Chapter 8: First Assignment

Unlike the time Shizuka escorted Yoshika to Europe, they were not going to travel by ship but by plane, it seemed the brasses in Europe required their presence as soon as possible.

The base they were to depart from, was further away from the port at Kamakura Yoshika usually departed from and it would take them a couple of hours of travelling by land to reach Shizuoka.

During their way, both witches remained mostly silent with a small talk in between, and even though they try to avoid the topic of their upcoming assignment, they were worried about as their absent expression on their faces betray them.

A couple of hours later, they arrived at the facility, and as they were accessing it, they could notice Mio was guiding the crewmen to load what seemed like a pair of two striker units into the plane. "Look, it's a Shiden" asserted Shizuka, "and a Shinden" added Yoshika.

As they got out of the truck, Major Sakamoto came to them to greet them.

"Miyafuji, Shizuka, it's good to see both of you are doing well", Mio greeted them.

"Sakamoto, it's good to see you again" replied Yoshika.

"Good morning, Major" added Shizuka as she went into the salute pose.

"There's no need to do that, no one else is here" Mio said to Shizuka's disappointment.

"Well then" replied Shizuka with a hint of redness in her face as she stopped the pose, then she added "Major, are those our striker units?"

"Indeed, they are, they have been overhauled and they are ready" Mio replied as the crewmen finished loading the pairs of strikers into the plane, "Miyafuji, Shizuka, please come with me to the office, there are some documents you need to sign before we depart".

But as Mio headed to the office, she could not stop thinking about the Shinden because even though, the engineers behind its the development thoroughly inspected it, they were not able to find the cause behind the partial melt of its sparking plugs, there was no way there could be a flaw in its design, was it? The lack of an explanation did not sit well with her but there was nothing she could do about it other than warning Minna and being sure that the Shinden was properly maintained.

As the trio were waiting in the office, Hijikata came, greeted, and gave them the documents the major had instructed him to. Yoshika signed them without giving it a second thought.

On the other hand, Shizuka was more careful regarding what she signed; thus, after giving it a quick overlook, she did not find anything remarkable other than they would be given extra budget after their great performance in Berlin. After they signed up the paperwork, their luggage was embarked, the trio was ready to board the plane that would take them to Europe once again.

It was a long journey and the plane had to make a stop in order to refuel and to check that everything was working as intended. Thus, the trio had to spend the night in base somewhere in between their destination and Fuso, they continued their journey at eight hundred hours.

Now close to Europe, Yoshika and Mio were expecting to encounter Neuroi as it usually happened to them, Mio had even readied a striker unit to depart had it even necessary with a Type 99-2 at hand but to their relief, they did not encounter anything out of the ordinary.

It was rather a cold windy day, and it seemed that the sun was not going to appear in what was left of the day, and as they approached Venezia from far away, two of the Witches remembered the many battles they faced there. It was Mio's last battle as a Witch after all, and seemingly Yoshika's too but to basically everyone who were involved, it thankfully was not.

As they landed, Yoshika and Shizuka were disappointed that there were no other Witches waiting for them, but Mio assured them that they were going to be reunited in due time. Bolzano was not far from Venezia and thus the trio would need to complete their journey by land the same day. Fuso had not sent too many supplies thus only a small convoy made of one truck and one jeep would make their way to their base.

There were still a few hours of light still left and if everything went as expected, they would be arriving by late in the evening at best or early in the night at worst.

After everything was taken care of and Commander Minna was informed of their arrival, the trio got into the truck and to Shizuka's relief, Mio decided to drive, making Shizuka sigh in relief; she was not sure the reason behind that response but could more or less understand why she was so happy that Yoshika was not behind the steering wheel, after all it was Shirley who taught her how to drive.

Yoshika did not remember Venezia to be this chill with wind strong enough to make , it seemed to her this winter was going to be colder than the past ones she spent it here in Europe.

The darkness of the night came quicker than they had expected, but the route was partially lit by lamps, making it less dangerous to drive but Mio was still cautious; they stopped in order to eat something they brought from Venezia, though Mio only drank coffee, then they continued their journey.

They were still at least an hour of distance before they arrived, but Mio had already communicated Minna about their current status, nevertheless, she was worried about them driving in the night without guidance, thus she sent Sanya to escort them in the last stretch of their journey.

