Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc with differences from the original; please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader and editor, ReisidentialPsycho for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 14: All That I'm Living For
"So this is Shinjuku?" Yoichi asked curiously as soon as the squad made their way into the city and looked around. *1*
Since its first liberation, Shinjuku had been partly repaired for civilians to inhabit but the recent vampire attacks had destroyed the fragile improvements made to the city over the last three years, reverting it to the ruins it became after the apocalypse.
"Yeah… or rather what's left of it," Yuichiro answered as she palmed the hilt of her sword.
"You've been here before, haven't you?" Kimizuki asked.
"I have. It's been a while, though. The last time I was here was when the Demon Army liberated Shinjuku from the vampires the first time, but it looks like they're determined to retake it."
"Well, that's why we're here; to prevent that from happening!" Shinoa said as her cheerful demeanor returned.
Mitsuba snorted. "Easier said than done…" she muttered, knowing full well that her squad leader was simply putting on an optimistic facade to make the newbies feel more at ease with their dire situation.
Though she would never admit it, the blonde girl secretly envied her squad leader's ability to remain calm, cool, and even cheerful during times like these. It may very well be the reason Guren chose Shinoa over Mitsuba herself as squad leader but she conveniently chose to ignore that little detail.
Before Yoichi could ask the squad leader in question what they were going to do next, everyone heard a familiar voice call out to them.
"Hey, Miss Hiragi! Thank God you're finally here!"
Looking ahead, the squad saw a blue-haired youth waving at them in the distance along with the rest of his own squad as they approached.
"Satoshi!" Shinoa exclaimed. "Have you and your squad been here long? We've only just arrived so please fill us in on the details."
"Unfortunately, we ourselves arrived shortly before you did," the other squad leader confessed. "We had a few run-ins with some rogue vampires before that but nothing serious. As for what's going on, I've been told that the western wall has been under siege for the last few hours and that the civilians are being evacuated to the eastern wall. They've already announced it all over the city's intercom system."
"The soldiers have been ordered to hold the vamps off until the evacuation is complete and the entire MDC is assembled, but I'm not sure how much longer they can do that," Risa said worriedly as she pointed up at the sky.
Looking up, everyone saw a long row of soldiers standing on top of the walls while firing arrows at the approaching helicopters in an attempt to prevent them from entering the city.
"They've managed to slow them down, but that's all," Daisuke explained. "We don't know how much longer the soldiers can keep it up."
"I've been told that some aircraft has already managed to enter the southwest area," Riku said grimly. "If the vampires break through here, the city is doomed."
"But aren't those soldiers using the same weapon as mine? If so, then they should be able to fight off the vamps easier than that!" Yoichi protested as he gawked at the battle taking place in the air.
"No, they are not the same, Yoichi," Mitsuba corrected. "Rather, what those troops are using are more simplified versions of your bow called 'enchanted gear;' not every soldier is mentally strong enough to form a contract with a demon."
"Not good…" Kimizuki muttered as he followed his friends' gaze and tried his best to keep his cool. "This is turning into a full-scale war. We gotta do something and soon!"
"Shit!" Yuichiro cursed. "If only that noble hadn't showed up we would have been here sooner and things might not have gotten this bad…"
Shinoa shook her head. "It's ok, Yuu. What happened back there was beyond our control. Just be grateful that we all got out of it alive so we can help take back Shinjuku."
"So what are we going to do?" Yoichi asked.
"About that," Takeshi began. "One of the other officers passed along the word that all members of the Moon Demon Company are to join Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose and his squad at the west wall."
Yuichiro slapped her forehead. "Oh, no, we're the last ones to get here. The last thing I need now is another lecture on punctuality from Guren," she groaned.
Mitsuba cleared her throat. "I don't think that's what you should be worried about right now, Miss Hyakuya..."
"She's right, Yuu," Kimizuki said. "Let's just find Guren and let him decide what to do next."
Yuichiro sighed. Although she dreaded being hen-pecked by her mentor, the ravenette knew that there were more pressing issues at hand.
"Agreed…" she said. "Let's go then."
SSSSSS
"Damn, those bastards are persistent; I'll give them that…" Guren muttered as he put down his small hand-held telescope for a moment to rub his eye.
