A/N: Didn't mean for the uploads on this story to end up so staggered. My apologies~ I'll try not to do it again where possible, though with it being the busiest time of the year it's possible it might happen again.
Hope you enjoy this chapter~
Halo
Chapter 8: Pawns
Shiroko excelled at urban combat.
A trait she picked up due to living in Abydos for as long as she could remember. She knew the streets like the back of her hand and even when she did end up getting lost, her instincts always led her to the road back home, no matter how many hundreds of miles she'd ended up bicycling – and those same instincts helped her in battle as well.
Shiroko relied on those instincts as she ran down the narrow alleyway, grunting and ducking just in time to avoid a spray of bullets that passed over her head – swiftly darting into an alcove in the wall. Bullets pinged and cracked off of the sandy bricks but she stayed where she was; using the brief few seconds available to reload her assault rifle and roll her shoulders, keeping herself loose and limbered.
Courtesy of her acute sense of hearing she heard the rustic click of the gang member's gun as the last bullet was fired. In an instant Shiroko poked out of cover, aiming – and with two quick taps downed the Helmet Gang member, their helmet ironically doing very little to spare them. However they weren't alone, a fact Shiroko learned as a spray of bullets came from higher up, one bullet hitting her foot and making her wince. It punched through her shoe but failed to break the skin; though the force behind the bullet would still bruise her skin, most likely.
'Where?' Shiroko glanced skyward – locating the shooter after just a couple seconds. Two gang members leaning out of a balcony, the other one fumbling with their gun while the other was smacking theirs, apparently having gotten it jammed after the spray.
Without missing a beat Shiroko sent an accurate burst up at them, pelting them with bullets and nailing the fumbling gang member in the head, knocking them unconscious and sending them falling over the balcony and into the alleyway below, unconscious. The other gang members yelped and fled back into cover, jerking back the second Shiroko popped off a few more rounds along the edge of the doorway, keeping them pinned.
''Shiroko!'' Serika called out over her ear-piece. Small mercies that Ayane remembered to pack them for situations like this, even if their battery life was crap. ''Move it!''
''Copy.'' Shiroko responded, making a break for it.
The alleyway opened up into the parking lot of an apartment building; surrounded on all sides with just a single wider alley for cars to come in-and-out of. Serika was waiting at the mouth of the alleyway just a dozen feet away, said cat-girl firing off a quick bursts of rounds to keep the Helmet Gang members back long enough for Shiroko to join them in cover. Just in time too, as one of the gang members smacked down a machine gun of some kind and flooded the alleyway with bullets, hitting nothing but sand and brickwork.
''Hm.'' Shiroko pulled her magazine out and checked it. ''Twelve rounds left. I've still got a few magazines on me. You two?''
''I've got plenty.'' Ayane assured, keeping an eye out on their flanks with her pistol raised. ''Serika?''
''Only a few. Three I think.'' The cat-girl muttered back, not bothering to check her bag.
Shiroko swiftly unzipped her own bag and took out a clip, handing it over. Serika took it without complaint. Once upon a time she might've protested, but Serika was mature enough to know this wasn't the time for that, not when such discourse would only embolden their enemy who saw it as a weakness.
''Let's move.'' Shiroko then muttered, nudging both girls before turning and running towards the main apartment doors; twin wooden ones.
Wooden ones that were bashed inwards easily with a shoulder-charge. The interior was flooded with sand and was dusty as all hell but Shiroko paid it little mind, merely pulling her scarf over her mouth and nose before she continued down the right-hand hallway. Stairs laid at the end, rigidly turning up to the second floor where a hallway lined with windows was present. With practised ease both she and Serika crouched down by the windows; subconsciously leaning to the left side so they were in the shadows rather than in the waning sunlight.
They didn't have to wait long. In a disorganised formation about a dozen Helmet Gang grunts spilled out of both the narrow and wider alleyways, flooding the courtyard and converging on the busted-in doors of the apartment building... and, in the process, practically boxed themselves in right before Serika and Shiroko. The result was inevitable.
''Fire.''
