A/N: Hey there folks!
Yup, I'm right here, still alive, still bumbling with joy and what not…..
Wait…. What am I talking about….
Anyway, I would like to give a huge shout out to Tearhex for following my story. The moment I saw the notice that another person has followed my story, I was filled with unmentionable joy. Chinese New Year for me was a very bittersweet affair for me this year because of my grandfather's passing. We had to be in a state of mourning and we couldn't celebrate it until 14 days had passed since his passing.
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, visit the End A/N of the previous chapter, I edited it a little.)
So it was a major mood boost when someone actually put this story on alert. So this chapter is dedicated to Tearhex. Thanks for helping me out mate!
Disclaimer: I do not own Team Fortress 2 as they are owned by Valve (any pun here?)*. I do own Chris Wong, Yuriko Nakamura, Master Akira and any other characters that are going to be listed in the story though I would only post the names of the characters at the end of my story chapters.
*Of course this is a pun, lah!**
** That right there was Manglish, go find out what it is on Wikipedia or something…
Chapter 5: Tactical Insertion
After the incident in the conference room died down, the ninjas were taken for a tour of RED headquarters. Most of the time, the ninjas didn't really here much of what the RED team were saying on the tour as they were stunned by whatever things were hidden from public eyes inside the base. They have never seen so many machines, maps, weapons and blueprints within one area in their life. In fact, both were especially surprised and slightly intimidated to see missiles in the base.
That night, formal introductions were given by the two ninjas to the RED team and vice versa. All that is, except the Soldier, who still felt bitter about what happened in the conference room earlier that day.
Although most of the mercenaries were friendly towards the two ninjas, what struck them the most was the different array of traits and personalities that the RED mercenaries possess. The ninjas quickly clicked with the Medic, Engineer and Sniper as they were the friendliest of the mercenaries.
The Spy and Pyro were, interesting, to say the least. To them, the Pyro's refusal to ever take out his gas mask creeped both ninjas out a little. Chris can relate to the Spy's line of work and mysterious ways but Yuriko was still a little wary by what he did on that first day when he met him.
The Scout liked to talk to the male ninja, but once he caught sight of Yuriko, his speech quickly became jumbled and he stammers a lot. He also tried to get a better glimpse of her, often making him losing his concentration while talking with the others. Both ninjas didn't immediately click with the Heavy because he seemed intimidating at first what with his seemingly overwhelming size and crazy personality, but they eventually warmed up to him as he is actually quite calm and he occasionally says something that makes Chris and Yuriko break out into laughter.
Yuriko, on the other hand, was a little wary about the Demoman. His frequent drunken stupors caused him to make weird and crazy comments about everyone including them. Sometimes, when the things that the Scotsman said got very uneasy, Yuriko would quickly get Chris's attention in which the male ninja would usher her away from the drunken demolition's expert. The only person on the team that the ninjas avoided completely was the Soldier. He still held a look of malice every time he passed them by. Yuriko still felt fear whenever he saw him and Chris had to constantly remind her to not feel afraid.
The next day, the ninjas woke up at 8 a.m., as was instructed by the Administrator, whom Chris and Yuriko haven't met yet. They got up and got dressed in their usual fighting attire and soon approached the mess hall. The mess hall was a fairly large room which could accommodate 30 people at a time.
When Chris and Yuriko entered the canteen, they both saw the Pyro and Engineer cooking in the kitchen, whereas the Sniper and Spy were playing cards at one of the three long metal tables of the area. The sound of the round-windowed double doors opening got the attention of the two support classes and the Sniper called out to them to join them.
"G'day, mates!" The Australian hunter greeted to them as the ninjas began to take their seats.
"Hey, what's up for breakfast today?" Chris asked the two men.
"We are having a classique continental breakfast today," the Spy replied. "You may eat as much as you want.
"Heh, it's been a long time since I had an ordinary Western breakfast," the male ninja commented.
"Has sheila here tried this kind of grub before?" The Sniper asked with interest.
"Hai, Sniper-san," Yuriko replied with a tired yawn, "Chris made some for me and some of the other ninjas in our school before."
"You have school?" The Spy asked.
"Why yes, we learn all our skills in a ninja school in Okinawa," Chris replied.
"Well, why did you leave?" The Sniper asked.
