A/N: Sorry for the late post. Too many things going on. Like new anime, military enlistment, new anime, new movies, new anime, new games, new anime, new games, new anime, new games etc.
To answer a question a lot of people were asking about the previous chapter... that song is something I made up. It isn't good, doesn't make much sense as a song. So for the next time I will be using songs from my music library. I found two good ones but they will only work in the right context, so wait for them! They will come soon!
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 21
Returning Days
Stretching out his arms, Katsuragi felt re-energized and revitalized once he was back in men's clothing. He had never known joy like this, and certainly he would not want to lose this feeling. He will never ever look down on men's clothing ever again. Such bliss, such happiness. Ah, this life. This is what being a man is all about.
"... Stop looking like that. It's disgusting."
Yamato muttered, her arms crossed as she stood by the door where Katsuragi was admiring his own reflection in the male uniform.
"What, can't a guy be happy that there isn't a breeze going in between his legs?"
Katsuragi glared at Yamato, who shrugged.
"You will never understand how I feel at this moment."
"Like I want understand what men think."
Yamato replied, walking out of the room with Katsuragi following behind. It has only been one day since the end of Operation: Switch and already it was quite clear to everyone that such an Operation would be better off not doing at all. First off, there had been quite a number of casualties for all divisions though nobody was essentially 'killed' by the Angels or converted by the Shadows. The number of Wolves injured also tallied quite high. Though injuries would normally heal over in almost an instant, these were no normal wounds. Katsuragi did not want to know what could cause such injuries, but it was obvious that their enemy was growing smarter. Why cause normal damage and let your opponent just heal up in no time when you can maim them and put them out of action for a long period of time? There were no deaths, but plenty of injured. The medical team was having a field day with this amount of work, but according to Iori, this was their work so they had to be prepared for something like this.
"... I'm going to the cafeteria."
Yamato said, heading towards that direction.
"Eh? What about the requests?"
"... I don't feel like doing any at the moment."
Yamato muttered. Katsuragi knew what she meant. Yamato wasn't in a good mood today. Then again, she hasn't been in a good mood for days. Was it her period? Or something else?
"... I'll go with you then."
Katsuragi offered, walking in step with Yamato who raised an eyebrow at him.
"What, trying to console me?"
"'Trying' is a good term to use. You never seem to accept any form of help from me."
At that, Yamato smiled a little.
"Maybe it's because your help is no help at all."
"Hey!"
Though Yamato may insult him, Katsuragi felt that at least Yamato was smiling. That was a start. As the two made their way to the cafeteria, they had to walk by the rows of injured that had to wait while the medics attended to another. Some were calling out for a medic, others whimpering as they nursed their own wounds. A few just stared blankly out to some wall. It was horrible to see, let alone walk past. Yamato obviously did not like seeing it, evident by her trying to avert her eyes from the scene that was around them.
".. Dammit, why is it that there's only one exit out of this building?"
Yamato muttered, grinding her teeth.
"Don't be like that. We're almost at the exit. I'll treat you to some niku-udon so try not to shoot something till then."
Katsuragi said, trying to calm his partner down. Yamato closed her eyes for the moment, before nodding.
"If you say so."
Food always win. But just as they reached the exit, Iori appeared before them. Not a good sign. Particularly when Iori was still wearing his female uniform. So he really did like dressing up.
"... What can we help you with, hentai-leader-san?"
Yamato glared angrily at Iori.
"Yo, I have a request for the both of you to take on."
Really not a good sign. Yamato seriously did not want to take it on, particularly since it was coming from the leader who was still cross-dressing.
"... Fine, what is it?"
Yamato sighed in defeat. There was just no way they could refuse it. At Yamato's reply, Iori grinned.
"Good. The truth is the two of you are probably the only Wolves left without much to do. With the Organization taking such a heavy hit during yesterday's Operation, the Wolves have been spread thin trying to help the other divisions. The Wolves are already down by half because of the Operation but well, orders are orders. Corporal Kusanagi, I hear you're pretty familiar with the Assault division members?"
Iori turned to Yamato, who merely nodded back in reply.
"Good. Take this report to Fujibayashi Kyou. Also, find the 'Otaku'. Yuuko has been causing an uproar down below and weapons management is having a field day. We need his expertise for weapons check."
"... The Otaku?"
Yamato pondered.
"Yes, the Otaku. Just ask around, they'll point you to the right person. Oh, when you meet him, don't shoot him. He may be long-winded and don't make much sense on a normal level, but he means no harm."
Yamato sighed, scratching the back of head as she turned around to leave.
"... What a troublesome request. Fine, I just need to find this Otaku, right?"