With the pull of two triggers Shiroko and Serika lit the group up – a hailstorm of bullets from Serika spitting rounds across the sandy concrete and into the swarm of gang members, contrasting Shiroko who picked her targets off with slower but more precise pops. By the time the gang members snapped out of their shock and realised where the gunfire was coming from six of them were knocked out cold and another two were laying in the ground moaning in pain.
Shiroko jerked back from the wall just in time as an inaccurate spray of bullets flooded through the window, several other windows smashing inwards as more bullets flew through. It took only a few seconds before the grunts ran out of ammo and Shiroko poked back out, popping off five bullets and downing another two grunts before she had to pull back and reload; leaving Serika to clean up another grunt – the last gang member running back out the wider alleyway and out of sight.
''Idiots.'' Serika scoffed. ''They've fallen for that trap three times now.''
''Mm. Let's move now, they'll probably take a minute to regroup.'' Shiroko declared.
Ayane, who was guarding the stairs, nodded seriously. ''Where to?''
''The school. It's the most defensible place.'' Shiroko remarked. ''The Helmet Gang probably hasn't touched it while we were gone. Too prideful.''
Indeed; if the Helmet Gang had wanted they could've ambushed them and destroyed Abydos High School ages ago. No, the gang saw this more like a classical siege – they'd only attack when all five Abydos girls were present, and they'd usually make a fair bit of pomp and ceremony about it, like it was a game rather than a real attack. What would happen if Shiroko and her friends actually lost, she didn't know, but so far they'd held out from such attacks – and, due to Abydos High School being designed to withstand both the harsh climate of Abydos and the inevitable gunfights between students, it was built very sturdily.
If there was anywhere they could endure an attack from the Helmet Gang, it was there.
Just a shame then that it was easily a fifteen minute sprint from their current location, by Shiroko's estimates.
Adjusting her hold on her rifle Shiroko merely nodded. ''We'll run. Apartments head eastwards towards the school. Dip in and out of the building, break out across the intersection, then cut through the shopping mall and into the streets. Academy is just past them.''
''Sounds like a plan.'' Ayane smiled, bopping her head.
''Same. You lead, I'll follow.'' Serika huffed.
Shiroko bobbed her head and swiftly jogged down the corridor until it made an L-shaped corner. At the junction though laid a broken-in window from a previous firefight in the area, one that also had a wooden plank stretching from it over to the next apartment block over. Shiroko mentally patted herself on the back for her foresight and climbed onto the plank of wood, balancing herself for a second before tip-toeing across and into the adjacent building; the room an old living room, albeit one with sand and trash littered through it.
Serika and Ayane followed after her, the three of them moving as one precise unit as they cleared out each room before moving into the hallway outside. The towering apartment block, or at the floor they were on, was thankfully empty; allowing them to run unimpeded over to the next apartment block by jumping from window to window, their haste banishing any fear of heights they might've had.
However when they entered the third apartment building, running through the second floor, the sound of rumbling became faintly audible. Shiroko's ears twitched as she heard it and she skidded to a stop; planting herself up against the wall nearest the stairway window and peering outside into the street.
''What is it?'' Serika questioned as quietly as she could.
Shiroko held up a hand, silencing her. Seconds passed but the rumbling only grew louder, the distinct intonation of it making Shiroko's eyes narrow... and then widen as she saw a Cromwell tank slowly prowl down the sandy street, followed by a second, then a third tank.
''The hell?!'' Serika voiced her thoughts adequately, if a bit loudly. ''Since when did the Helmet Gang have tanks?!''
''They've used them before, but those were old rust-buckets...'' Shiroko noted but a frown still marred her visage. Even if these weren't the up-to-date Tiger heavy tank model that Gehenna used, the Cromwell was still a fearsome vehicle.
The fact that Nonomi and Hoshino, the two members of their group that used armour-piercing rounds, were absent only made things worse for them.
''Shit.'' Serika swore. ''Think you can use your drone to take them down Shiroko?''
''...one, sure, two is a maybe though.'' Shiroko answered with a frown. ''Top armour is probably weak enough, but my drone only carries eight rockets total – I'm not sure if four rockets is enough to take a Cromwell down.''
