Soldier's Forge Chapter 10, a sakura wars fanfic

------------------

Soldier's Forge, Chapter 10:

"What? How did this happen?" Oogami's question mirrored the group, and the others gathered to listen to Yoneda's explanation.

"It's actually been in the works for a while, Oogami. Apparently, a small coalition used the emergency session to bring up a vote of competency. There were running out of solutions; most of them voted for it, due to pressure from the public. As of this hour, the prime minister's been missing—it's very likely that he's dead. The laws in this area are untested, so a state of emergency and martial law has been declared until they resolve this situation."

"I don't believe this—first the coup d'etat, and now this," commented Oogami.

"It's not the same as that," answered Kaede. "There is a large amount of support for the order. With the support of the public, and the fact that all military forces collaboratively hold power, it won't be resolved as easily as last time."

"How soon until they elect a new prime minister?" asked Maria.

"It's hard to say," replied Kaede. "As of now, all citizens have been told to stay off the streets. It's expected they will allow business to resume tomorrow morning."

"What about us? What are we to do?" inquired Oogami.

"The Hanagumi is to maintain high alert status. The situation is uncertain—we don't know what to expect," she answered.

"So now we wait, right? Gah, I can't stand all this," commented Kanna vehemently.

The Hanagumi continued to wait as the Army continued to move outside the theater. All over the city, soldiers patrolled the streets, and the city was quiet except for the movements of army vehicles. Tanks, artillery, and jeeps shone as beacons in the darkness with their headlights. Red flashes of rotating siren lights illuminated the buildings in a steady rhythm; soldiers with light sticks motioned and directed troops and vehicles to determined places.

Watching the procession in silence, the Hanagumi stood at the windows thoughtful and anxious. After several minutes, Oogami ordered the team to try to get some rest, and for rotating watches throughout the night. They reluctantly complied, although they all knew sleep would not come easy for any of them. Oogami felt weary as he sat down near the front window, gazing at the streets. He settled himself for his vigil, and steeled himself for whatever would transpire this night.

It was about one o'clock at night when Yoneda confronted Oogami.

"Oogami, wake the others," he ordered without explanation. Oogami saluted and went by each of the rooms, waking and informing them to meet in the cafeteria. Most of them did not look like they got much sleep, if any.

"Everyone, I've received word that military command is ordering me to turn over command of the Imperial Assault Troops to the army. They're citing the state of emergency as sufficient cause to do so." The others looked at Yoneda in disbelief. "There have been rioting in the streets in other parts of the city. They believe that a show of force is necessary to quell the unrest. I've been given an ultimatum of two hours to comply, and—and military command informed me that they have relieved me of duty."

"No, they can't do that Commander Yoneda!" exclaimed Maria.

"They just did. In two hours we are to turn over control of all assets to them, including the armor and the theater."

"Can they do this legally?" asked Kohran.

"With the enactment of the emergency act, it does not matter whether or not it is legal," informed Kaede. "The military has absolute authority during this time."

"There's no way they would need the Koubu just to 'quell' riots. It's got to be an excuse for them to get the armor," cited Maria. "Squad leader, if we capitulate now, who knows what we'll be made to do."

"I am aware of that, Maria. Yoneda, is there anyway we can buy ourselves some time?" asked Oogami.

"Yes, except—" Yoneda slumped into a chair, his face suddenly beset by weariness. "If you were to do so, it could mean the discharge of all of you, including me. We would be going down a road we cannot turn back from. I cannot ask that of any of you."

Silence overcame the Hanagumi as they pondered Yoneda's words.

"We—we'd no longer have a place here," started Kohran.

"The theater—our theater…" pondered Sumire. The others looked to Oogami for his answer, who was leaning over dejectedly on the table. Resolving himself, Oogami walked over to Yoneda and stood next to him with Kaede.

"This is a choice you must make for yourself," addressed Oogami to the gathered members. "I do not want any of you to do this unwillingly, and I will not hold anything against you no matter what you choose. As for me—I cannot stand by while this happens. I realize what I stand to lose, but my decision is final. I stand by Yoneda."

"Don't be an idiot, Oogami. I've already lived out most of my life. You've still got a career ahead of you. I can do this myself," grumbled Yoneda.

"With all due respect, sir, I'm inclined to disagree. Who will pilot the armor when we need to defend Teito, you?" replied Oogami.

"Squad leader, I too cannot sit idly by while this transpires. It isn't right. I will also stand by your side," said Maria as she walked over to him.

"Not you too, Maria," complained Yoneda.

"Hey, you can't leave me and have all the fun, old friend. Squad leader, count me in," chimed Kanna.

"Iris doesn't ever want to be away from brother! Iris will follow him always!" remarked Iris.

