Chapter 5. The Ultimate Office Lady Warrior gives some lessons

Franchouchou was an atypical idol group by any standard. Their member's diverse backgrounds and the fact that they were all actually dead was actually just the tip of the iceberg. Honestly, the way their performances went, the actual planning of said performances, and their daily lives alone were the most unusual and downright interesting thing about.

And now, they were having a week that stood out even more so while they were on break. Their mysterious No. 0 had come back to her full self. She revealed that their lives were even weirder than any of them could have guessed. She'd followed that up by showing her own unique musical tastes and bringing up a renowned music video which they all agreed they should do a parody of at some point. And that was just her first day back.

Breakfast had been a much calmer affair than yesterday, but no less enjoyable. Yesterday had rapidly swung from a grim revelation to a very hopeful one. Realizing that Tae was in fact from her generation and knew a lot more about the music of the decade she'd died in was doing a remarkable job of drawing the shy Junko Konno out of her shell. She was curious, and Tae was happy to share. She'd piqued their interest with 2 separate music videos alone from Michael Jackson, and gladly mentioned some of the iconic ones she remembered from that decade. Ai searched the laptop at the table while listening, finding that these songs and his later ones were still renowned to this day. Tae was quite pleased to hear that and let them in on something she'd noticed about the last decade of her life. Not only had Tae found enjoyment in musical legends like the King of Pop and Queen, but she'd observed something happen throughout the world in music. The 80s had been something of a musical revolution. Tae than turned to Junko and added that the Showa idol was proof of that, given her own impact on the decade in just a couple of years. Junko was utterly astonished and pleased at this revelation. The white-haired girl who'd never have expected that she would hear such a thing from the girl who'd spent a lot of time chasing her before this week. Tae also casually mentioned that she was pretty sure music videos started becoming a thing around then, which really piqued the interest of Sakura and Ai. The rest of the day had been quite the musical discussion, along with a shopping trip with Junko and Sakura.

Tae told them all to wait for her in the living room while she "got ready for something."

They all waited in there for the next 10 minutes.

"I do wonder what Tae has in mind." Ai commented thoughtfully.

Everyone else was thinking the same thing, although they thankfully weren't worried about it being anything unnerving. Tae had won them all over in spades yesterday.

"All right girls, time to show me what you got!"

Tae appeared in of the doorways, grinning in an ecstatic and rather menacing fashion. But it was her outfit that had them all staring. She was wearing a blue-gray office outfit, with her long legs very much exposed. It was surreal to say to the least.

"Uuuh, Tae … what the crap are you wearing …?" Saki muttered.

The ravenette's expression melted into pure exasperation. "I told you I was an office lady warrior, didn't I? And that I dressed the part?"

"Ok … but why are you dressed like it now? … Ai asked incredulously.

"Because young Mizuno-chan, it is time … for TRAINING!" Tae exclaimed.

Sakura looked at her in utter confusion," Training for what?"

Tae groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for goodness' sake, I'm going to give you the Saga Sagako Busters special workout routine! I'm going to see just how strong you all are and whip you into shape accordingly!"

Out of all the things Tae could have meant, this was not anything they could have foreseen.

Seeing how they were still confused, Tae decided to spell it out," Look, I told you that the Curse could get physical right? That I actually had to fight monsters created by it? Now that the Curse is up against champions who can't just die like usual, I'm willing to bet it will send something just as bad or worse than the Sagako eventually! So, as an experienced warrior, I feel I'm obliged to get you ready for it!"

Comprehension dawned on their faces. It was a very good point. Tae did note that Sakura and Junko looked apprehensive at the thought. "Don't worry, I won't be a merciless taskmaster or something like that. I mean, I'm not even bringing out the whip."

That last remark had the opposite desired effect. "W-W-W-Whip?! Why would you ever use such a thing?!" Sakura looked utterly horrified, and Junko was starting to cringe. Lily was shaking in fear. Ai looked at Tae with unconcealed disgust, while Saki merely raised an eyebrow (figures).

Tae sighed. "This is why I never truly enjoyed my job on a food truck. Customer service is not my thing. Relax, I mostly used it for motivation and intimidation purposes. I don't think I ever left any scars on anyone with it. Besides, today is mostly about getting started and showing me where you all are now physically. In any case, you all have an advantage here. An undead body can probably handle intense training better than a live one ever could." She then softened her expression and almost whispered," Look, for it's worth, I'll do my best to not make you do more than you feel comfortable doing, alright? Lily-chan will get the easiest parts, of course, and today will show me where the rest of you stand. Trust me. Besides, think of this as my way of repaying you all promising to help me learn idol stuff."

They all finally relaxed, which was all the encouragement Tae needed. She grinned encouragingly and said," Now follow me! I got some real good stuff out back! Thank goodness for those gardening supplies and that old storage unit that was still buried nearby!"

