A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. Just finished a mighty large project at work and I was really tired after that. I still have more projects to do at work but for now, I'll rest and focus on this story.
Was the curve ball too much? Though I threw in hints throughout the story that Katsuragi was something other than human, I guess I also threw in too many other confusing things to cover it up... I tend to do that.
Angel Beats!
What We Live For
Operation 32
My Fang
There are many things that Kusanagi Yamato was unsure of. It could be due to her upbringing that resulted in her brain being unable to figure out a lot of things. She could blame it on her father, a war maniac whose philosophy was to always just charge forward in everything he does, or she could blame it on her mother, a kind woman who just lets everything that goes wrong be blamed on herself. Her life was not one that was comfortable, happy or even possible to call it a 'life'. Her father was a war otaku who went off to chase delusional fantasy dreams after he was retrenched from work while her mother worked two jobs as a fast food cashier and a convenience store clerk just to support her father's whimsical wishes.
Her mother was too soft, too loving. Not too sure why or how she can stay in love with a useless man. Even with her mother's collapse from exhaustion only pushed her useless father deeper into his obsession, his delusions becoming grander. In his mad delusions, he took his own life... together with her mother's. An explosive device detonated in her mother's hospital room. Yamato wasn't there at that time since she was getting an extra shift at her part time job at a family restaurant just to pay off the hospital bills. Yamato was all alone. She had no relatives, no friends to count on, she was lost. She thought of ending her life then... but she was afraid, couldn't go through it. No matter what had happened, she wanted to live. Fate... however, was not so kind.
"Kusanagi!"
She looked up, seeing the young man taking cover behind a pillar support, blood trickling down the side of his face from a wound on his head.
"We're being pinned down!"
He shouted, wincing at a stray bullet chipped off a part of the pillar he was hiding behind.
"... Pinned down."
She muttered to herself. How many times has she gotten herself cornered? She lost count already. She looked down the tunnel from the direction they came from. She led this small group down the tunnels far enough. But then they encountered a large group of Type D Angels. They ran for cover but they had already lost two to the storm of bullets. She looked at the rifle in her hand that she picked up from one of the fallen members. Her shotgun had long since been tossed aside, no longer having any ammunition thus it was merely dead weight. Pity, she really liked that shotgun.
"Kusanagi! We need to do something!"
The young man shouted once more. Yamato sighed, leaning her head back against the wall. Why did she had to think of her past? It was really pointless. Tomoyo told her once that sometimes, when a person is pushed closer to their limit, their mind would tend to drift off to whatever weird dreams they have. Most of the time, it would be their past. Some sort of way to distract themselves from reality. Well... some distraction that was. It wasn't something she wanted to see again.
"Kusanagi!"
Her eyes slowly opened. Her breathing was slow. Her heart beat thumped hard and slow against her chest. The sounds of gun fire, screams and explosions seem to be dulled. A slight ringing sound was all she could hear. Her hand brought her rifle up. Every crevice, ever scratch seemed so clear to her. Each speck of dust was like a whole new world in her eyes.
"... Death... has never been so close."
She muttered, before swinging around her cover. Before her, twenty Type D Angels, each carrying rifles and guns stolen off the bodies of fallen SSS2 soldiers. Without a pause, Yamato's finger squeezed on the trigger. The rifle blasted a round and chambered another one before firing that as well. Everything seemed so slow. Everything seemed to happen like a movie. Yamato's slow but steady steps forward as she emptied round after round from her magazine. She did not stop, did not pause, did not blink. Her shots were true, felling each Angel with at least two rounds in each. Her rifle clicked as her rounds ran out. Two Angels left. Her hands let the rifle go. It seemed to drop down to the ground so slowly. Her body twisted itself, bringing her heel in an arc, kicking the falling rifle and sending it flying at one of the remaining Angels.
Her hand reached for her pistol holster strapped to the lower part of her back, pulling it out the same time as the kick. She raised the pistol, aiming at the head of the other Angel before pulling the trigger. Once. Twice. Thrice. She next aimed at the Angel who was hit with the rifle. One shot. He was down for the count. Yamato exhaled, her heart beat going back to normal. Her hearing now able to make out the fighting further down the tunnel. Every feeling in her body went slightly numb. But for now, it was over. Yamato sighed, sweeping her bangs from her eyes. The other SSS2 members stepped out of their hiding places and slowly walked over to her, making sure to watch their step on this bloody field of corpses.
"Kusanagi, you-"
One of the SSS2 guys wanted to ask but Yamato raised a hand and stopped his words.
