Chapter 51 – Freedom

Toshiro opened his eyes. He was standing on a dirt road amongst a field covered by grass and flowers, lit by daylight. Two moons were looking at him from the heavens, barely visible. Vast mountain ranges were stretching out across the horizon, with their tops covered in pure white snow.

"Is this…" Toshiro spoke to himself.

"Yes, this is my realm in its full glory." A gentle female voice spoke from his side.

Toshiro looked to the right. A beautiful woman with long dark hair stood beside him. She wore a white kimono in a violet floral pattern. A green jewel was hanging from her neck, and a blunt stone sword with a split hilt was dangling gracefully from her belt. Looking at her face, Toshiro felt some kind of bliss, intensified after looking into her shining golden eyes. Her visage was beautiful, staggering even. A true Yamato Nadeshiko.

"So this is your true apparition, goddess?"

"Yes, Toshiro. How do I look?"

"Beautiful would be a sinful understatement…"

"Heehee… This is the first time a mortal actually complimented me face to face. Oh, you can call me by my name, just don't shorten it. The last one somebody called me Amy got a bit…smitten…"

"Sure, Amaterasu. So… This is the afterlife of mine? Will I get unending pleasures et cetera?"

"If you chose so. I had to snatch your soul from the slopes of Yomi for you to land here, so you should be grateful. Be grateful to my brother, Susanoo…"

"Hmmm…" Toshiro thought for a few seconds. "Yeah, thanks… Wait... You said 'if I chose so'; do I have a choice?"

"You can always return to the living and continue your quest."

Toshiro was stumped by that answer.

"So you mean I can just hop back and continue?"

"Pretty much, I'm a goddess after all, silly. But a price is to be paid."

"What price?"

"I can't tell you, you have to agree blindly, those are the rules."

"I can't… What if it would affect the people I care about?"

"You cannot get that information from me. But imagine that you can get back to Yoshika and your mother soon. You destroyed the Neuroi Hive over Gallia, which in turn destroyed all the Neuroi there in a chain reaction, effectively liberating the country. Also, you blasted away the Neuroified Akagi."

"Hmmm… Can I take a peek at what happened from the point of view of the rest of my team?"

"Of course, if it helps your decision process."

Amaterasu materialized an image in the air.

He saw and heard what happened just after he crushed the transponder.

"Damn! He wants to do some suicide maneuver!" Mio shouted.

"What?!" Minna gasped in terror.

"I know that tone of voice… It's a voice of a man who has nothing to lose…"

"We have to stop him!" Trude shouted.

"No! When a man from Fuso wants to do battle alone, he means it."

"No! We are going to help him! NOW! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Minna shouted furiously and darted forward.

Everyone followed her, including Shirley carrying Yoshika.

They were fast, but not fast enough.

"I can sense Toshiro… He is at… Impossible…" Sanya said silently. "A hundred kilometers…"

"Hundred?!" Shirley almost flipped. "How did he even get there?! And how can you even detect him, Sanya?"

"He is emanating a powerful magic aura. I can judge that it even at this distance…"

Everyone went silent for a while. They were about six kilometers from the Akagi they could clearly see it.

"Toshiro started moving… He is descending at a speed of… Give or take Mach Thirty..."

Shirley's jaw dropped at mid-flight, and she couldn't even say a word.

"No… Toshiro… No…" Yoshika whimpered from Shirley's back, staining her uniform with a puddle of tears.

Mio took of her eye patch. After two seconds, she could see him. After another two seconds, everyone could see a purple streak dividing the sky in half.

"Is that… Toshiro?" Erica asked in awe.

"So pretty…" Perrine said.

Before the purple streak reached the Akagi, they could hear a thunderous shout:

KAMIKAZE!

"T-Toshiro? NOOOOO!" Yoshika screamed with a voice full of pain and sorrow.

After a second, the world was flooded in a white light, brighter than a thousand suns. The girls screamed in pain, covering their eyes.

Toshiro also squirmed a little looking at it.

"Oh, pardon, Toshiro. I will show it to you in slow motion and in detail, especially for you."

