Chapter 64 - Flatline
[Seven Seats of Senshado Viewing Platform]
(As the Seven Seats watched the outcome of the match from their room they were discussing about Erika's order of hunting down the remaining tanks of Crows Nest even though the commander tank was destroyed)
"Wow..no mercy from Erika-san.." Asparagus said
"After what they did? I'd do the same.." Darjeeling said
"Same for me.." Kay said
"Heh..serves them right.." Katyusha said
"Why are the judges not announcing the end of the match?" Oowada asked
"With the amount of smoke covering the whole island I bet they're having a hard time confirming the kill.." Kaede said
"But still..thank you Erika..she made it in time to save onii-sama.." Maho smiled
"You're right..for now we can be relieved that he's safe.." Darjeeling smiled too
"That shot to take out the shell of the SU-152 mid air was so cool! For a second I thought it was Tiger-kun that took the shot!" Takashi said
"That would be Sakuraba-san..the gunner of the Jagdtiger..onii-sama's disciple.." Maho said
"I see..so Darling has chosen that first year to inherit his skillset huh?" Kay smiled
"Yes..onii-sama called it passing the torch so that the fire will never burn out.." Maho said
"Well somebody's going to have to continue the fight when he graduates right?" Kal said
(Then at this moment the black flare that Gero shot came into their view)
"What's that?! A black flare signal?" Asparagus asked
"What does it mean? Is it an emergency?!" Anchovy asked
"I've never heard of a black flare signal in the rules!" Katyusha shouted
"Katyusha is right..a green flare signal is fired when a match starts.." Darjeeling said
"While a red flare is fired for an emergency cease fire of the match in case of emergencies.." Kay said
"I also have no knowledge of this.." Kaede said
"Taka-kun do you know-?" Kay suddenly stopped her question
(Everyone then notices a grim expression on Takashi's face as he looks at the black flare signal. Kal also had the same expression and his hands were clenched and was shaking)
"Hey Taka-kun..are you alright?" Kay asked
"Kal-kun..that signal is.." Takashi said
"Yeah..the situation just became the worst case scenario.." Kal said
"What the heck are you saying Kal?! Explain to us so we'd understand!" Katyusha shouted
*CLICK *LIGHTS TURN ON *DOOR UNLOCKS
(All of a sudden the lights turned back on the VIP rooms and Observations rooms. The doors were unlocked as well)
[Shogun Viewing Platform]
"Commander the doors are unlocked!" Shinji shouted
"Alright! Shinji come with me to the security room! The rest of you mount your tanks and evacuate everybody but don't start a panic!"
"Roger!" his team responded
[Ooarai Viewing Platform]
"Shizuka-san please head towards the security room! Me and my crew will go to onii-chan's location!"
"Understood Miho-dono!"
[Pravda Viewing Platform]
"Klara! Have all of our tanks take positions outside the stadium and keep watch of the perimeter!" Nonna Ordered
"Da! What about you?"
"I'll head towards Katyusha-sama.."
[Seven Seats of Senshado Viewing Platform]
"The door!" Oowada said
"Finally! We can get out!" Katyusha said
(Before Katyusha could open the door herself the doorknob suddenly turned and it opened by itself. Then a black figure of a person appeared itself in front of Katyusha just staring at her)
"W-Who are you?" Katyusha said
(All of a sudden the black figure suddenly lunged forward in an attempt to grab Katyusha who was caught off guard)
"Katyusha-san!" Takashi shouted
*KICK *SMASH
(In an instant the hand of the offender was kicked upwards by Takashi and Kal immediately followed by another kick at the door hitting the person with the force of the door. The person was knocked back and was pinned by the door while Kal and Takashi moved back with Katyusha)
"K-Kal..?" Katyusha was surprised
"Are you alright Katyusha-neesan?" Kal asked
"Y-Yes..t-thank you.."
(As Kal was holding his sister he could feel she was trembling in fear)
"Don't worry nee-san..it will be alright..stand back.." Kal smiled
(Katyusha and the rest of the Seven Seats then moved to the back of the room while Kal and Takashi moved in front of them)
"Oowada-san..we'll take the front so please take care of them.." Takashi said
"Understood.." Oowada nodded
"Taka-kun! Who are these guys?!" Kay shouted
"No time to explain!" Takashi said
(After the first person entered two more followed him. All three were wearing some kind of black military vests and they had gas masks on. They also were wearing some kind of hood to cover their faces)
"State your intentions!" Kaede shouted
"..."
