Chapter 50 – The Crying Samurai

Toshiro felt that he was poked in the cheeks.

Now this is something that wasn't done to me in some time… Let's see who is such a tease in the morning…

Toshiro opened his eyes and saw Yoshika, looking at him with a happy face.

"Hi!" She cheered.

"What a weird wake up… So, what do you want on this glorious morning?"

"Yumemaru."

"Already? Aren't you overdoing it?"

"No. Miss Sakamoto told me that I'm receiving the appropriate amount of training, adjusted to my age, stamina, body, magic and current skills."

Yeah, fucking, right… But I guess Mio is smart enough to NOT try to botch up Yoshika…

"Okay, okay… Let me dress up, I'll go with you or something…"

"Huuuurryyy! I want to train before breakfast!"

Toshiro turned his head a bit to the side and poked his right cheek with his index finger.

"Oh you…" Yoshika said and gave him a peck on the designated spot. "Satisfied?"

"Barely."

Toshiro and Yoshika went on to the beach. When they were passing the dorm, Toshiro heard something weird from behind the building.

"What is it, Toshiro?" Yoshika asked. "Why did you stop?"

"You know what… Go to Mio, I have to check something here, okay?"

"Okay…" Yoshika sighed. "See you later!"

Toshiro went behind the dorm, and found Mio leaning against the wall.

"You here at this time of the day?" Toshiro asked.

"I can't concentrate… You gave me such a guilt trip that I had to force myself into sleeping…"

"So you do have a metaphorical heart… So, what did you ponder out?"

"Monday…"

"Huh?"

"I'll tell Miyafuji on Monday…"

"Today's a Saturday… You're giving yourself two days. I hope you don't chicken out by that time…"

"I won't. A Fusojin doesn't chicken out that easily…"

"I really hope so… By the way, where's your sword? You even take that damn thing to the lavatory…"

"I left it in my little den…"

"Where Yoshika is now headed."

"She shouldn't have interest in Reppumaru…"

"Really? She took interest in both the opposite and the same sex, and she reaaaaaaaaally gained some experience… Just. Because. She. Was. Curious."

"Oh shit… Miyafuji!"

Mio started running, with Toshiro following her. They busted inside Mio's room with an immense ruckus. Yoshika was standing with their back to them, holding Reppumaru, which was giving off magic in a violent manner.

"Miyafuji!"

Yoshika swayed, and Mio jumped forward, grabbing her before she fell. The sword stopped glowing immediately after it left Yoshika's hands and got stuck in the tatami mats lying on the floor.

"Snap out of it, Miyafuji!"

Toshiro approached the sword and grabbed it. It didn't react in any way, presumably because Toshiro was angrier than a bear woken up in January.

"I should break you into razors, you fucking toothpick…" He said through clenched teeth.

"Mwwwwuuuu… Miss Sakamoto? Toshiro?" Yoshika said as she came to herself.

"Can you stand?" Mio asked.

"Yes, I think so…" Yoshika said and stood up.

Mio also stood up, and extended her hand.

"I know that you're angry now, Toshiro, but please, destroying my sword won't get you anywhere…"

Toshiro gave her the sword and she sheathed it.

"Um, Miss Sakamoto, your sword…"

Mio turned around violently and shouted, "Idiot!"

Yoshika stiffened up and shouted, "Waaah!"

"Don't you EVER touch this sword, understood?!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Yoshika shouted but her face turned sad and she said, "I apologize…"

"Show me your hands." Mio said.

Yoshika reluctantly came closer to Mio and presented her palms. Burn marks were visible where she gripped the sword. Mio poked one of the burns, and Yoshika almost jumped up in pain.

"Nothing to worry about, Miyafuji…" Mio said calmly. "Just go and grab some ice."

"Did you…"

"Yes, I did have the same burns when I first wielded Reppumaru… Took a few days, but it healed."

"Ditto." Toshiro said. "But mine only lasted for less than a day, since I threw it away after it wanted to suck me dry."

"Oh, okay… So I guess I won't be training today?"

"Don't force yourself, Miyafuji. Tell somebody to replace you at the kitchen… Toshiro for example."

"I agree." He said.

"Okay…" Yoshika sighed. "May I leave?"

"Yes, you can leave, Miyafuji."

"Come on, Yoshika. Let's cool those hands of yours down a bit."

"Kay…" Yoshika mumbled.

When they exited Mio's place, Toshiro said, "Don't be so beat down, Yoshika. You couldn't have known…"

"My curiosity will be the death of me one day…" Yoshika mumbled.

"Oh come on, don't say such things… I need you alive till you get at least ninety, heh…"

"Hahahahaha!" Yoshika laughed honestly. "So much foresight… Only you can do it…"

After taking some half-frozen pastrami in her hand, Yoshika sat in the dining room with Toshiro.

