Soldier's Forge Chapter 8, a sakura wars fanfic

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Soldier's Forge, Chapter 8:

Oogami and Kohran finished their investigation and headed back towards the theater. Once inside, Tsubaki met them and announced that the computer analysis was nearing completion. Kohran thanked Oogami once again, and then followed her downstairs, leaving Oogami to decide what to do next. On his way upstairs, he ran into Kanna just as she was on the way down.

"Heya, squad leader. Say, are you busy? Wanna get in a sparring session?" she offered.

"Sure," nodded Oogami.

"Alright! Meet me in the gym in a couple of minutes." Oogami left for his room, changed into his sparring wardrobe, and went back down to rendezvous with Kanna. Bowing to each other, they began their training. Oogami noticed as he was fighting that for some reason Kanna's mind wasn't into it, and she was making lapses in concentration.

"Kanna, have anything on your mind?" asked Oogami as he deflected a punch.

"You trying to distract me?" she grinned as she retaliated with a kick. Winding down a little bit, she paused. "Yeah, I guess the stuff that's been happening lately is on my mind. I thought I could forget about if I trained a little, but I see that's not the case."

"I'm sure Sumire will appreciate that she's missed," observed Oogami acutely.

"Whoa, I never said I missed her," Kanna said quickly, waving her hands. "Well, maybe just a little. It's just not right, what happened to us—I didn't even get a fighting chance."

"We're doing everything we can, Kanna. Until then, there's nothing we can really do," replied Oogami.

"That's where you're wrong, squad leader. I'm going to keep training, and make sure things like this don't happen again. I'll make whoever's responsible pay for this," she vowed vehemently.

"I'm sorry. You're right Kanna. Train hard; we'll need to be ready for whatever happens next."

"Righto! Thanks for the session, it kinda helped to clear my head." Oogami and Kanna bowed to each other, and then he left to shower. As soon as he finished, Oogami got word from Kaede that Maria and the others were about to return. Walking to the front of the theater, he gasped when he saw them return with four armored escort vehicles, three flatbed trucks that looked as if they were put through a grinder, and a car carrying Kasumi, Maria, and Iris. Exiting the car, Maria turned to Oogami with a hard look on her face.

"Maria, what happened?" Oogami asked.

"We were attacked, squad leader. I'll tell you the details inside." Maria led the way into the theater, leaving a baffled Oogami behind.

Oogami convened the other members, and they were all listening to Maria's account at the cafeteria. Iris stayed seated quietly as Maria finished.

"CEO Kanzaki was livid when he heard about the attack, so he doubled the escort back home. He's also launching a top priority investigation. One thing was clear—whoever attacked us was informed as to when we left and how we were going to arrive. He thinks that he may have a traitor on the inside." Murmurs of disbelief went through the Hanagumi. "Also, whoever attacked us was well armed. Someone big is behind this; they were using military grade weapons. I completely agree with squad leader that we're in considerable danger."

"That's—incredible that they have the audacity to attack us," remarked Orihime.

"We're not sure they meant to attack us. They might have been after the Tenbu, or the new shielding technology," answered Maria. "Although I don't doubt for a second that if we had surrendered, we would have 'disappeared'."

"Who is it that's after us, Oogami?" asked Sakura worriedly. Oogami shook his head.

"I don't even know if it's a person, Sakura. I too wish I had that knowledge; until then, the only thing we can do is be prepared for whatever may come to pass." Nods of assent were made among the members. Oogami and the others went to brooding quietly when Yoneda entered the room.

"You guys look terrible; I know you've had a terrible day, but I think this will cheer you up. We just got word that Sumire is awake again!" he announced.

* * *

Everyone was in high spirits when they piled into Sumire's room. Holding a bouquet of flowers and a card, Oogami walked over to Sumire, who had her eyes closed. She lay there, beautiful and graceful even with a head bandage and in hospital gowns.

"I thought she was awake," whispered Sakura in Oogami's ear.

"I'm sure she is, she's just faking for sympathy," said Kanna loudly as she shook Sumire's shoulder. The others gasped in shock as Kanna continued. Sumire's eyes snapped open in annoyance.