The girls followed her out to the yard. There were some weights, a collection of various metal and wooden tools/weapons, a few mats in a pile, some rocks, a target practice setup and a few art supplies. Oddly enough, she didn't lead them to those, but to a clear spot. She then gestured at them to gather in front of her and then looked at them intently. "Ok, first on the list …"

*Pushups* Tae explained that this first exercise was a basic strength assessment. Saki unsurprisingly volunteered to go first, but as she was about to start, Tae interjected," Not so fast. First, Sakura, if you would please sit on her back first?" Sakura flushed and stuttered in utter embarrassment at the suggestion while the rest stared. Saki's face went livid. "What the 7^*% you trying to pull you office-broad?!"

Tae's flat expression barely shifted at all, merely raising an eyebrow. "Too tough for you, Blondie? I mean, I thought if I saw a weak teenage boy pull it off, you surely could. All of us did it this way. If you're going to get strong for this sort of thing, you got to go a bit extra."

Sakura relaxed just a bit when she realized Tae wasn't suggesting anything inappropriate, while Saki looked at Tae in surprised appreciation. It was continually dawning on her just how strong Tae actually was in both mind and body. The ravenette zombie was not so different from her in that regard. She was actually showing faith in her strength in her own way. "Well, in that case, how about both Egg-head and Junko get on top?" she retorted with a smirk. Tae then gave that small, mature smile of hers that they were all getting very used to seeing. "Alright then."

Sakura and Junko carefully sat down on Saki's back. Saki then started. Determined to show her stuff, she managed a whopping 65. Tae remarked dryly, "See? Nothing to it. Alright who's next?"

Ai went next, with Junko on her back. She managed 41. Then they reversed positions, and Junko did 38. Sakura went next, and to everyone's surprise, managed 50 with Saki on her back. "Damn, Egg-head, you been holding out on us?" The blondette remarked. Sakura awkwardly admitted that she had been an accomplished athlete in school.

Yugiri asked for an alternative method of extra weight for "dignity reasons". Tae let her use a weighted chest instead. She did 55 in total. Lily went last, with a lighter box used for her. She pulled off 35. The poor child felt a bit disappointed by the fact that she was the lowest.

Tae snorted in amusement and patted her on the head. "Don't worry about it. That's not bad for someone of your age. Besides, this is only the first day. You can improve. Anyways, the next bit is more relaxing." She gestured to her right and they all turned to look. It was the pile of mats.

*Zen Meditation* All but 2 of the girls sat in a row on mats in a meditation position. Tae was standing and watching with a bamboo pole in her hand. Yugiri sat in front of them in a well-practiced lotus position. When Tae had told them about the next exercise, the courtesan had volunteered to demonstrate for the less-educated girls.

"Ok, seriously, what's the warrior benefit of all this? I never half-^&& it in a fight!" Saki grumbled as she struggled to keep her eyes close and "attain harmony" (whatever the Hell that meant). A second later she let out a howl of pain as Tae whacked her in the head. She let out a vile string of profanity as she turned to glare at her.

Tae leaned over her and said clearly, "Because, Saki-chan, in a battle it helps to have a clear head and focus so you don't lose concentration. Meditation is one of the best ways to practice that. Blind rage is only so useful."

Yugiri cut in without shifting position or opening her eyes at all," Tae-han is quite right. The samurai of old would use Zen meditation greatly to let go of anger, ego, and distraction. To be more aware of their surroundings and thus level-headed. A true samurai could be a fearsome warrior as a result." Saki glanced around. Sakura was visibly struggling to concentrate but otherwise looked ok. Ai was sitting still but had the barest hint of irritation on her face. Lily was breathing deep but otherwise seemed to get it. Junko naturally looked the most serene. Figures that the quiet 80s idol would be good at this.

The blondette biker grumbled," Yeah well, I really don't see how someone like me is supposed to get that. I don't give a crap about being in tune with my surroundings and I've been angry most of my life. What the &$%^ am I supposed to think about to make me level-headed?"

For a moment she was worried Tae was going to whack her again, but the ravenette looked thoughtful. She replied, "Well, what does bring you peace of mind? Or calm you down? Could you focus on that?"

Saki thought for a moment. She closed her eyes and thought about the positive things in her life. Her time with Dorami, White Ryu's messages that encouraged her, her odd but rewarding zombie life, Reiko having a happy family which she'd helped set right, and Sakura being such an encouragement to her and all of them. It was actually working. "Well damn, that works. Who knew?"

Ai muttered," I guess there really are such things as miracles here." Saki might have retorted, but Tae did first. Ai yelped indignantly as she was whacked in turn.

Tae shook a finger reprovingly, "Let's not disrupt the positive flow of progress here." Saki smirked but did not say anything as she heard Ai groan but wisely refrain from arguing. Tae than moved on to helping Sakura deal with the apparent anxiety that was hurting her concentration (thankfully she did not get whacked. Shades had given her enough of that sort of treatment already).

*Calligraphy* Almost all of Franchouchou stared blankly at the small, ground level table set up on the grass with ink brushes and ink vials and blank old-fashioned paper. Except for Yugiri who looked distinctly impressed. Ai turned towards Tai with a raised eyebrow," So the name and point of this exercise is …?"

Tae's deadpan expression didn't change one bit as she replied very bluntly, "Calligraphy," and as the younger generations looked at her with incredulity she continued," and if you're any good at the basics we'll move on to the full application of copying sutras."

