So got chapter 21 for you
to answer a question from the last chapter Sakura might be saved I have not written that part of this story but we shall see
for now enjoy this chapter as I work on the next one
Big thanks again to Kilrroy122496 again for his help with this chapter
Takeoff
Chapter 21: Neuroi or Human?
Yoshika couldn´t care less of what the higher ups were thinking about for her the only thing that mattered was to save her little sister and get revenge on those that dared to harm her.
The fleet had grown even larger than before even with the Fuso ships missing as Yoshika managed to find even more ships mostly transports and tankers with several destroyers and escorts but the number of ships was mind boggling to anyone that saw the fleet continue its journey to Liberion.
Yesterday Alyssa had gotten the call over radio that one of the harbors was stockpiled with supplies for them to transport to Karlsland on the fastest route possible but after Alyssa told him how many ships they had now in the resupply fleet there was a long silence before he hung up he told her he would increase the supplies stored in the harbor and also gave them the name of a second port to load supplies onboard.
Yoshika for her part had started training on her own or with Ayami and Jeanne while the others continued their own training with Kuro and Izanami helping them out where they could and so far every single one of them noticed how they got stronger little by little however with every single day that went by they also noticed how Yoshika seemed to distance herself more and more from them.
In a few more days they would be reaching the Liberion coast as Yoshika and Alyssa spent a lot of time in the radio room to coordinate how long they would be staying in port with the fleet and during dinner Yoshika made an announcement "everyone we will be staying for about three weeks in Liberion before we make our way back to Karlsland. During the first few days I will be mainly working with the military to get the supplies loaded onboard the ships as fast as possible and after I´m sure everything is going smoothly I will join the rest of you for two weeks of training" everyone understood what Yoshikas plan was but they saw one problem and Mina was the one to ask about it "how are you going to do that Xenia if they see you they won´t listen to a word you´re saying".
Yoshika had to nod at that "true and that´s why Ursula and Svenja volunteered to relay my orders for me" the two mentioned nodded their heads with a grin "and in return Yoshika gave me and Ursi the plans for the weapons and striker units she has been cocking up as of late" Svenja added "true but they are strikers meant for normal witches and for Instruction purposes seeing as the new striker units are a lot different from the old ones" Yoshika explained as she started to clean up in the kitchen.
The night was quiet as usual but Yoshika was still awake watching the night sky from the bridge roof "I just hope everyone will be able to live in peace once this is all over" Yoshika mumbled towards the sky "Yoshika there is something we wish to talk to you about" Kuro spoke to her and a few seconds later Yoshika found herself in the shared realm sitting with Kuro, Izanami and Ayami in the mansion around a table.
Yoshika got some tea for herself and one for Ayami and waited for Kuro to start explaining what they wanted "it´s about the girl Jeanne Pendragon" Izanami started "you created a less powerful version of Oblivion lost for her after she protected you in the village of the Atari´s" Kuro continued "so what is it you really want to ask?" Yoshika grinned as Kuro looked to the side while Izanami was shaking her head from side to side "Jeanne Pendragon has the potential to become a second guardian" Ayami spoke up before Kuro or Izanami could.
Yoshika nodded at that taking a sip of her tea "are the three of you sure about this fact?" Yoshika asked getting nods from all three "very well then once I have started training with everyone else I will create another blade for her and give her the offer to become a guardian for me and my sister however if she refuses my offer I won´t hold it against her and neither will any of you is that understood?" Yoshika made it very clear and all three of them present were happy with that.
So they continued with training a bit in the shared realm until Ayami went to sleep so Yoshika did the same about two hours later seeing as she barely needed to sleep for a long time anyway so she was the last to go to sleep every day and the first awake in the morning so by the time the others woke up she had already prepared breakfast for them and trained a bit before doing so.
The rest of the time the others used to learn to use their new striker units to say they had a few problems and crash landings was an understatement as each one of them either crashed into the water on takeoff or landing a few times but by the time they reached the coast of Liberion they were able to fly almost as good as before even if they had to get used to flying and fighting with the flight suits and helmets on and their new weapons.
Most of the warships of the fleet stayed in the first harbor with several tankers and a few of the freighters but Yoshika and the others moved with the rest of the fleet towards another city about two days away and once they arrived there Yoshika moved the rest of the ships into port where they were secured to the piers and loading crews began doing their job and for two days Yoshika watched over the loading process with Ursula and Svenja relaying her orders for her if there was something to be done differently.
Right now Yoshika was doing one of the most tedious things ever sitting in an office sorting through mountains of paperwork "ugh glad that by tomorrow we are out of here" Yoshika mumbled as she continued with sorting the paperwork into several folders seeing as she had to give the correct lists to the right ship otherwise there would be a lot of chaos once the supplies arrived in Karlsland.
By the time Yoshika left the office it was already dark outside and the drive back to the base the others were staying at was a rather short one as well so Yoshika wasn´t all that surprised to find that almost everyone was already asleep so Yoshika went to her own room as well but not to sleep but to continue her work on a little something she had been planning on since they left most of the fleet at the first town.
Deep into the night Yoshika continued her work she was pretty confident that Jeanne would join Ayami as another guardian of the Atari´s however in the end it was her decision as Yoshika was unsure of how things would go after the battle against Xerox and his lackeys in Karlsland was over.
