Ground Defense Force
Mao-Chan


June, Day X.
I am Yuriko Oozora. I remember that fateful day as if it happened yesterday. I remember my father sat on the couch across from me. I remember clutching my pillow tightly. I remember that he had something to tell me.
"Yuriko," he said, and I remember seeing a tear in his eye. I remember having no idea that what he had to tell me would make him cry. "Have you ever wondered why there are no pictures of your mother at all?"
I remember saying yes.
"Well, the reason for that is...I mean, the truth is..." I remember him saying.
"What is it, Daddy?" I remember asking. I was only eight years old when I said this. Almost ten years ago...
"The truth is..." he couldn't seem to bring himself to say it. What the truth was was lost in Daddy's tears. After holding his head in his hands for several moments, he lowered his hands, his eyes swollen and red. Daddy mumbled, spoke so softly that I didn't hear him at all. He spoke again, louder this time, voice cracking slightly.
"Your mother is an alien."
I remember being confused at this, and something popping out of my head at this point. I remember my father looking to a spot just over my head, and saying, "Yes, Yuriko, it's true. If you want proof, look up."
I remember looking up, and I remember my blood turning to ice when I saw...
Two brown cat ears poking out of my auburn hair. I remember reaching with a hand on the side of my head, and feeling no ears on the side of my head. I remember a tear rolling down my cheek, and asking, "Daddy, what should I do?"
I remember my father paled when I said this; this was the part that was possibly the last thing he wanted to tell me. I remember him getting up from his chair and walking up to me. I remember Daddy grabbing my hand in his hand, and whispering in my cat ear, "Yuriko, I hate to tell you this, but Your mother will be here tomorrow to take you to the Cute Alien Headquarters."
I remember clutching Daddy's shirt, tears falling from my eyes like a waterfall, whimpering, "No, Daddy! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna be an alien! I wanna be a normal person like you and everyone else! I-I...
I love you!"
I remember yelling those last three words. I remember Daddy hugging me tightly, tears in his eyes as well. I remember him saying, "I love you, too, Yuriko, but this goes beyond you and me. It's about the rest of our family. Because I married into a family of aliens, so I have ver little say in what will become of you when you grow up...I'm sorry."
I remember crying so hard, I could hardly speak for the rest of the day. I remember that I couldn't bring myself to eat anything. I remember that I could hardly sleep that night, I was crying so hard. I remember realizing that this day changed my life forever. I remember thinking that I would never see my Daddy again. I thought I would never see my home, my friends, or Japan ever again. I remember feeling as though someone very close to me had died. I just wanted my emotional suffering to end...
My mother, a cat alien, came for me the next day, as Daddy said she would. Much to my surprise, my best friend Chinami-Chan was also born to a cat alien, though not related to my mother. I remember this gave me some comfort in the fact that I wasn't going to lose all of my friends. I remember being trained in espionage, in how to be a spy. All though this, Chinami took it very seriously, but I frequently stumbled, because I missed Daddy. I missed my home. I missed Akamatsu School and all of my friends there. After at least a month, I remember getting used to the Cute Alien lifestyle, and feeling as though I was a Cute Alien all my life. But I never forgot Daddy, or what he said to me.
You'll have to live as an alien from now on.


Yuriko woke up, panting and sweating. She looked around, but she was in her bedroom, as usual. So it was all a dream, she thought. It felt more like a nightmare. Yuriko looked over at her alarm clock, and as she did, the alarm went off.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Yuriko shut off the alarm, got dressed, and set off for school.

