A/N: Another chapter of small steps. I'm still not used to writing fight scenes, so please go easy on me.
Special thanks to Yukina Takanashi for allowing me to use her OC.
It took five hours for Konoka to make the journey from Nara to Ofuna by public train. She witnessed a variety of scenes from different prefectural sides of the country: Aichi, Shizuoka and Kanagawa. The train itself was filled with people who had different goals. Every time the train stopped, more people would come in and out. Sometimes she had to sit jostling with people, who sat beside her on both sides, and others who stood close together in front of her.
In addition to the monotonous sound of the train, she listened to several people talking about her. Some of them looked at her with caution, keeping some distance from her while talking about how she was carrying a blade. Before leaving from Nara, she was interrogated by the train officer about bringing a katana with her. Fortunately, she brought her Toji certificate with her and showed it to him.
The officers finally allowed her to take the train and warned her not to look too suspicious. At first she lowered her hood, but since the train became crowded, she raised her hood again. Feeling shy, Konoka had put on a hoodie jacket over her uniform to hide her eyes and avoided eye contact. She even wrapped Karazusa with a lot of cloth. But because of its curved shape, people still knew the thing laying on her lap was a blade.
The train stopped again to unload several passengers and take on a few others. At this stop, quite a lot of people got off. But even so, it didn't make any seats around her empty. Even though the people who were standing in front of her had left, she still sat jostling with the people beside her. A few steps from the right side, she raised her head to the right when she heard the voice of a child and a mother.
"It's fine, Mom! Let me carry it!" the daughter said, while trying to hide her pained expression. She was carrying with both hands a plastic bag containing groceries that seemed too heavy for her.
"Are you sure that you'll be fine?" the mother asked worriedly.
'A cosplayer?' Konoka thought, when she saw the clothes that the ginger-brown haired girl was wearing.
The girl wore a white sailor-like uniform along with a black skirt. Around her neck was a red scarf and a red ribbon. The girl herself had a pair of orange eyes and neck-length ginger-brown hair with bangs covering the left side of her face. She also wore an eye patch on her left eye.
Konoka could not hold the smile forming on her face after seeing the scene in front of her. She wanted to do something to help them. An idea appeared on her head. She stood up from her seat and waved her right hand at the duo.
"Psst, hey!" Konoka called in their direction.
The little girl realized Konoka was calling for them when she saw her waving to them. She quickly approached her with curiosity. The mother, however, was too late to realize that Konoka had called her daughter. In her eyes, she saw a suspicious hooded stranger calling out to her daughter.
"Hey, Maachi!" she called her daughter to stop her from going to Konoka. But Maachi was already standing in front of her.
"What is it, onee-chan?" the little girl curiously asked.
A smile appeared on the lips of Konoka, upon the little girl who was standing in front of her. Even though Konoka hid her face with her hood, the girl could still see her mouth. She pointed her right hand towards her chair, and in a friendly tone, she offered it to the little girl.
"Here, you can take my seat," Konoka said to the little girl.
The girl's eyes widened with her cheeks popping slightly reddish, and a smile of gratitude appeared on her lips.
"Thank you, onee-chan!" the little girl thanked her.
She put her luggage on the seat, before returning to her mother's side and pushing her lower back with her tiny hands.
"What are you doing, Maachi?" the mother asked.
"Here mom, take my seat!" her daughter said.
"Eh? But didn't that onee-chan give her seat for you?"
"It's fine, Mom! I don't mind standing!" She puffed her chest and patted the right side trying to act strong in front of her.
Konoka could not help, but laugh at the little girl's devotion. She lowered her body so that her eyes met at the same level as Maachi's head.
"Don't force yourself too much. Your mother is worried about you, you know?" Konoka kindly said, before stroking her hair gently.
"It's fine! I want to be a devoted girl to my mother," the girl argued.
Konoka released a small sigh, before shifting her right hand towards her left shoulder and tapping it gently. "It's a good thing to be devoted to your mother, but the way you do it will make her even more worried about you."
As the girl was about to say another word, her mother gently tapped her daughter's head.
"She's right, Maachi." The mother came into their conversation.
"If you want me to sit, at least sit on my lap," she continued with a gentle tone of scolding.
The girl pouted before nodding in defeat, her mother smiled warmly at her before taking one of the bags that her daughter carried and taking a seat. She gestured to her daughter to sit on her lap. Her daughter obeyed. Konoka's lips formed a warm smile when she saw the mother stroking her daughter's hair, whose cheeks grew red in a blush.
A warm feeling arose in Konoka's chest as she watched the lovely scene in front of her. It reminded her of her childhood. Back when she was just a child, she used to sit on her mother's lap to sleep or even to read some stories with her. Even now, her mother would still give her the same comfort as before. Konoka could feel her cheeks turned pink when she recalled those moments.
"What a good girl," Konoka Complimented.