Yoshika stopped her work and send the parts to the shared plane as she didn´t want anyone to see what she was creating before she decided to get some sleep as well with only the stars watching the small base from above.
Somewhere else in a dark room around a massive round table sat the leaders of the countries of the world in a large conference "now with that out of the way what is the status of the capture of Major Yoshika Miyafuji?" one of them asked looking towards the Kaiser of Karlsland, the emperor of Fuso, prime minister Churchill and the president of Liberion "first of all we have to report something else so listen until we are done" the emperor of Fuso spoke his voice old but full of wisdom "over a month ago we send the Freedom witches, the strike witches, the brave witches and the 31st with a group of paratroopers to Fuso where we had several occurrences of massive magic power. From the report they gave us they found a small vessel near the coast and discovered something they believed to be Major Yoshika Miyafuji however after they returned to base four days later they noticed that it was a humanoid neuroi that took the form of Yoshika Miyafuji in order to save her life" the Kaiser of Karlsland explained.
A small murmur went around the room but the Kaiser continued "in fact from this neuroi that calls himself Xenia we learned that Major Yoshika Miyafuji is only guilty of acquiring top secret information and nothing else seeing as the neuroi are the ones who attacked the research base and killed all personal there placing the blame on the Major" the room stayed silent as several attendants passed copies of the mentioned report around "what is this neuroi Xenia as you called it doing right now?" one of them asked a few minutes later.
The Kaiser sat down and the president of Liberion got up "at the moment she is in Liberion assisting us with the supply efforts for the last offensive" that caused the room to erupt into cries of anger until they calmed down again "she has explained to us that due to her injuries Yoshika Miyafuji is in a sort of coma that allows her to heal however Xenia has to use the magic of Yoshika Miyafuji otherwise the magic power of the Major could cause a catastrophe of unknown size and destroy part of the planet" "therefore Xenia has used the majors magic and her own powers to give us access to a fleet that has been sunk over the time we have been fighting against the neuroi" the emperor of Fuso continued the explanation of the Kaiser.
The conference went on for several more hours but in the end one thing they all agreed upon was that the charges of Major Yoshika Miyafuji betraying humanity and her army as well as giving top secret information to the enemy were dropped all together and she would stay as part of the 501st the Strike witches for what they think is the last battle against the neuroi.
Back in Liberion with everyone:
Yoshika hated one thing more than anything else and that was when someone was trying to keep secrets from her she didn´t know why but yesterday they had changed bases and now they were able to train with their new striker units and weapons so much easier without anyone giving Yoshika a second glance seeing as they were the only once on base except when someone was bringing them new supplies be it ammunition or food.
Now the problem Yoshika had noticed was that for some reason Hikari Karibuchi of the 502nd was having trouble not only with flying but also working together with the others and even after Yoshika asked Gundula and Roßman about it they had no answer for her as well so Yoshika had been thinking about how she could help Hikari while also continuing her training with Jeanne and Ayami just this morning she had switched Jeanne's training weapon with a wooden replica of the two sided blade she had been creating and to say Yoshika was impressed was an understatement seeing as Ayami had some trouble with defending against Jeanne´s attacks during their friendly spar.
Yoshika and Mami also continued to cook food for everyone that only got the highest praise from everyone and it sure was something to look forward to as all of them started their training before the sun was even up but no matter what Mio tried Yoshika, Ayami and Jeanne were always already training by the time the others even began with their planning for their training as they changed something each day.
The most interesting thing for Yoshika to watch was the first few mock battles of the others as they tried to turn fight each other but their faster speeds caused them to overshoot each other unable to even get a few hits in that is except for four of them that surprised Yoshika a bit Ursula and Svenja were the first to be able to fight with their new striker units effectively however the other two that managed to do the same just a day later were none other than Erica and Barkhorn.
Yoshika was always nearby when someone was learning to fly the new jet strikers seeing as they were her design given life by the Sōzō no ha what had also been a daily exercise was the firing and handling of the new chain cannons but thankfully Svenja was taking care of that part of training while Yoshika concentrated on the flying aspects of combat but also flying and fighting with the new weapons and several hills near the base had already been turned into charred fields where nothing was left alive seeing as they used them for target practice.
A few of them also had tested the ability of the new strikers to either carry bombs or rockets under the movable wings with a lot of different results seeing as some of them almost crashed as they were attacking the target another problem Yoshika noticed was that with their old strikers they had been able to hover in the air but now they had to fly circles around as the engines of the striker produced to much thrust to stay still in the air.
Yoshika also watched the training of the other fighter wings and each day Yoshika saw great progress from them all however by the second week they were in Liberion Yoshika noticed that Hikari was barely eating anything and was rarely participating in the training anymore right now Yoshika was in the shared realm training with Ayami and Jeanne with Kuro and Izanami watching them.
Yoshika was currently fighting Jeanne again with the copy of Oblivion wrath in Jeanne´s hands "so you two noticed it as well that Hikari has been acting strange for a while now or not?" Yoshika asked as she blocked several strikes from Jeanne´s blade with her own "yeah almost as if she isn´t really paying attention if she keeps this up that can lead to her death in battle" Ayami replied as Yoshika countered another set of strikes from Jeanne almost managing to hit Jeanne in return "but what could have caused her to become like that from what you showed and told us about her she was similar to you Yoshika the hard working go lucky type right?" Jeanne asked blocking Yoshikas blades only to get blown of her feet by Yoshika doing something similar to a corkscrew on one foot.
