A/N: well we're back this time I promise you some action after the set up so worry not loyal fans.


Muse Section Chapter 3

5th June 1944 DZ 'L' Normandy

Honoka enjoyed the Rush of the air in her face as she fell slowly towards the earth, looking above her the great white sentinel above her rustled in the sky above her, silently delivering her to safety. The chutes of her section visible in her peripheral vision as dots against the night sky, she kept her knees together and braced for impact as she expertly manipulated the lines above finding a clear landing area, a field devoid of both trees and Germans, the only tricky part might be that large hedge to her right.

The ground rushed up to meet her as Honoka flared her chute and prepared to absorb the impact by rolling. Despite her efforts the impact was still jarring to her body as she rolled onto her side the parachute coating the ground with a soft sigh, the wind causing it to slowly tug on her form.

Honoka quickly disconnected the parachute unlocking her harness and let the mass of silk billow in the slight breeze, as it drifted across the fresh earth. She didn't need to concern herself with it anymore.

Rising to her feet Honoka followed the rope attached to her ankles finding her weapon bags that contained her weapons that she'd released in mid-air. Rummaging through the bags she found her webbing and kit bag, slinging them over her shoulders she began to look less like the overladen mess that she had resembled for the past few hours and more like a normal girl. Albeit one who was a soldier with a gun and webbing.

Clutching her Sten she shoved a magazine into the side of it she paused taking her time to appreciate the Mk. V the thing was a relative work of art compared to what she was used to. The smooth wooden stock, the comfortable fore-grip along with the better sights, all marked it out as a gun that had had care put into its design and manufacture. Unlike those piece of crap Mk. IIs that look like something Frankenstein's plumber might use.

Honoka smiled at her gun, whipping out her bayonet and fixing it to the end increasing the already menacing look it gave off. She stopped and cursed herself briefly for getting distracted examining her surroundings, something she should've done when she landed.

The others should've dropped near-by, so it should be easy to find them. She picked herself up standing up in the field, checking to make sure she hadn't missed any injuries before heading off in the likely direction of any of her section who if they were going to be anywhere were going to be beyond that hedge.

As she looked for a gate or opening in the hedge that she could use Honoka could hear a rustling in the hedge. She dropped to her knee and took aim with her gun pulling the cocking handle back and releasing it slowly so as to not alert whoever it was to her presence. The branches and leaves shook as the rustling grew louder. Honoka zeroed her sights in on the branches.

*click*

The ginger girl frowned curious at the noise that emanated from the hedge.

*click*

There was the noise again. It sounded familiar, that was when she remembered the device that Umi had given her after the briefing. It looked like a lighter but actually made that clicking noise that she was hearing now, it was supposed to enable identification of friendly forces Umi had called it a cricket. I really need to stay awake in briefings now. The ginger chided herself internally

Honoka dropped her gun letting it hang by its sling, and fumbled around her smock pockets for the small brass device. Fishing it out she pressed it twice answering the call of the person in the bushes.

*click* *click*

"Oh thank god" she heard a soft voice whisper, as the paratrooper in the hedge disentangled herself from the foliage.

Honoka Rushed up to greet the now familiar face of the section's sniper, tackling her to the ground as she hugged her.

"Kotori-chan!" the sergeant's blue eyes lighting up at the sight of her childhood friend.

"Honoka-chan…are you okay." The yellow eyes of the markswoman looked at her friend with the same mix of happiness and concern that she always did.

"Yeah I'm fine" Honoka nodded her head energetically, "I'm just glad that you're okay is all."

A smile graced Kotori's lips as Honoka pushed herself off of her friend.

"So shall we find the others?" Honoka handed the grey haired girl her Rifle which had been knocked out of her hand.

"Yep let's go."

The search for the majority of their compatriots didn't take long. 10 minutes later the section with the exception of Nico, Umi and Maki was crouched around a map of the area working out where they were.

"Well if you look here that hill is the same as that one on the map" Eli pointed to the looming mound in the distance before tracing some contours on the map.

"Yeah and Rin thinks that church is this one on the map ~nya." Rin chipped in pointing to the cross on the crumpled piece of paper.

