•Tomei Expressway - Between Tokyo And Nagoya•
The car rides through the light breeze on the highway as we make our way to the rendezvous point in Nagoya.
"Man, the sky is so blue." Yuu gazes, sitting next to Saltymizuki in the driver's seat, while he sits in the seat beside it.
I sit in the back, behind Yoichi, Blondie, and Shinoa.
"On a day as beautiful as this, it's hard to believe the whole world's destroyed." Yuu says, looking at the sky.
"Ahaha! I'm surprised you can say that. The world was in ruins yesterday and the day before... in fact, for the last eight years... it has been crumbling into decay." Shinoa laughs.
"Yeah, but it's still hard to believe. Especially while we're driving. I mean, this road goes to the Hakone Hot Spring, right?" I say, remembering a map from a decade ago.
"Isn't that right, Kimizuki?" Shinoa asks.
"Huh? Don't ask me, I didn't grow up in Tokyo." He replies.
"If you're gonna drive, you should at least know that much!" Yuu complains.
"Fine, you drive!"
"Ooh, can I?!"
"I'd rather live to see another day." I say.
"(N/n)! You're so mean! It's not like you can drive any better."
"You distracted me the first time, idiot." I stick my tongue out at him.
"Ahah, oh, I see a horsemen ahead." Yoichi says, getting us concentrated once again.
"Should I take it out? I can probably dodge it." Saltymizuki asks.
"No sudden braking or turning. Army vehicles are too valuable to wreck." Blondie scolds.
"Then..." Saltymizuki trails off.
"Allow me!" Yoichi volunteers.
"Oh no you don't. I'm gonna kill it. It's not like I've got anything better to do, since Kimizuki won't let me drive." Yuu declares, readying his cursed gear.
I face palm, knowing what will happen next.
"Come back quickly. I'm not slowing down." Saltymizuki says, not caring about a thing.
"No problem! Let's go, Asuramaru!"
With a single slice, the Horsemen is dead and Yuu smirks, about to renter the vehicle.
"Hey, Shinoa..." I whisper something to her, watching her giggle at the idea.
"Kimizuki, there's an enemy approaching! Swerve right! Hurry!!" Shinoa stresses after Yuu jumps into the air, ready to land in the car.
However, we swerve to the right, as Shinoa demands, and Yuu completely misses the landing, ending up stranded on the road.
"Huh?! Enemy?! Where?!"
"He fell for it, oh my god!" I laugh.
"What?! What did you do, (N/n)?! Get baaaack!!"
"Now floor it, Kimizuki!" Blondie cheers.
"Bye bye! See you at the Ebina Rest Stop in 20km!" Shinoa smiles devilishly.
"Whaaat?! You've gotta be kidding me! They can't be serious!! Who pulls that kind of prank out here?! Do I really have to walk 20km?! Like Hell!!" I hear Yuu cry as we drive away as fast as possible.
"So when are we going back for him?" I ask.
"I don't wannaaaa!" Shinoa says, acting like she's drunk.
"Yeah, so ten minutes?"
"No!"
•Ten Minutes Later•
"Yuu, we're back~!" I smile, as we approach him in the vehicle.
"Hey, pretty lady." Shinoa greets, "Need a lift?"
"I swear, I am going to kill you someday." Yuu says.
"Shinoa made the right call, Yuu. We're kilometres away from Shibuya, the centre of human civilisation. Out here, hotheads who leave their team behind-" Blondie tells Yuu off.
"Yeah, yeah. That was my punishment for going off without orders. I get it." Yuu interrupts, clearly still annoyed.
"Actually, we did it because..." Shinoa starts, facing away from Yuu while giggling like a child.
"Leaving you behind would be way funnier." I laugh with Shinoa.
"You guys are awful!!" Yuu accuses, chasing my laughing figure in circles around Saltymizuki.
"Can we hurry? We'll be late." Saltymizuki sighs, walking back to the car.
