly."

Again, Akio tried to make an excuse, but no one was willing to even look at him.

"Akio." Range stopped the platoon leader's unintelligible words. "Is what Souta says the truth?"

Everyone saw the inner battle Akio was facing now. Did he lie, and have everyone call him out on his mistake, or give up and accept his fault?

"No." Akio lied through his teeth, those emotionally unstable enough instantly turning reacting to his answer. Shouts of how he was a liar, irresponsible, unfit to lead, and questions of how he could live with himself were the response, Akio closing his eyes as the room turned against him.

Their commander slammed his glaive against what used to be a chair, obtaining the full attention of the room and bringing back order to the meeting.

"Akio, you're demoted back to squaddie." Range stated, turning to Naoki. "Will you take him?"

Naoki's eyes hardened, his face a look of poorly disguised anger all while staring at the disgraced platoon leader. Hana had never seen Naoki angry before, and it appeared something deeper was going on between himself and Akio. His hesitation seemingly crushed Akio, but eventually Naoki spoke.

"Yes."

"Good. I can't have someone who refuses to follow my orders, and then not take responsibility for his actions after a failure. Akio, you may leave." Range dismissed the individual, who remained motionless for a time, digesting his fate that had just been forced upon him.

Akio nodded slowly, leaving the room as if in a daze. With the waste of life out of the building, Range continued to wrap up his orders. "I'll have Miki give me a list of individuals who are promotion worthy, but if you two, Naoki and Taiki, want to suggest some in your squad, go for it. In other news, our allies have taken it upon themselves to watch for signs of the enemy, so none of you have watch duty. If there isn't anything else, dismissed."

The platoon leaders nodded at their orders, but were stopped by Emi, which was very out of character for her friend. "Sir, aren't you worried about Akio?"

Hana halted with everyone else, feeling confused as she witnessed some looks of anger and warning coming from Inkling's faces.

"No." Range started, scowling at the wreckage of what would have been his seat. "Should I be?"

Emi was looking intimidated, not use to facing down an entire room of her peers before. "You aren't concerned that he might… do something… in retaliation… against you?"

Emi's eyes locked with Hana's, making her wonder what Emi was on about.

"He would not survive the attempt, but thank you for voicing your concern for my well-being." Range smiled appreciatively, his facial expression giving the rest of the room the okay to move out of the room.

"That's not what I-" Emi began, having an arm wrapped around her shoulders by Souta, who interrupted her.

"She's a bit tired sir, we all are." He explained, seemingly nice enough. However, Hana didn't like the fact that Souta was laying his hands on one of her only friends, and instinctively put a hand on her sword's hilt. Glancing over, Naoki was doing the same, his eyes hardening into a glare.

Souta remained undeterred, still playing his actions off as innocent, pretending not to notice how both Hana and Naoki were about to cut him down. Fellow platoon leaders backed off, a primordial sense that bloodshed being near warning them and began giving the four Inklings room should a fight begin.

"Oh. I get it. This is about that Aki-Ana bet thing you all have, isn't it?"

Their commander had once more gained the undivided attention of the warriors in the room, but Hana's confusion just grew. What was Aki-Ana? Hana looked for reactions, trying to decipher why that sentence had made everyone quiet, many Inkling's glancing to her several times. Souta looked the most nervous, glancing between Range and herself several times over.

As no one else was speaking, Hana decided to ask the fated question, of "What is Aki-Ana?"

"It's a betting pool based on who would win in a death battle between you and Akio." Range described, the explanation not making her feel any better. Hana turned to Souta and Emi first, Souta not even dignifying her with his eyes. Emi looked guilty, and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.

The others in the room shifted their gazes as Hana looked for any brave enough to face her. Had they really been placing bets on whether she and Akio were going to kill each other? Not just a child's 'who would win in a fight, A or B?', but making actual odds? She turned to Range, asking, "You knew about this?"

"A bodyguard mentioned it off handedly a few days ago. I wasn't worried, as I've had someone follow Akio ever since he was promoted. He hasn't shown any indication that he's willing to go above slander and spreading rumors behind people's backs, so I didn't plan to mention it." Range explained, some of the platoon leaders looking iffy about what their commander just admitted, not that they were able to make judgements. Hana stood motionless for a small time, eventually just scoffing at the entire situation.

