Chapter 26: Tragedy
The promise Chiho has made to the sick people is a complete lie, Or what Chiho thinks right now. Seeing them dead, Chiho completely lost her mind. "I failed to protect them... They trusted me..." She thought to herself. Then a pregnant woman thanking her went back in her mind and everyone's gazes of hope. It all went into her mind. She feels so bad. Ayumi on the other hand, remains calm as there were enemies in front of them. "Shit... It's her!" The soldiers became nervous. "H-How dare you... Onee-chan!" Ayumi pushed Chiho lightly and She snapped back to reality. "Y-Yeah! How dare you!" She shouted. The leader scoff. "No need to follow Mark's orders, fuck him. Use your guns!" He shouted to his group, but they hesitated. "Shichiro supported his idea, so I guess we should stick with it" A soldier worries. "Ah... Whatever! Slay them!" The soldiers rushed towards them as soon as he shouted his command. "Yaa...!" Ayumi throws her spiked ball before they can get closer, But the soldier skillfully caught the chains and pulled Ayumi. The strength was powerful, Ayumi went flying. But she had her sickle pointed at the soldier's neck. They stabbed each other as they both fall on the floor with Ayumi on the top. While Chiho deals with the soldier in front of her. She pretended to swing from above but she used the butt of the axe. She hits the soldier in his face and staggered back. Then Chiho used her chance and swings her axe down to his head, killing him. Chiho looked over Ayumi, who was emptying a painkiller in her arm.
"They're using our shots!" Mizuki angrily pointed at Ayumi. "Get them!" The leader shouted and Mizuki and the other soldier charged. Chiho and Ayumi quickly dealt with them. Then the leader himself rushed to stab Ayumi. "...!" Ayumi moved back and avoided his blade. She quickly tied her chains around his arm and spun around him until he gets distracted too much, then she grabbed his other arm and tied it together. Once she was done, Chiho kicked him in the stomach. Ayumi moved to her left and let him fall to the ground. "Those people have got nothing to do against you... Yet, why?!" Chiho was both sad and angry. "Nothing. We just felt like it" He smiled. "You..." Chiho started to tears and became angrier. "Kh!" He groans as Chiho kicks him in the stomach again. "Fuck! Just kill me like how we did to these people!" He shouted. "What are we going to do with him?" Ayumi asked. The leader waits for her answer too. "We're going to hand him over to Gentaro-san" Chiho answered. The leader laughed at her answer. "Hah! Hand me over?! That's a bad idea, I gotta tell you!" He said. "And how is it bad?" Ayumi asked. "Shut up, kid! Let me go and play some toys or something!" He shouted. Hearing someone calling her a kid still, Ayumi got a little mad. "Look what a kid can do" She said, The leader got furious. "Yeah! So let me go! Kids like you shouldn't be joining wars! Stay with your parents!" He shouted. "And get killed like that girl?!" Ayumi pointed to a dead girl tied on the bed. "If I didn't become like this, I would just be killed too! I will die like I..." She shouted and paused. "I'm... I'm killing him..." Ayumi's hands started to shake, which scares him a little. "The hell is wrong with you?" He whispered but loud enough for them to hear. "I never thought a dangerous loli can exist outside anime" He continued. They noticed his attitude change. "Loli?"Ayumi got curious.