"Save your breath..they have no intentions of talking..we don't even know if they're japanese.." Kal said
(One of the aggressors walked up and he was visibility bulkier and bigger than the other two. He then brought out a two brass knuckles from his pocket and continued walking towards them. All of them could feel it, a very familiar pressure they felt from Gero during the Exhibition Games and it made the girls tremble in fear)
"T-This is.." Anchovy said as she was shaking
"Killing intent.." Maho said
"This is different from Gero-kun's.." Darjeeling said
"It's darker and that person is really meaning to kill us.." Kaede said
"Damn..this is bad..we got infiltrated already.." Asparagus said
"But why here?!" Kay shouted
"Kal!" Katyusha called out
(Everyone saw both Kal and Takashi were not trembling in fear. For some reason they weren't affected as much as the others)
"This is the best you got?" Kal said
"Tiger-kun's pressure was heavier than this!" Takashi shouted
"Let's go Takashi!" Kal said
"Yeah!" Takashi shouted
(Both Takashi and Kal then sprinted towards the big guy in an attempt to defeat him. The guy swung his fists at the two but they both dodged perfectly)
*PUNCH *KICK
(Kal landed an uppercut on his gas mask while Takashi kicked him in the stomach and sent him back a few steps but was able to land and ran towards both Kal and Takashi again)
"Damn I guess his body isn't just for show.." Kal said
"Kal-kun!" Takashi shouted
(The three of them exchanged blows with Takashi and Kal dodging every swing of the brass knuckles while the big guy was taking hits from them. The other comrades of the big guy just stood there and watched their brawl)
*KICK *PUNCH *PUNCH *GRAB
(After landing a punch and a kick bot Takashi and Kal grabbed the big guys arm and with both their strength lifted him up in the air and slammed him on his back)
"STAY DOWN ALREADY!" Kal and Takashi shouted
(Kal and Takashi then jumped and landed two Axe Kicks on the big guy. One landed on his head and another on his stomach. The big person jerked a little bit before finally losing consciousness)
"Nice Taka-kun!" Kay cheered
"Amazing..have you two fought together before?" Kaede said
"Nope..this would be the first.." Takashi smiled
"You look like you've been fighting together for a long time.." Asparagus said
"Well Takashi and I do have a common goal..I guess that helped us form our chemistry.." Kal smiled
"Common goal?" Maho asked
"To defeat your onii-sama!" both Kal and Takashi said
(Kal and Takashi then stood in front of the passed out big guy getting ready to take on the next opponents. But they saw the other two laughing at their comrade who just got beaten up)
"What's so funny?!" Kal shouted
"Your comrade just got beaten up and you find that amusing huh!?" Takashi shouted
(The two then stopped laughing one of them walked forward holding two knives in both hands. His aura was different than the first big guy and Kal noticed it so did Takashi)
"Stay alert Takashi..this one's different.." Kal said
"I know.."
*SLICE *CUT
(At that small moment of conversation between Kal and Takashi the second guy already was in front of them and landed a slice on Kal's cheek and Takashi's right arm but were not fatal)
"He's fast!" Kal said in his thoughts
*KICK *KICK
(Kal and Takashi countered with kicks and landed both on the guy but were blocked by his arms. He stepped back a bit to gain some distance from Kal and Takashi)
"Kal! Your face!" Katyusha was worried about her brother
"I'm alright nee-san.." Kal said
"Those movements..it's not even human anymore.." Takashi said
"Artificial body enhancements I'm guessing.." Kal said
"Both of you use this!" Oowada shouted
(Oowada then threw two equipment for Kal and Takashi to use. When they got a good look at it they already knew what it was. Oowada gave them two stun batons that is very durable and can shock their opponents)
"I appreciate it!" Kal smiled
"Where did you get this?!" Takashi asked
"Nishizumi Gero-san informed me about our unwanted guests and gave this to me before the match and told me to give it to you if something happens.." Oowada explained
"Why didn't you give it earlier!?" Takashi reacted
"S-Sorry..I was too frozen in the first couple of minutes.." Oowada said
"Better late than never..thanks Oowada-kun.." Kal said
"Alright! Let's do this!" Takashi smiled
(The three of them then dashed towards each other and entered a close quarter fight with their stun batons and the bad guy's knives)
*TING *CLANK
"Damn..this guy's really strong! If I was fighting alone I would've been dead a long time ago!" Takashi said in his mind
(After exchanging swings at each other all three of them were clearly tired as they ended up with a stalemate. The second bad guy then lunged forward again swinging his knives but this time they were sloppy attempts and predictable. Both Kal and Takashi noticed this and used it as an advantage)
"Kal what are you doing?!" Katyusha shouted
(Kal lowered his guard in front of the guy in an attempt to lure him in closer and it worked like a charm. The bad guy charged forward and he didn't notice he was about to step on the body of the fallen big guy)
*SLIP
"Now!" Takashi shouted
(The guy then slipped and lost his balance then both Kal and Takashi then dashed towards him. The guy then took one last swing towards Kal with two knives.)
