It'll Take More Than That To Put Me Down

by Nebula Descendant Of Chaos

They've had their fun, now it's my turn. Let's see if they got what it takes to stop something deemed unstoppable.

21. Chapter 20: Leaving A Mark

This chapter went faster than i thought as far as i can say... lol

I dont know why, but when i uploaded the last chapter, almost most of the top rated fanfics uploaded at the same time as me, pushing this fanfic down faster than i can say blyat. but, no worries, i can do that as well when i need to. *channeling inner weeab*

Replies to Reviews:
-Killroy122496
-Sssshhhh! Don't spoil my readers for me, man...

-Deadlyninja564
-I get a little carried away with the referencing sometimes, but, thanks for the thumbs-up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kancolle, OPM, Naruto and whatever references I've used in this story. They all belong to their respective owners and I'm merely borrowing them (without permission, of course lels). But the OCs are MINE. MINE, MINE, MINE! But, to tell you guys the truth, i saw Saber's image somewhere in Danbooru and thought "That's a heroine and a half, right there!"

P.S.: Yes, we get time skips in this fanfic as well. makes things move a lot faster in a way.

P.S.S.: the pic is not the final illustration. it's just what he should look like, my friend is still fixing some parts of it before the real thing. so this is pretty much a teaser of sorts.

Enjoy!

---

Chapter 20: Leaving A Mark

Operation: Into the Hornet's Nest
August 20, 2014;
Day 001 – 16:31:19hrs;
Client: CEO of the Uzuki Corps.
Currently inside the Uzuki Corps.' HQ 3 klicks of Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna;

"So…"

He heard them speak from the noises generated by the numerous people running around in a hurry like chickens with its head cut off.

"… This is the new guy you were talking about?" the tallest of the four asked the sole woman of the group who also happen to be wielding an M60e4 with a Trijicon ACOG and the usual bipod.

He stood tall, quite taller than his own person but offered not much of a threat to someone like him, even when their taller and bigger than him. Especially if they are bigger and taller than him. He had dirty blond hair, almost orangey-brown with a few strands being black. Must have been some weird genetics since the dude looked like a halfie to him. His eyes were clear hazel brown ones with a mischievous gleam that is reciprocated by the youngest guy on their group. He had a Roman kind of nose if he were to say; definitely not a full Filipino if he ever sees one. A small cut on the left side of his lower lip which at the moment his grinning like an idiot.

The guy wore a black fatigue – probably multicam G3 Tactical BDU Emerson Uniform – that hugged his form like a second skin. On his upper body, he wore a what seems to be a Warrior Assault System DCS Base Special Forces Plate Carrier with two belts of 7.62x51mm NATO wrapped around him, forming an X over him. Not a bad idea for a quick reload but not very bright either. He also has a bowie knife strapped on the top left of his rig, right on the strap for easy access. On his left side hanging by the belt, he noticed two woodland Guarder M60 Machine Gun 7.62mm Ammo Pouches while a Taurus Tracker Model 44 Revolver .44 Magnum was holstered on his right thigh holster that had a single strap on his leg.

"Yes, Carter." The redheaded woman sighed, rolling her royal purple eyes in clear exhaustion as the situation is driving her mind like crazy, "For the fifth time today, he is the guy."

Name: Carter – No surname given;
Age: 16 years old;
Height: 5'7ft;

"Sheesh… no need to get all prissy with me, boss." Carter said, placating his hands in front of him in mock surrender, "I kid, I kid."

"I don't think this is the time to say such a joke, Carter." Said a guy wearing the CAFGU designated uniform with a red bandana on his freshly cut army hair style, an M1 Carbine hanging on his back with a few ammo pouches on his chest rig.

"Alex's right, you know." the last of the group said to Carter, carefully eyeing their boss who was talking a few feet away on the phone.

Name: Alex Santos;
Age: 23 years old;
Height: 5'6ft;

He wore the standard CAFGU designated uniform with a woodland boonie hat that hang by his neck with the string. He didn't wear any protection but for the chest rig he had but he could clearly see what seems to be an Anting-Anting hanging on his neck. As if that will save him. On his hip, he had a holstered Rock Island Armory 1911 with at least three mags on the pouches; usual loadouts of common CAFGU. And that was pretty much it, he guesses.

"Just trying to lighten the mood up, Rafael…" Carter pouted at the last member of the group.

Name: Rafael Cortez;
Age: 14 years old;
Height: 5'4ft

He wore the same as Carter but instead of ammo belt and ammo pouches for the machine gun, he had a pair of ammo pouches for his two 5.56x45mm NATO rounds on the lower piece of his chest armor for his M16A3 fitted with an ACOG Sight but without the carry handle, an Magpul AFG Angled Grip AR-15 Polymer and a pouch tied on the buttstock.

He had a pair of almond shaped brown eyes that looked too green to be a soldier. A greenhorn then. His hair is messy but is kept out of sight of the vultures by his bonnet.

"We know you are, but I don't think she would tolerate that joke of yours this time, bro." Rafael said, pointing at the woman that was busy talking in the phone, wiping her eyes every now and then, "Anyway, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Rafael Cortez, by the way. And you are?"

Looking at the gloved hand that was offered to him, he raised his own and gripped it, tight, "Jason Ramirez."

Name: Jason Ramirez;
Age: 15 years old;
Height: 5'6ft;

"Ah! N-nice to me-meet you, Ja-Jason…" Rafael stuttered, completely shock at the hard grip this guy was giving his poor hand, "Please don't break my hand, I still need that."

And just like that, he immediately let go of the hand and placed it back down on his side.

"Carter, no surname." Carter said, grinning at him as he offered his own gloved hand, "Wassup?"

Taking the hand as well, he nodded his greetings to Carter whom he noted had quite the strong grip as well, but not enough to discomfort him. Good, a strong one.

"Alex Santos, CAFGU." Alex said, introducing himself, "I'll be your guide for this mission."

"I see you've all met him." His employer said, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes discretely, "I'm sure you've exchanged your introductions. I am Mito Uzuki, CEO of the Uzuki Corps by the way."

Name: Mito Uzuki;
Age: 18 years old;
Height: 5'5ft;

"Jason Ramirez, Ma'am."

They all nodded to that.

"Then let's get to the point." She said, bringing an iPad out with the map of the Mt. Makiling in the center and a bunch of red circles – seven; he counted – that surrounded the mountain with broken lines connecting them and question marks on it, "A few days ago, my cousin and a close friend of ours went for a hiking with a local tour guide around this mountain. A few hours later that, my men lost track of them somewhere between these circles with the last transmission coming from near the foot of the mountain in the east. Turns out, the local tour guide was a member of the infamous NPA rebels and is reported to be one of the rumored rebels that took hiding in the Mountain for a few months now. Your mission is to retrieve my family and extract to safety, at all cost."

"What's the rules of engagement?" Carter asked, studying the map as he took a picture of it with his smartphone.

"What would you suggest, Mr. Ramirez?" Mito asked, dumping the question to him.

Looking at her intently in the eyes, he narrowed his eyes when he saw the boiling anger on them before he made his decision, "No witnesses."

Smiling at his answer, Mito then turned to Carter, "That is your orders."

"Hell yeah." Carter grinned, cocking his M60e4 in excitement, "I like this guy already."

"If there are no more questions, prepare yourselves." Mito said, "You leave at sun down. The Iroquois will take you all to your A.O. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the three saluted her as she left them.

"So, you're a sniper, huh?" Rafael said, eyeing his M1D Garand fitted with a Trijicon RMR, SEI Good Iron M1 Muzzle Break and an M1 Garand Bipod Adaptor that was hanging diagonal on his back.

"Marksman, at most." He replied, kneeling next to his bag as he readied his gear.

---

Three hours later…

"We're here!" the pilot of the Bell UH-1 Iroquois said to them through the radio as Carter and Alex opened the doors on both sides, dropping a rope 150ft down the foot of the mountain, at east, "Good luck."

"Thanks." Alex said, taking an anxious breath before he rappelled down, followed by Rafael who saluted the pilot and the co-pilot before going.

"See ya', boys, back." Rafael said before going.

"Finally, this is what I trained for!" Carter laughed as he immediately took the rope.

"Take care, kid." The co-pilot said to Jason.

Nodding at him, Jason gave simple thanks before he rappelled down himself. Dropping on the ground with a grunt, Jason immediately grabbed his M1D as the helicopter flew away. Cocking the rifle, Jason hanged it in front of him by the sling as he pulled his GI M1911 with a 6" barrel fitted with night sight from his CQC Thigh 1911 Holster Military Tactical Hunting Drop Leg Holster and pulled back the slide, chambering a bullet from the magazine before he engaged the safety with his thumb. Putting it back, Jason made sure that nothing fell off his Fight or Flight 72 Tactical Backpack, patting the zippers and the sealed pockets twice, just to make sure.

Looking around, Jason notes that the evening life here in Mt. Makiling seems to be more alive than it is by the day as the forest chirped and yipped in life. Focusing on his ears, he notes the number of insects and nocturnal animals seems to be higher in here than it usually is on other places. Perfect for masking the sound of their footsteps.

"Got everything you need, Jason?" Alex asked him.

"Yes." Jason nodded, making sure that the fingerless gloves he wore is secured properly.

He wore a pair of olive drab coat and pants and black boots, helping him increase his camouflage in the woods; especially the one found here in the mountain. On top of the drab coat, he had three leather pouches hanging by his chest at the left, the strap coming from the right with another one going under his right arm connecting to the other side to keep it from moving around. Above his torso, he wore a reproduction of a 1942 6 Pocket Military Ammo Pouch that the allies used with two more Ammo pouches on his left thigh containing his med kit, flashbang, an M67 Frag Grenade and a pistol suppressor.

"What about you, Carter and Rafael?" Alex turns to the other two.

