Chapter 8: A Fight On The Waters
Everyone on board the top of the black yacht stayed silent as Ricky sails towards their next destination.
As Shu and Inori sat beside each other at the right side of the dining table, the boy sees the girl staring blankly down the table with her hands on her lap. He gently places his own hand on her left shoulder, and when she looked back at him, he gave her a weak smile. Inori simply responded with a nod before she slightly turns her head to her right to see Haruka. The stepmother smiled and nodded as well to reassure the teenage girl that everything is fine.
However, it was not. As Inori looked over Haruka's right shoulder, the girl narrows her eyes when she notices a motorboat sailing in the distance and coming towards the port of their yacht.
"Shu. Haruka. Look." Inori said firmly to her superiors. The Oumas turn to the direction where Inori is looking and gasp in horror.
They and Inori spotted not only one, but three motorboats sailing towards them from a distance. Each motorboat has five mercenaries on board and are about three hundred meters apart from each other while travelling in an angle. Shu, Inori and Haruka whirled about and see that there are three more motorboats at the other side as well and sailing towards the yacht's starboard in an angle too.
"Blade!" Shu cried as they turned to the boatman.
"I know." Ricky responded flatly as he looks at the radar and sees six hostile signals approaching his yacht from behind in a V formation. "We're being followed. Hang on!"
As the dark blonde-haired man pushes his foot further down on the gas pedal, Shu, Inori and Haruka briefly wobble and hold onto the dining table for support as their yacht is now moving about 110 kilometres per hour. But as they sail faster, so too does their pursuers as the boatmen accelerate their motorboats to maximum speed while the mercenaries on board them draw out their rifles.
"Shu! Haruka! Get to the bottom of the boat now!" Ricky bawled while keeping his eyes on the front.
"Don't have to tell us twice!" Haruka yelled back at him.
"Be careful, Inori." Shu said to the teenage girl.
"Yes, Shu." Inori nodded solemnly to him.
"If you need weapons, turn the drink cabinet around!" Ricky shouted to Shu and Haruka as they quickly run over to the spiral staircase and make their way down.
As he keeps his left hand on the steering wheel, Ricky draws out his .44 Magnum Revolver with his other hand, stands up and looks over his right shoulder.
"Inori!" Ricky called out to her. As soon as she turned to him, he tosses his gun into the air and over to her. Inori catches the gun with her right hand before several stray bullets hit the starboard of the yacht, causing her to crouch.
"I'll drive while you keep 'em busy!" Ricky shouted at her before he quickly sits back down and makes a sudden sharp right turn. As the yacht changes its direction, the enemy motorboats turn as well as they continue following it, with the ones approaching the port now facing the back of Ricky's yacht, while the others sailing towards the starboard stay the course.
As she kept her balance, Inori turns to her right and goes over to the parapet at the right side of the yacht. She hides behind it and takes a brief moment to examine the weapon she had received from Ricky. After quickly getting familiar with it, Inori pokes her head out from the top of the parapet and takes a glance at the nearest motorboat coming towards the starboard. She quickly gets down and turn around when the mercenaries fire their guns at her.
While leaning her back against the parapet, she closes her eyes for a moment as she vividly remembers the positions of the mercenaries on their motorboat. At the same time however, she can also feel the mixture of anger and hesitancy building inside her.
The anger came from her newfound hatred for Matou Industries after learning the truth about their heinous deeds. She hated them for the pain and torture that they have put her and so many others through back in the facility. She hated them for causing so much pain and suffering to countless numbers of people around the world with their weapons and experiments. And she hated herself for ever putting her trust and loyalty to an organization who have committed the very acts that she was morally bound to prevent. What was once her subservience to her superiors at Matou Industries is now replaced with her utter contempt for them, and she wanted to make them pay for what they did behind her back.
However, in the midst of her rage, Inori also felt the hesitancy to kill her enemies. Now that she had officially cut her ties with the treacherous company, she must also prove that she is no longer the person they want her to become. Yet, she cannot help but admit that her urge to kill her enemies still lingers inside her. She had spent the last seven years of her life owing her existence to them after all, and she never forgot the lessons that she learnt from them. Just thinking of the mercenaries whom she is about to face also made her contemplate what other crimes they have committed prior to their encounter, and should she kill them as the appropriate punishment for the heinous acts they have performed.
