A/N: Welcome back to When The Brothers Cry! Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I just got caught up with writing too many other stories. But hey, finally got this chapter done. So, I hope you enjoy Chapter 16 - War III.
Chapter 16 - War III
Ignoring the defeated Okonogi, the quartet ran over to Rena, who was completely still. "Rena?" Rika asked, gently shaking her friend. No response came. "Adam?" Satoko asked, looking to the boy in question, her eyes quickly filling with tears. "Move." He ordered to Rika, before moving to the space she vacated.
"Come on, Ryuugu." He growled, tilting her head back. Opening her mouth, he pinched her nose, before leaning down, and breathing into her mouth. After this, he placed his hands on top of her chest, and began to repeatedly press down on her chest. "C'mon, Ryuugu. Breathe, dammit." He growled slightly, as she remained still. After a couple of tries, he collapsed backwards onto the ground.
Looking to his friends, who were pale with terror, he solemnly shook his head. "No!" Rika cried, bursting into tears. Walking over to her, Adam wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. As the other two girls present looked at their fallen friend, Hanyuu's eyes narrowed. "Adam, Rika, look." She said, causing the pair to turn round. Pointing to Rena, Hanyuu remained silent, causing her friends to follow her finger.
"What?" Rika asked, before Adam smiled. "Her chest. It's rising and falling." He stated, moving beside Rena again. "She's breathing!" He exclaimed, getting widened eyes from Rika and Satoko, and a smile from Hanyuu. Then, something they didn't expect...
"You're not counting me out yet, are you?"
As the brunette's eyes flickered open, she looked to Adam. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Ryuugu." He said with a smile, pulling her up to her feet, before embracing her. "Thanks, Adam. I owe you one." Rena replied, before she was engulfed in a hug by Rika, Hanyuu and Satoko. As the group laughed, they all stopped at the buzzing of a radio.
"Mentor, this is Harbinger, come in!" The voice on the other end of the radio said. Sighing, Adam walked over to the Charger, reached through the window, and picked up the radio in his car. "I'm here, bro. What's up?" He asked, before Jamie's voice replied, "Turns out, the Yamainu were operating out of a base underneath the clinic. We've cleared that out and rescued Tomitake. The rest of the Yamainu are being dealt with at the Sonozaki estate, and Tomitake's headed to Okinomiya. He can call in reinforcements." Smiling, Adam looked back to the rest of his team. "That's great. We'll head back to Hinamizawa and help you out." He stated, getting a chuckle from Jamie on the other side of the call.
"One more thing, bro." Jamie said, catching Adam off guard. "What's up?" The younger brother asked. "Satoko there?" His sibling questioned, getting a hum of confirmation from Adam. "Yeah, give me a second." He stated, before looking back to the girls. "Satoko!" He called out, getting the yellow-haired girl's attention. "It's for you." He explained, holding out the radio to her. Taking it, the young girl said hesitantly, "I'm here."
"Hey, Satoko. It's Jamie. You holding up okay?" Jamie's voice asked, getting a nod from the girl. "I'm fine. Just been a hectic couple of hours." She replied, causing Jamie to laugh. "Yeah, I bet they've been. But I've got some good news for you." He said, causing Satoko to look to Adam, who shrugged. "What is it?" She asked the radio, which blared back, "There's someone here who'd like to say hello.", before the device went silent. After a few seconds, the radio blared back to life.
"Hey, Satoko. Been a while." A new voice said, causing Satoko, as well as Rika, Hanyuu & Rena, to widen their eyes and gasp. "Nii-Nii?" Satoko asked, causing Adam to tap Rena on her shoulder, as the radio replied, "Yeah, it's me."
"Who's that?" Adam asked Rena, confused, as Satoko and the voice began to engage in a conversation. "That's Satoko's older brother, Satoshi! He disappeared last year." She said, her eyes tearing up from joy. His eyes widening in surprise, Adam looked back to Satoko, who was almost crying. "May I?" He asked, gesturing for her to give him the radio. Nodding, Satoko said, "I'll talk to you later, Nii-Nii. Someone here wants to talk to you." into the radio, getting a "Sure thing, Satoko. Talk to you later." in reply, before she passed the radio to Adam.
