17 A Horrible Mistake

"Haa..!" Five in the afternoon. On a certain spot within the Saijun borders, The loud clashing of the real weapons and the girls' shouts are echoing in the air. The three girls have been training the whole day, taking breaks by going inside the village to buy something to eat and go back to their usual place to eat them while sitting on the green field. Until the sun started to fall, they started to lessen their activities. "Last one!" Mariko was still energetic unlike the two. "This is the last one... I wanted to go home" Chiho pants heavily, after that she made her stance. "Alright, Come!" She shouted at Mariko. "Then..!" Mariko charges towards her. Even though She was jumping at every start, Chiho still watches her carefully. "Hrah..!" This last time, Mariko didn't jump and started with a default swing. She swung her axe diagonally towards Chiho. Her attack was slow and predictable that Chiho could easily read her. Chiho aimed to catch the axe by under its blade, She raised her long axe at the right time and caught it. Chiho grunts as she led Mariko's axe to the ground, Then she used her axe's knob to hit Mariko's stomach. "Urgh..!" Mariko was audibly hurt as she got pushed back. "You're done!" Chiho shouted, surprising Mariko. Chiho rotates her axe, then swings it on Mariko's feet. "Whoa..!" It was strong enough to send her feet away from the ground. She fell down with a loud thud. "That was amazing!" Ayumi shouted. Chiho sat down then lie down with a loud exhale.

"I'm so tired" Chiho closed her eyes. "That's so unfair, though.." Ayumi sat beside her. "What's unfair? You couldn't get to fight with me?" Mariko raised herself to sit. "Yeah, I wish I could fight you" Ayumi looked at the chains of her weapon. "Yeah, I wish that aswell. But it's too dangerous, I might get hit for real... There's no other way to use that, right? You throw it at the enemy, not the axe, but the enemy themself" Mariko looked up to the sky. "It's getting dark, isn't it? Let's go back to the inn" Mariko stood up. "Yeah, Let's" Chiho lazily stood up. "You're driving us back, Mariko.. I'm too tired to drive" Chiho said as they walk to the R37. "Leave it to me!" Mariko's energy made Chiho even more tired. Once they got into the R37, Mariko started the engine and started moving. A Chilling wind blows at them as Chiho and Ayumi started to get sleepy. Chiho tried to fight off her drowsiness, but she keeps failing as her eyes are closing on their own and her head keeps falling. Seeing no other choices, Chiho moved up her right leg to the other side, like how the driver seats. Then without a second thought, She wrapped her arms around Mariko's waist and rests her head on her back. "W-Whoa! Hey!" Mariko blushed as she tried to look back. "The hell are you doing?" She looked at Chiho's hands, There was no visible strength so she knew Chiho was resting on her. "Geez, Don't do that, Or I might fall asleep too..." She spoke, But no one even reacted. She looked over to Ayumi, to see her sleeping too. "Goddamn..." Mariko slowed down the R37 as to not accidentally wake them up. Due to her slowing down, The intensity of the engine lessens. Other than that, It was a total silence. She even tried to listen closely for any explosion in the direction of Tsuchiya... Not even an explosion. "Haa..." She sighed. She felt Chiho's head becoming heavier and heavier as time passes by. She looked back to see her orange hair waves as the wind hits them at their speed. "We did nothing this day but to pretend to be enemies, huh?" She laughed a bit.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the gates. "Welcome back, Mariko-san" The guard on the left peeked at Chiho resting on Mariko. "A Tiresome day, huh?" The guard smiled. "Hah, Yeah.." Mariko laughed a bit. After a few seconds, The gate stopped moving. "You can go now" The guard said. "Oh, Thanks" Mariko thought it will fully open, but it was just enough for them to fit through. They went in and reached the inn. "Hey, you two" Mariko woke them up, She shook her body to awake Chiho. The two silently stepped out of the R37 as Mariko watch them. "Even if I am tired, I won't be looking like that" Mariko scratched her head. The two followed Mariko behind inside the Inn. The people inside were few so the inn isn't causing too much noise. "Welcome! My! Those two look so sleepy!" Suzuka welcomed them with a smile. The two walked ahead of Mariko as she closes the door. "Hey, Suzuka-san. Yeah, These two slept on a short trip, interrupting their rest quickly" Mariko laughed a bit. As the two walked past Suzuka, A girl with short white hair came out of the kitchen. "Oh? Who's this?" Mariko saw that she was wearing a brown apron, so her first thought was she is their staff. "I'm Alice Turner, Nice to meet you" The girl introduced. "W-Whoa! A different accent and a complete western-y name!" Mariko shouted in surprise "Yes! Ali-chan immigrated from the West! The Village of Wealth, to be exact! She came here because of her mother! Her mother is a Saijun!" Suzuka happily told Mariko about Alice. Then Mariko observed Alice again. She noticed she doesn't show much expression for, About as tall as Chiho... nothing really special... Maybe her white hair. "When I hear westerns, I think of yellow hairs. Why don't you have one?" She asked Alice. "Not all of us have blonde parents" She replied. "Oh? Blonde, was it? That's how you call those yellow hairs?" Mariko remembered the word, Alice nodded. "I see... Well, I have to go. See ya" Mariko raised her left hand as she turns to the hall and walked. "Sleeping already? Good night!" Suzuka looked at her to say good night.

