Chapter 73 - Loyalty
[Stuttgart Safe House - Nine Hours Later After Interrogation]
(Time went by quickly as Gero and his team read through the crime reports for the whole of Germany for the last 10 years and they've only finished eight months worth of reports and everyone was tired. Good thing they divided the workload with the KSK so they'll be reading 5 years each)
"All of that reading and we only managed to reach eight months.." Takashi said
"I don't think I've read so many words that much with all my years in high school.." Alisa said
"I never knew so much crime happens in one year..I just got a little bit scared of the world now.." Klara said
"Better get ready..there's more where that came from.." Sgt. Sakurai said
"No..let's call it a night for now..you all did great..but no point in burning you out right now..get some rest all of you.."
(The girls agreed and decided to rest when Kal, Takashi and Ono stood up)
"Taichou..request permission to continue a little bit longer.." Kal said
"It's your first night..there's no need to overwork.."
"It's not overwork sir.." Takashi smiled
"Come on Taichou..you know we can handle it.." Ono said
"Alright..permission granted..but for two hours only..and I'll be joining you.."
"Roger!" the boys responded
"The rest of you get some rest..don't worry about security because KSK got us covered.."
(After two grueling hours of reading through crime reports the guys started to feel the fatigue get to them. They were able to go through another four months worth of reports which was big progress. Everyone was yawning and stretching except for Gero who showing no signs of fatigue)
"I'm calling it quits now guys..see you tomorrow.." Takashi said
"Same for me.." Kal added
"Great work..rest up gents.."
"What about you?" Ono asked
"I'll just get some fresh air a bit then I'll hit the sack also.."
"Alright..I wonder what time it is in Japan now.." Ono said
"Seven hours difference, so probably 7am?" Kal said
"I see.."
"What's wrong Ono?" Takashi asked
"It's nothing..good night guys.."
"Night!"
(The rest of the boys now went to their rooms and tucked themselves in for a good night's rest. Gero on the other hand was just sitting by the balcony and enjoying the night sky alone but not for long)
"Can't sleep?" Klara called out
"You too?"
"Just got up to get some water..then I saw you here..mind if I join you?"
"Not at all.."
(Klara then sat on the opposite side of Gero and gazed at the starry sky as well)
"If we weren't on this mission this would've been a great memory to remember..just staring at this beautiful sky.." Klara smiled
"As long as we all get home safely..it can still be a great memory.."
"Yeah..by the way.."
"What is it?"
"On the way here..I went past Ono-kun's room..and I could hear him crying..what happened?"
"It's about morning in Japan right now..and today is Jiji's burial.."
"I see..Ono-kun really loved Chief Matsumoto.."
"All four of us did..the White Tiger Crew wouldn't be what it is now if there was no Chief Matsumoto.."
"I've never seen a guy like him cry like that.."
"Maybe you girls think of us guys having hearts of steel..but it's not the case for all of us..you see Ono was an orphan.."
(Klara was surprised by what Gero said)
"His parents died when he was too young..his grandparents raised him..and they too passed away right after he graduated middle school."
"He had no other family left?"
"There were family relatives here and there..but Ono decided to live alone after that..then he enrolled in Shirokumo.."
"That's when the two of you first met?" Klara asked
"He had blonde hair, ear piercings and a very bad temper..we butted heads a lot because he was so angry of how carefree both me and Ken were..he always lost of course.."
"So he was a not so mr. nice guy before huh?"
"A little..but after exchanging fists with him so much I realized that he wasn't a delinquent..he was just lonely..after losing so much family he just wanted to make a friend or two.."
"And he found a friend inside you and Ken-kun.."
"We were always together..then when I offered them to have dinner at my place Ono suddenly changed his image..dyed his hair brown and removed his piercings.."
"Then he met Chief Matsumoto?"
"Yeah..Jiji treated both Ken and Ono as his own kids ..and both of them saw him as their parent as well..then Hajime came along for the ride not long after.."
"One big happy family.." Klara smiled
"Not so big anymore..Jiji's death hit us harder than any tank shell that was fired at us..we will never be the same without him.."