For the past hour, the lieutenant colonel had been overlooking the battle taking place down in the city streets as well as the skies above from his perch atop a tall building where he and the rest of his squad were stationed.
"Now which one of these bloodsuckers is the leader, I wonder?" Guren asked himself quietly as placed the telescope over his eye again to resume his search.
Looking through the device that enhanced his vision to the streets below, the lieutenant colonel was able to make out the forms of several vampires clad in the same white uniform as well as several Demon Army soldiers until he finally caught sight of a vampire that stood out from among the rest.
Though he too, was dressed in white, the vampre's vintage attire was more extravagant than the others, indicating that he must be a noble. The vampire's head and neck was also exposed and he sported a long silver mane tied into a high ponytail with a silk ribbon, a style reminiscent of eighteenth century Europe but Guren took no interest or notice of that.
What Guren did notice, however, was the silver-haired vampire lord shifting his gaze slightly until he appeared to look him straight in the eye from his perch several hundred meters away.
"Oh my, the bastard can see me even from this distance?" he asked in amusement before lowering the telescope again and answering his own question. "Of course he can; he is a vampire after all."
"Um, my lord, you seem surprisingly at ease considering the situation at hand," a soft female voice called out.
Turning, the lieutenant colonel saw his long-time friend and subordinate, Sayuri, quietly approach with her arms at her sides in a relaxed posture and looking at him with perplexity.
"Well it's not like I'm slacking off, Sayuri," Guren explained patiently as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "I'm keeping tabs on the enemy commander and his troops' movements in case the bastards decide to target this outpost as well."
Before Sayuri could reply, her commander pointed over her shoulder. "Well, damn, speak of the devil!" he exclaimed.
Turning around to see what Guren meant, the younger woman gasped when she saw a vampire guard charging towards her like a raging bull with his weapon drawn. Knowing she must act quickly, Sayuri prepared to summon her own cursed gear when Mito suddenly jumped in front of her and slammed her gloved fist into the vampire's midsection, the force of the blow hard enough to knock him off the building before he turned to ash.
"Mito, thank goodness you're here!" Sayuri gasped as she clutched the front of her uniform in relief.
Instead of sharing Sayuri's gratitude, Guren smirked at his crimson-haired friend. "Nice to see you, Mito; what took you so long?" he teased.
And as always, the hot-headed Mito Jujo took the bait. "Are you saying I'm late, sir? You're the one who called me here on such short notice. Don't you think you owe me a little explanation?" she demanded as she flipped her long crimson ponytail over her shoulder.
Before Guren could reply, they both heard the sound of a throat being cleared and turned to see Shigure approaching with her hands neatly folded in front of her.
"Sir, I just got a call from Shinya after I got back. He said both Shinoa's and Satoshi's squads have completed their mission in freeing the humans at Omotesando Subway Station and have just arrived in Shinjuku."
Guren, who had expected nothing less from the youngsters he and Shinya had accepted into the MDC, gave a look of smug satisfaction as he jumped down from his spot on the building's edge and said:
"Excellent. They'll be a good addition to the reinforcements. The battlefield is the perfect place to get stronger as long as you don't get killed."
"Heh, you would think that, my lord. That's just like you," Goshi said with a touch of humor as he walked up from behind Shigure. "It's also like you to expect a lot from such young kids."
Guren snorted. "In case you haven't noticed, Norito, neither Shinoa's nor Satoshi's squads are ordinary kids, any more than we were."
The blond man grinned and threw up his arms in mock surrender. "I was only joking, sir. Of course I know that. Anyway, so what are we gonna do? It doesn't look like Shinjuku Guard can hold off the vampires' advances for much longer."
"Then it's time for us to make our move" Guren said simply as he made a gesture for his squad to join him. "The vampire commander is at the intersection of the 5th district. We could turn the tide of battle in our favor if we take him down."
"Yes, sir."
SSSSSS
"Don't look now, Mika, but it seems that we're being watched," Ferid said smoothly as he turned his head and looked in the direction of the building where Guren and his squad had been hiding.
"Who is it?" his blond companion asked without so much as moving a muscle from his seat next to him.
"Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with, my young friend. By the way, how are you feeling? It's been a while since you were here and you must have some pretty unpleasant memories of this place. Still, if you're lucky, you might even see your long-lost brother, Yuichiro, while you're here."
At the mention of his orphanage sister's name, Mikaela quietly clenched his fist. Though the blond found it unsettling that Ferid still held an interest in Yuichiro, he was secretly grateful that his ex-benefactor did not realize the truth about her, at least not yet. And that fact alone should keep Yuichiro safe from Ferid for a while longer. *2*
When he received no answer from Mikaela, Ferid continued. "So what will you do when you find him, Mika? Will you drink his blood? You look so terribly thirsty, my boy. I hate to see you suffer unnecessarily."
"I'm fine…" the blond growled.
"Oh? You don't sound convinced," Ferid teased as he made a gesture with his arm towards the streets below where several vampires were drinking greedily from dying human soldiers and civilians unfortunate enough to be caught up in the fray.
"You should be taking advantage of being on the battlefield since it's forbidden to drink directly from humans back home" he insisted.
At the older vampire's suggestion, Mikaela curled his lips into a sneer as he shot Ferid a dirty look.
"Ha, you should talk! Did the law stop you from drinking my blood? You sure as hell didn't hesitate!" he snapped.
Instead of being annoyed, displeased, or even the slightest bit embarrassed at being called out on his hypocrisy, the vampire lord gave a merry laugh.
"Oh, please, Mika. Don't say such things, or you'll hurt my reputation! And besides, wasn't it you who approached and offered me your blood in the first place? Oh, I remember, you only did that so you can steal a gun and map from my mansion to escape the city with your little family. Well, it's your own fault for not realizing it was a trap, Mika."
The young blond scowled but did not argue or try to deny Ferid's claim because he knew every word the bastard said was true.
"You're right, my lord. It was my fault that everyone died and Yuu-chan ran away. Do I blame you for it? Not entirely. The fault also lies with me for not realizing just how much of a conniving bastard you are."
Ferid grinned. Mikaela's sharp tongue never ceased to amuse him, even if the boy's words were meant to be insults.
"True. But what does any of that matter since you're a vampire yourself now?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.
Not needing or wanting to be reminded of what he now was, Mikaela suddenly jumped down from the beam and started to walk away from Ferid. It was times like these that the blond felt it was best to give his commander the silent treatment.
But Ferid Bathory was not one to give up easily when he wanted an answer, especially from Mika of all people.
"By the way, what about the last remaining member of your family, Yuichiro Hyakuya?" he persisted. "Are you going to save him? What if he doesn't want your protection or to have anything to do with you when he finds out the truth? And that's assuming you last long enough to find him. Seriously, take my advice and drink some human blood; you know what happens to vampires who get too thirsty!"
Not wanting to give Ferid the satisfaction of knowing he may be right about Yuichiro, Mikaela picked up the pace to get away from him while doing his best to ignore the other vampires feeding around him. The corpses they shoved aside after their victims took their last breaths reminded him painfully of the night his own family's corpses littered the halls before the gates of Sanguinem when they were killed by the very man he served under now.
And, in a way, Mikaela himself also died on that day…
SSSSSS
October 17, 2016
"Mika, my dear, you really must drink…" the vampire queen said gently as she sat on her throne watching Mikaela in amusement after a guard had placed the body of an unconscious livestock child in front of him.
After re-attaching his severed arm to his body, Krul ordered that Mika be brought to her throne room within the royal palace of Sanguinem. In contrast to the rest of the city, the home of the vampire queen was radiant and opulent but Mika could not notice any of it now.
The flushed, sweaty, and panting blond boy shook his head fiercely as he wrapped his arms tightly around himself while on his knees and used every ounce of willpower he possessed to fight his terrible thirst. Even though he agreed to let Krul turn him, the thought of drinking another human's blood like the monsters he so despised horrified him.
"No… I don't want to…there has to be another way!" Mika protested even though his shivering, pain-wracked body told him otherwise. Right now, there was only one thing he craved and needed most, and both he and Krul knew what that was.