"Thank you, dear," the mother said, with a warm smile. She had brown hair, hazelnut eyes, and wore a black long sleeve top with a long blue skirt. She took a short glance at the uniform Konoka was wearing beneath her jacket.
"That uniform...are you a Toji?" she guessed.
"Yeah, how did you know that?" Konoka slightly raised her left eyebrow under her hood.
The mother shifted her gaze towards Konoka's head before answering, "It's not difficult at this time to guess a student from the Renpu Academy as a Toji."
That was true. At the current time, there was only one academy that trained Tojis in the world. And that was Renpu.
She took another glance towards Karazusa that was hung at Konoka's back before asking, "That thing you're carrying on your back ... is that an Okatana?"
"Yeah..." Konoka answered while gently stroking her Okatana's hilt with her right hand.
"Are you currently on a mission?"
"Well, kinda like that." She pulled back her right hand and sheepishly scratched her right cheek with her index finger.
"Kinda?" The mother raised her right eyebrow, confused with the answer.
Konoka could not explain to her that she still had not officially joined the mission. That was why right now she was on the train to Ofuna to meet Yuzuki and Ema. To officially tell them that she wanted to join in their mission.
"Hard to explain." She pulled her finger back from her right cheek and put her hands into both of her jacket pockets.
The mother lowered her right eyebrow and released a short sigh. "I see, where are you going then?"
"Ofuna, there's where my friends are waiting," Konoka answered.
"Oh, that's the next stop then," the mother told her.
"Is that so? Then that means I'll leave at the next stop then..." Konoka said as she sighed relieved. Finally she could get off from this train after 5 hours of waiting.
"Is there any Aradama in there?" The mother raised her eyebrows, as she worriedly asked her next question.
"I don't know. But we received some reports from some residents around there." Konoka looked over the sight beneath the train. She can see the Big Ofuna Kannon Statue. There weren't many civilian buildings around there. Most of them were cube-box buildings and some offices.
"What is a Toji?" the little girl curiously asked them. Both of them turned their attention towards her. It was Konoka who was about to answer her question.
"A Toji is..." are those who are officially affiliated with the Special Sword Administration Bureau, who are given the duties of responding to the threats caused by Aradama. That was what Konoka answered in her mind.
However, after seeing this girl's innocent expression. Konoka was not sure she would answer the question based on the facts. Especially at her age, she might not understand the meaning at all. She put her index finger under her chin before thinking about the proper answer that could be received by the mind of this girl.
"Umm?" The girl tilted her head, waiting for Konoka's answer.
Konoka shifted her gaze towards the clothes Maachi was wearing. Her eyes were fixed to the scarf and the eye patch she wore. Come to think of it, the way she wore that outfit was giving some kind of an impression of heroism.
An idea appeared in Konoka's head. Finally, she managed to find a few words to answer. She cleared her throat by coughing a few times before answering, "A Toji is someone who defends the weak, fights against all evil, and establishes the truth."
There was a sparkle on the girl's eyes as she opened her mouth with a large smile. "Hooah! So you're like a hero then!"
"Eh...?!" Konoka was surprised.
A hero? Konoka did not expect that analysis. As far as she knew, a Toji's task was to take care of aradama problems and nothing else. Perhaps this girl was referring to how Tojis had to secure civilians by evacuating them to a safe place?
"Well, somewhat like that." Konoka looked to the side of her left eye before sighing.
"Are the evil ones the Aradama?" the girl innocently asked.
There was a silence for a moment. Some thoughts about Aradama arose again in her mind, most of them bad. But what about her mother and herself? She lived with her mom until now, but she had never seen her mom hurt humans at all. Instead, the opposite was happening; humans were hurting them.
Konoka lowered her body until her head was now in front of hers. She slightly raised her head to reveal her stormy left gray eye to meet hers. The girl in front of her can now see her face.
"I don't know," Konoka answered with a low voice. "But whatever it is always has a reason as to why they become evil."
"The train's next stop is Ofuna. Next stop is Ofuna."
A voice came out of the intercom of the train to tell the passengers that they would soon arrive at the next stop. Konoka raised her right hand above the girl's head and stroked her hair one last time.
"Keep being a good girl," Konoka said.
The train finally reached the next station, slowly stopping at its track before opening every entrance in its carriage. Konoka pulled back her hand as the door behind her slides opened.
"Well then, I take my leave..." she bowed to both mother and daughter before walking out of the train.
"Good luck on your mission," the mother said, waving goodbye.
"Bye-bye, onee-chan!" Maachi raises her right hand and waves it to her.
After five minutes, the train entrances closed again. She could hear the sound of the engine wheels starting to spin again. She walked away a few steps, before looking at both the mother and daughter still waving at her. She watched until the train got farther away and the sounds more distant.
After the train had disappeared from her sight, she looked around. Lots of trees and not so many people around here. She could even count them with her fingers. Some of them wore straw hats and carried buckets like bags on their backs. It seemed that some local residents here worked as farmers.
