Chapter 18: The Eye of the Storm

November 19th. Third Day of the CCSE. 3:37 PM.

(By the river.)

[Takeru]

"You have to escape! Run!" Mikoto shouted at the top of her lungs as the tree fell down.

To think Tama would score her shot in such a situation… Way to go, my dear. She saved our backs right now.

A second later after the rumbling sound echoed about within the rain, Meiya grabbed Chizuru and dashed into the forest. I can't blame them, not in this situation.

"Quiet!" A woman points her gun at me as I tried to struggle against the grip of the man that had me pinned.

"Wasps 3 to 6, chase after the girls!" The man in question says, and the first four rush after the girls. This works in my favor, if I only have to deal with two of them...

"Who are you?! Do you think you can get away with this?"

"Boy, the UN sent us. We are part of the CCSE, just that we're supposed to be a surprise." Yeah, right. If that's the case, Sensei better get ready to find a replacement because our partnership is fucking finished.

"Stop resisting! I'll shoot your legs if you don't stop!" The woman warned me.

I have one chance to get out of this shit. They didn't notice I left my rifle by the bushes over there. I gotta break free and then go for it. This dude isn't that strong.

"Alright… You win." I stop resisting and the man gets me up from the ground.

"Thanks for your collaboration, I rather not have to hurt you." Yeah, because the sting on my shoulder was there from the start.

The other four are too far away now. The man keeps me pinned down as the woman takes out a pair of binoculars and looks at the other side of the cliff.

"Looks like the other three really ran away."

"Well, it is what it is. Shirogane, please do not resist or we will have to harm you." Grabbing both of my hands and my right shoulder he slowly gets me up.

"I'll cuff him, Captain." The woman lowered her gun to take a pair of cuffs from her belt kit.

The man seems to be relaxed, his grip is still firm but with some strength… Okay, now or never!

"Graaaah!" I push myself backwards, smacking the back on my head into the man's face.

His grips falters and I release myself. I elbow him in the stomach causing him to fall. Before the woman could point her rifle at me I rushed and tackled her into the mud.

"Stop resisting! I'll have to-"

I pounce at him as I draw my knife from my belt kit and slash at his face.

"Whoa! The fu-" He falls backwards to avoid my slash. I kick the gun from his hands quickly.

"Stay still or I'll-" I quickly turn around and strike the female soldier with a kick, sending her gun away.

Before I could continue to attack the female, the male soldier got up and grabbed me from behind. I elbow his stomach again just in time to dodge a baton towards my face from the other.

I slash at her face as I move away from her. Of course, I didn't even hit her. She tries to hit me again but I dodge her strike and try to aim at her hand. She moves away and trips with a root.

"Desist from resisting! We will have to severely harm you if you don't!" The male one shouts as he got his gun again and pointed it at me.

Quickly throwing myself behind a tree, I don't need to worry for now. Sadly for him, I just picked up my rifle. Like hell I'll surrender.

"Who would surrender to the enemy?!"

"Look kid, we have authorization to rough you up quite badly, so if you don't wanna get hurt come out of that tree!" I don't care who gave you that authorization, I'm not failing this test nor letting any of you harm my girls! And if I have to bloody my own hands to do so… I will!

"You are the ones that are going to get hurt here!" The man's face contorts in fear as he sees the rifle in my hands. I feel again a pair of cold hands on my shoulders as I pull the trigger.

The female soldier that was getting close ducked as I opened fire on her. The male one took cover and also started shooting from behind a tree.

"Where did you got that weapon?! I heard nothing of this!" The female one hissed from the ground.

"Shut up, you bitch!" I locked onto her again and she dashed to some bushes to avoid the bullets.

I don't have so many bullets, they might have spare magazines to use but I do not. Let's get the hell out of here. I fire one last round of bullets at them and start running. I need to go and help Meiya and Chizuru!

"Stop! We'll open fire if you do not!" A short while after that I heard the sound of wood being splintered by bullets.

I keep dashing through the traps, jumping from the trip wires, sidestepping away from the pitfalls. These guys are real soldiers, I can't lose them despite my current physical state.

Damn this! Why is this happening?! Who are they?! Are they really with the UN? Sensei, did you betray me? Or are they sleeper agents of the Shogunate? Dammit, we don't have time for this shit. Everything was going alright, and you dared to try to harm them.

I couldn't see a wire and I fall face first into the mud. Damn it! I get up and keep running, their footsteps are getting closer. The rain relentlessly falls on me, making my left shoulder ache.

