Ground Defense Force
Mao-Chan
Chapter 10:
A Sports Meet Before Everything Else!
The three Defense Force girls rode back to the Defense Force headquarters aboard Miikun, ear-to-ear grins on their faces. Hayate flew after them, and Nahchan went through a hidden underwater passageway.
However, these grins faded when they arrived outside of Defense Force headquarters. Everyone who worked there was standing in front of the gates, grim looks on their faces. In front were Miss Mishima...
"That's Commander Mishima!"
Oops! Sorry. Commander Mishima, Rikushiro, Sorajiro, and Adalbert.
"What is wrong, everyone, I ask?" asked Misora, her head tilted to the side.
Toku-San, who was just behind Rikushiro, stepped forward. "Well, you see, while you were busy cheering for your support mechas, the Cute Alien made off with a bullet train."
"Ehhh!?" screamed Mao, Misora, and Sylvie in unison. "We failed a defense mission?!" And they burst into tears.
"Don't worry, you three. You just made one mistake," said a man as he and his friend stepped forward. He was taller than his friend, had short brown hair, and small glasses. His friend looked almost the same, except for the fact that he was shorter, squater, and had longer hair and larger glasses. Both wore green military outfits.
"Yeah, just do your best, and noone will think any less of you," said his squat friend.
"Umm, do we know you two?" asked Mao tearily, as she wiped more tears away from her eyes.
The two men face-faulted. "Darn it!" they both yelled. "Why does ev'ryone always forget?!"
The squat man shouted, "I'm Shirai Kimiaki!"
"And I'm Haitani Masayuki, don't forget it!" shouted the taller, thinner one.
"Did either of you notice," Sylvie asked Mao and Misora, "how these two just appeared out of nowhere in this story?"
Mao and Misora sweatdropped. "Sylvie-Chan, please stop destroying the Fourth Wall, I say," said Misora worriedly.
"Besides, Sylvie-Chan," said Mao. "You appeared out of nowhere, too."
"Oh," replied Sylvie. "Sorry..."
The next day...
The Chiefs of Staff and Commander Mishima discussed the Cute Alien invader that stole a bullet train earlier.
"Hmmm, so the Cute Aliens' targets are the Japanese landmarks," muttered Rikushiro.
"But why would they be after our landmarks?" Sorajiro asked noone in particular.
"It appears," began Kagome, "that my theory that the Cute Aliens are after the Japanese landmarks is correct."
"But Sorajiro, for once, brought up a good point," said Rikushiro, recieving a glare from Sorajiro. "'Why are they after the landmarks of Japan?' is the real question."
"Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm!" chuckled Adalbert, lit cigarette in his hand. "Ri-dee-culous aliens! Zey couldn't bee more foolish!"
"Well, in the interim, it is vital that we formulate countermeasures immediately. We will have to have units stationed at every major landmark in Japan, and tell them to radio in any Cute Alien sightings or activities," said Kagome, but Rikushiro held up a hand to silence Kagome.
"No. There is one thing to do before we do that," he stated matter-of-factly.
"What's that?" Kagome asked, clearly wondering what was more important than the defense of the country.
"Well, the thing is..." began Rikushiro.
"...tomorrow..." continued Sorajiro.
"... our granddaughterz vill bee having..." finished Adalbert.
All three of them shouted, "...an off-season sports meet!!"
Kagome face-faulted.
Meanwhile...
"Yay!!" a bespectacled Sylvie shouted, running round and round Mao and Misora as they walked home from school. "No more school! No more school! No more school!"
"Sylvie-Chan, stop running around, please," said Misora, sweatdropping. "I think Mao-Chan is getting dizzy, I say." Misora looked over, and sure enough, Mao's eyes were swirling like crazy.
"Mao-Chan, are you alright, I ask?" asked Misora, grabbing Mao by the shoulders until she steadied.
"Thanks, Misora-Chan," thanked Mao. No sooner did she say this than a small object flew onto her head. She looked up; it was a small turtle, just small enough to sit comfortably on someone's head. It looked exactly like a smaller Cosmic Tamago, and it had a look of fear on its face.
"What's wrong, little turtle?" asked Mao. A cowardly 'myuh' was all Mao got.
"'Someone's chasing you?'" asked Sylvie, looking around in every direction. "I, the officer, don't see anyone..."