"Hey..he's still here..in your hearts and he will never leave you..at this moment he's watching over you all and protecting you in his own way.."
"Thank you Klara-san.."
"No problem..I don't know about you but I'll go back to sleep now.."
"Sleep well.."
"You should get some rest too Taichou.."
"I will.."
(Gero was left alone again staring at the dark sky. Then he pulled out the good luck charm Erika gave him before he left. Once again his mind was filled with only Erika and was thinking about her and how she was)
[Kumamoto City Cemetery - Japan 7AM - 2 Weeks Before Finals]
(Just as Gero mentioned to Klara, the burial of Chief Matsumoto was taking place in Japan. As Chief Matsumoto's urn filled with his ashes were now buried under the soil from where he lived the sky poured rain over the land. Only those that were very close to Chief attended. The Seven Seats were also there to attend on behalf of the Senshado community)
"All my life always found it very mysterious.." Darjeeling said
"What is?" Kay asked
"I wondered why it always seems to rain when we bury those that have passed away.."
"I believe the rain meant that the person who died was a good man.." Asparagus said
"May Chief Matsumoto's soul rest in peace.." Anchovy prayed
"Long ago when my aunt died, my mother said that heaven is rejoicing to accept her soul and that's why it rained.." Kaede said
"What do you think, Darjeeling?" Katyusha asked
"It is so that if those who have been left behind can't cry, the sky will shed tears for them instead.." Darjeeling answered
(Of course the person Darjeeling was referring to was Gero because he was unable to cry or mourn for Chief Matsumoto's death. Beside the Seven Seats was everyone from Kuromorimine but unfortunately the only ones that weren't there was Gero and his crew)
"I guess Gero-Taichou and his crew weren't able to attend after all.." Tojo said
"Ken-senpai and Hajime-senpai are still at the hospital recovering so they don't have a choice.." Sakuraba said
"What about Gero-senpai and Ono-senpai?" Toshi asked
"We don't know..they haven't contacted us yet.." Koume said
"I'm sure all four of them wanted to be here the most.." Mauko said
"Yeah..it's really sad that they aren't here.." Sango said
"Leila-chan! How were the boys at the hospital?" Suzu asked
"They're getting better each day..they really wanted to be here but the doctor said no.." Leila said
"What about Ono-kun? Did he say anything to you Sheska?" Rin asked
"Nothing..but I'm sure Ono-senpai is alright..he'll be back I'm sure of it!" Sheska smiled
(Of course Sheska knew about what Gero and Ono were doing so she just acted like he doesn't know. After the burial everyone went home to rest before their afternoon practice. Each and every one of them spent time with their families and cherished the moment they have with them. Chief Matsumoto's death became a sign to all of them that nobody knows when, where, or how they will die and they have no way of knowing how much time do they have left)
[Itsumi Residence - After Lunch]
"Ittekimasu!" Erika said
"Itterashai! Be safe alright?" Erika's mother said
"I will.."
"Erika!" a voice called out from inside the house
"Yes Dad?"
"I know you already know what to do right now regarding Gero-kun's situation..stay strong ok? Both of you.."
"Don't worry..with the two of us together..there's nothing we can't handle..thanks Dad.."
[Kuromorimine School Carrier - Student Council Office]
(An hour before their afternoon practice Erika, Maho, and Koume were at their office discussing what they should focus on. They were also brainstorming on what they could do to have practice matches right now when they have no more chief mechanic)
"The match mode will be "Flag and Commander Tank Battle" meaning both teams have to destroy first the other team's Flag Tank before you are allowed to destroy the enemy Commander Tank.." Maho explained
"So the commander tank of Red Wings will be Yamato Shiori's Easy Eight Sherman..we should expect that their flag tank will be a Jumbo.." Erika said
"Since we're up against the Yamato Style we have to polish up on our ambush strategies..there's no way we can go toe to toe against those Jumbos.." Koume said
"But if you do that they'd just flush you out with their T34 Calliopes! You'll end up just like Shogun!" Maho said
"Maho-san is right..normal strategies are not going to work against them..we have to redo our whole doctrine to counter them.." Erika said
"That's impossible! There's only two weeks left before the match and we can't change our whole doctrine just like that!" Koume said
"I know it's impossible but that's what we're going to do! We just have to figure out how!" Erika shouted
"Damn it..they have overwhelming offence and impenetrable defense..how the hell are we supposed to fight back?!" Maho got angry
(The tension was rising inside the room and Koume had to mention something that would rise it up even more)
"Erika-san..we also have to come up with a plan about our practice matches..daily practice will not help the team improve..only experience and live battles will.." Koume said
"I know..I'm still thinking about it..worst case scenario we'll hire some random tank mechanics.."