Most of the girls looked at her with incredulous expressions while Sakura's eyes popped out in surprise (that raised Tae's eyebrows). The pinkette hurried to pick them up in embarrassment.

Saki shook her head at Sakura's performance than stepped forward. "Ok how the Hell would we learn warrior skills from this $%&*?! Especially for fighting a curse?! Seriously, Tae?"

Tae walked casually close to where Saki and Ai were standing and paused. "Well, let me think …" then she glanced down at a wooden bo staff that just happened to be lying down near empty jar a couple feet to the left of the two younger zombies. They barely had time to follow her gaze and have a chill go down their spines in uncertain anticipation when she moved. In a few quick moves in less than 7 seconds, Tae proved once again why she was a legend in life. First, she crouched down and swept one leg underneath the two girls' legs, knocking them to the ground. Then she grabbed the staff in one hand and the jar in the other. Then she rose to her feet and just as her fellow idols were looking at her from the ground, threw the jar into the air and smashed it with the bo staff. All of this happened with a rather inhuman speed. Almost every other zombie present flinched with terror at the sight. Tae than loomed towards Ai and Saki with frightening speed. "I'M BEING VERY SERIOUS! EVERYTHING I'VE GOT HERE IS MEANT TO HELP YOU MIND AND BODY IN GETTING STRONGER! I DIDN'T JUST COME UP WITH THIS! DON'T ANY OF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OUR COUNTRY'S LONG AND GLORIOUS CULTURE OF WARRIOR TRADITIONS AT ALL OR DID YOU NOT LEARN A SINGLE THING AT ALL IN HISTORY CLASS?!" Saki recoiled in genuine alarm, while Ai was trembling at the sight and sound of Tae's frightening fury. If they thought she was scary before, well now she was terrifying.

Sakura, ever the peacemaker, tried to step in. "Now, Tae-chan, do you really have to be so harsh?! Surely there's a better way to tell them that?"

Yugiri had been watching this with a calm and appraising eye up to this point. Now she felt the need to step in. "Sakura-han, you do Tae-han an injustice." As everyone turned to look at her, Yugiri looked at them with a very serious look on her face. "The samurai of my time and before would use these techniques and more to help them grow strong in mind, body and spirit. Our friend here is using a proven method to help you improve. And to be clear, she is being tame in comparison to some of the teachers of my day. They were often much sterner with their students by comparison."

Sakura looked towards Tae in surprise at the idea that the rather aloof and cold-acting zombie was being soft. The ravenette's expression softened just a bit as she looked towards her 2 troublesome trainees. "Let me make one thing clear. Often in life people, especially when they are young, only learn lessons the hard way. Do you want me to do that the whole time here?"

Ai and Saki were both taken aback when they realized Tae was actually going easy on them (in her own way) in trying to teach them her skillset. Which they were being difficult and skeptical about. But she had literally just proven she was skilled and very dangerous. Clearly her methods had merit. Saki cleared her throat and mumbled," Sorry … I guess after all this time I'm still a terrible student."

Tae said nothing but leaned forward, offering her free hand to Ai and the bo staff to Saki. They let her pull them up. Tae looked Saki dead in the eye and replied," Don't sell yourself short. You're not the first rowdy delinquent girl I've seen become a seasoned warrior. You can still learn if you want."

Saki felt proud at Tae's unexpected confidence in her, then she replied," Seriously, though you have to teach me how to yell like that!" The ravenette zombie gave another one of her small smiles at that. She casually gestured towards the table.

Saki's writing was just as wild and artistic for simple phrases as they'd seen when deciding their group name. Ai and Junko's were both neat and tidy while Lily's continued to be both adorable and skilled. Sakura hesitated at first but managed to do quite well after a messy first try. Ai wondered why Tae was so soft with her but realized she had probably picked up on how Sakura was probably the shyest out of all of them and didn't want to give her the same treatment Kotaro had. Oh yes, Tae was much better at that then him. Yugiri (unsurprisingly) did the best out of all of them. Tae flipped through their works with a critical eye, then turned to Yugiri with a conspiratorial smile and commented," I guess kids these days aren't hopeless after all." Yugiri closed her eyes and giggled with a very adult looking smile. Ai opened her mouth to protest then realized that Tae was the only truly adult member of the group and was treating Yugiri equally since she was the most emotionally mature girl and oldest historically speaking among the group. She really had no argument.

Saki glanced at her and remarked dryly," At least she's not calling us 'dumb zombies' all the time." Ai facepalmed at that and groaned, which the blondette Dorami leader chuckled deeply at.

*Target Practice* Some moments later there were a few wooden dummy figures set up in one area with some archery style target practice boards set up at a distance. Tae than dumped a pile of assorted tools and weapons in front of the group. She picked up a shovel and gestured towards the pile. 'Alright, who wants to show me how good you are at hitting things?" They looked confused, so she elaborated. "Pick any tool you want for hitting the dummies, and then we can move on to long range. We can develop any skills you have from there."

Yugiri noticed that there was a katana near the top. "Is that sword in good condition, Tae-han?"