The vampire queen chuckled as if she were expecting him to say that and got up from her throne. Walking with quiet, cat-like steps, Krul approached him and gently pried Mika's mouth open with her tiny hand to reveal two sharp little fangs protruding from his gums.
"There isn't, my child," she said patiently. "You should have known this when you agreed to become one of us…"
Mikaela gulped when he realized the vampire queen was right. Even though he was young, the blond boy had been around vampires long enough to know that they could derive nourishment from nothing but blood.
"T…then what am I going to do?" he wailed.
"Listen to your body and give it what it desires…what it needs…" Krul whispered as she gently placed her hand under Mika's chin and lifted his face to gaze into his ocean-blue eyes, the eyes that now had slitted pupils like her own.
"I…"
"It's too late for second thoughts, Mikaela. Even if you wanted to die normally, you can't because I've already changed you. If you don't drink blood, you will become a mindless demon with no will of your own. And you'll never be able to save your brother Yuu. Is that what you want?"
Mikaela gasped at the mention of Yuichiro and reminder of why he agreed to let himself be turned into the monster he was now. Still, he made one more attempt to find an alternative.
"Are you sure there is no other way?" he asked in desperation.
Seeing the pained and desperate look on the blond boy's face seemed to move the vampire queen to pity, something that did not happen often, and she sighed before standing up and slicing the wrist of her own hand with a razor-sharp talon.
"Is that what's truly bothering you, my child? Drinking from a human? Well, you should have said so in the first place! How about I offer you my blood instead? I'm not human, after all. Well, Mika?"
Knowing that that was the best deal he was going to get, Mikaela Hyakuya finally gave in to his thirst and grabbed the arm that Krul offered before sinking his new fangs deep into her bloodied wrist.
If she were a human, Mikaela might have knocked her over but Krul easily held her ground without budging before getting onto her knees to allow him easier access to her blood.
"There, there, my little Mika…" the queen cooed as she gently stroked his soft blond hair. "Everything's going to be all right. I'll take good care of you from now on so don't worry. After all, you belong to me now and for all eternity, my lovely little pet."
Although he knew his fate was sealed as soon as the first drop of the vampire queen's blood passed his lips, Mikaela Hyakuya was too consumed by relief to care. In that moment the taste of Krul's blood and her soothing words became his entire world…
SSSSSS
Mika slowly opened his eyes and found himself back in the present where he was currently sitting on the hood of an old abandoned car. It seemed as though he had been reminiscing about his troubled past again.
Thankfully, Ferid had made no attempt to follow Mika when he jumped off the structure overlooking the streets below to be alone. As for his fellow vampire soldiers, they were too busy gorging themselves on the blood of dying humans all around them like vultures to notice or care where he went or what he did. And Mikaela could not help but feel disgust knowing he suffered the same constant bloodthirst they did.
But even so, the blond refused to stoop to their pitiful level. He compared vampires drinking directly from humans to animals eating their prey alive or humans eating unseasoned raw animal meat with their bare hands. If Mikaela Hyakuya had to live as a vampire, he was determined to do so with as much dignity as he could muster.
Now that the blond was finally alone, he gave into this thirst and reached for one of the glass tubes hidden in a small leather case inside his uniform jacket. Unknown to Ferid, Krul had given Mika several small tubes with her blood to sustain him until he returned from his mission.
After taking a quick glance around to make sure he wasn't being watched, the blond pried open the lid of the tube and quickly downed its contents. In return for Mikaela's service and obedience, Krul had been generous enough to sustain him with her own blood through the years. The queen even gave him enough to last whenever she sent him on missions beyond Sanguinem so that he would not be forced to hunt human prey or worse, drink from corpses to survive.
Krul's blood will last me ten days at most. I have to find Yuu-chan before then… Mika thought.
What he would do once he found his lost orphanage sister, he was not sure but the blond decided that he would cross that bridge when he got to it. After all, he had managed to come this far.