"Yeah. Fucking Loli. It's what we refer to little girls" He scoff. "And...Anime?" Chiho asked. "Japanese Animation. Anime. How else do I describe it..." He thinks deeply. "Animation?" Chiho never heard of the word, which made the leader sigh. "My god... Look, It's a group of pictures. A ton shit of pictures that looks like it's totally moving" He explained without effort. "Pictures?" Ayumi asked. "Yeah. Picture. Photography, whatever. For example, You took several pictures of you jumping. If you quickly..." He paused and can't explain well. "Whatever! Just kill me!" He shouted as he struggled. "Wait! Take pictures of me?!" Chiho got curious. "Yeah! Don't tell me Cameras still haven't invented yet?!" He shouted in disappointment. Chiho went silent, making him sigh. "Just kill me... I don't want to be here... I'm not a fan of this shit..." He looked pretty disappointed. "Ayumi. We will bring him to Gentaro" Chiho said. Ayumi already calmed down so she agreed. "I'm really telling you..." He's making them regret their decision. They didn't respond and Chiho picked him up by his collar. "Akgh..!" He screamed as Chiho hits his neck with her knees, making him fall back. "The fuck was th- Ow!" Chiho picked him up by his hair before he could whine further. With that, they quietly prayed for the dead people before leaving the building. On the outside, They saw friendly soldiers having a huge count more than the enemies in the area. "I don't know why they stopped using their guns..." Ayumi looked rather upset than curious. "Whatever they are planning, we're gonna use that chance to fight equally" Chiho answered. Then they heard the leader scoff, they looked at him. "It's Mark's idea. God knows what his reason is, But it's incredibly stupid" He looked really annoyed. "Mark... That same guy?" Chiho remembered the name. "Yeah. I heard you faced him a few times now. You better remember his name. He's stupid and weak but Shichiro and Maeru are protecting him, so I guess he will stick around long" He advised. He also noticed their curiosity.
"Yeah. Mark was never a fucking part of the organization. Shichiro just invited him along. Everyone in the organization hates him and no one is willing to be ordered around by that guy. But we had no choice, He's a good friend of Shichiro" He explained. "I can feel that..." Chiho nodded. "You got the same experience?" He asked. "No... But I can sympathize" Chiho answered. "Huh..." He looked to his left and saw an approaching enemy soldier. "Shit!" He shouted, alarming the two and quickly dealt with the soldier. "Onee-chan! Let's not stay here too long!" Ayumi said. Chiho nodded and moved out. They looked around the area, killing enemy soldiers in their way. After a few minutes, they gave up and just went to a cavalry. They told the soldier that he is a prisoner so the soldier agreed and let him ride the horse. "You're still gonna regret this" He looked down to the two. "Watch me carefully. This is what a Prohorovkan will do as a prisoner" He said as the horse started walking away. "..." Ayumi looked like she has the urge to watch over him. "Should we watch him?" Chiho asked. Ayumi hesitated. "N-No! They need us in the battle!" She said looking up to her. "Alright..." Chiho nodded. Then they flew up to the sky and looked for any planes first before looking at the ground. It seems like they were able to hold the enemies properly. All of the tanks entered the village has stopped and some of them are surrounded by friendly soldiers, opening the hatches and poking with their weapons inside, killing the crews. "Over there!" Ayumi looked at a distance, She was pointing at the North wall. It looked like they were having trouble pushing back the enemies. "Let's go over there!" Ayumi flew to the direction and Chiho followed her. Once they reached the ground, they quickly helped push back the enemies. After fighting for a few minutes, the two quickly realized that there were more soldiers flooding the area more than the other side of the wall. The tanks were a huge obstacle for the soldiers to flood in from the east wall. And to their curiosity, they didn't bother destroying the whole wall and just made a small hole.
After a few more minutes of fighting, both sides stopped and moved back. Chiho noticed that they suffered enough casualties and it was impossible for them to continue with success. "Damn Prohorovkans!" Chiho cursed. Despite that, The enemies looked pretty exhausted and didn't bother to notice their huge casualties. Then an enemy soldier who was panting, walked in front of them. The soldiers behind him started to get serious again, which they noticed. The soldier in front slowly raised his arm and the soldiers behind him prepared. "За прохоровка!!!" "Ураaaaa!!!!" The soldier shouted something and they all charged. their shouts completely filled the area. This terrified the other side. "S-Shit!" One of the soldiers behind Chiho cursed. "E-Everyone! Prepare!" Chiho managed to shout before the enemies overrun them. Chiho and Ayumi flew up. Unlike before, they didn't bother killing the friendly soldiers and just pushed through. Then some of the soldiers will just kill them on the ground. The sight was humiliating, seeing them getting stomped and being stabbed after. "L-Let's stop this!" Ayumi throws her sickle to the soldiers, but one of them catches her. "Ah...!" Ayumi didn't expect it and got pulled. She saw the soldier's foot became yellow and kicks her back to the sky. She was able to recover and stopped beside Chiho. Though, she was holding on her clothes, obviously hurt from the kick. "Ow ow ow..." Her face is twisted in pain, body lowered down. "Are you okay?!" Chiho asked. "Y-Yeah... This is nothing compared to that time I accidentally drank smelling milk..." Ayumi answered with an odd comparison, but Chiho didn't care and nodded. "We have to stop this!" Chiho then charged down and disrupted the lines of charging soldiers. Ayumi joins in after a few seconds. They skillfully handled the enemy soldiers. Ayumi is killing more than one enemy with a single swing, Chiho using her magics to enhance the sharpness of her axe, spinning around and slashing every soldier she can hit.