"Oh, you're right. If Yuuichiro wasn't so slow..." Shinoa teases further.
"It's not my fault!!" He jumps around, unable to come back with a better comment.
"Yuu." Saltymizuki says, throwing the keys to him and stepping out the car.
Yuu catches them, flawlessy.
"You drive." Saltymizuki instructs.
Yuu begins to cheer and jumps into the driver's seat.
"Damn lucky, Yuu." I grin, getting in as well.
"Yeah, just you watch, (N/n)! I'm gonna bust out some mad driving skills, and-"
"Do nothing. Learn to drive safely first." Saltymizuki interrupts.
"Right. I'll bust out my safe driving skills and get us there o-okay..." Yuu smiles.
Suddenly, an idea pops into Shinoa's mind as she whispers it to Blondie and I.
"I see. YUU!!" I yell.
"Huh?! What?!" He panics.
"Start the engine! Quickly!!" Shinoa continues.
"There's an enemy! We must run away now!!" Blondie joins in.
"Oh, okay." He replies, starting the engine and racing off, leaving Saltymizuki behind, with everyone else in the car.
I look to Saltymizuki with a wide smirk on my face that quickly disappears, as he unveils his cursed gear.
"...Kiseki-O... Give me your power."
"Bye bye, K-Kimizuki, haha..." I stutter, ready to abandon mission at any time.
In an instant, Saltymizuki appears next to us and points his blades at the three of us.
"Whoops, this was a bad idea." I chuckle, nervously.
"Er... My, my. Pointing your swords at ladies? That's not nice of you."
Unable to control myself, I make the situation worse,
"There has to be ladies present if he wants to point swords at them."
"(Y/n)~, are you asking for death?" Blondie says, irritated.
"That would be describing what I'm doing, yes."
"A-Anyway, Kimizuki. Girls don't like you anymore." Shinoa adds.
"Y'know, I've never given two craps if any of you like me."
As if saved by an Angel, Yoichi directs Saltymizuki's attention, giving time to run.
"Welcome back, Kimizuki."
"Hmph."
"Even though this was your idea in the first place." Blondie shifts the blame to Saltymizuki's favourite.
"Huuuuh?!"
«•»
We continue along the journey with a few verbal jokes and Yuu looking for confirmation on his driving.
As we reach near the end of our ride, Shinoa begins to bring our attention to her words.
"Now then, we will arrive shortly, at the rendezvous point. Remind me again, have I mentioned why we have been ordered to leave Shibuya... and go to Ebina Rest Stop?"
"Nope, you never tell us the important stuff." Saltymizuki sighs.
"Well, allow me to explain. The whole Moon Demon Company, led by Lt. Colonel Guren Ichinose... has been ordered to launch an attack on a group of vampire Nobles."
Yuu, Kimizuki and I make eye contact, knowing what we're thinking.
"Presently, there are several vampire Nobles... who are marching their respective battalions from the Kansai region to Nagoya. Considering we fought a few before, I'm sure you realise what will happen if those Nobles were to attack Tokyo." Shinoa says, bringing back memories from the Battle of Shinjuku.
Yoichi shudders as I lose eye contact with anyone present in the car.
"Right, humanity wouldn't stand a chance." Blondie sighs.
"We'd be like ants in the face of lions..." I grit my teeth.
"And so, we are going to exterminate those Nobles, one by one. Army Intelligence pinpointed the location of at least ten of them in Nagoya."
"So we're gonna strike before their reinforcements from the Kansai region arrive... and wipe out all the Nobles in Nagoya!" Blondie says, standing up and throwing a fist into the air.
"Nagoya... what if..." I start, muttering to myself.
"...Mika is going to be there." Yuu finishes my thought, staring off.
I look slightly up to see us drive past a sign that shows a service stop, in Ebina.
"Looks like we're here." I smile, ready to let everyone know the main characters have arrived.