"Oogami, I've seen this happen before. If this happens, only tragedy and suffering can come of it. I have to do what I can to stop it," vowed Kohran.

"Ensign, you've earned my trust hundreds of times over, even before I really knew you. Besides, it's a lot more fun wherever you go, " added Orihime.

"You will need a soldier if you are to be successful. I offer my services to you, squad leader," said Reni. With that, only Sakura and Sumire were left behind.

"Oogami, I vowed to protect Teito with my life. If this is the only way for me to do it, I shall without hesitation do so. And…I can't bear to think about being apart from you," said Sakura softly. The only one remaining was Sumire, who was still staring out the window in anger.

"Sumire, I'll understand if you want to stay. You will always be the 'top star' of the Hanagumi to me," said Oogami.

"Ensign, of course I'll always be the 'top star'. But it won't be fun if you're not there to appreciate it. I'll go with you, since all of you will obviously miss me." Sumire walked over irately to Oogami, and then turned to the rest of the Hanagumi. "Just to let you know, you're all idiots. I hope you realize that."

Smiling, Oogami turned towards Yoneda.

"Give us our orders, commander."

Yoneda sighed, and then stood up with grim determination. "Sumire was right, you're all idiots. You've made your choice, now you live with it. Kaede," he motioned.

"We've anticipated something like this for quite some time, hoping it would never come to this. Unfortunately, we're left with no choice. As a precautionary measure, we're moving the armor out—both the Koubu and the Tenbu. In the worst-case scenario, the military will not be able to obtain them. We have only a limited number of locations to move them to that has adequate logistics and support to operate them; Hana-Yashiki research branch, Kanzaki Industries, and the Shogei-Maru. All of them are unsuitable due to security reasons. Because of the possibility for detainment, I will inform you of their location only if I am left with no choice. For the past several hours, the Kaze-gumi has been busy transporting your armor to these safe areas."

"We have closed all entrances to the theater, and have requested negotiations with the army to see if we can resolve this peacefully. There is a real possibility that if we do not comply with their order, they will seize this place—with force if necessary. Everyone needs to be prepared for this. With hope, we can buy some time and work something out," finished Kaede.

"Can we raise the defense walls?" asked Maria.

"It's too late; they're already inside the perimeter. Besides, if we do so, it will be construed as a hostile action and will be detrimental to our case," answered Kaede. "We already wired them with our request—the only thing to do is to wait for their reply."

"So we will hear their answer in about two hours, I suppose. We will wait here for results," ordered Oogami.

"Gather all minimum necessary items and belongings. We may need to make a quick escape on bullet train Gourai-gou," added Kaede. The Hanagumi saluted and dispersed to gather up weapons, small packs of clothing, and other essentials. Iris in particular tightened her grip on Jean-Paul; ever since he nearly got vaporized in the attack on the way back from Kanzaki Industries, she made it a point to keep him around her all times.

By the time the Hanagumi reconvened in the cafeteria, Oogami noticed that Tsubaki had returned.

"Where's Yuri and Kasumi?" he asked.

"They're waiting at the safe areas. For a precautionary measure, we separated the Koubu and Tenbu," replied Kaede. "Tsubaki will pilot Gourai-gou."

"The only thing we can do now is to wait," said Kanna. "As usual, I suppose."

"Better waiting than dead," replied Maria.

* * *

The Hanagumi, Tsubaki, Kaede, and Yoneda all sat with impatience, waiting for a response from the portable phone lying on the table. They were silent, high strung, and nervous; it did not get any easier as time progressed. An hour passed, but to all of them it seemed like an eternity.

"How long has it been?" asked Orihime crossly. "You would think they'd have the decency—"

Suddenly, the door burst open to the cafeteria as Kayama came running into the room.

"You have to get out of here, now!" he yelled. Everyone stood in surprise when the windows shattered and smoke began to pour into the room. Pulling back towards the kitchen area with his sleeve over his mouth, Oogami tried to keep his eyes from tearing up. There was chaos amidst him as he shouted for the others to retreat. In the hallway, the air cleared up, and he saw Yoneda, Kaede, and Tsubaki huddled at the kitchen entrance. The rest of the Hanagumi were flocking in, safe for the moment. At last came Kayama, overturning several tables in the way.

"I thought we would get a chance to negotiate," said Yoneda, slightly shaken.

"Is it the army? Are they attacking?" asked Oogami.

"No. It's army intelligence—that's worse. They never intended to give you a chance to parlay, Yoneda. They're here to kill," replied Kayama. Just as he finished, Oogami saw dark silhouettes entering the cafeteria through the windows at the other end. Spotting the group huddled in the hallway, they began to open fire with automatic weapons.

"Damn," shouted Maria as her back hit the wall. The others took cover on the floor; luckily, Kayama's furniture rearrangement provided them with small cover.

