Chapter 16: A year later
The news about the so-called battle of Kumamoto, a violent clash between the sensha-do academies Kuromorimine and Ooarai, caused a stir throughout Japan. In the early days no one could understand what had pushed the kuro to attack the adverse school float, and it was necessary to wait for a press conference called by the Federation to find out the truth. The first thing that many journalists noticed was the absence of all the main commanders: Anzio was in fact represented by Carpaccio, the Ooarai from Azusa Sawa (successor of the deceased Miho, assisted by Saori, Hana and Mako), Pravda from Nina, Saunders from Naomi , St. Gloriana from Assam, Chi-Ha-Tan from Haru. The only known face was Maho Nishizumi, sister of the late Miho and commander of Kuromorimine. Their statement was as follows: Erika Itsumi, a member of Kuro, had been kidnapped by their predecessors, taken on the Ooarai ship-school and subjected to brutal torture; one of the kidnappers, horrified by what she was witnessing, had informed Maho through FB message, which had informed her mother; this had alerted the police and the teammates of the kidnapped and then led a rescue mission, but had degenerated into a battle against the unaware students of Ooarai; several dead and wounded had registered on both sides, but Erika had finally been released and taken to hospital, while her abductors had been arrested. They had acted on their own initiative, without informing their respective schools, they kept on specifying the new commanders. The name of the Miho assassin, Yukari Akiyama, her friend and school / teammate, who had an unrequited love motive, was instead firmly refused.
The story, of course, aroused controversy and various reactions throughout the nation: there are those who condemned the inhumane behavior of the now former commanders, unjustly rage against an innocent; others also criticized the kuro, for an assault that had claimed several victims, and stating that he would have to leave the burden of freeing the hostage to the police. The newspapers and the news talked about it for weeks, various talk shows treated the story and there was even a parliamentary question to the National Diet (the Japanese parliament). There was a strong media clash between those who proposed the abolition of the Sensha-do (considered the cause of the aforementioned battle) and those who opposed it; as in the case of Spanish bullfights, even in this case the traditionalists wins. The pictures of the torturers and their victim circulated everywhere: in the newspapers, on TV, on the web. Messages of solidarity came to Erika in her hospital room, as well as many flowers. She became a sort of celebrity, and on her return home, in Hitoyoshi's hometown, she was welcomed as a star by family, friends and fans from various parts of the prefecture and beyond. Her relationship with the deceased Miho was shelved, to avoid the consequent grains.
As for the torturers, they were expelled from their respective teams and shaved off by the federation; there was a maxi process, which was almost a formality. Thanks to the testimony of Erika and some repentant (Kinuyo, Kay, Darjeeling) were found guilty: Anchovy, Anzu, Momo, Ogin, Murakami, Cutlass, Flint and Rum were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, Katyusha, Nonna, Darjeeling, Kay to 10, Kinuyo to 1. As for Yukari, Miho's assassin, was tried separately, found guilty and sentenced to death. It was executed by hanging. More luck had Shiho, who thanks to her position and her prestige, got away with a suspension from her role for three months.
As for the two schools that were protagonists of the battle, they too did not do much; after all, the kuro only wanted to free their teammate, and the unaware Ooarai had reacted to what they thought was an assault. Having resolved the Nishizumi case, and after the period of mourning, the final of the Sensha-do tournament could take place. The result was obvious: the Ooarai were demotivated by the death of Miho, poorly-led by Azusa, instead the kuro were aggressive, even more driven to win to avenge Erika and their fallen comrades. In the end the Kuromorimine won the final, and after a while the Ooarai had to close its doors. At the news Anzu literally lost her mind, going crazy. From that day a year passed.
Now Erika was standing in front of the grave of Miho, whom she visited when she could. She placed a bouquet of flowers on the damp earth, then said:
"Hello my love."
Obviously she did not receive an answer.
If someone saw me talking to a grave, they would think I'm crazy.
She thought, and then look around: that day the whole area was shrouded in thick fog, and she saw only the nearest things, the rest was hidden by a milky mantle.