''They're rockets though.''
''Anti-personnel rockets, not anti-armour.'' Shiroko reminded.
Serika clicked her tongue at that. ''How many are there?''
Shiroko leaned up slightly, squinting past the evening haze as the tanks neared. ''...four. I count four.''
''So you take out two, then what?'' Serika muttered, glancing at Ayane. ''Think you can hack them?''
''No. These models are all manual with minimal electronics.'' Ayane admitted with a grimace. ''At best I could jam their radios, if they have any, but no more than that.''
''Don't bother then, it'd be a waste of time.'' Serika decided then. ''Shiroko, ideas?''
Shiroko was about to answer – had the convoy of tanks not suddenly stopped. She tensed, the breath catching in her throat as her mind raced... and her heart skipped a beat as the frontmost Cromwell started to turn its barrel towards them.
''Move!'' Shiroko called out.
Serika and Ayane didn't hesitate to agree, all three of them bolting away from the wall and rushing down the hallway – and not a second later a loud explosion blew in the wall. Even though they were halfway down the hall Shiroko and her companions still stumbled from the shockwave, the sound ringing in their ears, but they didn't stop. Their stumbling pace carried them to the end of the hallway and, rather than try and balance across the planks, Shiroko merely leapt across the gap and rolled across the floor; gun raised reflexively as she waited for the others to catch up.
Serika was just a step behind, and Ayane two steps behind her. Not a second too soon either as a tank round plunged through the brick wall and blew up another segment of the apartment building. Scowling at that Shiroko deliberately shook her shoulder bag and nodded at her two teammates; earning matching nods in return before they as one sprinted towards the stairs. Another tank round punched through the wall ahead of them while one hit the floor below them but the three girls didn't slow, merely squinting through the veil of dust and hurrying up the stairs.
''They'll bring down the building at this rate!'' Serika yelled in irritation.
Shiroko gripped her rifle. ''Good.''
''Huh? Wait, no, what?''
Shiroko however had a calculating gleam in her eyes. She might not be as smart as Ayane or tenacious as Serika, but when it came to tactics, she shined. ''Serika, Ayane, head back down and draw their fire. Make them blow out the walls as much as possible. I'll head to the fourth floor and use my drone. Regroup at the tanks afterwards. Go, now!''
''Are you crazy-?!'' Serika's yell was cut off as another tank round was blindly fired into the building, blowing up part of the third floor corridor.
''Go!'' Shiroko ordered before hurrying up the stairs.
Serika groaned. ''Seriously! I won't forgive you if you get buried under some rubble!''
''Come on, let's go!'' Ayane urged earnestly, hurrying back down the steps.
Shiroko smiled slightly; the expression lasting all of a few moments before she rushed up the stairs. By the time she reached the fourth and final set of stairs she heard gunfire come from below; immediately earning retaliatory gunfire from outside. Moments later the whole building shook as a powerful explosion ripped through the second floor, and Shiroko heard cracks split through the concrete before she saw them. Undeterred the wolf-girl continued up the final flight of stairs, her expression becoming tight as she spotted cracks spiderweb across the landing between the two sets of stairs.
''Come on. Hold for just a bit longer.'' Shiroko whispered to herself.
As if in response the whole building groaned; concrete starting to strain as it lost more and more of its support, the structure beginning to tilt towards the street. The gunfire from Serika and Ayane had ceased but she didn't waste time worrying about them, trusting them to keep themselves out of harm's way and instead shoulder-charging her way through the rooftop doorway; the rusted-over lock shattering from the force and tumbling across the sand-topped roof.
It was beautiful, the sand strewn across concrete and old, withered potted plants, the evening sun warmly bathing it all in amber light – but now wasn't the time for sentimentality. With a hard expression Shiroko ran over to the edge, able to get a bird's eye view of the four tanks still sat in a line; the front two aiming at the apartment building while the other two just stayed behind, unable to fire effectively due to the angle. Numerous Helmet Gang members were scattered throughout the street, shooting up at Serika and Ayane's positions; the sun blinding them to Shiroko's location.
