บท 41: 0.19: Poor Leadership.
Everyone waited on the headquarters vehicles while Skiros and the other captains were in a meeting.
"Noriko, you'll be my eyes, and I'll be your strength."
He moved his hands to the rhythm of his words so she'd understand clearly. She responded by asking why are they following the orders of Skiros.
"Because, sis, this will be the only way to get used to life as ronins. Sure, we got off a bad start with him, but I'm certain that once he sees our potential, we'll someday be close to becoming his grinders."
"Honey, don't forget that rogues are regarded as villains." His mom said. There has only been one person who was on his own but got killed due to being seen as a threat."
"Cheyzar Monk-Wu...the best human that ever lived." Arial pointed out. "But his reason for being a rogue was valid…since he was a menace on his own."
"Have you met him before, Miss Arial?" He asked.
"No, but my parents would not stop talking about him…Especially my dad."
"Who was he?" Haruro asked.
"Darth Ondwin Kilzer Uzoi Nakamura, but they always called him Doku. He worked as Cheyzar's wife's right-hand man but quit when she died. He lost it, and then he had me, what seemed to be the jewel of his life. But after getting separated during the 4th apprehension, he's been missing within Legon City."
"Is that your reason for becoming a ronin?" Sayori asked.
"More or less. Fighting, in general, was always my dream. It only grew stronger once my dad got into it again."
"That's such a sad story…" Seto said while hugging Noriko, who had no idea why he was doing so. "If anything, I will do my best to find your father. That's a promise."
Arial scuffed at first but was grateful for his concern. "Yeah, let's find him together!"
SKRR!!
The vehicle stopped before everyone departed. Skiros's Armament, the Thunder Rod, stood beside him on top of the cars as he gazed upon his squad. "BLACK BULLETS! This is the 9th time we shall put your lives at stake! Will this be the final time this shall occur? That all depends on your efforts today!"
Eunice stood beside him and gave his commands.
"I want everyone to work together, and please watch each others' back. Unfortunately, we don't have any distant healers, so please-"
"Uhm, I can heal from a distance."
Sayori spoke over Eunice without permission. "...I beg your pardon?"
"My blessing allows me to heal allies from afar; all I need is their names, and I can work from here."
"May I ask who the hell gave you-"
"Is that so?" Skiros shut Eunice up with his enthusiasm. "Your pendant allows you to have distance healing?"
"C-Captain…" She gave him a salute. "Yes, that's my specialty after all."
"Excellent, then you shall remain in the main vehicle with a few subordinates as your guards. Eunice, make sure to provide everyone's name to her."
He frowned out of frustration but had to follow orders regardless. "…Yes, captain."
"Good, as for everyone else…no, Seto's sister will scout the place for us."
GASP!
Seto and Noriko looked around after hearing everyone's reaction. "Is that a bad thing?" He asked.
"No, but it is hazardous. Noriko must go within the city and shoot the flare to signal the other guilds that the coast is clear."
"I FORBID YOU FROM DOING THAT!" Sayori stormed out of the vehicle. "You can't seriously be thinking of sending my daughter alone! SHE'S ONLY TEN YEARS OLD!!"
"Sayori. Do you still need the memo? YOUR daughter is in MY guild! She'll follow MY orders, or does a healer like you want to enter the battlefield in her place?" She was speechless while holding her words in. "See, you're terrified as well. And look, I even learned sign language to communicate with her."
Skiros stood in front of a frowning Noriko and began giving her orders. "Flare, shoot, center of the city, we go fight, pudding for breakfast."
She understood nothing besides pudding and flare; that's all the motivation she needed.
"Noriko, wait…" Sayori tried to warn her, but Skiros turned her attention to the city.
"Good LUCK!"
"HM!"
Off she went with the flare in her hand, and a smile on Skiros's face could not enrage Sayori any further. "So, how many dead bodies do you think she'll bump into?" He asked Seto.
"D-Dead bodies? What do you mean dead bodies?!"
He laughed as hard as he could and began tearing up. "DO YOU THINK THIS IS A PLAYGROUND KID?! YOUR SISTER MIGHT EVEN DIE OUT THERE!!!"
"Huh…N-NORIKO!!"
Seto turned around and sprinted, but he collided with the vehicle.
HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Everyone could not stop laughing at his bad luck; only Arial and Haruro did not find this humorous.
"Welcome to the real world, kid. This is where you have to see people suffer to become better than them; THAT is the way of LIFE!"
CHEERS!!
They all cheered Skiros on; however, the cheering died down as they all saw Seto's reaction to it,
"You're right, I guess." He responded.
"Son, what are you saying? That's your sister out there!" Sayori was furious at his reaction. "Are you seriously going to agree with this man?!"
"No, of course not. But I'm also not worried about Noriko either…"
Arial stared at him out of surprise. "Did he say that?" she asked Haruro.
"Whoa, he's unpredictable..."
"How can you say something like that?" Sayori asked.
Seto touched the ground and felt the rough road. "You can tell that not a single vehicle has made it this far; the roads are still unmarked, yet the paint has already washed off. We are the first people to cross this place, am I, right captain?" Skiros looked at him and accepted. "So that means you brought us to the most dangerous place in the entire city."
"What?" Arial thought of his point.
"Listening to Mister Sapphire's daily broadcasts made me visualize what the city looked like. He specified how for the past 8 apprehensions…none of the guilds dared to raid the center because it's home to Hajiman!"
"What is he saying? It's not true…right?!"
"Hajiman?!"
"We'll die if they catch us here!!"
"But we won't, and here is why," Seto called out for Haruro since he could not tell where he was.
"Yeah, how can I help?" Haruro approached him with a puzzled expression.
"Could you please break the ground as wide as possible and pass me a sword too?"
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