"Erika ..." A familiar voice called her.
She turned, noticing Maho in the company of her mother Shiho.
"Commander ... Miss Nishizumi ..."
"Did you come to pay homage to Miho?"
"Obvious. You too, I see. "She said, noting that both were wearing flowers.
"Exact."
That said, the woman placed her deck next to Erika's, imitated by her daughter.
"I would like to come here more often, but work at the Federation leaves me little free time."
"It's the same for us, mother. The sensha-do tournament is approaching, and we must train constantly. "
Shiho nodded.
"What will your first challenge be?"
"Gregor."
"A good school ... Do your best to get the victory."
The two girls nodded.
On the school-ship Anzio Carpaccio was haranguing her teammates.
"... And remember! Heaven is with us! We at Anzio are not weak, but strong! "
A grave silence followed those words, except for some feeble applause. The blonde snorted, disconsolate.
"Now you can go ..."
Back in her office, she sat at her desk, staring at the ceiling with a depressed air.
Who do I think I am? I can not even raise their enthusiasm ...
She thought, demoralized.
Someone knocked at the door.
"Forward!"
"Disturb, Duce?" Asked Pepperoni, entering the room in the company of Amaretto, a girl with long brown hair and eyes of the same color.
"What do you want?"
"We wanted ... Compliment us for your speech," the black-haired girl said.
She glared at them.
"Don't bullshit me ... I was pitiful."
"But it's not true!"
"I do not have Anchovy's verve ... I'll never have it. She inflamed them with her words, I freeze them. "
"True…. But Anchovy could no longer continue to lead Anzio, either because he was in prison or because she turned out to be a sadist. "
"I am aware of this, Pepperoni ... But if I can not conquer their hearts and their minds I will never have the support of the students."
"If you're interested I have a solution ... There's a girl here in Utsunomiya. She is the daughter of a foreign politician, I do not remember if she is German or Austrian. She's here on vacation. "Amaretto suggested.
"So? How can you help me? "
"Let's say you can do with the speaking art ... It could give you some lessons."
"Who is it?"
The brunette handed her a business card. The blonde took it and read the name stamped on it.
"Leila Breisgau ... Can you contact her?"
"Of course, I made friends! We're also friends on FB! "
"Well, do it."
Meanwhile, Nina was in the office that once had been Katyusha's, now hers. She was in the company of Assam.
"How are things at school?" The landlady asked.
"Very good. We are training for the sensha-do next tournament. We basically do nothing else from morning to night. "Her guest replied.
"We in Pravda are also preparing intensively."
"I see ... Changing the subject, have you had more contact with Katyusha and Nonna?"
"No ... For me those two are dead and buried. My job is to think about school girls, not two renegade villains. "
"According to what Erika said they did not torture her."
"They nevertheless took part in her kidnapping, dishonoring themselves."
"True ... In your opinion who will be the favorite in this year's tournament?"
"In addition to our schools, do you mean? The usual ... Saunders, Kuro and BC Freedom. The others have already lost at the start. "
"I see."
"We will do our best to get to the final and win it, whatever the cost!" Said Nina, self-assured.
Assam smiled smartly.
"Careful, little girl... We will also give our best on the battlefields."
"I would have been surprised by the contrary."
At the same time Naomi was also in her office and was on the phone with Haru Tamada, the new commander of Chi-Ha-Tan.
"In a few days Kinuyo will be released from prison, and she will surely come here, if not to resume her command at least to be re-admitted to school." Haru explained.
"Do you mean to slam the door in your face?"
"I do not know ... She was involved in Erika's kidnapping, but she did not put a finger on her, on the contrary, she warned Maho."
"But you can blow your mind."
"You can swear ... And if my fears are founded I will fight with my fingernails and teeth to keep the chair."
"I see ... Well, I wish you luck."
"I'll need it ..."
