Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.
Five Days Break - 19
Due to the streak of successful missions, the Taimanin Task Force was given a short break that lasted five days.
Making full use of his days off, Kotaro went on a vacation in a town unknowingly hidden from the world. With the Hell Knight Ingrid being his neighbor next door, a malicious entity began its scheme to capture her in order to harvest the fresh, the blood and the soul of all lives.
Thanks to Ingrid's flame and the arrival of the Taimanin Task Force, the Great Ashen Tree incident had been resolved.
Three days later, Kotaro woke up in the special care unit of a medical facility built under Gosha Academy.
"I missed the break? The whole break!?"
Now, he dramatically hugged his head in shock. Immediately, Kotaro recoiled back after being reminded that his whole body was still recovering.
"Ouch! Ouch! Totally forgot about this pain for a second there!"
The sensation helped him recall the critical conditions he'd put himself through.
"What are you doing, Fuuma?"
He had one visitor looking at him worriedly.
Kurenai was half-concerned and half-confused by the reaction. Kotaro was making a big deal out of something she didn't understand.
"Kurenai. My break! Five days! That much! All gone!"
To make it Worst, it wasn't just the break. His favorite books, his clothes and his Taima-suit were also gone.
"That is the first thing you think of after waking up? From the look of this." She addressed the sight of him laying on a bed, wrapped in a full-body medical tape. "It seems to me you got yourself involved in something truly dangerous and barely made it out alive."
"Well, I guess I was lucky."
"Luck is not even enough to describe this, everyone thought you were in a coma."
Kotaro flinched. He didn't expect to hear that.
"T-That bad?"
She nodded.
"It was bad until now. It's a miracle you gained enough strength to hold the conversation. Didn't expect you to be loud about your disappointment over missing a couple days off. If others catch wind of this, they'll give you a scolding for making light of your situation, you know that?"
"Hard earned, Kurenai. Those days were hard earned through sweat and tears." Kotaro comically stressed. "I'm happy that I'm alive. But after weeks of doing missions and trainings without a break, if anything I at least want to be sad about losing my days off."
"Well, if doing that helps you get over this, Fuuma. Don't say it in front of the teachers."
"That thought's never crossed my mind." He quickly said. "I'm mentally preparing to get back to those gym sessions with Murasaki-sensei, anyway."
Sighing softly, Kurenai leaned her arms on the bed rail. Her eyes met his with an interest.
"So I'd heard. She's very strict, think she will go easy on you after this?"
"Lately, trying harder is a common word she starts using on me. If it's Murasaki-sensei, I have a pretty slim chance."
"You've been having it roughed, huh. I would consider being trained in person with her is lucky. Not many students in the Academy have the opportunity to be whipped into shape one-on-one by the Immortal Yatsu."
"She gave them bootcamps." Kotaro revealed unenthusiastically. "Survival of the fittest is always the theme, they have a fair share amount of trainings."
"But you haven't missed a single lessons from her." Kurenai added.
"I don't want to find out what would happen if I skipped one."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow in doubt. The expression told Kotaro everything, she knew what happened between the line. He slowly nodded after a groan.
"I did try to run away. But! Very few times I did it when I nearly collapsed in the middle of the sparring with nausea. I don't want Tokiko to drag my exhausted self all the way to my own bed."
"You're always running short on stamina during a long operation, Fuuma. You can request her to let you try the high-pressure simulator to improve a bit on that."
"I tried, Kurenai. Couldn't make it past three hours and fainted all the time." Kotaro wasn't proud of it. "Constantly keeping a stable balance between preserving stamina and holding my breath in a low-oxygen environment is not something I'm good at."
"The simulator teaches you how to prolong both physical and mental strength in harsh conditions. The average record is two hours, I would say yours is not bad. I had been there."
Kotaro blinked. He recalled a detail from Kurenai's words.
"Isn't that average record for students in secondary school?"
"It is."
The straightforward answer gave him mixed feelings.
"So...am I worsened or improving?"
"With you, I'd like to think it's the latter. Considering the position you're in, you're on your way to fill in the big shoes. Wouldn't that be the whole point of Murasaki-sensei's training?"
"Thanks, good to know I'm still catching on." Kotaro relaxed.
Kurenai hummed softly and said.
"With the weakest strength, we have to pave our way to the strongest. It's the same for all of us, Fuuma. We only started at different places."
There was one time he had told her the very same thing. She still remembered these words which encouraged her.
"You told that to yourself everyday?"