Yoshika grinned as Jeanne pouted a bit but offered her hand and helped Jeanne up again "yes the last time I saw her she was still like that and even when I called everyone else here she was still like that but now" "Yoshika someone is here" Kuro called out causing Yoshika Jeanne and Ayami to get ready for an attack.
Yoshika was the first to notice something moving in the village under them so without a word she pointed her blade towards it and jumped with Ayami and Jeanne following her while Kuro and Izanami moved around to cut off whoever was moving around the village.
Yoshika landed with Ayami and Jeanne on a roof without making the slightest sound "over there go around the sides and cut them off" Yoshika whispered and Ayami and Jeanne started to silently run along the rooftops with Yoshika disappearing into the closest shadow.
Yoshika spotted the person walking in the village and after a short look up she saw Kuro, Izanami, Jeanne and Ayami ready to attack "now" Yoshika yelled and without another warning the four jumped from the roofs directly on the person who went down with a short scream before the air was knocked out of her.
Yoshika slowly walked towards her two familiars and Guardians only to see the person they had just been talking about "ok how the hell is she even here?" Yoshika asked looking at Kuro and Izanami "we have no idea Yoshika the only ones with access to this realm are you your sister and the guardians you chose" Izanami replied clearly confused by the situation.
With Hikari knocked out the group decided to bring her to the mansion and wait for her to wake up however Yoshika used that time to ask Jeanne about something "Jeanne you have my thanks for standing by me when everyone else was against me so I have a proposal for you if you do not wish to you don´t have to accept" Yoshika assured her before taking something from Kuro and Izanami that they brought to her from another room.
The object was long and made a distinctive metallic sound when Yoshika set the object that was wrapped in a ocean blue cloak of some sort on the ground "Jeanne Pendragon know this even if you refuse my offer you will always be my friend and comrade" Yoshika spoke slowly unwrapping the blue cloak until the object became visible from within.
At first Jeanne only saw a midnight black pole but it was a lot bigger and had some kind of openings at both ends of it "Jeanne this is Twilight Dawn if you chose to accept this weapon you and those worthy of this weapon after you will become guardians of the representative of the Atari clan" Izanami explained "however even if you don´t take it now the offer will be waiting for you even in the future" Yoshika assured Jeanne who lightly touched Twilight Dawn with one hand.
Yoshika simply waited but with her eyes looking at Yoshika who simply smiled Jeanne picked up Twilight Dawn but as soon as she did something happened as the room turned a beautiful dark blue and before Jeanne a Nine tailed Kitsune appeared "hello my name is Kurama good to see you two again Kuro Izanami" Kurama grinned.
Kurama was looking at Jeanne who looked at the dark midnight black Kitsune with snowy white tails and ears that was sitting before her "Jeanne meet Kurama an old friend of Kuro and Izanami who contacted me after I was done with creating twilight dawn" Yoshikas soft voice explained "oh and also lover of Emar Ryu by the way where is he?" Kurama asked looking around.
Jeanne stayed silent for a moment as Kurama watched her still sitting on a magic circle with twilight dawn near her so Yoshika answered with a sad sigh "Emar Ryu is he is the familiar of my younger sister Sakura Miyafuji who is currently a prisoner of our enemy" Yoshika softly explained only to get launched across the room by an invisible force "are you kidding me how did that even happen?" Kurama yelled as Twilight Dawn hovered by her side before from both ends a blue blade extended one of them having a red yellow sun on it and the other a midnight blue silver moon "do you have a plan to rescue your sister?" Kurama asked touching Yoshikas neck with one of the blades hard enough to almost draw blood "I do even if I have to give up my own life I will save my little sister" Yoshika replied and Kurama simply swung Twilight Dawn around once and both blades retracted into the black pole before sitting down by Jeanne again.
"Ayami did this happen to you as well?" Jeanne asked completely caught off guard by the speed Kurama had attacked Yoshika with "no it hasn´t but why that is I have no idea" Ayami replied but before the five of them could think about it anymore Hikari started to stir "take as much time as you need maybe speak a bit with Kurama a bit more if you want" Yoshika smiled as Jeanne nodded at that before wrapping twilight dawn in the cloth again.
Yoshika sat down by Hikari who looked up at her "hello there Hikari before I can answer any of your questions you have to answer one of mine alright?" Yoshika asked as Jeanne and Ayami stood behind her so Hikari simply nodded "how did you find yourself here?" Yoshika asked her voice holding no anger or disappointment "I went to sleep as I usually do after dinner but" Hikari seemed to think about something.
Hikari stayed silent for a moment so Yoshika handed her a cup of tea "I will not judge none of us will even if you tell us" Jeanne assured Hikari who set the cup of tea down "the thing is for some time after we all visited you in that shrine on the Yamamoto I have been having dreams about someone that looks like you Yoshika and your sister or at least I think that it was the two of you seeing as I don´t know how you two looked at the age of five or four" Hikari watched as Yoshika started thinking about something.
Yoshika needed a few minutes alone but after that she had an idea "Ayami Jeanne show Hikari to our dojo and continue to train with each other for a bit I need to get something before joining you" Yoshika spoke before leaving the room with Izanami by her side while Kuro went with the other three towards the dojo.