The communication closed and Naomi snorted. In fact, she too had had her headache recently. Not just for the upcoming tournament, but because Arisa had tried to make her shoes to blow her as a commander. Fortunately, her attempt turned out to be a hole in the water ... Indeed, it had also been expelled from the team. She had not seen her for about 6 months. Looking at her watch, he saw it was 9 am.
I'll take a walk to stretch my legs ... And I'll ask Helmet-chan to answer the calls.
She think.
Coming down from the ship, she began to wander aimlessly through the streets of Nagasaki, the city where the floating school was anchored. Stopping at the edge of a road, she waited for the right moment to pass. After a few moments, however, someone approached her and gave her a shove, making her invest in a pickup truck. The impact made her take a short flight, which threw her a few meters away. She knocked her head to the ground, losing her senses, and got a serious wound from which she began to lose blood. One of the great arteries had been torn, and the blood was streaming down the sidewalk, as it lay motionless with its face to the ground. The vehicle stopped abruptly and the man behind the wheel rushed to see what he had done. There was the cry of a child, who saw all that blood for the first time in her life. A postman ran to the corner to call the stationary at the center of a nearby intersection, while another passer-by rushed to a store to call the emergency room. Traffic was immediately arrested, while half a dozen people gathered around the investment and others approached.
"She's dead." Someone said.
In fact, the wound was so pale as to justify this conclusion. She was in shock, as was the driver of the van, who was crying in despair. He was trying to explain to those in attendance that he had not seen the girl cross the street, for he was distracted for a moment to pick up a cigarette.
"All back!" Ordered the policeman, as soon as he arrived.
Approaching the young man, he looked at her: she had a bad wound on her head, and it was dangerous for improvised rescuers to move her. One of the bystanders informed him that he had called the ambulance. The agent nodded, hoping it would come quickly. Reporting on road accidents was far easier than watching a girl fainted (or dead) bleed on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, not far from the accident, Arisa smiled wickedly.
Die, little slut!
She think.
In Toyama's penitentiary Chiyomi Anzai, known as Anchovy, ex duce of Anzio, had just finished brushing her teeth. She looked at himself in the mirror, then spit on the floor.
"Always in a good mood, Anzai ..." said a girl with short brown hair and black eyes.
"Call me Anchovy!"
"Anchovy ... That you find us in that name?" A blonde with short hair and red eyes asked her.
"I like it..."
"As you wish…"
The gray snorted.
Damn it ... I would be much happier if I were in Anzio, and not here to rot behind bars! There I was a leader, here a prisoner! Cursed the day I wanted to go along with Anzu's plan!
She thought, furious.
Suddenly the blonde fingered her butt, making her jump.
"Keep your hands straight, Isurugi!" She intimidated, angry.
"Do not heat up, Anchovy ..."
In the Sapporo penitentiary on the island of Hokkaido, Katyusha sneezed.
"Health." Nonna said.
"Thank you…"
Shit ... Already being in this place depresses me, now that I have cooled is even worse!
She thought, annoyed.
"Are you cool, baby?" Asked a girl with long red hair and purple eyes.
"Do not call me baby, Hilda!"
"Ok, Kat ..."
Kat ... I hate that nickname.
She think.
"Is it very late at the hour of air?" She asked.
"I do not know, I should ask a guard ..." answered the redhead.
"Okay ... Then tell me."
" Count us, little girl."
Katyusha gritted her teeth. She hated that they would label it with those terms. However, she could not antagonize the other inmates, if she cared about the skin, not even if it was a simple jewelry thief like Hilda, a foreigner coming from Switzerland. She had even given up on Nonna's shoulders, or her cellmates would laugh at her.
In Yokohama Prison Darjeeling and Kay were sitting on a bench and talking to each other.
"Damn, tea does not even go into this sewer ..."
"We are in jail, not in the hotel ... And unfortunately we should stay there for a long time."
"I know, Kay. But then why ten years? We have not touched it with a finger! "
"Kidnapping, my dear ..."
"But the idea was of Anzu ..."