"Damn you, Kanna. I wanted to wake to Ensign's kiss, but instead I have to stare at your ugly face," she screeched. This brought laughter out of everyone, except for Kanna who fumed at Sumire.

"Sumire, we're glad you're okay," Oogami interrupted so Kanna couldn't get a reply. He handed her the flowers and the signed card.

"Thank you, Ensign. I hope everyone did well without the 'top star' of the Hanagumi. I know you all missed me," she said, grinning.

Oogami was about to reply when surprisingly Kanna spoke up. "Yeah, we missed you, but I knew you'd be back." Sumire's eyes softened as she took Oogami's hand and squeezed it.

"Ensign, can I still have that kiss?" she asked wistfully.

* * *

The next morning Oogami woke to high spirits. Sumire was returning home this morning; she had been kept overnight for observation. Just meeting with her boosted everyone's morale, however. Kohran informed Oogami that she and Tsubaki were compiling an interesting collection of data and would have a report ready for him later, and the computer was back online. Maria and Iris were somewhat rested from their ordeal, while Kasumi definitely had interesting tales to relay to Yuri.

Sumire returned early, citing that she did not want to eat anymore of the hospital food and wanted to join them for breakfast. Conversation was lively, and Sumire was filled in with the events of the day since no one brought it up when they visited her, wishing not to worry her about it. Needless to say, she was as shocked as the rest of them but took it in stride; her ability to look head on into grim situations and laugh it off comforted the others, and Oogami was heartfelt that as long as the Hanagumi stayed together, nothing could bring them down.

After breakfast was over, Oogami had a practice simulation session scheduled. Amazingly enough, the Hanagumi welcomed it, as if being able to relieve several days of idleness. Oogami had all participate with the exception of Sumire, who still had a head bandage; he did not want to stress her too much while she was recovering.

"Ok, that's the scenario. I'll reduce my forces appropriately to compensate for Sumire's absence and—" briefed Oogami.

"No way, squad leader. We'll take them without Sumire," challenged Kanna.

"Are you sure, Kanna?" asked Oogami dubiously.

"Definitely! We'll you how it's done!" she said enthusiastically. The others agreed, while Kanna grinned evilly at Sumire. "I'll show you how much we don't need her," jibed Kanna.

"What?" she replied lividly. "Ensign, please show the brute the error of her ways."

Oogami smiled while they glared at each other, and then replied, "Alright, Kanna. You're on." While the rest of the members exited the room, Oogami turned towards Sumire. "Would you like to join me in the command center? You'd get to be on the other side for once," he offered.

"I'd like that, Ensign." Sumire took his arm as Oogami led her to his station. Gesturing to a chair next to him, they sat down while Oogami flipped several switches and initialized the system. Tsubaki was currently busy, but Kasumi and Yuri took over monitoring the session.

"So this is what you do up here, Ensign," Sumire remarked.

"Yeah. Would you like to know a little about how it works?"

"Sure." Oogami proceeded to give her a brief rundown on the system, showing her monitors, controls, and indicators. He pointed out flashing lights that represented the team, showed her his forces on a map, and gave small explanations as to why he took certain actions. While Sumire wasn't too interested in the details, she did enjoy looking at Ensign while he passionately explained things; she realized that this was his calling, much like the stage to her. She was content to smile softly at him while he did his work..

When the simulation started, it became obvious to Oogami that the team was energized and ready for action. From the opening moves, it was apparent that Maria was well prepared. Sumire sat watching Oogami as he started to concentrate, moving forces and monitoring activity intently. She may have not understood all the reasoning behind Oogami's actions, but she could recognize as the match moved forwards that it was a high intensity situation, with the air of two grand masters pitting themselves against each other. It was then that she appreciated the talents Oogami brought to the team; she also recognized that one of his many loves would be combat, and that was something she could not take away from him—she could only accept it.

Near the end, Oogami was highly impressed; every trick he tried, Maria saw into it. For every action, she had an appropriate counter, and in the places where she didn't, the team's skill made up for it. They were moving like a precision instrument, surgically cutting his forces away. Oogami tried everything he could, but soon the inevitable became apparent: he wasn't going to win this engagement. With the final troop dispatched, the simulation ended. Oogami leaned back, breathing heavily with sweat covering his brow.