I can't lose them. From time to time they take a shot at me or start screaming at me. A bullet hits the tree in front of me and I duck to my left. I trip again and hit my head against a tree. I get up hastily and resume my escape, as more shouts and bullets roar behind me.

Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?! I just... wanted to live in peace, to be able to save some of them. To keep fighting until the Earth was safe from the BETA, to protect my world from this madness. And yet this world is constantly trying to get in the way. Do I really want to help Sensei if she knew of this and didn't tell me?

I jump over a trip wire and as I keep rushing through the vegetation I seem to have triggered some more machineguns. I pick up my pace to dodge the bullets, throwing myself to the ground when I see I won't be able to dodge them all.

"Captain! I found him!" The female had sighted me and locked her rifle onto me. She... was aiming at my face. I roll to a side as she opened fire, and grab my gun in a rush and return the aggression. I quickly stand up and resume my escape, but I stop as bullets hit the trees in front of me.

"We have authorization to use lethal force! Get out in sight or we'll shoot at you until you're unconscious!" The male voice tried to sound composed, but I could feel the anger in him.

I answer with more rubber and he has to hide behind a tree. Fuck you, damn soldiers! Who do you-

Rustle

I move away from where I was as the baton hits my left shoulder instead of my head.

"ARGH!" Damn her! She hit me with all her might. The pain spreads the cold sensation over all of my body as the hands are now gently stroking my cheeks.

"Don't think you'll get away with some scratches, you went too far boy!" She says as she prepares another strike.

"Come and get some!" I take out my knife and lunge at her. My speed takes her by surprise as she has trouble dodging my attacks.

I throw a kick at her and she stumbles backwards, I use the opening to give her a strong punch to the stomach.

"Stay still!" The male one was pointing his rifle at me. "Takeru Shirogane, sixth member of the Cadet Squad 207, desist on these futile actions. Surrender now or-"

"Or what?" I had grabbed the female to continue to punch her, but now I bend one of her arms behind her back as I put her in front of me. "C'mon! What's the problem? Shoot already, you bastard!" They aimed at my face, they're here for my blood. I don't care anymore, you might be with the UN, the Shogunate or the Americans for all I care. I won't forget this, whoever plotted this will pay!

"Grrr... You call yourself a soldier?! Hiding behind another? Fight me head on! What is it? You scared, kid?" He tries to taunt me while he laughs and flips me off.

"Shut up! You want me to hurt her some more?!" I bend her arm with more strength.

"Aaah! Stop that! It hurts!" Poor you, your cries are falling on deaf ears. You two were seriously trying to kill me, why should I hold back?!

"Cadet Shirogane, stop right now! You're hurting a comrade!"

"You're not my allies! You were trying to kill me, why should I care?!" I use my free hand to point my knife to the throat of the woman, who starts shivering upon feeling the metal on her neck.

"Stop! We were sent by the UN as your pursuers! This is also part of the CCSE!" The man seemed to have lost his cool act.

"You think I'm dumb? The UN wouldn't send armed squads against Cadets in this way. This bitch here was aiming her gun at my face!"

"Sorry kid, but it is what it is." The man said, grimacing a bit. "We were ordered to not give you an easy time during the test, that's all there is to this." If I were a greenhorn, I would have believed you. But that sharpened glint in your eyes... I can't ignore that.

"Then, is shooting at us without warning part of the exercise? If I hadn't shielded my comrade, you would have hit her in the head!"

"Those are the rules we live by, kid. Welcome to the military, Shirogane."

Don't give me that shit... These rules... That's all wrong, this is too messed up. Like hell I'll accept something like that!

"And? Even if you're telling the truth, do you think I'll just give up?! If you come at me, then I will go at you. Get ready to bleed if you wanna take me out." And anyways, almost everybody in the UN hates me.

I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to 'take your liberties' when restraining me. 'Oh sir, he just tripped and fell on top of the bullets! That's why his eyes are gone! Totally not on purpose!' I can see that happening in this messed up world. That's assuming you're not a double agent of the Shogunate, of course.

"I... Alright, we will not chase you anymore." He lowers his gun to the ground, he's clearly lying though. What is he- Ouch!

The woman stepped hard on my feet as she used her free hand to elbow me in the stomach. Bitch, you're gonna pay for that! I quickly reacted and grabbed her from behind before she got away and, while firmly planting my feet on the ground, got her close to me to used her as a shield from the incoming bullets the male shot at me after quickly picking up his rifle. I feel no pain, she covered me perfectly.

"Zanama! Forgive me!" The man seemed heart-broken about this outcome.