But they didn't last long for the soldiers shouted and pushed through again even if someone gets killed. By their huge count, the two got pushed and almost tripped to the ground. But they flew up to save themselves. "They're crazy!" Ayumi shouted as she watches them charge ahead. "We have to stop them!" She rushed again, Chiho followed her. They were able to hold them back for only a minute before they pushed again and making them fly up. Chiho got so annoyed. "We can't handle this alo-" A black shade flies past them from somewhere to the ground, throwing away the surrounding soldiers. After a few seconds, Shu Fang appeared as the shade fades. She stood up and looked up to them. "...Chiho, Ayumi! I will take care of this! Go to the Center, something happened!" She shouted at them. "R-Really?!" Ayumi made sure and Shu Fang nodded. "Go!" Shu Fang shouted before becoming a shade again. She can kill several soldiers by just going through them. "L-Let's go!" Chiho flew away with Ayumi, heading for the Center. Once they got into a distance, they saw a big black mark on the middle of the area and some dead soldiers with their horses around them. "Oh no!" Chiho looked worried, Ayumi quickly went ahead. "Wait!" Chiho quickly follows her. Upon going closer, They saw Gentaro and Mariko on the ground. "Mariko!" ...Though, despite that, They only called out for Mariko. But Ayumi noticed this quickly and went for Gentaro instead. "Mariko!" Chiho looked at her. She was gritting her teeth and slowly opened her eyes. "Chiho...?" Mariko saw her with her blurry senses. "Bring me a... A-Ah...." Mariko moved and twitched as soon as she did. Chiho noticed that she was holding her leg. "A...Ah...!" Chiho quickly looked at her hands and saw that her right leg's gone. She trembled. "Chiho! Look at me!" Mariko called out to her and Chiho snapped back and looked at her. Mariko saw her starting to cry. "Chiho! Don't you cry on me..." Mariko said. "B-But... Your...!" Chiho cried further despite Mariko's words. "Just a shot of a painkiller. And it'll grow back" Mariko tried her best to smile, but seeing her do the effort, Chiho cried even more.
"For fuck sake!" Mariko shouted at her, surprising her. "Stop fucking crying!" She shouted like nothing has happened. "Just give me a goddamn painkiller, I will be fine..." She continued. Chiho had doubts. It worked for wounds but how about severed limbs? They have never tried it. That is what Chiho keeps thinking. "Hey!" Mariko waved her hand in front of Chiho's face. "Y-Yeah..." Chiho nodded. "That fucking prisoner you bought? He was carrying explosives. He took a great chance to set it off with Leader-san around..." Mariko angrily spoke. "Mariko-san!" Chiho and Mariko heard Gentaro's voice. Chiho turned around and saw Gentaro slowly making his way to them with Ayumi. Gentaro saw Mariko as soon as Chiho stepped aside. "Oh god..." Gentaro stopped. They were both shocked by the horrible sight. "M-Mariko!" Ayumi wanted to run towards her but she was supporting Gentaro. "I will be fine..." Gentaro nodded at Ayumi and she carefully let go of him and ran to Mariko's side. "Hey, Ayumi... Geez, why did you two bring a prisoner early in the war?" Mariko asked with a smile. "Mariko! Your leg!" Ayumi didn't know where to look first. "No worries. Bring me a painkiller, I will patch this up by then while I wait" Mariko said. "Mariko-san. We should get you-" Gentaro reached them and was interrupted by the carriages entering the area. "Gentaro-sama!" A soldier driving the leading carriage immediately saw his situation and called out. "Oh..." Gentaro looked at them, the girls also did. "Genta... Oh no!" The soldier saw Mariko as they stop. "Gentaro-sama! She's...!" "Yes. We must bring her to safety. Get her their medicine" Gentaro nodded on the soldier. "Taijo!" The soldier shouted and went down from the horse. Another soldier went out of the carriage and walked to Mariko's side. "No, No. I can stand" Mariko slowly stood up the best she can. Everyone watched her in amazement. She managed to stand with one foot, then suddenly looked embarrassed. "Y-Yeah... I can stand but I can't walk..." Mariko blushed hard. "There's no time for embarrassment!" A soldier said and two of them supported Mariko to the carriage. One soldier went out of the carriage to support Gentaro.