Thus with haste the wolf-girl dropped her bag towards the two further-away tanks, unzipped it and then stomped down on the concealed pressure plate within.
Immediately her drone flew out, rising six feet up and angling down towards the biggest targets the AI could locate in its view– the two tanks waiting further down the street.
With the roar four rockets launched from each half of the drone, corkscrewing through the air before smashing into the two Cromwell tanks in an explosion of fire and shrapnel; knocking the tanks out. Shouts of alarm came from below but Shiroko didn't stick around to find out how they'd react; swiftly catching her drone and stuffing it in her bag, shouldering it-
-and then the building buckled. Shiroko stumbled, free arm flailing for purchase as she nearly went over the edge, but even when she regained her balance the concrete underfoot began to split and give way. Long jagged cracks cut through the roof like lightning bolts, widening by the second and sending chunks raining down on the Helmet Gang below. The tanks whined as they started to turn, trying to get out of the way, but Shiroko knew they wouldn't get away in time.
But neither would she get off the roof before it fell.
'Dammit...!' Shiroko stumbled forwards even as the roof disintegrated beneath her heel, crumbling down with an ever-increasing roar.
Light glinted off of something and Shiroko noticed a pole planted into the ceiling; a thick wire carrying over to the roof of the opposing office building. With no other option she jerked over and grabbed onto it – and with a horrible cracking sound the rooftop under her feet gave way, splintering down in large chunks. Shiroko narrowly avoided getting pulled down in with it, left dangling by the wire with her gun hanging by its sling.
Then the concrete under the pole gave way, and she was falling. The wire held though and swung her away from the building, her momentum building as she crossed over the street towards the opposing office building. With the wind rushing in her ears Shiroko braced, her grip loosening – and at the last second she let go.
Weightlessness overtook her for a brief moment.
Then with a deafening crash Shiroko smashed through the row of windows below the hard wall; tumbling over herself through an empty office space. She grunted and gasped, her roll ending only when she impacted a pillar, coaxing a groan out of the wolf-girl. A sound that was completely muffled by the roar of falling debris as the apartment block across the street finally collapsed outright; the whole front section fading into a wall of thick dust and chunks that rained down on the street; the shockwave alone shattering all the other windows and blowing a wave of dust inwards.
''Mn...!'' Shiroko curled up into a ball to shield herself, feeling bits of glass and debris pelt her back.
The cacophony of noise rumbled for what felt like a full minute before gradually petering out; the debris mostly settling and only a stray few chunks dropping from overextended segments of reinforced concrete or unbalanced pieces. Daringly Shiroko uncurled herself from her ball and looked around, having to squint to not be blinded by the thick amount of dust in the air; obscuring her vision to only a dozen or so feet.
Nevertheless she stumbled back towards the glass windows. Unslinging her assault rifle Shiroko managed to raise it and sweep the area before her just in case there was any stragglers, approaching the row of windows as cautiously as she could with the limited visibility. So determined to find said windows she almost didn't register that the ground in front of her gave way far before them; her instincts being the only reason she didn't take another step.
The entire floor before her had collapsed down into a ragged slope; chunks of concrete, plaster and other materials trickling down into the mound outside. Cautiously slinging her rifle Shiroko sat down on the edge and lowered herself down onto the mound of material, descending down into the street with rifle raised. She attempted to use her ear-piece to contact the others... only to belatedly realise it wasn't even on her ear anymore; it'd fallen off at some point in the chaos. Which meant contacting the others would be more problematic.
As she walked though she couldn't help but feel remorse. The Helmet Gang wasn't evil. They were just rebels, hooligans; that sort of thing. Troublemakers and sometimes criminals, but not evil. Dropping a building on them probably wasn't her brightest idea. She didn't think it'd kill them – Kivotan residents were resilient after all – but being buried under a mound of rubble or trapped in a tank probably meant they'd be stuck in hospital for a good time after the General Student Council sent in some rescue workers to free them. It wouldn't be the first time they'd have to pull a gang out of some stupid stunt.