The weather became dire as it became foggy, and it seemed that it was going to rain anytime, the trio hoped to arrive before it started, as the jeep did not provide much cover at all. There was no noise other than engines' and though it was cold, it was rather tranquil in a weird way.

Mio had been driving since their departure and though Yoshika offered to help her, she politely refused, on the other hand, Shizuka told Mio that she did not have much experience driving in the current conditions and it would be better if she continued driving to which Mio agreed.

As they were in their way, the lights of the street suddenly turned off, Mio tried to communicate with the base but there was no answer.

"It seems there's a power outage in Bolzano too", she acknowledged "Maybe it's a Neuroi?" Yoshika asked, "that can't be, there has not been reports of Neuroi sights here", Mio replied, "What is that?" Shizuka enquired pointing in the sky. "I don't see anything" replied Yoshika until a red beam came through the sky towards them.

Yoshika unleashed her shield to protect them, "that was close, way too close", she said while Mio tried to keep control of the vehicle and so did the truck behind "I can't see it, it's too dark", exclaimed Yoshika as the beam stopped.

"Shizuka, grab your striker to engage it", Mio said as she stopped "Roger that" but before she could get out, the fog above them became red again, "Yoshika be ready", Mio said.

"Don't worry" she replied, and she was ready to summon her shield again but shortly it became apparent that it was not targeting them but the truck behind them.

"Get out of there, now!", Mio shouted but before they could escape the truck, the Neuroi shot.

"Shizuka!", Mio screamed.

"I'm on it" she protect it with her shield as the neuroi continued its assault shooting both of them from many angles from above, "Ma..jor…, I can't get any closer" exclaimed Shizuka while struggling to maintain her shield and even standing on her feet.

"Damn it", cursed Mio as she got out of the jeep to get a gun but even if she shot it from her current position, there was no way she could take it down as it was hiding in the fog, nevertheless, it was worth the try and it still could at least give them some time.

As she was rushing towards the towards the truck, she heard Yoshika's voice, "Shizuka, don't worry about the truck, go and get the striker", "Okay, then", she replied as Yoshika's shield became big enough to cover both vehicles and Shizuka slowly unsummoned her shield in awe.

Mio noticed Yoshika seemed to be dealing better than Shizuka with the beans as the neuroi continued its assault. Both rushed into the truck to get their guns and Shizuka took off as soon as she could but as she ascended, the beams stopped.

It had started to drizzle, making it even harder for her to find the neuroi "Major, there's nothing here", Shizuka said, "Keep looking but be careful", Major ordered her, "Sanya, do you copy?", but there was no answer, "Major, I must help her", Yoshika requested trying to stay calm, "Be careful and stay close by", Yoshika then rushed into the Shinden and took off.

"Shizuka, Miyafuji, have you found it", but there was still no answer, "Do you copy?", only static came through the radio 'where are they?', maybe the communications were being jammed, but they must still be close by and hopefully unharmed as the sky had not turned red again.

At the same time, Mio was starting to get worried about the fact that there was no news regarding Sanya, this had been one of the few rare occasions she missed being Witch as she felt powerless but at least she could still drive them to the base.

"Miyafuji… Yoshika, Shizuka, do you copy? Come back" After a few seconds that felt like to minutes to her, "roger, I've found Shizuka, and we are heading back but we could not find the Neuroi" Yoshika replied "Let's head back to the base, there's nothing to do but from now on, I need both of you to escort us" ordered Mio, "roger that" hearing their voices again relieved her a bit but there was no news of Sanya, hopefully they would find her in their way to the base.

Yoshika was relieved for the fact that Shizuka was unharmed, but it still worried her the fact that they did not have a clue what kind of Neuroi attacked them, still, now she could protect them and the convoy in the last part of the journey. But the question remained, where was Sanya?

The drizzle had become rain while the inherit magic of the Witches protected them of the rain and the weather, Mio was still worried about them as the wind had become stronger too, if they had to fight, it would be hard to maneuver, they had experience fighting like that but that did not make it any easier, still now she could see them flying just above her.