"... Don't."
She muttered, bending down and picking up a spare rifle from the floor. She checked its ammunition and took some spare magazines. The others did the same, scavenging anything they can find off the bodies. Yamato did not need to take that many things since it was her style to be fast and light. She used the time it took the others to scavenge what they need to rest. Over-clocking. The after-effects were quite... unique. It was both mentally and physically exhausting to use it. Now everything feels so heavy and fast for her. Her senses were dulled from overuse.
It would take some time to recover but Yamato knew that they did have the luxury to afford such time. But for now, she will take she has. Her thoughts went back to her life before this. While it wasn't exactly an easy-going life, it was still Worlds apart from this. She wondered what would happen if her family didn't fall apart like it did. Everyone here had their own pain, their own sorrow. But... their sorrows were never the same. How she feel in someone else's shoes? Though her life was in a mess, some others had a life far worse.
"..."
That reminded her that she did not ask Katsuragi about his past. Then again, she knew that he was suffering from amnesia so getting an answer from him would be impossible. But... she wondered just how it would be for him. She would not know if she would ever see him again though, with this crazy war going on. Maybe he had already been...
"No, no, no. Think positive."
She muttered to herself, shaking all negative thoughts from her mind. She will meet him again. Katsuragi always had a way of surviving through everything. Their recruitment days proved that. Katsuragi was observant, resourceful and had an impossible amount of luck. Almost... Godly luck.
"Kusanagi, we're done."
The young boy reported. She looked over to the others, seeing that they had gathered what supplies they could find. Scavenging through the bodies of both friend and foe alike, blood smeared all over their selves, they had seen a lot in the past few hours since this hell began. Even those that Kusanagi knew were usually squimish about blood, guts and gore splattered all over were now focused on surviving. They all were. Their eyes all held that distant glossy look, the one that told Yamato that they were all beyond their normal selves. In this place far detached from reality, they were no longer human but something more. Or something less.
"... Let's move on."
She said, turning and leading the way down the tunnel. The trek was slow as several members of her group were injured. They will heal with time but it was best not to rush them at this point. Not only that but these tunnels were treacherous. Multiple branching off tunnels could hide enemies ready to strike an ambush on them. Yamato decided that it was best to take it slow. Peering around a corner, Yamato made sure that there were no dangers before signalling the group to continue. Everywhere they walked in these tunnels there were bodies. Bodies of Angels, bodies of the SSS2. It was the same for every single tunnel. The entire place was littered with bodies and at times the group were forced to even step on the bodies as there wasn't a single spot of visible ground left. But the group remained strong, at least on the outside.
They pushed on, continuing their way down the tunnel but after a while, Yamato started to notice something odd. After that last battle, they had no met a single enemy since then. Considering that they had walked down this tunnel for more than fifteen minutes, it was oddly disturbing. It seemed that the others in the group were starting to be aware of this fact, every small sound caught their attention. They were getting jumpy. After facing death in the face for so long, they were uncomfortable with relative peace. Yamato was no exception. She was starting to feel jumpy. She looked down to her watch. She can only utilize 'Over-clocking' after five more minutes. Her own limits forced a resting period of one hour between each use.
Her actual usage time of the skill itself was only limited to ten minutes each time. That was the limit Tomoyo put on her. She wasn't sure what Tomoyo actually did, but whenever she tried to push herself beyond the ten minutes, her entire body would force itself out of 'over-clocking' mode. That usually came in the form of an extremely large headache. Thus far Yamato had not tried to push herself beyond that mode, though the implications would most likely be severe. Tomoyo was a hidden sadist, after all. If an enemy were to attack them now, Yamato would be unsure on how they would fare. But...
"... Hold."
Yamato raised a clenched fist, signalling the rest to stop. Yamato knelt down, inspecting one of the bodies. She touched the wound on the Angel. It was still fresh. Not only that, but the wound was different from the usual type of wound inflicted by SSS2 weapons. These wounds were more like... an Angel's weapon?
"Internal fighting?"
Yamato pondered, though that possibility was nil. Angels acted in accordance with their program. If the program ordered them to do something, they would do so without question. So what caused this wound? And just what happened here?
"Is something wrong?"
One of the SSS2 members asked. Yamato shook her head.
"No, it's nothing."
She said, deciding that telling the others would only cause unnecessary worry and confusion.
"We're almost at old Guild. Move cautiously. I don't want any slip-ups at this stage of our fight."