"Gentaro-san! We will get going now!" Chiho shouted before flying up. Ayumi quietly follows her. "We should get back to Shu Fang!" Chiho told Ayumi, she nodded and they went back to the North wall. Once they got there, they saw Shu Fang fighting with a single enemy. The rest of the enemies are surrounding them. "What's going on down there?!" Chiho looked very worried. "Let's go!" Ayumi looked at Chiho, She nodded and went down there. "Eeeii...!" "...Kh..!" Shu Fang blocked her foe's attack but was thrown nonetheless. Chiho quickly drops to the ground and catches her. "...Chiho?!" Shu Fang looked surprised. "What's going on here?!" Chiho asked as she looked at the surrounding enemies. "Hey! It's Chiho-chan!" A familiar voice called out to them. "I-It's you!" Ayumi quickly recognized her as she drops down. "It's me! Aki!" Akiko grins and made a victory gesture. "I know you remember me as well, Ayumi-chan!" She said to Ayumi. They didn't bother responding. "...She's not bad... For her age..." Shu Fang said while panting. "I actually don't want to be part of Mark's forces. But I just wanted to visit your village!" Akiko said. Ayumi looked at the soldiers surrounding them. "They are my own soldiers! My sister has her own and I have mine!" Akiko told them. "No one cares!" Ayumi shouted. Akiko's smile quickly fades, which made Ayumi regret it a little bit. "I'm just telling you..." Akiko said with a frown. "W-Whatever..." Ayumi looked away. "Then how about we finish this? Who's next?" Akiko's voice became serious. "It seems like you don't like me too. Might as well slaughter you" She continued. Ayumi's really regretting shouting that. They don't know if they should take her seriously or try to go along with her playful side and something might happen. But whatever's the choice, it's too late. Despite that, Chiho tries something.
"Um... Akiko, was it?!" Chiho pretended to want to know her name, which surprises everyone. "Um... Aki-chan? What's your specialty? Mine is this long axe!" She tried to ask a question to make her change. She looked at the soldiers surrounding them. They know what's going on but they don't seem to bother. "Um..." Akiko thinks of something and they noticed a little bit of excitement on her face. "Well... Like my sister, I can use my blades and guns at the same time" She answered, while still keeping the same serious look. "I know you're trying to make me into my good side again. I'm not that dumb" She outright exposed her, which made Chiho nervous. "But don't worry! I promise that once you defeat me and my soldiers, I will come to your side!" Akiko smiled brightly, then quickly turns into smug. "If you can, that is..." She said. It was led into confusion again for the three. "I assume you know how everything works in our organization, right?" She asked. "My loyalty to our organization will never waver. But since Shichiro had a crazy idea, I can rebel against him anytime! Without breaking my loyalty! Isn't it crazy?!" Akiko sounded excited. The three already heard about it yet still confused. "So you're very free to influence us to go to your side. But I will not go down easily! You will have to show me your real strength! Show us that it's worth changing side!" She continued. The three didn't understand anything but the change side. "Then! I will show you that invading and killing people is very bad! I will knock you awake!" Chiho shouted but Akiko smiled. "We do know that. We are all humans, Chiho-chan..." Her answer surprised the three. "We know that since the beginning. We don't kill people because we think it's alright or something... I thought someone has already told you about this?" She asked. "Saito Takumi-chan... The very first soldier to ever rat us out. Also the very first kind soldier I have met before everyone else inside the organization" She continued. Hearing her name worries the two, Shu Fang still quite don't remember hearing the name.
