A/N: Hey all, sorry that I haven't updated. I lost track of the time with all of the new anime this season. Sigh, there is just so many new ones to watch! I also need to build two new desktops. One is for myself so that doesn't count, but the other is for my family to use. Just because I managed to build one desktop does not automatically make me a genius. In fact, that desktop I built for my friend had died after two days. Well, it wasn't my fault, though. His power source was completely incompatible and got fried. Really.
I remember mentioning that there were rumours of a second season for Angel Beats! that was meant to be released this season, but apparently no news from Japan about that or it's release date. Guess I'm free to do whatever I want with my story now.
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 8
Bullet Storm
They pushed forward with their new heading, Katsuragi nursing a new lump on his head. He guessed he deserved that, though for what reason he did not know. They continued on, pushing on through the woods ever wary of any possible danger that may be lurking in the thick forest. Ayane continued to cut through the thick woods without any pause or hint of her being cautious. But Katsuragi knew that she was probably the one who had the sharpest instincts when it came down to things like this. If anyone were able to sense the enemy coming in close, she would know. Katsuragi had already given up the prospect of their group's two senior members to contribute anything at all.
If it was of any consolation, they had at least drawn their weapons. The problem was whether they were going to use those weapons. It wasn't a question since he knew that they would use it eventually. The problem is when. We were getting ever closer to the whatever was out there and we were only trained in the usage of weapons for a couple of hours. That does not make us super soldiers like the seniors. Unlike them, who would not even bat an eye to shoot their own comrades, we would probably be blinking our eyes so fast that it might as well be closed should someone with a stick jumps out and starts to wave and scream incoherent things to us while waving that stick in his hand. Now that was a strange image to think of. Ayane raised her hand and the group halted, crouching low to ground.
"What is it?"
Yamato whispered to the lead girl, who pointed ahead. Though it was dark and everything was nearly pitch black, we could still see somewhat ahead of us. The bushes ahead were moving. Something was there. Katsuragi and Yamato both raised their rifles, pointing ahead. Whatever was ahead of them was beginning to move in their direction. Katsuragi gripped his rifle, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot at the first thing that came out. And apparently the first thing that came out was-
"... Katsuragi?"
Daisuke's face popped out from the bushes with a puzzled look on his face. Katsuragi stared at Daisuke for the moment, then-
BANG
"... What did you do that for?"
Yamato looked over to Katsuragi who held the smoking gun.
"... Not sure, but something about seeing his idiotic face after being in such a tense situation made me want to shoot him at least once."
Katsuragi admitted. Yamato looked at Ayane, then back to Katsuragi, shrugging her shoulders.
"I guess you're right."
"WHO'S RIGHT? ! WHY DID YOU SHOOT ME, KATSURAGI? !"
Daisuke demanded, getting up to his feet.
"Oh, you revive really fast."
Yamato muttered.
"That's not the point!"
"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that for now."
A new voice said. Stepping out of the trees was the rest of group Charlie.
"Charlie group?"
Yamato asked as the newcomers all crouched low in the same area.
"Yup. I'm Kashiide Kazu, the one over there is Hiroshi, Narusaki Yue, Wakase Izumi, and you've already met Daisuke."
The young man leading the group said.
"Yamato, Ayane, and Katsuragi."
Yamato said as well. Ayane did not seem to seem bother getting herself into the conversation, while Katsuragi gave a curt nod.
"Where do we stand as of now?"
Kazu asked.
"We were heading towards your group to better our chances. Now that we are grouped up, we can head either towards Beta group, or towards the target point."
Yamato replied, taking out her map to point at the places which Katsuragi had marked out earlier with his blood.
"Yue, what's your take?"
Kazu turned to the girl from his group.
"Well, I would recommend that we group up with the others, since whatever is attacking Beta group must surely be dangerous enough. We can still hear their fighting up till now."
Yue noted, pointing up where those gunshots were still quite audible.
"But... There is something else."
Yue added, rubbing her chin in thought.
"Something else?"
Yamato asked, puzzled and concerned by what the other girl had said.
"... Because of the way the groups are dispersed, it would not be odd for whatever that attacked Beta group to attack Alpha group as well. Not only that, but by tracking the sounds, we can tell that both Beta and Alpha groups are on the move while trying to fight off their attackers."
Katsuragi explained, understanding what Yue had thought of. Yue smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly."
"So what do you two recommend?"
Kazu asked.