*BLOCK
(The bad guy was surprised that in front of him was Takashi that blocked his swing by grabbing both his arms before it reached Kal. This gave Kal the chance flank around Takashi's block now holding two stun batons that Takashi passed to him and pointed it on the guys neck)
*ZAP *SHOCK
"AAAARRGHH!" the guy shouted in pain
(The bad guy received two high voltage attacks on his neck knocking him out completely and falling over on top of the first guy)
"All right! One more to go!" Asparagus cheered
"With this situation we can just gang up on him right?!" Kay said
"Sounds good to me.." Maho said
(But before they could gang up on the last bad guy Kal noticed the guy grabbed a weapon from his back which was a pistol)
"NO! GET BACK!" Kal shouted
*KICK
(Kal then kicked the table beside him as a makeshift cover for the girls to hide behind then he threw both the stun batons at the last guy to make some time. The last guy was able to dodge the stun baton and took aim at them)
"Kal-kun hurry!" Takashi shouted
*CARRY
(Both Kal and Takashi then carried the body of the passed out big guy and held two knives at his neck while both of them were using him as a meat shield to cover the girls. The knives came from the second guy that Kal shocked with the stun batons)
"Drop the gun!" Takashi shouted
"NOW! Or your friend won't be in a healthy condition!" Kal threatened
(The last guy just kept on aiming at them and let out a last chuckle)
*BANG
(Even though his comrade was in the way the last guy still fired the gun towards the big guy and the bullet hit the passed out big guy's stomach and went through hitting Takashi as well)
"Takashi!" Kal shouted
"Taka-kun!" Kay shouted
(Blood splattered on the floor and onto Takashi as both him and the big guy fell back in front of the girls. Kal was shocked at this merciless act of shooting through his friend. Kal looked at the last guy and saw that the gun was now pointed at him and he just closed his eyes and waited for the shot)
*STAB *BANG
(As the second shot was fired Kal opened his eyes to see that he wasn't shot nor were anyone else. Then he looked at the last guy and he was stabbed in the hand by a knife or dagger of some sort and it was bleeding badly as he dropped the gun he was using)
"W-What happened?" Kal said
(All of a sudden three individuals busted inside the room and they too were equipped with vests and black clothes. Only this time instead of gas masks they were wearing white fox masks. Two were men and the other was a woman with long hair)
"Who are they?" Oowada asked
"No idea.." Anchovy said
*GRAB *PUNCH *KNEE KICK
(In an instant the three wearing the fox masks delivered severe blows to the last guy with a gas mask and he was now on the floor and his hands were tied to his back. The woman in a fox mask now walked towards Kal and the others to take a look at Takashi who got shot)
"Taka-kun!" Kay shouted
"Takashi!" Kal shouted in concern
"I'm fine!" Takashi suddenly shouted
"Eh..?" Kal reacted
(As they removed the big guy's body from Takashi there was a lot of blood. But it was all from the big guy and not from Takashi)
"How?" Maho asked
*RIP
(The woman ripped Takashi's uniform only to see that the bullet was caught by an armor plate from the body armor that Takashi was wearing)
"Body armor?" Kaede asked
"Y-Yeah..Tiger-kun told me to wear one just in case.." Takashi said
"He's going to be fine.." the women with a fox mask said
"Thank you very much for the help..who are you?" Kal asked
"A friend.." she replied
"Chiyo-sama requested our assistance so here we are.." said the other fox masked guy
"The Shimada Style Master?" Asparagus asked
"I heard about you guys..mother has mentioned an elite team from the Shimada family.." Kaede said
"Elite team?" Asparagus asked
"Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai - Special Assassination and Tactical Squad - ANBU of the Shimadas.." Kaede explained
"Bingo!" the other fox masked guy said
"Well..you guys seem to have done good yourselves..the party was almost over by the time we arrived.." the woman said
"Not good enough..if you hadn't come in time we would've been killed.." Kal said
"Hey..don't sell yourself short..if you hadn't done what you did..you would've been killed a lot sooner..you did great..as expected from Gero-sama's chosen team.." the ANBU woman said
"Team?" Kal and Takashi asked
"Captain!" a voice came from outside the door
"What's wrong?"
"We have to move soon..or else this man won't make it.." said another ANBU guy outside the door wearing a fox mask as well
"I see..well I guess we have to get going now..my men will handle these thugs here..I need you all to come me to a safer location..we can talk on the way.."
"Understood..come on everyone.." Kal said
"Upsy daisy Taka-kun!" Kay said
"Ow ow ow.." Takashi complained
(Kal and Oowada now were lending Takashi their shoulders to help him walk. The others then followed them out of the room. The ANBU guy outside the door then approached Takashi to check his condition)
"This person is our medic..he'll take a look at your chest.." said the ANBU captain
"T-Thank you.." Takashi said
"H-Hey..this person.." Kal said with a scary expression
"What?" Takashi asked and soon was also terrified
(Both Takashi and Kal were staring at the person the medic was taking care a second ago. The person that was going to die if they don't hurry was laying on the floor with bandages on his chest and stomach covered in blood)
"Do you know this person?" asked the medic
"Y-Yes.." Kal responded
"We found him here in front of the door when we arrived.." said the ANBU captain
"Hoy, what's taking you guys so long! Move move!" Kay said
"We have to hurry to onii-sama!" Maho said
(As Kal and Takashi moved aside and the girls now hurried outside and they too were shocked at the person on the floor. They were all filled with fear and despair the moment they knew who it was. The most affected of them all was the Seven Seats except for Asparagus)
"This person is.." Darjeeling said
"This can't be.." Kay said
"No way...why is..why.." Maho asked
"Gero-kun's..foster father.." Katyusha said
(The person laying on the floor covered in blood was Chief Matsumoto. Both the ANBU captain and medic were shocked)
"Eh?! Gero-kun's?!" Asparagus reacted
"This is horrible.." Anchovy said covering her mouth
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Maho suddenly shouted
"When I applied emergency first aid on him he had multiple stab wounds on his chest and stomach..multiple vital organs were hit..I patched him up as best as I could but we have to get him out of here and to a hospital right now!" the ANBU medic said
"We have a chopper standing by outside..let's move!" said the ANBU captain
"Let's hurry!" Maho said
"KATYUSHA-SAMA!" a voice shouted from the hallway
(Nonna was running towards their direction)
"Nonna!" Katyusha said
*HUG
(Nonna immediately hugged Katyusha)
"Are you alright? What happened?" Nonna asked in a rush
"I'm alright..Kal and Takashi protected us..then these fox people came to help us.." Katyusha said with teary eyes
"I see..thank you..both of you..everyone.." Nonna smiled
(Soon the smile on Nonna's face disappeared as he saw the state of Chief Matsumoto on the stretcher)
"He is..Gero-kun's..who did this?!" Nonna shouted
"We'll explain along the way we got to move now!" said the ANBU captain
"Alright!" Nonna said
(All of them now started to walk in a hurried fashion to the chopper of the ANBU)
"Seven Seats are secured! I repeat, Seven Seats are secured! Apprehended and contained three assailants! On our way to Exfil Alpha together with eleven packages one with one critically injured! We'll head straight for the hospital!" said the ANBU captain
"Additional orders from high command! After boarding at Exfil Alpha, head towards the middle island of the match for an additional four packages that needed medical attention.." the radio said
"Roger that!" said the ANBU captain
[Security Room]
(While they're headed for their extraction point Ami Chouno headed straight for the Security Room and met up with Akane and Shinji of Shogun High School. They were knocking on the doors but nobody was responding)
"Hey! Is anybody inside!?" Akane shouted
"Hello?! Kikuyo-san!" Chouno shouted
"No response ma'am!" Shinji said
"Damn it!"
