Chapter 9: Between fears and intimidation.
Miho was still in her tent, huddled in a corner and clearly scared: she feared that if she went outside, some drone or police helicopter would spot her.
I'm behaving like a fugitive criminal...
She thought, agitated.
But I have no other choice… If I get caught I will have to return to Ooarai, and my plan will be ruined.
Miho ran a hand over her face.
And I don't intend to go back... That school is now condemned. And in any case I have to think about myself first... I have to contact Chiyo Shimada and convince her to host me, if not to adopt me. Only in this way will I be saved.
She looked up.
First I have to make friends with Alice... Through her it will be easier to convince her mother to give me hospitality.
At that moment Manami Himuro entered in the tent.
"Everything OK?" She asked.
Miho nodded.
"Yes…"
The former kuro huffed and crossed her arms.
"You better keep your ass on the ground… The area is swarming with policemen, assisted by students of various schools (Saunders, St. Gloriana, Maginot and Kuromorimine)."
Miho looked at her astonished.
"Kuros too?" She asked.
The blonde nodded.
"Yes… They are captained by your sister."
Maho… She is here?
The brunette asked herself, amazed, standing up.
Miho found it hard to believe that her older sister, who had treated her coldly at their last meeting, was at the forefront of the search for her. For a moment she was tempted to reach out to her, but she quickly gave up. Even Maho didn't have to know that she was still alive.
"I see… Do you have anything else to tell me?"
Manami nodded.
"If my fears are well-founded, your sister and others will swoop in, asking if we've seen you. We will deny it, of course." She replied.
Miho breathed a sigh of relief.
"Arigato…"
The blonde gave her a friendly smile.
"Duty."
With that she exited from the tent, leaving the now former Ooarai captain alone again.
Going outside she ran into Runa Onizuka and Earl Grey, who were staring at her with their arms folded.
"What's up?" She asked them.
"Do we really have to keep her here at camp?" Asked the former commander of the St. Gloriana.
Manami snorted.
"Commander Shimada's order are clear… Miho is our guest, and we must keep silent about her presence here." She answered.
Runa looked at her worriedly.
"But… If the police search the camp and find her we will have endless troubles!" She objected.
The blonde girl adjusted her sunglasses.
"We'll figure something out…" She stated, not knowing what else to say.
Her two companions, although not convinced, nodded.
At the same time, in another tent, Azumi, Rumi and Megumi were busy conversing with each other.
"The whole area is buzzing with search teams… And the skies are crisscrossed by helicopters and drones." The first girl commented.
"They're looking for Miho." The second girl Said.
Their friend snorted.
"Yeah… And rest assured that they will come looking for her here too. What will we say?" She asked herself, anguished.
Azumi gave to Megumi a stern look.
"Commander Shimada's orders are clear: deny her presence." She reminded her.
Megumi scratched her right temple lightly.
"We were wrong to bring her here… She risks bringing big trouble upon us!" She stated.
Azumi's gaze turned furious.
"So for you we should have let her drown?"
The brunette shook her head.
"For me we should have taken her to shore and left her there."
Azumi clenched her fists.
"Of course, so once she regained consciousness she would dive back into the water and finish the job!"
Rumi, to prevent the discussion from degenerating, decided to act as peacemaker.
"Calm down, girls… The die is cast. We can only hope that everything goes smoothly." She said.
At that moment three girls entered the tent: the first had short orange hair and green eyes; the second had dark skin, short black hair (among which a red rose stood out) and eyes of the same color; the third had shoulder-length black hair, dark brown eyes and wore glasses. The other trio turned to look at them.
"Placki… Carmen… Tsuji… What are you doing here?" Azumi asked them, slightly surprised.
The girl named Carmen answered her.
"There are rumors that Commander Shimada is hiding a wanted criminal."
Outraged, Rumi jumped to her feet.
"Who told you this lie?" She asked.
The girl named Placki stared at her sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"A few hours ago you three brought a stranger here, and now the whole area is crawling with policemen. Are you by any chance a złodziej? A biter?"
Megumi stood up, annoyed.
"I don't know when this will get into your head, Placki, but I DON'T understand Polish! I went to Saunders University, not at Bonple academy!"
Placki snorted.
"Is she a thief? A murderer?" She repeated.
It was Azumi who replied:
"Neither one nor the other. She is Miho Nishizumi."
Upon hearing that name the three girls gasped in amazement.
"The sister of Maho, commander in chief of the Kuromirimine team?" Tsuji asked.
Placki chuckled.
"Tak*, the team who swept away Chi-Ha-Tan in the first round!" She said, amused.
Tsuji, Nishi's predecessor as head of the aforementioned team, shot her a glare.
"Well, I don't think your Bonple fared any better against Pravda..." She reminded her, annoyed.
For her part, Carmen smiled ambiguously.
"A Nishizumi… Interesting." She commented.
Azumi crossed her arms.
"Commander Shimada asked… No, she ordered absolute silence. If the police or others come here to ask questions about Miho, the students must deny having seen her. Dare to disobey and I swear that I will cut out your tongue and feed it to wild animals. Was I clear?" She asked, shooting them a menacing look.
The trio trembled. Not because they took Azumi's threat literally, but because they knew that make angry their superiors would get them into trouble. At worst they would have been kicked off the team. And they was can't allow this, it would have been a permanent stain on their resume. So they nodded quickly. Azumi smiled.
"Wise choice, girls…" She said.
*Yes.