The temperature of this place was also quite hot too. She looked towards the clear sky to see the sun shining brightly without a single cloud. She hadn't even been there for ten minutes and already her throat felt thirsty. Reaching into her bag, she searched for her drinking bottle. As Konoka took it in her hands, she could feel how light it was. She wished that the contents of the bottle were at least enough to soothe her dry throat.
However, there was only a single drop of water entering her mouth. Of course it was empty. Waiting in a hot train for four hours, that was initially full and crowded after traveling from her village in Nara to Ofuna. Of course, that would make her thirsty while on the train. Now she longed for cold water.
'Now then...' she walked towards a wall and sat back in the shadows.
Pulling out a folded piece of paper, she looked at it, as she remembered the moment Ema gave it to her yesterday.
Konoka was at the academy entrance, heading to the academy gate to meet Kagari and her team. As she opened her shoe locker, she heard a familiar voice calling her from the left.
"Noka-chan." She turned to her left side to see Ema facing her.
"Ah, Ema-senpai," Konoka greeted her, before asking, "Can I help you?"
She wondered what she was doing here? Wasn't she supposed to go with Yuzuki-senpai to Ofuna? Or perhaps, President Takishima sent her to ask again about her decision to join in the mission or not? Konoka remembered that the president gave her some time to make her decision, but she didn't tell her how much time.
Ema moved closer to her before taking a folded paper from inside her uniform pocket with her right hand.
"Here take this," she said, handing the paper to her.
"What is this, senpai?" Konoka asked.
"A map," Ema told her.
A map? Konoka wondered. Why did Ema give her a map all of a sudden?
"It's just a precaution, if you decide to go there." Ema explained. "Listen. Yuzuki-senpai and I will leave for Ofuna now. We will wait for you until twelve at the location that I marked there."
"I understand." Konoka nodded her head.
"Good." She winked at her in satisfaction before walking past her, patting her left shoulder.
"Just follow the route I've marked down for you."
And that was what happened yesterday afternoon. Now, all she had to do was open the folded paper and find out where she had to go.
'WHAT THE!' Konoka's left eye turned white when she saw the contents of the paper.
That was indeed a map. But the map was drawn irregularly and not clearly. Panicky feelings started to rise in both her mind and heart. She actually expected an accurate map picture written on the paper. Konoka always thought about Ema Hashima as one of the elites in her second year, who was almost excellent in all things with the same degree as her sister.
To think she drew this badly.
"Ema senpai..." Konoka released a defeated sigh.
Putting her right hand to her forehead, she felt the stress of her current situation; her mission hadn't even started yet but she already felt like a failure. The map given by Ema-senpai didn't help her to find their location at all. How was she going to do this mission? But for now, she was...lost.
She glanced to her left to see the train station. Should she cancel her intention and return home to Nara?
If she returned home, she would tell her mother that she failed the mission because of misinformation at the meeting point and return to her usual days. She could wait until next year to carry out her first official mission, along with Yukina and her fellow first years. But it was still five months, until she went up to the next grade.
No, she didn't want that. It was still too early to return. Not after she just arrived here. She needed to figure out something about how to find them.
But even so, she didn't know what to do next.
She opened the map again and looked at the contents. This round shape and face...wait, was that the Big Ofuna Kannon Statue? Oh yeah it was. Ema-senpai wrote the number of the drawings she made and the sequence of information for the pictures on the right side of the map paper.
Wait a minute…
Her eyes saw the entire contents of the map once again all parts of the location are marked in black from the numbers 1 to 14. Except for the number 15, the picture was surrounded by a red circle. That might be the gathering point, where Ema and Yuzuki were waiting for her. She looked to the right of the map and looked for information for sequence number 15.
Sotetsu Fresa Inn.
That was it. She just needed to ask the people from around here where that inn was. Looking at her phone to check the time, she saw that it was 9:28 AM. There were still about two more hours before they started the mission without her. She put the map into her pocket before getting on her feet and began her search for them.
Meanwhile on Sotetsu Fresa, Yuzuki was having a debate on the phone with President Takishima. As for Ema, she was watching a cooking show in their room.
"No, she's not here yet." Yuzuki's voice sounded impatient.
"It's still ten o'clock, your mission begins in two more hours..." President Takishima said in her calm voice.
Yuzuki didn't like to stay put. She worried that the longer they waited, the more people would fall prey to Aradama. That was why she called the president to ask for permission to head there early without waiting for Konoka.
"The more we wait, the more danger will rise if we let the Aradama hang around out there..." she told the Renpu President.
"Yuzuki-san, I will not give you the order to begin the attack if Konoka is still not with you," said the president in a firm tone.
Yuzuki frowned and tried not to show her tone of disapproval. "I understand."
With that, Yuzuki hung up on her phone. She released a sigh of disappointment and thought; what exactly was in the president's mind to allow Konoka to join this mission?
"Well, what did she say?" Ema asked from the sofa.