"Satoshi? This is Adam Robertson, Jamie's younger brother." Adam said into the radio. "Yeah, I know. Your brother's already filled me in. It's an honour to talk to you, Adam. And if I may; Thanks for looking after my sister. I owe you, big-time." Satoshi replied. "Please. She's been looking after me! And the honour is mine." Adam said, shooting a smile and a wink to Satoko, who's eyes widened, as a blush erupted across her face. "Thanks...Nii-Nii." She said under her breath. Despite the fact that she thought no one heard her, she missed the smirks that appeared on the faces of Rika, Hanyuu and Rena, as they had indeed heard her.
"Right, Satoshi, I'm sorry, but I gotta ask; Jamie's filled you in on who I am, but has he explained the situation here?" Adam asked, getting a hum of confirmation. "Yeah. Takano's trying to kill you all, especially Rika. And since my sister's included in this, that means I am too. What can I do to help?" Satoshi replied, causing Adam to smile. "Good to hear. Alright, go with Jamie. You, him & Shion, head to the Sonozaki Estate. We'll meet up there, and end this." He ordered. "Roger that. See you then." Satoshi replied, before the radio cut off. "Ride or Die, brother." Jamie's voice said after a few seconds. "Ride or Die." Adam replied, before replacing the radio in his car.
"Alright, let's get going. First thing's first..." Adam said, before stepping over to Okonogi's jeep. Looking in the window, he asked the girls, "Nice car. Be a shame if something happened to it, huh?" As the girls looked at him, confused, he elbowed the jeep's window, smashing it. Making sure he had received no injuries, he reached through the now empty window, and grabbed one of the grenades out of Okonogi's bag, as well as the radio that was on the dashboard.
"Go to hell." He growled, pulling the pin out of the grenade, before tossing it into the driver's seat of the jeep. Walking over to the Charger, he looked to Rika, who was at the passenger side door. "Let's go." He ordered, getting a nod from his girlfriend, as well as the other three present, before they all got in the car. Pulling out of the car park, the Charger just missed hitting the jeep, which exploded in a glorious inferno as the grenade went off...
Outside the Irie Clinic...
"Right, let's roll." Jamie said to Shion, and the blonde-haired boy that had just joined the group. "You sure you can fight, Satoshi?" He asked, getting a small laugh in reply. "Trust me, even after being in a coma for a year, I'm still good to go. Besides, way I see it, it's about time for some payback." The elder Hojo sibling said, causing Jamie and Shion to smirk. "Alright, then. Get in." Jamie ordered, nodding towards his Skyline. "Roger that." Satoshi replied, before he and Shion went over to the car. This just left Jamie with Irie at the clinic's entrance.
"Thanks for everything, Doc." Jamie said, turning to the older man, who gently smiled. "Please, it was nothing." Irie stated, as he shook Jamie's hand. "Now, go and put an end to this!" He continued, before Jamie stepped back and nodded. "Don't worry..." The elder Robertson brother stated, turning towards his car...
"Takano's already lost. She just doesn't know it yet."
Later, back at the Sonozaki Estate...
"Look, it's the others!" Shion exclaimed, as the Skyline came to a stop inside the courtyard of the Sonozaki House. As Jamie's group exited the car, they all looked to the Charger, as Adam's group exited. Immediately, all the attention of the group went to the Hojos, who froze when they saw each other.
Walking over to Jamie, Adam said, "100 yen says Satoko tackles him.", getting a laugh from his brother. "You're on." Bumping fists, the pair refocused their gaze on the blonde-haired siblings. "Nii-Nii..." Satoko gasped, her eyes filling with tears, before she launched herself at her brother.
"NII-NII!" She cried, wrapping her arms round her brother's torso. Unfortunately, her momentum resulted in the pair of them crashing to the ground. Laughing, Satoshi returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, Satoko." He said, ruffling her hair. It was then he locked eyes with Adam, who smirked as Jamie slid a 100 yen note into his hand. "Let me up a second, sis." He stated, causing the girl to nod, and step back, allowing her brother to stand back up.