"I kind of understand. She was not willing to join the organization and kill people. She was invited inside. In exchange, we will protect her family. She joined for the sake of her family's safety" Akiko nodded. "D-Did the same thing happened to you and your sister?" Chiho asked. "Nope! We joined because we wanted to! Plus they speak our language!" Akiko smiled. "Their technologies are awesome! Their structures and inside feels like you're on space!" She continued. "And what's the best of all, they are all friendly! Shichiro's friendly, Maeru's friendly! The scientists are friendly! Everyone!" She sounded happy. "And you were so unlucky to meet their bad side! If only they were here for desperate recruitment, they would have asked you properly! Hahaha!!!" She laughed out loud and immediately pulled a straight face. "And I would have stayed here in your town with you. Play with you every day, Explore the whole place, Explore the outside world..." She sounded disappointed. "Haaah... Ain't it cruel? I know you people also wanted to be our friends too..." She continued. "Y-You idiot! Why would we want to befriend you?! Don't assume things!" Ayumi shouted. Akiko stared at her as they both know they also wanted to get the Prohorovkans into good terms. "It's a simple feeling. Why do you have to lie about it?" Akiko shrugged. "Move out of the way!" A carriage passed by them, alarming the three. And as they look back, they noticed Akiko and her soldiers didn't even move a muscle or even get their eyes off them. Chiho sighed. "Ayumi..." She called, Ayumi looked at her, worried. "Yes. We want both sides to be on good terms" Chiho said. "See?! That wasn't so bad, was it?!" Akiko smiled. "But you have invaded us! You destroyed our peace, Killed our people, Took our lands and driven the survivors out! That's unforgivable!" Chiho shouted. Akiko was very surprised. "Ah... About the survivors..." Akiko is about to tell something, which got the three's attention. "Those who stayed and hid in their homes the whole time and survived... Are now under our care!" She said. The three were so shocked about hearing it.
Akiko was so amused by their reactions. "Yes! What did you think about what we did? Slaughtered all of the people?! What's the point of having the lands all by ourselves?! That's boring!" She said. "And, oh! By the way, We were able to get some teenagers to join us! So expect some traitors! Hahaha!!!" She laughed out loud. Angering the three a little bit. "Oh!" Then She jolted as if she remembered something. "Tell me about it... We found a woman with long white hair back there! She was the only one with white hair! Unless someone else had it and died! She worries about her daughter all the time! At first, she refused to tell us her name! She gave us a cold stare! Oooh!" Akiko pretended to tremble in fear for a second. "But when we took care of her, We were able to gain her trust and she finally gave the name 'Ayumi' away! And guess what?! It's you!" She pointed at Ayumi with a smile. "N-No way!" Ayumi trembled. "Yes! That woman has the last name 'Kirisaki'! It'll be a huge coincidence if you weren't related! You also have the name 'Ayumi'! with similar white hair! It can't be a coincidence!" Akiko shouted. "No..." Ayumi slowly sat on the ground, completely lost of her strength. "Ayumi!" Chiho called out. "Hey, Ayumi-chan... Why don't you come with us right now? Your mother is waiting..." Akiko suddenly spoke softly. "Mother...?" Ayumi looked up at Akiko. "...Don't let her get into your mind!" Shu Fang shouted. They wanted to say she was lying. And that she can't join them, but they had to be careful. They also wanted to say that they will save her mother away from the Prohorovkans, but they felt it pointless as they all heard that they were taking care of her instead of turning her into a prisoner. "Your mother might be alright right now, But they are still horrible killers! You can't go with them, Ayumi!" Chiho thought of something and shouted.
