The Imamura siblings all ran as soon as the first Other appeared. What they didn't see was they had a tail. Miya had thought she denounced her siblings when they didn't even bother checking in with her. She was always the black sheep of the family. Despite being in the same family, it sure as hell didn't feel like one. The third child of the Imamura family stalked across the roof, following along.
It turns out, she was yearning for a conversation with them. When she got Big Brother's message, it was a nail in the coffin. She might have gotten closer, had some flames not welled up in her way. "So, you're the one that poor Zeke found. A shame he's dead, I might've praised him, hehe~" a girl said, wearing OSF gear but there was something off about her.
"Out of my way, pyro, my business doesn't extend to you yet," Miya said, the temperature around her dropping as she prepared her power. The pyro didn't move but was scrutinizing her.
"You must be the mysterious missing child of the Imamura family, Miya. Your ID being pinged wasn't a fluke, and…" the flames got close enough to catch the outfit. Miya's face didn't change as the pyro's did. A flash of fear was quickly hidden by a smirk. "So, it's true, the Wisps are here then."
Miya then rolled her eyes, "Guess now that you said it, you aren't leaving alive." The rule, if the Wisps are mentioned and one member is present—said to their faces—the target must be eliminated. She sent a barrage of ice at the girl.
The pyro was slightly caught off guard at the quick attack. "Fire and Ice, huh? We go well together."
"Do me the favor of giving me your name so that you may pass into the gallows as a named soul," Miya said, putting her hood up, the red contrasting the white. Using her power, she coated her body in ice, like flexible armor. The practical uses for ice were abundant. One wanted ice armor? It can be made. Miya spent a lot of time researching her power from current and past users. What they found, what they experimented with, what worked, what didn't, and so on. This was her recent achievement.
"Really committed to the Wisps bit, eh?" the girl said. "Well okay, the name's Kim," she said, throwing a fireball at Miya.
Easily dodging it, sending ice mist to extinguish the fire in case it decided to be a cheeky fuck and track. Pyros have the ability to create the flame and send it. But once it makes contact with its target or any object in general, it becomes like normal fire, unpredictable, untamed. Miya closed the distance, actually grabbing onto her jacket, bringing a knee to Kim's chest, then followed up with the meanest right hook, complete with blunt force trauma, sending the girl flying.
Not before Miya added one-inch ice spikes to her knees. So, it wasn't surprising to see the ice coated in a tinge of red. Kim gasped at feeling the stabs but composed herself. She quickly used her fire to cauterize the wounds, "You cheeky bitch."
Miya showed no emotion, neither in her voice nor her tone, "You are my enemy and you must die."
Their fight continued, even as other members of both teams were witnessing the fight from below. "Bold words for someone in barbequing distance," Kim said as she drew up a literal wave of fire. Miya just stood there, waiting for it to come closer, and was pleased to see someone take wounds and not give a single fuck. Miya could admire someone like that, and she did. It was her platoon. Underneath the hood was a grin, and the temperature took a severe drop, even as the wave of fire was mere meters in front of her.
"Who do you work for? What is your goal?"
Kim, being real sassy, "Well, torching your tragic ass, and your family is very paranoid that you'll still alive. We were tasked with ending your life. So, stay still while I burn you. Möge die Koalition gedeihen."
German? Miya thought to herself, an odd choice of words. "My family wishes to confirm my death? I will verify your claim myself," her tone was emotionless, apathetic. Her violet eyes narrowed from under the hood, baiting her.
Even Kim noticed this change, noting that she really didn't care that her own family was targeting her. Holy shit, she really is a Wisp. Zeke knew what he was talking about. Kim realized the saying of 'playing with fire' was wrong. It was really messing with the frostiness of ice that will be her undoing. Kim smiled, even as Miya encased herself in ice, the fire passing over her, melting the ice enough for her to spring out and launch herself at the open Kim. The distance was too short for even the fastest reaction times to counter. So, the pyro smiled, accepting that she's been played.