(Chouno then pulled out her pistol form her holster then aimed at the door knob)
*BANG *BANG *BANG *KICK
(After a couple of shots the door knob was destroyed and Chouno kicked the door in)
"Kikuyo-san!"
(Chouno called out before entering the room but still no response. She then entered with her gun pointed while Akane and Shinji followed behind her. There they saw the bodies of the security team and Kikuyo. They were unharmed but were unconscious on the floor)
"Kikuyo-san! Kikuyo-san!" Chouno shook her to wake her up
"..."
"Thank God she's alright..just knocked out..what about the others?" Chouno asked
"Same ma'am.." Akane said
"Here also!" Shinji said
"No sign of forced entry..no sign of physical assault either.." Chouno said
"Sleeping gas?" Akane said
"Possible..they knocked them out first then locked the doors to every room and turned off the lights as well ..but weird they never cut the surveillance systems.." Chouno said
"Then there's a possibility that the cameras caught whoever did this!" Shinji said
"That's right.." Akane said
"Alright we'll handle that later..first let's take care of Kikuyo-san and the others.." Chouno ordered
"Roger!" Akane and Shinji replied
[ANBU Chopper - En-route to Gero's Position]
(The Seven Seats were now onboard the CH-47J Chinook of the Shimada Family en-route to Gero's location. It was still raining hard and Kal had informed the ANBU of the current situation)
"You mean Gero-sama has been fighting alone all this time on that island?!" the ANBU medic asked
"Yes..based on the enemies movements and actions they were deliberately trying to kill Gero-kun..fortunately the main unit of Kuromorimine arrived in time.." Kal said
"Then that black smoke flare went up in the sky..that's when those men in black clothes tried to kill us.." Kay said
"That was a signal from Tiger-kun..it means worst case scenario.." Takashi explained
"Worst case? You knew that those people would appear?" Asparagus asked
"Yeah..but I won't explain everything now..Gero-kun will do that later.." Kal said
(They all nodded in response and they saw Maho was just staring at Chief Matsumoto. She was worried the most out of everyone because she know just how much this person means to her brother)
"Maho-san..everything will be alright.." Darjeeling said
"Y-Yeah.." Maho softly said
"Chief Matsumoto is strong! And so is darling!" Kay said
(Suddenly a red flare was seen by the chopper pilots and it was coming from the island)
"Red flare spotted! Red flare spotted!" the pilot said
"Hurry up! Take us there now!" the ANBU captain said
"We're going as fast as we can! I won't risk over-speeding it or we might get hit by a gust of wind from the storm!" the pilot said
[Center Island - Before the Red Flare]
"Gero..?"
(What happened next scared Erika and the rest of Kuromorimine because suddenly Gero started to tilt forward and he was about to fall down but Erika was able to rush quickly just in time to catch him)
"Gero?! Hey what's wrong-"
(Erika stopped talking as her side of the head rested on Gero's chest as she hugged him and she had a terrified expression on her face that Sakuraba saw)
"Kommandant?! What happened to senpai!?" Sakuraba asked
"I can't hear it.." Erika said
"Eh?"
"His heart! I can't hear Gero's heart beating!"
(Sakuraba got scared at what she heard. The others that were near to hear what Erika said was Hajime and her own crew. Ken and Ono were still unconscious beside the white tiger)
"What?! How?!" Suzu asked
"I don't know! Rin-san please use the emergency flare!" Erika shouted
"Roger!" Rin said
(As the red flare went up the sky Erika than had Gero lay down on the cold wet grass and started to open up his clothes to check for any wounds but found none)
"Why?! Why?! He has no fatal wounds!" Erika said
"Taichou!" Hajime shouted
*FALL
(Hajime tried to run over to Gero but he suddenly tripped and fell)
"Hajime-kun!" Leila ran over
"I...haaa~..can't...it's..haaa~..hard to..breathe.." Hajime said while holding his chest
"Ehh? Does your chest hurt?! Wait a sec.." Leila said
(Leila then did the same and opened Hajime's uniform to check and there she saw a big bruise on his right side of the chest and it scared Leila more)
"Suzu-chan! Hand me the first aid!" Leila shouted
"Alright here!" Suzu ran over as well
"Bare with me Hajime-kun..this is going to hurt more but i have to do it!" Leila said
"W-What is it..?" Hajime asked in pain
"You might have a cracked rib or two..that's why you are having trouble breathing.." Leila said
"D-Do what..you have to...but please..save Taichou.." Hajime said
"We'll save you both!" Leila shouted
"I'm going to give you a shot of morphine alright? It'll numb the pain.." Suzu said
(After receiving the morphine Hajime fainted because his body already had no strength left and the morphine made him relax even more)
"Hajime-kun! Hajime-kun!" Leila shouted
"He passed out..hurry and let's tend to his wound! Can you treat his hands while I bandage his chest up?" Suzu said
"I got it.." Leila said
"Gero-senpai!" Sakuraba shouted
"He's not breathing!" Erika shouted
(Erika's crew then gazed once more on Gero who was laying under the rain with his heart not beating. Erika was giving CPR to by pumping his chest with her hands in an attempt to revive his heart)
"Come on Gero...don't do this to me...one..two..three..four..five.."
