"Wait…what do you mean?" Aya asked the convention leader.

"The Neuroi have been sent to this Earth by God to finally cleanse it of its impurities," said the leader, "Once all of the unclean people have been dealt with, we can finally be at peace with the Neuroi as our ever-vigilant protectors. Don't you see child?"

"Will I be a part of this perfect world?"

"I wish it were true, child." The leader laid a hand softly upon Aya's head. "But, as a witch, you are unclean, too. I am so sorry. But in order to attain the peaceful Utopia, sacrifices must be made."

Aya was shocked into silence. Then, the shock turned into anger. Her breath quickened, and various objects around her began to levitate and swirl around with increasing speed.

"Child!" said the leader fearfully, "Calm yourself!"

"So, this whole time, you were using me?" said Aya, her voice oddly calm, while her Psionic Eruption storm began brewing and picking up steam. "You've been using me just attain your perfect little world. Well, let me tell you that you have crossed the wrong girl. If I am not to join you in this Utopia that the Neuroi will provide for us, then I shall see it burned to ashes!"

With that, Aya lifted herself off of the ground, buildings and debris and other things all swirling around in a whirlwind around her.

"Child! NO!"

"GRAAH!"

Chapter 13: Pain

1000 Hours, 23 October, 1940

The town of Kuhmo, Suomus

Kaminari watched Aya's slowly shrinking form fly off in the horizon, then she turned back and noticed the destroyed town below. "We have to help these people!" she said. She attempted to fly down, but Tomoko grabbed her arm.

"Lt. Cdr. Sakomizu, stay up here," said Tomoko, still holding Anko in her free arm, "Let the local doctors and medics handle the civilians. We have to get back to base as soon as we can."

Kaminari looked at Tomoko with a glare. Tomoko could see that this girl's usual quiet demeanor had left her completely; what came in its place was a focused, and rather forceful, persona. With the Neuroi now gone thanks to Aya's Psionic Eruption, the business of tending to the casualties of the attack took full priority. It didn't matter that Tomoko had been given operational command when Anko was incapacitated. Kaminari pulled her arm out of Tomoko's grip, stating, "I'm a healer witch. It's my job!"

Now free, she flew down to the ground, and jumped out of her Strikers. Tomoko and the others joined her down. Firstly, she wrapped Anko's wounds with some magic-infused bandages, making sure that there was no debris lodged inside and that she was stable. Then, she hailed down a couple of men in a car. The men followed her over to where Tomoko and the others were. Then, Kaminari grabbed the closest Suomi-speaking witch to her – which happened to be Elma Leivonen – and told her to translate for her. "This girl is stable, but she's unconscious," she said, while Elma translated, "Can you take her somewhere to rest?"

"Joo. Voimme auttaa," said one of the men.

"Thank you," said Kaminari, which Elma translated.

The men helped lay Anko in the car. Then, they turned to Kaminari, and said, "Jos olet lääkintämies, voisimme käyttää apua." Then, they nodded to Elma for her to translate.

"They said that if you're a medic, they could use some help," Elma told Kaminari.

"Tell them I said that's what we're here for," said Kaminari.

"Hän sanoo, että mitä me olemme täällä," said Elma.

"Se on hyvä," said the men, "Voitko tulla mukaamme?"

"The men asked if you could join them back to the aid station," said Elma.

Before Kaminari could answer, she noticed a couple of soldiers – an officer and an enlisted man judging by their uniforms – carrying a wounded man in a stretcher. Kaminari dashed off with Elma in tow towards them, while the other witches watched.

When she got there, Kaminari saw that the man wasn't moving, but he was breathing. However, he did have a rather nasty-looking wound in his chest. "Has he had any morphine?" she asked in Britannian.

"Yes," said the officer, thankfully in Britannian as well.

"How much?"

"I don't know," said the enlisted man in broken and heavily-accented Britannian.

"You don't know?!" asked Kaminari, eyes wide in shock and anger.

"Maybe 3 or 4 syrettes, maybe," said the enlisted man.

"Are?!" Kaminari shouted in Fusan, "Are you trying to kill the man?!"

"Well, it might have been less," said the officer, "Like we said, we don't know."