"But what about the tanks of the Iron Fangs? And onii-sama's tank?" Maho asked
"Maybe we'll have the Iron Fangs use different tanks during practice matches..then about Bakatora's tank..I really have no idea how are we going to patch it up.."
"There must be some way..when Gero-san and his crew return their White Tiger must be ready no matter what.." Koume said
(Just when the mood was about to hit rock bottom somebody called out to them from outside the door of the office)
"We may be able to help you with those problems!" the voice said
"Who's there?!" Koume shouted
(The door opened and suddenly Leopon Team went inside and surprised Erika and the rest)
"Nakajima-san?! What are you doing here?!" Erika reacted
"Good afternoon guys.." Nakajima asked
"We're here to offer you our help!" Hoshino said
"Help us out with what?" Maho asked
"You have a tank problem ma'am? We're here to fix it!" Suzuki smiled
"Leave it to us!" Tsuchiya said
"We'll do maintenance with the tanks of the Iron Fangs and we'll patch up the white tiger as well.." Nakajima said
"And the other tanks too!" Hoshino said
"But why?" Koume asked
"Everyone is doing their part..so we figured we'd do ours.."
"Besides..Chief Matsumoto would've wanted us to lend a helping hand to you guys.."
(Erika stood up and walked towards Nakajima to shake her hand)
"Thank you Nakajima-san..you don't know how much you've saved us.."
"Don't mention it, Itsumi-san..I told Gero-san that I'd make him proud for being Chief Matsumoto's students..and I definitely won't let all of you down.."
(Erika was just so happy and amazed that even though Gero wasn't with her and she doesn't know where he is. He still manages to help her in a very unexpected way and she was thankful for that)
"Thank you very much.."
"This is great Kommandant! One of our major problems has been solved!" Koume smiled
"But isn't it too much for the four of you to do maintenance on all of our tanks alone?" Maho asked
"Yes it is indeed too much! If we did that we wouldn't last long!" Nakajima chuckled
"Then how would you do it?" Erika asked
"With their help.." Hoshino said as she pointed behind her
(Erika looked and she was surprised to see Kenji and Sudou, the commander and vice commander of Crows Nest in front of them at this moment)
"Good afternoon Itsumi-san.." Sudou greeted
"Hello every-"
(Before Kenji could finish his greeting he was suddenly interrupted because Maho grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall)
"Nii-san! Let go of him!" Sudou shouted
"It's ok Sudou..let her express herself.." Kenji said
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Maho asked angrily
"Well we ran into him by the port when we were about to board your ship..we decided to bring him along since he wanted to help out.." Nakajima said
"Help us? I don't believe it..not one bit.." Maho said
"It's the truth! We really are here to help you!" Sudou said
"After what this jerk did to onii-sama?! You think I'll just stand and say yes?!" Maho shouted
"If you could just let me explain..you can decide to accept our help after hearing what I have to say.." Kenji said
"Maho-san..let him go.." Erika said
"Tsk..don't get any ideas..the moment I sense something off about you..your head is going to split into two before you make a move.." Maho threatened
"Fair enough.." Kenji agreed
(Maho then let go of her grip on Kenji and after fixing himself, Kenji started to state his intentions)
"Gero-senpai told me that you'd be short handed after losing Chief Matsumoto.." Kenji said
"What about it?"