Chapter 6:
We Even Defend Small Animals


"Ready..." said Miss Kagome, and she blew on the whistle in her hand. Yuriko and Chinami watched as the second-grade class began the race. As President of the Student Body, it was Yuriko's duty to supervise the younger classes, and she specifically requested that she watch the class of the elementary school Defense Force members.Yuriko, a digital camera around her neck, watched as Misora ran quite quickly, and saw Mao beginning to fall behind. Sylvie did not enter the race, as she didn't want her glasses broken. Yuriko giggled slightly, because Mao was running so slow, the next race started, before she even got to the finish line! Yuriko heard Chinami next to her, "Mao Onigawara, running level 1. Misora Tsukishima, running level 5. Sylvia Maruyama, running level unknown."
Yuriko chuckled at the thought of Chinami going up to Sylvie and asking her to run as fast as she could. "What are you laughing about, Miss President?" said Chinami, rounding on Yuriko. "Um, nothing, Chinami-Chan," she quickly defended. She didn't want Chinami angry at her again. Chinami had been in a bad mood recently, because of the elementary school Defense Force members. Despite the obviousness of the answer, Chinami refused the fact that Mao, Misora, and Sylvie could be the ones mentioned in the Prophecy...
"Ah-ooh-eh-ooh," moaned Mao after she finished the race. "I, myself, am a Ground Defense Force member, so why can't I run fast?"
Yuriko saw Misora kneeling towards Mao, and saying, "Mao-Chan, don't worry. You will learn to run faster, I say. As my grandfather always says, 'You must endure today's defeat for the sake of tomorrow's victory,' I say."
"OK, Miss President, we just need some visual reference material. How we're to get it, I don't know," muttered Chinami to Yuriko. Almost at once, Yuriko looked at the camera around her neck. She knew Chinami would kill her for this, but she knew she had to do it. Yuriko began to walk towards Mao, Misora, and Sylvie, who had just made Mao cry by calling her a klutz.
"What d'you think you're doing, Miss President?!" yelled Chinami. Yuriko calmly turned. "I'm getting the video reference material, Chinami-Chan."
"But they're the enemy, Miss President! We were given specific orders not to make contact with them. No verbal contact, no physical contact, not even eye contact! Do you really want to put a black mark on your already tarnished record by fraternizing with them?"
But Yuriko heard none of this, as she already was walking toward Mao and the other girls. "I really feel like I'm talking to a piece of wood sometimes..." muttered Chinami as Yuriko said 'hello' to Mao and the other girls.
"What is it, Miss Yuriko? What is it that you want, I ask?" asked Misora. They're cute from the distance Chinami-Chan keeps me, but they're even more adorable in person! thought Yuriko. She held up her camera. "Um, would you three mind if I took a picture of you? I'm such a fan of all three Defense Force members."
"No, I wouldn't mind," said Mao, apparently pleased that someone would like a picture of her and her friends.
"I don't mind at all, I say," said Misora, the 'eternal-blush' under her eyes expanding slightly.
"Well, I, the officer, will pass," said Sylvie, sunlight reflecting off of her half-moon glasses.
"How come?" asked Yuriko. If I don't get visual reference material of all three, Galaxy the Great will have my head!
"Because I, the officer, am not really very foe-toe-jen-nick," said Sylvie, struggling to remember the word. Yuriko knew that she meant 'photogenic', or not very appealing in a photo. "I, the officer, always look sorta ditzy with my mouth hanging halfway open. I, the officer, don't know why." Sylvie gave them a demonstration, which to Mao, Misora, and Yuriko, was just Sylvie's ordinary face.
"But you always look ditzy, Sylvie-Chan," said Mao, and Misora and Yuriko both nodded in agreement. Sylvie stared at them in bewilderment, then began chuckling. "You always say funny things, Mao-Chan," said Sylvie, still giggling slightly.
"I do?" said Mao, and everyone in the immediate vicinity laughed. When things quieted down, Yuriko said, "OK, is it all right if I take just one picture, Sylvie-Chan?"
"Um," said Sylvie, clearly thinking hard, "alright, but make me look pretty. Should I take off my, the officer's, glasses?"
I heard that she doesn't wear her glasses in defense missions, thought Yuriko, who then said, "Sure, why not?"
Within moments, Mao, Misora, and Sylvie were lined up for a shot. Mao and Misora smiled, but Sylvie looked as ditzy as ever. After a moment, Sylvie blurted out, "What's the answer to 5 plus 4 plus 2 plus 7 plus 12 plus 18 minus 46?"
Yuriko did mental math and came up with 2, but Mao and Misora weren't so fortunate. they began counting on their hands, occasionally muttering 'ah-ooh-eh-ooh'. Sylvie grinned and gave the 'peace' sign.
Well, Mao-Chan and Misora-Chan didn't say that they should look pretty in this picture, thought Yuriko, and she took a picture. The flash alerted Mao and Misora, who yelped.
"Well, that was fun!" sang Sylvie, replacing her glasses. "Shall we do that again?"