"Aaaauugh..." She wailed as tears seem to start coming from her eyes, not that anyone could notice under this rain. I strengthen my grip on her to restrict her movements.

"You bastard! Shirogane! Release her at once!"

"Why would I?! Go eat a dick, you cunt!" He popped a vein right now, this girl must be important for him.

"Damn you... I'll report this to your Instructor!"

"Say whatever you want, if you raise your gun at me you're my enemy. Even if you are from the UN." I press my knife against the throat of the woman again, this time placing my feet away from hers and strongly bending her arm.

"Aaauu... Pleeaase, I surrender. Don't hurt meeee." She was actually crying. How cute, she thinks I'll fall for this?

"If you don't wanna die, shut up. You're distracting!"

"But... It hurts. Please, I yield. I won't do- Augh!" I hit her on the head with the handle of the knife. She's pissing me off.

"HEY! That was uncalled for! She's defenseless! She already surrendered, let her-" He stops talking as I press my knife against her cheeks. It seems she isn't bleeding out, so they must be using rubber bullets or she has a bulletproof vest.

"I'm going to ask you to do something for me. Use that gun you have to shoot yourself on the foot. Do that, and I'll release her. And take off your boots while you're at it."

"What?! Like hell I'll shoot myself, I'll never walk again! Even if they're rubber bullets these things still harm people!"

"Then... I guess you leave me no choice." I put the tip of my knife against her throat. If I want to get away I need both of them to stop chasing me. Even if the woman truly surrendered, the man still wants to come after me. So I have to make him go away or to not chase me.

"I don't think you'll harm her more, you have been trained by our same teachings. Drop the tough act and surrender already!" He was trying to sound tough as he got closer gun at the ready. Heh, are you sure you should get so close, buddy?

In a quick movement I throw the woman onto him. This catches him by surprise and he stumbles as he drops his gun to grab her. Sadly for them, he should have aimed his gun at me, like I'm doing now at them. The horror in his eyes is truly beautiful for some reason. He moves the woman behind him as I open fire, it's a shame I was almost out of bullets.

He drops to his knees while holding back a scream of pain. Dropping the now useless machinegun I move swiftly and send the rifle away with a sweep of my feet, I then kick him in the head, sending him into the mud. I keep kicking him all around his body. If he covers his stomach I aim at his head. If he covers his head, I aim at his shoulders. And so, I continue to kick him with all my strength.

"How does that feel, mister chaser?!"

Being blamed for being 'an American', having to endure eating half rations everyday, being insulted for no reason, having Yuuhi send people to murder me. I can deal with that, it's my problem. I can take that.

But, do you think I'll let you harm my squad?! Sure, Chizuru and Kei hate my guts, but Mikoto and Tama were always nice to me, and Meiya seemed to finally be willing to give me a second chance. No one… No one lays a hand on my beloved ones and gets away with it! You were aiming at Meiya when you first shot at us. If I hadn't pushed her away… And you think I'll hold back now?!

"Augh... Sto- Ough! We're not.. Argh! ...your ene- Aaagh!" Damn idiot, you think I'll let you off this easi- AAARGHH!

The woman! She slashed at my left shoulder with a knife! AAAGH! It hurts! You fucking bitch! With all the pent up rage I've been holding I punch her in the face with my right hand. Despite the fact that I sent her flying against a tree, she gets up knife ready to attack.

"You're gonna regret that, bitch!" I howl with all my hatred towards this world flowing out of me.

"You monster! You're not even human!" She hisses as she charges at me.

I sidestep and aim at her hand. It may be a knife, but I can still fight using the Mugen Kidou. I do more quick attacks and she can barely dodge me, she doesn't seem to be very good at CQC. I take a step back as a feint and using the opening I kick her hand, sending her knife flying.

"Aaahh... No... No, m-mercy! I... wasn't..." Her wailing gets smaller and smaller as I get closer pointing my knife at her. Doesn't matter who sent you. Because you tried to harm them! As I was about to slash at her I'm tackled by the man. Stubborn bastard!

I plant my feet firmly and resist his struggles. He grabs the hand in which I have the knife to stop me from cutting him. Sadly for you I can also use my legs! I give him a knee to the stomach and his grip on me falters. I punch him with my left hand, making me grimace as the wound in my shoulder spreads pain through me. The cold hands start rubbing my chest as my anger starts to surge from beyond my consciousness.

