9 - The Efficiency Of A Hug
The following day, in the Heisei’s camp, the group, inside one of the camps, was scrambling their brains staring at the map of Prague.
“So how do we go in?”
“Guns blazing.” Zawadski said. “We go in there together, we wipe out everything we see, and we make our way towards the castle.”
“Not happening.” Sakuto said. “If we all rush the castle, we will all get killed by that evil bitch.”
“Jian, are the two ladies from the resistance joining us?” Yuuka asked.
“They’re both dead. They got into a fight and wounded each other to death, apparently.” Jian said. “I propose we use separation tactics like we did before.”
“You think we’ll have the chance to utilize them?” Ichigo said. “To be honest, they sound like a much more dangerous faction than Otto Richter’s. There’s a level to this.”
“That’s why we’ll utilize separation tactics.” Jian said. “We’ll support each other on the battlefield. We’ll create unfair scenarios for them.”
“The separation was only relevant for one fight during the war.” Zawadski said. “Considering the fact that these enemies are going to be significantly more powerful; than the rcs Otto Richter threw at us, we might not be in condition to hop from one fight to another, and assist the castle raid.”
“I thought I made it clear. I’m going to the castle alone.” Sakuto said. “I’d like to think that no matter how dysfunctional their family was, the Thomas lady knew what she was talking about.”
“She was referring to the death of Elena Thomas.” Jian explained. “And after considering that Elena Thomas was a suprely powerful soulful, it is best that we leave Sakuto to do it.”
“He fights best when he’s unbothered and unrestricted.” Ichika added. “We will clear the way to the castle and handle any of that evil bitch’s subordinates, while Sakuto heads for the head of the operation.”
“One problem, we don’t know their manpower.” Yuuka said.
“Well, if we get overwheld too badly, there is nothing we can do about it.” Zawadski shrugged. “We can’t let Sakuto engage in combat with anything. He needs to be in top condition when fighting the evil bitch.”
“Looks like our only option is to pray we have enough manpower.” Ichika said. “And if one of us goes down, we’re all fucked.”
“Well, there’s at least one of their soldiers we are familiar with.” Zawadski said. “He’s the second objective, after all.”
Everyone looked at Ausra, who was about to speak up for the first ti during the eting. Her eyes still looked sore from the crying.
“I’ll deal with him.” She said, determined. “I’ll knock his lights out and wait for Sakuto’s plan to work.”
“You’re so sure-”
“Yes.” Ausra said. “He might be stronger than , but we’re relatively evenly matched...I hope. I can fight him. And besides, Ichika gave sothing yesterday. I’m sorry we kept it a secret, but...”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small hexagon-shaped crystal.
“A soul crystal?!” Sakuto gasped, instantly recognizing the object. “How the hell did you get this thing?” He asked Ichika.
“I grabbed whatever I saw when we raided the house they kept you inside.” Ichika said. “I held onto them in case one of us needed them, but...”
“How are you gonna use them without Fedor’s help? He needed to manage this stuff, right? He had a whole computer set up, with a bunch of wires and dical equipnt...”
“That’s to monitor the readings.” Zawadski said. “I rember him telling about that stuff. The soul crystal would still work, but...yeah. It’ll work a little more unpredictably. We won’t be able to control any of the processes inside.”
“Right.” Sakuto said. “So Ausra, your plan is to stick him with a soul crystal and put him to sleep? What if he gets out before I’m done? What if the crystal doesn’t react to him?”
“I don’t know.” Ausra said. “But I much rather do that than to, you know...have to fight him...”
“Hey, whatever works, works.” Zawadski said. “Anyways, we still didn’t answer the question. How do we go in?”
“We enter the city, we announce our presence.” Jian said. “We locate and fight off the ard forces. And we deliver Sakuto to the castle.”
“I suggest division of labor!” Yuuka said. “ and Kouhai will deliver Sakyuto to the castle. Our kits work best for that purpose, especially Kouhai’s.”
“I’ll take care of Oskar.” Ausra said.
“ and Captain Jian will fight as a united force.” Ichigo said. “Ichika, are you okay with fighting alone?”
“Sa deal as Sakuto.” Ichika said. “I’m at my strongest when I don’t have to worry about accidentally freezing one of you to death.”
“In that case, everything’s settled. We move out as soon as we get the command from Kaito.” Zawadski said. “The raid is set to go!”
They’d love to cheer, but it wasn’t the best gesture considering the severity of the situation and how difficult it was for so of the mbers to digest recent events. But they all had incredible determination within them. They dispersed, so of them went to train, others to rest or to plan further.
“Ichigo, follow for a second.” Sakuto said, slightly catching Ichigo off guard. “Gotta talk to you.”
“Sure...” Ichigo said, a little alert. He followed him, and they both faced off against one another, and a few of the other Heisei mbers carefully looked at them, so ready to intervene in case anything broke out between them. The history between the two was rather...unfortunate.
“You really trust to take care of the evil bitch?” Sakuto asked. “I thought the day would never co.”
“You are our only chance, whether you like it or not.” Ichigo said. “I have to-”
“Ichigo, I know what type of person you are.” Sakuto said. “I killed your boss, you assisted in getting my brother killed. But you were a good guy following orders, you had your own reason.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“...?”
“I want to leave it in the past.” Sakuto said, extending his hand, offering Ichigo a handshake. “I want to save my friend. This is your chance to redeem yourself, and my way of saying ‘sorry I killed your psychopathic employer, which I don’t regret’.”
“You have a...way with words.” Ichigo said, slightly annoyed by that comnt. But he also understood the situation. “I have a difficult situation myself, but yeah...I have to just keep going.”
He accepted the handshake.
“I’m sorry for him. You know I was following orders, I’m happy that the man who ended his life is dead by your own hands.” Ichigo said. “It must be difficult to process his passing, even now.”
“It’s manageable.” Sakuto said.
“Would Kouta spit in my face after seeing this?”
“Nah, he’d understand. Besides, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this guy’s involvent in his death wasn’t as critical as that piece of shit Otto’s.”
“Whatever. I rather save up all of my hatred against one single thing.”
The two gave each other nods, confirming the elimination of the dislike and tension between them. And they walked away.
“See, I told you this would happen!” Zawadski whispered to Yuuka as they watched.
“Aww, it’s the power of friendship! >w
Reviews
All reviews (0)