Chapter 10: Night chat
3:23 am
Kay lay asleep in her bed next to Hilda. However, her sleep was not peaceful: she was in fact tormented by a memory linked to the previous timeline, the memory of the day Arisa had died.
Start flashback
Yokohama, May 20, 2019, 10:00 a.m.
Miho, Naomi and Kay, aboard a Willys MB Jeep, were headed to the Yokohama City University Medical Center, the main city hospital, located in the Minami district, the place where Yukari and Arisa were hospitalized in a coma.
"Have you heard of Chi-Ha-Tan?" Miho asked, turning to Kay.
"Yes ... It's all over the news." The blonde girl answered.
She slowed down.
"Never seen such a massacre."
"There are now dozens of victims ... And people are afraid." Naomi said, deathly pale.
"We could be next ... Maybe those bloody crazy are waiting for us near the hospital, to blow us up like they did with Wallaby and those two ... Shinichi Kudo and Chris Vineyard!" She added.
"Do not be guided by fear ..." Was the response of her commander, some of her trying not to point out that she herself was more scared than ever.
In two weeks, in fact, she had seen many innocent girls die, killed by the avenging fury of the SS: Jajka, Eclair, Nishi… And many others. For now, Saunders University had not suffered attacks, but she feared that at any moment it would be attacked by those criminals, who would not hesitate to kill as many students as possible before fleeing. However, she could not show fear in the eyes of her followers, otherwise they would have become even more demoralized. she snorted, then looked up at the clear sky.
Arriving near the hospital, they noticed a couple of police cars parked in front of the entrance.
"What happens?" Miho asked.
"I have no idea ..." Naomi replied.
Oh, Kami ... Don't let that be what I'm afraid of!
Meanwhile, Kay was thinking in anguish.
Entering the entrance doors they saw, in the atrium, Doctor Shizuka Marikawa in the company of Aki Natsuki, one of the nurses.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't know how it could have happened ..." The second was apologizing.
"How did you not recognize two SS?" The first of her asked, furious.
"They looked like two normal students ..."
"What happened?" She asked Kay, walking closer, even though she dreaded the answer.
"Two SS girls, disguised as Saunders students, have entered the room where your friends are hospitalized." The blonde doctor.
Kay's heart skipped a beat as Naomi and Miho blanched.
"Yukari ... Yukari is ..." Miho said.
"Alive." She answered another voice.
The girls turned, noticing police inspector Ayami Ogino in the company of a couple of officers.
"And Arisa?" It was Kay who asked that question.
"I'm sorry, she is dead." Shizuka answered her.
That news was like a bolt from the blue for Kay and Naomi: the second gasped, while the first fell to her knees.
It's my fault ... I sent her aboard that cursed school ... And now she ... She ...
She told herself as her tears began to stream down her cheeks.
End of flashback
She woke up, her eyes widening.
Again…
She think, saddened.
She sat on the bed, glancing at Hilda, still asleep. The German girl had a serene expression on her face, as if she were having a wonderful dream. For a moment, Kay was tempted to kill her in her sleep, smothering her with her pillow, or maybe slitting her throat with a kitchen knife.
Don't be silly… Now you are in the past, which has become your new present. Arisa is alive and she is fine. What you have dreamed of is a future that will never come true. You can't kill an innocent girl for something she will never do.
She told herself.
She got out of bed and, seeing that sleep had passed, she decided to take a stroll around the villa.
Going out into the corridor she looked around: in addition to the door to Hilda's room there were two other doors. One, located to the right, led to the bathroom. The other, placed on the left, housed a room that Kay guessed was Hilda's private studio. It contained a desk with a laptop on it and a modem for wi-fi; a three-tiered wooden shelf, which contained books; two glass cases containing model aircraft and tanks; and, finally, some pictures and banners on the walls. Kay walked over to the bookcase first, examining some of the books.
Vaterland, Das Tal der Angst, Im Sturm ... Damn, they're all in German ...
She let out a sigh.
Naturally, I'm on a German ship ...
She then took a look at the two display cases: one contained models of various tanks, from Panzer I to Tiger II; the other aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Junkers Ju 88 and the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223.
So she are also interested in the Second World War, not only in the American Revolution ...
She went out into the corridor and went downstairs. Three doors faced the corridor.
One of the three will surely lead to the guest bedroom. But the other two? Well, the best way to find out is to see for myself.
She found herself in a kind of gym, containing a series of exercise equipment: dumbbells, weights, a treadmill, an exercise bike and others.
She care to physical exercise.
She thought, looking around.
The next room contained a kind of bookcase, with rows of shelves full of books. She didn't even try to read them, because German language was as familiar to her as Etruscan or Maya.
If only Maho, Erika or Miho were here they could have translated the titles for me.
She thought.
She snorted.
Hilda is a sort of fusion between Himmler, the intellectual, and Göring, the gym ... One cultivates the intellect, the other the physique ... Instead Hilda cultivates both.
Suddenly someone put a hand on her shoulder, startling her. She turned, finding herself facing Göring, who was staring at her grimly.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you that she doesn't go around other people's houses without permission?" She asked her.
"I couldn't sleep ... And I decided to take a walk, to familiarize myself with the environment." She justified herself, looking down.
She felt helpless, at that moment, like a lamb in front of a ferocious and hungry wolf.