"Well if that's all true then we must be here" Nozomi pointed to a field on the edge of a forest in the middle of nowhere.

"So then the Battalion rendezvous is about four miles away in the village of Manneils…which is…in that direction. " Honoka pointed towards the southeast as she double checked the compass open in front of her.

"We're still missing three though…" Kotori said making the glaring absence in their midst even more evident.

"Yeah…" Honoka looked down at the map hiding the worry on her face from her squad mates. It'd only bring down their morale to see their energetic leader worry. She clenched her fist dispelling the expression from her face.

She looked up her usual smile painted on her face

"But I'm sure we'll find them, they can all look after themselves."

"Ummm…actually I think I saw a parachute come down over there… near that field." Hanayo pointed as she pushed her glasses up her nose and corrected her rifle on her shoulder. The anxiety of section lessened a little, but did not disappear entirely shoulders still tense with worry.

"Then we should look for them they'll be around here somewhere; we haven't even looked that hard yet." Nozomi fumbled with her pockets, her Bren on her shoulder swaying dangerously as she was preoccupied.

The purple haired girl finally producing a tarot card that she had stashed in her breast pocket, she smiled turning around the card revealing the card to be the lovers

"My, looks like the signs are good." Eli rolled her eyes frustrated with her companion's antics.

"Right then let's go." Honoka folded up the map "we'll search that field and the surrounding farmland for about 15 minutes before heading towards the Rendezvous. Shout if you find anything."

The section all stood up a brief chatter rising as they paired off while Honoka delegated directions to search for the other team members.


Honoka and Kotori started towards a wooded copse at the edge of the search area. Both girls walked in silence. Kotori repeatedly glancing over at Honoka, walking much closer than she normally would. The silence was another hallmark of the weird atmosphere Honoka got from her friend whenever they were alone, punctuated by what sounded like stuttered attempts at speech from her ashen haired friend. Sometimes Honoka thought it was as though Kotori was in love with her. That can't be right can it? I mean we're just friends after all. She can't see me in that way, because I don't…

The ginger sergeant gloomily contemplated thepossibleoutcomes if she was wrong, whatever the prospects were if she was they weren't good for their friendship.

Shaking her head, clearing her head of the melancholy thoughts; Honoka turned her mind to the task at hand. As she did so they entered the darkened trees, the branches and logs littering the floor cast shadows and fed already hungry imaginations.

Muttered curses fell out of the sergeant's mouth, as she stumbled over the twisted gnarled roots that coated the ground, a situation worsened by the low growing trees and shrubs that caught on the netting and camouflage of her helmet.

She sighed there's no way anyone survived landing in here even if they did choose this as a spot.

Honoka was thankful for her smock as a slight breeze blew that sharpened the already cool night air. But the darkness was stifling, and the chill didn't do much to help dull Honoka's instincts that someone was watching her.

The search appeared fruitless from her perspective however, it looked like they were alone in the wood and there was no sign that anyone had landed near here.

"Hey Honoka" Kotori gestured to her friend to come over here, shouldering her rifle. "Take a look at this."

"A parachute…?" Honoka looked at the discarded strings lying in a ditch on the ground "looks like I was wrong then someone did land near here."

"Mmhmm." Kotori narrowed her eyes looking beyond the treeline.

"What is it Kotori-chan?" Honoka looked briefly at her friend before following her gaze. A small gasp escaped her lips as she saw a silhouette in the field beyond.

Her instincts kicked in, she dropped to her knee levelling her Sten at the figure before she could register whether the owner of the outline was friend or foe.

Kotori took a look through her scope at the distant person; her finger hovered over the trigger uncertainly.

Honoka held her breath her eyes darting between her friend's reaction and the figure in the field beyond.

Eventually the sniper let out the breath that she had been holding to steady the rifle, and lowered the gun. The tension in the air dispersed with this subtle confirmation that the outline shuffling in the grass was no threat.

"It's ok that's Nico-chan out there." Gesturing towards the figure that was limping across their field of vision

"Are you sure Kotori? How can you tell?"

"Well I do have a scope Honoka-chan they tend to make things at a distance easier to see, plus she's already wearing her beret so I can see her twin-tails."

