Chapter 26 - Roditiele

Toshiro looked at the view in the front, and he saw a small airbase in the middle of nowhere, with a big city in the north-west.

"Is this the base of the 502nd and the city there Petersburg?" he asked.

"Yes, Toshiro," Sanya answered.

He saw some people on the runway as he was landing, with most of them being witches from what he could discern. They stopped before the small crowd on whose front was a bald, shorty burly man in an officer's uniform, clapping his hands.

"I send out a Captain in to test a new Striker, and she hauls in the heir to the throne of Karlsland, his fiancé, the White Lily of Volgograd and… some other witch, hahaha!"

"Heeeey…" Eila protested silently.

"Good morning, Marshal Zhukov, I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"

"Technically, you did, but practically you have created some nice opportunities. Before I forget, how is the rifle I sent you?"

"Lynne is utilizing it to its full capacity, Marshal," Toshiro smiled.

"Very good!" Zhukov thundered joyously. "Now, get acquainted with the 502nd, and we're going to Petersburg."

"Oh?"

"I've heard your conversation, and I'm willing to help. Captain Litvyak is the tsar's favorite witch after all!"

"Much obliged, Marshal."

"See that ZIL-101 and ZIL-110 by the main building there?" Zhukov pointed out two black limousines.

"Yes?"

"We'll meet there. Stow all your equipment in the hangar; you won't need anything in Petersburg."

"Understood, Marshal."

Zhukov turned around and went in the direction of the limos.

The girls behind him slowly started coming toward Toshiro and his entourage.

So much younger… I know a bit about them, but I'll just play it like I don't know them at all. Which is actually a fact in this universe…

The first one was chestnut haired beauty in a green uniform and something looking like a black corset.

"We finally meet in person, Toshiro," she said with a warm smile.

"Oh… Gundi?"

"Heh, yes. Nice of you to remember my voice."

"It wasn't THAT long ago. Damn, you're good looking… And that's a rather… peculiar choice of clothing."

"Ah, thanks… And this corset is sadly a necessity. During Operation Bifrost my back was terribly injured, so this magically infused corset is keeping my injury from renewing."

"Well, that was… a bit insensitive from me… Sorry…"

"Don't worry, Toshiro. At least I hear you didn't bother Hanna about her scar."

"So it was, but that one was more obvious. You know, I've met some witches that were… rather extravagant. And to be honest, that corset brings out your features…"

"Heheh, thanks... So, is that the lucky girl?" she asked while looking at Yoshika.

"Yup, that's Yoshika."

"Hello," Yoshika said and bowed slightly.

"My, my, you sure are well built, if you know what I mean…"

"Heehee… A late growth spurt so to speak…" Yoshika snickered.

While the two were talking, another witch approached Toshiro. Almost everything about the tall and slender witch, apart from the hair similar to Gundula's, was blue. Blue tights, blue uniform, blue cap. She forwarded her hand and said, "Hauptman Walrtrud Krupinski, how is Erica doing?"

"That was fast… Erica is doing very well. You're her friend?"

"You can say so. I was in the 52nd Jagdesgeschwader with her, Barkhorn, and Marseille, so I guess I qualify as that, heh…"

"Tina was under the same impression, hah…"

"So, when do we drink together?" she asked while rubbing her hands together.

"When you grow a gut that can outdrink me, that's when."

"Oh don't worry, I made more men drunk and lived to tell it than you would imagine…" Krupinski grinned venomously.

"No drinking on duty," Gundula said with a firm voice.

"Okay, okay…" Waltrud said and went on.

The next to approach was a Fusojin with dark, bob cut hair and a uniform identical to that of Shizuka. She bowed and introduced herself.

"2nd Lieutenant Sadako Shimohara, pleased to meet you, General."

"Oh my, what a polite girl you are."

"Somebody has to in this unit, General. As a proper daughter of Fuso, I am apt in the ways of a traditional Fusojin woman."

Toshiro looked at her closely and he saw that she was darting her eyes at something behind him all the time.

"What are you looking at?" Toshiro asked all of a sudden.

"Wha! Nothing, sir!"

"Tell me."

"At your fiancé…" she mumbled.

"Oh? May I know in what way?"

"She probably wants to hug the living daylight out of your cute fiancé, Toshiro," Gundula explained.

Toshiro looked at her with a smirk on his face.

"Please don't laugh at me…" she mumbled. "After all the horrors I had to endure in Libau, cute things are the last things that comfort me…"

"Horrors?"

"Miss Sakamoto…"

"Pfffffhhhh…" Toshiro chuckled. "What of her?"

"She was my sensei in Libau."

"Bueheheheheheh… What, she gave you such a workout that you wouldn't differentiate between your ass and your ears?"

"More or less…"

"Yoshika, can she hug you?"

"What do I care…?" Yoshika shrugged.

"Go; make it count," Toshiro pointed out Yoshika.

"Arigato!" she cheered and ran to her.

Next up was a small witch in a white uniform and with a twin-tail styled bronze hair.

"Hiya!" she cheered.

"Oh, you sure are a sweetie. What's your name?"

"2nd Lietutenant Georgette Lemare, and I'm the healer here!"

"Healer you say? Then you should get to talk with Yoshika, she's the prodigy in that field."

"Oh, I surely will!"

"Okay, scoot."

"Yup!"

Upcoming next, was a witch that could be taken for Eila's sister, or at least first cousin.

"And you look like you're from Suomus."

"Well hello Captain Obvious," she retorted.

"Don't mind Nipa, she can be a damn grump," Eila said.

"Nipa?"

"They call me that all the time…" she sighed.

"And Jinxed… And Crusher O'Hare the Second…" Eila enumerated with a smug face.

"Okay, shut up already!"