A few minutes later, the fog became lit again, and Yoshika unleashed her shield while Shizuka readied her gun, but to their relief, it was not red but rather a bluish tone. It was Sanya, they finally found her. As Shizuka and Yoshika flew towards her, they noticed she seemed to be flying a bit erratically.

"Sanya what happened", Yoshika asked as they rushed towards, "A Neuroi attacked me, but I couldn't detect it" Sanya replied. Her right striker unit seemed to have sustained some damage as there was smoke coming out of it.

Mio heard the conversation and asked, "Are you able to fly?", "Yes, Major and it's good to see you", still, both Witches carried her in their arms just as prevention as it seemed she was fatigued.

Mio would later request her a give her report of what happened, still there two more pressing matters now, the communication had not been reestablished nor the electricity, this preoccupied her, hopefully, they would arrive soon as the base was now a few minutes away at most.

In the last part of their journey, there were no more surprises and they had finally made their way to the base, its entrance was only illuminated by the lights of the trucks. They arrived way later than what they expected but relatively unharmed.

As the trio landed, a group of Witches came to receive them composed of: Eila, Perrine, Lynette and of course Minna. As soon as Eila noticed Sanya's condition, she rushed towards her to help her. Lynette went to check on Yoshika, while Minna on Mio, and Perrine on Shizuka. They explained what happened but there were still unanswered questions.

The duo of Witches asked about where the rest of their fellow Witches where, but Minna told them they would be joining them soon, that was the mostly the truth, but she omitted the fact one of them would not.

Still, Minna requested them to go to rest as they would sortie tomorrow early in the morning thus, they all went to their designated rooms, except for Mio and Minna who still needed to talk about their next steps after this incident.

Everyone had already lighted candles around base and in their assigned rooms. The crewmen wanted to unload the supplies, but Minna ordered them to go to rest, there was not point doing it now.

Sanya and Eila were as usual, designated to the same room, and as soon as they entered, Sanya took off her clothes and crashed into the bed, now just wearing her underwear. She was accustomed to the cold and with the help of her magic, she was not bothered at all by the weather. Eila folded her clothes put on her usually nightwear and then went to lay by her side.

Though, she could not sleep as she was blaming herself about the fact that Sanya was almost hurt, she should have foreseen that or at least, she should have accompanied her.

But everyone at the base believed that it was only an escort mission, that was why Minna sent her alone. Regardless, it seemed that now even just that type of mission would require backup but for now she was thankful that all of them made it to the base, specially Sanya.

Meanwhile, unlike her time on Den Helder, this time Yoshika had to share the room with Lynette, her clothes were on the truck thus she did not have anything dry to wear but the Britannian Witch gave her one of her nightgowns.

As she changed into it, she briefly explained how her journey to Fuso went, how she spent her time there and what happened in their way to Bolzano. Lynette was worried about the fact that no one could actually make contact with the Neuroi but at least for now, they all were safe and that is what matter most now.

Nevertheless, as Yoshika was laying in her bed, Lynette could not help it but remember the last time she saw Yoshika, she still wanted to talk about what happened that day, but now, she was just sleeping, not sobbing, and this was not the appropriate moment to ask her.

Yoshika was not the person that could easily be shattered but that day something was different, and that was why this was something she needed to do.

At the same time, Perrine also guided Shizuka to her room or rather, shared room, the Fuso Witch could not help it but be a bit disappointed about the fact that she was not going to share the room with Yoshika this time.

Still, she also did not have dry clothes, but Perrine also lent her one of her own nightgowns. As she changed into it, she explained Perrine what she and Mio had been doing since they parted ways after the liberation of Berlin. They talked a bit more until Shizuka fell asleep.

Meanwhile at the office, the wax of candles had almost been completely burnt out, but Mio and Minna were still wondering about what happened today, whether the surveillance team around Venezia had failed to detect the Neuroi or it was something else.

Plus, the fact that not even Sanya could detect it make it even more puzzling, it seemed that these Neuroi used the fog to attack, remaining practically invisible and when Shizuka tried to face them they seemed to have vanished into thin air; their firepower also seemed to be above average as Shizuka struggled to maintain her shield.

Were they creating the fog? It would not be the first time, and what about the power outage? It also would not be the first time either.

The questions remained, still, there was nothing they could do now other than hoping that they were not attacked during the rest of the night as there was no one in night patrol as Sanya was exhausted after what happened and it would be reckless to send Eila alone.