Upon launching herself, Miya formed an ice lance on her arm and aimed for the correct area. The move was so quick that the wind passed after the move had been made. It was something that is hard to do, even just once. It requires all the concentration in the world to pull this off and Miya did just that. Her goal was clear: Kill the enemy. Speak with her siblings. Those two things were driving her forward. The backing of her Platoon made this even further possible.
There was no sound of the ice making contact. The only sound heard was blood making contact with the roof, some of it staining the glass behind her. "May the gallows welcome you, Kim." The ice lance now impaled through Kim's torso, narrowly missing her heart, but not her lungs. If one was to see this in broad daylight, they would have lost their lunch. Her lungs were teetering on the edge of the ice, almost freezing in place. Kim's mouth opened and blood gushed out, right on Miya's shoulder.
"G-oo fite," Kim gurgled as she choked on her blood and simply leaned her now lifeless head on Miya's shoulder.
The woman known as Hard Place cared not. The red accented the white anyway. She let the lance dissipate into an icy mist, revealing her arm was through the woman's torso. The white was there for a reason. {Two down,} she reported, laying the woman down, closing her eyes. The Wisps kill, but they are respectful about caring for the dead. They are not in search of the same treatment. When they die, and everyone dies one day, they will accept the punishment granted to them. {She mentioned a Coalition...we need more information. In pursuit of my siblings, who is available to follow?}
{Give me an approximate location, and I will follow, Hard Place,} Rocky answered. Good, the one person I can combo really well with.
{Heading southwest alongside the roof, they must be going to a bunker. We must intercept them before they make it, otherwise, we lose our chance to chat. What of the other operatives?} Miya asked.
{Big Brother and Banshee have pinned down two of them, while Lilly and Battery have the others. Echo is currently monitoring Other activity. We've taken care of them. I'm on my way.}
She sent a confirmation down the Talk before taking off, leaving Kim's body behind, preserving it in ice doubling as protection of Others. She may have been an enemy, but she does not deserve to have her brain eaten by Others.
Quickly smashing a window in, she dropped to the floor, blood still caked to her right sleeve, dripping like a leaky faucet. Drip. Miya knew this hallway. It was the hallway that contained her room. Her memories of the time she spent here were a long time ago. The fact that it looks like nothing was touched here made her wonder what changed if anything at all.
A hand settled on her shoulder, causing her to react, forming an ice dagger, but then her arm felt sluggish, falling to the floor. "Sorry, but you were spaced out, and you didn't respond to me." Miya sighed, she was too lost in reminiscing that Ryo had caught up with her. Drip.
"The bunker's entrance...there is an emergency getaway in...my old room," Miya whispered.
Ryo willfully missed the tone in her voice, "Lead the way, quickly. You still want to talk to them?"
"I have to," she said before walking along, pausing slightly at a door before pushing it open, getting a blast from the past. The room looked immaculate but there was no time for distractions. Even though the sheets were slightly ruffled, showing a sign of use, layers of dust collected in the room, making it seem like a room out of a haunted house.
"The mechanism is around here somewhere...is it…?" she trailed off before having a 'huzzah' moment. With no surprise to Ryo, it was a book on the bookshelf, specifically, the third book on the second-highest shelf pulled with the lightest touch. Pull the book, a secret door opens.
"Cliché much?"
"You don't know the half of it. Let's go," she ordered, her long violet hair flowing behind her. Her violet eyes narrowed, "I'm coming for you, Chikao, Ruqa." The pair descended into darkness.
Meanwhile, with the three siblings, Chikao was eerily calm as he walked down the hallway. He was always seemingly uncaring but had a sharp mind. The man was a viper somedays, his stare holding you down, rooting you to the earth below. He often held himself in higher regard in comparison to his other siblings. Ruqa often challenged him on things, but he shot her down every single time. He never let her do anything without his say-so.
It was honestly torture for Ruqa. For a fleeting moment, she thought her younger sister did the right thing, faking her death. Of course, the eldest sister knew that she did. After all, finding out her fiancé was an assassin of some kind, teaching her those tricks on how. They managed to track them and killed him, and then she was pronounced dead at the scene. You always did have a clever streak, Miya.