"I want to offer my help via manpower..my family does the tank maintenance for Crows Nest..each and every one of them are capable and trustworthy.."
"Is this true Nakajima-san?" Koume asked
"Yes..the Ishikawa Family has one of the best Tank Maintenance Crews in the country..Chief Matsumoto brought us to one of their factories one time and we can vouch that they will get the job done flawlessly.."
"The fact that they were able to install modern thermal optics to the gun sights of WWII tanks is proof of their capabilities..wouldn't you say?" Hoshino said
"I understand..before I give my answer let me ask you one thing.." Erika said
"What is it?" Kenji asked
"For whose sake are you doing this for? Yours? Ours? Or Geros?"
"I am doing this for my sake.."
"How can you say something so selfish?!" Koume reacted
"I knew this was hopeless from the start..you know what to do now Erika.." Maho said
"Yeah..I accept their proposal..as of today both the Leopon Team and the Ishikawa Family will provide Kuromorimine with manpower and tank maintenance up until the Senshado Tournament Finals.." Erika answered
"Ha?! Did you just hear what he said?! He's doing this for himself! Not even for onii-sama!" Maho reacted
"Yes I heard Maho-san..it may be him being selfish..but if he said that he was doing this for us or for Gero then I would have rejected his offer.."
"I don't understand Erika-san.." Koume said
"To put it simply..if he said that he was doing this for us or Gero..it would mean he was lying to me and he was using the excuse of 'doing it for someone else' when in fact he was doing it for himself..and that would have been both selfish and deceiving.."
"How did you know I wasn't lying?" Kenji asked
"Your eyes..the first time I saw your eyes during the semi finals it was filled with rage and confusion..but now I can see nothing of that sort.."
"I did something unforgivable to Gero-senpai..I should have been imprisoned for attempted murder..but he forgave me so easily just like that and he never blamed me..I swore loyalty to him and in order for me prove my loyalty I have to get stronger..and in order for me to get stronger is to gain trust and make friends..starting with you.."
(Erika then stood up and approached Kenji. She extend her hand and wanted to shake hands with him)
"We are a long way from being friends..and I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did to Gero..but we could start with being allies and we'll see where we'll end up from here on out.." Erika said
"Thank you very much.." Kenji said as he shook hands with Erika
"My team will be here in 40 minutes for our practice..can you tell your maintenance crew to come here within that time?" Erika asked
"They're already here ma'am.." Sudou said
"Already?! Did you know that Erika-san would accept your offer?" Koume asked
"No..if she didn't accept then I'd just tell them to go home.." Kenji said
"Risk taker I see.." Nakajima smiled
"Have your maintenance crew assemble in our tank garage now together with the Leopon Team..I'll make a quick announcement.." Erika ordered
"Yes ma'am!"
[Kuromorimine Tank Garage]
(As ordered by Erika the Ishikawa Family's best tank maintenance crewmen were assembled and there were a lot of them. There were enough to do proper maintenance per tank)
"I thank you all for coming here! We were really in trouble with regards to tank maintenance..but now that you are here it has been very reassuring.."
"As of today you will all be doing tank maintenance for Kuromorimine High School University! I want you all to give twice the amount of effort you do and to provide the best service you have ever done is that understood?!" Kenji shouted
"Yes sir!" every maintenance crew replied
"Thank you very much! Now here is Leopon Team! And this person here is Chief Nakajima! She will be your maintenance Chief during this contract so follow her at all times! What she says goes!" Erika announced
"Eh?! Chief?! Me?!" Nakajima reacted
"Chief Matsumoto would've made you the chief if he was here..and Gero would approve of it also..so stand tall and proud Chief Nakajima!" Erika smiled
(After mustering up her courage she accepted the role as Chief and stood in front of the maintenance crew)
"Alright listen up! We have forty minutes before their team starts practicing! So what we're going to do first is get to know the tanks we'll be doing maintenance on! I want your full attention because I won't be repeating anything after I've said it! Is that clear!?" Nakajima shouted
"Yes ma'am!"