Akiko started to walk towards them. "You ever thought your mother is dead and had lost hope? Then hearing someone say that she's actually alive? Isn't that the best news you will hear?" She continued to speak in a soft and calm manner. "Stop it!" Chiho shouted but Akiko ignored her and continued walking. "We will also have a lot of fun! Everyone is fun to hang around with!" She said. She gave Ayumi a hand. "Come with me!" She said with a big smile. Ayumi quickly reached for her hand but Chiho held her arm. "No!" Chiho shouted. But Akiko grabbed Ayumi's hand and pulled her up. "Haaa...!" As Ayumi stood up, She leaned her head back and headbutts Akiko. This surprised everyone. Akiko fell on her back. "Do whatever you want with her! I'm never joining you!" Ayumi shouted. "A-Ayumi! What are you..." Chiho couldn't continue. Akiko looked up at Ayumi, very surprised. "You can imprison her, kick her, humiliate her, or even kill her and tell me about it... But You'll never get me to your side no matter what... You are all horrible people, whatever you do!" Ayumi continued to shout. Then she grips her fists. "I know my mother will understand if I didn't come for her..." She said. Akiko was dumbfounded. "...You know, You're really interesting..." Akiko said, looking directly at Ayumi's eyes. "I can't wait the time I will finally be at your side..." She said as she stands up. "Now let's just finish this... Defeat me and I will command all of the soldiers to stop the attack. I don't care if it's Mark who did this, I will kill him" She continued as she moved away. "His plans are horrible!" She shook her head in disgust. "He only wasted the armors! I want to stab him multiple times! But you know I can't do that so I will do that you instead! Come!" Akiko readies and made a stance.
"Defeat me! And We will stop this pointless plan!" She shouted. "I will face her!" Ayumi walks forward. "Don't worry!" She looked at Chiho in the corner of her eyes, then to Akiko. "I thought your big sister will face me... Have I anger you enough?" Akiko asked. "You do know I can fight, right? It's not like I was mad at you. Rather, I wanted to go first" Ayumi answered. "I see..." Akiko didn't care. "Let's do this!" Ayumi spun her sickle up. "Oooh scary!" Akiko watched the spinning sickle closely. "Yaa...!" Ayumi spins herself and threw the sickle as soon as she faced her again. "Whoops..." Akiko easily caught the chain. "Come here!" She pulled the chain, Ayumi jumped as she gets pulled towards her. "Die!" Akiko extended her left arm towards Ayumi, Its blade is pointed at her neck. "...!" Ayumi quickly and sneakily used her flying ability to move away from the blade. As she does, she quickly tied the chains around her arm. She landed behind her. "What...!" As Akiko turned around, Ayumi started to run around her. "Hey!" Akiko tries to focus on stopping her from running, until she felt that her hands are tied together. "A-Ah...!" She tried to move her arms but it was tied with chains. "Haaa...!" Ayumi stopped in front of her and punched her face as hard as she can. "Ah...!" Akiko screamed as she falls to the ground. "Grr...!" Ayumi pulled the chains hard to raise her up. Then she kicks her again, making her fall again. Ayumi quickly undoes the chains while she is stunned and moved away fast. "N-Not bad... You caught me off guard, but that won't work every time..." Akiko said as she slowly stands up. "And I know that can't be your only skill. I know you have something" She wanted to see her powers. "Fine! I will show you!" Ayumi spun her weapon up with two hands. It became invisible. "Oooh... They're gone!" Akiko watches closely. "Hrgm!" Ayumi stopped the spin and throws the spiked ball. Her motions made Akiko a little bit nervous. "W-What's going on?" She saw Ayumi's throwing motion but nothing hits her. "Here I come!" Ayumi's half chain to the sickle became visible and she charged ahead. "What..." Akiko made a quick glance to the chains before focusing on Ayumi. "Haaa...!" Ayumi jumped with the sickle in her hand. "...!" Akiko blocked her blow with her left blade.