Upon reaching the doorknob of their door, It was locked. "The hell?" She looked down and the lights were on. "Those goddamn sleepy heads" Mariko scratched her head, then she saw the door next to them open and heard a conversation on the next door. "I..I guess I can sleep there..." She didn't want to disturb the two anymore so she chose to sleep next door. "Um.. Excuse me..?" She slowly opened the door, She saw Yagano and Katsuko talking to each other while on the same bed. "Oh? Mariko-san? What do you need?" The two looked at her and Yagano asked. "Um... Chiho and Ayumi locked me out, maybe because they're half asleep... And I don't want to disturb them anymore, Can I sleep here?" She shyly asked. "Of course, no one is sleeping on that bed" Katsuko pointed at the other bed. "Thank you..." Mariko walked in and locked the door. She sighed, It was loud enough for the two to hear her. "A heck of a training, I guess?" Yagano smiled at her. "Yes, I didn't know Chiho could fight back like a proper soldier... It tires me every time she blocks off my attacks and counters me" Mariko sighed as she dropped her axe on top of a drawer. Then She took the last clothes and wore them without removing her usual clothing. "I thought I will have to get out" Yagano laughed. Making Mariko blush. "W-Well... I was supposed to remove them, But Chiho told me about u-underwear and stuff" She shyly said. "Is that so... Yeah, To us Southern people, Most of the Northern always looked like on their underwear at all times" Yagano laughed a bit. "Well, That's where you're wrong" Mariko looked a little bit teased as she lied down to her bed. "Sleeping already? How about we take our supper down the bar? I heard they are also cooking" Yagano suggested. "Honey, She's tired, let her rest" Katsuko worries about her. "W-Well, I'm not really that tired..." Mariko answered. "See? It'll take ten mountains to tire out a northern! Then, let's get going!" Yagano stood up while Katsuko slowly stands up.