Amaterasu rewound the projection, and showed the impact from another angle and distance. As his body hit the Akagi, it started glowing with a radiant light. The light started expanding into sphere, bigger and bigger with every second. The Neuroi-Akagi was literally disintegrated. When the sphere hit the water, the water evaporated instantly.

"The radius of the explosion was about four kilometers, just enough to graze the hive core. Thankfully, the crew of the Akagi was just bit farther in their sloops. Do you have any questions?"

"Well… How come I could breathe at that altitude?"

"The Sacred Flame fed your body with pure energy on cellular level. Your heart could be ripped out, as well as your lungs, and your blood siphoned, but you would still live perfectly well."

"Hmmm… Oh, that green stuff and those flames when I was descending."

"The flames were the result of air friction. The green stuff was your life energy, which materialized while you used the Divine Wind to protect you from that and some other things."

"What would happen if I was hit by a Neuroi mid-flight?"

"Nothing. Your life energy would shield you better than any amount of magic shields. This technique can't be stopped in any way, you could only miss."

"Okay… I will… Ah, wait, last question: why did the Neuroi influence me remotely?"

"I waited for this answer. During your encounter with the humanoid Neuroi, while your hand was pierced, the Neuroi implanted a microscopic core in your body, which even Yuki couldn't detect. That's why the Warlock could talk to you, and give you that massive headache."

"Will my new body be core-less?"

"Of course."

"Then I have decided, I'm going back to Yoshika. Although my death absolved me of my oath, I still am her boyfriend."

"Wise choice, Toshiro. But it's dangerous going back alone, take this."

Amaterasu extended her hand, and Yuki suddenly materialized on it.

"Yuki, my favorite familiar!"

"Toshiro, you selfish self-sacrificial bastard!"

"Okay, okay… Sheesh… I'm sorry, I told you already…"

"No more dumb sacrifices, okay?"

"Okay, only the wise ones, heh…"

"Oh you…"

"I don't want to interrupt you two, but you have a life to resume, Toshiro." Amaterasu said irritated and amused at the same time.

"Sure. Any tips on returning to life?"

"Don't inhale."

"Wait, wh…"

Darkness… I feel that my body is floating, but it's different than back then… I'm floating in water!

Toshiro opened his eyes, and saw that he was a few meters underwater, and floating to the surface.

He held his breath like the goddess told him, and soon emerged.

Toshiro looked around; he was alone, out in the Atlantic. After closer inspection, he saw that he was naked, but with a waterproof bag hanging around his neck. He lifted up the bag up to his eyes, and saw a faint sentence.

'A little present for you.'

Then, the writing disappeared. Toshiro looked in the bag. Inside were his wallet, keys, pistol and ammo pouch.

He closed the bag, and started floating in an upright position. From what he could tell, land what to his north, so he began swimming.

Not a minute has passed and he saw the girls flying in the sky. A devious plan sprouted in his mind. Toshiro laid flat on the back, exposing his naked body.

Just as he predicted, and although the distance was fairly large, he saw some of the witches twitch.

"Oh Toshiro… You are hopeless at times…"

"PERVERT!" Perrine shouted from afar.

"TOSHIRO, NICE TO MEET YOU!" Toshiro replied.

He saw that some of the girls started giggling.

Shirley and Minna detached from the formation, and carefully flew up to him.

"Yo, Toshiro! I'm glad to see you alive, but I want to kill you at the same time!"

"Oh? Why's that?"

"You broke every altitude and speed record I could possibly hope to achieve! Moron!" Shirley pouted.

"Ahahahah! Tough luck, Shirley. I didn't plan to do it… Sorry…"

"Ah, come on! I'm pulling your leg! Thirty Mach! How did you manage to do that?!"

"Maybe one day I can tell you, but not today…"

Toshiro extended his arms up.

"So, will you pull me out?"

"If you promise not to do anything stupid and cut off the lewd jokes." Minna said.

"Okay, I promise… Can't a man jest a few times…"

They grabbed him by the arms, slowly pulled out of the water, and lifted up so they could support him.