"Same answer as yesterday," Yuzuki replied before asking back, "Are you sure Konoka is not lost?"
"Of course not. I have drawn a map for her," Ema assured her.
"Are you sure the map you drew is clear enough for her?" Yuzuki asked again.
"Of course-" Before Ema could say another word, a knock was heard from the entrance of their room followed by a familiar voice.
"Anoo, Yuzuki-senpai, Ema-senpai, are you in there?"
It was Konoka's voice.
Yuzuki and Ema released a sigh before the former walked towards the door to open it, revealing a girl wearing a hooded jacket that slightly covered her uniform. However, the way her chest rose up and down, along with her heavy breaths, Yuzuki quickly noticed that the girl seemed like she had gone through a lot of trouble to get here.
"So you have decided?" Yuzuki asked as Konoka lowered her hood to reveal her face.
"Yeah," Konoka answered with conviction in her eyes.
"Come in." Opening the door wider, Yuzuki moved to the side to let the younger girl enter. As they reached the kitchen, Konoka's eyes were set to the fridge before asking her for something.
"Senpai.."
"What is it?" Yuzuki asked.
"Can I have some water?" Konoka requested.
A puzzled look appeared on Yuzuki's face before she nodded. She opened the refrigerator and handed her a bottle of cold water.
"Thank you, senpai." Konoka thanked her before opening the bottle cap and enjoyed the cold liquid soaking her throat.
Yuzuki conscientiously looked at Konoka who was drinking. The mission hasn't started. Yet in her eyes, Konoka seemed exhausted. Did something happen on her way here? Not long after, Ema entered the kitchen to meet the two.
"Ah Konoka."
"Ema-senpai," Konoka greeted her.
"I knew you would come."
"Yeah, I'll regret it if I don't take part in it." To be honest Konoka wants to allude to her about the map that she made. But after knowing they were still waiting for her, she put that thought aside.
The three of them then headed to the room, sitting on one of the beds before Yuzuki took out some documents and placed them in the center.
"All right, let me explain the mission once more," Yuzuki began.
"We will search for an Aradama in an abandoned factory about two blocks from this inn," she explained, before designating a location on the map. "Ema and I found the location yesterday."
"However, we don't know for sure where the location of this Aradama will be. Based on reports from nearby civilians, Aradama most often appeared in the warehouse not far from the factory. So we will check this place first." She held up an image of the factory's warehouse.
"Be careful when taking action because the last thing we want is for the Aradama to enter the civilian zone," she warned them, which they responded to with nods of understanding. "Any questions?"
Konoka raised her right hand slightly before asking, "I have one, senpai."
"Go on."
"What kind of Aradama will we fight?" Konoka questioned.
"Insect." Yuzuki replied curtly before holding up an image showing long legs with glowing joints with a noro color. "We don't know in more detail what kind of insect the shape is, but it looks like a grasshopper or an ant."
"Anything else?" she asked them again, which was responded by the shaking of their heads.
"We will go in there in three hours. Prepare yourself."
With a cry of rage, Kagari cut off the crab-like Aradama's left claw in front of her. The creature attacked her again with its right claw, but to no avail since Minato quickly came to her side and cut the other claw. After losing its two main frontal claws, the creature collapsed to the ground before its body dissolved into noro, leaving just its shell.
"Thanks for the save," Kagari thanked.
"Anytime," Minato answered.
Tsujido Seaside Park was one of the most famous and popular beaches in all of Japan. Located at the magnificent Sagami Bay in Kanagawa, it was a place of fun and relaxation for friends and family, under the bright blue sky of Shonan. Smooth and gentle pathways and clear visibility made this park an ideal place. In addition, the park was lush with beautiful flowers and greenery, planted and managed by committed volunteer staff, making it perfect for a quiet walk. It truly embodied the best of what the Shonan area had to offer.
"These Aradama have caused pretty much damage," Kagari said, looking at the damage around the park.
"And here I was expecting to have some time to relax in this place after the mission was over," Minato sighed.
A group of aradama attacked from the sea; their attack reached the grassy open field of the park. The Aradama that attacked the park had crab and lobster-like forms. These sea-creatures like Aradamas had thick skin that covered most of their bodies. However, it could still be killed by cutting their body parts, aiming at their visually noro glowing joints.
"Kagari," Minato suddenly called her name.
"What is it Mi-!" Kagari noticed an incoming lobster-like Aradama rushing in to crash towards them.
With a swift movement, Kagari dodged to the left side of that Aradama while Minato jumped in the air and landed safely on its back. A smirk appeared on her face as she stabbed Chidori hard into its back before ripping its hard skin open, making its flesh open clearly.
"Finish it Kagari!" Minato yelled.
With a dash, Kagari cut the lobster's left claws by slashing its joint. Then, she jumped on its back where the visible flesh had been ripped open. With a loud cry, she sliced its flesh with fast movement, making noro pouring everywhere from its back. The creature finally collapsed on the ground. Hot noro left its body leaving the lobster only its skin.