"Nya ha ha!" came a cry from ahead. It sounded like a teenage girl, but with an accent suggesting someone from India, or somewhere nearby. "You can't hide from me, Tamago! Not while I have my Turtle Detecting Radar!"
Eventually, Mao and her friends saw the source of the voice. It was a teenage girl, about 16 or 17, tanned, with the same 'eternal blush' marks under her eyes as Misora. Her hair was blonde. Strangely, she was riding in a large turtle-shaped tank, barrelling down the street. The turtle-tank had a 'three-eyed elephant' symbol on one side.
"You cannot win this final battle while I'm equipped with the Mecha... Tamago... Mark... 43?" the girl said, slowing down and eventually stopping at the sight of Mao, Misora, and Sylvie. She stared at Mao and her friends in awe for a few seconds. Then she jumped right out, front-flipped forward, and landed feet-first, hand out for shaking, right in front of Mao, Misora, and Sylvie.
"Hi, my name is Kaolla Su! What are your names?!" said 'Kaolla', wearing a white shirt and blue skirt. Mao, Misora, and Sylvie were so stunned by this sudden appearance of a girl they didn't at all knew, that they couldn't find their voices.
"It's all right," said Kaolla, pulling out a banana and shoving the whole thing in her mouth. "Ah aww-weh-deh know yaw name-th," she said through a mouthful of banana.
"Um, Ms. Su, it's not polite to talk with your mouth full, I say," said Misora. Kaolla put her hand in her mouth, pulled out a spit-covered banana peel (Misora began to gag) and swallowed the rest.
"Su, stop harrassing those little kids!" came a familiar (to Sylvie) voice. From the direction where Kaolla came, came another woman, but this one in her early twenties. She had sandy-blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders, and a rather... ahem, shapely figure. Her eyes were squinted shut, giving her face a fox-like appearance.
A smile spread wide on Sylvie's face at the sight of a familiar... face. "Aunt Mitsune! Haven't seen me in a while, have you?" said Sylvie, hugging Mitsune around the waist. Mitsune waved a finger in the air.
"Now, Sylvie, you know I prefer to be called just 'Kitsune'," she said, a little annoyed that Sylvie didn't remember this fact.
"Sorry, Kitsune," said Sylvie. "I, the officer, didn't remember 'cause I didn't see you in a while." She turned to Mao and Misora. "Mao-Chan, Misora-Chan, this is my aunt, Mitsune Konno, but she just likes bein' called 'Kitsune'.
"Kitsune, these are my friends, Private E-2 Mao Onigawara of the Ground Defence Force ("Yep!" exclaimed Mao.) and 2nd Lieutenant Misora Tsukishima of the Sky Defence Force!" Misora's 'eternal blush' grew at the sudden increase in attention. "Uh-um, I..."
"Aww, you're all so cute!" said Kitsune. "You remind me of Shinobu just before Naru became a pop star! She was red as a tomato!" Now that Mao listened enough, Kitsune had an Osaka accent, and Sylvie had one as well. It was hard to tell, because her British accent overwhelmed her Osaka accent.
"Sylvie-Chan, where did you grow up?" asked Mao.
"I, the officer, grew up in Osaka with my parents, Wilhelm and Yui, and Aunt Kitsune," said Sylvie, confirming Sylvie's Osaka accent.
"Well, I, the officer, have to get home now, or Mum and Dad'll worry about me," said Sylvie.
"Okay," said Kitsune. "I need to get back to Hinata Apartments to... 'persuade' the landlord into letting me not pay the rent for a month." Kitsune did 'quotation fingers' when she said 'persuade'. Without further ado, Kaolla hopped back into the Mecha Tamago tank, and began driving away. "Another day, Tamago..." Kaolla was heard to be muttering. Kitsune turned to leave, but suddenly turned back towards Mao, Misora, and Sylvie.
"Oh yeah! Have you three seen Tama-chan?" she asked. Mao, Misora, and Sylvie tilted their heads, wondering who 'Tama-chan' was. "Tama-chan? You know, the little turtle Kaolla was chasing?" Then it clicked for Mao, Misora, and Sylvie: Tama-chan was the turtle that was scared of Kaolla.
"Oh, right!" said Mao. "Tama-chan was sitting on top of my-
"-head?" Tama-chan wasn't on top of Mao's head. Suddenly, Mao felt movement in one of the exceedingly large pigtails on the left side of her head. She began to squirm and squeal. "Ahh! Somebody help! Somebody get the turtle out of my hair!"