She warned the others. They all nodded in agreement. Yamato got back up to her feet and continued on. It was the same everywhere she went, the bodies on the Angels were fresher than those on the SSS2 bodies, and their wounds were odd. Too odd. Thinking about it only made Yamato feel slightly confused herself. Whatever happened here was troubling, but unless it affects her directly, she would not bother with it. The group reached Old Guild without encountering anything new, stepping into a rather untouched Guild. Everything around them seemed normal for Guild, as though the enemy had completely ignored this area altogether.
"... Look for supplies, stock-up and check for survivors."
Yamato ordered and the group dispersed, carrying about their orders. Yamato walked over to the furnace where Musashi was suppose to be. The resident self-proclaimed master blacksmith of the SSS2 was missing from his forge, but on his work bench was a large object wrapped in cloth. On the cloth was a simple note with the words 'For Kusanagi Yamato' written on it. Yamato felt slightly cautious about such a large object in Guild being addressed to her for mainly one reason. THIS IS GUILD. THIS IS YUUKO'S TERRITORY. THAT HIMURA YUUKO. Anything in here was considered extremely volatile and could explode at any moment. But... This was no time for hesitation. She needed power, she needed strength. What Tomoyo had taught her was strong within her heart, that power was a double edged tool. That those who desire only power would only seek their own ruin. That if she focused too much on her goal she would fail to see the reason why she desired it in the first place. But...
"But... I need it."
She muttered to herself.
"I'm sorry, Tomoyo-senpai."
Yamato reached out and pulled the cloth aside, revealing a large weapon. It was a weapon though not in the normal form as one would expect. It was long, thick and hexagon in shape. Made of two sections, the first section being the longer of the two. Measuring at 1.5 metres long, it had a long spike attached at its end and had a handle with a trigger attached down the side. The second section, which was nearly half a metre long and being slightly thicker than the longer section, consisted of a pedal attached to a long track and extendible spikes at the end to act as anchors. Without even being told about it, Yamato knew what it was.
"... Getsuga... Ten-gan."
Yamato muttered its name which was inscribed along the side of the barrel. It was a cannon. A simple cannon that utilizes Yamato's strength in her legs and arms. It also suited her fighting style going loud and big. Yamato picked up the weapon and was very surprised to find that it was relatively light for something of its size.
"Kyaa!"
A scream alerted Yamato, as well as the rest in the room. Yamato grabbed her new weapon as well as a bullet belt that contained the large cannon shells for her weapon before rushing out with the rest. Upon exiting old Guild, they spotted two Guild members being cornered by a group of Angels. Type D Angels were less dangerous than other Angels, but they were still more dangerous than your average Shadow.
"I'll draw their attention, the rest of your secure those two Guild members!"
Yamato shouted.
" "Understood!" "
The group responded in unison, getting their position as Yamato reached for her first shell. Her weapon snapped open at the split sections and she slammed the first shell into the longer section before snapping the two sections back. The rear section's extendible spikes shot out and buried themselves into the ground as she aimed her cannon. Raising a leg, she slammed her boot into the pedal at the rear section. The pedal was connected to the striker, and upon pressing the trigger, the pedal would spring forward, hitting the ignition point on the cannon shell, which would lead to a-
BOOM
The cannon nearly flew out of Yamato's hands when it fired the round. The impact of the shot shook the ground itself and the round exploded near one of the Angels, scattering the enemies and giving the SSS2 time to get in and rescue the trapped survivors. Yamato snapped open her cannon and the empty shell fell out, hitting the ground with a loud thump. Without pause, she reached for her belt and pulled out another shell, slotting it into her cannon and getting ready for the next shot. She aimed her next shot and slammed her boot against the pedal once more, pressing the trigger to fire another round.
BOOM
The second round impacted right on an Angel, causing bits and pieces of flesh and organs to fly about. Not a pretty sight. By now, the remaining Angels were back on their feet and charged straight at Yamato. But Yamato merely smiled.
"... This isn't only a long-range weapon."
She said as she lifted the cannon up. Using her strength, she swung the cannon forward, using the spike at the front to ram straight into an Angel, piercing through her. Yamato swung her weapon at a second Angel, but this Angel managed to put up a small shield, causing the spike to stop a mere inch away from its target. But this was no ordinary spike. Yamato twisted the handle and pressed the trigger. This caused a backwards ignition, sending all of the shell's fire-power into thrust as well as causing the spike to sent shock waves. The cannon was now a pile bunker. Rather than using one shell per shot as a cannon, this pile bunker was able to harness the shell's explosive energy into ten thrust shots.