"Retribution for all those long days' worth of pranks, Nipa…"

"You two were in one unit?" Toshiro asked.

"Yes, the 24 Squadron of the Suomus Air Force," Nipa said. "Eila's sister wasn't in our unit, but she was a frequent guest..." she added with burning red cheeks.

"The things I get to know… What a small world we live in… But can I finally get your damn name?!"

"Ah, shit, sorry. I'm Sergeant-Major Nikka Edvardine Katajainen."

"Only Sergeant-Major?"

"Well, not my fault I crash my Strikers every now and then..."

"You could write a calendar based on her crashes, heheh…" Eila laughed.

"Hey, Waltrud also crashes a lot!"

"But not as damn often as you, tomboy," Waltrud responded.

"Can I go already?" she said close to tears. "Everyone is bullying me…"

"Go, go…"

The second-to-last one up was small Fusojin witch wearing a brown flight jacket, a yellow scarf with a green stripe in the middle of it, and a grumpy face to top it off.

"Lieutenant Naoe Kanno!" she yelled while achieving a leader pose.

"What bit you in the ass so hard that you have to shout?"

"The shouting is the expression of my soul!"

"Or you're a fucking midget and just want to stand out somehow."

The talking behind Toshiro stopped in a moment, and Naoe's eyebrows started twitching.

"What did you call me?!" she yelled.

"A fucking midget attention whore," Toshiro said with a straight face.

"What an insult! I can't stand it! Put 'em up!"

"As if you have a chance against me, pfff…"

Suddenly she put up a shield, but it started gradually getting smaller and smaller above her fist, and it soon had the size of a small pizza.

"Oh, this looks interesting… If you want war…" Toshiro flared up with his Celestial Aura and pumped up the energy needed for his most devastating punch. "…a war you will get."

"Stand down, Nao, or you'll get so much KP in solitary confinement that you'll be begging me to send you to retirement," Gundula said with a cold voice.

"But! But he insulted me!"

"Toshiro is somewhat excused of making jokes about small people, because his cousin is Mami Inagaki."

"Oh… Mami's cousin?" the angry face expression and the shield disappeared immediately. "That does excuse him a bit…"

"Toshiro, did you want to do some atomzerlegen on her?" Yoshika asked.

"I kind of thought she would get scared by just the lightshow…" Toshiro muttered.

"If he's cousins with that squirt, I can't complain…" Naoe mumbled to herself.

Toshiro tilted his head in wonder.

"Um… Ahem… Sorry for such an outburst, General… I didn't think you would be joking…"

"You finally got it, huh? I loved to rip on Mami for her height, but you're a giant compared to her."

"Am I?!" she asked with sparkling eyes.

"Well duh, you're at least ten centimeters higher. Mami would give her body into lease to have your height… And look at Yoshika, she's a bit on the short side too."

"Well…" Naoe ran up to Yoshika and measured her with her hand. "Only a bit higher than me… My, did I overreact…"

"No problem, I overdid it a bit anyway. What was that technique by the way?"

"Oh that? That's my inherent magic, the Compression-formula Super Hardness Defensive Magic Circle…"

"What a mouthful…" Toshiro interrupted.

"Or just Super Hard Shield."

"Much better," Toshiro smiled.

"Anyway… I can compress my shield to a much smaller and harder one, so I can throw a pretty hard punch that way."

"Impressive…"

"And what were you trying to do to me?" she asked innocently.

"Dissolve you into elementary particles," Toshiro said with a smile plastered to his face.

Her jaw dropped as her face went blue.

"Kidding, I wouldn't do that to anyone."

"But still…"

"I really don't have a proper target to demonstrate…"

Naoe went away, and a silver haired, glasses-wearing, small witch approached him.

"Stabswachtsmeister Edytha Roßmann, please to meet you, Herr Generalmajor," she said with a smile.

"And nice to meet you too," Toshiro smiled. "And what's your role here?"

"Here I'm doing whatever is necessary, but earlier I was, and sometimes I still am, training witches. I trained your dear Erica, Herr Generalmajor."

"Oh? So you trained her in the JG 52?"

"Exactly. She was a genius in combat, but what a slob outside, sheesh…"

"Water is still wet it seems, heheh… But you want to know something else?"

"Oh?"

Toshiro leaned over to her and whispered, "She's also a genius outside of combat."

"Impossible…"

"She was first sent somewhere in this country under the auspices of the Genie Einführung Programm. Her IQ is 170 points."

"Wow… Just… But I knew she had some spark in her… I just damn knew…"

"Now you know it for sure, heh…"

"Hey, whatcha whispering about there?" Waltrud asked.

"Nothing concerning you," Toshiro shrugged.

"Pfff…"

"Okay… Zhukov is probably boring his ass off, so I think we should go."

"Yes, you should go," Gundula said. "There's a limit to how long such a man can wait."

"Okay then, till later you all. I hope we can eat dinner at your place."

"We'll be waiting. Sadako will make some good Fuso style dishes."

"I will!" she cheered.

"See you later!" Toshiro waved his hand and they turned around.

"Oh, please, we will take your equipment," Gundula said. "Girls?"

"Roger!" they responded and took everything from Toshiro and company.

"Heheh… Thanks," Toshiro said and this time they went straight on to the limos in the distance.

They both were a bit different, but both were big, black, and four-doored. Zhukov was resting himself against the hood of the one without the slanted front.

"I see you had a good time, General," he said.

"Heh, the girls are surely something," Toshiro responded.

"The only bad thing about them is the fact that they have the world record in terms of both combat and out-of-combat Striker breakdowns, up to the point that they are unofficially dubbed the "Breaker Witches,"" Zhukov sighed deeply.