"Aaaaaahhhh… This is so cool…"

"Just don't mangle it too much, I want to make sandwiches out of it."

"Good that it's at least packed in paper… Did you ever heard of sanitary regulations?"

"All too much, Yoshika… They were simply poking your eyes out from the wall in the Yokosuka Naval Base kitchen…"

"You had KP duty?"

"Everyone had mandatory KP duty. It was supposed to humble the soldiers."

"Didn't last long…" Yoshika murmured. "Here." Yoshika pushed the pastrami block to Toshiro. "It heated up too much already."

"Does it hurt?"

Yoshika poked the mark on her left hand with her right index finger. Her mouth pursed a little bit but she only said, "It stings a bit."

"What stings a bit?" Lynne asked half-asleep in the doorway.

Yoshika hid her hands immediately and said, "Ah, nothing. Toshiro pinched me, that's all."

"Ah, okay… Good morning…"

"Morning." They both answered.

"Oh, I see that you pulled out the pastrami, Toshiro… How nice of you…" Lynne yawned and continued. "Coffee?"

"Yes please." They both said in sync.

"Okay… Three coffees it is…"

"Oh come on, Lynne, I'll do it. You're sleepwalking…"

"Really? Thanks, Toshiro…" Lynne mumbled and sat down on a chair beside Yoshika.

After Lynne got a bit pepped up bit the coffee, she and Toshiro made breakfast. As everyone, with the obvious exception of Sanya at this time of the day, rolled in, Toshiro made an announcement.

"At 0900, Minna, Mio and I will be departing for Sicily HQ. This is the big one, so despite this being a shitload of paperwork for me to do afterwards, you are all on leave until we return, circa 1300 or later. If you all want to go on a shopping trip to Pescara, please leave somebody as a home sitter."

The girls started murmuring amongst each other with serious faces, but Minna cut it short.

"Don't worry, girls. We are the ones going to HQ, not you all, heehee… Enjoy your leave, but first let's eat breakfast."

The girls loosened up a bit and started eating. Mio didn't show any signs of stress or wariness, as if their talk yesterday was nonexistent.

"Hey, Toshiro, you didn't tell me you're going out…" Yoshika gave him an elbow and a pouty face.

"Did you have some plans?"

"No, but…"

"Then I'm excused. Sorry, Yoshika, but I'm the boss here, and my bosses demanded my presence… You don't want me to get in trouble, right?"

"No…" Yoshika sighed. "But please return quickly, okay?"

"Okay, sweetie. I'll try not to drag it out. Want some allowance so you can buy something in town?"

"Really?" Yoshika asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah." Toshiro stuffed his mouth full and pulled out his wallet.

After looking through a bit, he pulled out two thousand lire and gave it to Yoshika.

"Heehee, thanks!" Yoshika cheered and hugged him.

"Ugh, get a room you two…" Mio mumbled.

Heh, at least she's trying to behave normal…

"Hey, bro, what about some allowance for me?" Erica asked with puppy eyes.

"Nope."

"Snap…"

"You'd only buy sweets you ditz." Trude said. "You should save your money for a rainy day."

"Said the one that sends all her money to her little sister…"

"That's totally different!" Trude shouted with a red face.

"Hey, but who will stay at the base?" Eila asked.

"I can stay, since I'm dead broke anyway…" Trude said. "But only if Elwyn promises to watch out for Erica."

"Why should I watch over her?" Shirley asked.

"Because I ask you to?"

"Pffff…"

Trude looked at Shirley with her eyebrows ruffled but her eyes conveying a different message.

"Oh Jesus, okay…" Shirley sighed.

"Yahoo, I can take Sanya with me now!" Eila cheered.

Breakfast ended peacefully, and Toshiro decided to go to his room to prepare everything. After that he lied down and pondered.

Maybe I should pull a fast one on Mio? I'll be before at least one General, and who knows, maybe there will also be an IFN Admiral or something, since the Yamato is 'in town' so to speak… Two complete utterances on my side, and Mio will be booted from the Navy with immediate effect… I'm really worried about her… That sword looks like it could kill Mio beside only draining her magic and disabling it for the rest of her life… Damn it… Why do I have to be the good guy… Why…

He went down, dressed in his best uniform, with every shiny award he had earned in place. The plane approaching to land. Mio and Minna were waiting for it silently. Toshiro joined them, and then, Yoshika came running.

"Good luck, Toshiro!" She cheered.

"Thanks, sweet cake. But you're still here?"

"The girls are waiting until you all leave, heheh…"

"My, my… How honest…" Minna said with a smile.

"Don't mess anything up, Miyafuji."

"I won't!"

"That's the spirit!"

"Goodbye, Miss Minna, Miss Sakamoto!"