Yoshika walked into a small room that was the kitchen but then she found herself before a locked door "Izanami if you would" Yoshika simply smiled as Izanami opened the door after unlocking it and allowed Yoshika to enter "what is it you are looking for Yoshika?" Izanami asked as Yoshika started to go down the staircase until they were in a massive room with a lot of different kinds of weapons on the walls or on the floor.
But none of them interested Yoshika as she went straight to the end of the room that had a massive blue steel chest standing before a massive picture of a blue sea dragon "you think it is her?" Izanami asked as Yoshika opened the chest looking down at a sea blue hilt of an Odachi with blue white blade in a blue scabbard that had a white diamond in the center of the hilt "I don´t know Izanami but since Hikari came for me with the others in the village of the last battle between the two Atari sisters she was one of those that hesitated to raise her weapon at me and after I meet her again a few weeks ago I noticed that she has this" Yoshika pointed at the white diamond on the hilt of the Odachi as she picked it up "on her shoulder" Yoshika explained as she and Izanami climbed up the stairs again with Yoshika resting the Odachi over her shoulder.
Yoshika made her way at a rather relaxed pace towards the dojo she had been training with Ayami and Jeanne at since they wished to learn about their blades however now the dojo was rather silent and as soon as Yoshika opened the door Yoshika saw why both Ayami and Jeanne were lying on the ground with both of their training weapons nearby "done for now?" Yoshika asked with a small grin.
Ayami didn´t respond but Jeanne gave Yoshika a thumb up in response "do you guys train like this every night?" Hikari asked but Yoshika clearly heard the fear in Hikaris voice [not the fear of me or the others but of what is she afraid then?] Yoshika thought as Ayami and Jeanne slowly got up "what´s with the Odachi Yoshika?" Ayami asked after she and Jeanne caught their breath.
Yoshika waved Hikari over who complied and sat down near Yoshika "Hikari could you show me your right shoulder for a moment?" Izanami asked confusing Hikari, Ayami and Jeanne a bit but Kuro simply watched from the side of the room with a knowing smile.
Hikari showed her right shoulder to Izanami who simply nodded towards Yoshika "seems you were right on the money there as well Yoshika" Kuro grinned as he walked over to his sister "ok I feel like there is something you three" Jeanne pointed at Yoshika and her two familiars "are not telling us about" Ayami nodded her head as did Hikari.
Yoshika looked out of the window "well I can´t tell you anything specific since I´m not one hundred percent sure but I think after tomorrow I will have an answer for all of you" Yoshika replied getting a groan from Ayami and Jeanne "what´s wrong you two?" Hikari asked as Yoshika took the blue Odachi to the other side of the room and put it into a hidden compartment in the wall that closed behind it "ever since Yoshika and these two" Jeanne pointed at Kuro and Izanami "have started training with us they started speaking in riddles most of the time and to be honest we gave up a long time ago trying to figure out what they mean" Ayami continued Jeanne´s explanation as Yoshika joined them again.
It wasn´t long before all four witches woke up again and got ready to start their days which meant for Hikari to take a look at the quite large library of the base after breakfast as she wanted to find some answers while Ayami and Jeanne trained again with Yoshika for a few hours before Ayami and Jeanne continued on their own while Yoshika went over to the hangar.
Yoshika checked over her striker unit and a few other things until it was time for lunch however Mami was the only one in the kitchen cooking which was unusual to say the least as everyone else entered the dining room which was more of a giant hall with one massive table for each group and their squadrons "weird where is Miyafuji?" Mio asked as Mami started serving lunch "yeah I haven´t seen her since she" Ayamis sentence was violently interrupted by one massive explosion outside that caused all of the windows to get blown to pieces as smoke filled the air from several smaller explosions.
A few minutes later the smoke started to settle "everyone alright?" Gundula yelled into the thinning smoke "yeah but what the hell was that?" Barkhorn asked "you guys that explosion came from near the firing range" Erica informed everyone and without another word they started running towards the firing range only to find nothing there except for a smoking building that was blown to pieces "split up in groups of two and start searching" Keiko yelled and so they did just that.
Most of them started looking around the base but Hikari split away from them and headed into the forest with a jeep as she had seen something outside the window of the dining hall before they were blown to pieces and sure enough she found what she had seen as she found several trees burnt to pieces and the earth had a small trench leading up to what Hikari had feared she would find.
The smoking slightly burning remains of a striker unit and the remains of a mangled cannon nearby but then Hikari heard it the howling of a wolf so she started running but after she came around a tree she found Kuro and Izanami sitting by someone´s side who was lying on the ground.
Hikari couldn´t find the words to say anything as she looked down at Yoshika her neuroi form was nowhere upon her body instead Hikari saw the deep cuts and some slight burns that covered Yoshikas left arm and legs and the massive wound on her shoulder that turned the grass red "don´t worry you two I think I can help" Hikari said as Kuro and Izanami looked at her.
Hikari closed her eyes and activated her magic a few second later a blue glow started to surround Hikaris hand and started spreading to Yoshikas wounded body the pale blue white glow continued to expand in size for a moment until it stopped expanding as it now was covering almost Yoshikas entire body.
Hikari didn´t notice it but she started breathing heavy a few moments later so Kuro and Izanami had an idea and without a word started to transfer some of Yoshikas magic power to Hikari and just like Yoshika had suspected it worked without a problem and Hikaris breathing returned to normal as she slowly healed Yoshikas wounds.