"Heh..." Ayumi smiled mischievously, which confuses Akiko. Ayumi grabbed the chains. The other half chain became visible, which was tied on Akiko's feet. "Eii..!" Ayumi pulled it strong, which stumbled Akiko. Ayumi used the chance to push through her defense and swings the sickle at her face. "Ah...!" Akiko screamed as the sickle wounds her left cheek. "Hya...!" Ayumi quickly brought her hand back against her face, hitting her hard. Then she follows up with a thrust to her neck. "Kh...!" Akiko loudly choked. Then she finished her by headbutting her and pulled the chains for her to completely fall to the ground. "Akiko-sama!" A soldier shouted her name, but Akiko quickly raised her hand to signal to not interfere. "You're... quite good... Xорошо!" Akiko nodded as she undoes the chains and throws it on the ground in front of Ayumi. "Now... What else have you got?" She asked as she wipes off the blood from the cut. "Grr... I can put a lot of pressure on you!" The chains of the sickle turned pink while the other half turned yellow. "Oooh..." Akiko didn't smile this time and watched closely. "Here I come!" Ayumi started to spin while holding the chains with two hands. The chained sickle extends and whirls dangerously. Chiho and Shu Fang and the soldiers had to back off. Akiko wanted to charge ahead but Ayumi was too far to reach, she had no choice but to grab the hardened chain. As she does, Ayumi kept spinning. Akiko barely avoided the hit by the sickle by moving her head down. The sickle went again to hit her but she let go of the chains and moved away. Ayumi then stopped, her magics on her weapon disappears. "Aren't you getting dizzy with that?" Akiko asked. "Nope!" Ayumi puffed her chest out, looking proud. "Heh... Alright, then show me more!" Akiko smiled.
"Hey! How about you attack?! I thought we have to defeat you?!" Ayumi shouted. "Yeah. You have to" Akiko shrugged. "Then why do I feel like I'm just showing off?!" Ayumi angrily shouted. "I don't know? I'm just asking you to show me your powers and you were really into it" Akiko answered. "Grr... Fine! I will fight you! But I want you to attack first!" Ayumi let her attack first. "Fair enough!" Akiko shouted as she rushed to her. Ayumi held the sickle with her right hand and prepares. "Haa...!" Akiko jumped high and lands her left blade on Ayumi. But Ayumi caught her blade with her sickle. She knew that Akiko is going to use her other hand to stab her. As she was right, Akiko thrusts her right arm to Ayumi's stomach. But Ayumi moved to her right and quickly throws the other half of the chains around her neck. Pulling the chains, Ayumi ran behind her and Akiko was forced to face her. "Come here!" Ayumi pulled the chains hard and quickly kicked her in the stomach. "Ookh...!" Akiko groaned and tried to remove Ayumi's leg off of her. Ayumi was kind of strangling her, Pulling the chain while pushing her with her foot. Then she saw Akiko raised her right hand. "...!" Akiko lands her blade down to Ayumi's leg but Ayumi quickly moved her foot away. As Akiko missed, Ayumi pulled the chains and Akiko dropped on all four. She pulled it again to completely fall Akiko on the ground. "I can cast the power to sharpen the chains around your neck and quickly behead you right away..." Ayumi said, making Akiko look up to her. "Come on... That can't be your true strength... Show me more" Ayumi smiled. Akiko got a little bit annoyed but laughs it off. "Fine... You win..." "Huh?!" Akiko admitted defeat and Ayumi shouted in disappointment. She watched Akiko undo the chains around her neck and hands it to her. "It seems that you satisfied me enough. You win. I will stop the attack now..." Akiko said before facing a soldier and nods. The soldier also nodded and they quickly disappeared.
