Chapter 33
INEI YOTSUBA
It took him but a few hours to notice Mayumi Saegusa's absence from school and he was not the only one. The ex-Student Council President was somewhat of a celebrity at the school and so her absence was a matter of great importance.
But as soon as people began questioning it, a simple explanation came from her own family explaining it all. That the girl was simply ill and had decided to rest at home.
The student population may have believed it, but he did not, and neither did her friends. However, with the hustle of the thesis competition taking up most of the time, most did not think much of it.
But he was not like most of them. He had already done his own research into the whole incident and was rather surprised and astonished by his findings.
"Are you sure?" a pale Mari Watanabe questioned as he showed her his findings. They stood in the Hall of the main Yokohama Research Center Hall, where the thesis competition was set to take place.
"I had to confirm it three times, but yes. Mayumi has been kidnapped," he added and saw her face shift as she took in this news. Even though he had but given her half the news, for according to his research, somehow her own family had been involved in her abduction.
"Do you know where she is?" she asked with narrowed eyes, and that was what had taken him the most time.
"I do," and with that, she nodded.
"Then let me...." As soon as she began, suddenly, the whole building's alarms began to ring out, as he watched a truck break into the building.
BOOM!
And then he watched, as armed men rushed out of the smoke and began to fire at will at the staff and the students, threatening them.
"Stand down!"
"Stand down!" At that moment, all the screens of the building changed and showed a singular feed, one of a black-haired girl tied in a chair with disheveled hair.
"Mayumi!" Mari gasped from her side, as the feed shifted to show the face of a masked individual.
"Students at the Yokohama Technology Centre," the man's voice rang out through all of the speakers.
"Stand down, and give up your CADs, for the fate of this one student lies on your hands," and at that announcement, Inei felt all the surrounding gazes land on him as suddenly all the intruders turned their guns towards him.
"We do not come for war, but for justice. Our only demand is the one person responsible for killing our men residing in Tokyo, a person who sits beside you in this very building," and with that screen shifted as his own face appeared on the screen.
"A certified killer and terrorist who goes by the name of Inei Yotsuba," and he smirked as everyone looked towards him as Mari reached for her CAD.
"Inei!" she called out as she got ready to face all the enemies, while he simply smiled and raised his hands.
"Hand him over, and no harm will come to you," and with that, the feed vanished as Inei looked the men in the eye.
"If you were such big fans, you could have just asked," he taunted. Mari looked around nervously, and sirens began screaming off all over the city.
"Sure, I will come with you," he said, much to Mari's surprise, as he smiled at them.
"But if you harm a single hair on her body, I will kill you all," and so with that, a burly man stepped out of the truck and approached him, dressed in traditional armor that had long become obsolete.
He was one of GAA's most famous soldiers.
The man-eating Tiger-Lu Ganghu.
"It has been quite some time, huh," Inei taunted as the man led him to the back of the truck.
"Kitty cat," and at those words, the man's fists balled up.
"You damn monster!"
As they led him away, Mari stood there looking at him, rather helpless and perplexed.
"Don't worry," he shouted at her as the door was closed.
"I will be back," and with that, a piece of cloth was draped over his face as the world went dark. Well, not exactly, but at least his enemies thought so.
0000
MAJOR KAZAMA
"You are asking the military to stand down," he gasped, both enraged and appalled by the command being given to him by the Elder of the ten Master clans.
"I am," Kudo Retsu added as he looked at him through the screen in the conference room at the Yokohama Research Centre.
"But the city is under attack. We have literal warships on our shores, and the enemy has declared war on us," he shouted, yet the Elder remained stoic.
"And we must do everything to avoid this great tragedy," the man continued.
"The enemy has in their hands a daughter of an esteemed Master Clan. We will not put her life in jeopardy. We must first rescue her, and only then shall we show our enemy our might," the man said. With that, the feed was cut off, leaving an angry and perplexed Kazama behind as he looked towards his second in command, Fujibayashi.
"Don't tell me that this is another one of their political games," he asked, and given that the girl was the granddaughter of the Elder, she was in the most prime position to know.
And the way she evaded her eyes was answer enough.
"I am afraid I cannot answer that," she said.
The enemy had demanded an exchange, they had asked them to hand over Inei Yotsuba for Mayumi Saegusa. A ploy to get their hands on the Yotsuba heir, something they had been trying for quite some time.
Kazama was no fan of the boy himself. He was a political headache not for his antagonism towards GAA but because the boy sabotaged their alliance with USNA.
But this. This was wrong!
No way would he let Japan ever succumb to this idiotic behavior.
"Though I would not worry too much," Fujibayashi's voice came from behind as the Second lieutenant smiled at him.
"Soon enough, we will get the green light," and with that, he frowned, and suddenly he watched as the screen shifted as a very familia face appeared on the screen.