"Goodbye, Yoshika." Minna said.

"Goodbye, Miyafuji." Mio said.

"Bye, Toshiro…" Yoshika said a bit shy.

"Bye sunshine." He answered with a warm smile, and the three entered the plane.

After a flight in total and awkward silence, they finally landed. They were picked up and delivered to the building. The usual secretary led them to the business entrance of the conference room. The three looked at each other, Minna pulled a side cap out of her pocket and placed it on her head, they took deep breaths, and Toshiro entered first.

Toshiro already saw that something was different. Instead of two generals, there were three now. There was also a familiar figure in the shadows.

What's he doing here?

The new one was on the left, dressed in an IFN uniform. He had the face of a rugby player, but his eyes were carefully analyzing him and the girls. They saluted, and Monty started talking.

"I see that you're lustrating the Admiral carefully, Toshiro. Let me introduce – Admiral Seiichi Itō from the Navy General Staff, IFN 2nd Fleet."

The Admiral stood up, bowed slightly and said, "It's an honor to meet such splendid soldiers."

"Likewise, Admiral." Toshiro answered with a counter-bow. "Let's get to business, Generals – what's cooking, so to speak?"

"To be blunt, you're role and that of your unit will be marginal in the upcoming operation, Oberst." Kesselring said.

"What?!" Mio shouted.

"But Herr Generalmajor, I was told that this is the big one. How are my witches and me, a wizard nonetheless, "marginal" as you said?" Toshiro said confused.

"I stay by my phrasing – marginal is the right word here. The witches and you aren't the key to defeating the Neuroi hive."

"We're up against the hive, things are different." Monty continued. "Has the 501st JFW ever defeated a Neuroi hive directly?"

"No, sir." Toshiro answered. "Not in my time in the unit."

"And not while I was the sole commander of it." Minna added.

"Oberst Edelweiss, we've already determined the upcoming mission." Kesselring said. "Isn't that right, Captain Sugita?"

The figure in the shadows took a step and revealed himself.

"That's correct." He said. "I shall repel the Venezian Neuroi hive myself by using the Fuso naval battleship, Yamato."

"Captain! For all the Yamato's strengths, she's just a conventional weapon!" Mio shouted confounded. "I do not believe she can defeat an airborne Neuroi hive."

"She's no conventional weapon, Major… She's our ultimate weapon…" The Admiral said.

"Ulti… No… You don't mean…" Toshiro started.

"From the Warlock research the IFN conducted in Gallia, we developed an extremely stable core control system."

Toshiro felt as his blood pressure was reaching values over 200.

"Though it can last only for ten minutes, we can convert her into a Neuroi while suppressing its tendency to go berserk."

"Convert the Yamato into a Neuroi?" Minna asked suspiciously.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" Toshiro roared. "Jinzaburo, for fucks sake! It was a supposedly controllable weapon that destroyed your Akagi! You've witnessed firsthand what experimenting with Neuroi cores can bring! You must have all lost your minds! I might as well shoot myself in the head, while I still can…"

"Enough, Toshiro." Monty said. "The plan of the operation is set in stone, no matter how violently you protest."

"Mark my words – this will go south faster than you can imagine. The Neuroi are too powerful to be controlled…"

"Don't be a defeatist, Oberst…" Kesselring said. "It takes a Neuroi to defeat the Neuroi. Defeating a Neuroi hive is beyond the Witches' abilities."

"There's nothing a Witch can't do!" Mio shouted suddenly. "As long as I have the Shin Reppuzan, even against a Neuroi hive, I swear to you I will win!"

After a brief period of silence, the Admiral said, "Major Sakamoto… Aren't you past your retirement age?"

The girls gasped and twitched slightly.

I could do it… I could but… I can't… This would be like betraying Mio…

"If we lose this battle, we'll have no choice but to surrender all of Romagna. It would then go without saying we could not leave the 501st as it is now. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Mio clenched her fist and look down, shaking on her whole body. Kesselring stood up and said, "This meeting is adjourned. Operation Mars begins at 1000 tomorrow…"

"General!" Mio shouted.

"Abstain, Major Sakamoto." Minna commanded.

"Minna!" Mio turned around with an expression telling "Et tu?".

"Silence." Toshiro said.

"Have the 501st JFW escort the Yamato into battle. You'll get all materials from my secretary." Kesselring said.

The Admiral and Monty stood up and saluted. Mio, Minna and Toshiro saluted back, and Toshiro said, "Understood."

The big shots left the room, with Mio looking at Minna and Toshiro shocked.

"Minna… Toshiro... Why… Why did you give up so fast…?"

"Because even Toshiro, with all his power, wouldn't destroy the Venezian hive. Maybe a normal one, but not that one…"

"And you agree with Minna, Toshiro?" Mio asked.