"I'm good." Carter replies, making sure that his M60e4 is cocked and loaded once again.

"Ready when you are." Rafael said, pulling the charging handle of his M16A3.

"Okay, good. Remember this quote, guys. No mission too difficult, no sacrifices too great. Duty first." Alex says to them, pulling out a map and a compass before tapping the radio on his left ear, "Turn on your radios. Um… let's see… we were dropped here at Bagong Silang, seven hundred meters from the first unknown circle..."

"… -lex… Alex… {STATIC}… -o you red me… over?... {STATIC}…" Mito's voice rang from radios in their ears.

"Yes, Ma'am." Alex answered, "We read you, over."

"Good." Mito said, "I've receive further news from Mr. Jerimiah and he said that his informants told him that they saw a few rebels walking around the mountain close to Bagong Silang. Some twenty of those bastards."

"So, we're close then?" Alex states, more than asks as he cocked his M1 Carbine.

"Yes. Anyway, we're sending a drone towards your position; ETA: Ten Mikes. We'll be your eyes in the sky." Mito said, "Failure is not an option. I repeat, failure is not an option."

"Roger that, Ma'am." Alex says.

"Excuse me, but can I just ask, but why is this guy here again?" Carter asks, pointing to Jason who turned his uninterested eyes at him, "I just wanna know."

"Mr. Jason is Mr. Jerimiah's son." Mito answers, "He is a veteran mercenary with his father being an ex-SPEC-OPS. As for why he is here, I didn't want the press to find out about it and cause harm on my girls. I hope that answered your question, Carter."

"Thanks!" Carter replied, clearly satisfied with her answer.

"If you don't have any more questions, move out." Mito ordered, "The longer those bastards have my family, the more I fear for their safety."

"Leave this to us, Ma'am." Rafael said.

"Thank you." Mito replied, "Good luck, out."

As the radio died, the four turned to each other and nodded as they begun to move towards the first unknown circle in the map, six hundred meters in front of them. Looking around, Jason keeps vigilant as he expanded his senses around him, falling back to the training his father and mentor-from-hell taught him a few years back. Meanwhile, the two newbies marveled at how stupidly dense the trees in the mountain was.

"Holy shiiiit~!" Carter whispered, as they trekked through the thick jungle where trees, vines, animal-life and more fucking trees surrounded them, "This place sure is stuffed!"

"Well, it is a forest." Alex supplied, "What did you expect?"

"Your right, but, I really didn't expect forest here in Luzon to be this dense, with all of the industrialization going on. I mean, back in Davao, we had pretty dense jungles as well, but I mostly kept away from them because of the Abu-Sayyaf and all those bastards roaming the areas."

"At least you got some experience fighting." Rafael grumbled, "This is my first mission and I already feel a bit nauseated and anxious."

"Breath, slowly." Jason said, before suddenly stopping as he raised his right arm up to signal them all to stop, "Halt!"

Using the same hand, he signals them all to crouch as he crouched silently forward, putting his back on a large tree bark as he peered in front of him. The other three took their places next to Jason, making sure that the foliage is keeping them hidden.

"What do you see, Jason?" Alex asked, squinting to see better in the dark, where their only light source is the moon.

"I see four tangoes, directly at our twelve. Fifteen meters." Jason says, pointing with his right hand where the approximate location is, "Over there."

"What's the plan?" Carter whispered, readying his MG.

"Keep quiet." Jason says as he placed his Garand on his back, before taking his M1911 out and a suppressor from his left thigh pouch.

Putting on the suppressor, Jason silently stalked forward as the rest of the team followed suit, pulling out their knives. Stopping once again, Jason looks left to right as he goes and spots the rebels once again.

"Alex, my ten 'o'clock." Jason said, pointing at the rebel in black clothes smoking some cheap cigarettes as he sat on a fallen tree bark, "He's yours. Do it quietly."

"Roger that."

"Carter, two 'o'clock. Behind that Nara tree." Jason said, pointing to his right.

"Let's do this." Carter grinned as he begun to move in for the kill.

"What about me, Jason?" Rafael asked, eyes looking around tensely.

"You're with me." Jason said, "C`mon."

Nodding at him, Rafael followed Jason and watched as Alex moved behind the tree before plunging his knife on the neck of the unsuspecting rebel as he covered his mouth as quickly as he can, pulling him out of sight in the bushes as he sliced open his neck without remorse nor second-thought. Feeling a shiver crawl up his spine, he turned to the right and saw Carter slowly walk behind the pissing rebel and watched as Carter quickly jumped him, putting his hand on his mouth as he stabbed him twice in the back and one of the nape, killing him before he could even make a sound. Gulping at what he just saw, sure to give him nightmares, he turned back in front of him and saw Jason signal him to stop.

Looking back at him, Jason showed him two fingers. Two tangoes together.

After that, he said, "I'll take the one in the left, you subdue the guy on the right. On three."

Nodding at him, Rafael waited.

"Three!"

With heart rushing fast, Rafael watched as time slowed down as the sound around them took a sudden plunge as the adrenaline kicked in. Looking at Jason, he watched as Jason shot the guy in the back of the head with no hesitation, the crack of the gun alerting the guy in the right whom his body automatically rushed as the bullet casing from Jason's 1911 few his way. Bring his attention on the guy who was fumbling with his AK-74U, he took a deep breath and sent his left arm swinging, nailing the guy in the jaw before he followed it up with his knife on the left bicep of the guy, yanking it down as he forced him to drop his gun.

A loud scream would have come and alerted every rebel within their area if not for him jamming his hand in the rebel's mouth, forcing it shut as he struggled. Using his left leg, he pushed it forward and yanked the guy's legs back towards him, causing him to slip and fall on his back with Rafael still on him.

"Nice." He heard Jason say as the rest walked next to him, "I want to question him for a bit."

Nodding at Jason, he turned to the rebel and said, "Sasagutin mo ang lahat ng aming mga tanong. Naiintindihan mo ba ako?"[1]

The rebel didn't think twice and nodded furiously as Rafael continued, "Ngayon, kapag tinanggal ko ang aking kamay mula sa iyong bibig, wag na wag kang sisigaw. Kuha mo?"[2]

"Mmmff!" he nodded.

Taking his hand off the rebel's mouth, he watched as the rebel released a silent scream on pain as tears fell from his eyes, "A-a-ano ba ang gusto nyo?!"[3] he cried.

"Nasaan ang mga dalagita?"[4] Jason asked, kneeling next to Rafael, his 1911 drawing the eyes of the rebel whose fear showed in his eyes as plain as day.

"A-anong mga dalagita?!"[5] the rebel replied back.

"Alam mo kung sino."[6] Jason said, tapping the rebel with the end of the suppressor, making the man flinch in fear.

"Okay, okay! Sasabihin ko sa inyo! Wag nyo lamang akong saktan!"[7] the rebel cried, doing his best to keep pressure on the wound, "Nandun sila sa kampo namin! Pangako!"[8]

"Saan?"[9] Carter asked, this time, wiping his bloody knife on the rebel's shirt without a care, who looked to be close to shitting himself.

"Limang daang metro sa kanluran ng dito! Nasa loob sila sa isa sa mga kubo na ginawa namin!"[10]

"Yung gabay na dumukot sa kanila…"[11] Alex asked, "Sino s'ya?"[12]

"P-pa-pangalan niya'y T-To-Tomas C-cruz… 'di n'yo s'ya makakaligtaan… ugh…"[13] the rebel groaned as the pain started to kick in, "Huling nakita ko s'ya, may suot-suot siyang pulang tshirt at maong na pantalon."[14]

"Pulang tshirt at maong na pantalon, kuha mo 'yun?"[15] Carter said to Alex.

"Oo, nakuha ko."[16]

"Well, mas madali iyon kaysa sa naisip ko."[17] Rafael said in realization.

"Tama ka don. Rafael, pakawalan mo na siya."[18] Jason ordered.

Complying with that, Rafael got off the guy who didn't take a second before he took off running. Yet, he didn't make it far as Jason stood up and popped him in the back of the head as well, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Why did you that?!" Rafael snapped to Jason who just took off the smoking suppressor of his M1911 as he begun to walk away, "I thought we were gonna let him live?!"

"I didn't say such thing, you did." Jason said as he held his M1D again, "Besides, our ROE was to kill all of them, or did you forget?"

Gritting his teeth, Rafael glared at Jason for a few second before answering, "I didn't forget it."

"Good." Jason smiled, and not a very kind one as well, "Make sure to remember it, or else…"

"Break it up you two, we've got a mission to do." Alex said, intervening at the two, "We're supposed to be acting as a unit!"

"Suck my unit!" Jason said as he walked away, holstering his 1911 back as he put the suppressor away.

"Dick." Rafael spat as he glared at Jason's back.

Sighing to himself, Carter patted Rafael on the back for comfort, "Let it go man. We've got a mission to do."

"… {STATIC}… Alex, do you read?" their comms came back to life as Mito's voice rang out.

"Yes, Ma'am. We read you loud and clear." Alex replied.

"Good. Our UAV Drone spotted a rebel camp not far from your position. Just five hundred meters west of your position." Mito said, sounding a bit glad, "I want you to go there and get them out quickly. I'll have the Iroquois pick you up when you're done."

"Roger that, Ma'am. Alex, out." Alex said, before turning to his group, "Looks like the rebel's info holds true."

"We still didn't need to kill him." Rafael grumbled as they begun to move.

"He would have given away our position." Alex reason for Jason, "It was necessary sacrifice."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No one's asking you to like it." Jason says, stopping in his track as he turned to look at Rafael at the corner of his left eye, "Just do your job and that's it. You don't have to like anything."

Resuming back at his walk, Jason said no more.

"Asshole." Rafael sneered silently.