"The best course of action would be heading towards the objective point. We have grouped up with another group, thus boosting our numbers and chances of going against whatever is out there. The objective point is a clearing, thus letting us have an even footing against our enemy compared to if we engage them in this thick forest."
Katsuragi said, pointing to the objective on the map.
"I see... Looks like we have two strategists in our group."
Yamato smirked, folding the map and keeping it in her bag.
"And two leaders."
Hiroshi added, pointing to Kazu and Yamato.
"Well, add in our point men and we have ourselves a military squad."
"... Too bad we have an idiot here."
The two groups made their way to the rendezvous point, which was a small clearing in this dense forest with a small shed. It may not seem much to others, but to the recruits, it was like seeing Nirvana. Ayane and Hiroshi took point, checking the interior of the shed before signalling the others that it was safe. Soon the group were safely holed up inside the shed. It was a small shed and there wasn't much space left for moving about once everyone was inside. Most likely if another group arrived, they would not be able to get into this shed. The shed contained a table with a small bag filled with canned food and drinks, as well as a piece of paper. Yamato took the paper and unfolded it to read.
"... Looks like we're in trouble."
She said, passing the paper to Kazu, who read it and sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"This is unbelievable! This is outrageous!"
Katsuragi looked from the window to Yamato, who handed him the paper.
"What do you think of this?"
She asked. Katsuragi looked at the paper and all it said was 'Good Luck'. Katsuragi could only laugh at that. Good luck? Was that all that was written? No wonder Kazu was pissed.
"So?"
Yamato asked, clearly not turning to the self-appointed leader of Charlie group. Katsuragi looked at the paper once more and then to the bag of supplies. Were they meant to stay here for some time? That was a clear possibility. He glanced over to the senior members, but the two of them did not seem fazed by any of this. They probably went through something similar, or that they were beyond caring about anything. Whichever it was, right now Katsuragi could only deduce that this was all still part of the training exercise, though quite crazy.
"I believe that we are meant to eliminate the threats out there."
Katsuragi deduced, seeing as how that was the only explanation behind this note.
"... I see."
Yamato sighed, unslinging her rifle and sitting down on the floor of the shed.
"So this exercise will not end unless we kill whatever is out there."
"Most likely there are a few 'Shadows' out there. We should assume that there would be at least eight."
Katsuragi explained.
"Eight? Why eight?"
Daisuke wondered. Probably his very first productive question since this exercise began.
"This exercise isn't meant to kill us, but rather to make sure we are used to fighting. I explained to my team members before that if Fujibayashi-san wanted to kill us, she would have split us up into smaller groups, but she did not. She gave us each a good chance to survive if we work together. Plus, the words she said before this began also shows that she is trying to make sure we survive. I would suggest that if she wanted to make us used to fighting, she would get us to fight a Shadow."
Katsuragi explained.
"So why eight? That makes two per group."
"Because one Shadow can be easily overcome by a group of armed students, such as ourselves even if we lack training. Two, on the other hand, forces us to be on our toes and to switch between offensive and defensive tactics when fighting the enemy. At least that is what I would do."
"So you have no proof? !"
Kazu suddenly exploded in anger.
"It's better than having nothing."
Yamato said, closing her eyes to rest.
"This is crazy. This is obviously some stupid, sick game of theirs. No more, I say. I say we leave."
Kazu decided.
"Leaving now would only cause you to be open to attacks."
Yamato countered.
"So what, you're suggesting that we stay holed up in here and wait for whatever is out there to come for us?"
"... It is better than chasing after death."
She replied, opening one eye to Kazu. Kazu was fuming with anger, obviously not agreeing with Yamato's idea.
"This is stupid. I would rather go out and try to get to safety rather than staying here. I'm out of here. Come on guys."
Kazu grabbed his rifle to leave. Katsuragi wanted to stop him but Yamato pulled him back, merely shaking her head before stifling a yawn. Charlie group grabbed half of the supplies and left, but Daisuke remained.
"... Shouldn't you be going as well?"
Katsuragi asked, to which Daisuke merely smirked.
"I know when to follow a person and when not to. Kazu has obviously lost his cool. Following him would be suicide. Besides, I like having a shelter over my head."
Daisuke answered. Katsuragi could not help but smile. He turned to Yamato, but she simply took her training cap and pulled its visor to cover her eyes.
"Do what you wish. Wake me up when something happens."
