"" Dialogue

'' Thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own "Strike Witches", so this is just a fan made.

Chapter 3: The journey

Before Yoshika departed, Minna had Ursula check the Shinden so that it was at top shape and with brand new oil as well as new spark plugs, the journey begun as soon as the dawn appeared, as she flew away, she waved and thanked Minna and Altia for everything, "I'll be back" she screamed as she disappeared into the horizon. Though, before going back to Fuso, Yoshika needed to back to a certain place she had not visited for a while, this place was the whole reason she came all the way to Europe from Fuso in the first place.

This place was located in Brittania, and her quest went without any problem though, by the time Yoshika arrived at her father's final resting place, the sun had almost set and while it was beautiful setting, it could not have been more contrasting with what Yoshika was currently feeling. "I have protected everyone with the power I have," Yoshika mourned while falling to her knees and caressing tenderly the tombstone, she mourned "but, I wish you were still with me, dad, I wish you could see how many lives I have protected with what you gave me", with that, she cried until the night had come.

Now, with only stars as her company, she decided to go to Perrine's place as it was the closest to her location, her mind was almost blank the whole journey, but a few tears still glided through her face from time to time falling into the darkness of the night.

Almost everyone had already gone to sleep at Perrine's mansion and the silence had taken over the place, except for the occasional hoot of an owl until a striker's engine interrupted it. Perrine and Lynne were kind of confused to hear it as they were not expecting any guests, but as they got out of the house, they could recognize the peculiar engine's sound, though they were not sure if their ears were deceiving them, but as soon as they saw its pilot, their doubts were cleared up.
"Yoshika" both exclaimed with confusion in their voices but when she got out of the striker unit and approached the duo, they were even more puzzled when they saw Yoshika's swelled eyes.

She briefly explained what happened to which Lynne replied that they should talk about it, but she stayed silent for a few seconds and bowing her head down, she said "I'm fine, I just need to sleep", and now looking at them, she struggled to fake her smile. Lynne and Perrine exchanged a quizzical glance and while they knew that she was anything but fine, they both agreed that it would be better if she rested hoping it could clear her mind.

Jean-Paul had already prepared the guest room, but they thought it would be better if Lynne slept with her so that Yoshika could talk about it. While Yoshika politely told them that she did not want to be a bother to them, Lynne grabbed her hand and took her to her room. Lynne was Yoshika's closest friend so maybe she would open with her but as soon as she was in the bed, she fell asleep or at least that was what it seemed. Lynne noticed that her uniform was a bit stained, thus, she undressed her all and put her on a nightgown she had borrowed of Perrine, then she handed her whole uniform to Jean-Paul so he could take care of it not before leaving her covered with a blanket.

Afterwards, she also put on herself on a nightgown and sat beside Yoshika. Lynne felt distressed for her as she saw how her best friend was still crying even in her sleep. Lynne was wondering what really happened to Yoshika as she had never seen her so mournful, she had seen her crying before but never like this time.
It broke her heart to see her like this as she had come to admire Yoshika since she joined the Strike Witches and helped her to become a better witch overcoming her insecurities, had not she come to Europe, who knows what would have happened to her or even the rest of the squadron. Yoshika was someone special and she was even more for her and sometimes she even wondered how she really felt about her.
Nevertheless, now, tenderly, she was caressing her hair hoping to comfort her. Yoshika was still sobbing, but it seemed she was calming down 'that's better' she thought, then, she lay down next to her and gently hugged her after some time she had fall asleep as well.

As the sun started to filter through the curtains, Lynne realized she had overslept, panicking she got out of the bed and started to dress up only to notice that Yoshika was not at the bed, only a now folded nightgown was. She rushed downstairs just to find that both Perrine and Yoshika were making breakfast for themselves and the orphans, Lynne was relieved when she saw that. "Good morning, Lynne", said Yoshika dressed up in her usual but now clean uniform with what seemed a genuine smile on her face, "Good morning, Yoshika", she said with a bit of surprise in her voice, "Overslept a bit, huh" said Perrine to which Lynne replied "yeah… yes…. a bit", she was still a bit stunned to see that the Fuso girl was as happy as her usual self, but she knew something was still not right because even though, she had seen her crying before, never like the day before, she seemed so vulnerable.