The two of Tojis then put their backs to each other, protecting each other from the incoming enemies. Someone darted past them to a group of Aradama a few feet ahead. Kagari took a glance to see it was the eldest of the Origami sisters, Yukari.
The first Aradama, a lobster-like creature, was about to hit her with its claws. Yukari unsheathed Okanehira then gave a hard blow, making its shell crack. She gave another strong attack to its head then to its face. It was only a short time before the rest of the aradamas fell.
"As expected from the oldest daughter of Nariko-sama," Kagari said in amazement.
"Even though these creatures' skins are hard, she cut those aradamas down as if she were chopping them," Minato sweatdropped before thinking in her mind, 'And I bet she had some muscles beneath her uniform.'
A bit far behind them, Akane was guarding their back and currently fighting a crab-like Aradama. Unlike her sister who fought Aradama well, she fought with effort. Everytime she tried to aim its joint, the crab deflected her attacks with its claws. The crab's body was too big to deal with a girl with a small body like hers.
After several dodges, Akane saw a gap to attack the crab's joint. She was about to cut down its joints from the left claw. However, the crab noticed her upcoming attack and hit her with its right claw making her fly off into a tree in front of them.
"Akane!" Yukari yelled for her sister.
"I got her!" Kagari ran towards Akane's side.
She looked at the younger Origami's condition. Luckily Akane's utsushi was still active after the hard blow she received. Yukari, with very clear anger in her eyes, ran with flashing speed towards the Aradama crab that just hurt her sister. She did a hard slash from the top of its head splitting it in half, avenging her sister.
The three of them continued fighting the Aradamas fiercely, Minato and Yukari against the ones in front of them. As for Kagari, she fought while protecting the fallen Akane. After at least twenty minutes of this, the Aradamas were driven to the Shonan Forest in front of them. Minato was almost finished fighting a lobster-like Aradama. She gave it a hard strike into its face and made it shatter into pieces to the ground.
"That's the last one." Minato put Chidori on the back of her neck, looking around at the aftermath of the battlefield around them. There were at least twenty or more large crab and lobster shells around them.
"Some of them fled to the forest," Yukari said with a slight perturb in her voice before continuing, "We must move deeper."
They finally succeeded in repelling the Aradama around them-now they only needed to finish the rest that got away. They had to move immediately before the Aradama reached a potential residential area. Yukari looked at the condition of each of her team members. Minato and Kagari can still fight. However, Akane could no longer use Utsushi anymore because of the fatigue from her previous battle.
"Akane-san, are you alright?" Kagari worriedly asked her.
"I'm fine," Akane said softly.
"Don't force yourself, Akane," Yukari told her, standing in front of her sister.
"I'm fine nee-sama." Akane gave her a painful smile before looking at the ground and continued, "Besides, Mother wouldn't like it if I showed weakness now."
Yukari recalled one of the important things her mother always taught them as a part of the Origami family-to never show weakness. Their mother trained them to be the strong Toji of the Origami family. Having always been at the forefront of facing Aradama for years, she didn't want her daughters shaming her just because they showed weakness in the battlefield.
"Alright then," Yukari took a deep sigh, before giving her next order. "Minato-senpai, you and I will move forward ahead. Kagari, Akane, try to overtake us when you are ready. "
It would be best if she and Minato moved ahead. Akane hadn't been able to use her utsushi with her current state and Yukari didn't want to take the risk of putting her younger sister in danger. This was the best option for her.
"Hai," the three of them replied unisonly. However, Akane's feelings were low because she realized her sister's intentions behind the order.
"Let's move."
Minato and Yukari move forward into the forest, leaving Kagari and the exhausted Akane together alone behind. Kagari watched them walk away before noticing the younger Origami who was silent, with weary eyes focused on the ground. It was a look of apology.
After the two of them had disappeared from their line of sight, there were several seconds of heavy silence. A while later, Akane began a conversation with her.
"Kagari-senpai."
"Mm?" Kagari turned her head towards her.
Being weak in battle was something that could embarrass Akane's mother. Especially after all she had trained her for. Akane didn't want to be like this; she also wanted to be strong like her sister. "How is your sister as strong as you?"
Kagari raised her eyebrows in disorientedness. Why did Akane suddenly ask something about her sister? "Where is this coming from?"
"Well, you see...Yanase Touko is one of the best Toji fighters from class 1-A," Akane explained. "When I heard that she was defeated by Konoka from nee-sama, I was surprised to know that."
Kagari released a sigh before sitting under the tree, next to her. "Nothing special, she just trains herself every day in earnest."
A look of disbelief appeared on Akane's face. She was not sure if that was the only answer. She asked again to be sure.
"That's it?"
"I'm not sure, but there is something more when I'm training with her." Kagari's eyes looked towards the clear sky as she remembered the days she trained her sister.