Kaminari irately looked the officer dead in the eye, and said, "Yeah, well you are an officer, you are a grown-up. You should know!"

The officer looked about ready to say something back, but he knew she was right; plus, judging by the animal features coming out of her body, he could see that the girl glaring at him was a witch. So he kept his mouth shut. Kaminari shook her head, muttered, "Aho," under her breath, and checked the wounded man's injury. Satisfied that there was no shrapnel lodged in, she placed her hands over the wound, and applied some healing. Her hands glowed blue, and the man's wound was healed. Kaminari turned to Elma and asked her to tell the men in the car to drive over here and pick up the soldier in the stretcher.

Elma ran over and relayed the request, and the officer and the enlisted man loaded their wounded comrade into the car next to Anko. The men then gestured for Kaminari and Elma to hitch a ride with them back to the aid station. Before she joined them, Kaminari handed all the witches a roll of her magic-infused bandages. "Use them sparingly," she told them, "Please help as many as you can."

"I can arrange for a truck to be brought over to take your Strikers and equipment," said the officer.

"Talk it over with Pilot Officer Anabuki," said Kaminari, gesturing to Tomoko, "She's my commanding officer."

"We'll meet you back at the aid station when we're all out of bandages," said Tomoko.

Kaminari nodded, and the car drove off.

Meanwhile…

Kauhava Air Base

Jasmine was pacing the hangar nervously; the other witches with her weren't pacing, but they felt her apprehensions. It's been quite a while, and Anko and the others still haven't returned from their mission. Everyone was afraid that something had happened. But their fears were quelled when they heard the sounds of turboprop Strikers. It was Aya!

Which would have been all well and good. Had she not returned by herself, without any of the other future-witches or the 507th witches. Once Aya had landed and docked in the hangar, Jasmine and the others began asking a lot of questions. What happened? Where are the others? Why are you crying?

Aya forced a smile through her tears, telling everyone that it's alright. Anko was incapacitated, and so the others from her group are staying in Kuhmo for the night until she gets better. Without further word, she walked out of the hangar and off towards Slussen.

Back in Kuhmo, at the aid station set up at the schoolhouse, Kaminari and Elma have been hard at work tending to all of the wounded citizens, soldiers, and even other witches and airmen there. It was hard work, and each person had varying degrees of injuries. There were so many patients that Kaminari and Elma soon ran out of magic-infused bandages, so Kaminari switched to her ointments, also magic-infused, applying them to the wounds and either covering them up with a regular bandage or leaving them be. Soon, she even ran out of ointments, so Kaminari finally resorted to her Magic Healing ability.

There was one such case where a soldier had a particularly nasty laceration through the side of his thigh; it was so deep that Kaminari could feel the man's bone inside. She could tell that the femoral artery was cut open, so she looked at the man, and told him as calmly as possible, "I can heal you up, but before I do that, I have to cause you more pain. Are you ready?"

"Morfiini," said the man weakly.

"He's asking for morphine," said Elma.

"I can't do that," said Kaminari, "Your heart rate is already low. Morphine could kill you."

After Elma translated the message, the man nodded. She grabbed his hand to help comfort him.

"Okay," said Kaminari, "Koko ni ikimasu…"

She gingerly reached into the gaping cut, probing for the femoral artery. The man screamed in immense pain, squeezing Elma's hand until it turned nearly pale. Elma was unnerved, but Kaminari's expression remained stoic. Finding the artery, she pinched it closed with her fingers, and repeated the process with her free hand; then, she fed magic energy into her hands, accelerating cellular and tissue repair with her Magic Healing. Finally, she used Magic Healing to close up the soldier's leg.

Another critical case that Kaminari and Elma came across was a civilian already being tended to by a couple of nurses; the poor girl had a bloody bandage wrapped around her right eye, and her blood-soaked clothes revealed a deep hole in her chest spouting blood in an endless geyser. Kaminari ran in and squeezed herself next to the unconscious girl.

"Mitä tapahtui?" Elma asked one of the nurses tending to the patient.

"Hän on tajuton ja menettää paljon of veri," said the nurse, "Olemme yrittää pitää hänet vakaa."

"Tämä tyttö on noita ja parantaja," said Elma, "Hän voida auttaa."