Walking over to Adam, Satoshi hesitated, before he clasped a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Thank you. For taking care of Satoko. For all of them, in fact." He said, before Adam nodded, and clasped his own hand onto Satoshi's shoulder. "They're my family. What else would I do?" He asked, causing the other members of the Club to smile. As they laughed, they were all caught off guard by the sound of rumbling engines. "That came from behind the estate!" Mion stated, before the Club rushed to the hills behind the Sonozaki House. Sure enough, they saw numerous Yamainu jeeps pulling up on the other side of the hills.
"So, what's the plan, President?" Adam asked, as he and Jamie loaded another pair of dart clips into their guns. "Well, we've come this far. What else we gonna do?" The green-haired girl replied, causing the Club to smile, as the brothers cocked the chambers on their guns...
"We fight."
A few minutes later...
"Alright, stay frosty, boys! These kids have some serious skills." The squad leader ordered, before his team stopped at the sound of someone laughing. Whirling round, the group saw that Adam was leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree. "Evening, lads." He said, pushing himself off the trunk. "It's the Mentor!" One of the Yamainu exclaimed, levelling his gun at Adam. "Hold your fire!" The squad leader ordered, as he stepped forward. Hesitantly, the soldier lowered his gun.
"Mentor. It's a pleasure to meet you. But I know you go nowhere without your brother. So, where is the Harbinger?" The leader asked, as Adam cracked his neck. "Right behind you." A voice said from behind the leader, causing him to spin, only to be met with a punch to the jaw. As he fell to the ground, the leader caught only glimpses of the brothers, who moved quickly to incapacitate the rest of the squad. Luckily for the lead soldier, he managed to regain his senses enough to roll back to his feet.
When he saw that Adam & Jamie had no scratches on them, the squad leader chuckled nervously. "What kind of monsters are you?" He demanded, levelling his rifle at the brothers. "The kind you don't piss off." A voice said, but the Yamainu soldier's eyes widened when he saw saw that neither of the brothers said it. Whirling round, he just managed to block a swing from a baseball bat by Satoshi. "Wait. You're..." He stated in surprise at seeing the blonde boy, before he was blindsided by Adam tackling him to the ground. Raising his fist, Adam knocked the soldier out with one punch. "Never turn your back on your enemy, dickhead." He breathed, before dropping the soldier to the ground, and standing back up.
"Thanks for the distraction, Satoshi." He said, causing his blonde-haired friend to nod. "Anytime." The elder Hojo sibling replied, before Jamie piped up. "We'd better get back up there." He stated, getting nods from his companions, before all three of them started to run back up the hill.
With Mion & Keiichi...
"Missed!" Mion laughed out, as she ducked under the punch thrown at her head. "Stay still, you bi..." her attacker growled, before he received a blow to the side of his head from Keiichi's bat. Staggering forwards, the man opened himself up to a kick, which Mion spun and delivered to the centre of his chest, and which sent him flying backwards onto the ground. "Son of a..." He groaned, clasping his head in pain while struggling to get back to his feet, before Mion pulled out the pistol Adam had given her, and shot him with a dart, causing him to fall limp almost immediately.
"You okay?" Keiichi asked, running over to his girlfriend. "Yeah, I'm good." She gasped out, before kissing him on the cheek. "Great, in fact." She continued, before they embraced. "Thanks for the assist." She stated, when they broke apart. As Keiichi went to reply, they both froze when they heard the crunching of leaves. "Ready for another round?" Keiichi asked, before they both spun to face the incoming threat.
As Keiichi raised his bat to defend them, he halted when a familiar voice called out, "Friendly!" Looking to Mion, Keiichi smiled, before they saw Adam, Jamie and Satoshi exit from the treeline. Immediately, Keiichi lowered the bat.
"You're lucky. Keiichi almost bashed your brains in, there!" Mion laughed out, drawing a laugh from Adam, as the friends hugged each other. "He'd have to swing pretty damn fast to hit me." He stated, causing Keiichi to laugh himself. "You wanna put that claim to the test?" He laughed, holding up the bat. "Maybe later." Adam stated, before he turned to Mion. "How are the others?" He asked, getting a shrug from Mion. "Shion and Rena said that they'd draw the rest of the Yamainu to the old traps Satoko set up." The elder Sonozaki twin explained, causing Adam to smile. "I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards." Raising an eyebrow, Jamie looked to his brother in shock. "I said almost." Adam shot at him, making the group laugh.