"This… this is why I don't go near you people. You're all…" trailing off as she exited the room. Emi briefly tried to stop her, but the gesture was half-hearted at best, and Hana was too tired to deal with them. After shrugging off the hand, she focused on what was important – sleep.

Trying to find a safe, isolated place to rest was difficult, especially with the snow still falling. Hana walked through the quiet streets, running into familiar faces everywhere as she did a mental check list of what needed to be done, and how many more problems had to be solved. At least Akio no longer could influence her trainings, but at the cost of a quarter of the company's scouts.

Kageha was still stalking her, although he had vanished shortly after their return to Yamakabe. Hana didn't have enough information to come up with an effective plan to deal with that yet, as she still didn't know the Night Blade's intentions. She didn't want to go to her commander with this problem, more to do with her own pride than anything else. Hana wouldn't ask for her lover's intervention if she didn't need it, the thought alone making her sigh in frustration.

The newest problem, which she had just realized was a problem at all, was her company's platoon leaders. Not that they themselves were a problem, but the fact she was completely ostracized from their social circles. Intentionally so, but that was still a problem. If someone were to try to kill her in this moment from within the company, would anyone give her a heads up? Hana doubted it, knowing the only Inkling she could rely on was her commander, which made her notice a similarity of hers to Akio.

Would anyone defend her, should she cross a line with someone she couldn't just beat down? Hana had almost seen the end of that road at another city, not dissimilar to Yamakabe. Hana stopped briefly, watching a version of the monster that had almost ended her life that day. Tsume was sitting alone next to Kaji's cart, watching the ropes of the grappling hooks that had been tied around his massive tentacles drift in the breeze.

More than a month ago, Tsume's old master had unleashed a larger version of the Colossal on her. In that moment, when she truly believed she was about to die, Range had interfered with her fate. Using some technique or magic to make the beast stationary, her commander had given her a chance to run to safety, just as he had done with the sharks a few weeks prior. In both those moments, she had felt guilty but more importantly, weak.

Hana had asked herself many times if she was okay with the role of being the weak, scared girl in the woods, waiting for the hero of the story to rescue her from the monster of the forest. Of course, she didn't want to be afraid of the ghoul master of the mountains, or some other fantasy tale to scare children. But the question of how she could overcome her fears, and the massive difference in resolve between herself and her lover was unanswerable. Was it all she could do, hanging onto the people that made her feel safe? Was there no way to be able to stare at the void of death and be unafraid?

She didn't know the answers to the riddles that plagued her conscious. What Hana did know was that she was tired, and needed sleep to function. Summoning all her courage, she walked closer to the giant that shadowed their company, and sat beside the unblinking creature.

"Hi, Tsume." Hana greeted, closing her eyes as the beak clattered against itself, inhaling briefly at the knowledge that Tsume could turn on her at any moment and for any reason. Hana fought against every fiber of her being to run, maintaining her sitting position, and relaxed. It would not be long now. Sleep would find her any second. She hoped, anyways.

How dare they? How dare any of them! This was pure favoritism! The mutant freak that Akio had pretended to respect had now stabbed him in the back, all so his pretentious whore would have slightly more power within his stolen company. It wasn't enough to kick him while he was down! The fake commander had to take away his most valued prize, his rank.

Akio had always been so close to becoming a pivotal part of this company, hard at work to get their real leader, Naoki, to his deserved station. Akio had watched others be chosen above him, always to end up dead on the ground on the next battlefield, and now that he had the actual opportunity to prove himself in combat through a glorious charge, Daiki had stolen the credit of breaking the enemy. The young idiot had gotten himself killed in a poor attempt at a rescue that hadn't been wanted, and the pale murderer had taken the opportunity to demote Akio for another's actions.

Righteous anger filled him, but he kept his outer appearance quiet, lest anyone get an understanding of what he planned. He had already resolved himself to expose the platoon leader and their commander, never having enough evidence to damn the couple and bring to light their scheming. His original plan was to quietly spread more and more rumors about the pair, and help lead the revolt that would end in both their deaths. Naoki would have gained the commandership after the mutiny, and with Akio as his right-hand man, they would have been a force to be reckoned with. But Naoki had betrayed Akio as well, and he now doubted himself if he could convince anyone to stand up to their abomination of a commander. How anyone could stand being in their blood drunk's presence, or under his command, was a mystery to Akio - but one that wouldn't need solving soon.

