Chương 18: A Cruel World
"We have to hide the body somewhere far from here, outside the borders" Yagano looked at the body. "We can't leave it here " He picked the body from its pool of blood. "Uh.." The neck's still dripping blood as he picked it up, He looked at the neck. He sighed and moved to the R37. They followed him there and they accelerated outside the Saijun border and before Yagano throws the body into a grass field, Chiho remembered about the painkillers. They found two in the body and injected them into Mariko and Katsuko. Their wounds completely healed. After that, They returned to Saiju and seek for help. They told Gentaro about what happened. After that, they stayed at the inn with the rest of the day. not too long ago, Mariko said she'll be back and went outside. but she didn't return until night.
Night, The current time, she finally returned. "Huh..?" Mariko saw the closed sign. "Closing up too soon?" Mariko tried to open the door, It's actually unlocked. "Huh.." She slowly opened the door to see that everyone was sitting on the bar, with Gentaro. "Oh? Mariko-san. I thought you'll be back in a bit? took you long enough" Yagano said as they all looked at her. There were no people other than them. "Ah... Yeah, Just took a walk by myself" Mariko answered as she sat on the last chair. "How's Katsuko-san?" She saw that she wasn't there. "She's sleeping upstairs, The painkiller removed all of her wounds. So amazing..." Yagano answered. "How about you? You should have taken a rest... Well, Actually, I don't think I should be worried about that..." Yagano said. "Heh..." Mariko sighed quietly. "Great, Now everyone is here" Gentaro spoke up. "I have already heard them, Mariko-san. Pretty wild actions you did back there, huh?" The topic Gentaro pushed to her made her down. "I have never heard a person eating the flesh of a fellow human since the great war. To think I would be able to hear that right now" Gentaro crossed his arm. "Was that your first time doing that kind of thing?" He asked. "No" Mariko quickly responded. "Ah, of course. What did I expect..?" Gentaro scratched his head. "But whatever about that, Just don't blame us if it gave you stomach ache" Gentaro says. "If I were to have a stomach ache, It would be Chiho's fault" Mariko looked at Chiho. At first, Chiho looked confused, but quickly knew what she meant and shyly smiled at her. "R-Right, Your absolute inhuman actions also made a huge mark at the Saiju for the enemies to shoot at. They lost one of them. And thankfully, you told us about the enemy vehicle and we pulled it out of our borders. of course, they still will be all suspicious on who did it since it was outside a battlefield" Gentaro sighed.
"If they asked us, Just say we didn't do it, I mean... No one else saw what happened" Yagano says. "And how if they had a doubt?" Gentaro asked. "What is something else there to doubt? They don't have any proof of us killing that person" Yagano answered. "Hm.. You're right. Unless one of them actually saw you" Gentaro says. "But She said no one else was around that area, So that means she was all alone there" Mariko remembered something. "Is that so? That's a relief then..." Gentaro sighed in relief. Silence is about to take advantage but Alice walked out of the room and went straight to Mariko.
"Good evening, Mariko-san. Forgive me. Please forget what I said about raw meat-eating northern people. I wasn't serious about that, You know?" Alice bowed in front of Mariko. Everyone was dumbfounded. But they slowly get what she meant except Gentaro. "S-Seriously? It's not even considered as meat, And you really think I did that because you said we eat raw meats?" Everyone except Gentaro and Mariko were holding their laugh. "Yes. Was that a coincidence, then? I thought you..." Alice stared at her. "Okay..." She nodded and went to a table and sat on its chair. She looked at them to indicate that she's listening. "Oh, yeah... Yagano-san. I have been meaning to ask you this... I always get sidetracked because of our happy little reunion, Tonight's a great time" Gentaro looked at Yagano. "How was the great leader?" He asked. "Didn't Hiro told you? He got caught by an explosion. He's gone" Yagano answered. "What a disaster... So It'll the Saijun's turn to lead the alliance, huh..." Gentaro sighs. "But Tsuchiya still have you, Yagano-san. Tsuchiya can't just go down. I know you can lead us against this horrible mess" He continued. "I'm not like you, Gentaro" Yagano responded. "No, You'll just tell us what to do and we will do the rest. We are done for without the Tsuchiya's hands" Gentaro crossed his arms. "So, When the time comes, I would like you to take command of our army" Gentaro asked him. Alice heard about the army and was interested, She moved her chair closer to them. "Of course, Starting tomorrow. We can start... We'll face them bravely" Yagano nodded. "That's good to hear, Yagano-san. Then, See you tomorrow" Gentaro stood up, finished his beer he was drinking and said his goodbyes to everyone and went out. "Right, Let's call it a day" Yagano walked away and the girls followed her. Suzuka and Haruki went to the kitchen. All was left was the white-haired girl who moved her chair to listen eagerly about the war conversation.
