Strike Witches: Worldwide Liberation

Final Arc

Chapter 33: A Reason

Shortly after the gathering Yusu requested to pick up on newer sword techniques, everyone dispersed. Tetsuko and Fumika remained in Yokosuka after deciding to help in the upcoming final battle.

Try as they might, nobody could convince Yusu to fight. Everyone was certain they would win with her on board, but she kept shrugging them off saying that it is Yoshika's time to shine.

After Mio's group returned from their mission, Yusu pulled Yoshika to the side for one on one training. For what seemed like hours, they practiced. Yusu knew the only way to push out the True Golden Aura was to push somebody to the point where they have absolutely no options but the True Golden Aura, but that wasn't all. The person learning it also would have to be under emotional stress in addition to physical stress, something they could not arrange.

"That's enough for today." Yusu said, sheathing Jouten.

Yoshika was sitting down leaning on her hands. "Okay." She was breathing hard.

'She's good.' Yusu said. 'She was able to keep up with me for that long. Her technique vastly improved just from sparring with me. She's almost as good as Kye now.'

"Are we doing this again tomorrow?" Yoshika asked. "I have to be as good as possible for the final battle."

"Sure." Yusu said. "I'll talk to Kye and see if I can keep you off missions until we are done training."

"Well, I don't think we will even have another mission until next week." Yoshika said.

"Oh, hmm." Yusu said. "That works I suppose."

"You two finished?" Kye said. She had just walked up when Yoshika asked about tomorrow.

"Yes." Yusu said.

"Good." Kye said. "I want to talk to you about something. Yoshika can you go find Lynne and see what we are having for dinner? I believe she's cooking solo this evening."

"Oh, I'll go help her." Yoshika said as she ran off toward the kitchen.

"What did you want to talk about?" Yusu asked, giving Kye a confused look.

"I don't think she's going to reach the True Golden Aura before the big battle." Kye said. "I can see her reaching it toward the end of the battle, but she just isn't one to hit a breakthrough without a significant degree of... desire, I suppose, to protect everyone. I think when she sees there is no possible way to win, it'll happen."

"I was thinking something similar to that." Yusu said. "That's how it happened with me."

"Also." Kye said. "I'm going to 'help' her. I have a little plan in mind that involves me pulling a pretty dangerous stunt. I don't exactly know the details yet though, as I intend on winging most of it, but there is one technique I need to know beforehand. Only you know it."

"What's that?" Yusu asked.

"The Pillar of Light." Kye said.

"Absolutely not." Yusu said. "That technique is lethal to the user. There is a reason the legends say that it is only to be used by the goddess you are named after, and that is because the technique kills any mortal that uses it."

"That's just it." Kye said. "She has to think somebody she cares for is going to die. It's the key to awakening her aura."

"She has to THINK it?" Yusu said. "You sound as if you don't intend to die from using it."

"I don't." Kye said. "She'll save me from it before the technique can finish, but the white aura won't be enough to reach me inside the pillar."

"I see." Yusu said. "What if she can't do it? What if you die? How will Rei get along with you?"

"I thought about that." Kye said. "I intend to talk to Ichiro about this before the battle to ask him if he could talk her in if the worst case scenario happens. If I don't do this, we all could die."

"No." Yusu said. She spoke firmly.

"You know it has to be done." Kye argued.

"Yes." Yusu said. "I do know that. That's why I'm going to do it in your place."

"What?" Kye said. "No!"

"Listen." Yusu said. "I had my fill of this crap five thousand years ago. If I die, nobody loses anything."

"We all would." Kye said. "Yoshika... and even Rei... they both look up to you too much to let you go. They don't see you as an ancestor, they see you as a friend."

"Would you rather risk losing a friend or losing a mother and aunt?" Yusu said.

"I would rather be the one to do it." Kye said. "If my plan fails and the Pillar of Light does take my life, I know you will be there to protect Yoshika and Rei. I know I can't win this one, but you can if it came to it."

"I'm not going to do it for anyone." Yusu said. "This little plan to draw out Yoshika's full power is all I'm willing to participate in."

"Could you really let them die if this plan fails?" Kye said. "That's what will happen if this won't work. Think about it. I'm going to go to the command room and call the leaders of the wings over for the briefing. I'd like to have your support in this if at all possible."

Kye's words shook Yusu to the core. She didn't know how to react. She just stood there, frozen. She walked over to the docks, sat down on the edge, and lost herself in thought. Yusu was overcome back a flashback

"You can't!" A sixteen year old Yusu screamed at her friend. "Ayame, I will not let you go! You are too weak to fight!"

"If I do not go, who is going to save our people?" Ayame said with clear anger and sadness in her voice. "If you had mastered the True Golden Aura or even the White Aura by now, you could win this. I do not see how you have not done it. Your magic is so powerful... I just do not understand how you can call yourself a Miyafuji with such potential when you can't even reach the White Aura."