He would kill Range. But first, he had to get back into his position of power. With Hana out of equation, Range would be forced to give him back his rank, as Akio was the only other veteran with scouting experience. Then, he would wait for the right moment to stab his commander in the back, possibly during a battle to obscure his actions.

Akio smiled to himself, watching the big beast gently block the snowfall from the sleeping platoon leader. Akio knew he couldn't act yet, as not enough time had passed for him to pretend to be innocent, but there was a plan. One he would carry out soon.

Taiki had been searching all through Yamakabe, looking for the remnants of the Sixtieth Company, or more specifically, Akurai. Taiki had many questions for the one-eyed warrior, but couldn't locate him during his search. Chances were, Akurai had gone with the Night Blades to their village to aide in moving supplies here, and to consolidate their resources before the winter's snows became heavier.

Still, Taiki wandered around, noticing just how few Inklings were still awake in the middle of the day. It appeared that most of his fellow warriors had been pushed to their limits, and after finding a comfortable place on the ground and out of the snow, they had decided to crash. It seemed many were trying to abuse this temporary moment of peace to strengthen relations, which was another reason why Taiki was wandering aimlessly.

It would be difficult for Yua to hunt a moving target after all.

Paranoia had set in, Taiki realized. He had also been in a good humor for the past few days, and Taiki knew that if he was forced upon by Yua, his angst would return. Knowing that if he would try to rest where his platoon was, they would make an opening for Yua on purpose, thinking they were doing him a favor. Being alone wasn't that great either, as he could be jumped at any moment from the shadows or a corner, but if he stopped his fate would be sealed.

Taiki heard a sound coming from inside of a building built next to the curtain wall, hidden in the alleyways of the few stone houses that he explored. The building itself was covered in shadows, tarps draping from the flat roof onto the adjacent building, and one even over the door. It appeared someone had tried to hide this entire house's existence, and Taiki hesitantly thought he should leave it be.

That was until he could decipher the noise for what it was, muffled sobbing. Needing nothing further to intrude on the hovel's interior, Taiki opened the door to confirm the sounds. A singular hand on his sword's hilt, he cautiously walked into the darkness.

His suspicions were confirmed in the first steps, Taiki able to clearly understand that someone was in such grief that tears were being shed in ragged groans. As he crept through the shadows, like Yua was in his mind's eye, Taiki came to the wooden door that was producing the sobs.

"Hello?" Taiki hesitantly asked, doubting his actions now that he was dedicated. What if it was someone from his company who had just found the quietest place to show their grief? It was very possible Taiki was intruding on a personal moment of reflection for someone who had survived, but it was too late now to about face and leave. "Are you okay?"

The only response he got was the weeping intensifying, words incapable of understanding being said from the mouth of the person behind the door. In that moment, Taiki had decided to risk entering the closed room, and began to understand the situation.

Commander Kichi was the one crying not in grief but in fear, backed into a corner, using her hands to shield herself from Taiki. It appeared someone had the decency to clothe her, but were forced to abandon her recently. Kichi begged him, pleading, "Please. Please. Tomio, stop. Just kill me already. Please."

Taiki hadn't trained for this moment, and looked around to see if anyone else was in the room. Finding no one, Taiki softly crouched next to the crying girl, not knowing how to help her, he had tried to think of how Umeko would calm Inklings without assaulting them, and spoke as softly as he could. "Commander Kichi. You're okay. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

It appeared Tomio had inflicted much more than physical damage onto the commander. "No! Not again! Why couldn't you have just killed me? Why?!" She screamed, sensing where Taiki was, and tried striking him weakly. Taiki took the painless beating, and continued to tell her she was safe, trying to get through to her without aggression.

Long minutes of this continued, Taiki horrified by the words that came from the commander's mouth as she begged an absent traitor for death, having no power to take the pain and past away from Kichi. All he could do was sit and listen to the wounded officer, deciphering the meaning behind her words, each phrase further solidifying his view on the garrison general. Eventually, the hurt commander tired herself out, falling silent as Taiki continued to try to explain the situation.