Tae looked at her with a raised eyebrow while ignoring the incredulous or even shocked expressions of the rest. "It could probably benefit from a decent sharpening, but is still usable for the time being? I take it you have skill with a blade?"

Yugiri sighed. She didn't want to scare her younger friends, but perhaps that time was past. "Actually yes. In life, I became renowned as a mysterious samurai known as the 'Demon of Hibiya' who used the 'Sheathed Kichiemon' technique."

Tae didn't look surprised at all, and replied," Well, it's all yours then. I probably have a whetstone and sword oil here somewhere."

Yugiri turned with an apprehensive expression towards the rest of the girls. Lily looked like she was in awe of the fact, while the rest looked only shocked but not terrified. Saki looked distinctly impressed. "Holy crap, and I thought you were tough before!"

Yugiri actually blushed a little but felt encouraged that she didn't need to hide this part of her anymore. Therefore, she went first, slicing the first dummy's head off in a frighteningly fast move. Saki looked like she was about to swoon.

The blonde was next, utterly demolishing another dummy with a metal bat. None of the girls were as destructive, but skilled nonetheless. Ai went for areas that would be considered "weak spots" using a bo staff, earning Tae's approval. Junko hesitated, then knocked it over with a large hammer in one blow. Lily wanted to go for nunchucks, but begrudgingly reconsidered when both Tae AND Yugiri emphasized that those were actually very hard and dangerous to master. And they didn't want her hitting her head. Lily then took a club and proceeded to whack a dummy repeatedly on the head with her attempt at a fierce yell. However, she managed to look utterly adorable even while doing that, which everyone else found amusing, especially Saki. She huffed in embarrassment, although Tae patted her head in encouragement.

Sakura knew that this was all valuable, but she hesitated. Tae glanced at her expectantly, then looked concerned at her younger new friend's visible anxiety. "What's wrong? Need help picking a weapon?"

Sakura flinched at the suggestion and felt the need to clarify right away because she really didn't want to hurt Tae's feelings. "N-n-no, Tae-chan, it's just … I really don't know if I'm up for this. I have never been good at being physical in this style! I'm no warrior!"

Tae's expression softened at that even more, but words escaped her. Ai decided to step up and encourage her friend. She put an encouraging hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Don't worry about any limitations you have or think you have. We can get through this. If we can tackle all the challenges of being an idol group of zombies and come out on top, we can certainly achieve this!" Her face had pure determination and inspiration that could not be denied. Sakura brightened considerably and looked grateful towards the idol who inspired her in life and even after death. Everyone else looked on with grateful smiles at the sight, even Tae.

However, while she did admire such spirit, Tae Yamada was far too familiar with the cruelty that haunted this prefecture. And her smart mind came to a very bitter realization very quickly as she stared at the former center of the old Iron Frill and her biggest fan in Saga. Then she looked at Junko Konno and it got even worse. She let out a very heavy sigh and covered her face with one hand.

Everyone looked at her with concern. Sakura asked tentatively, "What's wrong, Tae-chan? You know Ai's on your side, right? She's really good at morale boosting, you can work with that!"

The encouraging smile on the rose-haired sweetheart of a girl twisted Tae's insides. She really didn't want to upset her or Ai with her pessimistic insights. She looked away, "Don't worry about it. I just had a very dark epiphany, let me worry about it."

Ai, however, wasn't having that. She walked right up to Tae and looked her in the eyes. "No, we're not doing this alone. We all clearly work best together. So please, don't carry your burdens alone!"

Tae looked at this wonderful dark-haired singer, who'd been a rising star like no other in her generation. Oh, she really didn't want to say what was on her mind, but maybe there was no other choice here. She sighed again and replied," It's just … I am now quite certain that the Curse of Saga must really hate optimistic, positive musicians like you."

Ai flinched and stepped back, looking alarmed. "What?..." Her usually strong voice sounded quiet and afraid. The raven-haired zombie really didn't want to continue, but she had to. "Think about it. From what I've seen and heard from all of you, you were and still are a musician who not only commanded the stage but lived out a mindset of taking on the world with perseverance so good that you were known as 'immovable'. So effective and inspiring that you inspired Sakura here to try out and become an idol, even with all her setbacks. Not unlike how Junko did with me. Of course, that really didn't work for me or her though, did it?" That last line had unmistakable bitterness in it.

Both of the legendary idols in questions stiffened at that, but Sakura had the worst reaction. Her hands shook and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Ai and Junko looked between her and Tae with hurt and compassion. They were upset on their behalf, the 2 Saga locals they'd inspired. Pure angry emotions erupted in Tae at that. They didn't get the full extent of what she was saying!

"And that's not even the worst part! The 2 of you are the only ones here who never lived in Saga. Just passing through, for concerts. No plans on staying or any real knowledge of the place at all. Spreading the ever-wonderful joy of music! But you both died horrible, very public deaths. And even now," she was close to shouting at this point as the entire group looked on in rising horror at her visibly distraught face and increasingly emotional voice," out of all the zombies in this group, who has the most scarred appearance out of everyone here? It's not me, Saki, or Yugiri, it's the only former professional idols in this group!" Tae finished with an angry face that had tears in her eyes just waiting to pour out.