Kitsune chuckled, and muttered to herself, "Now, if Naru and Keitarou were here, Naru would go, 'Keitarou, you pervert!' and punch him into the stratosphere."
Suddenly, Tama-chan popped out of one of Mao's large pigtails, waved 'myuh!' with one of its flippers, and flew off towards the Hinata House. Kitsune followed Tama-chan.
"Did that turtle just fly, I ask?" asked Misora.
The next day...
"Hello, and welcome to the 20th Annual Akamatsu School 2nd Graders' Sports Meet! I am Takashi Akayama, and I will be your host!"
Takashi was reporting from a helicopter flying over the Akamatsu School.
"Among the contestants are Mao Onigawara, Misora Tsukishima, and Sylvia Maruyama. They were so cute two days ago when they failed the defense mission, that the Prime Minister is giving them a chance to redeem themselves! They must do their best in each round of this Sports Meet!"
Among the others present were the Chiefs of Staff, Kagome, Sylvie's parents, and Mao's dad.
The Prime Minister stepped up to the podium.
"Oh my, what an unexpected surprise!" exclaimed Takashi. "It seems the Prime Minister is going to give a speech before the Sports Meet begins!"
Like all of his speechs, the Prime Minister's speech was short and to the point:
"Welcome, everyone. I hope that you all enjoy yourselves today!"
"I'm gonna do my best to help Team Red win, aren't you, Misora-Chan?" Mao asked. To signify that they were on Team Red, Mao and Sylvie had red headbands on. Misora just replaced the blue bow on the side of her head with a red one. The three had their clover badges removed for the Sports Meet.
"I certainly will, Mao-Chan, I say!" replied Misora.
"I, the officer, am not really photogenic, though," muttered Sylvie, who was sitting nearby, looking up at the helicopter that was filming them.
"I can see my Daddy!" exclaimed Mao, waving. "Hi, Daddy!" Mao's dad, too busy reading a newspaper which obscured his face, waved for only a second. "Where are your parents, Misora-Chan? I wanna say 'hi'!"
"My mother is a diplomat, so I do not see her often, I say," Misora answered. "And my father, he..." Misora's manner suddenly became sadder, almost depressed. Tears began to form in her eyes.
"What? What happened to your dad, Misora-Chan?" asked Mao, and the 'eternal blush' marks under Misora's eyed faded slightly.
"My... my... my father died in a plane crash when I was two, I say," choked Misora, tears falling freely from her eyes. "I never knew my father, I say!" And Misora broke down into tears. Mao put a comforting hand on Misora's shoulder.
"It's alright, Misora-Chan," said Mao, tears forming in her eyes as well. "I, myself, never knew Mommy, either. She disappeared when I was only a few months old. I know how you feel, Misora-Chan."
Misora looked up at Mao, the last few tears rolling down her face. Mao had tears in her eyes as well. Misora looked into Mao's amethyst eyes, and knew that she always turn to Mao if she needed help, and Mao would help without a second thought.
Misora wiped the tears from her face, and hugged Mao tight. "Thank you, Mao-Chan."
"This is our chance, Miss President!" said Chinami, watching the scene through binoculars. "If the Onigawara and her friends do poorly in the Sports Meet, the Defense Forces will lose support of the Cabinet, and it will be easier for our headquarters to carry out their missions!"
"Chinami-Chan, I understand all that... but..." said Yuriko.
"But what, Miss President?" snapped Chinami, trying to get back to observing Mao, Misora and Sylvie as quickly as possible.
"...but why do we have to change into these sports uniforms?" asked Yuriko. Chinami face-faulted, her pince-nez glasses askew.
"These are disguises, of course," responded Chinami. "Do you really want Onigawara and her friends to recognize us?"
"Well, no," said Yuriko, who seriously doubted that they would be unrecognizable to Mao, Misora, and Sylvie. I mean, Yuriko thought, it's like Chinami-Chan thinks that if we wear our normal school uniforms, Mao-Chan and her friends will go, 'gasp They're spies for the Cute Aliens!'
"And the member of Team Red who will do the 50-meter sprint," came the announcement. "will be... Misora Tsukishima!"
Yuriko and Chinami watched as Misora stood up and walked towards the starting line.
Later that day...
Rikushiro was in dismay. In every single event she was involved in, Mao tripped, stumbled, or won in last place! Meanwhile, Misora and Sylvie won in first place in every event they were involved in. They even won in the folk dancing competition.