He too soon fell silent, feeling Kichi tug at his under armor, as if to make sure he was real. He wondered what his next move should be now that the commander had recovered herself to some extent. Normally, her command squad would be taking care of her, but this was anything but a normal situation. In fact, these past two months had been anything but ordinary, which made Taiki laugh softly at the absurdity of the situation. Maybe this would be how he got demoted.

Warriors weren't usually allowed to speak with commanders of different companies, save if specifically ordered to. If a commander discovered that one of his subordinates were colluding with their rivals, the consequence could be very severe. In fact, there was a tale he had heard of as a kid, about how an Inkling had fallen in love with a commander of a different front, and had been tragically slain by his own friends for the sake loyalty. It had been a cautionary tale, warning of love on the battlefield, loving those outside of those you are bound to, and making social calls to groups one didn't belong to. Now that he thought about it, it seemed all the tales he had heard as a child had to do with his future life as a conscripted warrior, the realization making the situation he found himself in a bit more tolerable.

"Why? Why did you laugh just now?" Kichi asked, interrupting his chain of thoughts. "Is someone else here?"

"No! No. I was just remembering a story from when I was a kid. I'm sorry." Taiki was quick to explain, afraid that Kichi might relapse in panicked tears once more.

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I'm sorry about… me. I still feel the pain, and it makes me…" Kichi trailed off, finally releasing her grip on Taiki's rubber mesh.

"You don't have to explain it. I can't even begin to try to imagine what you have went through."

"Thank you. Um, this might sound rude, but could you introduce yourself? My eyes still haven't healed yet, and I don't know who you are." Kichi hesitantly admitted, shifting along the wall to sit properly.

"I am platoon leader Taiki, of the Tenth Company, ma'am. I was passing by when I heard your… grieving."

"Taiki? You were with Range in the war room, no?"

"That's right, ma'am. I was the one who carried you… out. We arrived in Yamakabe not too long ago."

"I see. How did the delaying action fare?"

Taiki briefly paused, understanding he was giving a status report now. "It went well. We were able to rout the enemy's vanguard after killing their leadership. We are currently resting as we wait for the Night Blades and your company to return."

"Ah! Yes. Good. I remember now, I had platoon leader Akurai take the healthier warriors to… bring supplies! Yes. Okay. For a minute, I had thought I had dreamed the entire thing, and I was back in Tomio's…"

"Commander." Taiki interrupted, not wanting Kichi to return to the way she was before he found her.

"Yes? Oh." Kichi said, realizing what she was about to say. "Thank you, Taiki. I hate to ask this of you, but would you mind staying with me? I still don't fully understand the situation I've led my company into."

"I would be happy to tell you all I know, but I must admit my own ignorance beforehand. My commander had kept our mission secret until a few days ago, so only he knows the full extent of our circumstances." Taiki was quick to explain, as he was purposefully not high on the information pecking order. He was beginning to regret skipping those leadership meetings, now that he was speaking with someone who severely outranked him.

"That's okay. Just… talk to me, please." Kichi asked of him softly as she leaned heavier on the wall.

"I would be honored." Taiki said, not understanding that he would be sitting in the small room for two days, until the Night Blades had returned.

"Akio! Where are you? You said you wanted to apologize?" Hana shouted to the white caked mountain, not seeing anything in between the trees. Akio had an Inkling from his old platoon carry a message, saying how he wanted to apologize to her, and if they could meet. Hana's first instinct had been to ignore the message entirely, but she had eventually come around, attempting to give Akio the benefit of the doubt.

But he hadn't shown himself where he said he'd be. It had been almost an hour, and Hana was beginning to believe she was being made a fool. She turned back, starting the small trek that would lead her back to the walled city, and where she would get her new orders. As she began to walk uphill, Akio had decided to show himself, appearing from behind a tree.

"Akio. Are you done wasting my time?" Hana asked, a hand on her sword. Something about Akio's eyes sent warning signals in her mind, but she suppressed them.

"I apologize, Hana. For more than being tardy." Akio stated, walking carefully down the snowy slope to her level. She gave courtesy space of several feet, glancing over the cloaked warrior. Even though he had been demoted to squaddie and moved back to the heavy infantry, he had kept his scout regalia, apparently finding it more comfortable during these winter conditions. "I should have listened more."