Mariko stood up with a grunt. "Ah... Wonder what to eat.." Yagano looked up as to think of something. "I got to try their omelette rice, It was really delicious. You might want to try that" Mariko suggested the omulette rice. "Omelette rice?" Yagano and Katsuko looked at her. "Yes, An egg-filled rice, Wait.. A rice-filled egg.. rice inside an egg... It's good" Mariko stumbled with her words. "I like eggs, I'll try that one" Katsuko made her choice. "Then, I will have the same! How about you, Mariko-san?" Yagano asked. "Well, I'll have to ask what else they cook" She answered. "Alright, then! Let's go!" They went out of the room and went downstairs. "Good Evening, Comma...Yagano-san! Katsuko-san, Mariko-san" Suzuka greeted them as she saw them approaching. "Hey, Suzuka-san. Can we eat tonight?" Yagano asked, Suzuka visibly became happy. "Of course! Please take a seat on the bar and Haru will take care of you!" Suzuka lays her hand towards the bar. "Thanks" Yagano thanked her and they went to take a seat to the bar, Haruki was there, arms crossed and looking somewhat proud. The three watch her stand there while they fix their seat. "What can a great cook do for you?" She said. "We would like two rice omelette please" Yagano ordered two. "Aye! So you're trying out our special dish already, huh? You're lucky to get it for free!" Haruki looked so happy. "Special? The hell kind of great cook would specialize egg and rice?" Mariko teased her with a serious look. "Shut up, Northern! The omelette had the most customer, It's the best selling yet in our menu!" Haruki puffs her chest. "Right... Can I see what else you cook?" Mariko asked. "The menu? Here... It's called menu, I just mentioned it" Haruki handed over a single paper. "This is the menu? It's a paper" Mariko observed the menu. "As long as it contains the list of food available, It is a menu. We just opened the kitchen so we still don't have a proper one" Haruki answered. "Riiight...." Mariko speaks as her eyes scan the menu. She spotted the word 'rare'. "Medium rare steak?" She reads the name. "Hey, I would like this rare one" She took the steak. The word 'rare' interests her. "Oh? Willing to taste western food? Then I will have Ali-chan cook for you!" Haruki went out with a glass of beer and went to an occupied table then proceeds to the kitchen. The three talks while they wait for their food.

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"Hey, Mariko-san. What do you think of Chiho?" Yagano asked as he looks at her. "Chiho, huh?" Mariko imagined Chiho. "I don't know, Childish?" Her answer made the two laugh. "Yes, Chiho is childish at some time" Katsuko said. "Hm..." Yagano thinks. "Especially when it comes to waking her up, That's the first time I ever have saw that side of her. Sometimes she acts like one when something doesn't agree with her... But besides that, She's... Kinda into getting strong, you know why" Mariko remembered Chiho's face while they're training, She was so focused on every move Mariko does. "I gotta tell, I can feel the experience of your training within her. She's not used on holding a long axe, But she knows how to defend herself" Mariko scratched her head, remembering her failed attacks. "Yes, the first thing I taught her was reaction. With her quick response to the enemy's attack, She can avoid the attack completely and disarm them... I wonder if she's going to be alright with an axe? I prefer swords, to be honest" Yagano liked the swords more. "Well, We just borrowed them from Leader-san. So we had no choice" Mariko answered. "Hmph... Gentaro is getting interested with northern stuff now?" Yagano crossed his arms. "We fought nothing but swords, Why does he have an axe with him?" He continued. "D-Does it matter? Was using a sword is part of your culture or something?" Mariko saw him and asked. "Well, kinda... I mean, No one here at south has ever used an axe as a weapon. Nor do the West and East" Yagano answered. "I thought the East also used axe as their weapons?" Mariko asked. "Not when the North punished them for losing the great war. They avoided everything that resembles the norths, they started to make their own weapons like that long wood with a curved blade. You saw one?" Yagano asked. "Curved... Yeah, kinda..." Mariko taps the table as she thinks of the weapon. "Well, that aside... Don't worry about the axes, I have no problems with it" Yagano grinned. "How about Ayumi-chan? I also heard she was taking part in your training... Isn't she too young for that? I mean, She's not Yagano" Katsuko looked at Yagano. "What?" He looked back. "Well, She handled a chained weapon better than I do. So that kinda makes her not so young" Mariko was a little bit jealous. "Hm... Chained sickle, is it?" Yagano nodded and rubs his chin. "Hmm... I only know one who can handle a chained sickle, But he's not used to it. How well did Ayumi use it?" Yagano asked. "Well, Without telling her how, She managed to recover the sickle after throwing it from a distance... Even how she did it amazes me. But I'm pretty sure that's in the training only... She would panic when it's the actual battle" Mariko chuckles. "Nah, I bet you five golds, She will be excited to use it without holding back" Yagano pointed a finger to Mariko. "Huh, You might be right..." Mariko looked to the ground. "Then, Ten golds! She will hit most of her allies!" She shouted. "Twenty-five golds, the Saijun army will be wiped out!" Yagano shouted. "Hundred golds! she'll be joining the enemy due to multiple friendly hits!" Mariko shouted. "Thousands of golds! She'll be quitting the battle and join a neutral country because of how bad she is!" Yagano shouted. "Fuck tons of golds, The country she's in will have a huge conflict between people whether to let her stay!" Mariko shouted. "All of the world's natural gold ores, Everyone will be declaring war on her due to no matter where she goes, she hits her friends!" Seeing the two jokingly betting, Katsuko just smiled at them and before they knew it, They just became buddies.