"True…" Eila mumbled. "Nipa herself crashed five times while I was the last time here…"

"Really? Damn, Pokryshkin must have her hands busy round the clock…"

"She does," Eila said "That's why she's the most liked person in the whole unit."

"Well, she is cute…" Yoshika said.

"I don't want to interrupt, but we have to go to Petersburg," Zhukov said. "Please, the General and his fiancé go with me, Captain Litvyak and her friend go to the spare limo. Misha! Ivan!" he yelled.

The drivers came out and opened all doors of the limos.

Yoshika ran forward and looked inside into one of them.

"Ooooh, spacy! Where can I sit?"

"The rightmost place on the rear couch will be the best," Zhukov said. "Then the General in the center and me on the left. The ZIS-110 is truly a big car, ha!"

"110? Never heard of them… But I know of the 101 over there," Toshiro said.

"Because this is one of the five prototypes available, no wonder! Now, get inside all of you, and let us go."

Yoshika quickly jumped inside but before Toshiro followed her, Zhukov stopped him.

"General, you won't be parading in Petersburg in your shorts, will you?"

"Would that be some sort of crime?"

"A man of your status should take heed how he looks. Look at me; you would say I'm myself from a mile, right?"

"Yup."

"And you in turn look like some random officer from the street."

"You have a point, Marshal… Okay, give me a second."

Toshiro slowed down time and he took the duffle bag from Yoshika. He changed his pants and shoes and put on his coat and cap. After he stowed away his clothes back into the bag, he resumed the flow of time.

Zhukov blinked a few times and he laughed loudly.

"Now that's a nice trick, hahahaha! Good, you look like a man befitting your status now!"

"Thank you," Toshiro smiled, went inside the car and seated himself, with Zhukov following suit.

"Misha, vezti nas v shtab-kvartire (drive us to headquarters)."

"Tak tochno (understood)."

The engine was started and the limo slowly drove off through a dirt road.

"So, do you have any business with us, besides looking for the Captain's parents?" Zhukov asked after a few minutes of complete silence.

"Initially I didn't have any plans beside that but… That Su-9 intrigued me…"

"Ah, no wonder, I bet it's familiar, da?"

"Da indeed. Is it a direct copy of the Me 262."

"A licensed and improved copy to be exact."

"I see… Who do I have to fuck to get one of those for Sanya?"

"Hahahaha! I will tell you something… If the girls don't crash that one unit they have, you can take it back with you. We're trialing two other constructions, so let's treat this as an… extended battlefield trial."

"Oh, thank you, Marshal, that will be a substantial contribution to our units firepower."

"Yes, yes. You can take the cannon too, if you want."

"Sanya won't use it, since she's a bit… small, but I think I have a perfect candidate for using it, heheh…"

"Oh it surely won't go to waste in such a big unit."

And more silence came until they arrived at Petersburg. Yoshika was eyeing her surrounding with her face glued to the window.

"Impressive?" Zhukov asked.

"Yes!" Yoshika cheered.

"Petersburg IS called the most Western city in Orussia for a reason," he said with a smile. "We will arrive in HQ shortly."

After a short while, they arrived before the HQ building, which from what Toshiro could deduce, was on a corner of the Nevski Prospekt and Admiraleyskiy Prospekt. When he looked to his right, which was slightly northeast in absolute directions, he saw a part of an enormous square.

"Is that the Palace Square?" Toshiro asked?

"Yes. If you would go a few meters further, you'd see the Alexander Column. Also, you can see the Winter Palace now, but for now we have to go inside the HQ building."

"Can we simply walk inside like that?"

"Why not? You are my guests and you four are not persona non grata here. But I do advise you to keep close, or some overzealous officer could make trouble."

"We will, Marshal," he said. "Girls, stay close to at all times."

"Okay!" the three cheered.

Yoshika took his hand and they entered the building.

It was nothing like the OKW in terms of splendor, but the rest was the same, more or less. People were running around with stacks of papers, guards were standing here and there. Also similar to the OKW building was the presence of a receptionist-slash-secretary. A Slavic beauty with long blonde hair was sitting behind the desk and reading some book. She must have noted their presence, because she quickly hid the book and looked at them.

"Mashenka!" Zhukov yelled in a friendly manner.

"Privet, Marshal," she said politely. "Oh, and who are the guests?"

"Masha, don't tell me you don't recognize the man."

She looked closely at Toshiro and almost shouted, "Gospodin, General von Edelweiss! What brings you to our simple headquarters?"

"Your boss here invited us," Toshiro shrugged.

"Ah, and that is what I will write down in my ledger."

"Please, follow me upstairs," Zhukov said and they started scaling the stairs. "Masha Jurieva Andropova, a very earnest girl, and very hard working. A bit on the ditzy side at times, but that just makes her more likeable."

"And she is beautiful…"

Toshiro felt a nudge into his side and saw Yoshika furling her eyebrows.

"Haha, you already look like you're married!" Zhukov laughed and they continued their stair climbing.

Once they finally reached the top floor, they entered the radio room. It was even more crowded than the corridors, with at least one operator talking at each given moment.

"Now you will see how things are being done in an Orussian manner," Zhukov said with a smile and approached the nearest radioman.

"Serzhant, u vas yest' missiya (Sergeant, you have a mission)!"

"Da!" he shouted back.

"Vklyuchit' grazhdanskoye shirokoveshchatel'nyy kanal i translirovat' etot (Enable the civilian broadcast channel and broadcast this)…" Zhukov made a pause. "Mister i promakhi Litvyak , roditeli San'ya, dolzhny idti pod Aleksandrovskoy kolonny na Dvortsovoy ploshchadi pod tyazhelym finansovym kazni kak mozhno skoreye (Mr and Mrs Litvyak, parents of Sanya, are to go under the Alexander Column on the Palace Square under a severe financial penalty, ASAP)."