Akio stopped a few feet short of her. She was surprised about this incredible character shift he was displaying, and wondered if he was being sincere in any way or form.

"Okay. You know I have no say when it comes to your rank, right?" Hana asked, not sure if he was trying to get something from her.

"I do." Akio agreed. It appeared he had been coached as well, as the usual combative tone he was known for taking had completely vanished in two days. Maybe getting demoted had gotten through to Akio, and he would actually change his character.

"So… Are we done?"

"Yes. Thank you for your time." Whoever had coached Akio had apparently told him to lightly bow, to show humility as well. He obviously hadn't been trained on the follow up awkward silence, but Hana guessed he wasn't extremely comfortable with what he was doing.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to leave. See you around, I guess." Hana said, turning to go, making sure not to go the way Akio had come down. She had even taken a few steps before the crunch of snow gave away the motive of this entire situation.

"Actually, there is something you can help me with." Akio almost whispered, his calm tone being completely abandoned. Before Hana could even turn around, she comprehended several facts.

Fact number one, she was a dumbass.

Fact number two, she had completely fallen for the trap.

Fact number three, Akio had paid attention to Hana when she had taught their platoons how to walk quietly.

She didn't even get a chance to turn before she felt his hand on her shoulder, her sword barely out of its scabbard as something penetrated her back, piercing through her cloak. Hana swung her sword roughly, but whatever had punctured her flesh had shaken her somehow, and the blow went wild, missing completely.

Fact number four, Akio was by no means a slouch in combat.

Even without being stabbed in the back, Hana doubted she could take the ex-scout in a straight fight. After calmly dodging her second and third swing, Akio laughed at the sight of the platoon leader.

Fact number five, whatever Akio had done to her, it was practiced, and effective.

"What did you do?!" Hana asked, panic filling her for the first time in days. As she collapsed to her hands and knees, she tried to find where she had been stabbed, only feeling her body's fluids on her back.

"Akio? What did you-" Hana would have asked again, but was kicked in the jaw and sent face first onto the white death, barely stopping herself with her forearms.

Lastly, and the most important, fact number six. She was going to die. Akio was now putting a singular foot on her head, and pressing his entire body weight down on her slowly.

"I want you to know, Hana. That I hate you. I hate you, and your creepy lover. I want you to know that I'm letting you off easy. Range? He'll have something much more painful coming his way. It's been what? Forty seconds? You'll have lost all of your internal ink in just a few moments. Then you won't even have the strength to fight a child. Want to know how?"

Hana tilted her head sideways, barely able to see. After a half second of her eyes refocusing, she could see a device in Akio's hands. A wooden cloth and bone construction, as if it had been fashioned from an animal corpse and several sticks.

"It took me a few days to find a big enough bird, but…" Akio flaunted, putting a serrated blade that had been filed from a broken sword's tip in between the fork he had created. Hana watched as he simply pushed the blade into her covered shoulder, pain filling her mind as the blade remained as he removed his device.

"That's how it works - something they'll never teach us in the villages. The Fish-Tribes use spear versions of these to hunt sharks and other fish for eating. Coat it in poison or venom, then all you do is cut the poisoned bits out. In just a few moments, you've got a large meat sack, ready for butchering. I got to watch that spectacle when I was a kid, you know. At the time, I couldn't understand how living creatures could do something so horrible to another. There wasn't honor in that kill, I had thought. It was over before it even began. But I guess that's the difference between a hunter and a warrior. Effectively killing something without even fighting. Just. Like. Now." Akio calmly said, kicking her in the side of the head several more times.

Hana was becoming cold, which was the biggest sign of that she would be dead soon. She had realized Akio had killed her several seconds ago, and was only resisting his blows just for the sake of resisting. He continued to berate and kick her, but she had toned him out, deciding that she would spend the next few moments before her death to introspect, as she realized just how quickly her death had happened. Hana had always thought her end would be seen coming a mile away. Not like this. Not betrayed by someone in her company.