"And we have cooperated. It is the just punishment for having contributed to the calvary of an innocent girl. "
"Do you still have a lot of you two?" Asked a warder, a girl with short red hair and yellow eyes.
The two gave her a dirty look.
"Now we are even forbidden to speak?"
"You're boring."
"Well, you can always go somewhere else!"
"Do not use that tone with me!"
Kay preferred not to reply, not to aggravate the situation.
In the Hakodate penitentiary five girls were engaged in various activities: Murakami was doing weightlifting, Silver smoked her inseparable pipe, Cutlass and Rum were sitting and Flint hummed.
"What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning? "
"Say a little, you know only this song?" The blonde asked, annoyed.
"It's my favorite song, a maritime song."
"Well, we're not on a ship anymore."
"Thanks, Cut ... Any other obviousness?"
"Yes, I hate this place!"
"Only? I hate your whining too! "The robust stated.
"Can you explain how you are so calm?"
"Get angry will certainly not get us out of here."
"I know, Silver ... But the idea of spending twenty years in this place rotting makes me mad!"
"I will get you out of here ... But here we are, one prison from another!" Rum exclaimed.
"It's not Anzu's fault, she would have kept her promise ... The real culprit is that slut of Kinuyo, who did the tip!"
"I would have slaughtered her in my hands!" Murakami said, quitting training.
She stood up, sweating, and then glanced at her haunted uniform, a dull gray.
"I miss my sailor clothes ..."
"Do you think we think differently?"
"No, Flint ..."
"And it's not even the worst of the situation ... In the slums of Ooarai we were goddesses among women, all feared us ... Here instead they look down on us. We are like whales in a sea infested with Megalodons. "Ogin said, dark-faced.
"Mega-what?" Murakami asked.
"Megalodons ... gigantic sharks lived in ancient times."
"Ah understood. A perfect comparison. "
"Much more than you think ..."
In the detention center of Tokyo (one of the eight scattered centers in the archipelago) Momo and Yuzu stood in front of a security door, in the company of a warder. This put an ear to the jamb, then puff.
"As I feared, she's going crazy. Are you sure you want to see it? "
"Miki, it will not do us any harm. It is the only privilege we have, to visit them from time to time. "
"Okay ... I wait outside, in case of trouble, tell me."
"Count on it."
Once through the door they found themselves in a half-lit room, illuminated only by sunlight coming from a small window. On one side there was a bed, on the other a table, and in the center stood Anzu Kadotani, former president of the student council; she looked pale and emaciated, and witty eyes.
"Who are you?" Asked, intimidated.
"You know who we are." The bespectacled replied.
She tried to get closer but the redhead pulled back, shouting:
" STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"Anzu, it's us! Yuzu and Momo! "
On hearing those names seemed to calm down.
"Ah, it's you ... Where is Miho? It's not long before the final ... And we need her! Just today had to be late? We must win at any cost, or the Ooarai will be closed! It's a matter of life or death! Tell your teammates to go get her! "
The two girls stared into their eyes, saddened.
"Anzu, Miho died killed by Yukari. The final was disputed and we lost ... We were too demoralized, and the kuro too strong. The school is now closed ... And we are in prison for torturing an innocent girl." Momo explained to her.
The redhead was silent for a few seconds, then fell to her knees.
"Yes, now I remember ... How the fuck was stupid ... Killing the only one who could make us win ... Our savior ..."
"It was a year ago."
A solitary tear streaked the face of Anzu.
"The Ooarai was not just a school ... It was a second family for me ... I knew every single student well: their dreams, their hopes, their secrets. And I was fond of each of them ... We fought together, worked together, lived on the same boat, literally. Yes, we were a big happy family. "
" Now it no longer exists."
The redhead shook her head as the tears came out copiously.
"It's all Yukari's fault ... That little psychopathic bastard ... She condemned us with her crazy gesture ... She killed Miho and ruined all of us ... THAT CAN BE ROT TO HELL!" She screamed, then started crying.
Both Yuzu and Momo did not reply, staring at her sadly.
THE END