The next day, Yagano didn't allow the girls to go outside. He told them to stay put inside the Inn while they lay low for a while. Around noon, The girls including Katsuko were staying at the bar. A conversation just died out between them and Haruki. So Ayumi thought of something. "Haruki-chan! Do you have something I can hit with my chained sickle?!" She happily asked. "Ho? Why is that? I thought you were training together with Mariko-san and Chiho-san?" Haruki's curious. Ayumi pouted at Mariko. Then looked back at Haruki. "She only let me hit woods! She doesn't let me spar with her because I might hit her!" She answered. "I see, well... We have a lot of broken glasses here that we used to serve drinks. Most of them got broke due to drunk men. Is that enough?" Haruki asked. "Yes!" Ayumi excitedly nodded. "I'm not responsible for the shards, alright? I gave it to you, after all" Haruki said. "Of course!" Ayumi nodded. "Do you want them now?" Haruki asked. "N-No, We were not allowed to go outside yet" Ayumi quickly turned sad. "I-I can see that..." Haruki looked at them. "Shouldn't we at least go out for a stroll around the capita.. center? I'll die here" Mariko whined. "Yeah! We're not going outside the village, right?! Let's just relax at the Center!" Ayumi looked at Katsuko. "Yes! I'm pretty sure he'll understand!" Katsuko, despite just bled by going outside, still agreed. "You're pretty reckless, Katsuko-san. Don't let Yagano-san get all worried about you" Haruko worries about her. "That's a husband's job~!" Katsuko smiled. "Y-You think so?" Haruki smiled awkwardly. "Geez, Mother..." Chiho sighed. "It's okay, Chiho! If I think I can't, then I will pass!" Katsuko pats Chiho's head. leading Chiho to another sigh. "Then, Let's go!" Katsuko stood up and walked outside without them. "Well, there you have it!" Mariko stood up. "Come on!" She looked at Chiho. "Okay..." Chiho stood up and they head for outside. "See y'all, later!" Haruki waved at them.
They walked and see Katsuko already sitting on the sidecar. "Sit on my lap, Ayumi-chan!" Katsuko pats her laps. Then they rode the R37 and went to the Center. There, Chiho slows the R37's pace. "What we going to do here?" Chiho asked. "Let's look at weapons!" Ayumi suggested. "Weapons, huh" Chiho remembered seeing a blacksmith shop with weapons displayed in its front. Though, It takes her a few minutes to take themselves there. They arrived and stopped in front of the weapon rack made of sticks. There are five identical swords on one side and the other side has five long swords. "Oooh! They look beautiful!" Ayumi saw her little reflection on one of the long swords. Mariko looked at the shop as the others look at the weapons. "This is pretty big" Mariko looked at the whole building. "Let's take a look outside" Mariko looked at them and points with her thumb. They went inside. There, They saw some armors standing at the walls and numerous weapons, from swords to different kinds of maces, dull to rusty to clean states. Each weapon is in different conditions. The girls scanned the whole room. "Welcome" A man standing inside a counter welcomed them. He looked like he was writing something on the paper. "Huh...? You girls don't look like adventurers or scouts. We have nothing here but weapons" The smith said to them. "Yeah, We can see that just from the outside with your rack and your sign. The fuck are those for if you're still gonna ask your customers?" Mariko got a little bit annoyed. "Right, Right. Suit yourselves" The smith returned to writing. "Ah!" Ayumi thought of an idea and ran outside. "Ayumi?" Chiho saw her took her chained sickle. The chains were noisy as she runs back to them, Which made the smith look. Ayumi ran to him. "Hey, Mister! Can you make this sharper?!" She showed the sickle. "Ooh! Let me see, kid" The smith lays his hand and Ayumi gave him the sickle. He was surprised. "This is a real weapon, kid. I thought it was a toy for a second and about to give you a laugh" He looked so surprised. "Nope! It's real!" Ayumi said. "Isn't it dangerous to let her hold such weapons, ma'am?" He looked at Katsuko. "She knows what she's doing!" Katsuko smiled. "U-Uh.." The smith didn't know what to answer. Then he saw some letters on the handle of the sickle. "If it isn't Gentaro-sama's chained sickle! Perhaps, you're Ayumi-chan?" He asked Ayumi. "Yes!" Ayumi nodded. "Hah! We Saijuns are the first to ever make one! We only have made one and we tried to use it. Only one has ever mastered it though. It sounded all cool and stuff. But it was actually hard to use, Some are ending up hurting themselves with their flying sickles and the balls!" He laughed. "I keep hearing about that one person! What happened to them?" Ayumi asked. "He died during the war your father took in" He looked at Chiho. "One of our soldiers retrieved this and went home with this. Then he gave it to the young Gentaro-sama as a gift of winning the position. He tried to master it but failed as well. But he still loved it because it's our invention, So he carved his name on the wood" He rubbed the name with his thumb.