(Erika moved to Gero's head and tilted it upwards. She lifted his chin to open the airway again. She pinched his nostrils and took a breath of air and gave Gero oxygen via mouth to mouth resuscitation. But there was still no response from Gero and his eyes were still half open but no light in them)
"COME ON BAKATORA! ONE..TWO..THREE..FOUR..FIVE.."
(Erika kept on repeating the procedures of CPR without stopping to rest. The rest of the Kuromorimine team arrived as well when they saw the red flare in the sky. All of them were in shock to the state of Gero and his crew)
"N-Nii-chan..?" Alice said as she was in shock
"This can't be.." Koume said
*HELICOPTER SOUNDS
(At the same time the Shimada's chopper arrived on the island and landed near where Gero and the rest were. The Seven Seats went out the chopper after it landed and they too were met with shock and fear seeing what happened to Gero and his crew)
"Onii-sama! What happened Erika?!" Maho shouted
"Gero's heart stopped..I'm reviving him right now.."
"Eh..what do you..mean.." Maho said with a shocked expression
"Gero-kun..is..." Darjeeling said
"Please stand back and let me focus, Maho-san.." Erika said while doing CPR
"Darling is..dead..?" Kay asked
"Tell me it's a lie.." Takashi said
"HE'S NOT DEAD! HE JUST WANTED TO SLEEP THAT'S ALL! I'M WAKING HIM UP RIGHT NOW JUST WAIT!" Erika shouted
"Erika-san.." Asparagus said
"Get his crew to the chopper now! They need medical care asap!" Erika said
"Understood.." the ANBU captain said
(Everyone then worked together in putting Ken, Ono, and Hajime on stretchers and brought them inside the chopper. The last one left was Gero who was still receiving CPR from Erika non stop. Maho started to cry as she watched her brother's lifeless body)
"Onii-sama..onii-sama..." Maho cried
"Nii-chan...Nii-chan..wake up.." Alice cried also
"Gero-kun.." Kal clenched his fists
(Darjeeling took a look at Kaede's expression and wanted to see how she looked as Gero was in that state. Darjeeling was convinced that Kaede was not the culprit or the one responsible for this because Kaede had a very scared and worried expression when he saw the others felt hopeless and powerless during this dark moment but Erika wasn't. She still continued to do CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation to Gero)
"ONE..TWO..THREE..FOUR..FIVE..COME ON GERO! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU GO OUT LIKE THIS!" Erika shouted
(After checking on Gero's crew the ANBU medic and captain came back out of the chopper and saw what was happening. The ANBU medic then approached Erika to help out but Erika refused his help)
"Let me do it-"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TOUCH HIM!" Erika shouted
(The ANBU medic stepped back from Erika as he was surprised and felt an intense amount of killing intent from Erika. All of them that heard Erika's yell was also surprised and it was like they woke up from a bad dream)
"E-Erika..?" Maho said
"IF ANY OF YOU TOUCH EVEN THE SMALLEST HAIR ON HIM I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Erika shouted
(They all saw Erika's eyes and she was dead serious about what she said)
"Captain?" the ANBU medic asked
"Leave her..she can handle it..." the ANBU captain said
"Understood.."
"HOY BAKATORA I WON'T LET YOU FUCKING DIE ON ME! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF SEEING YOU LIKE THIS!"
*HIT *HIT *HIT
(Erika's normal chest pressing turned into hitting his heart trying to imitate an electric shock from a defibrillator. After hitting Gero's chest a couple of times she again gave Gero a breath of air into his lungs and continued in vice versa)
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE WITH ME FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES RIGHT?! SO STOP SLEEPING AND WAKE THE HELL UP!"
(Erika then clenched both her fists and started hitting Gero on the chest a lot harder)
*HIT *HIT *HIT
"LIVE! LIVE!"
*HIT *HIT *HIT
"I SAD LIVE DAMN YOU!"
(Erika then raised both her arms and clenched both her hands as hard as she could and slammed it down on top of Gero's chest)
*HIT *THU-THUMP *GASP
(On that last hit on Gero's chest his heart suddenly started beating again and he woke up gasping for air then after a few seconds he passed out again but this time was breathing. Everyone was shocked at the miracle that had just happened right in front of them)
"Onii-sama!" Maho said
"Nii-chan!" Alice said
"YES! GOOD! THAT'S MY BAKATORA! BREATHE! BREATHE!"
"Haa~ Haa~ Haa~.." Gero breathing heavily
"HURRY! TAKE HIM AND HIS CREW TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!
"Get him inside the chopper now! We'll leave immediately!" the ANBU captain ordered
(Gero was now carried on a stretcher into the Chinook)
"Koume..please handle the team here..I have too-" Erika said
"I know Erika-san..leave it to me.." Koume said
"Thank you.."
"I'm glad..and thankful that Gero-san will be fine.." Koume said
"Me too.."
