While getting up, Mika picked up Chisato's empty pistol she had left behind.

"You think she'll be alright without some of those special bullets?"

Yoshimatsu was still on the ground a few feet away. He talked so casually, as if they had not almost fought to the death a few minutes ago. Inside, he was contemplating what he'd do next since Chisato just gave back her necklace. Mika went through a huge amount of effort to stop himself from killing the man with his own bare hands. In fact, he went through a few scenarios in his own head. However, he knew that, realistically, Chisato would never let him give her the heart. Even if it meant running from her remaining father figure. He looked around for his cane and picked it up, inspecting for any irreversible damage.

"She'll handle it. Or Takina will."

"Right. That great partner of hers."

"Even in her last moments, Takina will be there for her."

"I suppose…she doesn't want me to help anymore."

"Yeah, what made you think that?" Mika replied sarcastically.

Ignoring him, Yoshimatsu kept monologuing.

"I think…I'll have a chat with her again. After this situation, of course."

"You better not try to convert her again. You know things will get just as heated as it has been now."

"I'll think about it. After all, Mika…you know I have limited time. Just like her."

Yoshimatsu got up, albeit slowly, and hobbled away. Suddenly, he stopped.

"You were hiding it this entire time, weren't you? The leg."

"A true warrior doesn't reveal everything to everyone."

"Heh. It's not that important..but are you going to tell her?"

"I've thought about it. It'll be one of my last decisions regarding her."

"In the end, though," Shinji said, walking away, "you'll do it. For her. Trust me. I know you will."

—

Treading through the piled-up snow, Chisato sneezed.

"Already? I've barely spent any time out here!"

Continuing on her path, she could barely make out a few crowds over in a shopping district. The abundance of trees and plants made it helpful for her to walk unnoticed, but she had to move quickly. However, halfway, Takina ran into her.

"Huh? Why are you here?" Takina questioned.

"I didn't think you'd get there so fast.."

"Well…you thought wrong."

"Clearly."

"C'mon, let's go back."

Before Chisato could say anything further, a whiz went by her ear, and Takina instinctively ducked and took Chisato down with her. Laying on the ground, Takina then went over to a hole in the snow. There was a sniper round in it.

"Who.."

"It's gotta be Lilybell. Damn them, they got here fast! We're gonna have to find some way to get up there, quick."

"He must be in a building, waiting to kill fleeing Lycoris."

"This is not good…Takina, do you still have your flashlight?"

"Yes," she replied, pulling it out of her bag, "what do you need it for?"

Chisato took the device from Takina.

"If this works, we make a mad dash."

"Wait, wh-"

Chisato threw the flashlight from out of their cover, and another whiz was heard as the flashlight hit the ground. Then, Chisato sprinted towards the radio tower, with Takina following behind.

"He must not be the best of them. Quick to shoot, quick to miss."

"How did you know he wasn't..?"

"I didn't. It was just luck."

Again, another whiz flew past them as the bullet drilled a hole through the snow. As Mika looked outside, he saw the two girls dashing towards them. Through the mess of the window, though, he couldn't tell why they were moving so randomly. Looking around, Mika then saw there was a door to get outside. It was propped a little open due to Yoshimatsu having taken it beforehand, and the door being poorly designed.

He moved over to the door, but stopped in his tracks as a splatter of red was painted onto the snow where the two girls were.

—

"Takina?! Are you ok?"

Chisato was panicking, as Takina laid behind an old food stand. Her right shoulder was stained with blood.

"It's…fine."

"That was too close. Relying on his aim won't get us all the way there."

"I might have a bandage in my bag."

"Yes, yes, I'll wrap your arm for you."

"Do you think other Lilybell will be after us?"

"Of course..He must've already told someone. Assuming he's a leader. Or has special permissions like you."

"Ugh…You might need to leave me be so that you can save the Lycoris with that USB."

"Don't abandon yourself, now. Let's see…"

Mika stood in shock as he just saw Takina get shot as they huddled behind cover. Now, he understood their situation. He crouched and moved towards the door, which was still slightly open.

"Hey!" He shouted.

Chisato snapped to the direction of the voice. Mika was laying on the ground before the door. Before he could say another word, Chisato yelled back as she grabbed the bandage and started to tend to Takina.

"Perfect! Teach, I need you to catch this small object! Kurumi gave it to us; it'll help the Lycoris if we can get it plugged in!"

"What about you kids? I see you're not in the best of spots."

"There's a sniper in a building far away. We can throw you this thing so that you can plug it in instead."

"What will happen to you two then? Won't he still be on your trail?"

"That's…"

Takina went ahead and grabbed the USB before Chisato could say anything.

"Catch!"

She threw it with fierce force over to Mika, and it landed in a small pile of snow nearby the doorway instead as another sniper bullet whizzed by in reaction. Crawling over to it, Mika picked up the USB, and checked to clean the snow off.