He tries to get up, but I kick him again in the shoulder. Who the hell do you think you are?! Since when the UN allows Cadets to be shot at?! You all… fucking sons of an eldritch bitch… Just like during Operation Iceberg… You speak of humanity's cause, but all you truly are is a bunch of pigs feeding off the blood of the young soldiers you send to their deaths! You… You chasers are nothing but the dogs of those pigs!

"Stop! Leave the Captain alone!" The woman grabs me from behind. I try to elbow her, but she doesn't let go.

I elbow her more strongly and her grasp weakens. I turn around, grab her by the collar and shove her into a nearby tree.

"I'm so done with you!"

"How about you try me instead, boy?" The man had gotten up and was now on a fighting stance.

"Come on, then! Let's see how much you last!"

I pounce at him, knife at the ready. He moves to the right and tries to strike me with his baton. I dodge and aim at his arm. Blood dirties my blade, a scream is drowned by the rain.

As he moves away from me, I rush after. I do a feint, aiming at his wound. He obviously fell for it, giving me an opening to send a punch to his jaw with my left. A swift uppercut sent the man crashing into the mud.

"You, answer me. How many of you are here?" He spits as he tries in vain to get up.

"Fuck you, American." Oh, so that's how it is? I gather strength on my left leg and give him a kick straight in the face.

"Stop! Leave the Cap- Augh!" The woman tried to jump me, but I punched her on the face, making her drop to the ground grabbing her now bleeding nose.

"So, Captain. How many of you are here?"

"Fuck you, Shirogane."

"I want answers, and I want them now!" Grabbing him by the collar with my right hand after putting my knife on my belt, I start punching the man repeatedly with my left hand, which sends more pain into me which in turn makes me more angry. My knuckles are soon colored crimson.

"Leave the Captain alone!" The woman charged at me with her baton. I let go of the man and used both arms to block her. Damn, this hurts!

"You... I'm so done with you!" I put force into my feet and raise from the ground.

She attacks me again and gets blocked again, sending more pain through my left shoulder to my body. However, I no longer feel any heat from my wound. It's like when I got out of my TSF when I found the Shogun, I feel frozen. Yet I'm completely enraged, I didn't knew I could feel this bloodlust.

As she went for another swing I grabbed the baton and then her right arm. Fear spread through her face as I got close to her. I'm not letting you get in my way anymore! I put pressure on my grip, twisting her arm outwards. Yes, show me your pain. Scream, suffer, wail, cry, and bleed, just like I did when I lost everything. Maybe then you'll understand, maybe then you'll stop attacking your 'comrades' from behind. You did this to yourself, you awoke the wolf. And now you're gonna have to deal with its fangs.

"Aaaauuhg! Stooop! I yield! Forgive me, I surreeeeEEEEAAAAAHH-!" And with a loud enough sound to be heard through the rain, I broke her arm.

She falls to the ground screaming in pain holding her broken limb, that hangs like a piece of cloth off a wire. The wailing continues to drown even the rain, looking at her face, that had one of its sides sinking into the mud as she screamed, only made that cold sensation all over me more strong. Twitching as if she were a kitten hit by a car, she cannot even squirm away. Her mouth moves as if she were munching ice the more her screams seem to vanish. Her tears do not stop though, and she looks at me completely frozen. Unable to look away from my eyes, yet shivering and shaking her head.

I didn't knew breaking a person could be... so easy. Maybe all the shit I've seen has turned me into a coldhearted bastard, after all.

…Did I just break her arm? For real? I… did this to her, didn't I? Right now? She's in so much pain… completely terrified as if I were a BETA.

…

…What did I just do?

I broke her arm.

Why?

I didn't have to.

But she attacked me first.

But I could have just knocked her out.

But I had to incapacitate her.

But she was just trying to stop me from beating the man.

But they wouldn't hesitate to harm me like that.

She screams again, the lower end of her arm hanging limp like wet pasta in a puddle of muck and blood.

She was just ordered to act, she had no choice but to follow her orders.

…She didn't actually shoot at me when she had the chance, when she aimed at my face.

But I couldn't risk it.

Does that even matter?

I broke her arm, she won't stop screaming. She seems to again be munching ice cubes.

She's frozen in place, horrified of my gaze.

…

What did I just do? Why?

"Shiroganeeee!" The man tried to charge at me but I just moved sideways and punched him in the face. I then give him a strong kick in the waist and sent him to drink some mud.

Sigh… Calm down… I gotta do… what I gotta do. They attacked first. I just defended myself.

That's all there is to it.

I have to protect my squad, no matter what. Gotta focus on that, and do what I can.