Both the radioman, Toshiro and Sanya had their jaws dropped, but the man did his job.

"Spasibo," Zhukov said and turned around to Toshiro. "That's how you do it."

"Even I wouldn't use military equipment to do something like this…"

"But I can, ha! Exitus acta probat - the end justifies the means, General. Now, scoot, you're on your own. I have to tend to my own job."

"Spasibo, Marshal!" Sanya suddenly shouted and hugged Zhukov.

"Awwwww… How cute…" he said but at the same time he firmly separated himself from her. "Now, or my own Sanya will get jealous by some weird means of telepathy."

"Does every third woman in Orussia have to be an Aleksandra?" Toshiro asked with a smirk.

"Men need to be defended…" Zhukov sighed and winked.

"I see what you did there, Marshal, heh… Okay, we're going. What should we do after the eventual reunion?"

"We will see. Come back here if you have any doubts."

"Understood, Marshal," Toshiro said. "Back down with us, girls. We'll have a small stroll through town."

While they were descending the stairs, Eila asked, "What was that about with the "defending of men?""

"Alessandra, the original Greek name, means "defender of men,"" Toshiro explained.

"Oh, didn't know that… So my Sanya is a protector, huh?"

"Yeah, she protects whole humanity after all… By the way, Sanya, Zhukov has a wife?"

"A common-law wife, Toshiro. Her name is Aleksandra Dievna Zuikova," Sanya explained.

"I hope we will be a normally married couple, right, Yoshika?"

"Bah, of course!" Yoshika cheered. "I won't go lower than a fully blown wedding in a cathedral, heehee…"

"And who will be the bridesmaid?" Sanya asked.

"Very tough question…. I haven't thought about it yet, and the amount of girls I can choose from looks almost unlimited in this situation…" Yoshika looked at Sanya curiously.

"I'm not implying anything, don't worry," Sanya smiled. "Let's hurry to the Square!"

"By the way, the transmission had what range?" Toshiro asked.

"Local radio broadcast and speakers mounted across the city," Sanya said.

"Oh… Damn, that guy really made a leap for you…"

"This is a bit odd… But maybe I'll finally get to see my parents!"

They ran out of the building and across the street. The enormous Palace Square with the Alexander Column was revealed to them in its full glory. The Winter Palace was overlooking the Square from the north-west, along with a few guards marching in random places. Also overlooking the Square was the angel from atop of the column, who was holding a cross with its left hand. The only thing that marred the beauty of this place were a few anti-air gun emplacements with soldiers manning them.

Toshiro sat on the base of the column.

"Unfair… We can't sit on the cold granite just like that…" Yoshika mumbled.

"You can sit on my lap and… Well, one of you two can sit on that jacket I have in the duffle bag, but then the other has to sit on the formers lap."

Eila almost immediately pulled the duffle bag from Yoshika's back, pulled out the jacket, threw the bag back to Yoshika, spread the jacket on the base of the column, and almost forcibly placed Sanya on her lap.

"Eila… You're pushing our luck…" Sanya said with eyebrows furled.

"I don't care…" Eila mumbled. "I love you, and that's all what matters to me…"

Sanya sighed and relaxed a bit. Yoshika now jumped on Toshiro's lap and tucked herself into his chest.

"How long are we going to wait?" she asked.

"Until nightfall if necessary… But I guess after getting such an incentive, the dead would turn up, heheh…"

"Toshiro, please…" Sanya said with disdain.

"Sorry… I guess having so much relative dying on me developed some callousness in me…"

"No problem… But I do appreciate you want to spend so much time waiting if it's necessary."

"Eh… Sanya, if it were my parents, I would probably wait a month here."

"I bet…" she sighed.

Thus, they waited. An hour. Two hours. The girls started complaining about the cold, so they all huddled up and Toshiro turned up the heat. After the third hour, one of the palace guards approached their group.

"Pardon, sir, but what is it you're doing here?"

"We're waiting for Sanya's parents," Toshiro pointed at the silver haired Orussian.

"Ah, I didn't mean the purpose of you sitting here for three hours in the cold; I meant the magic you're using. Using any kind of offensive magic on the Palace Square is forbidden unless necessary."

"I'm only heating us up a bit. You can try it if you like."

"No, sir, I believe your words. Have a nice day, and… I believe the borsch for the soldiers will arrive soon, so you can heat up from the inside too."

"Thank you for the information, soldier."

The guard turned around and went his way.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to behead him verbally, Toshiro, heheh…" Yoshika giggled.

"Guy's just doing his duty, why should I bother… And I'm curious about that borsch…"

"I guess you've never eaten it?" Sanya asked with a smile.

"Nope, never ever. But I've eaten beet soup…"

"Beet soup is nothing compared to true borsch, Toshiro. I hope they give the soldiers the good stuff, so we can bum off a bit, heehee…"

And indeed, after a few minutes, an army truck with a trailer-like soup-kitchen attached to the back arrived. The soldiers from the truck jumped out, dressed in cooking aprons, and went to the back of the truck. In the meantime, all the soldiers started swarming to the truck. But what puzzled Toshiro the most, was that the same guard that questioned him earlier, ran up to the cooks and told them something. They started pouring the borsch into bowls and one of the cooks ran up to Toshiro and the lot with four bowls with spoons sticking out of them.

"Courtesy of the army, sir," the soldier said.

"Well… Thank you…"

"After you eat, please return the bowls and spoons!" he shouted while running back to the soldier rabble.

"Well, that was weird…" Eila mumbled. "Oh! Úški!" she cheered.

"What are those?" Yoshika asked. "They look like dango, but with ears…"

"Úški are dumplings filled with various stuff," Sanya said and took a spoonful of borsch and with one of the dumplings. "Mmmmmm… Delicious… They are filled with sauerkraut this time."