It was his commanding officer, one of the most accomplished officers in the Japanese Army, the previous head of the 101st division, which he now led himself.
"General Saeki," he saluted as did Fujibayashi as the General nodded.
"At ease," she said as she looked him in the eye.
"Since this is an emergency, I will cut this short," she began as the screen split and a mission directive appeared beside.
"Despite the relative secrecy about this whole abduction, the Japanese military was aware of it and had made preparations for an incident like this," she added, and he was surprised by that revelation.
"Of course, we were not expecting a full-scale invasion, but still, the plans were in place. Tokyo is being evacuated as we speak, and Yokohama's shelter protocol has been activated," she added, and that was a surprise to him.
"The Evacuating Exercises" and their own presence in the Yokohama Research Centre were because of the coordination of an evacuation drill, something that is often done in Japan because of the frequent earthquakes it faces.
The military must be hiding their movements using these exercises as a pretense.
"Indeed, I need you and your men to protect the students at the Yokohama Centre. Make sure that all of them are evacuated to safety," and he nodded, saluting once more.
"And what of the rest of the city," he asked.
"An auxiliary party will handle that," which was a surprise. It was not usual for the army to leave this to an auxiliary party. And which party would even be able to handle a full-scale excursion? as he thought of that, the answer came to him just as quickly.
"You cannot mean," he gasped, and it seemed that his guess was correct.
"Indeed, the Yotsuba have taken the responsibility for putting down this incursion, and the government has agreed to them," and why wouldn't they? It would save them a lot of money, and with the duties divided, the government would need not worry about the offensive and only deal with the defense of its people and infrastructure.
"Have they mobilized the clan? " the General asked. Of all the people in the army, she was the closest to the current head of the Yotsuba clan, Maya Yotsuba. Both of them had been friends in their youth, and their friendship continued to this day.
"They have, in a way, but Maya Yotsuba told me that it would not be necessary," and he frowned at that.
"According to her, he will handle it all,"
0000
SHIBA MIYUKI
The Yotsuba were famous for many things, but especially for their ruthlessness. GAA had tested their patience one too many times, and now they had decided to abduct a person associated with them.
Mayumi Saegusa may not be a Yotsuba, but she was a magician, one associated with the Yotsuba clan. And the Yotsuba clan would not let one of their own fall. Not again, not after their own mother.
Even after that, the Yotsuba had wiped out the entire Dahan, even at great cost to themselves, just to send a message, earning the epithet of 'nation killers', and now the world would remember once more decades later just what it meant to be 'nation killers.'
So, she stood beside the stage, watching as their school's students wheeled out their own entry for the Thesis Competition. Then, suddenly, sounds of explosions rocked the whole building, and alarms rang out.
And immediately, she walked out towards her brother as the students began to panic as smoke grenades were thrown into the Hall.
"It's beginning," she said, and her brother nodded.
"It is," and with that, she raised his hand as he activated his magic and decimated all the grenades in an instant.
"You ready," he asked, and she nodded as she put her hand on his shoulder and felt her senses expand as she saw all of the building and located each and every intruder before she activated her own magic.
"Nifelheim!"
And in that moment, a chill spread all over the building and froze all the terrorists in the building, as the screens in the building shifted to reveal the face of one Mayumi Saegusa.
"Stand down...!"
0000
A scared and weary Mayumi Saegusa watched as the doors to her prison opened, and a person with a black cloth draped over his head was brought in, his body surrounded by chains and seals, and despite all that, she could recognize him easily enough.
"It is good to finally have you with us," and with that, the black cloth was removed, and as she had feared, she recognized those white hair immediately.
"I never knew you would surrender yourself so easily, Yotsuba," said the man who had abducted her, a man named Chen Xiangshan, also known as the Ghost Walker.
"It is good to finally have you back with us," and she saw those eyes land on her, and despite the circumstances, there was a smile on his face, as he winked at her before the smile vanished as he looked up at the face of the man beside her.
"You all think you have me trapped," he suddenly asked with a chuckle as the man beside her frowned.
"Ohh, how wrong you all are," and with that, she saw him close his eyes, and suddenly the whole room shifted as he opened them again, and this time they were the dreaded red eyes of death, and she watched as suddenly the men all around him began to drop down.
"Make a move, and she..." as the man tried to reach for her, suddenly Inei-kun vanished from infront of her and appeared right beside her as he gripped the man's hand, and she a speck of red dropped down from his face.
"It's over for you and your country..." and then the man was flung into the wall, as she saw Inei-kun reach for the gag around her mouth as she took it out.
"I will be with you shortly," and with that, she saw him touch her shoulder and suddenly she felt the whole world twist around her before suddenly she found herself on a soft bed, in a room and then the next second, the door to the room opened and she watched two very familia faces walk into the room.
"It is good to see you again, Mayumi-chan!"
And that smile, that face. How could I ever forget it?
"Maya-sama..."
0000
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