I wasted too much time already. I want answers, and I want them now. And you're going to comply of course, unless you force me to inject more pain in your system.

"How many are you here? How are you communicating? Tell me, or you'll be in a world of pain!" Holding his neck tightly, I raise his body from the muck.

"We're… Ten… The… Pleiades…" The man says in a barely audible voice.

"What? You've got a Pleiades?"

He signals to his belt kit as I loosen my grip a tiny bit. There I find the thing, which does look like a Game Guy indeed. I see the dots moving some distance from here. Six of them.

"Is this the real deal?"

"Yes, that's what we used to coordinate our movements."

"Really?"

"It's the… truth…"

"…Maybe the girl will tell me if you're lying or not." Fear spreads through his eyes as I glance over to the crying figure of the woman.

"No, leave her alone! It's the truth, we're using the Pleiades!"

"Hmm... And what else do you have?"

"A… c-communicator."

"Is this it?" He nods as I grab the thing from his waist. As I turn it on, the sound of rain and a bunch of insults come out.

"Come here you little bitches! Stop running already!" I turn the thing off and throw it away towards a puddle of water.

"Looks like you weren't lying, Captain."

"Are you going to leave us? Or do you want more Japanese blood on your filthy hands, American?" Heh, your worthless life isn't worth my time. I have to help my squadmates.

"I'm going to leave now. But… if you follow me, I won't answer for what I'll do to you or her. Clear?" He scowls at me but nods all the same. I drop him to the ground with some force, quickly moving out.

I leave the groaning man and wailing woman behind, taking my knife, the woman's baton and the man's rifle and Pleiades with me. He is not following me, good for them.

After some time to make sure he didn't follow me, I take out the Pleiades. I make haste towards their position. Though I don't know what I'll find, I run again through the traps that are spread through the forest. I don't care if they're different, I can't lose my squad. Hate me if you want for this, keep calling me an American all you like, but I need your help to save this damn world. I can't find a way to go back safely to my world if I can't defeat the BETA to bring some semblance of peace to the Empire first. And like hell I'll let you die.

I stop and move to my right to avoid another pitfall and resume my running, I jump over a tripwire, a gun shot a bullet at me but since I'm running it missed entirely. Damn it, I'm getting worn down. My breathing is rugged, my shoulder is killing me and my feet ache with burning pain. C'mon , I've been through worse things!

I'm almost there. They had stopped moving a short while ago, so I suppose they must be restraining them. I gotta hurry or-

"Aaaah!" A scream pierces the rain. It was Chizuru's voice.

I run towards where I thought the scream came from, looking at the Pleiades to figure out from where to approach the group. As I get closer I crouch and crawl on the muddy ground, their voices get louder. As I look up I spot some figures at around thirty meters diagonally to my right. As I slowly get closer I see that there's six of those soldiers in a circle. What the hell are they... No, you gotta be kidding me!

Meiya and Chizuru were collapsed in the mud as they kicked them nonstop.

"How you like that?! You dared to bruise my face, you rich girl! I wonder if the Prime Minister knows how rude his daughter is?!"

"C'mon feisty girl! Where is all your bravery from before?!"

I know those two. They're the usual two that pestered us when the Takemikazuchi arrived. I don't recognize the other four. They kept kicking them, despite the fact that both Meiya and Chizuru were curled without resisting. Despite the fact that the Captain said they were here only to restrain us.

"Please... Sto-Ouhg!" Chizuru's screams fills my ears as I move to a more advantageous position.

They're getting kicked over and over, these guys are not even being subtle. Meiya is also being kicked but she isn't… Wait… Meiya isn't even moving. She... isn't reacting to the kicks, not even the ones to her head.

As the thought of her being dead appears on my mind, a Takemikazuchi comes into my sight as it gets rammed into the XG. A woman looks crying at me, her face tainted with blood and tears.

Chizuru's screams as the Fort's acid dissolved her ring through my ears. The wings of fire come to me again as I was kneeling on the ground, useless as ever.

Those bastards… They're not restraining them. Are they trying to… kill them?

"Aaah.. Please... Augh! Ugh! Stop... I beg- Ough!" Chizuru's screams are getting faint. She... and Meiya might... die.

My fists claw at the handle of the gun. The sound of the rain vanishes and my vision grows narrow, focusing only on those six bastards. My heart's rhythm causes my whole body to overheat in rage, making my lungs to hold a cyclone in my chest, giving me a light pain on the back of my head.

No one… No one lays a hand on my Chizuru… on my Meiya… and gets away with it.