"Yes." Toshiro lied. "Well, maybe I could do it, but it would be suicidal, and I don't have any spare lives left…"

"Let's go, Mio." Minna said and started staring at Mio.

Mio sighed and went forward.

At the desk of the secretary, four big tubes, along with a folded stand attached to an electrical motor, and a fat envelope lied.

"This is for us?" Toshiro asked.

"Yes, these are the battle plans."

"Okay, thank you." Toshiro said and took the tubes. "Minna?"

"Got you covered." She said and took the papers and the stand.

They went outside, the driver gave them a lift, and they were already flying back.

They landed around 1300, just as Toshiro predicted. Trude was waiting for them already.

"Where's everyone?" Toshiro asked.

"Still in Pescara, but they radioed in that they're coming back."

"Okay. When they come here, tell them to drop everything and go to the aula for a briefing."

"Is it that bad?"

"Worse. The military has gone bazonkers… But let's not jump the gun, you'll get to know everything during the briefing."

"Roger." Trude answered and went to the hangar.

"Let's set this up…" Toshiro said. "Come on, ladies."

They wandered to the aula. Toshiro placed the tubes on the floor, while Minna placed the stand before the blackboard, and raised it slightly. It was a stand with an electrical motor running around a small rail back and forth. It had five slots for standardized tubes, which the motor could fold and unfold at the press of a button. Toshiro and Minna attached the tubes according to the numeration on them, with the fourth in the front and Toshiro pulled it up to the whole stand up to its top height. Toshiro took the dangling power cable and plugged it into an outlet. The remote was dangling alongside the cable, so Toshiro took it and pressed the button with the number four above it. The motor whizzed silently as it moved along the tiny rail. It inserted a rod, and started unfurling the tube's content. It was a map of the Mediterranean with a big red circle above Romagna. He pressed the button with number three, and an almost identical map dropped down, but with the circle a bit higher. The second tube had no circle at all.

"What a waste of resources…" Minna sighed.

The tube with the number one was what they were looking for. It was the main battle plan. The hive was marked with a big red circle above. Around it was a wide light-red zone with segmented black borders, depicting the range of the beams. Five arrows were leading towards the borders, two going left, two right and one dead center.

Below, was a setup of how the ships would travel, in neat lines, all convoying the Yamato and Amagi, amongst which were the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Littorio, HMS Prince, USS Nicholas and many, many more.

"So that's how they want to do it… Mein Gott, what a naval assault…" Minna gasped. "Now I know why they were so irky about losing…"

"Yeah… So many battleships… The crème de la crème… If the Allied navy loses all of that, then we are fucked…"

Toshiro shot a glance at Mio. She was leaning with against the wall with her head hung low.

"We may have been a bit too harsh to Mio… She took it personally…" Toshiro whispered to Minna.

"She needed that, or she could be outright booted from the IFN as she stood…"

"I… I actually had a plan involving that…"

"You what?"

"If worse came to worst, I would tell the Generals that Mio is unfit for combat, which you could testify. She would get a boot print on her ass and release papers in her hands in five minutes. Actually, I could reassign her at any given moment, I have that power after all…"

"No, no… That would be too harsh, even compared to what we done already… Let's leave her be, but if she starts doing weird stuff…"

"We bag her. Mio is now under our constant surveillance."

"Okay."

"Mio, come on, we have to study the papers from the envelope." Minna said aloud.

"Coming…" Mio sighed heavily and joined them.

The amount of data for them to process was meager, and after reading everything, the girls started flooding in.

"Everyone sit down, you'll tell us about your trip later." Minna said before anyone could say anything, much to everyone's surprise.

After everyone sat, she nodded at Toshiro, and he started the briefing.

"Welcome ladies to the briefing before Operation Mars, which by the way, could prove our last in this region. As you can probably see, this is the battle formation. Those with keen eyes are probably wondering – where the fuck are the witches? I'm explaining – we'll be traveling on the carrier Amagi, near the Yamato. Our role in this operation is to protect it from the Neuroi. The target is the Venezian hive, which by some strange coincidence, has moved in the last few days almost directly over Venice. Tomorrow, at about 0800, the combined Allied fleet will be passing our base at some distance, that's when we will fly to the Amagi and rest there until we are needed. Once we get into the attack zone, we will all go airborne and start our fight, giving our best effort so that the Yamato won't be damaged. If this operation succeeds, I was given the permission to disband the 501st, and we will all return to our homes, or wherever the brass sends us. We will be given our pay for the next month and have some vacation as gratitude. Who knows, maybe we'll get some promotions…"

"And what if it doesn't?" Trude asked.