"You do realize that you're a spy, don't you, Miss President?" questioned Chinami, flicking through the photos that Yuriko had took with her digital camera. They featured Mao, Misora, and Sylvie in various different poses. The more she flicked through them, the deeper her brow furrowed.
"Now they know everything there is to know about you!" half-stated, half-screamed Chinami, burying her head in her hands. "Galaxy the Great's gonna be furious with us!"
"But you know what they say, Chinami-Chan," began Yuriko, but a raging Chinami interrupted her. "I don't care what they say, Miss President! You were fraternizing with the enemy, and that's all that matters!"
Yuriko said, bewildered, "Did I do something bad?"
"Infinitely bad," hissed Chinami. Instantly, Yuriko went into a fetal position, and began repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, all I do is mess up..."
Chinami sighed frustratedly, got up, and walked up to the window. But what I'd like to know, thought Chinami, is how Onigawara and her friends can use the Light of Kusanagi-Sama. They used it two times already... But I refuse to believe that they're the Chosen Ones in the Prophecy! The Prophecy said that Kusanagi-Sama would ---
But Chinami's thoughts were interrupted, as she heard a small rapping coming from the window. She heard Yuriko say, "What is it, Chinami-Chan?" Chinami opened the window, and in jumped...
"Aww, that's so cute!" squealed Yuriko.
It was a small Mouse Alien. Both Yuriko and Chinami recognized him instantly as an Alien Spy like them, named Jirocho. When he heard Yuriko call him cute, Jirocho blushed slightly.
"Right on time, Agent Jirocho!" said Chinami, holding a small computer chip. She had downloaded every photo Yuriko took, and the information they had collected, into it. Information such as height, weight, age, et cetera. She attached the computer chip to a collar on Jirocho's neck.
"Can you take this information on the elementary school Defense Force members to Headquarters for us?" asked Chinami. Jirocho nodded shortly, and bounded back toward the window. He climbed quickly up the chair, and jumped out the window. Yuriko and Chinami didn't worry; Jirocho always landed on his feet. But then -
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"
Yuriko and Chinami both ran to the window, fearing for Jirocho's life... and for once Chinami was thankful to see Mao and the other girls, who were cleaning the grass below. The shriek wasn't from Jirocho; it was from Misora when Jirocho landed on her head. At once, Jirocho leapt off, landed on all fours on the ground, and bolted toward the bushes. As he did, Mao, Misora, and Sylvie talked amongst each other:
"What was that, Misora-Chan?"
"I have no idea, I say!"
"Maybe it was Orochi..."
"Who's that, Sylvie-Chan?"
"I, the officer, think it's a nice name for a cute little mousie..."
Yuriko and Chinami heard the sound of purring. They turned toward the sound; so did Mao, Misora, and Sylvie. They were horrified; a black-and- grey cat had cornered Jirocho in front of a tree.
"A cat cornered the little mouse!" they heard Mao shout.
"It certainly did, I say!" Misora was heard to say.
"Maybe the cat's name is Orochi..." said Sylvie, clearly unaware that a life was on the line.
Yuriko and Chinami didn't want to call attention to themselves, so they crossed their fingers that Jirocho would get out of this alive. They then heard Mao say something that they didn't want to hear at all. "Defense Force Headquarters! Come in! This is Private Onigawara!" Chinami turned to Yuriko. "Miss President, we can't let them find out that Jirocho is a Cute Alien!" And they bolted.
They ran down the corridors as quickly as they could. As they ran, they bumped into Miss Kagome, nearly knocking her to the floor. "What d'you think you're doing, you two?" said Miss Kagome, her eyebrows lowered so low that they almost formed a monobrow. "Can't you read the signs?" She pointed to a sign on the wall that said:

NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!