Inori frowned and took a few deep breaths, debating how she should deal with her enemies. Maybe she could not entirely break her connections with Matou Industries after all. Maybe Gai was right about her not being the protector whom she always thought she was. If only she knows the right way to handle the situation.
"Inori…you don't fight to kill people. You will fight to save lives and protect the ones you care for. Understand?"
After remembering what her new superior said to her yesterday, Inori quickly calms down and opens her eyes.
"Yes, Shu Ouma." She uttered.
With the nearest enemy motorboat now only fifty meters from the yacht's starboard, the pink-haired girl suddenly stands up, whirls about and holds up the revolver at her enemies. As four of the five mercenaries on the motorboat are about to fire their rifles at her, Inori briefly aims the gun at the head of the group leader standing on the bow of the motorboat before slightly lowering her extended right arm. She swiftly fires four rounds at their thighs, causing all of them to yell and fall to the floor in pain. The girl quickly lifts her arm and fires the fifth round at the boatman's left shoulder. He yells in pain as well, and with his right hand still holding onto the steering wheel, he makes a sudden sharp left turn, causing it to sail towards the nearest motorboat approaching the stern of Ricky's yacht.
Just as the group leader at the bow of the motorboat is preparing to board the stern of the black yacht, his other four comrades behind him turn to their right and yell as they see one of their allied motorboats accelerating towards them. The group leader turns his head to his right and yells as well while the boatman tries to turn to the left. But it was too late as only two seconds later, the motorboat on the right collides against it, causing both vehicles to explode. Some of the mercenaries are caught in flames and sent flying through the air before splashing into the sea below them.
As he now sails his yacht in a straight direction, Ricky sees the two hostile signals disappear on the radar. He gets out a box of bullets with his right hand before standing up and looking over his right shoulder.
"Well done! Keep it up!" Ricky shouted at Inori before throwing the box of extra ammunition over to her. After seeing the girl catching it, he sits back down and makes a sudden sharp left turn. This causes the remaining two motorboats on the left to face the port once more while the other two on the right are now approaching its stern.
As the yacht turns, Inori runs over to the dining table. She briefly climbs over and slides across the table before falling and rolling over the floor. As soon as she gets up, she goes over to the parapet of the port of the yacht and hides behind it.
She takes a few moments to reload the revolver. After doing so, she puts away the box of bullets, gets up and rapidly fires several bullets at the nearest motorboat towards the yacht's port. All five mercenaries are shot on their limbs, including the boatman who was shot at the right shoulder. As he falls, his right hand makes a sharp right turn with the steering wheel, causing the boat to turn and sail towards the motorboat nearest to the yacht's stern.
The mercenaries on the other motorboat quickly notice this and the boatman slows their vehicle down in time. They allowed the motorboat to sail past them before the boatman steps on the gas pedal again. As they continue their pursuit, the group leader standing on the bow of the motorboat turned to the other three men behind the boatman.
"Bring out the harpoons!" The leader ordered them.
Meanwhile, on the last remaining motorboat on the left, the group leader on the bow manages to dodge a bullet from Inori by moving to his right. The boatman dodges the bullet as well by leaning to his right, but it hits one of the mercenaries behind him on his left shoulder, causing him to drop his rifle and fall to the floor. The group leader grits his teeth and yelled at the other two mercenaries behind the boatman who are still standing, "Don't stand there! Take out the sniper rifles!"
While Inori hides behind the parapet to reload the revolver, two mercenaries on the motorboat nearest to the yacht's stern take the opportunity to place themselves in front of their group leader and insert the tripods of two large harpoon guns into two circular slots on the bow. As their boat sails closer to the yacht, they quickly make sure they are secured and aim their harpoon guns at the transom at the left side of the stairs. And three seconds later, just as Inori finished reloading, their boat is now about fifty meters away from the yacht and the mercenaries fire the harpoons. When the harpoons pierced through the transom, Ricky and Inori yelp as everyone on board the yacht felt its impact.