Yuu-chan, you are near… I can feel it…
As if in answer, Mikalea felt a raindrop touch his nose followed by another and another. It was as if the heavens had heard his thoughts and sent him a reminder of the girl he had spent nearly half a decade searching for. The falling raindrops brought back memories of Yuichiro's tears on his face when they shared what they both thought would be their first and last kiss…
SSSSSS
"Say do you hear that, everyone? It sounds like it's raining pretty hard outside," Yoichi said as he cupped one of his ears with his hand so that he could hear the rain fall better.
"It probably is," Mitsuba agreed as she folded his arms, closed her eyes, and leaned back as much as her position on the cargo truck seat would allow.
"If so, then we should be thankful we managed to catch a ride back at the medical base so that we wouldn't have to walk all the way to the west wall," Shinoa said. "We're lucky this cargo truck is big enough to hold all of us so that we don't get separated before we can find the lieutenant colonel and his squad."
Everyone nodded in silent agreement. Both squads were fortunate enough to hitch a ride on one of the many cargo trucks that were transporting soldiers to the front lines and they had been on the road for at least an hour. While the seats weren't exactly comfortable, nobody complained because it sure as hell was better than walking in the heavy rain.
Satoshi, who was sitting on the seat nearest to the driver, an officer named Nagai, tapped his knuckles on the wall to catch the man's attention. *3*
"Hey, I don't mean to rush you but are we almost there yet?" he asked politely. "Let us know so we can be ready."
"Of course. We should be at the defensive line in the next fifteen minutes or so. It could be a bit of a bumpy ride, so make sure your seat belts are secured" Nagai answered.
"Fifteen minutes? That should give us plenty of time to get ready," Yuichiro said coolly as she stroked Asuramaru's handle with her fingertips, taking a moment to admire the excellent craftsmanship.
"Call me crazy, but you sound like you're actually looking forward to doing battle," Risa teased from her seat across from Yuichiro.
"Of course I am, Risa. Why else would I join the Demon Army and MDC?" the other girl joked.
"That sounds just like something you would say, Miss Hyakuya," Riku said with a wink as she folded her hands together and gave the ravenette a smile.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really in no hurry to die," Takeshi said grimly as he shot Yoichi a glance. "Isn't that right, Satome?"
Yoichi gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, me too."
"It's a little late for second thoughts, boys. You knew the risks when you chose to join the Demon Army, didn't you?" Mitsuba asked in annoyance.
"Of course we did," Daisuke answered with a roll of his eyes. "Takeshi was just joking."
"Nobody knows when they're going to die," Kimizuki said as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "My father used to tell me that death can come for us at any time no matter what we do or where we are."
"True. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take precautions to prevent it," Satoshi said as he turned to Shinoa with his arms folded across his chest. "Well, Miss Hiragi? Have you told them yet?" he asked.
Yuichiro was puzzled. "Told us what?" she demanded.
Shinoa cleared her throat and was silent for a moment before putting on her most cheerful expression and answered.
"That it's time for all of us to take our medicines!"
Kimizuki raised a brow. "And what's that supposed to mean? Are you in charge of handing out vitamins now?"
The purple-haired girl gave a merry laugh. "Not quite. Remember how strong that noble we ran into on the way to Shinjuku was? Surely you realize that he was way out of our league. Even with our black demon weapons, it would have been quite difficult for us to take him down if he had chosen to fight seriously."
Now it was Satoshi's turn to raise a brow. "What? Your squad encountered a noble before getting to Shinjuku? How is it all of you managed to make it out with no casualties?"
Shinoa grinned. "It's a long story, Mr. Hiwatari. Anyway, I think it's time for us to give our squad mates their meds," the purple-haired girl answered as she pulled out five small plastic cases from her uniform pocket that contained what appeared to be small round green tablets.
As Shinoa handed each of her squad members a case, Satoshi pulled out a few of the same plastic tablet-filled cases from his own pocket and gave them to his squad as well.
"Hey, what are these?" Yuichiro asked curiously as she turned the small case in her hand this way and that. "They look like Tick Tacs"
"Well, they aren't," Shinoa said patiently as she turned toward Satoshi. "Well, Mr. Hiwatari? Do you want to explain how these work or would you like me to do the honors?"
Satoshi smiled and politely bowed his head to the other squad leader. "There's no reason we both can't do it together, Miss Hiragi. But please do start…"
"Of course," the purple-haired girl said as she turned to the others. "To make things simple, we're all going to be doping."
"What?" Risa asked in confusion. "But I thought the Demon Army prohibits the use of drugs."
"They do, Risa," Riku said before turning back to Shinoa and Satoshi. "But these aren't ordinary drugs, are they?"
"Very astute, Miss Harada" Satoshi praised. "You're right, they aren't. These are what the army calls 'curse stimulant' pills. If used correctly, they can increase your synchronization with your demons."
"Right," Shinoa continued. "One tablet and you'll be one and half times stronger. If you take two, you'll be one point eight times stronger."
Yuichiro smirked as she folded her arms across her chest. "That sounds great, Shinoa. So, what's the catch?"
Daisuke chuckled. "Always the skeptic, aren't you, Miss Hyakuya?"
"And she has every right to be, Mr. Niwa" Shinoa said. "Power always comes at a price. Especially this kind of power."
"And what's the price of using these so called 'curse stimulant pills'?" Takeshi demanded. "What're the side effects?"
"Well, for one, they put a great deal of strain on your body," Satoshi explained. "If you take more than three, the effects could be fatal. There's a great chance your organs will explode; even two could cause you to die from shock."
"Oh really? That sounds pretty gruesome" Kimizuki said grimly. "So basically, they should only be used as a last resort, right?"
"Correct," Shinoa said as she waved her tablet case in front of her face. "Even two pills could severely damage your organs and make you go into shock. So to be on the safe side, we usually take no more than one pill and only when we're in a very tight spot."
"Also the effects last no more than fifteen minutes. After it wears off, you will be completely vulnerable to the enemy if you had not destroyed them before then. So as Kimizuki says, use these tablets only as a last resort" Satoshi warned.
After listening to both squad leaders' explanation, Yuichiro shot Shinoa a look of annoyance.
"If you had these all along, why didn't you give them to us when we ran into that noble on the way here, Shinoa?"
The purple-haired girl shook her head. "Even if I did, it still might not have been enough."
"What?"
"It takes at least ten seconds for the pills to take effect. If he had wanted to, that noble could have killed us all before we could make full use of their power."
"I see…you mentioned demons earlier. If I take these pills, could I fully master the power of my cursed gear?"
Shinoa smiled playfully and shook her head. "Sorry, Yuu but the pill is only a temporary solution. Mastering your cursed gear and bending the demon to your will is something that comes only with time and practice."
Even though she had expected such an answer from her squad leader, the ravenette could not help but sigh in disappointment.
"Fine, I understand."
The Harada sisters laughed merrily at Yuichiro's pouting. "It's ok to ask, Yuichiro," Risa said. "You never know unless you do."
"That's right!" Riku chipped in.
Mitsuba scowled at the twins. "How can you two be so cheerful at a time like this? We could die out there today."
Kimizuki smirked. "Always the pessimist, are we, Miss Sangu?"
The blonde girl glared at him. "It's called being realistic, four-eyes!" she snapped.
Before Kimizuki could make a snarky comeback, everyone in the truck heard a loud explosion coming from the outside.
"Shit, what was that?!" Daisuke cried.
No sooner did the question leave his mouth, everyone screamed when they suddenly felt the cargo truck being flipped over. Were it not for the seatbelts strapping them to their seats, both squads would have been severely injured from the impact. As soon as the vehicle finally stopped moving, everyone quickly unbuckled their seatbelts and made their way outside into the streets.
As soon as they were outside, both squads looked up and saw the helicopter that had just attacked the truck they were in moments earlier turn around to fire at them again.
"Hurry, everyone, take cover!" Satoshi shouted over the rain of bullets.
"Like he needed to tell us that!" Daisuke exclaimed as he quickly grabbed Takeshi to pull him to safety.
While the others were dodging the oncoming fire, Yuichiro took a quick glance around and noticed that Nagai was unconscious and trapped in the driver's seat.
"Shit!" she cursed as ran to the truck and attempted to pull him out. When the ravenette realize she couldn't do it alone, she called the two closest squad members to her for help.
"Shinoa! Mitsuba! I need your help here!"