After a few minutes, Their dishes finally arrived. Haruki was carrying the two omelette with Alice carrying Mariko's steak. "Damn, That took too long for an egg" Mariko scratched her head. "We wanted to serve it together with your steak" Alice answered as she placed the plate in front of Mariko. "T-The hell?! Isn't this raw?! It's pink!" Mariko saw the slices. "It's red" Alice responded. "No, It's pink!" Mariko started to argue. "It's red" Alice responded. "Pink!" "Red" The two argued about the color. "Aren't you from the north? Why are you complaining about raw foods?" Alice asked. "Yeah, Head butt me!" Mariko angrily responded. Alice sighed. "Didn't you asked for a medium-rare? Oh, yeah.. You're a northern" Alice says. The three started to notice her disliking towards northern. "Trust me, It's different from a raw steak. But let it stay for five minutes" Alice moved the plate as to gesture that she should wait. "I'm going to wait again? You western people annoy me!" Mariko straightly tells her that. "...It'll be all tender and juicy if you wait" Alice looked like she was hurt by her words, but she quickly puts up her usual expressionless look. Though, Mariko quickly noticed her. "F-Fine, I'll wait, It better be good" She crossed her arms and looked away. "Then if you don't mind, we should start eating" Yagano asked. "Yeah, Yeah! Go on, don't worry!"

The two eats way slow anyway due to them talking, Mariko was able to catch up with them after five minutes. "It should be good now" Alice moved the plate a bit. "Thanks. Wait... Have you been standing there the whole time?" Mariko asked, But Alice just stared at her. "Whatever..." Mariko took a slice and stuff it in her mouth. "Mm!" Mariko's eyes sparkled as she chews. "Whoa!" Mariko gulped down and looked at the slices. "Is it good?" Alice asked. "Yeah! It is!" Mariko answered as she took another slice and stuffed it into her mouth. "I see, That's a relief" Alice smiled. "Whoa! Smile! You smiled!" Mariko pointed a finger to her as she takes another slice, then she quickly looked up. "I'm happy" Alice states. "W-Well, Yeah. I can see that..." Mariko laughed at the obvious. "My mother doesn't like them. It's because, like you, She thought it was raw and refused to eat them. At one point, I still cooked her this and she just went mad and threw it away..." Alice tells a sad moment. "W-Wow... (That was unexpected!)" Mariko was surprised at a sudden topic. "I was afraid that no one will like it, but here you are" Alice smiled. "Y-Yeah, Despite the color. It's actually good" Mariko looked at her and Alice nodded. "Though, I'm from the north, So I guess I don't count" Mariko grinned. "Nope, I also heard you grew up here in the south. So you do count" Alice shook her head. "Damn, They told you everything about me, huh?" Mariko looked to Suzuka, She hid her face with a book. Mariko just sighed. "Good for you, Alice-chan! This really does taste good! Everyone will like this for sure once they got to try!" The two also tried it and were astonished. "Thank you very much, Yagano-san" Alice bowed. They finished their dish and went back to their room to call it a day.

As usual as ever, Mariko woke up first the next day. She raised herself up to see Yagano and Katsuko still asleep. She thinks to herself; How if she tries to sleep again. She laid down once more and closed her eyes but she felt no sleepiness at all. "mm..." She grunts as she gets annoyed about not being able to sleep back. "I can't do it" She whined. She stood up and went for the door. "Oh? You're already awake?" Yagano suddenly spoke, Mariko got surprised and looked back. "A-Ah.. Yeah, I usually wake up around this time... You wake up early too, huh?" Mariko thought she was the only one. "Yeah, Duties. I am used to waking up early. Heck sometimes we are on duties at night and we sleep in the morning" Yagano stood up. He looked over to Katsuko to see that she's sleeping peacefully. "That's so hard... How can you even guard the towers if you're all sleepy?" Mariko asked. "Nope, They train soldiers to be all awake at nights" Yagano answered. "Ah, Is that so..." Mariko looked at the doorknob. "You're going out for a walk? If so, Then I'll go back to sleep again" Yagano laid back to sleep. Mariko looked back and felt like sleeping too. "Urgh..." She didn't know what to do, so she heads for the bed again. "Hm? You're going to sleep too?" Yagano heard her falls to her bed. "Yeah" her voice was muffled as she was lying on her stomach and her face is stuffed on the pillow. A few seconds, she jolted up and quickly catches for air. Then she fixed herself and closed her eyes once more.