(Erika then boarded the Chinook with the Seven Seats and her crew. The Chinook took off right away and was now headed for the nearest hospital. Maho sad beside her brother and held his hand the whole time while Erika sat down in front of the ANBU captain and medic)
"Thank you very much for your help.." Erika bowed in front of the ANBU captain
"You're welcome.."
"Also please forgive me for shouting at you..I know you were trying to help but I couldn't risk it.." Erika said to the medic
"I see.."
"It's alright..no worries!" the medic said
"Your timing is impeccable..just seconds after I shot the red flare you arrived already.." Rin said
"That's because we were already headed for your location before we saw the red flare.." the ANBU captain said
"After we rescued the Seven Seats and an injured person we received orders to head straight for the island in your match.." the ANBU medic said
"Why? What happened to the Seven Seats?" Suzu asked
"We were attacked in our observation room..good thing redhead and Taka-kun was there to protect us.." Kay said
"Eh?! Who attacked you?!" Sheska asked
"We don't know..but they were trained..it took everything we had to defend ourselves.." Kal said
"If the ANBU didn't arrive we would've been killed for sure.." Takashi said
"ANBU?" Erika asked
"Yes..we are a special ops team of the Shimada Family..we were requested here by Chiyo-sama and Gero-sama.." the ANBU captain said
"Okaa-sama and Nii-chan did that?" Alice asked
"Yes Alice-sama.."
"I see..good thing they arrived in time.." Suzu said
"Yeah..the only one injured is Takashi-kun..and it's not even fatal.." Rin said
"Actually..uhm..I don't know how to say this.." Takashi said
"What? What is it?" Erika asked
"He isn't the injured person.." Kaede suddenly said
"Kaede-san!" Oowada reacted
"What? They'll know about it sooner or later..better to let them know now don't you think?"
"Who's the injured person?!" Erika said
"Erika-chan.." Leila suddenly called out
"Leila?"
"I just came back from checking Gero-san and his crew.." Leila said
"How are they?" Sheska asked
"They're stable..but.."
"But what? What's wrong Leila?"
"There was another person beside Gero-san..and he's injured badly..very badly.." Leila started to cry
"Who is it?"
"It's Chief Matsumoto.."
(Erika's crew suddenly felt terror as they heard that)
"C-Chief Matsumoto?" Suzu asked
"What happened?! Is he alright!?" Erika shouted
"We found him just right before we arrived at the room of the Seven Seats..he was attacked by the same people that attacked them.." the ANBU medic said
"Is he..is our Chief going to survive?" Rin asked
"Our medic did what he could given the situation..it's up to the doctors and to the person himself to pull through.." the ANBU captain said
"Why..? Why..did they do this?" Leila started crying
"What would they gain from killing high school students and an old maintenance guy?!" Suzu shouted
(As they vent their frustrations from the moment Erika was still in shock and just sat down staring at the floor of the chopper. The rest of their travel was quiet with only the sound of the rotors and the rain is the only thing they could hear)
[Nearest Hospital]
(Within five minutes the chopper now arrived at the helipad of the hospital. When the doors were opened Erika and the rest were met by numerous doctors and nurses of the hospital ready to help them)
"This way! Bring them in!" said a doctor
(When Erika and Maho got a good look at the doctor it was the same doctor that saved Gero when he was seven years old which was Dr. Satsuki the husband of the Gero's therapist)
"Doctor!" Maho shouted
"Maho-sama!" Dr. Satsuki said
"Please help my brother, his crew and Chief Matsumoto please!" Maho cried
"We'll do everything that we can don't worry.."
(The doctors and nurses brought Gero, his crew, and Chief Matsumoto to the Emergency Rooms and started to treat them)
"Take this one to the Operating Room right now! Multiple stab wounds and signs of organ failure! RIGHT NOW!" Dr. Satsuki shouted
(He was referring to Chief Matsumoto who was bleeding internally for at least 15 minutes. The nurses now took Chief Matsumoto and headed for the OR as ordered)
"Doctor!" Erika shouted
"Yes?"
(When Dr. Satsuki looked at Erika, He was surprised because Erika was kneeling with her head lowered in front of him. Everyone else was taken aback by Erika's actions and just stared at her)
"Erika?" Maho reacted
"Please doctor..please save him..he's a very important person to Gero..please save him..please.." Erika begged
"I understand..please lift up your face..please go with the others in the waiting room..we'll do what we can.." Dr. Satsuki said
"Thank you..thank you doctor.." Erika said
[Hospital Waiting Room]
(As the lights of the operating room turned on Erika and her crew were now standing by the hospital waiting room along with the Seven Seats. Everyone was still on edge and they all were consulted by doctors to check for any signs of injuries and signs of shock from the events that happened)
"Hey..the doctors said Hajime-kun will be alright..you did great with the first aid.." Erika said to Leila
"But..all of them are still not waking up.." Leila said
"They'll wake up soon..they're in good hands.." Darjeeling said
"But still..I've only seen doctors and nurses in this hospital..I haven't seen any other patients.." Kaede said
"Now that you mention it..you're right.." Asparagus said
"That's because the patients of this hospital were already transferred to another hospital a few days before the match.." Erika said
"Ehh? But why?" Anchovy asked
"Gero-kun did that..am I right?" Nonna said
"That's right..so that if ever something big happens during the match and a lot of people get injured..then this hospital would've been ready and the possibility of getting overrun by patients will not happen.." Erika said
"He thought that far ahead?" Katyusha said
"Darling is amazing..preparing and thinking about other people this much.." Kay smiled
"But instead of other people using this hospital he and his crew and his foster father are the ones hospitalized..another grim irony.." Darjeeling said
"Why..Nii-chan and his crew are always helping others, always pulling them upwards and never ever looked down on anyone..they always wanted to have fun with all of us..why do they have to suffer like this..?" Alice cried
(Kal and Takashi then arrived from their treatments. Both of them had only scratches and bruises so they didn't have to spend a long time in the emergency room)
"Kal!" Katyusha shouted
"Hi everyone.." Kal said
"Taka-kun! Are you alright now?" Kay asked
"Yeah..nothing's broken..my chest will have a bruise and will be swollen for a couple of days..but that's about it.." Takashi said
"That's good to hear.." Erika said
"Eririn! Onee-chan!" a voice suddenly called out
(Erika and the rest looked at the hallway and saw the rest of their friends also came to the hospital to check them out. Shiho was also there as she was the one that gave them a ride to the hospital)
"Okaa-sama..Miho.." Maho said
"Miho..Headmistress..everyone.." Erika said
"How's onii-chan? His crew?"