Toshiro took a bite himself and he said, "Wow… The sweetness of the sauerkraut composed ideally with the heavy seasoned borsch… Wow, I wonder what officers in the Imperial Army eat…"

"Oh you'd fall dead, Toshiro…" Sanya giggled. "Priyatnogo appetita (Bon appetit)!" she cheered.

They went through the soup like shit through a goose, and Toshiro returned the dishes.

"Was it good, sir?" the same soldier which brought them the borsch asked.

"Ochen' khorosho (Very good)," Toshiro said.

"Ha, spasibo!" he responded with a smile.

Toshiro returned to the girls, but just as he was a few meters from them, Sanya suddenly pointed behind at him with a pale face.

"Ma… Ma… Ma…"

Toshiro turned around and a pair of people in their early 40's. The silver haired man was wearing a warm coat and a flat papakha, the blonde woman was wearing a much higher hat of the same sort, and also a warm coat and a scarf.

Suddenly Toshiro felt as somebody bumped into him and Sanya shot forward.

"Mama! Papa!" she shouted and rushed between the two.

They hugged her.

"Sanya…" the man said with affection.

"Sanyushka…" the woman said warmly with tears in her eyes.

I guess Sanya finally found her parents… I'll just stay back for a bit…

Toshiro now felt small arms around his waist. He looked down and saw that Yoshika was also crying.

"Hey, what's with the waterworks?" he asked silently.

"I… I just imagined if I was Sanya and those were my parents…"

Toshiro only patted her on the head. He also felt the silent but disturbed presence of Eila on his right side.

After a few minutes, Sanya's father asked her, "Kak ty prishla zdes' tak bystro (How did you arrive here so quickly)?"

"Moy komandir i khoroshiy drug pomog mne (My commander and good friend helped me)," Sanya answered with a smile while looking at Toshiro.

Sanya's father left her with her mother and approached Toshiro. He extended his hand and said, "Vladimir Stiepanovich Litvyak, I cannot thank how I could repay you for making this happen."

Toshiro shook his hand firmly and said, "Sanya had the right to see her parents after such a long time. And given the fact that we have jet Strikers, it wasn't a big inconvenience."

Sanya's mother approached with Sanya and after bowing her head slightly, she introduced herself, "Eliana Mironova Litvyak, can I hug you, General?"

"Sure, why not…" Toshiro shrugged.

Eliana hugged him so tightly Toshiro had troubles breathing.

"Thank you, General… Thank you… This means a lot to us…"

"I'm just fulfilling the wish of my friend, that's all…"

She let him go and stood by her husband's side.

"Tell me one thing… Why now?" Toshiro asked.

"We had some crooked luck, always landing in some warzone," Vladimir said calmly. "Thus, we decided to move deep into the Siberia. We came here on a whim, because Eliana read an article in the newspaper about the successes of your unit. We had to think it over carefully, because we were essentially taking a gamble. But when we got here, suddenly our luck turned. Marshal Zhukov has taken us under his care and gave us the opportunity to send the transmission two days ago. And now you appear so fast…"

So Zhukov is actually more meddling than I am… Ha!

"Do you have to return already?" Sanya asked.

"Yes, Sanyushka…" Eliana said with a sad voice. "But don't worry, I have a feeling that the war will end soon. And you remember how it is with my premonitions, right?"

Sanya only smiled mysteriously.

"Tell me, who are your girl friends?" Eliana asked.

"Ah, yes. This is Yoshika, and this is Eila," Sanya pointed out the two in sequence.

"My, my… What beautiful friends you have."

Toshiro saw that the two's cheeks reddened quickly, especially Eila's.

"Are you taking care of my daughter?" Vladimir asked.

The two nodded fiercely.

"Good, thank you. Sanya was always on the shy side, but it seems that she has finally found some good friends in the military. The irony…" he sighed. "Next thing, she'll bring home some Captain from the military."

Eila suddenly started coughing in an incontrollable manner, to which Sanya slammed her on the back a few times, alleviating the sudden illness.

"So, anyway…" Toshiro tried to provide a distraction. "What now?"

"We should go to the hotel and pack, because we bought a lot of provisions for us. And you should go back home, because I bet your superiors aren't especially fond of the fact that you're leaving your post just to let a girl meet her parents."

"Somewhat, you're right…" Toshiro mumbled. "Okay, we'll leave you with Sanya for a bit. Eila, Yoshika, we're going to the street corner. Goodbye, Mister and Misses Litvyak, it was nice meeting you."

"Likewise, General," Eliana said with a smile.

"Goodbye, General," Vladimir said.

"Goodbye…" Eila said silently.

"Bye!" Yoshika cheered.

While they were walking, Toshiro looked at Eila. She looked a bit pale and down the weather.

"What, Eila? Down because you almost blew it or because you didn't have the courage to face the odds and confess to Sanya before her parents?"

"Both…" she mumbled. "But I was too happy for Sanya to try to confess… I didn't want to ruin this… Maybe if we meet again in a similar group… Maybe then…" she sighed.

"You have to take time with this," Yoshika said. "This is a very delicate situation, and rushing it can only cause harm."

"This is the first time in ages I have to agree with you, Yoshika…" Eila smiled faintly. "Okay, I will wait. I will wait for the right time."

They went to the corner of the street, where they could see the headquarters. After waiting for a few long minutes, Sanya crept up upon them and said, "Eila… Come with me."

"What is it?"

"Come, don't ask any questions," she said with a voice void of emotions. "Toshiro, you won't mind?"

"Nope, go ahead."

Sanya took Eila by her hand and dragged her back on the Square.

"I wonder what that's about…" Yoshika pondered.

"I have a guess, but let's not interfere."