"This is all I know. I expect we'll receive detailed orders from the Lt. Colonel once we reach the rendezvous point." Shinoa says, crossing one leg over the other and letting her hair blow through the wind.
"Will Lt. Colonel Guren be at the rest stop?" Yoichi asks Shinoa.
"Yes, and not just him. His crème de la crème direct subordinates will be there too. All 100 of them." Shinoa informs.
"Whoa. If they're all his best, then they're all gonna be even stronger than us, right?" Yuu asks while Saltymizuki remains speechless.
"Hmm... the four of you are rather powerful. But their teamwork would tramp your reckless behaviour. All of them are highly cooperative team players who have trained intensively together." Shinoa explains.
"Really. That's good to hear. So none of them would be stupid and do stuff like, say, prank their teammates by leaving them behind." Saltymizuki remarks.
"Well, er..." Shinoa remains unable to answer.
"Yeah! I bet they're all mature, responsible adults." Yuu smiles.
•Ebina Rest Stop/Third Person•
Coming out of an old, abandoned service shop, is Guren Ichinose, Hanayuri Sayuri and Yukimi Shigure.
"...Goshi. What're you doing?" Guren asks, looking at a black figure standing behind a pillar that's barely standing.
Goshi Norito steps out, holding a magazine of swimsuit models.
"Huh? Oh, hey. Look what I dug up." Goshi grins, pointing to the magazine, "We were still high school kids when the catastrophe hit, but now we're old enough to read dirty magazines, right? Whaddaya think of this chick?"
"What do I think about what?"
"C'mon, man! It's been forever since we've seen bikini-clad chicks, right? I mean, it's not like your two aides, Sayuri and Shigure, run around in 'em. "
"Stare at me all you like. My clothes will not disappear." Shigure states.
"But, um, i-if Lt. Colonel Guren said that he wanted me to wear one... then I'd be happy to... And, um..." Sayuri mumbles with small blush on her face.
"What, really?! Guren, tell 'em you wanna see 'em in bikinis! Please! Ask them now!" Goshi begs.
"What's the point to swimsuits? The ocean's filled with acid rain. It's not safe to swim." Guren says, sighing from being surrounded by ignorance.
"You idiot! This chick is wearing a bikini on the cover of the Christmas issue! The ocean isn't the only place for hot bikinis!"
"Where else would you wear one?" Guren makes the mistake of asking.
"Love hotels." Goshi says with non-existent pride.
"Shut up. Just... shut up." Guren groans.
With all the fun and jokes aside, they begin to get somewhat serious.
"Did you spot any vampire inside the building? Guren asks, referring to the group of buildings that make up the service stop.
"Dunno, haven't looked." Goshi replies, looking at the magazine again.
"Do your job." Guren sighs again.
"C'mon. Miss Perfect Mito is checking the place out. It'll be fine. Maaan! And this chick probably died from the virus eight years ago. What a tragedy!" Goshi says, hugging the bikini magazine.
"Guren." A voice calls from the building.
The recognisable, proud Mito Jujo steps out and flicks her thick hair to trail behind her.
"I have searched the premises. There was no sign of any vampire presence." She reports.
"Hey, Mito! Wanna put a bikini on for us?" Goshi asks, confusing the redhead.
"Well... Guren was interested in the idea of you in a bikini." He lies, but it, by some miracle, works to make Mito believe it, leaving Sayuri and Shigure to question the squad.
"H-H-He was?! How dare he say such a salacious thing like that at a serious time like this!!" She panics, flustered, "Um, did you mean it?" Mito asks Guren in a quiet voice.
(Salacious means lustful or sexual comments)
"Good, everyone's here. It's about time." Guren says, avoiding eye contact of Mito.
Mito gapes, angry as to why Guren ignored her, but settles herself down.
As a few more army vehicles arrive, Guren looks around, but is interrupted by the sound of a loud engine.
A bright red Lamborghini pulls up in front of Guren Squad, and inside is Guren's best pal, Shinya Hiragi.