After staring at Tae in silence for several seconds, the rest of Franchouchou slowly turned to look at Ai and Junko. Ai stood stock still with a rather broken look in her eyes, than she slowly raised her bandaged hands and just stared at them. Junko was looking at Tae intently, while unconsciously rubbing her arms and torso nonstop. Tae was absolutely right. While she, Yugiri, and Saki had rough lives and died violently, they didn't look that bad as zombies. It was Ai and Junko who held that title. One of them had been struck by lightning, a very large amount of lightning, on stage in front of a crowd that had left her body burned all over. The other had died in a plane crash that killed her and everyone else on it. And Ai was now covered head to toe almost completely in bandages, the only thing covering whatever the heck her burns looked like now. Junko Konno in contrast had no bandages but was arguably worse off. She was a patchwork of stitched body parts of differing shades, like Frankenstein's monster. Quite frankly, out of all the zombies in the group, it really begged the question how Kotaro had managed to get her remains at all.

Both carried traumatic mental fears from their deaths. And while Ai had mostly gotten over her fear of thunderstorms, it hit her really hard now about how this was no freak event of nature, but she had been deliberately, cruelly struck down. In fact, she and her new band had all been struck on stage in Saga by lightning, which was clearly no coincidence either. Junko was still very afraid of heights, and probably would never feel safe in the air again, much less a plane. Tae's words sounded harsh, but clearly, she was just being bluntly, brutally honest. She looked quite upset at her own insight. She had even tried to warn them off of hearing this. It broke her heart that girls like this had suffered physically more than anyone else here, without having any real long-term investment in the place the rest of them knew as home. She glanced at the ground with a very pained expression.

Thankfully, none of the girls were angry at her at all. They knew she was right. Yugiri went up to Junko and put a sympathetic, motherly hand on her shoulder as the Showa Idol hugged herself with visible anxiety. Saki walked very hesitantly up to Ai. She knew Ai was tough in her own way and had no hesitation in looking up to her for advice on handling the complex difficulties of idol life. But this was something she didn't think Ai could handle at all right now. The "Immovable Center" of Iron Frill was now clenching her shaking fists and starting to breathe heavily as her eyes closed with a visibly angry expression.

Sakura looked at her number one favorite musician in life who'd become a friend and sister to her after death. While her luck was bad to a level that just wasn't funny, Ai had told her the rest of them shared in that as well since they all died. And now it was just apparent just how bitterly true that all was. Tragically, Sakura started feeling personally responsible. After all, hadn't her whole life been utterly unlucky from start to finish? Had it rubbed off on Ai after Sakura got taken out first?

The pinkette very painfully and awkwardly tried to reassure her friend. "Oh, Ai, I'm really sorry you had to get mixed up in all this, with all the bad luck around here, let a-a-alone m-mine…" she stammered out. Saki and Ai both looked at alarmed at Sakura's attempt to reassure her.

Ai looked at her and tried to calm her down immediately. "Now Sakura, please, you know I don't blame you for this? Why would you even think that?"

Unfortunately, Sakura was still not reassured and started crying. Everyone looked on at the pitiable sight with their own levels of sadness. "Oh please, I told you I'm a disaster, didn't I?! And now everyone keeps paying the price!"

Tae knew a panic attack coming when she saw one and decided to intervene. She moved forward and grasped the younger girl by the shoulder and got her attention. "Ok stop right there and get it together!" The last 3 words sounded very familiar to what she had garbled out that night when she had been instrumental in snapping Sakura out of her funk. Once again, Sakura was taken aback. Tae sighed and muttered," Alright, forget about training. I think I have a better use for this exercise. Right now, I think what you need is to let out all that anger." With that, she handed the shovel to Sakura that she'd held onto this whole time.

Sakura slowly took it in her hand and then looked at Tae in confusion. "Let out my anger?"

The legendary Office Lady Warrior looked at her with a very flat expression. "Yes. You were angry when you got your memories back, and now you know the awful ugly truth about it all. Why wouldn't you be angry? Besides, now that you know the truth, remember one thing. None of this is your fault at all. Don't blame yourself. The whole point of this training is directing said skills against the true culprit of the whole sorry tragedy of this poor, long-beaten prefecture you and I grew up in, just like all the locals who look up to us here." The rest of Franchouchou realized that Tae had just summed up the best reason for being local idols in Saga, perhaps the reason Kotaro had done so in the first place. The people who were their fans around here loved the girls and the hope they inspired. Locals who were also at risk at being eradicated by this ancient evil.

To her credit, Tae did not force her to take that route. "However, if you would rather yell or even scream your fury to the sky, you can do that. But keep in mind. I'm not training you to fight people or even wild animals. What you're up against is something ancient and evil and utterly unnatural. That kind of thing deserves to get hit and worse. So don't feel guilty about it. That's probably one of the reasons I was able to repeatedly beat up the Sagako with a shovel just like that long before I reached your age."

Yugiri looked at Tae with a very sympathetic look of insight. Tae was a very different type of mature woman than her. While Yugiri had become a woman who not only looked and acted much more mature than almost everyone around her (not to mention her own surprisingly young age), Tae was almost a direct contrast. From all that Tae had told them, it was clear to Yugiri that Tae had already stopped feeling like a child long before reaching even Lily's age. She had grown up way too fast, and still looked much younger than she really was. While she was indeed tough, it was not something even she would've wanted for her life.