She muttered before falling asleep. Katsuragi saw that Ayane had also dozed off. He was tired as well, but he guessed he could still go on. He looked to the two seniors, who were using this rest to check their weapons. Katsuragi walked over to the window and watched Charlie squad head off back into the dense forest. It was strange why they follow Kazu when his idea seemed crazy. But maybe he should question why he was following Yamato, and also why would anyone follow a leader this much. Charisma? Fear? Or was it something else? Katsuragi did not know.
"Say, do you really think that there would be two of those Shadows for each group?"
Daisuke asked, opening a can of food, only to find it filled with peaches in over sweet syrup. Better than nothing.
"... It is only a theory. If there was only one Shadow in these woods, then Alpha and Beta group would not be encountering that much trouble."
"Hmm... So that means that there is at least two."
Daisuke said as he ate a peach while offering some to Katsuragi.
"... Like I said, at least eight."
Katsuragi said, reaching over and taking a peach for himself.
"... This place has the best vantage for us. We can easily see any enemy coming towards us from all direction, and we also have a clear line to shoot them. It is best in a case like this, where we do not know the enemy's strength nor their numbers, to wait here for them to come to us."
"And you guys knew this but did not tell Kazu."
Daisuke noted, making Katsuragi smile.
"I guess we're all selfish in our own way."
"Oi, wake up, Katsuragi, wake up."
He was shook awake and slowly stirred. Opening his eyes, he saw Yamato in front of him, in one hand having an open can of food.
"Wha-... what time is it?"
He asked, seeing as how there was light pouring into the shed.
"Around eight in the morning. As we thought, they are not ending this exercise until we get rid of all the Shadows."
Yamato offered a hand to Katsuragi. He took it and she pulled him up to his feet.
"Want some?"
She offered her tin of food. Inside were inari sushi skins. Bean curd skins for breakfast. That was odd.
"Too bad we don't have any rice."
Daisuke muttered, chewing on one piece himself. Katsuragi took a piece and tossed it into his mouth. Salty.
"Why don't you go out and find some?"
Yamato turned to Daisuke.
"What am I, a dog?"
"Close to one."
"That's harsh."
Katsuragi took a peek outside the window. So far nothing was out there. Gun fire was still heard in the forest, though it wasn't as intense as the night before. Some shots, then silence, before more shots. The sound was scattered and random.
"There may be some people who were separated from their groups. Hopefully they know which direction they are heading towards."
Yamato noted, leaning against the wall of the shed while checking her rifle.
"We could fire up a flare."
Daisuke offered.
"That would attract those monsters as well."
Katsuragi said.
"Well, this exercise isn't going to end unless we kill them all, right? Besides, we haven't fired a single shot throughout this entire time... Well, except for you."
Yamato noted that Katsuragi had fired one shot, at Daisuke. But one round wasn't actually much in the large picture, so it wasn't really counted.
"So, shall we set off the flares? We may be getting busy real soon after that, though. You guys sure you want to do this?"
Yamato looked at the others, besides the seniors who could not be bothered by anything as usual. Ayane merely nodded, her grip on her blade tightening.
"We've rested for the night and had our fill of food. If you want to set it off with a bang, now is a good time."
Daisuke nodded. All eyes turned to Katsuragi, who felt rather pressure by this. He closed his eyes in thought as he weighed the options. Signalling the flares is the obvious choice to do. It would attract all of the other squads in the area to this place, as well as bringing all enemies into the open. But were they ready? Only Daisuke and Yamato had actual experience in fighting Shadows, though according to Yamato, the seniors did all of the work while they were asked to stand behind.
So Daisuke's showing off account of him defeating Shadows was completely false. Thus no one actually had fought a Shadow before. Were they really ready? But if they wait any longer, they run the risk of being stuck here with their food stock dwindling away. No, now was the time. Daisuke was right. After resting for one night, they were as ready as they would ever be. Any longer and the feeling of mental and emotional fatigue would take over. Morale would drop as the days go by. Fight now, or lose by attrition. It was a clear decision to make.
"... Let's light it up then."
Panting, Saya leaned against the tree she took cover behind. She looked around the tree, spotting no one. For now, she had shaken off her pursuers. Shadows. They weren't told of Shadows appearing in this exercise! Was this some sort of hellish game of these people? To filter out those who are too weak? This was crazy! Weren't they all accepted into the organization already?
"... 'Exercise' my ass. This is battle royal all over again."