A few minutes later after Hikari was sure Yoshikas wounds were healed she deactivated her magic and immediately collapsed to the ground with a satisfied smile on her face and a few minutes later Yoshika started to slowly get back up "you alright there Yoshika?" Izanami asked as Yoshika sat up with a groan.
Yoshika slowly opened her eyes "yeah I think so but even with your help how are my wounds already healed?" Yoshika asked confused as she checked her right shoulder sure she knew that her familiars could help with her recovery from injuries but not this fast "well thanks to your little sister you have fully recovered" Kuro replied causing Yoshika to look around for Sakura "no not Sakura but your other sister" Kuro pointed his paw at Hikari that was still lying on the ground "so I was right after all wasn´t I?" Yoshika spoke her voice a bit sad "yes the trials ahead for those three won´t be an easy one that is for sure" Izanami added as Yoshika picked up Hikari and slowly walked towards the crash site.
Yoshika set Hikari against a tree to allow her to rest "just what went wrong" Yoshika mumbled as she took a close look at what was left of her striker unit and of her weapon "we only knew something was wrong when that explosion was felt by you but even after that we only know that we found you in the middle of all of this badly wounded and to be sure nothing went wrong we brought you into the forest where Hikari found you" Kuro replied as he lifted a large metal box in his magic grip.
Yoshika kneeled down to take a closer look at the remains of the striker unit "hey you two are these supposed to be here?" Izanami asked lifting what looked like the remains of the breach of the chain cannon up so Yoshika took a closer look but with each second her mood turned from dark to absolutely furious "they just couldn´t help themselves could they?" Yoshika asked with a sad laugh "Kuro Izanami please take this back to the jeep while I get Hikari" Yoshika asked and so Kuro and Izanami did just that while Yoshika picked up Hikari again and followed them to the jeep that Hikari arrived in.
With the remains of the chain cannon in the back and Hikari sitting between Kuro and Izanami Yoshika started driving back to the base and during the drive she slowly returned to her neuroi form and by the time she saw the base she was Xenia again and she found everyone was inside the hangar getting ready to take off that was until Yoshika stopped the car with screeching tires nearby.
It took a moment for everyone to get out of their striker units but as they were about to start bombarding Yoshika with questions she simply raised her hand "before you ask I need Svenja to take a look at something for me?" Yoshika said and showed Svenja to the back of the jeep where she showed her the remains of the chain cannons breach.
Svenja only needed a few moments to see what was wrong with it "did you?" Svenja asked but Yoshika only nodded "yes the reason you heard several explosions was that someone was test firing the new batch of chain cannons we got a few days ago at the firing range however due to a small problem with the breach that was a fatal mistake the ammunition exploded after the first two shots were fired and at the same time I was flying with one of those cannons that was supposedly test fired before" Yoshika wasn´t done yet as Gundula noticed Hikari sleeping in the jeep.
Yoshika took one look at Hikari with a small smile "yeah I ditched the exploding canon but it caused my striker to malfunction as it got hit by shrapnel of the destroyed cannon and before I could do anything I crashed into the forest before everything went dark and the next thing I knew was waking up in the forest with Hikari by my side and me without any wounds or burns whatsoever" Yoshika explained.
Ursula and Svenja were the first to leave with Mio, Mina, Gundula and Keiko following them towards the remains of the firing range while Yoshika and the others went back to the main building with Yoshika carrying Hikari to her room while Ayami and Jeanne followed her as the rest went to do their own thing.
Yoshika laid Hikari down on her bed before sitting down on it as well while Ayami leaned against the door and Jeanne stood by the window "Yoshika what is it you didn´t tell the others?" Jeanne asked getting right to the point "what I didn´t tell the others was that Hikari is not a Karibuchi seeing as she actually is a Miyafuji and that makes her another younger sister of mine" Yoshika smiled before slightly laughing at the faces both Ayami and Jeanne were making.
Yoshika couldn´t stop giggling so Kuro and Izanami appeared "she is telling the truth not only does Hikari have the same healing magic as Yoshika and Sakura but the fact me and my sister were able to transfer a bit of Yoshikas magic power to her is the last bit we needed to actually confirm it" Kuro explained "Yoshika had her suspicions when Hikari appeared in the shared realm but even before that Yoshika had spotted something we were unable to see" Izanami continued as Yoshika finally stopped giggling.
Yoshika slowly got up again "I will tell you two the rest during the night in our dojo of course Hikari will be joining us" Yoshika said as she walked towards the door "oh Izanami could I ask you to watch over her and inform me if anything happens?" Yoshika asked and Izanami simply nodded before hiding herself in the rafters of the room as Yoshika and the others left.
The rest of the day was a nightmare for anyone working in the supply depot of the base seeing as all the commanders and their second in commands of all the fighter wings and squadrons present went to interrogate all of them no matter if they were working with weapons or ammunition and by the end of it all they only found out that the cannons had been switched out by someone with faulty ones as someone found the real cannons that were supposed to be tested in the hangar that was used for all the failed designs and experiments.
But no matter where they looked or who they interrogated they simply were unable to find out who had switched out the cannons and had managed to get one of them into Yoshikas launch unit so Xenia would be testing it only to blow herself up which did happen but Yoshika didn´t tell anybody about that as she simply told them she was able to ditch the cannon before it detonated.
