Tilling the Earth

The trampled weed lays the foundation for new flowers to bloom once more

"Miss Kusunoki, thank you for your hard work again as always. Your reports have been a major boon to the Taisha's advancement into the outside."

With a solemn, respectful voice, the robed man closed the thick binder in front of him and moved it to his right. The late afternoon sun cast a faint orange glow through the curtains into the small, largely hardwood office. Across from the man sat a young girl, no older than her teenage years. Her grey eyes cast a similarly serious, no-nonsense gaze at the robed figure seated across from her. A set of black twintails, tied off by a pair of white ribbons, drape across the front of her school uniform, bobbing as she nods her head in response to the man's praise.

"Thank you, sir. Have preparations been completed for the next phase of the world's reclamation?"

The young girl watched intently as the man reached for another smaller binder to his left. Kusunoki Mebuki was all too familiar with the situation she was in. Until recently, she had been the commanding officer of the Sentinels, a unit created for the purpose of exploration and the beginning of the reclamation of the world. Upon the brave actions of the Heroes of the Shinju-sama, the world outside Shikoku had been freed from the clutches of the Vertexes and her unit was officially retired. However, meetings and reports with the Taisha carried on. Mebuki's knowledge of the outside world and the actions of the Sentinels was considered invaluable to the Taisha.

"I was hoping you would mention that...as there's another reason I requested to meet with you today."

Opening the binder, the man flipped open his binder and thumbed through the pages before resting on one in particular. A large photograph of a young woman with deep brown hair tied off into a ponytail was displayed on the page, along with a list of personal information. Turning the binder and pushing it to Mebuki, the man clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on the desk before beginning to speak.

"Ishida Noriko, Age 16. She was a member of the Sentinels, Rank 04, can you tell me about her? Her character, composure on the battlefield, anything you can share would be of great assistance."

Mebuki glanced at the photograph and scoured her memories of the unit. While she frequently interacted with a few members of the unit in particular, such as Kagajou Suzume and Miroku Yumiko, she was familiar on a base level with each member of the unit. Recalling the young girl in the picture, Mebuki began to recount her memories of Ishida Noriko.

"Ishida...I always saw a bit of myself in her. She was very serious about her duty and held the utmost respect for the girls ranked higher than her. Very competent on the battlefield, I would say she had the most battle smarts of the Officers, aside from myself."

The Taisha member had shifted his attention from his binder towards Mebuki, watching with interest as she described her junior.

"Anything else you can tell me?"

"Well...I can't imagine it would be of much use, but she seemed to develop a close friendship with one of the other Sentinels. One of the lower-ranked Gunners. I believe it was Miss Konoe Rina, Rank 22."

The binder was quickly retrieved by the man sitting opposite Mebuki and flipped open to the page detailing Konoe Rina. Similarly to the previous page, a picture of the young girl was shown next to her personal information. The girl in the picture seemed to pop right out of the page, wearing a wide smile and her green eyes seemed to shimmer in the dim glow of the setting sun.

"Ah, Konoe...Her parents are high-ranking members within the Taisha. It's no wonder she was selected as one of the Sentinels."

"Is there a reason you're asking me about these two, sir?"

A snap of realization came to the Taisha member's eyes as he closed the binder and moved it off to the side. Reaching into his drawer, the man pulled out a stack of papers held together by a large clip and slid them across the desk to Mebuki as he began to explain.

"Well, Miss Kusunoki...As you know, our next phase in the Taisha Reclamation Project consists of deploying reconnaisance parties as a means of surveying the damage and available resources remaining in the outside world."

Mebuki nodded as the man continues, beginning to grasp the direction the conversation is heading.

"You are aware, of course, that both the former Heroes and the Sentinels had been granted release from the Taisha and a return to their daily lives. However, the scale of the project before us is much too grand to accomplish in a reasonable timeframe, especially considering the condition of the organization as it is right now."

A look of shock and horror grew across Mebuki's face as she fully realized the Taisha's intentions. As the man claimed, the Taisha's infrastructure had been in shambles after the chaotic events of the Heroes' final battle. Several high-ranking members of the organization were lost and the manpower in the organization was considerably weaker in the aftermath.

"So, you intend to use the Sentinels again?! Then, what was the point of letting them return to their lives?"

Mebuki had shot out of her seat and slammed her hand on the desk in anger as she berated the official before her. The thought was unthinkable, using the Sentinels again so soon after supposedly letting them return to normalcy? The mere thought filled Mebuki with latent rage waiting to explode out of her.

"Hold on, Miss Kusunoki. Please, let me explain. I'm sure you are aware of Miss Ishida's home situation, yes?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?!"

Mebuki's anger festered as she waited in annoyance for the Taisha member to attempt to explain his way out of the mess he had created.

"I've been consulting with some of the higher-ranked members of the Taisha and we've been looking for a quality candidate to lead the first Reclamation Party. This is why you were summoned here today. It would be entirely the decision of Miss Ishida and were she selected, she would immediately be appointed to a Captain position. She would be duly compensated by the Taisha and treated with the same level of respect as a high-ranked officer."

The idea of using the Sentinels again in a potentially dangerous mission still infuriated Mebuki to her core, but her outward anger began to simmer as the man explained the full situation and the Taisha's intentions. Sitting down once more, she directed another question towards the still startled Taisha member.

"And what of Konoe? Why did you seem interested in her too?"

"Well, as a Captain, it would be Miss Ishida's duty to select another member to accompany her on her mission. We have no intentions of leaving Miss Ishida to travel alone and will properly accomodate the two of them for their journey. Of course, none of this will happen without the consent of both girls and their famili-...pardon, and Miss Konoe's family."

Mebuki let out an audible sigh as her rage had dulled into a lingering annoyance. Standing once again from her chair, she turned her back to the Taisha member and made her way to the small office's large wooden door. Grabbing the handle, she turned her head back towards the Taisha member.

"I still don't like this, but Ishida is more than qualified for the position of Captain. But, remember this and you can tell anyone else this too. If anything happens to either of those girls, you and every other member of the Taisha had better hope I don't see you again."

With the threat, Mebuki twisted the gold handle of the door, flung it open, and slammed it behind her. Kusunoki's anger was palpable and the aura still seemed to reside within the room even after her exit. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Taisha member reached for the desk phoneand quickly dialed a number. A voice calmly came through from the other side.

"Taisha Headquarters."

"It's _, please re-direct me to the Residential Wing, Miss Ishida Noriko"

＊ Continued in Sown Seeds: ＊
＊ Konoe Rina is a Hero ~Prelude~＊