"Sorry Sumire, they really got me this time," apologized Oogami.

"Ensign…" began Sumire.

"I don't want to make excuses, but I think they would have won no matter what," he added.

"What I was going to say was…it's fine. Only…" paused Sumire. "I only wish I didn't have to hear it from Kanna for the next few days." Oogami chuckled.

"That's okay, Sumire," called Kanna from the entrance. "Squad leader's going to be hearing it a lot more than you are."

"Congratulations, everyone. I'm very proud of all of you," complimented Oogami to the Hanagumi as they joined him. They were all ecstatic over their victory today, beaming with joy.

"Maria was the one who really got us up and going today," said Sakura. "Actually, before the match she had us in a meeting for a while. She gave us some new stuff to try, and she even gave us a nice speech at the end."

"Really? Maria?" asked Oogami in surprise. Maria blushed and smiled.

"It wasn't anything, really. Just went over new tactics, made just for you," she replied.

"That's great, Maria. Ok, everyone to the debrief room. I get to tell you everything you did right," said Oogami. Everyone was seated and talking excitedly over the simulation when Oogami came in with an item unexpectedly in hand.

"I got this at the beginning for the time you would beat me. I think you've earned it," announced Oogami as he pulled out a chilled bottle of wine. It was a nice age, appropriate for the occasion.

"Waaah! Brother is throwing us a party! Yay!" she cheered.

"Haha, sorry Iris, you don't get to drink that yet," replied Sakura. Oogami held up a bottle of grape juice for Iris and Reni.

"Great thinking, squad leader," complimented Kanna as Oogami took out some glasses and placed them on the table.

"Ensign can do something right once in a while, I guess," winked Orihime.

"Wahoo! You've definitely hit the button on the center, Oogami," smiled Kohran.

"Alcohol consumption is detrimental to operational efficiency," added Reni as Oogami was finishing filling the glasses.

"Squad leader, I appreciate this, but I don't think it's really a significant event—" started Maria.

"Don't sell yourself short, old friend," interrupted Kanna. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have done it."

"Kanna's right. Maria, you have our gratitude," bowed Sakura. Everyone gathered agreed.

"Everyone…" she replied softly, speechless. Everyone was gathered at the table, including all of the Kaze-gumi, whom Oogami had invited. They smiled warmly, and turned to Oogami for the toast.

"To…to the victory—your victory. It was hard fought, and you earned it, but what pleases me more is that it shows a better Hanagumi, a growing Hanagumi, one that will withstand the trials of the future. I…I'm proud of everyone, and…and I love you all. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" came the expected response from everyone.

"My, my, Oogami, you sure are the player," giggled Kasumi.

The celebration was a success, with everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves. There was lots of laughter, banter, and happiness that carried over throughout the rest of the day. It was such that even Kaede heard about it and came down to give her congratulations briefly before returning back upstairs to work. When the Hanagumi finally dispersed to perform whatever task needed to be done, they all did so with high morale.

Oogami sat at his now used desk, humming a tune while he continued his work. Before long, Kohran came knocking on the door.

"Oogami, am I disturbing you?" she asked.

"Not at all, come in," he answered.

"Oogami, Tsubaki and I have some interesting results that I think you'd like to hear," she reported.

"Alright, let's do this over tea again," replied Oogami as he finished up the last of his paperwork. Heading down to the cafeteria, he prepared tea for Kohran, Tsubaki, and himself, and then settled down to stacks of printouts.

"As you know, Oogami," began Kohran. "Rummaging through the Teito network has yielded some interesting results. We managed to piece together a trail that led from the police to the politicians, which eventually led to the military. It took some time, but this is what we came up with." Pulling out some printouts, she showed them to Oogami. "Through communications logs, phone records, things like that, we found that among the politicians that have regular dealings with the military, namely those involved in committees for the Ministry of Defense, a handful of them are getting extraneous communications from a network of military contacts. Oogami, when I mean extraneous, I'm talking about phone and wire communications at odd hours—and lots of it. We checked out some of the names, but they seem to be low ranking officers or secretaries that are doing the communications. Obviously, it's not just them, so we checked which offices they worked for, who they worked for, and how long. Most of these people started working only two to three months ago." She paused to take a sip of her tea.