There were chores to do, thus, she helped them both to prepare the breakfast. When, they finished, Perrine and Jean-Paul went to look for the children and they were left alone. "Are you sure you are fine, Yoshika", she said with a curious tone of voice "Why would not I be" she replied smiling while serving the food but before Lynne could enquire her more about it, the children had already started to come to the dinner hall.

Yoshika spent most of the time silent and when she was not, she talked about her studies back in Helvetia and the training she had with Minna. Lynne could notice that Yoshika tried to avoid the subject of what happened yesterday. It would be better if she did not try to push the topic furthermore as they were a lot of people having breakfast and she did not want to ruin the mood as it was a more delicate matter.

After everything had been cleaned up, Perrine and Lynne wanted to talk with Yoshika but before they could do so, she was already heading to where her striker unit was left the night before. She told them that she had a long journey ahead of her and while Lynne wanted to go with her, she knew it would not be possible as she had a responsibility with Perrine, the orphans and the reconstruction of Gallia.

Still, they managed to talk a bit before she departed, "Yoshika, are you sure you are going to Fuso on your own?" asked Lynne "Yeah, I am, I know it would not be easy and it's going to take me a while to arrive I am sure I can do it" replied Yoshika enthusiastically, "Don't do anything reckless" said Perrine "Don't worry, I'm gonna be just fine" and shortly after that, a magic circle appeared, the strikers' engines started to rev and she took off, as she flew, Yoshika was waving them as she became smaller and smaller until they could not see her anymore "Be careful Yoshika" mourned Lynne before they both went back home to continue with their daily activities.

Yoshika, of course, knew that both girls were concerned about her, she was not naïve about what they saw yesterday, but she did not want to worry them, 'that would be unnecessary', she thought. She was not the only person who had lost someone because of the war, and she even herself was close to the death many times since she became a Witch and so were many of her friends.

Though, she wanted to protect to everyone, she knew from firsthand that it was simply not possible. More times that she wanted to admit it, she was afraid of her or anyone else dying in combat, but she did choose not to demonstrate, though she sometimes struggled to, it would just make it worse for everyone else. Therefore, she had to remain positive, cheerful even encouraging to not anguish anyone else unnecessarily, and so now she was waving them, smiling as she flew to Fuso until they became less and less visible.

During this long journey, Wing Commander Minna required Yoshika to maintain radio communication thus, she could be sure that she did not have any issue with either neuroi sights or her striker unit. She also ordered her to rest whenever she felt it necessary because it would be too dangerous to fly with low magic reserves, and even more risky flying all by herself. She indeed followed her instructions and whenever she felt tired, she landed in a place that seemed secure enough, nevertheless, her training had paid off as she barely felt drained even after flying for some many hours continuously. Long gone were the days since she felt tired after just flying for a couple of hours and she was grateful for that.

As she flew, she noticed how beautiful Europe was, surrounded by mountains, rivers and tress. The were lots of peaks that raised high into the sky, creating a breathtaking view. The terrain was untamed with only small village far in between. Sad to think that the Neuroi destroyed everything it came in contact with. The only noise she could hear was of her striker unit, yet it still felt serene. 'Totally worth it' she thought, at a distance it seemed there were some Witches flying, she did not recognize them but though she could catch them, there was no reason to, so she continued flying until she found a place to rest for the night.

It was not difficult to find such places as people were generous to the legendary Witches that had helped to defend Europe throughout these years, they were even more surprised when one of the members of the legendary 501st had come to their place. Yoshika of course, tried to be as humble as possible saying that everyone is fighting the war not just Witches, not that it helped much though.

Still, she wanted to pay them every time, but they refused, so at least she helped however she could, she even healed some patients from time to time. And as gratitude, they provided with food and shelter. There were other places she rested though, the military bases she found on her way, they seemed to be aware of Yoshika's journey, so they provided her with supplies, food and a place to rest, no questions asked. They also checked her striker unit but not fully as they were not familiarized with that specific unit, its design was something quite unique in comparison to most striker units.