"They're alright..but they still haven't woken up..the doctors are still tending to them.."
"Erika saved onii-sama..his heart stopped but Erika brought him back to us.." Maho started crying
*HUG
(Everyone was surprised when someone suddenly hugged Erika. It was not Miho or anyone else but it was Shiho)
"Thank you...thank you so much Itsumi-kun..for saving my son.." Shiho was shedding a tear
"Headmistress..headmistress.." Erika cried softly
(As Erika returned the hug to Shiho she felt all her strength come out from her body and cried as well. No matter how calm she handled the situation Erika was still a normal high school girl. Seeing her lover die in front of her was too much and it really brought her pain)
"It's going to be alright Itsumi-kun..we're going to get through this.." Shiho said
"But..but..he's still in surgery..and we don't know if he'll survive.." Erika said
"Who?! Who's in surgery?!" Shiho asked
"Chief Matsumoto.."
(As Shiho heard that her friend was in surgery all she felt was shock and fear and so did everyone else. As Erika told them what had happened meanwhile in the emergency room Gero and his crew were still asleep)
[Sacred Realm - Inside Gero's Mind]
"This place is.."
"Matsu-kun!"
"Gero!"
"Taichou!"
(Gero saw that he was not alone in the Sacred Realm and his crew was there with him. All of them were wearing their tanker uniforms and their bruises and wounds were gone)
"Why are you guys here?!"
"Don't ask me..this is your mind.." Ono said
"How did you know?"
(His crew then pointed at a normal sign board behind him and it simply said)
[Gero's Mind]
"See?" Ono smiled
"Oh..how convenient.."
"And? Why are we in your mind Taichou? What is even this place?" Hajime asked
"I'm not sure myself..all I remember is doing a victory pose in front of our tank then nothing.."
"I remember still being in the tank.." Ken said
"Me too.." Ono said
"I remember seeing you fall down Taichou..then the last thing I remember was difficulty breathing and Leila-san treating my wound then my mind went blank.." Hajime said
"Did we die?" Ken asked
"After all that what we experienced? I'd be surprised if we're still alive.." Ono said
"Well we won our semi finals match and everyone is safe so I guess it's still a win?" Hajime said
"If the plan succeeded then ANBU should've caught the bad guys by now.."
"But what if it didn't?" Ono asked
"Then..well..we tried..we did our best right?"
"Yes we did..nothing we can do about it anymore if we're dead.." Ken said
"Since we're all here..it's not that bad.."
"Yeah..we live together.." Hajime said
"We fight together.." Ono said
"We die together.." Ken said
"We are the White Tiger.."
(Light suddenly appeared in front of them and it was like the moment where your soul truly leaves your body if they went into the light)
"All together now..3...2...1..."
*SMACK *SMACK *SMACK *SMACK
(Before the four of them could go to the light they suddenly got smacked on their heads with a big harisen fan and it gave them big bulges on their heads)
"Who told you to go off and die like this?!" a voice shouted
"Ow..ow.." Ken said
"W-Why a random harisen fan?" Ono said rubbing his head
"Hey that hurt! Who the heck-"
(When Gero and his crew looked at the culprit they were surprised. Because it was none other than Chief Shin Matsumoto)
"Jiji?! What are you doing here?!"
"I came here to stop you four from making the worst decision of your lives!" Shin shouted
"What would that be Matsumoto-san?" Ono asked
"Giving up!"
"But we're dead.." Ken said
"You're not dead.." Shin said
*BEEP
(A beeping sound was heard around them)
"Eh? What sound was that?"
"What do you mean we're not dead? Then what's this place?" Ono asked
"The four of you passed out after the match..you were brought to the hospital and are now in the emergency room..you were badly wounded but will survive.." Shin smiled
"I see..so we're alive.."
*BEEP
"Damn right you are..so don't go thinking about doing into the light..you're far too young to give up on your lives!" Shin said
"There are still a lot of things I want to do.." Ono said
"Me too.." Hajime said
"Then how about you boys tell me all that you want to do? Let's chat for a bit!" Shin smiled
*CUE BACKGROUND SONG "NIJI NO KANATA NI - ReoNa"
(The four of them agreed and had a long and nice chat with each other. Talking about what they want to do when they recover and how they want to win the tournament. They spoke about their dreams and future plans)
*BEEP
"What's with that sound we keep hearing?!"
"Well I guess it's time to go.." Shin suddenly said
"Go? Where?" Ken asked
"You see boys..this will be our last chat together.."