"All the morning events are now over!" came Takashi's announcement. "Thanks to some fine performances by Misora-Chan and Sylvia-Chan, Team Red is winning 250-200!
"However, Mao-Chan is beyond clumsy, and is not doing quite so good! She has not contributed to Team Red's lead at all!"
Sure, rub it in, why doncha? thought Rikushiro angrilly. He got up and started looking for the faculty. He had to find Kagome.
Chinami giggled malevolently, "Look at how pathetically Onigawara is performing, Miss President! It doesn't look like we'll need to get involved at all, does it?"
Yuriko held up a pocket computer, "I'm not so sure about that, Chinami-Chan. It looks like the Cabinet's support of the Defense Forces is rising, not falling!"
Chinami's eyes widened, her glasses magnifying them greatly. "What?! You're kidding!" But then an evil smile crossed Chinami's face. "No matter. Onigawara's lackluster performance is sure to yank the rug out from under the Defense Forces!"
"Ah-ooh-eh-ooh!" moaned Mao as Misora and Sylvie relaxed and ate lunch. "I, myself, haven't been able to help Team Red win at all! This isn't good, not good at ah-ooh-eh-ooh...!" and Mao just went right back to moaning.
"Mao-Chan, don't you worry about a thing, I say," said Misora, trying to cheer Mao up.
"She's right. We'll do our best to make up for your lameness, Mao-Chan," said Sylvie. Though she thought her words would cheer Mao up, they just made Mao sink even lower. Mao face-faulted, tears pouring from her eyes.
"What's wrong? Did that make you happy?" asked Sylvie.
Misora sweatdropped, "I wouldn't say so, Sylvie-Chan, I say."
"Miss Kagome, please find some way to help Mao win!" Rikushiro demanded, leaning right over Kagome, making her lean back. "Find some game where she plays such a role that she wins all the time!"
Kagome scratched the side of her head. "Well, that's easier said than done, Chief of Staff..."
Suddenly, Rikushiro took Kagome's hand in his, "In the event that all goes well, Miss Kagome, I will take you out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in a five-star hotel."
Kagome's heart skipped a beat. Dinner with the Chief of Staff?! she thought, love in her eyes. How can I turn that down?
"Really?!" Kagome almost shouted.
Meanwhile, Takashi announced, "Well, I know it sounds cliche, but Teams Red and White are neck-and-neck, with 500 points apiece! The last event, as always, is the scavenger hunt race!"
"Excuse me for a moment, Chief of Staff," said Kagome, hyperventilating. She skipped off, as Rikushiro thought, I hope you know what you're doing, Miss Kagome. I'm counting on you...
Kagome approached the teacher in charge of the scavenger hunt race, and asked, "Um, Ms. Aoshima, did you make Mao-Chan's item an easy one?"
"Yep," replied Ms. Aoshima. "I made all of the items as basic as basic can get."
"Thank you so much," replied Kagome, quite relieved.
The scavenger hunt race is set up like any normal race, except halfway through is a table with papers on it. Each paper has the name of the item the 2nd grader must find.
"On your mark... get set... go!" said Takashi's voice over the PA. On 'go!' every 2nd grader lined up at the beginning of the scavenger hunt race ran to the table.
"Go, Mao!" Rikushiro shouted. But his words did nothing to make Mao run faster than a foot a second.
The rest of the 2nd graders reached the table quickly. Sylvie picked up the paper in front of her.
"'A pretty girl'," Sylvie read from the paper, adjusting her glasses to make sure she read it right.
"'A cute girl with glasses'," Misora read from her paper. The two of them looked at each other, and said, "I found it!"
They ran across the finish line, holding each other's hands. By this time, Mao reached the table. She picked up the last paper, which read: For Mao-Chan only, on the front. Mao turned the paper over...
And gasped.
How can I, myself, find that? Mao thought, just standing there. Not moving.
Rikushiro was dumbfounded. For the past two minutes, Mao just stood there, not moving, not even speaking.
"MAO!" he yelled, running up to her. His yell attracted the attention of almost everyone at the Sports Meet. Even Mao's dad lowered his newspaper, interested in what made Rikushiro yell. "What's wrong?! Mao, just go and find your person! How hard can that be?!"