"Then, dear Trudy, we are literally shafted. The unit will be disbanded forcefully by the brass, and we will all be transferred wherever they want us to. Demotions, pay cuts et cetera will go without saying. But the worst is something else… If we fail… The military will abandon Romagna and leave it to…" Toshiro took a deep breath, and flicked between the maps, leaving the one with the red circle above the center of Romagna, and said the two worst words that could be used against a region infected by the Neuroi. "… die out."

"WHAT?! Surrender?! Forcefully disband the unit?!" Trude shouted banding her hands against the desk before her. "That's ridiculous! Toshiro, Minna – did you all agree to this wilfully?!"

"No, of course not." Minna said. "We were forced to obey orders… I was against it as much as you are…" She said with a sad expression, but she quickly regained composure and said, "But we don't have the resources to continue this war of attrition. If we continue to fight, casualties will just pile up. This is our only option…"

"Leave Romagna… to the enemy…" Yoshika said suddenly.

Francesca suddenly started crying intensively. Shirley raked her in with her hand so the small Romagnan could cuddle into the formers large bosom.

"Don't worry, Francesca… It will be okay…" She whispered to her calmly. "There's no way we'll hand over your homeland to the Neuroi."

"We just need to win." Sanya said with a smile.

"Y-yeah! We need to win!" Eila concurred.

"Exactly." Perrine said.

"Yes, let's win." Lynne said.

"I know we'll win!" Yoshika cheered.

"The girls are right, Trude, stop leaning over that desk and behaving like a weakling already." Erica said with a snicker.

"I'm not a weakling!" Trude replied with red cheeks. "I'll fight until I'm the last one standing."

"You're not the only one to do so!" Toshiro shouted, garnering everyone's attention.

"A dozen members constitutes the Striker Witches." Minna said. "You'll never fight alone!"

"Yeah!" Yoshika cheered. "With a dozen of us, we are sure to win!"

Yoshika turned her eyes to Mio, which made Toshiro take a sneak peak in her direction too. Mio looked as if she was going to the guillotine.

"A dozen, huh…" He heard her murmuring.

"Aaaaaaanyway…" Toshiro said providing a distraction. "You all have the day off, but that doesn't mean you all will be lollygagging. Shirley, check all the Strikers. Trude, check all the weaponry and ammunition. The rest can do whatever they like, but further trips out of the base and using Strikers are now forbidden until tomorrow morning."

"Roger!" Everyone shouted with enthusiasm.

"Minna, you watch over Mio, I have call to make." Toshiro said silently.

"Sure."

Toshiro approached Francesca who was still sobbing a bit beside Shirley. He patted her on the head and said, "Go to Yoshika for now, okay? Shirley has important work to do."

"Mmmmkay…" Francesca mumbled and stood up. "Toshiro, do you promise that we will win?"

"With the twelve of us, and such an armada – why wouldn't we?"

Francesca face brightened up and she ran to Yoshika.

"Go to Trudy, I doubt anyone else will be in the hangar." He said to Shirley.

"Heheh… I never worked with her alone, especially not after we came out to each other… This will be interesting."

Toshiro went to the castle alongside Trude and Shirley. He split from them and went to the office. He picked up the phone, and soon, the voice of his favorite female Karlslander could be heard from the receiver.

"Galland."

"Edelweiss."

"Ah, Toshiro. I guess you know already?"

"Yup. You were spot on with this one. But the idiots want to use Neuroi tech again…"

"If they didn't keep it under wraps, the Kaiser would intervene himself, know that."

"It's reassuring. So anyway, I have a selfish request…"

"Hit me."

"I want an airboat to wait for me, Yoshika and Mio after we win the battle. I want to take them back to Fuso."

"Oh? Could you explain?"

Toshiro sighed and said, "You promise you won't tell anyone? Even uncle?"

"I promise! Ehrenwort eines Generals (A Generals word of honor)!"

"Good, so I want to…"

Toshiro explained his mysterious plan, looking at the door all the time.

"Toshiro… I didn't think you would have matured so much… You'll get the boat IF you succeed."

"Then I have even more motivation to do so, haha! Bye, Adolfine."

"Go for it, Toshiro!"

"Thanks!"

He hooked off the phone and went up to his room. He changed into his normal clothes, and then he went down to the hangar.

Toshiro saw a heartwarming scene there, where Shirley was dabbling in her Striker, and Trude was assisting her.

"I must be dreaming." Toshiro said aloud.

The two got a bit startled, but after looking at him Trude said, "Don't ever do that again…"

"Afraid your little friendship might be discovered? Oh come on, don't be like that you two…"

"You'd better inspect your shit on your own, Toshiro. I'm not touching that…" Shirley said.

"Good call. Mind if I borrow some tools?"

"Just don't hog them all for yourself…" Shirley mumbled.