"So, yeah. You're going to be the second to use this weapon on battle. Not now, obviously. but when you grow up. Too bad it's not a Saijun to take it up again... Best take care of this little treasure of ours" He smiled as he gave back the chained sickle. "G-Gentaro-san just lend us this..." Ayumi said as she shook the sickle to make the chains noise. "Hah! When he gave you something, He'll never ask you to return it again. He'll just say to keep it when you return them yourself" The smith grinned. "The second to master the experimental chained weapon? Looks like a title is fated upon you, Ayumi!" Mariko grinned. "I..I don't think..." Ayumi looked worried. "Better get that title! Or Chiho will beat you and reach the top" Mariko winked. "I-I will not lose!" Ayumi grips the sickle. "There you go!" Mariko laughed. "Geez, Mariko" Chiho looked at her laugh. "Looks like Gentaro-sama kept it clean and its blade at hand. It doesn't need sharpening yet" The smith said. "Okay!" Ayumi answered. "Well, How about buying some more weapons? We fear about those guys at Tsuchiya that they will aim at us soon, So Gentaro-sama rushed the production of swords. So we have plenty of stock of swords here" The smith returned to writing. They took a look for a few minutes and nothing interests them, So they left the shop and moved on. While strolling the Center, They saw Yagano running. "Father?" Chiho looked carefully. Yagano looks like he was in a hurry, He then saw the girls. "Chiho! Katsuko!" He called them. "Father!" Chiho drove closer to him. "Didn't I tell you to stay put inside the inn?! They're here!" Yagano nervously shouted. "T-They're here?!" Mariko shouted. "Yes, they are at the gates. A soldier told us in Gentaro's place... You know what? Fine, Let's go back there!" Yagano quickly sat beside Mariko on the back seat. "D-Didn't you just ran from there?" Katsuko asked. "Yeah, I was running to tell you back to the inn, But you're here... so.." Yagano pants. "Alright, I'm going!" Chiho accelerates the R37 and went to Gentaro.
In front of Gentaro's gates, There were some soldiers waiting outside. "Where's Gentaro?" Yagano asked a soldier as soon as they disembarked. "Gentaro-sama is still inside, sir" The soldier responded. They hurried in the building. There, Gentaro and Itsumi with some soldiers are waiting just by the entrance. They got surprised the whole group was there. "Y-Yagano-san? Why are they here?" Gentaro asked. "I saw them in the Center. I told them to stay but... Well, since they are there, might as well bring them" Yagano answered. "Alright... There are four of them outside the gate, One of them introduced as the leader of the organization" Gentaro says. "That must be that Fujiwara guy" Mariko looked at Chiho. "Yes. Fujiwara Shichiro, that's his name" Chiho nodded. "He's the guy who stabbed Ayumi" Chiho looked at Ayumi. They both have anger and fear mixed up. "H-He what?!" Yagano couldn't believe what she said. "Right, We can't refuse them, we must let them in". Gentaro took a deep breath. "Let them in. Don't let them roam and drag them straight here" He ordered to the soldiers. "Yes!" The soldiers responded at the same time. "That guy stabbed Ayumi?!" Yagano shouted. "Yes, Right here" Ayumi rubbed the spot. "Ayumi-chan was strong enough to survive a bit and we got help from one of them" Chiho weakly smiled. "What?" Yagano got confused. "Hmph... What a bunch of weird idiots..." Mariko crossed her arms. Even though she is aware of their intention, She acts like she knows nothing.