"Meet up with the other Lycoris at the top of the tower! And avoid the LilyBell while you're at it…seems like it's come to a showdown between us two."

"Wait. You still haven't told me how you plan to get out. LilyBell snipers wait for an eternity for their target, whether they end up successful or not. Or he might switch spots."

"Then…" Chisato was running out of ideas. She turned to Takina, but to no avail as she shook her head.

"No. I know a way. I'll get Shinji to save you, again," Mika came to an answer himself.

"You use a phone, Teach?"

"I do not, Chisato. Don't you have one to spare?"

"Mine fell somewhere while fighting Majima…Takina has hers!"

Takina pulled out her phone, ready to throw it over to Mika, but Chisato threw a pack of snow in the opposite direction first. It was blown to pieces.

"NOW!"

Takina threw the phone over to Mika, and it hit the ground in front of him. Upon picking it up, he saw there was a crack, but it was unlocked and still working. He went ahead and dialed Shinji's number-which he wished he did not remember.

—

There was a sudden fire fight between the grouped Lycoris up in the tower and the invading Lilybell. However, it was at a standstill as the Lycoris clustered behind cover while the Lilybell continued firing.

"If those two can come back, now would be a great time," Fuki muttered to herself.

"How much are there, man?!" Sakura yelled while tending to her arm.

Meanwhile, Mika was going up the tower. He could hear the battle raging on, but it wasn't his main problem as things stood. He held Takina's phone while walking about with his cane.

"Oh, don't head straight. It'll lead you towards them. Enter that hallway over to the right."

Kurumi was on the call, and had to guide the old man around in order for him not to get caught up in everything, and so that he could get to the place he needed. At first, though, there was a short trouble with him turning on the 'facetime video' feature for Kurumi to better understand his exact location.

"You sure you can fix this truck spill of a mess without a scratch?"

"Without a scratch…maybe not. But I assure you, even something as big as this can be swept at least mostly under the rug as long as I'm dealing with it."

"Well, as long as it works out in the end.."

"For her, right?"

"No. For both of them."

"Oh, the room is just around-"

Just then, a Lycoris girl bumped into him as he turned the corner, and she was startled. However, she did not shoot as she didn't see the glimpse of a LilyBell uniform. Mika looked down at her bloodied clothes.

"What are you doing here? I thought there was a battle."

"Ah-no..I'm just…a person wandering around looking for something I dropped."

"You don't have to cover things up, I'm affiliated with Lycoris. Supervisor of your Radio Tower Hero. Either way your clothes give it away easily. Anyhow.."

Mika pushed by her kindly, and entered the doorway to get into the room that Kurumi had made him go to.

"There! Just kneel down, and reach to plug in this USB!"

"You want an old man like me to do that?!"

"Absolutely. Now go, no time to lose!"

Sighing, Mika moved under the control desk as he reached out to plug the USB in.

"Say, Lycoris, what are you here for?"

"I was sent to ensure no LilyBell would be able to get away, in case this was the battle that decided either one's survival."

"Just you? Sounds a little harsh..Who's your group leader?"

"They're gone. Harukawa took over my group. I was sent with a few others, but we got separated by a sudden ambush of reinforcements."

"That Fuki…"

Mika barely plugged in the USB, as Kurumi cheered in excitement.

"Let's do this!"

Back at the helicopter, she pulled out a headgear, and put it over her head.

—

"That Mika…in the end, he relies on me."

Shinji was standing in front of a large building. It wasn't entirely empty, but was enough to hide someone.

"Are you sure you want to go inside with me?"

Himegama stood to the right of him.

"Backup is always good for someone, even an elite. Chisato proved that quite well."

The woman went back to silence as she remembered her foiled mission due to Takina.

—

After a while, Chisato noticed a large 18-wheeler moving towards her and Takina. On further inspection, she noticed the two men in front had a blue symbol on their shoulder.

"Takina! It's LilyBell!"

"Shit! Chisato, nevermind the sniper! We need to get inside!"

As Takina picked up her bag, The two dashed to get to the door, but were stopped as they realized the large vehicle was going faster and would intercept their path.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!"

Chisato grabbed Takina's hand and ran in the opposite direction, trying to create distance. However, it caused Takina to let loose of her grip on her bag. Although she went in an irregular pattern in attempts to throw off the known sniper, Chisato did not realize that he had been neutralized by then. The LilyBell vehicle ran over Takina's bag, and the two could only duck behind a few large trees before the back doors opened up and dozens of boys leaped out.

"They went over there!"

Looking over to Chisato, Takina could tell it wasn't going well. She was shaking with the rifle in hand. Not only would Chisato have to kill them, she'd have to do it with Shinji's rifle-if she could prove skillful enough to use it.

Without a word, Takina peeked out from the tree and shot down 3 LilyBell before she hid back. By the sounds of their boots on the ground, the girls could tell that they weren't going to cower even if their comrades died.

"Chisato. Do your best to shoot them without killing. I'll handle it for you."