Later that time, The sun rose and Mariko was still peacefully sleeping. "Father?! Where's Mariko?!" Chiho knocked to their door with a panicked voice. She continuously knocked until Yagano and Katsuko were awaken. Yagano walked to the door and opened to see Chiho and Ayumi looking so worried. "Where's Mariko?!" Chiho asked. "A-Ah, Yeah. She slept here" Yagano stepped aside for them to see Mariko sleeping. Chiho sighed. "She said you locked her out and she doesn't want to disturb you, so she asked to sleep here instead" Yagano looked at Chiho. "Ah... I'm so sorry, Mariko-san" Chiho rubbed her face with both of her hands. "Just what happened?" Yagano asked. "W-Well... I thought she was with us when we walked in the room, so I locked it and went to sleep" Chiho explained. "I remembered it all, I was so sleepy, I noticed that she wasn't with us but all I thought was to lie on the bed" Ayumi backs her up. "Sheesh, you two..." Yagano scratched his head. "Well, Whatever you do now, She's sleeping over there" He looked at Mariko. "Oh! Good morning, Ka-chan!" Ayumi saw Katsuko on the bed, looking at them. "Mother! Good morning!" Chiho also greeted and Katsuko waved back. "Oh, by the way... Did Mariko wake up early? We were supposed to have more training!" Ayumi looked at Mariko. "Yeah, She did. But she went back to sleep again" Yagano answered. "Oh? So she can sleep again too!" Ayumi said. "She was about to head out of the room, but after I talked to her, She went back to bed" Yagano said. "Well, wake her up! I want training!" Ayumi shouted. Then She went inside and shook Mariko. "Hey, Wake up!" She shouted. Mariko quickly became annoyed and tried to shook off Ayumi. "Fuck off..." Mariko turned her back to Ayumi. "Hey!" Ayumi slapped Mariko's cheek, making her jump up. "Ow! The hell?!" Mariko touched her cheek and looked at Ayumi. "The hell you want?" She asked. "It's morning! training! It is training!" Ayumi raised her arms. "Ah, geez..." Mariko scratched her eyes with a yawn. "Sleeping back really isn't my shit..." She lazily stepped on the floor to stand.

"What a harsh way to wake up someone, Ayumi-chan" Yagano said. "What? I can't shake her awake, how else am I going to wake her up?!" Ayumi angrily answered. "Anyway, Anyhow! Let's go now!" Ayumi ran towards the door. "Alright..." Mariko removed the inn's clothes and prepared to head out. They went downstairs and took breakfast. Then they head out. At the front of the Inn. They looked at each other. "I and your mother will take a walk, You're heading outside right now?" Yagano asked. "Yeah! We are! See you later! Ya-chan, Ka-chan!" Ayumi waved at them as she ran towards the R37. "Take care, alright? Be careful not to hit each other!" Katsuko warned them. "Yes! We'll be careful!" Mariko nodded. "Then, We'll get going now" Chiho nodded and they went to their R37 with Ayumi already on the sidecar. "You drive, Chiho... I don't feel like driving" Mariko sat behind the driver. "Oh? Did you ate something weird?" Chiho smirked. "No, But you disturbed my sleep. My head's aching as a motherfucker" Mariko touched her head. "I see.." Chiho said as she took the seat and starts the engine. They accelerated and Ayumi looked back to wave at Yagano and Katsuko hearing their vehicle. Ayumi saw that Yagano was gesturing them to stop and come back. "Onee-chan! Wait!" Ayumi shouted, Chiho looked at her and pressed on the brake. "What? You forgot something?" Chiho asked. "I think Ya-chan wants to say something!" Ayumi pointed back. "Oh, You're right..." Chiho looked at Yagano throwing his hands on the air trying to make them come back. They head back to them. "What is it, Father?" Chiho stopped the R37 beside them. "I forgot I was carrying this" Yagano raised the PPSH. "I wished to test it outside!" There was a hint of excitement on his voice. "Yeah! Let's!" Mariko became excited. "Then! Let's go!" Yagano walked near the sidecar. "You sit on my lap, Ayumi-chan. Katsuko will sit beside Mariko-san" Yagano says. "Okay!" Ayumi stepped out for Yagano to get in then she sat on his lap. "M-Mother? You're going too?! How about your wounds?!" Chiho worries. "Don't worry! Just go slow and I'll be fine. I heard this one is smoother than carriages" Katsuko walked near. "May I?" She looked at Mariko and asked. "A-Ah, Yeah..." Mariko moved towards Chiho a bit. "Father? Don't you want to drive?" Chiho asked as Katsuko sat beside Mariko. "Nah, I pass" Yagano shook his head. "Alright..." Chiho accelerates and noticed something. "W-Whoa, It became heavy!" She noticed the usual speed of the R37 lessens.