Hopefully, the surveillance team at the base could alert them before something happens, or even better, they hoped that the night went without any more complications.

Hours later, the break of dawn had arrived, but the fog still remained but it had become less dense, at least the rain had stopped, and they were not attacked in the night, though the electricity had not been restored either.

Nevertheless, nothing of these mattered to Yoshika from making breakfast for the rest of the girls even if the kitchen was just illuminated by candles and the still dim sun light that came through the windows.

As she was preparing it, Yoshika could not help it but notice that this kitchen was not as well-equipped as the ones she had used previously, nor she had lots of ingredients to prepare the food. She was going to ask Minna later what was going on and if it was necessary, she was going to buy what she needed later.

Still, it did not stop her from preparing something tasty with what she had available, as she was finishing preparing it, Lynette arrived to help her, and they completed it together.

As they were serving the food, the girls had started to come, first Commander Minna, then Shizuka. She was asked where Perrine was, but she told them that she went to look for Mio as she was in her usual training routine.

Surprisingly, then Eila arrived carrying a sleepy Sanya. It seemed that after what happened yesterday, she was still drained but unharmed or it was just the fact that she was not a morning person by any means. Shortly afterwards, Mio arrived followed by Perrine and Yoshika and Lynn then served them food.

After all the girls had been served the breakfast, the two cooks sat down with them to eat, and they all continued small talking about their whereabouts since they parted ways after the liberation Berlin.

A few minutes later almost all of them had finished eating, thus noticing that Minna stood up to give an announcement.

"After what happened yesterday, Mio and I agreed it would be better to first send just a small team for this mission", the rest of the girls nodded in agreement, then Mio stood up and continued "and we have already selected the most adequate witches for this mission"; all the Witches were carefully listen as Minna continued "Juutilainen, Miyafuji, and Bishop, please stand up" she ordered them, "prepare to sortie", commanded Mio "Yes ma'am", they said in unison.

The rest of the Witches did not question their decision, but Shizuka was a bit disappointed she did not get to be part of this mission with Yoshika, after all she had already faced these Neuroi but there was nothing she could do other than wishing them good luck.

"We also wanted you Sanya to be part of the mission you have used all your magic yesterday and it would be irresponsible to send you in this state".

As Sanya heard she became sorrowful and quietly said "I'm sorry you have to do all of this", "Don't worry Sanya, we're going to take care of it" Yoshika assured her, "I'm going to be sure of it" Eila reassured her said as she put her hands over her shoulders causing her to softly smile.

"We'll be back soon" said Lynn as they exited the room.

"Be careful out there" Perrine said, "we will, don't worry" answered Lynette "don't do anything reckless" mourned Shizuka but Yoshika still heard her "I won't" assured her, and the five closed the door and headed to the hangar.

As they were walking towards it, Yoshika could notice that there were some shattered windows, webs, half painted walls, the floor was not in a good shape neither were the walls, the base seemed worn out. It really seemed to her that it had not been given maintenance in a long time.

She was going to at least give it a cleaning when she came back of this mission, but it would not hurt to ask why it looked this way; "Commander Minna why does the base look…., I don't know…., old?".

"Oh, we've just moved here a few days ago and we haven't had much time to take care of it" confessed Minna with a hint of disappointment.

"I'm going to help to clean it after this mission", answered Yoshika but Lynn grabbed her hand and signaled her.

"Thank you, Yoshika, we really appreciate the extra help" replied Minna with a soft smile. Yoshika did not understand what Lynette meant but she did know she needed to ask her later.

In the hangar, Yoshika noticed there were a few packed boxes alongside the now unloaded supplies from Fuso 'it really seems they arrived a few days before we did', she thought.

As she headed to her Shinden, she also saw that there were ten launching units, 'that's weird, maybe they haven't received the rest yet' she thought.

Before jumping into her strikers, she gave it a quick look and started to remember one of its designers, her father, it was thanks to him she was here, helping to protect everyone and even he was no longer here, she could never thank him enough. And even though it had brand new paint, Yoshika noticed that there still were a few, almost unnoticeable, chips here and there from the battles she fought with it.