The question startled Kurenai. Her face flinched with a tingle of red showing on the cheeks.
"Y-You...Fuuma, those are the words you said to me!"
"I'm kidding." He smiled. "Back then, you looked a bit down before we had your hair cut so I wanted to cheer you up somehow. I didn't expect you to remember it."
"Of course, I remember it. It meant a lot to...never mind." She scooted away, arms folding and stopped making eye-contact with him. "Looks like you're doing well, should I leave and inform others you've recovered enough to tease around?"
Kotaro quickly apologized. He'd already known there would be plenty of angry reprimands waiting once he leaves this bed and it didn't have to be now.
"Kidding." Kurenai giggled. "I'm glad you are okay."
"Anyway, how was your break, Kurenai?"
She shook her head.
"Five days is too long for me, I didn't take it. Besides, I couldn't afford to let my skills become dulled with that much days off."
"Eh?" Kotaro was surprised to know that. "When you left early after the last briefing, I thought you'd had a plan in mind."
"I went on some missions outside Gosha with Ayame."
She didn't need a rest, not yet. While Kotaro and others were all in for the days off, Kurenai decided to continue her Taimanin's duty.
Gosha has no shortage of daily tasks, ranking from the easiest objectives for middle school's students to the most high-risk exclusively reserved for the Elites. With the opportunities presented, Kurenai and Ayame, her servant, had dispatched on various missions outside Gosha.
"There was this one mission taking a bit long since it related to a previous investigation, you see. We had to trace back to the illegal shipments at the dock in Tokyo Kingdom. The series numbers on some of the packages led to a small criminal organization operated in the main land. Section Three and Gosha were only aware of them just recently. They had been trafficking weaponry in and out the island through private boats that camouflaged as trawlers."
Kurenai took off the gloves and moved her seat closer to his bed side.
While Kotaro was listening to the details, she picked up an apple inside a fruit basket left on the table. It was already there without the sender's name.
"Since their numbers were few, they easily bypassed public security and secretly sold the weapons to other criminals in the back alleys. Most of the deals were sealed through money bags, transactions were avoided so they hardly left any trace of activities on the digital black market."
"They sounded old-schooled." Kotaro commented. "It's two thousand eighties and they worked like the criminal gangs back in the twentieth century. Who are they?"
"Humans, former members of a yakuza clan. They were casted out due to dishonoring the unspoken rules, in their own words. They started their own criminal organization and acted on what they'd learned during their time in the clan."
There was nothing she could use to peel off the fruit. Truthfully, Kurenai didn't need to find a knife. She wanted to stay in this room and continued to tell him her story.
Gently flicking her dominant hand, the extended nail became an invisible sharp blade and she began to peel off the apple's outer layer. It didn't require much effort, only a little piece of concentration to gather the air at the tip of one of her fingers and speed up the flow enough to cut through things. Kurenai created a paring knife out of thin air with the use of Wind Art.
"Well, we learned of their movements. Took me and Ayame a full day to track down their hideout. After that, it didn't take much work to clean up the place."
"A successful mission. Great work, Kurenai!"
She smiled softly.
"It's just one thing solved among the countless problems out there."
"Even so, we're doing it step by step."
"Fuuma is always positive when it comes to this, huh." She muttered.
"What?" He didn't catch it.
"Nothing."
The next moment filled with silence. Kotaro didn't know what else he could talk about to continue the conversation that stopped midway as Kurenai had finished her story. The latter fidgeted around with the apple slices in her hand, something was troubling her.
"Uhm..."
"Um..."
Both flinched at the same time.
"You go first." Kotaro offered.
"N-No, you must have something important to say. Fuuma, you should go first."
They kept passed onto each other the opportunity to speak up their mind. Kotaro eventually gave in since Kurenai was determined to let him start the conversation.
"I...o-okay, what happened while I was unconscious?"
"I'd just returned to Gosha the night before so I'm not really sure of the full details. Though, I went through the Task Force's newest report, which Su wrote. After they brought you back, Gosha dispatched agents to the hidden town of the Great Ashen Tree. They gathered samples of the creatures you fought there and sealed off all entrances to conduct a thorough investigation. It's still on-going, the report will be updated in the next twenty-four hours."
"What about the Tree?"
"Burned to the ground by Ingrid's flame. There's nothing left of it, thanks to that the agents discovered a large tunnel system right beneath the earth. They're trying to reassess the damage to the geographical landscape."
Kotaro sighed in relief. He didn't have to worry about that terrifying existence anymore.