"Fuck!" Ricky yelled and quickly flips a switch to activate the autopilot. While Inori gets up and runs over to the parapet above the transom at the left side of the stairs, Ricky draws out his dart gun, gets up from the driver seat and goes over to the parapet at the port of the yacht where the girl originally was.
The group leader on the motorboat behind the yacht's stern fires his rifle at Inori as soon as he notices her. Inori quickly ducks down, turns around and leans her back against the parapet while the mercenaries operating the harpoon guns pull the triggers and begin pulling their boat towards the yacht. The boatman steps on the gas pedal to move their boat faster.
Meanwhile, on the last remaining boat sailing towards the yacht's port, two mercenaries kneel in front of their group leader and one of them fire his newly equipped sniper rifle at Ricky. The dark blonde-haired man quickly ducks down behind the parapet as the bullet flew right above him.
Inori gets up and turns around as she aims the revolver at the mercenaries on the motorboat behind the yacht's stern. However, the other mercenary armed with a sniper rifle on the motorboat approaching the yacht's port notices her and quickly fires a shot at her. The pink-haired girl cried in pain as the bullet shot into her right upper arm, causing her to lower her weapon and hide behind the parapet once more as she fell.
Ricky momentarily drops his jaw as he sees this. He grits his teeth angrily as he gets up again and fires his dart gun at the sniper who shot her. The tranquilizer dart lands on his right shoulder, and the mercenary drops his rifle and wobbles about. When his leader sees this, he growls as he grabs the back of his uniform and briefly pulls him up before tossing him off the boat and into the sea.
The remaining sniper fires another shot at Ricky, who quickly crouches behind the parapet to dodge another bullet from him. The leader also grabs the sniper rifle that his fallen comrade had dropped earlier, reloads the weapon and aims it at the black yacht, preparing to fire as soon as either Ricky or Inori gets up.
While leaning against the parapet, Inori briefly watches the bullet slowly emerging out from her wound before turning to Ricky. He gestures her to pass his revolver back to him and she obliged. She tosses the weapon into the air and Ricky catches it with his left hand. After checking the chambers of his revolver are full, Ricky pushes the cylinder back on and gets up.
Just a split second before they could pull the triggers of their sniper rifles, Ricky rapidly fires his revolver and lands three shots at the group leader, the sniper beside him, and the boatman on the last motorboat approaching the port of his yacht.
The first bullet shot through the group leader's left shoulder. The second bullet shot through the boatman's right clavicle, and the third bullet shot through the left upper arm of the sniper beside his leader. While the group leader and the sniper beside him drop their rifles and tumble, the boatman made a sudden sharp right turn as he fell with his right hand still gripping onto the steering wheel. The injured mercenary sitting behind him cries in horror as he jolts up from his seat, stumbles forward, falls off the speeding boat and splashes into the sea. The motorboat continues sailing away from Ricky's yacht and disappear from the scene.
With all the boats on the left now dealt with, Ricky quickly runs over to the back of the top floor of his yacht to regroup with Inori. As the girl's wound has just patched up, Ricky stands beside her on her right and fires his revolver at the group leader on the motorboat behind the stern before he could shoot with his rifle. The leader yells in pain as the bullet shoots across his left upper arm. Seeing the motorboat has now reached the stern on his yacht, Ricky now aims his revolver and dart gun at the mercenaries operating the harpoon guns and tries to stop them from boarding.
However, both him and Inori fail to see the other motorboat, that was initially sailing behind the one nearest to the stern, accelerating towards the starboard of the yacht. A wide grin plasters across the face of a certain light blonde-haired boy as he stands behind the boatman with his hand on his right shoulder.
"Come on!" Yuu shouted ecstatically with his eyes wide.
Soon after, the left side of the motorboat's bow collide hard against the yacht's starboard. Ricky and Inori yelp as the man turns to his right and they both fall to the floor together and lie beside each other. The mercenaries on the motorboat behind the yacht's stern crouch and lower their heads to keep their balance.
When the impact of the collision dies down, Yuu and the boatman looks back up and the former laughs in amusement as he gave the latter a pat on his right shoulder, not caring about the wound on the boatman's forehead which he received from hitting against the glass window in front of them.