"How much further?" Jori asked. The youngest child of the Imamura family was obviously unaware of this, and of course, he was suspicious, and rightly so. When he didn't get an immediate answer, "I've never noticed these before, so tell me, dearest siblings where we are going? What about the people we hired?"
"It is already too late for them, the Wisps have arrived. They will not leave a single one alive," Chikao said, positive that his words were nothing but the truth. Jiro did not believe such things. As if sensing his little brother's next question, "The Wisps are a black ops squad of OSF not listed on any known database, and considering the current state of technology, it says a lot to what they keep under wraps. I have reason to believe that our sister is on that team. It was no coincidence that her ID was pinged."
"They lied to me then," Jiro said.
Ruqa quickly turned her head, "You've met them?"
"Briefly, where we thought she was hiding," Jiro said. "One of them reminded me of someone from some book. The resemblance was uncanny." Ducking under a large wooden support, the trio arrived at a door.
"Curious," Chikao noted, opening the door, seeing the emergency bunker's scanner activate. The room was like one large hotel suite, Penthouse style. Multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, you name it, it was there. The lights were off as they entered the dining room area. The overhead voice identified them all in a robotic monotone.
[Confirmed: Chikao Imamura, Ruqa Imamura, Jori Imamura, and Miya Imamura; Present. One unidentified personnel was detected. Warning. Warning. Hostile intentions detected.]
That just made the three of them freeze. By the time that Chikao was screaming out a warning, something shifted. Everything felt heavy. Like the world was personally pushing them down. Ruqa fell to the floor, being the weakest physically of the three. Chikao was on his knees. Jori, surprisingly, was still standing.
"Impressive, I was even making sure yours was the heaviest," a moderate voice said. Jiro looked up to see green eyes staring back. "You know, she has high hopes for you. Pray that the gallows remain closed for you."
"This is a wonderful reunion, would you not agree, dearest family?" a cold voice followed. "It seems you've all gotten comfortable since my untimely death." Violet hair and eyes met three pairs of matching hair and eyes. Cross-legged in a chair, she stared down her siblings with multiple emotions; each one was hard to pin down because there was so much filtering through her eyes.
Jori was the first to react, "Miya…" he grunted, feeling the pressure increase.
"Rocky, that's enough, let them up," Miya said, to which gained a look. "I'm sure because they won't be going anywhere until I get answers. If I find them satisfactory, you might still breathe." The pressure disappeared from them immediately before a shiver crawled up the three siblings' spines. They were then cocooned in ice, leaving their heads and hearts uncovered. "So, who wants to start talking? My arrogant, spewing holier than thou propaganda brother? My harlot of a sister who disregarded me from the moment I was born? Or the only one in the family that I actually cared about?"
"Listen here, you-"
Ice was put over his mouth, Chikao's mouth, to shut up his rant, "I don't give a fuck what you have to say unless it is to answer my questions. Heaven may be full, but the gallows are always open…"
Jori felt himself deflate. Is this really my sister? The one I thought died? A hand descended on his cheek, making him look up to see Miya in front of him. "M-Miya...Onee-san…" His eyes noticed the color of her sleeve. The smell was what gave it away. Blood. The Crimson Essence coated his sister's arm, up to her bicep. "You…"
"Answer me. Are you aware that your guards were hired to kill me?" Miya's eyes flashed from a soft-caring woman to a hardened veteran. "Are you aware of what they planned to do?"
"Wait, they were hired to kill you?! That's not what you said, Chikao! You said they were hired to find a trace of Miya so she can come home! So she can make our family whole again! After Mother and Father died, you wanted to make the family whole! Was that a lie, brother?! Sister?! Answer me!" The expression on Chikao's face morphed into a furious one.
Miya already knew, somewhere deep down, that her youngest sibling was innocent. The words confirmed it. Ryo, who was watching with any signs of lying, found none from the youngest sibling. {He's genuinely upset and angry.}
Side-eying him for a moment, she turned back to him, "Look at me, JoJo," Miya called him a name that she often used during their childhood. "If you had known, would you have changed it?"
"Damn right I would've! I wanted to know for years where you went! I didn't believe you were dead! All I wanted was an open line of communication. Even if you couldn't return home, I wanted to know you were safe!" Jori's body was tense as he spoke, a prominent vein was pulsing in his head. Miya made her hand lightly frost over and covered his forehead.
"You've always had a few anger problems…" she whispered before letting go of his head. She then turned to her older sister. Ryo idly thought that they could've passed off as twin sisters. Around the same height, about the same build. The starking contrast resided with their hairstyle. While Ruqa had hers all dolled up, woven in intricate braids, coiled around her neck and upper back, Miya's was in a straight tri-braid. It flowed down her back with ease. "Dear sister, you are far too silent from seeing your sibling come back from the dead."
{Not to interrupt, but if you have the chance, ask about a Coalition. We need more info,} Big Brother's voice came through a Brain Talk.
{I have not found any records of this 'Coalition' of which they speak. Miya-san, please find out,} Echo's analytical voice followed afterward.
"There's no need for you to reply to that. However, you need to reply to this: What is the Coalition?" Miya drove the subject to its main point.
Ryo chimed in, sitting in a chair adjacent to Miya's previous one, "Answer quickly because the rest are on their way here." Miya looked alarmed but composed herself.
{I didn't get told this...,} Miya shot accusingly.
Ryo shrugged lightly, {You're busy, I'm just the messenger.}
"The Coalition is something outside the OSF," Ruqa spoke, her voice a tad harsher than Miya's on a bad day. "They are recently formed but seem to have information everywhere." Chikao was slowly melting the ice muzzle via the hot air he was blowing. Miya dared him through a glare to say something that sounded like a cover-up. "Through a mutual contact, we acquired their services. The extra objective was to find you."
"To do what exactly?" Miya pressed.
Ruqa started to shiver, not because of the line of questioning either, "That was it. Despite how indifferent I was to you, I do value you."
Miya was debating whether or not to believe her. It sounded...hollow to her like there was something lacking. "Say I believe you, what then? That cannot undo anything we've done over the past twenty years. Despite all that, I look and feel younger than the three of you."
"So you are with the Wisps," Jori said.
No use denying it, "That I am, and I daresay, they've been more family to me than you three have. Despite that, I cannot deny that my heart hurts from knowing that we will never be the same as we were twenty years ago."
"You ungrateful bitch!" Chikao yelled, free of the ice muzzle now. His slightly purple lips were the only indicator of an oncoming health problem.
"Rocky, can you hold them so they don't pass out from hypothermia?" A nod before a pressure three times the force of gravity was applied to the trio of Imamura siblings. Miya cast away the ice, making them feel the full force of it. "Dearest twat of a brother, answer me this, or I will skewer your heart from where you stand: Did you hire this Coalition to kill me? If you lie, evade, or do not answer, I will assume you did and the punishment I laid out will be brought forth."
The silence reigned in the room as Miya, no, Hard Place, awaited an answer. An answer that would determine her eldest brother's fate. His life was in her hands.
Back at the party, before and during the conversation.
Big Brother had just taken down a Vase Paw and another Grim Yawn. The casual gait he walked around with was an outlier compared to everyone's panic. There wasn't anything that could oppose him. The smoking barrel left at his side showed that he could take these down with ease.
Banshee, meanwhile, landed a solid punch amplified by sound into a Wither Sabbot. All of these Others and yet not a single casualty. That was until Banshee dodged a rush of pressurized air, bringing him next to Big Brother. {Fancy seeing you here.}
{Having fun, Hiroki?} Big Brother asked with a grin. With the mask on, it made him far more sinister than normal, and then on top of the intent that was leaking from him, made Banshee take a cautious step to his right.