"Ok then…" Honoka stood up and letting her Sten fall at her side, she ran into the field waving "OI NICO-CHAN! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

Kotori shook her head lightly smiling as she saw the NCO tackled the Raven haired girl to the ground in hug, causing a cry of surprise and pain. "Honoka take it easy…Nico-chan might be injured" she said as her friend started to babble over how hard it was to find her.

"Oh you're right…Nico are you Ok?"

"Of Course I'm not didn't you see me limping? I sprained my ankle on landing!"

"Oh, you did? Sorry, I didn't notice. Kotori was the one who spotted you actually…" Honoka laughed anxiously scratching the back of her neck nervously as she apologised to Nico.

"Humph well you shouldn't be so careless…honestly I can't believe you're our Sergeant."

"How did you get injured anyway Nico-chan?" kotori asked trying to get the conversation back on track.

Nico's face turned dark "that's…that's something that I should tell the whole section." Nico looked Honoka in the eye "Sergeant Kousaka"

"I understand, we'll head back to the squad…Kotori keep an eye out for the rest of them."

"Got it."


The squad were huddled around Nico as a light drizzle fell on the squad darkening the colour of the berets that some had swapped their helmets for.

"So why does the story of you being injured require all of us Nicocchi? Nozomi raised an eyebrow as she searched Nico's red eyes for an answer.

"The injury is because of a bad landing and it isn't much anyway just a sprained ankle." As Nico bore holes into Nozomi's skull

"That's true…we did find her parachute in the middle of some trees" the ashen haired sniper added

"Is that all ~nya? We've all had bad landings, even on operations. Rin remembers when Kayo-chin nearly broke her arm in Tunisia." The lively ginger grabbed Hanayo hugging her tightly.

"Rin-chan's right. You didn't need to tell us that all together Nico…Rin-chan I can't breathe." Honoka smirked at the last outburst from Hanayo, trying to extract herself from her companion's grip.

"Yeah but the reason for the bad landing is what's important...I made a bad exit I was thrown out of the plane by an explosion. Umi and Maki hadn't jumped yet, I didn't see any chutes after my canopy opened…the right wing was on fire…" Nico let the meaning of the words sink in

"So you mean…" Eli began haltingly. "You mean that they didn't make it?"

Nico nodded.

A stunned silence fell on the squad, the distant rumble of anti-aircraft fire and explosions contrasting with the slight patter of rain on the few helmets of the section.

Tears were in the eyes of the both the younger members. Eli clenched her fists trying to keep a straight face. Honoka stood up her eyes dark in the low light. She walked three paces out of the huddled section before taking out the map, and pointing off into the distance.

"Let's go, we need to get to the battalion rendezvous before sun-up."

"But what about Umi and Maki?" Eli asked her leader.

"They'll be fine…they've made it I'm sure they wouldn't leave us just like that. We'll look for them while we complete our objectives."

The section slowly stood up. The golden eyed markswoman caught a glimpse of her friend brushing away a tear.

"Honoka-chan…" she began before Honoka turned around, a smile painted on her face.

"Its fine Kotori-chan it's just the rain that's all. Umi and Maki aren't so weak as to let some Germans get the better of them" the squad started to perk up. Rin and Hanayo wiped their eyes.

"I guess it can't be helped." Nico unslung her Sten "We'll just have to bail out that useless Tsundere then…"

"Come on…it's pointless if they're trying to find us and we're just sat here." Eli gripped her rifle. "We need to put in the effort to find them as well, if we don't stick together we aren't Muse. The fact that we all look out for each other and stick together is what makes us, us. So we should believe in them to get through it." The section nodded in agreement, slowly rising from the ground the former fire reignited in their eyes.

"Now let's go find our friends." Honoka punched her hand into the air.

Hang in there Umi-chan Maki-chan…We'll find you.


A/N: in case you hadn't noticed the story will alternate chapters between a pair and the rest of the squad (for Normandy at least)

Glossary

Webbing: the pouches and strips of cloth to support them that contain a soldier's ammunition and equipment such as rations water and first aid kits.

Cricket: as mentioned its a small brass clicker issued to allied forces (mostly paras) on D-Day so they could tell friend from foe

that should be it PM me if there's anything you want to ask