"That puts us back in our fight with Kyougoku Keigo, right?" clarified Oogami.

"That's right, Oogami. It's my hypothesis that they were instated as a means of communications between Keigo and his people. After his attack, no effort was really made to root out the network, as it was assumed that without his leadership the people would disband and return to their duties. Since the infrastructure was already there, it wasn't very difficult to get it up and running again. That means that someone—or some group—is working on something. Furthermore, they must have known quite a bit about Keigo; this network was fairly well hidden."

"Interesting, but the question now is why would they want to disrupt police investigations?" asked Oogami.

"It's probably more than just stopping the investigations, Oogami. Either they don't want the police to discover something, or maybe just letting rampant terrorism in the streets has an effect they desire. Tsubaki and I considered the possibilities, but couldn't come up with anything. There is one interesting piece of information, however. When we were monitoring projects and fund requisitions, all Army projects are pretty much on suspended state, pending funding. That's not surprising, with the shortfall and everything, but when I cross-referenced with communication activities and personnel management I found one that was still continuing internally. The only information they had on this was a project codename: 'Pariah'."

"'Pariah'?" mulled Oogami thoughtfully.

"Right. It means outcast or outsider in English. This project was very low-key, and was difficult to root out information for. They have had almost no outside communications with any of the higher offices, nor have there been any recent requisitions for funding or manpower, but it is still running. There's no way they can keep going like that without some kind of funding source—I know how laboratory expenditures work."

"Is it possible that it's some pet project of an army commander that never really got killed?" considered Oogami.

"Could be. We have no way of knowing—that's as far as the records go concerning this."

"Good job, Kohran, Tsubaki. This is informative, and needless to say—disturbing," commented Oogami.

"No problem, Oogami. Actually, I couldn't have done it without Tsubaki's help. She has a very intuitive grasp about the systems," complimented Kohran.

"Oh, don't be silly. I just work with them a lot," replied Tsubaki modestly.

"From what I saw, I think I'll try to get Kaede to have you work with me more often. We had a lot of fun," said Kohran grinning.

"I have one thing to ask of you, Kohran," said Oogami. "Do you mind if you share your findings with Kayama? I'll try to arrange to have him meet you, and it might come in helpful to have him take a look at it."

"Sure, no problem, Oogami. Except—" Kohran looked at Oogami uncomfortably.

"Except…?" inquired Oogami.

"Except…he really frightens me sometimes. What I mean is—he's weirder that I am. That says a lot," she finished.

Afterwards, Oogami dropped his finished stack of papers to Kaede. While he was there, he requested that Kayama meet with him, and Kaede replied that she would relay the message for him. Before long, he received word that he was needed in the main office, presumably to help

"Oogami, there you are! I've got news for you," informed Kasumi as Oogami was walking in.

"Yuri, Kasumi, good afternoon. I can't wait to hear," replied Oogami.

"You wanted to know what was going on in the city. First off—" began Yuri.

"Wait a second, Yuri. Let Oogami have a seat or something first," chided Kasumi.

"Oh, I'm sorry Oogami. Please, make yourself comfortable. Now, as I was saying, I got wind that there are a lot more things going on than reported. The majority of people are frightened to be out, because they fear whatever is out there that's doing these awful things. It's not just limited to vandalism and bombings—I've heard cases of extortion, assault—it's as if the whole city has gone nuts. Not everyone is taking this sitting down, though. Some people are trying to push the government to do something—they're really breathing down the politicians' necks. Of course, they refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. I have a friend that's been offered to attend the meeting of these new activists. I don't know exactly what they plan to do, but she said that it sounded like they were planning something pretty drastic soon."

"As a result of this unrest, a lot of storekeepers are reporting a large decrease in foreign goods sales. Since Teito is so interconnected with the world, it's hitting everyone hard. People are starting to get angry. It's only going to be self destructive if something isn't done soon," observed Kasumi.

"It's terrible, Oogami. Someone I know had her shop broken into and looted, and someone else was beat up just for buying some coffee. There's not enough police out there, and when they do show up the only thing they can do is write down the incident. People are worried," said Yuri, frowning.