"Yuu! Be careful!" Shinoa cried as she made a gesture for Mitsuba to follow her and assist Yuichiro. And this time, the hot-headed blonde girl did not argue.
"Hurry, there's no time to waste!" Yuichiro hissed as she started to pull out the unconscious young man with the help of Shinoa and Mitsuba.
"Move quickly, they're coming back again!" Kimizuki cried as he deflected one bullet after another in an attempt to shield the girls as well as the man they were trying to help. And even with the assistance of Satoshi Hiwatari and his squad, it was still no easy task.
"We don't have much time!" Yoichi shouted as he fired several of his demon arrows into the air alongside Takeshi, hoping to take down the helicopter that had been attacking them. Daisuke and the Harada sisters were also doing their best to hold off the bullets under Satoshi's orders but that could only last for so long.
After a few more rounds, Yoichi and Takeshi finally managed to destroy the menacing aircraft but not before it launched three more missiles that ended up destroying the ground beneath the two squads, causing them to fall into the subway below.
SSSSSS
"Ugghh…" Yuichiro groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and found herself in what appeared to be a dark, underground tunnel of sorts with the man she had attempted to save still comatose in her arms.
"What happened?" Mitsuba asked weakly as she sat up from the spot where she landed not far from Yuichiro.
Yoichi, who appeared to be fine despite the shocking fall, was trying to shake Shinoa, who appeared to be lying unconscious on the ground, awake.
"Hey, Shinoa, are you ok? Kimizuki, what are we going to do?"
The pink-haired boy, who was also unhurt, kneeled downed next to their squad leader and gently tapped her face with the back of one of his hands.
"Miss Hiragi, can you hear me? Please wake up, we need you!"
At her subordinate's gentle chiding, the purple-haired girl slowly opened her eyes.
"W…what happened?" Shinoa groaned as she allowed Kimizuki and Yoichi to help her up.
"It appears we fell through to the subway below," Yuichiro answered as she forced herself to stand and check up on Nagai whom she had been half-carrying before the ground beneath them collapsed. Placing two fingers on his neck after gently setting him on the cold ground, Yuichiro was relieved to find that Nagai was still alive when she felt his pulse.
"Wait, where's Satoshi and the others?" Mitsuba demanded when she looked around and did not find any member of the other squad in sight.
"Hmm…it doesn't look like they fell with us," Yuichiro answered grimly. "But Mr. Nagai looks pretty banged up."
Shinoa, always quick to get down to business, went over to Yuichiro to examine the young man in question.
"We need to get him to the temporary shelter above ground. He might need medical attention."
"You'd think?" Mitsuba asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
Shinoa, however, was not in the mood and was about to tell the other girl so when they heard a familiar voice calling to them through the wall of rubble barring their access to the other side of the subway.
"Hey, Shinoa! Are you and your squad ok over there?!"
Startled as well as relieved at hearing the voice of her fellow squad leader, Shinoa forgot her annoyance at Mitsuba and answered:
"Satoshi, is that you!? We're all fine over here. What about your squad?"
"We're ok too!" Risa shot back cheerfully. "A few bruises here and there but nothing serious."
"That's great!" Yuichiro exclaimed. "Hey, do you guys think you can get back to the surface from your side?"
"I'm sure we'll manage!" Satoshi assured. "What about you?"
"We have to get some medical attention for Mr. Nagai first so go ahead without us; we'll catch up with you later at the defensive line, ok?" Shinoa suggested.
After a moment's pause, the other squad leader answered. "Ok, I understand. See you later then, Miss Hiragi! And good luck!"
"You too!"
Footnotes:
1. By episode 9 of the anime and chapter 11 of the manga, the sequence and version of events begin to differ a bit more drastically so I have chosen to merge the two for my fic as well as add the presence of the Satoshi Hiwatari Squad.
2. Since I've had several readers ask, my plan is to have Ferid not realize that fem!Yuu is a girl. For my AU, Mika chooses to keep her true gender a secret from Ferid as a protective measure for as long as possible.
3. Corporal Nagai is an anime-only character and does not appear in the manga. For my AU, I've chosen to give him a very small role as the driver of the truck taking Shinoa's and Satoshi's squads to the front lines.