Banishing the thought Shiroko continued out into the street, stumbling several times but overall managing to retain her footing. The rubble gradually decreased as she got further away from the impact site and her shoes soon tapped asphalt once more, though the thick haze remained, mottling the amber sunlight into a more burnt hue, as if a sandstorm had suddenly blown through the area. The wreckage of one tank could be seen not far ahead though, tempting her over to it.
As she neared her saw two figures near it, making her raise her gun. ''Halt!''
''Shiroko?'' The relieved voice of Serika gave her pause. ''Is that you?'
''...yeah.'' Shiroko lowered her gun and quickly approached; the dust-covered forms of Serika and Ayane next to the tank. ''...are you alright?''
''Alright?! We nearly had a building drop on us if Ayane didn't find us a way out!'' Serika squawked. ''What kind of plan was that?!''
''To be fair it wasn't Shiroko's plan per se, but just the Helmet Gang doing their own thing...'' Ayane tried to be the voice of reason.
Serika scowled at that. ''Still.''
Shiroko shook her head however. ''Now isn't the time. We'll talk about it later. Let's clean up here.''
''...point.'' Serika grudgingly conceded. ''All the people in this tank are unconscious, just checked.''
Nodding the grey-haired Shiroko led her two teammates further down the road, jogging lightly over to the next Cromwell tank. Though her rockets had been anti-personnel in design the top armour of the tank clearly wasn't all that great; the metal mostly in-tact but clearly disabling the tank with the shockwave. Chasing the thought away Shiroko carefully climbed up onto the tank chassis and up onto the turret, aiming with one hand as she grasped the hatch handle and pulled it up... and revealed a group of unconscious Helmet Gang grunts inside.
''...Serika, give me a hand here.'' Shiroko ordered softly.
Shouldering her gun Serika complied, climbing up onto the tank with her and helping Shiroko haul one of the gang members out; the two stumbling down the tank and propping the unconscious grunt against the tank. Without needing any prompting Ayane knelt down next to the gang member and took their motorcycle helmet off, revealing a head of short black hair, the neat cut made somewhat messy by the helmet.
''Wake her up.'' Shiroko intoned quietly, levelling her gun at the unconscious gang member.
Grunting in acknowledgement Serika reached into her bag and took out a water bottle, unscrewing the cap – before splashing half the contents over the gang member's face.
''B-Bwah?!'' Shocked awake the Helmet Gang member flailed about; struggling against Ayane's grip until she realised where she was. ''H-Huh?! Wait, y-you're the... why am I-''
''Shut up!'' Serika's shout was harsh, but succeeded in making the gang member quietened down; visibly intimidated. ''Shiroko.''
Shiroko moved her gun a bit, making sure the grunt knew about it. ''Why did you attack us?''
''Um... because you're from Abydos? T-That's kinda our thing, you know...''
Shiroko tilted her head, conceding that. ''Then where did you get the tanks?''
The Helmet Gang member began to stutter; stumbled excuses of 'Well-' and 'You see-' pouring from her lips, prompting Shiroko to cock the hammer of her gun.
That succeeded in getting her to talk. ''W-We were given them!''
''By who?''
''I-I don't know, some weird guy in a suit with a bunch of armed men came by our headquarters and a-asked to speak to the boss!'' The gang member squeaked out. ''A-Afterwards we got a bunch of tanks and went hunting for you when we heard y-you were back in town!''
''Why?'' Shiroko asked, poking the barrel of her gun towards the lowly grunt. ''Why did he give you stuff out of nowhere?''
''T-To capture you!''
The declaration rung through the silent street, the quiet clattering of rubble the only sound.
''What?'' Serika asked in disbelief.
''T-They gave us the tanks and guns to capture you!'' The Helmet Gang girl squeaked, visage pinched with fear. ''A-Apparently if we caught you, then we'd get a huge payout! So the boss was all for it!''
''...I see.'' Shiroko murmured. ''Did you notice anything about this 'suited man'? Face, name, anything?''