"Let's go!" Yuu yelled at the other three mercenaries behind them who just got up after regaining their composure from the collision. He gestures them to come over to the bow of their motorboat. While the boatman kept his foot on the gas pedal and straightens the motorboat, the other three mercenaries go over and stand beside Yuu in a horizontal line. With Ricky's yacht and their motorboat now sailing closely side by side, Yuu and his men draw out their grappling guns and aim at the top of the parapet of the yacht's starboard.
Meanwhile, as Ricky tries to get up, the group leader of the motorboat behind the yacht's stern quickly runs up the stairs, not caring about the wound he received from the dark blonde-haired man earlier. He sees Ricky and Inori when he reached the top and quickly brings the butt of his rifle down onto the former's back. The dark blonde-haired man yelps in pain as he finds himself falling face first on the floor again.
Inori on the other hand turns around and aims Ricky's revolver which she took from his left hand while they were down at the group leader. She fires a shot, and the bullet went through the leader's left shoulder. The group leader yells in pain and staggers back while Inori quickly gets up and slams the top of her head right into his abdomen. Her tackle sends the group leader stumbling and slamming against the parapet of the yacht's starboard behind him.
With Inori now standing above the stairs and in plain sight, the mercenaries who were initially operating the harpoon guns draw out their rifles and fire several rounds at her. The girl turned to them and cries in pain as several bullets shot through her arms, thighs and the sides of her lower torso. She briefly stumbles back before the group leader goes over and grabs her by the neck. Inori gasps as the group leader lifts her up and goes over to the dining table. He slams her on top of the furniture and slides her across it. The girl falls off from the other end of the table and she lands onto the floor on her back with a heavy thud. The group leader holds up his rifle and walks over to the left side of the table as he makes his way around it and over to Inori.
The girl groans as she struggles to get up. She could not however because of the fresh wounds all over her limbs and lower torso. The group leader holds up his weapon in front of him as he goes closer to where the girl is lying.
However, he stops at his tracks when a man standing at the top of the spiral staircase on his left swiftly grabs the barrel of his rifle. As the man lowers his rifle, the group leader turns to his left to take a brief look at the identity of his interferer.
Now dressed in a black short-sleeved jacket with a white zipper shirt underneath, along with a pair of blue pants, a black belt with a silver buckle around his waist, black gloves, black kneepads and black boots, Darren throws his forehead down onto his head with a force of a sledgehammer.
The group leader yells in pain as he stumbles back. Before he could recover, Ricky gets back up and pulls the back of his hair. The dark blonde-haired man quickly brings him over to the table and slams his face onto the furniture. He brings down the bottom of his dart gun onto the back of his head to knock him out and the now unconscious group leader falls to the floor.
Ricky looks up and sees Yuu and three of his teammates now climbing over the top of the parapet at the starboard of his yacht. He turns to Darren who nods his head to him, and both men quickly go over to Yuu and his teammates, with the dark blonde-haired man going around the table while the bespectacled man climbs and slides across it.
When Darren reaches the other side of the table, he grabs the chair on his right, lifts it up and swings it down onto the head of the mercenary beside Yuu on his left. The man momentarily throws his head down before collapsing onto the floor on his back. Darren turns to Yuu and swings the chair horizontally at him, but the boy swiftly stops his attack by grabbing it with his left hand. He uses his right fist to deliver an uppercut to the bottom of Darren's chin, causing him to let go of the chair. As Darren stumbles back, Yuu now holds onto the chair with both hands and swings it horizontally at the right side of his head. The man quickly recovers and stops Yuu's attack by grabbing the chair. Yuu grits his teeth and pushes the chair down on his opponent with all his strength. Darren also tries pushing the chair away from his head as they both stayed in a stalemate.
Ricky on the other hand throws a punch onto the face of the mercenary on his right, before the one on his left swings his fist across the dark blonde-haired man's left cheek. Ricky quickly recovers from the blow as he looks back at the mercenary on his left and throws a punch across his left cheek with his right fist before delivering an uppercut to his abdomen with the other.
While Darren and Ricky are busy fighting with them, Shu arrives at the top floor of the yacht, now holding a baton in his right hand. He briefly sees Darren and Ricky dealing with Yuu and the mercenaries on the other side before turning to Inori who is still lying near the cockpit and recovering from her wounds.