Chuckling at his friend, Carter patted him in the left shoulder, "He's right you know. Sooner or later, you'll have to come to terms with it. So, how's the experience?"

"Thrilling, but also sickening." Rafael replied, looking at the blood on his right hand.

"Ah~! That's the spirit!" Carter grinned, "Now, c`mon! We still have more rebels to kill."

"You did the right thing, kid." Alex said to Jason as they walked in front of the two.

"I know." Jason said, "And don't call me kid."

"Good." Alex nodded.

Walking in the jungle took more effort that it's worth as the group had to repeat the stealth kills two more times before they reached the outer perimeter of the rebel camp. Said camp wasn't that large nor was it practically defended, just a few sticks struck on the ground with barbed wires for a wall and at least ten house huts that are scattered around, built under the massive trees. Outside the fence, an army of wild grass and thick foliage hid the camp pretty well with the roofs of those house huts being covered by the huge branches and numerous leaves of each of the tree.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Carter asked, squatting down like the Slav King himself as he laid the M60e4 on his lap.

"We'll split up into two teams." Alex said, "Carter, you're with Rafael. You two will make a distraction and lure them out of the camp while Jason and I will sneak in and look for the girls. Understood?"

"Seems easy enough." Rafael nodded.

"What the hell are we gonna do for distraction?!" Carter asked the other two.

"You could use that." Jason said, pointing at the wild carabao behind them.

"Ohh~!"

"Hey, C, ya thinking what I'm thinking?" Rafael asked, grinning a bit.

"Hell~ yeah!" Carter grinned back.

"Good, Jason let's go." Alex said as they both left the two to their own.

"By your leave." Jason said, following Alex as the two moved towards the eastern side of the camp, waving through glass lands and trees alike like ghost due to the lightness of their steps and their familiarity to the surroundings.

"You're really good." Alex whispered in astonishment as he too has difficulty on hearing Jason's steps, almost thinking that he isn't following him due to no sound being emitted, "I could barely hear your footsteps."

"I was trained by monsters in similar places." Jason commented, shivering a bit at the unpleasant memories that arose.

"Hold up." Alex said, raising his left fist at a ninety-degree fold, signaling Jason to stop, "Wait here, I think I heard something here…"

Lowering his Garand, Jason placed it back on his back again as he pulled out his 1911 and suppressor. Meanwhile, Alex leaned on the house hut they are next and closed his eyes, causing his hearing sense to focus on different sounds. Gritting his teeth as he tried to find the muffled sound he heard just seconds ago, he didn't notice Jason raising his pistol.

PFTSS! ! !

A muffled gunfire erupted next to Alex as a rebel dropped in front of him, the suppressed shot almost causing him a heart attack more so than the dead rebel with a bullet hole on his head at his feet.

"What the hell was that for?!" Alex snapped to Jason, whispering frantically, "You could have killed me!"

"You're welcome." Jason said as he walked towards the next house hut, hugging while crouching the walls to keep visibility to a minimum, "Follow me, I've found them."

"What?!" Alex frowned in incredulous as he pulled the dead rebel out of sight, "Where? More yet, how?!"

"A few houses in front of us." Jason says, peaking through every windows, doors, alley-ways and just about anywhere an enemy could find them, "My hearing… it is a bit more sensitive to specific sounds than a normal person's ear is."

"Is that so?" Alex raised an eyebrow, pulling out a knife just in case they run into trouble again, "How close are we?"

"Not far." Jason said, grinning a little bit as Alex made a sound of annoyance.

"No shit, kid." Alex said, rolling his eyes.

"We're here." Jason said as they stopped in the back of a small house hut that is slightly elevated.

Moving slowly to avoid any unnecessary noises, Jason posted himself on the right side of the bamboo door while Alex took the other side, holing his knife for a throw.

"I'll breach, you shoot. Got it?" Alex said, doing a quick sign-of-the-cross.

Jason didn't answer verbally but nodded in agreement as he pulled his gun next to his face, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Wait!" Jason said, immediately halting Alex who was just about to breach, "Listen."

"– … you know, you two don't look that bad~. Oh~hoh no~! Far from it! So, what do you two say and have some fun with us?" they heard a man say followed by a pair of muffled and struggling sounds of disagreement.

"This would be the first time I'll be tasting a foreign pussy." Another said, "I wonder how much better these are than the stupid bitches in this rotten country. He~he~he~!"

"We need to go, now!" Alex whispered in urgency as they heard more muffled struggling inside.

"Not yet." Jason said, listening closely for the footsteps in order to count and map out the positions of the rebels guarding the VIPs.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?!" Alex replied, "They are about to rape in there and we're stuck here doing nothing when we can clearly do something about it!"

"Shut up…" Jason gritted his teeth quietly, making sure to listen as closely as possible, "Just hold your horses, dammit."

"Alright, boys." Another one said, "Let's start with the feisty one in the left. I want to see how far we can take it before we break that spirit of hers. Ha ha ha!"

"Mmmmfftt! ! !"

"Now!" Jason ordered as Alex gladly complied by moving in front of the door with his back turned to it before mule kicking the door open, blowing it off its hinges.

Not wasting a second, Jason went through the forcefully opened door with his 1911 at the ready position, dust and splinters flying in the air from the force of Alex's kick. With his adrenalin kicking to overdrive, time seemingly slowed down as Jason brought the gun on to eye-level as he popped Rebel#1, on the left, in the left shoulder, the powerful subsonic .45 ACP punching a hole through his shoulder as he was kicked back on the wall. Eyes whirling for the next tango, Jason slammed his right foot on the floor hard, putting his weight on it as he pivoted his entire body to the left, popping Rebel#2 right on the head, his brain-bits splattering the wall behind him. Turning to the last guy who tried to reach for his AKM-74 laying on the table a few feet in their left, Jason blasted him low, shooting both knee caps off as the guy collapsed down. But, before the two injured but still very much alive rebels could scream, Alex threw his knife at the guy who got his knee caps blown off, hitting him square on the temple killing him instantly while Jason merely turned the gun on the guy on the left and popped another round on his head, splattering blood and brain-matter on the floor.

Meanwhile, the two bound and gagged girls watched in extreme relief as rescue finally came. Feeling the fear and hopelessness leave them, the two girls – a redhead and a ravenette – finally broke down to tears after a few days of having been starved to death and trying to keep strong.

Nodding to each other for the good work, Jason moved to untie the girls, holstering his 1911 again while Alex stood guard, closing the door the best he could as he took his knife back with a wet squelch and brought out his M1 Carbine.

"Are you both okay?" Jason asked as he pulled out his knife to cut their bonds, before taking the cloth gag on their mouths off, "I will repeat, are you both okay? Did any more of them touched you? Are any of you injured?"

But instead of answering him, the two suddenly pulled him to an embrace as they cried their hearts out on his clothes. Jason, for the better or worse, just sighed and comforted the two traumatized girls as he patted them in the back softly, telling them that everything's going to be okay now.

"Alex, where's our distraction?" Jason asked, still doing his best to comfort the two that seems to refuse to let go of him for some reason. He'll let them a few more minutes before he part ways with them.

"Just wait a bit, I'm gonna relocate." Alex said, moving to other side of the house towards the window, "Wait a moment."

Discreetly looking outside, Alex notes that the rebels seems to be gathering towards the front of the camp.

"Looks like it's' starting." Alex grins.

"W-w-what's… s-s-starting?" the redhead croaked pitifully, clearly emotionally exhausted.

"Our distraction." Jason told her, "What's your name?"

"Ku-Kushina U-Uzuki…"

"We just need to have those two get the entire camp to go to them before we can make our way out." Alex said.

"Wht about you, miss?" Jason turned to the raven-haired girl, "What's your name?"

"Mi… Miko… Mikoto… U-Uchida…" she mumbles, her body feeling weak and exhausted from this whole ordeal.

"Nice to meet you two, I'm Jason Ramirez." Jason said, introducing himself, "Ms. Mito had us four to come and rescue lot."

"Thank… you…" Kushina sobbed a bit in gratefulness to her cousin.

Pulling out four bars of Nestle Milo Cereal/Protein Bars that he has in stored for later use, Jason gave the two poor, exhausted and very much hungry girls two each. Upon receiving the bars, the two turned to Jason in confusion.

"Have it." He said, "You need it more than I do, right now."

Nodding gratefully at him, the two immediately tried to open one of the bars but found the lack of food for the last two days has left them with almost no strength. Upon seeing their predicament, Jason helped them open the bars before they ate it all with gusto.

"Here, have some as well." Alex said, feeling sympathy for the hungry girls as he gave them all of his SkyFlakes Crackers, "Eat as much as you can, it will be a bit of journey ahead of us."

"T-Thank you…" Mikoto stuttered, feeling tears fall down her eyes as they ate.

"Don't forget these as well." Jason said, handing the two a bottle of 500ml water with a blue and white tag and the word SUMMIT on it, "Have as much as you two wants."

"T-Thank you! Uh… W-what about y-you?" Kushina asked, in-between massacring all the food they were given them.

"I can last a long time without food or water." Jason smiled, mentally cursing his father and mentor for the hell he went through under them.

"Me too, so eat as much as you want." Alex added, going back to his post as he watched as more rebels went to the gate, spotting Rafael sneak from the other side, hiding behind a small shack, "Oh shit…"

"What is it?" Jason asked, the two girls who has eaten their fill turning to him as well.

"Rafael's about to be compromised…" Alex said as he watched in silent horror as one of the rebels behind Rafael saw him, or more precisely, his shadow, and is now currently moving slowly to investigate, "We need to help him!"

"Where is your farm, American?!" they suddenly heard outside as something close to hundreds of guns was cocked after that.

"Looks like its go time." Jason said, standing back up as he readied his modified M1D and his game-face, "Girls, stay behind us at all times, got it?"