"The city we've sworn to protect—what has happened?" wondered Oogami aloud. "We're doing what we can to figure it out. Hopefully we'll get a good break."

"I hope so too, Oogami. I like news, but only if it's good news," sighed Yuri. "Anyways, Oogami, I'll let you know when we have new developments. Until then, would you help us with some paperwork?"

"No problem. Thanks for the news, both of you," replied Oogami. As he settled down, he remembered something at the back of his mind. "Oh, I almost forgot. Kayama told me to tell you that your information net works for him."

"What? No way, he's got to be lying," said Yuri. "He was kidding, right?"

"I couldn't tell. He seemed pretty serious."

"He's just saying that to get on my nerves." Yuri crossed her arms indignantly, and then worriedly said, "He's got to be kidding…got to be."

* * *

Later that evening, Oogami and the others were resting in the salon. Maria and Oogami were engaged in a game of chess, while Kohran, Kanna, Sakura, Orihime, and Sumire were playing Monopoly. Iris and Reni were playing with Jean-Paul and friends, although it looked as if Reni wanted to do otherwise. Iris wouldn't hear any of that, however, so she was consigned to being Iris' playmate for the evening.

"I don't get this. How did you end up with that all of a sudden, Sumire?" Kanna questioned.

"If you were paying attention, you'd know. I know what to buy, and I know what to trade," replied Sumire. Her property was a large conglomerate of purple, spreading out to encroach on the others.

"I'm not very good at this game," whined Sakura as she rolled her dice. Moving her piece, she sighed and gave Sumire some of her dwindling pile of money.

"It should be a game of chance," puzzled Kohran. "There's equal probability of landing at all locations."

"I'm just fine with my property," said Orihime smugly.

"But all you've got is one hotel. You haven't gotten anything else," pointed out Kanna.

"Hotels are beautiful places. They're so romantic," she said dreamily. Everyone stared at her while she closed her eyes and vacationed.

"Oookay. Anyways…" Kohran rolled her dice. Moving her piece, she frowned and handed money over to Sumire.

"How are you doing over there, squad leader?" said Kanna wearily as she leaned back on the couch.

"Not good," replied Oogami as he concentrated at the board. Maria had introduced him to this game a while ago, and he was still trying to grasp the intricacies. She was up by a rook and a knight, and had considerable positional advantage.

"That game makes my head hurt," commented Kanna. "Maria tried to show it to me once. I've got to hand it to you, squad leader, it really takes something to enjoy that." She rolled her dice, and then handed some money over to Kohran. "You know what, Sumire, you're pretty good at this. It must come from the family business, eh?"

Sumire paused while she was rolling the dice, frowning. Kanna, sensing her mood, puzzled over the change. "Whoa, was it something I said?"

"No…it's nothing. I'm just lucky, that's all," she replied before rolling. Purchasing the piece of property she landed on, she handed the dice over to Sakura. "So Orihime, what would you be doing at these romantic hotels?" she asked quickly. It was painfully obvious that she wanted to change the subject.

"Oh, the usual, of course. Long walks on the beach, beautiful sunsets, dancing at the ballroom…" said Orihime wistfully. "Which reminds me, I need to move eight spaces to snag that last hotel." Sakura handed Orihime the dice when her turn was over.

"Iris can help!" Without warning, Iris jumped over to the table and picked up the dice. Rolling it, the two dice fell four and four. Orihime stared at Iris in amazement.

"Iris, if I said I needed a twelve, could you roll that for me?" she inquired, wide eyed.

"No problem!" As if to demonstrate, she took the dice and rolled it again. Six and six.

"Oh my god, Iris, you're coming with me to Vegas," Orihime announced as she hugged her.

"Out of the question," said Maria while she still had her eyes on the chess match.

"Why not? I think it would be a great idea—" began Orihime.

"No. Trust me, I've been there. It's definitely not a place for Iris to go to, or for that matter any of you," she said firmly.

"Why would it be that bad? And besides, you said you've been there. I don't see how that makes you any different," protested Orihime.

"First, if you have to ask, then you shouldn't be there. Secondly, I carry a gun." Sakura and Orihime looked at each other dubiously, while Iris sat there trying to figure out what Maria was talking about when a loud thud was heard on the roof.