For a moment, Sakura just stared at the shovel in her hand. Then she marched up to the nearest dummy and started whacking it in the head repeatedly with a vicious frenzy that took even Saki by surprise. She was hitting it hard enough that it started leaving scratches in the wood. At the climax she stopped and stood there panting, and then she turned around, broken tears streaming down her face. "W-w-why? It's just not FAIR!" she howled.

She felt Tae's deceptively strong hands grip her by the shoulders, and she looked into her friend/sister's tired red eyes. "Kid, life is not fair. But this goes beyond that. It's deliberate." Gripping Sakura firmly around the shoulders, she turned around and looked at the rest of the group. "We can stop for today, if you want."

However, Ai stepped forward with her head bowed, much to Tae's surprise. Then she looked at her with a grim look in her eyes. "No. Before anything else, do you have a bow and arrows in that pile?"

Tae looked hesitant at the question. "Yes, I do. Why?"

Ai exhaled deeply and replied stonily, "Because I really want to shoot something, and you have a very convenient bullseye right there. And I am also really mad at what you just told me. About how my life, and the lives of one of my best fans, and all of my friends here, were ruined." Tae actually walked over to the pile of assorted weapons and got the requested items and handed it to her personally.

Ai had already shown she had decent aim with the bow during their little trip to the mountains. Unsurprisingly, she hit the area around the bullseye on the first try. Tae decided to try and soothe any emotional wounds she may have caused. "For it's worth, I'm really sorry you 2 had to get mixed up in the local madness here. I wouldn't blame you if you wish you'd never come here."

The mummy-like zombie continued to draw a second arrow, and paused to look at Tae. "It's alright. I already told Sakura we could take on bad luck together as a group, and we have. And now you've told us just how much is really at stake. That is worth putting all my efforts into. I never thought mistakes or failures were bad things but help me become better. And this isn't even either of those, but I can still work with that! So don't worry about it." She smiled warmly at Tae, who actually smiled back but noticed out of the corner of her eye a crown landing on top of a nearby rock and cawing while looking directly at them. And staying there. Right as Ai began her speech.

Junko smiled as well while stepping forward. "What happened to me was horrifying, and I may never get over it. But I don't blame Saga or its people for it. At the very least I got to meet all of you. I am also sad that at least 2 of us never got to live out their dreams at all."

Sakura's face brightened considerably, and she actually beamed with undeniable delight. Ai grinned and shot one more time, this time hitting it dead center. Saki grinned menacingly while Lily beamed at the sight and Yugiri gave quiet proud approval. The crow continued cawing, and Tae's eye began to twitch. She quietly picked up a small stone from the ground.

She sighed quietly, getting their attention, and she looked at them with a grimly optimistic smile," It's no wonder Sakura was so inspired by you with all she had to deal with! Or that this group has held together for so long without knowing everything. Maybe the Curse just hates anything positive in general!" The crow kept cawing, and while questioning looks formed on their faces, Tae prepared herself. "Which I feel obliged to be a part of and protect. So … "With lightning speed, she abruptly threw the stone at the obnoxious bird, knocking it on the ground, stunned and unable to fly off. Everyone flinched at that, even Yugiri. Without waiting for a response, Tae walked over to it and looked at the dark carrion fowl with menacing contempt. The bird looked up at her, and quite stupidly opened its beak for another attempt at a sound. The terrifying zombie picked up a nearby tool (the hammer Junko had used) and proceeded to hit and utterly crush the bird with it in one quick swing. Romero, who'd been resting nearby the whole time, heard the noise and started chewing on its corpse.

Tae sighed grimly, and then turned towards her friends. Most of them looked terrified or scandalized. Sakura had her hands over her mouth, while poor Lily looked like she was going to be sick. Saki spoke for the group in an unusually quiet voice, "What the Hell was that for?"

In response, Tae glanced at the dead bird and then at the group again. "Do any of you know what the cawing of a crow represents in our country's folklore?"

Yugiri's eyes glinted with comprehension, but Junko was the one who voiced it, "Well, if I remember correctly, it can a bad omen foretelling death, illness, accidents or … natural disasters … oh…" Everyone else got the gist of why Tae brought that up and they stared at the now mostly devoured bird.

"Exactly. That awful little creature was doing that the whole time you were doing that optimistic speech and looking right at you. Not what I would call a coincidence." Ai had never particularly hated birds before this but realized she might now never look at a crow the same way again.

Yugiri commented shrewdly, "Perhaps the old legends I grew up with about misfortune have a truly significant connection to this place."

Tae nodded." Too true. Now, I honestly think we can forgo any other physical exercises. The only fitting one I can think of is rather tame by comparison and even cleansing… if you're up for it. We can even change outfits."

*Waterfall Shower* The last one was a rather odd imitation of a waterfall. An old but effective sprinkler system that poured a large amount of water down on whatever was underneath it. Like the 7 zombies under it right now in a sitting position.