Toshiro took some tools and dismounted the side panel of his cannon. After some poking, banging and testing the autoloader, he closed it up. In the meantime, Trude was now the mechanic of her own Striker, with Shirley instructing her.

He decided to switch his interest toward the Striker. It was a hermetic construction, so he only fastened what seemed loose and closed up the service panels.

"You managed not to destroy your Striker, Trudy. I'm proud!" Shirley cheered and patted Trude on the back.

"A-Aren't you mocking me now?"

"Nope, I'm really proud. Maybe you should shift towards Strikers, huh?"

"No thanks, I prefer gun maintenance…"

"Hey, maybe then you'll let me do some tinkering with a gun?"

"If you'd like…" Trude mumbled.

"Okay you two, I'm leaving you." Toshiro said.

"Kay, don't worry about us, we're self-sufficient!" Shirley said but reddened immediately. "Don't overthink that one!"

"Hahaha!" Toshiro laughed out loud and exited the hangar through the front.

He bumped into Yoshika. Literally.

"Oh, wah! Hey, Toshiro, I looked for you!"

"What's up, sunshine?"

"We bathed together, we were on a shopping trip… It was fun!"

"You had fun without me… Boohoo…"

"Oh shut up, stupid…" Yoshika said in a pretentious tone and shoved him.

"Did you buy yourself something nice?"

"I bought earrings, heehee…"

"Jealous of Erica, huh?"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Okay, okay, I am…" Yoshika pouted.

"Care to show me?"

"Yes, yes! Come on, I have them in my room!"

"Lead on."

Yoshika led Toshiro to her room, prancing like a preschooler along the way. Some stuff was lying on a small, square table. Toshiro recognized Lynne's pendant box, the card she got from Tina, the letter from the Tsar and something new – a very small white box. Yoshika picked it up, opened it and showed it to Toshiro.

"Wow, nice… Are those real pearls?"

"The salesman told me that they are."

"But why clip-ons?"

"We are here for almost three months, fornicating for almost two and you still didn't notice that I don't have pierced ear lobes? Humpf!" Yoshika threw a fit.

"Yoshika… There are more beautiful parts of your body than your earlobes…" Toshiro said with a womanizing tone.

"Dawwwwwwww, you charmer… I can't have my earlobes pierced, Toshiro. My regenerative powers are too powerful…"

"How sad… But hey, I don't need you to wear earrings, you're just as beautiful as you are…"

"Oooohoohoo, Toshiro, stop or I'll get randy…"

"Okay, okay… Don't want to bring up hopes..."

"By the way… Did you notice something about Miss Sakamoto?"

"What?"

"She looked… sad… or rather… dejected…"

Toshiro related what happened at HQ.

"Oh… You were a bit too harsh, you know?"

"Maybe, but that's for her own good."

"I hope you made the right judgment, Toshiro."

"Knock, knock!" Francesca stood in the doorway with a cheeky smile. "Yoshika, let's play tag!"

"Okay! Toshiro, maybe you can join us?"

"Nah, I'm too good for you all, heh…"

"Yeah, Toshiro is too good, that would be no fun!" Francesca said.

"Then I'm going for us two!" Yoshika said aloud. "Wish me luck, Toshiro!"

"I'll keep my fingers crossed."

Yoshika ran out with Francesca, and Toshiro slowly walked out of the room. Before he exited the dorm, he was halted by Minna.

"Toshiro, is anyone making dinner?"

"Dunno."

"Everyone must have took your words to their hearts…"

"Heheh, I don't blame them… Maybe we should make dinner, huh?"

"Us two? But…"

"Come on, Minna. I'll be watching you, so you won't make something that would kill a fire dragon."

"Oh… Okay… Then I agree…"

Toshiro and Minna started cooking dinner. They decided to make all-time favorites – burgers and schnitzel.

As they were frying the schnitzels, Shirley and Trude came in. Trude's jaw almost fell on her feet as she saw Minna in a cooking apron. Shirley was a bit less expressive, but she nailed it.

"This really is a do or die if Minna is cooking…"

Erica came in afterwards.

"Hey, Trudy, where did you go… be right back…" She turned around as fast as she came in.

"What was that about?" Minna asked.

"You'll see…" Toshiro sighed.

In a minute, Erica returned with Minna's camera.

"Oh come on, Erica…" Minna said. "Stop…"

"This is pure gold, Minna! I must do it!"

"Don't be a sourpuss, Minna." Toshiro said.

"Ah, okay…"

Minna struck a pose with a mallet, and Erica took a photo of her.

"Thanks, Minna!" She cheered.

"Now place the camera on its place, and sit at the table like a good girl." Minna commanded

"Roger!"

All the girls soon assembled at the table, with Mio coming in last. She didn't sulk like earlier. Mio looked perfectly normal.