"But I, myself, can't find what I don't have," Mao replied, and Rikushiro thought he heard Mao's voice cracking slightly. Rikushiro read over Mao's shoulder, and realized what Mao had to find:
Mother
Oh no... Mao's mother disappeared when she was still in diapers, Rikushiro thought, sensing a crying fit to start. Kagome walked up to Rikushiro. "What's wrong with Mao-Chan, Chief of Staff?" asked Kagome.
"She had to find her mother in this scavenger hunt," said Rikushiro. "I assume you knew nothing of this?"
"No, sir," Kagome replied. "Only Ms. Aoshima knew about this, but she didn't know Mao-Chan--"
"I... myself... don't have... a m-mom," Mao whimpered, before letting out a crying wail, tears pouring like waterfalls from her eyes.
"The poor thing, not having a mom!" "Mao-Chan!" several members of the crowd were heard muttering.
"This is so sad!" said Sorajiro, tears welling in his eyes as well. Adalbert handed him a handkerchief. "Thanks!" he said, wiping the tears away. "Hey! This hanky was already used!" Sorajiro snapped. "Vell, I can cry, too!" replied Adalbert.
Meanwhile, Mao's dad walked up to them, his newspaper discarded. In his hand he held something. He seemed slightly awkward.
"What's the matter, Ken?" Rikushiro asked Mao's dad, who didn't answer.
"Ahem, Kagome Mishima," he said, stuttering slightly. He had to speak up since Mao's crying was so loud. "I have wanted to say this to you since I first saw you when Mao joined the Defense Forces...
"I love you."
Everything and everyone was silent. Even Mao's crying seemed somewhat muted.
"You do?" replied Kagome.
"Yes," Ken said, getting down on one knee. "And I have finally reached a decision, after months of thinking:" He opened the small box in his hand. Everyone gasped. Inside was a wedding ring. "Will you marry me, Kagome Mishima, and become the one thing Mao has lacked, a mother?"
Kagome was stunned. She didn't want to marry Mao's dad, because she loved the Chief of Staff. However, Kagome realized that her love of Rikushiro was just an immature crush, and that their relationship had no hope, as she was 27 and Rikushiro was in his sixtie's. Besides, he believed their relationship was purely professional. With great difficulty, Kagome cast aside her feelings for Rikushiro.
"Yes, I will, Ken Onigawara," said Kagome, taking the ring from Ken and putting it on her finger. Then, hand in hand, Mao and Kagome ran across the finish line, to the sound of cheers from every person in the crowds. Takashi announced, "Goal! Team Red won! Mao-Chan gets extra points for finding the thing that she never had: a mother."
Chinami threw her binoculars to the ground in frustration, shouting, "Darn it! The Defense Force girls not only managed to win the Sports Meet, but the Defense Forces are still intact!"
Yuriko didn't trust herself to say anything, because it might come out a compliment for Mao. I'm so glad Mao-Chan finally has a mother...
Kagome and Ken's wedding happened that afternoon. Rikushiro was best man. And the dinner at the five-star hotel became the beginning of Kagome and Ken's honeymoon. Because Mao had no school the next day, Mao was allowed to come as well.
I hope Mao is happy with me as her step-mother, Kagome thought as she, Ken, Rikushiro, and Mao ate their dinner at the restaurant.
"Miss Kagome?" Mao asked.
"Yes, Mao?" Kagome replied.
"Even though you aren't my real mommy, can I, myself, call you 'Mom'?"
Kagome paused, then replied, "Yes, Mao. You can."
TO BE CONTINUED...
(P.S.: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. A series of events throughout the past several weeks have kept me busy. And earlier this week, I had to do a report on 'Night' by Elie Wiesel for the beginning of my sophomore year in high school. Whew! Now that that's taken care of, I can write more in what's left of the summer. Then again, I started reading the Lord of the Rings, so that may be an even trade-off.)
(P.P.S.: BTW, I know Kagome marrying Mao's dad is a big departure from the anime (and probably the manga), but I found the 'temporary mom' angle a little unbelievable and, for me anyway, killed the sad feeling from Mao's crying earlier. This development will change things quite a bit, including the omission of the episode I like the least later on. Oh well, bigger changes have been made before in other movie-to-book and book-to-movie adaptions. Then again, this novelization is slightly AU. Hope that noone disagrees with this!)
(P.P.P.S.: Updates the next month or so will be sporadic and erratic, as I will not only be starrting school again, but me and my family will be working on our new house. BTW, the maiden name of Sylvie's mother, in this story, is Konno. Just so you all know!)