{Peachy, let's see, their operator and pyro are down. Who is left? A pyro, hydro, aero, and psycho?} he asked as he dodged a swipe from a Kitchen Rummy's arm. To which he then heard the sound of a Psychokinesis user picking something up. {Incoming.} Banshee used the power of sound to give him an 'air burst' back to dodge the UFO.
For the misinformed, it means Unidentified Flying Object. Technically, if one threw an Other, it could be classified as Unidentified Flying Other. With that being said, "So it's true. You really have come and you really do exist."
Banshee stood up, dusted off his suit as Big Brother stepped forward, patting Banshee on the shoulder, "Let your big bro take care of this."
"Bryan, take the little one," a short stature of a man said. He was slightly shorter than Hiroki and considering that he only comes up to about neck level with Shiro, not that imposing.
"Duke, you damn well know who they are, right?"
Big Brother then had this to say, "Oh, and the woman in the green dress is actually into this guy here," a nod to Hiroki, who sent a scathing glare, which was ignored in favor of speaking, "Plus, she'd kill you for saying all those things. You can fantasize when you're dead."
A moment of confusion appeared on their faces before they paled, "You hacked into a Brian Talk?! That's not possible!"
"Echo Echo," Shiro said before the two had to dodge a hidden blade thrown by little Seki. She was out of the fight, keeping track of Others. The little girl was pleasantly eating at the table with absolutely no care or regard for the people still fleeing. How many people were actually in here?
"Thanks, pumpkin," Big Brother called out.
"No problem, Nii-sama!" Seki giggled, shoving another pastry in her mouth, licking the cream off her tiny fingers. Duke and Bryan were floored that the little girl that they wrote off as innocent was actually not innocent.
"What the fu-"
A stern glare from Shiro made them rethink swearing. "What the heck? Is the OSF really scraping the bottom of the barrel with her? She's like ten!"
{Aren't we supposed to be fighting them?} Banshee asked, still on guard.
{Go nuts, take the other guy, the Psycho user is mine,} Big Brother said, cracking his knuckles.
Banshee launched at Bryan with a sound-infused dagger punch. The swiftness almost caught Bryan off guard but responded with an air-infused cross. It ended up catching one of Banshee's weapons.
It hasn't really been established as to who wields what weapon. The only one is Shiro and his pistol. Hiroki took a page out of some assassin's handbook and made hidden blades. Custom-made and custom-built. He does carry a sword sometimes, if only for when he doesn't want to get crushed by an Other. However, for this trip, he didn't carry the sword. The blades, on the other hand, were something small and are easy to hide. The other weapons for the platoon will come later.
Looks like someone forgot to mention them…
Bryan quickly leaped back, "Shit, you Wisps got a trick for everything."
"Do I?" an ear-piercing ringing dominated Bryan. Banshee wasn't named this for nothing after all. When Bryan stumbled, he pushed forward, even as air bursts tried to stave him off. The only thing that happened was the suit Hiroki was wearing had a few cuts in it. Mostly along the sleeves. He could still feel his arms, so no air cut off his arms. Not to mention, he put a sound barrier around himself to protect from attacks such as these.
Bryan put up a cyclone around himself, further destroying the ballroom. It was mostly for defense. However, there was one thing that the soldier forgot about. Cyclones produce sound.
That sound would be his undoing. Banshee immediately summoned a lot of his power, feeling his head start to ache. Using those sound waves, Banshee manifested them to a physical—and visible—form for Bryan to see. Even seeing through the cyclone, he saw what the hell was happening. Banshee smiled, and his eyes probably showed how vacant they were because Bryan shivered involuntarily.
He couldn't hear it but there was screaming. In a flash, Banshee drove his blades through Bryan's hands, skewering him to the floor. He then put a knee over his throat and held him there.
A body then thumped next to Banshee and Big Brother walked up, dusting his hands off, "Can he still hear?" {Also, you could've done that faster.} Big Brother had thrashed his opponent without firing a shot, instead just slowly restricting his movements. It was another chance to test his power. A power that he doesn't want but will never ask to replace. A paradox, in his mind at least.