Regrets of her life started popping up in her emotion fueled mind. Sadness filled her when she remembered her childhood, and the moment that she learned the world was a horrible place. Watching her blood brother die, simply because he made a mistake during a summer mountain climb, and slipped on a rock. Hana had watched him tumble, remembering in horrible detail as his life had flickered out the moment his head hit a sharp outcropping. Hana couldn't remember her brother's face, or even his name now. What she did remember was the grief, of the several minutes of her begging his corpse to be okay.

As tears formed in her eyes, more to do with her inner sadness than being kicked in the face for the umpteenth time now, her thoughts were directed to the one person she loved. Would Range beg her corpse to be alright, knowing that she was long gone? Would he cry, as she had done for her brother? Would the man she loved hunt Akio down like the trash he is, and murder him without even searching for proof?

Hana scoffed aloud, certain in all the answers to these questions. Hana collapsed on her back, unable to keep her body off the snow any longer. Cupping her face into her covered hands, she smiled to herself as she felt a pool of useless life fluid leave the small hole in her back.

She used the last of her strength to stare at the sky, unintentionally seeing Akio. The smug bastard was laughing to himself over this cheap victory, unaware that Range was going to butcher him in a few hours. Akio was one of the walking dead now, which was a thought Hana could smile about as her vision began to fade.

Movement caught Hana's attention as a blur moved across her eyes, as if an Inkling had been launched by a catapult or cannon. Akio had vanished within a blink of her eyes, and it took her a few moments of extreme effort to turn her head. Hana assumed with her back pressed to the ground, she had temporarily slowed the bleeding, but there wasn't any doubt of the time limit that was present in the back of her mind. At least she would get to see a show before the end though, right?

A cloaked figure was doing battle with Akio, straddling him down several feet as they slid down the snow caked mountain. She watched in mild amusement as the figure that was defending her had gotten kicked off their enemy, while Akio desperately clawed his way further down for distance. Another figure came into her cone of vision, screaming something at the Inkling who had the ability to fly.

From what Hana's blurry eyes could spot, a Night Blade was ordering one of her scouts back to her, while they continued the chase. Hana briefly dared to hope, wondering if she had managed to survive.

"Hana? Oh no… Are you alive?! Hana!" Katashi yelled, cradling her face in his hands, trying to slap a response from her.

"Katashi… The blade… My back… It's in my ink gland." Hana desperately whispered, her view shifting as he reacted to her words. Hana couldn't feel his hands or fingers, but she was able to tell her entire body was being moved to its side due to her now staring into snow and a tree.

Hana didn't know if he would be quick enough to halt the bleeding, or if her body would have enough ink to restart her regenerative processes. To her, it just felt like the world was moving under her as she closed her eyes.

Akio ran as fast as he could, trying to avoid the spots where snow went above his knee. He was being chased, by something akin to a haunting form of the next person on his list to kill. One of his scouts had followed him, and had flown out of the woods right as he was about to finish the bitch. After being spear tackled twenty feet down a mountain, he was now being chased by an enraged mutant. Having left his great weapon behind in the city, Akio had tactically chosen to retreat, having no means to fight against the reach of the creature's longsword.

But he couldn't out pace, or hide from the Night Blade. He might have learned a thing or two from Hana, but compared to the skill these Night Blades had exhibited, he was outclassed in every way. It felt like hours had passed as he ran and fell, but was followed on every step. With no sense of direction, and having no safe place to run towards, Akio was basically blind.

He had been robbed of his victory, and now he was going to be run down by some black-eyed freak! This day had started fantastic, and would end in his death! Anger fueled his sprint for freedom, not willing to lay down and die, like Hana had.

An hour of sprinting downwards ended with a thud, as he tripped and fell into a clearing of snow. The solid water had softened his fall, but bits of the fluff had burned his bare face, and he was quick to get up and rub the water off his flesh.

By then, he had been caught, and was about to be killed by the business end of the Night Blade's broad sword.

However, something made the mutant hesitate, and even retreat to the woods. When Akio dared to turn around, he realized he may have made a mistake in his murderous attempt, watching the massed amount of Octrian surround him.

Two strange looking, red fleshed creatures not dissimilar to himself saunter up, carrying large polearms and smiling cruelly.