"Kaikki auttaa voimme pasta on tervetuloa," said the nurse.

Kaminari first unwrapped the bloody bandage on the girl's face, revealing an eyeball dislodged from a bloody socket. Kaminari put as much of the eyeball she could back into the socket, and Magic Healed it up. The nurses stopped to gawk at the strange witch and her strange healing powers; in doing so, they left the girl's chest unattended. The blood geyser began to erupt once more. "Aw hell!" shouted Kaminari, as she whipped out a thick bandage from her medkit and applied pressure on the girl's chest. The other nurses sprung back into action as well, grabbing bandages of their own to stymy the flow of blood. Elma, already unnerved by the soldier with the leg laceration, grew even more anxious at the scene unfolding before her.

Kaminari and a nurse practically had their hands inside the girl's chest, applying as much pressure to the wound as they could to stop the blood; the other nurse was sent to grab clean bandages. Kaminari was forced to dispose of her original bandage – the last one in her medkit – and instead tried to go for the Magic Healing approach that had worked so much before. Her hands glowed blue, and she began to heal again.

The blood flow began to subside, and the wound began to close up. Kaminari, Elma, and the nurse thought they could pull the girl through. But an urgent beeping interrupted their hoping; it was Kaminari's Magic Level Monitor application telling her that her magic energy was running dangerously low. "Oh, come on!" said Kaminari, "Just a little more."

The blue glow began to fade from her hands. "No, no, no, no, no…."

But it was no use. Kaminari's magic energy reserves were exhausted; her Magic Healing was too weak to do any significant repair. The blood geyser opened up again. Kaminari ripped off her right sleeve, and tried to use that as a bandage to stop the crimson-red fluid. She strained to keep the pressure in the chest, grunting and muttering under her breath. But it was to no avail. The nurse with her placed a hand on Kaminari's shoulder. When Kaminari looked at her, she shook her head.

"CHIKUSHO~!" Kaminari shouted in anger as she slammed the hand holding her torn sleeve onto the table on which the now-dead girl lay.

By that time, the other nurse returned with a bucked of fresh cloths to use for bandages. With head bowed in defeat, Kaminari took some cloths from the bucket and trudged off to the next patient. Elma turned back to the dead girl – the nurses were putting a sheet over her, and prepping her for the morgue – and followed after Kaminari with a hollow expression.

1200 Hours, 23 October, 1940

After two more long hours of tending to injuries, the soldiers and locals finally got the situation under control. Thanks to the efforts of Kaminari and the other witches she came with, a good portion of the wounded had been healed or at least stabilized; the doctors and medics took care of the rest. Some residents even set up a chow station to get hot food to everyone.

Kaminari and Elma tiredly sat down for the first time since they'd touched down; Kaminari's assertive attitude had left her. The past couple of hours have really taken a toll on her and Elma, what with the immense physical and emotional stress, and they sat without talking or looking to each other. Soon, Tomoko found them staring quietly at a fire someone had gotten going. After she had used up her roll of magic-infused bandages that Kaminari handed her, she joined up with a group of locals who had been passing out hot food and drinks from the chow station to the townspeople. The state of Kuhmo reminded her of the time when the refugees from Slussen had been staying in Mikkeli; this time, she wanted to help give back in more ways than fighting Neuroi. So, there she was holding a tray of just three more soups.

"Hey," said Tomoko, "Everyone's finding time to relax. I had Haruka and Giuseppina stay with Anko after they used up the bandages you gave them."

"That's good," said Elma. Kaminari said nothing.

"Want some soup?" asked Tomoko, "You two should eat something hot." She handed Elma a bowl of soup.

"Thank you, Flying Officer," said Elma.

"Here you go, Lieutenant Commander," said Tomoko. Kaminari reached out with shaking hands covered in blood.

"Lieutenant Commander. Your hands," said Elma, only a little shocked.

Kaminari stared at her hands blankly, and made a half-hearted effort to wipe it off with the piece of sleeve she tore from her uniform. It wasn't really working, for the white cloth was already soaked red with blood. The blood of the girl she had failed to save. She stopped and stared at her hands, holding the sleeve.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant Commander?" asked Tomoko, sitting down next to Kaminari with the tray on her lap.