"How's Yoshika?" Toshiro asked when they started moving.

"She's a bit sleepy from the blood loss, but nothing beyond that."

Toshiro looked at Yoshika, who was peaking curiously over Trude's shoulder. Yoshika gave him a faint smile.

"Hey, Minna, where do you have my stuff?"

"At the base entrance. You probably want to get decent, am I right?"

"Yeah, sort of… The novelty of being naked has worn off… And it's drafty, heh…"

"A good choice." Minna said, and fired up her transponder. "Everyone fly behind us, I don't want you all to be demoralized too much."

He saw that the girls had a nice laugh at Minna's order, but they soon flew behind them.

However, Minna gave a hand sign, and everyone stopped. She squeezed something in his ear, and suddenly Toshiro heard a mix of various reports on the radio in Gallian.

"What…" Toshiro asked.

"Perrine, translate please!" Minna ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Perrine responded and concentrated. Her eyes grew bigger with each second she listened.

"Perrine, we are waiting…" Minna hurried her up.

"It seems that… All the hives… Over all Gallia… Have disappeared…" She said with a distant voice, with her face showing true shock.

Suddenly they all heard a rough voice speaking in a common language over the radio, albeit with a heavy Gallian accent.

"This is Général de Brigade Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Gallian Army, speaking on all frequencies, military and civilian alike. According to reports from all outpost all over Gallia, every single Neuroi Hive, along with every single Neuroi unit, have disappeared suddenly. It is my duty to inform, that on this day, Gallia has been liberated! Vive la Gallia!"

To make his words sound even more dignified, the national anthem of Gallia, La Marseillaise, has begun playing immediately after de Gaulle stopped talking. Toshiro saw that Perrine's face was a raging waterfall of tears right now, but then, she did something unexpected. She flew up to Toshiro, and gave him such a kiss that he almost fainted.

"Uuuugh… Perrine… I wouldn't want to bother you and everything but… You know that my girlfriend is just behind you?"

"I don't care! You deserve at least this for liberating my homeland! You deserve a Legion 'd Honneur! You deserve a castle in Provence and knighthood! You… You…"

"Stop, Perrine, stop… You are being too enthusiastic…" Mio said calmly.

"Oh… Okay… Yes ma'am…" Perrine apologized and turned around to Yoshika, who had a grumpy face. "Sorry, Miyafuji…"

"Heh… Whatever…" Yoshika brightened up. "I guess he deserved a kiss from a fair maiden, heehee…" She said while scratching the back of her head.

"I wouldn't say she's a fair maiden after that kiss…" Toshiro threw a snide remark.

Perrine looked both at Toshiro and Yoshika, and she puffed her red cheeks.

They flew to the base at a steady speed. Toshiro got dropped off on the roof at his own wish.

He jumped into his room. The busted door was still there, but the soldier has been taken care of. Toshiro took his bed sheet, and wore it as a makeshift toga.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

"You look like some ancient philosopher, Toshiro." Yuki said with a giggle afterwards.

"I think, therefore I am." Toshiro said with as serious a face and tone as he could muster, raising one of his hands in a theatrical gesture.

"Pfffhhahahahaha!"

He went down the stairs and met the girls at the first floor. Minna was sitting on his chest, with the rest surrounding her. She stood up, and started clapping slowly, with the rest following suit. Toshiro got a real standing ovation.

When they stopped, Toshiro said a bit embarrassed:

"Heh… I don't think I deserve such recognition…"

Perrine jumped out of the small crowd and hugged Toshiro firmly.

"Thank you… You liberated my homeland, I will be forever grateful for that…"

Toshiro patted Perrine on the head and pushed her back slightly.

"Glad to have helped you, Perrine, but don't be so affectionate towards me, or Yoshika might be jealous, hehe…"

"Oh… Right…" Perrine answered flustered and let him go. "I forgot that I 'thanked you' already…"

"Right, where is Yoshika by the way?" Toshiro asked.

"Behind you." Yoshika's gentle voice sounded from behind him.