"Inori!" Shu cried as he runs over to her side. As the wounds on her limbs and lower torso finish patching up, Inori turns to her right to see Shu extending his hand to her. She grabs it and her superior pulls her back up on her feet.
As soon as she does however, the two mercenaries who were initially operating the harpoon guns arrived at the top as well via the stairs at the back of the yacht. They fire their rifles at Shu and Inori who quickly duck down to evade the bullets. Inori crawls under the dining table and over to the mercenaries at the other end.
The mercenaries try to fire their weapons when Inori reached right in front of them, but Ricky tosses one of their comrades over to them, sending them tumbling to the floor together. As Inori gets up, so too does one of the mercenaries after pushing his comrade off him. He tries to hold up his rifle, but with Ricky's revolver still in her right hand, Inori swings the bottom of the weapon's grip across the left side of the mercenary's head. She quickly lifts her right leg up and kicks him on the abdomen to sending him flying, tumbling down the stairs and lying face first on the stern.
The remaining two mercenaries on the motorboat behind the stern aim their rifles at Inori. Before they could pull the triggers, Inori swiftly holds up the revolver and fires two bullets at their shoulders, causing them to fall and drop their weapons. The other two mercenaries on her right get up as well, but Inori quickly turn to them and shoots two more bullets at their thighs. The two men yell in pain as they fall to the floor once more.
Meanwhile, after Yuu manages to send Darren falling to the floor, he swings the chair down onto him. Darren rolls over to his left to dodge his attack and the chair slams against the floor, leaving a huge dent behind. While lying his back on the floor, Darren lifts his right leg up and kicks Yuu at the right side of his torso, sending him stumbling to the side and colliding against the parapet. He accidentally tosses the chair overboard in the process and the boy bawls angrily as he goes over to Darren.
Before Darren could get back up on his feet, he gasps as Yuu yanks him up by the collar of his zipper shirt and slams him onto the table. The boy quickly places his right lower arm onto Darren's throat, and the bespectacled man gagged as he struggles to breathe. He wraps his left hand around Yuu's right lower arm and tries to pull it off him, but the boy held him firmly in place. He swings his right fist and punches across Yuu's left cheek twice, and his opponent grabs his right wrist and pins it down on the table soon after.
While Yuu watches Darren helplessly gasping for air, his grin widens as he said mockingly to his enemy, "Don't worry…it will all be over soon."
Ricky tosses the last of Yuu's team members overboard, sending him landing on top of the boatman. As the boatman releases the steering wheel and gas pedal, the motorboat stops accelerating alongside the yacht and Ricky watches it drift away. He turns to Darren and Yuu and widens his eyes in shock upon seeing the bespectacled man struggling to break free from the boy.
"Darren!" Ricky yelled.
Suddenly, Yuu heard another yell coming from his right. He turns his head and barely sees Shu running over to him before the brown-haired boy swings his baton horizontally onto his forehead. The light blonde-haired boy yelps in pain as he stumbles back and releases Darren.
Yuu quickly recovers and turns to his left to see Ricky holding up his dart gun and fires at him. Within less than a second, Yuu swiftly holds up his left arm and catches the dart in his hand. He tosses it away before Ricky runs over to him. When the man throws a punch at his face with his left fist, Yuu quickly grabs his left arm. He turns Ricky around in a circle before the light blonde-haired boy tosses him over to Shu. The dark blonde-haired man collides with the brown-haired boy while dropping his dart gun in the process and they both fall to the floor together. After watching the dart gun slide across the floor, Yuu quickly draws out his pistol and fires a bullet at it to destroy the weapon.
Suddenly, a bullet shot through Yuu's left upper arm, causing the boy to yelp. Annoyed, he turned to Inori who quickly fires five more bullets onto his right upper arm and the sides of his lower torso. When the revolver ran out of bullets, Inori lowers it and sees Yuu gazing at her as he stood there. An evil smile soon plasters across the boy's face as he comes face-to-face with a fellow patient whom he has not seen in a long while.