"Sorry, Miss Kagome," said Yuriko, "But my pet mouse is being attacked by a cat outside! Mao-Chan and her friends are there, and Mao-Chan may download her Type 2 Ground Gear!"
"What?! She is?" said Miss Kagome, putting a hand to her mouth. Then she raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Wait. How do you know all this? And how do you know I work for the Defense Forces?"
"Well, it's pretty common knowledge that you, Mao-Chan, and her friends work for the Defense Forces," said Chinami, and it was true. "And we saw all this out the window as we were cleaning our homeroom." And this was untrue. Miss Kagome, however, fell for it. "Well, I suppose I can trust you, Miss Noki," said Miss Kagome, "Your best friend, Miss Oozora here, is the President of the Student Body, after all," and she bolted in the direction of the yard where Mao and her friends were. Yuriko and Chinami silently ran after her.
"Chinami-Chan, why'd you say all that stuff?" asked Yuriko. "What if this makes Miss Kagome untrustworthy of Mao-Chan and the other girls?"
"Never mind that, Miss President," answered Chinami, "What I said to Mishima could have been the difference that decided Jirocho's fate! Besides, you helped out!" And Yuriko realized Chinami was right.
As they approached the door to the yard where Mao and her friends were, they heard Miss Kagome shouting, "Private Onigawara, what're you doing?"
When Yuriko and Chinami looked out, the scene wasn't very different from when they left, with two obvious exceptions: Mao was in her Type 2 Ground Gear, and the cat was lying on the ground, unconscious. Jirocho was still huddled against the tree. Mao, Misora, and Sylvie turned toward Miss Kagome, and shouted in unison, "Miss Kagome!"
Miss Kagome pointed towards Mao's clover and shouted, "And why did you download your Type 2 Ground Gear? Why? Why?!"
"Well, the thing is, we saw this cat here begin to attack this mouse, I say," began Misora.
"And I, myself, wanted to defend it, but Operative Maeda said 'no'..." continued Mao.
"Until Mao-Chan's grampa said that she could defend any animal, no matter how small, and let her dowload her gear," said Sylvie.
"And then I, myself, downloaded my Type 2 Ground Gear and hit the cat on its head, and it's knocked out now. The mouse has been defended," finished Mao. Kagome's anger faded away when the story was told from their perspective.
"Well, I'm glad that Miss Oozora's mouse is safe," said Kagome to Mao, Misora, and Sylvie.
"That was Miss Yuriko Oozora's pet mouse, I ask?" said Misora so loudly, that Jirocho jumped and finally realized the cat was out. Miss Kagome held out her hands, and Jirocho climbed into them. Miss Kagome looked up, and saw Yuriko and Chinami. She walked up to them, holding Jirocho out, and said, "Here's your mouse back, Miss Oozora."
"Thank you, Miss Kagome. See you tomorrow," said Yuriko, taking Jirocho. Yuriko and Chinami then left the school as quickly as possible. As soon as they were sure that noone was around, Yuriko put Jirocho on the ground. "Now, you can finally deliver the information on Mao-Chan and her friends to headquarters," said Yuriko as Jirocho scampered off. "Chinami- Chan, isn't Mao-Chan great at defending?"
Chinami glared and said, "Miss President, don't praise the enemy."
Yuriko once again went into a fetal position and, once again, began repeating, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, all I do is mess up..."
Chinami, once again, sighed frustratedly, thinking, I swear, things are always like this...


"Hey, Miss Kagome, you wanna hear a song about defense myself, Misora-Chan, and Sylvie-Chan wrote today?" said Mao as she, Misora, Sylvie, and Miss Kagome walked to the Defense Force Headquarters. Miss Kagome thought, then said, "Erm, why not?"
At once, Mao, Misora, and Sylvie began singing as one. And the song went:
"Defense, defense, we'll do our best!"
"I, myself, defend the ground!" sang Mao solo.
"And I defend the sky!" Misora sang solo after Mao finished.
"And I defend the sea, so you can count on me!" Sylvie's solo went.
"Defense, defense, we'll do our best! Defense, defense, we'll always do our best!"
And the song ended. "Very impressive, girls," said Miss Kagome. "You three should join the choir. You'd sure give Miss Oozora a run for her money!"
And the four walked off toward the Defense Force Headquarters, giggling all the way...

TO BE CONTINUED...