Saya muttered, checking her ammunitions level. Down to one clip. Spending one entire night fighting those things had drained her both physically and mentally. She had been separated from the rest of her group and had wandered in the thick forest on her own for the past few hours. She had dropped her back pack earlier to escape a Shadow when it grabbed onto it to hold her down. Hungry, tired, injured and low on supplies. Not a good combination. Oh, and not to forget lost.
"... Out of the fire and into the inferno."
She muttered to no one in particular, looking up into the sky.
"... I wonder if... if I'll ever meet Kanako again... Tell her I'm sorry... Then again I wouldn't think so. I'm the one who's dead. Not her."
Saya laughed weakly at that realization. She remembered that incident, but nothing else. Remembering the pain of her life rather than her actual existence.
"I guess that's karma. I wonder if it's my own fate to face punishment here and just die-... hmm?"
Saya then noticed something flying up into the air. Something bright. A flare? At first, Saya was puzzled. Then a strange sense of hope filled her chest. There was still someone out there.
"... I guess I'll take that as a sign."
She smirked, slotting her last clip into her rifle.
"Some one still needs my help. Sorry Kanako, but I'll have to deal with your ghost later... though you aren't dead and I'm the ghost."
Slamming a fresh clip into his rifle, Katsuragi took in a deep breath, before getting up from his cover and sticking his rifle out of the window of the shed he and his group took cover in, training his sights onto the first Shadow in his view. He squeezed the trigger and unleashed hot lead into the creature's body. The creature stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, disappearing into dark smoke. But where it was defeated, another two emerged from the trees to replace it.
"This isn't just eight any more, Katsuragi!"
Yamato shouted, ducking back under cover to reload. Katsuragi did not want to admit it, but she was right. There wasn't just eight. So far he counted twenty enemies they felled. It was endless.
"And where are those idiots! They should have seen the flare and heard all of this noise!"
Yamato was clearly not happy that so far no other team has made any appearance while they continued to fight on for almost an hour. Katsuragi looked towards the two seniors, who had their weapons out and ready to be used, but they still stood by the side, silently watching. A test. This was all just a test. A test that may end horribly too.
"Keep firing!"
Yamato shouted, standing back on her feet to shoot at more enemies.
"I'm nearly out!"
Daisuke shouted. Yamato grabbed a bag and tossed it over to him. In it were additional ammunitions that was together with the food supplies. Hidden from view thus Kazu did not spot them and merely assumed that it only contained food.
"Don't give excuses! Just shoot!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!"
Daisuke grunted, pulling himself up and firing more rounds.
"In-coming!"
Yamato suddenly shouted, jumping away from the window. Katsuragi barely had time to look as a giant black mass bounded through the window. A Shadow had rushed at them, managing to get by the hail storm of bullets and into the shed. The two seniors aimed their weapons at the Shadow, ready to fire, but Ayane suddenly dashed across. She held her machete in a back-hand manner, dragging it across the Shadow as she flew past.
Turning around, she brought the blade across the creature several times before twirling the blade in her hand and stabbing it into the creature's body. Ayane then jumped into the air, turning her body in the air as she brought her right boot straight at the blade handle. Her kick pushed the blade further into the creature as well as pushed the Shadow back. It was slammed against the wall by the force and disappeared, Ayane's machete clattering to the floor. Katsuragi and Daisuke stared in disbelief at what just happened. Ayane calmly walked over and picked up her blade, swinging it down once as though she was trying to shake off blood that wasn't there, before sheathing it.
"Stop gawking and more shooting! Keep staring and I'll make sure you two would lack eyes to see anything!"
Yamato shouted at them, shaking them from their stupor. The two of them looked to each other before they got back to their feet and resumed firing at the enemies. Whilst he pulled the trigger at the enemies, Katsuragi's mind went back a few things. Why was he here? Why was he fighting? Was this how it was going to be from now on? An endless war? Somewhere, in the back of his head, he had a strange nagging feeling that it wasn't going to be endless. All of this would end.
'By your hand.'
"... Aicha, this is getting a little bad."
Kyou muttered, staring at the scene in the exercise forest with her binoculars.
"'A little'? What do you mean 'a little'? ! This is completely out of hand!"
One of her squad leaders shouted.
"He's right, Major. This is a little too much."
Another said. Her squad leaders were all nodding and agreeing with each other. Kyou would not deny that fact. She knew this was troublesome and will only get worse if left on its own. Who knew that the Shadows could split themselves up like bacteria? Each clone had a third of the original's strength, thus able to be defeated easily by a few rounds. But the problem lay with the original few. They were still out there somewhere, spewing out an army of Shadows like they were spawning nests for some alien breed who could destroy any enemy base within the first five minutes of a match using a rush tactic and-... No, Kyou's thinking was getting out of hand again. She had to deal with this fast or else the recruits would not last.