"Y-Yes!" the two stuttered as they stood behind him, Alex putting himself at the door to breach with his M1 Carbine at the ready.

"My farm?" they heard Carter say, breaking in whatever character he was playing, eyes darting towards Rafael, widening as he saw another rebel catching sight of him.

"HERE'S MY MOTHERFUCKING FARM! ! !" Carter yelled, bringing out his M60e4 out of his robes as he blasted the living shit out of every rebel scum standing in front of him like Rambo on steroids.

"Yeeeaaaah!" Alex screamed as he blasted open the door with his foot again, putting up his M1 Carbine and blasting rebels left and right as Jason moved out behind him, guns blazing.

"Keep your hands on your ears!" Jason cried out just as he fired his eighth shot, taking down eight rebels.

PING! ! !

As an en bloc clip popped out, Jason was already loading it with another from the pouch in his torso. Running towards the closest cover – which happened to be a parked open back Oner jeep in front of the house they came from – Jason did a power-slide on the mud while the girls ran and hide behind him. Alex, on the other hand, ran towards Rafael who looked a bit shell-shocked at his first kill.

"Get up kid!" Alex yelled over the gun-hose that is Carter, "We need to get the hell out of here!"

"W-wha…" Rafael turned to him, too shocked to do anything else, "Y-yeah… sure…"

Picking up his M16A3, Rafael pulled the charging handle back and started returning fire with Alex, his rifle sending three-quick-burps every pull of the trigger, hitting targets down in the chaos. Meanwhile, Carter laughed as he continued his hosing as he walked – jogged – towards his team, turning left and right to every enemy to blast them a few face-full of lead.

"Yeah! Chicka-chickaw, baby!" Carter yelled, almost too happily as he rained down lead down-range, one of the bullets ricocheting close to Jason's face, "Kwan-Lo!"

"Noob…" Jason said, after blinking when a bullet went past him.

"I'm a lead farmer, motherfucker!" Carter exclaimed, his left arm holding the carry handle of his red-hot smoking barrel of his M60e4.

"Behind you!" Kushina yelled holding Mikoto with her right hand, only to find a M1911 pressed on her left, "Why are you giving this to me?!"

"Hold with both hands. After that, point and make sure that the three dots are aligned, then pull the trigger." Jason said as he began shooting the other way, ignoring her question.

With no other choice, Kushina did as she was told and held the hefty gun with both hands while Mikoto held on to her.

"T-That's the guy that took us here, Kushina-chan!" Mikoto yelled in Japanese as she recognized the guy wearing a red shirt and Maong pants.

"He is!" Kushina yelled as the fire went ablaze in her eyes, "Die, scum!"

Click! Click! Click!

"Eh?" Kushina blinked, expecting a loud bang, but instead, she got a really heavy trigger, "W-why is this not firing?!"

"H-he's looking a-at us!" Mikoto said frantically to Kushina as they rebel turned to them with his AK.

"J-Jason, i-it won't fire!" Kushina yelled.

"Hold it as hard as you can!" Jason yelled, followed by a loud high-pitched ping.

"R-right!" doing as he said, Kushina held the pistol as hard as she could and pulled the trigger again, just before the rebel could shoot at them.

BANG! ! !

With a loud bang, Kushina immediately closed her eyes from the bright flash as the recoil sent a powerful shockwave rippling across her hands, her ears ringing loudly after she pulled the trigger.

"Whoa…" Mikoto said in awe, eyes glued to the dead rebel whose head got popped by a subsonic .45 ACP, ears ringing, "That's powerful…"

"I… I can't feel my hands…" Kushina groaned at the unexpected kick of the gun shocking her hands to numbness, "Kami-sama, that's loud…"

"Good shot." Jason said, taking back the gun as he patted Kushina in the head, shocking the girl as he helped them both up, "Get in. We're leaving this place."

Getting-in in the back of the Oner, Kushina and Mikoto watched as Jason hopped in the driver's seat and hot-wired the jeep, starting its engines a few seconds later.

"Where are we going?" Kushina asked behind Jason's chair.

"Uphill." Jason said as he honked the horn, calling the rest of the team towards them, "Call Ms. Mito, Alex."

"Roger that." Alex said as he rode shotgun.

Running up to them, Carter hopped in the back and mounted his M60e4 on top while Rafael placed himself on the back wheel, M16A3 at the ready.

"Let's go!" Carter yelled as he loaded another belt.

Putting down the handbrake, Jason immediately shifted the gear to the 1st as he drove the Oner out of camp, taking a left turn to go up instead of the right where they came upon.

"Alex to HQ! I repeat, Alex to HQ! We have the precious cargo, over!" Alex said, one hand on the radio and the other on his Carbine.

"We read you, Alex!" Mito replied, joyed that they've gotten her girls back, "We're heading there now as we speak. Head to the primary LZ, we'll meet you there. Over!"

"Roger that, Ma'am! Alex, out!" Alex said just as a bullet punched a hole in the windshield, fortunately missing him by inches, "Front! Carter, open up!"

"On it!" Carter said, opening up a burst of 7.62x51mm NATO at the rebels that came to help their camp after those numerous gunfire that rang out, "Eat lead!"

"We got some behind as well!" Rafael yelled, getting a bit accustomed to shooting down enemy rebels.

"Get down, girls!" Jason cried out, swerving to the left, as bullets flew punching holes on the side of the engine and the windshield.

Doing as he said, the two girls braced themselves as the gunfire went on, bullet casings and belt pieces falling down in front of them as Carter turned around to help Rafael. Feeling the ground become uneven, they held on as the bumps got rougher and rougher. Meanwhile, the jeep was visibly slowing down as it tried to get traction on the wet mud, grass and roots. It wasn't until they felt the jeep get stuck on something that they were forced to abandon it.

"Damn roots." Jason cursed out as he inspected the cause of why they have to abandon the vehicle.

"C'mon, we can't stay here." Alex said, motioning Jason to go.

"They're getting close, guys!" Carter said, dumping three C4s in the jeep.

"Let's go. Ms. Kushina, Ms. Mikoto, this way." Rafael said as he led the two girls towards the peak of the mountain.

Just as they were about to follow them, they heard a crack as a bullet passed them and a scream of pain. Turning around, all of them felt their eyes widen in horror as Alex crumpled in the ground, clutching his bleeding right ankle.

"Sniper! Get down!" Carter yelled as he brought out his M60e4 and fired at the general direction from whence the bullet came from, "Suppressing fire!"

Running towards Alex, Jason forced him back down on his torso after he tried to get back up, "Get down!"

"Leave me! Get the girls to safety!" Alex forced out from the pain, handling Jason a piece of folded paper, "Give this to my girlfriend when you get back. Tell her I love her and that I fought well and with honor!"

"Shut up." Jason said, keeping low as he peered through his M84 scope, gun aimed from where the bullet came from, "Carter, Rafael! Get the girls out of here, I will carry Alex in there as well. If we're not there in ten minutes, go without us!"

"W-we can't just leave you two out here!" Rafael tried to reason.

"Here! Catch!" Jason yelled as he took the letter from Alex who was trying not to scream from the pain, "Get that to this guy's girl. Now, go!"

Catching the letter, Rafael placed it on his chest pocket under his vest and nodded, telling the girls to go after him. But, for the girls, it was a lot harder to follow him because then they would be abandoning their rescuers but also the fact that they could barely see what's in front of them.

Another flash of gun fire and a bullet crack rang out as the tree next to Rafael suddenly exploded to splinters, said target-to-be looking in horror as he became the next target.

"Move!" Carter yelled as he kept firing, dropping a remote detonator on Jason's hand, "You know what to do! I'll see you on the other side."

"Go!" Jason said, nodding as he took the detonator and pocketed it, taking aim from where he saw the flash, "Found you, fucker."

Taking a deep breath, just as a bullet landed on the ground next to him splattering him with mud on the face, Jason focused on the sniper on the tree and kicked out all sound around him. Gently squeezing the trigger, Jason smirked as the bullet traveled through air, lightning flashing above illuminating it in the split second it took to travel from Jason's gun and into the enemy sniper's forehead, splattering brain matter on the trees as he fell off.

"Let's go, old man." Jason said, shouldering his rifle as he helped Alex up his good foot. But, instead of helping him walk, Jason suddenly turned around and lifted Alex, putting him on to his left shoulder, making the older of the two, hold for dear life as he was faced back.

"What the hell?!" Alex complained, wincing at the pain on his right ankle.

"Cover my six!" Jason grunted as he begun to move, rain slowly falling as he unholstered his 1911.

"You should have left me!" Alex retorted.

"Not in your wildest dreams, mate." Jason grunted in annoyance of becoming a messenger boy, "So, your going to shut your damn trap and let me focus on not slipping on this damn forest!"

Grumbling to himself, Alex did as he was told and watched their backs, occasionally shooting a rebel or two he spots. Jason, on the other hand, made sure to keep his finger off the trigger lest he blast himself in the head as he tried to use the same hand to pull himself up as the mud made things a lot harder.

Above the rain, they heard the tell tales of the helicopter having arrived just in time. Gritting his teeth even harder, Jason pulled himself into a clearing with a road that headed straight to the LZ. Taking out the remote detonator Carter has given him, Jason pressed the button, detonating the C4s Carter has left on the Oner.

"Bilis! Nakikita ko na sila!" [19]a rebel somewhere in the back said out loud.

BOOM! ! !

"GAGH?!" a few rebels screamed behind them as the shockwave passed them, blowing wind water and dirt everywhere.

Taking a deep breath, Jason broke into a slow run, his pistol at the ready. Eyes looking left and right frantically, Jason spotted a rebel in front of him, trying to get up the road. Without second thoughts, Jason popped him in the head and watched him fall back down, never to be seen ever again.