"What the fuck?!" Range bellowed in pure rage, waking Hana from death. Not having enough energy to fully open her eyes, she settled for cracking her eyes open, seeing Range's face very close to her own. "Hana?! Wake up! Katashi, explain to me what happened! Everyone else needs to give me space, or I will cut you all!"

Hana smiled at the threats, certain he would make good on them. The flying feeling ended as she saw the sky get further away, and felt the earth beneath her. Hana knew she was in Yamakabe, as they had spent the early morning shoveling the snow out to their curtain wall, and no place else had hard dirt currently.

"Akio stabbed her with something." Katashi paused, undoubtedly showing the metal, he had dug from her flesh. "I don't know what to do. The bleeding stopped, but she isn't regenerating."

"I see that. Back up." Range commanded, getting very close to her face once more. She felt his stingingly hot breath hit her cheeks, and shut her eyes away from the pain.

"Okay, you're alive." Range soon whispered, as if sighing in relief.

Hana tried to speak, and to explain just how much she loved him, but couldn't muster the strength to even blink. Instead, Range's voice drowned her mind as he spoke to himself.

"You aren't producing ink, which means he's drained you… Shape shifting would work, but you have nothing to work with… I need… Ah fuck. I need a bowl or a cup!" Her lover shouted, as if coming to a revelation.

Hana couldn't see, but she sensed a great mass of movement around her as her fellow warriors ran to fulfill their commander's request. She also started to hear Range dry heave, as if he was beginning to vomit. The foul smell soon confirmed her suspicions, but Hana didn't care, too busy trying to memorize every detail about Range's face once it returned into her view.

"Range, what in the hell are you doing?!" Someone who wasn't Range asked, making them far less important to her.

"Shut the fuck up and give me that. You're all about to learn some fucked up shit about our anatomy. FUN FACT GANG, IF YOU BURST YOUR OWN INK GLAND WITH YOUR FIST LIKE SO," Range bellowed as he hyped himself up, threatening to deafen her with his proximity. He would remain silent for a few moments as he made a very commendable impression of a waterfall, quietly finishing off his sentence. "You'll puke ink. Damn it all Hana, you're making me look like a retard."

Hana felt her body move once more, as Range's hand reached for her war knife hearing a not so calming phrase come from his lips.

"Now to do something that I have never done on someone living before."

Hana's body was already on the brink of death, so she didn't so much feel the slice, so much as feel the horror of her lover finishing the job of killing her. Why was he cutting her? Wasn't it enough that Akio had stabbed her and bled her out in the snow?

Range softly talked as he poured something inside the wound he caused, but she couldn't hear him due to a rushing sensation filled her head. Hana twitched violently, feeling the parts of her body that were hit by the liquid.

It was as if fire pumped through her entire being, and her body began to burn with feeling. Something that felt like several millennia, filled only of agony, blocked out all sights and sounds from Hana's perception. Suddenly deafened, Hana heard the blood start pumping to her ears, and her heart violently beat once, as if it was the only time she had ever felt her heartbeat. Hana had no idea what was happening to her body, never having experienced such pain before. Her lungs felt like they were drowning, and breathed for what felt like was the first time in her life.

Hana gasped violent as her body sat up, falling back down to the earth in the following second. Her lover's arm caught her back, propping Hana up as she scanned the hundreds of eyes looking at her.

"W-what?" Hana wheezed, using her hands to feel her body. "The burning, the cold, the… Wha-"

Hana was very confused as Range's lips met her own, feeling his hand support the back of her head and the taste of iron fill her mouth. Noises and cheers surrounded Hana, only bewildering her even more as their kiss ended. Range stood suddenly, shouting to everyone who could hear him.

"FUCK YEAH! I'M THE LIFE BRINGER!" Range yelled in exhilaration, followed by a roar of self-accomplishment and importance. Whatever was happening within her commander was over taking her entire company, as Inklings began jumping up and down and ramming into each other, celebrating Hana's survival as if it was a sport.

Hana didn't have words to describe the scene of absolute madness that surrounded her, only laughing in between her tears and asked herself what kind of life she was leading... and as the cheering died down, Range raised his hands, signaling he was about to speak.

"Alright. Akio, our company's first ever traitor has now been captured by our enemies. We've got to go hunt him down, before he gives away the location of Yamakabe. Company, get your gear! We need to move, and quickly!"