"Yoneda, we have to go," shouted Kaede. "Everyone, fall back to command!"

"Maria, we'll need covering fire soon," said Oogami as he pressed close behind her. "There's too many of us to move at once. Tsubaki, Sakura, Sumire, Iris, Reni—get ready to head to the stairs when I say so." Oogami counted for three seconds while he drew his sidearm. "Alright Maria, now. Go!"

Oogami and Maria stepped out to peg some shots at the attackers. It was their first chance to clearly see who was attacking them; the dark shapes wore a black bodysuit, with matching dark ski masks obscuring their faces. Hitting the floor, the attackers stayed prone while the first group flitted in and out of sight and into the hallway. Ammo expended, Oogami and Maria crouched down while they watched the first group disappear down the stairs.

"Group one made it. Alright, everyone else, gear up. Our turn is up next. Where's Kayama?" shouted Oogami as their assailants began firing on them once again.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine," assured Kaede. Oogami finished reloading his pistol at the same time as Maria. "Everyone ready, on three. One…two…three!" Maria and Oogami stepped out once again to provide fire suppression while everyone else moved across into the hallway. There were nearly past the courtyard entrance when the wall ahead of them to the left blew outwards, sending all of them onto the ground. The roof ahead, destabilized by the blast, caved in spilling gravel and sheetrock into the hallway along with two support pylons from overhead.

Oogami was deafened from the blast and was crouching under cover, as was Maria. Where the wall around Yoneda's office door should have been was a large, gaping hole. The hallway before the stairs underground was blocked by debris.

"Maria, they can't make it. We'll have to fall back into the VIP entrance."

"Oogami!" shouted a voice from the other side of the rubble. Recognizing the voice, Oogami replied quickly.

"Kikunojou! Tell the others to go now, we can't get to them!" he shouted.

"Understood, Oogami! We'll hold them off as long as we can!" The Bara-gumi member retreated back downstairs and proceeded to barricade the entrance. The other Hanagumi members on the other side of the hall began to recover from the blast.

"Back to the VIP entrance!" shouted Oogami. Sporadic gunfire accentuated his sentence. Kohran inched her way to the corner, and pulled out a small round sphere from a shoulder bag. Pulling the pin off the top, she chucked it around the corner. A bright flash of light briefly lit the large cafeteria accompanied by a deafening bang.

"That will hold them for a bit. Let's go!" she shouted. Kohran jumped past Oogami and Maria into the VIP entrance, followed by Kanna, Orihime, Yoneda, and Kaede. Tapping Maria on the shoulder, Maria turned and followed the others into the second entrance. Oogami hopped in shortly, shutting the door and bolting it behind him.

"Squad leader!" warned Maria as she pulled her pistol and shot at the small window. An agent outside the window fell to the ground. Oogami turned quickly and plugged another agent about to fire on them at the left window.

"It's not safe in here, into the main office," advised Maria. At that moment, a large thud of a battering ram impacting was heard; an indentation was made on the inside. No one argued as Kanna quickly opened the door to the office and herded everyone inside.

Shutting the door, bolting it, and pushing a large filing cabinet in front of it, Oogami looked to Yoneda.

"We're trapped in here. They'll be coming through that door any time, or through that window. Where are we going to go?"

"Commander, there's a delivery vehicle at this side of the street. If we can just get to it…" offered Kaede.

"On it," answered Kohran. Pulling a rectangular gray lump, Kohran walked towards the wall and positioned it carefully. "Everyone under the desks, it's going to sting a little." Tacking the mound of C4 onto the wall, she pushed a few buttons on the timer, and than ran for cover with everyone else. A deafening explosion blew the wall of the office out, and two agents on the outside rappelling down were flung outwards in a long arc. Getting up as the dust cleared, Oogami ran towards the hole, hugging the south wall. Spotting the van a little distance up the street, Oogami saw immediately the obstacle that lay near the front of the theater; a contingent of troops were waiting to open fire on anyone foolish enough to be in their line of fire.

"Smoke grenades, Kohran?" he asked.

"Right." Taking out four silver spheres, she tossed them into the street. Upon impact, they began spewing a billowing white cloud; picking up on this, the troops began to fire into the fog. Darting in and out, Oogami quickly scooped up two automatic rifles lying close to the rubble.

"Maria, go with Kanna, Kohran, and Orihime, and cover the other side of the van," ordered Oogami as he handed her on of the carbines. Kaede quickly fished out a set of keys and tossed them to Maria. "Yoneda, Kaede, and I will follow shortly. I'll cover you. Ready…go!" Oogami stood and fired back into the cloud, hoping that it would deter whoever was on the other side for a few seconds. Hugging the theater wall, Maria led the others single file towards the van. Spotting several troops running around the back corner, Maria quickly opened fire, pushing them back and wounding others. She crouched next to the van, laying back some suppression fire.