"We're almost there!" Jason huffed and puffed, not used to dragging a full-grown man around.

Checking his watch, Jason's eyes widened as he saw that seven minutes has already passed by, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Running even faster, Jason turned an immediate right and saw the chopper, the same Bell UH-1 Iroquois but with a mounted dual .50 cal heavy machine gun on the side, manned by Mito herself. Grinning at himself for making it in time, Jason ran as fast as his feet can pull him. In the passenger seat, he could see the rest of the team and the two rescued girls waving at them to get to them.

"Jason, behind us!" Alex said, already too late as the world suddenly spun as they fell on the muddy ground.

"Jason!" they heard everyone yell.

Groaning as he held his head, Alex lifted his head, rubbing it with his free hand and turned to his right and saw Jason clutching his right side that was bleeding profusely.

"Y-you have t-to g-go!" Jason yelled to him, blood dripping down his mouth, "GO!"

"NO!" Alex yelled back as he forced himself up to his feet, pulling Jason up who yelled out in pain from the bullet wound, "I'm not leaving you out here!"

"That wasn't a request!" Jason screamed, letting go of his wounded side as he placed his right hand on the back of Alex's belt and the left on his shoulder before throwing hard and far enough for Carter to get to him,

"No Mission too… difficult, no sacrifice… too… ugh… great! Duty… first!"

"Jason, no!" Alex yelled as Carter and Rafael took him, sorrow on their faces as they all watched Jason crumpled back on the ground, shakily picking his Garand up and firing a few bullets out, not being able to hold the gun on target properly as he quickly lost blood and strength.

"We need to go!" they heard the pilot yell, saying a quick prayer for Jason, flinching as he watched him take another bullet that sent him kneeling as he dropped his Garand on the ground, "Forgive me, kid!"

"NO!" Mito yelled, racking back the cocking handles of both the HMGs, "We're not leaving anyone behind!"

"We can't take any more fire!" the pilot tried to reason, "We'll get killed if we stay any longer!"

"We won't be staying any longer!" Mito replied.

Breathing heavily, Jason turned towards the rebels that are slowly creeping up to them, glaring at them in anger as he picked up the rifle again from the mud, accepting that his end has come and that he won't be going down without a fight! And so, with fire rekindled in his eyes, Jason took aim once again, shooting a rebel in his left and at his two 'o'clock before he heard it, the one he didn't want to hear right this fucking now!

PING! ! !

Gritting his teeth, Jason pulled out his pistol and fired a few shots, most missing since he could barely see any color from the amount of blood he has already lost and add to the fact that he is already losing strength to hold up even his pistol, making each of the recoil even harder to support. As his arm felt like lead, Jason felt his body lurch forward falling back down on the ground once again, but instead of falling in the ground, he felt two pairs of hands catching him.

Looking at his right, the first thing he saw was a deep shade of red, followed by a blurry face who seems to be talking to him. Blinking hard, Jason opened his eyes again and came face to face with Kushina, "What… the hell… are you doing… here?!"

"What does it look like?!" Kushina growled, as Jason turned to his left and saw a panicky Mikoto, "We're giving back the favor!"

"Suppressing fire! ! !" Rafael yelled as he stopped next to them, firing his M16A3.

"That's my line!" Carter yelled as he hosed the rebel scums with hot lead like John Rambo.

"You're heavy, you know that!" Mikoto commented as they carried him, his arms on their shoulder, "You need to diet more!"

"I don't need diet, I need blood…" Jason said, feeling a little woozy.

"Get him in!" Mito yelled as she opened up with the fifties, mowing down the rebels by the dozen, "You two, we're leaving!"

Getting Jason inside the helo, Alex immediately administered first aid as he opened Jason's med kit and his own, applying pressure on his wounds as Kushina helped him. A few seconds later, Carter and Rafael came back and hoped on inside as the helo begun moving, lurching forward as it's nose pitched down as it flew the pilots yelling out.

"We're outta here!"

---

December 19, 2020;
Time: 16:00:19hrs;
Naval Base;
Inside the Office;

Waking up from his nap, Jason yawned, stretching his arms as he got the kinks out of his system. Looking around, he notes that it is late afternoon if the orange sky is anything to go by. Looking at the clock above his door, Jason double checks and nods to himself.

"4'o'clock. Hiei must be there already." Jason said, yawning once more as he got out of table and chair, spotting Ooyodo napping on her station in exhaustion.

Smiling at her sleeping form, Jason went to take his cape from the rack and draped it over her form, watching in amusement when she gave him a smile in her sleep as she snuggled on the warmth given by the cape. Patting her head softly, Jason wished her to have a great sleep as he quietly left the room to not disturb the tired girl.

Now that he is out of the room, Jason went towards the cafeteria, or kitchen as his boys in the Delta would call it, where Hiei is most likely waiting for him. Feeling the temperature on his body rise, Jason unbuttoned his jacket to let the cool air in letting the world see the black undershirt he had on with his silicon-covered dog-tags dangling right in the middle, the jacket having done its job of keeping him warm a little too good.

Looking around as he walked on the stairs, Jason saw a few shipgirls – Destroyers – huddled together inside their rooms with doors opened, sleeping together or watching some television – anime or some sort of drama – to pass the time before dinner time where Saber will be probably calling everyone.

Getting on the bottom floor, Jason unexpectedly ran into the Mogami-class girls with Shigure in tow; or more precisely, he ran to Mogami herself.

"Oomph?!" Mogami jumped, her voice muffled when she ran to Jason, squaring her face on his right chest area.

"Whoa…?! I didn't see you, girls, there." Jason grinned, having caught Mogami by the head and back in reflex, "Sorry 'bout that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. Still a little out of it after I just got out of nap."

"That's alright, Teitoku." Mikuma said with a smile, "Although, I don't think Mogamin is, though…"

"Hawawawawa…"

"Yeah!" Suzuya added, "She looks like she's about to explode, yeah!"

True to that, Jason turned his head down and saw Mogami's face as red as Kushina's hair. Realizing that, he slowly let go of the girl, not to startle her or cause her to fall down.

"You alright there, Mogami?" Jason asked, "Still breathing?"

Her reply to his question was a thumbs-up with Shigure answering for her, "I think she had a little too much stimulations, Teitoku." Shigure smiled him a smile that is worth a thousand smile.

"We shall take it from here, Teitoku." Kumano said, grinning at her elder sister who was being push by Shigure from behind.

"Sure, don't be late for dinner, alright?" Jason said tipping his hat as they left.

Resuming his walk, Jason let his mind go for a walk in the memory lane of what happened earlier the day. Now that he thought about it, he did see quite a bit of improvement in the way the girls carried themselves, especially at the mandatory exercise. Almost all of them has now improved their situational awareness and can either block, dodge or hit the balls sent to them. Of course, the sword singing girls brought out their toys with Tatsuta bringing her glaive out as well, looking like a breath-takingly beautiful angel of death. Apparently, Saber's display of skills made some of the girls feel a little cheated out that they weren't able to bring theirs on the first day.

Grinning at that thought, Jason looked to the left finding the windows open to let the cool ocean breeze in, his single eye landing on to the Pier where some of the shipgirls – the German Battleship sisters and Prinz Eugen – are taking an afternoon walk, chatting and laughing like normal teenage girls. This brought a smile to his lips, even more so when he saw Prinz wave at him, causing her Battleship sisters to wave at him as well. Waving back, Jason watched them go, walking right under the Highwind where the three had to crane their necks up, still awed at the mighty airship's hull structure, that has helped them in their sorties.

Taking his eye of them, Jason resumed his walk towards the cafeteria, waving to other shipgirls that he walks by; like Fusou and her sister Yamashiro, the latter looking a little annoyed by his presence. Ouch. Anyway, as he took his time – he got quite a bit of it to waste anyway – as he took another dive on the memory lane, remembering the fun the shipgirls had when he and Saber thought them in their session together. Of course, when he meant fun, he meant him trying to have Saber loosen up when instructing the girls since she was pretty much about to blow herself up with just how tensely she was teaching them.

Turns out, she was just feeling a little insecure since this was the time they were teaching together. He could relate to her, because what she felt at that time was like being in a class of her own with the Head Principal breathing down her neck. After having cooled her head down, Jason showed her the way; by telling the girls what to do first and slowly guiding them through it in order to help them learn better. By the time they were done, the smaller shipgirls were treating Saber like an older sister – Destroyers – with how much care and attention she gave them in the two hours they spent with her while the larger ones – Light Cruiser and up – was treating her like she was their best-friend. Sometimes, he just wants to give himself a pat on the back for letting people face their fears head on and doing things comfortably.

Turning to the right, Jason came upon the cafeteria doors where he came upon Ayanami, Shikinami, Sagiri and Amagiri.

"Oh, Shereikan! How are you doing?" Ayanami asked, her tone taking a respectful tone as she and her sisters stood respectfully in line in front of Jason who stopped his walking to greet back.

"Why, I am very much fine, Ayanami. Thank you for asking." Jason said, a small smile on his lips as he returned the gesture, "How about you and your sisters? How are you lot? Did you all learn a lot this past week?"

"Hai." Ayanami nodded with a smile, "Ayanami and my sisters have learned a lot from all the lessons Shereikan and the others was kind enough to impart to us."

"Yeah! This past week has been the most fun since we've become shipgirls." Amagiri said, grinning at him brightly, "Ain't that right, huh, Sagiri-chan?"

"E-eh? Ah! Y-yes! I-it has been great, T-Teitoku!" Sagiri said, her face flushing a nice shade of red as her sister suddenly threw the spotlight to her, figuratively.

"Is that so?" Jason grinned, "I'm happy to hear that. How about you, Shikinami? How did you find the week so far?"