Meanwhile Eila and Lynn were already wearing their striker units, waiting just for her, "Is something wrong Miyafuji?" asked Mio as she put her hand over her shoulder, which made Yoshika stop daydreaming, "nothing, everything's fine" she replied as she went back to herself, jumping into the Shinden shortly after.

"Miyafuji, you're going to be in charge of leading this mission", Minna announced.

"Me?" Yoshika asked disconcerted.

"After all you are the only here who has experience with this Neuroi" Minna stated.

"But I've never leaded a mission before", Yoshika noted.

"Miyafuji, you have more than enough experience to be in charge of a mission", Mio acknowledged, "and you two had experience fighting in the fog" commented Minna pointing both Yoshika and Eila.

'They are not going to change their minds' Yoshika said to her own head, so she averred "I will do my best".

"And I'm going to help you" added Lynette.

"Yeah, the sooner we deal this, the sooner we can came back", said Eila.

They equipped their respective guns and ammo, three magic circles appeared, the engines started to rev, and the three in unison said, "preparing to takeoff", Minna gave them the signal and they flew into sky, "be careful out there", added Mio as they disappeared.

Had not the weather improved, the mission would have been postponed until Sanya could become part of it, the visibility was still far from ideal, but it was still doable, and both Mio and Minna entrusted that the girls could succeed in this first assignment.

As they flew, Eila noticed something different in Yoshika, "Hey Miyafuji, doesn't your tail look different?" enquired Eila.

"Now that you mention it, it looks different" added Lynette trying to remember the last time she saw her tail.

"Shizuka and Sakamoto told me that, though I don't know when or why it changed but I don't feel any different, in fact, I've never felt better" Yoshika replied.

"That's weird, I've never heard of something like that" added Eila.

"That's good to hear it", said Lynette as she still remembered the many times Yoshika had trouble controlling her magic, but it really seemed like thing of the past.

As they ascended, Bolzano could now barely be seen but there was no sign of Neuroi, "So, Miyafuji, what do we do?", asked Eila with a questioning look on her face.

"Let me see, we encountered the Neuroi south from here, so I guess we can start looking there" and thus they started to fly south following her.

About fifteen minutes later, they were continuing following the path the road they took yesterday, but the fog had become denser close to the ground and only the tallest trees could now be seen but interestingly enough, it also became denser above them. It resembled that it was forming a path for them to follow, and they did it inadvertently.

"This doesn't feel right" Eila said.

"What do you mean?" asked Yoshika.

"We have been flying for a while and we haven't found anything and now we can't even see where we are" Eila stated.

"She's right, Yosh…" but before she could finish a red beam came from the ground towards Lynette, but it did not hit her as Eila pushed her from its way, "What the…" Eila griped.

Another beam came from the sky, this time though Yoshika shieled all of them. "I cannot see where they are" Lynette noted.

"I can't either, but I know where they will be shooting from" Eila added, and thus, she started shooting to the ground and so did Lynette accompanying her shooting 14mm rounds as they descended into the fog, the beams from the sky continuing coming but Yoshika was covering them.

A couple of seconds later, the fog below them lighted up again but this time, it was white. "We did it" commented Lynette.

"it seems so" remarked Eila.

"I'm going to take the other one" said Yoshika but they were to far away to hear her and she rushed towards where last beam came.

"Yoshika wait" called Lynette but it was too late as she had disappeared into the denser fog.

The higher she flew, the less she could see, and to her luck, there was no sight of Neuroi, 'I swear I saw it here' she said to herself but then she realized she could not find neither her squad. "Lynne, Eila, where are you?" she called them through her transponder but only static came through, 'I thought they were behind me.'

As she continued searching for them in the fog, she heard shots from a machine gun, 'there, they are' she thought.

She flew to where sound was coming from, the mist became reddish afar from where she was and then she heard another shot but this time from an anti-armor rifle, and then another, and suddenly she realized it coming to her location and she dodged it or rather barely did.

"Ouch, that hurts" Yoshika groaned, then she realized the shot did damage her sailor jacket, her swimsuit, leaving a hole and it even left a burn mark around the left side of her chest, but there was no time to waste as she needed to get closer to them before they disappeared again or worse.