"Back in the days before the battle in the arena, I was the one who accompanied her training." Kagari clenched her grip on her sleeve. "At first, she impressed me with her speedy attack. However, when I found out she couldn't hold the hardblow strikes from me, I couldn't help but feel worried about the time she would face a strong opponent."
Akane listened as she thought again. She and Konoka didn't have very different posture forms. Konoka had the same height as her. She also didn't have muscles to do or hold any hard blow attacks. But what made her manage to defeat an enemy that was stronger than her?.
"She knew no matter how long she trained her muscles, it would never be enough to at least withstand a hard blow from me. So she thought of another way..."
Akane raised her head waiting for the next words.
"She used the only advantage she has to cover her weaknesses."
Akane did not understand the meaning of that sentence. "What do you mean?"
"When I tried to perform a hard blow attack on her, she used her speed to avoid it and counter me back by attacking me quickly. I could barely guess the attack and where she would attack from," Kagari explained honestly. "And I have to admit, she almost overpast me."
"She might not be able to defeat me in terms of strength. But she might be able to beat me with her speed," she finished with a proud smile. Akane's eyes shone in admiration after listening to the last part of her explanation.
Now she got it. Why Konoka was able to defeat Touko in the battle back in the arena. That girl, Hiiragi Konoka. Not giving up even though Touko was stronger in strength and quite skilled in her fighting arts. To not show fear towards her opponent, but to use the expertise she had. Which couldn't be matched by her opponent.
"I see, so that's what it means," she softly said before releasing a small sigh of relief.
"Yeah."
Now Akane finally got something that she could use as a reference from Kagari's explanation. Something new had arisen in her heart. Something that could help her to change for the better. After a few minutes later, Kagari rose from her seat before standing in front of her.
"Let's go, we can't let those two fight those Aradama by themselves." She held out her hand to Akane.
Akane glanced up, catching the warm smile on Kagari's face. That was when a gust of wind blew their hair.
"Hai." Akane took her hand and rose as well.
Meanwhile back at Ofuna, Yuzuki and her team were currently on their way to the abandoned factory near the hotel where they were staying. They walked through a nearby residential area around the factory, but they hadn't even encountered anyone during their move towards their destination.
"Senpai, was this road always this quiet when you were looking for that place yesterday?" Konoka looked into the quiet housing on her side.
"It is, Konoka," Yuzuki answered before continuing to explain, "Ever since the first sighting of that Aradama, local residents more often lock themselves in their house to avoid any possible contact with it."
Some people peeked through the window curtains in their house. Their faces were filled with hope. Finally some Tojis came to take care of their Aradama problem.
"Isn't that what will facilitate our task of preventing Aradama from hurting people?" Konoka said.
"Of course," Ema responded.
"Only stupid people dare to get out of the house when there is an Aradama presence near them." Yuzuki closed her eyes as she told them.
They continued walking quietly until they reached an intersection. Turning left, they finally found a zinc wall covering the factory appearance from the outside. Now they only needed to find the entrance. As they searched for it, they found some walls that had some holes on the top. Konoka could see some parts of the factory outside. She bumped into Ema's back, when the latter had stopped walking in front of her.
"We're here," Yuzuki said.
The three of them finally arrived at the factory's gate. Just by looking at it, Konoka could guess that this place had been abandoned for a very long time. She could see a lot of broken windows at the frontal side of the building. Some grass grew too long around the yard and the walls were covered with thick vines. There were several trees in front of the building, one of which had branches that grew too long so that it passed through the window on the second floor of the building.
"This place is huge," Konoka commented.
"Turn on your utsushi, girls," Yuzuki ordered them as she unsheathed her Okatana.
"Let's go straight to the warehouse, first," Ema suggested.
"Yeah," Yuzuki agreed.
The three of them then unsheathe their Okatanas and turn their Utsushis on before walking towards the main building. When they were in the front entrance of the main building, Konoka shivered, feeling a cold air come out from inside. They passed a shattered glass door that seemed to have automatically slid open. Following the analog spectrum finder that Ema had, they found themselves walking into something like a working room for the employees.
"I've been thinking..." Ema began talking.
"What is it?" Yuzuki asked.
"What is an Aradama doing in an abandoned factory like this?" Ema askd as she looked at the large machines around them. "Don't they usually attack humans openly?"
"..." Yuzuki remained silent as she continued walking.
The main building had a lot of holes in the ceiling, letting the sunlight illuminate several parts of the building. Konoka walked through a puddle, which seemed to have come from rain water. Some of the machines were rusty or even covered by moss. They kept walking, until they found another exit of the building.
The three of them found themselves at the other side of the main building. Not far across them was another large building. The analogue spectrum finder on Ema's hand was pointing towards that building.
"That's the warehouse," Ema said as she pointed her left index finger at the building across from them. The three of them then carefully walked towards it.
"This is it," Yuzuki spoke.