"Hmm? It's not bad." Shikinami shrugged, "We've learned a lot in so little time, so it gets a bit overwhelming sometimes, but the Recreation Time allotted to us helps us relax… I guess it's not all too bad…"

"I'm very pleased you find it that way." Jason said, watching Shikinami mumble the last part as she turned her face and body away from his general direction, crossing her arms over her chest as she finished, "Well, I hope that all of your efforts bears great fruits in the future. Anyway, someone is waiting for me in the other side of this door, so, best of me not to make her wait any further than she has to."

"It's Hiei-san, isn't it?" Shikinami asked, stopping Jason from moving from his spot.

"It is." Jason replied with a smile, "She asked for my assistance in the culinary arts, already knowing of he own limits. So, because of her determination to improve on her own short-comings, I've accepted her request."

"Yeesh!" Amagiri shuddered, "Good luck, Teitoku."

"P-please do your b-best, T-Teitoku!" Sagiri said to him.

"May the best of luck be with you always, Shereikan." Ayanami said to him, looking sorry for him, "You might need it…"

"I hope you know what you're doing." Shikinami said to him as she and her sisters walked past Jason.

"Hm~! Let me worry about that, will ya?" Jason grinned as he pushed open the door.

"Hieiiii! ! ! What took you so long, Shereikan?!" Hiei exclaimed as she ran up to him, "I've been waiting for you for so long, you know!"

"I don't think your Onee-sama would appreciate you proposing to me before her, Hiei." Jason said, poking some fun on what she said, which could lead to misunderstanding like in some animes where a dumbass MC is denser than Osmium when girls are pretty much spreading their legs right in front of them, 'I'm talking to you Ichika!'

"Eh? What are you talking about…" Hiei said in confusion, only to realize what he meant when she played what she said back in her mind, "N-no! I… I… I didn't m-mean it li-like that!"

"I know you didn't." Jason said, placating his hands in front of him, "I'm just teasing you is all."

"Shereikan-no-baka!" Hiei yelled at him, giving him the stink eye and shooting her tongue at him, "BLEEGGHH! ! !"

"Alright, alright." Jason said, patting Hiei's shoulder as he turned her around and led her to the kitchen, "I'm sorry. Anyway, let's get started. This food won't cook itself, you know."

"Ah, yeah!" Hiei nodded with vigor, getting her head back in the game, "Let's do this! Shereikan, let's go!"

"I'm right behind you." Jason said he walked behind Hiei who immediately dashed off to the kitchen in a burst of speed, "Man… that girl can sure run, huh?"

Arriving at the kitchen, Jason opened the door and saw Hiei in front of a counter filled with quite the variety of ingredients.

"So, what are you planning to make?" he asks, moving to the counter to inspect each and every ingredient Hiei has brought forth.

"Curry." Hiei grins, bringing out all the cooking utensils she will need.

"Curry? That's it?" Jason asks in confusion as he turned to the busy girl who has her back to him.

"Yes, that is it. What? Did you expect something too glamorous or something?" Hiei replies back, turning her head to him only to see Jason looking at her as he leaned back on the edge of the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, "What's with that look?"

"You do realize that we have enough ingredients here to feed the entire base twice with seconds, right?" Jason asks as Hiei finally turned her entire body to him, various cooking utensils, pots and pans sitting on the counter behind her.

"Of course, I do. I want to redeem myself to them in cooking, that's why I prepared these much ingredients and that is why I asked of your assistance." Hiei said, crossing her arms over her chest as well as she stared directly into Jason's single eye with a determined grin.

Sighing at her headstrong approach, Jason couldn't help but grin a little as he motioned her to come to him with his right hand, "Well then, before we start, why don't you cook one by yourself. Just enough for one person, though."

"E-eh? A-are you sure, Shereikan?" Hiei asks as she lost her composure all of the sudden, sweating in fear of what he might say when he taste the abomination that is her cooking.

"Hiei, you can't cook food that can kill me. Trust me, many has tried before you, especially Daisuke." Jason said encouragingly, playfully winking at her when he mentioned Daisuke's name.

"That's not something a girl would want to hear, you know…" Hiei replied with a dull look, unhappy to be reminded of that.

"Yeah, well, I don't like playing the nice guy, so you'll have to deal with it." Jason said with sass in his voice.

"Whatever, it's your funeral~." Hiei said, shrugging at the guy who seems to have a death wish.

Chuckling at her reaction, Jason said, "Hiei, the reason I want you to cook without my help first is so that I will know where to help you. I can't help you, if I don't have a clue on what level I should put you on, you know?" Jason said, walking towards Hiei who was already peeling the potato of its skin.

"Somehow, this feels like déjà vu, like I've been in a similar situation like this before." Hiei says in thought, peeling the potatoes with expert precision; mainly due to how many times she's done this in the past.

"Well, I did something similar last week, you know?" Jason said, standing across to Hiei on the opposite side of the table, "I tested you lot on the morning run so that I have an idea on where to start teaching you girls."

"Hm. So that's why it's so familiar." Hiei said, putting down the potato that she has peeled as she grabbed a carrot next.

Keeping an eye to the carrot she was busy peeling the skin off, Hiei glanced at Jason who went back to inspecting each of the ingredients with a critical eye and asked, "Say Shereikan, what took you so long to get here?"

"Hm? I just woke up on my nap in the office." Jason replied, holding a piece fresh onion in his hand, inspecting the freshness of said vegetable, "Then, after waking up, I saw Ooyodo sleeping like a princess in her station."

"You didn't do anything bad to her, did you?" Hiei asked, a look of suspicion on her face.

"No, but this onion is about to kiss you in the face if you don't stop." Jason said, left eyebrow twitching in annoyance at such accusation as he held the onion like a baseball.

Waving her hands in front of her frantically, Hiei weakly chuckled, "H-hey, now… let's not be hasty, okay? I was just teasing you, is all."

"Funny, me too!" Jason did a 180 degree of personality bounce as he beamed at her, "Got you good, didn't I?"

"Eh?! You jerk!" Hiei yelled as she grabbed and threw an unpeeled potato at him in anger, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Laughing at her reaction, Jason caught the potato and placed it back on the pile it came from as he continued, "Sorry, sorry. You're just so fun to mess with. Anyway, when I saw Ooyodo, I took my coat and placed over her to keep her warm. After that, I left the office as silently as I can and made my way here, getting lost in the road of life as I ran to Mogami, her sisters and Shigure along the way. We talked for a bit and the parted ways. After that, I ran to Ayanami and three of her sisters in front of the cafeteria doors. And the rest is history."

"I wasn't asking for a report, though." Hiei pouted at the long and winded answer Jason gave her.

"You're really something, aren't ya?" Jason said, flicking Hiei on the forehead across the table.

"Itai?!"

"I answered the best way I can and you throw a jab at me." Jason said as Hiei furiously rubbed her abused forehead while getting the pan ready.

"Well, if you answered a little less long and winded as you did, I wouldn't have had done it, yeah?!" Hiei snapped as she placed four tablespoon-full of oil in the pan, letting it heat for a minute or so.

Glaring at him with teary eyes, Hiei placed her hand over the pan and tested the heat. When it has reached the satisfactory heat, she added the meat and the onions she's cut and stir-fried the them for about three minutes.

"So, how was your day?" Jason asked, doing his best to fight boredom as the girl in front of him fixated him with a cute glare and a pout making him raise his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Fuck you!"

"That's not nice." Jason grinned.

"Screw you!"

"Maybe later, honey." Jason chuckled as Hiei's face went flush, both with anger and embarrassment, "You wouldn't want to serve food bent over in just your apron, trust me."

"Pervert!"

"Maybe, just a little." Jason laughed as Hiei suddenly took the knife she used to peel the vegetables with and threw it at him at full-force at point-blank range.

Moving his left shoulder back, Jason didn't lose the smirk on his lips as he let the knife pass him, catching it by the blade behind him before it could punch through the wall.

"Really, I'm sorry." Jason said, meaning it this time as the smirk turned to a soft smile.

"Why are you asking?" Hiei grunted, adding the carrots she's chopped along with the potatoes and other vegetables.

"I just wanted to know how you're feeling about today's learning sessions. A review of sorts, you could say." Jason said, putting the knife on top of the chopping board sitting on Hiei's left.

"I had fun." Hiei said, her features softening as she did something she truly enjoys, "Your lesson in P.E. was insightful, even if we just did a bunch of normal cardio exercises and practiced basketball. Although, I gotta say… playing against Kongou-onee-sama and the brute, Nagato-san, was quite fun. Don't tell her I said that, okay?!"

"Sure, sure. I'm happy you had fun." Jason said as Hiei placed the meat and vegetables into a large pot, adding water and waiting for it to boil.

"But, having Kaigun-shōshō breathing down our necks for the first hour was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced…" Hiei shuddered at the memory of Saber's blunder earlier, "It's a good thing that you were able to sort her out when you came back on the second half of the session, after you finished teaching Class #3 and #4. All in all, I'd say that Kaigun-shōshō was really great when you got to know her well."

"I'm sure she'd be happy to hear that." Jason said as Hiei reduced the heat, putting the cover on and waiting for ten minutes for it to simmer until the meat becomes tender.

"Thanks. Anyway, I gotta say, Kushina-sensei was quite the on-point of a teacher." Hiei said, remembering her time in Kushina's subject: Sex Ed.

"That's great." Jason said, "No complaints or anything?"

"Just one." Hiei said, holding up a finger.

"Really?" Jason asked in confusion, recoiling back a bit at the thought, "What is it?"

"You. You being inside the class full of girls as she taught us about the human anatomy." Hiei ranted, "Do you know how awkward it was with you inside there with us? You made the entire class even more awkward! Especially when we got to the male anatomy."

"I wasn't that distracting, you know. Heck, I was standing in the back of the class." Jason tried to reason as they waited for the meat to simmer.