"W-What..." Ayumi, as well as Chiho and Shu Fang, is shocked by their disappearance. "Then! Ayumi-chan! See you next time!" Akiko waved at her before disappearing in a flash. The three stood there in silence for a few seconds. "...That kid... It was so obvious she's just messing around..." Shu Fang said, surprising the two. "...When you were not around, She was different. She was agile. And like she said, she can use both her blade and gun... Each of her attacks missed, She will spin around, either attempting to attack again or use her gun to hit you at a distance. I can barely avoid those shots" She continued. "...It became quiet..." Shu Fang closed her eyes and listened closely. "T-They made it out that quick? Did they teleport?" Chiho asked. "Could be... Let's head back to Gentaro-san" Ayumi said. With that, they flew away. They scanned the whole place on the way there and not a single enemy remains. Civilians are starting to show up again. Once they reached Gentaro's place, they quickly looked for Mariko, both excited and nervous. They headed up to Gentaro's office and saw Mariko sitting on a couch with her leg still missing. Her leg was bandaged instead. "What happened?!" The three rushed on her side. "Hey... I heard the enemies are gone... The hell happened?" Mariko talked normally. "W-We defeated someone and they all retreated... Why is your leg's still missing?!" Ayumi answered her and turned back to her situation. "Yeah... The fucking painkillers didn't work. Here we are, we thought it's a life saver..." Mariko sounded disappointed. "...Then what's gonna happen?" Shu Fang asked. "Well... I can no longer fight. Sorry guys..." Mariko shrugged. Everyone in the office was saddened. "We tried to inject to her one more time and it still didn't work..." Itsumi said. Mariko looked at their faces. "Come on! Don't be like that! What matters is I'm still breathing!" She smiled. Ayumi hugged her. "Oh... There you go, there you go..." Mariko rubbed her head. "E-Eww... You reek of blood..." Ayumi moved her head away. "Haha, yeah. I still haven't taken a bath yet! Just wiped them off..." Mariko laughed. "Oh and by the way, These cunts recovered my lost leg for some fucking reason... You're all making me uncomfortable..." She said.
"We were supposed to try something, but we proved it pointless..." Gentaro answered. "Ah. Is that so..." Mariko sighed. "Well? What's going on?" She asked. "Are they really gone? What's going on at that base we got?" She added. "They are gone, not a single enemy. People are starting to show up to rebuild the lost and gather their families" Gentaro nodded. "The reports said that they are doing fine in the base. But the Commanders are having a hard time capturing the forward bases as the enemies' are all skillful... They were even trying to sound like they wanted you girls there to help them" He continued. "Right. The base... I want to give it a name... 'Trupriv!" Mariko shouted. "T... What?" Gentaro tried to repeat the name. "Yes. Trupriv. Base Trupriv. Village of Trupriv, whatever!" Mariko sounded happy. Everyone was surprised. "W-Where did you get that name?" Chiho asked. "Hah... Well... I noticed how their language works and I was able to create a word that sounds just like them! It's easy!" Mariko answered. "T-Trupriv..." Gentaro and everyone repeated the name. Their pronunciation bothered Mariko. "So... Are you heading there now? It's getting late..." Mariko looked at the windows. "I-Is it? I thought it was my power..." Chiho got surprised. "No shit, lady. Once your power in your weapon disappears, the skies will return normal. It IS getting late" Mariko said. "Perfect timing. I want you to check on Suzuka-chan and the others back in the Inn" Gentaro folded his hands together. "Alright..." Chiho nodded. "Hey! I want to go with you!" Mariko shouted. "W-We can't carry you on the way there!" Chiho complained. "Where's our fucking R37?! You can use your teleport bullshit!" Mariko shouted. "F-Fine! We will teleport there!" Chiho held Mariko's hand. Ayumi also went and held her hand. "...Are you sure? Are you not tired, Chiho?" Shu Fang asked. "Still good as ever..." Chiho smiled, relieving Shu Fang. "...Alright" She smiled and held Chiho's hand. "Then! We'll get going now!" Chiho looked at everyone in the room before they teleported.
"So... Any more reason why you picked Mariko's leg up with you?" Gentaro looked at the soldiers and Itsumi. "T-There's nothing else..." Itsumi blushed. "Must be an awkward scene where one of you picked it up and went here with it..." Gentaro sighed. Some of the soldiers who weren't with them chuckled.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Keetrix
Keetrix Ayumi's mother is alive?! :O Fuuuuk I wasn't sure if i was able to reunite Ayumi with her mother in the early chapters! So YOLO!!
The title was for when Mariko lost her leg due to suicide bombing. But it can also be meant for the people in the hospital.
BTW Sorry for mistakes! I saw a mistake on the last chapter and i feel so annoyed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone