(Note: Once again, I apologize to those who think Kagome should not have become Mao's step-mom. But I'll reiterate: this is an AU fic. Even though this is primarily a novelization of the anime, I will make a few changes here and there (e.g.: Sylvie didn't have glasses in the anime) that will suit Mao-Chan: Volumes II and III (my continuation of the Mao-Chan story after this AU novelization) when I get down to it. Once again, I apologize!)

Ground Defense Force

Mao-Chan


Chapter 11:
Defense, Awake or Asleep

Mao sat up in bed, holding her Kuni-Chan doll in her arms. Kuni-Chan wears a white long-sleeve shirt and dark-red overalls. Kuni-Chan's hair is nearly identical to Mao's. She has blue button-eyes and blush marks under her eyes. Mao had this doll for as long as she could remember.

Mao turned Kuni-Chan to face her, and said, "I, myself, just had the strangest dream, Kuni-Chan. I, myself, dreamed that my teacher at school, Miss Kagome, became my new Mommy. Weird, huh?" And Mao proceeded to get dressed into her normal clothes. Just as she put the clover on her chest...

"Mao! Time to wake up!" came a voice from downstairs, but it wasn't Mao's dad. It sounded familiar, though.

Mao ran out the door and looked over the railing into the living room, and saw...

"...Miss Kagome?" Mao asked, tilting her head to the side.

Kagome smiled. "Didn't I say that you can call me 'Mom' last night?"

Mao scratched her head slightly. Then it occured to her.

"It wasn't a dream?" Mao asked herself, but already she knew the answer. Before she knew it, she was running down the steps, tears of joy rolling off her face.

"My new mommy!" Mao cried as she ran towards Kagome. However, she still didn't run any faster than before.

She tripped, landing on her face. Kagome sweatdropped, then walked over to help Mao up.

"Ah-ooh-eh-ooh!" moaned Mao as she wiped her knee off. Kagome lifted Mao to her feet. "Don't worry, Mao," Kagome said, hands on Mao's shoulders. "You'll learn to run faster eventually."

Mao looked into Kagome's eyes, and saw a motherly affection, which was enough to restore her morning cheer.

BEEP! BEEP!

"Private Onigawara!" came Operative Maeda's voice from Mao's clover. "The Sheep Alien is back, and is going after the Osaka Castle in Osaka! Download your Type 2 Ground Gear and meet 2nd Lieutenant Tsukishima and Seaman Recruit Maruyama at the scene!"

"Ehh?!" Mao and Kagome simultaneously. A defense mission this early?! Kagome thought, shocked. The Cute Aliens sure are getting off to an early start today! Even so, she composed herself and entered 'military mode'. "Mao! I mean, Private Onigawara, prepare to download Type 2 Ground Gear immediately!"

"Roger, Mom!" Mao saluted. "Type 2 Ground Gear... download!" She tapped her clover on the face. "Riku-bo!"

In a flash, Mao was once more in her Type 2 Ground Gear.

"Private E-2 Mao Onigawara of the Ground Defense Force! I will defend the country today in high spirits!" After this little spiel, Mao ran (slowly) out the door to defend the country.

Ken walked into the room. "Good morning, sunshine," he said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Ken," Kagome replied.

"Y'know," said Ken, adjusting his glasses slightly. "I didn't actually expect you to go through with that marriage proposal. I mean, we knew so little about each other."

"Well, I didn't expect it at all," Kagome said. "I went through with it so that Mao wouldn't grow into a young woman completely motherless. But it looks like we'll lead a good life together. I'm surprised even now just how much we have in common."

"Yeah," responded Ken. He looked at his watch worriedly. "Uhm, don't you have a defense mission to command?"

Kagome started. "Oh jeez! I forgot!" And Kagome ran off towards Defense Force headquarters, still in her PJ's.


"How pretty..." said Sylvie as she stared at the Osaka Castle down the road. She seemed rather 'in her element', as she was back in her birth city. Mao and Misora sat next to her onboard Miikun as it rode towards the Castle.

They reached to area surrounding the Osaka Castle. Everything looked perfectly normal. No Cute Alien in sight.

"Where is the Cute Alien, I ask?" asked Misora, looking round.

"I, the officer, don't see it anywhere," muttered Sylvie, looking under a small rock on the ground. They both heard Mao yell out.

"Misora-Chan! Sylvie-Chan! Look there!" shouted Mao, pointing to the top of a building nearby.

"It's the Cute Alien, I say!" screamed Misora. The Cute Alien, with a loud "Baa!", jumped off the building, towards the Osaka Castle.

Mao put a hand to her clover. "What should we do, Mommy? Should we use the Defense Barrier?"