"I see, It's those painkillers, huh" Yagano thought of the Painkillers. "Those are very helpful... It wipes out every wound you got" He can't believe about such things. "Very life-saving medicine, right? Even a person with an incurable disease can be helped" Gentaro sighed. After that, they waited in silence. All of them are so afraid. After a few minutes, they were alarmed by a soldier's shout. "Gentaro-sama! They are here! We're going in!" He continued. "O-Oh no! We should hide!" Ayumi looked like she's about to cry any time. "W-What's the point of coming all the way here if you're just going to hide?" Mariko asked. "They know me!" Ayumi shouted. "R-Right... Then you should have not-" "Gentaro-sama" Before Mariko could finish, A soldier spoke, He's with the three familiar people. "Pretty nice place you got here..." Shichiro and the two observed the interior. Chiho was full of fear and held Ayumi on her side. And then she saw a familiar white hair and gasped. "Yes, Thank you... Now if you please" Gentaro faced the soldier. "Let us be..." He ordered the soldier to leave. He gave Gentaro a worrying look, and Gentaro nodded. "Y... Yes, sir..." The soldier left.
The three observed the group. When an eye met Mariko. "H-Hey... You remember me?" She asked, making all of them look at her. "I'm sorry if I couldn't make my choice" Mariko remembered about her lie. Shichiro stared at her for a second. "...I don't care. That's not what we came here for" Before answering. After that, the tension lessens but for Chiho. Maeru was staring at her. Which made Chiho looked so uncomfortable. "Do I know you?" Shichiro went in front of Ayumi, breaking Maeru's stare. Shichiro crouched to look at Ayumi. "You know her, man?" The guy with brown hair they have yet to know the name asked Shichiro. "Yeah, maybe" Shichiro answered. Then a few seconds, the brown-haired guy sighed. "Oh, come on dude. I thought she was the same brat too, but there's no way a brat could survive that knife" He said. "Yeah..." Shichiro gave up on Ayumi and walked in front of Gentaro. Chiho felt Maeru looked at her again for a second before looking to Gentaro. "Perhaps, you are the king?" Shichiro asked Gentaro. "I am the leader, yes..." He nodded. "Hm... I really thought we and your village here can be friends. But you are getting too suspicious to us" Shichiro crossed his arm. "And what made us suspicious?" Itsumi asked. "Huh... Glad you asked" Shichiro looked at Itsumi, then back to Gentaro. "I received many reports that some survivors from Tsuchiya are escaping towards a certain direction. When we followed the said direction, we were led to this place" Shichiro answered. They all get nervous at his words. "That enough makes you our enemy. but I have a bit of patience" He continued. "Then we have one of our pilots fly towards this same direction. We are NOT making any missions around this area, except for our visits" Shichiro sighed. "Oh, and I almost forgot. One of our pilots have reported firing at a stolen R37 going to this certain direction too before we lost contact with them. And we happened to see an R37 parked outside. I do remember showing them to you, but I don't remember you giving one" He continued to tell them. The group is so dead silent.
