Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Nagoya arc with events different from the original; please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 22: A Promise Between Friends, Part I
Yuichiro shuddered as her eyes took on the disturbing sight before her. After leaving Aihara and her crew behind, Guren led his elite squads to where he believed Crowley Eusford and his retainers were residing. Not surprisingly, their intended target left his hostages on full display in the courtyard of the ruins that had once upon a time, been Nagoya's City Hall.
Despite the fact that all four squads were hiding on top of a taller building across from city hall, it was still quite easy to see the captured soldiers since they were all tied to tall wooden crosses crucifixion style.
"This makes me think of Ancient Rome…" Yuichiro breathed. "I wonder if Eusford was a vampire turned during that era? *1* Those soldiers won't last long exposed to the elements like this, Guren. If we're going to do something, we'd better do it fast."
Guren lowered his small spyglass, the same one he used in Shinjuku, for a moment before smiling at Yuichiro.
"You're right, Yuu. Crucifixion is a slow and painful way to die. Even so, we cannot rush head on into a trap without a plan."
"Well, thank you for stating the obvious, sir," Yuichiro shot back with a roll of her eyes. "What do you suggest we do?"
Shinya and Goshi, who found no end of entertainment seeing this kind of interaction between their friend and his ward, had to stifle a chuckle since now was obviously not an appropriate time. Unlike Yuichiro and the rest of their crew, the major general had a good idea of what his friend had in mind but asked just the same out of courtesy.
"Good question, Guren. What should we do?"
Guren turned and looked at his best friend as if he knew Shinya had the same plan in mind as himself.
"Simple," he answered coolly. "I'd like you, Yoichi, and Takeshi to snipe at the noble from here to see if we can lure him and his minions out."
"And if there's more of them than us?"
Guren sighed. "Then we have no choice but to abandon the hostages and run."
Yuichiro gasped even though she tried her best not to let it show how much her mentor's orders disturbed her. Trying her best to remain calm, Yuu asked:
"What? Are you serious, Guren? I thought the whole point of coming here was to rescue our comrades, or am I wrong?"
"No, you are not wrong, Yuu," Guren answered calmly. "At least, not entirely."
Confused, the ravenette was about to ask her guardian what he meant, but Shinoa beat her to it. As someone who has been in the MDC longer than her friend, the purple-haired girl already suspected that saving the hostages wasn't their number one priority after all.
"Sir, what is our top priority on this mission?" Shinoa asked after making a gesture for Yuichiro to remain silent.
"Our top priority is to maintain our current numbers at all costs. Freeing the hostages and getting them out alive is actually our second priority and, should things go south, we must leave them behind and escape."
Yuichiro was confused. "I don't understand, Guren. Surely you can't be serious about abandoning them just to save ourselves?" she inquired, trying her best to keep her voice down. Even if he did tolerate her questioning his orders from time to time, Yuichiro knew that getting into an argument with Guren in front of the other squads wouldn't look good.
Especially not when they were within arm's length of enemy territory.
"Yuichiro…" Guren began patiently as he searched his mind for a way to explain his plan to her that wouldn't make her go ballistic. Normally, he was very blunt when giving unpleasant orders but the lieutenant colonel's affections for his ward made him a bit more protective of her feelings.
Before Guren could answer Yuichiro's question, Narumi beat him to it.
"I think I know. You want us all to survive this mission whether we are successful or not because there is another one you need us for afterwards, am I right?"
Although annoyed that Narumi would cut in on his and Yuichro's discussion like that, part of Guren was also relieved that the young sergeant saved him the trouble of explaining the grim situation to her.
"Yes. Our true objective here is to keep the blood-suckers occupied for as long as we can to buy time for the main forces in Shibuya to get fully organized."
"What? Are you saying that our purpose here is to be decoys?" Kimizuki demanded.
"It is. After this, I'm hereby declaring the Vampire Noble Extermination Mission complete. If we can eliminate Crowley Eusford, Horn Skuld, and Chess Belle, the ones in city hall, we will have eliminated five out of our original eight targets. It's not perfect but should still be good enough."