Toshiro turned back to her, and saw Yoshika with a big bloodstain on her shirt. He knelt before her and said:

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Yoshika…"

She suddenly grabbed his head and pressed it against her chest.

"But I'm glad I could protect you, stupid…"

He let him go after a while, and he asked:

"So, everyone is planning the same as before?"

"We want to go to Africa now!" Shirley and Francesca shouted cheerfully.

"The three of us are probably going to St. Trond in Belgica, I heard they have shortages there." Minna said.

"And I want to help Perrine rebuild Gallia…" Lynne explained shyly.

"Good, good… But what do you all say to a last night in this castle? A last feast to commemorate this day?" Toshiro asked with a sly smile.

Mio looked at Minna, and Minna did likewise. They both nodded affirmatively.

A great feast was prepared for the evening. Everybody who could cook contributed to it. There was Fuso food, Liberion food, Gallian food, Britannian food and even Trude made something called 'Eisbein'. Mio broke out the moonshine that was left from the last party, and they all ate and drank until the dark night. During the party, Mio also said that there was a cruise ship leaving for Fuso the next day, so they got lucky.

"Oh pfff… I'm hammered like fuck…" Toshiro mumbled while slowly walking towards his room.

"Hick… I shouldn't have drunk that moonshine… What, hick, seduced me to do it…" Yoshika replied from his back.

"Heh… Remind me why you want to sleep with me?"

"Heehee… I just want to, hick, feel your warmth for the night… I want to be close to you… hick…"

"Good enough…"

They slept through the night peacefully, tucked into each other the whole time.

Toshiro opened his eyes only to see that Yoshika was already awake by his side.

"Morning, Yoshika."

"Good morning, Toshiro."

"So… How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thanks. And you?"

"Genuinely fine. So… Time to go home, huh?"

"Yeah… Finally…"

"Then let's go."

The two went down to the first floor. Everyone was waiting for them.

"You two lovey-dovey's finally up?" Mio asked. "We have a ship to catch; Minna will drive us to Dover. Come on."

Mio started walking to the exit.

"Goodbye, Toshiro, Yoshika." Lynne said shyly.

"Bon chance!" Perrine shouted.

"Auf Wiedersehen Ihr beide! (Goodbye you two!)" Trude and Erica said in unison.

"До свидания (Do svidanya)…" Sanya said in a timid voice

"Hyvästi!" Eila shouted confidently.

"Arrivederci! Yoshika, I hope you grow bigger!" Francesca cheered with a wry smile.

"Bye you two! Toshiro, I promise that someday I will be faster than you!" Shirley shouted while shaking her fist.

"みんなさようなら (Min'na sayōnara)! (Goodbye, everyone!)" Yoshika shouted with tears in her eyes, waving her hand energetically.

Toshiro put on a happy face and said, "I hope the twelve of us will meet one day… In a world of peace… Free of the Neuroi… Free of any conflict… That's what I wish for! Everyone with me?!"

"Yes!" Everyone shouted.

Minna, Toshiro, Yoshika and Mio exited the base for the final time. Minna drove them to the port in Dover where a big oceanic liner was standing in port.

"Woooooow…" Yoshika gasped. "Is that our ship?"

"Yes, Miyafuji. We will be traveling first class to Fuso. It will be a month you won't forget."

"Mio, who paid for this?" Toshiro asked.

"You won't believe it, but it was Captain Sugita. He said it's the least he can do for us."

Minna approached the three and asked:

"So, how will we contact each other?"

"If the need arises, I have Toshiro. I have a feeling he could even call the dead if it came to it, haha!" Mio laughed as usual. "Anyway, all of you told us their plans, so we will know on which door to knock."

"Okay… Take care of yourself, Mio. And Toshiro, I'll miss you… You too, Miyafuji. You two brought so much into my life and the life of others…"

"Goodbye, commander." Yoshika said with a smile.

"Leb wohl, Minna. (Fare well,)" Toshiro said humbly.

They turned back and boarded the ship, unknowing what the future might hold for them.


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