{Not through this. Sure, but that would've been no fun...He still alive?} Banshee replied and then asked a question, gesturing to the heap before him. {We need some answers. This Coalition is going to be a thorn in our side if we aren't on top of it.}
Big Brother nodded, {They are still fighting over there, aren't they?} Banshee looked over to Lilly and Battery, and honestly? They were toying with them. Lilly was giggling, basically dancing around her opponent who tried and failed to light her on fire. She was jumping from the shadows, a look in her eye.
Battery meanwhile was enjoying countering his opponent. The man had a smirk unbecoming of the guy. However, Banshee and Big Brother knew that he was absolutely toying with her and she didn't hide it. Lilly knew some tact but she definitely let her opponent tire himself out.
"You certainly like to jump around. Your power…Umbrakinesis, correct?" Lev, the leader of the group, said.
"Got it in one, big guy," Lilly giggled. She then connected to Hiroki through SAS to mask her movements. Lev calmly brought fire all around him.
The way to counter an Umbrakinesis user was to make sure there were as few shadows as possible. That is an impossibility, Lev knew, but limiting your enemies' movements becomes crucial.
Lev knew he was going to die here. After having felt two of his ragtag squad connections cut out and another two weak, he knew that the end was near. That did not mean that they were going to sit down and accept death. Lev will bite that hand of death and spit it out.
Through his flames, he looked around to see two more of them patiently waiting for him to do something. They seemed so bored of what was going on around them. One of them would wave a hand and kill an Other heading for the fight. Oddly considerate. Turning back to his own fight, he felt that there weren't a lot of shadows, at least until he felt a presence behind him.
By the time Lev moved, he felt a prick in his neck, "Look out below. You see you have everything external covered but not internal," Lilly said, pressing her chest into Lev's back. The man had to admit, she had a very nice rack.
A second later, he was on the floor paralyzed and his flames dispersed. "Hey Batts, how are you?"
"Green," a man in a white suit said, carrying Camila over his shoulder. "She put up a great fight. In a couple years, she would have somewhat been a challenge."
The way he said that made Lev widen his eyes from the ground, "How strong are you?" He was speaking as if she were already dead or was going to die.
"Strong enough where two of us could have taken you all down. It was more fun this way," Shiro said. "Now listen, the four of you are going to die. Not by Others, I like to think I'm not that cruel. However, if you fail to answer my questions truthfully, I know where a nice Other is that is just dying for some fresh brains."
The threat wasn't idle either. Kohana, Yori, Hiroki, and Seki all tensed. "You mean…"
"…yes that one," Shiro said. The four all shared a shiver.
"Something you're all afraid of?" Lev asked, feeling oddly vindicated. "That's rich coming from the Wisps."
{Can I punch him? He can't feel anything right?}
"No, you can't," Kohana said, "it actually enhanced his sense of touch. Observe," she leaned down and flicked his arm.
"Ahhhgghh!" A strangled scream escaped Lev's throat. Meanwhile, Bryan was still squirming in pain on the ground. Duke was slowly coming to. Seki was watching over them, prepared to coat her hands should they try anything.
Shiro let him wriggle in agony for a moment before cutting to the chase, "Tell us why you were hired to kill one of our own. What is the Coalition?"
Lev grit his teeth, "Shouldn't you be all-knowing?"
"Alright, pack them up, they are going to the Other," Shiro said with a bored tone. "Start with the guy you impaled through the hands."
"Don't feed me to an Other!" Bryan screamed as the pain in his hands amplified.
Hiroki must have showcased his worry as Shiro spoke in his mind, {Scare tactic. However, if they prove to be uncooperative, then we will. We'll have to find information on this Coalition eventually.}
It eased Hiroki immensely to hear that. Seki also fanned herself because the way Shiro said that was too serious for her to know if he was or wasn't serious. He had that way about him.
Lev groaned once more, "The Coalition is a group of psionics from around the world. We are everywhere, constantly reporting in. We recently became a part of it, after hearing what New Himuka was doing. Togetsu was no better."