"No, we did not want to leave. It was more like a… sudden, hasty escape," Yuriko said with a slightly solemn tone.
"I beg your pardon?" The Spy asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I would rather not talk about it right now," the female ninja ended.
"Yeah, I'm with her on this one," Chris shared her thoughts.
With that, the mess hall became quiet with only the sounds of cooking happening in the kitchen. But the somber mood quickly turned into cheerful small talk about each of the mercenaries between the 4 people at the table.
Soon, breakfast was quickly served by the Engineer and the Pyro, who stilled had his gas mask on. Everyone quickly feasted on the delicious spread. The smells from the room quickly attracted the Heavy and the Medic who quickly joined them in their feasting.
"Anyone see Soldier?" The Heavy said at the table as everyone was eating.
Everyone just shook their heads in response. Normally, the Soldier would be the first one to get up, followed by the Spy who went to read the newspaper or any enemy intelligence before anyone got up. It was odd of him to miss breakfast today. In fact, the Soldier missed breakfast completely. Everyone finished eating and had already left the mess hall and the dishes in the sink. As everyone left, Yuriko, being the kind soul that she normally is, left some food on the table for the Soldier to feast on later.
In the afternoon, the mercenaries went to the RED headquarters' training room to practice their skills. They found the Soldier already there doing strength training. The footsteps of the mercenaries walking in did not even make him move an eyeball as he kept on being in his own brutal world.
"Is he always like that?" Chris asked the Medic.
"Nein, ze Soldier is not usually zis intense in his training," the Medic replied.
"Hey yeah, now that ya'll mentioned it, he does seem a little more focused on his training," the Engineer commented.
"Looks like he's not gonna stop," the Scout added.
"Ah, let's forget about him, let's just start training," Chris suggested.
With that, the mercenaries approached different section of the training area. There were different things found scattered around the training area. There were paper and wooden target that were set up in one end of the room. Various training equipment for strengthening endurance and fitness can be found in another corner of the room. Weapons can be found held in wooden racks in another corner. The whole area had a large running track to also test the team's speed and endurance.
Unfortunately for the ninjas, they were low on ninja supplies when they arrived at the RED base. Miss Pauling called Mann Co. for an order of ninja supplies but it would take at least a few days for the items to arrive as it has been a while since Mann Co. were called up to create ninja supplies.
However, the two ninjas still had their melee weapons with them. Chris had his katana and a pair of three pronged daggers that he likes to call his 'Zai of Honor', whereas Yuriko had a pair of fans with her. Chris playfully gave her fans a weapon name while they were in school, though Yuriko liked her fans being called 'Fans of Glory'.
Deciding to save up what's left of their throwing weapons to avoid them from getting damaged, Chris suggested to Yuriko that they should practice defensive stances and moves with their melee weapons. Under the guidance of Chris, Yuriko began to follow Chris's stances and movements without her weapons and then repeated the movements with them.
Chris knew the different fighting styles that both ninjas adopted during their time training together at the ninja school. Chris was more fast-paced and preferred to be in the front lines. He preferred to use distractions like using his smoke bombs to disorientate his enemies before going in for the kill. His attacks are swift, which can leave enemies very much confused before they even knew what hit them, and he preferred to get up close and personal with his enemies.
Yuriko on the other hand preferred to stay back and support the team instead of engaging in much direct combat. Though she is not as fast nor as strong as Chris, her weaknesses are made up by the fact that she can hit any target with a kunai, even at a distance of 100 yards. Her attacks are so accurate, that whenever her attacks hit their target, it is almost always a bulls-eye.
The male ninja remembered the first time he gauged her skills. It was a sunny afternoon; in fact it was right after he introduced Yuriko to the school. He was very surprised to see such accurate and deadly attacks by the female ninja. Never before has he seen that skill nor accuracy being applied to ranged weapons ever.
The female ninja on the other hand was envious of Chris's strength and speed. She always wanted to be as strong and as quick as him. She always wanted to impress Chris in that way because he was such a great mentor and trainer. She strived to be better than him at any cost.
The Medic, who did not need to train as vigorously as the other mercenaries, kept track of the others' fitness level by observing from the sidelines. The doctor from Stuttgart decided to put extra emphasis on Chris and Yuriko's fitness levels as he had no information whatsoever on the actual fitness levels if the two ninjas.