"Exactly! With you standing in the back, we didn't know what to do because you could see all of us!" Hiei cried out, poking Jason on the chest with a finger, "Whoa, that's hard… Anyway! Where are we even going to use that lesson on?"

"It's necessary for everyone to learn." Jason replied.

"Yes, I figured it was, because if it wasn't, you wouldn't have put it in there." Hiei rolled her eyes, preparing to cook rice as she rinsed about three cups of rice in the rice cooker, doing it twice before putting the right amount of water in the rice as she set it inside the rice-cooker, "What I want to know, is why is it necessary and how is it going to help us win the war?"

"Well, I placed it there to help you all when the war is over." Jason replied, "And so that you girls can cope better with your human bodies."

"I plan on being with Kongou-onee-sama when this stupid war is over." Hiei muttered, bring the S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix over the pot, "I can't even begin to imagine being with a man rather than my sisters."

"You'd be shock out there." Jason mused softly, "There's plenty of men that would be overjoyed to have you as their wife."

"Not on their wildest dreams." Hiei grinned, holding a large plastic spoon playfully.

"Maybe, but you know that Kongou will most like be married after the war." Jason said with a bittersweet smile.

"To you?" Hiei asked, pointing the large plastic spoon at Jason who merely glanced at her.

"Why would she be interested in marrying a monster like me?" Jason asked, "I'm worst than the Abyssal. Heck, I'm engaged to someone, in relationship with another and both of them aren't even the mother of my son! So why would Kongou want someone despicable like me?"

"Maybe the same reason those women want you?" Hiei stated, more so than asked, "I may not know what, but I'm pretty sure they see something in you that attracts them."

"What? Is this something like 'power attracts power' shit?" Jason asked as Hiei broke the mix and added it in the pot, stirring it until it melted.

"Maybe, I dunno. Girls aren't the same like machines are." Hiei grinned with a mysteriously beautiful smile, simmering the curry for five minutes as she constantly stirred it.

"For a perceived sis-con, you're quite the cunning and observant girl." Jason smirked.

"Of course, I am- eh?! Did you just call me a sis-con?!" Hiei leveled Jason with another glare.

"That's what I've observed so far, with how you act like a blind puppy, following Kongou where ever she goes." Jason shrugged, "Apparently, I'm not the only one that thinks that too."

"I'm ruined…!" Hiei murmured in doom in the corner, leaving the stirring to Jason as he watched the girl sit on the corner of the counter, an aura of gloom surrounding her, "I can't marry anymore."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Jason rolled his eye as he kept stirring the pot.

Standing up from her spot like a zombie, Hiei slowly made her way back and took the plastic spoon from Jason's waiting hand, her eyes shadowed from his view.

Raising her head up to meet his eye, Hiei gave Jason a very determined look, "I will make everyone change their view of me! With all my might!"

"Good luck with that." Jason nodded to her, half-heartedly, knowing that it'll fail faster than she could make actual food, "Anyway, your curry is waiting for you."

"Right!" Hiei chirped, back to normal as she took a taste on the curry with her spoon, "Ehh? Taste a bit too plain…"

Opening a drawer filled with different kinds of spices, Hiei pulled out a small 3x2 inch transparent plastic bottle filled to the brim with red chilli powder. Jason raised an eyebrow to this one, palms calmly resting on the edge of the counter as he peered down on Hiei who was busy opening the bottle with a flick of her finger. With a grin, Hiei turned it around and shook it three times above the boiling and bubbling curry. Stirring it a bit for a few seconds, Hiei, once again, took another taste test with the plastic spoon before recoiling back in surprise.

"Not enough…?" was what Jason heard her mumble very softly, almost needing to read her supple lips by himself with how soft and silent she said it.

Bringing the red chilli powder bottle again, Hiei repeated what she did earlier and added another three – no, four – no, five shakes! By now, Jason is clearly interested on what Hiei's end-product will taste like since the amount of spice she is adding is almost equivalent to the amount his father adds to their food on the best day. And that's saying a lot when one grew up with the tongue of a Bicolano; especially since his father's family – his relatives – has blood-ties down south of the country where food can get hotter than their hottest chilli available.

"Hiei, are you sure that it's still not enough?" Jason asked, eyeing the curry that has double-layered of chilli floating on its sauce.

"What is not enough, Sherei?" she asked, looking up at him in cute confusion as she tilted her head, the bottle of spice still in her hands.

"The spiciness levels." Jason points at the almost red-colored curry that was suppose to be brown, "I don't think that's curry anymore…"

"H-how rude!" Hiei blushed, pouting at Jason as she crossed her arms over her chest, her hand still holding her spoon, "It was still too plain so I had to make it a bit tastier, somehow."

"I see, then I guess it's about time we give it a try, then." Jason said, just in time as the rice-cooker clicked to warm, "Shall we?"

Matching his grin, Hiei spun her spoon in her right hand and begun serving him a plateful of rice; about three normal scoops of rice. Nothing too extravagant with that one. After that, she used the same plastic spoon she's been using this whole time and poured half the content of the pot in the plate which miraculously did not spill any of its content.

Putting the plate down in front of him, Hiei slapped a spoon and fork in his awaiting right hand and said, "Your food is served, Sherei!"

Looking at her proud grin, Jason graciously accepted the eating utensils and took a spoonful of scope of rice and curry before bringing it close to his visible eye for inspection.

"Hmm~…" Jason hummed, looking at the spoonful at different angles with an expectant Hiei watching him nervously.

"Well?" She asked hopefully.

"The color looks very differently from the curry that you were trying to make due to the excessive amount of chilli powder you've added so freely." Jason said, a figurative arrow with the kanji for 'Excessive' striking Hiei right on the kokoro without mercy, "The smell that should tell a person that what is in front of them should be curry is heavily masked by the extremely strong smell of chilli."

"Urk?!" Hiei croaked as another arrow smacked her.

"But the taste?" she raised her head in her last piece of hope as Jason brought the fresh and still smoking food into his mouth, "Taste like crap, sorry."

"Gagh?!" Hiei dropped her head on the counter with a thud.

"The heavy amount of chilli has caused this food to taste too bitter that you could practically taste nothing but the chilli." Jason commented, taking another bite, seemingly okay as he continued, "The meat, while wonderfully tenderized and filled with juice, is masked heavily by the chilli. The potatoes and other vegetable, while are marvelously cooked to perfection, has been penetrated by your excessive use of chilli. But the rice, with the right amount of fluffiness and gentle softness, has been able to mitigate the overpowering taste of the chilli powder to a degree that someone from SEA could stomach without any problem."

With a wonderful comment about the great quality of her cooked rice, Hiei raised her head, a great smile adoring her boisterous and adventurous face. Of course, that was given to her with a heavy bias on Jason's side since seeing the girl deflate like a waste balloon took quite a lot from him. The rice was great, don't get him wrong, but because of her excessive use of chilli powder like a madman, what was suppose to be one hell of great curry, turned into a nightmare. But still, there is something in this curry that he couldn't point out as to why he was still eating it, might be the familiar amount of spice that it has that reminded him about the time he went on a spice marathon. Which ended of him getting yelled at by Mito because he placed an equally excessive amount of actual chilli on every food that he cooked that time.

"Hey, Sherei…" Hiei started, looking at Jason who was holding the plate by his left hand while he used his right to shove food in his mouth, a nostalgic look on his face, "You okay or something? I mean, I'm happy that you actually tasted my cooking and all, but you don't have to force yourself on finishing it if it's that bad as you said."

Single eye turning to her – which she found to be a bit creepy – Hiei gulped when Jason lowered down the plate, revealing none of the content in there anymore, "I finished it already. You see, Hiei, I grew up in a family that heavily enforced on finishing the food given to you. I guess habits die hard or something. Anyway, I think I know what we could do to make your cooking taste a little better."

"Really?!" Hiei asked, eyes wide at the fact that he actually finished it, him being the first to actually finish the food she cooked, "W-what is it? Tell me!"

"Good." Jason grinned, putting the plates in the sink, "Looks like you're still in the game."

"Hell yeah, I am!" Hiei cried out enthusiastically, "So, what do I have to do first?"

"For starters, I guess what you can do is cook another one, don't throw the first one." Jason said, watching Hiei nod her head eagerly, "But this time, you will not add any chilli powder whatsoever. Am I understood?"

"B-but… wouldn't it taste plain?" she asked.

"Trust me, we can still salvage that curry you made." Jason said to her, pointing at the initial attempt, "And this time, I'll be helping you cook."

With nothing to say, Hiei shrugged and went to prepare another pot as Jason donned a white apron that was left hanging on the fridge for some reason. After tying the strap behind him, Jason took off his gloves and hat and placed it behind them, putting the gloves above the hat to keep it from getting dirtied. Now, with that done, Jason pulled a silky red ribbon from his pocket, one that was given to him by Kushina back in when Mito came out that she was pregnant. She said it was to replace the one he lost and that it was to be used because of his absorbedly long hair at that time.

Grinning at the memory, Jason pulled the long strands of his hair back and used the ribbon and tied it in a clean ponytail, leaving only his bangs that are not touched nor restrained in anyway. This was so nothing will get into his hair and was a common practice among men that has long hair. Besides, it makes him look sharper and smarter. Mikoto told him that, but don't tell her that he agrees with her.

"Sherei, I got everything prepare… whoa." Hiei said eagerly, but her voice died down to a mere whisper when she caught sight of Jason mk.2, "W-w-what's with the p-ponytail?"

"Hm? You wouldn't want to have bits of hair in your food, do you?" Jason grinned, turning his attention to her as he grabbed a knife and a potato, "Come, we've got a lot of these to do ahead us."

"Y-yeah…" Hiei said, completely blown with how different he looked with his hair in a ponytail.