"Inori Yuzuriha." Yuu uttered. Not caring about the pain, he began walking slowly towards the girl as the bullets emerge from his wounds and land on the floor. When the boy noticed her trying to reach her left hand for one of the pouches on her dress, he quickly draws out his combat knife and throws it at her left leg. Inori did not had time to react as the knife sinks into her left thigh, causing her to scream in pain and drop the revolver as she falls on her left knee.
"No!" Shu cried as he and Ricky sat up on the floor beside each other. Yuu stops and swiftly fires his pistol at the brown-haired boy. Shu gasped and froze as the bullet barely misses the right side of his head by a few inches.
"Don't interrupt us, or the next one goes between your eyes." Yuu said icily to Shu before lowering his pistol. As Inori lets out another cry, Yuu continues walking towards her until he now stands right before her. The girl looks up as he smiled at her again.
"Seems like you're still the same pitiful and pathetic Inori. Good." Yuu's teeth break out into a grin. "I heard you went looking for another boy since our place shut down. Is that him?" Inori sees Yuu glancing at Shu before looking back at her. "And shortly after losing your friend, Gai? Awww, shame on you."
Inori snarls and glares menacingly at Yuu.
"Why can't you show some respect for your fellow soldiers, hmmm?" Yuu asked the girl tauntingly. "Especially Gai, who risked his life to go back and save your ass from me. Don't you remember? That day at the obstacle course? He turned the other way for your sake after I took you down, only to get his ass handed by me too."
Inori widens her eyes and gapes her mouth open as she suddenly remembers the moment during the live fire exercise when she was tackled and knocked out near the end of the obstacle course. Yuu's smile widens as he was amused by the look of shock on her face.
"Ooooohhh, riiiiiight. You must have passed out during that moment. But basically, after I knocked you out, your precious friend came over and pulled me away from you. We both fought each other on the floor for a while, and I remember as we both try to get up, I ended up unzipping his vest while pulling him back down. After that, I drew out my gun and fire a bullet near Gai to stop him from catching up to me. I can't let him win that day; you know? But he didn't care about that, because he's too much of a softie like you. So instead of going after the flag, he ran over to you and help you get back up on your feet. But just when I was about to win and finish the course, some motherfucker shot me from behind and I got fucking eliminated at the LAST FUCKING MOMENT!" Inori sees Yuu's eyes nearly bulged out as he bawls and stomps his foot. "I was so mad that I fire back at that motherfucker. But right after I shot him, the same motherfucker kept firing his rifle and ended up killing Gai while he was protecting you." Yuu shrugged with a lopsided smirk. "Oh well, as Sakura Matou would say, showing mercy in the battlefield gets you killed, right?"
Inori lowers her head for a moment to contemplate his explanation. As she puts all the pieces together, she could now see the fight between Gai and Yuu when she was unconscious play before her inside her head. How after she was knocked out by Yuu from behind, Gai quickly goes over and grabs him by his vest to pull him away from her. How they both fell onto the floor together and trade a few punches with each other, with Gai landing the last one across Yuu's face before getting up from the floor first. But Yuu also got up about a second later to grab Gai's bulletproof vest in an effort to pull him down, which ended up having him unzipping it in the process and leaving her friend's body exposed and unprotected. It was then at that moment, she regained her consciousness and heard Yuu firing a shot near Gai as she slowly gets herself back up. The moment she did was when Gai came over to help her. But much to her regret, when she spotted Yuu reaching the end of the obstacle course, she dismisses her friend's concern and chased after him instead. But when Yuu lets out a fit of rage after getting eliminated by one of Matou Industries' mercenaries in the last minute, her carelessness ultimately led to Gai catching up and placing himself in front of her to save her life from some stray bullets.
Figuring out the one who left Gai vulnerable and unprotected to be killed by accident in the first place, she wraps her left hand around the grip of Yuu's combat knife and looks back at her enemy with a cold glare.
"So technically…" Inori said with her voice trembling. "The one who led Gai to his death…was-"
"YES!" Yuu cried ecstatically while placing his left hand on his chest. "It was me! Hahahahaha!"
As the light blonde-haired boy throws his head back while bursting into maniacal laughter, Inori yells furiously as she pulls out the knife from her thigh, gets back up and swings it horizontally at his chest. Yuu quickly dodges it by moving to his right. As he turns to Inori, he swings the bottom of his pistol down onto the back of Inori's head.