As the ninjas continued their training with runs and close combat training, the Medic continued to record the statistics of the two ninjas' fitness levels. Even though they were almost out of stock on ranged weapons, the Medic quickly found that the fitness levels of both Chris and Yuriko were very good. Chris was easily stronger than most of the RED mercenaries and had very quick reflexes. His cardio levels were on par with most of the RED mercenaries and his endurance levels were almost the same as the Scout's.
Yuriko also had the same cardio levels as Chris and her endurance levels were good. The only difference between the two ninjas was that she was not as strong as Chris. The Medic decided that the amount of data that he collected was not enough to come to any immediate conclusions. He would need more data before he can finally complete the full stats and fitness levels of both ninjas.
Though there was still something that struck both Chris and the German at the training grounds, no one was even vaguely interested in what the ninjas were doing. In fact, the each mercenary were literally in their own little world. No one cared about the performance of one another and they preferred to do their own thing, sticking to their own training regiment and not wanting to complement, critique or even help out one another in correcting their mistakes.
It was a serious flaw in the team. The team was not as one, teamwork was almost non-existent, support was not given and even some of the mercenaries' personal training regiments had flaws in them. For instance, the Heavy was just loafing around, sitting on a bench and eating a chocolate bar. The Pyro continuously used an axe to chop down the immobile wooden targets without focusing on anything else. The spy did not have any proper strength training and his regiment is mainly made up of target practice and cardio work.
'No wonder the team has suffered so many losses,' Chris thought to himself. 'They are not working as a single unit. They have their strengths, sure. But if this keeps up, one person's weakness won't be covered by the team. They'll be picked off one by one for sure.'
Chris looked to his side to see the Medic jotting down important personal fitness data. Chris told Yuriko to continue her stances and movements. After Yuriko agreed, Chris walked to the Medic and talked to him about the team's general performance when fighting together.
"Um, Medic," Chris began. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Ya, Chris, vat seemz to be ze problem?" The doctor asked.
"Well, it's about the team's general, um… how should I say this, how are the mercenaries' teamwork like during their battles?" Chris inquired.
Upon hearing Chris's question, the Medic's eyes widened. The German quickly closed his eyes, took of his glasses and sighed.
"Vinally, a person who unzherstandz vat I'm going through," he said as he put back his glasses on.
"Um, excuse me?"
"You are ze very first person to see ze team not working togezher," the Medic began ranting. "Ze team has been very single-minded about zheir battles. If a teammate helps zhem, zhey do not say 'Danke!' in return. Even as I heal injured teammates, I have now rarely heard some members of ze team saying a vord of thanks."
"But that's just gonna make them unwilling to help out the other teammates. If they do not work together, they'll be open targets out there. Their weaknesses won't be made up by the team if they don't work together, right?" Chris asked alarmingly.
"Zat is ze point Chris, ve have continuously suffered losses because ze team does not vork as a team. Ze BLU team has achieved very good teamwork even though zhey are more inexperienced than ve are. Ve could vin our battlez if ouf team came togezher and trained harder, even just a little bit," the German exasperatingly said.
"Well, there must be something we can do right?" Chris said.
"Unless you could get zhem to come togezher to work as a team, I do not know how," the Medic replied.
"Then we must begin to change the team's mindset as soon as possible," Chris concluded.
"I vill help you in any vay I can," the Medic said with a slight tone of hope.
Though it would have to wait, as the RED team will soon have another battle coming soon.
To be continued…
End A/N: Well, that's about it for this chapter folks. I must first tell you guys that my exams are coming soon, so I might put this on hiatus until the second week of March. School is stressful, especially when you have a lot of things on your mind that are so unnecessary.
(Note to self, must do mental dump of unnecessary information later.)
So, yeah, the next few chapters, we'll see the RED team fighting another battle. It's gonna get more exciting from here on out (or less exciting, depending on the chapter). Hopefully I would be able to churn out the next chapter by the 2nd week of March, especially since I also have a music theory exam coming up.
Anyway, thanks again to Tearhex for putting this story on alert. You helped me a lot just by putting this on alert. Now it's your turn to receive Your Eternal Reward (pun right?).
Alright, that's about it. Please review, review, and review!
Thanks and cheers!