"So, when do we start our next mission?" Satoshi asked curiously.
"I'm getting there," Guren explained patiently. "Once we free the hostages, or done whatever we can for them, at least, we need to draw as much attention to ourselves as possible while surviving as long as we can. So that's why…"
Turning to his best friend, Guren moved his head slightly in a silent request for Shinya to simplify the plan for any of their respective subordinates who may not understand his first explanation.
"Yes, yes, its quite obvious. The plan is basically to cause a ruckus before running away…" Shinya said with a touch of humor while summoning his demon rifle. "And if it works, we may even rescue the hostages in the process. At least a few of them, assuming we're lucky."
"Right," Guren continued. "And if it works well, the other squads who finished their part of the mission will hear the commotion, join us, and we'll attack the vampires in city hall en-masse and finish them off."
Shinya could not help but laugh at the other man's less-than-likely prediction.
"Haha! You have no idea if that's gonna happen, Guren! For all we know, they could all be dead!"
Guren glared at him. "Always the pessimist, Shinya," he sneered. "It's not exactly helping."
"I prefer to call it being a realist," his friend corrected before turning to Yoichi and Takeshi. "Follow my lead, boys; I require your assistance in bombarding the city hall building itself."
"Yes, sir!" the two young archers answered in unison as they readied their bows and followed Shinya to the edge of the building.
"All right then," the major general began as took aim with Byakkomaru and gave his subordinates their next orders, "I'll aim for the forth floor and below while you boys aim for the fifth floor and above."
"Understood, sir," Yoichi said while drawing his bowstring and taking aim at his ordered target.
"Will you be able to hit your target alone, sir?" Takeshi asked worriedly while following Shinya's and Yoichi's lead and drawing his own crossbow.
Instead of being offended at having his orders questioned by a subordinate, the major general merely smiled at Takeshi. If anything, he was touched by the boy's concern.
"It's all right, Takeshi, I know what I'm doing. Just follow my orders."
"Yes, sir!"
As soon as he saw the three snipers take aim at the building where Crowley, Chess, and Horn were hiding, Guren turned to the rest of his squad as well as the other squad leaders under his command.
"Positions, everyone! Brace for a vampire counterattack!"
Shinoa, Satoshi, and Narumi nodded and relayed the orders to their own squads.
"You heard him! Everyone, get ready!"
As the four squads behind them readied their own weapons for the vampire counterattack they knew would come, Yoichi and Takeshi looked through the scopes of green and red light provided by their demonic bows to see if they could spot any vampires through the windows of the building they were taking aim at.
"See anything yet, Saotome?" Takeshi whispered from his spot besides Yoichi.
Yoichi was about to say he didn't see anything yet when he spotted a familiar well-built vampire with maroon hair standing at a window and gazing outside.
"Yes!" he answered, his voice a mixture of excitement and nervousness as he briefly turned to Shinya. "Sir, I see a vampire standing by a window on the fifth floor! He must be a noble! Permission to shoot before he notices we're up here?"
Not wanting to miss such a golden opportunity, Shinya gave the order for both the younger snipers to fire.
"Yes! Do it now before he notices!"
"Right! Ready Takeshi?" Yoichi asked.
The other boy grinned. "Way ahead of you, Yoi."
"Go, Gekkouin!"
"Fly, Miss Menou!"
Drawing back their bowstrings in sync, both archers fired at the building as soon as they saw Crowley begin to turn around and walk away, hoping that their demonic arrows will strike him down before he even had a chance to register what happened.
Holding their breaths, Yoichi and Takeshi watched as their demonic arrows, which began their flight as straight beams of light before stretching and contorting into the shape of a blackish-green crow and a fiery red phoenix, struck the building in the distance and resulted in an ear-shattering explosion.
"Did we get 'em?" Takeshi asked excitedly as he lowered his crossbow while waiting impatiently for the smoke to clear.
Yoichi, whose vision was slightly sharper than that of his sniping partner's, gasped when he caught sight of Crowley grasping his demonic crow in one hand and Takeshi's phoenix in the other after the smoke had cleared enough for him to catch sight of the vampire lord.