"Whoops! Hit you on the head again!" Yuu cried mockingly.
Inori growls as she turns and swings the knife vertically at him. Yuu evades it again by moving to his right before delivering an uppercut to the bottom of Inori's chin. She yelps as she stumbles back, but Yuu quickly follows it up by delivering a powerful punch across her left cheek, sending her falling to floor face first. Before she can get up, Yuu quickly goes over and repeatedly stomps his right foot on the back of her head, laughing maniacally as he does so. Shu, Ricky and Darren could only watch the display idly in horror.
Yuu steps away ten seconds later, and Inori moans in pain as blood trickles down from her forehead and nostrils as she lifts her head up. Yuu sighs heavily and straightens his coat before aiming his pistol at the back of her head.
"Inori!" Shu cried in terror.
"It was fun catching up with you." Yuu smirked at the girl. "But all things must come to an end."
Suddenly, the light blonde-haired boy heard a click, much to his surprise.
"For you!" A voice shouted at him.
As soon as Yuu turns to the port of the yacht, he barely had enough time to see Haruka now standing at the left side of the dining table and brandishing a shotgun which she had taken from downstairs. In close range and without hesitation, Haruka pulls the trigger and fires a huge blast at Yuu's chest, sending him flying over Inori and having his back collide against the parapet behind him.
Inori quickly gets up, turns to Yuu and stabs his combat knife right into where his left scapula is. As the boy yells in pain, Inori pulls him up by the collar of his body suit with her left hand, goes over to the stairs and throws him down. Yuu finds him falling through the air and landing onto the bow of the motorboat behind the yacht's stern on his back.
With the coast now clear, Shu, Ricky and Darren quickly get up from the floor and dining table and run over to Inori. As Yuu lies on the bow of the motorboat and behind the harpoon guns groaning in pain, the four of them see the harpoons still clinging onto the transom at the left side of the stairs.
"We got to remove those harpoons now!" Ricky shouted.
Hearing him, Inori quickly goes down the stairs, arrives at the stern, and grabs the cable of the harpoon in front of her. She groans as she uses all her strength to pull it in half, and she manages to snap it within seven seconds.
As Inori now grabs and pulls the next cable, Yuu removes his combat knife from his body and jolts up from the bow to see his enemy trying to separate the motorboat from the yacht. With an ugly scowl on his face, Yuu gets back on his feet, runs his way to Inori and tries to stop her with his knife, but Shu quickly tosses the baton that was still in his hand through the air and successfully hits him on the forehead. Yuu yelps in pain as he falls on his back again and lies beside one of the harpoon guns, letting Inori finish pulling and snapping the cable.
With the motorboat now separated from the yacht, Inori releases one half of the cable. And as soon as she did, Ricky quickly takes out a grenade, removes the safety pin and tosses it into the cockpit of the motorboat while his yacht sails away from it.
When the grenade landed, the injured mercenaries who are still sitting at the back of the motorboat cry in terror as they quickly get up and jump overboard. The grenade explodes soon after, and the motorboat burst into flames. The explosion sends Yuu briefly flying in the air before splashing into the sea.
With Yuu now defeated, Haruka aims the shotgun at the remaining injured mercenaries on board the yacht, and they all quickly climb over the parapets of the yacht in fear and jump overboard as well.
After watching the burning motorboat slowly disappearing from her sight for a few moments, Inori continues standing at the stern as she lowers her head and elicits a heavy sigh.
Although she hates to admit it, Yuu was right about her disrespecting her fellow patient. Along with Kurosu Ouma, Gai Tsutsugami was one of the few people Inori had a close connection with back in the facility. Whenever she was being chastised and beaten by Matou Industries' men during their training sessions, Gai was always there to protect her. To help her endure the pain and torment they put them through daily, and even possibly find and gain their freedom one day if they continue sticking together. Instead, her ambition to please her superiors and outgrow her competitors have clouded her from realizing how much Gai cared for her well-being, to the point that he would sacrificed himself to save her life from an accidental firing. She can only imagine how utterly betrayed he must have felt when she looked back at him without a hint of emotion and gratitude while he was giving his final breath. Inori gently places her right hand over where her heart is as she felt it being ripped in two by the overwhelming amount of guilt and grief.