"Make sure he arrives in one piece! And you forgot the report!"
After Yamato snatched the report and left, Iori turned to Katsuragi.
"Well, at least she understands."
Does she really?
"Now, I need someone to send this report down to Guild. We've also received a lot of requests coming from Guild. I was wondering if you could go down and help out a little. While you're doing that, can you make sure Yuuko doesn't blow the entire school up?"
IMPOSSIBLE! That sort of job is impossible to do! But Iori merely smiled, placing a hand on Katsuragi's shoulder and giving him a thumbs up.
"I have complete faith in you. Go and complete your mission as Yuuko's punching-bag /test subject."
So he was going to be a test subject after all!
"Good luck!"
Iori shouted as he was suddenly seen running off into the distance before Katsuragi could do or say anything.
"... Dammit."
No choice but to do it.
[Request accepted ( ? ) ]
Yamato sighed, seriously wanting to just punch Iori in the face. Unfortunately he is both her superior as well as her squad's leader. There wasn't much she could do about that but to put up with his theatrics. Yamato headed straight for the forest behind the school where the Assault division had made their headquarters. Each division had their own special area that was used as their headquarters, the Assault division using the forest behind the school, the Intelligence division having a secret base in the school's Library, Fort using the staff building, Guild being underground and Diversion using the dorms.
The Guardians are the only ones who do not have a fixed base to move out from so they can be anywhere at any time. The Guardians. Yamato saw their fight during the Operation and though she knew how frightening the Reapers were, she also knew that their strength was nothing to joke about. Each member of the Guardians could take on two low class Angels at one time, an amazing feat considering that a Wolf member would still require back-up against one of those. Looking down at her own hand, Yamato could only feel her own strength as being inferior.
"... As I thought... no matter how hard I try... it is never enough. Sigh, I wonder why is it always like that?"
Yamato wondered, closing her eyes as her mind went back to her past. The feeling of being powerless. The strength that she wanted, that she needed to right the wrongs of her past. If only she had the courage and strength of a Guardian... maybe, just maybe.
"... Maybe she did not have to die."
Yamato muttered bitterly to herself. Yamato stopped in her tracks, looking up to the sky through the trees.
"... Sigh... I'm the worst... if only I didn't send that message to Takashi... even though I knew her feelings for him I still went ahead and did that... sigh... I'm the worst."
Yamato squatted down, hugging her knees as she started to draw circles in the dirt of the forest, spiralling deeper into despair as she started to do a long string of self-hate.
"... If only I didn't steal onii-chan's toast... I should not have taken the broom from the cleaning closet, okaa-sama was worried for over a week about where the broom was... I should have let pochi (dog) into the kotatsu, then he would not have gotten that cold... I should have rubbed ojii-chan's back... I should have collected the mail... I should have cut down on mailing... I should have looked up more on the internet..."
It was starting to become a long list of really redundant things she was hating herself for.
"Hm? Isn't that Corporal Kusanagi from Fort Wolves?"
A familiar voice caught Yamato's attention, who looked up with her face in a horrible mess from being depressed.
"Uwah! What's with that horrible face."
Fujibayashi Kyou jumped back from seeing that face.
"M-Major Fujibayashi..."
"Eh... what's the problem? And what is with that hole in front of you?"
After a short explanation of Yamato's job, Kyou nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"I see, a report for yesterday's Operation. Hm, with this I now have an excuse to punch Iris in the face."
Kyou smirked, her expression bordering one of a demon's. She kept the report into a bag she slung over her shoulder and turned to Yamato.
"Well, Corporal Kusanagi, let's get a move on."
"... Eh?"
Yamato turned to Kyou with a confused look on her face. Move? Move where?
"Hm? Isn't it obvious? You're coming to help me of course. Isn't that why Iori sent you here?"
Kyou said in the most 'isn't-that-obvious' tone.
.
.
.
.
"EH? ! I didn't hear anything about that! I was sent to find someone called the Otaku or something..."
Yamato was sure her mission did not include being a temporary loan-out to the Assault division.
"Hm? The Otaku? Ah, you must mean Okuta-kun. Akiba Okuta."
Akiba Okuta? Is that why he is called Otaku? Not much of a change.
"Well, he's at the camp at the moment, and since you're there you might as well work for me for a while. Don't worry, I'll make it worth your while."
Yamato's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going to happen.
"No...no... NOOO!"
Yamato's cries could have pierced the heavens that day.