"And the last I can remember is when we sent one of our soldiers to a mission alone to go for the last village just north of yours. She reported that she have heard gunshots just near this village. We have no soldiers there nor reported lost soldiers. When she said she'll engage, we just lost contact" Shichiro looked straight at Gentaro's eyes. "Her radio was open and we heard everything" He continued. The group froze at his words. "We also kept hearing the name Mariko... It can't be you, right? Shichiro smiled at Mariko. "Y-Yeah, I will never do such things" Mariko scratched her head. "Right. But we both know the truth" He said before looking back to Gentaro. "I also heard that she should be thrown outside the borders. So this morning, We had to scan the whole goddamn area and we easily found her body AND her vehicle" Shichiro said. "And now. tell me, mister leader" Shichiro had a serious look. "How are you going to defend yourselves about everything I said? I considered you and your village as a friend, So I'm giving you a chance to talk" Shichiro said. "Go on" He let them speak. "We... We got nothing to do with everything you have said" Gentaro said. "Everything?" Shichiro scoffed. "Then tell me about it" He let Gentaro speak. "T-The survivors, They all ran up to the north..." Gentaro tried to lie. "Then how about the R37?" Shichiro asked. "T-The vehicle...?" Gentaro accidentally looked at Yagano. "Asking for an answer?" He quickly looked back at Shichiro. "It was abandoned somewhere in the field between the Tsuchiya and ours, We picked it up" Gentaro continued to lie. "And didn't return to us? Then it's still stolen, idiot" Shichiro chuckled. "W-Well..." Gentaro tried to speak again but Shichiro let out his left blade and points it at Gentaro's stomach, The group was surprised. Maeru and the brown-haired guy watched them closely. "Don't fuck with me..." Shichiro moved his left arm further, making the blade press to Gentaro more. "We know who was with that R37. We found them dead in Tsuchiya but their vehicle is missing" He said. Gentaro visibly gulped. "Come on, Mister leader. We both know there's no way out of this situation. with all the proof I have given. Now, Either you will confess or we will initiate a raid, right fucking now and kill you all here" Shichiro gave them a choice. The group didn't know what to do, they looked at each other nervously.
Shichiro hid back his blades and relaxes. "So? What it's gonna be?" He asked. "Confess or Die. No point of lying now, fuckers" The brown-haired guy shouted. They were given an unfair choice, which led them all messed up. "W-What if we confess?" Gentaro asked. "Then everything will be clear and you'll die because of your stupidity!" The brown-haired guy answered. "Give it a rest, Mark. I'll see what I can do with them" Shichiro scolded him. They now know his name. "Heh, Lucky bastards" Mark crossed his arms. "Time is ticking" Maeru spoke up. Not knowing what to do, Gentaro lost. "I-I'm sorry, Y-You handle this... Yagano-san, Chiho-san" Gentaro sighed loudly. "D-Damn it..!" Chiho whispered and clenched her fists. Maeru saw her. "Oh? Leaving this to your friends? Fine" Shichiro walked in front of Chiho. "So, I'm guessing you're Chiho?" He asked. Chiho didn't get to answer at first. "You look mad, Feels shit about being exposed?" He teased her. "Enough of your shit, The useless leader here gave the permission to you, Now speak, Chiho" Upon hearing her name, She looked up to Shichiro and stared at him. "Hey, bitch! He told you to speak, not just to look at!" Mark shouted on his side. His shout made Chiho break her stare and looked away. "It would be better if you told us everything, Chiho-san" Maeru walked beside Shichiro. Chiho got surprised and looked at her. "You might survive a year or so if you do rather than having a swift death right now" She continued. Either of the choices will lead them to war, which pisses Chiho off. "You don't want to speak?" Shichiro backed off. "Разовая огонь артиллерии... (Razovaya ogon' artillerii...)" Shichiro spoke in Russian. "будет исполнено! (budet ispolneno!)" A response sounded like it came from a radio. Hearing the language, Chiho panicked. "W-Wait! I will do it!" She shouted. making Shichiro grunt. "Остановить огонь (Ostanovit' ogon')" Shichiro spoke again. "Что происходит? (Chto proiskhodit?)" The person on the other radio seems to be asking something. "Just hold fire, for fuck sake" Shichiro got annoyed. "R-Roger that..." The person on the radio acknowledged. "Now, What?" He looked at Chiho. "I.." Chiho looked away. "I was the one who took that vehicle..." She admitted while clenching her fists. "And you were that R37 on the run too?" He asked. "Yes..." Chiho nodded. "And how about the pilot who went here?" He asked. "I.. I don't know about that anymore..." Chiho refused to talk.