He opens the doors and muffles a 'Hawwo!' and a piece of bread in his mouth.
"Whoa! Where'd you get the wheels, Shinya?" Goshi freaks out over the new-looking car.
"Isn't it amazing? It's one of those old, super-charged, luxury sports cars! I was riding down here in a boring, old military transport when I saw it abandoned on the road. I just had to take it." Shinya explains, having gotten out of the ride.
"That thing's engine is way too loud. This is supposed to be a stealth mission." Guren sighs for the hundredth time today.
"I just revved it so you could hear me coming, Guren. But it was loud. Horsemen kept popping up out of the woodwork... so I had to stick some muffling illusion wards on it."
The squad looks to the car, seeing a dozen wards on the front of the car.
"Geez. The heap is a pointless waste. It's set so low that you can't even drive it up shallow steps."
('Set so low' is talking about the car being too near the ground that it would keep hitting the stairs, trying to get the car up.)
"True. This sort of car was a showy heap of pointless waste even before the catastrophe. It's a super-charged, luxury sports car, after all." Shinya agrees with Guren.
"Whatever. By the way, Shinya. What are you doing here? This isn't the sort of mission the mighty Hiragi generally bother with." Guren asks.
"Kureto told me about it. You realise this is a suicide mission, right? You really shouldn't go through with it. Attacking vampire Nobles with only 100 soldiers? That's just insane." Shinya suggests.
"Probably. But if we don't, humanity will be wiped out." Guren excuses.
"Whoa, now we're talking about the fate of the human race? Mother Teresa would be shocked at your compassion, Mother Guren. But you're still going to die." Shinya says with a great, big smile and hands spread out.
Guren looks at Shinya with widened eyes as the white-haired Hiragi holds a hand towards Guren.
"And since you're going to go anyway, because you're stupid like that... I decided to be nice and come help you. Again. Now where's my thanks?" Shinya declares.
Guren snickers slightly, but it turns to the other side when Guren jumps into the sports car, harshly.
"I'm not that dumb. I'm scared of who I could lose in this mission." He grits, grabbing the attention of waiting soldiers.
"But... We have to answer the call of battle. If we fail, humanity dies. And so, Shinya. Goshi. Mito. Sayuri. Shigure. I want to complete this mission with as few casualties as possible. For that, I ask for your help." Guren asks as they stand behind, making eye contact.
Without hesitation, Sayuri is the first to agree with all her loyalty, along with the other girls staring in awe at Guren's 'bravery'.
On the other hand,
"Does he think he's cool... making his inspirational speech on top of a sports car? Totally pathetic if you ask me." Shinya whispers to Goshi.
"Well, he's always been childish. I bet he just want to ride in that fancy car. I bet he's trying super hard not to drive off in it himself." Goshi whispers back.
"He's never been good at admitting-" Shinya starts, but is interrupted by karate kid.
(Reference from 'Seraph of the End' Manga)
"Gyaaaah!!" Goshi's and Shinya's last sound were made at 1200 hours.
«•»
"Ugh. So tired. Sayuri. Shigure. Get me something else to stand on, okay? I need give out orders." Guren asks, as Goshi and Shinya lay on top of each other, having gotten a beating from Guren.
•Ebina/(Y/n)'s POV•
"Uh-Oh. We're late, aren't we?" Yuu worries, sitting behind the wheel.
"If you weren't such a terrible driver..." Shinoa starts.
"There's no way any of this is my fault!!" Yuu argues.
"Do you think we'll be scolded?" Yoichi asks.
"If we are, I'm selling out Mitsuba, Shinoa, and (Y/n) immediately. I'm not taking any fault for this." Saltymizuki says without hesitation.
"That hurt." I say.
"We're your teammates!!" Blondie yells, begging for more Horsemen.
"Real teammates don't try to abandon each other in the middle of a highway!!" Saltymizuki yells back.