"... My snipers are ready..."
A voice said from behind. Kyou turned around and saw Suou leaning against the wall of the watch tower, her long cloak that covered her body could not hide her ridiculously large rifle and her hood could not hide that dark malice within her eyes. Kyou was hesitant to use the snipers for two reasons. One was that she received reports that the Angels were going to launch another attack. Letting the snipers use their large anti-tank rifles would cause more than enough noise to attract every single Shadow and Angel in the region to this place. The second reason was even more fundamental. The tracking device Yuuko gave her did not work. Kyou should have known that Yuuko was never reliable for anything like this. Without the tracking devices, no one knew where the Shadows were.
"... Just give me the word."
Suou said again. Kyou narrowed her eyes at the sniper leader.
"No, we cannot risk it."
"... Your call."
Suou said, pushing off from the wall and walking out of the tower.
"... That Ryusei person. Can never trust her."
One of her squad leaders muttered.
"That's 'Captain' Ryusei to you guys."
Kyou sighed, turning back to the situation at hand after reminding her men. But she had to agree, Suou was a cold and detached character. She and her group of snipers could easily blend in with Division six if they wanted to. The only reason they haven't is because the Assault division still needs to hold onto such a group for use in its operations. Kyou sighed, shaking her head as she tried to think of a solution to the problem at hand. What Suou suggested was probably the only viable option, though Kyou did not want to use it. Shooting the recruits themselves. Although the Shadows could not be tracked, the recruits could. The SSS2 had a lot of people who were extremely sensitive to sensing human souls, Tanaka being the one with most experience. By shooting the recruits, they would be dead and revive within a few hours. That could give the assault division to conduct a rather unethical operation, codenamed: Vengeance Storm. This operation was... the last solution to a Shadow infestation. To sum it up, if this operation was used, no one would be alive. Everyone, everything in the school and the probably the entire afterlife World would be dead. Of course they would all revive, but the death was the unethical part. Not to mention the really scary possibility of the entire Afterlife going hay-wire and end up spewing dragons or something.
"... Sigh, what other alternatives to we have?"
Kyou looked to squad leaders, but no one spoke up. No one, until-
"Allow this one to undertake this mission."
Kyou turned around and saw a rather large man standing there. Since when did he appear?
"... Houiin Hideou."
Kyou muttered. This man was always weird, even for SSS2 standards. His 'methods' were... questionable but even she could not doubt his success rate. The rising star within the ranks of the Assault division, part of the Shock Troop squad 'Edge'. If it was him, maybe he could deal with this problem.
"Is Reiji aware of your involvement?"
She asked. The leader of the Shock Troops squad was a rather strict guy, relentless in training his group to be the best. Some even call him 'the next Fujibayashi', something she really doesn't appreciate, but she had to admit that the crazy training they go through was producing results. The Shock Troops of the Assault division are a collection of some of the strongest fighters in the Assault division. Either because Yuki had not been able to secure them for her Elite Wolf group, or because their abilities only formed after they had trained hard. Usually called in for the dangerous jobs or for fast deployment, these guys could move fast, be anywhere and end the conflict faster than it would take for her own unit to get ready. The Shock Troops Edge, the secret card of the Assault division. Unlike the Commandos, who were acting directly under Ein even though they have their own squad leader, the Shock Troops use their own weapons for every battle, never relying on others. A large majority of them use melee weapons with occasional side arms, using tactics that would even leave Kou calling them crazy. This one though, Houiin Hideou, was a whole different kind of crazy.
"Yes, the Captain has agreed to let this one undertake this mission and he sends his sincere regards."
Hideou replied in an extremely polite manner. It was unnerving to see this large and muscular man be so humble and polite. He looked almost like a giant beast that was dragged down from a mountain with raw meat or something. Just how did the fitters manage to get clothes big enough for him anyway?
"... Just how are you going to attempt to find the Shadows that even our snipers are unable to?"
Kyou asked, crossing her arms. Hideou calmly stuck his hands into his pocket and pulled out metal gauntlets. He put on his gauntlets and punched his fist together. They sent a large shock wave that made everything in the room unstable.
"This one is a member of Edge, the holy sword of the SSS2. This one's soul shall be the guiding light upon which injustice shall quiver in fear from. None shall escape this one's path to redemption."