"You think?"

"Yes, I think."

"My… I hope everything will turn out okay…"

"Me too…"

After another few long minutes, the two returned. Eila had a face redder than the epaulets of Toshiro but Sanya had a big smile on hers.

"And?" Yoshika asked.

"Heehee… My inheritance is temporarily safe, but my parents have to think all of this through."

"So you confessed, huh?" Toshiro gave Eila a nudge.

"Y-Yeah… But it's only because Sanya made me! Sanya, how could you!?" Eila asked with watery eyes.

"Because I wanted to have this matter over with," Sanya said and patted Eila on the head. "Maybe now you'll be less a dunce around me…"

Eila puffed her cheeks rapidly.

"Heehee… Toshiro, let's go to the 502nd. You still have some room in that stomach of yours? Sadako's cooking is almost as good as Yoshika's."

"To be perfectly honest, that borsch barely covered the bottom of my stomach…"

"Let's go then!" Yoshika cheered.

"Did I hear correctly that you're going?" Zhukov's voice was suddenly heard out of nowhere.

They looked around and Toshiro pinpointed him looking out of a window.

"Yes, Marshal, we want to go back to the base of the 502nd already."

"I will send a driver with a car your way immediately. How did the meeting go?"

"Perfectly!"

"Haha! Good!" Zhukov laughed loudly and closed the window.

Two minutes later, the ZIL-110 drove up to them. They got in and they were driven off to the base of the 502nd.

The driver silently passed an envelope to Toshiro.

"Thanks… I guess…" Toshiro said and exited the care.

Once the car drove off, Toshiro opened the envelope. He read the content and smiled mischievously.

"What is it, Toshiro?" Yoshika asked.

"This is a written order for Gundi to give us the Su-9 and the NS-45 with all appendages, heheheh..."

"That surely will ease the process…" Yoshika said.

They went to the main building, and Sanya led them to the dining room. It was a cozy small room, fit for the small unit. Sadako and Georgette were cooking, and Nipa, Edytha, Naoe, and Waltrud were waiting at the table.

"Oh look who's back!" Georgette cheered. "The dinner will be ready in a few minutes!"

"It seems you're missing two people…" Toshiro noted.

"Ah, Gundi is in her office doing paperwork and…" Waltrud chuckled. "Pokryshkin is fixing Nipa's Striker."

"Mumblegrumble…." Nipa mumbled under her nose.

"What, she crashed a Striker again?"

"Bah!" Waltrud shouted. "But fortunately, she didn't take the Su-9."

"Yeah, duh… Can we take the chairs under the wall and squeeze ourselves in somewhere?"

"Yes, go ahead," she said.

After some careful organizing, everyone was sitting at the table. Pokryshkin came into the room tired and grumpy.

"Nipa, I'll kill you one day… Oh, our guest have arrived. How was it?"

"We'll wait for Gundi with the show and tell," Toshiro said.

"Did you call?" Gundula leaned into the room making everyone chuckle.

"Well now, let's begin then."

While they were eating, Toshiro told them what happened, sans the little coming out of the two.

"…and here, is something for you." Toshiro said and gave her the envelope.

"Oh? Hmmm…" she opened the envelope and read the contents. "Well, this is unexpected, but we have to comply. Pokryshkin and Waltrud, could you two pack the NS-45 and ammo for transport, and prepare the Su-9 for flight?"

"Hum, whay?" Pokryshikin tilted her head.

"The good Marshal gave it to them, "For the glory of the Empire.""

"Meh, okay. Come on, Pinski."

"Yeah, yeah…" Waltrud mumbled and the two went away.

"Why don't you two take a dip in our bath?" Gundula proposed.

"You have one?"

"Yup."

"Then thank you very much, this will surely help us regenerate, heh…"

"Sanya knows where that is, lead them there, okay?"

"Okay," Sanya said and stood up from the table. "Come on you all."

"So warm…." Yoshika sighed in bliss.

"Yeah…" Toshiro followed suit. "Today was a really good day…"

"Toshiro, we'll be having a guest…"

"Huh, what?"

Gundula walked into the room where the bath was, naked as on the day she left her mother's womb.

"Dayum…" both Toshiro and Yoshika said in wonder.

Gundula giggled and said, "I appreciate that you appreciate my body, but I'm here… in a different matter…"

"What is it?" Toshiro asked.

"I wanted your fiancé to try to fix my back if she could…"

"I can try, but I'm no miracle maker…" Yoshika mumbled.

Gundula silently kneeled before Yoshika and turned around. Toshiro and Yoshika saw a nasty scar going right across her lumbar.

"Aaaaaye… What a nasty scar…" Toshiro hissed.

"If you could also fix that…"

"I can't do it outright but…" Yoshika pondered for a few seconds. "… but there is a possibility."

"A possibility? I'll take whatever you throw at me."

Yoshika summoned her sword.

"I'll cut up the scarred tissue and heal you," Yoshika said calmly.

Gundula made a sore face but she said, "Okay, I'll go for it."

"The sword is immensely sharp, so don't squirm around, okay?"

"Okay, okay."

"Let's get out of the water," Yoshika ordered. "Toshiro, follow me."

"Yeah…"

This is insane…

"Please, hand on the wall, head low, legs spread," Yoshika said.

Gundula did this and said, "This is a very embarrassing position…"

Well, no shit.

"Please don't scream too loud…" Yoshika said and bit her lip.

Gundula nodded and Yoshika placed the tip of her blade at the edge of the scar. The blade in her hand and her arm suddenly became a blur and the sword disappeared.

"Aaaaaarrrrggh…" Gundula almost screamed from the sudden pain.

Yoshika took the scarred piece of skin, rolled it up and placed on the floor.

"Please endure the pain just a bit longer. Toshiro, boost me."