"Right. And Ingrid?" He recalled. "She was there to help the Task Force."
Kurenai blinked at the question.
"The team gave her a lift home."
"She accepted the ride?"
"I read that it took some persuasion."
"Oh. Guess that wrapped it up." Kotaro relaxed.
"*Ahem*. Fuuma, why did you ask about Ingrid?" She fixed her gaze on him, curious. "Did something happen?"
"We both got caught in a scheme, Kurenai. The Ashen Tree tried to use Ingrid to fulfill its goal. She helped me in a few close calls and ended up getting captured. There was no way to escape or call for help immediately, so I acted on my own. After Ingrid broke out of her imprisonment, we regrouped to fight back the enemies until others arrive and uhh...here I am."
While Kotaro wasn't looking, Kurenai's lip slightly pressed together.
"You pushed yourself too far, this shouldn't have happened." Her voice came out in a whisper as she once again watched every part of his body wrapped in medical tapes.
Being heavily wounded, missing or killed in action were the common risks all Taimanins should get used to. Having fought against the darkest side of the world many times over, Kurenai understood well that part of her life. Yet, the moment she came into this room and saw him in such a state, there was a heavy sense of dread she couldn't ignore.
"If only I was there..."
"Kurenai."
His calling jolted her, the unpleasant thoughts was gone as she met the thin smile on his face.
"I think..."
Kotaro paused midway for a moment. The considered words he tried to get off the chest would be kept to himself as he came up with a new meaning.
"I understood myself a bit more after what happened."
She was listening.
"I learned there's a part of me being grateful to the fact that I'm the weakest, and I want to continue on from there, to keep moving behind everyone's back so I can learn more about things I'm lacking."
"Fuuma..."
"I was in a hurry to catch up to the expectations no one is asking for. I was being too hasty for my own good and mistook the ideal which I determined to achieve. For a long time, I got lost."
He slowly sat up, letting out a grunt when the pain notified him of the limited movements he could make.
"But after joining the Task Force, I've realized the way how I used to see everything has changed. I tried harder and at some points, I completely ignored my own issue. I didn't think it's been solved, it's still there and I neglected it while focusing on everything else. Once I noticed that, I started working on myself again, back to the basics."
"Is Murasaki-sensei's training not enough to you? You're maybe overworking yourself, Fuuma. There's only so much you can do at your own pace, the team knows that. We cover each other's back."
"And that's enough of a reason for me. If I can't watch my back properly, I won't be able to cover others'. I would be a stagnant mess if I kept relying on the team. I'll stop making light of that."
Kurenai let out a soft sigh. Kotaro had made his point and she would accept it.
"What's up with you today? You're not usually this sentimental about yourself. You've become more motivated. Something really did happen back then."
Kotaro simply nodded.
"Yeah. Something did happen. I'm...not sure how to explain it yet. I'm not even sure if it will happen again. I just need some times to sort out the experience."
"Now I'm curious."
"When the time is right, I'll tell you about it."
"If Fuuma says so, I'm looking forward to hear it." She smiled. "By the way, it didn't involve Ingrid, right?"
"Hm?" The question caught him off guard. "Well, partially?"
The smile was gone and a narrowed gaze took place as Kurenai became suspicious of his uncertain answer.
"Partially? You can't decide whether or not she was directly involved in this experience you can't tell me about?"
"It happened in the spur of moment, which she wasn't there." He quickly explained. "But getting to Ingrid was part of the reason why I ended up in that situation."
"Hmmm~."
Kotaro felt cold. It was probably the air-conditioner operating on automatic mode. He hardly could imagine the shift in temperature was happening due to the staring combined with the low, steady humming from Kurenai.
"Fuuma, you should lie down."
"Okay?"
He did as told, coming back to the comfort of the pillow.
Suddenly, the apple slice was brought to his face. He looked at Kurenai who was blushing a bit.
"Come, eat." She said. "You need nutrition to get back to full health. Don't keep the Task Force waiting."
"Um..."
Hesitantly, Kotaro took a bite.
"Take it slow, okay?" Her face became redder. "I'm free in the morning so...so...we can take our time."
Nothing else was said.
In the silence afterward, the only noise resounding in the room was Kotaro chewing steadily the apple slices she gave. Unknown to Kotaro, another sound had blended into this awkward atmosphere and he couldn't hear it.
Kurenai was aware of that distinct sound.
When he was full, she took the last piece. The sweetness from the flavor made her temporarily forget the throbbing deep within her chest.
...
...
...