While Yamato was suffering under Kyou's management skills, Katsuragi was faring no better. If one had to paint a picture of Guild at this moment, one would have to use a lot of black paint. What Katsuragi saw when he went down to Guild was merely darkness. Everything was gone. And by gone, it should understood that everything had disappeared by a large explosion that just erupted before Katsuragi arrived. Several Guild members were trying to salvage was lost while others were carrying bodies out of the damaged wreck. What in the World happened here? Katsuragi approached one Guild member to ask.
"Huh? Here? Oh, Boss was trying to make something new but it failed horribly. If you're looking for her, she's over by the experimenter's back-up room. Ah, do you mind lifting that over there? Thanks."
Katsuragi headed over to the secondary experimenter's room, though extremely reluctantly. The experimenters had gained a rather bad reputation everywhere in the Organization. Some called them 'demons', or 'monsters'. Other names included 'psychopaths', 'trigger-happy nut-cases', 'brainless monkeys', and even 'hazard to mankind'. The experimenters apparently have no regard for safety, either for themselves or for others, which makes them Himura Yuuko's favourite squad. Unfortunately that did not make them the favourite of everyone else.
Katsuragi reached the back-up room, staring at its heavily guarded steel doors. Those doors must weigh at least five tons each. Standing at the door way were the guards of Guild, Shield, standing guard with artillery, machine gun nests and mortar. However there was something off about these placements. They weren't facing away from the door as one would expect from the group standing guard over a door. They were aiming their weapons AT the door of the experimenters.
"Going to see the Boss? Being a wolf sure is tough. Let me check through the system first."
The shield member Katsuragi approached said, taking Katsuragi's ID and scanning it through the computer the Shield members set up by the side. After awhile, he walked back to Katsuragi.
"All clear, Corporal Katsuragi. Word of caution is when you enter, best to keep your mouth shut. Don't point out anything wrong or missing even if it seems harmless. The Boss is able to make even a tissue paper explode like a nuclear bomb."
The Shield member warned him before turning to the door. A tissue paper into a nuclear bomb? No way... was it?
"Oi! Open the door! A Wolf is going to see the Boss!"
The Shield members by the door nodded and both keyed in pass codes into key panels by either sides of the door. Entering different codes at the same time, before swiping their key-cards, hand-print scans and retinal scans all at the same time. Just how much security is there for this one door?
"Erm... is this all necessary? Is there something important inside?"
Katsuragi could not help but ask. The Shield member turned to him with an eyebrow raised.
"This security? Ah, it isn't to keep people out. It's to keep whatever the hell is inside INSIDE."
"... Eh?"
Before Katsuragi could ask any further, the loud clanking sound of gears churning deafened the area. The heavy doors slowly swung open, done so by machinery as the thickness of the doors became apparent to Katsuragi. The doors were at least one metre thick and behind that was a reinforced steel shutter door that slowly slid open, revealing a weird glass chamber.
"It's a sterilizing clean-room. You must go through to get into the room."
The Shield member said, pointing to the different nozzles and hoses in the chamber.
.
.
.
.
EEEHHH? !
"It's just a precautionary measure. Don't worry too much about it. Even if you die, you will still revive."
EEHHH?
"The door will close in a minute, so hurry up!"
The door even has a self closing setting? Just what lies beyond this dangerous door? Katsuragi swallowed hard and walked towards the chamber. He turned around, wondering if it was really alright. But what he saw was the Shield members all saluting towards him. He did not need to hear their words, their facial expressions said it all.
'What a brave lad.'
'We wish you the very best.'
'You are an example to us all.'
'God speed.'
What is with those pitiful looks and aura! Katsuragi turned back to the sterilization chamber, swallowing hard. He had to get through in order to find Yuuko.
"... Here goes nothing."
[Katsuragi died]
Yamato was unsure of what was going on at the moment. She was sent to find Fujibayashi Kyou and hand in a report, as well find someone called the Otaku to bring him to Guild. But somehow or rather she ended up in the training grounds of the Assault division, overseeing the training session of recruits.
"... So... what is this?"
Yamato asked aloud, standing before the bunch of confused, frightened bunch of recruits who were probably still wondering what the hell had they gotten themselves into.
"This is training for the recruits. You've been through this before, haven't you?"
Kyou asked in an obvious tone.
"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking what the heck am I doing here?"
"You're a Wolf member, right? You should be able to do this much. Besides, because of the operation, the Assault division has been lacking in available numbers. We need all the help we can get."
Yamato sighed upon hearing that, scratching her head. A Wolf was an elite member of Fort, but they were also the most loanable squad besides the Relief squad. The Relief squad also had their hands full trying to make up members for the other divisions, so as a result the Wolves were brought in to fill in the gaps that were left. Still, it was somewhat ironic for Yamato. She could still remember the time when she was still a recruit. Though now corporal in rank, she still felt like a recruit. This would be the second batch of recruits after Yamato and Katsuragi's batch. She could see the young and 'freshness' of these recruits.
"... They look like rabbits being cornered by a lion."
Yamato muttered, narrowing her eyes and noting the recruits this time were all literally shaking while sitting on the floor.
"It can't be helped. They had witnessed the entire Operation first hand. It wouldn't be the first time Yuki planned an Operation just in time to traumatize recruits."
Kyou replied.
"... Was I like that? Shaking in fear and being so lost?"
"You? Nah, your batch was something different. Like every single one of you wanted to prove something. You guys had drive. These recruits are... well... how do I put this delicately-"
"Useless."
"... More or less."
Kyou smiled. Yamato sighed, shaking her head. She might as well go through this. She was hoping to get treated to lunch by Katsuragi but she figured this was also able to get her mind off something stuff that had been clouding her mind these past few days.
"So, what do I have to do?"
Yamato asked.
"Well, all you need to do is basically make sure the recruits are following this training regime."
Kyou handed Yamato a list which had the entire training schedule for the recruits for the entire week. Yamato look through it before looking at the recruits, and then to Kyou.
"... They are going to die, you know."
"Then let them. It's not like they will ever learn anything they don't die at least once."
"... Not exactly a very good way to say it."
Kyou merely laughed at Yamato's words.
"That's why you're here. I've been training recruits for over fifteen years, and truth be told I'm getting quite sick of it."
Kyou admitted.
"... So you're saying that if you train any more recruits, the training regime will only get worse and more violent."
Yamato deduced, and Kyou smirked, giving Yamato a thumbs-up.
"Exactly!"
Yamato sighed, not sure if this was the same Fujibayashi who leads more than half of the Assault division, the largest division in the Organization. In the first place, Yamato had no experience in training others. She was so focused on doing requests, training her own abilities that she more or less isolated herself from others. The only people she ever talked to properly would be Katsuragi and Ayane. Her people skills were at level 0, so how in the World did Kyou expect her to do this? Even as a Wolf, this was impossible.
"Don't worry about going all out to torture them. That's what I do when I'm frustrated."
Kyou said. As a leader and trainer, that is not good at all! Not good on so many levels and in so many ways!
"Ah, Tomoyo will also be helping you out, as well as her student. If I'm not wrong, Mitsuhide Ayane is your friend, right? So it should be easier for you."
Kyou added, making Yamato a little surprised.
"Ayane?"
"Yup, Tomoyo figured that Ayane needed more people skills, so she's asked me to let her take over. Not that I mind of course. Still, can never go wrong with more help. Well, good luck."
"Eh? Fujibayashi-senpai, you're not helping?"
Yamato asked. Kyou raised an eyebrow at Yamato after hearing that.
"Of course not. I told you that I'm tired, didn't I?"
No no, that was not meant to be an excuse to skip work!
"Anyway, I have to oversee other things. With Ein running off to most probably the cafeteria, I have to handle the division in its critical state. Don't worry, you can handle this much. Good luck, Corporal."
With that, Kyou ran away.
[Fujibayashi Kyou successfully escaped]
"... She... ran away."
Yamato sighed, wondering if everything was actually going to be alright from now on. She turned her attention to the recruits. They were obviously frightened. After all, they were still here when Yamato and Kyou were having their conversation about 'death', 'training' and all sorts of other horrible words that would make anyone wet their pants.
"This is going to be a long day."
Katsuragi entered the experimenter's room, unsure of what he was seeing. Again. It was Guild was a wonderland where logic and reality did not matter. Then again, they were all dead so logic doesn't really apply in the first place. But this was beyond logic of insanity. This was... a disaster.
"I-... I will not give up!"
Yuuko shouted, despite seeing the scattered remains of her experimenter squad around her, she still continued with her mad ravings.
"B-Boss! We cannot do it! Give it up!"
One of the experimenters pleaded, but Yuuko merely kicked him in the face.
"You fool! A mere setback like this and you are already giving up? ! And you call yourself a proud member of Guild? !"
"B-But-"
"I will complete it! Even if I have to do it on my own!"
Yuuko shouted at them, turning her attention to the large amount of dirt on the table in front of her. She grabbed a fist full of it and pressed her hands together, trying to mould the dirt.
"I... will... Succeed!"
Yuuko shouted, pressing her hands together tighter.
"Haaaaaa! !"
A great light started to shine through her hands, marking the creation of the item she was trying to make. Then-
"I finished it!"
Yuuko opened her hands, revealing a... piece of metal?
"I present the legendary metal, MYTHRIL!"
.
.
.