"I am ... I am still a guest of Hilda, not an intruder." She added.
Göring stared at her in silence for about a minute, then said:
"Follow me into the living room, we'll have a snack at night and have a chat."
Kay nodded.
The living room contained two armchairs, a sofa, a red rectangular carpet with a white circle in the center containing the inevitable black swastika, a fridge (Siemens brand) and an ultra-flat TV fixed to the back wall. Kay also noticed, on the fridge, some stickers, among which there was a strange logo: a red circle with FC Bayern Munchen written on it and in the center of white and blue diamonds.
"It is the emblem of Bayern Munich, our favorite team." Göring explained to her.
"Actually, I support FC Tokyo." Kay said.
"I meant me, Himmler, and Hilda."
"Ah understood."
After all, they are all three Bavarians.
She sat down on the sofa, while Göring opened the fridge, taking out two sandwiches with slices of ham and cheese. She offered one to Kay, and the other kept it for herself.
"Given your origin, I thought you were supporting V-Varen Nagasaki." She stated as he sat down beside her.
"The fans are not divided by regions. I know girls from Hokkaido cheering Yokohama F-Marinos, and girls from Kansai cheering Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. In addition, V-Varen Nagasaki plays in J2, and I'm interested in J1. "
She took a bite of the sandwich and chewed the bite slowly.
"I understand ... J2 is a bit like the Zweite Liga in my homeland or the Serie B in Italy."
"Do the other girls cheer on Bayern Munich too?"
"Some yes. Other teams like Cologne, Freiburg, Mainz etc. cheer. "
"I understand ... You also followed the Japanese championship, right?"
"Exact. Thanks to Youtube we follow the Live matches, more precisely on a channel called J. League something. "
"What teams do you support? I mean those of the J1 League. "
"Hilda FC Tokyo, I Gamba Osaka, Himmler Kawasaki Frontale."
"I see that Hilda has good taste!" Kay commented, beaming.
"Why not me?"
"Of course ... Gamba Osaka are also a good team."
She let out a sigh.
"Arisa and Naomi cheered Tokyo Verdy and Cerezo Osaka respectively. When those teams played against each other they always ended up bickering during the match, but after a while they made peace ... "
She smiled, thinking back to that moment, while Göring looked at her uncertainly.
"Arisa and Naomi ... They were your deputy commanders, right?" She asked her.
"Exact. And they were my friends too. "
"And… We killed them, right? Me, Himmler, and Hilda. "
"Only Arisa, and not directly. You have appointed two of your followers. "
"I understand…"
She looked away.
"Are you ... Are you thinking of taking revenge on us?"
"For something you will never commit? No ... Also because Arisa is alive and well, in this new timeline. "
Göring snorted.
"You mind if I'm still skeptical, right?" She asked.
"I would be surprised otherwise. Had they told me, I would have laughed. But take my curiosity away. "
"Which?"
"Why do you practice boxing?"
"To defend myself."
"From any attacks?"
Kay knew that, due to the adopted theme, the Black Sun had attracted the dislikes of many.
"Exact. Whether they are haters, robbers or other types of attackers, I can punch them back. You must understand, blondie, that the world is merciless to the weak, be they people or animals. They will always end up being trampled or mauled by the strong, like a buffalo calf ends up mauled and devoured by lions. "
"So you got into boxing."
"Exact. And for the same reasons Hilda turned to martial arts. She was trained by her mother, Leila. "
"And you? Are you self-taught? "
"Let's say yes ... I used to train at home, and since I joined this school I often train in the gym."
"What about Himmler?"
"Himmler?"
Göring thought about it.
"She claims to train martial arts with Hilda, but I've never seen her in action. I think she is a girl more dedicated to studies than to fighting. "
"You don't surprise me."
Göring smiled at her.
"Take away a curiosity, what is your favorite panzer?"
"The Sherman M4. And yours?"
"The Maus. A real self-propelled fortress, invulnerable to enemy tanks. "
Kay giggled.
"Is there something you enjoy?"
"You may not believe me, but Ooarai managed to eliminate one during the match against Kuromorimine."
Göring was stunned.
"No, it's not possible! The Maus is the third largest superheavy tank designed by the Third Reich, after the Ratte and the Monster! To take one down, you need a larger tank or a flock of bombers! How the hell did the Ooarai girls neutralize him? "
"Thanks to a Hetzer, a Type 89, and the Panzer IV Ausf. F / G of Miho. "
Kay briefly explained the plan by which the surviving tanks of the Ooarai had brought down the colossal and seemingly unstoppable Kuromorimine Maus, and when she finished Göring thought:
I'll have to inform Hilda as soon as she wakes up.
"Sure, those girls are really cool." She stated.
"You bet. In addition, another of their teams, aboard an M3 Lee, have eliminated an Elefant and a Jagdtiger. "
"A medium tank destroying two heavy tank destroyers?"
"I know it sounds absurd, yet they have succeeded."
"Extraordinary…"
With that she let out a loud yawn.
"I'm going back to sleep."
"Me too." Kay said, yawning at her.
"Thanks for the sandwich."
"Thank Hilda, she made them."
"I will do it. It was nice to chat with you. "
"I should tell you ... You are really sociable."
Having said that, Göring held out his hand and Kay shook it.
"Good night."
"Night."