"Metamorphosis research," Yori said. Lev's eyes brightened then darkened in an instant.
"You know of it and yet you still serve the OSF?! After what they've done?!"
Seki chimed in, "You mistake us for actual OSF, Lev-san."
Shiro continued after that, "Which means we don't care. We care for each other and that's about it. Anything else?"
The pyro groaned, "If you're thinking of overthrowing the Coalition, then you really are crazy. No one has been able to, and those that have tried are sacrificed."
A laugh was shared across the five members, "We have no plans to unless they get in our way. Isn't that right?"
"Yep!" A resounding response. Hiroki just nodded. Seki cheered more enthusiastically than the rest. Yori loved the feeling of the charge over his skin. Kohana just had a look of impatience, "Can we kill them yet?"
Shiro just smiled maliciously. "Go. Nuts. Our gallows are always open."
"That's like your catchphrase, you know that right?" Kohana asked.
Shiro grinned, absolutely not sorry.
The sounds of four screams filled the air, and the Others in the area suddenly felt a wave of dread. They were next and they damn well knew it.
That proved true as five tasty humans burst from the ballroom annihilating every Other in their path.
Once they contained it all, {Ryo, how goes it?}
His voice filtered through, {As touching and heartbreaking as one might think. Do me a favor and get over here as fast as possible. Fourth floor, the sixth door on the left. The bookcase has a book that you can tilt.}
The groans of how cliché it was were very much well received. They disliked clichés as much as the next agent. Seki still had a fondness for them, for very obvious reasons.
So, the group did a double check of their victims, having Seki send a signal to recover them. Otherwise, they left no trace. Their outfits would be burned to dispose of the evidence. The Wisps must stay off the radar.
They traveled up to the room that Ryo pointed out. When they arrived, there was a sympathy pain as they saw what was Miya's room. She definitely was always the diva slash mistress they thought her as; not that they would say it to her face.
Kohana noticed the book first and tilted it. When the path opened, she whistled, calling everyone over. Hiroki jumped down, with no hesitation. "Truly a wonderful scout, didn't even need to be told."
{I heard that,} his voice floated up teasingly. A second later, it was serious, {All clear. It's a little narrow, Yori. Your broad shoulders may have a tight fit.}
"Implying something, are we?"
"He's right Yori, your shoulders are a little broad," Kohana jumped in.
Shiro just watched in the background, seeing his platoon at somewhat ease made him feel better.
Miya and Ryo waited impatiently for the rest of the platoon to show up. Chikao, Ruqa, and Jori were reluctantly released from their ice and gravity-formed prisons. They were now sitting across from one another, silently. Miya was still very much upset.
As soon as Ruqa was about to speak, the door creaked open. A knock on the wall, 'Anyone home?'
"Come on in, Banshee," Miya said.
Hiroki came into the room, "What a wonderful reunion, hmm?"
A raised eyebrow accompanied by a glare, "Do you want an ice prison too?"
"You really need to learn how not to make Miya-San mad, nii-san," Seki chimed before going over to Miya and plopping herself into her lap. Miya allowed it and the three Imamura siblings watched as she started to pet her hair. She was still in her dress and mask.
"So, these are the lovely siblings?" Shiro asked. "Nice to see you again, Jiro."
"So you were them?!" Jiro shouted in disbelief. "To think I was that close…"
"To be fair, we had to sway suspicion, you know, since all your guards are dead. All six. Those guys had other plans besides assassinating your beloved sister," Shiro drawled.
Chikao growled, "She was better off staying dead."
"Just what a girl wants to hear," Miya deadpanned her sibling. "You know I contemplated killing you all? Multiple times, even before they got here."
Ruqa shivered in her seat, "So why didn't you?"
The third eldest shrugged and that was all she offered. Kohana certainly had something to say, even as Chikao and Jori were eyeing her in her dress, which in case you forgot, was pretty short. Like bend over we can see your panties kind of short. Of course, Jori was looking respectfully, eyeing her from her legs up and staying focused on her face. Chikao was leering at her blatantly staring at her considerable rack and thighs.