"I.. I was the one connected to that..." Mariko spoke. "Ho..?" Shichiro walked in front of her. "Her plane was shot, yeah? I was the one who did it... I got one of your weapons and used it. When she came down, she beats my ass and convinced me to join, you know the rest from there" Mariko lied. Shichiro believed that one. "Oh? It was indeed shot so hard, Not from any catapult or anything. The spot was burnt" Shichiro nodded. "Hmph... I heard enough. But here's my real question" He walked in front of Gentaro. "Are you planning to turn against us?" He asked. "We don't like that at all... We don't need war" Gentaro simply answered. "Good, Don't make me change my mind... Let's go..." The three walked out but Maeru stopped by the entrance to look back at Chiho. They stared at each other. Maeru sighed and went in front of her. "I know you" Maeru said. Those words alone made Chiho shake. "You're that person I get to notice when we got in for the first time... You were the one who saved the child, or rather, this child" Maeru looked at Ayumi. "I don't know if Shichiro is being dumb or what... It's clear that you are the kid he hurts before" She talked to Ayumi. "If not for that dumb friend of his, He would have recognized you right away" Maeru crouched to see Ayumi. "Y-Yeah! That Mark guy is stupid!" Ayumi grips tight to Chiho as she spoke, making Maeru giggle. For some reason, they were calmed by her giggle. "Oh..." She stood up and looked at Chiho. "My name is Maeru Shigawa... Nice to meet you, Chiho-san" Maeru lays her hands, wanting to handshake Chiho. But Chiho just stared at her, looking worried. Maeru sighed and took Chiho's right hand and shakes them. "You're very unlucky I promised something to Shichiro. So the only thing I could say for you, Is to never give in" Maeru let go of her hands, they were surprised at her. "Of all the worlds we have raided. This is the only world where we suffered more than ten casualties, against medieval people... So I know you can do it" Maeru smiled at them. "So, do everything to fight us back... And of course, When you're about to face me, I will act as if we've never ever met... Then, I need to go" Maeru says before leaving.
After a few minutes, they calmed for a bit. "N-Now what?" Mariko asked. "They were watching us since the beginning" Gentaro crossed his arms. "I can't believe it..." He continued. "I'm surprised he didn't ask who killed that girl with a vehicle" Mariko says. "But I bet he knows we did it too" Chiho answered. "Are they gonna turn against this village too?" Katsuko, who was quiet the whole time, asked. "Yeah, He might have agreed with me about not wanting a war. But I bet he will go after us, soon enough" Gentaro said. They stood there to process everything. Until a soldier reported back that they got out of the village without a problem. Then Yagano and the girls went back to the inn with their R37. They were even surprised it wasn't taken away from them. In the Inn, Once they were greeted by Suzuka, She immediately talked about it. "Y-Yagano-san... I heard the enemies came to talk with Gentaro-sama... did something happened to him?!". She was worried about Gentaro. "Yeah, He's fine. No worries..." Yagano head directly upstairs, Katsuko followed him. "W-What do we do now?" Ayumi asked. "They now know everything..." She continued. They didn't know what to answer. "They know everything?" Suzuka is curious. "Yes, We were forced to tell some truth" Mariko answered. "Oh my..." Suzuka looked worried. "We don't have any idea what they are planning right now, but we're pretty sure they are going after us soon" Mariko feared the future. "This is a fucking mess... Just what did we do to deserve this?" Mariko lightly scratched her cheek. "Also, it looks like you and that girl have met?" She looked at Chiho. "Yeah... We only get to see twice, one when its still peaceful, second when I saved Ayumi-chan from that guy" Chiho nodded. After that, they stayed at the bar to tell them everything. They talked until it's four in the afternoon. On that time, their conversation died out. "Hey, Let's spend some time at the Center" Ayumi says. "Right, I don't want to get holed up here yet" Mariko agreed. "Alright..." Chiho stood up. "Going already? See you later" Alice heard them about said her goodbyes. The three went to the Center with their R37. They tried to find something they could spend their time on.