Standing next to him, Hiei could feel the heat burning her cheeks as they peeled the skin of the potatoes. Feeling a little self-conscious, Hiei took a peak at what Jason is doing and felt her eyes widen at the speed her was peeling the potatoes which felt like an insult to her own potato peeling expertise.

"Hey! Leave some for me as well, dammit!" Hiei snapped at him as Jason merely spun the potato in his left hand while his life hovered over it, peeling the skin in a span of three seconds.

"Early bird catches the early worm, Hiei." Jason grinned as he picked up his seventh potato, keeping an eye on her as well least she makes a blunder.

"Grrrrrr! ! !" growling at him, Hiei increased the speed she was peeling the potatoes, stealing quick glances at the pile he is already making at his right side, "That's not fair – AH?!"

"Hiei?!" Jason turned when he heard her gasp of shock, only to see her cradling bleeding index finger in her right hand, the bloodied knife laying below her hand after she dropped it.

"Dammit! I was too careless…" Hiei said to herself.

"That you were." Jason said, putting down what he was doing as he turned his full attention to her, "Give me your hand."

"What? No! it's okay, it's just a small cut." Hiei said, declining as she held her bleeding finger away from him.

"That wasn't a request, Hiei. That was an order." Jason said firmly.

"Sheesh… you don't have to be so pushy…" Hiei sighed as she was forced to give her hand to him, marveling at just how large his hand was.

Without hesitation o any warning, Jason placed her finger inside his mouth and licked it. And because of her not being notified nor was she expecting this, Hiei's breath hitched in silent shock as she went and flushed red from her entire face down to her neck, face getting redder when she felt his tongue touch her finger.

"T-T-T-T-Tei-Teito-to-toku! W-w-w-w-what t-t-t-the he-heck a-a-are you doing?!" Hiei heavily stuttered as she tried to pull back, but Jason had a vice grip on her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Jason asked her, taking her finger off his mouth which has stopped bleeding.

"Y-y-you te-tell me!" She stuttered again.

"I'm disinfecting it, duh." Jason rolled his eye, "My saliva has potent disinfecting and healing properties, much more so than that of a normal human being. Not only that, but because of my vast amount of chakra, I can, not only speed-up healing your wound insanely quick, but also stop scarring to occur. You can take a look for yourself."

After letting go of her hand, Hiei held her hand close to herself and did in fact took a peak and saw no would nor a scar. Blinking owlishly in shock, Hiei looked at Jason with owlish eyes.

"T-thanks…" Hiei said.

"No prob." Jason replied as he went back to work, not before cleaning her knife and handing it back to her, "Try not to stab yourself, okay?"

"It was just an accident…" Hiei pouted, her cheeks dusted red from what just happened.

For the next thirty to forty minutes, neither the two spoke when spoken to and no accident happened any further. Of course, during this time, Jason made sure that his instructions are heard loud and clear by Hiei to minimize screw ups and maximize break-throughs. Of course, this is not a mere one-way street, and therefore, Hiei took all what he said to heart, making sure that everything is as instructed.

"Fuuaahh~! It's finally done~!" Hiei said proudly, wiping away the sweat in her brows with her left hand.

"Yep. It most of it was done by you." Jason said, proudly eyeing the curry they had made, "Now, quick! Put the initial curry on this one. We'll mix it and hope that the spiciness on that one put enough taste on this one as well."

"Right!" doing as she was told, Hiei picked up the pot where she could the first curry and slowly, but surely, added it on the freshly cooked ones that has been cooked in a larger pot.

With a long ladle on his hand, Jason placed it inside the pot and begun mixing both curry with both hands, praying that it combines successfully and not blow up on their face. After a few stirring in the fire, Jason took the ladle away after giving it a few soft taps on the edge of the pot to get the rest of the curry off it.

"Hiei, spoon me." Jason ordered, which he should have said better but who gives a shit?

"Hai!" Hiei replied, handing him the spoon she used earlier.

"The moment of truth." Jason said, taking a scoop out of the steaming hot curry.

Putting it on his mouth, Jason savored the taste for a few seconds before taking another one, just to make sure that the taste was constant. The taste reminding him of an Indian inspired curry he once tasted quite some time ago, with how much the taste seems to blend together, just to punch you in the face with an exotic flavor.

"Now this is curry." Jason said, complimenting the end-result with a grin.

"EH?! L-let me try!" Hiei said, excited on tasting it as well.

"Sure, here." Jason said, handing her the ladle, "Careful now, it's hot."

Instead of taking a sip from the part across where Jason took his, Hiei, because of how excited she is, absent-mindedly took a taste exactly on the spot Jason's lips touched. Meanwhile, the man in question was making preparations as he brought out plates enough for the entire base.

"Wow! This taste a lot better than what I made earlier!" Hiei said, the fruits of her efforts bring tears into her eyes.

"Sherei…"

"Hm?" Jason turned to her, only to feel her body collide with his as she wrapped her arms around his neck, tears running down her face which she had buried on his chest as she sobbed silently, "There, there. You did great, Hiei. Good work."

"T-thank you… very, very much!"

---

At the same time…

"I need a scoop~!" Aoba droned out as she walked around the base, looking for anything to put on the Naval Base Newspaper that was given a go-signal by Kaigun-shōshō with a bit of help from Mito-san.

Looking around, with her Pentax Asahi K1000 SLR 35mm Film Camera at hand, Aoba found herself wandering the halls of the cafeteria. With a sigh, Aoba sat on one of the chairs that is situated closest to the pillar near the entrance. Putting her camera on top of the table, Aoba took out her pen and notebook, balancing the pen on the space between her nose and her upper lip.

Opening the notebook, Aoba sighed as she flipped through numerous empty pages that should be filled with various scoops with juicy details, but, as fate would have it, they're all empty as the day she had them. Taking the pen and putting it down along with the notebook next to her camera, which has taken no photos as well, Aoba dropped to her knees in front of the chair, hands held together in a prayer.

"Kami-sama! If you can hear me, please give me a scoop!" She whispered intensely, eyes closed as hard as she can, "It doesn't have to be anything major, just please give me a scoop!"

She would have cried her hardest and prostrated if not for the smell of delicious curry tickling her nose. Opening one eye, Aoba eyed the clock on top of the cafeteria mess and saw that it was only 6:25:41 PM.

"Maybe Mamiya has something that can bring my spirit back up…" Aoba sighed, picking up her things as she made her way towards the kitchen door that was slightly ajar.

As she reached the kitchen door, just as she was about to open the door and announce her kitchen-invasion, she suddenly heard something that is not Mamiya, and definitely not Irako which froze her in place.

"Hiei?!" she heard Jason's voice from the other side.

Not a moment later, Aoba already had her body pressed as close as possible to the door, while making sure not to make a single sound. Moving her ears close to the gap, she listened.

"Dammit! I was too careless…" she heard Hiei-san say from the other side.

Eyes widening like saucers, Aoba moved slowly, widening the gap of the open door as she took a peak with the use of her camera!

With her prayers answered, Aoba couldn't help but feel like in nirvana as she took picture after picture with her camera, her breathing becoming a pant as her free hand hastily opened her notebook as she sent her pen cap flying elsewhere not important now and immediately wrote what she was seeing.

"That you were." She heard Jason say, his right hand held up and waiting, "Give me your hand."

"What? No! it's okay, it's just a small cut." She heard Hiei-san say, her own heart racing so fast as she drank the scene greedily as her camera took pictures that can be used the best.

'I know this is going to get me in trouble…' Aoba thought to herself, before a lewd came upon her own lips, 'But this is WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!'

"That wasn't a request, Hiei. That was an order." She heard Jason say, the forcefulness and firmness of his voice getting her even higher as she took a picture of his face.

"Sheesh… you don't have to be so pushy…" she watched as Hiei-san placed her hand on his awaiting hand like a princess accepting the hand of a prince.

And without warning, Aoba's eyes almost went out of their sockets when she saw Jason put Hiei-san's injured finger inside his mouth.

'OH. MY. KAMI-SAMA!' Aoba gasped loudly, thanking that Hiei was louder than her.

"T-T-T-T-Tei-Teito-to-toku! W-w-w-w-what t-t-t-the he-heck a-a-are you doing?!" she heard Hiei-san stutter so bad, she herself not believing what she's seeing therefore she took as much photo of it as she can.

And so, out brave journalist of a shipgirl overstayed her welcome and watched the cooking pair up until the very end before she was forced to leave in case they discover her ilk. But one thing is surely running in her devilishly devious mind right this very moment.

AOBA SEES ALL!

---

[1]. You will answer all of our questions; do you understand me?

[2]. Now, when I take off my hand, you better not scream. Got it?

[3]. W-what do you want

[4]. Where are the girls?

[5]. W-what girls?!"

[6]. You know who.

[7]. Okay, okay! I will tell you! just please don't kill me!

[8]. They're in camp! I promise!

[9]. Where?

[10]. Five hundred meters west of here! They're inside in one of the house huts we made!

[11]. The tour guide who took them...

[12]. Who's he?

[13]. H-he's name is T-To-Tomas C-Cruz... you can't miss him... ugh...

[14]. Last I saw him, he's wearing a red shirt and jean pants

[15]. Red shirt and jean pants, you got that?

[16]. Yeah, I got it.

[17]. Well, that was easier than I thought.

[18]. You're right. Rafael, you can release him.

[19]. Quick! I can see them!

i translated them as best as i can, because Tagalog is a bit of a hard part for me, since words are too long for what they are worth for in writing sometimes. feels like they swim in my eyes if that makes sense.

i apologize if some readers expected a longer chapter than this, this is the amount my brain was able to shit out in such a short time you see. add to the fact that the dream was longer than the actual story itself, lol. maybe i got lazy, dunno.

BYE!