''U-Um, no... just that he wore a suit. I was too busy eating sweets to notice.''
Shiroko sighed. ''Ayane.''
''Of course.'' Ayane took a syringe out. ''Here, this will help with the pain.''
''H-Huh? But I'm not really in any pai- ah- oh... ohh...''
Ayane carefully injected the gang member with a disguised sedative; the fast-acting serum quickly putting the gang member to sleep. Befitting of a medic Ayane caught the girl before she could fall, instead shifting her slightly away from the tank and putting her down next to a slab of concrete, just to make sure she didn't accidentally get run over should the tank be started back up again.
''Oi. What's with that look on your face?'' Serika inquired, eyeing Shiroko with a touch of worry – noticing the grave lines that drew across Shiroko's visage.
''...back when we broke into that underground laboratory, in Shanhaijing, we found a door near the containment room – me, Sensei, and Kayoko.'' Shiroko relayed slowly, a grimace twisting at her visage. ''Inside was... bodies. Dozens I think, all of them pale and... and long dead. Like they had been drained dry.''
A heavy silence fell upon the group, broken only by Ayane a few moments later.
''...you think that if we're caught, the same thing will happen to us.''
''Mm.'' Shiroko didn't want to admit it, but the facts couldn't be ignored.
Whoever this mysterious man in a suit was, he was likely connected to the kidnappings. There was no other reason a mysterious man would come out of the blue and pay the Helmet Gang to try capture them; the timing was too suspect.
''...let's head back to Schale.'' Serika surprisingly said. ''We're low on ammo anyway, and I don't wanna stick around here if what you said is true. Who knows if the Helmet Gang will stick to their normal 'honour rules' if this much money is at stake.''
Shiroko grimaced as she realised that. ''Right. Let's go.''
As one the three Abydos students departed, leaving behind a scene of chaos and destruction – their weapons held tightly and with cautious glances thrown over their shoulders the whole journey back.
X-x-X
''My~ So this is what Gehenna looks like~''
Haruka made a feeble 'y-yeah' in response, squirming as she escorted Nonomi and Hoshino down the main streets of the autonomous district. It was already evening, in part due to Haruka messing up and getting their train schedule wrong, but neither Hoshino nor Nonomi were altogether that bothered by it – if anything Hoshino just took it as a reason to sleep on the seats for longer, snoozing away the day.
Biting her bottom lip Haruka glanced around the street. She'd mentally chartered the quickest route that took them to the outskirts of the territory whilst also avoiding the places she knew would draw unwanted attention – namely the academy – but that meant walking down very public streets before they could get to the further away back-roads and docks.
Gehenna had a very complex terrain, which was why the territory as a whole was so 'squished together', as opposed to the sprawling landscape of other territories. A large ocean spanned to the south of the territory and curved around a good part of it, whilst to the north-east was a sprawling mountainscape of jagged rocks that looked more like a meteorite embedded into the land rather than a traditional peaked mountain.
Thus, after some debate on the train journey to Gehenna, they'd reasonably narrowed the possible lab to two locations: either in the mountains, or at the docks.
''Hm...'' Nonomi's light hum drew Haruka out of her thoughts. ''Haruka-chan, I remember Sensei saying that Aru-san and the others couldn't come along due to a... 'reputation', right? Is that true?''
''U-Um...!'' Haruka shifted uncomfortably. ''Y-Yeah, I guess...''
''Mm? How so?'' Hoshino languidly asked, gazing around at the people passing them by.
Haruka hesitated, unsure of how much she should say... but then again they'd learn of their reputation sooner or later anyway. ''W-Well, we've caused a lot of property damage, a-and we've made some bad deals here and there, so we're k-known as troublemakers and people don't really like us...''
''That's a shame. You're all quite nice.'' Nonomi said cheerfully, baffling Haruka.
'S-She's not bothered by that...?'
''Don't think too hard about it.'' Hoshino's voice startled Haruka out of her disbelief. ''Nonomi's a pretty accepting person, y'know~''
''I just think everyone has their own story to tell, is all.'' Nonomi countered gently. ''I'm willing to bet you didn't do all those things on purpose, did you Haruka-chan?''