Using just merely two thrust shots was enough to pierce the weak shield of the Angel and a third thrust shot finished him off. Yamato snapped the handle in a different direction ninety degrees backwards and switched hands. She snapped the pedal sideways, revealing a second trigger. She reached for her back, where she kept a rifle magazine clipped to her belt, taking it out and slotting it into the hole that was used to vent excess gas while it was in cannon form. The magazine snapped into place perfectly and she aimed the weapon at the remaining Angels. She held down the trigger and the weapon spewed forth a hail of bullets. Now her cannon was a gatling gun. Mowing down the rest of the Angels, the magazine ejected itself out automatically once done and Yamato snapped the handle and pedals back into place, placing her weapon standing up on the ground as she turned to the others.
"Are you all alright?"
She asked to awed group. It took them a while to snap back to reality and they all nodded in reply. Who wouldn't be shocked by what they just saw? Yamato's weapon was a machine of death, and it was sure powerful. But... was this what Yamato was seeking? Somehow, though it was power that she needed, she felt empty. Perhaps what Tomoyo said was true. Maybe power wasn't what she really needed. The power of this World.
"A-ano... thank you for saving us."
Yamato turned and saw the two Guild members bowing their heads to her in thanks.
"It's fine. But are the two of you alright?"
"W-we're fine!"
The girls replied quickly before Yamato could reach out for them.
"I see... But what happened here? Why are the two of you here?"
Yamato asked. The two girls looked at each other, somewhat conflicted on how to explain the situation. They then turned to her, deciding that it would be best to tell Yamato everything.
"Guild was attacked nearly five hours ago. The Boss ordered a mass evacuation of Old Guild to fall back to Big Site. However the enemy broke through Shield's defences and attacked Old Guild. We were forced to abandon everything and those who were too late for the last rail-car were forced to hide in the Runner's base. The two of us were tasked by Shinobu-sama to investigate what was happening outside and to see if the fighting had subsided."
Fighting? Why would they need to check if the fighting was done? Normally, if the SSS2 had managed to drive away the enemy, their first objective would be to search for survivors in the area followed by securing the entire area. Why would the Runners' hideout be missed?
"At first, we knew that the SSS2 had probably fallen back as we could not hear any more fighting outside. But we suddenly heard more fighting so Shinobu-sama thought it was an attempt by Shield to retake old Guild, unfortunately that wasn't the case."
The girls explained. So Shield did not attempt to fight back? They had completely fallen back to Big Site then. But if that were true, then what happened here? Just who fought against the Angels and Shadows in Old Guild?
"But, what are all of you doing down here? We all thought that Guild was completely isolated and abandoned by above."
One of the girls asked.
"Ah! Maybe the fighting above is already finished and you're here to help us?"
The other girl asked excitedly. The group all looked away, unable to meet eye-to-eye with such enthusiasm when they all knew the dark truth. They weren't any back-up. They were all trying to survive on their own.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but the fighting above ground is far worse."
Yamato said, breaking the news to the girls, whose excited expressions immediately dropped back in despair.
"I-i see..."
"We came down for weapons and supplies, and also possibly link up with any remaining SSS2 members."
Yamato explained, trying to change the mood for the better.
"Hmm, in that case, you might want to speak to Shinobu-sama. She's been organizing the Runners to stock up on all supplies and weapons for one last push to join back with Big Site."
Shinobu. Senjougahara Shinobu. Yamato had not met the mysterious dual leader of the Runners and the Raiders (provision squad), but she had heard stories. The dark vampire, the blood sucker, the ram. Shinobu had just as many nicknames as Kurogane Kou has but Shinobu was a figure rarely seen by others outside of her own squad. Yamato had no idea what sort of person Shinobu was, but if that was how it was going to be, then that would be what she had to do.
"... Lead on."
The girls led Yamato and the group out of old Guild and headed in the direction of the rail-car station. As the girls had said before, all of the rail-cars were gone. Walking through those tunnels was almost a death sentence has no one really knew the entire lay-out of these rail tracks. Which begs the question, why would the person who built them (Yuuko), not know where they lead? Past the cargo docking bay area was a large mountain of cargo containers. Walking over to one in particular, the girl knocked on it in a sequential manner and the container opened up like a door. The girls led the way inside and once Yamato stepped through, she saw what the SSS2 had become.