Kaminari remained silent for a further few seconds, and then she said, "The worst thing about treating those people, was not that they had their bodies maimed. It was that they had their souls maimed." She looked up at Tomoko. "Those blank stares, and the screams of pain. It just about broke my heart, you know?"

Tomoko honestly did not know what to say to that. Though a welcome relief, she was a little bothered by the fact that this descendant of Haruka's wasn't trying to feel her up at all. She was more bothered by Lt. Cdr. Sakomizu's depressed state.

Kaminari looked at Tomoko's body, and noticed that she had a lot of wounds, and that her miko uniform was stained with her blood. "You've been injured," she stated matter-of-factly.

Tomoko looked at her wounds. Honestly, she completely forgot about her wounds in the flurry of action from helping around the town. "Yes," she said, "That's right. I am."

Kaminari checked her magic level, and it looked like she had just enough. "I should be able to get you fixed up," she said, "Come with me."

Kaminari put her soup down, and she and Tomoko headed back to the aid station. At a private room inside one of the tents, Kaminari gestured for Tomoko to sit down on the cot. "Would you please remove the top of your miko uniform?" she asked, "I need to get a better look at your injuries."

"Wha, wh, wh, wh, wh, what?" Well, maybe Tomoko had pinned her right when she thought that she was going to do something lewd to her. She froze in nervousness, as various memories she would rather leave forgotten rushed through her mind.

"Well, come on," said Kaminari as she did her best to clean her hands, "The sooner you take off your top, the sooner I can get you fixed up." She adjusted her glasses.

Tomoko snapped out of it, and removed the top of her uniform, and then undid her undergarment. She now sat nervously in front of Haruka's descendant, half-naked and assuming the worst.

But what happened next was completely unexpected to her. Lieutenant Commander Sakomizu Kaminari looked almost exactly like Sakomizu Haruka – she even had a pair of thick round glasses just like her – yet, she didn't take the opportunity to do lewd things to Tomoko. The most that happened was Kaminari analyzing the wounds on Tomoko's shoulder, arms, and sides. "You have nice skin, Flying Officer Anabuki," said Kaminari.

"Th-thank you," said Tomoko.

After another analysis, Kaminari said, "You're in luck. I found another roll of gauze bandages. So I won't have to directly touch your body." She held the bandage roll in her hand, and fused with her Tropicbird familiar. As the feathers sprouted from her head and butt, a blue-colored glow emanated from her body, which soon transferred into the roll.

With that done, she proceeded to wrap Tomoko's wounds in the newly-infused magic bandages. Soon, she was finished, and Tomoko could feel the soothing effects of the magic working its stuff on her body. She was truly astonished; this descendant of Haruka's was on a level completely different from Haruka. For one thing, she was confident and focused where it mattered, and she wasn't a perverted little girl who constantly tried to throw her hands in Tomoko's skirt, or something.

"I know what you must be thinking," said Kaminari, "You are a very beautiful girl, and Makoa-san's ancestor at that. But right now, you are my patient. And as your doctor, it is my job to maintain my composure and keep you healthy. This goes for everyone I treat."

"You know, you're a good doctor," said Tomoko, "You work hard, you have healing abilities, and you have a lot of skills."

"No," denied Kaminari, "I am not a good doctor. I mean, I've treated wounded before. Many times. But never to this magnitude. What I saw today nearly made me sick. In fact, I'm almost convinced to quite being a medic. I'd rather work at a meat shop than go through that again…"

"But, your ability," said Tomoko, "You can heal people just by touching them. That's truly a gift."

"No," said Kaminari. She held up her hands, making them glow faintly blue with her magic. "This isn't a gift. It's a curse."

"But…" Tomoko's voice trailed off. Again, this Kaminari left her speechless.

"Born with the unique ability to heal just by touching them, and everyone expects you to become a medic," Kaminari thought aloud as stared at her hands, "Those with other abilities are free to do anything. But me, I'm stuck playing this role."

Packing her medkit with as many bandage rolls as she could, Kaminari slung it over her shoulder across her chest, and said, "The magic in your bandages should wear out in about 4-5 hours. By then, just go ahead and take them off. Here, let me help you get your clothes back on."