Saki turned a flat gaze to the dark-haired beauty next to her. "You know, I actually have heard of this technique, but I never really got why people did it, so what gives?"

Tae replied without turning her head or even opening her eyes. "Well, the cold of the water is supposed to help alter the consciousness and help develop self-control during the shock of feeling it. Although to be fair, being zombies clearly makes it a lot easier and even this is not as cold as a natural waterfall."

Junko commented from further down the line," Well at least now I know why you had us get swimsuits yesterday while shopping." All the girls were now adorned in swimwear to give them at least some modesty while not getting their clothes wet. This wasn't a hot spring bath after all.

Saki conceded Tae's point but could not resist a dry remark at her expense. "Well, thinking back, it's rather odd that the adult of the group has such a fine young-looking body." She smirked mischievously since Tae's curves were more exposed than ever, rivaled only by Yugiri and Sakura.

Tae snorted. "There's no need to be jealous just because I'm taller, older and still very good looking." Saki groaned in exasperation as everyone else chuckled. One embarrassing realization had come out yesterday when comparing facts about the group when helping to fill Tae's memories. Saki was actually the second shortest in the group, and Tae was not only the oldest but the tallest, which Saki had been rather taken aback by, especially when Lily made a joke about it.

Desperate to change the subject, she remarked," You know, it's still really messed up that this insanely powerful Curse you're talking about came about from some old quest? I mean, surely there's more to it than that?"

Tae finally looked at her. "MJ never went into much more detail than what I told you. One time when I was very young and asking about it, he told me that if there's one thing I should learn from this, it's that some things are not worth the cost, even if you get what you seek. That quest for eternal life has brought more suffering and horrors to this place than such a tantalizing gift merits, so I trust his judgment on that. If anyone would understand that it's my Dad."

There was silence for a moment as they pondered this. Ai spoke up, "From what I've learned, it should never had succeeded to begin with even without the Curse." Everyone looked at her, and she glady continued," I looked up that legend yesterday while you were out. The emperor who sent Xu Fu to do that was Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China who first unified the country and built the beginnings of the Great Wall of China. But that Wall was built with an estimated death toll of hundreds of thousands of workers. And despite being an effective ruler, he is still controversial for reportedly burning and banning books and executing scholars and overall being a tyrannical monarch. That doesn't sound like someone who would ever deserve to be immortal. Plus, there's one consistent fact about Xu Fu himself in the legend in its versions: he never came back to the emperor with the formula. It's not all far-fetched that it was because he realized this about his former leader, in addition to however it brought about the Curse. "

Yugiri hummed thoughtfully," A very wise insight, Ai-han. And not only that, but his greed doomed this place to an untold amount of evil and suffering. It's honestly a miracle Saga is still around after all this time."

As they thought about that, Tae looked up at the still bright sky, with its lovely blue hue and rolling clouds. A peaceful visage that she knew had an evil entity lurking and just waiting to ruin it all. "You know, we have got to meet up with the old man again at some point. And when we do, I'm going to ask for something more permanent. Because now, I think we need to kill that wretched abomination." As everyone stared at her, she clenched her fist. "This whole sorry affair's been going on for far too long. Why not try and end it for good? Then we could focus all our energy on music and whatever else we want. No more fighting."

Sakura, who was unsurprisingly right next to Tae, perked up when she picked up on the fact that she was being optimistic about a future where they could all not have to fight and live their dreams, without any problems. "I like that. Singing without all this drama? Maybe without being dogged by bad luck every day … it almost sounds too good to be true. Are you sure this wouldn't be challenging something that can't be changed though, since it is a literal embodiment of misfortune and evil?" She flinched briefly as Tae's hand reached out to grab hers with frightening speed, only to look into the steely, tough woman's eyes as she looked at her.

"Trust me, I already have a good hunch it's possible. For all that my old man says about fate, in his expert opinion, he says that it's the actions of mankind that determine the fate of the world, and he certainly doesn't think the Curse is ultimately going to. Saga is still here after all this time, so he's got a point. If I know my Dad, he'll be on board with it." She smiled and added, "Plus, I did mention there's an opposite force at work, remember? The Prosperity of Saga also has our backs. So, we definitely have some good fortune on our side. I wouldn't call that hopeless."

Junko sighed contentedly. "It is quite horrible to think about my death, more so now that I know it was not an accident. But I agree. We have a chance to make sure stuff like that never happens around here again."

They all sat there for a while, musing on life and Saga. Tae later reflected that the first day of training was quite possibly a personal best in her record. It had exceeded her expectations quite remarkably in several ways.

Half an hour later, Tae had changed into a more public outfit and gotten her makeup on. She said she wanted to get some "closure for what was lost" and would be back soon. The only other thing she would say is it involved making peace with those who'd been left behind or who had left her behind, something surely they all understood. No one questioned that, although it caused Ai to really accelerate some thoughts she'd been brooding on for a while since Tae had spelled everything out for her. Now that she knew the truth about her death, she couldn't help but long to give some "closure" of her own. After a tense moment of hesitation pulled up the laptop and sent a rather risky email that would have more consequences than she could have ever wanted.

While the effects of that decision had only just been planted, Tae found her way to a certain local cemetery. She paused in front of one the graves. Her family's ancestral grave. After staring for several long moments, she sat down and gave a silent prayer. All the biological family she had grown up with were long gone before she ever kicked the bucket. She did note that were offerings on the grave, however, so clearly someone remembered them, which gave her some warmth in the heart. But yet, here she was, standing in front of a grave that represented her death as well, as a living corpse.

As Tae sat there in front of her family's grave, she closed her eyes, remembering those childhood days of so long ago … it hurt to think about it. For years, it felt like a deserved form of atonement, fighting monsters, for failing to save her parents. But had it really been worth devoting her time to in the end? It was never going to bring them back. Plus, did she really want them back?

Right before fusing with Magatsuhi, she'd glimpsed its memories. How it had been formed from her parent's neglect of her and been experimented on by them. They'd left annoyed instead of brought back to reality by Tae's angry words on her 9th birthday. But they hadn't really truly loved the poor thing either, had they? Perhaps the Curse had left them too far gone to ever bring them back to their senses. Maybe that was why Magatsuhi had killed them but had reached out to Tae. Two poor children, one natural and the other unnatural, tormented by an ancient evil and 2 poor fools it had influenced. Maybe things would be different if her grandma had survived longer or if they had never lived here to begin with. No one would ever know.

But even then, Tae had family. A poor old man who'd suffered longer and harder than anyone else in this place who became the only real father she'd ever known. Friends who'd fought long and hard by her side. Sweet dear Yuko who'd made her smile again and dare to dream, and her idiotic and naïve but loveable brother who dared to help her believe in living again. But then Tae had died, and now it was years later. Who knows where they all were now, and she could only dare to think how it had affected them with losing her, especially Yuko, who she had wanted so badly to reunite with after freeing her from her confinement. And the Curse was still going on as it had for millennia.

True, she had new friends to be with now. Some girls a lot like her, who'd all been broken and tormented by the evil haunting this place. Except most of them didn't even know it at the time. And now they were all too aware of it. It saddened her to see just how these poor kids (most of them were very much children in mind and body) had been thrust into this poor predicament. None of them, not even Tae, had asked to be brought back from the dead, much less go up against bad luck incarnate. Especially poor Sakura, a sweet child who had been singled out by that vile entity for failure virtually her whole life until it got tired of her. Damn it all, that girl reminded her so much of her friend Yuko, except Yuko had a lot better time of it by comparison. Now they all had no choice. She really wished she had better answers for them.

Well, she would be there for all of them. Protect them and cherish them as if they had always been family. There was no denying it, there was undeniable sibling-like bond between them. And Tae didn't mind. She'd been raised buy an Immortal man whose own age varied depending on how Saga was doing and formed bonds with a ragtag bunch of youths who resembled something out of a sci-fi/fantasy film. Being a zombie was not too much of a stretch for the legendary Tae Yamada to grasp.

With that resolution, she happened to gaze to the grave to the left and froze. The name caught her eye. It was the Minamoto Family Grave. Which was Sakura's family name.

Her mind raced furiously. True, thinking back she was aware of a Minamoto family in Saga. She'd even known a few of them, but had never been especially close to any of them. But still, while some might call this a sheer coincidence, Tae could not buy that. Peering at the names etched lower on the stone, Tae saw Sakura's name listed there, with a date of death that looked to match up quite well with what she knew about her pink-haired sister.

Yeah, this was way too odd to be a coincidence. Especially in a place like this. This merited further investigation.

So she came back home, and rather meekly asked Ai where the computer was, deflecting any questions about her journey as something she would tell them before dinner. But she didn't make Ai stop following her into the training room.

Ignoring the normal internet sites which she still was not familiar with, she tapped into an old file system which Hanako kept her loads of data on. It was password protected of course, but if Tae remembered one thing about her genius friend, is that she was rather predictable in an endearingly goofy way. She took a chance with an old one that Hanako had stuck with for years, "FemaleDaVinci". Sure enough, it worked. Tae rolled her eyes with fond annoyance. Still, if anyone might have a lead on a possible connection here, it would be Hanako.

Ai spoke up hesitantly from behind her," Um, Tae? Do you need any help? What exactly are you doing?"

Tae didn't even glance at her." I'm checking out a possible connection between my family and someone else's. No worries, I know how to do this part. If this doesn't work, I could use your help. Just a moment." Ai begrudgingly admitted to herself that was apparently true. She turned around and leaned against the wall, having even less of an idea about the stunning truth that Tae was about to uncover than Tae did herself.

After a moment, Tae found her files regarding their old group. Sure enough, it had pictures and notes of all of them in exquisite detail. Continued searching revealed that there were files pertaining to after her death, so she opened them. The name Minamoto did come up, so she clicked on it. Her blood turned to ice at the picture and story there. Very slowly she kept going. The next big thing on the 2 people involved was only a few years later. A story so simple and common, heartwarming even. But the revelation of that one fact caused the very stoic Tae Yamada to look more shocked than she had for a very long time. She just stared at this utterly unexpected revelation and muttered a very short phrase in a voice filled with awe and disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?"