Though, she was kind of afraid of encountering Neurois, it was inevitable to encounter them, she did face them from time to time and even though she was not carrying a gun, she annihilated them by drilling through them with her shields. None of them were a big issue for her as it seemed they were only explorers; their beams were not a match for her shields. She was grateful of being prepared to fight without carrying a gun as she had been training just for that and it seemed that it had paid off.
It still worried her fighting like that, without any kind weapon 'so far so good' she thought, still she needed to train to fight like that more. Everything that she encountered was reported to Minna through radio communication so that she could be sure that she was fine, but she remained Yoshika that she could ask for backup whenever she needed it.
As she was continued to fly, she started to wonder about the future, about her own future, she wanted to help people, but the question was how. 'I want to continue being a Witch, but I know I could not always be a Witch when I turn 20, so I could be a medic, right? I always wanted to run the clinic' or at least that's what she wanted to believe before becoming a full-fledged witch; she should continue with her studies but there were still Neuroi, and she must help to destroy them however she could. 'I'm not sure what to do', but after thinking for a while she thought 'why not both, that would be possible, I guess', she continued thinking about what the implications were, but she had made up her mind 'it's going to be difficult but not impossible', and that settled it at least for now. But she had more pending matters to think about right now, 'where am I going to sleep', there were still some hours of sun left so it would be just a matter of time before she found a place to rest.

She found a small village and after asking around, she found an old couple who agreed to lend her a place to pass the night. As payment, she helped to carry firewood to their home and after that she helped to prepare dinner, the night went without any problem, and the next day continued her journey to Fuso.
Nevertheless, a certain day came, this day would be a happy occasion for most people, but it was not so for Yoshika as the day of her birthday had come once again. She tried to forget it but deep down she knew she could not. As she was flying, she started to remember everything that had happened since the day she was recruited by Major Sakamoto and also, she recalled how selfishly she was when she traveled to Europe just hoping to find whatever happened to her father not caring about anything else, not even the war, just her own problems but in that journey she came to understand why her father had left her, and though she still blamed the war, she knew without her father's work, maybe no one could have been able to oppose the neuroi.

The journey was in vain though, as she found out that he really had died as she was informed about it on her tenth birthday. With her hopes shattered she cried that day nonstop, but Mio was with her and comforted her, and she thought she finally moved on but she deep down she knew it would not be as easy as that as there were still many scars left on her heart.
She was only a child when she came to understand that her father would never be coming back and even though it had been seven years since that painful day, it still hurt like the first day, but she also understood that she had to look forward as she had a promise to fulfill. "I will protect everyone father" she screamed to no one while she continued flying without realizing that tears were left behind.

To her surprise, one of her strikers started to stutter, it seemed that it was losing a bit magic power "not again" she said while wiping her eyes, Yoshika was thinking to land before she crashed in the middle of nowhere as she was not accustomed to fly with just one striker, but it was not necessary as it stabilized after a few seconds for her relief. She was flying with more caution but after some minutes, it seemed that the striker had stabilized completely and now it was working just fine and by the time she found a place to rest the rest for the night, she had forgotten about the incident, and she tried not to think about this day. She was tired so it was not difficult to fall asleep.
At the same time, Lynne was thinking about Yoshika, where she was, how she was, was she ok? She was currently helping Perrine to do the dishes, but she was not doing a good job. Perrine of course knew what day it was, "Don't worry, I am sure Yoshika is fine", to which Lynne replied in low voice, "I hope the same too", "Why don't you go to sleep, you seem tired", "But I'm not" and she said while dropping a dish accidentally, shattering it in the process "Don't worry Jean-Paul would help me to take care of that", "I guess, I do need to rest" and she headed to her room. Now laying in the bed, wearing her nightgown, she started to think how Yoshika could have spent this day, she knew what had happened to her on her birthday, thus it would have not been an easy day for her. She cared a lot about her, and she hoped that Yoshika had had a good birthday regardless of everything. Lynne still wondered what her feelings for her really were, but she was not here so it would be better if she rested just like Perrine told her. It took her a while, but she finally had fallen asleep.

Meanwhile somewhere between Orussia and Suomus, another Witch was having a small birthday made by someone special. "Is something wrong Sanya" Aila asked as she saw that Sanya looked a bit troubled but she did not say anything her, she asked her again, "Do you not like it?", Aila started to feel worried about not getting an answer, 'did I do something to bother her' and she started to recall what she had done these last few days but as hard as she tried she could not think of anything that could have upset her, "It's not that, it's just that I've been thinking Yo…" Sanya said while looking directly her at the eyes, Eila's cheeks were becoming redder and redder, thinking about a million of different things and she was becoming hesitant to ask whom she was thinking about but she found the courage to ask her "about… who?", she said with hesitation "I've been thinking about Yoshika" Sanya calmy replied and while Eila's blush stopped and now with a more serious look on her face "I've been thinking about her too, I hope she found a nice place to stay today because I don't think she'd have arrived at Fuso yet" "I hope the same too" Sanya replied, shortly after that they started to eat what Aila had prepared for Sanya while talking about a bit of everything.