"Anyway, we should get to helping them." Satoshi suggested, getting a nod from Keiichi. "Agreed. Let's go!" The brown-haired boy stated, before leading the group away...
Further down the hill...
"Well, you've got me right where you want me! Come and get me!" Satoko taunted, from her position on top of a tree stump. Currently, almost all of the Yamainu had been caught in her traps, and now, only the commander of this squad was left.
"Well, I must admit..." The squad leader said, a smile on his face, "No one has given my squad as much trouble as you have, you little brat." Smirking, Satoko curtseyed to him in a taunting fashion. "I'd very much like to know the name of the one who's caused me so much grief." He stated, as the blonde-haired girl straightened back up. "Very well. Satoko Hojo, nice to meet you." She said, making the man nod. "A pleasure, Miss Hojo. I'm Jüza Amakusa. And you seem to have me in a stalemate here." He said, looking round the area.
"I'm willing to bet that the entirety of the area has been booby-trapped. Am I right?" He asked, causing Satoko to smirk. "Not the whole area, else I wouldn't have been able to get to where I am. And that's your challenge; Find the right way to me, and I'll quietly hand myself over." She explained, making Amakusa smile. "Alright then..." He said, before looking over the clearing.
"She wouldn't make it as simple as to give me an obvious route to her." He thought to himself, as he watched Satoko sit down on the edge of the tree stump, and smile cockily at him. "Arrogant little bitch..." He said internally, before his eyes widened. "Wait a minute, maybe she wants me to think there isn't an obvious solution, when in reality there is! So, if that's the case..." His eyes whirling round the clearing, Amakusa scowled when he heard Satoko laugh.
"Are you intending to bore me to death? 'Cause if that's your plan, it's succeeding." She asked mockingly, making Amakusa raise his hands in defeat. "Alright, Miss Hojo. I concede. You've beaten me. So, instead of making myself look like a fool trying to figure your puzzle out, I'm gonna..." He said, taking a step back, only to be cut off when he felt a snare trap encircle his foot, and yank him skywards.
"She...She wanted me to step backwards!" Amakusa realised, as Satoko laughed hysterically. "And that's why they call me the 'Trap Master'. No one has been able to avoid them. No one." She said, hopping off her stump, before lightly tip-toeing across the clearing to the hanging Yamainu soldier. "Now, if you stay there, I'll be kind enough to let the authorities know where you are. Sound good?" She asked, before the man chuckled.
"Alright, then, Hojo. You won this round. Go and see the end of this. Just know, I look forward to our next meeting." Amakusa said, drawing a smile from Satoko. "As do I, Jüza." She replied, before leaving the clearing, leaving the dangling Amakusa behind...
Near the bottom of the hill...
"I can't believe this!" Takano growled, as she heard the last buzzes of radios being cut off. "You are the best soldiers money can buy, and you're getting defeated by children!" She yelled into her own radio, which soon shot back with a buzz of its own.
"That's because you made one very big error, Takano." The voice said, causing Miyo to smile, as she recognized who had spoken. "Miss Furude. You know, for such a little girl, you have been such a major pain in the ass for me. Why don't you face me so we can finish this?" She asked into the radio, making Rika laugh. "Then why don't you turn around?"
Whirling round, Miyo came face to face with not just Rika, but the rest of the Games Club.
"Finally." Miyo spat, as she pulled a pistol from her back, and pointed it directly at Rika. Reflexively, Adam and Jamie went to pull their own guns out, only to stop when Rika held out an arm to stop them. "Go on then, Takano. Take the shot." The blue-haired girl stated, causing Miyo to scoff, as she cocked the pistol. "I only need to hit one of you." She said, just as they heard the whir of helicopter blades.
"What is that?" Miyo asked, a panicked look on her face. "That would be the Banken." Jamie said, causing Miyo's eyes to widen. "Yep. You've lost, Takano." He continued, as Mion took the advantage of Takano being distracted to step in front of the gun, throwing her arms out to shield the rest of the Club.
"If you're gonna shoot anyone, Takano, shoot me!" The green-haired girl spat, causing Miyo to chuckle. "You'd sacrifice yourself for your friends?" She asked. Nodding, Mion said, "In a heartbeat. I'd lay down my life for any of them. Because that's what you do for family.", which made the rest of the Club smile.