"Okay." Tomoko put her undergarment back on, and then slipped on her top, both with Kaminari's help. With that done, Tomoko said, "Thank you. Let's go."

Meanwhile….

Elsewhere in the aid station

Haruka and Giuseppina sat next to Anko, still out on a bed from her injuries; the magic bandages on her body still continued to glow bright blue. Giuseppina broke the silence. "You know, Lieutenant Commander Sakomizu's sudden change in character was pretty surprising," she said, "One minute, she's almost your spitting image. And the next, she's all action."

"Yeah," said Haruka, "She almost appeared 4 years older than she looked from the way she was behaving." With her and Giuseppina no longer fighting over Tomoko, she decided to be a little friendlier with the Pasta Officer. Still, it did feel a little awkward to be nice to the girl she once considered a rival. "But she did appear a little rude," Haruka added, "That could be bad."

Suddenly, they heard Anko from the bed, "In her line of work, a lot of demand and responsibility is placed upon her shoulders." She sat up. "I have always held a special kind of respect from healer witches like Kaminari-chan. They experience the kinds of stuff that would make most girls' stomachs turn."

At the same time, Kaminari and Tomoko returned to find Anko awake and well. Kaminari's originally-vacant face lit back up with surprised elation. "Anko-san!" she said, "You're already awake?"

"Your magic bandages did the trick," said Anko, "And Tomo-chan, you were able to keep everyone in order. Good work, both of you."

"Eh? T-…Tomo-….chan?" said a surprised Tomoko.

"What? Don't like the nickname?" asked Anko.

"No…it's just…nevermind. Thank you."

"Flying Officer Anabuki, your uniform," said Haruka, "What happened?" She had only now just noticed Tomoko's bloodstained miko uniform.

"I'm fine. It's nothing," said Tomoko, "Lt. Cdr. Sakomizu took care of it. Yeah…." She felt her ears get a little hot.

"Only doing my job, Tomo-chan," said Kaminari.

"By the way, Kaminari-chan," said Anko, "What happened to your uniform?"

Kaminari looked back at the spot where her sleeve was, and then at the torn bloody sleeve itself; it still had her 815th JAW "The Musician Witches" badge on it, itself rather reddened with blood. "I tried to use it as a bandage," said Kaminari, "I guess I'll need a new one."

"Really?" asked Anko, confused, "I meant to ask why your uniform suddenly turned blue. Hold up, why are there two of you now?"

Now, Kaminari and everyone else were confused. "….Wait…Anko-san, where are you looking at?" said Kaminari, "That's Haruka-san, not me."

"Aw, kuso…I must've messed up my contacts."

"Your….contacts?" asked Haruka.

"Small, flexible lenses that would fit right on top of your eyes," Kaminari explained, "It's like wearing an invisible pair of glasses. You're still able to see well without having a great big pair of glasses on your face."

"Just remember to clean them with your saline, and take them off every night," said Anko before rubbing her eyes, "and also, be very careful that they don't break, or you're screwed…"

"Did you bring any new ones?" asked Kaminari.

"No," said Anko, "We were only supposed to be over Suomus for three weeks, remember?"

"Oh yeah," said Kaminari a bit grimly, "So…then, what now?"

"Guess I'm just gonna have to wear my glasses everywhere then, huh?" Anko smirked. "Wouldn't you like that, Kaminari?"

Kaminari suddenly felt her ears go hot, as images of her beloved Makoa and her red-framed glasses flashed in her mind along with Anko wearing her black-framed glasses. "O-oh, wh-whatever do you m-mean, L-Lieutenant C-Colonel Anabuki-san, ma'am?" she stammered.

"Nothing in particular, dear Lieutenant Commander," said Anko, still smirking.

Kaminari said nothing, her face red as a ripe tomato.

"In any case, we should call Kauhava and tell them we'll be here for the night," said Anko, checking her Magic Energy Level, "We don't have enough to get back right now."

"I'll, uh, I'll take care of that, Makoa-s – AHEM! I mean, Anko-san," said Kaminari.

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Giuseppina, "I know where you can get a telephone."

"Thanks," said Kaminari.