"Crap, I forgot about monitoring her…"

"Don't worry, Toshiro, I have her under surveillance passively."

"Oh, thanks, Yuki."

"Don't mention it. She just lied in her bed up until now."

"Crap, this must be tough for her…"

"She's so tense that you could probably use her as a guitar string…"

The girls ate with such fervor as if they were served by a four star restaurant.

"Best yet!" Shirley cheered. "Hey, Toshiro, do we still have some beef?"

"Yeah, why are you asking?"

"We could fire up the barbeque! The last one in Romagna!"

"Yay!" Francesca cheered. "Want!"

"But no alcohol, girls." Minna said. "We have to be fit for tomorrow."

"Nah, we don't need alcohol to have a good party…" Shirley shrugged her off.

"You shouldn't be the one talking in that matter, heheh…" Toshiro laughed in a creepy way.

Shirley's cheeks reddened and she shouted, "Oh shut up!"

Minna and Yoshika giggled, and Toshiro said, "Fine, instead of supper, we have a barbeque."

"Then maybe we'll do some last round of paperwork, huh?" Minna asked.

"I thought you'd never ask, hah!"

"Hey, Toshiro! I wanted to spend some time with you…"

"You'll have the occasion during the barbeque. And, remember – after we win, we're free to go. I'll move mountains so we can both enjoy our free time together."

"Ah, okay. Then I agree."

"Oh thank you, milady…"

"Can it, stupid…"

The rest of the girls giggled.

"Toshiro, shouldn't we…" Minna whispered.

"Yuki is keeping tabs on her, don't worry."

"How helpful…"

A few hours later, Minna and Toshiro finally finished.

"Done!" Toshiro shouted. "Let's pig out at the barbeque!"

"I'll miss this office… This chair is so comfortable, my desk is nice… I have a nice comrade…"

"I'll miss it too, Minna. But our unit is just a mercenary force so to speak. If the 504th wasn't busted so badly, we would probably be still scattered over the whole world…"

"Probably… And maybe Mio wouldn't be so desperate to use that sword…"

"She would be anyway, Minna. She wanted to learn the Reppuzan after I showed it to her, and she said she wanted to make a magic sword a good week or two before the Venezian hive appeared. It seems this isn't a variable, Minna, it's a constant…"

Minna sighed deeply and said, "But you have to admit – she's dedicated…"

"Yeah… A bit to dedicated, but still… Let's go."

"Sure."

They arrived before the dorm. The barbeque was already in full swing, with the girls running around, and some of them simply sitting in chairs and chewing down steaks. Shirley was standing before the grill with a poker, wearing an apron with 'Kiss the cook' written over it.

"Hey, who started without us?!" Toshiro shouted.

"We decided to start earlier, so we can get more sleep." Trude explained.

"Ah, okay, you're excused." Toshiro said silently.

"Elwyn, for crying out loud, get some steaks for our good commanders!"

"Stuff it, Frau Panzerfaust! What you want your steaks like?" Shirley asked.

"Burnt!" Both Minna and Toshiro answered at the same time.

They looked at each other and burst out in laughter.

"Then you'll have to wait a tad."

They both fished out Mio, sitting on a chair detached from the rest. She was slowly eating a steak, not minding everyone else.

"You go, Minna."

"Roger."

Toshiro found himself a chair, and he watched as Minna tried to liven up Mio a bit. The latter showed some interest in Minna, but it was only between bites.

A spectacular failure.

Shirley finally gave them steaks, and Yoshika joined Toshiro.

"I see that you're full of energy, Yoshika. Save some for tomorrow!"

"You think?"

"Nah… If you feel like it, run around with the rest a bit more."

"I prefer to stay with you, heehee…"

"Oh you sweet little clingy rascal…" Toshiro said with a soft voice. "But forgive me, this piece of meat wants some attention."

"I wish I could give some attention to some other piece of meat…" Yoshika sighed.

"Hey, I can explore two more of your holes, heh…"

Minna almost suffocated on a piece of steak and she said, "Would you two mind? I'm eating…"

"Oh, sorry…" Toshiro said.

At about 2100, the barbeque finished, and everyone went to their rooms. Toshiro however was vigilant.

"The night is still young, maybe Mio will pull something off..."

"She's moving!"

Toshiro jumped out to the balcony and started observing the premises. He saw Mio running towards the castle. But about a hundred meters after her, Minna was following carefully.

When Mio disappeared into the castle, Toshiro jumped down before Minna.

"What do you think, Minna?"

"She took her sword. I think she wants to use the Striker and train in a remote location."

"Shit! Let's block her start off."

"Yes!"

They ran to the hangar entrance. Toshiro peeked over inside, and he could see Mio in her Striker, struggling to take off.

