In the military bases south of Dynami.
The sun, which seemed eager to illuminate the city against the cloudy weather, disappeared, and the clouds continued to darken and cool the metropolis. The three military bases had only twelve fighters, led by the resolute Captain Williams.
The insufficiency of the Armed Forces was disheartening, with few weapons, scarce medical equipment, and vehicles in poor condition. The number of civilians camped in the large rescue cabins exceeded seventy, and the lack of food was a constant problem.
"Where is he?" Captain Williams walked hurriedly, looking for Tahiko.
Tahiko was the only bearer present at the bases. Koji had not yet arrived, and there was no sign of Saik. However, the survivor groups from Koji and Saik had mostly managed to reach the bases in the south of the city, including Williams, who guided Saik's group there.
The atmosphere at the bases was tense. The few soldiers were constantly on alert, aware that they could be attacked at any moment. The civilians, exhausted and hungry, sought any sign of hope.
"What happened there? How did you end up in that car?" Tahiko asked the little boy he had rescued on University Avenue, while the two played a chess game that was nearing its end.
The boy, focused on the board, answered calmly.
"I got separated from my mother."
"A long time ago?"
"It was at the beginning."
It was evident that the boy was not ready to talk about what happened and perhaps didn't even know how to express what he felt, as he didn't understand how everything had come to this point.
"And your father? Do you know where he is?" Tahiko inquired.
"He... he's inside those creatures," Riley responded with a calm and distant voice.
With his neck slightly tilted down, Tahiko observed Riley's expressions attentively. The boy's assertive response and the way his attention wandered over the chess pieces made Tahiko realize that the chances of the boy no longer having a family were quite high and that, in the end, this might no longer matter to him.
"Were you hiding?"
The captain asked as he finally found Tahiko, engrossed in the chess game with Riley.
On the board, Tahiko had four pieces: a knight on the second-to-last square on the left with the queen nearby, a rook further to the right protecting the king.
The boy, on the other hand, had his king strategically positioned behind a rook, mirroring Tahiko's defense, with a queen and a knight nearby, threatening Tahiko's king's protection.
"Tahiko, we have some important things to resol—" Williams said, being interrupted by the bearer's move in the game.
Clack!
"Now I'm taking a risk," Tahiko said, his lightness and joy in his voice showing that he was at ease, despite the situation.
He had moved the knight in front of the queen, out of the corners and into the center of the board. The boy, with a slight smile, was enjoying the game and the brief friendship with the bearer.
"We don't have time for this."
Williams insisted, but Tahiko's attention was focused solely on the game.
Clack!
The boy responded by moving his rook to capture Tahiko's knight in front of the queen. Without hesitation, Tahiko moved his only rook, which served as the king's defense, to capture the boy's rook, even though it was a very risky move.
"Seems like someone here really wants to win, huh?" Tahiko said, approaching the boy and gesturing with his hands as if he were scared. "Aaah, I'm not going to win."
With arms crossed and looking at the board, the captain dashed Tahiko's hopes in a humiliating way.
"Didn't you notice? The boy has already won."
"What?" Tahiko spread his arms in a gesture of incomprehension, as he couldn't see where his mistake was.
"When I moved my only rook, leaving my king unprotected and capturing your knight, I left my rook in the line of sight of your rook that was protecting your king," the boy calmly explained, pointing to the pieces.
Tahiko watched attentively as the boy continued.
"Since my knight hadn't been used for a long time, you forgot about it. My queen seemed more threatening, and the move I made with my rook was the riskiest one."
"Basically, I sacrificed it. So, you moved your important rook to capture mine, leaving your king unprotected and in the line of sight of my knight."
The captain patted Tahiko's right shoulder repeatedly, saying.
"He beat you thoroughly."
"He played conservatively the entire game, only to make a risky move at the end that gave me the feeling I should attack immediately, leaving my king defenseless," Tahiko said, standing up with a slightly slumped posture due to the calmness at the bases.
"But you being a beginner at chess helped me a lot."
Genuinely pleased with the fun game, Riley began to gather the pieces to put them away.
"Can Riley go?" Tahiko asked the captain, who responded casually.
"Let him stay a bit. We need to talk about something serious."
Before turning his back, Tahiko gestured and shouted to the boy, indicating he would be back soon.
"I'll be right back, Riley!"
Tahiko and Williams walked through the rows of civilians and soldiers, offering small expressions of comfort and strength. Despite the people's skepticism, Tahiko knew he needed to be a beacon of hope for those who depended on him.
Williams wanted to talk about something really important for the current moment, so he took Tahiko to the entrance of the military base area. The view outside the bases was one of abandonment and indescribable destruction.
The location where they were was near the border of the southern region of Dynami and the entrance to the city of Maka. The appearances and contrasts showed Dynami in pieces and completely isolated, a distressing sight that highlighted the gravity of the situation.
"Didn't you notice, Tahiko?"
The captain's question caught the bearer, who wasn't ashamed to respond honestly.
"Notice what?"
Williams involuntarily let out a brief and restrained laugh.
"Koji and Saik haven't arrived yet; they're still on the avenues... don't you find that worrying?" he said.
The aura of safety, pride, and confidence emanated from Tahiko at all times. His big smile and exaggerated expressions conveyed this.
"I know they'll get here, and if they haven't arrived yet, it's because they're certainly killing Gyakus and saving lives."
Yes, Tahiko was enormously fearless and trusted those who took responsibility for saving lives, because for him, the act of saving someone was comforting and represented the pinnacle of empathy.
"And besides, Captain, you can leave it to me to be responsible for all these people."