Now shielded, she continued flying towards them, "Lynne, Eila, it's me" she called them from the top of her lungs, and thankfully the shots stopped but she did not unsummon her shield, 'better safe than sorry' Yoshika thought.

As she finally saw them, she unsummoned her shield, and they flew towards each other.

"Miyafuji, why did you leave us?" questioned Eila.

"I thought you were behind me", Yoshika replied.

"Yoshika don't … oh no, are you hurt?" asked Lynette as she got close enough to notice her damaged clothes.

"I'm fine, it's nothing" Yoshika assured them.

Both got closer enough to check on her, "it doesn't look like it's from a Neuroi" remarked Eila but Yoshika stayed in dead silence and so did Lynette who just sighed in disbelief.

"It's from us, isn't it?" enquired Eila but Yoshika continued flying without saying any word.

"I'm so sorry Yoshika" Lynette apologized as she realized the hole in her clothes was way too big to belong to Eila's ammunition, "Don't worry, I'm okey" replied Yoshika.

"We're going back" exclaimed Eila.

"But we haven't taken down the other one" Yoshika countered.

"You idiot, you left us and you… we could have shot you down, we're going back", Eila scolded her, "but…" Yoshika tried to reply but Eila was mad at her, "I don't care, we're going back to the base now", and so they began to fly north to the base.

"I'm sorry we failed, it's all my fault" Yoshika apologized as she resigned to follow them from behind.

"Yoshika, it's not…." tried to console her but she could not as she needed to calm herself because she realized she could have gravely injured Yoshika or worse.

They flew in silence until the fog became thinner as they got closer to the base, and they were not able to announce their arrival as the communications were still jammed but there was not need to, because Minna was waiting for them.

"Mio, they're back" she announced, and she came through the door to the hangar.

"Something's wrong" remarked Mio.

"It seems so" as they noticed Eila was leading, not Yoshika and worse, it could be seen she was injured as her clothes were damaged, but it seemed there was no stained blood nor she looked hurt.

They landed and got out of their units; the commanders headed to their direction to hear what they had to say.

"Miyafuji, what happened" asked Mio.

"Ehh, we… we found the Neuroi, we could take on one but the other fled", Yoshika hesitated to reply.

"And what about that?" Minna asked pointing the damage in her clothes, "oh, it's nothing, I was careless" Yoshika replied as she covered the hole with her right hand, but it started to itch her.

"Is that so Flying Officer Juutilainen?" Mio asked her while looking directly at her eyes after noticing Yoshika's hesitation.

"Yes, yes, it is" Eila replied with a serious tone in her voice while she made a side gaze towards Yoshika.

"Flight Seargent Bishop I'm going to need a report of this mission" ordered Minna to which Lynette replied "Yes ma'am" with a soft voice trying to avoid looking her in the eyes.

"Miyafuji, let's go to the infirmary to have you checked", Mio ordered her.

"I'm fine, I swear and besides I can heal myself, I just, I just need to rest if it is ok", she retorted.

The silence reigned the hangar for a few seconds after hearing Yoshika's tone.

"You can leave" Mio broke the silence as she replied with a hint of disappointment in her voice looking her directly into the eyes and so did she before leaving the hangar and heading to her room. Mio, Minna, and Lynette left the room shortly afterwards and followed by Eila who went the opposite direction to check on Sanya.

As Yoshika was walking towards her room, she was bitter with no one but herself, wondering why the mission went so wrong, sure she had never leaded a mission, but the results were very disappointing.

And she could not be mad with either Lynn or Eila, after all they did what she barely told them to. Now that she thought more carefully about it, she lacked leadership skills, she was okayish at best following instructions, but giving them, that was something entirely different. She needed to learn that but what was most important now, was to fix her mess up and she needed to find a way to do it.

Hopefully after hearing the report, Mio and Minna would not be too mad at her, but at least her squad, if one could call it that, was uninjured. She could not forgive herself if something happened to them while she was supposedly in charge; it did not matter she was injured, after all, her wound was only superficial though the burn mark had started to itch even worse.

As she entered the room, she noticed her backpack was already in her room, she closed the door and then she decided to change into another uniform. Then, she undressed herself and now she could have a better look at her burn, it was worse than she was first thought but nothing she cannot deal with, it was not the first she got burn doing something reckless. While she tried to heal herself before, it did not work, she was not sure why though, but no one needed to know that.