"Family? That's what your little Club here is to you?" Takano asked, getting an immediate nod from Mion. "We were taught that by the best Mentor we could ask for." She said, drawing a smirk from Adam, as she winked at him. "Mion..." he thought, just as the group was shocked by Hanyuu stepping in front of Mion.
"Mion, your bravery is admirable, but this is a battle that I must fight." The horned girl stated. "Hanyuu!" Satoko exclaimed, which made her girlfriend look to her and smile, the act of which caused Satoko to relax, as her brother held her back.
"Now, Miyo Takano..." Hanyuu stated, stepping forward, and raising her arms, "Shoot. See if your aim is true." Laughing, Miyo tightened her grip on the pistol. "At this distance, I won't miss! You do know that, don't you?" The blonde woman asked, only for Hanyuu to subtly smirk.
"Let's find out."
A bit further down the hill...
"BANG!"
As they assisted the Banken in gathering up the defeated Yamainu soldiers, Tomitake and Akasaka jumped when they heard the gunshot. "It came from over there!" Akasaka exclaimed, before he led Tomitake and a trio of Banken soldiers through the forest. Eventually, they broke into a small path leading uphill, at the bottom of which stood Takano, a smoking pistol in her outstretched arm, and above her, the Games Club, all of whom were unharmed. What really drew the men's attention, however, was the tree behind the Club, which had a bullet embedded in it.
"She missed!" Keiichi stated, causing the Club to cheer, as Miyo fell to her knees in the dirt, the pistol falling from her grip. "How...How did I miss? My aim was on point." The blonde asked, before she looked back up at the sight of black trainers entering her field of view, only to come face to face with a certain boy in black.
"You lost, Takano. Accept it." Adam said, as he bent down and picked up her pistol. As her eyes widened in fear, she gasped when Adam freed the clip from the gun, with it falling to the ground, revealing that the gun was empty. Takano had missed, and thus wasted, her only shot.
"Arrest her!" The Banken leader ordered, causing his men to nod, as they moved to arrest Miyo. "Wait!" Tomitake stated, causing the rest of those present to look to him. "Look at her neck!" Following his advice, everyone present looked to Miyo's neck, where they saw ugly red marks dotting her skin. "She's been clawing at her own throat." Jamie stated, causing Tomitake to nod. "She's going through the beginning stages of Hinamizawa Syndrome. I recommend that she be taken to the Irie Clinic. The facilities there can help us save her." The older man explained, causing Adam to nod, and look to the Banken, who had placed handcuffs on Miyo, who then collapsed into Tomitake's arms, weeping. Tapping the leader on his shoulder, Adam addressed the older man.
"If you're looking for Yamainu members, I'd look at a parking garage in Okinomiya. You'll find one of them 'hanging out'." Adam said, making the girls who had accompanied him in the Charger smirk. "Roger that." The Banken leader said, before he led his men, as well as Tomitake and Miyo, away. Looking one last time to the Club, Akasaka smiled, bowed his head, then walked away himself, leaving only the Club alone in the clearing.
"Did we...win?" Rena asked, causing Jamie to nod. "Yeah, I think we did, Rena." He stated, just before the whole Club heard a 'THUD!', and whirled round. "Adam...?" Rika asked, concern in her tone, when they saw that the younger Robertson brother was laying on his back, gazing up at the sky.
"You okay, bro?" Jamie asked, causing Adam to laugh. "Yeah, I'm good, bro. Just fucked from the day. So I'm taking the chance to relax a while." He said, which made the rest of the Club look to each other. "Well, we did just win a war..." Mion said, just before her friends caught onto her meaning, and all of them joined Adam in laying down on the ground, staring up at the sky.
"So, is it over?" Shion asked, looking to Jamie. "Most likely, babe." Her boyfriend replied, causing Shion to sigh. "What a relief..." She said, before returning her gaze skywards, only for Satoko to speak up. "So, I've got a question..." She started, drawing the Club's attention...
"What now?"
A/N: And that's a wrap on the War for Hinamizawa! Hope you enjoyed reading through the entire conflict from beginning to end. And sorry again, for taking so long with this chapter! Writer's ADD's a bitch! Anyways, I'll see you all in Chapter 17 - Peacetime.