"Perhaps your father has been eating too much" Katsuko smiled. "No, Katsuko. We are just too many" Yagano answered with a smile. The three girls giggled. Upon reaching the gate, The guards noticed that Yagano was with them. "Good morning, Commander Yagano. You're going with them, i see" The guard on the left greets. "Yeah, Gotta try something" Yagano answered. The guard on the right shouted to open the gate and the gate made a loud noise before opening slowly. They waited in silence, Then the gate opened enough for them to fit. "Be careful out there, Don't run into any enemies" The guard on the left says. "Thank you" Chiho thanked him before heading out. "Are we leaving the borders?" Yagano asked. "No, It's a little bit far, but not outside their borders" Mariko answered. After a few minutes, they arrived at their spot, near the tree stump. "We're here!" Ayumi took the chained sickle and the long axe that was resting on the sidecar. They all stepped out of the R37. "A comfy place you got here!" Yagano sat on the stump and looked around. "Good thing you haven't been met an enemy around here" He looked at the direction to the Tsuchiya. "Right! Let's test this beast" Yagano stood up with his PPSH. "There's one more log here" Mariko looked behind Yagano and saw one last log. "Maybe you can test that thing with this?" She picked it up and showed it to Yagano. "Yeah, That should be fine. Place it somewhere far" Yagano nodded and Mariko walked away to place the log. "Is this fine?!" Mariko shouted. "Too far!" Yagano shouted. "Damn..." Mariko picked up the log and moved closer. "Is this fine?" Mariko asked. "Yeah, Good enough" Yagano made a thumbs up. Mariko ran to Yagano's side. "Alright, Girls. This should be loud" Yagano warned them as he prepares to press the trigger. Katsuko covered her ears and the three didn't. "Here goes..." Yagano slowly pressed the trigger. The PPSH loudly shot one round, Its force shook Yagano whole. "So strong!" Yagano didn't expect it to shake that much, He looked at the gun as the girls got deafened. "It's not as loud as their plane" Mariko says. "Of course, That one sounds all so loud in the air, How if it's in the ground" Yagano prepares to shoot again. "I saw that soldier rapidly shoots... Maybe I'll try holding this down" Yagano thought to himself. Then He fired the gun again, This time he fired more than one round. Its intense recoil makes him lose his accuracy and sent the bullets everywhere. He stopped before he loses control of the gun. "Ah..." Yagano sighed. Then he walked to the log to see how many times he hits. "Two..." He saw two holes.