"I will learn it!" Yusu said. "I will, you have to believe me!"

"Believe you?" Ayame said. "I will believe it when I see it."

"Go easy on her, Ayame." another girl said.

"Stay out of this, Kamiko." Ayame said.

"A big sister should not treat a little sister like that." Kamiko said.

"The elder sister would say that." Ayame said. "You are just being too damn soft on her. She has to learn that this is war. We are not here to take it easy. We are here to liberate our people!"

"Right as you are, there is a such thing as too hard." Kamiko said.

"I have not gotten there yet." Ayame said. "And you have no room to talk either. She would have reached her full potential by now if I had been teaching her instead, but no, to fix this problem I have to go out there and do it myself. I probably will not make it back. How does that weigh on your 'take it easy' mentality?"

Yusu was crying at this point, and Kamiko just had a look of sadness on her face.

"When you two get your acts together, meet me on the battlefield." Ayame said. She stormed out of the door took to the air on her broom. Ayame's magical ability was distant foresight. While useless in combat, she was able to see into the distant future. With this ability she constructed brooms for the witches of her time. All of the brooms she made were lost after the war, however, until the time in the future where they were invented.

"Kamiko..." Yusu said.

"I know, Yusu." Kamiko said. "Maybe Yoshika can persuade her. We have to go find her quickly and chase after Ayame before she gets herself killed."

"O-okay." Yusu said, hesitantly following her oldest sister outside.

Yusu's flashback shifted to a midair battle. All of the witches, aside Yusu, had active white auras.

"Ayame, get over yourself!" Yoshika, Yusu's cousin, said. "You are running out of magic. You cannot keep this up!"

An extremely large spherical shaped neuroi approached the girls.

"I must." Ayame said. "There is no other way! REPPUZAN!" Ayame destroyed the giant neuroi, but almost fell out of the sky from being so low on magic energy.

"Ayame!" Kamiko said.

"I'm fine." Ayame said. She recovered and continued flying toward the center of the giant red and black clouded neuroi hive.

"She cannot keep this up." Kamiko said, whispering to Yoshika.

"I know." Yoshika said. "Her will is too strong. That has to be the only way she is still flying."

Yusu remained quiet the entire time. She had an empty look in her eyes. She was devoid of hope.

"Reppuzan!" Kamiko said. She destroyed another giant spherical shaped neuroi coming from the side. "I am almost done, too. "I might have another two attacks left in me."

Yoshika had just destroyed a neuroi as well. "That goes for the both of us." She glanced back at Yusu and thought to herself, 'Come on, Yusu. You cannot give up yet.'

Kamiko and Yoshika raced after Ayame, who had just closed in on a core descending out of the hive. It was the core of the hive. If they could destroy it, the war would end.

"It is leaving itself open to us." Yoshika said.

"I will take this opportunity!" Ayame said. "Reppuzan!" She poured all of her remaining energy into her attack, but could not even dent the core. "What!"

The neuroi returned fire with a larger than normal beam. Kamiko and Yoshika had to work together and still could not fully fend off the beam. The beam glanced off Ayame's broom, rendering her unable to stay airborne. The core shot another beam at Ayame, but Kamiko and Yoshika were unable to block it in the slightest

"NO!" Yusu screamed. She flew over and caught Ayame before the beam could hit her and erected an extremely powerful shield, rebounding the beam into the clouds.

"You did it, Yusu." Ayame said weakly. Kamiko and Yoshika landed next to them.

"Wow." Kamiko said.

"I can't believe it." Yoshika said.

"What?" Yusu said.

"The True Golden Aura." Ayame said. "I am sorry I yelled at you, but it was the only way. You had to think I was going to die for this to happen. Now go, sister. Destroy this neuroi. Use the True Reppuzan. Show that thing the power of the True Golden Aura, the True Reppuzan, and the Legendary Jouten."

Yusu's flashback ended. "I almost lost my sister that day. I have to have faith in Kye's plan. She is just like Ayame. Ayame was incredible, and without her, there is no telling what would have happened that day."

Yusu jumped up and headed to the command room. Luckily, only Kye was there.

"Oh, hi, Yusu." Kye said. "I'm sorry, but I'm a bit busy right now."

"I'm sorry." Yusu said. "I will teach you the Pillar of Light, but on one condition."

"What's that?" Kye asked.

"You allow me to fight in the final battle." Yusu said.

"What is with this change of heart?" Kye asked.

"Your words brought back memories." Yusu said. "Memories of my cousin, Yoshika, and my sisters, Ayame and Kamiko. Ayame pushed me just like you plan to push your Yoshika. If she did not do what she did... well I cannot imagine mankind would have survived to this day."

"I see." Kye said. "Well I'm happy to have you aboard."

Yusu's expression changed to a mix between confident and hopeful. "In dedication to Ayame, I will make sure this plan succeeds."