This was the end of her visit.
Kotaro quickly fell asleep as expected, he needed more rest for a quick recovery. Kurenai would soon leave so the staff can come in to monitor his condition.
Before making her way out, she made sure he was already deep in his resting state.
"Fuuma."
"..."
He didn't respond.
She looked over her shoulder to check on the door. She cautiously peeked out the hallway for any familiar faces coming here for the same purpose like hers. There was no one else aside from a few staffs focusing on their works.
Kurenai closed the door and came up to his bed. Her hand moved to his hair and caressed it. Due to burn marks, both of his hands were covered in bandages. She wanted to hold them and give him a reassuring squeeze.
But now, there wasn't much Kurenai could do to help. She had to hold onto these feelings and keep them in check. There was no way to brush it off her chest, and she could hardly be honest with it either. Kurenai couldn't find the right moment, not yet.
Admittedly, this wasn't one of those moments as Kotaro wouldn't know in his sleep. She could be honest with herself and maybe he didn't have to be aware of it. That would do.
Kurenai took the chance.
She sheepishly moved closer to his face.
...
...
...
"Yuuna-sensei! Fuuma has something red on his face, can you check?"
The apprentice medic, Shinonome Nanami, discovered a weird mark on Kotaro's face while she was changing his bandages. She informed Shinjou Yuuna who was replacing the disinfecting tools with a new set after they had finished the process.
Knowing Nanami was still lacking in experience, Yuuna went over to help the apprentice identify the mark. It could be his wound turning worst.
"Hm?" Yuuna looked closely at it and confused. "Eh? This doesn't look like a wound."
She wiped off the strange mark on his forehead with a wet cotton piece. It came out easily like a fresh paint. The mark looked red, not as darkened as blood and had a faint scent.
Yuuna took a sniff to be sure. To her surprise, the delightful aroma smelled like spring.
"Lipstick?" She realized it right away. "Why is there lipstick on Fuuma-kun's forehead?"
Nanami and Yuuna shared a confused look.
Gasp!
They blushed at a possible idea.
"Does this means...!? One of his visitors...!?"
"While Fuuma-kun is sleeping, this is so bold!"
They couldn't imagine the amount of daring the lipstick's owner had taken.
One day after the event of the Great Ashen Tree.
Two days before Kotaro wakes up from his coma.
In the early morning at Tokyo Kingdom, sea mist had yet to clear from the streets.
Ingrid, in a workout outfit, stretched her legs after completing a few laps around Nomad campus. The place has the size of multiple districts combined together. There was a stadium available for gym activities and sport events, occasionally held for demons who'd been fascinated by the human's culture while not being drawn to the Chaos Arena.
Just for today, Ingrid preferred the outdoor track. She needed the fresh air and a much longer route to take.
In other to measure the speed of her recovery, she had spent one lap only sprinting from start to finish without preserving stamina. She didn't feel exhausted, not at all. However, the slight tingling sensations around the body was telling her otherwise. The mind was convincing Ingrid she can keep going and a second thought had stopped her from doing so. She has always been working hard in everything to keep Nomad together, and that mindset could mislead her in this case.
She was far from hitting her own limit, but the fatigues from using Grenier's power continued to linger. Ingrid needed to be sure how much of it was gone, she couldn't be careless.
"Ingrid-sama! You're too fast!"
Lina's high-pitched voice rang behind the Hell Knight as she finally caught up. She struggled to stand, shaking with tiredness took over all the motions in her body. Compared to Ingrid, who looked unfazed, the challenging ten laps around the huge campus drained most of Lina's strength.
"You need to train more, Lina. Though, you did good today. It's not often you tried to catch up to me with a pace that you have yet to manage well."
"That's because I want stay close to you." Lina said between gasps. "In case something happens again."
"Oh."
Ingrid awkwardly rubbed her neck at a loss for words. She understood Lina's intention and what the girl was talking about.
"I believe what occurred yesterday was only a one time thing. Lina, I assure you there will not be a second time."
"You sounds uncertain, Ingrid-sama." She doubted.
Ingrid flinched as Lina was spotted on. The Hell Knight didn't make eye contact with the young demon girl and instead, looked away. The little incident yesterday happened outside of her control and Lina was the only witness at the scene. Ingrid was glad her closest apprentice had been there and no one else found out what had transpired. She had seen it coming. The after-effect was beyond her capability to handle, however.
When Grenier returned to slumber, Ingrid stopped gaining access to the Dark Blue Flame. White cape shifted to red and dragonkin's symbols vanished from her body, she went back to the original combat attire that earned her fear and respect in the common knowledge of those who heard her name.