And with the crash site looking exactly as Yoshika told them they had no reason to believe that it had been some plot to take out Xenia so they filed a long report with HQ about the faulty cannons and the lack of discipline in the supply force of the base and left it at that after one of the generals send someone to repair the damaged buildings and anything else that might have been destroyed due to the explosions of the faulty cannons.
Of course there were six of them four witches and two familiars who knew what actually had happened but for now they kept quiet about it as Yoshika had a plan to expose who the culprits were so the rest of the week went by with everything returning to normal or that was what everyone else that did not have permanent access to the shared plane was feeling.
Of course now Yoshika was faced with a bit of a dilemma seeing as she needed an answer from Ayami, Hikari and Jeanne about something she would rather not do but last night Yoshika got a visit by two other familiars after Jeanne and Ayami went to bed and now she had prepared something in the shared realm that was confusing to the three in question but to Yoshika and her familiars it was a hard made decision "the three of you have trained with me for some time now so I ask that you let me speak before you ask me anything. Ayami you are a guardian however you have not reached the full potential of what that blade has to offer yet. Jeanne I told you about what I have offered you and so far I have not received an answer and now for you my little sister. You have a decision similar to Jeanne before you but unlike with Ayami and Jeanne you have a bit longer to decide" Yoshika spoke.
Kuro was by Yoshikas right side with the blue Odachi in his magic grip while Izanami was holding Twilight Dawn on Yoshikas left side "what is it you are talking about Yoshika?" Ayami asked "simple really I am offering the two of you the same the two sisters have offered your ancestor Ayami" Yoshika replied "should you chose to accept my offer to become guardians I will unseal what is hidden in your weapons" Yoshika answered only for Izanami to continue "however once you accept this offer know that you will face a trial unlike any other you have ever faced" "Hikari come with me we need to speak for a moment" Yoshika said as she got up with Kuro following her and Hikari.
Izanami waited for Jeanne and Ayami to reply "I have sworn on my live to serve the one that you deemed worthy of wielding the blades of the two sisters again so I will face this trial head on" Ayami spoke blade in hand and Izanami nodded at that before turning towards Jeanne who got up and walked towards Izanami "as for me the respect I hold for Yoshika and her siblings is the thing that I see worth to protect therefore I will join you Ayami" Jeanne said as Izanami placed Twilight Dawn in her hands "you chose well get some rest for the days ahead" Izanami added before Jeanne and Ayami did just that disappearing from the room.
Izanami got up and went towards the room Yoshika and Hikari were talking inside only to sit down by her brother that waited outside without the blue Odachi by his side "I have a feeling Hikari will reveal to Yoshika why she has been acting so differently from the last time we saw her" Kuro spoke and Izanami only nodded as they simply waited.
Yoshika showed Hikari to a separated room with a simple table in the middle and some pillows to sit on "please wait outside Kuro" Yoshika asked as Kuro handed her the blue Odachi "I will should you need me or my sister simply call" Kuro said closing the door behind Yoshika "now then Hikari you wanted to tell me something?" Yoshika asked as she set the blue Odachi down on the floor before sitting down at the table.
Hikari stayed silent for a while but with a sigh she began to speak "you see I just don´t know how to call you anymore and with all that has happened" Yoshika nodded and simply listened "Hikari learning that the people that raised you are not your actual family doesn´t makes them any less than that and as for me you can simply call me Yoshika or One-Chan if that is what you want" Yoshika replied as Hikari nodded at that.
Hikari also explained that she noticed that she had healing magic quite similar to Yoshika a few months ago as she actually had a crash again and got hurt but only a few days later she was fine again "I see now tell me what you actually want to tell me" Yoshika spoke but before Hikari could start to deny anything Yoshika simply shock her head "no matter what it is just tell me I will never judge anyone you should know that better than anyone" Yoshika said.
Hikaris response was somewhat unexpected as she started crying so Yoshika got up and embraced her little sister that had been taken from the Miyafujis by someone at the young age of four and the trauma of it had caused Yoshika to seal those memories away with the help of her familiar.
Hikari continued to cry her heart out for several more minutes getting Yoshikas clothes wet but Yoshika didn´t care about that at all as she simply continued to rub Hikaris back until she calmed down "now what is it that has caused you this Hikari?" Yoshika asked holding Hikari by her shoulders "it´s just that" Hikari seemed to have trouble so Yoshika simply embraced her again to show Hikari that she was there.
Hikari mumbled something into Yoshikas shoulder so Yoshika released her "can I come with you after the last battle?" Hikari asked surprising Yoshika a bit "is there a reason you so willingly wish to turn your back on your home country and the rest of the 502nd?" Yoshika asked in return noticing that Hikari seemed to get mad as soon as Yoshika mentioned the 502nd.
[Seems we have something there] Yoshika thought as she looked Hikari directly into her eyes "what is it they have done for you to want to leave them?" Yoshika asked her voice even but Hikari looked away from Yoshika "Hikari you are my younger sister that was taken from my family at the age of four so if you do not wish to tell me about it that is" Hikari slammed her hands down on the table interrupting Yoshika.
Yoshika simply waited "they are not those I wish to risk my life for anymore" Hikari screamed with tears in her eyes but in those eyes Yoshika clearly saw resentment and hate for someone Yoshika simply gestured for Hikari to sit down again so Hikari did a moment later "who do you no longer wish to risk your life for?" Yoshika asked her tone hiding her true intentions well.