(Every tank maintenance crew now headed for the tanks of Kuromorimine and started to examine the parts and getting used to how they work)
"Look at you! Already sounding like a hardcore drill sergeant!" Hoshino joked
"Shut up!" Nakajima blushed
[Kuromorimine Training Field - 40 Minutes Later]
(The members of Kuromorimine Team now assembled in the training grounds for their afternoon practice)
"Ok everyone! I've got good news and bad news! What do you want first?" Erika asked
"Bad news!" Tojo shouted
"Alright the bad news is we're going to have to rework our whole doctrine to fight Red Wings! We have deduced that our current doctrine will not be enough to win against them!"
"Will we even make it in time? We only have two weeks right?!" Mauko asked
"We're going to have to make it in time..or else we're doomed.."
"And the good news?" Toshi asked
"The good news is we have found proper and trustworthy tank maintenance crewmen! We will be able to practice without having to worry about who will make sure that our tanks are in top condition before the match!"
"That's awesome! Now we can get serious in training!" Rio said
"There's more good news! Once we finish remaking our doctrine this week..we'll test it out immediately on the second week! Meaning we will have practice matches for the last six days before the day of the finals! This is what you wanted right?!" Erika shouted
"Thank you Kommandant!" Sakuraba shouted
"We will have one practice match per day so the last week of the finals will be the last push to get whatever experience we have..I'll be counting on everyone of you and will expect nothing but the best from the best! Do you get me!?"
"JAWOHL!" everyone responded
"Everyone, mount up! Practice starts now!" Erika ordered
[Stuttgart Safe House - Germany - 7AM]
(While it was afternoon practice for Kuromorimine in Japan it was just 7am in Germany. Gero's team was already awake after a good night's rest. As they were going to the meeting room they could smell a very delicious scent as they got near)
"Looks like something is ready to eat.." Naomi said
"Oh wow that smells wonderful it's making my stomach grumble already.." Assam smiled
"Let's hurry!" Takashi said
(When they entered the room they saw it was cleaned up properly. The research materials were lined up nicely on another table while the table in the middle was set up for breakfast. Then they saw Gero by the kitchen wand was flipping something in the air and it smelled so good)
"Ohh looks like everyone's awake..guten morgen.."
"G-Guten morgen Gero-kun..what are you doing?" Klara asked
"Making breakfast..have a seat over there it'll be done in a sec.."
"I'll help with the plating young master!" PFC Nana said
"Me too!" Ono said
"Thank you.."
(Everyone now sat down at the table and awaited for their breakfast to be served. After a few seconds of waiting they were not disappointed at what Gero cooked)
"This looks so yummy!" Sgt. Sakurai smiled
"I agree..what are these called Taichou?" Alisa asked
"Speckpfannkuchen.."
"Come again?" Kal asked
"Bacon Pancakes.."
"Ohh..you should've said so!"
(The dish that Gero served them for breakfast was a German style breakfast called Speckpfannkuchen or Bacon Pancakes. It is basically a pancake with three pieces of bacon strips on top while the filling of the pancake was cheese and onions. He also brood up a nice cup of coffee for everyone)
"Where did you get the ingredients young master?" Cpl. Kaito asked
"I went shopping this morning.."
"Alone?!" Lt. Sanada asked
"Yeah..didn't want to bother you all.."
"How relaxed can you be? Going out alone like that! You should be more careful!" Ono reacted
"Nevermind that already..let's eat up and continue our work!"
"Itadakimasu!" everyone said
(After having a heavy and energetic breakfast Gero and his team were now fueled up and ready to hit the crime reports again. They worked non-stop each day and made progress very quickly. After going through the reports they would undergo training with the RYOBU to learn from them. It took them a whole week of non stop training and work to go through all five years of criminal reports in Germany)
[Stuttgart Safe House - One Week Before Finals]
(Gero was in the bathroom and was washing his face to shake off the fatigue after a hard day's work. The suddenly a familiar voice in his head called out to him once again)
"Hey.."
"What?"
"What the hell are you doing here?!" the voice got angry
(When Gero looked at the bathroom mirror he saw his own reflection but the eyes inside the mirror were glowing. It was his inner Nishizumi again talking to him)
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm washing my face.."