In the main hall of the Runners base were all of the injured. With the amount of people injured, there was barely enough room for the medics who were present to run back and forth with bandages and medical supplies. Injured Shield members who stood by the door had vigilant, but weary eyes. They were all tired, frightened and losing hope. They seemed to gained back some life when they saw Yamato and the others step through, but it wasn't enough to completely re energise them. Leading them through another two more rooms filled with more injured and wounded, the group finally reached the main door to Shinobu's office. The girls knocked on the door before opening it. They gestured for Yamato to enter. Yamato looked to the group and nodded to them before entering the office without the group. For now, they will lend whatever first aid items they have to the Runners while Yamato talks with the Runners' leader.
The office of Senjougahara Shinobu was plain, though that was the truth it was also quite wrong. It was plain in the fact that it was small, had only one desk covered with documents, one long sofa with a pillow and blanket on it and one book shelf. It wasn't plain when accounting that the entire room was littered with drink packets. A mountain of those drink packets lay at the side of the desk while the rest of the room was covered with finished packets, drained of their contents. Sitting behind the desk, a straw poked through a drink packet in her mouth was a small blonde girl. The girl had a pair of goggles dangling around her neck and had a weary and stressed out expression. The eye bags under her eyes showed that she hasn't gotten any sleep recently.
"Hm? Who are you?"
The girl asked, her voice hoarse and her eyes barely looking at Yamato.
"I am corporal Kusanagi Yamato of the sixth division. My group and I came down to Guild in order to meet up with any remaining SSS2 personnel left."
Yamato spoke straight-to-the-point. Shinobu leaned back in her chair, studying Yamato for the while.
"You fought your way down here?"
She asked, to which Yamato nodded. That made Shinobu's eyes slightly more alert.
"Yes, we did. I hear that you are planning an evacuation of your men to Big Site, am I right?"
"Ah, that's right. But there are a few problems with my plan."
Shinobu said, getting up from her seat. She drained her current drink packet dry and tossed it aside, picking up a fresh packet and poking it with the same straw in her mouth. For some reason, she seemed to gain renewed vigour by drinking a fresh packet.
"Is transport your problem?"
Yamato asked. Shinobu raised an eyebrow at Yamato's question, before laughing.
"Transport? Ha! No. My problem isn't transport. I am the leader of the runners! Transport is probably the ONLY thing I have in excess! No, what I lack are able bodied personnel. I don't know what sort of weaponry the enemy uses now, but our dead are not reviving and wounds are not healing by themselves as quickly as they should be. I need people who can fight to guard over my people as they load the wounded and supplies into our transports, after that, leave the rest to us."
Shinobu smirked as she drained the new packet of its contents. Crushing the packet with her fist, Shinobu stormed out of her office, alerting all within the Runner's base. Some noticed their leader's renewed vigour and staggered to their feet, they themselves being empowered by their leaders will.
"Attention all Runners, Raiders and survivors!"
Shinobu's voice boomed throughout the entire hall.
"We have ourselves a clear opportunity before us! Our path is clear and our goal is right before us! All hands, commence Operation: Exodus!"
A massive cheer echoed around the hall as the SSS2 suddenly found renewed strength. Raiders rushed to prepare the crates of supplies whilst the Runners move the readied crates out of the hall. Shield members took up their arms once more and rushed out of the halls to escort the Runners. Even the injured got their feet and helped in the process. Yamato's group walked over to her, awaiting for her instructions.
"Head outside and guard the Runners while they prepare the transports."
Yamato instructed them and they all nodded, rushing off with their orders.
"... How reliable are your transports?"
Yamato asked Shinobu, seeing as how they were going to traverse the deep tunnels of Guild. Shinobu merely snorted at that question, walking over to one large towering object covered by a large piece of cloth. With a single jerk, the cloth slid off the object, revealing a large military grade truck.
"This is the boss's specialized five-tonner, the best vehicle that she ever made. Never blew up and can withstand more than five rocket launchers at point-blank range. This is the true work-horse of our Guild and it has been with us since the beginning. With this, we guarantee that you will reach your destination no matter what. You may not be in one piece though, but that's a separate story."
To Yamato, that really wasn't a separate story. And what was that she said? No guarantees on reaching there in one piece? That's suicide.
"Hmph, what's this, a Guardian is backing out from a little roller coaster ride?"
Shinobu smirked, making Yamato snap a nerve.
"... We will take this ride, no matter what."
A/N: Yamato's weapon is the most all-rounder. At first I envisioned it to be a mere step-cannon, but it later grew into something more to suit Yamato's personality. A Five-tonner is a military truck used to transport troops and supplies. Not sure what they call it elsewhere but in my country, they are called in accordance to their weight.