Yoshika set two cups of tea down on the table and Hikari took one of them in her shaky hands "at first I wanted to simply fight with them to help protect everyone like you" Hikari started her voice a bit wavering "but after we were done in Orussia they started to change" Yoshika got very interested even more so as she was sure that Hikari was talking about the 502nd the brave witches.
"At first it were little things like blaming me for small mistakes during training but then they started to actually attack me of course they did it so no one would notice anything but lately they just have been going way too far with it all that is the reason I started to avoid training with everyone else so I could get away from all of their abuse" Hikari yelled the last part before she started crying again.
Yoshika was by Hikaris side immediately and embraced her again and didn´t let go "Kuro Izanami please take a look at her memories and tell me who they are I won´t force her to tell me anymore than this but they will feel my wrath" Yoshika spoke to her familiars over their bond to not alert Hikari about it and both Kuro and Izanami agreed without another word needed from Yoshika.
Yoshika stayed with Hikari until Hikari had cried herself to sleep but instead of leaving her all alone in her room Yoshika decided to use her transport magic and joined Hikari in her bed embracing her lost little sister to allow her to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night "you will be able to protect yourself and those you wish to very soon Imouto" Yoshika spoke before closing her eyes.
Yoshika was the first to notice that someone had entered Hikaris room but the next thing had her rage erupt into a massive inferno "ey twerp get up we got something to do for you" the voice of Kano Naoe yelled into the room with another two were giggling behind her and thanks to Kuro and Izanami Yoshika knew exactly who they were.
Pilot officer Kano Naoe, Pilot officer Georgette Lemare and flight sergeant Shimohara Sadako the three of them have been abusing and bullying Hikari for the last several months and the reason Yoshika was feeling very furious right now "so you three think you can just do as you please with my sister?" Yoshika asked as she slowly got up as Kuro, Izanami, Ayami and Jeanne pushed all three of them into the room before slamming it closed behind them.
Yoshika simply turned around with both of her blades on her back appearing as well as her clothes changing to her traditional Fuso white robes with the red skirt and black knee socks and gloves with silver lines on them "oh we are only here to fetch Hikari for her usual job of doing the laundry seeing as she missed training again" Kano simply said with a grin but Yoshika didn´t buy it for a second "Hikari if you would" Yoshika simply stepped to the side exposing Hikari holding the blue Odachi in her hands in a different outfit than her usual one.
Hikaris outfit was similar to Yoshikas but instead of black gloves and knee socks Hikaris were a midnight blue with several white lines and a black skirt instead of a red one "with pleasure One-Chan" Hikari replied activating her magic as well as raising her Odachi to one side that started to glow blue.
The next thing that happened was that a massive gust of wind that was followed by a massive roar of thunder that woke up the rest of the base caused the three witches of the 502nd to crash into and through the wall and land on the runway in a heap "what the hell is going on?" Gundula yelled as she and the rest of the girls of the various fighter wings appeared from the base entrance.
Yoshika and Hikari simply watched the three lying on the runway with Jeanne and Ayami from the massive hole that was once the window of Hikaris room "let´s go" Yoshika simply said and Hikari, Jeanne and Ayami grabbed her Yoshikas shoulder as she activated her magic and glided with her wings to the ground before drawing her own blades as well.
Gundula stepped into Yoshikas path "move" Yoshika spoke and even though Yoshikas voice held so much venom and hatred Gundula didn´t budge "didn´t you hear my sister?" Hikari asked as she raised her Odachi again causing Gundula to take a jump to the side to dodge the massive blades path "Hikari what do you think you are doing?" Nipa asked but Hikaris eyes had her and the others take a step back in fear.
Yoshika had been moving towards the three on the ground with Jeanne behind her as they had managed to get halfway up again "you think no one would ever notice?" Yoshika asked as she held her blades by her sides "I will give you credit for deceiving me for this long but this ends now" Yoshika yelled as she raised both of her blades even higher as they started glowing with black silver magic that had everyone gasping at how much magic Yoshika was using.
Kano was the only one who was able to raise her head a bit "well seems this plan was a bust let´s go with the other then" Kanos smile disappeared as Hikari slowly walked towards Yoshika as well with Ayami as her Odachi started to glow with the same black silver magic that covered Yoshikas blades "so it is as you had feared One-Chan isn´t it?" Hikari asked stopping by Yoshikas side "yes it is our enemy was so much closer than we thought but it matters not say hello to Xerox for me if you ever see that bastard again" Yoshika grinned like a madman as she and Hikari both swung their blades down while yelling "Kurenjingu Repuzan".
The entire surrounding land was shaken to its very foundations by the following magic explosion that blinded all witches for a moment that had been standing nearby before the light returned to normal "shit they got away" Hikari complained as she and Yoshika let their blades rest on their shoulders but before either she or Yoshika could even take a step they heard the scream of fear and terror of Nipa who was looking at the runway where before the three of the 502nd had been lying but now there was not the slightest trace of them anywhere.
Yoshika looked at Hikari and then around at everyone else that looked at them with faces full of horror "oh boy we better explain this shouldn´t we One-Chan?" Hikari asked a bit sheepishly "you´re right but first" Yoshika pulled Hikari out of the way as Jeanne blocked the hand of a humanoid neuroi with Twilight Dawn "oh so you have not turned tail yet it would seem" Yoshika grinned as three somewhat familiar yet very unfamiliar figures stepped into view.