Said Kagome, "Number one: call me Commander Mishi-- I mean, Commander Onigawara in these defense missions! Number two: a Defense Barrier at such close proximity to the Osaka Castle might damage it."

"What should we do the--?" Mao asked, but was interrupted by Misora.
"Mao-Chan! The Cute Alien is taking away the Osaka Castle, I say!" Mao turned, and just saw the Sheep Alien and the Osaka Castle vanish as if they were a mirage.

"Ah-ooh-eh-ooh!" the three Defense Force girls moaned.

"We are in a serious pinch," Sylvie stated.


Kagome watched the Alien and Osaka Castle disappear back to the Cute Alien headquarters in dismay. Chalk up another for the Cute Aliens, she thought. If we keep failing and failing, the Cabinet won't rely on us anymore... I can't believe I nearly forgot my name is Kagome Onigawara now. Kagome Onigawara... it has such a nice ring to it.


And so two more days passed. And with each day came a new defense mission. And with each defense mission another landmark of Japan was stolen by the Sheep Alien.

And so it was, the Chiefs of Staff met to talk about why the Unified Defense Forces failed every mission they went on.

"Darn those Cute Aliens!" Rikushiro yelled, causing Sorajiro and Adalbert to jump. "They've had their way with us for long enough! Mark my words, we'll defend the next landmark from them next time for sure!" Rikushiro punched a shaking fist into his other hand to emphasize his point.

"Consider them marked, Rikushiro," muttered Sorajiro. "But if you'll remember, we had no idea where the Cute Aliens would strike, or what landmark they were after. So, unless we know what they are after, it is impossible to defend against them. Isn't that right, Okita-San?" Sorajiro squeezed Okita-San in the stomach, making the doll appear to nod.

"Well then, why don't you at least try to come up with some countermeasures, Sorajiro?!" shouted Rikushiro, standing up in his chair.

"Sometimes," Sorajiro said overly-melodramatically. "A man must simply endure his lot in life."

Rikushiro's eyebrow twitched. "Will you stop spouting out that philosophical gibberish, trying to sound cool!?" Rikushiro rounded on Adalbert. "And you! You've been rather quiet! What're you thinking about?"

Adalbert looked at Rikushiro, piercing green eyes meeting fathomless black eyes. "Zhe thing is, I know vhat zhe aliens' next target..." Adalbert took a long drag on his cigarette, then extinguished it. "...is goin' to bee."

"What?!" Rikushiro and Sorajiro yelled. "How?"

"Zhey have told me," Adalbert pulled a small index card from his breast pocket, and read from it: "Eet says: 'Ve vill visit Okinawa at exactly 3:00 PM tomorrow, to take a Shisa. Signed, zhe Cute Aliens'."

"What?" muttered a dumbstruck Sorajiro.

"Curse the Cute Aliens," hissed Rikushiro, eye twitching. "Now they're just mocking us!

"Deploy the Unified Defense Forces!"


Early the next day, Mao, Misora, Sylvie, and Kagome took a plane to Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan.

As for the Shisa, it is a stone lion that wards off evil spirits and fire.

But what are the Cute Aliens planning to do by stealing all of Japan's landmarks? Kagome thought. She unbuckled her seat belt and started to get up.

"Mommy, where are you going?" asked Mao.

"I have to, umm... go!" said Kagome, not exactly sure how best to say she had to use the bathroom. Kagome walked down the corridor to the toilet in the back of the plane.

It happened so fast Kagome wasn't sure exactly what happened. In less than a second, the door to the bathroom opened, someone walked out, and bumped right into Kagome. Kagome's glasses fell off. Immediately, she began to look for them as she frantically muttered, "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!"

Not hearing anything, Kagome looked over at the person, and was confused. The person - who turned out to be a woman - was just laying there, not moving, or even breathing. Filled with dread, Kagome found her glasses and put them on. Her blood ran cold.

The woman had long brown hair that was darker than Kagome's. She seemed to be only a few years younger than Kagome, 24 or 25... and was dead. Her skin was paler than usual, and her dark-brown eyes were unfocused.

Kagome panicked, and remembered her nightmare less than a week ago. Everything about CPR and medical treatment ran through her mind as she prepared to revive this woman.

"Come on! Stay away from the light!" whined Kagome as she did chest compressions on this woman, trying to restore a heartbeat. She breathed into the woman's mouth, then felt the woman's wrist for a pulse. None.

H-Have I just committed murder?! Kagome thought frantically.

Then something happened that immensely relieved Kagome: the woman sat up. Sh-She's alive?! But how? Kagome thought bemusedly.

"Oh my," said the woman (I really have to get a name for her, don't I?) as she sat up. "How long have I been out this time?"