"Eh?" Gero and his crew reacted
"What are you saying jiji?"
"Sorry young master..I might've messed up a little.."
"Are you hurt?! Is it bad?!" Ono asked
"You're here with us because you're in the hospital too..right?" Hajime asked
*BEEP
(As the beeping sound continued the light shown once more but it was behind Shin this time)
"I wanted to chat with you boys a lot longer..but time's up.."
"What do you mean time's up? You mean you're going to wake up first right? You're going to be there when we wake up right?"
"Forgive me..young master.."
*BEEP
(Gero and his crew now realized what that beeping sound was and they felt fear and sorrow for they knew what was going to happen next)
"Don't go like this Matsumoto-san..after you scolded us about giving up?! How could you give up?!" Ono shouted
"I'm already an old man Ono-kun..let me rest now.."
*BEEP
"NO you can't! You have to be there when we win! When we graduate! Right Matsumoto-san?!" Ken shouted
"I want to be there too Ken-kun..I really do..but my family is waiting for me.."
"But..we're your family too..right Chief? Y-You can't just leave us like this.." Hajime said
"Yes we are..but my real family has been waiting for me for a long time..I too want to be with them now.." Shin smiled
(Even after begging Chief Matsumoto to not go they knew that there was nothing they could do but cry. Ken, Ono, and Hajime started to cry slowly but the one person that took the most damage was Gero. Chief Matsumoto saw the expression on Gero's face and it wasn't sadness that he saw for it was anger at himself)
*BEEP
"S-Sorry..jiji..it's my fault..because of me..you're.." Gero clenches his fists
"Young master..please do not blame yourself..it's not your fault..it was just my time that's all.."
"Damn it! Damn it! Why?! Why did this happen!?"
(As tears fell on Gero's face Matsumoto walked in front of the boys and gave them a gentle but warm hug. Gero and his crew returned the hug very tightly and didn't let go as they cried)
*TIGHT HUG
"Geez..you guys are men right? Men aren't supposed to cry like this.." Shin jokingly said
"Shut up kuso-jiji! Real men cry!"
"Is that so kuso-gaki? Then cry..cry to your heart's content..and after crying..keep moving forward.."
"Matsumoto-san..I'm so sorry..for always pushing our tank to its limits.." Ken cried
"It's alright Ken-kun..keep on pushing your limits and surpass them..alright?"
"Yes!"
"Hajime-kun..please keep these boys in line alright? You are the most mature one of them all so I'm counting on you.. " Shin smiled
"Leave it to me Chief.." Hajime nodded while crying
"Ono-kun..thank you for being best friends with the young master..I'd appreciate it a lot of you'd continue being his best friend and to always stick with him to support him.."
"I'll stick to him like glue Matsumoto-san..and I'll always be his best friend..all four of us will always support each other.." Ono sobbed
"Thank you..these past years that we spent together was the happiest.."
"Us too.."
*BEEP
(Shin then gave them all a pat on the head and stepped back into the light. Gero and his crew tried to go into the light as well but an invisible wall was preventing them from going. Shin Matsumoto's body started to turn into light particles slowly and was being sucked in by the light)
"Well then boys..this is it.." Shin smiled
*BEEP
"Remember that from now on, no matter where you are..we'll always be together..I'll be looking out for you in my own way from afar.."
"We know.." Ono said
"Make sure to keep a close eye on us!" Ken said
"We won't disappoint you!" Hajime said
"I know you won't..I'm glad to have been your father, I'm glad to have seen you grow up to be the amazing man you are now, I'm glad to have spent so much time with you boys and I thank you for that!" Shin smiled
"I'm glad to have been your son..thank you for everything you've done for us.."
"No matter what happens from now on..no matter what you boys decide on doing..no matter how difficult or how painful it becomes..I'll always love you boys from the bottom of my heart.."
(Shin gave them his final smile which was warm and it gave them a sign that Shin regrets nothing. His body completely turned into particles and disappeared into the light leaving only Gero and his crew. After Shin disappeared Gero's eyes glowed golden yellow once more before saying farewell)
"Goodbye.."
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
"Oto-san..."
Coming Up Next : Chapter 65 - Cursed
Author's Note:
Did I mention that these next chapters would be dark? So yeah..one soul was saved while another was taken. I wrote this chapter the way it is to show that life isn't always filled with happy endings. Life is cruel sometimes that it would keep on kicking you down if you let it.
I hope you played the Niji No Kanata Ni song when you read the cue. It was the perfect song to express the pain in this chapter and helped those tears fall while reading. For those that don't know Niji No Kanata Ni is a song from Sword Art Online: Alicization so check it out!
We didn't have any tank on tank action but we got a close quarter hand to hand combat by Kal and Takashi! Also we have a new group of people introduced and that's the Shimada Family's ANBU!
Let me know what your thoughts are about this chapter in the reviews section!
Shout out to : "Seelka" thank you so much for the follow and favorite! Welcome!
Shout out to : "Neo Juubi no Ryu" thank you for the favorite! I hope you enjoy!
Shout out to : "TheDragonGod456" thank you so much for the follow!
I uploaded another picture and this photo is Gero saying goodbye to his foster father one last time while his Sacred Possession was on
Thank you for the wonderful support you all are amazing! As for the replies to your comments check the reviews section as always!
As always if you like what you see leave a Favorite, if you want to see a notification as I post a new chapter please Follow! If you have comments and suggestions leave a review for me to read! Thank you again and have a nice day!