Everyone trained vigorously for the next three days. They woke up at the same times, trained hard and slept at the same times. Meanwhile, third-class officers were deployed with scouting parties to relay information of the rebels back to lieutenant Wachisaka. Nishihara had returned to the outpost too, Kanesaki noticed that he trained away from the others. I should talk to him.
Hirabayashi put a hand on Kanesaki's shoulder, he looked back as she stared up at him with concern. 'We should leave him, he's grieving. We all are.' Kanesaki nodded a little. 'I know... But I need to talk to him, to put this behind us, y'know.' Glancing to the floor, Hirabayashi nodded in reluctant agreement.
Approaching the officer, Kanesaki noticed his YNS was on, he wanted to ask for another sparring match. Nishihara saw the Chimera walking towards him and groaned. 'What do you want?'
Kanesaki was in a dark red training vest with baggy, black trousers on. The officer stood waiting for Kanesaki to reach him. The two stood a few metres apart, both their weapons in hand.
'I wanted to talk about the other day.'
'What's to talk about? You should focusing on training for the mission.'
'Why don't we train and talk. Like you said last time, therapy.'
This remark made Nishihara smile just a bit. He held the Odachi up, pointing to Kanesaki. 'Alright, fine. If we're gonna be working together, may as well.' Kanesaki grinned and the two readied for a spar.
Hirabayashi watched from afar as Sakaguchi worked out behind her, lifting weights. Officer Isao and the Chimera, Yasuko, sparred together in the distance. 'You think they'll work well with us? They kinda got a few loose screws, at least the Chimera does.' Sakaguchi sat up and replied to Hirabayashi. 'Yeah, but I'm sure we'll be fine. Isao's first-class too, he should be a good assistance. Plus, we're getting a lieutenant and a third Chimera to help out.'
Nishihara and Kanesaki had finished sparring shortly. Sakaguchi and Hirabayashi had noticed that they were slowly bonding through their fights. Two more days passed, the two fought more and more; learning each other's strengths and weaknesses. Meanwhile, Hirabayashi and Sakaguchi decided to get to know Isao and Yasuko.
'Officer Isao, I know we haven't really spoken much yet but I was wondering how you and Yasuko are in the field.'
'Heh?' The officer glanced over, tilting his head in confusion. 'Oh, yeah. I prefer to sit back and observe, y'know. Yasuko here does the killing.' He pointed his thumb back at the Chimera as she threw a few kicks to the punching back, knocking it bag heavily. She looked over and smiled with a strange grin. Hirabayashi waved with an awkward smile and Sakaguchi just blank faced the whole time. 'I see... So how did you make first-class?'
'Well, I specialise in stealth and swordsmanship so I'm more a speedy type, y'know in and out kinda guy. Naturally, they made me first-class for my talents and I mainly work stealth ops, but I'm still dangerous in a one on one.'
Hirabayashi nodded with her eyes closed, humming to herself as she took notes in her head. Sakaguchi continued to talk with the two about previous missions whilst Nishihara and Kanesaki continued their sparring matches. Over the days, Kanesaki got closer and closer to beating the Officer until he was upped by a sudden increase in Nishihara's abilities; like some burst of energy.
28 hours until Takemoto airbase operation
Grid 95- rebel camp
Two rough-looking young men walked into a small tent where a strange man sat with a long brown trench coat and dark grey trousers on. His hair was short and slightly curly and he had short facial hair. He was sipping a bottle of alcohol as the two sighed towards him. 'Drinking again? We move out tomorrow, y'know.' One man walked over and snatched the bottle from the man as he groaned, clearly a little tipsy. 'Nah, I'll be fine... Just, just gimme an hour, m'kay?' Scoffing, the other man looked around to see a few more empty bottles scattered across the floor. 'Jeez, man. You Chimera really can take a lot.'
The drunk looked up at the two, his eyes a darkish blue, a slight flint in them from the torchlights outside. 'You're lucky to have me. Plus, I'm the reason we got those Y-Cells. If it wasn't for me, your whole operation wouldn't be running.' He took another sip after finishing. The two nodded reluctantly and left the tent, one waving back. 'Just get cleaned up, we gotta make a move in a few hours!' The Chimera nodded, resting back against a large wooden crate as he sighed before taking yet another sip.
12 hours before Takemoto airbase operation
The group had all finished getting ready; they had their gear and YNS's on. The transport ship was fully fuelled and rearing to go for a ride. Wachisaka saw the group off as they boarded the ship hastily that morning; the base was predicted to be attacked the next morning, so they left a night to prepare.
On board the ship, Kanesaki was sat alone as Nishihara read a book on warfare and Sakaguchi, Isao and Yasuko were playing cards. He looked to the floor and pondered for a minute about Akio. He wanted to protect everyone and ensure their safety. He tapped his foot as he was lost in thought.
'Hey, Kanesaki! You okay?'
Hirabayashi's hand rested on the Chimera's shoulder; he shuddered slightly, clearly leaving his train of thought and snapping back. He looked over to the officer as she stood above him. 'Mind if I sit?' Kanesaki shook his head as she sat beside him. The two sat in silence as the ship took off. They hadn't said a word for a few minutes, simply looking around awkwardly, until Hirabayashi chose to break the silence.
'Are you scared?'
Confused, Kanesaki glanced at her. 'What?'
'The operation, are you scared about going into it?'
He noticed her foot tapping as she bit her lip and toyed with her fingers. He decided to try and help her calm down. 'I mean, yeah, but isn't fear good for you... It's how humanity survived all this time... It's why you made us.' Smiling a little, Hirabayashi calmed down slightly, seemingly feeling comfortable around Kanesaki. For a minute she thought of Akio and how she didn't want to feel that same loss again.
'Hey, Kanesaki, when we come back from this mission... Would you like to visit my home town?'
Quietly, Kanesaki smiled warmly. 'Sure, I'd like that.' Smiling back, a little red too, Hirabayashi continued. 'It's a small town but the flowers around it are beautiful. I know since you're a Chimera you don't really care for those things but-'
'I'd like to see the flowers, if they're beautiful like you say.' Glancing up at Kanesaki's words, she looked back down just as quick, growing more red. Why! Why him!? She thought.
She yawned a little, causing Kanesaki to check the length of the flight. Still a couple hours, huh? Looking back to Hirabayashi, he sat back as she tiresomely rested her head on his shoulder. He froze for a second, unaware of what to do next. Suddenly, he felt the warmth of her hand over his. He smiled a little at how suddenly she had fallen asleep and closed his eyes too.
Takemoto Airbase- 9 hours until operation
Atop a large cliff hanging above the airbase, a masked figure stood peering down at it. The night was falling slowly. Silently, the figure turned back and walked away from the edge, they were in a full-body YNS and a strange face mask, one with an odd set of eye sockets, awfully sharp ones. Other than that, it was a dark grey, metallic mask. Carefully walking down the cliff, the figure looked across the land past the Airbase and saw a set of lights moving slowly, it was the rebels preparing their attack on the base. Soon, the figure had vanished into the darkness as if they had never existed, like a phantom.
Chapter 14- end