Kano Naoe, Georgette Lemare and Shimohara Sadako looked nothing like human beings anymore as their entire bodies were covered in the all too familiar and hated form of a neuroi "well we can´t leave yet can we?" Georgette grinned holding two curved short blades in her hands "you shall pay for your treachery with your lives neuroi" Yoshika simply replied getting ready to attack so Hikari, Jeanne and Ayami did the same.
Kano made the first move towards Hikari at incredible speed and tried to punch Hikari however the only thing she hit was the blunt side of Ayamis blade and Hikari used that opening to deliver a massive blow to Kano´s midsection "I will make you pay" Hikari yelled as she started attacking Kano without mercy her powerful attacks causing massive cracks in the ground.
Yoshika had her hands full as well with fighting against Georgette and Sadako however Jeanne was a great help with that as Georgette got close to Yoshika with her blades while Sadako stayed a bit back and started firing small beams from time to time that Yoshika simply deflected with her blades or stopped them with her magic shield and Jeanne was only a step behind Sadako "end of the line for you" Georgette laughed like crazy and it was annoying Yoshika to no end as she had to dodge Sadakos beams again until Jeanne almost cut Sadako in half [over and done with this] Yoshika thought as she held one blade before her while resting the other across her shoulders.
Yoshika waited for Georgette to do exactly what she wanted her to stepping close to Yoshika and attack again "this ends now" Yoshika yelled as she literally cut Georgettes blades into pieces before delivering several strikes to her arms and legs before slamming her into the ground with all her might "stay there and don´t go anywhere" Yoshika growled as she turned to Sadako "as for you" Yoshika had to stop for a moment as she noticed that she didn´t hear anymore fighting from Hikari and Kano and with a look to Jeanne she knew she noticed the same.
Yoshika activated her magic and with her antenna she found what she had feared she felt Hikaris magic flying but not with the help of a striker unit "forgive me for what I´m about to do" Yoshika whispered to herself holding her blades behind her while she crouched low to the ground "Inazuma" Yoshika yelled as she flashed forward seemingly disappearing and Sadako collapsed to the ground right after with Yoshika collapsing to the ground nearby "go help Ayami" Yoshika mumbled before she passed out so Jeanne did exactly that and ran towards the hangar and a few seconds later she was airborne.
Kano Naoe was flying through the air without a striker unit on her but she didn´t need one anymore and over her shoulder she had what her lord wanted Hikari Karibuchi unconscious and restrained with neuroi material "what´s this?" Kano asked as someone was flying towards her however it felt different from the usual magic.
Kano only saw something flash before her eyes for the fraction of a second before it disappeared again however something defiantly had hit Kano that had her drop Hikari and a few seconds of free fall later Hikari disappeared "what the hell was that?" Kano asked only to get hit by a large caliber bullet right into the face that detonated.
Over a kilometer away was Lynnette Bishop in her striker unit a massive rifle with a smoking barrel in her hands with the other members of the 501st the strike witches "you got her?" Mina asked only for Mio to reply "you definitely hit her but she disappeared right after" Mina and the others decided to follow Jeanne after Yoshika had collapsed on the runway after the battle against the two neuroi Hybrids.
Mina found Jeanne and Ayami in the forest however as soon as they got close they felt it massive amounts of power but not magic something else entirely "I will wipe your dammed kind from the face of this universe" they heard Yoshikas voice amplified to the levels of lightning hitting the ground echoing from below which confused them as Yoshika was back at the base when they took off.
But there they saw Yoshika with Ayami and Jeanne standing near a massive symbol but it wasn´t a magic circle no the shape of a black triangle in the middle of a white circle was different especially since the smaller symbols were in silver and red in a language that none of them have ever seen before "what is she doing?" Perrine asked as Yoshika took hold of the massive Odachi Hikari had used to fight.
The next thing Yoshika did had all of them gasp in worry as Yoshika cut her arm and covered the entire blade in her blood before placing it on the ground before her "hear my plea Ryūjin to do what you must" Yoshika yelled to the heavens as the light of the circle and triangle changed to sea blue and white "I have heard your plea young Miyafuji I will do as you ask as you have already paid the price" the deep voice sounded like rumbling thunder in the distance before the glowing symbol disappeared and Yoshika collapsed to the ground only for Jeanne to catch her.
Lynne and Mio were the first to dive down and land before running towards Yoshika but Ayami moved towards the middle of the symbol and picked up Hikari from the ground "Miyafuji dam you what have you done to yourself?" Mio yelled as she crouched down by Jeanne who held Yoshika in her arms who hissed in pain through gritted teeth.
But with Yoshika and Hikari both unconscious they had no other choice than to fly back to base unsure of what had actually happened as the sun glared at them from above but something else was watching the group closely or more specifically one of them that had long white silver hair "is she really worthy of this?" a very old man asked as he looked down at the golden glass globe that showed the group of witches "we shall see her future is uncertain as even I can´t predict what is to come" the young woman replied.
That is everything I have worked on for the last week had a bit of a writers block anyway
Tell me what you thought about it in the reviews or if you have a question or an idea write a pm to me
and per usual if you leave a guest review with a question it shall be answered in the next chapter
Until the red skies turn blue once more everyone
See yaa
DS out