Few minutes later, A mysterious man stopped them. "Hey!" He laid his hand in front of them. "Ah..." Chiho stopped in front of him. "Ugh... You again?" Mariko remembered the man. "Y-You know him?" Chiho asked. "Nah, Let's keep going" Mariko answered. "Me and her, knows each other, miss!" The man talked to Chiho. "She very not so friendly, but I have something to tell" He continued. "Oh? Well, you heard him, Mariko" Chiho looked away as to let him talk to Mariko. "Ugh... What? Another weapon?" Mariko guessed. "You know I'm not interested Chu-yuan shit..." She continued. "No. I was caught. no selling. for now, gotta stay low until time pass" He answered. "Heh, serves you right" Mariko laughed a bit. "When caught, I was asked how many village I visited, to sell good stuff... When I say Saiju, They will not arrest me if I do what they want" He said. "Hm..?" Mariko got curious. "Hear this, violent lady. They say you go in field between Saiju and Chu-yuan. In morning! I am not trust people from Chu-yuan, very weird people, yes. But you must go. because they say. Otherwise..." The man stopped there. "Otherwise?" Mariko asked. Then the man gets closer and dragged her closer by pulling her shoulder. He looked at Chiho to indicate that she should listen too. "Listen, Northern. I was actually ordered by a mysterious lady. I'm guessing she's an assassin, She wore a hood and that alone made her looked scary. And She wanted something from you" The man suddenly starts speaking in a serious tone. Which surprised the two, especially Mariko. "You can't ignore this type of request, Northern. Something might happen if you don't show up where they wanted you to be" He continued. "S-Something will happen? Like what?" Mariko asked. "I too don't know, Northern. You just have to go there. In case anything happened, like assassination, Don't ever hesitate to kill those assassins. The Chu-yuan got nothing to do with them because they cut ties with the leader and they only act as a group. Hell, even if they were paid to kill the Chu-yuan leader, They will do it if they think it's right" The man laughed. "So, That's it. Northern. I bet there are some spies watching us from the shadows right now. I will always be here at the Center to give you more information about the Chu-yuan, okay?" The man nodded. "Y-Yeah..." Mariko responded. "Good talk! That good talk! We agree now, yes? You go tomorrow, i tell Chu-yuan you will go!" The man returned to his usual self. Then he left. "Goddamn it... The Proho cunts visiting us, The stupid man I talked with before changing and now this Chu-yuan shit?" Mariko whined. "What do the Chus wants from me?" She continued. "D-Do you think it has something to do with those Prohorovkans?" Chiho asked. "Can be or Can't be... I don't think they are willing to help them. But there are these assassins that man mentioned too" Mariko answered. "Tsk... Damn Prohorovkans..." Chiho uttered. "Are they going to make our allies turn against us?" She asked herself loudly. "Those cunts will have their loyalty tested by then" Mariko looked up to the sky. "Cling into the powerful enemy or be loyal and stay together with the alliance... I wonder what will the countries of the Tsukosa will do?" She asked while as she watches the skies. "Let's go home already. Before we encounter any more problems here" Chiho turns to head back to the Inn. And before heading back to their room, They sat on the bar and Chiho and Ayumi asked for a light meal, except Mariko. Once Alice gave them their meals, Alice asked Mariko. "Mariko-san? Why don't you eat something?". Mariko looked at her with a very tired look. Then she tried to smile. "Ah, Don't worry about me" She said. "You have to eat though, Is something bothering you?" Alice asked. "Heh... Weird of you to ask that..." Mariko laughed a bit. "What?" Alice's confused. "Saiju, This village... It'll be like Tsuchiya soon enough. This village, The Saijuns who live outside the village, their land, the Saijun borders... Prohorovka will crush it all..." Mariko chuckled.
"That doesn't mean you can skip dinner" Alice says. "Hah... I don't know if you're just proud of your foods or just being funny and kind at the same time..." Mariko laughed a bit. "Other than that... There's also someone I don't even know wants to meet with me, And it sounds suspicious" Mariko looked up to the ceilings. "Haa... The world is so cruel..." Mariko puts both of her arms on the table and rests her head on them. "T-That's why we have to train, right? At least we can put up some fight"
Chiho says. Mariko turned her head to look at her. "Hah... Train, huh?" She laughed. "To be able to fight? Against those deadly flashing weapons? I don't think so..." She stared at Chiho. "We're dead before we can reach them" She said, not breaking her stare. "Don't be like that! We are strong! Just like that girl with my hair color just said!" Ayumi spoke with her mouth full. She made the two look at her. "Geez, Don't speak while you chew your food" Chiho giggled and wipes her mouth with her own hands. "Hmm..!" Ayumi moved her head away to avoid her hand but Chiho still chased her. Once Ayumi gulped her food. She looked up at Chiho. "Don't do that!" She shouted. "But you look like a mess" Chiho says. Then They saw Alice walk up to Mariko. "Mariko-san? Can I call you Mari-chan?" Alice asked, making Ayumi laughed out loud. "H-Huh?! What's with that all of the sudden?!" Mariko blushed and shouted at her. "I also hated it, But Suzu-chan and Haru-chan are calling me Ali-chan. So I just wanted to be fair" Alice explained. "T-To be fair about what?! That chan thing is only a thing between you and your co-workers, right?!" Mariko asked. "Yes but we're good friends, i want to call you Ma-" "S-Shut up! I refuse!" Mariko stops her because she didn't want to hear the name again. Alice stared at her. ".....Mari-ch-" "You want some beatings?!" Mariko stood up, being complete teased. "Why don't you like it?" Alice asked. "It sounds lame, shut up..." Mariko sat down again. "I'm sorry Mari-ch.... Mariko-san. I was trying to drag you out of the stressing day" Alice suddenly looked so sad. Mariko looked at her to realize. "Oh? W-Well that kinda made me off the tracks, Thank you..." She thanked her. "Why are you thanking me? Did you actually like the name?" Alice asked. "No! You stupid!" Mariko had enough and went upstairs. "Huh..." Alice looked at where she disappeared. She heard Ayumi's laugh and looked at her. "Why are you laughing?" She asked Ayumi. "Mari-chan!" Ayumi shouted. Alice got even more confused. After they finished their meal, they went up to their room to finally rest.