"Someone, get the keys and open the van up!" she ordered. Orihime snatched the keys out of her pocket and opened the door. Kanna and Kohran jumped into the van while Orihime took the driver's seat.

"Kanna, get the back door," said Kohran as she fumbled to get seated up front. Kanna, crouching due to her height, ran towards the back and opened the door a crack.

"Maria?" she shouted.

"I'll hold them off until Oogami gets the others here," she replied loudly. Sighting again, she pulled off a series of brief, controlled bursts of gunfire.

Back at the other side, Oogami realized was nearly out of ammo. The smoke screen was beginning to wear thin; it was time to move.

"Yoneda, Kaede, let's not keep the party waiting. Ready?" Kaede nodded, and taking Yoneda's arm prepared herself to run across to the waiting van. "Go!" yelled Oogami as he began to empty the rest of his ammo. Yoneda and Kaede got up quickly and started running, huddled as close as they could to the wall. Without warning, Yoneda stumbled, bringing Kaede down with him.

"Damn," cursed Oogami as he saw them falter. The rifle he held clicked, indicating its ammo was depleted. Drawing his pistol once again, Oogami stood and ran to cover Yoneda and Kaede through the hail of gunfire.

Maria caught only a small glimpse of what transpired, but her attention turned back to keeping the other agents from popping their heads around the corner. Oogami was running backwards when he suddenly stumbled, and fell next to Yoneda.

"Time to go, Manager," he said, breathing heavily.

"I can't, idiot. I twisted my ankle," he replied hoarsely. Kaede suddenly noticed Oogami clutching his side. "You—you're shot, Oogami!"

"Get him out of here, Kaede, now!" Oogami looked over to see five figures emerging from the smoke, all of which would have a clear line of sight in a matter of seconds. Lying next to the wall, Oogami lifted his pistol, prepared to fire the last of his rounds.

"Oh well, we had fun, didn't we?" asked Oogami rhetorically. Kaede sat on her knees, frozen in shock next to Yoneda, all three of them were awaiting their final seconds.

The lead agent, clad in an ominous black, saw them and lifted his weapon when he fell backwards suddenly from an impact to his head. Several more shots rang out; the others looked around quickly before they too fell to the ground dead.

Kayama jumped out from the office hole and met them on the street.

"I've got some snipers on the roof, but they won't hold out much longer. Let's get—Oogami, you're hurt!" Kayama observed quickly.

"Get the others out of here, Kayama," Oogami told Kayama while clutching his side. Placing a hand on Kayama's shoulder, he squeezed it gently.

"Oogami," frowned Kayama.

"Do your job, Kayama," rebuked Yoneda. "As per my orders, and as your commander, you are to leave me behind."

"Both trying to be heroes?" questioned Kayama as several cracks of sniper fire continued.

"Goddamn idiot," mumbled Yoneda. "Fine, leave Oogami and me behind. Take Kaede. You can only get one out anyways, and you can't move Oogami."

Oogami beckoned to Kayama to move closer. "I'll be fine—see you on the beach, friend," he whispered before passing out. Kayama quickly gathered Kaede—who was frozen and tearful—into his arms. "I'll be back for both of you later. Don't die on me yet."

Leaving the two behind, he started running towards the van. Maria turned to see Kayama and Kaede running towards them, and then paled she saw Oogami and Yoneda lying in the street. Her breathing stopped, and her stomach twisted when she realized what had happened.

"Squad leader! No!" she screamed in terror. She stood up, dropping the carbine, and started to run towards them.

"Squad leader!" she yelled again. Suddenly she was restrained; Kanna had jumped out from the back of the van and was dragging her back.

"We can't do anything for him now! We've got to go!" she screamed into Maria's ear.

"Not again! Not again!" she sobbed as she struggled briefly. Hauling her into the van, Kanna dumped Maria in roughly and motioned towards Kayama when an explosion rocked the street. Gravel was tossed up, and Kayama fell over on top of Kaede. Dust covered the entire area, obscuring Kanna's vision. When the dust cleared slightly, Kayama—along with Kaede—was nowhere to be seen. Spotting a looming shadow emerging, she recognized the mechanical sound of a tank bearing towards them. Shutting the van door quickly, she shouted, "Orihime, get us out of here!"

Taking the cue, Orihime floored the vehicle into the street, blurring past startled troops. She gunned the engine for all its worth and drove the van into the night, uncertain as to where she was going and whether or not they would get there alive.

[Very] brief notes:

Not done.

Still revising.

Will finish, but later—out of time for now.

Lots planned. =)