"What the hell are you doing here in Germany looking for the people that almost killed you again!?"
"We both know the reason why.."
"If you die then I die as well..you can still stop this and turn back!" the inner voice said
"Turn back? In the end you just want yourself to survive and run away..you're nothing but a coward.."
"Being a coward is better than dying..this whole farce is nothing but meaningless bravery..just like what oto-san did in trying to save your sister.."
"Shut up.."
"He lost his life when he should've lived..oto-san knew better than that..but he still did it..meaningless.."
(All of a sudden Gero punched the bathroom mirror with all his strength breaking the mirror and making his reflection distorted. Pieces of glass pierced his fist and blood was dripping on the sink)
"I told you to shut up..his death wasn't meaningless..and let's be clear about one thing..he is not your father..you have no right to call him your that.."
"You're wrong about one thing..he was my father too.." the inner Nishizumi said
(The voice inside Gero's head disappeared and he removed his hand from the broken mirror. PFC Shun came bursting inside the room and headed for Gero after hearing the sound of glass breaking)
"Gero-sama!" PFC Shun shouted
"I'm fine..it's nothing.."
"Your hand..Nana-san! Come quickly, Gero-sama needs medical attention!" PFC Shun radioed
(PFC Nana followed by everyone went to check on Gero and they were shocked to see the blood inside the bathroom and Gero's injured hand. PFC Nana quickly tended to his wounded and bandaged it up as best as she could)
"That should stop the bleeding for now..please don't do stuff like that anymore young master.." PFC Nana said
"Thank you Nana.."
"What the hell were you doing? Did you scare yourself with your own face?" Kal asked
"Just had an argument with my inner demons..I'm all good now.."
"You better be..we just received contact from your dad..they'll be here soon.." Takashi said
"I see..then prepare everything that we've learned so far..once we pinpoint their base we'll head there immediately.."
(Col. Alonso and Tsuneo now regrouped with Gero and his team at the hotel to summarize what they found out)
"Good work everyone..with all of your help we finally finished all reports.." Tsuneo said
"Sir Gero..what happened to your hand?" Alonso asked
"It's nothing..just a stupid accident..what did you find out on your end?"
"Within the five years that we studied there were two categories of crimes that fluctuated and never went down.."
"Those are?" Lt. Sanada asked
"Murder and kidnapping.." Tsuneo answered
"It's the same for our side of the investigation.."
"So if we combine both our investigations..in the last ten years in Germany both murder and kidnapping occurred almost everyday.." Cpl. Kaito said
"The murders occurred within private properties only, none were public..and the targets were middle aged men and women..majority of them were married and only a few were single parents.." Alonso said
"What about their kids?" PFC Nana asked
"That's where the kidnappings can be found..all murders had an additional crime of kidnappings..after the parents were murdered, their children were taken and were never seen again.." Tsuneo said
"They never found a single child that was kidnapped in the last ten years?!" Naomi asked
"Not one was found..the police searched high and low for those kids but all search parties ended up with nothing.." Tsuneo said
"They're targeting kids..just like how they targeted Gero.." Ono said
"That's right..and after thorough analysis of where the crimes took place..it started out in the outskirts of Stuttgart and then the crimes went closer and closer towards the inner cities of Germany.." Tsuneo said
"Combining your side of the investigation we've pinpointed the location of a possible location on these bastards.."
"Where?" Kal asked
"Berlin, Germany..under a place called Teufelsberg.." Alonso said
"Teufelsberg?" Klara asked
"It means..Devil's Mountain.."
Coming up Next : Chapter 74 - Devil's Mountain
Author's Note:
Hi guys! The next chapter will be a big one! Their operation will soon start! We also got to know Ono's back story before he met Gero and his friends. Kenji also proved his loyalty to Gero and he has gained Erika's respect as an ally! Let me know your thoughts about this chapter in the reviews! Take care everyone and stay safe!
Shout out to : "palik" thank you for the follow! Welcome!
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