Still nervous, Chisato knew that her non-killing tactic would not save either of them. At the very least, Takina would have to spare her from killing the boys.

"Alright.."

Suddenly, Takina threw Chisato her pistol and a single magazine.

"W-What?"

"Give me the rifle. I know with a pistol you can dodge, but I haven't seen it with a rifle. Be sure to not miss though, alright? That's all the ammo I have."

Throwing the rifle as the LilyBell approached, Chisato then ran out from behind the tree and began blasting away at each LilyBell's legs or arms. Takina then barely poked out to finish the job using the rifle as Chisato winced upon hearing each shot. The snow was easily colored red as they fell to the ground.

"Hey! Hit her, goddamn it!"

The driver yelled as he approached the field, watching his squad fail to kill a single girl as they fell apart. Before Chisato could look at him, Takina took the initiative and shot him from afar before anything dangerous happened. However, Chisato could not have time to notice nor thank Takina as, with her mechanical heart racing to its fullest, she kept dodging. Although it was a mid-ranged weapon, Takina was able to effectively get rid of them with great accuracy. Chisato's usual banter wasn't audible this time around, however.

"Sire! She's dodging everything!"

"I see the problem. Get the girl behind the tree!"

The boys adapted as the remaining group split into two, as Takina started to run out of bullets having to deal with all of them. On the other hand, Chisato was already on her next magazine and although it was running out, she was successfully shooting-and hitting unconscious-all the LilyBell on her.

"Takin-"

Chisato turned to see Takina on the ground as she was kicked over by one remaining LilyBell, rifle displaced aside. Chisato didn't blink twice as she shot the boy once, twice, and heard the sound of her pistol clicking as she had used up the last two bullets. The boy fell motionless backwards, and Takina was left with a slight amount of blood on herself. Turning to her savior, Takina noticed that one of the LilyBell behind Chisato was still conscious, and she yelled whilst reaching for her empty rifle.

"CHISATO! BEHIND YOU!"

The sound of a gunshot and the clink of a rifle hitting someone could be heard across the field. For Takina, it was as if time itself slowed as she saw Chisato fall onto the ground, as the snow surrounding her turned red.

"CHISATO!?"

Takina ran over to Chisato as the LilyBell was hit by the rifle. She kicked and punched him repeatedly after separating his weapon from him. Even when he stopped resisting, she continued until the boy was too hurt to get up and her fists bruised. Then Takina moved over to the red girl on the ground and held her in her arms.

"Chisato? Chisato?! Are you good? I'll carry you to the hospital!"

She was breathing heavily.

"No..I won't make it..and you don't have your phone to get Kurumi's helicopter."

"Don't say that! I'm not leaving without you!"
"Heh. I think this is the first time…I've seen you so..riled up."

Takina was unstable as the majority of her tears hit the soft, reddish, snow. Chisato kept talking.

"My heart wasn't going to last long, anyways..I'm glad that I could spend the last of it with you..maybe they'll even recognize your actions? Then, you can use my..uniform."

"No..no.."

Chisato slowly lifted her arm up to hold Takina's right cheek, and brought her in to lock their lips together for a very brief moment. When Chisato let go, Takina was still crying.

"I'll be seeing my old partner. I'm a little..jealous…for your new one."

The girl went limp.

—

"Get on, old man!"

"Alright, alright! You can drop me off a little further away from the tower, Mizuki."

"You sure?!"

"I am. There's still the two girls I need to look after."

Kurumi was in the helicopter after doing her special work, and covered the entire battle as just an event for a movie, and that it was not announced as the battle was their trailer debut. She sat with a smug look, showing off to Mika.

Then, as the helicopter flew away from the tower, a burst of fireworks went off. While it was an added thing to convince people of the 'movie', the three stared at it as they did not know there were fireworks in the first place.

As Mika jumped off onto the snow, he noticed a large vehicle near the tower with a bunch of bodies, and ran towards the scene.

"Chisato? Takina?"

The man stopped and stared in horror as he saw Takina holding his lifeless daughter. Blood was all over Takina's uniform and face, while they sat on red snow.

—

"Welcome."

A black haired girl greeted a customer who walked into the cafe. To her surprise, it was another girl who was slightly younger than herself. She wore a recognizable blue uniform.

"Um…is this LycoReco?"

"Yes. Do you need Mika?"

"Who needs me?"

A tall man with a cane and glasses walked out from a room in the back.

"I was sent here for…misconduct. I've been transferred to.." The girl took out a notepad from her bag.

"A 'Takina Inoue'?"

"You didn't tell me about this, manager."

"Well, it was a nice surprise, wasn't it?" Mika patted Takina on the back as he moved on back once again.

"Anyways, that's me. Your partner."

"N..Nice to meet you."

The blue Lycoris noticed that there was a picture of another Lycoris on the wall, with a necklace that had a silver owl on a folded red uniform in front of it.

"This is..another Lycoris?"

Picking up the uniform, Takina nodded.

"Our best."