They positioned themselves to the entrance. Konoka and Ema were on the left side while Yuzuki was on the right.
"Open," Yuzuki ordered in a low voice.
Ema nodded in response before kicking the door open. The first to enter was Konoka followed by Yuzuki from behind. Another thing they found was a column of large shelves, some of them still have a few boxes on it.
"Clear!" Konoka shouted.
"There is nothing here." Ema walked over from behind.
Strange. Yuzuki looked around this building, looking for any signs of any Aradama. It was usually not difficult to find them because they usually had a large body size and Noro that lit on their body parts.
"Ema, was the spectrum finder headed in the right direction?" Yuzuki asked her friend.
Ema watched her Spectrum finder to find its pointer was pointing in all directions. "It shows something, but it leads here."
"That's strange." Yuzuki narrowed her eyebrows. There was no way a spectrum finder could have a malfunction, especially the Analog one. "Let's look around this place deeper."
They then walked deeper into the building carefully. The lighting in the room was dimmer compared to the main building which had several holes in it. But this building, the ceiling was still good enough so that no natural lighting could enter from outside. It had more dust covering every part of it. Every time they made a step, it always left an imprint of their shoes on the dust-covered floor.
Suddenly, Yuzuki heard a tapping sound. She stopped her movement to look around, trying to find the source of it. But she could only see more dust and some spider webs around her. Konoka and Ema were confused with their leader's sudden pause.
"Did you hear that?" Yuzuki asked them if they also heard the same sound that she heard.
"Hear what?" Ema asked.
"I don't know-something like crawling," Yuzuki answered.
"Maybe it's a cat or a mouse?" Konoka guessed.
"Stay alert." Yuzuki released a sigh before searching again. "Something's wrong here."
As they continued their search, Konoka also found something abnormal. There was a lot of small holes around the floor and the walls. These holes were not deep...it was as if some kind of trace from the footprints of a large insect. She also noticed that besides there being so many spider webs, they were also strangely large. Her gaze then followed the footprints on the floor that headed up through the wall, and then the ceiling-.
"NOOO !" Konoka yelled as she ran towards Ema and pushed her away from where she had just stood.
Dust sprinkled in the air, making Yuzuki cover her eyes and nose as she looked towards where her companions were. Something quite big just hit the ground hard. She tried to see its actual form but the dust was too thick, as the creature released a loud growl after its landing.
Ema, who had just been pushed by Konoka, was confused by her sudden action. However, she quickly understood her intention, as she looked at the cloud of dust that was behind the girl who had fallen on her. Behind the dust cloud, there was something quite big and dangerous. Her eyes widened when she saw an object like a spear coming out of the dust. She thought it was a spear but it immediately changed when that thing could bend down and have six orange glowing Joints that were about to stab them down.
"Shit!" Ema quickly hugged Konoka tightly before dodging the incoming stabbing attack by rolling to the right. They quickly got on their feet and pointed their Okatanas towards the creature behind the cloud of dust.
As the dust began to disappear, the true form of the creature began to appear in front of their eyes. Their eyes widened in horror upon looking at the sight of their enemy. It had eight sharp legs like spears at each side of its body, four on the left and four on the right. A mouth with fangs that could hash its prey. Six eyes that glowed with orange noro. It was a tarantula-like Aradama.
"That's the Aradama!" Ema yelled.
"EMA, WATCH OUT!" Yuzuki shouted.
Right before Ema and Konoka realize, one of its legs landed right in front of them with a fast motion. Unable to wait for the next attack to come soon, they quickly made some distance between the spider by dashing backward using Jin'i. The spider didn't let them escape; it chased them by repeatedly driving its frontal legs towards them. Ema managed to dash to the left side with Jin'I; Konoka was about to try the same idea as hers.
"...!" As she tried to dash to the right side, Konoka felt as though she crashed into a pole. To her surprise, it was one of the spider's frontal right legs that blocked her way. Feeling its prey trapped, the spider was about to bite her upper body. Konoka escaped by sliding down the spider body, and exited from the other side.
"Konoka, you alright!?" Yuzuki asked.
"I'm fine!" Konoka quickly came to her side.
"This thing is huge! It's far different from the one in the picture!" Ema yelled as she compared the creature they currently fought with the photo document Intel mission that they brought.
She then looked at its creature's sharp legs. "There's no way we can parry the attacks from that creature! Those legs are just like spears!"
Yuzuki became quiet for a while to think of a strategy. "Ema! Konoka! Aim for its back! I will distract it!"
"Hai!" the two responded in unison.
As they did their part, Yuzuki fought the aradama in the front. She must try to keep diverting its attention on her. Ema was about to give a slash on its back, however, the spider realized her intention and quickly turned its body towards her. The spider hit her with the back of one of its legs, making her collapse on the ground. She tried to reach for Okatana that was just a few feet in front of her, but the spider was also there crawling towards her.
