Chapter 6: Looking for Miho, part 1.
5.32pm
The Aokigahara forest was in turmoil: police helicopters (flanked by drones) and Focke-Achgelis Fa 223s from the Kuromorimine academy flew overhead, while ground teams combed every square centimeter of the area, assisted by groups of rangers forestry and students from Ooarai, St. Gloriana, Kuromorimine, Maginot and Saunders academies.
"We are very grateful." Hana declared, bowing in front of a girl of medium height with long dark hair with blue highlights and a pair of blue eyes, who was wearing a Maginot Academy uniform.
The girl, who was none other than Eclair, captain of the sensha-do team of the aforementioned academy, made a depressed face.
"St. Gloriana, Saunders and Kuromorimine academies have fielded many more volunteers than mine… You should be thanking them, not me."
Hana looked at her and smiled.
"Any help, even if minimal, is welcome." She said.
Eclair snorted.
"Unfortunately my sensha-do team has suffered a serious loss of tankers, and the few tanks available are under repair after the match against Anzio."
She looked around as a helicopter roared past overhead.
"And anyway the forest is so thick that they would have been unusable."
Hana shook her head.
"It doesn't matter… We have to try anyway. If Miho dies..."
She stopped. Just thinking about her made her feel bad.
"I will never forgive myself!"
Eclair looked at her without replying. For all she knew it was already too late. Miho could have taken the final step hours ago. And even if she were still alive, she could be anywhere… It would take days to search the forest, and she could kill herself at any moment.
"Miporin! Where are you?" Saori asked out loud.
The girl was in the company of a patrol of St. Gloriana students, intent on searching another area of the forest. It was led by Darjeeling.
"I doubt she'll answer you." Assam stated, earning a glare from the auburn woman.
"Oh, no? And why?" She asked the latter.
"Because she came here to commit suicide, not on vacation." Was Assam reply.
Meanwhile Mako was looking around: not far from them some policemen with dogs on leashes were looking for traces of the missing girl; further on some Maginot students were chatting among themselves.
"Around us there are 3000 hectares of forest… It would take us days to explore it." She declared.
"It doesn't matter… Miho is here! We have to find her before she commit suicide!" Saori said, with a mixture of anxiety and determination.
Darjeeling snorted and ran a hand through her hair.
"The problem is, she may have already done it. In this case we will only be able to recover her body to give her a dignified burial." She said.
"Assuming that he is still there… Ferocious bears roam these areas and may have devoured it." Orange surmised.
Irritated by this talk, Saori clenched her fists. She would have liked to beat those two stupid sluts, but it wouldn't have done her any good.
Miho can't be dead… I refuse to believe it!
She thought.
Kami-sama… I hope she's still alive!
Meanwhile Maho was thinking, leading a group of Kuromorimine students through the trees.
Even though she tried to appear calm, she felt a sense of fear gripping her heart. She continually glanced left and right at her, expecting to discover the corpse of her younger sister hanging from some branch of hers.
Kuso… I should have convinced my mother to change her mind, but instead I remained silent. And now…
She swallowed.
…Now Miho risks paying with her life, because of my cowardice!
At a certain point they came across a couple of policemen, intent on talking to each other a short distance away.
"…Getting busy? She's certainly not the first to commit suicide here, and she won't be the last!"
"Inspector Ogino's orders... The girl is the second daughter of Shiho Nishizumi, a big shot of the Sensha-do Federation."
"So she is a rich family… What could have driven her to suicide?"
"I know as much as you…"
Instead of looking for my sister they waste time talking... Idiots!
Maho thought, furious.
"Kommandant?" Erika called her.
She turned in her direction.
"Tell me."
The blonde pointed to an unspecified spot on the ground. Maho looked in that direction: initially she saw nothing, then, looking closely, she noticed a miniature Boko teddy bear.
But that…
She picked it up and looked at it carefully.
"It belongs to Miho, right?" Erika asked her.
She nodded.
"Yes… A miniature Boko, which she bought 3 years ago… She always carried it with her, she considered it a sort of good luck charm!" She explained.
She looked around.
"That means she was here!"
Erika snorted.
"This doesn't help us… It must have been hours since she dropped it. And then I wonder: if she cared about it so much, why didn't she stop to pick it up?"
Maho shook her head.
"I have no idea… Maybe she didn't notice, or she was fleeing from some danger, like a bear."
Her deputy crossed her arms.
"Very likely… Black bears live in this forest, beasts almost 2 meters long. What if one of them had torn and devoured Miho?" She insinuated.
In response, Maho gave her a look that made her blood run cold.
"Until proven otherwise she is alive… And I will find her even if I have to raze the entire forest to do so!" The brunette declared, with determination.
At the same time a Saunders patrol was searching another section of forest. It included, among others, Kay, Naomi, Alisa and Yukari.
"Nishizumi-dono! Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari was calling Miho loudly.
"Save your breath… She won't answer you." Naomi told her, intently looking around her.
"Naomi's right, Oddball… Miho isn't just lost. She came here to kill herself. With your screams you will make her flee, if she is in this area." Kay declared, while she looked at an indefinite point of the bush with a distraught look.
Alisa snorted on her side.
"Let's assume that we find her alive, which is not at all a given… What do we do?" She asked, crossing her arms.
Yukari turned in her direction, giving her an annoyed look.
"It seems obvious to me, we're taking her back to Ooarai!" She answered.
"Yes and then? Ooarai is doomed... And Miho too, since from what you told us she was disinherited."
Nervous, her interlocutor clenched her fists.
" If necessary I will host her! And then Mako and Saori would also be happy to host her in their home!" She stated.
Alisa glared at her, placing her hands on her hips.
"Why didn't you tell her last night, then? Maybe she wouldn't have made that decision."
"I…"
Yukari trailed off.
"…I did not think about it. I was too upset because of the latest news." She admitted, feeling guilty.
At that moment a noise, coming from some of her bushes, alarmed her. They all turned to look in that direction.
"What… Is it a bear?" Helmet-chan wondered, fearfully.
"If so we had better start running… They are dangerous animals, they attack humans without hesitation." Naomi answered her, staring at her bushes with fearful eyes.
"Keep calm." Kay ordered them, trying to appear impassive, even though she was worried.
The Saunders stood still for a few minutes, waiting. Then something jumped out of the bushes.