It would be a bad idea to left her injure untreated though she was so sure nothing might happen to her but 'better safe than sorry' she said to her own head. Thus, she went to get the first aid kit, she got the antiseptic and a bandage out, then she moistened it, and she rubbed it into the burn mark "It's itchy" she whined.

After it seemed to be disinfected, she started to unpack what she brought from Fuso, though the first thing she needed now was to find another swimsuit and a new jacket as well.

She found them in the bottom of her backpack and after dressing up, she got her sewing kit in order to fix her clothes but as she inspected them more carefully, she realized that only her swimsuit was still fixable, the hole in the jacket was way too big to be patched.

She was going to throw it away to the bin next to the door but then she decided not to as she had another look. She just bought it a couple days ago and now, it was ruined; it was not first time it happened, and it would be not the last either.

'Things would not always go the way you expect', she remembered what her grandma said, and this jacket was proof of that, so she put it in the bottom drawer.

Then she started to sew her swimsuit, it would need a patch but, unless she needed to swim, no one would notice it. Besides, she brought more clothes from Fuso, but it would shame to throw it away, but as she was doing so, someone knocked on the door.

"Miyafuji, are you there? Can come in?" asked Shizuka, "Yes, of course" replied Yoshika.

As Shizuka entered the room, she noticed it was not as homey as the one they used to have back in Den Helder, it seemed to her Lynette had not had time to decorate it like that time.

She also noticed that her bed was rather disorganized with lots of things on it, "what are you doing?" asked Shizuka.

"Oh, I'm just fixing this up" Yoshika replied as she finished sewing her swimsuit and putting it next to the rest of her clothes.

"How was the mission? Commander Wilcke told us that you were in charge" asked Shizuka.

"It went fine… I guess, but one Neuroi got away" Yoshika replied trying to fake a smile and while she began to sort the things on her bed and putting them on the dresser.

"We will deal with it later, let me help you" Shizuka assured her, thus, she started to help her to sort her side of the room, thus she handed her the different pieces of clothes and Yoshika was folding and putting them on the drawers.

But when Shizuka lifted one of the skirts Yoshika got in Fuso, she found the first aid kit, "Were you injured?", Shizuka enquired her.

"No, of course…" but Yoshika then realized she forgot to store the first aid kit "I mean… yes… a bit, a beam scratched me but I'm fine" Shizuka was not fully convinced of Yoshika's answer but then she remembered what she was doing when she entered the room.

'That was what she was sewing', she said to herself, she took a more detailed look at her swimsuit and not noticing stained blood, she was a bit more certain Yoshika was telling the true.

Then, Shizuka continued helping Yoshika but then she found something that reddened her; the dark blue dress she bought back in Fuso, as she lifted, she started to daydream how beautiful she looked while wearing it.

"Shizuka?" called Yoshika as she expecting to be handed the rest of her clothes.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something", but to her luck did not notice she was blushing and thus, she handed her the dress and the rest of her clothes as well.

The only thing that was left on her bed were a couple of medicine books she brought from Lausanne.

"What about these?" Shizuka asked.

"I'm going to put them here", and she place the books on her nightstand, she was going to read them before sleeping or in her free time, at least that was she hoped to.

There was something else Yoshika needed to do, so she got one of piece of paper out of one her books and, she sat down started to write while Shizuka watched with curiosity, wondering to whom she was writing to, it would not hurt to ask though.

"Miyafuji, if you don't mind, are you writing to your family?"

"Not really, I'm writing to a friend I made back in Helvetia to let her know that I'm back in Europe" Yoshika politely replied.

A few minutes later she finished and put it on an envelope she had in between the pages of another book, she wrote the name and the address and put it underneath her jacket.

Now regarding the absence of the rest of the Witches, they would appear in the next two chapters (hopefully). If I have enough time, I'm going to write a chapter or two describing their whereabouts but for now, I want to focus on the main story.

And about Yoshika's failure, like she said, she was never in charge of other people, she mostly acts alone or follows instructions, never gives them.

By the way, the previous chapters have been updated with some fixes here and there, the premise is still the same.

The next chapter is still being written but I hope to have it ready for the next week.