From the look of calm indifference on Crowley's face, it appeared as though he caught the missiles before they even had a chance to touch him. The other boy's heart sank when he too, finally caught sight of the noble chucking aside his and Yoichi's demonic bird-shaped arrows as if they were mere toys and shot them a smirk. Being a vampire, it was no problem for the vampire lord to spot his would-be assassins, even from such a distance.
"I see…" Crowley said calmly. "So, the humans have finally come as I thought they would. Horn! Chess! Prepare yourselves! The fun is about to begin!"
Although Yoichi and Takeshi could not hear what Crowley was saying, they knew he was speaking to his two female retainers.
Turning to Shinya, Yoichi apologized for his perceived blunder first.
"Sir, I'm sorry but I screwed up again!"
"Yeah, me too!" Takeshi added, not wanting his sniping partner to shoulder all the blame.
Shinya, who had been scanning the building and watching the younger archers, lowered his rifle. Guren stood behind him, looking at the damaged side through his spyglass.
"No… both of your timing and shots were spot on," Guren corrected with a perplexed expression. "There's no way the bastard could have dodged that. Even if he is a noble."
Shinya frowned when he realized his friend was right.
"I can see that…" he agreed grimly with a frown. "This can only mean one thing…"
"What?" the boys asked.
"That this noble must be insanely powerful. And he's only a thirteenth progenitor; I don't even want to think about how strong the ones above him are."
"Is that so?" Yuichiro demanded. "Who is he?"
Yoichi was startled at his squad mate's question.
"You mean you don't remember?" he asked, turning to Yuichiro with a bewildered expression. "We've met him and his retainers before! He's the one we ran into on the way to Shinjuku! You know, the one who crushed our car like it was a soda can?"
Yuichiro gasped. "What?! Let me see!" the ravenette cried as she reached out and grabbed Guren's spyglass without even bothering to ask for his permission. Her mentor scowled slightly at the discourtesy but said nothing and allowed Yuu to use his spyglass to confirm her suspicion about the vampire lord Yoichi and Takeshi had attempted (and failed) to take down.
Since it was Yuichiro's first time using a telescope of any kind, it took her a few moments to adjust it before she was able to make out Crowley's familiar form and realize that Yoichi was indeed correct.
"By God, it is him!" Yuu gasped, remembering how the maroon-haired vampire lord had teased her before praising her skill with the sword, though Yuichiro wasn't sure if he did so out of genuine respect or because he took her lightly.
"You're right, Yuu," Guren confirmed from behind her. "He's powerful, and so are his retainers. There may be twenty-one of us but we'll still have a hell of a time taking those three down. Not only that, we also have to worry about any vampire guards they may have stationed around city hall. If we try to take them head on, we won't stand a chance."
"Than what are we going to do, Guren?" Yuichiro demanded as she turned around and handed her mentor's spyglass back to him.
"Well, we have two choices," Shinya answered grimly. "We can either kill the hostages ourselves to spare them from being interrogated or worse and then we run. Or we can take our chances splitting up to rescue them before running. The question is, which option will keep more of us alive in the end?"
Yuichiro gasped at the older man's suggestion.
"Hey Guren, are we really going to abandon those soldiers down there? They are on our side after all."
With the same question on their minds, Shinoa and Satoshi held their tongues and allowed Yuu to speak instead of reprimanding her for questioning their superior. But like Shinya before him, Narumi did not give Guren the chance to answer his ward.
"Do you think that killing the hostages would be the better choice in this situation, sir? We've got the advantage of being beneath the vampires' notice considering that they haven't even bothered to make a counter-attack against us yet."
Yuichiro spun around and glared at Narumi for his outrageous suggestion.
"What!? Surely you cannot be serious, Narumi-san! Aren't they supposed to be our allies in this blasted war!?" Yuu demanded as she pointed down to the courtyard below while trying her best not to raise her voice too much. *2*
The brunet sergeant gave Yuichiro a reproachful look, but she did not fail to notice the anguish in his eyes at what he suggested.
"I am sorry, Miss Hyakuya," Narumi apologized while trying to keep his own emotions in check. "But this isn't any easier on me than it is on you. Despite what you may think, I do have friends down there, but I also know that it's imperative that we survive to carry out our next mission as well. And believe me when I say that our comrades are better off dead than alive in the hands of the vamps."
Shinoa frowned in disappointment despite agreeing with Narumi and from the look on Satoshi's face, she knew he shared the sentiment.
"So just to be clear, our mission here is to be decoys to buy time for our forces gathering in Shinjuku, correct?"
Guren nodded. "Right. We have to make the vamps think that we're actually attacking Nagoya."
"So, in other words, we put on a flashy show to fool them. Which means we have no choice but to fight, correct?" Satoshi asked.
"Correct," Shinya answered as he turned around to take his own aim at the building Yoichi and Takeshi were targeting earlier. "However, the odds of victory are very slim with that noble and his retainers around. They know this, so they're waiting oh-so-patiently for us to come to them."
"How can you tell?" Yuichiro asked.
"Easy," Shinya answered. "The arrogant bastard is smiling at me right now with his women by his side. Thanks to the scope on my rifle as well as my own impeccable eyesight, I can easily see their smug expressions from here."
Yuichiro frowned. "Oh…then we better come up with a plan and quick. So, what did you have in mind, Guren?"
SSSSSS
"Well, this is awkward," Crowley said with a touch of humor as watched the group of humans on the taller building in the distance. "Aren't they gonna shoot again? It's obvious they're here to try and exterminate us. Or maybe they're biding their time and trying to form a plan…"
"Could be," Horn agreed. "Shall we go on the offensive, my lord?" the blonde asked.
Crowley rested his chin in his hand as if pondering the thought.
"Hmm…that's tempting, but I don't think we should yet. After all, we have no idea how many of them there could be. Or what tricks they may have under their sleeves."
"In other words, they won't be so quick to strike again without a plan now that they realize their first attempt was ineffective. Am I right, my lord?" Horn asked.
"Yes. You're very astute, Horn."
The blonde was pleased at hearing her lord's praise, but Chess was confused and a bit slower to catch on.
"Huh? I don't get it. What are these humans playing at?"
Horn sighed before patiently explaining what she believed to be the humans' plan to her younger companion.
"What Lord Crowley means, Chess dear, is that the humans are preparing for an attack that could be powerful enough to wipe even the three of us out."
Chess gasped. "Seriously? No joke? Is that even possible."
Crowley's lips parted in a small smile as he gazed up at the sky.
"I believe it is. Humans are smarter than you give them credit for, Chess. You'd do well not to underestimate them. In any case, it's best for us to stay put until we hear from Ferid. He will know how to deal with these troublesome humans, and I'd imagine that bringing him a gift of sorts wouldn't go amiss".
At the mention of the silver-haired vampire lord, Horn and Chess shot each other a worried glance before the younger vampire girl turned to Crowley, her expression contemptuous.
"Lord Crowley, I really don't like Lord Ferid. He's sneaky, tricky, secretive, and I can never tell what he's thinking or planning," Chess said, her voice full of disdain.
Horn nodded. "You know, I actually agree with Chess. Are you sure we can trust Lord Ferid?"
Crowley's answer to his retainers' concerns was a soft laugh.
"Trust? I wouldn't go that far. Yes, he is sneaky and manipulative, of that I have no doubt. I'm also aware that neither of you girls particularly like Ferid, but even you two have to admit that there is never a dull moment with him."
Horn sighed. "I suppose I can't argue with that, my lord."
"Yeah, me neither…" Chess agreed grimly. Even though she was normally slow to catch on to most things, the irony of agreeing with Horn on two things in a single day was not lost on her.
"Thank you. I'm glad you both understand," Crowley said as he turned to face Horn and Chess once more. "Anyway, here's our plan: we ignore the rest of the humans and just nab one or two of their officers since they're more likely have important info."
At Crowley's suggestion, Horn and Chess shot each other another quick glance before turning back to their lord.
"As you wish, Lord Crowley," they said.
SSSSSS
"Here's the plan. My squad and only mine will go after Eusford and his retainers. Narumi, Shinoa, and Satoshi, I want you to use the opening we create to free the hostages."
"But Guren, are you sure that you and your squad alone will be enough against those three?" Yuichiro asked. Despite their earlier disagreement, it was apparent to everyone else that she was deeply concerned for her mentor.
"Truthfully, no, it will not," Guren confessed. "My plan is not for us to actually defeat Crowley, Chess, and Horn, but to distract them long enough to buy the rest of you time to free the hostages and get away. At least, that's what I'm betting on."
"How long do we have? And what should we do after the hostages are free, sir?" Satoshi asked.
"You have exactly five minutes to free as many of them as you can. Whether or not you succeed, you must retreat as soon as the five minutes are over and make your way north where we'll regroup at Nagoya Airport."
"And once we arrived at the airport, then what?" Shinoa pressed. "Surely we must have another objective after that."
"We do," Guren confirmed. "However, we need not worry about it until we actually get there and receive the follow-up orders."
Shinoa suspected that her superior was not telling her something. And, judging by the leery expressions she could see, the rest of the squads had the same idea. She was about to ask Guren to clarify, but he did not give her the chance.
"Ok, enough stalling. We don't have much time so we need to get moving as soon as possible. Shinya, how's the enemy looking?"
"Hasn't budged an inch," the other man answered. "No doubt they are waiting for us to make the first move."
"So, are we gonna do it, then?" Mito demanded impatiently.
"Doesn't look like we have a choice," Guren answered before turning to Goshi. "Goshi, I need you to create an illusion to make it look like there are a few hundred of us storming city hall. You can do that, right?"
"I can, but not from here. To pull off such an illusion, I'd have to get a lot closer."
"Like how close?"
Goshi sighed before answering.
"Like two hundred meters or closer."
"Is that so? Well, I suggest you get to it, Goshi," Guren answered simply as if the task was as easy pulling a childish prank on an unsuspecting victim.
Although it wasn't any of his business, Shinya could not help snickering at the blond man's possible death sentence. Were his back not turned to Goshi, Shinya might have gotten a glare from him.
"Knock it off, Shinya! Since you find this so funny, you can cover me so I can safely get close enough to pull off this little stunt!"
"Sure, whatever you say, Goshi!"
Shinoa watched the exchange between the three older men in amusement for a moment before turning to Narumi and Satoshi.
"So, what do you want to do, Miss Hiragi?" Satoshi asked. "Should we all stick together to free the hostages?"
Shinoa shook her head. "No, I don't think it's a good idea for us to be lumped in together like that; it could leave us more vulnerable."
"You're right, Shinoa," Narumi agreed. "If our objective is to free as many hostages as possible within five minutes, then I believe our chances are better if we split up. I think you and Satoshi should team up while I take my own squad ahead to cover you."
"Very well, Narumi. If this is what you think is best, then we'll go along with your plan" Satoshi agreed.
Narumi nodded as he made a gesture for his squad to join him in departing but not before turning to the younger squad leaders and giving them his most reassuring smile.
"I'm glad we could come to an agreement. I know I've already said this, rookies, but no dying on me, you hear? I want to see all ten of you alive in Nagoya." After saying what he needed to his fellow squad leaders, Narumi's eyes fell on Yuichiro and his expression softened. "That especially goes for you, Miss Hyakuya. Try not to do anything reckless since I won't be there to cover your ass like last time."
Knowing that Narumi was referring to the time he intervened when she found herself caught in a pincer attack between Lucal Wesker and his servant, Esther Lee, Yuichiro smirked at him. They both knew she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had a point. But Narumi supposed that was one of the things he liked about her.
"Ha! Like I could be taken down that easily! You worry about yourself and your squad instead, Narumi-san!"
Narumi's face broke into a wide grin.
"Likewise, Miss Hyakuya."
"Hey, you guys done with the pep talk yet?" Guren demanded impatiently over his shoulder.
"Of course! Ready when you are, sir!"
"Good. Now get going!" Guren ordered. "You've got five minutes to save as many as you can, and the clock starts now!"
Without waiting for the younger crew to respond, Guren suddenly jumped off the roof to begin the designated attack with the rest of his squad following suit. The junior squads were about to join them when they heard their own leaders call out to them.
"Wait!" Shinoa shouted.
"What is it, Shinoa?" Yuichiro demanded impatiently. "You heard what Guren said!"
"That's right, but you're all forgetting something! How're we gonna keep track of the time if we don't set our watches?" Satoshi demanded.
"Right," Shinoa added as she removed her pocket watch from her uniform jacket and held it in front of her with Satoshi following suit. "Everyone, quick, hold out your pocket watches like this."
Knowing there was no time to waste, the remaining eight members of both squads obeyed and held out their own pocket watches.
"Now everyone, set your alarms for five minutes from now. When the time is up, drop whatever you're doing and retreat immediately, understood?" Satoshi explained.
"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Yuu said. "Can we go now?"
Shinoa shot her subordinate a chiding look. Narumi was definitely right when he said Yuu was impulsive and unyielding.
"This especially goes for you, Yuichiro. I may have been lenient with you in the past, but this is one order I cannot afford to have you disobey; in five minutes, no matter what is happening, you must retreat with everyone else, even if it means abandoning the hostages to fend for themselves."
"But…"
Shinoa quickly placed her finger on the other girl's lips.
"No buts! We may be friends but I'm still your squad leader. Any errors you make can easily get you or someone else on our team killed, and I cannot let that happen, understand?"
Not wanting to waste time by arguing with Shinoa, Yuichiro finally relented.
"Fine, I will. If five minutes is all we have, then we'll just have to make sure we rescue everyone within that time frame, right?"
Shinoa could not help smiling at her friend's optimism, no matter how unlikely or unrealistic it may seem. Even so, the purple-haired girl chose to humor her friend.
"Yes, that's right."
"Ok, enough pep talk. It's really time we head out!" Satoshi ordered as he made the gesture for his squad to move before turning to Shinoa and silently prompting her to do the same with her squad.
"Right! You heard Satoshi! Everyone, move out so we can rescue everyone in five minutes!"
Nobody needed to be told twice; as soon as they got their squad leaders' approval, both Shinoa and Satoshi's squads leapt off the building to join their older allies in Guren and Narumi's squads.
As was expected of the commander of the Demon Army's most elite forces, Guren led the attack on city hall from the very front with Goshi following slightly behind as it was necessary for him to get as close as possible for his illusion to be successful.
"Goshi, are you close enough yet?"
"Yeah!" the blond man answered as he raised his pipe to his lips to activate the planned illusion. "It's starting right now!"
The hostages, most of whom had nearly passed out upon their crosses from exhaustion, woke when they heard the voices of their saviors calling out to them.
"Is that the lieutenant colonel?" one of them asked. "Surely, it must be an illusion!"
"The whole army is here!" another hostage cried. "We're saved!"
After ordering the rest of his squad to scatter and cut the other hostages loose one by one, Narumi jumped on the cross of another squad leader he recognized. Like the rest of his subordinates, the young man was exhausted as well as severely dehydrated, so he thought he must be hallucinating.
"Narumi, is that you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, it's me, Kato! I'm here with the rest of the MDC to get you and the others out!" Narumi answered as he used the blade of his trident to cut the other man loose while hoping that Goshi's illusory soldiers could hold off the attacking vampire soldiers long enough for Shinoa and Satoshi's squads to arrive and cover them.
Crowley, who had been watching the entire scene unfold before him as he stood looking out what used to be the wall of the building Yoichi and Takeshi fired at earlier, scanned the crowd of humans clad in black uniforms who were clashing with the vampire soldiers. Even with his vampiric vision, the maroon-haired vampire lord still had difficulty spotting what he was actually looking for.
Or more accurately, who.
"Ok now, so which one of you is the commander of this rag-tag group of humans foolish enough to raid my humble abode?" Crowley asked mirthlessly on no one in particular.
As if in answer to his question, he saw a raven-haired young man appear before him. From the look of things, he seemed to have jumped up from the floor below.