When she heard someone walking down the stairs and approaching her from behind, she turns around to see that it was Shu, who looked back at her in concern.
"Inori? Are you alright?" Shu asked. Inori remained silent for a moment before she suddenly threw herself against her superior, hugging him tightly. Shu was completely taken off guard by this. But knowing what she had just been through with Yuu and his men, the boy softens his eyes and returns the embrace.
"Shu…" Inori murmured sadly as she rests her chin on his right shoulder.
"It's okay Inori. You saved us." Shu replied as they paid no attention to Haruka, Darren and Ricky who are watching them from the top floor of the yacht.
Inori shook her head. "Not everyone."
Inori later helped remove the harpoons from the transom and toss them into the sea while Ricky turns off the autopilot and continues sailing his yacht on his own. The others on board the yacht head down to the bottom floor to get some well-needed rest, as well as preparing themselves lunch and dinner in the afternoon and evening. Although Haruka and Darren had cooked some food for Ricky to eat as well, the dark blonde-haired man refused as he stayed in the driver's seat and kept sailing his yacht.
When it was ten at night, Shu, Haruka and Darren went to sleep. The Oumas choose to sleep together under the sheets on the only double bed in the entire boat while Darren grabs a spare blanket from the wardrobe and lies down on the sofa beside the drink and weapons cabinet. Still feeling the guilt and grief she had for Gai, Inori decides to stay up and keep a close eye on the Oumas and Darren as they fall asleep.
After making sure the passengers have drifted off, Inori heads to the top floor to check on Ricky. She goes over to the cockpit where the dark blonde-haired man is still sitting on the driver's seat and keeping his hands on the steering wheel while staring out into the ocean in front of him. She glances at the bowl of instant noodles that was placed by Haruka beside his seat about two and a half hours ago, completely left untouched. The girl looks back up and walks closer to the man.
"Blade?" Inori asked.
"What is it?" Ricky asked stoically without looking back at her.
"The others have fallen asleep. You should sleep too." Inori advised.
As Ricky felt the weight of his eyelids, he momentarily rubs his baggy eyes before responding wearily, "I…I can't."
"You have to."
"I cannot stop!" Ricky yelled at Inori before looking back to the front. "There are probably more of these guys out there, so what if they catch up to us before we could reach Singapore?" His eyes softened after a heavy sigh. "What if I lose you too?"
Inori frowned at him. Remembering what Shu said to her when she was in a similar situation, she gently places her hand on Ricky's left shoulder.
"It's alright. The waters here are peaceful. Nothing bad will happen." Inori said softly to him.
Ricky tried to ignore Inori's words for a few moments until his head suddenly tilts downwards. When the man quickly lifts his head back up, he could feel his eyelids drooping once more and his grip around the steering wheel began to loosen.
Inori nodded and said to Ricky, "Relax."
Unable to resist any longer, Ricky gently removes his foot from the gas pedal and lets his yacht slow down. He steps on the brakes and waits for his yacht to come to a complete halt before pushing up the gear. The man now leans back on the driver's seat and places his hands on his abdomen, and he finally closes his eyelids and slumps his head to the side.
Inori continues standing idly by his side for about a minute before gently placing her hand on his chest to make sure he has fallen asleep. After feeling his rhythmic breathing, the girl proceeds to carefully lift Ricky off the driver's seat, cradles him in her arms and carry him down to the bottom floor. Knowing that both the bed and sofa have been taken, Inori decides to place Ricky down on the floor beside where Darren is sleeping. She grabs a spare blanket from the wardrobe and gently places it above Ricky's body before turning around and stepping out of the room. After closing the sliding door behind her, Inori climbs up the spiral staircase and makes her way back to the cockpit.
Learning from her observations of Ricky earlier, Inori sits down on the driver's seat, pushes the gear down and places her hands on the steering wheel before stepping on the gas pedal and spent the rest of the night continuing their journey.
Sovereign: I would like to thank darkknight5855, Darth Necron, LayLay lives and BatCornMan for reviewing, favoriting and following this story. Thank you!
Chapter Revised on 1st October 2024