"I just hope you won't get overboard again…"

"Oh don't worry…"

Toshiro grabbed her shoulder and he fired up his Celestial Aura. The green aura surrounded Yoshika's arms and the wound on Gundula's back started healing at an amazing rate. After only fifteen seconds, the wound was replaced with fresh, pinkish skin.

"Done!" Yoshika cheered. "Please, now do something that would normally cause you pain."

"Normally cause me pain…" Gundula pondered, and suddenly she leaned back and did a bridge.

"Lieber Gott… It doesn't hurt… It doesn't hurt!"

She immediately got into and upright position and hugged Yoshika tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cheered.

"Heheh, it's my duty as an aspiring doctor to help the needy. For free."

"Aww, and I wanted to give you something for your help…"

"If that would benefit my whole unit… Maybe…"

"Toshiro, could you take a half ton crate of food with you?"

"If you rig it to me somehow, sure… But remember that I'll also be carrying ammo for the NS-45."

"Will do!" she shouted and ran away.

"That was… weird…" Eila said. "And do something about that piece of skin! It freaks me out!"

"Oh… You mean this?" Yoshika picked up the piece of skin, unrolled it, and started swinging it around with a devilish smile.

Eila's face suddenly turned green and she ran out of the bath and out somewhere.

Sanya shot Yoshika a disconcerted look, to which the latter blushed.

"Okay, Yoshika… Disposal time…"

"Here," Yoshika said and threw him the piece of skin, which he dissolved into dust upon touch.

After Eila returned, they dipped for a few more minutes and went to the hangar. Everyone was waiting for them there. A Launch Unit with the Su-9 was standing in front, as well as a big crate with the NS-45, a more bulkier ammunition crate and an even bigger crate under it, all spanned together tightly with rope., and their Strikers placed against them.

Everyone suddenly started clapping. The four tilted their heads surprised.

"Um… What?" Toshiro asked after they stopped clapping.

"Just a small token of gratitude for healing Gundi," Waltrud said.

Toshiro looked at Gundula and he saw that she wasn't wearing her corset now.

"Heeeeeh…" Yoshika scratched her head with red cheeks.

"Now girls, our guests want to go home, so greet them off nicely."

After all the pleasantries, Toshiro, Yoshika and Eila mounted their Strikers. Sanya mounted the new Su-9 and strapped the СКП-2 Striker Control Panel to her arm. Toshiro had a harness put on him and the main rope from the crates was attached to it.

"Okay ladies, you go forward, I have to take it easy…"

"Roger!'

Sanya shot forward lightning fast along with Yoshika, and the grumpy Eila barely followed them. Toshiro revved his Striker and carefully lifted himself from the ground. The crate was heavy, but he managed to lift it after reving up the engines slightly. He looked that the 502nd, gave them a saluted and zipped to the girls.

When he caught up to them, Eila was piggyback riding on Sanya with Yoshika alongside them

"Now, this is a welcome change," Toshiro said.

"Sh-Sh-Shut up!" the red-faced Eila shouted.

"Come on, Eila, don't be such a stuck up…" Yoshika coerced her. "Only friends here…"

"O-Okay…" Eila mumbled and tucked herself into Sanya's back.

Sanya smiled warmly and they continued their flight.

Somewhere around northern Ostmark, between Brünn and Linz, Sanya suddenly reported, "Enemies closing in!"

"Who, what where?!" Toshiro asked.

"They are under the cloud cover, but they are gaining altitude fast."

"Damn, some stragglers must have detected us… No wonder, with such an enormous crate under me every human radar would pick me up from a hundred miles…"

"Toshiro, you HAVE to see this"

His vision switched to the Hebigan.

"And?"

"Look at Sanya."

Toshiro looked at Sanya and he saw that multiple magic threads were connected to Sanya, all coming from him, Yoshika and Eila.

"What the…"

"Now, look closer."

His vision fuzzed for a bit and then, he saw an enormous green thread going from Sanya to the ground. He looked down, and even through the clouds, he could see enormous green lines as far as this eyes permitted.

"What the fuck?!"

"Those are ley lines, Toshiro! She's tapping directly into them!"

"Another Final Art! Woohoo!"

Two threads, colored red, weren't connected to any of them, so Toshiro deduced this was the enemy.

"Toshiro, I'll protect you," Yoshika said and closed in to Toshiro.

"Sanya, Eila, get apart," Toshiro ordered.

"Roger!"

Eila jumped off Sanya's back and in the same time, two high-speed Neuroi pierced the clouds under them.

"Eila, you go to Toshiro. Yoshika, you chase them," Sanya commanded.

The two looked at Toshiro and he nodded.

Yoshika immediately flared up after the Neuroi which were still gaining attitude, and Eila stopped at Toshiro's side. Yoshika was flying after the Neuroi and shooting her gun fiercely, but the enemy was dodging the bullets with ease. She even tried a Reppuzan, but they also dodged that.

"Dodge this…" Eila murmured and started staring intensely at the Neuroi.

Toshiro almost saw her magic sparking, and after a few seconds, her nose started bleeding.

"Eila, whatever you're doing, stop now," Toshiro said.

"Just a few… Seconds…"

Suddenly, one of the Neuroi started shooting all over the place and one of its shots hit his brethren, destroying it in an effective manner.

"Now, Yoshika!" Eila shouted and swayed in the air.

Yoshika summoned her sword and threw a Reppuzan at the enemy. It cut it straight in the half and destroyed it.

Another Final Art? Geeeeeeez…

Sanya quickly flew up to Eila and took her back on her back.

"Stupid Eila overdoing things as usual…" Sanya mumbled.

"I wanted to protect you… And I did…" Eila said silently and slumped on Sanya's back.