Mythril? As in... 'that' Mythril? The one found in games?
"See? I told you we could do it!"
Yuuko smirked to her experimenters, but her squad did not think the same thing as her as they started to back away from the Boss of Guild. And for good reason. The metal that Yuuko made was started to glow-
BOOM
As expected, it blew up in Yuuko's face. But even when charred and black in the face, Yuuko was still standing and alive.
"cough cough... okay, so that was a bust... AGAIN!"
She grabbed more dirt and moulded into-
"DRAGON SCALE!"
BOOM
"ADAMANTIUM!"
BOOM
"AGAIN! PALLADIUM!"
BOOM
"ONE MORE! ORIHALCRUM!"
BOOM
"! $ & %"
BOOM
Isn't the type of metal she was trying to produce getting more and more out of bounds of reality? Getting closer to the realm of 'God Metals'. And what was that last one? By now, Yuuko's hair and turned into a permanent afro. Her experimenters were all trying to get her to stop, pleading and trying to hold her back.
"Please! You must stop now!"
One of the experimenters pleaded her.
"It is impossible to create those metals!"
At that sentence, Yuuko snapped once more.
"Impossible? ! Don't tell me that it's impossible!"
Yuuko grabbed the experimenter and managed to fling him across the room.
"What you're all lacking is GUTS and WILLPOWER! With enough GUTS and WILLPOWER, anything is possible! Logic will bend to GUTS and WILLPOWER alone!"
"That's nonsense!"
"WHAT NONSENSE? !"
"All of our weapons are based off memories from life! Therefore this world is still bound by logic from there!"
"MY LOGIC IS THIS WORLD'S LOGIC!"
At this point, Katsuragi decided that Guild was crazy. With a leader like that, they are nuts. Never mind screw loose, there were no screws in the first place! Should he interfere and stop them before the entire place self-destructs? Or should he just wait it out-
BOOM
Wait it out then. As the explosions carried on, Katsuragi stood by the side, watching as the explosions sort of reminded him of fireworks. Fireworks... he wondered when was the last time he saw those. He could not remember anything from his life, so why did it bother him?
"A-ano..."
A small voice called out to him, but Katsuragi was too busy in thought to listen.
"... A-Anoo..."
Still ignoring.
"... ANOO!"
Katsuragi blinked a few times.
"Hmm? Did I hear something?"
Katsuragi wondered out loud.
"Here! Here!"
A tug on his sleeve made Katsuragi look down. Standing there in work overalls obviously three sizes too large, was a girl. A small girl who seemed to be on the verge of tears. Uh-oh.
[Katsuragi suffers guilt conscience attack]
"Erm... Sorry. I was lost in thought."
He apologized, to which the girl nodded and smiled, wiping away her tears. Were those tears faked?
"Can I help you?"
She asked, beaming broadly as though expecting something. Katsuragi scratched his head, looking over to Yuuko, who had just exploded herself off again.
"I was meant to hand this report of Himura-san, but somehow or rather..."
BOOM
Another explosion, making Katsuragi sigh.
"That had to happen."
"I-I can look over them!"
The little girl exclaimed excitedly, tugging onto his sleeve. Was it his imagination? Or was this girl a little... too eager?
"Erm... but I cannot hand this to anyone but Himura-san or a squad leader."
"So that means I can read it as well!"
The girl said with a smile.
"... Huh? I'm sorry, little girl, but I don't think you really understand what I was saying-"
"I'M NOT LITTLE!"
The girl shouted back at him.
"I am the squad leader of the experimenters! Warrant Officer Masamune Shoka!"
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.
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"Eh?"
Katsuragi stared at the little girl in surprise.
"What do you mean 'eh'? ! I have been here since the founding of this organization! I have been here since Yuki-san first found these weapons and first stood up against those Shadows!"
This girl, Shoka, proudly said, beating her chest though that was quickly changed to coughing and nursing the bruise on her chest.
"... Right... look, I don't have time to play 'squad leader' with you-"
"I'm not playing! I'm a real squad leader!"
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you are."
Katsuragi smiled a smile filled with pity whilst patting Shoka on the head. That really set Shoka off.
"I'M A REAL SQUAD LEADER!"
"Sure, sure."
While Katsuragi and Shoka were having their little brawl, an experimenter managed to get Yuuko off the testing moulds and focus on other things while they initiate a clean up of the mess. It was during this brief moment of peace that Yuuko noticed Katsuragi and Shoka. The first thing in her mind as she saw this weird scene with Katsuragi holding back Shoka with his longer reach while the little girl tried to fight back by swinging her arms at Katsuragi wildly was-
"... That looks like fun."