"Ask and you shall receive, bloodsucker!" Guren announced as he made his entrance and tried to take a swipe at Crowley with his demon sword, which the vampire lord blocked with ease using his own weapon.
"Oh, hey! I've seen you before!" Crowley said with a grin as his eyes took in Guren's face as well as the decorations on the man's uniform that indicated his rank. "Ah, so you must be the commander! Well, I do applaud your bravery coming to my doorstep since that saves me the trouble of looking for you."
"You're welcome!" Guren sneered as he took out a fistful of magical talismans from his pocket and flung them at Crowley. They both knew the attack wasn't going to be enough to kill him, but Guren was counting on it to buy some time for Shinya to assist him.
"Anytime you're ready, Shinya!" he shouted impatiently, annoyed that his best friend seemed to be taking his sweet time coming to his assistance.
With a chuckle, the major general finally made his entrance in an attempt to flank Crowley from the right while he was distracted by Guren. Aiming his demon rifle at the vampire lord, Shinya smiled coldly.
"I guess this is checkmate, vampire. Bye bye!"
Instead of being intimidated, Crowley merely smirked before grabbing Guren by the arm in the blink of an eye and flung him towards Shinya, sending them both crashing into the hallway of the building.
Mito, who had witnessed the entire scene from the courtyard below, cursed and clenched her gloved fists.
"Dammit! This doesn't look good! Hold on, you two, I'm coming!" she called to Guren and Shinya despite not being sure if the men could hear her.
Sayuri, who also witnessed the scene, readied her own weapon.
"I'm coming too, Mito!"
But before either woman could move, Goshi called out to them while grabbing Mito by the shoulder.
"No! Don't do it! If you go up there, you'll just get in the way. Let them handle this on their own! That goes for you too, Sayuri!"
Mito gritted her teeth but she knew that Goshi was right. She also knew her commander well enough to know that he would want her to obey his orders and not intervene, even for his own sake.
Narumi and Shusaku glanced up at the damaged building that Mito and Sayuri were looking at earlier, both of their brows furrowing in concern for their commander.
"This doesn't look good for the lieutenant colonel and major general, Narumi. What're we going to do?" Shusaku asked, lowering his weapon slightly.
Trying his best to ignore the sweat forming on his own brow, Narumi answered.
"Simple. We follow the orders Guren has laid out for us from the beginning no matter what. It's what he would have wanted."
As cold as his friend's answer sounded, Shusaku knew Narumi was right.
"I understand, Narumi. Let's go…"
SSSSSS
"Shit, this doesn't look good…" Shinya groaned as he closed and locked the door of the room where he and Guren had chosen to hide after Crowley had flung them both into the hallway, creating a cloud of dust thick enough to obscure the vampire lord's vision and buy them enough time to escape and hide to catch their breaths, if only temporarily.
"You know, your constant pessimism is really starting to tick me off…" Guren growled even as he managed to help Shinya pick up a few chairs to barricade the doors before climbing into another at the table in the middle of the room. From the look of their surroundings, the two men assumed they were in a room where city council meetings were held before the apocalypse. *3*
Shinya did not respond right away but pulled out another chair across the table from Guren and plopped down on it while trying his best not to let his demon rifle fall out of his hands from exhaustion.
When he finally caught his breath, the major general managed a good-natured smile at his best friend.
"What, would you rather I bullshit you about our chances against this noble, Guren? We both knew from the start that he was way out of our league, yet I went along with your plan anyway, so at least give me some credit, ok?"
"Ok, fine. What do you want, a medal, Shinya?" His friend shot back irritably.
"No, but I would appreciate a bit of honesty. If you knew we had little chance of victory AND survival, why did you plan this suicidal attack?" his friend demanded before realization dawned on him. "Unless… you have a plan that you neglected to tell me?"
Guren managed a weak laugh. Shinya was as perceptive as ever.
"What gave me away?" he asked. "Anyway, yes, I do have something in mind but in case it doesn't go according to plan, I have a favor to ask of you, old friend."
"And that is?"
Guren took a deep breath before answering.