Yoshika returned to them and asked, "Why did the Neuroi start behaving so erratically?"

"Dunno, we should ask Eila," Toshiro answered. "Yoshika, hold Eila so she doesn't fall off Sanya's back. Sanya, we're going a bit slower, no rush."

"Understood," the two responded.

They arrived in the base just before total darkness fell. In the brightly lit hangar, most of the girls were waiting for them. Toshiro had to carefully maneuver his cargo so Trude could safely place it on ground. Then he undid the harness and docked his Striker.

"Phew… That was stupidly tiresome…"

"Woah, a new jet!" Shirley cheered.

"Awfully familiar…" Trude mumbled.

"It's a licensed copy, don't fuss," Toshiro said.

"What have you brought?!" Erica asked impatiently.

"Some supplies and a new gun for Trudy. Or anyone else if she wants…"

"Show me!" Trude shouted with high spirits.

"Heh…"

Toshiro unpacked the crate and gave her the enormous autocannon. Trude's eyes sparkled like the Milky Way.

"What caliber is this?" she asked.

"45 mil. But I saw that the mags are a bit small to be honest."

Toshiro unpacked the crate with the magazines and pulled out one. It was a weird, wide mag, mounted in the magwell from the top, going up, curving to the right side and going down to the side.

"Hmm… About 60 rounds at most…" he said.

"I'll take it! Elwyn, make me a holster or something!"

"What am I? Your fucking slave?! Make your own holster!"

Toshiro sighed and went towards the exit. He entered the office, in which Mio and Minna were drinking tea.

"Oh look, Toshiro!" Mio shouted. "How was it?"

"Care for a report or rather should I just tell what happened?"

"Both please," Minna said. "Please, have some tea."

"Ugh…"

Toshiro told them all what happened, including Yoshika's little operation on Gundula. Mio and Minna both shuddered at that part.

"So Eila and Sanya are in the clear, we have a new gun and Striker. But guess what, Toshiro."

"Hmmm?"

"We've got a transport today. The piano came in and, surprise, an XF-2 and MG 151 for Eila."

"Hah! And I was just about to call to inquire about that!"

"You'd better write those reports, heehee…"

"Yeah, yeah…" he sighed and proceeded with the paperwork.

After supper, during which Toshiro told the abridged version of what happened today, Sanya said, "I'll do a little concerto right now, if you want."

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

Sanya giggled and went to the piano, which was now placed on the east wall of the room, dead before the stairs.

She sat on the bench and started playing and singing.

Rastsvitali yabloni i grushi, (Blooming pears and apples all around her)

Paplyli tumany nad rekoy. (With the morning mists beneath her feet)

Vykhodila na bereg Katyusha, (Walked Katyusha slowly by the river)

Na vysokii bereg na krutoy. (On the rocky riverbank so steep.)

Vykhodila, pesnyu zavodila (She was walking, she was softly singing)

Pra stepnovo, sizogo orla, (Of her silver eagle of the steppe)

Pra togo, katorogo lyubila, (Of the one for whom her heart was beating)

Pra togo, ch'i pis'ma beregla. (Of the one whose letters she was keeping)

Oy ty, pyesnya, pyesenka devich'ya, (Oh you tender song sung by a maiden)

Ty leti za yasnym solntsem vsled. (Spread your wings and fly towards the sun.)

I boytsu na dal'nem pogranich'e (Find the soldier in the distant trenches)

Ot Katyushi peredai privyet. (Bring him from Katyusha greetings fond.)

Pust' on vspomnit devushku prostuyu, (May he then remember his beloved)

Pust' uslyshit, kak ona payot, (May he hear her sweet song like a dove)

Pust' on zemlu berezhyot rodnuyu, (To his last breath may he guard his homeland)

A lyubov' Katyusha sberezhyot. (Like Katyusha guards their tender love.)

Everyone stood up and awarded her with a roaring applause. Sanya bowed in all directions and said, "Good night, everyone."

"Wait a second you two, I want to ask something."

"Can you do it in our room? We're tired…" Sanya said.

"Okay, lead on."

Once they found themselves in the room, Sanya asked, "So, what is it?"

"I wonder what your newfound abilities do actually…"

"Hmmm… Mine was… As if I was connected to some source of energy that permitted me to detect everyone, both friend and foe from any distance. Also, I've heard radio broadcasts from all over the world, but I managed to mute most of them."

"Impressive…" Toshiro said. "Eila, and you? You've gotten a hefty nosebleed just by looking at a Neuroi."

"You know… I felt as if I saw myself flying there with the Neuroi, a self that I could control. Maybe the Neuroi also saw it and opened fire? And it kinda felt as I was invisible at the same time…"

"I didn't saw a doppelganger and you were perfectly visible… But it's a handy ability… Okay you two, good night. Just… Try to be quiet, if you know what I mean…"

The two blushed a bit and Toshiro went out of the room. He looked toward his room and saw Yoshika waiting for him. She entered the room before him. He undressed himself and slumped down on the bed.

"I'm so damn tired, Yoshika…"

"Oh are you?"

"Yeah… This day was tiresome… But so much good things happened… I, heh, re-met some friends, Sanya met her parents, the two came clear with their relationship, you've healed Gundi, we've got a fuckton of new equipment, Eila and Sanya unlocked their Final Arts… What more could I hope of?"

"Well… We could always end the day with some no-holds-barred wild, animalistic sex…"

"Hmmm… Rawr!"

Livy appeared between the two; with cat ears sprouting from hear head.

"Nya?" she asked.

"I guess Livy wants in too…" Yoshika said before she burst into laughter.

Sanya's mother's names (her first name is of Hebrew origin, just as she was in reality) and her father's patronymic are pure fiction, just saying.

The name of the chapters means "Parents"

If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!