"Now!" He said silently.

Minna and Toshiro ran to the center of the hangar entrance and extended their hands to the side. After a few seconds, Mio came in rushing towards them. She opened her eyes wide seeing them, but she managed to jump over them. Not two seconds past, and they heard a rumble and a shout of pain. They turned around and saw Mio spread on the runway, with her Striker detached from her legs.

She started to slowly stand up, and she said, "Minna… Toshiro… Why intervene now…"

"Because you're violating a direct order." Minna said.

"I see… Did Toshiro tell you all the details?"

"Yes. He used a nice allegory. You're burning out rapidly, Mio…"

Rain started raining suddenly from the lead clouds hanging over the base.

Mio stood up violently and assumed a stance with her sword.

"But I can still fight!"

She powered up her sword, but it stopped glowing after only a second. Mio gasped in shock.

"It's over, Mio!" Minna shouted.

"It's not!" Mio shouted back. "I swear I will master the Shin Reppuzan! Toshiro succeeded, I can too!"

"No!" Minna shouted with tears in her eyes. "Can't you see?! It's impossible for you!"

Mio raised her head to the sky and with a voice full of sorrow she shouted, "Please, just once! Just one attack! Let me perform a Shin Reppuzan!"

Mio collapsed on her knees, onto the wet runway.

"Please… Let me…"

Mio started crying like somebody who lost their motivation to live would cry.

"Let me be one of the twelve!"

Minna and Toshiro approached her. Minna stood directly before Mio.

"Please… Minna… Let me be one…"

Mio fell into Minna's arms, wailing like a little child. Minna rested her chin on top of Mio's head, and tried to comfort her, but to no avail.

Toshiro felt a presence in the hangar.

Crap… Not you… Of all of the people, not you…

"Toshiro, please, help me calm her down…" Minna said with desperation in her voice.

He sighed, and approached them. He activated the Sacred Flame and placed his hands on her head. Mio stopped crying, and only started sobbing.

"Minna, I'll take her Striker and put it away. You take her to my room, I have to watch her, dry her down and whatever…"

"Okay. Come on, Mio. Let's get out of this rain…"

"Okay…" Mio said silently.

They walked slowly towards the hangar, with Toshiro following them slowly. He placed Mio's Striker in her Launch Unit, and he waited for the two to leave the hangar.

"Yoshika, you didn't see anything. You weren't here. You didn't take a rubber coat from the storage room to run back to your bed."

Toshiro heard some rustling behind him as Yoshika went over to the storage room. He followed the two to his room. The two were sitting in the empty tub, with Mio looking like a wet dog, and feeling like one. Toshiro dried them up, and he said, "Leave the rest to me, Minna. Go to sleep, one of us has to be fit to command tomorrow. Take a rubber coat from the storage."

"Okay. Good night, Mio."

Mio was silent.

"Mio, Mio…" Toshiro sighed. "Take off your uniform, you'll be sleeping in my bed.

That caused a reaction.

"In one… bed… with you?" She asked uncertainly.

"You can take the pillows. You deserve to sleep in a proper bed, not in some shitty futon."

Some colors returned to Mio's pale face.

"We can place your sword between us in an old custom, so if anyone walks in on us, they'll know nothing happened."

"O… Okay…"

Mio took off her uniform, untied her hair and took off her eye patch. Her right eye wasn't glowing.

"You must be really tired…"

"I am…"

Toshiro undressed himself and lied on the far left part of his bed. He pushed all the pillows to the right side of the bed, and he patted with his hand on that side. Reluctantly, Mio lied down. Toshiro placed Reppumaru between them and said, "Don't beat yourself for what happened now. The eleven of us will stand in for you with pride."

"I think I'll still be able to fly…"

"Good. Night, Mio."

"Good night, Toshiro…"

Toshiro closed his eyes, but he heard sobbing from his side. The bed rustled, and he felt Mio's hand on his arm. He opened his eyes, and saw Mio slowly moving toward him.

"Miooo… What are you trying to do…"

He was silenced, by her index finger placed on his lips. She grabbed Reppumaru and threw it aside, straight into the tub. She sat on him, and she slowly undressed herself from her swimsuit she always wore under her uniform. He breasts were fully visible in the dim light of the rainy night.

"Please… Toshiro… I can't hold it in any longer… I want to feel you inside me… I want to lose myself in your muscular arms… I want to rub my body against yours… I want to forget…"

"Did you consider Yoshika?"

"She will understand… I'm sure she will…" Mio said as she closed in.

Her lips were just a hair width from his.

5:4, Yoshika, play ball

Hmm… Something's missing here… I wonder where it is... ;)

And if you want to praise/rant about my story, please leave a signed review, so we can continue via PM's. Seriously, I don't bite. Unless provoked :]