''N-Not really...'' The dark-haired shotgunner stammered. ''I mean, s-sometimes yeah, but that was to buy time for Aru-sama to get away, a-and the bad debts we have is because of me being a terrible junior employee...''
''There there.'' Nonomi patted her shoulder. ''Just keep at it. I'm sure you'll get better with time.''
''...Aru-sama said the same thing to me once too.'' Haruka murmured quietly.
Nonomi smiled brightly. ''Then that just proves it's true, right?''
''I... I suppose.'' Haruka hesitantly agreed, looking ahead.
She caught a glimpse of some Gehenna girls in uniform not far from a café watching her; not even being subtle about how they stared. The open suspicion they looked at her with made her avert her eyes, a knot forming in her throat even as she fast-walked to get past them sooner. Hoshino and Nonomi noticed and kept pace with her; Nonomi moving over to her left to block the student's line-of-sight on her. Haruka appreciated that.
''So, where should we check out today?'' Nonomi queried lightly.
Haruka gladly took the opportunity to get her mind off of things. ''T-The docks. I know that area best and can show you around.''
''Got it~'' Hoshino sung. ''Whattabout the mountains? Anythin' you can tell us about them?''
''It'll be hard to investigate that place. The mountain valleys are narrow and long. I-If someone did have a lab, there's no telling where they could be.'' Haruka answered. ''There's also a lot of mining operations going on there, for ore and stuff – t-that's a big business here.''
''So anyone who wanted to make a secret base would be able to blend in...'' Hoshino hummed.
''...but would also be at risk of being found by other mining operations, considering their base is supposed to be secret.'' Nonomi finished thoughtfully. ''When you think of it like that, then it makes sense for them to be at the docks, doesn't it? Especially if the kidnappers have to haul the students all the way back there.''
Haruka perked up; she hadn't thought of that part. Considering very few students hung around the mining sites, least of all during poor weather due to risk of landslides, anyone who was kidnapping students would have to carry them a pretty long distance. Enough time that any unconscious student might wake up and cause a commotion. However, if their base was down at the docks, then it would be easier to get the students in unnoticed.
''What with those mountains anyway?'' Hoshino commented, gazing over the row of buildings to their left and to the towering spikes that drove up into the sky.
''Um, I-I don't know, but...'' Haruka hesitated. ''Legend has it that, before the founding of Gehenna, two gods fought in the sky. The God of the Night, Gehenna, lost and fell from the sky as a meteorite, which embedded itself into the ground. A bunch of Gehenna's followers then came and dug the god out, and in response he gave them a ring from each finger as a reward. These were, and still are, treated like famous Relics in general. The territory as a whole is named after the god.''
''Wow~'' Nonomi clapped her hands together in amazement. ''What happened after that? Is Gehenna still around?''
''Um... I'm not sure. It's never clear what happened after that.'' Haruka shook her head. ''It could be just a myth for all I know.''
Hoshino eyed her for a long moment, before smiling. ''You really like mythology and stuff huh~''
''E-Eh?! How did you- I mean, um...!''
''Relax, it's nothin' to be embarrassed about.'' Hoshino languidly responded, gazing ahead as she walked. ''I could tell 'cause you didn't stutter even once. Must be pretty passionate about the stuff, I think.''
''Um, well, maybe yes... sorry.'' Haruka meekly responded.
Hoshino just smiled wryly. ''Anyway. We go check the docks out, then find some hotel to crash for the night? Bit late to trek back to Schale.''
''Sorry.''
''It's fine Haruka-chan. Sensei won't mind.'' Nonomi warmly reassured the cripplingly-nervous Haruka. ''But yes, let's keep going for now. Onwards~!''
''Yay~'' Hoshino raised a fist with mild enthusiasm.
Haruka shakily did the same. ''Y-Yay...?''
Giggles came from the other two girls, and Haruka managed a slight, small smile.
And as one they continued down the crowded main street, heading towards the docks.
[END]
A/N: Haruka's makin' friends~
See you next time in Chapter 9~