They already died for me many times, they gave me their support when I needed it the most. Now it's my time to dirty my hands for them! You're all gonna pay dearly for this! The cold hands entwine with mine, making me shiver with this duality of feelings. Being completely lost in anger, while also remaining strangely calm.

I aim the rifle towards them. You gray haired bastard... I sure hope you can live without one of your eyes! I shoot at his face, hitting his left eye. The man collapses screaming in pain as the rest of the soldiers look at him in shock. They start looking everywhere, pointing their guns, shooting randomly at the forest. I aim at one of the other men, slowly locking onto him I shoot. Straight to his face, the man drops to a side as he clutches his head in pain.

Two of them start coming towards my position, shooting randomly to try to scout me. Being in prone position behind some bushes, they still haven't seen me. Thanks to the rain they can't really hear well where the bullets come from since they weren't paying attention the first time.

I aim again towards the face of the last man of the team, since he was closer it was easier to get a hit. The other one finally notices me and opens fire but I started firing on her as well. Shit! Out of bullets. The woman was close, so I grab the baton and rush at her. She didn't expect my speed, and as I moved to my left to avoid her gun I drop the baton with my full force into her head. She falls to her knees and just to be sure I hit her head one more time.

A bullet hits the tree that was nearby. I duck and take cover as another one hit the place where I was standing. I peek towards their position but the red haired woman that usually was along the gray haired bastard was nowhere to be seen. No wait, she's hiding behind that tree. Near her was another man, that had brown hair.

Chizuru was still conscious, as she squirmed on the ground. Meiya was still not moving. Don't think this is all I'll do to you bastards, the wolf is in the forest and it wants to eat some rabbits.

I move slowly trying to get a vantage point to finish the ones I knocked out. They're not dead, the others start to stand up despite the pain, except the one hit in the head with the baton. Fuck this, I'll be fast then!

I take out my knife and rush the man that was close, he was still trying to get up as he was holding his face. I had broken his nose and a lot of blood was coming out of it.

My hands shivered as I approached him, but as soon as he saw me he aimed his rifle at me. Biting my lips, I speed up and kick the weapon away. As he hit the mud, I thrusted my knife in his neck. With some force I remove it and blood is spilled around.

Ducking as the red head opened fire, I crawl towards the dead's machinegun and return the fire from the ground. She stopped firing for a second so I use that window to move closer to her, throwing myself behind a tree when the brown haired man opened fire on me.

As I circled to their position, the second man I shot was trying to get up. He had a huge mark on one of his cheeks as he wailed in quiet sobs. I hesitated for a second, remembering the woman from before, but when he tried to grab his rifle I pulled the trigger. A flurry of bullets after, he drops cold as a fountain of blood pours from his now destroyed face. I switch my target to the red head as she also opened fire on me. Neither hit the other.

Sigh… I guess… it's do or die now. Can't hesitate… gotta shoot at 'em… Inhaling sharply through clenched teeth, I focus on their positions once more.

The gray haired bastard seemed to have regained his composure. He crawled behind the woman slowly. I move to the other side of the tree I was behind and shoot at him, he yelps and hurries behind some bushes as the woman and the other man fire at me. I return some heat before going behind the tree again.

I wait some seconds before rushing to another tree to my right. Bullets fly behind me but I made it safely. Now, I have a clear angle towards you.

"I don't know what's your game, but if you don't come out now I'll shoot at the two girls!" Damn bitch!

"Do that, and I'll put you to the worst death you can imagine!" Not even kidding.

"Oh really? What makes you think I'm scared?!" She's losing her cool.

I know for a fact they won't harm... Wait, how can I be sure they won't harm them? The Shogunate has many detractors in the UN, the Prime Minister is seen badly by almost all the 'Shogunist' side of the population according to Sensei. They were beating them senseless when I saw them. Then... if that's the case... I have to… eliminate them.

I peek towards their position. I couldn't see much before she opened fire again, but now I know where she is. The problem is the other dude, if he also fires at me I'll be at a disadvantage. There's also the woman I knocked out in the bushes, if she regains consciousness it'll be a three on one fight and I don't think I have that many bullets left on this thing. And the gray haired dude might also come at me. Alright, here goes nothing! I need to start taking them down!

I aim at the red head as I move from behind the tree to another and open fire. She goes back behind the tree and I use that chance to my favor.

"Chizuru! Grab Meiya and get here!" She looked at me and I saw that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Those bastards! You blinded her?!

"Shirogane?! Is that you? What are you-"

"No time for that! Get closer to me and hide behind some trees already!" Brown opens fire towards me, forcing me to hide again.