"They managed to shoot the last three bullets to Katsuko... They do know how to handle these properly" He looked at the PPSH. "Hm..." He walked back to them. "Alright, We've been loud enough. You do your training now" Yagano sat on the stump and placed the gun on the ground. "Will you watch us, Father?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, Let me see how you do against Mariko-san" Yagano nodded. "Then!" Chiho looked at Ayumi and placed her right hand in front of her. "Good luck!" Ayumi handed over the long axe. "Let's see how you do now..." Mariko took off hers and moved away. "Aren't they going to hit each other?" Katsuko asked Yagano as they watch them. "Nah, They went home without a scratch yesterday, so..." Yagano answered as he moved a little bit for her to sit. "Ah..." Katsuko sat down with him. "Oh? What about you, Ayumi-chan?" Yagano saw Ayumi sit on the ground beside them. "Mariko doesn't want me to join" She pouted. "Oh, Is it because of your weapon?" Katsuko asked. "Yeah" Ayumi nodded. "Haah..!" Mariko's shout made them look. Their weapon hits together, letting out a loud clang. "Oh! Chiho held her attack, She even jumped!" Yagano watched them closely. Mariko took a step back as her attack got blocked but quickly charged again. "Not yet!" She shouted as she used full strength. She swung her axe down to Chiho. "...!" Chiho blocked her attack by holding her weapon horizontal, But she almost loses her grip with the axe. "I'm not done yet!" Mariko held Chiho's axe and swings the axe towards Chiho. "Ah..!" Chiho quickly lowered her head. Seeing the chance, Chiho used her head to hit and push back Mariko. "Urgh..!" Mariko let go of her axe and staggered back. "Damn it, You really like hitting my stomach, huh?" Mariko rubbed her stomach. "But I'm not stopping!" Mariko charged and continued to swing her axe as Chiho evades them. "Ha..! What are you going to do?!" Mariko shouted as she tries to hit Chiho. "...Now!" Chiho waited for her to land an attack. and before she can regain from the attack, Chiho hits her face with the knob of her axe. "Ow!" Mariko didn't expect the attack and loses focus. "You're done!" Chiho shouted as she hits Mariko to her stomach with the back of the head. "Akh..!" Mariko let out a noise as she lowered her body with her hands on her stomach. "Ha..!" Chiho swings the back of the blade towards her feet, Mariko fell into the ground. "After that, I can behead you anytime" Chiho stands her axe beside her. "Goddamn..." Mariko rolled herself to see Chiho. "Have mercy with my stomach" Mariko whined. "S-Sorry..." Chiho crouched. "Are you okay? Did I hit you so badly?" Chiho asked. "Yeah, Pretty much... I hope you were holding back" Mariko raised herself up.

"Are you done?!" Yagano asked. They looked at him. "I'm up for another one!" Mariko stood up. "Alright!" Chiho moved away. "Alright, Here's more..." Yagano says. "Isn't Mariko-san hurt? It looks like Chiho hits her pretty hard" Katsuko looked worried. "Nah, She's good" Yagano answered. "Hey, Chiho. How about you try attacking?" Mariko suggested. "Attacking? Alright!" Chiho prepares. "Here I come!" Chiho charged. "Heh..." Mariko watched her closely. "Haa..!" Holding the axe with both of her hands, Chiho swung the axe down. "Too slow!" Mariko moved beside Chiho to avoid her attack. "Hah..!" Chiho used her body to stagger back Mariko. "Whoa!" Mariko got pushed back, losing her balance. "Haa..!!" Chiho swings her axe towards Mariko, almost slashing her neck. "Whoa! That's enough, Chiho!" Yagano shouted. Katsuko and Ayumi gasped at the near-accident. The two looked at them. "You almost killed Mariko there! Had me dying instead!" Yagano sighed as he walked towards them. "Y-Yeah, you almost got me there, Chiho, holy shit.." Mariko pants. "I-I'm sorry..." Chiho apologized. "Ah, Damn... You shouldn't be so reckless, Such thi-" "Ya-chan!" Yagano was interrupted by Ayumi's shout. "Ya-chan! She's!" Ayumi looked at Katsuko. "Katsuko!" Yagano shouted as he saw her struggling. They ran to her side. "Your wounds!" Yagano saw her bleeding. "It suddenly hurts" Katsuko looked up to Yagano. "We need to return to the village, Let's get out of here!" Yagano's about to carry Katsuko, until they heard an engine noise coming near. "What's that?!" Chiho shouted as they looked at the direction of the sound. "Is that..?" They saw an incoming vehicle, It was moving fast. "W-We have to go!" Yagano picked Katsuko up, But the vehicle was already near. Then It stopped before them. It was a BA-64. Its engine was changed to accelerate faster, thus, reaching them quickly. "Oh no!" Ayumi quickly saw the red star on its side and hid behind the group. A girl quickly came out and points a handgun at them. Chiho noticed she has the same gun. "Руки вверх! Put your fucking hands up!" She shouted. They quickly recognized her uniform as the Prohorovkan. "What did I tell you?! Hands up now!" Her shout made them put their hands up. "Tsk..." Mariko uttered. "I was about to head this way until I heard shots. I had to radio back to HQ!" She was visibly angry. "They said there is currently nobody in this area, So I had to look for myself" She talked while observing the whole group. "Now all I saw was two idiots fighting... Just where the fuck those shots came from?