Suddenly, the spider let out a roar of pain. Yuzuki looked behind it to see Konoka performing a hit on its back.
"I hit it!" Konoka yelled as she did another slash on its back. However, the spider did a hard kick to her by using one of its hind legs making her body fling into several shelves. Some boxes fell on her and clumps of dust surrounded, where she had just crashed.
"Konoka!" Yuzuki called out her name, hoping their little companion would be okay. The spider shifted its attention towards Yuzuki now, now trying to strike her as she quickly dodged its incoming stabs.
While Yuzuki was distracting that spider, Ema quickly came towards where Konoka was. She saw a pile of wood and dust when she got there. Hoping to find her green haired friend, she dug through the pile until suddenly a hand poked, shaking and trying to find something to grab. Ema quickly noticed it was Konoka's hand and pulled it firmly to lift her body from the pile of dust and wood chips. Her utsushi was dead and her body was battered. There were bruises around her right thighs and arms.
"Ahh!" Konoka squalled in pain when Ema pulled her. She was holding Karazusa tightly in her left hand. Ema gently put her on the ground to put her in ease.
"I got her," Ema yelled to report to Yuzuki. She tried to put her right hand on one of the bruises around her thigh which immediately made Konoka wince in pain. "Yuzuki-senpai, Konoka is hurt!"
"Kuh, Damn it!" Yuzuki gritted her teeth as she dodged another strike that was aimed at her stomach. Ema had to take care of Konoka's injuries, while she herself had to take care of this creature. There was no way she could handle this thing only by herself. She couldn't just order Ema to leave Konoka.
"We must get away from this thing," Yuzuki shouted. They needed to retreat and think of a new plan. Upon hearing that command, Konoka quickly tried to stand up to fight again.
"NO, I CAN STILL FIGHT!" Konoka screamed, refusing to let the team just because of her injury.
"You're injured!" Yuzuki denied her before continuing to make her understand the situation. "You will only be a burden for the team, if you continue to force yourself!"
"NO, I WON'T!" Konoka raised Karazusa and was about to dash towards that spider. Once she was about to launch herself, Yuzuki restrained her by holding the back of her uniform.
"That's an order, Konoka!" Yuzuki yelled at her.
As Konoka was about to argue again, Ema pulled her body by force making her fall on the ground, as she was being dragged by the back collar of her uniform.
"Come on Konoka!" Ema yelled as she forcibly dragged her body towards the exit.
They quickly headed to the entrance where they had entered. The spider was trying to prevent them from running away. It also tried to go to the entrance to prevent them from passing through. Yuzuki interfered with the spider, as she drew its attention again to give some time for Ema and Konoka to escape first.
Just a bit more...and Ema and Konoka would almost reach the entrance. Yuzuki just had to draw the spider's attention just a bit longer. She managed to dodge two incoming stabs from her right. However, she was not aware of a horizontal strike that hit her stomach hard. Before she knew it, the next thing that happened was that she was flying backwards away from the spider. Her back crashed into Ema, who was about to get out through the warehouse entrance.
They crashed through the entrance of the warehouse. Yuzuki's utsushi died as well as Ema's. The spider was still crawling towards them quickly. Although she felt her back was aching, Yuzuki quickly stood up again and prepared to face the Aradama without using Utsushi to protect her comrades.
Strangely, when she thought the spider would come out of the warehouse to chase after them, it stopped in front of the entrance from the inside of the warehouse. It only tried to grab them using its legs. The three Tojis breathed heavily in relief as the spider couldn't reach them anymore.
Yuzuki gestured to the Team to keep some distance from it. The spider released another roar filled with anger upon the sight of its prey leaving. It suddenly released a slimy spit from its mouth towards them, making their clothes wet from its liquid.
"Disgusting!" Ema said in disgust as she wiped some of its liquid on her face.
"Come on!" Yuzuki yelled as she helped Ema lift Konoka.
She and Ema did not want to stay any longer. They retreated from the creature. From the warehouse. From the abandoned factory.
Konoka could only look furiously at the spider as they moved away from it. She still wanted to fight against that thing. She still didn't want to return. She didn't want to report to the president. And tell her mother...
That she failed.
A/N: The fifth chapter is finished! In the next chapter, Iroha and Sana will come to help the group along with some other Tojis. A flashback about a few days after Tsukuyomihime had sealed Amaterasuhime into her own Okatana. Why didn't the spider chase them out of the warehouse? Did Konoka really fail on her first mission? See you in the next chapter!
I need to remind you that some of the characters that appeared in this chapter are based on some certain characters from various anime.
The mother on the train – Hoshino Chizuru (Watashi Ni Tenshi Ga Maiorita)
Maachi – Hoshino Miyako (Watashi Ni Tenshi Ga Maiorita)
I made her into an eight-year-old girl.
President Takishima Yuuna – Takashima Yuuna (Yuuki Yuuna Wa Yuusha De Aru).
I made her a lady in her mid-twenties in this story.