Movement Twelve: Wild Eruption
M1A1 MBT and M2 Bradley IFV is driving on rails, two black columns of smoke are fading away behind them, but they're getting close to another smoke column in front. "I'm not going…" Inside the IFV, Kotonoha crouches in a corner, her eyes filled with hardened black, emitting a sign of obstinateness and steadfastness, sharply contrast to her delicate effeminacy. Beside the girl, Simcity doesn't know what to do and what can do. Before the operation, when studying related data, he expected after rescuing Kotonoha from court, she would be extremely terrified like those chief actress in action movies, then he could hug the girl in arms no matter how she would weep and thump, he just comforts her by gently fondling her hair and patting her shoulders, and by saying something like "It's all right" or "Nobody will harm you anymore". But now, it's obvious none of those will work on Kotonoha. Being bullied and repelled by others for such a long time, this solitude acted like principal in a bank, as time flows, it generated many interests, interests combined with principal to spawn more even faster. Moreover, Kotonoha's reserved characteristics multiplied this predicament all the way as a high rate of interest, so high even the Wall Street before the Subprime Crisis was outmatched. After a considerable time, all of these factors forged into an incredible strong and even somehow twisted restraint, sealed Kotonoha's soul from outside like multiple airlocks, resulted her lives in her own dimension, never walks out this insulation even for one step, only acknowledges outside by reading and imagination. So she incarcerates her feelings to herself, no matter happiness and sadness or facing family and outsiders. "…Makoto-kun…is still there." Makoto Ito is Kotonoha's first love, also the one who leads her from her solitude, if consider Kotonoha is the subjective world for herself, then Makoto Ito is the objective world, they combine together to form a complete world for her. But Makoto's death terminated her objective world, Sekai Saionji's betrayal and being raped destroyed her subjective world. Although it had been three months, however when Makoto's name passes through her mind, the feeling of "all is lost" still erupts like a volcano, just as what happens now.
Location: Third Ambush Area
Mortar shells fall like hailstone, shock waves carry shrapnel spread like typhoon. Several hapless JSDF soldiers are hit right on head, and bounce like pinballs by stormy explosions. Some with a little luck but not enough, hit on legs, desperately seek for shelters in lame and get caught into following firepower from commandos. But most of hostile troopers had already separated and took nearby objects as covers. Being shaken by "meteorite shower", LAV-25's barycenter remains stable by its own weight, sensing situation is not on their favor, the crew put into reverse gear. "I'm on it." Ocelot puts down machinegun, unpacks MBT-LAW, aimed at the target 500 meters away, this kind of distance is out of question, no need to have an elevation angle, and firepower is even excessive for requirement, can easily crush LAV-25's armor like firing a bullet to an egg. Like a hunter about to take the prey, he sets the fire mode to "flat", takes a deep breath, concentrates, waits for the proper time to launch this warhead which can drill through a 50-centimeter-thick armor plate. Suddenly with a wave of dense gunfire, a cluster of 12.7 mm slugs storms inside the structure, Ocelot is hit, his arm is severed. Kalashnikov peeks through the holes on the wall, it is an AH-1 Cobra, it just finished a wave of strafe and flies over the warehouse they use as shelter. No time to execute any detailed medical treatment, "Come on!" Kalashnikov drops all the equipments wrecked by gunship fire, tightly wraps Ocelot's severed arm by tourniquet, carries the wounded companion on back. Almost immediately he feels his clothes are being soaked by blood, even thick flak jacket cannot stop this progress.
Location: Court Squad's M2 Bradley IFV
"I'm going after Makoto-kun!" Without any sign, like oscillation generated by the split second of volcano eruption, suddenly Kotonoha's expression goes berserk, she pulls out Simcity's combat knife from his belt and stabs to her chest with all strength. Kotonoha is that kind of obstinate, compare with being rescued, she rather die with Makoto, for her, a rescue is merely a kind of fleeing or almsgiving. "Wait!" Simcity acts fast to stop her folly, not fast enough, at this critical blink, he grabs knife's edge, tightly. Other commandos come to help, but are stopped by Simcity's glance, now he understand what he should do, and is confident to give what it takes. As the situation continues to be a deadlock, more and more blood is bleeding from Simcity's hands wounded by the knife, its delustered blade used to be black, now is covered by crimson. Upon seeing this, deep in Kotonoha's eyes flashed a light of shock, but immediately resumes utter darkness. "Makoto-kun is gone…so I will go after him." Kotonoha avoids look into Simcity's eyes, but Simcity can feel her sorrow and pain via her shivering hands holding the knife, and this tremble is rapidly getting stronger, as if the girl is experience some kind of unimaginably nightmare. "So please let me go with him." Determined, Kotonoha looks straight to Simcity as tears pouring out from her beautiful but totally darkened eyes. "You want go with him? Now look this!" Suddenly Simcity takes knife from the girl by strength and stabs it into his own chest, after he pulls it out, blood sprays out like geyser.
"No!" Like a hurricane, darkness in Kotonoha's eyes is dispersed by what just happened. "Why…someone please help me!" She spare no strength to apply pressure to Simcity's wound, but he's still bleeding badly, her naturally white and fine hands are already reddened. Major Longbow who's charged as temporary surgeon slaps Kotonoha by his hand with blood of wounded Commander Rico: "You really care nothing about anyone and anything else in this world?! You really think death can solve everything?!" The commander jumps to Simcity as he speaks, tears loose his suit, exposing the nightmarish injury: "Look at him! Then look that Commander Rico! What are these all about?! Because of rescuing you!" Kotonoha looks to Rico, he now is lying on seats with clothes soaked by blood, but he's still conscious and relieves the girl's emotion by a difficult smile: "I'm fine…a commando…always gets a scratch or something…and we are willing to fight for your father…" For so many years of working together, defeating evil and promoting justice, commandos had already established brother-like relations with Kotonoha's father, and willing to sacrifice their lives for him and his family. Simcity, now received basic first-aid, has bandaged his wound, gently strokes Kotonoha's silky hair: "Your relatives…your parents and little sister are all waiting for your return. They worry about you so much, especially your little sister, she never smile after your disappear. Why? Because you are the most important and precious treasure to them." Chocked by painful feeling of antiseptic medicine, Simcity continues: "Not only your family, there are still many people care about you and up to fight for you, are these still not enough to live on?" "I…I understand, sorry…I'm sorry…" Holding Simcity and Rico's hands, Kotonoha bursts into tears once again, but this time her eyes are no longer filled by darkness of desperation, but the light of renascence.