I'm very certain it's this way. Either someone got lost and got attacked or was lost and firing their weapon to signal us" She continued.

"And either way, it's gotta be one of us. But HQ said there is no one here and even I saw no one" The girl kept showing she was suspicious of everything. "Now, the only thing left is you!" She shouted. "Please, My wife is bleeding here. Let us go" Yagano begged the girl, surprising them. "I don't give a shit, Want me to make it better?" She pointed her gun at Katsuko. "W-Wait!" Yagano moved Katsuko behind him. "Heh, If not, Shut the fuck up and let her bleed" The girl pointed at Chiho this time. But She saw the PPSH lying on the ground, Which enraged her even more. "What's that doing there?!" She angrily asked. "S-Someone dropped it!" Chiho desperately lied. "Yeah, Wanna go to a lost-and-found? You fucking liars!" She shouted. "Look, Let's just-" "F-Fuck off!" Mariko approached the girl and pats her shoulder, But the girl became frightened and brushed off her arm and shoots her in the chest. "Ahk..!" Mariko quickly placed a hand to the wound, but she didn't lose her balance. "Mariko!" "Mariko-san!" They shouted her name. Chiho then looked at the frightened girl, She looked surprised. "You..." Mariko looked at her bloody hands, Then She felt the wound. "Argh...!" Then She slowly looked up the girl with a surprised look. "Haah..." She felt the burning pain again and suddenly got enraged. "Kuh... You!" Mariko angrily looked at the girl. The girl got scared of her look. "W-What's with that look?! Stay back!" The girl pointed the gun at her. "You.. You... I said let's just talk about this..." Mariko slowly walks towards her. "Mariko! Ah!" Chiho was about to run at Mariko but the girl shot the ground in front of her. "Why did you-" Before Mariko could finish, The girl shot her again. "S-Shut up!" She shouted. "Haah.... Haah...!" Mariko maintained her eyes on her. "You.. Fuck you!" Mariko jumped at the girl. "No!" The girl shot her again but she landed on her anyways. "Ha..HAAAAAAA!!!" The girl shouted in agony as Mariko bites the right side of her neck while pinning her down. After that, Mariko bites deep inside her skin and forcefully pulled her head away from the girl. "HAAAA!!" The girl cried in shock as blood gushed out from her neck. The group couldn't believe what they just saw, Ayumi vomited on the side. "M-Mariko!" Chiho covered her mouth. Bloods pouring out from Mariko's mouth as she grits her teeth. She took out her axe and held the girl's head. "Stop!!" The girl cried. Mariko forcefully pulled her head left, making more blood come out. Mariko grunts as she hits the wound multiple times, wanting to behead her. Few hits already made the girl die in shock. "E-Enough!" Chiho threw herself at Mariko. They both fell into the ground. "Please, Stop!" Chiho hugged her, to stop her from moving further aswell.

"She... She deserved that.. Heh.." Mariko laughed a bit. "Her blood's delicious... Chiho, Let me bite you too!" Mariko whispered. "Whoa!" Chiho looked at her, to see her smiling. "Just kidding..." Mariko pulled her cheeks. "D-Don't scare me like that!" Chiho moved away. "Ah.. Damn it.." Mariko stood up and used the girl's uniform to wipe off the blood from her mouth. "W-What did you just did?! Mariko?!" Yagano looked so confused. "I'm sorry, ... Let's not talk about that for now and think what are we going to do about this" They looked at the dead body.