"If I do not make it out of here alive, I want you to take command of the MDC and complete the mission without me. But most of all, protect Yuichiro and do everything you can to ensure her survival no matter what."
Shinya found himself perplexed at Guren's request.
"Me? I can understand you wanting me to take over command of the MDC but are you asking me to take over guardianship of Yuichiro as well?"
"Yes… I'm asking you because Sayuri, Shigure, and Mito tend to be a little too soft with Yuichiro. And I don't even want to think about what an idiot like Goshi would teach her."
Despite their grim situation, Shinya could not help but laugh at Guren's reasoning over wanting him to take Yuichiro under his wing instead of their other squad mates.
"Ok, Guren, you have my word; I'll protect Yuichiro with my life."
As soon as he secured his friend's promise, Guren's mood lightened, even if just a little.
"Good. Now let's get moving; I'd like to get out of here before that bastard noble finds us."
"I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that," a smooth voice cut in, prompting both Guren and Shinya to stand up from their seats to face its owner. Followed by his two retainers, Crowley had entered the room from a large broken window on the other side. "You two led me and my girls on a wild goose chase back there. But now I'm afraid there's nowhere to run any more. So why don't you guys just give up and surrender? I'm sure Lord Ferid would be very interested in hearing what the both of you know."
"Ha, like we'd just give up so easily!" Guren sneered as he drew back his sword and prepared to attack the vampire lord who had just insulted his prowess in battle.
Shinya suppressed the urge to groan at his friend giving in to Crowley's taunts but rushed in to assist him nonetheless. To his amazement, neither Horn nor Chess made any move to intervene when he aimed his rifle at their lord, and it wasn't hard for him to guess why. As a warrior, Crowley relished the thrill of battle and preferred to fight his own battles alone unless he became caught in one he couldn't handle.
Which was very, very rare.
As for Guren, it took all of his willpower not to let the frustration show on his face as he watched Crowley easily deflect and counter his sword swings one after the other while he was struggling just to stay on his feet.
"Dammit, I have no choice…" Guren muttered before jumping back and calling for his demon contractor, a creature he despised just as much as he needed in battle. "Come, Mahiru-no-Yo!" Guren ordered as he summoned and fired the red and black energy waves his demon sword emitted right into Crowley's eyes, hoping to blind or stun him long enough for Shinya to score a hit.
Realizing what the two men were up to, the vampire lord moved fast to parry Guren's attack before quickly turning around to deflect Shinya's demonic bullet, repelling it and causing some of the rebounding energy to strike the major general in the chest, causing him to cry out in pain.
Not surprisingly, the fighting stirred up another large could of smoke and debris and Crowley took a moment to clear his vision by fanning the air before his face with a hand.
"Give it up, you two, there's no escape…"
But as soon as the dust settled, Crowley quickly realized that he was wrong and that the human men had managed to fool him again after all. As his vision cleared, he noticed a new large hole in a nearby wall. That, and the fact that neither Guren nor Shinya were anywhere to be seen.
But instead of being offended, the vampire lord was actually amused at the humans' resourcefulness, admired it even.
"Oops…spoke too soon…" he said with a touch of humor. "It looks like I'm gonna have to start taking these guys seriously after all." Turning to Chess and Horn, Crowley made a beckoning gesture for them to follow him.
"Let's go, girls. It's been fun, but we can't let these guys get away or Lord Ferid won't be happy about it."
The two vampire women nodded in obedience.
"Yes, my lord!" they said in unison.
Footnotes:
1. According to the Michaela LNs, Crowley Eusford became a vampire sometime during the Crusades, a series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin Church during the medieval period. Fem!Yuu only assumes he was turned during the Greco-Roman era because he displayed the captured JIDA soldiers on crosses.
2. Fem!Yuu has better control of her emotions and stay cooler in stressful situations than male!Yuu.
3. The room sit-in scene with Guren and Shinya is anime only. My beta reader points it out as being out of place and possibly unrealistic for them to be taking a break in a room considering that they are supposedly running for their lives from Crowley but I chose to keep the Guren/Shinya room scene so that they would have a chance to talk about fem!Yuu.