"Oh, and would you be a dear and see if Jasmine-chan could come over and bring my glasses," asked Anko, "Please?"

"Hai hai," said Kaminari. She and Giuseppina headed out of the aid station tent to make the call.

Nighttime

Bamboo Forest of the Lost

In another world entirely called Gensokyo, Sayaka Ichiro Miyafuji Bishop was resting against a bamboo tree, reading through that To-Do List she had attained from Cindy back in 1950. "Remember me?" she said to the readers, "I'm the girl from Chapter 8. You know, the one who can control Space and Time?"

Well, now that that's cleared up, we can get back to the topic at hand. Ahem, so, Sayaka was resting against a bamboo tree, reading over her To-Do List. First thing on that list: "Get help from friends." And Sayaka knew exactly where to look first, which lead her to here. "I mean, a lot of the people here contain a lot of power," she said, "The Neuroi won't see them coming."

"Won't see who coming?" asked a voice. A girl with long white hair and red pants walked into view from the bamboo trees. It was Fujiwara no Mokou, a human girl-turned-immortal, who guides people through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and claims to run a yakitori shop in said forest. "You're back again, huh?" she said, "Are you lost?"

"Naw man," said Sayaka, "Just relaxing and enjoying the night." Getting up, she added, "But since you're here, would you please point me in the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"

"I can get you as far as the Human Village," said Mokou.

"That's perfectly fine," said Sayaka, "Shall we?"

The next morning

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Gensokyo

"Oh, come on, can't you reconsider?" asked Sayaka.

"I'm sorry, Lady Bishop," said Sakuya, the Scarlet Devil's maid with Time-controlling powers and a way with knives, "The Mistress's answer is final."

"After the Incident of Flandre's disappearance, along with the attack of those strange black flying objects, I just think it is safer if we all remain at the Mansion," said Remilia Scarlet, a young-looking vampire who is actually 500 years old, and the Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Which, if I remember, you had a connection to," said Patchouli Knowledge, an anemic sorceress who spends a lot of time in the Mansion library, "These rifts you travel through leave residual tears in space, sucking things out from our world and bringing in others from other worlds."

"But, I took care of those," said Sayaka, "I sent back the Neuroi – the strange black flying objects are called Neuroi, by the way – and I brought Flandre back."

"Yeah," said Flandre, Remilia's younger sister at 495 years old, "I wasn't in any danger when I fell through a rift. In fact, it was really fun!"

"Fun or no, I was still very worried when you disappeared, Flandre," said Remilia. Turning back to Sayaka, she said, "Like Sakuya said, my position is final. I'm sorry, but this is too great a risk to do this."

Sayaka rubbed her palms. "Alrighty, I understand," she said deflatedly, "Too many variables to keep in consideration, not enough constants. Yeah, I know how that feels." She finished off the tea she'd been offered, and stood up, "Guess I'll have to keep looking. Thanks for the tea. And remember, if there's anything any of you need, anything at all, just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you," said Remilia.

"No prob, Bob. Toodles!" Suddenly, Sayaka vanished in a bright flash of gray static, leaving the Scarlet Sisters, Sakuya, and Patchouli surprised in silence.

"I don't know who's weirder now," said Remilia, "Her, or Yukari."

"Well, she's definitely quite a powerful one," said Sakuya, "She virtually has the combined powers of both Yukari and me."

"Someone with that much power in them could be dangerous," said Patchouli, "But she did seem polite enough."

"She's really nice," said Flandre, "She helped me get back to this world when I was lost."

"I know," said Remilia.

"We should have helped," said Flandre.

"No," said Remilia, "Do you know how scared I was when I found out you were gone? I thought you had ventured outside without an umbrella, or something."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sister," said Flandre.

"It's fine," said Remilia, standing up, "Anyway, let's go. I think it's time we eat breakfast."

"Yay! I'm starving!"

[End of Chapter 13]

Okay, so that's the end of a nice little triple feature I lined up for you people. I know it's been awhile, but I was out of town for a very long time, and didn't have access to good wifi. So I had these chapters typed up, but couldn't upload them until now. Stay smart, stay safe, and I'll catch you next time!

The title is from the song "Pain" by Mitis.