"'Th-This time'?! You mean, this happened before?" Kagome stuttered. The woman looked at Kagome with a sense of familiarity.

"Why, hello, Naru," the woman said, smiling slightly. "I didn't see you get on the plane."

Kagome said, "Y-y-you must be mistaken! My name isn't Naru. My name is Kagome Onigawara."

The woman's face went from happy to stunned in a split-second. "Oh my! Commander Kagome Onigawara of the Unified Defense Forces who just married Mao Onigawara's father?"

"The one and only," replied Kagome. "What's your name?"

"Oh my, I forgot to tell you my name. I am Mutsumi Otohime."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ms. Otohime," lied Kagome. If anything, her encounter with Mutsumi was somewhat terrifying.

"It was nice to meet you too, Mrs. Onigawara," said Mutsumi, unaware of Kagome's lie. Then Mutsumi did something quite shocking: she kissed Kagome on the lips!

"I hope to see you again sometime, Mrs. Onigawara," said Mutsumi as she returned to her seat. Kagome, who was red as a tomato, suddenly didn't feel like she needed to use the bathroom anymore.


Little did they know, Yuriko and Chinami were on the plane as well.

Yuriko was troubled, though she didn't tell Chinami that she was unnerved. Ever since that first Unified Defense Forces' mission, she felt an odd foreboding, as if something terrible had just been unleashed far away, and the Universe as she knew it was coming to an end. Yuriko didn't know what caused it, but felt that it wouldn't be long before she figured it out.


Mao, Misora, Sylvie, and Kagome arrived in Okinawa not long after Kagome encountered Mutsumi. They waited at the beach for the Cute Alien to arrive. Suddenly, Mao, Misora, and Sylvie began to undress.

"Wh-What are you girls doing?!" Kagome shouted, though she was relieved to she that they were not completely undressed. Mao and Sylvie both wore a two-piece swimsuit, Mao green, Sylvie black. Misora's swimsuit was one piece, and sky-blue. They put their clovers on the front of their swimsuits, over their hearts.

"But Grandpa said... I mean the Chief of Staff said," Mao said as Sylvie replaced her glasses with contact lenses. "That we could play on the beach until the mission begins."

"I was told the same, I say," agreed Misora.

"Same here," said Sylvie, pulling a life-saver around her waist. "Besides, unless my, the officer's, contacts are messed up, you look like you're in the mood for fun, too, Commander Mishima."

And she did; she was just wearing a dark-green bikini and a light-green jacket draped over her shoulders.

"Sylvia-Chan," replied Kagome coolly. "Don't you mean Commander Onigawara? Besides, I'm your supervisor until the mission begins, then I'm your Commander."

"Then please play with us, ma'am, I say!" said Misora.


Chinami and Yuriko watched from a distance, dressed in French maid uniforms.

"Miss President, this is our chance to knock out the Defense Forces," said Chinami as she looked through the binoculars. "All we have to do is give them this food I prepared." Chinami gestured towards the carts of food behind them.

"But Chinami-Chan," protested Yuriko. "Why do you want to give Mao-Chan and her friends food? They are our enemies, you know."

Chinami almost yelled, but dropped her voice to a quieter level. "Don't you see, Miss President? I have put a special Space Sedative into each piece of food. Once they eat this food, they'll be out like a light in no time!"

Yuriko looked over the carts of food, then turned to Chinami, "But Sylvie-Chan's favorite food, tangerines, aren't here! Won't she be suspicious?"

Chinami's eyebrow twitched, her cat-ears popping out. "Are you as thick as a cinder block, Miss President?! Tangerines hold the cure for the Space Sedative!"

"Ch-Chinami-Chan! Your ears are showing!" Yuriko stuttered. Chinami withdrew her ears without effort, looking at Yuriko with a cold glare - which quickly vanished as a malevolent smile appeared on her face.

"Anyway, the Cute Alien should be arriving soon. We best be distributing the Sedative now," said Chinami.

"Yeah," Yuriko muttered. I'm sorry, Mao-Chan...


It turned out Chinami was right. No sooner had Mao, Misora, Sylvie, and Kagome put the food in their mouth than they began to nod. Ultimately, they collapsed to the ground, falling into a dreamless sleep, snoring away. Chinami snickered that they'd be out for hours, plenty of time for the Shisa to be taken. Yuriko didn't say anything, but she did have a look of worry on her face. They hid in the bushes to watch the whole thing, too confident that everything would go all right.

Their over-confidence was their weakness.

No sooner did they leave than Mao, Misora, and Sylvie's clovers began flashing.

"Private Onigawara!" came Operative Maeda's voice. "Second Lieutenant Tsukishima! Seaman Recruit Maruyama! The Cute Alien has just made landfall just offshore of Okinawa. The Prime Minister has granted permission to use the Defense Barrier. Download your Type 2 Gear and show this Cute Alien we don't take their actions laying down!"

But Maeda's words fell on deaf ears; or rather, the ears of those in deep sleep. If an operative in an army gives an order, and noone hears it, did she really give the order?


I, the officer, am so tired...

Wake up, Sylvia.

Wh-Who are you?

I am... a friend. You need to defend the country.

But I, the officer, am too tired! I can't. It's hopeless...

Nothing is ever hopeless, Sylvia. Make your parents proud. Awaken. It doesn't matter whether you are awake or asleep; you can still defend!

But we can't defend if we are asleep!

Yes, you can. You possess my gift, Sylvia. All three of you do. And you will use it to defend. You must. If not, then Japan will fall.

...Alright. I, the officer, must defend!

Don't forget Mao and Misora. They must defend, too. It takes three for the Defense Barrier to work.

But... how do you know about the Defence Barrier?

I have my ways of knowing. Defend the Shisa, Sylvia. Now... Awaken.


Sylvie sat up, a bubble emerging from her nose. Though she was awake, her eyes were still closed. She mumbled something in her sleep. She heard a loud splash nearby, but was too tired to acknowledge it.

Suddenly, the bubble coming from her nostril popped, and Sylvie opened her eyes slightly. There was a large green, snakelike Cute Alien before her, its beady yellow eyes staring at her bemusedly.

Sylvie reached over to Mao and Misora, and began shaking them. "Come on, you two. Wake up."

Mao and Misora sat up groggily, mumbling sleepily. "What is it, I ask?" Misora mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"A voice in my head said that we have to defend," Sylvie told them drowsilly (sic).

"Oh, really?" Mao said, too tired to care that her friend was hearing voices.

"Then we need to transform, I say," said Misora, who reached over to Sylvie's face, brushing some sand off her cheek. "You have sand on your face, Sylvie-Chan, I say."

"Type 2 Ground Gear..."

"Type 2 Flight Gear..."

"Type 2 Marine Gear..."

"...download." They tapped their clovers tiredly. "Riku-bo.../Ku-bo.../Kai-bo..."

In a flash, they were in their Type 2 Gear, though they were no more invigorated than before.

"Mao Onigawara of the Ground Defense Force..."

"Misora Tsukishima of the Sky Defense Force..."

"Sylvia Maruyama of the Sea Defence Force..."

They saluted, wobbling on the spot as if they would collapse to the ground, sawing logs, at any moment. "The peace of Japan will be..." Mao began.

"...will be protected by..." Misora continued.

"We, the officers, will skip the rest." Sylvie failed to finish.

And they commenced the Defense Barrier operation.


"Amazing..." Yuriko muttered. In the middle of the beach, the Unified Defense Forces were sleeping, still in their Type 2 Gear, around the unconscious Snake Alien.

"WHAT?!!" Chinami shrieked, utterly furious. Yuriko jumped. "HOW COME THEY'RE MORE EFFICIENT WHEN THEY'RE HALF-ASLEEP?!!"

After a long silence, Yuriko muttered, "You scared me..." But how did they wake up? Could it have been... Kusanagi-Sama?


Meanwhile, on the beach, Kagome woke up. She yawned, "Ahh, what a nice nap." She noticed the Snake Alien, eyes swirling, with Mao, Misora and Sylvie sleeping in a triangle around it.

"Hmm, they must've beaten it while I was napping," Kagome muttered to herself. "They deserve a good sleep, given the hard work they've been doing all week..."


That night...

"You see? That is the power of the Unified Defense Forces! We will defend the country, even in our sleep!" bellowed Rikushiro, standing before a large crowd at the Diet. Sorajiro and Adalbert stood on either side of him. Before them, stood the three Defense Force girls, sleep-standing.

"It is all thanks to Misora of the Sky Defense Force!" Sorajiro called out.

"No, eet ees all sanks to Zylvie of zhe Sea Defense Force!" Adalbert said. But rather than make fools of themselves in public, the Chiefs of Staff shared a good laugh (hey, that rhymed).


A plane landed in Tokyo International Airport. Out of the plane emerged a large group of people, but one of them stood out. She had short, dark-blue hair and looked vaguely familiar. She thought to herself, Don't worry, Misora. You won't have to defend much longer. You'll grow up with a normal life, not having to worry about the next Alien that will show up. Mother's coming...

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Note: The War of the Gods continue! Within a week or so, I will begin posting new chapters of the Story of Kusanagi-Sama: War of the Gods! Look out for it!)