"Waah! Santa Claus is here early!" cheered Iris.

"Santa who?" asked Sakura. The others were looking around in confusion except Maria, who drew her revolver, ready for action.

"Hello ladies!" yelled Kayama as he swung into view in front of the window, upside down. Maria pointed her gun at Kayama.

"Whoa, easy there Maria. If you don't mind, could you unlatch the window? It's pretty cold out here," said Kayama with his usual long drawl. Maria rolled her eyes and walked over to the window to unlatch it. The others stared aghast at Kayama.

"Don't worry, he does this all the time," commented Oogami. Sumire put a hand over her head, while the others continued staring. Sakura whispered to Kohran, "Does he think he's a bat?"

"I don't know," she replied. She suddenly felt a headache from realizing that she would have to be working with him for a short period of time. Kayama managed to get the window open and swung into the room—or rather tried to.

"Toh!" he yelped as he landed ungracefully. "Glad to see everyone enjoying themselves. It really brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes to see everyone getting along in this time of troubles." Kayama pulled out his infamous white guitar.

"Where did he get that from?" asked Kanna rhetorically.

Strumming a chord with his eyes closed, Kayama posed still until the reverberations of the strings ended. "Actually, I came because Oogami asked me to."

"Kohran has some neat stuff to show you, don't you Kohran?" Oogami turned towards Kohran smiling.

"Um, can I say no to this one?" Kohran sighed. "Alright, Kayama, follow me. Oh well, the game was over anyways."

"Yeah, we might as well just give our money to Sumire," resigned Kanna. "Although I do think she must have been stealing from the bank…"

"Are you accusing me of cheating, you big behemoth…" she replied as they were walking off to their rooms.

"Don't worry about anything, I'll put the games up," offered Oogami.

"Thank you, Oogami. Have a good night," said Sakura as she retired.

"We should quit too, squad leader. It's getting late," remarked Maria.

"Yeah, I've got night watch soon. You got me pretty good, Maria—I'll have to study this some more. Good game," he complimented as he packed the chessboard.

"Good game, squad leader," she replied as she headed off. "Good night, Iris, Reni. You two need to go to bed now. Good night to you, squad leader."

"Good night, brother. Come on, Reni," said Iris as she and Jean-Paul headed off to her room.

"Good night," Oogami said to all three of them. Orihime yawned on the couch.

"Well, I guess it's good night to you too, Ensign. I'll be heading off now…"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Oogami while he began picking up the board game. "I believe it's your turn to help with night watch?"

"Damn, you didn't forget. Alright, slave driver, I'll help," replied Orihime acidly.

"As I recall, you take about two hours worth of naps during the day. I don't think thirty minutes will kill you," grinned Oogami.

"You are such a comedian," said Orihime sarcastically. Finished with returning the games, Orihime and Oogami began walking the dark theater, checking windows and door.

"You know, Ensign, what would you do if you were at a nice resort?" asked Orihime curiously after walking in silence for a while.

Oogami pondered this for a few minutes while walking down the hallway. "I really don't know. Honestly, I'm not the sort of person that knows how to relax at a resort."

"Weren't you paying attention to me, Ensign?" asked Orihime, slightly vexed. She softened her expression as she recalled her brief dream.

"How about long walks on the beach?"

"I guess so."

"Would you like to sit and watch the sunset?"

"Sounds good. Sunsets are pretty." Orihime glared at him, annoyed. Oogami finished checking the lobby and turned back around, oblivious to Orihime's frown.

"Do you dance? What about ballroom dancing?" asked Orihime suddenly.

"I've tried. I'm not any good at it," answered Oogami candidly. Orihime rolled her eyes in exasperation, and then smiled at him.

"I guess I have quite a bit to work on, Ensign." Oogami looked at her, confusion on his face. They were nearing the end of the patrol, and were close to Orihime's room.

"Ensign, what did Maria mean when she was talking about Vegas?" she pondered.

Oogami, suddenly blushing, replied quickly, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." The pair finally arrived at Orihime's room. She looked at him incredulously, and then gave up. "Alright. Good night, Ensign."

"Good night, Orihime."