At the same time, somewhere in Fuso another Witch was having a small birthday party too, organized by none other than Major Sakamoto with the help of another Witch. Hattori had a worried on her face and she could not bring herself to enjoy the party as she had been thinking about Yoshika. "You are thinking about Miyafuji, aren't you?", Mio asked "Yes", she quietly replied not looking at her face. Mio put her hand over Hattori's shoulder causing her to shudder a little as she was not expecting it. While looking at her eyes she said "Miyafuji would want you to enjoy the party even if she wasn't here, moreover I heard from Commander Minna that she is fine and will arrive soon so I would not worry about her" Hattori was relieved after hearing that and now with a smile on her face "You are right Major", she started to enjoy what she had done for her, truth to be told Mio was worried about her, but she trusted Miyafuji so she herself put her worries aside and went to Shizuka's side.

A couple of days passed without any major incident and Yoshika was now very close to Fuso, the evening had arrived, and she now needed a place to rest. From the sky, she could visualize what looked like small lake with a small river close to it but when she flew over, she could notice that there was a bit steam over it. "A hot spring" she enthusiastically said. She flew around it for a few minutes to find whether someone was living near it or not. She would not like to have any unexpected guest while she was bathing but thankfully it seemed that there no one was living near that place so she decided to land so she could rest for a bit.

The water seemed to come from underground and the place was surrounded by rocks and small plants in the middle of the forest. She left her striker unit and her backpack on a place she could easily give them a quick glance it from the spring. Then, she bared herself, folded her clothes and put them next to her backpack. Soon after, she carefully submerged herself on the hot water, "I really needed this" she said while stretching herself, "I wish the rest of the girls could be here, I really miss them" she claimed. She wondered if the spring was big enough to either swim or float and it was, after swimming for a bit she decided to rest just floating. As she was moved by the flow of the water, she was remembering the times she spent in places like this with the rest of the girls. Her mind then wandered to the 'strange' dreams she used to have or rather, she sometimes still had about Lynne. Sure, there were not as common as they used to be but still, 'why I am thinking about that?', it sure felt kind of weird.

Even though she did not realize it, she was blushing submerged in both her thoughts and the hot water but then, she heard a small noise from the forest. "Is anyone there" she said with a bit of uneasiness on her voice but there was no reply then she sank down and with her feet now touching the bottom of the spring, "Hello?" she said concerned but there was still no answer, and she was now a covering herself with her hands. She was getting really worried now but when she saw her stuff, she realized it was just small fox smelling it. "What a relief" then she sighed that it was nothing out of the ordinary, but the sun had already set, 'how much time did I spend it here?' she wondered.
She had to rush to find a place to pass the night, but it was already too late, so she got out of the spring and waited a few seconds so that excess of water fell off of her body, she dried herself up and then she got dressed up, though she noticed that her swimsuit was not as comfy as it used to be, 'I guess I need to get a new one'. She headed to the river near the spring she saw before hoping to catch some fish and she successfully did it. It was no surprise as she used to do it back home when she was younger. She set up a small bonfire just as Major Sakamoto taught her. 'What are you going to do if you get stranded in the forest', she said back then and that was how she learned some basic survival techniques.

Thankfully, she had never had to experience that personally at least not unwillingly, it would have been horrible like the time Erika was shoot down back then near Hamburg. She still got shivers from time to time remembering how everyone so powerless against those jet neurois and not knowing how Erika was or even if she was alive.
Regardless of what happened in between, she was rescued without any injure. Now, this is different, she was in the forest, alone, but voluntarily. The night had already come, there was no sound other than sticks burning in the fire, she had finished cooking her fish, no seasoning though 'it is fine' she thought as she ate it. It was getting late, so she decided to try to sleep. She thought it would be difficult to sleep in the forest, alone, but it was not as she felt as slept shortly after finding a comfy place besides the bonfire and using her backpack as a pillow, it was either that or she was becoming a bit exhausted after flying for so many days continuously.