Later that time. Around nine in the night. The Inn was preparing to close since it was emptied. Until Gentaro appeared. "Good evening..." Gentaro greets as he closes the door behind him. "G-Gentaro-sama! Good evening!" Suzuka bowed before walking in front of him. "What can I do for you?" She asked. "Oh, I need Yagano. We have something to talk about... Wake him up for me please.." Gentaro answered. "Y-Yes! I will knock to their room!" Suzuka ran upstairs. Gentaro sat on the bar. Then Haruki and Alice went out of the kitchen and saw Gentaro. "Ho! Gentaro-sama! What brings you here in this hour?" Haruki asked as they approach him. "Good evening, Gentaro-san" Alice bowed. "Well, I have to talk to Yagano" Gentaro answered. Alice heard him and got interested. After a few moments, Yagano showed up with Suzuka behind him. "Oh? Gentaro, What do you want to talk about?" He asked as he takes a seat beside him. Alice sat beside Yagano. "I made a quick visit to the Kosuns after you left. I just returned" Gentaro said. "You two, Do you want something to drink?" Haruki asked. "No thanks, This will be quick" Gentaro refused her offer. "They told me that the other villages were also visited by the enemies. Each village, They were told to kill US... Like the Jima village, Their target was me and Itsumi while the Soma targets your family or Mariko alone... You got the idea..." Gentaro looked at Yagano. "Yeah, That's crazy..." Yagano didn't know what to say. "Luckily, The villages' leaders went to the Kosuns to talk about it and they were able to discuss about everything... Except the Chu-yuan" Gentaro taps the table. "Jima, Soma and Yugara's leader went but the Chu-yuan leader... And because of that, We had our doubts on them. They might have agreed and silent about it. Or they just have no idea what to do... Either way, We have to be careful, Yagano-san. Avoid any contact with Chu-yuan people. Watch your family and Mariko, Yagano-san. We still don't know what's gonna happen" Gentaro gave Yagano a worrying look. "Of course" "Yes!" Someone else responded with Yagano and they looked beside him. "What?" Alice asked. "Were you listening the whole time?" Gentaro asked. "Hm, hm!" Alice nods, making Gentaro sigh. "Well, it looks like we have our little companion here... You take care of Haruki-chan and Suzuka-chan for me, alright?" Gentaro asked. Alice looked to see if Suzuka and Haruki were around, But they are not. Then she looked back at Gentaro. "I will!" She answered, making Yagano laughed a bit. "Then, Yagano-san. I must go" Gentaro stood up. "Good night, You two" He said as he makes his way out. "Then, Alice-chan. Good night!" Yagano stood up. "Ah!" Alice hurriedly stood up and bowed. "Good night!" She said. Then Yagano went back to his room to call it a day.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Keetrix
Keetrix A mysterious visit from an enemy. They were forced to tell the truth. A man telling Mariko to go to a specific place. Chu-yuan's assassins. Chu-yuan's silent response. Their huge doubt against them. Battle of Loyalty and Betrayals.
The situation is becoming worse faster than they expected. How the hell are they going to handle this? I too, ask myself.
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