Chizuru still tries to grab Meiya's unconscious body despite not being able to see well, and once she has a hold on it she starts moving to my general position. As the woman tried to shoot at her, I opened fire again.

"Hurry up already, goddammit!" While shaking all over, Chizuru drags Meiya over a tree to my left. I open fire again towards the woman, and see that the gray haired bastard was moving from behind another tree. I open fire on him and he retreats.

"Shirogane... What... What are you doing?!" Chizuru sounded terrified, she had bruises all over and her face was a mess.

"Saving your heads, that's what!" I say as I take cover behind the tree again.

"You do know that these are UN soldiers, right?!"

"Doesn't matter! Anyone who raises their gun against you is my enemy!" I think I'm about to run out of bullets dammit, what do I do?!

"You can't harm them! We'll fail the test! We... We should surrender and-"

"And let you two get kicked to death?! Meiya is unconscious for fuck's sake! It doesn't matter where they're from, anyone who harms you is my enemy! We can't get away unless we dispose of them. I rather die than abandon any of you!"

"Dispose of... You can't be thinking about killing them, right?!"

"Killed two of them a few minutes ago, what's another stain for a tiger? And they were kicking you both quite strongly too." I open fire again towards the man. Damn, I'm not going to last much more.

"Are you... serious?" Chizuru fumbled with her belt kit and took out another pair of glasses from it. She stared at me with a stone cold gaze.

"Yes, when I saw you two getting pummeled like that and that Meiya was unconscious and that they didn't stop hitting her... I lost it. Hate me if you want, but we are passing this exam together. These bastards won't get in the way! I'll protect you two even if that gets me expelled from the army." I stare into her eyes as they waver and she starts quivering.

"...You're not kidding? You killed... two soldiers?" She was in shock, hanging her head as her lips trembled.

"I don't have enough bullets. I'll rush and try to off them with the knife and the baton. Can you go and grab the rifle that's lying over there to cover me?" I point towards the man whose face I sicked the gun on. Her eyes went wide at my suggestion.

"You want me... to shoot at our comrades?!"

"Comrades? You can call them that after what they did to you?!"

The woman opens fire again after a while, she must have changed her magazine. Chizuru was wavering as she caressed one bruise on her left shoulder, eyes lost in the ripples of the rain.

"So, what's it gonna be?! If you want to surrender, just say so. I don't want to see any of you getting hurt, so I'm not leaving without you. What are you going to do, Squad Leader?!"

She trembles as she looks into my eyes, then after a short while she gives me a nod.

"Yes, I'll go get the rifle. Can you cover me?" I nod at her and she makes a three with her hand. She counts to three and I open fire towards the two soldiers. At the same time Chizuru rushed from the tree towards the rifle.

The men didn't see this coming and despite trying to fire at her, couldn't land a hit on as I forced him to go back behind the tree.

I swiftly circle behind the tree to the other side as I sick the rest of my ammo upon the red head, that has to back down again.

As the man was getting ready to shoot again, Chizuru took aim at him from behind a tree. Hitting his hand, making him drop his rifle, the man quickly ducks behind a tree.

I use this chance to rush forward with the knife in my left hand and baton in the right, and as I got in range I took my Mugen stance. I flow onto the now scared shitless red head like an unending waterfall, aiming at her vitals. I kick her gun as she tried to fire and do a downwards slash towards her neck, she stumbles backwards to get away from me. I hit her sides with the baton making her fall to the ground. As she tried to stand up and charge at me, to my surprise, Chizuru opened fire on her, two hits to her lower body. The woman fell to the ground wailing in pain. I use this chance to give her a strong kick in the head as she tried to get up, sending her onto a puddle of water and mud.

"Damn you, punks!" Brownie came at me with his baton and one swollen arm.

This guy is good on CQC, goddammit. We trade blows trying to find an opening. Chizuru was shooting at the gray one, to prevent him from sniping me.

I take a step back as the brown haired one rushed at me, moved to his left and smacked my baton against his face. I step on his swollen arm, making him scream.

As I was about to drop my knife into him, a searing pain assaults my back.

"Aaaaauuughhh!" I fall to the mud as well, my back twisting in agony. The gray one must have shot at me…

"Shirogane! Are you alright?!" Chizuru circled behind the trees near me. What the hell… are you doing?

"You. Drop the rifle or I'll fill you with rubber too!" I could see Chizuru shivering from my position. I gotta stand… "You stay on the ground!" I can hear him near.

"Chizuru, shoot!"

"I… I…" Dammit, why are you not shooting?! You were being kicked mercilessly a second ago!

"C'mon! Drop the rifle where I can see it!" The gray one shoots at the tree were Chizuru was hiding. The other man is standing up.

"We're gonna tear you apart Shirogane." He said with a scowl on his face.

Dammit… Is this were I die? All my efforts for this?

"Do you call yourselves soldiers?!" Chizuru started screaming from behind the tree. You idiot, they don't care about words! "Have you no shame, attacking Cadets like this?!"

"Shut up! What do you know? You're just the spoiled little bitch of the Prime Minister. Drop that rifle if you don't want to-"

"None of you deserve to be in the military!" She quickly moved from behind the tree, but then threw herself to the ground in a flash, aiming at them.

Her first shot hit the gray one's leg, making him drop to his knees. The second didn't hit the other one, but forced him to move back.

Seeing an opening, I got up gritting my teeth. Grabbing my knife, I aimed at the brown haired one. Splashing through the puddles, he tried to put some space between us. But it was futile. I rushed after him, pushed forward by the adrenaline of the pain coming from my back, and once I got him in range I slashed at him.

He tried to shield himself, which made me cut one of his palms. Blood and screams came out pouring. Using what little strength I had left, unable to again send my knife at him, I instead kicked him hard in the stomach, making him fall backwards.

"Stay quiet!" Chizuru threatened the gray one, who didn't want to stop moving.

As Brownie tries to get up, I give him a strong kick to the face and he drops cold. Shit… I'm really spent. The pain is coming to me… I don't think I'll be able to stand for long…

"Ogun! Crouch!" A voice I wasn't expecting to hear reverberated through the rain.

The red head got her rifle and aimed at Chizuru. She barely managed to duck to dodge the bullets.

"Damn you bastards!" Fuck being tired! Just one more push!

I throw my knife at her, hitting her arm. I rush at the gray one, grabbing his rifle after kicking him.

"Away with you!" I shoot at the woman's legs as she tried to hide behind a tree. She falls and cries out in pain.

"You bastard!" For a second, I thought the man was coming after me. But he rushed past me, kneeling by the red head's side. "Damn you bastards! Ruri! Open your eyes!" The man sounded broken as he screamed at the woman, begging her to speak.

The woman squirmed in the ground trying to get up, but was met with waves of pain as she falls again onto the muck.

"Ruri! Are you alright? Talk to me, Ruri!" A sad howl came out of his lungs as he gently moved the woman to look at her face. To think they got a bandage on his eye and he went and wasted his chance like this.

He's wide open, what a fool. I gather my strength and give the man a hit with the baton to the back of his neck. He drops to the side of the red head, but slowly he makes an effort to get back up. I kick his head and stomp on it. I'm not going to let you two walk this off. You're also going to-

"Shirogane!" Chizuru yells at me. "That's enough. They can't fight anymore. Please... Don't... D-Don't harm them." She was shaking all over.

"After what they did to you? They could have killed you with one of those kicks to the head, you know? They might come after us again, we have to kill them while we can." I mean, I did let that 'Captain' guy get away. I know what I'm talking about here, he might come back with the other two he said they had. He did said they were ten.

"Even so, please... Let's go. I... know I'm no position to ask anything of you. But please... I'm begging you." She looked pleadingly at me, quivering in place.

She wasn't even trying to threaten me with the rifle, she was just standing there begging me to stop. I just noticed that it had stopped raining at some point, so what was coming down her cheeks were tears.

"...Fine. Treating your wounds is more important, after all. Let's go." The things I do for you girls. I should kill them to avoid getting chased again. We don't have enough bullets to shake them off if they come back after us. I was really lucky to have found that machinegun yesterday.

I put my weapons in my belt, and as I do so I feel the Pleiades on it too. If I take this with me, they will track its signal. After throwing it away, I go towards the girls. I grab Meiya's left shoulder and Chizuru grabs her right. And slowly, we move towards the west. Looking back, the soldiers weren't coming to us. The gray one was cradling the red head on his arms, not even looking at us.

Hopefully the cliff will have a lower point somewhere on the island, we should be able to cross the river at some point. But for now, we have to put some distance between us. At least I saved them. I can still feel warmth from Meiya's body, she isn't dead. We just need to patch them up, rest for a while, until we recover our energy to march again.

We won't fail this. I'll guide you all to victory, even if you end up seeing me as a monster by the end of this. That's one of the few things worth protecting in this world, at least for my own sanity's sake.