She had collapsed to her knees as soon as Lina arrived at the pick up location and after the Task Force's aircraft had left. Using Grenier's power had taken a toll on both her mind and body, only by releasing herself from that form, the source of power revealed to be a great burden.
Lina, filled with worry to the point of almost panicking, carried Ingrid back to the private quarter through a secured route. Once they reached the safety of their home, Ingrid eventually gave in to the exhaustion and didn't regain conscious until the next hours.
"You haven't told me what happened yesterday."
"Lina, it was...complicated."
"What is complicated about going on a vacation for a hot spring bath and coming back in a military aircraft fully exhausted?"
Gasp!
Lina gasped in surprise at her own words as if she had finally put two and two together.
"Did the Task Force drag you into some kind of conflict!?"
"There was a conflict, I was already involved beforehand. The Task Force didn't drag me into anything. I drained myself because I used Grenier's strength on my own volition."
"Someone out there is dangerous enough to force Ingrid-sama use that!?"
"No one forced me, Lina. In order to put an end to the conflict as quickly as possible, Grenier's power was the right call."
"But you weren't in danger, were you!? B-Because of me...?"
The one who came up with Ingrid's five days break was Lina. After receiving Edwin Black's approval, she had persuaded Ingrid to go on a vacation. Lina would feel responsible for whatever happened even though she has yet to hear the full story.
"Calm yourself." Ingrid reassured and gave a pat on her subordinate's shoulder. "We could not foresee what was coming, the danger was simply not there in our knowledge. As you can see, I am unharmed. Do not blame yourself for my carelessness, Lina. The fatigues will wear off soon."
"Okay. Will you share with me what had happened?"
"I will. Perhaps, I can tell you the story during lunch time."
The two continued running for a few more laps around the campus.
"By the way, Ingrid-sama." Lina caught up and asked. "It was just the conflict that troubled you, right?"
"It was against a cunning monster and it ended. What's the matter? Do you still have doubt in mind?"
"I-It's not that I doubt you or anything! I was just wondering about yesterday while you were resting."
"Speak up then. If this helps you clear the thoughts, I can do it now so we can put your worry to rest."
"Eh, how should I say this? You were...you were mumbling in your sleep, Ingrid-sama."
Ingrid blinked, somewhat unexpected to hear it.
"I did?"
"Some sort of name, yes. OH! I, I didn't mean to eardrop you! I only heard it by accident!"
People don't usually remember a dream they had after waking up. This could be the same case with her.
"It's fine. Did I mention Black-sama's name?"
Ingrid adjusted her speed, she ran a bit ahead of Lina so the young demon girl can't catch a glimpse of her embarrassed expression.
"No, it was a different name. It was Fuu...Fuu-something-tarou..."
Her eyes widened. Now she wanted to recall the dream she had forgotten yesterday out of curiosity and maybe, just maybe, with a bit of interest.
"Fuutarou? Hm, that's not right. Fuuratou? Eh, do we have anyone with a name like that in Nomad? It sounds really familiar to me but I can't seem to remember the right thing."
"It's..."
The revelation stuck with her. Ingrid wanted to tell Lina the young Taimanin's name and a part of her didn't want to complicate the matter. Lots had happened within the span of a single night. She might have to save this detail for another time.
"I'm sure it's normal to mumble in a dream."
"Well, it must have been a good dream for you." Lina smiled. "You looked relief while you said it."
It was a dream Ingrid couldn't remember, unlike the one fabricated by the Ashen Tree which was still fresh in her memory.
Her short break had become chaotic by the end. But it wasn't so bad.
"Lina. Let's go together next time, I could use a good companionship."
"Sure thing! Leave it to me, Ingrid-sama!"
She came to know things that she had never thought possible. As one of the strongest Hell Knights, she realized the immense potential of the one trying to pave their way forward by being the weakest.
"Thank you. It was a good experience." Ingrid expressed to both, Lina and a former companion who was not there.
She enjoyed the company of an enemy who was willing to show their mutual understanding.
"You now have my attention. I hope you have a speedy recovery."
These words she muttered regarded to a friend who saved her from a fate worst than death.
She would think of Fuuma Kotaro again while reminiscing about the event to Lina.
/
Author's Note: I have fun writing this chapter. If everything fitted together, the next update could be the conclusion to Five Days Break/Great Ashen Tree Arc.
Thank you for reading. Take Care!