"Oh, how sad! What's the worst that will happen?! You'll get run over?" I joke.
Arriving at our destination, Yuu begins to ask more questions.
"So where should I park? Are we sneaking in the back?"
"No, the front. That way, it's much less likely that we'll be caught!" Shinoa deduces.
"So, we're gonna get caught." I sigh.
We sneak behind the crowd of soldiers while Guren stands at the front giving out orders.
Of course, like any hawk, he spots us and makes it obvious we've arrived late.
"Whoa there. Do you think you're corporate executives? No need to get to work on time, eh?" He calls out to us.
Shinoa, with her usual act, puts a large smile while her eye twitch from the failure of Plan A.
"Lt. Colonel! See, we, ah... realised something today! We noticed we are, in fact, CEOs! So we-" She tries to go along with the joke, but Guren interrupts.
At the top of his lungs, he yells,
"Shut your mouth, brat!"
I flinch from how loud he yelled it, seeing he is clearly angry at our inability to follow orders.
It's obvious he wants all the soldiers to know that no one gets special treatment. They likely think we're the exceptions, the favourites, the special squad.
"This mission is not a game!! If you can't follow basic regulations, we don't need you! Go home!" He continues, shocking Shinoa and the others.
Soldiers looks at us with disappointment, anger, disgust, you name it.
However, Yuu looks on with his usual stubborn stare.
"I apologise, Lieutenant Colonel, sir. This was entirely-"
"It was my fault, Lieutenant Colonel. I thought it'd be the right call to teach a lesson on teamwork on the journey here, but I made the mistake of doing so." I interrupt Yuu before he takes the blame on himself.
"Wha...?"
"You two..."
Those in our squad mutter, surprised by our action.
Guren looks at me, then Yuu, and back to me, as I anticipate his next words.
"So are you going to go home then?"
"No, Sir. I want to stay and go on this mission for my pride as a soldier in the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. Please let me stay!" I beg, making full eye contact, and keeping my composure.
Guren pauses for a moment, forming his frown into a grin and gives his answer.
"All right. You can come. Now get in line. Your punishment will come later, (Y/n) Gracefield."
Shinoa gasps with a small 'Oh no'.
"Listen up, everyone. During this mission, I will have zero tolerance for anyone who doesn't follow orders. Nor will I tolerate anyone treating this like a game or messing around. I repeat, this is not a game! This is the most difficult, dangerous mission we have ever undertaken. Some of us are going to die. We are all family here. And on this mission... we are going to lose a lot of family members." Guren breaks the blunt reality to everyone.
Losing... family...? I will never let it happen! Not while I'm still conscious!!
"But despite that danger... this is a mission worth risking our lives for! Listen up!! I don't just want us coming home alive... we will come home victorious!! Do you hear me?!" He says the final lines of his great motivational speech, letting the one hundred soldiers roar in confidence that will soon dissipate with their lives.
"Now then, I will pass out the official orders... for each individual squad. When you hear your name, please step forward. Makoto Narumi squad, come forward!" Guren begins handing out the order to separate squads who spare a hateful glance to me and some to Shinoa squad.
"Um... (Y/n)?" Shinoa whimpers, poking me to grab my attention.
"Whatcha need, Shinoa?" I ask.
"I'm sorry." She says, bluntly.
"Hm? If you mean to apologise for the actions of our squad, it's fine. I'll take responsibility this time!" I grin, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"But... it was my fault you were reprimanded." She adds.
"No worries, we're family, right?"
"Right... but-"
"Even if the punishment is harsh, I'm a halfie. I'll be fine, okay?" I assure her, giving a small smile.
I turn to hear a dark-haired female call our squad.
"Shinoa Hiragi squad. Come forward!" The female recognised as Yukimi Shigure, calls out.
"Aha! Let's go!" Yuu smiles, "Shinoa, answer her!"
Shinoa smiles and answers with confidence and pride,
"Yes, Ma'am!"
(3445 Words)