"Hey, Miyaaaa~"
Miya already saw this coming, "My siblings are off-limits, Lilly."
"Tch awww," Kohana pouted.
{Can we get to the matter at hand? My head is starting to hurt,} Hiroki complained. Shiro, Yori, and Ryo all shared another small, subtle glance and spoke in a private talk.
{He's not getting worse is he?} Ryo inquired.
Shiro minutely shrugged, {Who knows. They have started to become more common. His brain is already delicate.}
{There have been no changes in his brain since the last time. He really does just have a headache,} Yori confirmed. Since the brain does have electrodes running through it, he can somewhat sense them. Unlike people who have clairvoyance, he cannot see the root of the problem.
Seki silently tapped into the Talk, and her concerned glance was noticed by Hiroki, {Something wrong, kiddo?}
{N-Nothing Nii-San!}
He gazed suspiciously at her, {If you say so.} Shiro then warned her to not inquire about that further. Then he told her to not tap Brain Talks like that.
Miya was then brought up to speed on what has transpired. "Okay, now, the decision whether you live or die comes down to my commander." Her voice was tight, her fist clenched on the table, an arm protectively around Seki.
The pinkette snuggled into the hold, which wasn't uncomfortable but it was a little firm. Hiroki and Kohana stood behind them. Well, Kohana shadowed behind Ruqa and Hiroki audibly cracked his knuckles.
Of course, Kohana couldn't resist. She then groped Ruqa's sizable bust, "Oh, so firm and yet somehow fluffy!"
"Eek!" Ruqa squirmed but was there a moan in the mix?
"Oh~?" Kohana grinned, flexing her fingers. It did make Miya throw an ice dagger across her cheek. She immediately stopped knowing the next one wouldn't miss. "Sorry, couldn't resist, you won't let me do that to you!"
Miya settled for a glare. Shiro was doing his best to hold back his laughter. Seki looked down and flexed her fingers before a light entered her eyes. "Echo, do you like sitting here?"
The girl immediately put her hands between her legs and nodded. "I wasn't going to copy Lilly-chan!"
"Good. So, the verdict?"
Shiro paused, stroking his beard, "Do you want them dead?"
"Do they need to be dead?"
Shiro hummed and gave it some thought, "A few conditions." Miya felt her heart plummet but she didn't show it on her face. "One. No more contact with this Coalition. Two. You get a line of communication with Miya. Three. Tell no one of our existence. If you do, we will return and we will make your deaths painful. Let's go, Operation Babydog is a success."
Chikao, Ruqa, and Jori all had different expressions. The entirety of Shiro Platoon exited the safe room, except Miya. Kohana stayed back in her shadow in case they tried something. Not that they would but it was a precaution.
Miya walked up to her eldest brother, "I know you're better than this. Fix yourself before I freeze you again."
Chikao for once didn't see his younger sister but a woman who had moved on, and she would keep a spot in her heart for them. Internally, deep down, he didn't want to sever the bond between them.
Ruqa and Miya looked like they squared off before the latter brought the former into a hug, "Learn to stand up for yourself. Gotta show the world what an Imamura woman can do." That was shared with a small smile. Miya gave her sister a parting kiss on the cheek.
Jori didn't wait, he hugged his sister and she hugged back a small genuine smile. "You always were a hugger."
"You were the only one to shower me in any sort of affection," Jori admitted with a chuckle. When they parted, Miya held out a small device. "What's this?"
"Our line of communication. I'll try to call if I'm not too busy killing Others…or other horrible people."
"Fair enough. Take care sister."
Miya followed after her team, her new family. Their time in Luton came to a close but what awaited them in New Himuka was not going to be pleasant.
...
The Coalition. What are they? What are their goals? Something to think about really. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. There is a distinct lack of stories in this fandom on here. AO3 is jumping a little bit with over 40, which isn't much but more than the two, and the one crossover on here.
I wanna see more fics. Considering the first add-on pack was added four days ago, I want to see more.
Anyway, take care.